New Believer 101!

2 Cor 5:17 a new man!

Gal 4:5 sons now

1.  Believe the words of Jesus  John 1:1 – 5  John 5:24 Matt 7:24 
2. You are now to live in the new creation  2 Cor 5:17
3. Read the word daily, Rom 12:2  and Matt 4:4 
4. Obey God and His wor,d John 14:15 

Community

1. Attend every service Acts 2:41-42
2. Spend time with your brothers and sisters Heb 10:24 25
3. Serve others 1 Pet 4:10
4. Submit to your elders  Heb 13:17

Holy Living

1. Resist temptation and sin Col 3 5 -10 
2. Pursue Godly character Col 3 12-14 
3. Walk in the Spirit Gal 5 22-23
4. Renew your Mind  Phil 4:8

Let your light shine!

1. Share your joy   1 Pet 3:15
2. Love your neighbor, Matt 22:39
3. Be a light, Matt 5:16
4. Be a good steward with what God has given you.  

Seek God with all of your heart

1. When you seek me, you shall find me Jer 29:13
2. Desire the celestial city Matt 6:33
3.  Seek the Lord for your strength 1 Chr 16:11
4. My soul thirsts Psalm 37:4

Humble yourselves

1. Seek humility, Zeph 2:3
2. Yoked with Jesus Matt 11:29
3. Don’t be proud, James 4:6
4. Identify with Christ  1 Pet 4:14

How do I do all this?  I see the impossibility in me!

1. I am the way, John 14:6
2. The Lord’s ways are not my ways, Matt 5:10-12
3. Made stronger Acts 14:22
4. The victory found in His way 2 Cor 4 8-10 James 1:12

Going ever deeper, how Lord?

1. He learned obedience through what he suffered   Heb 5:8
2. The power found ISA 50 5-7
3. Be Filled Eph 5:18 
4. Walk in Spirit Gal 5 16-25

Free Will

1. To lay a life down, John 10 17-18
2. I delight to do thy will, Psalm 40 6-8

Joy in this way

1. Not Ashamed Rom 5 1-5 
2. Fellowship of love 1 Pet 4:13 
3. Comfort in Jesus 2 Cor 1:5
4. Aguint yourself with His ways Job 22 21-25

Bonus reading: The Beatitudes Mat Ch 5 

The Lord’s prayer

Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen.

Taking a Stand

I watched for trouble as John Bunyan preached to a crowd in the town square. The foolish man had been warned he’d be arrested for preaching outside the church. At this rate, he’d end up in my jail before long.

“I must preach,” I once heard him tell an officer. “When God lays that on a man’s heart, it is terrible to disobey, more terrible than your jails.”

“Humph,” I thought. “Does he really know what jail is like?” Did he understand how dark they were, how only the faintest light penetrates the damp stone walls? Did he realize that he’d get just a quarter loaf of bread a day and that no one in the crowded cells got to bathe?

If Bunyan did know about these conditions, he didn’t let it stop his preaching. I became curious. Why would a man act like this? Did Bunyan really believe what he said about God? What did I believe? These questions were in my mind when I went to hear him, hoping no one in the crowd would recognize me.

Bunyan’s preaching kept my attention. I’ll give him that. He spoke about what makes a person a Christian. Now that was a funny thing to talk about. Weren’t we all Christians since we were born into the Anglican Church?

“Those who receive Christ are the ones who truly know God,” he shouted.

That’s when it started– a disturbance at the edge of the crowd. Officers of the British government muscled their way past worshipers. “John Bunyan, we arrest you in the name of the king for holding an illegal religious meeting.”

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I slipped away and returned to the jail; there’d be a new prisoner to process.

The Times

I stood before him with my hands on my hips. “Well, Bunyan, look at where your preaching got you.”

He sat on the rough bench regarding me with peaceful eyes. Fear usually envelops my prisoners’ faces.

“You understand the law, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course. These are troubled times, and the new king fears that hotheads could stir up revolution. But I’m not interested in politics. My zeal, as you know, is for bringing lost people to Jesus Christ,” insisted John.

I jumped. “And how would I know?”

Again, the smile. “I saw you out there today.”

“Yes, well, a man can be curious, can’t he?” I grumbled and hurried away. John Bunyan wasn’t going to get his hooks in me.

Bunyan drew a lot of visitors to my jail, including his devoted young wife, who was expecting a baby. She always came in with her head high and proud, as if defying the stench and the darkness. She constantly went to the authorities to plead Bunyan’s case. One man shouted her out of his chambers claiming, “John Bunyan does the devil’s work!” Like her husband, she never quit.

When she didn’t come to see him for several days, I figured she was out badgering the judges again. When she did come, it was clear that she had lost their baby. Bunyan remained in prison, toiling away, making shoelaces to earn money. I didn’t hear him complain, but sometimes he looked very sad.

Never Give Up

Three months after Bunyan came to jail, a big-shot came looking for him, wrinkling his nose at the smell.

“If you promise to stop preaching, you may go free,” I heard him tell Bunyan.

“I cannot go against God,” he said.

“Pitiful,” I thought. “After all he and his family have been through, he’s still holding out. What’s wrong with him?”

Preach and write, write and preach. That’s what Bunyan did day in, day out. Many a morning while I passed the bread along to the hungry inmates, I’d hear him preaching to the others. “God will come to the aid of anyone who believes in Him,” he said.

“Don’t you ever stop?” I growled at him.

He shook his head and smiled. “I’m already in here for preaching the Gospel. What’s to prevent me?”

Blind Mary Brings Soup

For all the hardships I saw him endure, what really got to me was his daughter, Mary, a little girl of 10. The first time I saw her I said, “Why do you want to be coming to a place like this?”

“I’ve brought my father his supper,” she replied holding up a hot jug of soup.

When she tripped over the stoop, I shook my head at her clumsiness. “Better watch where you’re goin’.”

“I can’t help it, sir,” she said. “I’m blind.”

I could’ve eaten my words and bitten my tongue. Poor lass! Naturally, I let her in. She memorized the way to the prison and started coming daily to give her father soup. I knew where she got her dedication.

It nearly broke my heart when, three years later, she didn’t come.

“Where’s the lass?” I asked her brother.

He hung his head. “She’s awful sick.”

Then she died. I half expected Bunyan to start wailing at the news. Instead, he took up his pen. Through his quiet tears he explained, “I must write about the resurrection of the dead.”

That’s when I started wondering if it might be true.

John Bunyan’s Progress

Twelve years passed, and finally Bunyan was set free. It seemed as if his troubles were over and he could go back to a quiet family life. Yet, one day three years later, I looked up and there he was again.

A pompous looking officer said, “This man is under arrest for illegal preaching.”

I sighed. Was there no end to this man’s troubles?

“C’mon in,” I said. “I believe you know the way.”

When he got settled, he started writing again as if he had something urgent to say. He paused a few weeks later and looked up as I brought his bread. “And what keeps you so busy these days?” I asked.

“There’s a story I’ve been working on for a long time. It’s about a Pilgrim named Christian who is making his way through a world full of hardship and temptation. He’s going to make it, though, to Heaven, or what I call the Celestial City.”

