The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Matthew 24:1-21, “Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him.
2 And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”
3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.
5 “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.
6 “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.
7 “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.
8 “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
10 “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.
11 “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.
12 “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.
13 “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
14 “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
15 “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.
17 “Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house.
18 “Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.
19 “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
20 “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.
21 “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.”

Sometimes life feels like entering a dark theater and realizing you are coming in near the end of a play with several acts. We didn’t write it. We didn’t ask to be thrust into the play. Yet we can be certain this drama is nearing the last act. Even though we didn’t see the beginning of the play, we can look back and see its plot and direction. Yet even then, how can we be sure when the next act will start?

The biblical prophets talked a lot about the last act. What we can do is look for the events that correspond. If those events occur, we can be fairly certain the last act is just ahead. When the curtain comes down on the current scene, will the next act be the last? What are the events, the characters, and the plot that will bring the play of world history to its predicted climax? Will we be wise enough to see it coming? Will we be ready? The only way we can be ready is if we know what the Scriptures teach about the Last Act of Human History! Get into your Bible and read! Ask the LORD Jesus to forgive you of your sins! Believe, then, that He has forgiven you. This is where true life begins!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Daniel 9:26-27, “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.
27 “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”

Thus far, we have recognized the First Sign as the regathering of the Jewish people; the Second Sign, as a Surging Apostasy; the Third Sign is the Coming Middle Eastern Peace. Now comes the Fourth Sign: the reuniting of the Roman Empire. This “Group of Ten’ is first mentioned in Daniel 2:41-44, where it is symbolized as ten toes on a great statue.

The Fifth Sign concerns the rebirth of the Roman Empire! Ever since Genesis 10, when Satan ruled the world through one man, Nimrod, Satan’s goal has been to get the world together again so he can rule it all. Today the electronic media, especially the use of television (via satellite) is a tremendous tool that allows instant communication around the world. Cable news now covers almost every corner of the planet. Access to the Internet, plus satellite cell phones, et al, puts people in instant communication virtually everywhere on the globe.

All of this (and more) is taking place in our own time! Sometimes things occur so rapidly that it is virtually impossible to keep abreast of their occurrences. Still, we must not lose sight of the spiritual aspects contained in it all. Jesus is coming; and it is seriously possible that many believers may reach
Heaven before all of this above comes to pass. The Big Question is: “Are We Ready?” I am! I hope you are, too!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

2 Timothy 3:1-9, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,
4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.
6 For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses,
7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith.
9 But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also.”

A second sign of the end times is surging apostasy; that is, a departure from the truth, both doctrinally and morally (1 Timothy 4:1-3; Jude 1:1-16).
Writing in 1964, the late Dr. John Walvoord, of Dallas Theological Seminary, said, “The Scriptures predict that there will be a growing apostasy or departure from the LORD as the church age progresses, and its increase can be understood as a general indication that the Rapture itself is near.”
In the period of Church History, known as the “Dark Ages,” men were ignorant of the truth; but never before had there an age when the truth was openly denied and repudiated. This current age is surely marching toward a climax with a monumental falling away, both doctrinally and morally.

Life in this current age might be viewed as somewhat easier, inasmuch as it has yet to completely fall away both doctrinally and morally. Yet, when doctrine begins to fade, the failure of morality is not far behind. And when morality begins to give way, doctrine easily accommodates it by being quickly shoved to the side.
Fifteen times in the New Testament, the word “alert” (???????? gregoreo: to be awake, to watch) shines before us as a beacon of warning. Thus, it behooves us to give heed.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Judges 9:1-3, “And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s relatives, and spoke to them and to the whole clan of the household of his mother’s father, saying,
2 “Speak, now, in the hearing of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or that one man rule over you?’ Also, remember that I am your bone and your flesh.”
3 And his mother’s relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the hearing of all the leaders of Shechem; and they were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our relative.”

The modern return of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel is virtually “miraculous!” Such a return by a people group that had been scattered among the nations is historically unprecedented.

Indeed, the Jewish People are the only exiled people to remain a distinct people despite being dispersed to more than 70 different countries for more than 20 centuries.

The modern-day return to the Holy Land began as early as 1871 when a few Jews began to trickle back into the land. By 1881, about twenty-five thousand Jews had settled there.

At the first Zionist Congress in 1897, led by Theodor Herzl, the Jewish people officially adopted the goal of reclaiming the land. The regathering was very slow. By 1914, the Jewish population in the land was only eighty thousand.

During World War I, the British sought support from the Jews for the war effort. So, the British foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, issued on November 2, 1917, what has become known as the Balfour Declaration. The declaration was stated in a letter from Balfour to Lord Rothschild, a wealthy Jewish entrepreneur. In the letter, Secretary Balfour gave approval to the Jewish goal of reclamation. “His Majesty’s Government views with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people. . . .” The declaration stirred Jewish hopes for establishing a homeland in the Holy Land and encouraged more Jews to return. By 1939, when World War II broke out, about 450,000 Jews had returned.

Adolph Hitler’s atrocities actually provided the greatest momentum for the establishment of a national homeland for the Jews. The United Nations approved a national homeland for the Jews, and British control of the land ended on May 14, 1948. The new nation was given five thousand square miles and had a population of 650,000 Jews and several hundred thousand Arabs.

Now, it would appear that Israel’s enemies have determined to join together and dominate the Jewish State. “Fear not,” however. Pray for Israel! Under the LORD’s Hand she will prevail!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Deuteronomy 9:23-26, “When the LORD sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God; you neither believed Him nor listened to His voice.
24 “You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day I knew you.
25 “So I fell down before the LORD the forty days and nights, which I did because the LORD had said He would destroy you.
26 “I prayed to the LORD and said, ‘O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.”

Oh, the problems we face when we don’t listen to the LORD! Read again verses 23-24. Failure to obey the the directives of the LORD is bound to bring about difficulties for ourselves, those of our own households, even our nation! It’s so easy blame our situations on someone else, yet His Word says, “You have been rebellious against the LORD…”

Moses took the counsel of the LORD very seriously! The remedy for most (if not all) of our problems is for us to get right with God! I sometimes receive email from long-time friends, asking: “What am I do do about my situation?” I know no better solution to any situation than what we read in verses 25-26 above. We know the LORD possesses the answer to every problem. It’s just that He will not allow our puny, two-minute prayers to terminate some serious situation in which He is involved!

When a loved one is encountering life-threatening surgery, we certainly don’t want the surgeon to relinquish his work just to answer some irrelevant question! We want him to “stay the course!” So should it be with us toward the LORD: “Trust and obey and stay out of His way!” Just be faithful. Stay the course! Stay in the Word! This is His world – His creation! He will always do that which is right; and He will always be on time! Worry is the primary tool of the enemy! Yet, it’s effective only when we allow it to be.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom