The Rapture is popularly referred to by Bible-believing Christians as the snatching away into heaven of the Church, or Body of Christ, by the Lord Jesus Christ. This occurrence is real and has been foretold in the Word of God as one of God's prophetic end-times events. We believe that this event, translated from the Greek, Harpazo, will precede the Great Tribulation, a time when God's wrath will be poured out on earth dwellers - those left behind - for judgment before the Second Coming of Christ to defeat the evil wrought by the Antichrist and destroy the world systems that he (Antichrist) will have put in place, including his global totalitarian reign and false world religion.
In this post, we shall attempt to delineate the significance of world events that are taking, and will take, place in the light of Bible prophecy and these world events will be presented as proof that we are living in the last days prior to the Rapture and Great Tribulation. These events are signs that also herald Christ's soon return. As noted prophecy teacher and author, Chuck Missler (Strategic Trends, The Cosmic Codes), has aptly put it, we are living in the times of the (last-days) signs. These signs are evidence we will put forward for the imminence of the Rapture and return of the Messiah, Christ Jesus.
Introduction - What is "The Rapture" Exactly? [1]
By The Whyman
The Rapture is an event that will take place sometime in the near future. Jesus will come in the air, catch up the Church from the earth, and then return to heaven with the Church.
The Rapture is an event that will take place sometime in the near future. Jesus will come in the air, catch up the Church from the earth, and then return to heaven with the Church.
The Apostle Paul gave a clear description of the rapture event in his letters to the Thessalonians and Corinthians.
"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: 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." (1 Thess. 4:16 - 18).
"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality" (1 Cor. 15:51 - 53).
The timing of the rapture is not known. However, from the Word of God and from sound reasoning -- something Jesus used quite frequently -- the reality of the pre-tribulation rapture can be proven (please read article in this link).
The word "rapture" comes from the phrase "caught up" in verse 17. The phrase is translated from the Greek word harpazo, which means "to carry off," "snatch up," or "grasp hastily." The translation from harpazo to "rapture" involved two steps: first, harpazo became the Latin word raptus; second, raptus became the English word "rapture."
Therefore, despite the claims of the ignorant, the doctrine of "the rapture" is indeed biblical.
Footnote:
1. Introductory material adapted from Todd Strandberg.
Prophetic Signs of the Imminency of the Rapture
and Jesus' Second Coming
and Jesus' Second Coming
The Rebirth of Israel
One of the signs of the end-times and Jesus' Second Coming is the rebirth of Israel as a nation, in itself a miracle considering the history of Jewry long-suffering and persecution. Besides the restoration of the nation of Israel, the Bible also foretells of the recovery of the use of the ancient language of Hebrew by the people who call themselves Jews.
The prophecies ~
Prooftexts: Matthew 24, Isaiah 66, Ezekiel 37
The Bible foretold a long time ago by the prophets and the Lord Jesus Christ that Israel would be scattered among the nations where she would be taken into captivity. Much later, the LORD would regather them from the four corners of the world and the nation would be re-born in a single day.
The prophet Ezekiel said:
“I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land” (Eze. 37:21).
In Isaiah 66:7 - 8 we read:
“Hear that uproar from the city, hear that noise from the temple! It is the sound of the LORD repaying his enemies all they deserve. Before she goes into labor, she gives birth; before the pains come upon her, she delivers a son. Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children.”
The fulfilment ~
First, the dispersal
As stated above, Scriptures prophesied that Israel would be dispersed among the nations. The Jewish Diaspora began with the Assyrian conquest (722 BC), which scattered the Hebrews throughout the Middle East.
Thereafter King Nebuchadnezzar exiled the Judaeans in 597 and 586 BC, to Babylon in which they were to remain for hundreds of years. A group of Judaeans fled to Egypt, where they settled in the Nile delta. From 597 BC, there were three distinct groups of Hebrews: one in Babylon and other parts of the Middle East, another in Judaea, and the last in Egypt. Although in exile in foreign lands, the Jews retained their religion, identity, and social customs, and even their own laws during the reign of the Medo-Persians and Greeks.
In 63 BC, Judaea became a protectorate of Rome. The Roman governors heavily taxed the inhabitants of Judaea and living under them was like wearing a yoke around the Hebrews' necks. Consequently, in 70 AD, the Jews revolted, but it was a desperate revolt that ended tragically. In 73 AD, the last of the revolutionaries were holed up in a mountain fort called Masada; the Romans had besieged the fort for two years, and the 1000 men, women, and children inside starved. The Romans successfully destroyed Jerusalem, annexed Judaea as a Roman province, and systematically drove the Jews from Palestine. From 73 AD, the Diaspora continued as the Jews settled in lands in various parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Next, the regathering and rebirth
Scriptures foretold that Israel would be dispersed as a nation but later brought out from among the nations of the world in a gradual process that would culminate in the establishment of Israel as a nation in a single day.
The prophet Isaiah foretold of the rebirth of Israel, which would happen in a single day. (Refer to prooftext from Isaiah provided above.) The woman giving birth before going into labor represents Israel. This accurately describes what happened on May 14, 1948, when the Jews declared independence for Israel as a united and sovereign nation for the first time in 2,900 years.
During that same day, the United States issued a statement recognising Israel's sovereignty. And, only hours beforehand, a United Nations mandate expired, ending British control of the land. Within 24 hours, foreign control of the land of Israel formally ceased, and Israel declared its independence, which was acknowledged by other nations. Modern Israel was literally born in a single day.
