Leaving Kalisz

Posted on September 27, 2013 by opendooreurope

How in the world did a week go by so quickly? It seems like we had just arrived, and then it was suddenly the last day of the feast. The last worship session was marked as Poland, but involved each country’s worship group. Throughout the week, our musical men (Giuseppe, Roberto, and Daniele) were asked to support other groups: Czech Republic, Germany, Russia, and England. And they did. Of all the people at the Feast of Tabernacles, the only ones who worked harder than our three guys were our hosts, who cooked, cleaned, set up the sound, and helped in a thousand different ways throughout the week, and at all hours.

During the last session, they were asked to help Czech Republic and Germany, and then Poland took the platform again. I went to speak to the musical organizer because Italy hadn’t gotten an opportunity to do a last song. He said, “Yes, but they got the chance to play.” I said, “But only supporting, not as Italy.” He told me it was too late. I went back to where our group was sitting, I was too sad to even give them the bad news, only Felicity, who gave me a hug. About a minute later, the musical organizer came up behind me and said, “OK, you have the chance to play one song.” So we went onto the platform, to the astonishment of the Polish performers, who thought it was theirs for the rest of the hour. They graciously stepped down and we did one last song. After that we all took Communion together as the Polish team performed a quiet worship song. Then we all sang together in joyful worship.

We had one last dinner together, and said our goodbyes. It was so hard to say goodbye to everyone, hard to believe that the week was done. We had a harrowing two-hour ride to the airport the next morning, at high speed on narrow two-lane roads most of the way, with big trucks, rain, and passing two or three cars at a time. Each of us had a unique reaction to the drive: Felicity was in the front seat, enjoying the speed. I was in the back seat, thankful to know where I’m going if this is my time. Bethany was next to me, hanging on for dear life, unwilling to glance toward the windshield, and praying in tongues.

The thing that has remained with me has been the very tangible presence of God. This morning, having returned to Italy, I woke up at about 4 AM, and prayed for about three hours. Yes, there is something so addictive (in a good way!) about the presence of God. I love being in His presence so much that I just don’t want to leave. So with God’s help I want to continue a practice of praying even more each day—three, four, or more hours. God is good!

A Travel Promise from Father God

Posted on August 2, 2013 by opendooreurope

Yesterday and today could have been very difficult travel days, indeed. I had bought my round-trip tickets to Malta separately from my round-trip tickets to Rome. I had planned a 4 hour layover to claim my bag and check in to my other flight. If anything went wrong with my Malta flight, it could have cost me the flight back to Milan. (Remember my post from April titled Six Hours Late?)

Likewise, the potential for problems loomed for today’s travel. I will be meeting Nina at the airport after she drops off her son’s fiancée at another airport. If there is a traffic snarl or something goes wrong, and Nina doesn’t get there in time, what do I do? Go ahead and check in? Give up my ticket and wait? And Buck will be meeting us at the airport in Sofia, and driving us to The Promised Land Complex, about 2 ½ hours away.

Such travel plans fraught with possibilities for problems used to keep me awake at night. But this time I prayed about it, and decided to leave it all in God’s hands whatever happens. I slept very well both nights, and yesterday morning before traveling, God told me very clearly that His message to me for the day’s travel is Psalm 81:6, “I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket.” God is promising to carry my luggage for me because I’ve let go of my baggage. By that I mean that since I decided to just trust Him, He is promising to take care of me the whole way.

Your might be wondering what is today’s travel promise from God. Proverbs 3:6, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.”

And He has! God is good! Whatever comes, God is good!

Take it Personally!

Posted on July 27, 2013 by opendooreurope

God has been meeting us here in very personal ways, providing just what we need (or want!) at just the right time. For me, there were 4 things that people either did for me, gave to me, or that were simply there for me, and nobody knew where they had come from.

Scarf

The day before I left for Rome I was given a scarf. I put it in my backpack and really forgot about it until the first morning in Rome. We had a pre-breakfast prayer meeting by the swimming pool each morning. Rome was hot, but not at 6:30AM. So having that scarf to throw over my shoulders was just perfect. It felt like a smile from God. I have also needed the scarf on the buses here in Malta because they are hyper-uber-air-conditioned and freezing cold. After a roasting hot day, getting on a freezing bus when you’re all sweaty feels really good—at first. But our bus ride is about 25 minutes, which is plenty of time to get frozen. So again, having the scarf to throw over my shoulders has been a real blessing and a life-saver.