“A Celestial City? Ha! This world is so full of troubles, how can anyone believe in heaven? Surely, all your trials have taught you that, John!”

John’s eyes held compassion. “My friend, we all have trials in this life. But if we put our faith in God, then we will see that we are just pilgrims passing through this world on our way to heaven.”

Finally, it was all so clear to me! John Bunyan was like a Pilgrim on a difficult journey, but he knew he was going to a better place. By keeping his sights on heaven, he could face anything, even imprisonment!

Make It Real! Questions to make you dig a little deeper and think a little harder.

In John Bunyan’s time in England there was no freedom of religion. Can you think of places in the world today where religious freedom is restricted?

John Bunyan could have been released from jail if he would stop preaching. Do you think he made the right decision?

John Bunyan’s most famous book is The Pilgrim’s Progress. The book is an exciting adventure that shares spiritual truths. Why do you think this has become the bestseller of all time, besides the Bible?

John Bunyan used his time in prison for good. Look up Philippians 1:12-14 to learn of another man who worked for good while in prison. Have you ever served God during a time when your circumstances were bad?

Suggested reading:

The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan

Dangerous Journey by Oliver Hunkin (available from Vision Video)

The Pilgrim’s Progress Audio Drama

(“John Bunyan: The Jailor’s Story” published on Christianity.com on July 19, 2010)

https://www.sevensealedbook.com/proposition-e

The rapture will occur pre-The Seven Year Tribulation Period, or pre-Daniel’s 70th Week.

see here

This website concerns the last days and an event on the horizon that is far bigger than anything that has happened in this world since Jesus Christ came the first time—His return for the rapture of the Church.  It concerns a pre-trib (or pre-Daniel’s 70th Week) rapture view that is not only very different from the common pre-trib view, but the mid-trib, post-trib, and pre-wrath views as well.  It is a view that is largely brought to light by a different understanding of the Seven Sealed Book or Scroll spoken of in The Revelation (5:1), an understanding that I submit is a major key to unlocking the mysteries of The Revelation and other last days’ prophecies.

     For those new to this site or just starting to delve into their own study of the last days, there is some helpful information further below.  For those more familiar, I would like to invite you to prayerfully consider the following few things that have never been brought out and are not a part of the other views.  I trust that by these you will see the need to take yet another look at what God has seen fit to reveal to us in His Word about what lies ahead.

     First of all, by way of an observation that has engaged my interest ever since I first saw it (some 30 years ago), have you ever wondered where the United States fits in Bible prophecy?  With all that we find in the book of The Revelation, has it ever captivated your interest that it’s a “third part” of the earth that is to be destroyed or drastically affected when the first four trumpets of chapter eight are sounded (vss. 7-12)?  Did you know that the land area of what is in our Western Hemisphere represents an exact third part of the landmass of the earth, even to within less than one percentage point?  Is this just a coincidence?  Consider the evidence.  And, what does this have to do with the rapture or its timing?  Stay tuned.

     Back to the United States, if you are familiar with Daniel’s Seventy Weeks’ prophecy, (click here if not), you will know that what is on our side of the earth was not in the picture of the fulfilling of the first 69 weeks of this prophecy, as the Americas had not in that time even been discovered!  Would it interest you that this could be the case for the last or 70th Week as well?  Something that dovetails with this possibility in an interesting way (with which I agree) has often been put forth by others concerning the Church, as it too was not in the picture of the first 69 weeks.  That such a pre-Cross setting could again come into being for the fulfilling of the final week of Daniel’s prophecy is certainly a huge and captivating thought, is it not?

     Though huge, it should not be overly surprising that we would find evidence that God is going to effect something comparable to a WORLD STAGE RESET prior to the beginning of Daniel’s 70th Week.  In tune with the foregoing, what this would do is bring the world’s focus to bear upon Israel and the lands of the Bible days—ONCE AGAIN—as the case was for the first 69 weeks.  On a different note, have you ever wondered how that “every eye” on the face of the earth will be able to simultaneously see Christ at His Second Coming or Second Advent?  The answer is really quite simple and relates to what we are considering.​​

     Changing directions, let me call your attention to that event Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24:29-31, which begins, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall…”  Have you ever gave much thought to the similarities between what Jesus here said and what John saw relating to the opening of the 6th Seal (Rev. 6:12-7:17)?

     Further, what is it that the people see with the opening of the 6th Seal that causes them to exclaim to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Rev. 6:16)?  Is what they are seeing the appearance of “the sign of the Son of man in heaven” that Jesus spoke of in the Matthew 24:29-31 reference?  Because He says that He will be seen at this time “with power and great glory” (vs. 30), it seems that all have interpreted this to be of His Second Advent, but is it?  Suffice it for now to say that whether it be for a “sign” appearance like He spoke of or His Second Advent, the NEXT TIME Jesus is seen, He will be seen “with power and great glory”!

     Looking once again at Jesus’ words from Matthew 24:29-31, what about His use of that word “after” in His opening, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days…”?  This is something that all who defend the post-trib view have seized upon, which is quite understandable, especially if the tribulation that Jesus is here speaking of is that seven year period of Daniel’s 70th Week.  But, is it?  On my part, if it wasn’t for what we find in The Revelation, I might never have had this question.  BUT, WE HAVE THE REVELATION!

     Changing directions one more time, let me call your attention to Revelation 11:2-3, where we find the first mentioning in the New Testament of two 3-1/2 year timeframes.  By these timeframes and the context, we have solid evidence that what John begins to see at this time connects with Daniel’s 70th Week.  Is there any such evidence as to where in The Revelation that this week begins?  It could rightly be supposed that this would be indicated by something showing that the Antichrist has confirmed his infamous seven year covenant with Israel that he is prophesied to make (Dan. 9:27).  But, is there any evidence of this to be found?  Let me suggest that there is, right before our very eyes.

     Look with me at what John is told in Revelation 11:1, just before the mentioning of those timeframes that I just pointed out:  “Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.”  Question:  Just because worship is going on at this time in the temple of God, does this mean that it is God who is being worshiped?  My mind is drawn to what is written concerning that “man of sin” and “son of perdition” in II Thessalonians 2:3.  Notice that of this person, Paul wrote the following:  “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped;  so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (II Thess. 2:4).  Has something been being missed here?  Yes, and more than this.

     Curiously, what I have put forth above has not been factored into the common pre-trib view, nor the other prevalent views.  In my thinking, the consequences of such oversights have been the misinterpreting of many scriptures, especially by those who try to defend the common pre-trib view.  What’s more, this has often resulted in this view being rejected in favor of one of the other views.  Yet, Scripture consistently supports the “bottom-line” of the common pre-trib view, which is that Christ could come for His Church at any time!

     In the course of this website, we will be studying the above (and much more) in depth, while looking at understandings that I have come to that I submit will align with everything we find in Scripture concerning the last days and the timing of the rapture.  As I indicated at the first, these understandings make for a rapture view that is different from the prevalent views, but one that I believe will be found to be so solid and compelling that many long held positions will have to be rethought or abandoned.  Where to from here?  My encouragement would be to be obedient to God’s counsel in what I embrace as my life Scripture (Pro. 3:5-6) and to be ever sensitive to the “Spirit of Truth” concerning “ALL TRUTH,”  especially of “things to come” (Jn.16:13).

