Friday, December 18, 2015

THE DAY GRANDPA GAVE ME A $100 BILL

My Grandpa Raggio was a businessman. When I was a little boy in elementary school, Grandpa was building homes, buying and selling real estate, and brokering mortgage loans. For a while, he owned a small lumber yard and hardware store. Then he bought a couple of full-service gas stations.

When I was about 8 years old, I spent one summer hanging around his Sinclair gas station. I pumped gas for the customers, checked their oil, and washed their windows. We sold candy and snacks and cold drinks inside, and we did oil changes and lube jobs. We had a car wash bay, and we sold tires and fixed flats. I wasn't on the payroll. I was just there because he was my grandpa.

One afternoon, Grandpa walked in while I was standing near the cash register. He pulled out a $100 bill and gave it to me. I looked at that $100 bill and my eyes just about popped out.

I could not believe that Grandpa had given me $100. It seemed like a million dollars to me. I knew I had done nothing worth $100 at the gas station. The minimum wage was only one dollar in those days, and I wasn't even working regular hours. I was just his little grandson hanging around the gas station.

I was so overwhelmed that I took the $100 bill and went into a storage room in the back of the building, where he kept all the oil and lube products stored. I stood there in that dark store room and stared at that $100 bill until I convinced myself that it could not be real. I decided that it had to be a counterfeit. Finally, I walked back into the front office and handed the $100 bill back to my Grandpa. I did not want it. I was afraid to keep it because I was afraid I might get in trouble if the FBI found out my Grandpa was handling counterfeit money. He couldn't understand why I didn't want the money, but I insisted that he take it back.

Now, when I remember that day, I think, "WHAT A DUMMY I WAS!!!" If I had actually kept that $100 in 1960, and put it in any kind of a savings account, it would certainly be worth $10,000 or more today. But I didn't keep it because I could not believe that it was real.

Now I am 64 years old, and I see the same thing happening all the time. You may know that I preach and publish the gospel every day of my life. I have tens of thousands of subscribers who receive my Bible lessons every single day, and hundreds of thousands of people see my Internet publications every day.

But they do not understand the value of what I have given them. I preach and teach the Oneness of God. I preach and teach the Acts 2:38 Pentecostal experience of full repentance, water baptism in Jesus' name, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost with speaking in other tongues. That is what the Bible says is the New Birth. I preach and teach holy living, separation from the world and its ways, because the Bible says that without holiness, "no man shall see the Lord." And I preach a lot about Bible prophecies for the last days. I do my best to show people where the Bible says we are headed, and how we are supposed to live and believe in these last days.

But most people look at what I preach just like I looked at that $100 bill that Grandpa gave me 50 years ago. I didn't believe it was real. I thought it was counterfeit. I was afraid I would get in trouble if I took it. Can I say it?? I was an idiot!!

Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it," Matthew 13:44-46.

I see it every single day. People pass right over this Oneness, Apostolic, Pentecostal, Holiness message, and treat it like it is counterfeit money.

But one of these days, they are going to wake up just like I did and realize how foolish they were for turning it down. For giving it back. For refusing it.

In Noah's day, they continued eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, even though Noah's Ark sat right there in their midst screaming out a prophetic message that nobody wanted to hear, "until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and KNEW NOT until the flood came, and took them all away," Matthew 24:38-29.

Those who reject the Gospel, and those who reject the prophetic message will someday soon wake up and see the world on fire with prophetic fulfillment. Many of them will suddenly remember the prophetic message that Ken Raggio and others have been preaching for decades. Suddenly, they will realize that $100 bill was not counterfeit. Suddenly, they are going to WISH that they had taken that $100 bill, because it might have helped them in their time of need.

"They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! But WISDOM IS JUSTIFIED OF HER CHILDREN," Luke 7:32-35.

WISDOM IS JUSTIFIED OF HER CHILDREN.

Those who wisely take the $100 bill - the Gospel and the prophetic TRUTH - will JUSTIFY the preacher and his message some day. Those who HEARD and OBEYED the message will be the PROOF and the JUSTIFICATION that the MESSAGE was the TRUE message that they should have believed and obeyed. And those who REJECTED the message will be on the OUTSIDE LOOKING IN when Judgment Day finally arrives.

A Roman Centurion came to Jesus one day, asking a miracle for one of his servants who was sick. Jesus marveled at his faith, especially since many of the Jews had coldly refused to have faith in Him. Jesus "said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth," Matthew 8:10-12.

While the JEWS He came to save REJECTED His message, this Roman Gentile truly believed! Jesus warned the Jews of a day to come when men would come from all parts of the world into the Kingdom of God, while many of the people He came especially to save would be cast into outer darkness because of their unbelief.