Pearl

In the Malta airport I found a pearl on the ground. As many of you know, I have recently opened my apartment in Milan as a missionary guesthouse. What you might not know is that I named it Pearl House because of a dream that God gave me while I was fasting and praying. In the dream I saw people lined up on the sidewalk in front of the apartment building. Each person had a bag overflowing with pearls in their hands. When I woke up, I realized that these were missionaries taking the Pearl of Great Price (the Gospel) to people in Europe. So finding that pearl was significant in a very personal way.

Chicken Dinner

Yesterday I took a day off from the Prayer Center to rest, get some laundry done, and work on the computer. We have had all our meals provided for us, but they have been brought to the Prayer Center. I had spied a can of tuna and figured that I would just put tuna on crackers, and that would be fine for dinner. But then the dance team woke up from their nap and made a delicious chicken dinner, and they invited me to share it with them. They were going to do the overnight shift at the Prayer Center, and opted to get a good nap and arrive too late for dinner. So instead of cold tuna on crackers, I got a lovely chicken dinner with oven fried potatoes and a delicious fresh fruit salad.

Yogurt

This morning I got up early and caught the first morning bus to the Prayer Center. I had a cup of coffee before leaving, but I usually don’t wake up hungry. As I walked into the Prayer Center I wanted a second cup of coffee and something to eat. My favorite breakfast is a crunchy granola cereal with plain yogurt over it. On the kitchen counter sat a cup of plain yogurt. There were 3 people in the Prayer Room, so I asked if the yogurt belonged to anyone. They all said that they didn’t know anything about it. But I know: it was a breakfast treat from my Father, who loves me personally and intimately. God is good!

Break Every Chain

Posted on July 23, 2013 by opendooreurope

After only 3 hours, both Molly and I wanted to get back to the Prayer Center. It wasn’t a lot of sleep, but both of us got 3 very good hours of sleep. I love that we got to be the ones to launch the 24/7 prayer. It was out of my comfort zone, but so worth it! In fact, every time that I have stepped out of my comfort zone in response to God’s call, I have enjoyed it and been blessed.

And speaking of being called out of my comfort zone, God has encouraged me to speak to people here in Malta—strangers! Those who know me might be surprised, but I’m really quite shy, especially when it comes to talking to strangers. My mom is really good at striking up a conversation with a stranger, and seems to be able to do it anytime and anywhere, with grace and freedom. I have not enjoyed such ability or success whenever I have tried. But, since it is God that is calling me out of my comfort zone, I will do it, and will enjoy it and will be blessed.

In obedience, I have started to greet everyone I see on the street (except the ones that are talking on their phones). Most people have responded in a friendly way. In Texas I used to greet everyone on the street, even strangers. But in Milan and in the northeastern US, I have gotten such odd and sometimes hostile reactions that I stopped doing it. I spoke to the man next to me on the bus this morning, but found that his accent and the background noise made it really hard to understand him. Although he didn’t seem to be quite awake, he responded in a friendly way. When we got to the end of the line, he wished me a nice day.

Yesterday we had more prayer requests from the other Transform teams, and had a prayer meeting with local believers. One couple came with their 10 year old son, but soon after worship started, they suddenly left. I don’t know if they were offended by the freedom of our worship or if they had some unrelated issue. It definitely was not our intent to offend anyone. Malta is even more religiously Catholic than Italy—celebrating saint days with colored lights and garlands and fireworks and parades of statues in the streets. The Renewal Movement (Charismatic Catholicism) has begun here, but it is not the majority by any means. Most Catholics here, as in Italy, are nominal, ritualistically religious, or superstitiously religious. True faith is rare here in Malta. But it won’t stay that way.

