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Christ's Kingdom and the End Times

Category: Good News (Page 3 of 3)

Blog posts about the Good News.

The Most Important Thing for You!

July 28, 2017 /

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #28 ~

Our primary subject in this blog is the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. But you need to know the importance of His 1st coming before you can see the significance of His 2nd coming. You’re not going to be excited about Christ coming again if you don’t know why He came the first time, and if you don’t know Him as your personal Lord and Savior.

In this world there are a multitude of problems, but by far, the biggest problem is sin, and it’s in the heart and life of every single person. And what is this sin? Sin is not loving God – it’s worshiping the creation instead of the Creator, glorifying man instead of glorifying God. Sin is rebelling against God, breaking God’s laws, and disobeying His commands. It’s ignoring Him and just doing your own thing. Jesus gave a list of specific sins – “evil thoughts, fornication, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.” Mark 7:21-22. And your evil thoughts, words and deeds are a lot more than you realize – it’s not just a couple of crimes you’ve committed against God, but millions of them.

And this sin is bad. It’s a spiritual cancer that kills, that will totally ruin your life. It results in sorrow, fear, worry, loneliness, conflict, emptiness, depression, hopelessness, physical sickness and death, and much more than that, in spiritual death and eternal death. It means you’re completely cut off from God. “The wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23. “Your sins have made a separation between you and your God.” Isaiah 59:2

Because you’ve sinned, you’re guilty before God. And because you’re guilty, you must be punished by God. This punishment is altogether just. “These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” 2 Thessalonians 1:9-10. “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire.” Matthew 25:41. You’re spiritually dead, spiritually lost, and spiritually helpless. This sin and death is your worst problem, a most desperate situation, but what can you do about it?

Here’s the answer: about 2000 years ago God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth; and when He was on earth, He did everything right and nothing wrong. Then, as a perfect sacrifice, He died on the cross for sinners, taking their sins upon Himself. Christ became a substitute, being punished by His Father for people’s sins, thereby paying the penalty they deserved. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8. “God made Christ who knew no sin to be sin that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

What must you do to be saved? You must see that only Jesus Christ can save you. You must see that you’re a sinner, and deserve to be punished for your sins. You must repent of your sins, being sorry that you’ve sinned against God, and you must believe that Christ died for you, and then rose again, and that God was fully satisfied by what Christ did for you. Turn from your sin and trust in Christ, and then you’ll be born again, and become a child of God. You’ll be forgiven of all your sins, and be given everlasting life, an eternal and personal relationship with God Himself. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16. “By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no man may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

Do you know what will happen if you don’t turn to Christ? One of two things – either you’ll physically die and go to hell, or you’ll be here when Christ comes back to earth. And if you are here and aren’t right with God, then Christ will be your Judge, and it will be “hell” on earth – and then you’ll be in hell forever. You do not want that. I strongly exhort you – tell God you’re sorry that you’ve sinned against Him, and believe that “Christ died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God.” 1 Peter 3:18. “Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13

Now I’ve talked about the bad news, the sin and death and hell. But I want you to remember the good news of Jesus Christ, the greatest demonstration of love this world has ever seen, that God is offering you a complete pardon of all your sins. More than you know, God wants you to get saved, and wants you to know Him and His love. He wants you to live a life that has meaning, and is pleasing and glorifying to Him. God wants to be your Father, and wants you to be with Him forever. “I came that you might have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:10. “If anyone is thirsty, let Him come to Me and drink.” John 7:37.

If you believe the truth about Jesus Christ at His 1st coming, then you will be looking forward to seeing Him come back as your King at His 2nd coming!

P.S. Please check out my newest article about the character of God, which I just published today: I Still Say My ABC’s, The ABC’s of God’s Character.

Everything on this Earth is Going to Change

April 21, 2017 /

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #14 ~

2 Peter 3:3-4 – “In the last days, mockers will come with their mocking, … ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.’” In these last days, sinners are saying that nothing will dramatically change on this earth, that everything is going to basically stay the same. But they are deceived and wrong! Peter goes on to say that they don’t realize what took place in the past, the cataclysmic flood that God used to judge sinners and destroy the world; and they do not know what is going to happen in the future, the fiery judgment of this world and the “destruction of ungodly men.” 

Don’t be deceived like the unbelievers, and don’t be sleeping. Be awake, and aware of what God’s Word clearly tells us, and alert to the events that lead up to Christ’s return to rapture the church. Today, I am listing a series of monumental, earth-shaking, life-changing, God-promised events that will be taking place when Christ comes back. Please listen up – you, your family, and your church need to know what will be occurring on this earth, for everything is going to dramatically change!