FOR NEW VISITORS

​​​Because most who discover this website will do so as the result of a search concerning its subject matter, I have worded it in a way that supposes that the reader will be somewhat familiar with the subject.  However, I have not forgotten about those less familiar or those who probably would have never known about this site if they had not known me.  If this is you, I hope you will read the page I have entitled, TO THOSE WHO KNOW ME.  For those who may become curious concerning how and when this differing view came to be, I would encourage you to read my BOOK PREFACE and BOOK INTRODUCTION.  Anything highlighted in red is a link, and all of these (like the navigation links) are internal to this site.  Click on the link or touch it if you have a touch screen, and the link will open.  Depending on the device and other technological issues (ugh!), I have sometimes seen navigation delays, so please be patient!

​     Because I just made mention of my book, I feel it is important to immediately clarify that it and much more is what now makes up this website.  I no longer have a book that is available.  Also, there are no solicitations or advertisements connected with this site, nor will there ever be.  I have been much delighted that I live in a day where that God has made it possible for me to make my life’s work available for free for whoever may be helped by it.  In my heart and mind, this website belongs to God, and as long as He enables me, I will ever be at work seeking to make it more what He would have it to be, all for the cause of Christ and His Kingdom purposes.

​     For those who may have never had an interest in rapture views, it is hoped that this site will still be found to be rewarding, for it is about more than a view, it is a Bible study.  It should be realized that a correct understanding of what the Bible teaches about the timing of the rapture is essential to correctly understanding much of what it teaches about other aspects of the last days.  Moreover, the importance of being ready for the rapture exceeds (by far!) anything else of importance relating to this present world, as it could happen at this very moment.

​     I have divided the main elements of my different view into 36 propositions or key truths that bear upon the timing of the rapture.  These propositions are the headings for 36 of the main chapters in this website and are shown in THE KEYS sections of the menu.  A survey of the list of these propositions (A-Z and 1-10) will give you a bird’s-eye view of my understandings.  A study of the chapters will be like getting a bug’s-eye view of them.

​     Finally, if you find some of what I’ve spoken of in this introduction to be difficult to grasp in your first visit (or second or third!), don’t give up or be too hard on yourself.  Be assured, everything is explained more fully in the chapters, so go easy on yourself, at least for now!  In the menu, you will also find other helps that are related to the view herein set forth, often expressed from different angles.  Personally, I would recommend starting with PROPOSITION A, which is like the true beginning.  I hope you will proceed prayerfully in your quest for the truth and that what you find here will be of some help to you in better understanding what God has revealed to us about these last days in which we live.

The 9th of Av, known as Tisha B’Av, is a day of mourning in Judaism, commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. It is traditionally observed with a fast and other mourning customs. 

Why am I sending this? The Jewish people are going forward with more and more brazen efforts to rebuild the temple. The last time a prayer was done here there was a terrible uprising of protest.

link here I suggest that you read this article

Part of the prayer, from what I looked up:

My L-rd, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare Your praise.

Bend Knees at “Blessed“; bow are “You“; Straighten at “L-rd our G‑d“:

Blessed are You, L-rd our G‑d and G‑d of our fathers, G‑d of Abraham, G‑d of Isaac and G‑d of Jacob, the great, mighty and awesome G‑d, exalted G‑d, who bestows bountiful kindness, who creates all things, who remembers the piety of the Patriarchs, and who, in love, brings a redeemer to their children’s children, for the sake of His Name.

Bend Knees at “Blessed“; bow are “You“; Straighten at “L-rd our G‑d“:

O King, (You are) a helper, a savior and a shield. Blessed are You L-rd, Shield of Abraham.

You are mighty forever, my L-rd; You resurrect the dead; You are powerful to save.

In summer say: He causes the dew to descend.

He sustains the living with loving kindness, resurrects the dead with great mercy, supports the falling, heals the sick, releases the bound, and fulfills His trust to those who sleep in the dust. Who is like You, mighty One! And who can be compared to You, King, who brings death and restores life, and causes deliverance to spring forth!

See this video on rebuilding the temple   

Here is there website

You may ask again, why are you sending this now? 

It is from the Lesson of the Fig Tree  (Matthew 24:33)
32Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near. 33So also, when you see all these things, you will know that He is near, right at the door. 34Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened.…

POINTS ON THE RAPTURE AND TRIBULATION

There are many sound reasons for believing in the Rapture. We shall list a few of them here with brief explanations and scripture references, and then also some reasons for believing that the Rapture will precede the Tribulation.
Why believe in the Rapture?
(1) To not have the church called out would mean that Christians stay on the earth and meet Jesus on the earth when He returns. The Bible plainly states that this is not the manner in which we will meet our Saviour. In addition to the reference above from I Thessalonians 4:16-18, which states that believers are to be “caught up,” remember that Jesus said, “. . . if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:3) This clearly is a separate event from the Second Advent when Jesus returns to the earth to destroy the wicked and establish His kingdom.
(2) The Rapture is necessary in order that Christians might be called up to heaven before the Judgment Seat of Christ and then be judged and rewarded for their service (Rom. 14:10; II Cor. 5:10). No lost people will be present at this judgment, yet millions of lost people will be on the earth.
(3) The Rapture is also necessary in order for Christians to take part in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and then return with Christ at the Second Advent (Rev. 19:9-21).
(4) If the “he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way” (II Ths. 2:7) is a reference to the Holy Spirit indwelling the church, then the church must be removed from the earth so the Antichrist can arise and fulfill his satanic calling (II Ths. 2:8-12).
(5) The church must be taken out of the world so as to escape the wrath of the Great Tribulation. I Thessalonians 5:9 says, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” I Thessalonians 1:10 says that we are waiting for God’s Son from heaven, “. . . which delivered us from the wrath to come.”
(6) It is in the Rapture that Christians receive their new incorruptible bodies, a special event that doesn’t concern the world in any way (I Cor. 15:51-52).
(7) The Rapture doctrine is supported by Biblical typology. It’s truly sad that so few Christians have an appreciation for (or even an understanding of) the many types that God has planted in His word. When it comes to prophecy, there are types of the Second Coming, types of the Great Tribulation, types of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, and, yes, there are types of the Rapture. We here offer three examples:
(a) Enoch’s translation without dying before the flood is a type of the church being translated to heaven before the Tribulation (Gen. 5:2; Heb. 11:5).
(b) Lot’s special deliverance from God’s judgment on Sodom is a type in the same way (Gen. 19).
(c) In John 11:24, Martha told Jesus that her brother Lazarus would not be resurrected until the “last day,” but Jesus disagreed in verses 25 & 26, and He then raised Lazarus BEFORE the last day in verses 43 and 44, just as He will one day raise the church.
One may prefer to use the Bible terms “first resurrection,” “translation,” or being “caught up,” but it all amounts to the same thing: this world is not our home, so we are about to be beamed up because the time of our departure is at hand.
Pre-Tribulation Rapture
Now, how do we know that the Rapture will precede the Great Tribulation, thus sparing Christians from the harsh judgments of the book of Revelation?
In addition to the references given above from I Thessalonians about Christians escaping the wrath to come, there are some other good Bible reasons for the church not going through the Tribulation Period. Some of the stronger reasons are listed below:
(1) The pre-tribulation view of the Rapture is the only view that truly honors the principle of rightly dividing the word of truth (II Tim. 2:15). Mid-tribulation and post-tribulation rapture views tend to overlook clear distinctions between Israel and the church, thus misapplying many portions of scripture.

