Office Worker 

We have a need for someone who wants a job handling a variety of tasks in an office. This job is located in Grover Beach, California and the employing company would be Doctors’ Research, Inc. 

Before looking at local people outside of the Continuing Church of God, I thought that perhaps someone in the Church may have interest. 

The ideal candidate would have office and computer skills (QuickBooks, Microsoft Word), and at least some interest in computer graphics and natural health. The job would include church and non-church work, telephones, lifting, packaging, mailing, and editing, etc. and is more complicated than many office positions. If you are interested, please email me your resume. My email address is cogwriter@aol.com 

Rod Meredith spent many years having to listen to his self-important "son" wax prolific on hundreds of prophecies his "son" claimed to know more about than he did. Every time Meredith turned around his narcissistic "son" had had a new revelation and was demanding that the LCG change its "understanding."

That is not the case. Dr. Meredith is the one who forced me, over my objections, to promise to tell him if I felt he was 'pulling punches.' The fact that I strove to live up to that promise is not a negative. Furthermore, years after Dr. Meredith made me promise that, he appointed me as an advisor to he and the Charlotte-based evangelists on doctrine and prophecy. That was also his idea. It should further be pointed out that I did not "demand" that LCG change its understanding on matters. I pointed out issues and the LCG the evangelists often agreed. The closest thing to a demand I ever made while there was reminding them to keep their word and make the corrections they promised to do. LCG leaders, like Richard Ames, have known what I have written is true, but have sadly been unwilling to publicly rebuke those that slander me.

Do you understand what we teach regarding God the Father and Jesus Christ?

Some sermons have recently created confusion about the nature of God the Father and Jesus Christ. Do all of us fully understand what we believe and preach on this subject? How long has it been since you reviewed the study papers and other Church publications on the topic in question? In many cases it’s been too long. The nature of God and Christ was one of the topics of controversy that led to the formation of the United Church of God.

The questions surrounding the nature of God have been debated for centuries. The only valid source we have is the Bible. We must use sound principles of exegesis in reaching our conclusions. Below are resources that we encourage you to read and study deeply regarding the nature of God and Christ. 

The purpose of this letter is to encourage all of us to continue to fight the good fight of faith and be settled in the faith. Here in the Northern Hemisphere we are now entering the long, hot summer, and it’s a time when there can be a let-down in our spiritual lives—as there are so many distractions in the world today. It is a time in which people travel, go on vacation and young people go to camp. All this is coupled with the perilous times in which are living.

It is also a time in which we can easily become lax in renewing the inward man on a daily basis. We often need to be reminded of the exhortation that the apostle Paul gave the Hebrews: “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away” (Hebrews 2:1). We are committed to guarding those precious truths that God has revealed to us. And at the same time, we are admonished by the apostle Peter to grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We should always keep in mind that the Church of God is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15).

From time to time some brethren have become troubled by sermons or conversations in which they get the idea that the Church is going to change doctrine. So let’s be reminded of the process necessary for changing the official doctrine of the United Church of God (UCG). Even though there is a rigorous review process in place for sermons and articles that appear on our website or in our Church’s publications, some few sermons may not properly represent the official doctrine of the Church.

Culture of Disrespect

Laura Ingalls Wilder is famous for her series of books, "Little House on the Prairie," depicting her childhood in pioneer America. One of the memorable experiences of life is being snuggled between our kids-and later grandkids-reading bedtime stories of Laura's adventures as the tiny tots hung on each colorful word.

She described moving to Missouri in a covered wagon to homestead their new land. Alone on the prairie they were running low on food so Pa had to leave Ma and the kids alone for a couple of days to forage for meat. Laura described living in the covered wagon away from any other humans. One morning Ma took their freshly washed petticoats and put them on the step of the wagon to be ironed.

There was no other explanation, but I was left wondering why little girls on the prairie needed to dress in petticoats and I could only imagine what it must take to iron them when there was no electricity.

