Luke 21:25 foretells the following…”And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;”

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Here is one of the last events to happen just prior to the return of Christ, for it is written…”And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:28

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If ever there was a time to be looking up, as this verse commands, it is NOW!

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And while looking up, has the Reader yet located the “Serpent of Old Constellation”? Well, by all means do so! It is a very remarkable constellation with jaws made from the very same stars that form the head of that ancient Babylonian constellation, “Draco”.

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Now, the body of Draco is made of completely different stars than the body of this Serpent of Old Constellation. Just the four stars which make up the head of Draco are the very same four stars which form the jaws of the Serpent of Old.

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The reason for bringing this up is to use this Serpent of Old Constellation’s jaws to illustrate the main point of today’s devotional.

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You see, those four stars which comprise the Serpents jaws make him appear to have his deadly jaws wide open. And one of the remarkable aspects of this is discovered by following the two trajectories of each jaw, both the upper as well as the lower jaws.

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And if one should do this, it will be discovered that the lower jaw makes a straight line across the night-sky to, guess where?

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The two stars of the lower jaw makes a trajectory straight to the Valley of Decision Constellation!

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But if you should follow the trajectory of the two stars which comprise the upper jaw, guess where that leads to?

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The two stars of the upper jaw makes a trajectory straight across the night-sky to the five foolish virgin stars on the Broad Way to Hell Constellation which is part of the Valley of Decision Constellation!

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So just why is this important?

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Well, the reason why these two trajectories are important is because they illustrate the great purpose of Satan, as he leads the apostate portion of the Church to The Valley of Decision, to be judged, and then ultimately down to Hell!

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Here is where the parable of the Ten Virgins begins to have great significance in these last days! You see, in that parable, the five foolish virgins could not make it into the wedding supper. Because, when their lamps went out, they just did not have any oil in their vessels to see the Way into the wedding supper! And only the five wise virgins had back-up oil to light their Way into the supper.

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Here is a great illustration concerning the seal of God and the mark of the Beast!

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To put it very concisely, only those who have the oil of God’s Holy Spirit in their vessels (their hearts), have the seal of God. But those who do not have oil in their vessels (their hearts) will soon be filled with the character of Satan, which is the spirit of Antichrist, which is the spirit of the world.

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Now both groups had oil in their lamps, which symbolized the Word of God, the Bible. And yet, those lamps all went out! Here is a frightening truth which many do not fully grasp. In these last days, it appears as if God is going to withdraw His Spirit from the Bible. And those who have been hiding His precious promises in their hearts will be required to walk by whatever scriptures they have already stored within.

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But those who have been too busy in the world will find themselves bankrupt and left in darkness on that Day!

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In other words, at some point in time, God’s people will be required to rely only upon whatever portion of the Bible they previously hid in their hearts via the daily study and contemplation of God’s precious promises. But the foolish ones in the Church had been so preoccupied with the cares and pleasures of the world that they neglected to do the ever-so-critical heart-work necessary to stand in the Evil Day!

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Listen again to Luke….”And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:34-36

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Here is a warning to all, that we must not allow the cares and pleasures of this life eclipse our necessary preparation for the coming crisis!

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Jesus plainly revealed to His disciples that true Salvation can only be revealed by a total devotion to God…”So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:33

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And so, there are many in today’s church-world who have been deceived by their church-leaders into believing that they can still vigorously pursue the many seemingly “good” pleasures and ambitious pursuits of this selfish world, and still maintain a relationship with Christ. Oh yes, those foolish ones go to church each week. And oh yes, they have enjoyed many fruitful Bible studies in the past.

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But when that dreadful Day finally arrives, it will be so sad when they discover that they were totally bankrupt of heavenly grace: no oil in their vessels (their hearts)!

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And so, this is why that wily old serpent, the Devil and Satan is leading all the foolish ones in the Church to the Valley of Decision, and ultimately off to Hell!

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Listen…”Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3:14

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Well, there is a bit of Good News, in spite of this dreadful news just presented.

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You see, in His great mercy, God has allowed just enough time for all of us who have foolishly squandered our precious moments seeking for earthly treasures and pleasures, to repent! Yes, those of us who have been foolish virgins, spiritually speaking, can use this little probationary time remaining, to cry out to God for mercy and grace!

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Listen to James 4:4, 8-10, as he speaks to God’s professed people…”Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God… Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.”

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Not only does God consider worldly-minded Christians His enemies, but he graciously calls us to a deep repentance and a heart-felt humbling before His throne, crying out to Him for another chance!

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And so, O man, woman, and child, we have our work cut out for us! There is not a moment to lose! The Evil Day is upon us! There is no more time to dilly-dally in the world! We must continue to beg and plead for God’s grace, until we are firmly standing upon the solid Rock of holiness and victorious Christ-likeness!

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One of the most remarkable sights is revealed when we realize that God has created the stors of the heavens to tell the Gospel story!

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THE SERPENT OF OLD CONSTELLATION

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And if one should look in the vicinity of Corona Borealis, he or she might behold a constellation known as the “Serpent of Old Constellation”.

