Signs All Around

Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

I was up in Central Wisconsin this summer visiting family and friends. I was with my mother and my wife. My mother was born and raised there and still has lots of family there.

We stayed with my Aunt and Uncle, Nancy and Jerry Mankowski. One day I was walking down to the old milk house with Jerry. We were going down to his windmill to drink some water. When he started telling me about his predictions for winter.

You said the berry bushes were full of berries. He said the bushes are all berries late in the summer, he'll know we'll have a cold winter this year.  You sit at the squirrels and muskrats are busy and late summer That's also a sign of a cold winter coming up.

Jerry also showed me the ants on the ground. He said look at the ends how they're building around the wall around their nest hole.  He said when the ants do that you can expect lots of rain coming up soon. He said that they are preparing for it now.

Jerry said you just have to look around and you can see the signs of coming rain or of a coming hard cold winter. He said the signs are all around you just have to keep your eyes open to it. Tell me the Indians did that for hundreds of years, the signs are there for us as well.

William James Roop

 Roop-Crappell Ministries 

 Hospice Volunteer Stories 

 The Trucking Tango 

 Apostolic Theological Seminary 

Ascension

Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

I received this in a text from a friend.  He found it on the net.

When will the church be taken up to heaven in the face of great tribulation?

The Answer:

The timing of the church's ascension to heaven is one of the most controversial issues among Christians today.  There are basically three theories about this:

!.  Before the tribulation (the ascension of the church to heaven will take place before the last tribulation)

2.  In the midst of the tribulation Seeds.

 3.  After the tribulation (the ascension of the church will take place after the last tribulation).

4. The fourth doctrine is commonly known as "before the wrath" which is a slightly modified version of the second doctrine (the doctrine of the church being raised in the midst of trouble).  First of all, it is very important to know the purpose of the last trouble.  According to Daniel 9:27, there is still a period of seventy "weeks" (seven years) to come.  And Daniel's Seventy Week Prophecy (Daniel 9: 20-27) speaks entirely of Israel.  This will be the time when God will focus on Israel in particular.  In the same way, the seventy weeks, the last tribulation, must be the time when God will deal with Israel in particular.  Although this prophecy does not explicitly indicate that the church could not exist on earth at that time, it does raise the question of why the church needs to exist on earth at that time.

The most important Scriptural reference to the ascension of the church to heaven is 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18.  This passage states that all living believers and with them all believers who will be resurrected will meet the Lord Jesus in the air and will be with him forever.  God lifted his people from the earth

The term "church ascension" is used to refer to the English term rapture.  After some verses, the Apostle Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5: 9 "For God hath not ordained us to wrath, but to be saved through our Lord Jesus Christ."  The book of Revelation, which primarily deals with the last days of the tribulation, is a prophetic message about how God will send His wrath upon the earth in the last tribulation.  It is contrary to the nature of God to promise believers that He will not fall into wrath and then leave them on earth to go through the wrath of the last tribulation.  The fact that God first promises to save Christians from wrath seems to be linked to these two events and then promises to raise His people from the earth shortly thereafter.

Another very important reference to the time of the church's resurrection is Revelation 3:10 in which Christ promises to save believers in "the hour of trial" that is to come on earth.  This could mean two things: either Christ will protect believers during trials or He will save believers from trials.  Both meanings are correct according to the Greek word translated "from".  However, it is important to know what believers are promised protection from.  And this is not just a trial, but a "time" of trial.  Christ promises to keep believers safe from the time of trials and tribulations.  The purpose of the last tribulation, the purpose of the resurrection of the church, the meaning of 1 Thessalonians 5: 9 and the interpretation of Revelation 3:10 all clearly support the doctrine of "the resurrection of the church before the great tribulation."  If the Bible is interpreted literally and consistently, then the doctrine of 'before the tribulation' is more in tune with the teachings of the Bible than any other doctrine.

William James Roop, M.A.B.S.

Roop-Crappell Ministries

Hospice Care and Dying

The Trucking Tango

Apostolic Theological Seminary

Cold, Sparkling, Clean Water.

Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

I was just recently up in Wisconsin visiting my Aunt and Uncle in Wautoma, Wisconsin. Nancy and Jerry Mankowski live on the old family dairy farm there.

Jerry and I one morning we're walking out to the old milk house. Behind the old milk house, and the chicken coop, is a windmill he bought in Indiana and had shipped up to him in Central Wisconsin. He wanted to show me the windmill, and drink some water from it, since the water there is ice cold and very clean. He had the water tested a few years ago. They told him Jerry whatever you do don't get rid of this water. There's absolutely nothing in it except water.