The kids asked, "Why would they iron their clothes when no one else was around?" Donna, always the font of wisdom, responded, "They were not trying to impress anyone, respect is the culture of civilized people."

An often-overlooked act of Jesus occurred during the minutes after He was resurrected. When the stone was rolled away the Gospel account records that the blanket was neatly folded. It's remarkable that Jesus would take the time to fold the blanket during such a momentous event.

At times I wonder what God thinks of the way some Christians dress when coming to worship Him.

In ancient Israel when the Ark of the Covenant was returned after having been lost to the gentiles for a period of time a tragic event took place. When the Ark arrived men allowed curiosity to overcome respect for the sacred. "But God struck down some of the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy of them to death because they looked into the ark of the Lord. (1 Samuel 6:19) These were Israelites who knew that the Ark was holy to God. You don't open the doors of the Ark anymore than you allow a man to walk into the women's restroom-but then America has forgotten that the body is sacred.

Later when the Ark was being transferred to Jerusalem, "Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God. (2 Samuel 6:6-7)

How can a person read these accounts without concluding that respect for sacred things is a core part of Christianity?

Compare that with the recent news story of a comedienne holding an image of the severed head of the President of the United States. Is tolerance for such barbaric antics the mark of a civilized people?

Nothing has done more to civilize mankind than the values of the Bible. Few things have done more to undermine civilization than the disrespect encouraged by the popular media.

Until next time,

Jim O'Brien

P.S. In my 06/29/17 a.m. post on this page, I accidentally omitted that according to the Banned by HWA site, the first three sets of comments I reported about from that site were supposedly "From an LCG source." In other words, an unnamed coward who claims to be a Church of God Christian. That person should consider the following:

16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16)
18 Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, And whoever spreads slander is a fool. (Proverbs 10:18)
8 ... all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)

This is not the first time someone who claims to have been in the Living Church of God has sent the Banned by HWA site false information about me (see the 6/15/17 a.m. post on this page). Anyway, presuming it was someone in LCG, it is distressing that any who claim to be a Church of God Christian would make up such falsehoods. Such a person needs repentance. 

Furthermore, why would anyone in LCG actually want to help the Banned by HWA site?  

The site is not only anti-COG, it seems to relish being anti-CCOG and anti-LCG. Although I do not know LCG's top evangelist, Gerald Weston, well, it is not likely that he would want his members to encourage the Banned by HWA site at all, let alone want his members to post falsehoods. 

But it is distressing when any who claim to be in the COG spreads falsehoods to get the way of truth blasphemed (2 Peter 2:2). But in this age we keep seeing it. Many do not have the proper love of the truth.

June 26, 2017
I have a friend who has left PCG. This person became skeptical back in November when Flurry spoke about Trump being the Jeroboam and then his mentioning about buying a plane. Then in January he gave the sermon about HWA's prayer stone replacing the stone of destiny (a.k.a. Jacob's pillar stone) and Flurry saying HWA was a type of Jacob or Israel. And how he, Flurry, is the chosen man on this whole earth privileged to bring the prayer stone to the Place of Safety where Christ will meet up with them and take his rightful place on the throne after Flurry, who is representing the house of David for 2 l/2 years, since he says he is a descendant of David through his genealogy. And finally, once this person got the letter about pledging funds to purchase a plane and then finding out they bought it in April during Feast of Unleavened Bread, this was the final straw. I am not sure what this person will do next. They are looking at other offshoots that follow the Sabbath, but feel that all of them try to control peoples' purse strings to suit their own agenda by using end time events and the Place of Safety to control them. --[name withheld]  

June 29, 2017
I don't even know where to begin. It's so difficult to summarize my experience and sort out how I'm feeling about everything that this so called "church" has put me, my family, and countless others through. The abuses that we undergo are covered up kept hush-hush and resolved through gossip started by who knows. I started becoming very skeptical when my own family began to be ripped apart by the ministry, who were not to be questioned ever! Every problem was pushed back on us not having it all together, or not praying and studying. No biblical proof was offered, just the opinion of a man who thought he spoke with God's authority--although certainly not with God's LOVE. It's so clear to me now why no one was ever allowed to compare stories or talk about counseling sessions. They did not want us comparing notes on our interactions with the ministry. 

