If we are his children, we are also God’s heirs. If we share in Christ’s suffering in order to share his glory, we are heirs together with him. I consider our present sufferings insignificant compared to the glory that will soon be revealed to us. All creation is eagerly waiting for God to reveal who his children are. Rom 8:17-19

 Spiritual preparation for the coming Millennium

Christ’s Millennium, a thousand years of His rule on this restored earth,  is the focus of this blog. Our expectation is that, at the return of Christ, that we will commence eternal life by experiencing a glorious 1000 years in Jesus’ presence here on earth. On this very same earth we are on now, but a completely restored and refreshed earth. ‘Heaven’, our eternal abode, will still be in the future, and wait until God’s plan, His ‘Sabbath Millennium’ of rest, is completed. Refer to the link ‘5A – Millennium‘ and LR Session 6 for a summary of this expectation, as given to us in scripture. For the full end-time study series, refer to Appendix J.

But there will be a time of testing beforehand. We will be studying and reading about the things to come, but more than that: Storing God’s truths in our hearts and preparing our emotions for what is ahead is going to be of great value. Building our trust in God’s provision, resilience in adversity and a steadfast hope for the glorious future awaiting us is our aim.

For any who wish to walk this road, this includes a preparedness for battle. No soldier wants to be caught unprepared. As Christian soldiers we will want to enter the battle well prepared  in seven important areas:

• Establish a clear vision of our place and purpose in Christ’s army.
• Investigate the evidence available and envisage the timing, the D-day.
• Obtain an insight into the enemy’s tactics and propaganda to derail us.
• Assess our condition and preparedness. Build a determination to trust and follow Jesus’s orders first and to put our own interests second. Be prepared to drop our worldly agendas.
• Envisage the battle scenario as far as possible. Aim to be prepared for deceptions and envisaged events, so we are clear on what to do.
• Building hope and resilience in times of discouragement and weakness. To keep our spirits alive and engaged with God.
• Cultivate spiritual fitness and endurance and avoid panic, having an ability to face hardship without falling apart. We need to take full advantage of the resources, strengths, armor and circumstances available to us. In a crisis situation, learn to maintain an attitude of love as we provide help to struggling or wounded mates.

In a spiritual sense, Jesus encourages us to subject ourselves to this type of training. He commands us to build up our discipline to be on the watch, to be prepared.  Not to be caught by surprise like the five foolish virgins of Matthew 25. We are to be prepared to do whatever we can, in advance, to avoid being overwhelmed by the events when they come. Jesus and Daniel both state that they will come like a ‘flood’. The speed at which the end time events come will be unprecedented. Like with Noah, they are going to overwhelm the skeptics and the unprepared. But we are given the opportunity to make up our own minds beforehand and we are given the tools to prepare ourselves.

In the not too distant future, a persecution will start on a scale that the world has never seen before. In the bible it is prophesied that Christians will be severely persecuted, on a world-wide scale,  before Jesus comes back. My conclusion is that this will happen sooner than we think. Most likely within this generation. And I’m not alone. In the references I have listed the names of some of the many who who agree. Sensible, bible believing people. No hype or sensation. It is up to each one of us to decide whether this scenario that this group of men picture is correct or not.  I will add to these men another voice. My interpretation of the biblical evidence available is similar to theirs, but the focus of this blog will be slightly different. Based on God’s word, I will be suggesting to  you the preparation tools available, and some further references, if you wish to delve deeper.

Subjecting our-self to this type of training will not come naturally, but it would be foolish not to do so.

What now?

Do you wish to re-ignite your interest in God’s plan for our generation? God has given prophecy for a purpose. The end time prophesies are meant as encouragement for you and me. We are probably the generation who will have to face the brunt of the coming persecution. It’s up to us to find out how real this warning is and also find out how preparation for persecution applies to our particular circumstances.

For a layman like you and me it is important to read the scriptures for ourselves and check in our spirits whether there is understanding and agreement within us about what we have read. If we are unsure, there is but one answer. We ask God. We pray about the issue and wait patiently for an answer.  The Spirit knows us thoroughly and we will benefit from His gentle guidance to help us determine what and how much to read, what we are ready for in our journey to prepare our hearts for the end times.

The opinions of others are nevertheless necessary. Like with the rest of scripture, although we are completely dependent on what God reveals to us, our own limitations often get in the way of His Revelations to us. We will all agree with the apostle Paul that we are all given different gifts. Also that God has designed humanity in such a way that we need each other. You will have insight into something that another is blind to. On our own we fall into error. Together we not only form one body of believers, but we can more effectively discern between truth and error.