(2) The Bible speaks of the Christian looking for very positive things, such as “his Son from from heaven” and “that blessed hope” (I Ths. 1:10; Tit. 2:13), not the Antichrist and his reign of terror.
(3) The chronology and language of Revelation matches the pre-tribulation view. For instance, immediately after the messages to the seven churches (chapters two and three), the words “come up hither” occur in Revelation 4:1, which is after the church age (chapters two and three), yet before the Tribulation Period (chapters six through nineteen). The church is on earth in chapters two and three, but in heaven in chapters four and five. Then the Tribulation Period begins in chapter six. The words “church” and “churches” are found all through chapters two and three, but nowhere in the Tribulation chapters (chapters six through nineteen). Yet, long after the Tribulation judgments are over, the churches are mentioned again (Rev. 22:16).
(4) The Bible defines the Tribulation Period as a Jewish dispensation, not a church age dispensation. The Tribulation Period is the seventieth “week” of Daniel 9:24-27, and it’s the “time of Jacob’s trouble” in Jeremiah 30:7. As prophecy students well know, Daniel’s “seventy weeks” consist of a 490 year Jewish time table. The first 483 years have been fulfilled, none of which concerned the church in any way, so the remaining 7 years will also deal with Israel and her place in God’s program, not the church. It’s the time of Jacob’s trouble, not the time of the church’s trouble. This explains why Jews and Jerusalem are mentioned in the Tribulation Period (Rev. 7:4; 11:8, etc.) when the church is not.
(5) The Bible never attempts to prepare the church for the Tribulation Period. No instructions are given to the church on how to prepare for and endure the Tribulation Period.
Additional arguments could be made, and some of the above points could be broken down into more than one argument, but these are the main points with which the Christian should be familiar.

Scoffers Are Here—How Much Longer Until Judgment?

Scoffing as a Last Days Prophecy

The Bible explicitly warns that in the last days, scoffers will arise, mocking the promise of Christ’s return. These scoffers will be both outside the church and, more dangerously, inside the church.

⸻

Scoffers in the World

Scoffing as a Mark of the Last Days
2 Peter 3:3-4 – “knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.’”

This is not just general unbelief—this is mockery directed specifically at the return of Christ. The world arrogantly assumes that judgment will never come because they have not yet seen it.

Scoffers Reject the Warning of Past Judgment
Jude 1:17-18 – “But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, ‘In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.’”

Jude directly ties scoffing to apostolic prophecy. This rejection of truth is not just skepticism—it is spiritual rebellion fueled by wicked desires.

Scoffing is a Sign of Judgment
Proverbs 19:29 – “Condemnation is ready for scoffers, and beating for the backs of fools.”

Though they laugh now, judgment is already prepared for them. This aligns with 1 Thessalonians 5:3, where sudden destruction will come upon those who feel secure in their mockery.

⸻

Scoffers Within the Church

The Church Will Reject Sound Doctrine
2 Timothy 4:3-4 – “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

Many within the church reject or ignore bible prophecy, dismissing the return of Christ as a distraction. They will prefer comfort over conviction.

The Denial of Christ’s Return
Matthew 24:48-49 – “But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him.”

Jesus describes a servant within His household who stops expecting His return. Today, many within the church say, “People have always talked about the end times—nothing has changed.” This is precisely what Peter warned about in 2 Peter 3:4.

Corrupt Leaders and False Teachers
2 Peter 2:1-2 – “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.”

False teachers within the church distort truth, leading others astray. Some openly mock prophecy, teaching that warnings about the Tribulation, the rapture, or Christ’s return are unnecessary distractions rather than essential parts of the faith.

Even within the church, the watchman’s duty remains:
•Ezekiel 33:7 – “So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.”
•Mark 13:37 – “And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”

Final Thought: Are We Among the Scoffers or the Watchmen?

As Thou Goest Step by Step I Will Open up the Way Before Thee

Prov 4:12

Omega Message – October 1981

Poem by Arthur C. Ritchie

Child of My love, fear not the unknown morrow,
Dread not the new demand life makes on thee;
Thy ignorance doth hold no cause for sorrow
Since what thou knowest not is known to me.

Thou canst not see today the hidden meaning
Of my command, but thou the light shalt gain:
Walk on in faith, upon my promise leaning,
And as thou goest all shall be made plain.

One step thou seest – then go forward boldly;
One step is far enough for faith to see;
Take that, and thy next duty shall be told thee,
For step by step, Thy Lord is leading thee.

Stand not in fear thy adversaries counting,
Dare every peril, save to disobey;
Thou shalt march on, all obstacles surmounting
For I, the Strong, will open the way.

Wherefore go gladly to the task assigned thee
Having my promise, needing nothing more
Than just to know, where’ere the future finds thee,
In all thy journeying I go before.

FRANCOIS   FÉNELON (1651 – 1715)

    “We must not look inwards with curiosity to behold our progress, our strength,

or the hand of God, which is not the less efficient for being invisible.”

As to our friend, I pray God to bestow upon him a simplicity that shall give him peace. When we are faithful in instantly dropping all superfluous and restless reflections, which arise from a self-love totally different from charity, we shall be set in a large place even in the midst of the strait and narrow path. We shall be in the pure liberty and innocent peace of the children of God, without being found wanting either towards God or man.

I apply to myself the same counsel that I give to others, and am well persuaded that I must seek my own peace in the same direction. My heart is now suffering; but it is the life of self that causes us pain; that which is dead does not suffer. If we were dead, and our life were hid with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3), we should no longer perceive those pains in spirit that now afflict us. We should not only bear bodily sufferings with equanimity, but spiritual affliction also, that is to say, trouble sent upon the soul without its own immediate act. But the disturbances of a restless activity, in which the soul adds to the cross imposed by the hand of God, the burden of an agitated resistance, and an unwillingness to suffer, are only experienced in consequence of the remaining life of self.

A cross which comes purely from God, and is cordially welcomed without any self-reflective acts, is at once painful and peaceful; but one unwillingly received and repelled by the life of nature, is doubly severe; the resistance within is harder to bear than the cross itself. If we recognise the hand of God, and make no opposition in the will, we have comfort in our affliction. Happy indeed are they who can bear their sufferings in the enjoyment of this simple peace and perfect acquiescence in the will of God! Nothing so shortens and soothes our pains as this spirit of non-resistance.

