Jesus said the Jews would be scattered to the four corners of the earth until the fulness of the Gentiles come in (Luke 21:24, Romans 11:25-26). After this, Christ would then return and build up the Jewish nation. "Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things." (Acts 15:14-17)
"And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." (Luke 21:24)
"And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them... For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land." (Ezekiel 36:19, 24)
"Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel... 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... And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever..." (Ezekiel 37:12, 14, 21, 25)
There are many different views in regards to the Second Coming of Christ. We believe the Scriptures can be best explained from a Pre-trib rapture point of view. Some have alleged that this view then purports two Second Comings of Jesus Christ. However, the rapture is not the Second Coming, it is the catching up of the Church, out of this world, where they will be gathered together with the resurrected saints to meet their Saviour in the clouds of the outer atmosphere.
"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." (John 14:2-3)
"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." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
Those who have died in the faith before the rapture are with Christ. The saints knew that as long as they were "at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:6). Nevertheless, they were confident, "and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8). They were always "in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better" (Philippians 1:23). So when Christ descends from heaven to earth's atmosphere, He brings with Him all of these who have died in the faith, that is, believing the gospel, that Jesus died for their sins and rose again from the dead.
When believers die, their bodies go to the grave to await the resurrection, but their spirits go to be with the Lord. At this time the saints in heaven are given a temporary house to dwell in. "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven" (2 Corinthians 5:1-2).
"But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep." (1 Thessalonians 4:13-15)
The resurrection of the saints was a clear doctrine taught in the Old Testament. Martha, Daniel, and Job all believed and understood that there would be a resurrection day (John 11:24, Daniel 12:2, Job 19:12). Jesus revealed that He was the resurrection and the life, and all who would believe on Him, even though they had physically died, yet they would live.
"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" (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?" (John 11:25-26)
Before Christ's Second Coming to earth, the saints who are alive and remain in this world prior to the Tribulation are "caught up" (raptured) to be with Christ.
"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." (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?" (John 11:25-26)
While the Old Testament clearly taught a resurrection from the dead on the last day, it never explained what happens to the saints who were alive and remained on earth at that time. This was a Mystery that the Apostle Paul revealed in the New Testament. At the Rapture, their corruptible bodies would be transformed, and instantaneously changed into incorruptible bodies like that of the glorious body of Christ after His resurrection from the dead. The Bible tells us that those He called, "he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Romans 8:29), and so, "as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly" (1 Corinthians 15:49).
These shall no longer be subject to pain and never again shall taste death, for Jesus, "by the grace of God" did "taste death for every man." (Hebrews 2:9)
"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. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." (1 Corinthians 15:51-54).
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." (1John 3:2)
"For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." (Philippians 3:21-22)
Many within the various sects of Christianity, as well as all other religions of the world, believe they will be accepted by God on the basis of their good deeds. However, the Bible teaches, "by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight" (Romans 3:20). The good works of the believer in Christ, however, are the basis of reward for faithful service. NOT for salvation, for salvation is the gift of God offered only through faith in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the kingdom of heaven the saints shall live and reign with Christ for He is "King of kings, and Lord of lords" and "hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father" (Revelation 1:6). Their position in the kingdom then, shall be based on their faithful service in this life. There can also be loss of reward due to unfaithfulness. (Read Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:11-27) "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." (Romans 3:28) "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:5-7)
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:10).
"But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." (Romans 14:10-12)
"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." (1 Corinthians 3:11-15)
"But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." (Matthew 12:36-37)
There are seven specific crowns mentioned in the Scriptures, a crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8), a soul winners crown (Philippians 4:1), a crown of rejoicing (1 Thessalonians 2:19), an incorruptible crown (1 Corinthians 9:25), a crown of life (James 1:12), a shepherd's crown (1 Peter 5:4), and a martyr's crown (Revelation 2:10).
"Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:8).
"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." (James 1:12)
"And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." (1 Peter 5:4)
"Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." (Revelation 2:10)
"Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved." (Philippians 4:1)
"For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?" (1 Thessalonians 2:19)
"And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible." (1 Corinthians 9:25)
The word Elders comes from the Greek word presbuteros and in any church the Elders stand as representatives of the church. The Elders are now in heaven before the throne of God, and this would lead us to conclude that the church whom they represent is also in heaven by this time in the Revelation. Now the Scriptures tell us that Jesus is the King of kings, and that the saints are to live and reign with Him. They will rule over the nations that enter the millennial kingdom of Christ. They have cast their crowns before Him who alone is worthy to receive all glory, honor and power, for they are totally humbled and submissive to their Wonderful Creator and Redeemer, confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God and so worship Him.