This present age will come to an end. This present age that began with Adam’s sin is an evil age, for the whole world has been in the power of the devil. But this age, and this church age (the last days), is soon coming to an end, and a glorious new age will begin. Ephesians 1:19-21

All believers will be glorified. At Christ’s coming, at the rapture, those who have died and are in heaven, along with all those who are alive and remain on earth, will become like Christ and the angels, receiving perfect, powerful, immortal and spiritual bodies. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44

All believers will be gathered together to be with Jesus Christ. “We will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18. Think of finally being with Christ and all the other believers! What love, what joy, what peace, what glory!

God will pour out His righteous wrath upon the earth after the rapture. This terrifying and fiery Day of the Lord is the righteous punishment of all the unbelievers still living on earth at Christ’s coming, ones who rejected Him and took the mark of the beast. “She (the earth) will be burned up with fire”. Revelation 8-9, 18

“The Lord will be King over all the earth.” Zechariah 14:9. The devil will no longer be in charge, for Jesus Christ will take complete control of the earth. Hallelujah! “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and Christ; and He will reign forever.” Revelation 11:15

A great number of Jews will be saved at the end of Daniel’s 70th week. Romans 11:26-27 – “And so, all Israel will be saved… This is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins.” God’s glorious promise to the Jews will finally come true. Ezekiel 37:21-23; Psalms 67, 72

The Antichrist will be defeated. The most wicked man in the history of our world will be dictator over the earth in the last 2-3 years before Christ’s coming, but this “beast was seized and with him the false prophet… these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire.” Revelation 19:20-21

Satan is bound and thrown into the abyss. Our chief enemy, “the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world,” will be chained up for 1000 years, and will not be able to hurt or harm any person on the earth during that time. Then he will be thrown into the lake of fire. Amen! Revelation 20:2

All glorified believers will begin to reign with Christ. “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” Just think, we will worship and serve Lord and King for 1000 years – this will be so exciting, fulfilling, and rewarding! Revelation 5:10, 20:6

Each of the above events is huge in and of itself – and in the near future, starting sometime during the 2nd half of Daniel’s 70th week, they will be taking place one after another. Do you see what is going to happen? Things will not be the same. We get so used to our homes, families, church, jobs, schools, cities, leaders, and way of life. But do you see that Jesus Christ, the Lord, Savior, Judge and King, is coming back soon? And He will lovingly, powerfully, and righteously change everything on this earth! Wake up to what will be happening. And fear the Lord, love Him, serve Him, and be excitedly looking for His return. “He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new… these words are faithful and true.’” Revelation 21:5

P.S. I encourage you to read these other posts and articles – I am sure they will be helpful to you: “God, You, and the War in Ukraine”, “How Then Should We Live In the End-Times?”, “Daniel’s 70th Week, One of the Keys to Unlocking the End-Times”, and “Why is Jesus Coming Back to Earth?”

The Resurrection and the Rapture of the Believers

April 14, 2017 /

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #13 ~

This past week a friend of mine died. But that was a good thing, because God took her soul from her frail body and from this sinful world to heaven. Our biggest problem, as humans, is death. It is a problem in both a physical and spiritual sense, and it is a problem that every person must face. Jesus Christ is the only answer, for when He was on earth He lived a perfect life, then He suffered and died on a cross to pay for people’s sins, and then He was raised from the dead.

A person is saved, is delivered from his sins and from death, when he repents of his sins and believes that Jesus Christ actually died in his place, and paid the penalty for his sins. Spiritually speaking he has been crucified with Christ and raised from the dead, and therefore he is no longer spiritually dead but he is spiritually alive! He is forgiven of all his sins, given eternal life and will go to heaven after he dies! Ephesians 2:1-9

Once a person is saved he is transformed, and by the word of God and the power of the Spirit he is to live for Jesus Christ. I like how Philippians 3:10 sums up a person’s life on earth, “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering.” The believer is to know Jesus Christ and His resurrection power, and is to experience His love, joy and peace, and is to fulfill God’s plans while he is living on earth.

But what happens when this person dies? Because of Christ’s resurrection, his soul is immediately and supernaturally taken to heaven. By God, by Christ, by the Spirit, he has walked through that door called death, and is still alive, still experiencing the life of God. He is in heaven, freed from all sin, all pain, all sickness and all sorrow. And he is with God and Christ, millions of angels, and a great multitude of believers who have gone on before him. But his salvation is not complete. Yes, he is spiritually alive in heaven but he has not yet been physically glorified, he has not yet received his new physical body. He was justified on earth, lived as a Christian on earth, and then died, and is in heaven, but he has not yet been glorified.

