1 Corinthians 1: 18

Matthew 6 vs9-10

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

For further study - Matthew 6:5-13

As you read the extended portion of our devotion for today you will recognize what is referred to as the "Lord's Prayer". It is not the Lord's prayer, technically, John 17 records the Lord's prayer.

This prayer is the one that Jesus taught those listening to His Sermon on the Mount along the slopes of the Sea of Galilee. It would be better to refer to this prayer as the "disciples prayer".

Our entire reading for today gives us great insight into how the Lord wants us to pray. His instruction begins with where we are to pray and where we are not supposed to pray. The Lord tells us that public prayer meetings are not the best place to pray, verse 5.

He tells us to pray in secret and the Father will see us praying in secret and reward us openly, verse 6. Jesus also points out that "vain repetition" is not the way to pray either, verse 7. He wants us to talk to Him as in a conversation with a fresh approach each time.

As we come to the actual prayer, we will notice several principles that must be applied each time we pray. We must start with adoration, "Our Father which art in heaven hollowed be Thy name". We must lift Him up and adore Him in each of our prayers.

In fact, adoration must be the first words in our prayers before even thanksgiving or supplication. Then, we should confess our sins, "forgive" us our debts (sins)."

Supplication is an aspect of prayer included in the disciples' prayer. Supplication is specifically asking God for something. In this prayer there are several request, for our "daily bread", "lead us not into temptation", and "deliver us from evil". These are all requests, supplication.

Notice that the Lord teaches us to pray for His “kingdom to come”, verse 10, so that “His will can be done on earth as it is in heaven”. We need to pray for Jesus to come back and set up his kingdom.

Remember, we are not now in the kingdom. Jesus is not on his throne but instead seated at the right hand of the Father in the heavens. The Lord God, the Father, will one day give Jesus the Kingdom.

At that time Jesus will come to the earth to rule and reign as King over all of creation. This is key to understanding Bible prophecy for today.

We need daily to pray for Jesus to come back and set up his kingdom, "Thy kingdom come..."

PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for teaching me how to pray, help me to do so without ceasing.

Matthew 7 vs21 

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

For further study - Matthew 7:15-23

Chapter 7 of Matthew's Gospel is the last of the “Sermon on the Mount”, Matthew 5, 6 & 7, which is a sermon to the Jews who were expecting the Kingdom to be set up on the earth by the Messiah, Jews who reject the fact that Jesus Christ was the long awaited Messiah.

The Lord Jesus Christ was rejected by the Jews; however, His sermon given on the slopes of the mountains at the northern end of the Sea of Galilee was a warning that is applicable to the Jews during the time leading up to the Second Coming of Jesus and has "spiritual application" for all of us today.

Verse 15 is a warning for today and into the future, "be aware of false prophets." In the Gospels and the Epistles, in the New Testament, over and over again we are warned of false prophets, false teachers.

In fact, Jesus, in His Olivet Discourse, a message given during "Passion Week", the week leading up to His crucifixion, Jesus said that "deception" was the most important indication of His Second Coming, Matthew 24:4,5,11 & 24.

In His Sermon on the Mount, the Lord even warned that the "false prophets" could come disguised in "sheep's clothing". These "false teachers" would be posing as believers and even as ministers, II Corinthians 11:13-15.

Notice verse 22 where Jesus reveals that these "false teachers" will preach, prophesy, in His name and do miracles, cast out devils, demons, all in the Lord's name.

The truth be known, we see what Jesus warned us of, happening today. We have a proliferation of "false teachers" and "false prophets" doing "miracles" in the name of Jesus, many of them on so-called "Christian television".

Make sure what you listen to and see happening is truly the Lord's work. Jesus says, verse 23, that these "false prophets" and "miracle workers" He does not know and He tells them to depart from Him.

This portion of the Lord's Sermon on the Mount is so important for us today as we quickly approach the time of the return of the Messiah Jesus Christ.

What we see today, that which Jesus warned us would be the case before He returned, is evidence that the Rapture, Jesus calling Christians into the heavenlies, at least seven years before His Second Coming, could happen today.

Prayer Thot: Lord, help me to use Your word of warning about "false prophets" to recognize the times in which we are living today.