Isaiah said the birth would take place before there would be labor pains. And that too was fulfilled when a movement, called Zionism, commenced in the 1800s which resulted in the first wave of Jewish Aliyah into Israel.
Fulfilling every letter of the Word with precision, Israel's status as a sovereign nation was established and re-affirmed during the course of a single day*, and that it was born of a movement called Zionism, not as the result of a war but of the Zionist cause.
(*The Bible has also foretold the exact year in which this would happen.)
The restoration of the Hebrew language
Israel's rebirth is truly a miracle but equally miraculous is the restoration of the Hebrew language to everyday usage. Hebrew was considered a dead language, not a commonly spoken language and limited to study, prayer, communal observances or ritual purposes. That was until Eliezer Ben-Yehuda (1858 – 1922). Eliezer was one of the first Zionists and is credited with the revival of Hebrew as a modern tongue spoken by a renascent Jewish nation. After marrying his childhood sweetheart, Deborah Jonas, they established the first Hebrew-speaking home in Eretz Yisrael, and their son, Ben-Zion was the first child in modern times to be nurtured with Hebrew as his native language.
His was an apparent divine calling; as Eliezer described it in his own words: "Suddenly the sky seemed to open up, a bright light shone in my eyes, and a strong inner voice rang in my ears, 'Rebirth of Israel in the land of their forefathers.' After a soul searching inner struggle, a new idea took sway and the words which captured all my life were, "Israel in its land and its language.'"
Soon after his arrival in Jerusalem, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda accepted a teaching position at the Alliance School, which became the first school where some courses were taught in Hebrew, due to Eliezer's insistence that Hebrew be the official language of instruction for Jewish subjects.
Eliezer wrote for "Hakhavatzelet" (The Lily), a Hebrew literary periodical, and launched "Hatzvi" - The Deer - a weekly newspaper. "Hatzvi" was the first Hebrew paper to report what was happening throughout the land. For this paper Eliezer needed to coin new Hebrew words for objects and verbs that did not exist in the days of the last Hebrew commonwealth.
Through his newspaper and by other means, he persevered in his determination to make Hebrew a spoken language once again. Fortunately, he lived to see the day when the Palestine census was taken, and virtually every Jew in the land listed "Hebrew" as his language.
Eliezer travelled far and wide to gather materials and to research the world's libraries for lost Hebrew roots. He founded and presided over Va'ad Halashon, the forerunner of the Hebrew Language Academy, and worked 18 hours a day on his "Complete Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Hebrew." In 1910 he published the first of six volumes and after his death in 1922 his widow and son Ehud continued publishing his manuscript, a task which was completed in 1959. The dictionary lists all the words used in Hebrew literature from the time of Abraham to modern times. Eliezer Ben-Yehuda was able to see his dream become reality: a modern nation speaking an ancient tongue - Yisrael be'artzo uvilshono.
All this happened in fulfillment of the prophecy written in Zephaniah 3:9:
"For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they all may call on the name of the LORD, to serve Him with one accord."
What this means for the world
In Matthew 24:32 – 35, Jesus Himself, when His disciples asked Him when the end would come, attested to the fact that Israel's rebirth would be an important sign of the end of this age and His return:
"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
Israel is symbolically referred to as a fig tree in Scripture. The Lord Jesus' own promises concerning Israel's restoration are a reiteration of the prophecies of Ezekiel and Isaiah, which foretell that Israel's restoration as a nation will point towards the coming of the Messiah, and this will be followed by the end of the age (as we know it). In Jesus' own words, the generation that witnesses the prophetic fulfillment of the rebirth and restoration of Israel as a nation will also witness His return.
A generation is about 70 years (opinions on this vary from 50 -120 years). Israel was reborn as a nation in 1948. Ergo, many scholars believe that this is the millennium that will see the return of Jesus Christ and the culmination of history.
Maranatha!
The Rebuilding of the Jewish Temple
The Rebuilding of the Jewish Temple
Prooftexts: Ezekiel 37, Daniel 9, Matthew 24.
(This is an update on my previous post concerning the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Also see here.)
Spearheaded by the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement, the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple and restoration of the ancient Jewish sacrificial system are making great strides in Israel's progress towards the fulfillment of her prophesied redemption. According to the former's website, 'Israel's redemption will proceed in an orderly fashion according to God's plan. First, is the foundation of the modern state of Israel and the miraculous victories that God gave the people of Israel in the wars against 22 Arab enemy states. Second is the regathering of the people of Israel from all over the world to the Promised Land. Third is the liberation and consecration of the Temple Mount and fourth is the building of the third Temple. The final step is the coming of the King of Israel, Messiah Ben David.'
Spearheaded by the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement, the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple and restoration of the ancient Jewish sacrificial system are making great strides in Israel's progress towards the fulfillment of her prophesied redemption. According to the former's website, 'Israel's redemption will proceed in an orderly fashion according to God's plan. First, is the foundation of the modern state of Israel and the miraculous victories that God gave the people of Israel in the wars against 22 Arab enemy states. Second is the regathering of the people of Israel from all over the world to the Promised Land. Third is the liberation and consecration of the Temple Mount and fourth is the building of the third Temple. The final step is the coming of the King of Israel, Messiah Ben David.'
On June 17, Sheikh Salah, leader of Islamic Movement's northern branch, issued a warning to Muslim students at Haifa University that Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had fully intended to complete plans to gain control of the Temple Mount from his first tenure. He went on to suggest that the Prime Minister's desire was complete during his current term what he did not complete during his first one – “to dig additional tunnels under al-Aqsa and rebuild the Temple on the Temple Mount.”