But my last service was when our local minister aired all my family's dirty laundry in front of the congregation, blaming everything on my father's inability to lead. Taking no responsibility for his own interference and meddling. FURIOUS. I left knowing I'd never be back. I told no one and refused to talk to anyone after. A clean cut was the best resolve for me. I was so sick of being dragged into everyone's drama when I had no part in it. And I was certainly tired of feeling beaten down--not good enough and chastised every week at services. Also, if I missed a week, I felt like a child being scolded. I wish I'd left sooner. No, I wish I never would have attended at all.

Since I've been out, I've been happier than I thought possible. I'm happy to let God judge me. At least it will be true justice. If anyone is considering leaving, do it now. I waited years and regret it deeply. I will mourn family left in and pray they leave. --Raised in WCG; joined PCG as adult 

Mr. Rod McNair’s excellent upcoming telecast on the Miracle of Dunkirk has been preliminarily rejected in Australia because Dr. Meredith’s booklet, Who Controls the Weather?, did not take into account global warming! Bill C-16 recently received Royal Assent in Canada, adding gender expression to the Human Rights Act. It supposedly gives protection to the transgender community by, among other things, making improper pronoun usage a prosecutable offense. I recently noticed using MS Word that it marked the word “mankind” and suggested substituting the word “humankind.” In other words, MS Word is now in the business of determining which words are politically correct and which are not. Look for far more intrusion into our everyday lives from these language police. I mention these examples to show how rapidly the noose is closing in as the “illiberal left” is taking control of a complacent world. We no longer have to wonder how persecution will come to the Church. Some good news is that this weekend the Tomorrow’s World program begins airing on Angel One at an additional time, 8:30 p.m. on Saturdays. This is additional nationwide exposure and will be a new Saturday evening audience for us.—Gerald Weston

But Canada does not accept the Bible at this time.  Since a court decision in 2002, Canada has restricted freedom to quote and cite the Bible (watch Canadian censoring of the Bible). It also passed a motion limiting giving one’s view of Islam (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-24/canada-passes-blasphemy-bill-silence-critics-islam).

Canadian officials are often not acting in a manner consistent with what Canada was supposed to stand for.

If all that were not too much, a Canadian court decided this week that it has authority over the internet around the world and in the USA:

Canada Says It Has Authority to Censor Internet in United States

June 29, 2017

This seems like a bad thing:

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled against Google on Wednesday in a closely-watched intellectual property case over whether judges can apply their own country’s laws to all of the Internet. In a 7-2 decision, the court agreed a British Columbia judge had the power to issue an injunction forcing Google to scrub search results about pirated products not just in Canada, but everywhere else in the world too. http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/06/canada-says-it-has-authority-to-censor-internet-in-united-states/ 

Regular readers of this COGwriter.com news page have been aware that things like this were coming. Notice, for example, something posted on this page back in 2011:

I have long expected government censorship (including the internet and perhaps other forms of social media) … I will again gone on record to declare that I believe that stopping/interfering some of us … to get out our message on the internet and/or other media is likely to be something that the USA and perhaps other governments will do as we get closer the the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7) (Thiel B. UK’s Cameron May Call Out the Troops and Restrict Social Media. COGwriter.com, August 11, 2011)

11 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God,

“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 They shall wander from sea to sea,
And from north to east;
They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,
But shall not find it. (Amos 8:11-12)

Notice that the Bible tells of a time that will come when the word of God will not be found. I do not believe that this means that there will be no more Bibles–but that those wanting to better understand it will have trouble finding explanations.

