The fifth seal judgment of the Book of Revelation is the “souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held” (Revelation 6:9 KJV). A Pre-Tribulational Rapture would leave a significant number of newly converted Tribulation Christians in its wake. Their martyrdom will be just as common then, as martyrdom is uncommon now. The world will not be saved, but God will reap the greatest harvest possible. LORD, be merciful to our brothers and sisters of the Tribulation. Make all of our testimonies to count. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Author: Ken
It’s Not Whether You Win or Lose, But How You Play the Game
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36 KJV). Grantland Rice (1880-1954), a well known, American sportswriter is famous for the quote, “It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.” Sports is about winning. Life also is about winning. “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Corinthians 15:57). If we already have achieved the victory through Christ, then it is only how we conduct ourselves in our daily lives that matters. Faith realizes the preeminence of Christ’s gracious, finished work on the Cross for our salvation, and the Holy Spirit applies the reality of that belief to how we conduct our daily lives. “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death” (Philippians 3:10). Perhaps all of this sounds familiar, yet unless it compels us to follow hard after Christ, then we have probably misunderstood or underestimated the role of the Holy Spirit: (1) to make us willing to obey God’s commandments, i.e., “And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27), and (2) to reveal Jesus to us to make us more like Him, i.e., “He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew [shō] it unto you. All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall shew it unto you” (John 16:14-15). Father, we desire to know You better. Take of Your Spirit and show us Jesus. Teach us the delicate balance of “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17). Show us how even our faith is a gift from You (Ephesians 2:8). Help us to exercise patience, so we will live out the reality of the Game of Life, which You already have won for us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
When I Am Old
David died at the age of 70, but before he died he said, “Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed [shōwed] Thy strength unto this generation, and Thy power to every one that is to come” (Psalm 71:18 KJV). David retired from his throne possibly as much as four years before his death. Retirement is normally the process of handing down responsibilities to succeeding generations. What are some goals for retirement? First, do not wait until retirement to be happy. Practice happiness now or blessedness today. “Blessed [Greek, makarios, happy] is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing” (Matthew 24:46). Second, do not look at retirement as doing nothing, instead look at it as an opportunity to serve the Lord in ways not possible before. “Occupy till I come” (Luke 19:13). Third, look at retirement as a gift from God that you do not deserve and carries responsibilities unique to your new circumstance. “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required” (Luke 12:48). Fourth, relish the opportunity to get to know the LORD better, especially through prayer and the Word. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16). Fifth, use your time to better serve elderly parents and take care of your family circle. “Honour thy father and thy mother” (Exodus 20:12). “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also” (2Timothy 1:5). Father, may we aspire to retire to be better know and serve You. In Jesus’ name, we ask it. Amen.
Pale Horse of Death (Revelation 6:8)
The fourth horseman of the Apocalypse rides a “pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth” (Revelation 6:8 KJV). Concentrated, unprecedented, unavoidable, unnatural death for every fourth person on planet earth gets everyone’s attention. God the Judge is only beginning to deal with humanity’s rejection of Himself. LORD, You are the one to be feared because man’s death cannot be worse than God’s death. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Black Horse of the Cost of Living (Revelation 6:6)
The third seal judgment of the Book of Revelation reveals the third horseman of the Apocalypse, which is famine or the insanity of the cost of living. Unlike the Father caring for us like He does the “birds of the air” (Matthew 6:26 KJV), food insecurity under the Antichrist will require more than an ordinary job can provide. “And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat [what a laboring man would eat in only one meal] for a penny [a day’s wage], and three measures of barley [a lesser grain that a laboring man would eat in three meals] for a penny [a day’s wage]; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine” (Revelation 6:6). No doubt there will be peace enough for building again the Third Jewish Temple, but food insecurity will prevail to fulfill this prophecy. LORD, we appreciate what You have already given us to do Your will. May Your tribulations teach righteousness in the earth. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Casting Out Demons
Sin caused the first suffering and death in humanity (Genesis 2:27), though the glory of God — not sin — may be the reason why God allows some to suffer, as demonstrated by the blind man healed by Jesus (John 9:2-3). Physical affliction can also be the result of demonic oppression, which will require demons to be cast out, such as the apparently epileptic boy healed by Jesus (Mark 9:14-29). “Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose” (Mark 9:25-27 KJV). Whether the weighty theological terminology of ‘demon possession’ or ‘demon oppression’ is used, matters not. When by “prayer and fasting” (9:29) the influence of an evil spirit is cast out of an individual — verbally, so even the devil can hear the command — it must be replaced by the filling of God’s Spirit of Love, or face the danger of becoming only worse than before. “Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation” (Matthew 12:45). LORD, may we wisely learn to cast out demons to build Your kingdom, and may Your Spirit be put in their place, for love “shall cover the multitude of sins” (1Peter 4:8). Return quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen and amen.
Movies With Bad Endings
No one likes a movie with a bad ending. God especially knows it. The devil even admits it, so his antichrist attempts to masquerade as God in the Temple. But, in the end, “fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Revelation 20:9-10 KJV). Then, why does all the rest of angelic and human history have to transpire before then? The Almighty knows everything He has to accomplish to fulfill all righteousness to get to the point it could be said, “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (21:3-4). Though we look at all the upcoming events with concern, we want this final outcome. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Fiery Red Horse of Conflict (Revelation 6:4)
The second horseman of the Apocalypse rides a fiery red horse representing warfare, which normally comes after the failed diplomacy of man. Just as our Father desires earth to reflect heaven, Antichrist’s world will reflect hell. No doubt “a great sword” represents a proliferation of weapons, smart weapons, as well as weapons of mass destruction. “And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword” (Revelation 6:4 KJV). The unpleasantness of hearing the judgments of God upon the world is motivation to spread the good news of a second chance before it’s too late. LORD, energize and motivate us to share Your Word, Your Gospel, and Your prophecies that You might be magnified, and they might be benefited. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Behold A White Horse (Revelation 6:2)
The first seal judgment of the Book of Revelation opens at the beginning of Daniel’s Seventieth Week. “And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer” (Revelation 6:2 KJV). This first of the four horseman of the Apocalypse most likely represents Antichrist with veiled military power (“a bow”) diplomatically consolidating power worldwide. What has just disrupted the world? Was it a Pre-Tribulational Rapture of the Church? Could it be the revelation of the first horseman as a supernatural alien/Nephilim (UFO alien)? LORD, You are our teacher of things to come. Give us understanding that we may hasten Your return. In Jesus’ name, amen.
How Did He Do That?
The universe is large, and uncertainty is uncomfortable. Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity addressed gravity’s effect upon regions of high scale and large mass (planets, stars, galaxies), while Max Planck, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, and others’ Quantum Mechanics dealt with the microscopic phenomena of regions of very small scale and low mass (atoms, molecules, subatomic particles). Attempts to integrate relativity and quantum for an explanation of the universe gives us the elusive and hypothetical Theory of Everything (TOE). Neither classical nor more modern physics (String Theory) has achieved TOE; but, not so strangely, the metaphysical has already proposed the solution. Without further comment, notice how the language of Scripture would turn the research of modern science into an investigation of “How did the Creator do it?” and “How can we use that understanding to solve the world’s problems?” “12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet [qualified] to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: 17 And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:12-17 KJV). LORD, we worship You as our Creator and desire the opportunity to fashion this world into an expression of Your wisdom, love, and grace. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen and amen.
We Need A Miracle 
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