As 2025 draws to a close, reflection often reveals a complex tapestry woven from struggle, endurance, and growth. The end of the year stands as a sacred threshold—a moment to acknowledge the toils and struggles of the past while anchoring our hope in Christ’s enduring promise that He is with us always.
The closing months of 2025 have not been without trials. From personal heartaches and professional setbacks to wider global anxieties, the year has tested both faith and resilience. Such struggles, though painful, are an intrinsic part of the human experience. They teach patience, deepen humility, and often uncover inner strengths we never knew we possessed. Acknowledging the weight of these toils—rather than dismissing or minimizing them—is essential. It allows us to honor the unseen battles fought and to extend grace to ourselves for simply persevering. Looking back, it is undeniable that it has been His loving kindness and grace that has watched over us throughout 2025.
I am reminded vividly of my youth in the 1970s, attending a small Pentecostal church where we gathered annually for Watch Night Service on New Year’s Eve, worshiping through the night until dawn. Hymns were sung, testimonies shared, and gratitude poured out to God for His mercy and sustaining grace throughout the year. Those sacred gatherings instilled a deep assurance that our hope for the coming year rests in a God who continues to watch over His people.
For believers, the New Year represents more than a calendar change—it signals spiritual renewal, deeper faith, and renewed dependence on God’s guidance. It is a call to grow closer to Jesus, to leave past mistakes behind, and to embrace new opportunities with hope, peace, and resilience. We trust God to transform challenges into blessings, recommit ourselves to seeking His kingdom, cling to His promises, and become lights and sources of hope to others.
As 2025 ebbs away, one of the most unforgettable personal highlights of the year has been the widespread discussion surrounding the rapture. While the rapture itself was not the defining event of 2025, a specific prediction placing it on September 23 or 24 generated significant online attention, media coverage, serious anticipation, and widespread satire. I, too, shared my personal views and understanding on this subject. Though I may be wrong in believing the rapture would occur this fall, I remain firmly convinced that it will happen soon—possibly in 2026. This belief is rooted in a biblical timeline of 7,000 years of human history beginning with the creation of Adam and Eve. We are, by this understanding, at the tail end of human history, approaching the remaining seven years of the Great Tribulation before the Millennial reign of Christ.
In my previous writings, my intention has been to serve as a harbinger—one who sounds an alarm—to awaken fellow believers to the imminence of Christ’s return. This awakening includes sober warnings of catastrophic events that Scripture foretells will shake the world and usher in the Golden Age of Christ’s millennial rule. My convictions are not based on conspiracy theories, dreams, or mystical encounters, but on careful study, scriptural references, and biblical deductions. My deepest desire is for souls—believers and pre-believers alike—to be saved eternally. I would rather risk being labeled a “false harbinger” than remain silent if even one heart might be stirred to prepare for the Lord’s coming.
Another deeply personal struggle this year has been a serious health challenge. A cancer relapse revealed during a routine check-up brought emotional and psychological distress. Since then, I have been undergoing treatment, leaning fully on God Almighty—Jehovah Rapha, the Lord our Healer. My strength comes from resting in Him as I continue this battle. My hope remains that I may live to witness the momentous event when the Bride of Christ is harpazo—caught up—to meet her Bridegroom in the air at the sound of the trumpet.
On a broader, macro-level, the end of the year always offers a natural pause to reflect on the fleeting nature of time and the enduring hope of eternity. Seasons pass quickly, reminding us that life is transient while eternity is everlasting. This awareness is both humbling and comforting. It affirms that present struggles, however weighty, are temporary, while our hope in Christ is eternal. It also urges us to live intentionally—cherishing relationships, pursuing purpose, and valuing the simple gift of life itself.
Looking ahead, the New Year stands before us as a blank slate—a symbol of renewal and possibility. Our hopes often converge around growth and learning, deeper relationships, peace and well-being, and the desire to live with purpose and positive impact. Ultimately, the end of the year invites us to look back with honesty, look inward with compassion, and look forward with hope—embracing the enduring human and spiritual cycle of struggle, survival, and renewal under the sovereign care of God.
In conclusion, as we stand at the threshold of a new year, may we step forward not with fear, but with faith—carrying the lessons of our struggles, the scars of our battles, and the quiet testimonies of God’s unfailing grace. May the New Year find our hearts softened, our spirits renewed, and our eyes fixed on Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Whatever awaits us—whether joy or trial—may we walk into it upheld by His presence, strengthened by His promises, and anchored in the eternal hope that He is faithful to complete the work He has begun in us. May peace guard our hearts, grace cover our days, and may our lives shine ever brighter as we await the glorious return of our Lord and King. Happy New Year, in the assurance that God is with us—yesterday, today, and forever, AMEN!