Tag Archives: Time Has Come

Time Has Come (Pt. 5)

Most Christians believe that Jesus will one day return in power, glory, and judgment to reward His followers and to punish those who have rejected God. But the question that divides the hearts and minds of many believers—and sometimes even divides Christians into separate camps and denominations—is whether believers will experience some or all of the tough times described in the book of Revelation and other prophetic scriptures.

For many years I preached that Christians would not have to endure the horrors of the Tribulation, that Jesus would return and take His people out of this world. Admittedly, most of my thoughts on the matter were not original, nor were my views based on years of studying the Scriptures and reaching valid biblically based conclusions. For the most part, I simply believed what I had heard sincere men and women of God teach, namely, that Jesus was coming back before the seven-year Tribulation in an event called the Rapture.

Although the word rapture does not appear in the Bible, we based our ideas on a passage from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. The apostle encouraged believers with these words:

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17, nkjv).

Although this passage does indeed describe the Second Coming, we drew some unwarranted conclusions about when and how this event would occur. This “catching away” of the saints, which is what the word rapture means, was to take place secretly, as far as unbelievers were concerned. Only believers, it was thought, would be able to experience and witness the appearing of the Lord. Suddenly, Jesus was to appear in the air, and in the twinkling of an eye we would be gone, whisked off the ground to meet the Lord in the sky. The dead in Christ, believers who had died prior to His coming, would rise first, and together we would all meet Him in the air. From there He would take us to live with Him eternally. Later, Christ would return again, this time in power and glory to judge the world and set up His eternal kingdom. The Rapture was to happen, of course, before any events of the Tribulation began to pummel the earth.

One of my favorite prophetic Scripture verses is, “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36, nkjv). I placed a heavy emphasis on the word escape, because I was convinced it went against God’s loving nature to allow His people to go through the horrors of the Tribulation.

My thinking on the subject changed when, in prison, I searched out the passages that described the Rapture that precedes the Tribulation. To my amazement, I could not find any. I found certain scriptures that other preachers .and I twisted and conveniently interpreted to fit my “prosperity” messages, but when I allowed the Bible to speak for itself, I realized that my notions of a pre-Tribulation Rapture were not based in scripture.

(Excerpt from “Time Has Come”)

Time Has Come (Pt. 4)

You are not in Darkness

Many sincere people are asleep at the wheel.  Some are cavorting with the devil, veering increasingly off course toward destruction. Others see the dangerous direction we are heading, but they naively hope that Jesus will come and save us before we hit the rocks.  Escaping the coming tribulation would be wonderful, but I’m convinced that we must go through some of these tribulation events. After years of studying the Scripture, I find little evidence that Jesus is going to return for Christians before the difficult times of Revelation begin to happen on earth. Although I’m certain Jesus is coming, we may indeed be here for what Jesus called the “beginnings of sorrows,” (Matthew 24:8, NKJV) and perhaps much more.  We need to understand the signs of the times and recognize the events leading to the Lord’s return.

In churches all across America, I’ve asked congregations, “How many of you believe that Jesus is going to come for us like a thief in the night?”  It’s a bit of a trick question, but I use it to make a point.

Most hands go up.  Nearly everyone has a vague familiarity with the idea that Jesus will return when we least expect Him.  Those who have made headlines in recent years for their foolish, unbiblical predictions of Christ’s return tend only to further convince us that we cannot know when Jesus is coming.

But if you look at the Scripture carefully, you may be surprised.  The Word does not say that He is coming like a thief in the night for believers.

“For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.  While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.  But you brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day.  We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. (1 Thessalonians 5:2-6 NASB).

Do you see that?  You are not to be in darkness.  You are not of the night.  You are to be watching and waiting, already prepared for the coming of the Lord. You will have advance information, namely, signs you can recognize that His coming is near.  You will not be caught unaware.  Or at least you should not be.

Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice.”  They recognize not just the sound of His voice, but the truth of His words.  If you are a fan of John Grisham novels, you recognize the author’s voice in each of his books.  If you’ve read the great writers from the past, such as Shakespeare, you recognize their style.  Similarly, if you study the Scriptures, you can know the voice of Jesus and recognize the truth of His Word. By becoming familiar with His voice, you will be able to recognize when something is consistent with what Jesus said or whether it is an idea concocted by someone else, well intentioned though they may be. There is no reason for you to be caught off guard by the cataclysmic events that are about to happen. Revelation will help you to be ready.