Another issue for the Maltese is refugee boat people from Africa. Most of the boat people drown before making land, but such is the desperation of these people that they just keep coming. The same current that caused the Apostle Paul’s boat to shipwreck on Malta brings the African boats to these shores instead of to Italy (though many do land in Italy). The European Union has told Malta that they must keep the boat people, so the population of the island has changed dramatically. Many Maltese resent the presence of the Africans, feeling that their island has been invaded, their jobs taken, and their economy drained. The fact is that the European Union financially helps Malta, though I don’t know how much. Refugees are put into detention centers for a year while their backgrounds are checked. As you can imagine, this is not a quick process, working in cooperation with various African governments that do not want to have these people returned to be a drain on their own struggling economies. Then the refugees are released to find work that nobody else wants to do because of low pay or the danger involved.

Molly, who is a black African, discovered firsthand the anger and resentment of the Maltese for the African refugees. She was walking with 2 other girls from our team, and they spoke to people in the park. They asked one older man if they could pray for him. An ugly look came over his face and he pointed his finger at Molly, shouting: “Pray about them!”

The unexpected venom of his anger startled and hurt Molly. But later as she told us about the incident, Molly prayed for the man, forgiving him and releasing him to God’s love. While walking with Molly, I saw another older man who scowled at Molly. I turned to her and said, “Molly, I’m so sorry for the way that man spoke to you!” How terrible to be hated so much just because of the color of your skin! The man had no idea what a sweet person Molly is, or that she had come for the specific purpose of praying for his country.

Jesus is the chain-breaker, and He will break every chain and proclaim freedom to the captives. Yes, Lord! Break every chain! God is good!

The Whole Inheritance

Posted on July 18, 2013 by opendooreurope

Greetings from Rome!

I am here at Transform 2013, an outreach program of OM. At the airport while waiting for the bus to the conference, I stopped at a coffee shop for an after-lunch espresso, as is my habit. Next to me at the coffee bar was a friendly woman. She smiled and spoke to me in English. It turned out that she was also headed to Transform. We hit it off in an instant friendship. But Monica and I had no idea at the time just how compatible we were.

Transform in Rome is to prepare missionaries for short-term missions in the countries around the Mediterranean. “Where are you going after the conference?” Monica asked me. This would become one of the 2 most common questions to strike up conversation at the conference. The other being, “Where did you come from?” I told her that I’m from Texas, living in Milan, Italy, and going to Malta after the conference. Her smile widened and she said, “Me too!” Both our jaws dropped open. Right on cue, the bus arrived and took us to the conference. Monica and I rode together, each glad to have found a traveling companion.

When I arrived in Rome, I was already going on 2 nights in a row of only 4 hours sleep. Monday night (or technically, Tuesday morning) I awoke at 2AM with a migraine attack beginning. The enemy frequently tries to prevent me from going or from being effective on missions trips by attacking me with migraines. But the Lord said to get on my feet and fight. So I stood there in the dark room, rebuking the enemy silently so as not to awake my 3 roommates. The migraine immediately went away and I was able to get back to sleep, but had a 3^rd night of only about 4 hours sleep. Something would have to break. The next night (yesterday morning) I woke up again at 2 and simply couldn’t get back to sleep. It wasn’t that my mind was busy, I just laid there feeling my breath going in and out, and not sleeping. About 11 that morning, I was considering going to the room to see if I could sleep through lunch.

But my morning prayer partner suggested that I pray with someone who knows about generational curses. She suggested this because I had opened up and told her about my concerns for my son, who had written on Facebook that he hadn’t been happy in a year, and had asked the question, “Why should I go on living?” I noted that it was about a year ago that his grandfather (my former father-in-law) had committed suicide. The person she led me to was Monica.

I told Monica about my son and father-in-law, and also that 4 months later, I also lost a close family friend to suicide. She said that there is a spirit of suicide and a spirit of death that are generational spirits. That means that they tend to cling to a person’s family, encouraging death among family members. I had already broken other such curses off my family, but not specifically suicide or death. I told her that in the last year that I lived with my husband, I suffered thoughts of suicide all day long, day-in and day-out. And that finally, when I left him, I was literally running for my life—not because of physical danger from him, but because of the danger that I might, in a moment of weakness, act upon those thoughts because of how intolerable life had become for me. One day I did come close, but instead called 911 and was referred to the County Mental Health Clinic, where I was given a prescription for an anti-depressant.