Matthew 11 verse 14 - And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

For further study - Matthew 11:1-14
This text for our devotions today has a connection back to the last book of the Old Testament, the prophetic book of Malachi. In Malachi 4:5, the Old Testament prophet revealed that Elijah must come as the forerunner to “the great and dreadful day of the Lord”. This will be the day when Jesus Christ comes back to earth.
Now, here in Matthew, we read what Jesus had to say to the Jewish people about John the Baptist. The Lord says that no greater man had been born of woman than John the Baptist. Then Jesus told the Jews that if they had accepted him, John the Baptist could have fulfilled the prophecy of Malachi.
John the Baptist could have been the fulfillment of Elijah who is to come.

The Jewish people rejected the forerunner, John the Baptist, and they rejected the Messiah, Jesus Christ, as well.

This passage of scripture is the link between the Old and the New Testament. But it also reveals to us that Elijah is yet to come, to be the forerunner for Jesus, the Messiah. Revelation 11:3-12 calls for two witnesses to have a powerful ministry during the first half of the 7-year Tribulation Period.
144,000 Jewish men will turn to Christ under the ministry of these “two witness”. Ultimately, the two witnesses will be killed and lay in the streets of Jerusalem for 3 1/2 days before they are resurrected and taken to heaven.
One of those two witnesses must be Elijah who has never died. He was taken to heaven by a “chariot of fire” while he was still living, II Kings 2:11.

Elijah will come back to do his ministry, be killed as called for by scripture, Hebrews 9:27, and then go back to heaven.

I can tell you, as the song says, we are living in the “days of Elijah”.

He has not arrived, but is on his way, to appear any day. But before Elijah’s arrival we depart for the heavens at the Rapture, and that event could be today.

PRAYER THOT: Help me to live today as if it would be today that Jesus shouts for us to join Him in heaven.
Matthew 17 vs5 

While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

For further study - Matthew 16:28-17:13

To set the scene for this passage of scripture, I must remind you that in Matthew 16 Jesus and His disciples had traveled north through the upper Galilee to Caesarea Philippi.

It was in the foothills of Mt Hermon, in Caesarea Philippi, where Peter answered the Lord's question about “who” men said that He, the Lord, was. Peter's answer to that question was "thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God", Matthew 16:16.

In the last verse of Matthew 16, verse 28, Jesus gives His disciples a prophecy that there were those among His followers, with Him at that time, who would not die before they saw Jesus in His “Kingdom to come”.

Now, six days later, the Lord Jesus Christ takes the "inner circle" of His disciples, Peter, James and John, up onto the slopes of Mt Hermon for what would be the "Transfiguration."

Matthew 17 records what happened there on Mt Hermon some six days after Jesus had told His disciples about "seeing Him in His Kingdom", Matthew 16:28.

Peter, James and John were privileged to be in the presence of Jesus Christ at the Transfiguration and to see Jesus in His glorified body, the fulfillment of the prophecy that Jesus had given them a few days earlier.

The "inner circle" not only saw Jesus, but they also saw Moses and Elijah at the same time in their glorified bodies and what they will be like in the "Kingdom to come".

During the Fall of the year, the season of the Jewish Fall Feasts, especially the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles, which Peter pictured as happening, it is interesting to note that Peter wanted to put up three "tabernacles," verse 4.

Peter did not want to put up a "statue" for each of these three, Jesus, Elijah and Moses. Peter thought that the "Kingdom" had arrived so he wanted to put up three "succa's", a thatched hut, that the Jewish people build for the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles.

The "succa" is a reminder for the Jewish people of the "transportable living quarters" in their wanderings in the wilderness for their forty year long trip from Egypt to the Promised Land.

Prophetically, the "succa" and the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles is looking forward to the establishment of a physical, earthly Kingdom that Jesus will set up at the time of His Second Coming. Peter thought it was that time in history, thus the three "succa's", three tabernacles.

As the Jews in Jerusalem and around the world celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles every Fall, it is a reminder that Jesus is coming, and it could be soon.

PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for Your continuing reminder of Your Second Coming as You work among Your chosen people, the Jewish people, today.

