Does Repentance Or Restitution Save Us From Sin?

Was Judas The Betrayer Saved Because He Repented?

Question : If repentance means it is to make a 180 degree turn around and give back the things we have taken wrongly, did not Judas the one among the twelve apostles of the Lamb felt remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders which he had previously received to betray Jesus (Matt 27:3-5)? Did Judas at the last moment repent before he ended his life? If Judas had repented for what he had previously done, can we expect him to be in heaven because of God's mercies?

Answer : As you say the word "repentance" quite literally means to turn around and go the other way. It is a 180-degree turn around to go in the opposite direction. Repentance is a radical transformation of mind where a complete turn around is wrought by God in one's thinking towards sin and self, till it affects the lifestyle and total behaviour of someone to change. The word “repent” in the Greek is “metanoeo” means “to change your mind; reconsider; or, to think differently” and it does not mean change in behavior though it might follow, sometimes instantly and at other times progressively. The true act of repentance is when a person knows that he is a sinner and needs the Savior Jesus to save him from sin.

The Apostle Matthew says, "3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” 5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself." (Matt 27:3-5). What we see in Matt 27:3-5 is Judas' remorse for sin. When a thief is caught by a police, he will try to return what he has taken to avoid receiving the punishment he deserves. In the same way, Judas having been condemned for betraying Jesus within his conscience, he wanted to justify himself by returning the money he had taken to betray the innocent blood of Jesus. This was a external act trying to justify and clear the conscience through works. If through works he was trying to justify, how could Judas who was a thief and having consistently taken offering put in to the money box as he acted as the treasurer of the apostolic company Jesus led, could ever fully justify himself (John 12:6; 13:25-30)? Many times Jesus directly and indirectly tried to make him understand the evil that was working within him and wanted him to repent and come to Him for salvation (Matt 26:21; John 13:21; Mark 14:17-21; Luke 22:21--23). But it was all in vain as time after time Judas rejected the gracious time God gave him to repent and be saved from sin (Rom 9:16-24).

When Jesus chose the 12 apostolic disciples, he prayed all night with much diligent seeking after the will of God, then he chose the right persons whom God has chosen and then one among them was Judas whom God has called to be an apostle among the twelve (Luke 6:12-16). God did not do a mistake in selecting a betrayer knowingly, Judas must have had zeal to work for God but because of his conscious choice to reject the truth of Jesus consistently, be became a thief, betrayer and a traitor (Luke 6:16). He was chosen to take part in the ministry and apostleship, but by transgression fell headlong to take his own life when he was convicted and condemned by his own conscience after he betrayed Jesus who did no wrong to him but had always sincerely sought to save him from sin by trying to make him understand the seriousness and the result of sin (Acts 1:25; Matt 26:24-25).

First of all Judas was not saved as Jesus spoke of him as a devil who sins, like Satan who sinned from the beginning (John 6:70; 1 John 3:8). Judas after being with Jesus for nearly three and half years, never once let himself repent of his sins and let Jesus save him from sin (John 12:4) and had no remorse for his evil doing of thievery until he died by suicide. As both Jesus and John the baptist preached the same message in their ministry saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!" (Matt 3:2; 4:17), being one among the radical followers of Jesus, Judas completely failed to hear within his heart the message which he might have heard again and again thousands of times and that which he also preached to others (Luke 9:1-2, 6; Matt 10:7). O what a lesson to the preachers and teachers of the word of God, we can preach and teach to others because we are called to do it, without ever being saved if we have not allowed Jesus to change us from our inside from all our sins. Jesus has clearly told that the devil will also try to sow tares which are unsaved men acting as zealous workers for the Lord in the kingdom of God, they will be collected and burnt at the end afterwards during the judgment time for all men (Matt 13:24-30; Heb 9:27). Many of them have been also predicted by Jesus to tell during the white throne judgment that they have prophesied, driven demons and did miracles in Jesus name, but at that time Jesus will tell them that he never knew them at all because they have practiced lawlessness without the salvation from sin that comes by grace through faith (Matt 7:21-23; Rev 20:11-15; Eph 2:8-10).

