10 Feb 2025

Donation Drive February–May: Jesus’ Call to End-times Work

While the newly elected president declares a golden age ahead for America–an eventuation I, like you, wish I could foresee but cannot—the world around this generation continues to darken. We are in a time Jesus spoke of, I believe, while He and His disciples were approaching a man with whom I can somewhat commiserate.

The man had been blind since birth, while I lost my eyesight at around age 51, so my suffering with the affliction of darkness had been much less than this man’s.

Here is that account:

“And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing” (John 9:1-8).

This story of Jesus’ encounter with the blind man touches me as few other stories about our Lord’s interaction with people while He was in the flesh. The man no doubt had spent his life unable to do what society would consider productive work. Perhaps he spent his entire life begging for sustenance from passersby.

I, on the other hand, had very good vision until, at age 50 or 51, retinitis pigmentosa (a hereditary retinal disease) invaded my central vision and quickly caused total blindness. So I can in no way fully appreciate the degree of suffering this man endured.

Today, I know people blind since birth who have accomplished far more than I did when in full possession of visual acuity. But in that culture in Christ’s time, there were no such technological marvels to give the blind the means to accomplish great things, as I have witnessed.

I myself am using one such technological marvel while composing this week’s commentary. It is a word synthesis program called JAWS (Jobs Accessible Word System). A young woman, blind since birth, taught me how to use this phenomenal computer-based system nearly thirty years ago. Liz is as close to my heart as a daughter in that regard.

All this I mention is to reveal that God, in this encounter between Jesus and the blind man, has put at the center of my spirit what He desires for my life. In regard to the key phrase in the scriptural account above is the following:

“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”

Also, Jesus’ answer to His disciples about the man’s or his parents’ guilt that caused the blindness keeps my thoughts focused each and every day regarding the purpose for the time I am allowed to live here and now at the end of this Church Age–the dispensation of Grace. The Lord gave the reason this man was allowed to suffer total blindness:

“But that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”

This truth that Jesus gave at the time of the encounter with the blind man He healed has powerfully spoken to me personally. Time is limited; soon there will not be any opportunity to serve Heaven’s purposes–to serve the True, Living God. And we are here to serve Him. That is our great overall purpose—yours and mine.

One moment, perhaps much sooner than any of us can imagine, our time on this sphere where we have been placed by Heaven’s appointment will be over. We will be called into God’s presence, either through the Rapture, to be with Christ forever, or through the portal of death, at which time we must answer for the days of light and life we were given to accomplish Christ’s Great Commission–spreading the salvation message in order that souls will be redeemed.

In these times that certainly look like night is about to fall and the Tribulation is about to begin, it is wise for us, as believers, to work in the way Jesus worked to accomplish His Father’s will.

The Lord knew His time to do that earthly work was rapidly approaching the final moments. He was about His Father’s business in a mighty way, and, as we know, He said with finality while on that old rugged cross, “tetelestai,” meaning, “It is finished!”

That is what you who come to Raptureready.com and Todd, Jonathan, editor Cindy, and yours truly are all about–finishing the work we have been put on earth to do in our God’s great cause: the saving of souls of men and women, boys and girls.

Rapture Ready–which is your website as well as ours—is devoted to carrying out our Lord’s Great Commission. Because of monetary requirements on the rise and attempts by some to interfere with our efforts, increased funding is very much needed to carry on with this work. We thank you with all the thankfulness possible to our Lord and gratitude to you, our wonderful RR family, for your love and generosity as we do our very best to serve the purpose we believe Heaven has assigned this website that is so Christ-centered and focused on the Lord Jesus’ any-moment call to you and to us. We ask for and will apply with all due diligence the donations you send under the direction of our Heavenly Father.

So let us together forge ahead in full service while there is still time and light to share, even as we see the nighttime of Tribulation approaching.

Here is how to contribute to this effort on behalf of Jesus Christ, who died and rose again so that we can, on one eternal day (perhaps today), hear Him say, “Well done, good, faithful servant.”

There are three ways you can contribute to RR: You can send a financial gift via our P.O. Box address; you can make a one-time donation; or there is a “frequent” option that allows you to make monthly donations. If you’re interested in signing up, find the links on the Donation Depot page. Donations can be sent to our P.O. Box at:

Rapture Ready
P.O. Box 969
Benton, AR 72018

—Terry

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Gaza Belongs to Israel

As I was reading through the book of Genesis last month, I noticed something that speaks directly to one of the hottest topics of our day. In Genesis 26:2-4, we have the record of the Lord reiterating the Abrahamic Covenant to Isaac:

“And the Lord appeared to him [Isaac} and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.”