Is the end of the world near? 

When is the earliest year that the Great Tribulation can begin? 

Various ones seem to feel that it can begin in 2017 or 2018 or that it already started some time ago. 

Those who believe and understand what the Bible actually teaches realize that the Great Tribulation cannot begin before 2021. 

While I wrote that I did not feel that the Great Tribulation could start during Donald Trump’s first term (which ends in January of 2021), it should now be more certain for others to realize that this is so. 

Jesus gave a variety of signs/events that had to happen prior to the start of the Great Tribulation in Matthew 24. Not only have many not happened, a preceding event in Daniel 9:27 involving the confirmation of a seven-year deal still has not happened. Since it did not happen as of July 3, 2017, this means that it is not possible for the Great Tribulation to begin for at least 3 1/2 years (half of a biblically-prophetic week). 

At this instant, unless we see more major conflict in the Middle East between now and the end of the Summer, it is unlikely that the Great Tribulation can begin prior to 2022.

People who claim to be COG, like James Malm and Ronald Weinland, are in error as to timing as they have looked to their own understanding instead of what the Bible teaches. 

The Great Tribulation is coming, but it will not begin in 2017.

Jesus delays his coming because the church members are not ready. Besides, it is not up to us to know the day or time of his coming.

People who hear voices in their head are more common than you’d think. The largest survey ever conducted on the subject found that between 10 to 15 percent of Americans have had some sort of audible or visual hallucination. That’s according to a 1991 survey aimed at discovering how widespread these sorts of experiences are outside the mental health clinics. Over 25 years later, this subject is grabbing a lot of attention. And the big question isn’t how to stop the voices, but how to manage them. 

The Hearing Voices Movement is a growing network of support groups designed to help people who hear voices. “The groups encourage an approach in which, with the help of a facilitator or counselor, hearers listen to, speak back to, and negotiate with the message they hear in hopes of learning to cope,” Frankel wrote. The New York Times reported that these types of groups “have tripled in numbers over the past several years, to more than 80 groups in 21 states.”

It was around the mid-to-late-1980s that the Hearing Voices Movement began to gain momentum. In the Netherlands, a woman named Patsy Hage began hearing voices. She sought the help of a psychiatrist named Marius Romme. The two of them are credited for revolutionizing the way society handles “hearers.” They stopped diagnosing people who admitted to hearing voices and started a global network that encouraged people to talk to and entertain those voices. 

Psychiatrists will admit they don’t know much about the science behind voices. For the intellectual community, it’s hard to decipher the physical cause of what appears to be a spiritual problem. Some think it has to do with the way the brain interprets its own thoughts. The list of theories could go on, but frankly, no one in the scientific community has an idea that can be backed by evidence; they’re wandering through this trying anything they think will work.

Encouraging people to embrace the voices in their heads is a new approach and it is quickly becoming the accepted course of action for “hearers.” Corlett and Powers want to help people control the voices in their heads, but what they’re really doing is telling people to submit to those voices—this is incredibly dangerous.

Encouraging people to embrace those voices and then trying to normalize that behavior, is the most dangerous approach yet. Doctors will try anything. Well, almost anything. If you tell them this is a spiritual problem, you’ll be shot down. Voices, they reason, are just a product of physical abnormalities and we have to learn to live with them. There couldn’t possibly be any other explanation.

The answer is clear and simple, however, if you believe in God, read the Bible, and understand that there is a spirit world. 

Revelation 12 explains that Satan the devil “deceives the whole world.” The Bible says he was cast down to Earth along with the demons! This may sound strange or old-fashioned to the intellectuals of this world, but if they would work from this foundation, understanding that this world is held captive by the devil, they would be able to understand why so many people are hearing voices and why those numbers have increased since the mid-1980s. They would understand that encouraging people to entertain those voices is the most dangerous prescription they can give! It is incredibly dangerous for society to try to normalize this sort of behavior! 