Just because we are appointed by God to preach and heal the sick and cast out demons can never make us get automatically saved, until we realise that we are sinners and need Jesus to save us from our sins (Mark 3:13-15, 19). If our covetous heart makes us blind enough to think that we need no salvation just because we are called of God to do a mighty work for Him, woe unto us, for we will be heading nowhere but straight to hell like Judas Iscariot who was called by God for apostleship (Mark 14:10, 43-45).

God's word reveals that three things are that which is appointed for all human beings. All humans are called by God [i.e. invited to salvation], chosen [i.e. select favorites, election] to be partakers of salvation, and finally tested for faithfulness [i.e. trustworthy, dependable, reliable] for which they will be rewarded for eternity. God desires all human beings to be saved from sin and spend eternity with Himself (1 Tim 2:3-4). So He has called all men through the gospel of Jesus Christ to get saved from sin (Matt 22:14). But only those who choose Jesus as their Lord and Saviour are chosen by God to be partaker of the great salvation (Matt 22:14; Heb 2:3). There are unprofitable servants who work for God and yet are not saved at all, they do the work of God for selfish ambition and profit sake (Php 1:15-16; 3:18-19; Matt 25:27). Surely the Bible says, "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood [when it is needed to defend their country from the enemy]." (Jer 48:10, TMB Version and Emphasis added within Square Brackets). Once a person is saved, God has prepared good works to be done by the strength and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ for the eternal reward that God has prepared for us ahead (Eph 2:10; John 15:5). These rewards are awaiting for all those who will do the work for which they are called to do faithfully within the kingdom of God (Matt 25:21, 23). The Lord only says to all his faithful servant, "Well done good and faithful servant" and not 'Well done called, chosen and faithful' because all are called and those who have chosen Jesus as their Lord and Savior can only become faithful in the work that God has called them to do for His glory (Eph 2:10). Or else even though every person is called with some natural gifts to work for God which is irrevocable or if they have used it for themselves in the world (Rom 11:29; 2 Tim 4:10), Jesus will not know them personally if they have not chosen Him to save them from sin and therefore will be in the category of those unsaved who practice lawlessness (Matt 7:21-23; John 6:40; 1 John 3:8-9; John 10:27-28). We are exhorted to “make our calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10), so that we can do all our work as for the Lord and receive the reward that God has in store for us (Col 3:23-24; Luke 12:42-23). All true believers who are saved and follow Jesus will be called, chosen and faithful who will receive their reward after Jesus comes and takes back His Church again to the Father's house (Rev 17:14; John 14:2-3; Rev 22:12).

Some people say that God predetermined and prophesied in the Old Testament about the fate of Judas, yet we see that time after time it was the wrong choice which was taken by his own free will that Judas filled in the blank that God has allowed in His sovereign will. Jesus said, "23 “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. 24 The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” 25 Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?” He said to him, “You have said it.”" (Matt 26:23-25). The above verses are prophetical verses mentioned in Psalms 41:9 which Jesus reminded to Judas that he was indeed fulfilling the very thing that has been foretold by God in the Scriptures and so it would have been better if he had not been born than to go to hell fire and spend his eternity without God. Was it cruel of God to create Judas who He knew would be condemned? No way that can be because God was like a movie director who wrote the screenplay and knew the end, but he was watching the movie that was played by the rebels and had nothing to do with those play actors who were acting because of their free will under a new rebellious director Satan and his assistants who took the story of the One who wrote it and began to foolishly boast and fulfill it as though it was their own story, not realising that history is His-story without doubt (1 Cor 2:6-8).

Paul the apostle in 2 Cor 7:10 spoke about two types of repentance by saying, "For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death." Judas' repentance was sorrow of the world that produced death physically and eternally as he was a unsaved man. Godly sorrow will make people realise that they are sinners and that they need Jesus to save them from their sin. Godly sorrow will make the saints to turn away from their sinful lifestyle.

