Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
The Case for Pre-Trib Rapture in Luke 17
By Gene Lawley
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Luke 17:26-35 Jesus links the incidents of Noah and Lot with the coming Day of the Lord, the coming of the Son of Man. Those passages recording the judgments of Noah’s day and that of Lot are at Genesis 6-8, and Genesis 18-19, respectively.
The passage in Luke reads as follows (NKJV): “And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man; they ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
“Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot, they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built, but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife.
“Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you in that night there will be two men in one bed; the one will be taken and the other will be left. Two women will be grinding together; the one will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field; the one will be taken and the other left.”
To analyze the statements of Jesus under the umbrella of the time-line of events in the last days, I have thought to take them in segments of activities described, as this:
1. Activities of mankind when God intercedes.
2. The day “Noah entered the ark and Lot went out of Sodom”.
3. What happens to individuals “on that day”.
4. (On that day) judgments came upon those left behind.
A Population Primed for Surprise
The activities of people around the world are the normal, daily activities of people in the normal course of life. They are eating, drinking, sleeping, buying, selling, building, marrying and giving in marriage. There is no evidence seen of the judgments of Revelation 6-19, when, if one thinks clearly on it, people will be concentrating on only one main thing—mere survival of life.
For example, Revelation 16:4 tells us that the waters will be turned to blood, and elsewhere, so will the seas. Things inhabiting the seas will die. It is surely reasonable to think that there will be no fishing industry, no market for fishing boats or gear and tackle.
The same situation will occur in all industries and activities around the earth. That should raise a bright flag of warning to those who hold to the deception that the rapture will not happen until the end of the seven-year tribulation period.
Don’t count on being able to put off a commitment to Christ until you can see the end approaching. It will not delay, but will come upon us “as a thief at night”. That deception of delay is a tool of the enemy.
But, then, some say that it does not get that bad until half-way through the tribulation, or, at least, until the wrath of God kicks in, as we have been told, between the fifth and sixth seals of Revelation 6 (where the word “wrath” is first used).
Just take another look at the accompanying devastation and despair that will be associated with the advent of the four horsemen of Revelation 6. Will the ship of state be sailing through smooth and still waters during those days? Natural disasters in our present experiences, alone, have shown that life as normally experienced will not be happening. Add to that the economic demise we are already enduring, and it will certainly challenge any claim that the coming of our Lord will delay until after the tribulation begins. Remember? Jesus did not include “turmoil and despair” as any dominating concern in the activities of those days just before the coming of the Lord’s judgments.
Also notice that it is Jesus who is the one opening the seals of judgment, the only one worthy to do so. Whose wrath, then, is it, which propels these four horsemen forth to do their dirty work? In God’s eyes it is wrathful judgment; in Satan’s eyes it is the progress of his purpose to conquer the earth. This is the beginning of sorrows.
A parallel passage in I Thessalonians 5:2-3 seems to lay out the same pattern, and describes it as a time that will come as a thief in the night: “for you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night, for when they say ‘Peace and safety!’, then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape.”
The element of sudden surprise is couched in a backdrop of apparent unreadiness and lack of alertness.
In the Twinkling of An Eye
The sudden transformation of believers from mortal to immortal, and “corruption to incorruption”, as described in I Corinthians 15:50-54 will have no prior notice issued. There will be no time to clean up the mess we are leaving behind, or even say “goodbye” to those around us. The things of this world that are a part of us—our clothing, eyeglasses, wedding rings, wrist watch, pocket change—these will be left, right where we will have been seated or standing. What a surprise, too, will it be for those nearby, when believers are caught up to meet the Lord in the air!
God actually put Noah and his family in the ark and closed the door on them, then waited seven days before the rains came. Perhaps this was to bring the magnitude of sinfulness of those outside to a greater awareness and conviction. It is unclear, yet judgment came just as surely as proclaimed.
The angels had a struggle with Lot, however; he was reluctant to leave, and the angel said, “Hurry. Escape there [to a nearby city], for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Genesis 19:22. God would not bring destruction until the believers were out of danger!
Jesus brought this forward as an illustration of how things will fall into place in that day of His coming. It is a clear validation of the promise in Revelation 3:10, “…I also will keep you from the hour of trial to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”
The somewhat controversial passage in II Thessalonians 2:6-7, where Paul writes of the role of the “restrainer” in the time frame of the last days, clearly parallels the accounts of the rapture of believers in I Corinthians 15:50-54 and I Thessalonians 4:16-17, as well as the illustrations of that event in the accounts of Noah and Lot.
Identitifying the restrainer is not difficult when we realize that entity’s removal is the main point of comment in connection with God’s allowance of the free reign of lawlessness in the world, in preparation for His final judgment.
The only entity that has ever stood in the way of the progress of evil is the church whose head is the Lord Jesus Christ. He promised His Spirit to the disciples in a special new way in John 14:17, “…for He dwells with you and will be in you”. That restrainer is the Holy Spirit indwelt body of Christ, the church, and its removal from the path of evil opens up the next step in the plan of God.
Then Judgments Came
The earlier passage in I Thessalonians 5:3 describes the judgments as “a sudden destruction, as birth pangs upon a pregnant woman”, which actually come without reservation, gradually increasing in intensity until the event is culminated. Just in this way are the judgments of Revelation 6-19 laid out, increasing in intensity until that final great battle when the Lord takes out the enemy by the power of His might. Those days will not be days of normal life as we have known it. It will be terrible, for there will not be any tolerance for righteousness. The evilness of man will rise to great heights, beyond all imagination. Evil will reign supreme…until Jesus comes.
However, the whole of scripture bears out the time-line of events that pinpoints the rapture’s occurrence before the beginning of the seven years of tribulation, the “time of Jacob’s trouble”, (Jeremiah 30:7), not that of the church.
The harvest time of the Great Commission is over. The church is gone. God has another plan for the 70th week.
By Gene Lawley
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Luke 17:26-35 Jesus links the incidents of Noah and Lot with the coming Day of the Lord, the coming of the Son of Man. Those passages recording the judgments of Noah’s day and that of Lot are at Genesis 6-8, and Genesis 18-19, respectively.
The passage in Luke reads as follows (NKJV): “And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man; they ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
“Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot, they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built, but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife.
“Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you in that night there will be two men in one bed; the one will be taken and the other will be left. Two women will be grinding together; the one will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field; the one will be taken and the other left.”
To analyze the statements of Jesus under the umbrella of the time-line of events in the last days, I have thought to take them in segments of activities described, as this:
1. Activities of mankind when God intercedes.
2. The day “Noah entered the ark and Lot went out of Sodom”.
3. What happens to individuals “on that day”.
4. (On that day) judgments came upon those left behind.
A Population Primed for Surprise
The activities of people around the world are the normal, daily activities of people in the normal course of life. They are eating, drinking, sleeping, buying, selling, building, marrying and giving in marriage. There is no evidence seen of the judgments of Revelation 6-19, when, if one thinks clearly on it, people will be concentrating on only one main thing—mere survival of life.
For example, Revelation 16:4 tells us that the waters will be turned to blood, and elsewhere, so will the seas. Things inhabiting the seas will die. It is surely reasonable to think that there will be no fishing industry, no market for fishing boats or gear and tackle.
