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He knows it is time. Unspoken words pass between a Father and His Son.
For the first time in 2,000 years, Jesus rises to his feet. All heaven
gasps as the impact reverberates throughout God’s Kingdom.
In Paradise, expectation
had been building for many months. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had
positioned themselves on the threshold of Paradise, prepared for the
Great Gathering. They sing ...and
the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive
and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet
the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever (1 Thess
4:16,17).
On Earth, a small remnant
of fanatics have been living in catacombs under the Beast’s
totalitarian kingdom. Not a place of hiding in fear, but of power and
miracles. A place of peace and a people in perfect communion with God. A
place of manna and the dividing of the Red Sea. Spiritual gifts being
used in awesome power and authority. No MacDonalds and TV. No pleasure
cruises, vacations to Disney World or watching the latest movie. In the
midst of a world in chaos, He led His remnant beside green pastures and
still waters.
They have died for one
another. No room for selfishness. No suffering alone. Sorrows have lead
their imaginations to a Kingdom Come—streets of gold and gates of
pearl, face to face with God. A home free from tears and death. The fire
of Tribulation has done its job. Only what is pure remains, a Bride
longing for her Husband.
What began as a quit
whisper grew in strength until it became a chant that echoed throughout
His entire Kingdom. A song never heard before in heaven. Not sung by the
voices of angels but a different sound. The sound of longing. Come
Lord Jesus come! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Through
suffering, her bed has been made clean from lovers. Her heart desires
only One. And in that pure desire, she sings an invitation that Christ
has long awaited.
Weddings can be such busy
times. Everything must be perfect to the smallest detail. The seating
arrangement for half a billion people can become tedious at the best of
times. Every angel from Gabriel to the smallest creature in heaven has a
job. This is heaven’s finest hour—The Grand Finale!
The Dragon had become
drunk on his own pride, failing to recognize his impending doom. As the
trumpet blast shatters through earth’s dark night, it pierces his
soul, striking terror. Mighty spiritual warriors begin to pour forth
from the catacombs and stand before a thousand foot high, ten–headed
beast, wielding the Sword of the Spirit in one hand and the Power of God
in the other, proclaiming, Your
doom is upon you!
The air shatters with
wedding bells. A tired and weary bride who has fought many battles,
looks up. The sun darkens. The moon gives up its light. Stars fall from
the sky. The heavens shake. The nations of the earth mourn. Wicked
ungodly men run in terror from the Glory of God. He is dressed in a robe
reaching down to His feet with a golden sash around His chest. His head
and hair is white as snow and eyes are like blazing fire. His feet—like
bronze glowing in a furnace. His face—brighter than the sun shining in
all its brilliance. Graves explode as paradise gives up its dead. With a
voice of thundering waters, the Great Husband cries, It is done, the
suffering is over. Come up to me my Bride. For you shall dwell with Me
forever and ever.
"It is done. I am
the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I
will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.
... He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he
will be my son.
Revelation 21: 6,7
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