"And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.... The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."(Revelation 4:4, 10-11).
The kings of this earth, for the most part, are unbelievers who have not bent the knee to Christ, neither are they submissive to the will of God. If they are not with and for Him, they are against Him and are unwitting pawns of Satan. Some of the kings of great nations in the past, such as the King of Babylon (Isaiah 14:4-20) and the king of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:11-19), have even been possessed by Satan.
"And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."(Luke 4:5-8).
From the time of Daniel the Scriptures predicted that there would be 4 great empires, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecian and the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire would be divided in two (East and West), and in the latter days of this empire, prior to the Second Coming of Christ, the Scriptures predict that the Roman Empire would be further expanded and divided into 10 kingdoms that would encompass the whole earth (Daniel 7:23-24), not just those countries that made up the early Roman Empire surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. It is astonishing to see that the makings of those 10 kingdoms are happening in our day. The "Club of Rome" is a global think tank that deals with a variety of international political issues, and has distinguished ten economic world regions.
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"And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever... And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings."(Daniel 2:40-44, 7:24).
"And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast." (Revelation 17:12).
Ever since sin entered the world, the kings of the earth have long been in rebellion against the Lord and His Anointed, but the time for the long awaited kingdom of God is finally come and shall tarry no longer. The shrill cry of the masses, "away with him, crucify him... we have no king but Ceasar" (John 19:15) shall no longer be tolerated as Jesus begins to restore all things and to take back His rightful place as King of all the earth.
"And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof." (Revelation 5:1-5).
"And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it. So Hanameel mine uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle’s son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver. And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances. So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open: And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison. And I charged Baruch before them, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land... And thou hast said unto me, O Lord GOD, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans... Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the LORD." (Jeremiah 32:6-15, 25, 44).
"And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return." (Luke 19:11-12).
"I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13-14).
"I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel." (Psalm 2:7-9).
As Jesus begins to break the seals on the title deed of the earth, His judgments begin to roll forth against those who would not have Him to reign over them. The church in the world was His and He took them out of this world in the rapture before His wrath is poured out upon the world of iniquity, and "To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. (Jude 1:15)
"And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see." (Revelation 6:1).
Some have interpreted the rider on the "white horse" in Revelation 6:2 to be that of Antichrist. However, we believe this to be Jesus Christ, who has taken the title deed to the earth and now goes forth conquering and to conquer. We see this same rider at the end of the tribulation. "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war." (Revelation 19:2)
"And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer." (Revelation 6:2).
"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people." (Acts 3:19-23).
"And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things." (Matthew 17:11).
"Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." (Psalm 2:8-12).
"And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible." (Isaiah 13:11).
Daniel's seventieth week consists of the last 7 years that are hanging in the balance since the Messiah was "cut off" (Daniel 9:26). At this time God will once again be dealing specifically with the nation Israel to purge out the rebels and bring them under the New Covenant. It is the time of "Jacob's Trouble". This last seven years are commonly referred to as the "tribulation", and the last 3 1/2 years as the "great tribulation". During this time God will also be pouring out His wrath on the unrepentant nations of the world. This is the beginning of the Day of the Lord.
"And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week [70th week=7 years]: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." (Daniel 9:27).
"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." (Daniel 12:1).
"And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it." (Jeremiah 30:4-7).
"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." (Matthew 24:21).
"Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations." (Joel 2:1-2).
Satan thought he could get Jesus to worship him when he offered Jesus the kingdoms of this world (Luke 4:5-8), but now it appears that Satan has found his man through whom he can devise his infernal plans.
"And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people." (Daniel 8:23-24).
"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority." (Revelation 13:1-2).
In these latter times we can see the antisemitism of the muslim nations surrounding Israel ramping up with greater speed and intensity, calling for the annihilation of the Jews.
"Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee" (Psalm 83:1-5).
Ever since Israel was declared a nation, May 14, 1947, Jerusalem has become a "burdensome stone" to all people round about. The United Nations have made over 100 resolutions of condemnation against Israel. The "United Nations Human Rights Council since its creation in 2006—the Council had resolved almost more resolutions condemning Israel than on the rest of the world combined." (Wikipedia)There is a clear bias of ludicrous proportions. "the United Nations has condemned Israel 375 times for defending themselves" (Dave Hunt, Berean Call)
"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 and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it." (Zechariah 12:2-3).
For the first 3 1/2 years of the tribulation the Antichrist shall arise upon the scene as a great peace maker. He will apparently make some kind of psuedo peace with the Jews and Muslims allowing for the Jews to rebuild their temple on the Temple Mount. But this covenant will be broken. He will be a master of deception.