Netanyahu was quite ostensibly echoing the sentiment of millions of Jews who reside within and without Israel. I might add that this sentiment represents, as well, the desire of the majority of Bible-believing, Israel-supporting evangelical Christians around the world.
Jerusalem had seen the destruction of two Jewish Temples prior to the rebirth of Israel in 1948. The first Temple, built by King Solomon, was destroyed by the armies of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The second, which was built by King Zerubbabel, was destroyed by the armies of the Romans in 70 AD, as foretold by Jesus Christ before His death on the cross.
From the time of the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, the world's Jews, both out in the diaspora and back in Eretz Israel, have lamented the loss of their holy place of worship and longed to rebuild their Temple. This is, thence, a 1900-year-old desire. A recent report by the Ynet-Gesher survey apprised that nearly two-thirds of Israelis believed that the time was right to rebuild the Jerusalem Temple, and half of non-religious Jews favored rebuilding the Holy Temple. [1]
However, from a political perspective the idea of a restored Jewish Temple has been unthinkable, even impossible – at least, it appears, until this millennium. The site of the most sacred of Jewish holy places, which is the Temple Mount area, has been in Arab hands under the Waqf, a Jordanian-controlled Muslim trust, since Moshe Dayan handed it to the Arabs. Touted the most prized real estate on earth, the Temple Mount is untouchable without the permission of the Waqf – what a bane to the devout Jews who are still longing for a third Temple. What's more, the Western Wall, the last remaining remnant of Solomon's Temple, and sacred to Jews for over 2000 years, has been in Jordanian-controlled Jerusalem since 1949.
Nevertheless, Scriptures imply that the political balance of power must shift some time soon, within this generation, I believe, and the Temple Mount will be dramatically seized from Islamic control and assured for Israel. This shift is imperative; nevertheless, a Mideast peace is a necessary requisite for Israel to go ahead with the building of the Temple on the oft-fought-over Temple Mount area. Which begs the question: how will this peace come about? (Possible answer in a moment.)
The prophet, Isaiah, foretold that in the last days God would regather His people from all the lands where He had scattered them (Isaiah 43:6 - 7). Israel's redemption was initiated with the first wave of Aliyah in the 1800s, and the Jewish people started returning to, and rebuilding, Zion. This has been happening for the past one hundred years. This tiny nation's redemption will be complete when the Jews seize control of the Temple Mount and all of Jerusalem and, as prophesied in Scripture, are once again worshiping God in their Holy of Holies. And current events in the Mideast, as well as the ongoing development of Temple affairs, all point toward this coming to pass.
(For the latest update on the progress of the third Temple, see here.)
The rebuilt Temple – or Temples – will have a significant role to play in prophecy and Endtimes scenario. For one, the new Jewish Temple has to be in place and functioning in order for the Antichrist to enter and defile it. This event is known biblically as the Abomination of Desolation and will occur, in the Dispensational view, before the seven-year Great Tribulation, but after the Rapture of the church. In Daniel 9:27 we read:
“He (Antichrist) will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven' (year period). In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."
Antichrist is prophesied to sign a peace covenant with Israel, bringing about the period called the Great Tribulation. Midway through the Tribulation he will enter the Holy of Holies of the Temple and proclaim himself as God, setting up an image of himself there and making it mandatory for the whole world to worship it. This is the defilement known as the Abomination of Desolation.
The Jerusalem Temple will also be the scene of worship during the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Ezekiel is one of many Old Testament prophets who have described the Millennial Temple in Jerusalem as the seat of the Messiah and it is upon this seat that Messiah will reign on the throne of David in Jerusalem forever and sit in judgment of the world during the Millennium to come:
“I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.” (See Ezekiel 37:26 - 28; and 40 - 48.)
At this juncture, let me qualify the above by explaining that the Millennium Temple may be a different one from the third Temple; it is one that will be built by the Messiah, and apparently not by unsaved Jews since, according to Ezekiel 43:7 and 44:9, "no foreigner uncircumcised in heart or in flesh shall enter My sanctuary." Therefore, probably, the Antichrist cannot have set foot on the Millennial Temple.
In any case, I have no doubt that the third Jewish Temple will be built in this generation and this is one of the prominent signs of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, first for His church at the Rapture, and then on His blessed Second Coming, as a Warrior King to battle and destroy the armies of the Antichrist. Many believe that the Messiah will return to Jerusalem via the eastern gate of the Temple, for His Second Coming has been prophesied to be in the direction from Edom and Bozrah, which are areas to the east (Isaiah 63:1 - 6).
In the meantime, as mentioned above, a number of events must be actualized to propel the Mideast peace process forward: someone must arise on the scene, possibly presenting himself as pro-Israel and with much political clout, in order to broker this Mideast peace so that the foundation stone of the third Temple may be laid on the Temple Mount. It is quite likely that the Roadmap to Peace, which sets incremental steps on a path toward Middle East peace, is this process that will successfully lead to some semblance of Mideast peace – albeit a false compromising peace – being brokered between Israel and the Arabs. It is also not far-fetched to predict that some conflict, or threat of conflict, will have to be waged in order for peace to be forcibly secured in the Middle East.
For the Lord Himself told His disciples that wars and rumors of wars are yet another sign of the last days:
"You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end" (Matthew 24:6).