The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:11, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” In the Revised Standard Version it says, “but instead expose them.” This is exactly the opposite of what doctors are advising people to do.

Society, under the sway of Satan the devil, wants to normalize behavior that directly contradicts what God teaches in the Holy Bible. Undoubtedly, the media and the so-called educated of this world will label this as a progressive stance—but just keep watching, because the more people embrace this sort of behavior the crazier this world is going to get. The academics of the world are just as confused about how to solve the problem as the people going to them looking for answers. But it doesn’t have to be a mystery. You can understand why this is happening. You can understand who is involved and how they’re involved. And you can even know when these problems began to intensify. Chapter 2 of Mr. Armstrong’s book Mystery of the Ages and Trumpet editor-in-chief Gerald Flurry’s booklet America Under Attack will help you straighten out the confusing mess you see in the world today.

"Encouraging people to embrace those voices and then trying to normalize that behavior, is the most dangerous approach yet. Doctors will try anything. Well, almost anything. If you tell them this is a spiritual problem, you’ll be shot down. Voices, they reason, are just a product of physical abnormalities and we have to learn to live with them. There couldn’t possibly be any other explanation.

The answer is clear and simple, however, if you believe in God, read the Bible, and understand that there is a spirit world. 

Revelation 12 explains that Satan the devil “deceives the whole world.” The Bible says he was cast down to Earth along with the demons! This may sound strange or old-fashioned to the intellectuals of this world, but if they would work from this foundation, understanding that this world is held captive by the devil, they would be able to understand why so many people are hearing voices and why those numbers have increased since the mid-1980s. They would understand that encouraging people to entertain those voices is the most dangerous prescription they can give! It is incredibly dangerous for society to try to normalize this sort of behavior!"

Ezekiel 4New International Version (NIV)

Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized

• © 2010 Royal College of Psychiatrists

One additional point from last week, however, before we get back into more regarding exousiacomes. If we go back to Ezra, chapter 3, it’ll give you an interesting insight into how the Jews and the Man of Sin will think once the sacrifices begin, and it probably would have been a good thing to mention last week, but…I, I had it in my notes and then just skipped over it…but in Ezra 3, you’ll recall that as soon as the Jews came back from Babylon and they were prepared to build Zerubbabel’s Temple in the wake of Solomon’s being destroyed, the first thing they did, in the fall of the year, right around Trumpets, was start the daily sacrifices. Verse 4, we can pick up…

“They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required” (Ezra 3:4). The first thing you do, though…you start the sacrifices, and then you build the temple. But actually, there’s something you do between the sacrifices and building the temple, and I wish I would have included it last week, but here we go…

“And afterward [verse 5; they] offered the continual burnt offering, both…the new moons…all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated…of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD. From the first day of the seventh month [That’s Trumpets] began they to offer burnt offerings unto…[the foundation]…But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid” (vs. 5-6). So they started the sacrifices, and immediately, they began pouring in tremendous amounts of money and funding to build the temple.

Well, that’s what is going to drive the Man of Sin, with the Jews rooting for him, to loot the world. One of the reasons he does that, of course, is to have the funds and the materials and probably even the skilled labor to build the temple of the Lord. So it’s interesting, the Jews’ next problem was money after the sacrifices began; the first problem when the Man of Sin, the antichrist, comes, after the sacrifices begin, will be money, and he’s “God,” so he’ll go obtain it. And so I thought you’d find that interesting.

But just not everybody is going to agree with us, and they can’t just come strolling onto God’s World Headquarters, into this time of enormous difficulty, as though God says, “Well, they can destroy the campus, but they can’t touch you.” You see? So the Work of God will be enormous during that period. Now let’s leave that for a moment. The devil will be blocked from stopping us and there’ll be angelic protection, but walls and super power will be necessary, because not everybody is going to adhere to what the devil is rebuked to understand, so to speak, if you can…if you can understand the obvious there.