"And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand." (Daniel 8:25).
"And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant. And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time." (Daniel 11:21-24).
"For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." (1 Thessalonians 5:3).
The 7 year covenant that Antichrist makes with the Jews is also called the "time of Jacob's trouble". It is the 70th week, that is, the final 7 years in God's prophetic plan dealing with the nation of Israel as given to the prophet Daniel. There has been a gap between the 69th and 70th week, after the Messiah was crucified. This is known as the times of the gentiles where God is calling out of this world a people for His name. These people are called the church of God which Christ has been building since He sent the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. When the church building is complete, Christ is going to call His bride home, that is, out of this world via the rapture, and then God will revert back to dealing with His chosen people, the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the nation Israel.
"And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." (Daniel 9:26-27).
The Antichrist confirms a seven year covenant with Israel making provision for Israel to rebuild the temple of their desire. However, after 3 1/2 years the Antichrist breaks the covenant, sets up his image in the temple and declares himself to be god. He then demands the world to worship him, and thereby declares war against the Jews. Many of the temple instruments have already been pre-fabricated and plans for the building of the temple are already in place.
"And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." (Daniel 9:27).
"And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days." (Daniel 12:11).
"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." (Matthew 24:15-21).
"Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." (2 Thessalonians 2:4).
"And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein." (Revelation 11:1).
"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).
Today anyone can see that global government is right on the horizon, a "New World Order" as it is called by some. It will at first take the form of a 10 nation confederacy but in the midst of the seven year covenant the Antichrist will be propped up as the emperor of the whole world when the 10 kings pledge their allegiance to the Antichrist and give their kingdom to him. Not only will he be the sole ruler and dictator of the whole world, he will be worshipped as god, and declares his war against the Jews and their God.
"And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." (Daniel 2:40-44).
"And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." (Daniel 7:24-25).
"And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people." (Daniel 8:23-24).
"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." (Revelation 13:5-8).
With global government in place, there will certainly be the need for a global tax and a system to reliably collect these taxes. Today we are clearly on the march to a cashless society. The technology is already in place. Debit and credit cards are now just a place holder for computer chips that store all the data necessary to make this possible. Not only can they hold the individual's financial data, they can hold medical data and personal identification and also be incorporated with gps to locate lost persons. The only current problem is that cards can be lost or counterfeited. With chips placed in hand or forehead, maybe incorporated with a palm or retina scanners, many of today's criminal activities will be curbed. No more money laundering, no more illegal aliens, no more bank robberies. Drug cartels will have a more difficult time moving their wares. There will be many logical benefits with this sort of system, but this will not be merely a good economic idea, it will be "the mark... of the beast". It will be the system of the Antichrist where in order to receive the mark you must worship him, and pledge allegiance to him. If you refuse, you cannot buy or sell, and you get put on the most wanted list to be purged from the earth through beheading.
"And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 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. 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 13:14-17).
The Scriptures indicate that ancient Babylon will be rebuilt in the last days upon her own base in the land of Shinar which is in the region of modern day Iraq. It will be the major commercial center of the whole world and headquarters of the Antichrist. It will make the great cities of the world, Dubai, New York, Tokoyo, Taipei, Hong Kong, etc., pale in comparison to her costliness. Even today, there are great plans in place for the region but current events in the Middle East are for the moment hindering any forward momentum.
"Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base." (Zechariah 5:5-11).
"And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate." (Revelation 18:11-19).
There have always been earthquakes since the worldwide Flood in the days of Noah, but in the last days, earthquakes will increase in frequency and intensity unlike anything before experienced in the history of the world. "Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger." (Isaiah 13:9-13)
"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24:7-8).
"And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places." (Revelation 6:12-14).
"And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven." (Revelation 11:13).
"And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found." (Revelation 16:18-20).
"And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth." (Isaiah 2:19-21).
"For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground." (Ezekiel 38:19-20).
"For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts." (Haggai 2:6-7).
Just as there have always been earthquakes throughout history, so has there been wars, famines, and plagues. However, the little phrase in Matthew 24, "All these are the beginning of sorrows [Gr. odin]" (v. 8), has been denoted to intimate the pains of a woman during childbirth, as in 1 Thessalonians 5:3, "as travail [Gr. odin] upon a woman with child". As the pains of a woman in childbirth increase in frequency and intensity before the child is born, so too, the wars and famines and plagues are to increase in intensity before the return of Christ.
"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24:7-8).
"And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth." (Revelation 6:4-8).
" For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?" (Ezekiel 14:21).