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It is a very remarkable constellation with jaws made from the very same stars that form the head of that ancient Babylonian constellation, “Draco”.

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Now, even though the head is the same, the body of Draco is made of completely different stars than the body of this Serpent of Old Constellation. Just the four stars which make up the head of Draco are the very same four stars which form the jaws of the Serpent of Old.

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ABOVE STAR-CHART – seen late summer into fall only – Serpent Constellation – comprised of the head of Draco, plus stars from the Bootes Constellation – www.signsofheaven.org – not for profit use

Yes, this constellation reminds us of Satan, as he deceived the very first humans, coming in the form of a serpent, convincing them to transgress the one and only law of God given to them to obey!

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And this Master-Deceiver has been busily deceiving the human race ever since!

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One way in which he deceives humans is to convince us that he doesn’t even exist. And then he has perpetuated many false ideas about science, specifically designed to explain away his workings, as if they are merely the result of natural occurrences.

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Mental illnesses are a dramatic illustration of Satan’s genius as he disguises the true cause…devil possession, or devil harassment.

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Now, another ingenious tactic Satan uses, is to camouflage his attacks by using existing circumstances to misdirect people from realizing the true spiritual nature of his workings.

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For example, Satan might use a personal tragedy as an opportunity to strike a person with so-called, ‘mental illness’. And then, everybody assumes it was the tragedy or personal loss responsible for the mental illness.

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Another example of Satan’s sophistry is how he uses the physical appearance or effeminate mannerisms of an individual to provide cover for Satan’s tempting that person into a life of unnatural sexual desires. The result is that people just assume that person’s abhorrent attractions are due to genetic causes, when they are actually the workings of devils!

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And these and countless other deceptions are enough to convince us that so much of mankind’s troubles are due to natural causes, thus further erasing Satan and his vast unseen armies from any blame for the world’s woes.

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We humans are so easy to deceive! We just imagine that if Satan does exist, he is no more than some pitch-fork wielding imp in red long-johns! We think that if Satan exists, he’s just some sort of simpleton, when the truth is, that we are the true simpletons! After all, don’t we think that he’s smart enough to cover his tracks? Don’t we understand that if we truly realized that he is “the god of this world”, we would begin to cry out to the true God of Heaven for deliverance?

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The true worshiper of Christ will hopefully not be “ignorant of his devices”. This world is literally teeming with Satan’s deceptions! And the vast majority of the human race are totally deceived as to the true nature and existence of the spiritual battle raging all around us!

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Well, the Good News is, that this is still the hour in which we can cry out for heavenly wisdom, and the ability to read, contemplate, and understand the Book which has been given to Mankind…the Holy Bible! And that Book will become our guide-map out of this very deceptive world of selfishness and death! And there awaits a Promised Land in which we will never again be deceived! Because the Devil, Lucifer, will be forever vanquished. He won’t even exist! And in that wonderful Land, we will live forevermore…forever happy, and forever young!

One night, while lying in bed, Vanessa thinking back on her day, and the conflict she had with a friend. What started out as a little disagreement, soon crescendo-ed into a blowout argument. Of course, the two parted ways in a huff, and each spent the remainder of the day like steaming hot tea-pots!

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Now, the usual modus-operandi of these two church-going ladies, is to remain in that condition for some days, or even weeks until both became totally simmered down, and ready to resume their friendship.

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Now, the question is, “Is this the proper conduct for true Christians to engage in? Does forgiveness need time to heal and even days/weeks to forgive?

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Maybe the Scriptures can offer insight into the matter of forgiveness.

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Well, if we go to Acts, the true account of Stephen’s stoning death, we see a Christian engaging in instant forgiveness, as he cried out in the midst of his bloody assault…“And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”

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Another wonderful example is, of course, the words of Jesus, when suffering on that cruel Cross of Calvary…”Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34

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Here above, we see two instances of instant forgiveness! One example by Jesus, and another by a human, Stephen!

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And so, just how do these examples line up and agree with Scripture?

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Listen…”And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:31, 32

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So here is a passage just jam-packed with spiritual admonition about the heart-condition of the, “true worshippers” of God! And let’s not imagine that such a godly Spirit merely comes and goes. This is to be an ongoing Spirit within a Believer’s heart.

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Listen again to Paul’s letter to Galatia…“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22, 23

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And listen to how Galatians comes to an end…¹⁸ Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.”

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Daily Devotional, Year 2, December 24

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Liberty of Conscience in the Family

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“For I (God) know him (Abraham),

that he will command his children and his household after him,

and they shall keep the way of the LORD,

to do justice and judgment”

Genesis 18:19

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In centuries past, the family was often ruled over by the stern hand of the father.

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Divorces were rare and family members knew they had to obey when in the sight of the father.

Jewish Children with their Teacher in Samarkand – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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FAMILIES TODAY

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Fast-forward into our current-day society.

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To a great extent, the father no longer enjoys such supreme authority.

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Maybe in some other cultures.

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But not the western nations so much.

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And decreasingly so in all cultures, pretty much.

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As a matter of fact, it is not uncommon today, for the wife to be the head boss of the household.

