Simply put: this is the time to live for God; this the time to be His friend. The whole essence of Christianity is to get to Heaven. At least that’s what He has in mind (Hosea 3:2-3- the many day) daily in readiness for rapture (Matt. 16:24-28).

Paul caught it too (1 Cor. 15:12-20) Even the writer of Hebrews 10:32-34.

They were initiated into God’s court. Their fellowship with God was special. It gave them access to information that others did not have (Ps. 25:12-14; Isa.  26: 19-21)  what do you do in a closest, you are alone with God. This gives you a resolve – determination to press forward, where others are failing. See Paul and Demas (1Cor. 9:16; Col. 4:14; 2Tim. 4:10; Philemon 1:24)  David learnt about God, alone in the wilderness and knew Him better than the others (1Sam. 23, 24). He knew the meaning of Benjamin and God’s dealings with them in the time of judges – Judges   and refused to kill Saul. He also respected the anointing and the anointer, because he knew how God reacted when Moses was attacked (Num. 12:  ) when Samuel was rejected (1Sam. 8:6-7)

If there is ever a time when this is needed, it is now. We live in the days of Noah, the days of Lot when fallen angels are intensifying their activities because they see the days closing out – they understand the times and the timer markers God has given us to help us prepare (Matt. 8: 29;Jer.8:7 ;Rev. 12:12).

Enoch is the first person to be taken to Heaven alive – rapture. His case types our time. He escape the flood that judged the whole world (Gen. 5:21-24; Heb. 11:5.  The rapture of the church is also to escape the Great Tribulation of the world. And here wisdom – revelation from God comes in as we glean from, 2Times rapture is mentioned in the Old Testament as harvest.

The first example is in Isaiah, where he observes that righteous men are removed from the Earth prior to a time of great evil. This, of course, exactly agrees with Paul’s view of the pretribulation rapture of the Church. The entry of the righteous into a place of peace is a beautiful description of the Church being taken to Heaven:

The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness” (Isaiah 57:1,2).

In this passage, the righteous man is the tzaddik [~r~’], or the one justified by faith. He ‘perisheth,” from the Hebrew word ovad, meaning “to disappear or vanish.” The context suggests that his disappearance is curiously unaccounted for.

“Merciful men “ (men of loving kindness) are said to be ‘taken away, “ from the Hebrew term usaf (~~]. It means, “to harvest, or gather up.” Notice that this term is used twice in verse one. It is a term that describes reaping, giving great strength to the idea of harvest at the end of the Church Age.

The second example comes from the prophet Micah. Like Isaiah, he speaks from the perspective of a future Israel, abandoned by its friends. In this forlorn and hopeless world, Israel’s friends are gone, just as they will be before the Great Tribulation, when Israel faces an anti-Semitic world, and the

judgment of God:

Woe is me! for lain as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fruit. The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood,’ they hunt every man his brother with a net (Micah 7:1,2).

In this Day of the Lord prophecy, we once again see a picture of the harvest, a representation of the end of the age. It is found in the word, “gathered, “where the Hebrew term osaf, is used in exactly the same context as that found in Isaiah 57.

Micah also uses the term, perished,” again from ovad meaning “to disappear or vanish.” He is saying that the good man has disappeared … simply vanished.

Comparing the Old Testament with the New Testament views of the rapture, we see exactly the same event from two perspectives. We visualize being quickly seized and taken up to the clouds, where we will meet the Lord in the atmospheric heavens, to be with Him forevermore.

If you plant 1000 yams, you may end up getting 800. Some 200 die while growing up. Of the 800, about 500 may be big and 200 medium, 100 small. It’s all about their exposure to nutrients in the soil, water and sun. how exposed to all these things are you. They are all inside God and it is your closeness to Him that gives you:

Time to drop assumption

Everybody knows about Heaven.  And sadly everybody assumes they will go into Heaven – The tribute about PRINCE the musician: “God has a new member in His choir upstairs.”