By this time, wars, famines, and pestilence have taken its toll. The wars have taken any hope of peace from the earth, the devastating heat has devoured the crops bringing famines of global proportions never seen before. At the current population of the world this would equate to 1.75 billion people. With this many dying so fast many will not see immediate burial and pestilence and disease will spread rapidly. Furthermore, the animal kingdom, for the most part today, has a fear of man instilled in them; however, it appears that during the tribulation many will be killed "with the beasts of the earth."
"And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth." (Revelation 6:8).
Anti-christian shall characterize the tribulation. After the rapture there were no true believers left on earth, but God never leaves Himself without a witness, and so He sends His Two Witnesses. Through their testimony 144,000 Jews are saved and in turn many gentiles believe the gospel and are saved. Although salvation is the gift of God, it is never without a cost. Many of these are not ashamed of the Lord and His Testimony and are willing to suffer, even to the death. Jesus said, "And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." (Matthew 10:21-22)
"And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." (Revelation 6:9-11).
Along with the wars, famines, earthquakes and pestilences there shall be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. There are certain things that take place on the earth, but also in the heavens there shall be great signs. Perhaps this is in reference to the opening of one of the seals in the Revelation where "the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places." (Revelation 6:12-14) But also there shall be great meteors falling from heaven and great hail storms.
"And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven." (Luke 21:11).
The sun and moon turning to darkness is one of the events that happens more than once during the day of the Lord.
"...the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood..." (Revelation 6:12)
"And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise." (Revelation 8:12)
"And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come." (Joel 2:30-31)
"Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine." (Isaiah 13:9-10)
"The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness," (Zephaniah 1:14-15)
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken" (Matthew 24:29)
Since the time that Jesus received the title deed to the earth from His Father, the plagues have been rolling out with increased intensity with a two fold purpose, to punish sinners for their iniquity, and to get men to repent and believe the gospel of the kingdom. Famines, earthquakes, wars, plagues, fearful sights and signs from heaven, the Two Witnesses receiving power to unleash all plagues as they will, etc, plus the evangelization by the 144,000 Jews, has by now convinced the whole world that the Day of His wrath is come. The day of Grace and His longsuffering is over, and the time to judge the world for their iniquity has come. Although men can still repent, many have for far too long hardened their heart towards the love of God in Jesus Christ and like their father the devil, hate Him.
"And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile" (Romans 2:3-9)
"And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" (Revelation 6:15-17)
"And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth." (Isaiah 2:17-21)
"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure." (Psalm 2:1-5)
There has been speculation as to who the Two Witnesses of the Revelation are. Some say Elijah and Enoch, others say Elijah and Moses. No one questions whether Elijah is one of the two witnesses for the Old Testament ends with this verse, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (Malachi 4:5-6). Arguments for both Moses and Enoch have their valid points. Ultimately time will tell.
"And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will." (Revelation 11:3-6)
Amidst all the complex problems facing the nations today, there seems to be a real lack of leadership and to know what direction to turn. The nations are as blind leaders of the blind, unable to make any proper decisions and doubtful of those they do make. This will be as a speck of dust on an elephant, so insignificant, as compared to what men will see coming upon the earth in those days. Jesus said, "For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be." (Mark 13:19) Isaiah said it like this, "Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames." (Isaiah 13:6-8) The writer of Hebrews stated, "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation" (Hebrews 2:3), since with the Lord, "every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward" (v.2)? We pray you know the answer to the Philippian jailer's cry, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:30-31). Jesus alone can deliver us "from the wrath to come" (1 Thessalonians 1:10), "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him." (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10)
"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken." (Luke 21:25-26)
Jesus said, "Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things" (Matthew 17:11). It is interesting that Elijah shut up the heavens for the same length of time during his ministry in the days of wicked king Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 17:1, James 5:17-18). To this agree the words of Jesus who said, "But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land" (Luke 4:25).
"And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will." (Revelation 11:3-6)
These 144,000 Jews, 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel are converted, presumably by the testimony of God's Two Witnesses. Just like the plagues that God brought on the land of Egypt in the days of Moses did not smite the Israelites, so too, none of these plagues will affect the 144,000. These are they who were redeemed from the earth and follow Jesus. Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27). The Lord God says, "As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day." (Ezekiel 34:12) Not only is Jesus the Good Shepherd who giveth His life for the sheep, He is the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world.
"And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads." (Revelation 7:2-3)
"And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb." (Revelation 14:1-5)
"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call." (Joel 2:28-32)
This is one of the "fearful sights and great signs ... from heaven" (Luke 21:11). One can only speculate exactly what this will be, "hail and fire mingled with blood" preceeded by thunderings and lightnings and an earthquake. This sounds like the judgment at Sodom and Gomorrah when "it rained fire and brimstone from heaven" (Luke 17:29). There has been a worldwide drought for some time now, and the fire rained down from heaven is that spark that sets the world ablaze causing one third of the trees and pastures to burn up.