Motivation for this Blog.

The easiest way to start off this blog is probably to state what is not. It is not:

• A ‘end times hype’ blog with a sensationalist approach to bible prophecy.
• A theological blog with traditional approach to bible prophecy.
• An attempt to earn money or recognition.

What it is:

• An attempt to prepare you and me for the storm that is coming our way soon.
• To discuss how we respond.
• To discuss whether God has an end-time plan for his people.
• To consider how we discern deception. and prepare for persecution.
• To discuss the habits we can build now so we can remain standing when the storm hits.
• To explore end time prophesies.
• To explore the Millennial prophesies.
• To clarify the reasons why we can suspect that this will happen soon, within this generation.

Why the blog name, Hopefulmartyr? Is it not overly dramatic?

Maybe……, but when is it the right time to address the future possibility of persecution? Time is running out on the end time clock. In His grace, God has given us time to prepare. We need to take this opportunity to  prepare ourselves.

Why the title of this post? ‘The Jesus Millennium’?

Christ’s Millennium, the millennium of restoration,  is a vital part of our focus. Our expectation is, at the return of Christ, that we will commence eternal life by experiencing a glorious 1000 years with Jesus on this current, but completely restored and refreshed earth.

Read and memorize Revelation 20:6 as an appetizer, and I’ll explain later why you can also expect to be there. “Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

 

Interpretation of scripture.

Not any one person alive on earth today has claim to the correct interpretation on all of prophecy. We know that. Most of us are also a little skeptical of books/blogs like this. You may have read all or some of the biblical prophets. You may have a good idea of what’s coming. Alternatively, you may have concluded that the puzzle has too many missing pieces to complete the full picture.

Understanding end time Bible prophecy takes a bit of effort. Before reading what other people and I say, I encourage you to make your own summary of Revelation, Matthew 24 and Daniel 2,7-9. While doing this we need to remain open to God’s guidance and remain very humble, resisting the urge to become impatient and start reading the works of ‘mere men’.

If and when all the information seems confusing, remember that its a journey, and a different one for each person. Also realize that ‘full understanding’  is a life journey rather than a goal because:

• First of all, Jesus never prioritized a principle of head-knowledge. He prioritized the principle of Spirit and Truth. “… the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63b KJV).  By walking close with Jesus and asking His guidance, He will reveal what we are ready for.
• Secondly, the internet is full of misinformation (..and I am sure I too will need to change some of my ideas as well as time progresses) . We need to discern by the Spirit what teaching is intended to mislead us. Some are obvious but others are subtle.  Avoid Adventists, Mormons, Witnesses etc. Not everyone uses a correct version of the Bible either. Once one starts with end-time studies, it’s essential to use the KJV as the authoritative source in English. It is based on the majority of ancient manuscripts, (consisting of over 5300 handwritten ancient copies of Byzantine origin), and no other version can even come close to claiming that. (NIV,ESV NLT, etc. are all based on a few risky Alexandrian manuscripts, supposedly older, collated by Wescott & Hort. This will side-track you). If the KJV is too hard, the NKJV is OK provided that any passages you feel are vital to your understanding are double checked against the KJV. I don’t believe its necessary to go to the Greek, but if you do, use the ‘Textus Receptus’ and avoid Wescott & Hort. For more information of bible versions refer to post 7.8 ‘The Great Apostasy’.
• Thirdly, if after making your summary, you struggle to understand New Testament prophecy, it is likely that there is a basic concept missing. To make sure your foundation is secure and you start off right, I suggest that you listen to a Revelation 1 sermon on YouTube or MP3.  http://www.kjvprophecy.com/revelation_01.mp3 or watch  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSey6R6A_Xc
• Finally, prophecy is a very unpopular subject to talk about. Those who do risk talking about it expose themselves being labelled marginal or extremist.

“So why learn and discuss prophecy if it is so challenging? I believe that God wants us to know ahead of time what is likely to come so you we prepare mentally and psychologically. Also the study of prophecy (like the study of the rest of the Bible) lends wisdom and understanding that will help us in our lives today. This will flow into our preparedness for the end times and will assist us to build up our discernment so we will not be deceived in the end.

Certainly the warnings in Bible prophecy were not put there to be ignored but to be understood. Are they not there to be followed by God’s servants when the time comes? Those of us who are called and who are given discernment will then be able to warn the others when the time is ripe.

And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:3 KJV)

 

 

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