Assured Expectation: Why We KNOW Jesus Christ Will Return

By Bonnie Gay Patterson-De Hart

Jesus fulfilled over 150 prophesies, most of which are in this book, while He walked this earth, was crucified, resurrected, and ascended to heaven so we can be assured that He will return to rule this earth as he promised. He is the aEURoeSeed of the womanaEUR prophesied in Genesis 3:15, but there is another seed we need to watch out for: the aEURoeseed of the serpent,aEUR not the innocent snake but aEURoethat serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole worldaEUR (Rev. 12:9).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9781640038912

Book preview

9781640038912_cover.jpg

Assured Expectation

Why We Know Jesus Christ Will Return

Bonnie Gay Patterson-De Hart

ISBN 978-1-64003-889-9 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64003-890-5 (Hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-64003-891-2 (Digital)

Copyright © 2018 Bonnie Gay Patterson-De Hart

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books, Inc.

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked [NIV] are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright 1973,1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zonderman. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zonderman.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations marked [AMP] are taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Thanks to Bob Gass Ministries

P.O. Box 5130, Alpheretta, GA 30023

for permission to use excerpts from The Word For You Today

Many study Bibles were used to put together the information in this book. Hundreds of theologians contributed to the various translations to help the reader get a deeper understanding of the Word of God and for this I am extremely grateful.

NEW KING JAMES VERSION:

THE NEW OPEN BIBLE

THE WORD IN LIFE STUDY BIBLE

THE NELSON STUDY BIBLE

NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION

ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE

THE ONE YEAR CHRONOLOGICAL BIBLE

THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE LARGE PRINT

Preface

Where the Rubber Meets the Road

I have always believed in God and that He had a purpose for each and everyone of us. It was up to us to follow His lead and do as we were directed. I did not know what His purpose was for me, so I meandered through life doing my own thing as I fell into different jobs, relationships, and religions and reared my three sons.

Life for me was typical for an ordinary, mediocre American doing what I considered important to reach the American Dream: healthy children, house, car, hospitalization, retirement, and—of course—a man in my life that did not interfere with MY GOALS.

Change began to happen when I attended HEAVENS GATES AND HELLS FLAMES at Victory Christian Fellowship in 1995. I was both moved and convicted by the performance and realization that I was guilty of nailing Christ to the cross, of discounting His sacrifice as I led my life in accordance with MY desires as if God did not matter. I went forward and accepted Jesus into my life as my Lord and Savior.

I began attending church regularly with my son Guy. Fortunately, Pastor Mark Harrell was teaching on the leading of the Holy Spirit, and I realized that the Spirit had been trying to help me make good decisions all my life as I ignored Him and did what I wanted to do.

I learned to pray about everything and ask advice from strong Christian women, one or which was Evelyn Ormsby who became my prayer partner, adviser, and dearest friend. Married for the fourth time to a man I had met at church, Greg, a disabled hard-nosed Marine, I continued to make the same relationship blunders that had cost me three previous marriages. I took my complaints about Greg’s behavior to Evelyn, who listened patiently. When I was through with my pitty party, Evelyn would say, God isn’t interested in what Greg did, He is concerned with what you did, how you responded. Was it with Christian love or lashing back like a wounded animal? You need to learn how you are to respond and not just want Greg to change to suite you. Then we would pray, and I would go home in a better frame of mind. Through Evelyn and Brother Mark’s teaching, I changed and my marriage stayed together through better or for worth, sickness and in health, till death did us part. Greg had many health problems and almost died six times. Each time, I would pray that God would let Greg live but end it with not my will but Yours be done. I was growing in my faith as I crossed each hurdle in the race of life.

December 27, 2005, the phone rang about noon; the voice on the other end could not communicate for sobbing. Another person came on, a voice I did not recognize, to inform me that my youngest son Guy was brought in to the emergency room by his older brother Rob, an apparent heart attack. They would call back when there was more news. I called Evelyn, and we prayed for Guy. Before we hung up, Evelyn reminded me that everything was in Gods’ hands. Almost immediately, the phone rang again. This time, my daughter-in-law Dawn told me, between sobs, that Guy was gone. I was numb, I couldn’t understand why God would take my son at age thirty-three. Upon hanging up the receiver, Romans 8:28 came into my mind: And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. I said, No, God, how can that be? He was my son, my friend, my brother in the Lord, my confidant, and the only one of my three sons that was saved. He was planning on going back to the mission field in Russia. Why would You take him?