Satan had a plan to make someone within the 12 apostles to betray Jesus and make Him die physically (Matt 27:7-10; 26:24-25, 47-50), as Judas was unsaved thief still living in the kingdom of darkness and under the power of Satan, but was working for the kingdom of God (Acts 26:18), Satan filled him to fulfill his whims and fancies (John 10:10; 13:27, 30; 1 Cor 2:8).

I know of some Christian denominations that majors on external repentance rather than the permanence of salvation for all the people who are saved (John 10:24-30). They fail to say that if Christ saves them, it is for eternity He saves without any effort on their part and that He helps them work out from within their own salvation works for their reward which He has prepared for them already (Eph 2:8-10; Php 2:12-13; Rev 22:12). Many people as they repent of their unrighteous deed that they have done within these denominations, they immediately think that they are justified just because they have returned back the things that were taken by them unrighteously in their past lives. Little do they realise that they cannot by their own outward act of repentance can never save themselves from sin. Slowly they become self righteous religious people within the walls of Church rather than saved people who live by the grace of God. O what a waste of time within the walls of the Church!

Judas never repented with a godly sorrow and was never saved from his sins, so we cannot expect him to be in heaven because of God's mercies. This shows to us clearly that no matter what things we return back from where we have done thievery or how many times we ask sorry for the wrong we have done to people, yet it is of no use in regard to our salvation which is a free gift that God gives apart from our works (Eph 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-8). Our works does include repentance from dead works unto life and of faith toward God which are the elementary principles of Christian life (Heb 6:1). I do not say restitution for past mischief is not necessary, nor discourage you from doing restitution of stolen things or asking forgiveness to people for past hurt which has been caused by you or any other thing if the Holy Spirit convicts you to do it (John 16:7-11; Matt 5:21-26; Eph 4:25-29; Luke 19:8-9; Num 5:7; Exo 22:1). All I am saying is that, whatever restitution or repentance that you do, adds nothing to your salvation that is given absolutely free because of God's mercy through what God has achieved already through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor 1:30; 2 Cor 2:14). In fact you can do nothing to save yourself from sin and if you try to add any work to your faith in Christ Jesus, it again becomes dead works because of wrong motives and will have no reward for it if you are a believer (Rom 4:4; Gal 2:21). If any unbeliever tries to work out his own salvation rather than believe the Lord Jesus by accepting Himself as a sinner in need of the Savior, he will go straight to hell fire like Judas went.

Much Blessings.... :)

Will We Saints Eat And Drink In The Kingdom Of God Or Not?

Is There Eating And Drinking In Heaven?

Question : If what Paul the apostle said about the Kingdom of God not being in eating or drinking is correct, why should Jesus say when He drank the fruit of the vine during the last supper, "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” (Matt 26:29) and also Mark the apostle expressed the same thing with the following words, "Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." (Mark 14:25)? This means directly that there is eating and drinking in the Kingdom of God and that Jesus is even awaiting for it to happen in its set time of God after the rapture of the Church, is it a contradiction?

Answer : The same apostle Paul who said, "For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (Rom 14:17) has also said in 1 Cor 4:20, "For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power." Does that mean that words are not at all used in the kingdom of God to communicate but only sign language or some other means only are used powerfully to express it? No. It means Paul is telling that speaking about the kingdom of God on earth by preaching the word of God is not enough, but let it be preached with the demonstration of that word in signs, miracles, wonders along with living an exemplary life of godliness that will demonstrate the power of God to the people who hear the word of God like the apostles themselves did (Mark 16:20). Some people during the time of the early founding apostles, got jealous of their ministries and tried to proudly preach and teach like the apostles did with authority over the people, without living a godly life that has died to self and flesh through accepting the suffering that God has prepared with persecution to tune their lives (2 Tim 3:12; Heb 12:7-11). To these people apostle Paul warned not to boast in their words, but in their supernatural Spirit led lives of power from heaven.

