THE ULTIMATE SPACE JOURNEY.Mark Finley and Signs of the Times mag. 9/2013.

My many thanks to both Mark and This Magazine. John B
[order: sings@pacificpress.com]

   Mark Finley says that a day is coming when we won't have to be Astronauts in order to explore our own galaxy, or any other!

Note: (jb) Won't that be something? Our Father will brings each one of us "Up to speed", for total navigation skills, as it a huge Cosmos out there, right? We, with Jesus, will visit other worlds, and other of God's children, to give witness, to God's Grace, Forgiveness, and Redemption, that they have not ever experienced!

    On April 17, 2012 the space shuttle Discovery bolted on top of a 747 from NASA' s aircraft, soured over the Nation's Capital in a final salute before landing at Dulles International airport outside of Washington D.,C. Thousands of people lined the National mall to catch a glimpse of the famed spacecraft as it headed for the airport and its final resting place in the Smithsonian Institute.
    It's rather difficult to imagine that Discovery traveled a total of 148,221,675 miles on only 39 space missions. That's equivalent of 311 round trips to the Moon. What an incredible accomplishment! No wonder so many people wanted one last look at America's most beloved Craft.
    There's something fascinating about space travel. It does capture the human imagination. It stimulates our thinking. It fuels our dreams for a better tomorrow. Maybe--just maybe-- there are answers to our deepest questions out there beyond the stars.
    Some private companies are already advertising trips into space and booking seats on rocket ships. A March 24, 2006, Associated Press article on space travel made this intriguing observation: "If floating weightless and peering down on a shimmering blue earth sounds appealing, you might consider being a space tourist. As long as you've got a fat wallet.."
Note: May I add make that two fat wallets?
   
THE ULTIMATE SPACE JOURNEY.

     There's, however another space journey that's open to more than a few astronauts. It's a journey anyone WILLING, to take, and it SHALL bring each of those, face to face with destiny!

    What's more, we will not need to build any type of space-craft, in order for us to take this trip. We'll travel beyond our Solar system, beyond even our own Milky Way Galaxy, right through Orion's empty space, into the heart of the Universe. But....but it must begin with Some one's return!

   Jesus Christ, The Messiah, The One who paid such a remarkable visit to this earth near two thousand years ago, is set, real soon, to pay us another visit. This time, not as a new born, but as KING of Kings, and LORD of Lords,  [Revelation 19:16] And the Heavens will rumble with a great shout as trumpets blast and millions of angels sing out.

   1 Thessalonians 4:16  "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: "

   Revelation 1:7  "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen."

    Imagine, Jesus and the Heavenly Host swoop down in  a cloud {cloud is symbolic a great multitude of Heavenly Angels] encircling the earth so fast, that every eye shall see it! The very ground shakes, [earthquakes that shall level all man-made structures] mountains will slide into the seas, Graves will split open and all those who died, "sleeping in Christ Jesus" will be resurrected, and receive their "Glorious Bodies" as has Jesus, and just as immortal as He!
   The Faithful believers who are alive at that time will also be changed.----

    1 Corinthians 15:50-55  "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"

    1 Thessalonians 4:13-18  "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words."

  All believers, who obey because of their love for Jesus, shall join the resurrected ones and all shall be lifted up to meet Jesus in the air! Jesus then will become as our Noah''s Ark, and take us to our HOME!

LIFE BEYOND THE STARS.

  NOTE (JB)   NASA' S  dream is to find life on another planet.  A world that is suitable for human habitation. But I ask, "What's the point"? Until we allow God's Holy Spirit to transform our characters, we shall pollute our new world with evils, just as we have done to this world! It is for this very reason we have this caution-----

     John 17:15 " I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil."

Note: What does this do to man's doctrine of believers being "RAPTURED"  OUT BEFORE THE TRIBULATIONS BEGIN? But that we should be as ONE!----

    John 17:22-24  "And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."

Note: That we all may be as ONE With Jesus, why?-----
    Matthew 7:13-15  "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."

Note: Most of the Protestant churches today hold many false doctrines inherited from Rome:
!. Man has an immortal, eternal soul.  [Genesis 2:7 shows us a soul in a living being]
2. Die and go to your reward
3. Sunday sacredness, in place of the Bible's Seventh day Sabbath!
None of these can find a fit in any so far printed Bible! Thus it's man's words based upon human traditions.
However even a 2000 year old observed tradition, age does not correct error, agree? LOOK-----

    Mark 7:13 " Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye."

Note: The three above examples are but a few of the many false doctrines found in churches today!

     2 Peter 3:7  "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men"

Note: a close reading will show anyone who can read and understand, that 1. There is no eternal punishments until AFTER Judgment. Thus no going to one's reward at death.
2. reserved unto fire.. means the Rev.19's Lake of Fire that covers all earth, to cleanse, to purify, and to remove both sin and death.
3. Perdition means liable to die this is the second death of the ungodly men.------

     .Revelation 21:8  "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." [Revelation 2:11; 20:6,14; ]

   This is the great event Jesus told us to look forwards to in---

    John 14:1-3 " Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."