Matthew 24 vs14

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. For further study - Matthew 24:1-14

Matthew 24 is one of the most important prophetic passages in all of scripture. It is referred to as the "Olivet Discourse." It is the most "profound prophetic conference" ever held. The teacher at this conference is none other than the "Spirit of prophecy", Revelation 19:10, Jesus Christ, Himself.
The crowd at this conference is rather small with the Lord's twelve disciples in attendance and maybe several other followers of Jesus. It takes place on the slopes of the Mount of Olives overlooking theKidron Valley and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It's Tuesday afternoon of "Passion Week," the week that Jesus will be crucified.
The message that Jesus delivers to His disciples is actually the climax of six months of teaching prophecy to His men. Jesus will have another forty days after His resurrection when He will also spend the whole time teaching His closest followers the prophetic truths they will need in the very difficult days ahead.
A closer look at the entire Olivet Discourse, Matthew 24 and 25, reveals the entire pattern of prophecy predicted in the book of Revelation written by the Apostle John in 95AD while a prisoner on the isle ofPatmos.
John was actually sitting under the teaching of Jesus Christ there on the Mount of Olives when this prophetic conference was taking place some 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem.
When Jesus was asked by His Jewish disciples for some "signs" of His coming back to earth to set up His Kingdom, Jesus gave him a number of indicators to look for that would be developing in the time period leading up to His return to Jerusalem.
Let me remind you that the Lord is giving "signs" for His Second Coming not the Rapture of the Church. There are no signs for the Rapture, and in fact, we're not looking for "signs" but listening for a "sound". The sound we're listening for will be the sound of the trumpet, the archangel's shout and the call by Jesus to join Him in theheavenlies.
Briefly, I can point out some "signs" that Jesus gave these Jewish believers. "Deception" is the first and foremost sign, verses 4-5, 11 and 24. There would be "false teachers" using "signs, wonders and miracles" to deceive the people, some who would be believers.
"Wars and rumors of wars," verses 6-7, will be another sign. They tell me that there are over 150 wars and/or conflicts going on right now in our world. The Middle East would be the center focus for most of these conflicts. However, there are rumors of wars all around the world.
Also in verse 7, "famines, pestilence (pandemic disease) and earthquakes" around the world will be taking place. Verse 14 also lists the "sign" of the "gospel of the Kingdom", being preached to everybody on earth and then Jesus Christ comes. This is not the "gospel of grace" that is being preached today.
The "gospel of the Kingdom" is preached during the seven-year Tribulation. When everyone on Earth has heard the "gospel of the Kingdom" through the ministry of the two witnesses, Revelation 11:3-12, and the 144,000 Jewish evangelists, Revelation 7:4-9, then Jesus will come back.
The five signs found in verses 4-7 parallel the "sealed judgments" in Revelation 6 which are released on Earth right after the Rapture. These "signs" in Matthew 24 and the "seals" of Revelation 6 are today in the process of moving to fulfillment, seemingly in the near future.
Since the Rapture happens before the "signs" and "seals" are fulfilled, it seems that the Rapture could be very near, even today.
PRAYER THOT: Lord help me to not study Your prophetic Word for knowledge only but for that which helps me to see the urgency of the moment and then to live expecting You to shout today for me to join You in theheavenlies.


Matthew 24 vs30 - 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.

For further study - Matthew 24:15-31

Our devotional reading for today, the extended reading, is a continuation of the Olivet Discourse that Jesus gave on the Mount of Olives on Tuesday afternoon of "Passion Week", the week of the Lord's death, burial and resurrection.

Jesus was responding to the questions from His disciples about the "signs" that they could look for in the time leading up to His Second Coming. Remember, Matthew 24 is not referring to the Rapture, but the Second Coming of Jesus.

The Lord set there on the Mount of Olives teaching His disciples, and mentioned deception, wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilence and earthquakes in different places around the earth, Matthew 24: 4-7. All of these "signs" are events that lead up to the Lord's return to the earth.

Then in verse 15 of our extended reading the Lord refers to the prophecy of Daniel the Prophet that ministered 500 years before Jesus. Daniel had spoken of the Temple in Jerusalem being desecrated with the "Abomination of Desolation" during the seven year period in advance of the Lord's return.

The "Abomination of Desolation" will be when "Antichrist" walks into the Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and claims to be God, II Thessalonians 2:4. That's when the False Prophet erects a statue, an "image" of the Antichrist, in the Temple and makes all the world to worship this "image", Revelation 13:14-17.