But we generally want to bargain with God; we would like at least to impose the limits and see the end of our sufferings. That same obstinate and hidden hold of life, which renders the cross necessary, causes us to reject it in part, and by a secret resistance, which impairs its virtue. We have thus to go over the same ground again and again; we suffer greatly, but to very little purpose. The Lord deliver us from falling into that state of soul in which crosses are of no benefit to us! God loves a cheerful giver, according to St. Paul (2 Corinthians 9:7); ah! what must be his love to those who, in a cheerful and absolute abandonment, resign themselves to the entire extent of his crucifying will! 

120200-Kuhlman-and-her-spirit-guide.doc-1

AN ADDRESS TO A LITTLE COMPANY OF BELIEVERS,

IN MR. SPURGEON’S OWN ROOM AT MENTONE.“My Well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill.”—Isaiah v. 1.

Till He Come

THE WELL-BELOVED’S VINEYARD.

AN ADDRESS TO A LITTLE COMPANY OF BELIEVERS,

IN MR. SPURGEON’S OWN ROOM AT MENTONE.“My Well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill.”—Isaiah v. 1.

THE WELL-BELOVED’S VINEYARD.

WE recognize at once that Jesus is here. Who but He can be meant by “My Well-beloved”? Here is a word of possession and a word of affection,—He is mine, and my Well-beloved. He is loveliness itself, the most loving and lovable of beings; and we personally love Him with all our heart, and mind, and soul, and strength: He is ours, our Beloved, our Well-beloved, we can say no less.

The delightful relationship of our Lord to us is accompanied by words which remind us of our relationship to Him, “My Well-beloved hath a vineyard,” and what vineyard is that but our heart, our nature, our life? We are His: and we are His for the same reason that any other vineyard belongs to its owner. He made us a vineyard. Thorns and briars were all our growth naturally, but He bought us with a price, He hedged us about, and set us apart for Himself, and then He planted and cultivated us. All within us that can bring forth good fruit is of His creating, His tending, and His preserving; so that if we be vineyards at all we must be His vineyards. We gladly agree that it shall be so. I pray that I may not have a hair on my head that does not belong to Christ, and you all pray that your every pulse and breath may be the Lord’s.

This happy afternoon I want you to note that this vineyard is said to be upon “a very fruitful hill.” I have been thinking of the advantages of my own position towards the Lord, and lamenting with great shamefacedness that I am not bringing forth such fruit to Him as my position demands. Considering our privileges, advantages, and opportunities, I fear that many of us have need to feel great searchings of heart. Perhaps to such the text may be helpful, and it will not be without profit to any one of us, if the Lord will bless our meditation upon it.

I. Our first thought, in considering these words, is that our position as the Lord’s vineyard is a very favourable one: “My Well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill.” No people could be better placed for serving Christ than we are. I hardly think that any man is better situated for glorifying God than I am. I do not think that any women could be in better positions for serving Christ than some of you, dear sisters, now occupy. Our heavenly Father has placed us just where He can do the most for us, and where we can do the most for Him. Infinite wisdom has occupied itself with carefully selecting the soil, and site, and aspect of every tree in the vineyard. We differ greatly, and need differing situations in order to fruitfulness: the place which would suit one might be too trying for another. Friend, the Lord has planted you in the right spot: your station may not be the best in itself, but it is the best for you. We are in the best possible position for some present service at this moment; the providence of God has put us on a vantage ground for our immediate duty: “My Well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill.”

Let us think of the times in which we live as calling upon us to be very fruitful when we compare them with the years gone by. Time was when we could not have met thus happily in our own room: if we had been taken in the act of breaking bread, or reading God’s Word, we should have been haled off to prison, and perhaps put to death. Our forefathers scarcely dared to lift up their voices in a psalm of praise, lest the enemy should be upon them. Truly, the lines have fallen unto us in pleasant places; yea, we have a goodly heritage, in a very fruitful hill.

We do not even live in times when error is so rampant as to be paramount. There is too much of it abroad; but taking a broad view of things, I venture to say that there never was a time when the truth had a wider sway than it has now, or when the gospel was more fully preached, or when there was more spiritual activity. Black clouds of error hover over us; but at the same time we rejoice that, from John o’ Groat’s House to the Land’s End, Christ is preached by ten thousand voices, and even in the dark parts of the earth the name of Jesus is shining like a candle in the house. If we had the pick of the ages in which to live, we could not have selected a better time for fruitbearing than that which is now occurrent: this age is “a very fruitful hill.”

That this is the case some of us know positively, because we have been fruitful. Look back, brothers and sisters, upon times when your hearts were warm, and your zeal was fervent, and you served the Lord with gladness. I join with you in those happy memories. Then we could run with the swiftest, we could fight with the bravest, we could work with the strongest, we could suffer with the most patient. The grace of God has been upon certain of us in such an unmistakable manner that we have brought forth all the fruits of the Spirit. Perhaps to-day we look back with deep regret because we are not so fruitful as we once were: if it be so, it is well that our regrets should multiply, but we must change each one of them into a hopeful prayer. Remember, the vine may have changed, but the soil is the same. We have still the same motives for being fruitful, and even more than we used to have. Why are we not more useful? Has some spiritual phylloxera taken possession of the vines, or have we become frost-bitten, or sun-burnt? What is it that withholds the vintage? Certainly, if we were fruitful once, we ought to be more fruitful now. The fruitful hill is not exhausted; what aileth us that our grapes are so few?

We are planted on a fruitful hill, for we are called to work which of all others is the most fruitful. Blessed and happy is the man who is called to the Christian ministry; for this service has brought more glory to Christ than any other. You, beloved friends, are not called to be rulers of nations, nor inventors of engines, nor teachers of sciences, nor slayers of men; but we are soul-winners, our work is to lead men to Jesus. Ours is, of all the employments in the world, the most fruitful in benefits to men and glory to God. If we are not serving God in the gospel of His Son with all our might and ability, then we have a heavy responsibility resting upon us. “Our Well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:” there is not a richer bit of soil outside Immanuel’s land than the holy ministry for souls. Certain of us are teachers, and gather the young about us while we speak of Jesus. This also is choice soil. Many teachers have gathered a grand vintage from among the little ones, and have not been a whit behind pastors and evangelists in the glory of soul-winning. Dear teachers, your vines are planted in a very fruitful hill. But I do not confine myself to preachers and teachers; for all of us, as we have opportunities of speaking for the Lord Jesus Christ, and privately talking to individuals, have also a fertile soil to grow in. If we do not glorify God by soul-winning, we shall be greatly blamable, since of all forms of service it is most prolific in praise of God.

