Joan Boney, apostle and prophet of Jesus Christ according to Ephesians 4:11-12.
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A stranger and pilgrim is like a person who is just passing through a country which is not his country, a observer but not really a participant.
We see things they do in that country, but we don't get caught up in those things.
Our kingdom is not of this world. (John 18:36 as Jesus said of himself.)
The position where we live at this present time is the pending coming of Jesus and the great tribulation of God which is scheduled for this earth. (Rev. 8-16)
Concerning the end of the world Jesus said:
Matthew 24
(They come saying Jesus is the Christ and they deceive many.)
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
(wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes)
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Matthew 24
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Matthew 24
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, HE is in the desert; go not forth: behold, HE is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; 9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; 11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!
Isaiah 13
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of HIS fierce anger.
Isaiah 65:17
7 At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.
8 And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.
9 In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
I believe WWII was one of the wars that took place in the "beginning of sorrows." I also think the Coronavirus fits in this as one of those pestilences. Certainly we have also seen earthquakes in divers places and famines.
But none of these are that great tribulation which brings the wrath of God to judge this earth.
The falling away had to happen before Jesus returns, and antichrist had to be set up in the churches.
II Thessalonians 2:3-4 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;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
In 1982, concerning this falling away, God said to me: "The falling away are not people leaving churches. The falling away are churches leaving the scriptures."
We see this happening in churches today in this world.
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Matthew 24: Jesus says:
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
(Love for the word of God shall wax cold.)
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
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I think all these things have been fulfilled.
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
(Some of the elect will be on this earth during the days of the great tribulation.)
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23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, HE is in the desert; go not forth: behold, HE is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
(They may say it this way: "God is really working in Florida. There is a move of God in Texas." Jesus says, Believe it not for all will see when Jesus comes upon this earth.)
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
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Matthew 24
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
The tribulation of those days begins with the following:
Revelation 8
(This is very much like that which we have seen in the forest fires of California. I don't know what "mingled with blood" means. Also I don't know that there was "hail" with these fires at that time. I doubt the current California problem is the first angel sounding but it seems when that happens it will be similar to those California fires.)
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; 11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
We've seen hail, and lightning, volcanoes and earthquakes ... but nothing to the extent of that which we will see in the days of the great tribulation.
These are things only God can bring upon the earth. Therefore everyone will know it is God who brought these.
Therefore man can do nothing to stop these things that come upon the earth.
The powers of heaven will be shaken by God.
The current heaven and earth are kept in place by God. In those days, this heaven and this earth will be shaken by God.
Many years ago, I had this dream: The earth slipped on its axis. People were terrified. The government was meeting with scientists and with religious leaders to see what might be done. A TV newscaster was telling of the event. But he was so terrified that he just stopped speaking and walked out of the room, knowing this affected him too and nothing could be done about it.
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Today, in this world, people are caught up in all types of fears and works of men: things like global warming and voting for governments.
As strangers and pilgrims on this earth we often hear them and see them in their many efforts.
But we know God is all that matters and I think we leave them alone in their efforts and abstain from participating.
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of HIS fierce anger.
Isaiah 65:17
For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
I John 2:17
I John 2:17
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Isaiah 17
8 And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.
9 In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation.
II Peter 3
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
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Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
II Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
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While we are in this world we are not of the world.
I was so shocked when I moved to the town where my mother lives and two Baptist women were going out to decorate graves. I said, "How can you do these pagan things as Christians?" It was the secular holiday, Memorial Day in USA.
I was so shocked when a church friend got so excited because she got to register her granddaughter to vote when they were at their church group the previous Sunday. Worldly things at their church? Later this same woman said she had decided there was no hope in governments of men.
That's right!
But mostly how can we who belong to God get swept up by this world in these worldly and even pagan things?
Let us think, as born again Christians, of that which we are doing on this earth and not get caught up with them in their worldly and pagan works.
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