Monica took me to her room, laid hands on me and prayed for me, breaking the spirit of suicide and death. She prayed for the healing of my memories and other things that I don’t remember. What I do remember is that her hands smelled very nice and felt soothing on my skin. When I commented on the fragrance of her hands she showed me a little vial of Frankincense. It has a lovely smell! It’s really very soothing.

After Monica’s prayer, I felt my energy return. I did take a nap, but not until after lunch, and only for about 45 minutes. Last night I slept very well, getting about 8 hours—6 in a row!—thank You, Lord!

Today almost everyone has gone into the city of Rome on outreach, taking many paperback Gospels of John in Italian, 3000 dvd’s of the Jesus film to give away, and thousands of tracts to hand out. I decided to stay behind, knowing that without a nap, I could never last a whole day into the evening, walking around Rome. On Fridays I pray for Italy from 3-4 in the afternoon. So I went to the prayer room, with their big floor map of the Mediterranean countries. I knelt down on Italy and prayed and wept over it. Then I stretched out over Italy, my heart right over Tuscany. For a long time I had no words to pray, just mute longing for the salvation of the people of Italy, and my heart beating over Tuscany.

Then I lifted up my head and saw the words printed on the corner of the map: “Ask Me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession,” (Psalm 2:8). It was 3 years ago, just before I went to Transform 2010, that I received a prophecy, saying (in part): “You will not just receive the blessing, but the whole inheritance.” So I stood to my feet and began to ask for the nations as my inheritance, and to claim the whole inheritance. As brokenhearted as I had earlier felt for Italy, I began to feel confident that God will indeed bless and save the people of Italy—no matter what their background.

Then I remembered a prophecy I received a few days ago, but read this morning: “When your faith is in what you want Me to do for you instead just wanting Me, it is misplaced,” (emphasis mine). Yes, my faith is in God Almighty, and He alone is the hope for Italy. God, who helped me yesterday when I was in trouble, can help Italy, too! God is good!

A Delightful Day Trip

Posted on June 15, 2013 by opendooreurope

My houseguests came to Italy from Czech Republic to attend a prophetic prayer conference, but they made use of their free time to do a bit of tourism. I generally help guests get oriented and figure out how to find what they’re looking for, but mostly I leave them to go visit the castle, the cathedral and other tourist sites without me. However, my friends Rose and Piotr invited me to come with them to visit Como. I hadn’t been to Como for several years, and it is a very nice place to visit, so we packed a picnic lunch and I went with them.

We arrived at Como’s San Giovanni station. Como has 4 or 5 train stations. I picked San Giovanni because it is above the city, and from it you enter the city through a nice park. From there we walked to the lakeside park where the monument to Alexander Volta stands, looking very much like a giant Duracell battery. Ducks approached us quacking for a handout, but we had come empty-handed.

We walked back toward the marina under a canopy of trees so thick that it was like walking in the shade of an arcade gallery. As we passed the marina, I pointed out that it is possible to take a boat tour of Lake Como. They decided that it was going to take too much of our time, and so declined—much to my relief. If they had wanted to do the boat tour, I would have waited for them on solid ground in a coffee shop. It’s true, I’m not a big fan of boats. I will ride boats when necessary, but it’s really not my idea of a fun time. I know that lots of people love sailing, love boating, kayaking, canoeing, but they can have it.

From there we walked to the cathedral where we enjoyed the naturally cool interior, and then we went for a coffee. The waiter spoke English and entertained us with his shtick for foreign visitors.

Then we went up the funicular railway to the top of the hill overlooking the lake and the city of Como. The view going up was spectacular. At the top we found a shady bench and ate our picnic lunch, enjoying the beautiful view and the lovely day. Piotr pointed across the lake and asked me if the city in the valley was Chiasso, Switzerland. I said, “I don’t know. It could be.” When we found a detailed satellite map, we discovered that it was, indeed Chiasso. I asked him how he could possibly have known that that was Chiasso. He shrugged and said, “It was a train to Chiasso, and that looked like it must be the next stop for the train.”