However, closer to this judgment is one of the 10 plagues of God that befell Egypt when Pharaoh held Israel in bondage. In this judgment "there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation" (Exodus 9:24). There had not ever been a terrible judgment like that before, but now there is something worse. And what was the purpose of all these plagues? "that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth." (Exodus 9:14), and "that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD’S" (v. 24), and that the wicked would "be cut off from the earth" (v. 15). God had told Moses, "I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth" (v. 16). And so too has God raised up His Two Witnesses during the tribulation "to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will" (Revelation 11:6). The results in both cases were the same. In Egypt, "he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants" (Exodus 9:24), and in the tribulation, "the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands" (Revelation 9:20). "To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts" (Hebrews 4:7).
"And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up." (Revelation 8:5-7)
"How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness." (Joel 1:18-20)
This is yet another one of the
"fearful sights and great signs ... from heaven" (Luke 21:11), the second trumpet judgment that comes upon the earth. With our ability today to probe the universe with radar and massive telescopes, we have come to realize that the earth has had many near misses with celestial bodies that have zoomed by the Lord's Earth. And in recent times, the earth has been subject to small meteors breaking through the earth's atmosphere making their impact upon the earth. There is also evidence in times past of massive strikes upon the earth leading foolish scientists to believe that they are responsible for the "extinction of the dinosaurs". Every year species go extinct, and these great lizards fall into that category of extinction either through destruction of habitat, over hunting, or introduction of new predators. In other words, "they have gone the way of the Dodo bird" (for more on this subject see:
Does the Fossil Record Prove Evolution?
But when this
"great mountain burning with fire" strikes the sea, 1/3 of it turns to blood, causing a third of sea creatures to die and a third part of the ships are destroyed. The sea here mentioned is likely the Mediterranean Sea, where the world's naval forces have been gathered anticipating the Middle East to boil over into Armageddon.
"And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed" (Revelation 8:8-9).
The first meteor fell in the sea turning it to blood, killing off 1/3 of the sea creatures therein. This next meteor fell upon a third part of the drinking waters of the earth making them poison, and those who drink thereof shall surely die. According to the medical dictionary, wormwood is, "A perennial shrub that contains absinthum—a bitter principle" and its effects are labled under, "Toxicity Convulsions, impotence, muscular weakness, nausea, vomiting, and possibly death; per the FDA, wormwood is ‘unsafe’". With the worldwide drought drying up many of the earths streams and rivers, 1/3 of those that are available for drinking are now poisoned.
"And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter." (Revelation 8:10-11).
Under the sixth seal "the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth" (Revelation 6:12-13). Under the 4th trumpet judgment the sun, moon and stars are darkened for a third part of the day and night. The prophet Joel had stated, "let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness... there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations... the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining... And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come." (Joel 2:1-2, 10, 30-31)
It should be noted that the Greek word paniym, here translated "before" is not necessarily referring to time, but usually has reference to position such as, "in front of, before, to the front of, in the presence of, in the face of, at the face or front of, from the presence of, from before, from before the face of" (Strong's Concordance).
"And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise." (Revelation 8:12)
"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken." (Luke 21:25)
When the fifth angel sounds the trumpet an angel falls from heaven with a key and opens the bottomless pit to release a hoard of demons upon the earth. These had power to hurt men with stings in their tails which is like that of scorpions. Men shall seek death but death shall flee from them and they shall be tormented 5 months. The question arises, where did these come from? My guess is that these were the demons who were confined to Hades, the great pit at the center of the earth, at the time of the great Flood in the days of Noah (Genesis 6:1-5). "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly" (2 Peter 2:4-5). "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day" (Jude 6). When Christ died for our sins, He descended down to Hades and proclaimed the victory over Satan and his hoards when He rose triumphantly over the grave. "By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." (1 Peter 3:19-20)
"And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon." (Revelation 9:1-11)
"Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?" (Joel 2:1-11)
When the sixth angel sounds the trumpet, four demonic angels are loosed from the great river Euphrates. These are leading an army of 200 million who are given power to slay a third part of men with fire and smoke and brimstone which issues out of their mouth and tails. These are a separte group from the previous group of demons, but possibly from the rebellion instigated by Nimrod at Babel on the Euphrates river. Here shortly after the Flood, another great rebellion arose where these began to build towers for the specific purpose of worshipping the host of heaven and the idols they portrayed. In the Bible, the host of heaven has reference to angels as well as the stars and such. So when the rebels at Babel personified the host of heaven and made idols of the constellations (Acts 7:42-43), it was actually demons that were behind these idols (1 Corinthians 10:19-20).