The meaning of each verse in the Bible depends upon the context in which it was spoken. In Rom 14:17, when Paul spoke that "the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking", he was emphasizing to those Gentile Christians who were living in the area of Rome not to openly take advantage of their liberty which Christ has given to them to eat any meat with a word of prayer which sanctifies it (1 Tim 4:3-5), to the extent of causing a Jewish Brother or a Vegetarian Brother from a religious background in their past which has prevented them from eating meat to get stumbled away from Christ because of it. So Paul the apostle exhorted that it is not good to do anything that would become a stumbling block to the spiritual growth of the brethren who have mindsets based on their past religious upbringing. It will take time for the new believers to come out into the liberty that the Lord gives to eat all animal flesh that is available on the market with thanksgiving and a prayer of blessing over it. But until then those who have grown in faith and liberty which the Holy Spirit gives (Rom 14:22-23; 2 Cor 3:17-18), should consider these brethren who have limited themselves to their past upbringing and the way of life in which they have been trained, and make sure that they do not become offended by anybody mature in Christ saying that the religious values that they hold in high esteem are unchristianly foolish or tell them that they have no faith in this area of their spiritual life. For this reason Paul expressed that the kingdom of God is not in any religious rules of what to eat or what not to eat, but for all people on earth the manifestation of the kingdom of God can be seen and felt only through the righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit that they receive from God and give to all those who are living around them on earth as it is in heaven. In other words Paul the apostle was saying that eating or drinking doesn't matter at all in spiritual life compared to importance of regularly experiencing God's righteousness, peace and joy as they are the only evidence that we are becoming spiritually mature in the Lord.

So what Paul said is in no way a contradiction to what Jesus said because Paul the apostle spoke about food in a earthly context and Jesus spoke about it in a heavenly context. But both spoke about the kingdom of God which is nothing but living under the direct control and rulership of God as a citizen of heaven (Heb 12:22-23; Php 3:20-21). We should understand that when the Israelites ate manna from heaven, it was angels food that they ate (Psa 78:25; Exo 16:31; Num 11:7). This shows that even angels in heaven do eat food even though they have a meta-physical body that is unlike earthly. Even when Jesus said to the apostles, "Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." (Mark 14:25), it is a confirmation that wine will be available in the kingdom of God and that drinking it is not an unspiritual thing but a joy to take within. Kingdom of God is not in eating and drinking means that the survival and joy in heaven comes not just by eating food like on earth. Though we will be able to eat in heaven and will be supplied with choice delicacies yet it will be a choice to be enjoyed and not a unavoidable and mandatory need to be fulfilled. Even Jesus in his new resurrected metaphysical body ate fish and honey with His disciples (Luke 24:41-43), but that does not mean that the second Man who is the Lord from heaven with a spiritual body will die if He totally fails to eat unlike when He was on earth before His death and resurrection (1 Cor 15:47, 44). In the spiritual body, eating will be a fun and a hobby, most importantly we need to understand that it will not be a necessity when we are in heaven. Yes we as the Church along with all the apostles will all partake in the marriage ceremony of the Lamb in heaven, after which the supper of the Lamb will follow in which Jesus and we the Church will also drink the fruit of the vine with Him and the angels (Rev 19:7-9). GLORY TO GOD! Praise the Lord!

Much Blessings....

Why God Has Not Destroyed Satan Still, Does He Still Hold The Omnipotence?

Why God Allows Us To Be Tempted When He Has The Power To Destroy The Devil?

Question : Hi Pastor, Praise the lord!! My unbelieving friend asked me one question, If temptation is given by devil...then why God allows devil to tempt us. If God has the authority and power to destroy the devil, then why He has not yet done it???

Answer : Hear what the Bible says regarding this question, "12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." (James 1:12-17).

Enduring temptation until the approval time of God comes will bring reward from God without fail. God does not tempt anyone as He cannot be tempted by evil as He is infinitely holy and pure who lives in the unapproachable light (1 Tim 6:16). Human are tempted by their own fallen nature of sin which makes them desire sin as it entices them. Once sin becomes conceived within human heart by wrong choice, it gives birth to sinful evil actions outwardly, which will then fully grow soon into irresistible evil habit. Once the habit becomes the master, soon it brings forth death as the habit is continued irresistibly. Never be deceived by your human heart which deceives (Jer 17:9). The devil puts thoughts into the already deceitful human heart and once those thoughts are accepted as a desirable alternative to the reality of truth that comes from God, then Satan lets loose his evil tidings in the life of the person who has given consent to practice sin freely.