We walked along the narrow street to the scenic overlook at Fonte Pissarottino, which means fountain of Pissarottino. The fountain did not have drinkable water, and had a marble sign reading “Porta fortuna,” meaning that the water brings good luck. I translated the sign for them and said, “Of course, we’re blessed, so we don’t need luck.” The views over Lake Como are all stunning, and this was certainly beautiful. Then Rose and Piotr wanted to climb even farther up the hill to the lighthouse, Faro Voltiano. I decided that they could do the climb in the full sun of the afternoon without my help. So I waited for them at the coffee shop by the Funicular and did one of my favorite activities, people watching. A tortoise-shell cat came to me, looking for some love. Since I can’t resist cats, I naturally complied. With a satisfied meow, he sauntered off to look for a good spot to nap. Soon after that a big puppy that had slipped off his leash came wagging over to me. I petted him with one hand and grabbed his collar with the other. When a girl about 9-10 years old came running up, I handed him over to her. She was very relieved to have him back. The rest of the family came running, and made a big fuss over the dog, putting him back onto the leash. The puppy just continued to wag, enjoying the chaos he had caused.

When Rose and Piotr found me in the shade of the café umbrella they confirmed what I had suspected: that it was a hard climb to the lighthouse in the full sun for very little payoff. I smiled, thinking that with age (experience) comes wisdom.

We took the train back to Milan from the Como Nord station, which is not far from the bottom of the funicular. It had been a beautiful day, and a pleasant day trip. I called it an early night (about 9:30), and we all slept very well. God is good!

Blessed Reassurance

Posted on June 6, 2013 by opendooreurope

Part Two

Pre-Tribulation Rapture

If viewed from an historical Jewish point of view, the evidence for the Rapture to occur before the Tribulation is overwhelming. Also overwhelming is the venomous response that some people have to the idea of a pre-tribulation Rapture. Between those 2 things, I almost feel intimidated about trying to present it all here in a way that will make sense.

Nevertheless, I will attempt to do so because I believe that it is very important for believers to be ready. Those who have been following my blog know that recently I fasted for 21 days, putting the question to God: “Given that these are the End Times, what should we be doing to be prepared for what comes next?” It was during that fast that I became aware that the Rapture is likely to be “what comes next.”

To begin with, there is a lot of misinformation on the internet about the End Times. Every wacko theory is broadcast on the internet from Obama being the antichrist to the “mark of the beast” being to worship God on the wrong day of the week. Because the things written about the End Times in Daniel and Revelation are so fantastic, many people take them as allegorical. Some of those same people take Noah’s Ark, the Burning Bush, and Jonah in the Fish (see my recent post A Pipsqueak and a Fish Story) as being literal, yet they say that the future things are allegorical. That kind of inconsistency doesn’t even make sense! If any of the Bible is untrue, then all of it comes into doubt—especially given the usual things that have been recorded in the Bible (like fire from Heaven that burns up a soaking-wet offering).

So, future events recorded in the Bible are to be taken every bit as literally as past events. In other words, when the Bible says that we will be “caught up” to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17), that’s exactly what it means.

Some people don’t believe in the Rapture at all, simply because the word rapture isn’t in the Bible. It’s true. The word rapture is not in the English language Bible, but that word came from the Latin Vulgate. In the original Greek Bible, the word is harpadzo (pronounced har-POD-zoh, and written ἁρπάζω), and means to seize, carry off by force; to seize on, claim for one’s self eagerly; to snatch out or away. The Latin version translated harpadzo as rapiemur, from the root rapio, meaning to seize, snatch, carry away. So although the word rapture doesn’t appear in the English translation of the Bible, the concept is clearly there, and it seems like it would be perfectly acceptable to translate Paul’s word harpadzo as rapture.

The next problem that people have with the Rapture is that they confuse it with the Second Coming of Jesus. The Rapture and Second Coming are different events. I can understand the confusion, but let’s look carefully at the differences between the Rapture and the Second Coming:

“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am,” (John 14:2-3).

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. According to the Lord’s Word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever, (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17).

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, (1 Corinthians 15:51-53).

Those 3 passages describe the Rapture. The Rapture is all about the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. The words from John: “I go and prepare a place for you, and I will come back and take you to be with me,” are what the bridegroom tells his bride in the Jewish wedding ceremony. Here is a link to an excellent video that shows the Jewish wedding ceremony and explains the connection with the Rapture: The Rapture Revelation. There is a connection, and it’s important because you must remember that Jesus was a Jewish man speaking to Jewish people. So when He these Jewish men: “I go to prepare a place for you,” they understood that He was speaking to them as their Bridegroom speaking to His Bride.