The same situation will occur in all industries and activities around the earth. That should raise a bright flag of warning to those who hold to the deception that the rapture will not happen until the end of the seven-year tribulation period.
Don’t count on being able to put off a commitment to Christ until you can see the end approaching. It will not delay, but will come upon us “as a thief at night”. That deception of delay is a tool of the enemy.
But, then, some say that it does not get that bad until half-way through the tribulation, or, at least, until the wrath of God kicks in, as we have been told, between the fifth and sixth seals of Revelation 6 (where the word “wrath” is first used).
Just take another look at the accompanying devastation and despair that will be associated with the advent of the four horsemen of Revelation 6. Will the ship of state be sailing through smooth and still waters during those days? Natural disasters in our present experiences, alone, have shown that life as normally experienced will not be happening. Add to that the economic demise we are already enduring, and it will certainly challenge any claim that the coming of our Lord will delay until after the tribulation begins. Remember? Jesus did not include “turmoil and despair” as any dominating concern in the activities of those days just before the coming of the Lord’s judgments.
Also notice that it is Jesus who is the one opening the seals of judgment, the only one worthy to do so. Whose wrath, then, is it, which propels these four horsemen forth to do their dirty work? In God’s eyes it is wrathful judgment; in Satan’s eyes it is the progress of his purpose to conquer the earth. This is the beginning of sorrows.
A parallel passage in I Thessalonians 5:2-3 seems to lay out the same pattern, and describes it as a time that will come as a thief in the night: “for you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night, for when they say ‘Peace and safety!’, then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape.”
The element of sudden surprise is couched in a backdrop of apparent unreadiness and lack of alertness.
In the Twinkling of An Eye
The sudden transformation of believers from mortal to immortal, and “corruption to incorruption”, as described in I Corinthians 15:50-54 will have no prior notice issued. There will be no time to clean up the mess we are leaving behind, or even say “goodbye” to those around us. The things of this world that are a part of us—our clothing, eyeglasses, wedding rings, wrist watch, pocket change—these will be left, right where we will have been seated or standing. What a surprise, too, will it be for those nearby, when believers are caught up to meet the Lord in the air!
God actually put Noah and his family in the ark and closed the door on them, then waited seven days before the rains came. Perhaps this was to bring the magnitude of sinfulness of those outside to a greater awareness and conviction. It is unclear, yet judgment came just as surely as proclaimed.
The angels had a struggle with Lot, however; he was reluctant to leave, and the angel said, “Hurry. Escape there [to a nearby city], for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Genesis 19:22. God would not bring destruction until the believers were out of danger!
Jesus brought this forward as an illustration of how things will fall into place in that day of His coming. It is a clear validation of the promise in Revelation 3:10, “…I also will keep you from the hour of trial to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”
The somewhat controversial passage in II Thessalonians 2:6-7, where Paul writes of the role of the “restrainer” in the time frame of the last days, clearly parallels the accounts of the rapture of believers in I Corinthians 15:50-54 and I Thessalonians 4:16-17, as well as the illustrations of that event in the accounts of Noah and Lot.
Identitifying the restrainer is not difficult when we realize that entity’s removal is the main point of comment in connection with God’s allowance of the free reign of lawlessness in the world, in preparation for His final judgment.
The only entity that has ever stood in the way of the progress of evil is the church whose head is the Lord Jesus Christ. He promised His Spirit to the disciples in a special new way in John 14:17, “…for He dwells with you and will be in you”. That restrainer is the Holy Spirit indwelt body of Christ, the church, and its removal from the path of evil opens up the next step in the plan of God.
Then Judgments Came
The earlier passage in I Thessalonians 5:3 describes the judgments as “a sudden destruction, as birth pangs upon a pregnant woman”, which actually come without reservation, gradually increasing in intensity until the event is culminated. Just in this way are the judgments of Revelation 6-19 laid out, increasing in intensity until that final great battle when the Lord takes out the enemy by the power of His might. Those days will not be days of normal life as we have known it. It will be terrible, for there will not be any tolerance for righteousness. The evilness of man will rise to great heights, beyond all imagination. Evil will reign supreme…until Jesus comes.
However, the whole of scripture bears out the time-line of events that pinpoints the rapture’s occurrence before the beginning of the seven years of tribulation, the “time of Jacob’s trouble”, (Jeremiah 30:7), not that of the church.
The harvest time of the Great Commission is over. The church is gone. God has another plan for the 70th week.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
The Second Coming
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At the time of the 6th Bowl judgment, Satan will send 3 demonic emissaries with miraculous powers to persuade all the Kings of the Earth to gather their armies at Har Megiddo, known to us as Armageddon (Rev. 16:14,) Mt. Megiddo overlooks the plains of Jezreel in central Israel, where the world's armies will come together for the battle of Jerusalem, less than 100 miles to the south. The anti-Christ will invade Israel and set up headquarters in Jerusalem (Daniel 11:41.45). According to Zechariah, the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. (Zech 14:2)
Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations as He fights in the day of battle (Zech 14:3). In Rev. 16:14 John called this the battle on the great day of God Almighty, and it will all be over in less than one day. But which day? Jesus said, "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” (Matt. 24:42) Let's see if we can piece the various scripture references together to make some sense of the chain of events.
Lights Off
He told us that “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.” (Matt. 24:29)
480 years earlier He had Zechariah say, “On that day (the day of the battle) there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime—a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light.” (Zech 14:6-7) That tells us this battle will follow on the heels of the Great Tribulation and occur during the time when there's no light on Earth, on a day only the Lord will know. I think this time of darkness will be a brief one, perhaps just a few days long. It only has to last long enough to make the Lord's statement that no one would know the day or hour of His return come true.
Picture the armies of Earth gathered in Israel knowing they're going up against the King of Kings in the final round of the battle for control of Planet Earth. Babylon the Great will have just been destroyed (Rev. 18) and you'd think they would have had enough. But obviously they've been emboldened by Satan's demonic emissaries. The miraculous signs these three display will convince them they have the necessary force to prevail. Then without warning the whole world will be plunged into absolute darkness with no Sun, no Moon, no stars to illuminate the endless expanse of the night sky. Everything will come to a standstill. Where is their enemy? Why doesn't He come out and fight?
Suddenly 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. (Matt. 24:30) At that moment they'll realize their mistake, their confidence will evaporate, and they'll wish with all their heart they hadn't listened to Satan's emissaries. But it'll be too late for that.
John described the ensuing battle this way.
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. (Rev. 19:11-15)
Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. (Rev. 19:19-21)
The Armies of Earth will quickly discover that their worst fears have become reality. They're no match for the Lord. The sword that comes from His mouth is obviously symbolic, standing for His Word. Having spoken the universe into existence, defeating this army with the word of His mouth will be no challenge. The armies of Heaven won't even get their robes dirty. But the Kings of the Earth will realize they've been misled by Satan once again, and this time it will prove to be a fatal mistake.