In other words, God wants to bless all humanity with His good and perfect gift. This is the reason God allows temptation that comes through the devil. When each man is tempted and overcomes His evil nature within, he will receive the crown of life which Jesus will supply to all those who loved God enough to hate sin and its nature that deceitfully tried to deceive them into independency apart from God when they were on earth. When a person accepts Himself as a sinner before God and accepts Jesus Christ as His Lord and Saviour, then that person becomes eligible to to run this race and win the prize of the crown of life (John 1:12; Rom 7:24-25; 1 Cor 9:24-27).

Satan can be destroyed by God in a fraction of seconds as He is all powerful and sovereign over all His creation (Jer 32:27), but God has chosen to use Satan to fulfill His purpose and have also set a time for Satan and all his evil angels to be judged and destroyed forever in the lake of fire for all their evil doings (Isa 54:16; 14:15-17; 1 Cor 6:3; Rev 20:10). Until God's set time comes for Satan and his evil cohorts, they are hell bent to continue in their insidious evil work (Rev 12:12; Matt 8:29). So in one way indirectly, even Satan and his evil minions are unknowingly working for the purpose of God to be fulfilled, which is to test and redeem humanity from sin, and give them eternal life through Jesus Christ the Son of God in order for them to stay with Himself for the rest of their eternity in friendship and fellowship (1 Cor 2:6-8; 1 Tim 2:3-4; 1 John 5:11-12; 3:2-3).

How can a student be ever promoted to higher class unless he faces a test at the end of each academic year? The same thing God applies to all the students who partake in the spiritual race too, unless there is a test God cannot be able to trust us with His heavenly riches which He has already prepared for us before even time began. So let us all run the race, and pray for your unbelieving friend to understand this concept supernaturally and thus become a follower of the Lord Jesus to inherit the crown of life in his life too.


Much Blessings....

Rapture And Baylon The Great Harlot Mother?

This Is All About The Rapture And Its Intricacies, Along With The Catholic Church And Its Harlotrous Deception

Question : Brother, I have some doubts.....

1. Is the word RAPTURE in the Bible?

2. What is purgatory?

3. The people left behind in the world after Rapture, will they have a chance to accept Jesus?

4. Are we now itself experiencing the troubles of 7 years Tribulation period?

5. The Idol worship followed by Roman catholics is in fact not in accordance with His Ten commandments. If not, why they are still following this worship knowing very well that its against BIBLE.

Will you please explain?

With Blessings...

Answer : RAPTURE

The word 'rapture' is not in the Bible. Many want to make up a argument about it to dismiss the Biblical and apostolic view of the rapture of the end time Church completely. But the fact of the matter is, the concept of the rapture appears in the Bible both in the epistles and in the gospels again and again.

The word "rapture" comes from the Latin word rapturo, which is a translation of the Greek verb "caught up [harpazo.Gr]" that's found in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. It also means "seize", "snatch" or "take away" the Church forcefully out of this earth. The term Rapture is used to refer to the faithful believers being taken up to meet Christ in the air as described in this passage written by the apostle Paul, "15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." (1 Thess 4:15-17).

English is a beautiful language that has evolved to be an international language because of its ability to adapt itself to the various other languages of the world. Many of the words we use in English have come from various other languages like Latin, Sanskrit, French, etc....so in this case the word rapture is used from latin language to describe the act of the Church being caught up in the air when Jesus comes to rescue it from the Tribulation that is coming upon the whole earth (Rev 3:10; 2 Thess 1:6-8; 1 Thess 1:10). Rapture is a word of comfort for the Church as Jesus has promised the Church to be delivered from the wrath of God that is coming upon all the inhabitants of the earth for their sinful ways upon it (Isa 2:17-21; 1 Thess 4:18). Even the word 'Lucifer' is not mentioned like the word 'Rapture' in the Bible, but nobody will ever want to Biblically deny the existence of Satan and his untimely exit out of heaven when he was thrown out for his pride because the concept is clearly understood (Isa 14:13-15; Ezek 28:16-17). So may we all seek to understand the concept of "Rapture" rather than to fight regarding words and its meaning in the language we understand.