     1 Thessalonians 4:16  "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:"

  NOTE:  When we earthlings think about journeys from one Galaxy to another, the distances are overwhelming. How do we reach a star that thousands of light years away? Science is at a quandary, they can't conceive a speed greater that the speed of light! But our own Milky Way Galaxy is ten million + light years across, and that is still in our own back yard so to speak!
LOOK   Speed of Light = 282,272 miles per second!  282,272 x 60 seconds = 16,936,320 miles per minute. =  X 60 minutes or 1,016,179,200 miles per hour, x 24 = 24,388,300,800  that's in one day, my little calculator gave me error message when I tried to find how far in one year, now take, the fact, ten million years just to travel across our own Galaxy! Then know we are still in our own back yard!

  However Jesus' return removes all these obstacles, for HE is The One Who created all those stars, and calls each by their name-- this God, can transport us through the Universe as fast as He wants to! Distance will not matter, Black Holes will not matter, even the light-speed barrier will not matter why? It's God The Father Who beckons us to come to Him and home! We will arrive all together and walk on the streets of gold, as pure and as transparent as the finest glass.Now that's the Ultimate Space Journey, agree? But there's one more journey that is destined.   [Revelation ------

    Revelation 21:1-2  "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."

OUR FINAL RETURN.by John B

       What may be a surprise to the Biblical Illiterates, is that this journey will not be a ONE-WAY trip!

    Matthew 5:5 " Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth"
   The above is part of Christ's Sermon on the Mount, the greatest Sermon earth ever head to date!.Yet this was foretold by David----

      Psalms 37:11 " But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."
Note please find and read the next verse, verse 12! This puts our time-line, right at the very end of Revelation's 1,000 years, and Satan's removal of the "Chains of circumstance," as he will again have all the resurrected evil doers, and non-believers to deceive again. They surround the the Holy City....

   Revelation 20:7-8  "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea."

Satan and all his will try to take by force what was offered for free, Christ's salvation by attempting to eat from the tree of life, thus gain eternal life. However-----
 
   Revelation 20:9-10  "And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever"

That dear reader, is the First and the very LAST time the Hell Fires are in use! It's use also cleanse earth from human pollution, and removes all traces of our previous existence, then and only then will human eyes see God creating as He RE-CREATES the Garden of Eden across all this earth!.

   To counter another man-made religious myth, about sinners burning forever and ever in the hell-fires look--

    Malachi 4:1  "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."

NOTE: Yes Satan and all evildoers and non-believers shall be burned up, but know this fact: Brimstone is sulfur and that burns at around 2300 degrees F. now how long can a body of flesh and blood last at those temperatures, seconds?
  Next: In order for the evil ones to be burning forever God has to give them eternal life, does that make sense for a God who gave us, because He loves us so much,His only son Jesus Christ to die for our sins?

   Malachi 4:3 " And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts."

Where Sodom and six other cities and towns set a blaze with eternal fire?  Are they still burning today? NO!
Eternal in the sense of punishing, are meant to last only as long enough to do the job, besides when a fire has run out of fuel, what happens? Ashes do not burn, right?

To finish Mark's thoughts:

   Jesus assured us that He's coming soon---
   Revelation 22:7 " Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book."
   ONE day, all HIS saints will be taken into His loving arms!
    One day we shall journey to Heaven [Heaven is wherever The Father is!] in an angelic craft of light.
   One day we shall all walk on that Holy city whose streets are paved with gold.
   One day we all shall be able to personally thank Jesus for taking what we deserved, while giving us what               He deserved.
    One day all of humanity, who has ever lived shall know God's truth! Sadly for most it shall be too late!
   ONE day we shall look upon THIS earth made new.
  ONE day we shall live with God and be His sons and daughters.
   SO be ready.
   So look up as your redemption draws neigh.  . Luke 21:28  "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."

Please read all of Luke 21, Matthew 24 and Mark 13, to learn of "THESE THINGS!"

Note:YOU are special in The fathers eyes!  Think of all the millions of sperm cells from your biological father, it was Y O U, that made the journey to the your  Mom's egg and fertilized it. millions of your possible brothers and sisters never came to be born, BUT YOU DID, by God's choice! HE has a place for you and YOU alone, wont you reach out to Him in prayer in the Holy name,  of Jesus Christ?

Thanking YOU for your time
Questions? Comments?  John at www.servant@frontier.com

Need MORE? Visit your Seventh-day Adventist church, any Saturday/Sabbath at 9-10 AM. Only Jesus can give us the peace of mind we all so desperately need and seek, in booze, in drugs, in what ever venues we use.

Other sites:  www.aftv.org    www.blbn.org   www.amazingdiscoveries.org
jb