V Rapture Christ Newsletter
August 1, 2017

Well, I was in church and the minister asked us what great things has God done for us that we want to thank Him for in the presence of the congregation. Most people did not raise their hands, but finally there was an elderly lady that did so. She rambled on about her life, but she did not get to the point of thanking God for what he had done for her. Then our minister asked if there were any more. An elderly gentleman raised his hand and said that his sister's cancer was in remission. He wanted to praise Jesus.

Finally, I raised my hand and I said that God gave me a dream about Paradise, and I saw how wonderful it is.

The minister said that Paradise was wonderful because we can get wine and milk with no money. Funny, as he does not drink wine.

Isaiah 55:1
"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.

The minister should have read a little more.

Isaiah 55:12-13
"For you will go out with joy And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands. "Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up, And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up, And it will be a memorial to the LORD, For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off."

Why is this important? Thorns are a curse given to our father Adam who disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit.

Genesis 3:17-18
Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains.

Paradise has no thorns and is similar to the Garden of Eden in that there is a tree of life for those who overcome sin.

Revelation 2:7
The one having an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one overcoming, I will give to him to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Well, our minister went on to say that people could go to Paradise by wishing so. He said that Christ tells us that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can tell a mountain to throw itself into the sea. That the mountain will do so.

Matthew 17:20
... He answered. "For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Matthew 21:21
Jesus replied, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will occur.

Needless to say, the preacher told the congregation that they could wish themselves into Paradise. Well, many people in the church raised their hands and said. "I want to go to Paradise. I want to go right now."

I tell you the truth, they are not going. Paradise seems attractive to them because they could get things without having to pay. Most people in church are takers, not givers.

What makes paradise wonderful is that the people there want to help you. This is the nature of people who live in Paradise; they enjoy being helpful to other people; and this is the attitude you should have in life -- to love other people by doing to them acts of mercy. Sadly, most of the people in the church I just visited do not want to help others. Paradise would not be Paradise if God let them in.

Acts 3
2And a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those entering the temple courts. 3When he saw Peter and John about to enter the temple, he asked them for money.

4Peter looked directly at him, as did John. “Look at us!” said Peter. 5So the man gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6But Peter said, “Silver or gold have I none, but what I have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”

7Taking him by the right hand, Peter helped him up, and at once the man’s feet and ankles were strengthened. 8He sprang to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and leaping and praising God.

People in the early church had the ability to perform miracles because they were close to God, but that is lacking now. Most Christians nowadays believe that a relationship with God means going to church once a week. They do not talk to God... and of course, God does not talk back to them. The ministers in the churches do not want to talk about the Kingdom of God. They believe that you go to the kingdom when you die. If that were the case, then most Christians would be killing themselves to attain the way into the Kingdom. Jesus NEVER preached that you get into the kingdom when you die. That is a lie from the Devil himself.

What Jesus preached was that the ones going to the Heavenly Kingdom were the ones who would be doing good works. Jesus warned us that our deeds had to be better than those of the Pharisees.

Matthew 5:20
For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Apostle Peter said that we were waiting for a heavenly city in which righteousness dwells.

2 Peter 3:13
But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

Jesus promised us that He would come for us to take us to that heavenly city.

John 14:2-3
In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

Jesus stated that we could follow Him there to the heavenly abodes. Yes, the same way as Elijah was taken to heaven.

In order to get there you must be holy, follow God's commandments. That is the test of who is going and who is not. Jesus says that anything you ask in His name He will do for you. If you want to escape to Paradise, all you need to do is ask Him.

God's power is awesome. God could command the forces of nature, and they would behave differently from their "normal" state. Remember that the prophet Daniel's friends were thrown into a fiery furnace and did not burn.

Daniel 3
8 Therefore at that time, certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. 9 They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. 11 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. 

22 Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. 

28 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Certainly, this tells us that nothing is beyond God's power.

Let's look at another example:

Luke 8:22-25
One day Jesus said to His disciples, “Let us cross to the other side of the lake.” So He got into a boat with them and set out. As they sailed, He fell asleep, and a squall came down on the lake so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke Him saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters, and they subsided, and all was calm. "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement, they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the waves, and they obey him."

Mark 4:39-41
39 Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence!” He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm. 

40 “Why are you so afraid? He asked. “Do you still have no faith?” 41 Overwhelmed with fear, they asked one another, “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

Here is another example for you. Jesus could change the surface tension of water so that he could walk on it.

Matthew 14:22-33

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.  23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,  24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

25 Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.  26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 

30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.  33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Notice that Peter could walk on the water for a little while, but he became afraid when he saw the effect of the wind, and he started to sink. Do not let fear overcome you if you see God do supernatural things.

In the next section we quote Jesus moving a boat with people in it. This lets us understand that he can teleport objects with people inside. For example, at the present time, he could teleport a car full of people.

John 6:21
Then they [the apostles] were eager to let him [Jesus] in the boat, and immediately they arrived at their destination!

Jesus told us that we would be able to do things greater than He.

John 14:12
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

Jesus ascension demonstrates that we too can rise up into heaven.

Acts 1:9-11
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Christ gives the mechanism we can use. If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can tell a mulberry tree to throw itself into the sea. Likewise, in the same way, you can transport yourself to Paradise.  

Luke 17:5-7
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord answered, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.