The first hoard of demons under the fifth trumpet tormented man for 5 months, and now these will slay men during the next 13 months. Under the fourth seal (Revelation 6:7-8) one quarter of the earth's population perished. Now one third of those that are left are slain bringing the total to over 3 billion dead.
"And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt." (Revelation 9:13-19)
After all these plagues, in conjunction with the testimony of the Two Witnesses, the whole world knows that the Day of the Lord, and the day of His wrath is come. Many have repented and believed the gospel but faced severe persecution and even martyrdom. There are five major sins that dominate the population of the world and they are the same sins that seem to plague society today which are progressively getting worse. They are satanic worship, murders, rampant drug abuse (sorceries: Gr. pharmakia), fornication which is any sex outside of Biblical marriage between a man and a woman, and finally theft. All of these sins are why man is guilty before God and rightly judged and condemned. As man progressively hardens his heart toward God, so these plagues progessively get worse to turn man from his wicked way.
Jesus Christ is "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Christ died for the sins of the world and has made a way to come to God by Him. But most refuse to hearken to His Word and so their sins be on them. Christ will accomplish His work to take away the sin of the world. His "fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (Matthew 3:12). If their sins remain on them in this world, there is no other recourse but to "destroy the sinners thereof out of it" (Isaiah 13:9).
"And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts." (Revelation 9:20-21)
These Two Witnesses were introduced at the beginning of the tribulation. Their ministry lasted 3 1/2 years, that is, the first half of the tribulation. After the Rapture of the church there were no believers left on earth, so God sends His Two Witnesses to testify on His behalf, God bearing them witness with mighty signs and wonders. When their mission is finished, God allows Antichrist to kill them. These have been pronouncing judgments upon the earth and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, "to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (Luke 1:17, cref. Malachi 4:5-6)
"And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves." (Revelation 11:7-9)
These Two Witnesses were seen by the world as the cause of all their troubles. They were bringing upon the world all the plagues and judgments to confirm their testimony of the coming Christ to reign over the earth. But the world despised their testimony and when Antichrist kills them, the whole world throws a party like never before thinking all their problems are now gone away. "And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth." (Revelation 11:9-10) But to their horror, the whole world shall see (through our modern global communications) them rise from the dead and ascend into heaven.
"And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them." (Revelation 11:11-12)
God has been using terrible earthquakes to judge the world, to purge out the rebels, but also to turn people to Him. It appears that this earthquake is centered in Jerusalem and a tenth part of the city falls slaying 7000 men. This reminds me of the days of Korah's rebellion against Moses (Numbers 16), where God opened up the earth and swallowed up the rebels. This was to be a "memorial" and "a sign" (16:40, 26:10) to the children of Israel, when they strove against the Lord. The Lord said, "I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me" (Ezekiel 20:28). The tribulation is also called the "time of Jacob's trouble" and "it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God." (Zechariah 13:8-9) God will refine His people during these days, and destroy sinners out of the land (Isaiah 13:9).
"And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven." (Revelation 11:13)
After the 3 1/2 year testimony of the Two Witnesses is finished there is an announcement in heaven saying, "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever." (Revelation 11:15). Even after the testimony of the Two Witnesses, most still refuse to repent and believe the Good News of the coming Messiah to reign on the earth, so there is nothing left but to judge and "destroy them who destroy the earth" (Revelation 11:18). At this time, Satan is cast down to the earth, and can no longer access heaven to accuse the brethren. Although it is hard to discern the exact timing of the events and their order, we believe it is at this time that Satan possesses the world's great political leader, the Antichrist. He has undoubtedly been groomed up to this time but now Satan enters into him to accomplish his will.
"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." (Revelation 12:7-9)
Satan has possessed many kings down through the ages. He possessed the king of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:1-19). He possessed the King of Babylon (Isaiah 14:4-19). He also possessed Judas Iscariot (John 13:26-27), the one who betrayed Jesus.
"Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly." (John 13:26-27).
"While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled." (John 17:12).
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;" (2 Thessalonians 2:3).
"And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?" (Revelation 13:2-4).