Maranatha!
Footnote:
By KT and The Whyman
Prooftexts: Psalm 83, Isaiah 8:13-15
Not since the end of the First World War have we seen such a panoply of antisemitic sentiment around the globe. Jewish people are increasingly the targets of violence in the forms of physical aggression, verbal abuse and undercurrents of prejudice and discrimination towards them. A Tel Aviv University in Israel said, in findings published in April, that the numbers of attacks against Jews had doubled worldwide last year compared with 2005. Most of the rise in violence was reported in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and France.
Abraham Foxman, director of the Washington-based Anti-Defamation League, has warned that Antisemitism is at its worst level in Britain since he fled here from Germany in 1936. He said, "A large number of Europeans continue to be infected with anti-Jewish attitudes, holding on to classic anti-Semitic canards and conspiracy theories. These attitudes help legitimize Antisemitism, including violence against Jews, and give us great concern."
Among the antisemitic attitudes are the beliefs that the Holocaust is a myth and Israel is an evil regime that is to blame for the woes of the world. A leading proponent of the Holocaust myth is Iran’s former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who has claimed that the Jewish state is a Western creation to undermine the security of Muslim nations and, therefore, desires that Israel be wiped off the face of the map. Daring the West to end its support of the tiny Jewish nation, he has reportedly said that if the West does not support Israel, its regime will be toppled and consequently Israel will be annihilated.
Ahmadinejad's threat against Israel echoes the Psalmist's prophecy:
'O God, do not keep silent; be not quiet, O God, be not still. See how your enemies are astir, how your foes rear their heads. With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish. "Come," they say, "let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more." With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you' (Psalm 83:1-5).
It isn't just Iran; many in all parts of the world today deny the Holocaust ever happened. They also blame Israel for the woes of the world such as the water shortage and chaos in Palestine. In the West Bank and Gaza, natural, clean water is a rarity and many Palestinians survive on less than 50 liters of water a day. The World Bank is said to have pointed the blame finger at Israel, maintaining that Israel not only controls the supply and distribution of water but also takes more than its equitable share of the resources from the West Bank. It also argues that the Gaza Palestinians lack hope and blame their situation on Israel.
Ironically a Palestinian poll has shown otherwise. According to the poll, most Gaza residents are hopeful, and most of them blame the Palestinian Authority—not Israel—for the existing lawlessness in Gaza that is harming its economy.
Of late, Israel's greatest ally has been turning its back on the Jewish state. So-called experts of U.S. and Mideast policy, such as John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, who co-authored The Israel Lobby, insist that supporting Israel is not in America's best interests. The thrust of the U.S. Mideast policy has long been its relationship with Israel but the authors claim that the combination of unwavering support for Israel and the related effort to spread ‘democracy’ throughout the region has inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardized not only U.S. security but that of much of the rest of the world. The view is that America's effort to deal with terrorism and rogue states is hampered by their close alliance with Israel, which they see a liability in their war against terror.
However these experts have ignored the reality of global Islamic hatred for the U.S. and its Christian-based values, claiming that open belligerence from Iran, Iraq, Syria and the terrorist proxies directed by those states would simply not be an issue for America if it weren't for Israel. Mearsheimer and Walt even go so far as to accuse Israel of not being a true democracy, and, therefore, not a suitable ally for the U.S.
The global hatred for the Jews and Israel reminds us of Zechariah's prophetic pronouncement:
“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah (former name of Israel) and against Jerusalem” (Zechariah 12:2).
Why the rise in Antisemitism worldwide? We venture to postulate the view that the hatred is demonically-spawned from antediluvian times when God put a judgment on Satan who tempted Eve: The LORD God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life; and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." (Genesis 3:14 and 15).
From this prophetic judgment, Satan understood that a time would come when the seed of a woman, Jesus Christ Himself, would be born and would destroy him and his evil devices against humanity to undermine the perfect creation and plan of God. Ever since God's judgment on him, the devil had been behind the attempts of the world's populace to destroy the Jews to prevent Christ from being born. However, every attempt had failed, and each time, the Jews had returned from their conquest or exile stronger and more resolute to survive as a people.
Fast forward six thousand or so years, and Satan is altogether aware that his end is nigh at hand - for we are in the time of the end - when his final defeat will be fulfilled according to Scriptures. This will likely take place at the culmination of the Great Tribulation and after the Millennial Reign of Christ, when he will meet his end within the Lake of Fire, which is the final place where Jesus Christ will have him in fetters.
It is for this reason that the hearts of unbelievers and people, who hate Christ, are hardened and deceived to hate the Jews and Israel's existence. Little do these blinded masses realize that their hatred underpins the reality that the Jews' miraculous survival throughout the thousands of years of their diaspora is evidence of a God who came to this earth as Jesus Christ 2000 years ago, and will come again to sit on the throne of this world from the land of His birth - Israel.
Meanwhile the whole world unknowingly is fulfilling prophecy when they continue to hate Israel and the Jews; for thus says the prophet Ezekiel:
"Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog*, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety, will you not take notice of it? You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, O Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I show myself holy through you before their eyes'" (Ezekiel 38:14 - 16).
Indeed, we believe that this hatred will culminate in the coming Gog-Magog War (1), in which the armies of the world will be engaged in a battle with Israel before the Great Tribulation eventuates, the latter of which is a time when the world will experience the outpouring of God's wrath.
Here are the nations mentioned in Ezekiel whose armies will come against Israel (and the modern names that parallel them):
The land of Magog : Russia (?)