Rapture deniers and others who don’t believe in a Pre-tribulation Rapture say that there won’t be a secret Rapture. It won’t be a secret when it happens. I heard a prophecy that when we are caught up through the devil’s territory (remember, he’s the prince of the power of the air), there will be an EMP effect. Follow the link for that prophecy: EMP Effect at the Rapture.

The following are passages that describe the Second Coming of Jesus:

On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with Him. On that day there will be neither sunlight nor cold, frosty darkness. It will be a unique day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light. On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter. The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and His name the only name, (Zechariah 14:4-9).

Immediately after the distress of those days, “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other, (Matthew 24:29-31).

Where the confusion comes is with this trumpet in Matthew and the trumpet mention in both 1 Corinthians and 1 Thessalonians, above. Here’s a link for a video that explains the difference between these 2 trumpets: The “Last Trump” Explained & Revealed.

There is also confusion with the last part of that passage in Matthew, which sounds like the Rapture. However, it can be explained by understanding the Jewish harvest cycles. The harvest isn’t one single event in Israel, but a series of events. First they take a part of the field that has ripened the fastest—usually from the center of the field. That goes to the Temple, and it is called First Fruits. Then is the general harvest, but they leave the corners because of what is written in Leviticus 23:22: “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger. I am the Lord your God,” (AMP, emphasis mine). The very same is repeated in Leviticus 19:9. So they leave the corners until after the poor have had a chance to gather what they need. Then they harvest the 4 corners, and that is the harvest alluded to in Matthew 24:31, the very last part of the harvest: “He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” To see a great illustration of how the Jewish harvest cycle ties in with the Rapture and the final harvest, see Are There Really Over 7 Rapture Scenarios?

Something interesting that most people overlook is the fact that the book of Revelation is chronological. We can know that by the frequent use of the word then in the book of Revelation—54 times in the NIV.

To sum things up, there are some vast differences between the Rapture and the Second Coming, which I’ve put below:

Rapture—Comes suddenly and without warning (Matthew 25:13)

Second Coming—Preceded by many signs, including the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4; Revelation 11:1-2)

Rapture—Believers will meet Jesus in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

Second Coming—Jesus returns to the Mount of Olives to meet believers on earth (Zechariah 14:4)

Rapture—Mount of Olives remains whole (no change is noted at the Rapture because Jesus will not come all the way down to touch the earth)

Second Coming—Mount of Olives splits when Jesus touches down on it, forming a valley east of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:4)

Rapture—Believers get glorified bodies (1 Corinthians 15:53-54)

Second Coming—Bodies of remaining believers are unchanged (no such change is noted at the Second Coming)

Rapture—Faithful go to Heaven (Revelation 19:6-9)

Second Coming—Believers return from Heaven in glorified bodies, earthly believers (living Tribulation Saints) remain on earth (Revelation 19:14)

Rapture—The world is not yet judged (2 Thessalonians 2:6-12)

Second Coming—The world is judged and righteousness is established (Revelation 19:17-20: 15)

Rapture—The Church is saved from God’s wrath (Isaiah 26:20)

Second Coming—Remaining believers have endured the wrath (Matthew 24:22)

Rapture—Only the saved are involved (Matthew 25)

Second Coming—Everyone is involved (Matthew 24:30)

Rapture—Satan remains free (Revelation 18)

Second Coming—Satan is bound for a thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3)

Since the Rapture and Second Coming clearly are different events that do not occur at the same time, this would rule out a Post-Tribulation Rapture scenario.

Lately I’ve been waking up with the Rapture on my mind. I believe that it will be soon. And this morning I asked the Lord if He had a Word for me today. I turned to Zephaniah, and here it is, with the section title:

The Day of the Lord Is Near

“Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated His guests,” (Zephaniah 1:7, ESV).

Be silent before the Lord! The Lord has consecrated His guests! Sounds like a wedding to me! God is good!

Granny’s Eyes and the Little Lost Bird

Posted on May 14, 2013 by opendooreurope

I returned from the Budapest, Bratislava, and Vienna trip feeling very tired and ready for a rest from traveling. We had stayed in hostels the whole 2 weeks, so having a bedroom all to myself with a door feels like unbelievable luxury. Of course, my hostel roommates were all very considerate—even those who were strangers—and I had no trouble sleeping. But still, there is something about having space all to yourself.