The Antichrist had made war with the Two Witnesses and overcame them and killed them. Now we are also told the Antichrist also received a deadly wound with a sword. The word "wounded" is usually translated "slay" or "kill". So it appears that Antichrist was, "as it were", also slain with death, perhaps in this war against the Two Witnesses. It should also be noted that when we are told that his "deadly wound was healed", this word "wound" is usually translated "plague". This is the same word used when we are told the Two Witnesses were given power "to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will" (Revelation 11:6). So it may be a possibility that when the Beast makes war with the Two Witnesses he may also have been "killed" by one of the plagues of the Two Witnesses. When the Two Witnesses are raised from the dead and ascend to heaven, spoiling the victory party of the world, the Antichrist mocks his ressurrection, claiming he has gotten rid of these two enemies of humanity, and now they should rid the world of their followers.
"And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. " (Revelation 13:3).
"...whose deadly wound was healed." (Revelation 13:12).
"...which had the wound by a sword, and did live." (Revelation 13:14).
As previously mentioned in note 11, there is already a plan in place today to divide the world up into ten economic regions. However, there are no kings reigning over each region so they "have received no kingdom as yet". But when it comes to pass we are told they shall "agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast". After all that has transpired up until this time, the world marvels saying, "Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?" This satanically possessed man has overcome the Two Witnesses who have been increasing every sort of plague as they will, warning man to repent and turn from their sins for the past 3 1/2 years. And when Antichrist kills these Two the world is ecstatic to the point that they are willing to worship at his feet.
"And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 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 fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled." (Revelation 13:14).
This has been Satan's desire from the time he fell from his position as "anointed cherub" (Ezekiel 28:14) when he was corrupted by the reason of his beauty and thought to exalt himself saying, "I will be like the most High" (Isaiah 14:14). His desire was to be worshipped as God, and this is the lie that he sold Eve saying that they too could "be as gods" (Genesis 3:5). Satan had given Antichrist his power and great authority. He killed the Two Witnesses and now appears to have been raised from the dead "and all the world wondered after the beast". They marvel in admiration for the Beast and so worship both Satan and the Beast. Satan now gets the worship of the world through the possession of Antichrist. We think it is the Antichrist who took the offer of Satan that Jesus rejected in His days of temptation. "And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine." (Luke 4:5-7)
"And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?" (Revelation 13:4).
"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." (Revelation 13:8).
The beast has received his power, throne and great authority from Satan. He is now set up as the divine king over all the kingdoms of the world. The ten kings have given him their kingdom. The United Nations have now truly united under their king, and against the Lord and His Anointed. They shall receive their brief moment of glory but they shall be quickly brought to an end. These ten "receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them" (Revelation 17:12-14).
"...the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority" (Revelation 13:2).
"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months." (Revelation 13:5).
"And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people." (Daniel 8:23-24).
This second beast is commonly referred to as "the false prophet". Jesus had warned saying, "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many... For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." (Matthew 24:11, 24) He appears to rise on the scene about the same time as the Antichrist's mock resurrection, and he acts with the same authority as Antichrist. He is a deceiver, but he is also the enforcer as he "causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed". He deceives them that dwell on the earth by the miracles he had power to do in the sight of the beast, namely, he makes fire to come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, perhaps mimicking the true miracles of the Two Witnesses or the miracles of Elijah in the Old Testament. He also commands that an idol of the beast should be made and shows the earth dwellers that he has power to give life to the image of the beast that it should speak. Those who love not the truth are readily deceived by this trickery for their pleasure is in unrighteousness. He not only causes them to worship the beast, he now commands that all must worship the image of the beast or be killed.
"And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 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 13:11-15).
"And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12).
The false prophet causes all to worship the image of the beast on pain of death. To further enforce his decrees, he causes everyone upon the whole earth without acception to receive the mark of the beast in their right hand or forehead. This will be a visible mark easily identifying them as the satanists that they are. Furthermore, it is more than a proud identification mark, it is also a mark that is necessary to do commerce in the the kingdom of Antichrist which has by now encompassed the globe. And today, consumerism and commercialism has taken the world over enmass, and "economy" is the primary goal and objective of the governments of most nations. They are now measured by their GNP, but in the end they will be weighed in the balances and found to be wanting for the true measure of any nation is their fidelity to God and not the "almighty dollar". With global electronic banking and computer micro chips that can hold all our financial data, we can see that the stage is already set for a scenario such as this.
"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. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." (Revelation 13:16-18).
The Antichrist now exalts himself above every god, that is, the gods of all the religions of the world, but in particular, he speaks against the God of gods and seats himself in the newly rebuilt temple of the Jews in Jerusalem.
"And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed." (Revelation 13:12).
"And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done." (Daniel 11:36).
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).