And what is more, the very circumstances with which we are surrounded all tend to make our position exceedingly favourable for fruit-bearing. In this little company we have not one friend who is extremely poor; but if such were among us, I should say the same thing. Christ has gathered some of His choicest clusters from the valley of poverty. Many eminent saints have never owned a foot of land, but lived upon their weekly wage, and found scant fare at that. Yes, by the grace of God, the vale of poverty has blossomed as the rose. It so happens, however, that the most of us here have a competence, we have all that we need, and something over to give to the poor and to the cause of God. Surely we ought to be fruitful in almsgiving, in caring for the sick, and in all manner of sweet and flagrant influences. “Give me neither poverty nor riches,” is a prayer that has been answered for most of us; and if we do not now give honour unto God, what excuse can we make for our barrenness? I am speaking to some who are singularly healthy, who are never hindered by aches and pains; and to others who have been prospered in business for twenty years at a stretch: yours is great indebtedness to your Lord: in your case, “My Well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill.” Give God your strength and your wealth, my brother, while they last: see that all His care of thee is not thrown away. Others of us seldom know many months together of health, but have often had to suffer sorely in body; this ought to make us fruitful, for there is much increase from the tillage of affliction. Has not the Master obtained the richest of all fruit from bleeding vines? Do not His heaviest bunches come from vines which have been sharply cut and pruned down to the ground? Choice flavours, dainty juices, and delicious aromas come mostly from the use of the keen-edged knife of trial. Some of us are at our best for fruitbearing when in other respects we are at our worst. Thus I might truly say that, whatever our circumstances may be, whether we are poor or rich, in health or in affliction, each one of our cases has its advantages, and we are planted “in a very fruitful hill.”

Furthermore, when I look at our spiritual condition, I must say for myself, and I think for you also, “My Well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill.” For what has God done for us? To change the question,—what has God not done for us? What more could He say than to us He hath said? What more could He do than to us He hath done? He hath dealt with us like a God. He has loved us up from the pit, He has loved us up to the cross, and up to the gates of heaven; He has quickened us, forgiven us, and renewed us; He dwells in us, comforts us, instructs us, upholds us, preserves us, guides us, leads us, and He will surely perfect us. If we are not fruitful, to His praise, how shall we excuse ourselves? Where shall we hide our guilty heads? Shall yonder sea suffice to lend us briny tears wherewith to weep over our ingratitude?

II. I go a step further, by your leave, and say that our position, as the Lord’s vineyard, is favourable to the production of the fruit which He loves best. I believe that my own position is the most favourable for the production of the fruit that the Lord loves best in me, and that your position is the same. What is this fruit?

First, it is faith. Our Lord is very delighted to see faith in His people. The trust which clings to Him with childlike confidence is pleasant to His loving heart. Our position is such that faith ought to be the easiest thing in the world to us. Look at the promises He has given us in His Word: can we not believe them? Look at what the Father has done for us in the gift of His dear Son: can we not trust Him after that? Our daily experience all goes to strengthen our confidence in God. Every mercy asks, “Will you not trust Him?” Every want that is supplied cries, “Can you not trust Him?” Every sorrow sent by the great Father tests our faith, and drives us to Him on whom we repose, and so strengthens and confirms our confidence in God. Mercies and miseries alike operate for the growth of faith. Some of us have been called upon to trust God on a large scale, and that necessity has been a great help towards fruit-bearing. The more troubles we have, the more is our vine digged about, and the more nourishment is laid to its roots. If faith does not ripen under trial, when will it ripen? Our afflictions fertilize the soil wherein faith may grow.

Another choice fruit is love. Jesus delights in love. His tender heart delights to see its love returned. Am I not of all men most bound to love the Lord? I speak for each brother and sister here, is not that your language? Do you not all say, “Lives there a person beneath yon blue sky who ought to love Jesus more than I should do?” Each sister soliloquizes, “Sat there ever a woman in her chamber who had more reason for loving God than I have?” No, the sin which has been forgiven us should make us love our Saviour exceeding much. The sin which has been prevented in other cases should make us love our Preserver much. The help which God has sent us in hours of need, the guidance which He has given in times of difficulty, the joy which He has poured into us in days of fellowship, and the quiet He has breathed upon us in seasons of trial,—all ought to make us love Him. Along our life-road, reasons for loving God are more numerous than the leaves upon the olives. He has hedged us about with His goodness, even as the mountains and the sea are round our present resting-place. Look backward as far as time endures, and then look far beyond that, into the eternity which has been, and you will see the Lord’s great love set upon us: all through time and eternity reasons have been accumulating which constrain us to love our Lord. Now turn sharply round, and gaze before you, and all along the future faith can see reasons for loving God, golden milestones on the way that is yet to be traversed, all calling for our loving delight in God.

Christ is also very pleased with the fruit of hope, and we are so circumstanced that we ought to produce much of it. The aged ought to look forward, for they cannot expect to see much more on earth. Time is short, and eternity is near; how precious is a good hope through grace! We who are not yet old ought to be exceedingly hopeful; and the younger folk, who are just beginning the spiritual life, should abound in hope most fresh and bright. If any man has expectations greater than I have, I should like to see him. We have the greatest of expectations. Have you never felt like Mercy in her dream, when she laughed and when Christiana asked her what made her laugh, she said that she had had a vision of things yet to be revealed?

Select any fruit of the Spirit you choose, and I maintain that we are favourably circumstanced for producing it; we are planted upon a very fruitful hill. What a fruitful hill we are living in as regards labour for Christ! Each one of us may find work for the Master; there are capital opportunities around us. There never was an age in which a man, consecrated to God, might do so much as he can at this time. There is nothing to restrain the most ardent zeal. We live in such happy times that, if we plunge into a sea of work, we may swim, and none can hinder us. Then, too, our labour is made, by God’s grace, to be so pleasant to us. No true servant of Christ is weary of the work, though he may be weary in the work: it is not the work that he ever wearies of, for he wishes that he could do ten times more. Then our Lord makes our work to be successful. We bring one soul to Jesus, and that one brings a hundred. Sometimes, when we are fishing for Jesus, there may be few fish, but, blessed be His name, most of them enter the net; and we have to live praising and blessing God for all the favour with which He regards our labour of love. I do think I am right in saying that, for the bearing of the fruit which Jesus loves best, our position is exceedingly favourable.

III. And now, this afternoon, at this table, our position here is favourable even now to our producing immediately, and upon the spot, the richest, ripest, rarest fruit for our Well-beloved. Here, at the communion-table, we are at the centre of the truth, and at the well-head of consolation. Now we enter the holy of holies, and come to the most sacred meeting-place between our souls and God.

Viewed from this table, the vineyard slopes to the south, for everything looks towards Christ, our Sun. This bread, this wine, all set our souls aslope towards Jesus Christ, and He shines full upon our hearts, and minds, and souls, to make us bring forth much fruit. Are we not planted on a very fruitful hill?

As we think of His passion for our sake, we feel that a wall is set about us to the north, to keep back every sharp blast that might destroy the tender grapes. No wrath is dreaded now, for Jesus has borne it for us; behold the tokens of His all-sufficient sacrifice! No anger of the Lord shall come to our restful spirits, for the Lord saith, “I have sworn that I will not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.” Here, on this table, are the pledges of His love unspeakable, and these, like a high wall, keep out the rough winds. Surely, we are planted on a very fruitful hill.

