Dear Family,

God’s Word has been burning inside of me.  I have been watching.  Some seasons I have closely watched, others I have paid little attention.  As you know in the fall of 2005 I was wrote “A Call to Watch” regarding a 14000 day line up of events related to Israel.  Everyone knows that Israel is a time clock.  Nothing happened, and yet, I was never disappointed for sending that out.
 
The last four months have been a roller coaster for me.  I kept thinking that this really can’t be.  Many things have changed in my own understanding even in the last two weeks.

I believe our Groom is on His way.  For this reason, we should be particularly ready and watchful.
I could list and explain all the signs (they are in position), but the really best understanding is already deep within us, it is in our spirit, we know the end is near.  The last four months I have diligently watched, prayed, and studied.  I know it is very soon perhaps days, perhaps this weekend.  I am not alone.  Many others are saying this.

Facing this can be an emotional shock wave.  Fear is not of God, and upon your own reflection, you know it is the exact opposite of what the Bridegroom would expect/want of the Bride.  To the Jew, the most joyful feast of the whole year is the first day of unleavened bread, the day after Passover.  That seven day feast is a beautiful picture of the Bride and Grooms week of preparation.  It is the night when the maidens of Jerusalem would go out into the vineyards under the full moon and would dance joyously.  It is the night men were to select their brides.  We are right now in the real seven day period celebrated as the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Our thoughts and imaginations can zig-zag regarding our own plans, dreams, and unfinished business.  We gasp, “I am not ready.”  Knowing this also affects those around us deeply.  We have our own wedding plans; we have babies on the way; we have friends and family that are not ready.

We all know the certainty of death, but we seldom think of the certainty of His coming for His Bride.  In deep reflection, we know that Christians alive at His coming for the Bride, will not face death, we will be changed and taken up, just as Enoch and Elijah.  Jesus promised He would go to prepare a place for us and would come again.  This is a picture of the Jewish wedding.  You see, the Jewish Bride and Groom were legally married as soon as the price was paid.  There was a long separation period before they had the actual celebration as a witness to the city.  It came suddenly.  The Jewish Bride was always to be ready.

As I have watched, I have had my own expectations.  I have been wrong even in how I thought things should happen.  For example, I really thought we would have a 7 day “wake up call”, there are so many Scriptural examples of this.  You see, we should never put His plan in our box.  There are Scriptural reasons for a 3 day call for the Bride, there are very good reasons to believe we will know the day on the day, and yes we know the Word says some will literally be sleeping.  “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord, my soul to keep…”  We need to always be ready, but are we? (I am writing to myself as well.)  Do we really watch as commanded?  It is time.  The Word also says “that this time should not take us unawares.”

Stay in the Spirit especially as you retire and as you awake.  I have experienced that spiritual revelation comes on those nights I retire on my knees.  It is a good humble way to crawl into bed.  It is important to be reading the Word.  This is how He confidently speaks to us.  He wants to give us understanding.

God wants to minister peace.  I fondly remember the night I was saved.  I clearly understood that night, that the prayers of my grandmother had been answered.  She had passed 21 years before!  This motivates me to pray today, right now for others.

The Lords Prayer is important to pray every day, as is the Lord’s command in Luke 21:34-36.

Waiting for a very soon day can still be a great error for us because the Word makes it very clear that today is the day of salvation.  None of us know when we will be called home.  We all need to walk in assurance that if we were to die we would know we are going to heaven.

Just because I know you may feel led to send this letter on, I list here the basics for being heaven bound:

God’s plan is most graphically illustrated with the thief on the cross.  One ridicules our Savior.  The other thief, rebukes his words and says to him, “we will receive the due rewards of our deeds.”  And then he says to the Lord Jesus, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
The thief recognizes he is a thief and deserved death which was painfully taking over his crucified body on the cross.  The Word says that the thief feared God.  The thief is the one who hanging with bent knees, asked to be remembered.

Bent knees is the way of the cross.  Jesus could forgive him and say that He would see him that very same day in Paradise BECAUSE His blood was at that very moment being poured out onto the foot of the cross.  The penalty for death was being paid for as He spoke.

There is no better way to be saved than to be saved this same day.  Kneel down, right where you are, and right now confess to Him who you are and verbally say out loud what you deserve.  Right now, do not put it off, stop reading this and Do it, ask Him to forgive you and take you with Him.  He will Do it.

You will know in your spirit that He has forgiven you.  You can believe all of this because, it is exactly according to Scripture: I John 5:13-15.  “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.  And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us; And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.”

You see, the night I was saved, I knew in my spirit that my grandmother had prayed for me.  She very likely had prayed over this very same Scripture, beseeching the Father for her grandchildren.

Right now is the most perfect time for you to in turn pray for the salvation of others around you.  Just as you have been saved, you can boldly pray for them, by name, and they will be saved.  You may or may not see it, but God will not fail, He will pursue to accomplish your prayers.  Go back to your knees and make this a longer special moment, pray for family, your neighbors, your friend, and yes, your enemies.  We all are in need of a Savior.

As Christians we are taught to live everyday as though it may be our last on earth.  There has never been a more appropriate time to do it than these last days that we know we are in.  We know He is at the door.

As Christians we also know we are to be praying for missionaries and fellow Christians around the world. As you read this, they are being slaughtered in numbers in Africa, in Asia, and yes even in America.  Our brothers and sisters are loudly praying “Come Lord Jesus, Come, Please Come…” can you hear their cries?  Can we position ourselves on our knees to pray the same thing with them?  It is time to pray.
Bill