The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Revelation 4:1-6, “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”

2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.

3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.

4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.

5 Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;

6 and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind.”

As a boy, I can well remember asking about the meaning of the Book of Revelation. We attended a small church. Our pastors received small salaries; thus, they were required to do secular labor for a living. They clearly lacked both the time and the educational ability to explain that mystical book. Even now it has passages that require deep, concentrated study.

The Scripture passage above initiates the first of five scenes that complete the Message of the Revelation. Scene One (4:1-5:14) relates to Heaven. In that Scene, the Church is Raptured (caught up to meet Christ) and receives the “Title Deed” to the Earth. Scene Two (6:1-18:24) reveals The Great Tribulation on Earth. The Anti-Christ (Satan) will reign for a short time. He will require stern adherence to his authority, and in the absence of the Holy Spirit, Satan’s Rule will be authoritative! Scene Three (19:1-21) occurs in Heaven and speaks of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to the Earth. Scene Four (20:1-15) reveals the Millennial Reign of Christ on the Earth, while Scene Five (21:1-22:21) demonstrates All things as New!

Currently, the Church (i.e., all born-again believers in Christ) resides in wait for the Coming of the LORD Jesus Christ. He will come physically, while all truly born-again believers are awaiting the Rapture. Be prepared! The Rapture could come at any moment! Every person will be fixated on the life they have chosen. It will be too late then for anyone to come to faith in Jesus!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all that we need, Until He becomes all that we have.”

– Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Revelation 1:1-7, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,

2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,

5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—

6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father— to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

7 BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So, it is to be. Amen.”

Anyone observing the things occurring throughout the world today is either excessively thrilled or exceedingly fearful. One thing, however, is factually certain: what is prophesied in Scripture will “soon take place.” The Apostle John is not the author of what is coming; it is the LORD Himself, Who has revealed it to John.

John, now in turn, reveals the plan to believers of his own day. That plan uses us, too! The supreme question is: are we ready to meet Him when He comes for us? If we are not ready, we are certainly not prepared to aid and assist others to meet and know Him! Stay with the Scriptures, be prayerful, and keep your eyes on the LORD Jesus Christ.

As a reader of this Grands Letter, you may not be a Christian yourself. Others may be Christians but have never led a lost soul to faith in Jesus Christ. The Gospel Tract is there to help you lead others to faith in Jesus Christ! Study it carefully. Be ready. It can also be detached and used with other emails and/or internet communications. Pray as you use it. “God is our refuge and strength, a very ready help in trouble” (Psa. 46:1).

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all that we need,

Until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Jude 1:4-9, “…certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

5 Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe.

6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,

7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

8 Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties.

9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

How is the true believer to deal with the ungodly, who seek to make God’s grace look like evil, and who deny the righteousness of the LORD Jesus Christ? To be succinct, the believer ought to continue to hold to those things he knows to be right. He should avoid all evil and concentrate on the LORD, trusting in His omnipotence. Unbelieving troublemakers should be totally left for God.

Verse six above reads, “…He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment…” What more can we do other than to leave everything in the hands of a loving and omnipotent Father? Even the archangel Michael could do nothing more than say “The Lord rebuke you!”

Numerous times in Scripture, servants of the LORD have admitted they knew not what to do! Check out the following (to name only a few): Exodus 17:4; 1 Samuel 10:2; 2 Kings 2:9; and 4:2; 2 Chronicles 25:9; Matt. 27:22; Luke 10:25; 12:17; 16:3-4; 22:10.

Christ Jesus is our life! He knows the way, regardless of the dangers. “Stay the course!” Trust the LORD Jesus Christ without even the slightest reservation. He has never failed!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all that we need,

Until He becomes all that we have.”

– Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

3 John 1:1-12, “The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.

2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

3 For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth.

4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.

5 Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers;

6 and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.

7 For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.

8 Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.

9 I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say.

10 For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church.

11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.

12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.”

It’s no wonder that the Apostle John wrote such warm and loving letters. It’s easy to commend friends when their activities are commendable. That’s not to say that those to whom John wrote were all that they ought to have been. Seldom is that true of any of us. We all need that time-to-time encouragement from loving, competent friends like the beloved Gaius.

In this Scripture, we are to understand not that everyone had spiritually slipped, but that everyone needs encouragement from time to time to keep from slipping. Don’t you sometimes feel a little “out of it”? No, you’ve not abandoned the faith that was “once delivered to the saints”; you just haven’t been “on your game” like you know you should have been. Start imitating what is good! Share with others your testimony of encouragement just like the one you received from Demetrius.

Let’s rededicate ourselves to our LORD Jesus Christ and to the work He has assigned us to do! In both the long and short run, we’ll find that we’ve renewed our dedication to Him; and with that renewal, we’ve also grown to love Him more!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all that we need,

Until He becomes all that we have.”

– Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

2 John 1:1-12, “The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not only I, but also all who know the truth,

2 for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:

3 Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

4 I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father.

5 Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another.

6 And this is love that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.

7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.

8 Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.

9 Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.

10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting;

11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.

12 Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made full.”

My guess is that everyone reading this letter knows someone who resembles the “chosen lady” to whom John addressed it! She has children who are “walking in truth” and in love. She acknowledges the Lord Jesus Christ in her own life. She is, however, aware of the Antichrist, who leads people away from the Word and replaces it with the folly of his evil deeds.

John warns this beloved sister against even inviting into her house those who come with a teaching that is not of the Lord! To some, this may seem a bit harsh, but there’s even an old Arabian proverb that says, “Once the camel’s nose is in the tent, his body soon will follow.” We would all do well to adhere to John’s wise counsel. Stick with the Lord! Follow His teachings! “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God” in his life. Do you have Him in your life? I trust you do.

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all that we need,

Until He becomes all that we have.”

– Corrie ten Boom