The Satanic creatures, Antichrist and False Prophet, desecrate the Temple, the "Abomination of Desolation" which happens at the mid-way point of the seven year Tribulation Period, Daniel 9:27. Jesus warns the Jews that when they see those things happening to flee Jerusalem.

What this means for us today is that as we quickly approach the coming of the Lord we will see preparations for building a Temple in Jerusalem. All of the preparations have been made. The Temple can be erected in a manner of days. But before they start building the Temple the Lord must call His people, Christians, up to be with Him at the Rapture.

We are quickly approaching the time that Jesus was teaching about; however, please remember that the Rapture happens at least 3 1/2 years before the "Abomination of Desolation".

All preparations have been made to build the Temple for this prophecy to be fulfilled. The only thing that must happen before the Temple is built is the Rapture, and that could happen today. Keep looking up.

PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for the prophetic passages that describe the day of Your coming. Help me to look eagerly for your return in light of the evidence that the Rapture could happen today

Matthew 24 vs.34 - Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
For further study - Matthew 24:27-36
The passage for our devotional reading today is another portion of the "Olivet Discourse", the message Jesus gave to His disciples during "Passion Week".
After teaching all day, on Tuesday afternoon of "Passion Week", Jesus started back towards the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus where He was staying, the days before His crucifixion.
As He left the Temple Mount area He had told the disciples that Herod's Temple would be destroyed and there would not be "a stone upon a stone".

The disciples questioned Jesus as to when this Temple destruction would take place and they wanted Him to give them some signs of His Second Coming.

In Matthew 24 the Lord does not give any information about the Temple, as to when it would be destroyed. Jesus, in the account of the Lord's sermon on the Mount of Olives, in Mark 13 and Luke 21 does respond to the first question from the disciples.
The Lord did answer the question, requesting signs of His Second Coming back to earth, Matthew 24:4-26. In the passage we are reading today Jesus tells of His Second Coming, verses 27-31.
Verse 29 reveals that the Second Coming takes place, after the Tribulation Period. Remember, the Rapture is not mentioned in Matthew 24. The Lord's return to earth when He steps on the Mount of Olives, Zechariah 14:4, is what is in focus in this passage.
After telling of His return to earth, actually to the spot where He was seated teaching those gathered to listen to Him, then as He often did, the Lord used a parable to draw some conclusions.
At the peak of the Mount of Olives there are a number of fig trees.

Remember, the time was the spring, since Passover was just a day away. As Jesus noticed the "fig trees" He would use them as an illustration.

Let me say Jesus is not referring to the "fig tree" as the nation of Israel. The "fig tree" is an example of how in the spring the new leaves will pop up on the bare limbs after the winter.
Jesus said that like the new leaves on the "fig tree", the signs, prophecies, that He gave that day would precede His Second Coming. Then Jesus said, "This generation, the ones seeing these things that He had talked about, verses 4 to 31, this generation shall not pass away until all these things be fulfilled", verse 34.
In other words the people that see all the signs, Matthew 24:4-31, when they see these prophecies being fulfilled, look up because they will be the generation alive when Jesus Christ comes back.
Remember, the Rapture takes place at least seven years before the Second Coming. I believe we are "the generation" seeing the signs happening and "the generation" that will see Jesus Christ come back.
PRAYER THOT: Help me Lord, to alert as many people as possible, alive in this generation, to be prepared for the Rapture which happens before the Second Coming and could happen today.


Matthew 24 vs37 - But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For further study - Matthew 24:37-51

In the devotional reading for today we take a look at the Olivet Discourse, a message that Jesus delivered to His disciples on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem on Tuesday afternoon of Passion Week.

The Lord had just told those there in attendance for this profound prophetic conference, with Jesus as the teacher, that the "generation"

which saw the signs discussed in Matthew 24:4-15 would be the ones that would usher in the Kingdom, at the Second Coming of Jesus.

As the Lord was concluding this discourse He mentioned a very specific sign for people to look for as they awaited His Second Coming. Jesus mentioned in verse 37, "as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be."

By the way, this passage is speaking of the Second Coming, not the Rapture of the Church in the context of future events, Matthew 24:3.

Remember, in the "Days of Noah" the "ones taken", verses 40-41, were those who were taken to judgment, they drowned in the flood. It was Noah and his wife, his three sons and there wives, that were left.