The Roman Centurion saw the $100 bill and received it. The unbelieving Jews saw the $100 bill and called it "counterfeit," and rejected it.

Don't reject the TRUTH. The day will come when you will regret you rejected it.

- - -
 Please subscribe to this blog so you will be aware of future articles.

- - - - - -
FOR MORE, get and read THE DANIEL PROPHECIES - GOD'S PLAN FOR THE LAST DAYS - http://kenraggio.com/The-Daniel-Prophecies.html

- - - - - -

For more information, visit http://kenraggio.com for thousands of pages of FREE BIBLE STUDIES.

- - -

Follow me on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, LINKEDIN, YOUTUBE and INSTAGRAM!

FACEBOOK - ken.raggio.9

TWITTER - kenraggiocom
 

LINKEDIN - kraggio

YOUTUBE - Ken Raggio

INSTAGRAM - kenraggio

Let's study the Bible together!!

Books, DVDs, and CDs from Ken Raggio

- - -




Thursday, December 10, 2015

144,000 Jews Sealed During The Great Tribulation

A Hiding Place For Jews During The Tribulation
- - -
Three-and-a-half years before the battle of Armageddon, God will hide 144,000 Jews from the persecution of the Man of Sin. “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, ...let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains,” Matthew 24:16. “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God,” Revelation 12:6.
- - -
Isaiah 26:20 - “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.”

The Consummation Of Israel
- - -
The Man of Sin will terminate the offerings of sacrifices in the Third Jewish Temple “even until the CONSUMMATION.” What does that mean? From Joshua's day, God warned, “If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and CONSUME you,” Joshua 24:20. The horrifying events leading to the battle of Armageddon will CONSUME Israel, except for 144,000 divinely-protected Jews. If those days were not shortened, no flesh would be saved. At Armageddon, Jesus will save and restore Israel.
- - -
Daniel 9:27 - “...he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation.”

The Archangel Michael And The Great Tribulation
- - -
It appears that the tandem Iron and Clay entity of Europe and the Roman Catholic Church will install an Assyrian Man of Sin in his palace in Jerusalem. The Great Tribulation will begin when he commits the Abomination of Desolation in the Third Temple, and it will continue for 42 months. Michael the archangel will stand up for Israel. 144,000 godly Jews will be sealed and delivered.
- - -
Daniel 12:1 - “At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.”

Everyone That Shall Be Found Written In The Book
- - -
According to Revelation 12, God will seal 144,000 Jews - 12,000 for each of the twelve tribes - at the very beginning of the Great Tribulation. This will be the remnant, “which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ,” mentioned in Revelation 12:17. The unspoken conclusion is that they will be the only Jews to survive the Great Tribulation. The rest will apparently be destroyed or enslaved during the Antichrist's 42-month rule in Jerusalem.
- - -
Daniel 12:1 - “At that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”

Jesus' Command to Flee
- - -
Jewish “settlers” now living in Biblical Judea (illicitly renamed “West Bank” by Arabs) have struggled since 1967 to build communities in the Promised Land. Their settlements cause endless political haggling, military clashes, and enemy hostilities waged to remove their so-called “occupations.” These are the people (about 500,000) that Jesus warned to flee when Antichrist commits the Abomination of Desolation. Providentially, 144,000 will flee (Revelation 7:4).
- - -
Matthew 24:15-16 - “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place... Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains.”

Hold Back The Four Winds Until 144,000 Jews Sealed
- - -
Four global winds are striving to conquer the earth:  Catholicism, Communism, Capitalism and Islam. Daniel saw “four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea,” 7:2. Zechariah saw “four spirits of the heavens,” 6:5. John saw four angels holding back four winds (spirits, horsemen) from a catastrophic clash of civilizations until the 144,000 Jews could be saved.
- - -
Revelation 7:1-3 - “Four angels ...holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow ...another angel ...cried Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.”

The 144,000 Jews Who Will Be Sealed
- - -
They are called “servants of God,” having His seal in their foreheads - twelve thousand from each tribe of Israel. Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Napthali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulon, Joseph, Benjamin. Joseph stands instead of Ephraim, and Levi replaces Dan (who went first into idolatry). As God spared 7,000 in Elijah's day, He will spare 144,000 during the Great Tribulation. According to 21:12, all twelve original tribes will be named on the gates of New Jerusalem.
- - -
Revelation 7:4 - “There were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.”

The Lord Knoweth Them That Are His
- - -
The prophecy says that God will seal twelve thousand Jews from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. As I write this lesson, the twelve tribes are almost entirely indistinguishable one from the other. Many Jews do not know what tribe they are from. Never doubt, however, that God knows exactly which tribe every Jew descended from. Paul told Timothy, “The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his,” 2 Timothy 2:19.
- - -
Revelation 7:4 - “I heard the number of them which were sealed: [twelve thousand from each tribe].”