Most people reading this will think that's kind of strange. But with all the decades of chemicals whether industrial are farm related. Most of the drinking water in this country has some type of impurities in it. This world is a world of chemicals! Chemical residue is in the city, as well as in the  countryside. Where I live we get a yearly report of what's in the drinking water. There's lots in our drinking water that isn't really water.

His report came in said that his water from that underground well is absolutely pure water! That windmill pumps up cold sparkling pure water. That stream of underground water runs north to south. It runs by the old farmhouse, close to the chicken coop, and then runs to Beans lake, A couple hundred yards away.

He filled up a canning jar of water and drink some. Then he gave some for me to drink. The water was absolutely ice cold! It was good and refreshing to drink! Water that is very rare today!

William James Roop

 Roop-Crappell Ministries 

 Hospice Volunteer Stories 

 The Trucking Tango 

 Apostolic Theological Seminary 

The Snapper And The Goose

Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

I was up in Wisconsin visiting family and friends. My wife and I, and my mother, we're staying with my mother's brother, Jerry Mankowski and his wonderful wife Nancy.

One day we're sitting around the kitchen table telling stories. A favorite hobby of my Uncle Jerry.  Well the stories he told us was about the snapper turtle and the goose. That's because we had gotten on the discussion of whether snapping turtles, snap only at people.

Jerry said he was on his rowboat on beams lake going fishing. Jerry today lives in the old farmhouse. And things like is just the cross the hill. Jerry and Nancy, years ago, used to live in a log house on Bean's lake. He had a couple of rowboats, and he had a couple of dozen geese, that he had around to be watch dogs.

A flock of geese will tell you very quickly if some stranger is around. It will make a terrific noise! What day Jerry was on his rowboat fishing. When he saw a goose bobbing up and down and squawking! He couldn't understand what was happening, so it kept watching.

The juice got pulled under the water and then Bobbed back up again! This happened a couple of times until Jerry finally seen the intruder. He saw a very large snapping turtle briefly long surface of the lake. That snapping turtle was trying to pull the goose under the water to drown it.

Before Jerry could row over there, the goose was gone! The snapping turtle achieved his purpose, and pulling the goose under the water and drowning it. Jerry made the assumption that the turtle when then eat the dead goose.

I know that Jerry saw What he had seen. I personally know nothing of snapping turtles. I don't know what they just eat grass or they eat meat as well. Someone here is reading this story and knows, feel free to comment in the comment section.

William James Roop

 Roop-Crappell Ministries 

 Hospice Volunteer Stories 

 The Trucking Tango 

 Apostolic Theological Seminary 

Grandma And The Outhouse

Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

My wife and I were up in Wisconsin, with my mother, to visit her family who still lives in the central part of the state. My Aunt and Uncle, Jerry Mankowski still live on the old family dairy farm.

One day while we were there, we were sitting around the kitchen table, with Jerry telling stories. One of the stories he told was from his childhood. Getting a whipping for bad behavior!

Uncle Jerry with a couple of his friends were in the lilac bushes next to the house. The old outhouse was behind the farmhouse and in view of the lilac bushes. One afternoon me saw her grandma walk out of the farmhouse and go into the outhouse.

They had a long piece of rope with them in a lilac bushes. If I like bushes with hollow inside and was the playhouse for all the kids. Jerry and his two friends quietly snuck out and wrapped the rope around the outhouse! They tied the rope together where Grandma cannot open the door to get out! 

Grandma was able to see who was guilty through the air holes of the outhouse! Grandma was a big woman It was able to push the door open against the badly tied rope. When grandma finally got free, there was now hell to pay!

Unfortunately for Jerry there is a willow tree close by, so Grandma always had the selection of dried willow branches to choose from! She calmly selected a very nice sturdy branch, and used it to get effect on Jerry's behind!

Even though Jerry got a really severe whipping that day, It was good for him. A good whipping  now and then, makes for a fine man later. Today, it is one of Jerry's treasured memories, and he still laughs about it today.

William James Roop

 Roop-Crappell Ministries 

 Hospice Volunteer Stories 

 The Trucking Tango 

 Apostolic Theological Seminary 

Revelation

Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

Here is an article that I found on the internet. I hope that it will be helpful to you.

   
The Chronological Structure of the Book of Revelation
By Samuel Whitefield -November 13, 2021

The book of Revelation can be approached as a chronological story. Viewing it chronologically helps to make sense of the various parts of the book. Like many Old Testament prophecies, there are details in these sections that are in some ways similar to ancient prophecy, but when we look at all these sections together they do not match any moment in ancient history.

When the book of Revelation is viewed chronologically, there are four parts in the structure of the book of Revelation, with the fourth part being the largest consisting of five chronological sections in which the events occur in sequential order.