Now, we read and heard last week and the time before, there’s a period of 45 days from 1,335 until the 1,290 when the Man of Sin sends his system and his representatives directly into the Church, and the fire explodes in intensity on the Church, because after 45 days, there’s a group of people that didn’t buy in and there’s another group working with them. Now God allows some of them to die. We understand that some get slain. Some get killed, James said…They’re called the flock of slaughter; we know all those verses…but most, I would hope, do not.

So, we’re looking at what does that first 45 days look like? Because, here again, in Zechariah, Joshua’s given “places to walk.” Now that doesn’t mean places to stroll around town or the campus. It’s places that you’re going to go. “I’m going to give you ‘access,’” the Hebrew means, and this is important.

Now the entire world descends into chaos. Somewhere on Earth there has to be an authority that says what’s going on. So, number one—during that 45 days, the Work of God will continue, and probably mushroom. Because they’ll realize…And many, many, many, many millions know there’s already…there’s a place that speaks with authority, not exousia. In a certain way, I guess, it’s like exousia. The apostles were given some exousia. So I guess, in a certain way, we have authority in that regard…as though you were casting out a demon, that kind of authority.

But, it is critical to understand that the world is going to wonder, who’s got the answers? Is this right? They’re going to see things that do not add up! That’s why, in Habakkuk, it says some people know this is just a thief, or he’s an adulterer, or he’s raping the world! And there will be somebody saying, “You’re right”—biting and vexing him, I’m sure, because he can’t get the Press to agree with him, at least a little part of it that may have a big authority, if you will. So there will be many in the…

So let’s break this 45 days down. “Places to walk”…I wonder…It’s hard for me to believe, really. Is it…Is it possible…I suppose it is…but is it possible that there’s never any direct confrontation with this man and the two with him? Well, I have my doubts about that. I just have my doubts. I cannot imagine there isn’t a kind of a cobra-mongoose moment, if you will. Where, you know…Moses in front of Pharaoh…Elijah and the Prophets of Baal…or John the Baptist and Elijah confronting the Sadducees and the Pharisees and calling them serpents. I just would be surprised if that’s not one of the “places to walk,” if you will. I can’t turn to a verse; but conversely, I cannot imagine that it doesn’t happen.

Obviously, we’ll have 45 days to tell the splinters, “If you think it’s bad now, wait a month and a half,” and to get them ready so they have a maximum chance when tremendous pressure comes on them—tremendous miracles and power and fear—and maybe even, they see some people they know and love die—that they not collapse. Because remember, God’s overall purpose is that they pass—that they make it.

I can’t imagine going into Jerusalem and not saying things to the leaders there…“This is the wrong guy. The right one will be along shortly.” But there’ll even be another one that’s wrong called the prince of Tyre and the king of the North, and we’ll get into get into that more I hope next week. I can’t imagine not going to certain Israelite nations during this period, before Christ comes to sit on David’s throne, and telling the leaders of Israelite nations…I mean, I just can’t imagine. I had a long time to think about this…and certain things are not said to the leaders of those particular nations that things are about to change. There’s a new ruler coming…

There may be certain warnings to the ministers in the splinters. You know, where you start dealing…you start calling certain people out—“that man is not of God”—or certain other men may have to be ready to lose their lives. It’s going to be a busy 45 days. The Man of Sin does not personally enter the splinters, probably then unified…Now, let me just explain something. If I judge the house, I’ll just tell you what I would decide. I’m going to tell them immediately, “Guess what, you’re now one church, because God has one church. You’re not 400 churches anymore.”