On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea (Dead Sea) and half to the western sea, (Mediterranean) in summer and in winter. (Zech 14:8)
From Ezekiel 47:2 we learn that the water comes from the Temple, flowing south into a great ravine formed by an earthquake that will occur when the Lord's foot touches the Mt. of Olives (Zech 14:4). This ravine will run west to east from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea, forming the bed of the mighty River of Life (Ezek. 47:1-12, Rev. 22:1-2). Splitting the Mt. Of Olives means it will go straight through the current Temple Mount, eliminating all traces of it. Since the water flows south it means the Temple built at the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week will have been located to the North of the current Mount. Last time we identified its location as Shiloh, 20 miles north of Jerusalem.
The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name. (Zech 14:9)
This is a long awaited fulfillment of prophecy. Within a few short days, everyone on Earth will stand before King Jesus and agree that He is Lord of all the Earth. Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:9-11) Tragically, many will not have confessed Him as their Savior, and now it's too late. As they depart to begin an eternity of torment they'll have to admit that as Lord, He has the right to banish them. Even worse, they'll know that He died for their sins, but they refused the pardon His death purchased for them, and the time for claiming it expired with His Coming.
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. (Rev. 20:1-3)
Lights On
The anti-Christ and false prophet will have been cast into the Lake of Fire, and Satan will be bound. Finally peace will come to Earth. Zechariah said that in the evening of that day there will be light (Zech. 14:7), but Jesus said the Sun would go dark to mark the end of the Great Tribulation. Where will the light come from?
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (Rev. 21:2-3)
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. (Rev. 21:23-25)
Believers who died before the Church age will rise from their graves (Daniel 12:2), accompanied by Tribulation Martyrs (Rev. 20:4). Together they'll witness the Glorious Appearing of the Lord and join the grateful multitude in welcoming Him to Earth. The Creation itself will have been waiting in eager expectation of this day, when it will finally be liberated from it's bondage to decay. (Romans 8:19-21)
The Lord's first order of business upon returning will be to summon all the survivors of the Great Tribulation to determine their disposition. First the Jew,
Jesus said to them (the Disciples), "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.(Matt. 19:28)
then the Gentile.
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (Matt. 25:31-32)
This prophecy first appeared in Joel 3:1-2. "In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.”
The parables of the Faithful Servant, the Ten Virgins, and the Talents in Matt. 24-25 also describe this time of judgment that I believe will consume the Lord's first 30 days back on Earth. The net result of these events is that surviving Tribulation believers will be welcomed into the Millennial Kingdom, while unbelievers will be taken away to begin an eternity of torment (Matt. 24:51, 25:30, 25:41)
Next will come the business of establishing His Kingdom. The Temple, defiled by the abomination of desolation, will be cleansed and made fit for service again like its predecessor of Maccabean days. The new levitical priesthood, led by the descendants of Zadok, will be installed (Ezekiel 44:10-16) to officiate therein. The promised Land will be divided and re-distributed to the Jews (Ezekiel 48:1-29) while believing Gentiles will be sent to re-populate the nations. Governmental and administrative systems will be put into place.
This will require an additional 45 days. These two periods were hinted at in Daniel 12:11-12.
"From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. 12 Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.
The Great Tribulation will be 1260 days long. 30 days to judge the survivors brings us to 1290 days and 45 more to set up the Kingdom totals 1335. Blessed is the one who reaches this time because he will be counted among those who've been judged worthy to inhabit the kingdom. Every one will be a believer.
So as the Millennium begins there will finally be peace on Earth, a peace so real they'll be able to feel it. The Lord will be King of all the Earth and His name will be the only name (Zech 14:8). More next time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At the time of the 6th Bowl judgment, Satan will send 3 demonic emissaries with miraculous powers to persuade all the Kings of the Earth to gather their armies at Har Megiddo, known to us as Armageddon (Rev. 16:14,) Mt. Megiddo overlooks the plains of Jezreel in central Israel, where the world's armies will come together for the battle of Jerusalem, less than 100 miles to the south. The anti-Christ will invade Israel and set up headquarters in Jerusalem (Daniel 11:41.45). According to Zechariah, the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. (Zech 14:2)
Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations as He fights in the day of battle (Zech 14:3). In Rev. 16:14 John called this the battle on the great day of God Almighty, and it will all be over in less than one day. But which day? Jesus said, "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” (Matt. 24:42) Let's see if we can piece the various scripture references together to make some sense of the chain of events.
Lights Off
He told us that “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.” (Matt. 24:29)
480 years earlier He had Zechariah say, “On that day (the day of the battle) there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime—a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light.” (Zech 14:6-7) That tells us this battle will follow on the heels of the Great Tribulation and occur during the time when there's no light on Earth, on a day only the Lord will know. I think this time of darkness will be a brief one, perhaps just a few days long. It only has to last long enough to make the Lord's statement that no one would know the day or hour of His return come true.
Picture the armies of Earth gathered in Israel knowing they're going up against the King of Kings in the final round of the battle for control of Planet Earth. Babylon the Great will have just been destroyed (Rev. 18) and you'd think they would have had enough. But obviously they've been emboldened by Satan's demonic emissaries. The miraculous signs these three display will convince them they have the necessary force to prevail. Then without warning the whole world will be plunged into absolute darkness with no Sun, no Moon, no stars to illuminate the endless expanse of the night sky. Everything will come to a standstill. Where is their enemy? Why doesn't He come out and fight?
Suddenly 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. (Matt. 24:30) At that moment they'll realize their mistake, their confidence will evaporate, and they'll wish with all their heart they hadn't listened to Satan's emissaries. But it'll be too late for that.
John described the ensuing battle this way.
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. (Rev. 19:11-15)
Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. (Rev. 19:19-21)
The Armies of Earth will quickly discover that their worst fears have become reality. They're no match for the Lord. The sword that comes from His mouth is obviously symbolic, standing for His Word. Having spoken the universe into existence, defeating this army with the word of His mouth will be no challenge. The armies of Heaven won't even get their robes dirty. But the Kings of the Earth will realize they've been misled by Satan once again, and this time it will prove to be a fatal mistake.
On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea (Dead Sea) and half to the western sea, (Mediterranean) in summer and in winter. (Zech 14:8)
From Ezekiel 47:2 we learn that the water comes from the Temple, flowing south into a great ravine formed by an earthquake that will occur when the Lord's foot touches the Mt. of Olives (Zech 14:4). This ravine will run west to east from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea, forming the bed of the mighty River of Life (Ezek. 47:1-12, Rev. 22:1-2). Splitting the Mt. Of Olives means it will go straight through the current Temple Mount, eliminating all traces of it. Since the water flows south it means the Temple built at the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week will have been located to the North of the current Mount. Last time we identified its location as Shiloh, 20 miles north of Jerusalem.
The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name. (Zech 14:9)
This is a long awaited fulfillment of prophecy. Within a few short days, everyone on Earth will stand before King Jesus and agree that He is Lord of all the Earth. Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:9-11) Tragically, many will not have confessed Him as their Savior, and now it's too late. As they depart to begin an eternity of torment they'll have to admit that as Lord, He has the right to banish them. Even worse, they'll know that He died for their sins, but they refused the pardon His death purchased for them, and the time for claiming it expired with His Coming.
