Monday

Tribman "The End"

This concludes this blog I have called "Tribman." I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. It has been good to think on the things which are about to come to pass. I have enjoyed imagining what I would do if I were having to go through the Great Tribulation. I have also enjoyed thinking about how things will be during the millennium and the New Earth age. I long to see the coming of the Lord. This blog was a fictional story but the events on which it was based are coming and they are real. Please be warned and be ready for the coming of the Great Tribulation and the coming of the Lord.

I have plans to print this blog in a hard back book. I will add to it first some color pictures and tweak it a bit. I will put this book in our church library and will keep a copy for myself. I also plan to write a fiction novel based on this blog. I will do this after I complete my doctoral thesis. There are many story and plot details that this blog, because of its format, could not convey. The book will be titled "Tribman" and if there is enough interest I will publish it. If this is something in which you might be interested then leave me a comment. God bless you.

Adam

“What do you call them?” I asked Adam as I watched him petting a pair of small fury animals the likes of which I had never seen. “I have not given them a name yet.” he replied. “The name needs to fit their nature so until I know them better naming will have to wait.” As I stood their watching Adam interact with them I thought how wonderful it is to get to know my greatest of grandfathers. In the beginning of creation Adam had named all of the animals. I never thought about him actually knowing each one and all there was to know about them.
Adam was here to train me and I watched his every move. He is so good with animals. He has such a wonderful understanding of them. He seems to love getting to know all about them and their needs. I have learned much from him.
We walked through the forest and stopped at the edge of a clearing which was carpeted with a very curious plant. They looked like a cross between a mushroom and a jellyfish. They were clear as crystal and very fragile. The fragrance they emitted was sweet like a gardenia or a honeysuckle vine. Adam got down on his stomach on the ground and looked underneath the plants being careful not to touch them. “Take a look at this,” he said beaconing me to join him on the ground. I got down and peered under the canopy of the plants. I could see scurrying about a multitude of small bugs that where shaped like ladybugs. These were also clear in appearance every part of their anatomy was transparent. “I call these noseeums.” Adam whispered. “You really have to be looking for them to find them.” He added. Adam reached out and touched one of the plants with his finger saying, “watch this.” The outside covering shaped like a dome immediately inverted. The noseeums rushed in one accord and climbed all over the plant as if looking for the cause of the inversion. Finding nothing in or around the inversion they all gathered on the rim and jumped in unison into the air just a few inches high and all landed at the same time back on the rim which caused the plant to take its dome shape again. The noseeums headed off about their business. “Wow, our God is an amazing creator,” I said. Adam smiled and said, “He always has been.”
We walked around the edge of the clearing and came to a taller then normal tree. A monkey like animal high up in its branches came racing down the truck. “There you are,” Adam said in a sweet and low tone of voice. He reached out and took the animal into his arms. “We need to help this little one get back home.” We found Ezra and Tabitha in the next clearing walking in our direction. “You found him,” they said. Adam held out his arms and the monkey like animal leaped into Ezra's outstretched arms. “We will see he gets home safely.” Tabitha reached out to pet him and asked, “Will you be at the meeting.” “Yes, and Noah will be there too,” I said, anticipating Tabitha's next question. “Great, and I hear that Pastor will be there as well,” Ezra said.
Adam bid us farewell and I thanked him for his help. I led the way as we went to meet Noah. She was waiting for us near the Dan river. We walked along the bank of the river following its course to the City. We enjoyed our conversation. I have noticed that little to nothing of what we talk about has to do with our past. It is mostly about the here and now. Current events and anticipation seem to be the subjects at hand.
We entered the city and found our way to the building where we were to have our meeting. Every building in the city is uniquely shaped. Each building has a name. The one for which we were looking was dome shaped with seven towers. It looked much like a crown and is called “Life.” When all were present and accounted for we began to sing praise to our God. One started the song and each in turn added their on verse to it. Each verse reflected the unique experiences of the singer's walk with God. The song morphed into pure praise.
Ezra began: “Christ did my sins bare far away;”
Tabitha chimed forth: “And thus I live now and for aye.”
Noah sang: “Redeemed am I by His dear grace;”
Then, I pointing in the direction of the light, sang with all my might “Now I see Him face to face.”
Pastor in a quiet soft voice which was clear and sweet, sang: “Tis love amazing and so free;”
Jael took over the note an octave above: “that saved our souls for His glory.”

