The Lord Is Coming Very Soon..........Are You Yearning or Yawning

There are TWO main purposes for my blog.
1. To encourage God’s people to be WATCHING for Him, as He said to do. Different encouraging times to WATCH may come and go, but I still keep watching !

2. To reexplain the TRUE GOSPEL SO ALL MAY UNDERSTAND IT AND BE SAVED. Many false gospels have been placed by Satan to confuse the many. Christ finished His work
of Salvation for us on the cross. Any works you feel you have to do plus His finished work makes that gospel False. You are saved by what He did for you on the cross and not by your works to earn
you way to heaven.

That being said, I am WATCHING FOR THE Lord’s SOON RETURN. Many say that
just because someone may believe the Rapture is coming on a date, then it cannot happen. They call them every bad thing they can think of from idiot to fools. I do not believe that the Lord will return for us just any old day. It was premature to know He was coming before Israel was placed
back in the land. Martin Luther once remarked that the Lord could not be near for His return because Israel was not back in the land yet. So he wasn’t watching for Him. Millions still are not WATCHING for Him today. They hate prophecy and don’t believe He will return to a literal
Kingdom on this earth or at most they think He may not return for thousands of years. I think the Rapture will occur at a time of God's choosing, and if some have selected that date as the date of their expectancy, then so be it. As for me, I think 2008 has a high probability for the year of the Rapture and I think that Rosh Hashana is a good candidate. Two things that are meaningful to me....first, the blood-moon scenario, which MAY put the return of the Lord in 2015. If...I said IF that is the case (and it seems to be a good case), then backing off seven years for the tribulation, and you are at this year. Second, the fact that Jesus fulfilled the first coming prophecies on the spring festivals.....it seems a good chance that he'll fulfill the second comings on the fall festivals, the next of which is Rosh Hashana. We'll see. Regardless, I feel confident that whenever the Rapture happens, it will have zero to do with Satan's knowledge or plans. Just as was stated on Prophecy Today, “THIS IS A WATCH” Do so with a prayerful and humble attitude. If He does not return
this Rosh Hashana, I WILL STILL BE WATCHING AS HE COMMANDED US TO DO.
Keep looking up. There are many signs He has given for us today to be serious about His return for us ! Are you YEARNING or YAWNING when it comes to the subject of His Soon Return ?
God be the Judge ! And He Is !

“It will not be a lie” By Pastor F. M. Riley

“And the Lord answered me, and said, “Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.

For the vision is yet for the appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.”



Habakkuk 2:2-4



Introduction



Is the Lord Jesus Christ really coming on Rosh HaShanah this year [2008] to resurrect and rapture His people to glory? Are the many different studies written by many different dedicated Christians proclaiming that Christ is coming to fulfill 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 this year really true? Or…..is this proclamation just another “false alarm” that will bring more disappointment to God’s people, like so many “dates” for the rapture have done before? Is there a Scriptural answer to this question?

Dear readers, I thank my God that I can answer in the affirmative. Yes! There is a Scriptural answer to this question, and now I want to share that answer with God’s people [true believers]. Read on……



Background



Folks, a precious jewel always appears the brightest when it is set against a dark background. In this case the dark background is the many “date” failures that have occurred over the past twenty years. Why do I specify twenty years? Because…..

It was twenty years ago this month [September] that thousands of “professing Christians” all over the world were expecting the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to resurrect and rapture His people to glory. Remember? “Rapture 88!”



The “Rapture 88” movement actually began in 1987 when Edgar Whisenant published his little book, “88 Reasons why the Rapture will occur in 1988.” In a matter of months that little book, insignificant as it appeared to be, was circulated all over the world. A few hundred copies were published to begin with, and then thousands more were printed to meet the demand for copies. Few books in history have ever had the instant appeal, or been circulated so fast, as that little book. Do you suppose the Lord had something to do with it? Read 1 Corinthians 1:18-29 before you answer, then be careful how you answer. God is listening!

What motivated Edgar Whisenant to prepare and write such a little book in the first place? I can answer this question because I knew Brother Ed personally, and visited with him numerous times about God’s Word. He was motivated by several things, but in this study I will mention only the two major points.