PURGATORY

Purgatory is a unbiblical doctrine that denies the finished work of Christ on the Cross and extends it saying that those who have sinned must make amends for it after death to become sanctified and be fit to enter into heaven. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Purgatory is “a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God's grace, are not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions.” They say that only saints can enter into heaven directly or else all other sinners must enter purgatory and then only after suffering for a while will be fit for heaven. This is totally unbiblical and take away the glory of the absolute sanctification that all believers are entitled through His death, burial and resurrection (Heb 10:9-10, 14). When Christ died He said, "It is finished and a full stop, and did not put a comma saying it is to be continued (John 19:30).

When we come to Christ all of us come to Him as sinners, but after we have come to Christ, all believers are called as saints irrespective of whether some believers have a lot of past sinful habits or less or nothing at all after they were saved. And above all, all believer's are ready to enter into the very sinless Presence of God in heaven the moment they die because of what Christ has done for each of them personally and equally. Salvation is totally by faith in Christ Jesus, or no salvation at all by works no matter how much is done or not (Eph 2:8-9). The Bible says that it is appointed for all men to once die and after that judgment based on whether they have accepted Christ or have rejected Him, for all those who have accepted Him as their Lord and Savior, and expectantly look forward to His secret coming which is only for believers, He will come the second time to rescue them from God's wrath for salvation apart from sin (Heb 9:27-28). Christ Jesus suffered once and for all time for the sins of many so that all might be saved from it to enter heaven forever to be with God apart from their works. Purgatory has no Biblical support even in one place in the entire Bible.


LEFT BEHIND PEOPLE'S SALVATION

Jesus said to all believers of the end time, "36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:36). From the above Scripture we can understand that in the end time all those who watch the spiritual climate and pray as believers in Christ Jesus are those who will escape all the wrath of God that is coming upon the whole earth for its sinfulness and rebellion against God (Rev 3:10). Those who will be left behind will be severely persecuted if they choose to believe in the Lord Jesus as their Messiah for salvation and will reject anti-Christ who will be the one world leader at that time. They will have a final chance to accept Jesus at the cost of their own lives as the Scripture says, "15 He [i.e. the false prophet] was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast [i.e. Anti-christ], that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666." (Rev 13:15-18).

All left behind people will have a final chance to either survive on earth to receive the 666-mark of the beast or choose to starve on earth expecting Jesus to rescue them at His Second Coming to the earth or else choose to live in heaven with God forever as they will be put to death if caught by the surveillance scanner of Anti-christ network. But clearly at that time a supernatural angelic message by a third angel will be declared all around the world openly saying, "9 .... with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” 12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." (Rev 14:9-12). So we know that at the time of the Tribulation, those saints who die believing Jesus patiently inspite of suffering and death will go on to heaven, but those who look for earthly survival will go eternally to hell fire where the false prophet and Antichrist will become the first occupant at the time of Jesus' Second Coming to this present earth (Rev 19:19-20).


ARE WE ALREADY EXPERIENCING THE 7 YEARS TRIBULATION PERIOD?

I do not believe that we are in the end time Tribulation period because apostle Paul said, "1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?" (1 Thess 2:1-5). At the time when Paul first visited the Thessalonian Church, he himself was believing that God might rapture the Church in his generation as the persecution of the Roman empire was so close to the Anti-christ's end time Tribulation. But as God revealed further truth about the rapture of the Church to apostle Paul, later he visited and explained to the Thessalonian Church the revealed truth from God and what are the further signs that will happen to know that the end has come. But the next time he visited the same Thessalonian Church, it was already targeted by false teachers who came with forged letter with the signature of Paul at the end of it. They told them and confused them saying that the rapture of the Church has already happened and that they are at the time of Tribulation period. Paul came to the Thessalonian Church and corrected their false understanding by reminding them of what he has taught them previously. He clearly reminded them that the day of rapture of Church will not come until first a falling away comes first in all the Church around the world, infiltrated by demonic doctrines of fervent religious kind (1 Tim 4:1-3). Then the man of sin who is Anti-christ will be revealed to all believers who will be watchful and prayerful at that time, and he will sit in the temple of God in Jerusalem which will be built at the end time, then he will boast to the whole world that he himself is god the messiah of the whole world. So we the end time Church now know just as the Thessalonian Church that we cannot be in the Tribulation time until these things happen first as Paul the apostle has prophesied.

