Happy Sunday, dear friends! As believers, we see darkness invading our world. Evil lurks around every turn and often jumps out at us. But there is encouragement! The darkness and evil we see all around us is simply the dress rehearsal for a much darker time that will come.

“What kind of encouragement is that?” you might rightly ask! Those whose trust is in Jesus know that, before the darkest time in history (the tribulation) becomes reality, we will be taken out of here. Saved from the wrath to come, as the Bible says. Friends, THAT is encouraging!

Today, consider this…

When COVID hit our planet, we thought we had seen evil. The power grab and the totalitarian agenda were never really about the virus. They were merely a dress rehearsal for what the future will bring. 

Then came October 7. Together with my nation, I was exposed to evil on an entirely new level. The sheer demonic nature of the atrocities was unlike anything we had ever witnessed. Was it about land? Politics? Religion? No. It was a dress rehearsal for a much darker time that will one day befall the Jewish people and everyone who stands with them. 

We are living in the days of the dress rehearsal. The actual script of the play was written for us two thousand years ago. True believers are those who know the script and recognize the rehearsal for what it is. The good news is that we do not have seats at the premiere. We are not invited. We will be gone. We will be far away. We will be occupied with something infinitely greater. We have a wedding to attend. 

So while we are still here at the dress rehearsal, holding the script in our hands, let us proclaim the Good News that there is a way to escape that coming day. Yes, the rehearsal is painful enough to wound us, bring tears to our eyes, and break our hearts. But… We are not destined for that wrath. We have been promised deliverance from it, not preservation through it. Paul reminded the believers in Thessalonica that we are: “…to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” 1 Thessalonians 1:10 (NKJV) And only a few chapters later he explained why: “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus the Messiah.” 1 Thessalonians 5:9 (NKJV) 

Awaiting His Soon Return, Amir  (Telegram, 7/27/2026)

Indeed friends, we have a promised date with Jesus at the rapture, when He takes us out of this world.

¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore comfort one another with these words.
~1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 [Emphasis mine]

I love 1 Thessalonians, don’t you! Every chapter ends with encouraging news about His coming. Why not pull out your Bible and read that book today? It is 5 short chapters that will bless the socks off anyone who knows Jesus as Savior and Lord and looks forward to meeting Him in the air!