Meshech and Tubal : Somewhere in Russia
Persia : Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan
Ethiopia : Ethiopia and Sudan
Libya : Libya
Ashkenaz : Austria and Germany
Gomer : Eastern Europe
Togarmah : Southeastern Europe - Turkey
“Many peoples with thee” : Various other Arab/Muslim nations allied with Russia.
This war is made all the more possible with the U.S.' withdrawal of its support of Israel as we are seeing in the changing attitude of the Obama administration. However, the war is doomed to failure for Scriptures prophesy that even before Israels' enemies reach her borders, God Himself will intervene and destroy them with fire from the sky.
Maranatha!
Footnote:
* Gog is a title given to the leader of the Russian army just as Pharaoh was the title given to an Egyptian leader, the name of whom we will not know till the Gog-Magog war happens.
Prooftexts: Matthew 24, Daniel 12.
An aficionado of biblical Endtimes Theology since an adolescent, I have always held a fascination for the following prophecies which concern some last-days events.
An aficionado of biblical Endtimes Theology since an adolescent, I have always held a fascination for the following prophecies which concern some last-days events.
In Matthew 24:23 - 31, Jesus described His Second Coming as an event witnessed by all the nations of the earth:
"At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.
"So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
"Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."
In the eleventh chapter of Revelation, during the period after the rapture of the church known as the Great Tribulation, God will send two witnesses to minister to the Jewish nation. Scholars of the Bible have variously speculated that the two witnesses may be Moses and Elijah. The two witnesses are foretold to die in the hands of Antichrist and their death witnessed by men from every tribe, nation and language.
In this chapter of Revelation we read:
"'I (Jesus Christ) will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.'
"These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.
"Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast (Antichrist) that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial.
"The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
"But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, 'Come up here.' And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on" (Revelation 11:3 - 12).
My fascination with these verses stemmed from my perplexity concerning the possibility of the whole earth's denizens' witnessing the Lord Jesus' coming in the clouds at the same time. Similarly how could it be possible for all the nations of the earth to witness the murder of the two witnesses of God, and then to gaze on the dead cadavers for three days? Is everyone alive during that time going to travel to Israel and become voyeuristic onlookers of this morbid event? Was the prophet John who penned the Revelation of the Lord being literal? Likewise, was Jesus Himself speaking in literal terms and not using allegory or hyberbole?
It wasn't until the dawning of the Computer Age that it all started to make sense, that the possibility of a literal understanding of these verses appeared less remote. It is also no coincidence that Daniel prophesied that during the time of the end, there would be an increase in knowledge:
"But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge" (Daniel 12:4).
I believe this is the time of the end according to the prophet, Daniel. This is the time of the increase of knowledge written about by Daniel thousands of years ago. Why has this increase in knowledge come about? The answer lies in the discovery of digital technology.
The onset of ICT due to the Computer Age has given us such technological wonders as the World Wide Web, Blackberry and the nano technology of the micro-handheld computer, so that we are able to access information (which leads to knowledge) on any topic at the touch of a finger. According to the President of Nokia Mobile phones, the new communications technologies and content services as well as the convergence of the Internet and mobile phone create freedom and possibilities as never seen before in the world. Add to this the barrage of information provided by the media on the Internet, radio and television on a daily basis, and we have become a people that rely on external digital and electronic sources of information to build our knowledge of the world around us. In addition, owing to continuing developments in technology we are also experiencing the convenience of rapid information access and the diversity of information available to us.
We have arrived at a brave new world of computer technology as never before has there been such an information overload that can be stored into a disk drive, some so tiny that we have a mobile library which we can carry around in the palm of our hand. Aside from these portable Internet libraries, the invention of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, means that we can be privy to an event happening anywhere in the world, and hear about or witness this event occurring in real time, usually without ever needing to get up from our armchairs. What's more, the emergence of networking information technology makes it possible for us to disseminate an array of information speedily and easily simply by uploading it to live feeds or podcasts in social networking media sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. This has fewer administrative policy, bureaucratic protocol and corporate sponsorship restrictions than satellite television (back in the 70s prophecy scholars taught that this medium was the channel of information for the last days) since it is operated 24/7 by end-users and not professionals.
Why then is increase in knowledge useful in understanding the prophecies of Jesus Christ and Daniel? What does it mean for us?
Daniel's prophecy was to have remained sealed up until the time of the end. As delineated in Scripture, it is during the time of the end that there would be a knowledge explosion, the likes of which we are experiencing in this Computer and ICT Age, and this knowledge explosion will expedite the fulfillment of God's many prophecies given in the books of Daniel, Matthew and Revelation. Now more than in any other decade, modern information and communications technology is assisting the Body of Christ in our understanding of the literal fulfillment of prophecies.
Which means that it is not impossible to envisage that every remaining person on earth left behind during the Great Tribulation will witness the two prophets of God slain by Antichrist and rejoicing at their murder, only to wonder at their resurrection by God, three and a half days later. Neither is it a stretch of the imagination to envision the whole world witnessing the Lord Jesus' Second Coming all at the same time.
Whether it is via YouTube or Twitter, or through video images captured on your mobile phone, or as the result of some new technology yet to be foisted upon us, no one will be left in the dark when these prophecies come to pass. Images will be caught on some existing newfangled invention, one way or another. Dotcom technology, with God as its CEO, will see to that.
Maranatha!