The 7 year tribulation period is made up by Theologians of the past and cannot be supported Biblically. The 7 year period can only be called as Daniel's 70th Week which has been paused by God until the time of the end will start (Daniel 9:24-27; 12:4, 9). Actually nobody can know when the actual Tribulation length of God's wrath will exactly take place according to God's pre-planned timetable in which it will start and end (Matt 24:22), but generally we know that it will happen only after we the end time Church will leave the earth (1 Thess 1:10). Praise the Lord! But, I also believe that we are in the time of birth pangs that Jesus prophesied just before the Daniel 70th week will start prophetically (Matt 24:3-14; 13:1-13, 28-31, 32-37; Luke 21:29-36). All the catastrophic and cataclysmic destruction of apocalyptic proportions that we have been seeing in the past decade, which has been increasing more and more each day is nothing but the beginning of birth pains of the end time (Matt 24:8). Soon within a couple of decades or even less than that, according to me, any time the Tribulation might start as the end times events are increasingly becoming heavier and more frequent in intensity.


WHY CATHOLIC CHURCH PRACTICES IDOLATRY KNOWING THAT IT IS ABSOLUTELY PROHIBITED BY GOD IN TEN COMMANDMENTS?

Exactly as you have said, God has totally prohibited His covenant people from making any images for the purpose of worshipping it instead of worshipping Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24; Deut 5:8). God has promised to take vengeance on all those who break His law and so all the catholics who do idol worship will definitely come under the curse of God even if some of them are sincere in their devotion towards God (Deut 5:7-10). You have really asked a wonderful question by saying if catholic Church is really a Church of God, why are they openly worshipping idols against the very Bible that they say they follow? Actually, they have printed a misinterpreted Bible for their own practices to justify their false and deceitful doings. Not just you, even apostle John was totally surprised and amazed in the vision that God showed to find the catholic Church as the false Babylon church, here is what he said, "1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” 3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement." (Rev 17:1-6).

The catholic harlot church which practices Idol worship will try to ride the beast of the end time government of Anti-christ. After some time of initial success, both the false prophet and Anti-christ will together hate the catholic Church as it will become a stumbling block against their plan to form a one world religion of their own, and so will be destroyed by them (Rev 17:15-18). The golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of the harlots fornication in the 4th verse of Revelation Chapter 17 is nothing but the idolatry that replaces the worship of the true God in spirit and in truth. Why the catholic Church is practicing idolatry openly against the God of the Bible? Because it is the harlot of the Book of Revelation that God revealed to His apostle John. So rather than asking why, we can be assured to know the truth and be not deceived by these catholic people who still try to deceive true believers with their money with which they lure into it (Rev 2:6, 14-15). The harlot of the catholic church is doing nothing but business in the name of God and so let us not only stay away from this deception but also warn others who are naively lost spiritually because of its strong influence over them.

There is a story of the conversation between the pope and the chief cardinal that I have heard, the pope said to a chief pious cardinal when he was filled with pride seeing the treasury of the catholic headquarters of Rome filled with gold, "Apostle Peter said, 'Silver and Gold I have none....' but now we have no such problem as we are filled with gold more than anyone on this earth." The pious cardinal replied back to the pope with a righteous anger and shame saying, "Yes you are right Father, but also we cannot say like Apostle Peter, 'what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.'" How true this is, all believers should live like the apostles and not be deceived by the harlot of the catholic Church which will become more and more prominent in the world exactly as prophesied by the apostle John.

Much Blessings...