Moreover, the Well-beloved Himself is among us. He has not let us out to husbandmen, but He Himself doth undertake to care for us; and that He is here we are sure, for here is His flesh, and here is His blood. You see the outward tokens, may you feel the unseen reality; for we believe in His real presence, though not in the gross corporeal sense with which worldly spirits blind themselves. The King has come into His garden: let us entertain Him with our fruits. He who for this vineyard poured out a bloody sweat, is now surveying the vines; shall they not at this instant give forth a goodly smell? The presence of our Lord makes this assembly a very fruitful hill: where He sets His feet, all good things flourish.

Around this table, we are in a place where others have fruited well. Our literature contains no words more precious than those which have been spoken at the time of communion. Perhaps you know and appreciate the discourses of Willison, delivered on sacramental occasions. Rutherford’s communion sermons have a sacred unction upon them. The poems of George Herbert, I should think, were most of them inspired by the sight of Christ in this ordinance. Think of the canticles of holy Bernard, how they flame with devotion. Saints and martyrs have been nourished at this table of blessing. This hollowed ordinance, I am sure, is a spot where hopes grow bright, and hearts grow warm, resolves become firm, and lives become fruitful, and all the clusters of our soul’s fruit ripen for the Lord.

Blessed be God, we are where we have ourselves often grown. We have enjoyed our best times when celebrating this sacred Eucharist. God grant it may be so again! Let us, in calm meditation and inward thought, now produce from our hearts sweet fruits of love, and zeal, and hope, and patience; let us yield great clusters like those of Eshcol, all for Jesus, and for Jesus only. Even now, let us give ourselves up to meditation, gratitude, adoration, communion, rapture; and let us spend the rest of our lives in glorifying and magnifying the ever-blessed name of our Well-beloved whose vineyard we are.

“While such a scene of sacred joys

Our raptured eyes and souls employs,

Here we could sit, and gaze away

A long, an everlasting day.

“Well, we shall quickly pass the night,

To the fair coasts of perfect light;

Then shall our joyful senses rove

O’er the dear object of our love.

“There shall we drink full draughts of bliss,

And pluck new life from heavenly trees.

Yet now and then, dear Lord, bestow

A drop of heaven on worms below.”18

by Charles Spurgeon
 

(An address to a little company at the communion table at Mentone)

Mysterious Visits

by Charles Spurgeon
 “You have visited me in the night.” Psalm 17:3

It is a theme for wonder that the glorious God should visit sinful man. “What is man, that You are mindful of him? and the son of man, that You visit him?” A divine visit is a joy to be treasured whenever we are favored with it. David speaks of it with great solemnity. The Psalmist was not content barely to speak of it; but he wrote it down in plain terms, that it might be known throughout all generations: “You have visited me in the night.” Beloved, if God has ever visited you, you also will marvel at it, will carry it in your memory, will speak of it to your friends, and will record it in your diary as one of the notable events of your life. Above all, you will speak of it to God Himself, and say with adoring gratitude, “You have visited me in the night.” It should be a solemn part of worship to remember and make known the condescension of the Lord, and say, both in lowly prayer and in joyful psalm, “You have visited me.”

To you, beloved friends, who gather with me about this communion table, I will speak of my own experience, nothing doubting that it is also yours. If our God has ever visited any of us, personally, by His Spirit, two results have attended the visit: it has been sharply searching, and it has been sweetly solacing.

When first of all the Lord draws near to the heart, the trembling soul perceives clearly the searching character of His visit. Remember how Job answered the Lord: “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye sees You, wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” We can read of God, and hear of God, and be little moved; but when we feel His presence, it is another matter. I thought my house was good enough for kings; but when the King of kings came to it, I saw that it was a hovel quite unfit for His abode. I had never known sin to be so “exceeding sinful” if I had not known God to be so perfectly holy. I had never understood the depravity of my own nature if I had not known the holiness of God’s nature. When we see Jesus, we fall at His feet as dead; until then, we are alive with vainglorious life. If letters of light traced by a mysterious hand upon the wall caused the joints of Belshazzar’s loins to be loosed, what awe overcomes our spirits when we see the Lord Himself! In the presence of so much light our spots and wrinkles are revealed, and we are utterly ashamed. We are like Daniel, who said, “I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my loveliness was turned in me into corruption.” It is when the Lord visits us that we see our nothingness, and ask, “Lord, what is man?”

I do remember well when God first visited me; and assuredly it was the night of nature, of ignorance, of sin. His visit had the same effect upon me that it had upon Saul of Tarsus when the Lord spoke to him out of heaven. He brought me down from the high horse, and caused me to fall to the ground; by the brightness of the light of His Spirit He made me grope in conscious blindness; and in the brokenness of my heart I cried, “Lord, what will You have me to do?” I felt that I had been rebelling against the Lord, kicking against the pricks, and doing evil even as I could; and my soul was filled with anguish at the discovery. Very searching was the glance of the eye of Jesus, for it revealed my sin, and caused me to go out and weep bitterly. As when the Lord visited Adam, and called him to stand naked before Him, so was I stripped of all my righteousness before the face of the Most High. Yet the visit ended not there; for as the Lord God clothed our first parents in coats of skins, so did He cover me with the righteousness of the great sacrifice, and He gave me songs in the night It was night, but the visit was no dream: in fact, I there and then ceased to dream, and began to deal with the reality of things.

I think you will remember that, when the Lord first visited you in the night, it was with you as with Peter when Jesus came to him. He had been toiling with his net all the night, and nothing had come of it; but when the Lord Jesus came into his boat, and bade him launch out into the deep, and let down his net for a draught, he caught such a great multitude of fishes that the boat began to sink. See! the boat goes down, down, until the water threatens to engulf it, and Peter, and the fish, and all. Then Peter fell down at Jesus knees, and cried, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” The presence of Jesus was too much for him: his sense of unworthiness made him sink like his boat, and shrink away from the Divine Lord. I remember that sensation well; for I was half inclined to cry with the demoniac of Gadara, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God most high?” That first discovery of His injured love was overpowering; its very hopefulness increased my anguish; for then I saw that I had slain the Lord who had come to save me. I saw that mine was the hand which made the hammer fall, and drove the nails that fastened the Redeemer’s hands and feet to the cruel tree.

“My conscience felt and owned the guilt, And plunged me in despair; I saw my sins His blood had spilt, And helped to nail Him there.” This is the sight which breeds repentance: “They shall look upon Him whom they have pierced, and mourn for Him.” When the Lord visits us, He humbles us, removes all hardness from our hearts, and leads us to the Savior’s feet.

When the Lord first visited us in the night it was very much with us as with John, when the Lord visited him in the isle that is called Patmos. He tells us, “And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.” Yes, even when we begin to see that He has put away our sin, and removed our guilt by His death, we feel as if we could never look up again, because we have been so cruel to our best Friend. It is no wonder if we then say, “It is true that He has forgiven me; but I never can forgive myself. He makes me live, and I live in Him; but at the thought of His goodness I fall at His feet as dead. Boasting is dead, self is dead, and all desire for anything beyond my Lord is dead also.” Well does Cowper sing of — “That dear hour, that brought me to His foot, And cut up all my follies by the root.”