I needed to go to Michigan immediately; Greg would stay and take care of arrangements here in Kentucky. I called my brother John, who lived in the adjoining county, and he went with me. As I drove to London to meet John, the song Because He Lives pressed on my mind and heart until I sang, as the tears ran down my face.

My mother and father had both died. I had lost other relatives and friends to death, but this was worse than anything I had ever experienced or imagined. I had to know the promises of God were true. I had to know deep in my inner being. No longer was it enough to say I believed in God, I had to know what God actually said in His Word about where MY son was.

I was raised going to a small Baptist church, I had studied with Jehovah’s Witnesses, I had seen movies about reincarnation, been to a spiritualist meeting with my aunts, and I was not certain what was true. It was obvious that only one could be right, and I had to know which one, not just pick the one I wanted to believe.

My search began with Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance: death, dieing, grave, Sheol, Hades, mortal, immortal, everlasting life, body, soul. I only consulted the Bible as I did not want to be influenced by opinions of others, especially religion. Instead of settling my beliefs, I was still confused until one night, about 2:00 a.m., I was awakened with the thought, What did Jesus say? After all, He is the Son of God, and His words are the final authority. I got up immediately and read everything Jesus had said:

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 to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:2b–3; NKJV)

Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’ (John 6:28–29; NKJV)

In the end, I concluded that those that believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior have eternal life. When they leave this life, they go on immediately to the next with Jesus. I finally knew that my son was fine, with Jesus and having the time of his life; he wouldn’t come back if he could.

I also realized that what Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount had played out in my life: Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted. I also experienced the power of Spirit filled praying in tongues as I relied on it when regular prayer did not return my joy and peace.

I went on to write and illustrate THE KING IS COMING, the prophetic biography of the life of Jesus, to encourage others to truly understand the importance of knowing why we put our faith in the one and only savior of the world, Jesus Christ.

What we believe and understand about God, Jesus, and salvation is where the rubber meets the road. It is what gives our lives traction in the slippery up and down road of life, a road filled with pot holes, wrong turns, seemingly dead ends, and turnarounds with no do overs. But when all is said and done, God is still in control, and all things do work together for good. My son Rob thought as an atheist before Guy died. Today, he is a devout Christian and we have hope, through prayer, that my oldest son Carl will become a believer.

Introduction

Why have so many Christians throughout the centuries been willing to die rather than renounce Jesus Christ as Lord and King? Why are people willing to suffer potential rejection from their families, friends, and neighbors by accepting Christ as their Savior?

Why do Christians consider Jesus the Messiah? What made him special? Muslims consider Jesus to be a prophet, superseded by Mohammad, yet they kill many Muslims that convert to Christianity. Do they hate Christians, or are they fearful of them?

Why do totalitarian governments try so hard to stamp out any vestige of Christianity: burning Bibles, persecuting, torturing, and killing believers?

Why do so many people read and study the Bible—an ancient book of Hebrew history, psalms, and prophesy from a small nationality of people descended from Abraham? Why do children go to church to learn about these ancient people when there are so many other stories they could be taught?

If you have ever pondered any of these questions, then keep reading. We are going on a journey of discovery to answer these questions using the Bible as our source of reference.

The Road to Emmaus

On the road to Emmaus, shortly after his resurrection, Jesus joined two disciples deep in conversation as they reasoned about the events of the previous week. The historical account is in Luke 24:13–32. We will focus on verses 25–27:

Then He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. (NKJV)

I would love to have been there to hear all the Messianic prophesies expounded by Jesus Himself. The early apostles and disciples took this understanding of the suffering of the Christ and turned the world upside down, after Jesus’s death and resurrection, saying there is another king—Jesus (Acts 17:6–7; NKJV).