The Lord also exhorted those awaiting the Second Coming to be working during the time before so that when the Lord does come back the Lord's servants would be blessed, verse 46.

This statement, "technically interpreted", is for those awaiting the Second Coming; however, it has a "spiritual application" for those of us who are Christians awaiting the Rapture. We need to be found faithful, working, in the Lord's work when the Rapture happens. There is a great significance to the Lord's statement about, the "Days of Noah".

Jesus had finished giving general "signs" and He became very specific. The truth be known, there were three "Days of Noah"; the days before the flood, Genesis 4-6; the days during the flood, Genesis 6,7 and 8; and the days after the flood, Genesis 9,10 and 11.

Verse 37 can be a stand alone verse, because of the next verse, verse 38 which specifies the "days before the flood". The verse reads, "For as in the days that were before".

As we consider the "Days of Noah" after the flood, Genesis 10 and 11, describe Noah's great grandson, Nimrod, 10:8-10 and 11:4, as the world leader who went to Babel, today's Babylon or modern-day Iraq, to build a "great city" and a "great religion".

This was a rebellion against God's directive to Noah, chapter 9, verse 1, to "re-people" the earth after the worldwide flood. The "one world government", with a "one world leader", Nimrod, 4,500 years ago, and a "one world religion" in Nimrod's day are both prototypes of the one world religion and the one world government in Revelation 17 and 18, respectively.

The Lord's warning about the "Days of Noah" has present-day significance because in Noah's day the focus of the world was on Babylon and today the world's focus is also on Babylon, modern day Iraq.

The current world situation seems to be set for the Lord's return, His Second Coming. The Lord's exhortation in verse 44, to be "ready", and also in verse 42, to "watch", are both pertaining to His Second Coming.

However, the "spiritual application" is excellent for us who are to "watch", and be "ready", for the Rapture, which could happen today.

PRAYER THOT: Help me to live today, Lord, as if this is the day the Rapture will happen.

Micah 4 verse 1 - But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

For further study - Micah 4:1-13
When you mention the name Micah, an ancient Jewish prophet, one most likely thinks of the Christmas story and the birthplace of Jesus revealed in Micah 5:2, Bethlehem-Ephratah. However, there is so very much prophecy in Micah, I don't know where to start.
What I am going to do is with each pass through this book, for our devotions, unlock more evidence of the Second Coming of the Messiah Jesus Christ from this great prophetic book.
The fact is that our extended reading for today has five different prophecies plus a prophecy that tells us of the exact location where Jesus Christ was born. Not the city, we know that was Bethlehem. I mean the exact spot of His birth.
But for today, we will look at only one of these five prophecies. Our key verse tells of a coming “temple” to be established on the spot known as, "the mountain of the house of the Lord."
I must remind you that during Micah's ministry, there was a Temple standing in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount. This was the temple that King Solomon had built around 1000 B.C. But remember, the Temple, built by Israel’s third King, Solomon, was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.

Notice the first 5 words of Micah 4, "but in the last days." This designation of time reveals to us that the temple that Micah is referring to is the one that will be in Jerusalem when Jesus is ruling and reigning.

Verse 2 says that the people of the world will come up to the Temple to be taught by the Messiah, Jesus.

It will be a time when the word of the Lord shall go forth from Jerusalem. This prophecy will be fulfilled when Jesus has returned and we are living in the 1,000 year Kingdom that He sets up.

Speaking of the Temple in Jerusalem, there is a group of religious Jews who have everything ready to erect the next Jewish Temple. However, the next Temple will not be the one foretold by the prophet Micah but the one spoken of by Daniel in his prophecy, 9:27.

That Temple spoken of by Daniel will be the "Tribulation Temple" that the Antichrist shall desecrate. Everything is ready for that Temple to be built in Jerusalem. There is only one thing that must happen before that Temple, the Rapture.

The Rapture could happen today, keep looking up!

PRAYER THOT: Since the Rapture could happen today, help me to live pure and productive in light of that truth.

Micah 4

As we come once again to Micah 4, we will read the entire chapter and look at only one of the five prophecies from the prophet Micah that is yet to be fulfilled. By the way, there is also a prophecy of the exact location for the birth of Jesus Christ which we will look at in a future daily devotional.