False Prophets and Religious Globalism on the Ascent
False Prophets and Religious Globalism on the Ascent
This millennium has unveiled several 'new' heretical movements led by popular 'Christian' leaders and authors, who in reality are false prophets masquerading as shepherds of the Body of Christ. Honing their heretical trades since the 1970s, these movements with their false prophets, who teach a gospel antithetical to the gospel of Jesus Christ, have been predicted in the Bible to spin a mighty deceptive web that will ensnare millions in the last days:
This is what the Word of God foretold about the popularity of false prophets:
"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies" (2 Peter 2:1),and
“For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible” (Matthew 24:24).
This is what the Word of God foretold about the popularity of false prophets:
“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3 - 4).
In other words, false prophets teach unbiblical doctrines that stray from Scriptural principles. They teach heresies that are anathema to God's Word and truth. Some even make predictions about the future of the world that are proven to be false. Nevertheless, they are more popular than Biblical orthodoxy, particularly among the youth, the moral relativists and the liberal Christians who prefer a gospel that lends credence to their deviant lifestyle.
The heresies that are popular today are simply variations of the same heresies that have arisen throughout the history of the Church, from the time of the first-century church when the apostle Peter accurately observed her slide into heresy, and predicted that she would continue this downward slide through the Church Age to present times. Among the false doctrines and heresies prevalent this century are Gnosticism, Arianism, Universalism, Ecumenicism, and New Spirituality. Indeed many in today's mainstream and evangelical churches (Lutheran, Methodist, Calvary, Presbyterian, Anglican, et. al.) are voting to abandon Christian orthodoxy in favour of embracing the doctrines of demons including ordaining homosexuals into their leadership and allowing gays and women to teach from the pulpits.
In this article, I am going to delineate the heresies of the ecumenical and New Spirituality movements, which are the preponderance of the postmodern movements responsible for infiltrating into many of today's churches their seductive and insidious false gospels and postmodern approach to truth and godliness that removes historic scriptural authority from their teachings. As well, I will mention the names of the leading false prophets of these movements. Finally, I will conclude with an exposition of the heretical movement known as the 'Mission of Maitreya'.
The Ecumenical and New Spirituality / Emerging (or Emergent) Church Movements
In the guise of Christianity, these movements are being promoted and embraced in the Christian church by professing Christian teachers and authors such as Leonard Sweet, Brian McLaren and Rick Warren. Lately, even popular authors like Greg Laurie and Chuck Smith have been reported to have lent their support to the Emerging church / New Spirituality causes [1]. Many of these Emerging church advocates, calling themselves leaders of the 'New Spirituality' (which has replaced the term 'New Age') or 'New Light', teach their congregations the belief that God is in everything – a New Age / New Spirituality teaching that has panentheistic tenets as its core apologetic.
The New Spirituality's latest assault on the Church is the farce of ecumenism which is promoted and glorified throughout the world. A Satanic system of lies built on the deception that all religions are equal and worship the same God, ecumenism is the post-modern substitute for Christian charity and teaches that all faiths should join together in unity regardless of doctrinal integrity. What used to be a Christian movement to unite all Christian denominations has become a worldwide interfaith campaign to fulfill the ecumenical efforts predicted in the Book of Revelation. Therefore cathedrals, stadiums and conferences are filling up with Muslim, Christian, Catholic, Baha'i, Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu clerics, all praying together under one roof for a common worldwide peace and anti-terrorism initiative (perhaps I should use the PC term "Overseas Contingency Operation").
A leading proponent of this interfaith unity is Saddleback Church pastor, Rick Warren, and like the New Spirituality leaders who promote the 'all paths lead to the same God' credo, he is known to speak at conferences of interfaith leaders to implement his global P.E.A.C.E. plan, a plan not unlike the New Spirituality P.E.A.C.E. plan, and a plan that any discerning Christian will realize is sympathetic to a humanistic dominionist's aspiration [1]. What's more, Warren doesn't appear to realize that salvation is not possible with God out of the picture, for Scriptures teach that only Jesus is the way to God.
Aside from teaching a poor theology, Rick Warren's Purpose-Driven Church Growth plan is also one of the avenues through which the heresy of New Spirituality is entering the Church. This movement borrows heavily from the meditative ideologies and practice of Buddhism and other practices of eastern mysticism and pagan spirituality, such as contemplative prayer, meditation and yoga.
The attempts of ecumenism, New Spirituality and the Emerging movement to build a bridge to all faiths and incorporate eastern mysticism and pagan spirituality in the Church are anathema to Christ for Jesus never taught that doctrine was unimportant or that there were many paths and they all led to the same God. In fact, Jesus taught that He was the only way to God (John 14:6). Jesus also taught that there would be a strong delusion before His Second Coming and this delusion is manifested in the movements of Brian McLaren, Rick Warren and Leonard Sweet.
The Mission of Maitreya
There is another movement deluding the world and it has been bringing together individuals from diverse denominations including Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Oral Roberts University, the Roman Catholic Church and the Word-Faith Movement. This movement is in the process of syncretizing all denominational/religious groups via 'signs and wonders' to form a One-World church. It has been suggested that the leader of this movement will proclaim himself to be 'Christ returned' to lead this church of the New World Order. To many of his followers, his name is Lord Maitreya. The Buddhist Maitreya is variously known as the Muslim Mahdi, the Jewish Messiah and the Christian Christ, who is the one the world's religions await to usher in world peace.