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. (Rev. 20:1-3)
Lights On
The anti-Christ and false prophet will have been cast into the Lake of Fire, and Satan will be bound. Finally peace will come to Earth. Zechariah said that in the evening of that day there will be light (Zech. 14:7), but Jesus said the Sun would go dark to mark the end of the Great Tribulation. Where will the light come from?
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (Rev. 21:2-3)
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. (Rev. 21:23-25)
Believers who died before the Church age will rise from their graves (Daniel 12:2), accompanied by Tribulation Martyrs (Rev. 20:4). Together they'll witness the Glorious Appearing of the Lord and join the grateful multitude in welcoming Him to Earth. The Creation itself will have been waiting in eager expectation of this day, when it will finally be liberated from it's bondage to decay. (Romans 8:19-21)
The Lord's first order of business upon returning will be to summon all the survivors of the Great Tribulation to determine their disposition. First the Jew,
Jesus said to them (the Disciples), "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.(Matt. 19:28)
then the Gentile.
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (Matt. 25:31-32)
This prophecy first appeared in Joel 3:1-2. "In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.”
The parables of the Faithful Servant, the Ten Virgins, and the Talents in Matt. 24-25 also describe this time of judgment that I believe will consume the Lord's first 30 days back on Earth. The net result of these events is that surviving Tribulation believers will be welcomed into the Millennial Kingdom, while unbelievers will be taken away to begin an eternity of torment (Matt. 24:51, 25:30, 25:41)
Next will come the business of establishing His Kingdom. The Temple, defiled by the abomination of desolation, will be cleansed and made fit for service again like its predecessor of Maccabean days. The new levitical priesthood, led by the descendants of Zadok, will be installed (Ezekiel 44:10-16) to officiate therein. The promised Land will be divided and re-distributed to the Jews (Ezekiel 48:1-29) while believing Gentiles will be sent to re-populate the nations. Governmental and administrative systems will be put into place.
This will require an additional 45 days. These two periods were hinted at in Daniel 12:11-12.
"From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. 12 Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.
The Great Tribulation will be 1260 days long. 30 days to judge the survivors brings us to 1290 days and 45 more to set up the Kingdom totals 1335. Blessed is the one who reaches this time because he will be counted among those who've been judged worthy to inhabit the kingdom. Every one will be a believer.
So as the Millennium begins there will finally be peace on Earth, a peace so real they'll be able to feel it. The Lord will be King of all the Earth and His name will be the only name (Zech 14:8). More next time.
Friday, August 6, 2010
DROWNING?
By Tim Cameron
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John 3:17 (New King James Version)
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
How could a loving God create a hell? If a loving God created mankind with a free will and choice....He also gave them the choice between life and death ..heaven or hell.
I have a son...I love him more than anything. I would NEVER want him to die...that's NOT my choice and I have rules set forth for his protection..he's not old enough to drive yet...but when the day does come that he can drive ..I will set forth boundaries ...and one most certainly would be to not drive around a hair pin curve at a high speed. Now if I ..the loving dad...buy my son a car...give him the keys and allow him the gift of driving a car but he disobeys.....driving his car 100 mph around a curve and dies.....is it my fault?
God didn't create man for hell...He created man for LIFE and that more abundantly....satan ...followed by man's rebellion created the need for hell. Man's choices created cemetaries....God created Adam and Eve to never die..but gave them the choice....eternal life or forbidden fruit...."the soul that sins shall die" ...but if you sin not ...you will live and never die...you know the rest of the story right? How we can we blame God for a destiny we choose?
Individual sins do NOT send us to Hell they lead us to death..."the soul that sins shall die" but REJECTION of Jesus Christ is what leads us to eternal damnation''
It's like this.......you are drowning in a huge body of water (your sins) and a helicopter comes out to where you are...a man jumps down and lifts you up into the helicopter....yet you choose to jump back into the water.
"While we all were yet lost in our sins (drowning) Christ had already died for us" to go to hell you have to "neglect such a great a salvation" You have to Reject Jesus Christ...BUT WHY WOULD YOU?
RIGHT NOW...someone is reading this who is drowning in sin and shame...your bound in addictions...alcohol, meth, coke, porn, lust or whatever it may be and those things are tearing your life apart...
I once heard a story of a young man who was surfing and fell off his surfboard and was overcome with the waves crashing down and began to drown
His mother was there as were his friends and began to scream for the lifeguards on duty....to please help save the young man
quickly a lifeguard ran to the edge of the shore and then stopped....watching the young man fight for his life...
The mom became livid and screamed "PLEASE" "HELP" "PLEASE" ...but still the lifeguard just stood there...watching UNTIL
...the young man's strength was gone.. and with one last gasp he screamed for HELP .and he began to go under
The Lifeguard dove into the water and rescued the young man
bringing him back to safety and saving his life
However the Mother, though Relieved, sternly asked the lifeguard...WHY Did you take so long to save my son's life??
The Lifeguard replied, mam I had to wait til he stopped trying to save himself and lost all strength because If I didn't he would have drowned us both
....This World and it's vices have grabbed ahold of you and are sucking you under.....And your reaching and striving ...for anything to save you....but you've reached out for Meth, or "Bliss" or Jack Daniels...and now you've gotten to a point where you're having to lie and steal to get another fix,...take another drink.....and nothing will stop you........but YOUR DROWNING...The Flood waters are rising .....
Man, I've been there.....I know what it's like to "have to have something" take that edge off....you start with 6 pack a night or this pill or that pill ..."just to sleep" you say to justify
but then ..."it's not enough" ....so you bump up to something stronger....and it's stronger for sure...
you can't remember how you made it to the bed the night before..."what did I do? ..your world spins....your soooo tired ..how can I make through work....."take this" it'll get ya through.....but it's sucking you under instead....cause you'll need more and something stronger ...and it cost you more than you can pay
how can I get to another high, how can I get to another drink?
Waves are crashing...your marriage is falling apart, your about to lose your job if you haven't already...you've alienated everyone who'd be there to help...you've betrayed their trust and lied to their face...FOR A HIGH...but have really hit an all time low
your anxiety level is off the charts..your heart races, your head pounds....your lost and dying and unable to save yourself.....
Where is HOPE?????
There's a lifeguard....He's standing on the shore...watching and waiting...other's ON YOUR BEHALF have beckoned him (a mom or grandma's prayers)
But YOU Have to Cry out ..."JESUS Save ME" ...
right now...as you read this, if this person is you....and you hear this and say "yeah but for real....what can I really do?"
Get off this computer...get onto your knees and humble yourself and acknowledge you need SAVING
Don't be proud, don't lie to yourself no more....Get Real.....ADMIT THAT YOU
you are that person drowning in the lake (of sin) and Jesus has come to You and is reaching down to where you are at...Take Hold of His Hand and NEVER LET GO and I promise you this He WILL NEVER LET GO OF YOU!!!!!
By Tim Cameron
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John 3:17 (New King James Version)
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
How could a loving God create a hell? If a loving God created mankind with a free will and choice....He also gave them the choice between life and death ..heaven or hell.