When will this person be resurrected and glorified? Remember, it was about 2000 years ago that Jesus Christ, at His 1st coming, was raised from the dead and was physically glorified, was given a perfect, powerful, immortal and spiritual body. But understand that it is at Christ’s 2nd coming that this person will be resurrected and glorified. Therefore, it is still in the future. At the end of this present age, Jesus Christ will return in the clouds above this earth, and it is at that time that this person and all believers who have already physically died will be resurrected and physically glorified. 1 Corinthians 15:20-23

What about believers who are still living on earth when Christ returns? They will not be resurrected because they did not die, but they will be raptured, will be quickly snatched from this earth, physically glorified, and immediately taken to be with Christ. This also takes place at Christ’s 2nd coming. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. At Christ’s return, all believers already in heaven, and all believers still on earth, will be glorified, will be given a perfect, powerful, immortal and spiritual body. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17. “We will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, … for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will all be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. We will “attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:11.

Have you repented of your sins and placed your faith in Jesus Christ, believing that He died to pay for your sins and then was raised again from the dead? If you have, then you have defeated death in every way, shape or form, and you will spiritually and physically live forever with God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and all the angels and saints. The central part of God’s eternal working in human history is Christ’s death and resurrection. This is what you must believe and should be most excited about, that Jesus Christ died for you and was raised from the dead, resulting in your past justification, your present sanctification, and your future glorification.

“But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’… Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

P.S. I just published a new article about being in heaven with Jesus…

God’s Time Frame for Your Life

March 10, 2017 /

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #8  ~

 

It was Carroll, Iowa in the late 60’s and early 70’s and I was in high school, and jogging was just becoming popular. A huge city cemetery was right behind my back yard, and 3-4 times a week I would hop over the fence and take a run. Many times I’d stop and look at grave stones, noting a person’s name and his birth year and death year. I thought about how people define life in a physical way, by when they are born and by when they die. A person celebrates his birthdays and sooner, or later, he dies. Then he has a memorial service, and gets one of those grave stones with his name and two dates on it. I thought about how a person has only so many years on this earth, and then he is gone, and in the ground.

It was Ames, Iowa in August of 1971, and I was attending Iowa State University. It was my first day of classes and I can still remember waking up to my roommate’s clock radio playing “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” It was later that year that I thought of that title in a new way, for by God’s grace I realized my problem was sin and that Jesus Christ was the only answer – and I believed that He died for me and paid for all my sins. God was merciful to me, for I was born again, and was forgiven of all my sins. I was a child of God in the kingdom of God. I didn’t fear death anymore, for death was a good thing, a door from this life to the next, from earth to heaven. This was the gospel message – the best news I had ever heard! Now I had a heavenly Father (my earthly father had passed away 10 years earlier). Life was no longer just a physical life, but more importantly, a spiritual life, a relationship with God Himself. I had eternal life, and I was going to live forever! John 11:25-26

God’s Word became my favorite “school” book, and God was my teacher. He taught me that my relationship with Him was in three parts. In the past, I was justified, I was born again and had a spiritual birthday. In the present, I am being sanctified, and I am spiritually growing up. In the future, I will be glorified, I will be perfect – body, soul and spirit. These words summed up my life – justified, sanctified and glorified. But I learned that being glorified wouldn’t happen when I physically die. Christians who die shed their old body, and go to heaven in a spiritual form, but are not at that time glorified. That doesn’t happen until Christ comes back at the end of this age, and then all believers will be given perfect, powerful, spiritual and eternal bodies. A person’s salvation is only completed when he is glorified.

This perspective of our life is seen and summed up in many verses. Philippians 1:6 says, “I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will complete it on the day of Christ Jesus.” 2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “By His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, sanctification and redemption.” My favorite verses are Colossians 3:3-4 – “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

Shortly after becoming a Christian, I started learning about prophecy, what the Bible said about Christ coming back to this earth, our future, and the future of the world. I realized that my life on earth was converging and coinciding with Christ’s return. I saw that I may be here when Christ comes back, and then, at that time, I and all the other believers from all of history will be glorified. It became clear to me that there are two possibilities for my future – either I’ll make it to the end of my life and die and go to heaven, or I’ll make it to the end of this age, and Christ will come back, and I will be raptured and then go to heaven.

Do you ever think about this? Do you realize that you may not live to be 70, 80 or 90 years old? You may not become a grandparent. You may not have children. You may not even get married. The fact that you live in the end-times means you need to look at life differently, for your “glory” days are not that far away. You may be living on earth when Christ returns and raptures all the saints. Thinking about life in this way changes things, and helps you to not be fleshly and worldly, but to be living for God. It affects how you live, the things you do, the places you go, the people you see, and how you use your time and money. Might you see that the time frame of your life is now fitting in with God’s time frame for the end times. Knowing this gives you the right perspective on your life! Now, in these days, is our time to live for God!

P.S. I just finished an article on Matthew 24 which I believe is the single most important, most instructive prophecy chapter for Christians in the entire Bible. Take your time in reading it for there is a lot to digest. Please feel free to make copies of it for your own personal use.

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