What makes this so intriguing is the location God chose to affirm His promise of the Land in which He would later include Jacob and all of his descendants.

“Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines” (Genesis 26:1).

Do you see it? Isaac was in the land of the Philistines when the Lord appeared and told him not to leave the Land that He promised to Abraham and his “offspring.” This is the only recorded instance of the Lord directly including Isaac in the everlasting covenant of the Land (see also Psalm 105:7-11), and it happened while the Patriarch was in Philistia, or what we know today as Gaza.

The Philistines became a thorn in Israel’s side before and during the forty-year reign of King Saul; the Jewish people suffered greatly from their vicious and cruel attacks. King David later subdued them and incorporated their territory along the Mediterranean Sea into his kingdom.

More recently, Satan created Hamas to oppose Israel similar to how the Philistines treated Israel so long ago. These Arabs are not descendants of this ancient people that have long since vanished, but just like them, Hamas possesses a fierce and murderous hatred toward the Jewish people. And they live in the exact same area that the Philistines inhabited in ancient times.

President Trump’s Plan

I began working on this article before President Trump announced his plan to remove all the current occupants of Gaza, take possession of it, and rebuild it into a resort similar to that of the French Riviera. At the February 4 news conference, he also voiced his opposition to a two-state solution as the way to peace in the region.

His statements most certainly came as welcome news for Israel. The clearing out of all their brutal and barbaric enemy from Gaza would remove a constant threat from their border. Even if the US governs it for the near future, it’s far better than the status quo.

The President, however, faces fierce opposition to his plan. First, no Arab nation wants the Gazans living within its borders. Egypt has amassed a host of tanks and other military forces close to its border with Gaza because, at least in part, it doesn’t want them entering their nation (and for good reason). According to Amir Tsarfati’s Telegram recent post, Jordan is ready to go to war with Israel if that’s what it takes to stop the Palestinians from migrating into their territory.

Second, the UN, along with nations such as Russia and Germany, have voiced strong, unrelenting opposition to Trump’s plan.

Third, Saudi Arabia maintains it won’t normalize diplomatic ties with Israel apart from the existence of a Palestinian State, which coincides with the world’s obsession with implementing a two-state solution, which most likely would retain Hamas’ control of Gaza.

So, is Trump’s plan dead in the water? Or did he have another purpose for making such a bold proposal?

Prophetic Implications

Regardless of what happens in the coming months or years with Gaza or the Middle East, the Bible says that someday the world’s passion to divide Israel and Jerusalem will prevail (Joel 3:1-3). Any agreement that brings peace to the region will be temporary at best until Jesus returns to set up His kingdom.

At the moment, a coalition of nations plan to meet at the United Nations in early June 2025 with the intent of settling on a Middle East peace accord of either a seven or ten-year duration. I believe it’s more than likely that they will somehow incorporate Saudi Arabia’s idea of a two-state solution into their proposed peace plan.

I don’t say this because I’m a pessimist or desire to see Trump’s bold initiatives fail. I do so because the Bible long ago predicted the world’s current obsession with Jerusalem, the dividing of the city and the Land, and the eventual peace accord between Israel and the antichrist (Zechariah 12:1-3; Daniel 9:27).

Sometime in the future, after the Rapture, the coming “man of lawlessness” will step out of the shadows and take over the reins of the Middle East peace negotiations. The Apostle Paul tells us that he cannot make his identity known until after Jesus’ appearing and our disappearing (2 Thessalonians 2:3-8).

I don’t know what will happen between now and the Rapture, but as I witness the turmoil and angst that exists over Gaza, I cannot overlook the significance of the Lord’s choice to confirm His Land covenant with Isaac while the Patriarch was residing in that exact same area.

Long ago, God staked His claim on Gaza, and when Jesus reigns over the nations (Revelation 20:1-10), it will become a place of great beauty. Perhaps during His millennial reign, with resurrection and immortal bodies, we will walk along its shores in amazement at how He transformed it into a place with such breathtaking views everywhere we look.

-Jonathan

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