Part 1: John’s calling to prophesy about the end times (Rev. 1). John gave truths about Jesus’ majesty that formed the way he prophesied about the end times. These truths are also to equip us.
Part 2: Jesus’ seven letters to the churches (Rev. 2-3). The instructions Jesus gave to these churches about overcoming sin also give insight into what the end-time church must overcome.
Part 3: Jesus takes the scroll (Rev. 4-5). Contains the earth’s title deed and His plan to cleanse it. Jesus takes a seven-sealed scroll from the Father. The scroll represents the title deed of the earth and the battle plan to judge, cleanse and prepare the nations for Jesus’ rule over all the earth, while bringing the church to a mature bride who partners with Him in the plan (Rev 6-22).
Part 4: Jesus’ plan (Rev. 6-22). Includes Great Tribulation judgments against the Antichrist. Jesus reveals His main storyline of love to cleanse the earth of evil. His plan is seen in five chronological sections describing the main storyline of the 21 judgment events (seven seals, seven trumpets and seven bowls) that are released on the Antichrist’s empire in sequential order.
After each chronological section, an angel explains to John why the events just described are necessary. The angelic explanations function as a parenthesis that puts the storyline on “pause.” They answer questions arising from the chronological sections: Why is God’s wrath so severe? What will happen to the saints? Angels explain to John what happens to God’s people including what Jesus will do to help them, and what the Antichrist will do to persecute them.

Five Chronological Sections of Jesus’ plan (Revelation 6-22)
The fourth part of the book of Revelation, Jesus’ plan, consists of five chronological sections. These sections include both events that are chronological and angelic explanations where John is given context and further information about the events and the spiritual dynamics associated with them.

Chronological Section #1 (Rev. 6) – The seal judgments against the kingdom of darkness. Angelic Explanation #1 (Rev. 7). The church receives protection from judgments and falling away.
Chronological Section #2 (Rev. 8-9) – The trumpet judgments against the Antichrist’s empire. Angelic Explanation #2 (Rev. 10-11). The church receives direction by increased prophetic ministry.
Chronological Section #3 (Rev. 11:15-19) – Jesus’ second coming royal procession and the rapture leading to Jesus replacing all the kings and top governmental leaders on earth. Angelic Explanation #3 (Rev. 12-14)—the Antichrist’s violent confrontation with the saints deserves Jesus’ judgment and the replacement of all his evil governments. At the seventh and last trumpet (1 Thes. 4:16; 1 Cor. 15:52; Rev. 10:7), Jesus will rapture the church and travel across the sky in a royal procession so that every eye will see Him (Rev. 1:7). After this, Jesus will enter Jerusalem and stand on the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4).
Chronological Section #4 (Rev. 15-16) – Bowl judgments destroy evil infrastructures in society. Angelic Explanation #4 (Rev. 17-18). The seduction of Babylon’s evil religion will permeate and infiltrate all the structures of society, requiring that Babylon be totally destroyed.
Chronological Section #5 (Rev. 19-20) – Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Rev. 19:11-21:8). Angelic Explanation #5 (Rev. 21-22). The restoration of all things, Acts 3:21, (Rev. 21:9-22:5).
11I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns…15Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them…16And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS…19I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him… 20Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet…these two were cast alive into the lake of fire…21The rest were killed with the sword… 20:1Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2He laid hold of…Satan, and bound him for a thousand years3…so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished…4I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them…they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (Revelation 19:11-20:4 NKJV)

While the book of Revelation can seem intimidating to study, the study of the book can be made much easier with a basic understanding of the main themes and symbols accompanied by an overview of the structure of the book. While every student of this book has some outstanding questions and there is some mystery to how the Lord will complete His redemptive purpose, the book of Revelation also includes a very unique command to “keep” the book and finishes with a strong warning about altering the book (Rev. 1:3; 22:18). These unusual warnings tell us that God intends for us to study the book in such a way that it affects how we live. With some basic tools that help us approach the book we can study it and receive from it the benefits the Lord intends us to receive.

William James Roop, M.A.B.S.

Roop-Crappell Ministries

Hospice Care and Dying

The Trucking Tango

Apostolic Theological Seminary

The Hut's On Fire

Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

Here is a little story about faith and the Providence of God, that I found.  I am sharing this to you to help you in your walk with God.

They only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Everyday he scanned the horizon for help, but none seem forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of Driftwood, to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.

One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost! He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger!  He cried out, "God! How could you do this to me?" 

Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary  man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied!

It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God!

William James Roop, M.A.B.S.

 Roop-Crappell Ministries 

 Hospice Care and Dying 

 The Trucking Tango 

 Apostolic Theological Seminary