Welcome to the blog of Pastor Alton Stone, from Simpsonville, SC. Pastor Stone is a retired Ordained Bishop of The Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee with over 45 years of pastoral ministry.

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Being Very Serious (Part 20)

Bishop Tim Hill said it in his message at SCCOG Camp Meeting this year and I have preached this as well much the same for the past several years. Too many people are capitalizing off the word REVELATION in our day. If it's not another new prophecy book, it's some other explanation about what is going to happen after Jesus comes to rapture His people. Others sell After The Rapture supplies of food and batteries in case you get left behind or the rapture doesn't take place until the middle of the Tribulation period. Confusing? Yes it is. There are probably more new books on Revelation or the Apocalypse than you can imagine. If you want to make an easy buck today say something stupid or profound about the book of Revelation or prophecy and you can open your checking account and cash in. Everybody wants to hear about calamity but doesn't want to prepare for it. Which one are you?

If I were to tell you a storm is coming tomorrow that would destroy your house you would laugh at me and tell me I was crazy. Then if that storm did come and your house were destroyed you'd search me out to find out how I knew that was going to happen. You would tell others that I could predict the future and pretty soon I would have a massive following because something I said before it happened took place and you were an eye witness of it. I play a game with my younger grandsons with a quarter. I will pretend to make the quarter disappear and then magically reappear behind their ear. Due to their youth I can easily distract them enough to hide the coin in my shirt or under my leg until the right time to make it reappear. Distraction is the key. As long as I can keep them distracted they will never know where the coin is coming from.

That's how easy the devil is in distracting people today from the truth. When another new book about Revelation comes out people try to find a time frame or escape clause in it. When someone announces a date or time that Jesus will return and then it doesn't happen the skeptics say again we who believe are a bunch of idiots. I appreciate people wanting to search the scriptures for truth about Revelation, but Jesus already told us that no man would know the day or hour. There is no new revelation or doctrine. There's nothing else to decipher out of Revelation. Oh yes, it's good teaching material and it sells books, CDS, and even provides a schedule for the writer/speaker, but the answer is simple-Just be ready and you won't have to worry about it.

If you want to know what is going to happen in the future read Matthew 24 and 25. That should answer any questions you have about prophecy or Revelation. Who cares who the Anti-Christ is? Who cares about when he is born or will take over? His spirit has already been around for over 2,000 years The way of escape has already been planned by God the Father through His son Jesus Christ. If you get your heart right with God you'll never have to worry about a time, date, or place of eternity. You can know where you will be and who you will be with. That's why you are given a choice today while there is breathe in your body. Why spend your hard earned money on figuring out how much time you have left or trying to discover a new revelation? Where you spend eternity is your choice. Are you man or woman enough to make it?

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