First, being a firm believer in the Lord and the truth of His Word, Brother Ed knew that 1988 was the 40th anniversary of the birth of Israel. Because he had studied “The Parable of the Fig Tree,” and the length of a Bible “generation,” he felt that the Lord was coming for His people during that 40th year. Because he had a genuine love for Christ and for souls, he felt compelled to do what he could to “warn” people to prepare to meet the Lord. So he prepared and published his little book.

Second, Bro. Ed had carefully studied The Book of Habakkuk. He realized that “the vision” God gave to the prophet Habakkuk, was a vision of the coming of the Lord. See Habakkuk 2:2-4. As he read these Scriptures in Habakkuk, he understood [correctly] that the person who reads “the vision” was to “run” with it, and Bro. Ed did just that. He “ran” with that vision, proclaiming the gospel of Christ and the coming of the Lord to everyone that he could reach with the message. Praise God!



Today, many scorn Edgar Whisenant and his little book, and the entire “Rapture 88” movement. Have you read Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 lately? I would caution some of these “scorners” to be very careful with their condemnation. It was the Lord Himself who said, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment,” Matthew 12:36. After all, a very conservative estimate is that some 150,000 people came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior during the “Rapture 88” movement, and I think it is obvious that the Lord used Edgar Whisenant to begin that movement. And just how many souls have YOU led to Christ?



But the Rapture didn’t Happen!



No! The Lord didn’t come in 1988. God’s people [true believers] were sorely disappointed. But they didn’t give up their faith in His promise to come again. The true believers just kept right on watching, praying, witnessing, and warning the lost to “flee from the wrath to come,” Matthew 3:7. How do I know this to be true? Because the Lord Himself, speaking to His church in Revelation 3:10, said, “Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation…..” In this passage the Lord Himself says that the true believers have kept His Word. Folks, even in “apostate” Laodicea, the Lord still has some Philadelphia believers. When the Lord didn’t come in 1988, the Philadelphia believers just kept right on believing the promises of the Lord given in His Word. They didn’t go chasing off after some “new doctrine.” Glory! Glory to God! Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!



But that wasn’t the case with the “nominal” believers [religionists]. When the rapture didn’t occur at Rosh HaShanah, 1988, hundreds of “professing Christians” [including many “ministers”] turned their backs on the literal return of the Lord. Even to this day, many of these “professors” don’t want to hear about Bible prophecy, won’t study Bible prophecy, and don’t even believe the Lord is literally coming again. Sadly, many of these “apostates” are pastoring churches today. No wonder the churches today are in such an “apostate” Laodicean mess. The Lord Himself said, “…..And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch,” Matthew 15:14.



Back to Habakkuk



What even many of God’s people don’t realize, is that this whole scenario was set forth in God’s Word some 2,600 years ago. In other words, some 2,600 years in advance of fulfillment. I will now demonstrate this truth for our readers…..



It is obvious from the wording of Habakkuk 2:2 that when “the vision” was read, the one reading it was to “run” with the message. Isn’t that exactly what this Scripture says? This is exactly what Edgar Whisenant [and many others of God’s people] did in 1988. They read the message about the Lord’s return and they “ran” with that message.

But now look at verse 3. This verse makes it clear that “the vision” would not be fulfilled when it was first read, but rather “the vision” would speak again at “the end.” As proof that this is a correct understanding of the verse, look at the two times the English word “tarry” occurs in this verse. This will surprise some of you, but these two occurrences of this word are not translated from the same Hebrew word.

The first Hebrew word translated as “tarry” in this verse is the word, “mahah.” This word literally means, “to wait; delay; linger; hesitate.” See Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon, page 453, Strong’s No. 4102.

The second Hebrew word translated as “tarry” in this verse is the word, “ahar.” This Hebrew word also means, “tarry; delay.” See Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon, page 32, Strong’s No. 309. But please notice that in this second use of the word in this verse, the verse explicitly states, “…..because it [He] will surely come, it [He] will not tarry.”