Family Portrait – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-alike License

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THE CHRISTIAN HOME

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But for the Christian home, things should be much closer to Heaven’s way of governing.

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In other words, the Christian father and mother should take their respective roles, bringing up their children wisely and patiently and godly.

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Well, at least that’s the way it should be.

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But in most cases, the children, tragically, have been greatly influenced by outside associations (TV, Internet, radio…and even comic books, friends, public-schooling, etc…)

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And so, needless to say, family life in the west has become very complicated for all, but especially for the Christian!

Divorce – Wikimedia – the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

ABOVE PICTURE: TV indoctrination – www.signsofheaven.org – not for commercial uses

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“For I know him (Abraham), that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment…”

Genesis 18:19

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Quite often, the newer Christian is very zealous to “command his (or her) children and his household after him”, just like faithful Abraham.

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But more often than not, the new Believer soon discovers that in today’s world, “the god of this world” has worked 24/7/365 to make things extremely difficult, especially for Christians!

 

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“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”

Ephesians 6:4

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But as the Believer becomes more seasoned in the Word, he or she begins to let go of the “tight grip on the reins”, so to speak, thus allowing more breathing room for family members to continue their world-loving lives.

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And thus, that frustrated Believer begins to spend copious amounts of time in his or her “prayer closet”, praying and pleading for their Salvation!

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And this sad state of affairs causes the Believer to determine to live closer and more devoted to the Lord.

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And thus, by such fiery trials, the Lord, day-by-day, imperceptibly changes Believers into Christ’s glorious image!

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Morning Prayers – Ebenezer Newman – Downard – 1860 – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”

Romans 8:28

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Yes, God is able to take all such bitter situations and turn them around for that suffering Believer’s future eternal joy!

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And God, indeed, “works ALL THINGS together for good”, even both the big and little problems of everyday life! Romans 8:28

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But we have the following “exceeding great and precious” promise that we must cling to…

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Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD;

that walketh in His ways.

For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands:

happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house:

thy children like olive plants round about thy table.

Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.

Psalm 128:1-4

Second Coming – Return – Resurrection Morning – Jan Luyken – Bible – Wikipedia – US Public Domain (2)

Family eating meal – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to learn patience and forbearance with my family. And help me to more greatly lay down my life on the altar of self-sacrificing love on their behalf…”

Family Prayer Before Meal – Wikimedia – US-Govt. – Public-Domain

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read…

June 22 (The Return of Elijah, Part 1: “Fathers & Children”),

….or you can also read…

January 8 (“Successful Absentee Parenting”)

….or you can also read…

“December 24 (“Love Does Not Insist Upon Its Own Way”)”

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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THE END

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TODAY’S HEAVENLY SIGN

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ETERNITY NOT A PUFFY LITTLE CLOUD!

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“Where there is no vision, the people perish” Proverbs 29:18

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In the beginning, God placed our first parents in a beautiful garden.

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But as a result of sin, this world lost much of its beauty.

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The curse has marred, to a great extent, the pristine condition of nature.

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But there are perhaps many, who are under the impression, that God’s redeemed will spend all eternity sitting on a puffy little cloud, strumming a harp.

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Nothing could be further from the truth…“And I saw a new heaven and a NEW EARTH:” Revelation 21:1

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Do we really imagine that the same God who created that incredible garden for our first parents, would then put us through all this sorrow and hardships of this life, only to now stick us in some boring situation, for all eternity?

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Such people don’t know God nearly well enough.

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The beauty and innocent joys of this present world, are just a faint reflection of what awaits all those who persevere on the upward pathway to that Celestial City of God.

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LET’S CATCH A VISION OF THAT PROMISED LAND

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So, Signs Of Heaven encourages the reader to begin to get a vision of the New Heaven and New Earth, and begin to get excited about it.

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When we hear the cry of a newborn baby, or the innocent laughter of little children.

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When we see a little forest creature having fun, or we enjoy a walk along the sand at the ocean, and hear the majestic roar of the crashing waves.

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These, and the many other joys of life were created by the One who has also gone to prepare an even more beautiful place for us to live.

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He knows our needs, and will provide a place: a far more wonderful home than this sin-cursed Earth!

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And when we finally cross that river, and we stand together on the shores of that world to come, we will look in amazement at what He has in store for us there.

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And then we will know for certain, that “His mercy endures forever”, because “God is love”!

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Wildpferde Tripsdrill wikimedia commons share-alike license

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TOMORROW

DECEMBER 25 (Come Out of Her, My People! Part 33: “Which Church Will You Choose?”)

ABOVE PICTURE: Satan, The False Prophet who now in these last days destroys the churches via a world-loving prosperity-driven false gospel – www.signsofheaven.org

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EXCERPTS FROM THE OPEN FORUM QUESTION/ANSWER RADIO TALK-SHOW…

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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) are invited to listen to this small 30 minute sampling of the late Harold Camping’s nearly 50 year-long series of 90 minute nightly talk shows…This is Open Forum Show #42

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ABOVE PICTURE: Holy bible – Wikimedia – Creative Commons lic.

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