To discerning believers, however, Maitreya is another false prophet; nevertheless there are scholars who opine that he is the perfect candidate to be the Antichrist or the False Prophet of Revelation 19 and 20. One reason for this is his purported new seal (see image on right). The seal of Maitreya consists of the 666 (the number of the Beast) elements and is emblazoned with icons of some of the main religions of the world: the I-Ching, the Star of David, the Cross, the crescent moon, a nine-armed star, another Star of David with a rising sun, and a seventh sign meaning 'Pure Consciousness' with a swastika symbol in its center. The entire logo is called the Greatest Sign and belies an ambitious endeavour of Maitreya's followers to syncretize all the world's leading religious systems.
The Mission of Maitreya teaches that Jesus was simply one of a long line of prophets pointing a way to God, which is the reason the mission is embraced wholeheartedly by the New Age / New Spirituality movement. Maitreya is credited for many of the world's sightings of wonders and signs such as weeping statues, crop circles, crosses of light and milk-drinking waters!
What this means for the world
I have no doubt that we are living in the age the Lord Jesus Christ has called the Laodicean age (Revelation 3:14 - 17), which is the final Church Age characterized by the great apostasy. Total apostasy from God is a sign of the last days and it is inextricably bound with false prophets and the religions of cults and heresies.
I fervently believe that the above are movements that are inexorably leading up to a universal religious system which will usher in a period of false peace, love and brotherhood under the leadership of a personality that they call the Christ, but we know from the Word of God is the Antichrist. In the last days Antichrist will assume totalitarian power in the world's political landscape to lead its global One-World government alongside his sidekick, the False Prophet, who will be the leader of the false One-World church (Revelation 19 and 20).
Ergo the ecumenical and Emerging church movements so popular today are preparing their adherents for the False Prophet's future global religion that shall be a counterfeit of the Body of Christ.
I fervently believe that the above are movements that are inexorably leading up to a universal religious system which will usher in a period of false peace, love and brotherhood under the leadership of a personality that they call the Christ, but we know from the Word of God is the Antichrist. In the last days Antichrist will assume totalitarian power in the world's political landscape to lead its global One-World government alongside his sidekick, the False Prophet, who will be the leader of the false One-World church (Revelation 19 and 20).
Ergo the ecumenical and Emerging church movements so popular today are preparing their adherents for the False Prophet's future global religion that shall be a counterfeit of the Body of Christ.
Consequently, we believers in the Body of Christ are exhorted to try every spirit to discern if it is true or false lest we are led to believe the lie of the spirit of this age:
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).
Maranatha!
Footnote:
1. Links to sites previously provided but the sites have now been removed by the respective authors.
Economic and Political Globalism on the AscentFootnote:
1. Links to sites previously provided but the sites have now been removed by the respective authors.
Prooftexts: Revelation 13, Matthew 24.
So much has been written, and is still being written, about the rise of globalism and the globalists' agenda, here on my blog, and also elsewhere on the W.W.W.
Indeed, no other time besides the present, dubbed the time of the signs by noted Bible scholar, Chuck Missler, are prospects for coordination among the world’s globalists achieving the potential of total domination. We are also witnessing the rapid pace at which the whole world is hurling towards a global One-world Order that characteristically will embody a global economy, government and religion.
This final segment of our examination of end-times signs that point towards the imminence of the Rapture and Christ's Second Coming will offer an update on current developments in economic and political globalism. A short instruction concerning the implication of these recent developments will conclude each point of this study.
Recent developments in economic globalism
We have no doubt the leaders of the developed world, the likes of (now former) U.S. President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and other leaders that are promoting a globalist agenda such as current and former U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and Henry Kissinger respectively, are knowingly or unknowingly allowing themselves to be supernaturally used by the Spirit of Antichrist to move the world towards a New World Order (NWO). This global world order will ultimately place all of humanity under the governance of the Satan-empowered Antichrist.
Scripture describes an aspect of the economic scenario of the last days, a time called the Great Tribulation, when the entire world will be ruled by a totalitarian called the Antichrist:
“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:16 - 17).
We hold fast to the belief that the major economic crises of the world since the 1920s have occurred in order to nudge the world closer to the Bible scenario of Revelation 13. We believe that these crises have been the result of the successful manipulation of the monetary systems and currencies of the world by members of the pecuniary elite and other globalists such as the International Bankers, oil barons and multinational corporations. This elite cadre that includes the Bilderbergers, the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Monetary Fund and other economic oligarchs, operate in a cloak and dagger manner and employ Machiavellian deceit to create a crisis in a nation with the aim of introducing a solution to the crisis that they themselves have contrived. In this way, the cartel of globalist conspirators will have their 'troops' in all major countries or strategic areas in order to facilitate a New World Order takeover.
One takeover strategy is to engineer false financial collapses and then call for economic reforms that would solidify the NWO cartel's influence and power over the monetary systems of the world. An example of an economic reform is the elimination of the different countries' currencies to be replaced by a single global currency. This appears to be on top of the NWO globalists' agenda. Those who are keeping abreast of current world developments in the newspapers and Internet must surely be astonished by the barrage of news concerning the proposed adoption of a new international currency, also known as the One-world currency, to replace the U.S. currency. Read the latest news reports here, here and here.
According to economic policy analyst, Paul Craig Roberts, “For globalism to work, there needs to be a single currency and a single tax system.”