I have a son...I love him more than anything. I would NEVER want him to die...that's NOT my choice and I have rules set forth for his protection..he's not old enough to drive yet...but when the day does come that he can drive ..I will set forth boundaries ...and one most certainly would be to not drive around a hair pin curve at a high speed. Now if I ..the loving dad...buy my son a car...give him the keys and allow him the gift of driving a car but he disobeys.....driving his car 100 mph around a curve and dies.....is it my fault?
God didn't create man for hell...He created man for LIFE and that more abundantly....satan ...followed by man's rebellion created the need for hell. Man's choices created cemetaries....God created Adam and Eve to never die..but gave them the choice....eternal life or forbidden fruit...."the soul that sins shall die" ...but if you sin not ...you will live and never die...you know the rest of the story right? How we can we blame God for a destiny we choose?
Individual sins do NOT send us to Hell they lead us to death..."the soul that sins shall die" but REJECTION of Jesus Christ is what leads us to eternal damnation''
It's like this.......you are drowning in a huge body of water (your sins) and a helicopter comes out to where you are...a man jumps down and lifts you up into the helicopter....yet you choose to jump back into the water.
"While we all were yet lost in our sins (drowning) Christ had already died for us" to go to hell you have to "neglect such a great a salvation" You have to Reject Jesus Christ...BUT WHY WOULD YOU?
RIGHT NOW...someone is reading this who is drowning in sin and shame...your bound in addictions...alcohol, meth, coke, porn, lust or whatever it may be and those things are tearing your life apart...
I once heard a story of a young man who was surfing and fell off his surfboard and was overcome with the waves crashing down and began to drown
His mother was there as were his friends and began to scream for the lifeguards on duty....to please help save the young man
quickly a lifeguard ran to the edge of the shore and then stopped....watching the young man fight for his life...
The mom became livid and screamed "PLEASE" "HELP" "PLEASE" ...but still the lifeguard just stood there...watching UNTIL
...the young man's strength was gone.. and with one last gasp he screamed for HELP .and he began to go under
The Lifeguard dove into the water and rescued the young man
bringing him back to safety and saving his life
However the Mother, though Relieved, sternly asked the lifeguard...WHY Did you take so long to save my son's life??
The Lifeguard replied, mam I had to wait til he stopped trying to save himself and lost all strength because If I didn't he would have drowned us both
....This World and it's vices have grabbed ahold of you and are sucking you under.....And your reaching and striving ...for anything to save you....but you've reached out for Meth, or "Bliss" or Jack Daniels...and now you've gotten to a point where you're having to lie and steal to get another fix,...take another drink.....and nothing will stop you........but YOUR DROWNING...The Flood waters are rising .....
Man, I've been there.....I know what it's like to "have to have something" take that edge off....you start with 6 pack a night or this pill or that pill ..."just to sleep" you say to justify
but then ..."it's not enough" ....so you bump up to something stronger....and it's stronger for sure...
you can't remember how you made it to the bed the night before..."what did I do? ..your world spins....your soooo tired ..how can I make through work....."take this" it'll get ya through.....but it's sucking you under instead....cause you'll need more and something stronger ...and it cost you more than you can pay
how can I get to another high, how can I get to another drink?
Waves are crashing...your marriage is falling apart, your about to lose your job if you haven't already...you've alienated everyone who'd be there to help...you've betrayed their trust and lied to their face...FOR A HIGH...but have really hit an all time low
your anxiety level is off the charts..your heart races, your head pounds....your lost and dying and unable to save yourself.....
Where is HOPE?????
There's a lifeguard....He's standing on the shore...watching and waiting...other's ON YOUR BEHALF have beckoned him (a mom or grandma's prayers)
But YOU Have to Cry out ..."JESUS Save ME" ...
right now...as you read this, if this person is you....and you hear this and say "yeah but for real....what can I really do?"
Get off this computer...get onto your knees and humble yourself and acknowledge you need SAVING
Don't be proud, don't lie to yourself no more....Get Real.....ADMIT THAT YOU
you are that person drowning in the lake (of sin) and Jesus has come to You and is reaching down to where you are at...Take Hold of His Hand and NEVER LET GO and I promise you this He WILL NEVER LET GO OF YOU!!!!!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
The Late Great U.S.A.
by Thomas Ice
"My son, fear the Lord and the king; do not associate with those who are given to change; for their calamity will rise suddenly, and who knows the ruin that comes from both of them?" Proverbs 24:21-22
Former Clinton advisor and commentator Dick Morris announced:
"On April 2, 2009, the work of July 4, 1776 was nullified at the meeting of the G-20 in London."[1]
That is an amazing statement and a tragedy if true. One of my best friends in the ministry, with whom I have co-authored two books, Mark Hitchcock wrote a book, which was finished before last November's election, entitled The Late Great United States.[2] There are two other books listed on amazon.com with similar titles. Why are many concerned that our great country is on the verge of extinction?
Change
It is said after the close of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that a lady asked Dr. Ben Franklin the following: "Well Doctor what have we got a republic or a monarchy?" "A republic" replied the Doctor..."if you can keep it."[3] Well, apparently a growing number of Americans think that we have lost it after about 220 years. Some are suggesting that it was lost via suicide. What have we received in return for our once great republic? We are now part of an international oligarchy run by a bunch of global elites. How did this happen and when did this change take place?
Like many things that bring change, it has not taken place overnight. America has been gradually moving toward socialism for the last hundred years, but I do not want to trace that history in this article. I want to focus on recent events that are producing so much change since the election of Barack Obama as president of these United States.
Dick Morris notes that Obama at the recent meeting of the G-20 in London has agreed to enter the United States into an economical arrangement that will regulate our economy in terms of the international interests of this European dominated oligarchy at the expense of American interests. The agreement by which Obama has obligated the United States is called the Financial Stability Board (FSB), which is "a body of central bankers from each of the G-20 states and the European Union."[4] The head of the FSB is Mario Draghi, Italy's central bank president. In a speech on February 21, 2009, he gave us clues to his thinking. He noted that "the progress we have made in revising the global regulatory framework . . . would have been unthinkable just months ago."[5]
"Obama, perhaps feeling guilty for the US role in triggering the international crisis, has, indeed, given away the store," notes Morris. "Now we may no longer look to presidential appointees, confirmed by the Senate, to make policy for our economy. These decisions will be made internationally."[6]
So what does this mean specifically for the American economy? Morris said to Greta Van Susteren on Fox News the following:
Literally from April 2nd of this year-that is, today-it's a whole new world of financial regulation in which, essentially, all of the U.S. regulatory bodies and all U.S. companies are put under international regulation, international supervision. It really amounts to a global economic government.