So what is being literally stated in the use of these two different Hebrew words in connection with “the vision” spoken of in verse 2? What is being literally said is that, even though the fulfillment of “the vision” waits; lingers; delays; hesitates, “wait for it; because it [He] will surely come, it [He] will not delay.” Glory! Glory to God!



Folks, in 1988 it appeared to God’s people that the Lord was coming to resurrect and rapture His children to glory. But He didn’t come! Why? Because He had already said right here in The Book of Habakkuk that when His people would read “the vision” and “run” with it, there would be a delay. No, the “Rapture 88” movement was not a mistake. It was programmed into God’s Word 2,600 years ago. And 2,600 years ago the Lord had already determined that there would be a delay between the “Rapture 88” movement when people would “run” with “the vision,” and the time when “the vision” would speak again at “the end.” Glory to God! Hallelujah! What an awesome God we serve! Praise the Lord! Who else but Almighty God could know the future so well that He could program this into His Word 2,600 years in advance? Glory to God!



The Purpose for the Delay



But what was the purpose for such a delay? I’m so glad you asked…..



The delay from 1988 until the present time is the period of time spoken of in Hebrews 10:37 as “a little while.” Compare Habakkuk 2:3-4 with Hebrews 10:37-38. It is also the time period spoken of in 2 Peter 3:9 as the time of God’s “longsuffering.” This twenty year period was inserted by the Lord between the “reading” of “the vision” and the fulfillment [“the end”] of “the vision” for two purposes.

First, it is literally true that “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy,” Psalm 103:8. See also Nehemiah 9:17, Psalm 145:8, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2, and Nahum 1:3. Our God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, Ezekiel 18:23; 18:32; 33:11. Peter plainly tells us that “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance,” 2 Peter 3:9. Folks, at the end of Israel’s first forty years as a nation, the Lord graciously reminded humanity all over the world through the “Rapture 88” movement that He is still God, and that He is coming again. Then He graciously gave humanity another twenty years after that warning to repent of their sins and seek the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.

The number “20” by the way, is the Bible number for “redemption.” At the end of this twenty year period of God’s “longsuffering,” the Lord is coming to redeem His purchased possession. Read Romans 8:18-23.

Second, the Lord delayed the fulfillment of “the vision” as a means of separating true believers from the “religious phonies” that have infiltrated the ranks of Christianity in these last days. What happened when the Lord didn’t return on Rosh HaShanah, 1988? Hundreds of people who “claimed to be” Christians began to mock and scoff and ridicule, and say, “Where is the promise of His coming?” exactly as prophesied in 2 Peter 3:5-7. These “apostates” were so spiritually blind, they didn’t even realize they were fulfilling this prophecy to the letter. But Peter’s prophecy was not the only prophecy they were fulfilling. They were also fulfilling their part of Habakkuk 2:4 and Hebrews 10:38-39. Notice…..



In Habakkuk 2:4 the Lord told Habakkuk, “Behold [consider this], his soul which is lifted up [in pride; arrogancy] is not upright in him: but the just [justified…Romans 5:1; 8:1] shall live by his faith.” In this verse the Lord is clearly separating between the proud hearted “scoffers,” who “claim” to be Christians, and the meek and humble true believers who just continued to “walk by faith.” Praise the Lord!

The writer of The Book of Hebrews was inspired to pick up this same verse from Habakkuk 2:4 and transliterate it in Hebrew 10:38, “Now the just [justified; saved] shall live by faith; but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him.” Read 11:6 and learn what pleases and displeases God.

Now notice the next verse, Hebrews 10:39, “But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” Folks, these people who, after Rosh HaShanah, 1988, so easily turned their backs on the doctrine of the literal return of the Lord Jesus Christ to resurrect and rapture His people to glory, and began to mock and scoff in fulfillment of 2 Peter 3:3-7, were not even saved and really didn’t believe in the literal return of the Lord in the first place. They were just “religious” phonies that had infiltrated the ranks of Christianity, and when the Lord didn’t come they drew back and began to mock and scoff. The Lord used the “delay” He had programmed into His Word to expose them, and to begin the process of separating these unbelieving Laodicean “religionists” from His own true believers. That process of separation between believers and unbelievers is still going on to this very day. And guess what doctrine the Lord is using to separate between the two groups? The belief in the literal return of Jesus Christ to resurrect and rapture His people to glory.

