First, a little about me. I live with my parents and my younger brother on a farm. It’s hard to describe where we live because in your day, our land was under the Mediterranean Sea. Now, it’s a fertile, beautiful place to grow up and learn about God and His people.

Your world is interesting to me, but I must admit, very scary. Sometimes I have to put down my Bible and history books because it is just too much to bear.

I’m writing to you the day after the Feast of Trumpets. We’ll be leaving for Jerusalem in a few days for the Feast of Tabernacles. Yesterday we recounted those now-fulfilled prophecies that told us what would happen in the end time (though I prefer to think of it as the beginning of a new time!).

It was fascinating to hear our pastor read from old Bible translations. I was specifically interested in how Joel 2:31 was translated. The King James Version reads:

Joel 2:31—The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.

The New King James calls it “the great and awesome day of the Lord.” While the events leading up to the return of Christ were terrible in a sense (the punishments needed to happen), the results (the return of Christ and the first resurrection) were awesome!

This morning Dad read from Isaiah after breakfast. It seems odd to me, because it is the world I know. How different it must be for you, since in your time, none of this has happened yet.

Isaiah 2:2-4—Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it.

Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

So, people actually studied war? Unbelievable! For me, these verses are historical. How different they must read to you!

The world today has the only ruler who was ever truly prepared for the job. He had to take over with force, but He rules with love and concern for all of us.

Isaiah 9:6-7—For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

We live in such a different time. My whole life, Satan has been banished to a bottomless pit! I don’t really understand what it must have been like having him around—I don’t even really understand the comparison to a roaring lion (since our lions don’t roar)—but I’m sure it was hard for you.

Revelation 20:1-2—Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

I used to think about how hard it would be to stand up for God in a godless world, to not worship the Beast or bow down to his image. I know now that God was with you just as He is with us now. And as my dad always says, if God is for us, who can be against us? I must say though, your faith must be very, very strong. You stood up to all the evil Satan could bring, and you knew that God would keep His promises even though you had never seen Jesus at all. That’s why God gave you a special blessing.

John 20:29—Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

I mentioned earlier that our lions don’t roar. Actually, sometimes when you wrestle around with one, they do roar a little. They’re so funny! Just big kittens. Just don’t let them lick your face!

Isaiah 11:7-8—The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.

I have met a lot of people who came out of the tribulation. Dad says his friend Mr. Skinner went through the tribulation. Dad says he was a very angry man when they first met. It wasn’t because he was mean or anything, but because he had seen so many horrible things. Mr. Skinner says that now he’s glad he survived, but back then he wished he could have died. He says our priest has helped him a lot!

Isaiah 61:1, 3—“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound . . . to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

Mr. Skinner is so nice. I can’t imagine him being angry at anything. Dad says God healed his broken heart. I guess after living through the tribulation and seeing the plagues and all the bad things that happened, he needed a new heart.

Ezekiel 36:26-27—I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

I’ve gone to Jerusalem for the Feast my whole life. It’s so beautiful there. I love walking around in the cool evenings with my friends. Mom says when she was growing up no one let the kids walk around by themselves, especially not girls! How hard your world must be. We are so free now. Free from Satan’s influence. Free from fear! I guess it is true what Jesus said when he was on the earth the first time, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free!”

In a way, our times are similar—they are both unique in history. My generation is the first in the new world with Satan banished. Your generation was the culmination of man’s reign. No offense, but I’d rather live in my time than yours!

Enough about me and my time. I really am writing to tell you something. I want to encourage you. I was thinking that if you have never seen the Kingdom of God, you wouldn’t know what it is like, so I wanted to tell you some about what it’s like. But I also want to encourage you to keep fighting the world and Satan. Don’t give up! The Kingdom is a wonderful place, as you have heard, and it is so worth it—you’ll see! In fact, you are here on earth somewhere, I just know it! I can’t wait to meet you. All of you from the first resurrection have lived such interesting lives!

Revelation 3:12—He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.

It has been fun writing to you. I wish you could write me back, but that isn’t possible. In your time, I haven’t even been born yet! Just remember, the times ahead—what we learned about on Trumpets—will pass quickly, and the world tomorrow is just around the corner. You will be honored for your faith and dedication to God and His truth.

You are the generation that preached the gospel to the whole world! Because of you, many were brought to repentance.

Revelation 7:9, 13-14—After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands . . . Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

The great multitude was made up of people who had heard the witness that you provided for them, and then repented during the tribulation. That’s why I had to write to you. Those people whom you helped are now our priests all around the world!

Thank you for doing what you are doing. What you are doing helps people whom you won’t meet until the Millennium. People like me.

Thank you for your faith, which keeps you coming to the Feast even when those around you don’t go (or think you’re crazy!). Thank you for being the firstfruits and enduring so much while prophecies were fulfilled leading up to the return of Jesus Christ. When He landed on the Mount of Olives, He ushered in 1,000 years of peace for the world.

I can’t wait to meet each one of you!

Your friend,

Julie