The prophesies about the Messiah are scattered throughout the Old Testament, many given at times of trouble and desperate circumstances for the nation of Israel, to give hope for the future. To understand the picture of the One these prophesies are describing, the One we are to put our faith in, the One our hope for now and the future relies on, the only One that can give us eternal life, we will follow the life of Jesus of Nazareth from conception to His death and resurrection. His life was predicted by prophesies, many of which were given over one thousand years before His birth, in such great detail that there is no denying to whom they point.

From the book of Genesis through Malachi, prophesies of the coming Messiah proclaimed his uniqueness. The Old Testament pointed forward to the One who would bring salvation. The New Testament pointed to Jesus as the One who the prophets, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, had described. This book is dedicated to clearly putting together the prophecy and the fulfillment in an easy to understand format. Shall we begin.

Chapter 1

The Beginning of Hope

Genesis chapters 1–3

The first prophecy in Genesis 3:15 was given to Adam and Eve after they had eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In Genesis 2:16–17, God told Adam, In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. Let’s not lose the significance of this simple command; God had given all the other trees for food and just designated this one tree as off limits. Everything was very good (Gen. 1:31) in the garden of Eden, there was no death, sickness, pain, sorrow, or crying for man or animal. In essence, Adam was surrounded only by good and had no knowledge of evil.

Take note that God had given the command to Adam before Eve was created. But when Eve was asked by the tempter, Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’ (NKJV), she replied that not only could they not eat of the one tree, but also they could not touch it, or they would die (Gen. 3:1–3). Did Adam add the touch part to keep her from the tree for fear of losing the only other person in existence besides himself? Before Eve, Adam had God to talk to and the animals to observe, name, play with, and enjoy. But until Eve, he had no one equal to him and a helper comparable to him (Gen. 2:18). Not being there, we can only speculate, but having observed the inquisitive minds of people, I would imagine he added another level of safeguard with the touch factor.

Now the tempter had beguiled Eve into believing she would not die and, furthermore, she would be like God, knowing good and evil (Gen. 3:4–5). How crafty that was on the tempter’s part! Hadn’t God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness (Gen.1:26)? So what would be wrong with wanting to be more like God, knowing good and evil (Gen. 3:5)? And so she partook, did not instantly die, and gave some to Adam, and he too ate it and didn’t die. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings (Gen. 3:6–7; NKJV). Before eating of the forbidden fruit, they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed (Gen. 2:25).

Why didn’t they die that very day? Genesis 1:26–28 tells us that God had blessed them and told them, Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. At that time, they had no children, and the blessing could not be removed. However, with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day (2 Pet. 3:8). Methuselah was the longest living person and died at 969 years (Gen. 5:27). So God honored His blessing of Adam and Eve. They multiplied, filled the earth and subdued it, and had dominion over every living thing. Since they had dominion over every living thing, the animals now suffered and died.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now (Rom. 8:20–22; NKJV).

For Adam and Eve, the day they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the worst day of their lives, for their shame caused them to hide from the LORD God. When questioned about the tree, Adam said, The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate (Gen. 3:12; NKJV). In essence, Adam was shifting the blame to God for giving him the woman.

Eve answered truthfully, The serpent deceived me, and I ate (Gen. 3:13; NKJV).

I am sure Adam and Eve were relieved to know that they would live, but God is just, and judgment had to be pronounced. Not a vindictive retaliation, but they had to know that He takes seriously the matters of right and wrong. The snake would crawl on its belly (Gen. 3:14); conception would be multiplied, and in pain, the woman would bring forth children (Gen. 3:16); the man’s work would turn to toil, and the ground would be cursed (Gen. 3:17–19). Work was a gift of God for He took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it (Gen. 2:15; NKJV). So the curse was not work; it was the fact that now it would grow thorns and thistles.

In this judgment, there was the first prophesy of hope, veiled in the judgment to the serpent (not the physical snake that was used by the enemy of God) that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world (Rev. 12:9; NKJV).

"And I will put enmity

Between you and the woman,

And between your seed and her Seed;

He shall bruise your head,

And you shall bruise His heel." (Gen.