The Seal Of God Means Protection
- - -
The Mark of the Beast will be put in a man's hand or in his forehead. In his vision of the Harlot Church, John saw vile names written in her forehead. On the contrary, all the saints of God in the New Testament have been sealed with the Holy Ghost (see I Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30). God will also seal 144,000 Jews immediately before the Great Tribulation. Covet to be sealed by the Baptism of the Holy Ghost.
- - -
Revelation 9:4 - “They should not hurt the grass ...but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.”

The Woman Will Flee To A Safe Place
- - -
Revelation 12: 4-5 refers to the times of the Birth, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, but verse six jumps forward almost 2000 years to the beginning of the last forty-two months just before Jesus returns for the battle of Armageddon. God will prompt the Woman - Israel (probably the 144,000 Jews who will be sealed) - to flee to a safe place BEFORE Satan is cast down just before those forty-two months begin.
- - -
Revelation 12:6 - “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”

She Hath A Place Prepared Of God For 1260 Days
- - -
Jesus warns Israel to flee Judea when they see the Abomination of Desolation (Matthew 24:15-16). He will feed them in a safe place for 1260 days. This probably refers to the 144,000 of chapter 14. After 1260 days, it appears that these Jews will be the “FIRSTFRUITS” to be “REDEEMED FROM THE EARTH,” because John saw them with Jesus in HEAVEN (14:3-4) BEFORE the Rapture occurs in 14:15-16.
- - -
Revelation 12:6 - “The woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”

144,000 Sealed With The Holy Ghost
- - -
John saw 144,000 Jews “having the seal of the living God,” 7:2. According to 2 Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 1:13; 4:30, the seal of God is the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. To receive the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, Peter said they should “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,” Acts 2:38. This gives us reasons to believe that the 144,000 will have repented, been baptized in Jesus' name and filled with the Holy Ghost.
- - -
Revelation 14:1 - “An hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.”  [Jesus said, "I am come in my Father's name," John 5:43. Jesus is the name of the Father.]

His Father's Name
- - -
John saw the 144,000 “firstfruits” (14:4) who were “redeemed from the earth” (14:3) “from among men” (14:4). Being Jews, they sang the song of Moses (15:3). Also being Christians, they sang the song of the Lamb (15:4). They had the Father's name in their foreheads. Jesus said, “I am come in my Father's name,” John 5:43. There are many JHWH (Jehovah) names, but JHWH gave JESUS His Highest name. (Acts 4:12). JESUS is Jehovah Savior. “None other name given among men...”
- - -
Revelation 14:1 - “an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.”

Harpers Harping, 144,000 Spirit-Filled Jews Singing
- - -
At the end of the Great Tribulation, Jesus will redeem all His people in the First Resurrection and Rapture. The FIRST group to go, however, will be the 144,000 Jews - the "firstfruits" (14:4) - who were especially sealed in the middle of Daniel's Seventieth Week. John saw them in Heaven singing with many harps.
- - -
Revelation 14:2-3 - “I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.”

No Man Could Learn That Song
- - -
The 144,000 are one of the most exclusive groups mentioned in the Bible. They will be Christian Jews. They are alive as I write this, although most of them are probably not yet converted to Christ. They will be sealed by God immediately after the Abomination of Desolation in the middle of Daniel's Seventieth Week. They will be taken to Heaven before all other Saints are resurrected or raptured. Nobody will ever have a song like their song.
- - -
Revelation 14:3 - “They sung as it were a new song before the throne, ...no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.”

The Lamb With 144,000 On Mount Sion In Heaven
- - -
"A Lamb stood on the mount Sion [in Heaven], and with him an hundred forty and four thousand.” They will be “the firstfruits,” “redeemed from the earth.” Before all other saints are resurrected or raptured, the 144,000 will be taken to Heaven to be with Jesus.
- - -
Revelation 14:3-4 - “They sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth ...These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.”

144,000 Virgins
- - -
In Revelation 7, John saw 144,000 Jews - 12,000 from each of twelve tribes - sealed by God shortly before the Second Coming of Christ and the battle of Armageddon. In chapter 14, John saw them again, after they were taken to Heaven and standing in the company of Jesus Himself. John said that none of them had been “defiled with women; for they are virgins.” Therefore, all 144,000 of these “firstfruits” who were “redeemed from the earth” were apparently male, virgin, Christian Jews.
- - -
Revelation 14:4 - “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins.”

