Well, we are still here and November 8, 2006 has passed without a rapture, an earthquake, or an asteroid hit. The scoffers are probably gleefully saying "False prophets!" or "I told you so!" But even that is a fulfillment of prophetic words:

 

"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." 2 Peter 3: 3-4

 

     I have said before, and I still mantain, that our eager watching, which includes the signs in the earth and the heavens, as well as time periods on the calendar, and hours on the clock, and various assortments of other calculations all serve a purpose. I believe that we are being refined like gold, not only in ourselves, but in the manner in which we search for clues.

 

"And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God." Zechariah 13:9

 

   Perhaps some will fall away after the disappointment, perhaps others WILL be refined as gold. Those who fall away were not of us in the first place.

 

"They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away." Luke 8:13

 

"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;" 2 Thess 2:3

 

"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." Hebrews 6: 4-6

 

   I believe we are in the time of the separation, the winnowing of the wheat from the chaff, the hay from the stubble, the sheep from the goats, the wise from the foolish. Those of us who watch and continue will reap a reward in the end. We must not lose faith over a moment's disappointment.

 

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Hebrews 11:6

 

"For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Psalm 30:5

 

    I have been an almost daily reader at Five Doves since I first discovered this website about 8 years ago. At the beginning I believed as Gospel truth just about everything posted here. I believe the Lord has been teaching me discernment since, and I have certainly grown in my faith and in my walk with Him. I was saved at age 8, but spent many years in rebellion, living in the wilderness, but it was not until I realized that the Lord is not coming for a bride who is foolish and unprepared, whose garments are spotless, that I became serious about living for Him. That was a direct result of watching with other Doves, even though my first real watch date some years ago led to great disappointment. For a time afterwards I was mocked and ridiculed by others, whom I do not bother to tell about our searching now, and I went briefly back into the wilderness, but the Lord has made great changes in my life since. At times it has been a struggle and there has been much heartache, but I am learning to persevere and I would encourage others to also.

 

"If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small." Prov 24:10

 

    I am not here today to give my testimony or to tell how wonderful I am now that the Lord has changed me from being a lukewarm Christian who was caught up in the things of the world, too busy for Him. I am here to encourage all of you who have been watching, some from the sidelines, some in the trenches, and some in the midst of the raging battle, for the spiritual warfare has intensified over the past few years. We know we are living in the end times; the devil and his demons know it also and tremble. The battle will only intensify as the day of our redemption draws ever nearer.

 

"Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." Rev 12:12

 

   I encourage you all to keep looking up, continue searching for the hidden treasures, and keep sharing your puzzle pieces with the others. The whole picture will only be complete when the last piece is put in place.

 

"Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 2 Tim 4:8

 

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us," Heb 12:1

 

"He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it." Isaiah 25:8

 

"For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Rev 7:17

 

"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Rev 22: 17

 Hallelujah to the Lamb of God! Maranatha and shalom!