You don’t get to Heaven based on your/their assumptions. There is only one way to Heaven. It is found in John 14:6“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

There is only one WAY – application of TRUTH – the word of God (John 17:17). And for those who say they can’t read, Paul tells us in Romans 1:19 (NLT), that you can see God and know what He wants as you observe nature. “They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.” There is a streak in human beings that always wants to do things the way he sees fit. Take the case of a young man who approached Jesus with a demand to follow Him in Mk. 10. He rejected the conditions of Jesus and walked away.

Christianity is a race that leads to Heaven, that is what Paul told Timothy and any one that wants to go to Heaven must follow the rules. 2 Timothy 2:1-5 “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strives for masteries yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.” See also 2 Tim. 4:6-8; 1 Cor. 9:24-26

What you will note immediately is a calling and how to do it so that you can get to Heaven. It started with grace in verse 1 but did not stop there, he went on to talk about being a soldier, not entangling you with the affairs of this world – this is what he called striving lawfully. We are however more concerned that we have received grace for salvation and assume based on wrong teachings that, that is what will take us to Heaven. It will not, as the bible tells us that, to your holiness you need to control your tongue, master your emotions, master your appetite, learn to willingly give to the poor and the needy, work daily towards finishing your God-given assignments, as you remain intimate with God. The ministries of Jesus Christ capture all these.

First fruit explained using Mt. 27:50-54 as example for – 1Cor. 15:20. Quality may be less, but it’s still the same barley.

Dan. 7:13, 18, 1John 3:1-3 tells us how to live today, to make Heaven.

The 3 Ministries of Jesus Lk. 2:7-18 vs Mt. 2:1-11 Ex. 19:6 Isa. 20:3 Ezek.

Gold is malleable. Gold is soft in its original state. It is when you put impurities that it becomes hardened, and you now shape it. Gold passes through fire before it can be used – that is the dying to self Paul spoke about (Gal. 2:20)

In Psalm 84, it says:

To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.>> How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God. Psalm 84:1-3

Are you getting the figure of speech? Reproduction and productivity is in the place of fire. It said the sparrows are reproducing – giving birth at the altar of the Lord. There is only one thing at the altar – dead sacrifice. Why did God put it there? Because the birds of the air, there are totally under his control, they wholly follow whatever He says. They know when to fly to so and so place. The Bible used the word doth God not teach them by discretion? It is at the altar, it’s in the place of fire that reproduction takes place. Gold passing through fire removes impurities for it to be called gold. Whatever you see in your hand, it is not pure gold. It goes through fire for it to be called gold. God said to Laodicea, “buy of me gold tried in fire.” There is always fire that has to do with purifying things whether it is gold but he specifically used the word gold because it is also linked to David. History says he initiated and superintended the golden era in Israel. His era was described as a golden era, it said gold filled everywhere. They were able to raise one trillion dollars as calculated by Jimmy Swaggart in the commentary of his Bible to build the temple of God. The men, everybody in the country donated towards it. David donated by calculation 1.1 billion US dollars. The other billion and ninety something were given by people. That means they were rich and it is also in his time in the history that people saw God and they did not die because the “Shekinah” glory of God in that small humble tabernacle gave light 24/7. People fellowship there, people sang praises, people were praising God. They didn’t die, God was blessing them because they wholly and totally followed the Lord.

The gold concerning David, we have identifies the heart “kirdia” the seat of emotions.  This is the heart of God where the Soul is subject to the dictates of the heart – under the listings of the descriptions, the soul is listed as part of the heart. We should gun for this heart of God to avoid the Acts 13:22, God said after removing Saul, And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. Acts 13:22

David wholly followed the Lord. Tommy Tenny wrote explaining this in God Chasers; he said David was the man that pursued God telling him “What do you want me to do?” Always seeking to know what God wanted him to do at any point in time and you saw it in Saul, who became Paul, the moment his eyes cleared, he said “Lord, what do you want me to do? They have gone beyond the level of thinking. Should I not think? God gave me brain. Yes, but I must subdue it to the will of God by allowing him to say before I do.