They Follow The Lamb Whithersoever He Goeth
- - -
Visit Jerusalem, Israel on any Sabbath or Holy Day. You will find multitudes of Jews, men and women, gathered at the Western “Wailing” Wall praying for God to send Messiah ("Mashiach"). As impressive as that scene is, there is a grave tragedy in its very essence. Messiah has already come, and they have rejected Him! Jesus Christ is the very One they are praying for. Amazingly, this prophecy reveals that God has already identified 144,000 who will soon give their lives to Jesus Christ unreservedly.  They will obey the New Testament Gospel, and will be the firstfruits harvested from the earth.
- - -
Revelation 14:4 - “These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.”

The Firstfruits: 144,000 In Heaven Before Other Saints
- - -
Notice the chronology: In verse 1, 144,000 elect Christian Jews are seen around Jesus Christ in Heaven. In verse 6, an angel preaches the everlasting Gospel to those on earth, (before the Rapture). In verse 8, Babylon (Rome) falls. Verse 9 curses all who take the Mark of the Beast. In verse 15, Jesus reaps the Harvest of the Earth (the First Resurrection and Rapture). In verses 17-20, an angel gathers the Grapes of Wrath (the wicked) for Armageddon. This sequence reveals that the 144,000 will be in Heaven before Jesus returns for the Resurrection, Rapture and Armageddon.
- - -
Revelation 14:4 - “These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.”

In Their Mouth Was Found No Guile
- - -
"In their mouth was found no guile ...they are without fault.” What a testimony! In all the history of mankind, few groups of people stand out more prominently than the 144,000 virgin Jews who will be sealed by the Holy Ghost during the Great Tribulation. In Heaven, and on earth, they will stay near Him at all times. “These are they which follow the Lamb withersoever He goeth.” It pays to have a clean heart and clean mouth.
- - -
Revelation 14:5 - “And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.”

An Angel Preaches The Gospel, Says To Worship God
- - -
Right after he saw 144,000 sealed Jews on Mount Zion in Heaven with Jesus Christ (firstfruits unto God), John saw “another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.” Fear God. Give Him glory. Worship Him. Judgment is coming.
- - -
Revelation 14:7 - “And worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”

The Sequence Of Events In Daniel's Seventieth Week
- - -
Daniel's (9:27) Seventieth Week will transpire in this order: A Seven-Year Covenant about Israel will be Confirmed by the Prince of Rome (Pope). 3.5 years later the (Assyrian) Man of Sin will commit the Abomination of Desolation in the Third Temple. Two Witnesses will preach 42 months. 144,000 Jews will be sealed. All Jews must flee Judea. Great Tribulation begins. An angel will preach the Gospel. Babylon (Rome) will fall. Saints will be Harvested (Resurrected, Raptured). Sinners will be Reaped (Grapes of Wrath, Armageddon).
- - -
Revelation 14:7 - “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.”

The Sequence Of Events In Revelation 13-14
- - -
From Revelation 13-14, we see this sequence: The First Beast (world government) rises. The Second Beast (False Prophet/Pope) rises and establishes the Mark of the Beast. 144,000 chosen Jews appear with Jesus in Heaven. An angel administers the everlasting Gospel to the whole world. An angel announces the fall of Babylon. An angel curses those who take the Mark of the Beast. The Son of Man reaps the Harvest of the Earth (First Resurrection and Rapture). An angel reaps the Grapes of Wrath (sinners) for Armageddon.
- - -
Revelation 14:8 - “There followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city.”

They Followed Him
- - -
The secret to discipleship is following. Jesus told Peter, “Follow me.” He told Matthew, “Follow me.” He told Philip, “Follow me.” He told the rich young ruler to forsake all and “follow me.” “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me,” Luke 9:23. He said, “My sheep... follow me.” Peter said, “Ye should follow His steps.” 144,000 chosen Jews will “follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth,” Revelation 14:4. Do you want to see His glory? FOLLOW HIM!
- - -
Revelation 19:14 - “The armies which were in heaven followed him.”

- - -

Please subscribe to this blog so you will be aware of future articles.

- - - - - -
FOR MORE, get and read THE DANIEL PROPHECIES - GOD'S PLAN FOR THE LAST DAYS - http://kenraggio.com/The-Daniel-Prophecies.html

- - - - - -

For more information, visit http://kenraggio.com for thousands of pages of FREE BIBLE STUDIES.

- - -

Follow me on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, LINKEDIN, YOUTUBE and INSTAGRAM!

FACEBOOK - ken.raggio.9

TWITTER - kenraggiocom
 

LINKEDIN - kraggio

YOUTUBE - Ken Raggio

INSTAGRAM - kenraggio

Let's study the Bible together!!

Books, DVDs, and CDs from Ken Raggio

- - -