When my plane landed at Milan Malpensa Airport and I turned on my phone, I received a voicemail message from a cousin that I had never met. His mother had contacted me some weeks ago, asking if he could come stay with me. He arrived in Milan the very same day that I did: Sunday.

My cousin is a big, sweet guy from Texas who goes by BC. That’s very Texan to go by initials instead of a name. This is his first trip to Italy, and he travels very light. BC is 28 years old, very adventurous and open-minded. When we wandered around a bit, looking for the tram stop in an unfamiliar area, it didn’t faze him one bit. BC just takes things as they come. He’s also a kindred spirit, with a big wanderlust and love for Europe.

He started out in Portugal, where he has friends. After a few days there, he made his way down the coast to Spain, saw the Rock of Gibraltar, and back up the Mediterranean coast to France, then Turin, Italy where he spent the night Saturday night before coming to see his missionary cousin in Milan. He showed me pictures of his trip, and they included some pictures of his mom, my dad’s cousin. I saw a resemblance to my great-grandmother. She looked like I would imagine that Granny had looked as a younger woman. Her eyes were especially like Granny’s. BC might look like his dad, who I never knew, but the family resemblance in his mom is unmistakable.

I took BC around the center and showed him the castle, the cathedral, the galleria, and La Scala opera house. It’s amazing to be with someone who isn’t tired of seeing churches and castles. It’s almost like seeing these things for the first time again.

Milan’s cathedral, the Duomo, is beautiful and a real wonder. It is the 3^rd largest cathedral in the world, after St. Peter’s in Rome and Notre Dame in Paris. It was under construction for over 500 years, and has over 3000 life-sized statues built into its façade. Although we didn’t go up there, it is possible to go explore the roof of the cathedral. From the roof of the cathedral, you can really grasp just how enormous it is. And from there, a whole lot more of the cathedral is still far over your head—all of it very intricately carved.

Inside the cathedral, BC and I went into the crypt that is behind and under the altar. There lay the mummified remains of San Carlo (St. Charles), who had been bishop of Milan a few hundred years ago. I had seen it before, and it still creeps me out. BC was also creeped-out. I also pointed out the statue of St. Bartholomew. I had seen pictures of it, but had never spotted it before. The saints are always depicted in the way that they were martyred. According to legend, Bartholomew was skinned alive. So the statue (which stands inside the cathedral near the side exit) shows him standing skinless with his skin draped over his shoulders—also very creepy. Creepy religious art seems to be an Italian thing because I can’t remember even once seeing anything like this in any church in any other country.

When BC had spent 2 nights here, he declared himself to be rested and restless. He said that he wanted to go by train to Como and on into Switzerland from there. So I took him to the train station, helped him buy his ticket from the machine, and we said our goodbyes. Yes, he is kin and a kindred spirit!

Today as I was finishing writing about BC’s visit a bird hit my window. I was surprised to see that it was a parakeet. It wasn’t afraid of me, and let me pick it up. I took it downstairs to the custodian. “Does anyone in our building keep birds?” I asked. She said no, but advised me to ask the custodian of the building across the street.

I carried my little friend across the street and asked the custodian there. She keeps birds, but both of her parakeets were still in their cage, which is enormous. I asked if anyone in her building keeps birds, but she said no. She opened the cage and told me to put it in. At first the bird was reluctant to let go of my finger, but finally went into the cage. It proceeded to investigate its new surroundings, while the other birds came closer for a good look at the newcomer. There was a moment of tension while one of the birds fluttered at the newcomer, but soon they seemed to settle into a posture of guardedly watching each other.

“Thank you for taking the bird,” I said. “Of course,” she chuckled. “The cage is big enough for all 3, and I think they will get along. I’m glad you brought it. Left outside, he would surely starve to death.”

As I crossed back to my apartment building I felt grateful that I had been home when the bird hit the window. Otherwise the poor thing would have died sooner or later. I realized that it feels really good to have helped the little bird, and also to help the people who pass through my apartment. Not that the people are in danger, but it’s good to help them on their way. This is what I do. God is good!