He's not alone. Other than bankers, an increasing number of economists, politicians and the media back the idea of a global currency. Roberts, et. al., are in concert in their beliefs that a single currency would eliminate the present problems of speculation, instability and uncertainty in the market by reducing the costs and risks of doing business in our growing world economy. A global currency would go a long way towards placing everyone on a 'level' playing field by removing the advantage of a few favored countries whose currency is seen as more secure and by preventing the poor from being negatively impacted by currency fluctuations. Globalists believe that this would usher in economic justice in the world.
What these oligarchs may not realize, but most eschatology scholars are aware of, is that the adoption of the proposed One-world currency would ease the way towards the adoption of the Antichrist's Mark of the Beast in a future cashless society, as prophesied in Revelation 13 (quoted above). Accordingly, during the reign of Antichrist (in the Tribulation hour after the Rapture) all earth-dwellers must wear a mark under their skin, and those who refuse will pay with their lives or suffer economic deprivation.
To the many scoffers of Bible prophecies, of course, the coming Mark of the Beast is another conspiracy theory of right-wing extremists and "tinfoil hat" doomsday sayers. However, a study of developments in, and proclaimed purposes of, the technology of RFID chip may debunk this as mere scare-mongering and elevate the idea from being conjectural "theory" to solid, documented fact. The following headlines say it all:
Workplace privacy issues raised by RFID technology
Hence, current media headlines adduce that no longer is it inconceivable that in the last days Antichrist will command everyone who wants to participate in buying and selling in the global market to be implanted with a mark under the skin of their right hand or on their forehead to consolidate their allegiance to him. This mark may be a refinement of the present RFID microchip already being used as a surveillance device in some stores, supermarkets, pets and offices. Plans are also in the pipeline to implant biometric microchips, or Verichips, in the infirm and elderly, as well as in youth up to age 18, for tracking purposes. (How one is supposed to remove the tracking device after that age is a mystery.)
Recent developments in political globalism
Another reform gaining momentum is the race towards accepting or adopting a socialist system of government in place of the capitalist system. Ayn Rand's “Atlas Shrugged” (1957) predicts the demise of capitalists and industrialists culminating in societal collapse as governments increasingly assert control over all industry. But way before Rand's progressive magnum opus, the Bible in Revelation 13 already has foretold of a time when government coercion under a single dictator would temper not just industry but every aspect of life. This is the time of the Antichrist's worldwide reign:
“And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?' There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain” (Revelation 13: 1-8).
The beast is the name given to the Antichrist in the Book of Revelation. During the latter half of the seven years known as The Great Tribulation, which will take place after the Rapture of the church, Antichrist will unveil himself and for 3 1/2 years, he will assume world rule but one of a dictatorship. He will have enormous power since he will be endowed with Satan's authority, and he will be worshiped by a great many of the earth-dwellers left behind during that great and terrible Day of the Lord. He is also described as making war with the saints of Jesus Christ who will number in the millions; these are the Tribulation Saints who have converted to Christianity after the Rapture and refused to accept the Mark of the Beast. However, most of these saints will be beheaded for their belief.
Perhaps ten years ago it may have seemed like the imaginings of a schizophrenic mind to posit that the majority of the world's citizens would readily accept the rule of a coercive government over their lives. Today the story is vastly different. Individuals and nations for fear of terrorism have surrendered privacy and sovereignty for the sake of (perceived) security. If what we read in the news is any indication, the world's citizenry - bar those who regard themselves of the Right, lovers of freedom and liberty, and followers of Christ - would happily embrace Antichrist owing to his promises of security, prosperity and (false) world peace.
As a precursor, consider the unbridled manner in which so many sycophantic Americans were fawning over their (now former) elected President (Obama), and applauding his socialist policies without critical scrutiny of the ramifications of passing these policies through Congress; consider also the left-leaning media that were, and are still, willfully feigning ignorance of the dangers of those policies as they choose to be complicit in their implementation. Why, this socialist idolatry is taking grip of the rest of the world, too!
And we know, don't we, that the ideologies of the socialist mandate aren't too far removed from totalitarianism: surrendering of the individual will, of economic resources and rationalization, and of ownership of private property and wealth, to a centralized government. [We can picture Antichrist gleefully administering his narcissistic brand of interventionism and control over his Satan-deceived dominion when the time comes.]
What this means for the world
Change is in the air. People have been feeling this and talking about it for the last decade. Unfortunately, as more and more are beginning to realize, this change has not been for the better but for the worse.
Globalism, increase in cataclysmic incidents such as hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes, wars and rumors of wars, the climate in a state of flux – these are signs that the God of this earth, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, has said in Matthew 24 would take place before His return.
The Meshiach-Nagid, Yeshua (Messiah-King, Jesus) is coming back, first to rapture the true church and then to establish His Millennial Kingdom on earth. We have no doubt about this - it will happen in the generation which witnesses these signs taking place:
"So, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place" (Matthew 24: 33-34).
Are you ready for Messiah's return?
It will be exceedingly difficult to be a follower of Jesus Christ during the Great Tribulation for there is a strong likelihood that converts to Christ during the Tribulation Hour will be martyred under Antichrist's demonic reign:
“And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed" (Revelation 13:15).
Do not wait to make a decision for Christ for tomorrow is promised to no one but NOW is the time of salvation. Call on Jesus' name for the forgiveness of your sins and be counted among the myriads whose names are found in the Lamb's Book of Life:
"The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the Book of Life" (Revelation 3:5).
Maranatha!
(Unless otherwise specified in the bylines, the above posts have been written by the author and owner of this blog. Images courtesy of WHY?Outreach.)