Some of our readers may not like this, but it is a simple truth that if you do not believe that the Lord is literally coming again to resurrect and rapture His people to glory, you have made His promise to do so out to be a lie. What does that say about your true spiritual state? Read John 14:1-3 again, and this time let the truth of it soak in. The Lord knows how to separate the “tares from the wheat,” Matthew 13:24-30. Which one are you?

Assurance for God’s People



Yes, I’ve taken the long way around to get to the point of this whole message; assurance for God’s people. What has been presented thus far in this study are truths the Lord has laid on my heart that I felt would be beneficial to God’s people. That is why I have taken the time to present them. But now let’s get to the main point of this study….



When the Lord did not come on Rosh HaShanah in 1988, as so many of God’s people were expecting, the “nominal Christians” [Sic!] began to mock and scoff and labeled the whole “Rapture 88” movement and the literal return of the Lord as A LIE! What those mockers and scoffers did not know and were not aware of is the literal rendering of Habakkuk 2:2-4 in the Hebrew text. I printed the rendering of these verses as our text for this study, as they occur in the King James Version of the Bible. Now as I bring this study to a close, I want to print these verses again as they literally read in the Hebrew text. The underlining and parenthetical emphasis is mine. Here they are…..



“And answered me Jehovah and said, Write the vision, and engrave it on the tablets [of God’s Word], so that he may run who is reading it.

For still the vision is for the set time [appointed festival], but it pants [hastens] to the end, and does not lie [will not be a lie].

Though it delays [hesitates], wait for it; for surely it [He] will come; not it [He] will tarry [delay].

Behold [consider this], is puffed not is upright, his soul in him, but the just [justified; true believers] by his faith shall live.”

Habakkuk 2:2-4

The Henrickson Interlinear

Hebrew Greek English Bible



Glory to God! Folks, there it is laid out for our readers.



First, in 1988 the resurrection and rapture of God’s people was expected to occur on Rosh HaShanah. It didn’t happen at that time. But this literal rendering of the Hebrew text explicitly says [paraphrasing], “the vision is still for the appointed festival.” Glory to God! Hallelujah!



Second, in 1988 the “nominal Christians” labeled the whole movement and belief in the Lord’s literal return “a lie!” But this literal rendering of the Hebrew text explicitly says [paraphrasing], “it will not be a lie.” In other words, when “the vision” speaks again at “the end” it is absolutely certain that it is going to be fulfilled. The Lord is going to come to resurrect and rapture His people to glory on the festival that was appointed by God many centuries ago. It will not be a lie! Glory! Glory to God! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!



Third, according to this literal rendering of the Hebrew text, those “professing Christians” who are so proudly “puffed up” with their own self importance and “theology” [theories], that they still refuse to believe these truths about the Lord’s coming, will be left right here on earth when the resurrection and rapture occurs. This is a final warning to such people. Repent or perish!

But on the other hand, the unwavering “faith” of God’s people will take them “home” to glory. Hallelujah!



Folks, “the vision” that spoke in 1988 is now speaking again. Once again, thousands of God’s people [true believers] all over this world are expecting the coming of the Lord on [or before] Rosh HaShanah this year. They will not be disappointed! This inspired text in God’s Word says so! Believe it and rejoice!



Praise the Lord! Glory to God! Praise God! Hallelujah! Thank you Lord Jesus! And if my readers think this praise for my Lord should have been left out of this study, I’m telling you that you haven’t seen anything yet. I’m gon’na shout all over Heaven in just a few more days, and I suspect every true believer will be shouting with me. Glory to God! Look up! Our Heavenly Bridegroom is at the door, Revelation 3:7-13.



“Even so, come Lord Jesus,” Revelation 22:20



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NOTICE: Permission is granted to all true believers and Christian ministries to reproduce this study to share with others, or to quote from it in context as written.
“It will not be a lie!”



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