If I’m given the authority to rule them…Think of Matthew 24 and we are, we’re not going to work with them in 400 hundred groups…I’m going to tell them, “Guess what, today you’re in one organization” and they will be looking for help. They’ll…Absolutely, they all want to be together. Not the ones who aren’t converted, who are going to follow what I call the “spiritual sleeper cells.” They were appointed to this ungodliness when they crept in unawares long ago and then they rise up to do their evil according to Acts 20, verse 30, when Christ says, “some will rise among you” and so forth. Those people are not going to agree and the people who follow them aren’t going to agree, but thousands of brethren are going to be looking for direction. Maybe with or without their own ministers, so, you know, we will be in a position to say a lot of…a lot of things that I hope will be very, very helpful.

So these are just some things you need to understand about what it means to escape. It isn’t to escape and we go hide in a warehouse for 45 days, or we escape and just relax here at Headquarters. We’re given assignments. Joshua was given assignments to walk; but the men right with him are, too. So, we’ll learn more about that as time goes on.

So we have, maybe you could say, five assignments that I can think of. Number one: We probably confront three men…Maybe six assignments…and we warn the splinters that they’re next. We deal with the rich men and maybe other leaders in Jerusalem, number three. We work with the world, and no doubt, focus on Israelite nations, because Christ starts everything by beginning to restore the Kingdom to Israel. And if you want to put a sixth one in there, at a point, we start to bite and vex the Man of Sin.

Pretty easy to see he’s going to call us the only thing he can, and one of the telltale signs of who’s the antichrist, who’s the fraud, is that he won’t be able to dispatch us. At some point, his narrative collapses. If he’s “God,” how come you can’t deal with this person or this group of people and followers, or however we’re described…Assuming that I have that right. If there’s some other candidate to be the antichrist, you tell me who it is. Unless he just comes and says, “There never was going to be any antichrist.” Now, that’s a little hard to understand.

“As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married…they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all…[So that’s likened to Christ’s Return, we’ll see that in a moment.]…Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat…drank…bought…sold…planted…built; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed” (Luke 17:26-30). So it’s talking about Christ’s Return.

Now here’s an interesting statement…“In that day…[I want you…I want to read this and see if you can figure out what in the world Christ is saying.]…In that day, he which shall be [on] the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back” (vs. 31). Stop. Now, how in the world could people be thinking about that in the face of salvation?…What?! Want to go back to the house and get mom’s picture and a favorite sweater?

It’s interesting, “stuff in the house”…“stuff” is quite a word…It means “a vessel, implement, equipment or apparatus, specifically, a wife as contributing to the usefulness of the husband…” You wives never thought of yourselves as “stuff,” but now you know…and, presumably, if your husband was on the housetop and he was coming back for a vessel, implement, equipment or apparatus, he’d better be looking for you, too, right?

So…a little humor, there, but that’s what it means. The Greek is skeuos, and there’s a spiritual point. It might literally mean: No, this is you. Don’t go get your wife, and certainly don’t get your favorite chainsaw or hammer or, you know, the expensive vase you bought, this expensive vessel. Don’t go back there!” And if you’re in the field, don’t go back. Now, who would be thinking of that in the face of an angel taking you to the reckoning and the joy of the Lord and salvation! Who would be thinking that?! Let’s keep reading…

“Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it…[What?! How could you be thinking “save your life” when you just made eternal life, if you will? You won’t have a spirit body yet. This is the Return of Christ.]…and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it” (vs. 32-33). Who would be wanting to hold on to this life, on the very day they’re offered the next life?! See the problem?

“I tell you in that night [verse 34] there shall be two in one [couch]”…We know this now…One taken; one left. Two grinding, one taken; one left. Two in the field, one taken; one left (vs. 35-36). Now…whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa…taken, just gone. An angel arrives and says, “You ready to take a ride?” Boom—there’s no decision. So which is it? Are you taken or is there a decision point? See the problem? Make yourself come to grips with this. Are you just simply swooped up, the way rapturists think, off to heaven…Only we understand the truth of it…or are you a person who has a decision to make? You’re on a housetop, you’re in the field; there’s things you want, or you want to look back. Remember Lot’s wife turned to salt.