. . . Just when Obama is accused of socialism, he's essentially creating world economic governance. This means that the FSB, . . . will make the decisions on what standards our own SEC and Federal Reserve board should apply to all firms in the United States of any significant size about executive compensation, market activities, and a whole range of issues that used to be under free enterprise reserved for private decision making.[7]
A New World Order
In 1989 President George H. Bush spoke of a new world order in one of his speeches. However, it produced a flurry of criticism and he stopped using the term in public. Many have known for a long time that the phrase "new world order" is essentially a code word for global socialism. The last couple of years, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown can hardly give a speech without making reference to the new world order. During a speech he recently gave in conjunction with the G-20 summit in London, sounding like a twenty-first century Neville Chamberlain, Brown said the following about the new world order:
"This is Collective action, people working together at their best . . . I think the New World Order is emerging, and with it the foundations of a new and progressive era of international cooperation...From today we will together manage the process of globalization...To secure responsibility from all and fairness to all."[8]
In January 2009, Henry Kissinger made a remark about the new world order during an interview with CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" hosts Mark Haines and Erin Burnett at the New York Stock Exchange. When Burnett asked him what international conflict would define the Obama administration's foreign policy, Kissinger said the following:
"The president-elect is coming into office at a moment when there is upheaval in many parts of the world simultaneously," Kissinger responded. "You have India, Pakistan; you have the jihadist movement. So he can't really say there is one problem, that it's the most important one. But he can give new impetus to American foreign policy partly because the reception of him is so extraordinary around the world. His task will be to develop an overall strategy for America in this period when, really, a new world order can be created. It's a great opportunity, it isn't just a crisis."[9]
No one can doubt that President Obama is currently taking advantage of the crisis. After all, Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have both noted that a crisis is a terrible thing to waste.
Further the Chinese and Russians have called for a new global currency that would replace the dollar and would not represent any specific country. They want the new global currency to be issued by the World Bank, which is something that seemed impossible this time last year but now could be a very real possibility in the near future.
The European Union
Dick Morris not only emphasizes that the United States is now locked into the matrix of a global economic oligarchy but it is one that will be primarily under the control of the European Union.
"You know, I've had a long experience in dealing with the European Union, and this is how they operate," explains Morris. "And in the meantime, they slip this in under the radar, which is absolutely creating an international economic union."[10]
Then Morris concluded with amazement, "This truly creates a global economic system. From now on, don't look to Washington for the rule making, look to Brussels."[11]
Thus, from a prophetic view, the Bible teaches that the tribulation will be a time in which there will be not only a global government during the last half of the seven-year tribulation, but that governance will emanate from the Revived Roman Empire. This means a Euro-centric power base is what we can expect and that is exactly what is developing. Morris concludes his article with the following comment:
"The Europeans have been trying to get their hands on our financial system for decades. It is essential to them that they rein in American free enterprise so that their socialist heaven will not be polluted by vices such as the profit motive. Now, with President Obama's approval, they have done it."[12]
Conclusion
Where are all of these explosive trends heading? As Bible prophecy predicts, there will be a one world government during the seven-year tribulation, headed by a person we know as the Antichrist. Since the Antichrist will arise out of the Revived Roman Empire, which the European Union appears to be setting the stage for just such an entity, we should not be surprised to see things trending in that direction even before the rapture.
Previously, the United States was often the one standing in the way of a global economy and government. We are not yet there, but who can doubt that since the beginning of the Obama presidency that we are indeed seeing change and moving into harmony with the one world government crowd. In the past the United States stood in the way and acted in her national interest, as I believe we should still do, but now we are the last domino to fall and nothing of significance appears to stand in the way of globalism. Only the future return of Christ after the tribulation will really bring change for Christians.
I have noticed on the internet that certain Bible prophecy ministries are noting the very things that I have just outlined and often call these things a "fulfillment" of Bible prophecy. Such language is an overstatement and an incorrect conclusion drawn from the signs of our times. Instead, it is best to see these events as preparation for fulfillment, which will take place during the tribulation that we are currently not yet in. We are seeing the stage being set for future events. Such stage-setting certainly is moving our pre-rapture world toward the one world government and economy that is predicted by Bible prophecy for this future time.
There are so many events taking place each day one can hardly keep up with them. Nevertheless, we are to always be looking up for Him. Maranatha!
Endnotes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Dick Morris, "The Declaration of Independence has been Repealed" (DickMorris.com, April 6, 2009).
[2] Mark Hitchcock, The Late Great United States: What Bible Prophecy Reveals about America's Last Days (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Books, 2009).
[3] Cited at Bartleby.com, number 1593.
[4] Morris, "The Declaration . . ."
[5] Morris, "The Declaration . . ."
[6] Morris, "The Declaration . . ."
[7] Dick Morris, "Obama a 'Disaster' at the G20 Summit," on Greta Van Susteren, "On the Record" (FoxNews.com: April 3, 2009).
[8] David Hinz, "Gordon Brown Declares New World Order is Emerging" (www.theminorityreportblog.com, April 2, 2009).
[9] Drew Zahn, "Kissinger: Obama primed to create 'New World Order'" (www.worldnetdaily.com: January 6, 2009).
[10] Morris, "Obama a 'Disaster'"
[11] Morris, "Obama a 'Disaster'"
[12] Morris, "The Declaration . . ."
by Thomas Ice
"My son, fear the Lord and the king; do not associate with those who are given to change; for their calamity will rise suddenly, and who knows the ruin that comes from both of them?" Proverbs 24:21-22
Former Clinton advisor and commentator Dick Morris announced:
"On April 2, 2009, the work of July 4, 1776 was nullified at the meeting of the G-20 in London."[1]
That is an amazing statement and a tragedy if true. One of my best friends in the ministry, with whom I have co-authored two books, Mark Hitchcock wrote a book, which was finished before last November's election, entitled The Late Great United States.[2] There are two other books listed on amazon.com with similar titles. Why are many concerned that our great country is on the verge of extinction?
Change
It is said after the close of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that a lady asked Dr. Ben Franklin the following: "Well Doctor what have we got a republic or a monarchy?" "A republic" replied the Doctor..."if you can keep it."[3] Well, apparently a growing number of Americans think that we have lost it after about 220 years. Some are suggesting that it was lost via suicide. What have we received in return for our once great republic? We are now part of an international oligarchy run by a bunch of global elites. How did this happen and when did this change take place?
Like many things that bring change, it has not taken place overnight. America has been gradually moving toward socialism for the last hundred years, but I do not want to trace that history in this article. I want to focus on recent events that are producing so much change since the election of Barack Obama as president of these United States.
Dick Morris notes that Obama at the recent meeting of the G-20 in London has agreed to enter the United States into an economical arrangement that will regulate our economy in terms of the international interests of this European dominated oligarchy at the expense of American interests. The agreement by which Obama has obligated the United States is called the Financial Stability Board (FSB), which is "a body of central bankers from each of the G-20 states and the European Union."[4] The head of the FSB is Mario Draghi, Italy's central bank president. In a speech on February 21, 2009, he gave us clues to his thinking. He noted that "the progress we have made in revising the global regulatory framework . . . would have been unthinkable just months ago."[5]
"Obama, perhaps feeling guilty for the US role in triggering the international crisis, has, indeed, given away the store," notes Morris. "Now we may no longer look to presidential appointees, confirmed by the Senate, to make policy for our economy. These decisions will be made internationally."[6]
So what does this mean specifically for the American economy? Morris said to Greta Van Susteren on Fox News the following:
Literally from April 2nd of this year-that is, today-it's a whole new world of financial regulation in which, essentially, all of the U.S. regulatory bodies and all U.S. companies are put under international regulation, international supervision. It really amounts to a global economic government.