We prayed together and God was with us. We love these meetings. They are the high point of our one eternal day!

The City of God

The angel at the gate was very helpful. He welcomed our group warmly. The wall of the city was amazing. It was far more beautiful than we could have imagined. The gate was wide open and we started through the long bright tunnel through the wall. We were on the left side; to our right was a river of water and on the other side of the river was the other side of the street. People leaving the city were on the right side and those entering were on the left. Stepping out from under the wall our eyes took in the massive street of gold which went to our left. Straight ahead of us was a bridge that crossed the river and led to the other side of the main street. To exit the city now we would have to cross that bridge and turn to the left then turn right to cross over another bridge to go back out the gate through which we had entered. In the middle of the main street was the clearest river of water eyes had ever seen. It was the source of the smaller river that ran through the gate of the city. On either side of the river there were trees, lush and green and on the tree there were fruits of different shapes and colors. This was the most beautiful tree ever seen. At each gate of the city there were bridges which crossed the river and led to the other side of the main street.
Our little “tribulation” group had met up at the Dan gate which we had agreed to do in the last year of the millennium. We wanted to enter the city for the first time together. Pastor and his wife led the way. We turned to the left and headed down the street which led around the wall then spiraled inwardly toward the center of the city. It was from the center of the city that the light of the city was shining. We strolled past magnificent massive buildings all made of pure gold. Those people on the other side of the street on the other side of the river were leaving the city, having been to the center where they had seen Jesus face to face. There was nothing but absolute joy on every face. Everyone is dressed in white robes. Everyone appears to be the same age. There is no measure of time here so no one is in a hurry. We stop along the way to embrace and talk with others.
We reached the throne of God and the Lamb. We each had a turn to talk with Jesus and to receive instructions. When my turn came I stepped up to the throne and bowed down to worship the LORD. He asked me to rise and told me to go to a place west of the city and to care for and see after the plants and animals that were there. I left His presence eager to do His bidding. Seeing after and caring for God's marvelous creation is an honor indeed. We all have different assignments in different areas of the world. We are free to do God's will, nothing stands in our way now. Freedom like this we have never know. From where I serve the LORD I can see the city. Another thing that has surprised me about being in this new body and living on this new earth is the learning process. I somehow thought I would know everything and would not have to learn but that is not the case. There is so much that I do not know and every day is a learning experience. God reveals more and more each day about His nature, His knowledge, and His power. What I learn in one day here is more than I learned in all of my life as a mortal on the old earth. One might think, then, that I will know it all soon but I see now that I will never know all things like our God. So much of what I was taught about science, nature, and human beings was absolutely false. A lot of things I believed were true turned out to be a lie. Things are not at all as they seemed to me when I was a mortal.