God is Doing a New Thing!

Posted on May 1, 2013 by opendooreurope

Greetings from Austria!

Actually I am on the train from Bratislava to Vienna, and we just crossed the river. There are lovely yellow fields of flowers. It is a beautiful, sunny day, and my mood is equally sunny. I just feel very hopeful after having such powerful and successful prayer in 2 capitals: Budapest and Bratislava. It’s funny, I don’t know what to expect in Vienna because I’ve only passed through on the train. But I feel a kind of breathless expectation. This trip is pregnant with possibilities. More later!

—Several hours later—

The mood swung dramatically when we entered the church. Our hosts started right into a slide show about the history of Vienna, with emphasis on the spiritual realities here. For me, the most impacting was the final slide: a map of Vienna 1913-1914, showing that Hitler, Stalin, Trotsky, Tito, and Freud were all living in Vienna within a few miles of each other. It occurred to me that Vienna is a spiritual womb (see my comment above, written on the train: pregnant with possibilities!). At that time she birthed some pretty horrible things, but through prayer and worship, Vienna can birth great things for the Kingdom of God.

However, before receiving that revelation, we tried to worship, and it was a disaster at first. The worship was weak, and only the English-speakers were worshiping. One of our teammates pointed out that our hosts were not singing. An Austrian host told us that what they need is not worship, but prayer, and prayer warriors for Vienna who will seek God’s face and pray these things through.

We tried to explain that prayer and spiritual warfare is exactly what we had come to do, but that we enter into prayer first with worship, like the priests of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20). At that, a missionary who has lived here for 26 years put on a worship song in German, and we all worshiped together—some in English, and some in German. That was an important turning point. After that prayer began to breakout among our hosts, and that depressive atmosphere lifted.

Afterward, we enjoyed a lovely meal prepared for us by our hosts. Friendship and fellowship developed, and there was lots of laughter and love. God is good!

Kings and Castles and UFO’s

Posted on April 30, 2013 by opendooreurope

The Slovakian Parliament Building

Yesterday we all met at the Slovakian Parliament building. There are 2 Members of Parliament that are born again, and another 8 who are Christians, but perhaps unsure about the whole “born again” thing. We met with 1 of the born again MPs, Boris. He seemed very discouraged and hopeless. I think he feels very alone. Boris started a prayer meeting with the other Christian MPs, and he said that usually only 4 show up. He said that the meeting lasts about 30 minutes. The meeting starts by Boris reading a Bible verse about righteousness, they meditate on it for about 5 minutes, then they pray about it together.

Whenever there is an important vote, Boris calls a prayer breakfast for his supporters who are believers, and they pray together about the issue. However, we were told later that he’s not very organized about getting the word out, so the prayer breakfasts are only about 10 people. In reality, Boris has many more supporters who would come and pray if they knew about the prayer breakfast. So we prayed for Boris and for the Slovakian Parliament. It was powerful. At one point I felt very strongly the urge to kneel as I prayed. When I opened my eyes, everyone around me was also on their knees, including Boris and his translator.

After lunch we took a trip out to Devin Castle. At the foot of the castle was a monument to the victims of Communist terror. This was where the iron curtain separated east from west, at the Danube River. From that spot in Slovakia, you could see Czech Republic, Hungary, and Austria. There more than 400 people were killed trying to escape Communism. A few members of the team said that they couldn’t pray there because it felt so heavy. So before praying we decided to do a prophetic act and worship. So we marched through the gateway of the memorial singing a worship song. Then we went to the riverside and poured wine and salt into the water (another prophetic act). Then we sang more worship songs. The songs started out weak, but became strong. Then someone noticed that a couple of snakes swam across the water and the frogs began singing louder.

Bullet-riddled monument to the victims of Communist terror

Then we climbed up to the castle. Up there we heard a strange buzzing noise. I laughed and said that it was a UFO. Well it was unidentified and it was a flying object. It was a photographic drone, which after the place of so many Communist murders gave me the creeps. There was a big team up there, taking pictures with equally sophisticated equipment.

It was a good day, with wonderful prayers and lots of hugs goodbye. Today we travel to Vienna. A couple of teammates are going by riverboat in order to pray and worship on the river. God is good!

Walking By Faith in Europe

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