The process of destroying follies is more hopefully performed at Jesus’ feet than anywhere else. Oh, that the Lord would come again to us as at the first, and like a consuming fire discover and destroy the dross which now alloys our gold! The word visit brings to us who travel the remembrance of the government officer who searches our baggage; thus does the Lord seek out our secret things. But it also reminds us of the visits of the physician, who not only finds out our maladies, but also removes them. Thus did the Lord Jesus visit us at the first.

Since those early days, I hope that you and I have had many visits from our Lord. Those first visits were, as I said, sharply searching; but the later ones have been sweetly solacing. Some of us have had them, especially in the night, when we have been compelled to count the sleepless hours. “Heaven’s gate opens when this world’s is shut.” The night is still; everybody is away; work is done; care is forgotten, and then the Lord Himself draws near. Possibly there may be pain to be endured, the head may be aching, and the heart may be throbbing; but if Jesus comes to visit us, our bed of languishing becomes a throne of glory. Though it is true “He gives His beloved sleep,” yet at such times He gives them something better than sleep, namely; His own presence, and the fullness of joy which comes with it. By night upon our bed we have seen the unseen. I have tried sometimes not to sleep under an excess of joy, when the company of Christ has been sweetly mine.

“You have visited me in the night.” Believe me, there are such things as personal visits from Jesus to His people. He has not left us utterly. Though He be not seen with the bodily eye by bush or brook, nor on the mount, nor by the sea, yet does He come and go, observed only by the spirit, felt only by the heart. Still he stands behind our wall, He shows Himself through the lattices.

“Jesus, these eyes have never seen
That radiant form of Thine!
The veil of sense hangs dark between
Your blessed face and mine!

“I see You not, I hear You not,
Yet are You often with me,
And earth has ne’er so dear a spot
As where I meet with Thee.

“Like some bright dream that comes unsought,
When slumbers o’er me roll,
Your image ever fills my thought,
And charms my ravished soul.

“Yet though I have not seen, and still
Must rest in faith alone;
I love You, dearest Lord! and will,
Unseen, but not unknown.”

Do you ask me to describe these manifestations of the Lord? It were hard to tell you in words: you must know them for yourselves. If you had never tasted sweetness, no man living could give you an idea of honey. Yet if the honey be there, you can “taste and see.” To a man born blind, sight must be a thing past imagination; and to one who has never known the Lord, His visits are quite as much beyond conception.

For our Lord to visit us is something more than for us to have the assurance of our salvation, though that is very delightful, and none of us should rest satisfied unless we possess it. To know that Jesus loves me, is one thing; but to be visited by Him in love, is more.

Nor is it simply a close contemplation of Christ; for we can picture Him as exceedingly fair and majestic, and yet not have Him consciously near us. Delightful and instructive as it is to behold the likeness of Christ by meditation, yet the enjoyment of His actual presence is something more. I may wear my friend’s portrait about my person, and yet may not be able to say, “You have visited me.”

It is the actual, though spiritual, coming of Christ which we so much desire. The Romish church says much about the real presence; meaning thereby, the corporeal presence of the Lord Jesus. The priest who celebrates mass tells us that he believes in the real presence, but we reply, “No, you believe in knowing Christ after the flesh, and in that sense the only real presence is in heaven; but we firmly believe in the real presence of Christ which is spiritual, and yet certain.” By spiritual we do not mean unreal; in fact, the spiritual takes the lead in real-ness to spiritual men. I believe in the true and real presence of Jesus with His people: such presence has been real to my spirit. Lord Jesus, You Yourself have visited me. As surely as the Lord Jesus came really as to His flesh to Bethlehem and Calvary, so surely does He come really by His Spirit to His people in the hours of their communion with Him. We are as conscious of that presence as of our own existence.

When the Lord visits us in the night, what is the effect upon us? When hearts meet hearts in fellowship of love, communion brings first peace, then rest, and then joy of soul. I am speaking of no emotional excitement rising into fanatical rapture; but I speak of sober fact, when I say that the Lord’s great heart touches ours, and our heart rises into sympathy with Him.

First, we experience peace. All war is over, and a blessed peace is proclaimed; the peace of God keeps our heart and mind by Christ Jesus. “Peace! perfect peace! in this dark world of sin? The blood of Jesus whispers peace within. “Peace! perfect peace! with sorrows surging round? On Jesus’ bosom nothing but calm is found.”

At such a time there is a delightful sense of rest; we have no ambitions, no desires. A divine serenity and security envelop us. We have no thought of foes, or fears, or afflictions, or doubts. There is a joyous laying aside of our own will. We are nothing, and we will nothing: Christ is everything, and His will is the pulse of our soul. We are perfectly content either to be ill or to be well, to be rich or to be poor, to be slandered or to be honored, so that we may but abide in the love of Christ. Jesus fills the horizon of our being.

At such a time a flood of great joy will fill our minds. We shall half wish that the morning may never break again, for fear its light should banish the superior light of Christ’s presence. We shall wish that we could glide away with our Beloved to the place where He feeds among the lilies. We long to hear the voices of the white-robed armies, that we may follow their glorious Leader whithersoever He goes. I am persuaded that there is no great actual distance between earth and heaven: the distance lies in our dull minds. When the Beloved visits us in the night, He makes our chambers to be the vestibule of His palace-halls. Earth rises to heaven when heaven comes down to earth.

Now, beloved friends, you may be saying to yourselves, “We have not enjoyed such visits as these.” You may do so. If the Father loves you even as He loves His Son, then you are on visiting terms with Him. If, then, He has not called upon you, you will be wise to call on Him. Breathe a sigh to Him, and say —

“When will You come unto me, Lord?
Oh come, my Lord most dear!
Come near, come nearer, nearer still,
I’m blest when You are near.

“When will You come unto me, Lord?
I languish for the sight;
Ten thousand suns when You are hid,
Are shades instead of light.

“When will You come unto me, Lord?
Until You do appear,
I count each moment for a day,
Each minute for a year.”

“As the deer pants after the water-brooks, so pants my soul after You, O God!” If you long for Him, He much more longs for you. Never was there a sinner that was half so eager for Christ as Christ is eager for the sinner; nor a saint one-tenth so anxious to behold his Lord as his Lord is to behold him. If you are running to Christ, He is already near you. If you do sigh for His presence, that sigh is the evidence that He is with you. He is with you now: therefore be calmly glad.

Go forth, beloved, and talk with Jesus on the beach, for He often resorted to the sea-shore. Commune with Him amid the olive-groves so dear to Him in many a night of wrestling prayer. If ever there was a country in which men should see traces of Jesus, next to the Holy Land, this Riviera is the favored spot. It is a land of vines, and figs, and olives, and palms; I have called it “Your land, O Immanuel.” While in this Mentone, I often fancy that I am looking out upon the Lake of Gennesaret, or walking at the foot of the Mount of Olives, or peering into the mysterious gloom of the Garden of Gethsemane. The narrow streets of the old town are such as Jesus traversed, these villages are such as He inhabited. Have your hearts right with Him, and He will visit you often, until every day you shall walk with God, as Enoch did, and so turn week-days into Sabbaths, meals into sacraments, homes into temples, and earth into heaven. So be it with us! Amen.