. . . Just when Obama is accused of socialism, he's essentially creating world economic governance. This means that the FSB, . . . will make the decisions on what standards our own SEC and Federal Reserve board should apply to all firms in the United States of any significant size about executive compensation, market activities, and a whole range of issues that used to be under free enterprise reserved for private decision making.[7]
A New World Order
In 1989 President George H. Bush spoke of a new world order in one of his speeches. However, it produced a flurry of criticism and he stopped using the term in public. Many have known for a long time that the phrase "new world order" is essentially a code word for global socialism. The last couple of years, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown can hardly give a speech without making reference to the new world order. During a speech he recently gave in conjunction with the G-20 summit in London, sounding like a twenty-first century Neville Chamberlain, Brown said the following about the new world order:
"This is Collective action, people working together at their best . . . I think the New World Order is emerging, and with it the foundations of a new and progressive era of international cooperation...From today we will together manage the process of globalization...To secure responsibility from all and fairness to all."[8]
In January 2009, Henry Kissinger made a remark about the new world order during an interview with CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" hosts Mark Haines and Erin Burnett at the New York Stock Exchange. When Burnett asked him what international conflict would define the Obama administration's foreign policy, Kissinger said the following:
"The president-elect is coming into office at a moment when there is upheaval in many parts of the world simultaneously," Kissinger responded. "You have India, Pakistan; you have the jihadist movement. So he can't really say there is one problem, that it's the most important one. But he can give new impetus to American foreign policy partly because the reception of him is so extraordinary around the world. His task will be to develop an overall strategy for America in this period when, really, a new world order can be created. It's a great opportunity, it isn't just a crisis."[9]
No one can doubt that President Obama is currently taking advantage of the crisis. After all, Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have both noted that a crisis is a terrible thing to waste.
Further the Chinese and Russians have called for a new global currency that would replace the dollar and would not represent any specific country. They want the new global currency to be issued by the World Bank, which is something that seemed impossible this time last year but now could be a very real possibility in the near future.
The European Union
Dick Morris not only emphasizes that the United States is now locked into the matrix of a global economic oligarchy but it is one that will be primarily under the control of the European Union.
"You know, I've had a long experience in dealing with the European Union, and this is how they operate," explains Morris. "And in the meantime, they slip this in under the radar, which is absolutely creating an international economic union."[10]
Then Morris concluded with amazement, "This truly creates a global economic system. From now on, don't look to Washington for the rule making, look to Brussels."[11]
Thus, from a prophetic view, the Bible teaches that the tribulation will be a time in which there will be not only a global government during the last half of the seven-year tribulation, but that governance will emanate from the Revived Roman Empire. This means a Euro-centric power base is what we can expect and that is exactly what is developing. Morris concludes his article with the following comment:
"The Europeans have been trying to get their hands on our financial system for decades. It is essential to them that they rein in American free enterprise so that their socialist heaven will not be polluted by vices such as the profit motive. Now, with President Obama's approval, they have done it."[12]
Conclusion
Where are all of these explosive trends heading? As Bible prophecy predicts, there will be a one world government during the seven-year tribulation, headed by a person we know as the Antichrist. Since the Antichrist will arise out of the Revived Roman Empire, which the European Union appears to be setting the stage for just such an entity, we should not be surprised to see things trending in that direction even before the rapture.
Previously, the United States was often the one standing in the way of a global economy and government. We are not yet there, but who can doubt that since the beginning of the Obama presidency that we are indeed seeing change and moving into harmony with the one world government crowd. In the past the United States stood in the way and acted in her national interest, as I believe we should still do, but now we are the last domino to fall and nothing of significance appears to stand in the way of globalism. Only the future return of Christ after the tribulation will really bring change for Christians.
I have noticed on the internet that certain Bible prophecy ministries are noting the very things that I have just outlined and often call these things a "fulfillment" of Bible prophecy. Such language is an overstatement and an incorrect conclusion drawn from the signs of our times. Instead, it is best to see these events as preparation for fulfillment, which will take place during the tribulation that we are currently not yet in. We are seeing the stage being set for future events. Such stage-setting certainly is moving our pre-rapture world toward the one world government and economy that is predicted by Bible prophecy for this future time.
There are so many events taking place each day one can hardly keep up with them. Nevertheless, we are to always be looking up for Him. Maranatha!
Endnotes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Dick Morris, "The Declaration of Independence has been Repealed" (DickMorris.com, April 6, 2009).
[2] Mark Hitchcock, The Late Great United States: What Bible Prophecy Reveals about America's Last Days (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Books, 2009).
[3] Cited at Bartleby.com, number 1593.
[4] Morris, "The Declaration . . ."
[5] Morris, "The Declaration . . ."
[6] Morris, "The Declaration . . ."
[7] Dick Morris, "Obama a 'Disaster' at the G20 Summit," on Greta Van Susteren, "On the Record" (FoxNews.com: April 3, 2009).
[8] David Hinz, "Gordon Brown Declares New World Order is Emerging" (www.theminorityreportblog.com, April 2, 2009).
[9] Drew Zahn, "Kissinger: Obama primed to create 'New World Order'" (www.worldnetdaily.com: January 6, 2009).
[10] Morris, "Obama a 'Disaster'"
[11] Morris, "Obama a 'Disaster'"
[12] Morris, "The Declaration . . ."
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The “Great Whore” is Here!
In one generation, the modern church has become the harlot woman of Revelation chapter seventeen. There are uncompromising saints everywhere and the distinction is that they know something is terribly wrong. A multitude of these Bible-believers have tried to stay in those churches and help turn them back, but that is hopeless. That is not what the Lord Jesus wants us to do. He said, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins” (Revelation 18:4b). You are going to do that or you are going to be judged with “her.”
This “Great Whore” is soon to be judged. In fact, you can see judgment already at work. Effeminacy has gripped the ministers and a great part of the male leadership of the church world. The women have utterly forsaken feminine characteristics and godly living. It’s amazing to watch the men becoming effeminate and the women becoming masculine. The only word for such a dominating turn is the judgment of God. The Holy Spirit is giving them up to their distorted, carnal ambitions and passions. The worse is yet to come.
Let’s look at the judgment that is soon to fall on this “whorish” church world. At the command of Jesus Christ, which He received from the Father, an angel spoke to John, “Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters” (Revelation 17:1b). God’s Bible is infallible and every ministry, denomination, or local congregation that has forsaken any part of truth is ripe for the judgment. The Son of God left no room for carelessness. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” (Luke 4:4). We are without excuse!
Drunkenness has become the dominating mood. Not drunkenness from strong drink but drunkenness from the love of this world, its pleasures, and its perceived success. You must understand that conviction of righteousness and holiness has been withdrawn. This is the first sign of judgment. The Holy Spirit has been distorted, grieved, maligned, and imitated until at the Lord’s command He has withdrawn from almost the entire church world. If you try to tell those involved this has happened – almost the entire church world — they will hate and destroy you if they can. Nothing is more evident in this “Great Whore” than total drunkenness and obliviousness to the developing judgment and God’s call back to the Holy Word of God.