Tuesday

The End of the Millennium

The fire, called down by the LORD, came in the form of an intensely bright light that instantly reduced to ashes all the enemies of the Son of Man. We knew the end was near and twenty years before it came Noah and I moved permanently to Israel. We prepared a place for our rather large family. We have a home that is 10 stories high. Our children over these past 20 years have slowly relocated to our home. Their children, our grandchildren have also moved here with us. About 70% of our great grandchildren have also moved here. Of our other descendants let me say this, the further away from being our children the greater the percentage that refused to repent and believe in Jesus. It breaks our hearts but each must make their own choice where they will spend eternity. We were tired of our nation's cycle of obedience and rebellion. Nations would rebel in about 100 year cycles. They would be punished with no rain and then the next 99 years or so they would be submissive until some new leader came to power and then trouble would come again. Israel has not had this problem during the millennium. They remained faithful throughout.
There were no signs of Satan's release. Not long after it happened every nation rebelled at the same time. All the nations gathered in one united effort to overthrow, by force, the LORD and His people. Most believers moved to Israel as soon as they could while others waited until the last year of the millennium. This left the rest of the world with nothing but unbelievers for citizens. The world truly came down to “Us” and “Them.” There was amazing calm among the saints of God when this final war began to take shape. It was only the unbelievers that were blinded to the truth of the prophecy that Satan would make one last try to overthrow the Kingdom of God. There was no fear among us, only sorrow for those poor lost souls. Many of those who hated us were our own flesh and blood.
After the fire of God's judgment fell upon the lost the LORD sat upon His great white throne. He called all of His saints to stand behind His throne. Noah and I stood about 2 miles back behind the throne and a little to the left of it. In the instant that He destroyed the wicked we were changed and received our spiritual bodies. We now stood there with the same kind of glorious, immortal, incorruptible body as our friends, Ezra and Tabitha had received over 1000 years earlier. Behind us and in one huge circle which surrounded the whole scene stood all the saints of God. Jesus had called forth all the dead of all the ages and with His saints standing behind His throne and all around, He condemned the wicked unbelievers showing them out of His holy word the wickedness of their deeds and their sinful ways. He showed them, as a testimony to their lost condition, the Lamb's Book of Life. They were sentenced to spend eternity in the Lake of Fire and were cast immediately by a mighty angel into their eternal prison. When this scene was over we walked away to discover that the earth and all things in it were new. The earth we now tread is an absolute paradise! We now await the coming of that great city of God, New Jerusalem!

Wednesday

Half Way

Year 500:
We are now half way through the millennium. We attend a funeral about once every 30 years. Some of these people die young, about 100 years old. I am now 530 years old and by our old world standards that would be unheard of. I saw in the paper that there was a woman in Israel who is 600 years old which means she was 100 when the Lord returned. I can't imagine surviving the tribulation being that old. The article said she was in very good health and walks 10 miles a day. We still farm and raise horses and have as much energy now as when we were in our 30's.
Trigger died at a good old age. Noah and I both cried. We erected a monument over his grave. He was a dear friend sent from God. Ezra and Tabitha were there for his burial. These dear friends come to us regularly and seem to know just when to show up.
We have 12 children and 182 grandchildren and 1,943 great-grandchildren. We have lost count of great-great-grandchildren so suffice it to say God has truly blessed us. We have a family reunion here on the farm every 10 years. 90% of our family shows up and we have a great time. We call on our dear friend, Ezra, to lead the prayer at our family reunion feast. If it were not for him and Pastor we may never have known how to be saved. Pastor comes by every 100 years or so to check on us. His wife is always by his side. We talk about old times and he preaches us an old time message.
More and more people are choosing not to be saved. So far, all of our children and grandchildren have been saved. Most of our great-grand children are saved. The ones who have not been saved yet are being prayed for and encouraged. Only a fool would say that Jesus is not who He claims to be. More and more lost people are being elected to the governing counsel but so far they have not rebelled like some nations. Egypt decided they would not represent before the Lord and they suffered the worse drought ever recorded which lasted for a year. The paper said most of the believers left Egypt and did not return until it was over. The way things are starting to look here we may be in the same shape. If America rebells we plan to go and stay in Israel. We have a vacation home there since we go sometimes twice a year. We allow others to use our house for their excursions to the Holy Land. We have contemplated moving to Israel permanently but our family would miss us and we would miss them.
Our attendance at worship each week has dropped off. It used to be that everyone in our community dropped whatever they were doing to be at worship services. Now people miss services for the least little thing. Many people have stopped traveling to Jerusalem. They are becoming more and more selfish and self centered. The Devil, when released from his prison, will have many people on his side. We have been trying to warn the lost of their impending doom and the Great White Throne judgment to come but our words fall on seemingly deaf ears.
We who are saved cannot wait until the new earth comes. When Jesus makes all things new we will have incorruptible, immortal bodies like His. The new earth sounds so great we just love talking about it. We are looking for that city with foundations whose builder and maker is God. (Zechariah 14:16-19; Isaiah 65:20)