Gold described David and using the word “raised up”, it describes us. So, God called us from this world, from the gutters of this world, a bloody Syrian, so that we can get to a point where our seat of emotion doesn’t matter anymore.  It is only what he wants that matter. A man who will fully and totally do my will.

Exo. 25-35 is the beautifying and equipping the temple of Moses – gold was used lavishly so that the priests would have a guiding principle as they served.

Number next is the frankincense that they gave Jesus. They gave him frankincense to speak of his priestly ministry. Automatically the same priestly ministry is thrown at us if we say that we are his children. Whatever Jesus did, we are going to do, Jesus said “Greater than this you will do.”

They gave him frankincense the priestly ministry and it then brings me to that word “Samech” John 15. Who is with him in the Holy of Hollies? If you read Psalm 15 now, I don’t know how many people qualify now. Read it and let us see if all of us are on the holy hill. Ps. 15:1-5; 2Pet. 2:9-11; Ex. 19:6

Look at the word “abide”, he didn’t use the word visit. Who can tabernacle in his presence? Just look at the adjective and see whether you qualify because this is the man in the sanctuary. You can’t be a priest in the market, you are priest in the sanctuary. Yet, if all these adjectives are not running freely in your life, pray from now until tomorrow, you will be praying to your roof except we match our lifestyle in this thing we say that we are. God is choosing, God is selecting his own and I don’t know who fits in except I match myself with the description given about Jesus. I preached a message here a long time ago “Only the best defends Jerusalem” and that is what I have seen in the Scriptures. Each time that there are to defend Jerusalem in fight, the Bible says that Joab went through the armies and he chose the choices of the choices. The best of the best and say you are the ones that will defend Jerusalem and others go and fight elsewhere. But it is the best of the best that were chosen to defend Jerusalem. Who fits in? Who does not fit in?

The frankincense was given as our own priestly ministry and then you have myrrh. myrrh is a symbol of death. As they gave him the kingly ministry, they gave him the priestly ministry, the two will not be possible without the dead ministry. The king – gold, the priest – frankincense and then the added myrrh. Without being dead to self, you can’t operate in the other two offices. Let me show you who a prophet is.

Revelation 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

He has made us kings and priest, where is the third ministry? It is because not everybody will qualify for that ministry of being a prophet unto God. in the scrolls, the prophet and a prophetic generation is not because you carry scroll, it is because you are dead – because prophets are dead. It is a choice whether you make that title, that third ministry. It was used concerning Jesus on the road to Emmaus, a prophet indeed, they called Jesus.  It is a choice; it is your lifestyle that will tell you who a prophet is.

Let me go to the Scripture in Amos 3:7 – Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

He will reveal to his servants first.  There is the word servant and prophets linked together. You must transit from being a G. O., from being a Pastor or any highflying title men call you to servanthood, before you can be a prophet. Basically speaking, apart from the office of a prophet, we are all prophets in our own right because a prophet simply means a spokesperson of God, and Peter in the New Testament said, “We are the oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11). So we are prophets of God by definition of somebody that speaks for somebody. Not counting the office of a prophet, mind me please. These prophets, they see the covenant people and they will work from God’s perspective. They see the world and human being from God’s perspective and not from the human point of view and that why I went all through this to tell you that you need to be dead for you to get to that level – see the Heart of a prophet for more. He is a person who had a close relationship with God. He is God’s confidant. He saw the world not the way every other person will see it. He saw the world as God would see it.

The LORD hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion: he hath stretched out a line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying: therefore he made the rampart and the wall to lament; they languished together….The LORD hath done that which he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old: he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied: and he hath caused thine enemy to rejoice over thee, he hath set up the horn of thine adversaries. Lamentations 2:8,17  

This is what God has done. He has purposed it. Look at Jeremiah 8 and look at the response of a prophet.

For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? Jeremiah 8:21-22. The Luke 14 servant. Isaiah’s cloth and life Isa. 20:2-3. Isa. 8:18; Ezek. 4:4-6; 12-15