Seasons, Signs, and Spiritual Things

By Happy Caldwell

God's Word provides the instructions we need to be prepared for every time and season. In his book, "Seasons, Signs, and Spiritual Things," Pastor Happy Caldwell leads us on a scriptural road map to help us identify our place in the plan of God. He explains how we can live confidently in troubled times when we have an accurate understanding of God's seasons and His timetable. This book will provide a sound, biblical description of end-time events and help you know what you should be doing in this season.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Happy Caldwell Ministries
• Release date: Mar 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9781733908375

Book preview

author.

Chapter One: Are You Ready?

ARE YOU READY FOR the coming of the Lord? Well, ready or not, He's coming!

According to the Scriptures, there is no doubt that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Messiah, our Savior and Lord, is going to return. His return has been a topic of great interest throughout the ages with the question repeatedly asked, When will He return?

Make no mistake about it. Watching for the return of Jesus is very important! You might say, Oh, I’ve heard this for years. My grandfather, my grandmother, my father, my mother, and my preacher have all talked about Jesus’ return, and it hasn’t happened yet.

But you can be assured that it will happen! And, based on the Scriptures, I believe that Christ’s return is imminent. There are many who believe that this generation, our generation, will see the return of the Lord.

Knowing the Difference

The phrases the coming of the Lord and the rapture of the Church are two separate advents in the Lord’s second coming. The first advent is the rapture of the church. The second part is the literal return of Christ to the earth. The separation of these two events is where many people get confused.

For the church, consisting of the born-again believers who are watching for Jesus, the rapture can take place at any time. The Bible characterizes the rapture as an event that will come quickly, like a thief in the night (1 Thess. 5:2). And when this finally occurs, we will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air (1 Thess. 4:17). There is no Scripture, however, that reveals exactly when this will occur.

The second part of His coming follows the rapture of the church. This will involve the return of the Lord to the earth. It might be easier to describe it as simply the return of the Lord and to put the rapture in a different category by itself. But the return of the Lord to the earth is what many people don’t understand.

The Bible tells us we will be caught up into heaven. Where is heaven? Is it just a myth or a part of religion? No. It is a real place, a location where God and Jesus are right now. Heaven is where your born-again loved ones reside, and we will go there too.

A Time to Restore

Acts 1:6

6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

Jesus’ disciples believed that the Messiah was coming to restore Israel to its rightful place. Israel, God’s chosen people, believed this restoration would be the sign that the Messiah had come. Many Jews still believe this. Consequently, they do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah.

When I first visited the nation of Israel, I went on a tour in which the tour guide took us to various historical sites and provided an explanation of each site. He also said, "Christians are looking for the Messiah’s second coming. We Jews are looking for the Messiah’s first coming. The Scripture says

He will touch down on the Mount of Olives and walk through the Golden Gate. If I’m still alive when that happens, I’m going to push my way through the crowd, run up to the Messiah, and pull on the hem of His garment and say, ‘Pardon me, Sir. Have You been here before?’" My heart went out to this man as I thought to myself, If he doesn’t get born again, he won’t have that opportunity.

Recognizing the Times

Jesus answered the disciples in the following verse:

Acts 1:7

7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

People are buying solar-powered generators, water purifiers, and food that is designed for long-term storage in case of a national emergency or disaster. One reason for this is that some believers, including some Christian ministers, believe that we are currently in the seven-year period known as the Great Tribulation. One place where this period is referenced is in Chapter 12 of the Book of Daniel. Also, Chapter Five of the Book of Revelation refers to seven seals that will be opened during this period with each seal revealing a significant event. The opening of the seals occurs in Revelation, Chapter Six.

I recently heard a minister say that the sixth seal is being revealed in this present time. I reread the verses in Revelation 6:12-17, and these verses verify that the sixth seal will not be opened until after the rapture of the church. In fact, Chapter Four of Revelation reveals that the church is already seated in heaven before the opening of the first seal in Revelation 6:1. So, this minister’s timing is not consistent with the Scriptures.

Some people are honestly deceived into thinking the wrong thing. They use the signs of the times, such as earthquakes, lunar eclipses, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, famines, pestilence, and wars to substantiate their belief that we are now going through the Great Tribulation.

In Matthew 24:8, Jesus said that these events are just the beginning of sorrows. But we are not in the Tribulation now! If you are a born-again believer who is looking for the Lord Jesus and expecting to go in the rapture, you are not going to experience the Tribulation anyway. That’s because the rapture will occur before the beginning of the Great Tribulation. We need to keep our focus on the Word of God and guard against being distracted or influenced by the erroneous doctrine.

Acts 1:8-11

8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Heaven is mentioned four times in these verses. The angels reminded the disciples that Jesus was coming back to take them to be where He was going. They explained that Jesus would return in the same manner that they saw Him ascend up into heaven. It is evident from these Scriptures that Jesus was taken up into heaven, and He is going to return from heaven. There is no question about His return.

People who try to figure out when this return will take place invariably fall into error.

John 14:1-3

1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

2 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.

3 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.

We know that we will be with Jesus in His Father’s house. He is preparing a place for us, and these verses assure us that Jesus will return for us.

Where is Jesus? He is in heaven. The Bible says Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father (Heb. 10:12). We have to make sure that we do not waver in our stand on God’s Word because we want to be ready and looking for Him until He returns.

The Reality of Heaven

The Bible establishes the truth of the reality of heaven.

I Thessalonians 4:16-18

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:

17 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.

18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Heaven is where Jesus is today. In John 14:2, Jesus said, 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 in verse 3, Jesus continued by saying, 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.

Genesis 1:1 says, In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. God created the heaven, and God is in heaven. Heaven is not just in the sky or the clouds. Heaven is a real place; it is a real location. When Jesus comes to rapture the church, we are not just going up into the atmosphere or into the clouds and strum harps. No! Jesus is coming to take us to heaven where He resides.

Isaiah 42:5 says, Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein. This confirms that God created the heavens and stretched them out.

The Bible actually mentions three heavens. In 2 Corinthians 12:2, the Apostle Paul said that he was caught up into the third heaven. The third heaven is where God is located. There is also the stellar heaven where the sun, moon, and stars are located, and there is the heaven or atmosphere right above the earth. This is where Satan and the demons are located.

Isaiah 45:18 says, For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

I like to say it this way: God created the universe for the earth. God created the earth for His family, for man. He created man for Himself. God created the heavens for the earth. The earth is part of the universe.

In Colossians, the Bible tells us again that heaven is a created place:

Colossians 1:16

16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Chapter Eight of Proverbs talks about creation and speaks of the heavens being created:

Proverbs 8:22-31

22 The Lord possessed me