(excerpt from Time Has Come)

Time Has Come (Pt. 3)

Many first-century believers—including, no doubt, the Apostle John—expected Jesus to return within their lifetime. When He didn’t, some people became disillusioned and discouraged. They did not understand that certain things had to happen in history before Christ’s return. For instance, according to Jesus’ own words, Jerusalem had to be under Jewish control before the end-times events begin to happen. That did not occur until 1948, when the nation of Israel was re-established, and Jerusalem once again came under the governance of the Jewish people, though both Christianity and Islam have sacred sites there.  Consequently, most, if not all, of the prophecies recorded in Revelation, can easily be fulfilled in our generation. Now, when the prophetic mysteries begin to unfold, they will occur in rapid succession. That’s why you need to have your heart right and your house in order now, ready today for the return of Jesus Christ.

At the same time, the Apostle Paul warned that “the day of Christ,” including the Lord’s climactic return, would not happen until the “man of sin” is revealed.  This is the Antichrist who “takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”

If the Antichrist is going to be on the rise, wisdom says we should prepare to go through some difficult days before the Lord’s return. I know you are hoping that Jesus will come prior to the tribulation period, and so am I.  But what if you are living right where you are today when the “four horsemen of Revelation” begin to ride, when unprecedented natural disasters strike the world, and when the Antichrist appears?  What will you do? Will you even understand the significance of these developments? All of these things and more are definitely going to happen; the only question is when.

Excerpt from Time Has Come

Time Has Come (Pt. 2)

In some ways, I feel like I can relate to John, the author of the Revelation.  It was through suffering,  imprisonment and the subsequent solitude that John found himself “in the Spirit” and ready to see, hear and record the spiritual mysteries of the Revelation.  John’s dedication to Jesus cost him everything, but his suffering paled in the light of those spiritual mysteries given to him to proclaim to Jesus’ followers – but these mysteries were reserved for another time, another age.

Daniel was instructed to “shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end” and that time is now.  We know it’s now because Jesus told us the signs to look for in Matthew 24, Luke 21, and in the deeply prophetic book of Revelation.  The time has come for the mysteries of Revelation to be revealed and each one confirm and herald the Second Coming of Jesus, Hallelujah!  The Revelation is not bad news – the Revelation is the Good News!

David once said that he would not give to God that which cost him nothing.  If there is one work of my lifetime that I could choose to do again above all others, it would be this book about my Revelation studies.

So today, these ‘mysteries’ that I share with you are a precious thing – a costly thing – that I joyfully give to you and others in hopes that they might help you to be prepared in the days of the Revelation.  We are surely in those days right now, and like the sons of Issachar, we need to understand the times and the seasons in which we live and know what to do.

Even as we see the world coming apart, we don’t have to be afraid.  In fact, we should view the very fact of our existence in this prophetic countdown as evidence of God’s invitation to be an active participant in the greatest event this world has ever seen – an event for which TIME HAS COME – the Second Coming of Jesus!

Time Has Come (Pt. 1)

I couldn’t be more excited about my new book, “Time Has Come.” This book has been many years in the making, and for me personally, it’s the most significant work of my life in print.

Almost 25 years ago when I was in prison, I studied every word of the book of Revelation and God illuminated things to me that I had never seen before.  I hadn’t seen them because I was too busy building and expanding Heritage USA.  I loved Jesus, but it took a prison experience for me to “come away” with Him and get still long enough to develop a deep relationship with Him – deeper than I had ever had before in the spotlight of celebrity renown – and deep enough that He could trust me with the mysteries He wanted to reveal to me.   

When I came out of prison, I had over 400 typewritten pages of study on the book of Revelation, and a new perspective on the emphasis of my teaching ministry for the rest of my life.  Where I had previously taught a regurgitated prosperity message, I now knew that not only was I wrong, but the Revelation message was diametrically opposed to what I had been teaching. 

These studies and this perspective are what I now share in my new book, “Time Has Come.”  The book of Revelation is a mystery to most people, even those who are within the Church, but it shouldn’t be – especially not now because it is happening right before our eyes.  If the Church is asleep and cannot see that this age is about to come to an end and that Jesus is coming very, very soon, and its leaders do not preach the return of Jesus (in favor of a much more upbeat message), then the consequences are almost too terrible to ponder. 

I received a few invitations to preach shortly after I was released from prison, but I was shocked and appalled when I heard time after time, “Jim, you can preach anything but the Revelation.  We don’t want to scare our people and the Revelation is such a heavy topic.” 

(to be continued)