Not only is she drunk, but she is blind. The great hope of the Church has always been the return of Christ to Rapture us and to remove us from the judgment to come. This is a New Testament theme. Those church groups that claim to still believe in the Rapture have become incapable of preaching the truth. Constantly, the good saints that are trying to remain with this blind church world are begging the ministers to preach the Rapture, but they only get crumbs. The ministers will say little nothings that sound good to these thirsty souls, but they are only crumbs to keep the saints fooled.
The worship has turned from spiritual to soulical. The music excites the base desires for fleshly satisfaction instead of a sacred longing after Christ and His sweet Spirit. Watching contemporary musicians do their thing is like watching unsanctified flesh bouncing and gravitating. This new music will stir religious people to go ballistic emotionally but leave the godly feeling empty and depressed. Contemporary music is an imitation of spiritual music and worship. Watch the people — singers or worshippers — and their lives will be a perfect picture of the downward spiral from Biblical godliness to utter compromise.
This Spirit said, “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication” (Revelation 17:3-4). The “Great Whore” church is “full of names of blasphemy.” Here are the seven blasphemous characteristics in her name:
Full of Names of Blasphemy:
1. Denies the absolute authority of Holy Scripture.
2. Blasphemes the single source for the cleansing of human sins.
3. Rejects the fear of God, which is God’s lasting means of wisdom.
4. Denies the absolute demand of holiness in the human temple (our body).
5. Blasphemes the created sacredness of male and female.
6. Forsakes the great depth and beauty of the human spirit.
7. Transfers the center of human life from the spirit to the soul or the fallen nature.
Do not be fooled! At the beginning of the embrace of soulical music, the theology seems intact. It will only take a few months and then the drastic changes will begin. The change is called a paradigm shift and there is seldom any possibility of a return to the Biblical mindset.
The “Great Whore” is going to be judged at the conclusion of the seven years of this Great Tribulation. Most of the church world, where this woman reigns, has either forsaken the Book of Revelation or in the process of forsaking it. Preaching or teaching on these strong prophecy trends is utterly absent or given only lip service. Any emphasis on separation from sin and worldliness has been deserted. The distinction of male and female is lost. The attire is effeminate for men and Jezebel-like for women, and they consider me insane for saying such things.
She will be burned with fire, “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled” (Revelation 17:16-17). Even John the Revelator was impressed with her magnificence and had to be rebuked. You may have the same emotions, but now the cover is blown.
“Come Out of Her!” Quit hanging around a church world that God, by Jesus Christ, called “the Great Whore.” Unless you give up your bondage to this Antichrist system, you will be judged with her. “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4). Do not repeat the worn out excuse, “I’m waiting for God to tell me to get out of my compromised church.” He already has. You must obey Him or you will suffer the judgment that is soon to fall.
Joseph R. Chambers
jrc@pawcreek.org
In one generation, the modern church has become the harlot woman of Revelation chapter seventeen. There are uncompromising saints everywhere and the distinction is that they know something is terribly wrong. A multitude of these Bible-believers have tried to stay in those churches and help turn them back, but that is hopeless. That is not what the Lord Jesus wants us to do. He said, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins” (Revelation 18:4b). You are going to do that or you are going to be judged with “her.”
This “Great Whore” is soon to be judged. In fact, you can see judgment already at work. Effeminacy has gripped the ministers and a great part of the male leadership of the church world. The women have utterly forsaken feminine characteristics and godly living. It’s amazing to watch the men becoming effeminate and the women becoming masculine. The only word for such a dominating turn is the judgment of God. The Holy Spirit is giving them up to their distorted, carnal ambitions and passions. The worse is yet to come.
Let’s look at the judgment that is soon to fall on this “whorish” church world. At the command of Jesus Christ, which He received from the Father, an angel spoke to John, “Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters” (Revelation 17:1b). God’s Bible is infallible and every ministry, denomination, or local congregation that has forsaken any part of truth is ripe for the judgment. The Son of God left no room for carelessness. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” (Luke 4:4). We are without excuse!
Drunkenness has become the dominating mood. Not drunkenness from strong drink but drunkenness from the love of this world, its pleasures, and its perceived success. You must understand that conviction of righteousness and holiness has been withdrawn. This is the first sign of judgment. The Holy Spirit has been distorted, grieved, maligned, and imitated until at the Lord’s command He has withdrawn from almost the entire church world. If you try to tell those involved this has happened – almost the entire church world — they will hate and destroy you if they can. Nothing is more evident in this “Great Whore” than total drunkenness and obliviousness to the developing judgment and God’s call back to the Holy Word of God.
Not only is she drunk, but she is blind. The great hope of the Church has always been the return of Christ to Rapture us and to remove us from the judgment to come. This is a New Testament theme. Those church groups that claim to still believe in the Rapture have become incapable of preaching the truth. Constantly, the good saints that are trying to remain with this blind church world are begging the ministers to preach the Rapture, but they only get crumbs. The ministers will say little nothings that sound good to these thirsty souls, but they are only crumbs to keep the saints fooled.
The worship has turned from spiritual to soulical. The music excites the base desires for fleshly satisfaction instead of a sacred longing after Christ and His sweet Spirit. Watching contemporary musicians do their thing is like watching unsanctified flesh bouncing and gravitating. This new music will stir religious people to go ballistic emotionally but leave the godly feeling empty and depressed. Contemporary music is an imitation of spiritual music and worship. Watch the people — singers or worshippers — and their lives will be a perfect picture of the downward spiral from Biblical godliness to utter compromise.
This Spirit said, “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication” (Revelation 17:3-4). The “Great Whore” church is “full of names of blasphemy.” Here are the seven blasphemous characteristics in her name:
Full of Names of Blasphemy:
1. Denies the absolute authority of Holy Scripture.
2. Blasphemes the single source for the cleansing of human sins.
3. Rejects the fear of God, which is God’s lasting means of wisdom.
4. Denies the absolute demand of holiness in the human temple (our body).
5. Blasphemes the created sacredness of male and female.
6. Forsakes the great depth and beauty of the human spirit.
7. Transfers the center of human life from the spirit to the soul or the fallen nature.
Do not be fooled! At the beginning of the embrace of soulical music, the theology seems intact. It will only take a few months and then the drastic changes will begin. The change is called a paradigm shift and there is seldom any possibility of a return to the Biblical mindset.
The “Great Whore” is going to be judged at the conclusion of the seven years of this Great Tribulation. Most of the church world, where this woman reigns, has either forsaken the Book of Revelation or in the process of forsaking it. Preaching or teaching on these strong prophecy trends is utterly absent or given only lip service. Any emphasis on separation from sin and worldliness has been deserted. The distinction of male and female is lost. The attire is effeminate for men and Jezebel-like for women, and they consider me insane for saying such things.
She will be burned with fire, “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled” (Revelation 17:16-17). Even John the Revelator was impressed with her magnificence and had to be rebuked. You may have the same emotions, but now the cover is blown.
“Come Out of Her!” Quit hanging around a church world that God, by Jesus Christ, called “the Great Whore.” Unless you give up your bondage to this Antichrist system, you will be judged with her. “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4). Do not repeat the worn out excuse, “I’m waiting for God to tell me to get out of my compromised church.” He already has. You must obey Him or you will suffer the judgment that is soon to fall.
Joseph R. Chambers
jrc@pawcreek.org
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)