The Antichrist at first appeared to be the friend of the Jews confirming a 7 year covenant with them and making a way for them to build their long hoped for temple. However, in the midst of this seven year treaty, all bets are off, and the Antichrist now exalting himself above every god, even the King of Creation, breaks the covenant causing the daily sacrifice to cease, sits himself down in the temple declaring himself the only god that is now to be worshipped upon pain of death. He also proceeds to place an idol of himself in the holy of holies, in the sanctuary of the temple, the place that was reserved as the dwelling place of God in the Old Testament. This is the abomination that maketh desolate. All hope for the unbelieving Jews is now crushed as they are added to the list of those marked for death.
"And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." (Daniel 9:27).
"Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down" (Daniel 8:11).
"And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate." (Daniel 11:31).
"And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days." (Daniel 12:11).
"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." (Matthew 24:15-20).
Seven years were left hanging in the balance for God's dealing with Israel and the the holy city Jerusalem (Daniel 9). This seven year period is also commonly known at the tribulation, but from the midway point it is known as the "great tribulation" where the wrath of God intensifies as Antichrist begins his pogrom against the Jews. The Jews at this time will be brought through the refiner's fire before they are brought under the covenant. "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins." (Romans 11:25-27)
"Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it." (Jeremiah 30:7).
"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." (Matthew 24:21).
"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." (Daniel 12:1).
"Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations." (Joel 2:1-2).
"And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations." (Ezekiel 5:9).
"And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem." (Daniel 9:12).
At the beginning of the tribulation there were no believers left on earth as the Church, the Bride of Christ, was raptured to be with Him. They were kept "from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth" (Revelation 3:10). Then God sent His Two Witnesses. Through these many have come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 144,000 Jews and many gentiles. Now during this time, Antichrist confirmed a covenant with the unbelieving Jews, that they might build the temple and begin their daily sacrifice. It appears for the time being that he has left these alone, but those who came to faith in Christ, of the Jews and also of the gentiles, these were persecuted and many martyred (Revelation 6:9-11, 7:9-17, 12:10-11). However, in the midst of the seven years, Antichrist exalts himself and magnifies above every god of all the religions of the world, even the One True God and Creator. He then stops the daily sacrifice of the Jews, and seats himself in the temple of God showing himself that he is god. An idol is also made of himself and put in the temple and the whole world is required to worship him or be killed.
"And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child." (Revelation 12:13)
"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." (Revelation 13:5-7)
"And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people." (Daniel 8:24).
"And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." (Daniel 7:25).
"And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished." (Daniel 12:7).
Antichrist has now exalted himself and magnified himself above every god that is called god or that is worshipped. He has set himself down in the temple of God at Jerusalem and now demands worship by the whole world with the the option of being beheaded if one refuses. It appears that every religion is tolerated for the first 3 1/2 years of the tribulation except those who have been newly converted to Christ, but now, Antichrist will tolerate no other god but himself to be worshipped and so begins his pogrom to dismantle the whorish religion of Babylon, raping her of her riches and burning her with fire. Antichrist uses the ten kings of his global government to accomplish this as they have given their kingdom to him to reign over them. Most will willingly worship the Beast (Antichrist) and receive his mark, but there will always be some who will not turn from their mother religion and these will be annihilated. This whore of Babylon is called,
"THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH" (Revelation 17:5). Her beginnings were back on the plain of Shinar shortly after the Flood, when the population began to rebel against God once again. They refused God's command to fill the earth and began to worship the creation rather than the Creator. This they did at Babel, building their city and tower unto heaven, representing their commercial and religious unity. God then confounded their language and scattered them upon the face of the whole earth, they bringing with them their abominable religion to whom Babylon was the Mother. Since that time, this great whore metastasized into every false religion known to mankind and has been the demise of all those who committed fornication with her to this very day.
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"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 fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled." (Revelation 17:16-17)
To the bewilderment of the Jews, the one who made it possible for them to build their temple and to restore their daily sacrifice now causes their sacrifice and oblation to cease and sets up an idol of himself in the temple of God, which is the abomination of desolation. This may have been the Antichrist's (possessed by Satan) plan all along, for many millennia ago he stated, "I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High" (Isaiah 14:13-14), "so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God" (2 Thessalonians 2:4). And now the wrath of Satan is poured out upon God's chosen people. What are they to do? They are told, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place... Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains". This will likely be the mountains to the south and east of Jerusalem in the ancient land of Edom which now encompases Jordan. When Satan sends out his armies after the Jews God miraculously opens up the earth and swallows them up miraculously protecting the Jews. They are also miraculously fed in the wilderness as in the days of Moses and their wanderings in the wilderness when they were fed with manna. "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain." (Isaiah 26:20-21)
"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened." (Matthew 24:15-22)
"And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days... And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Revelation 12:6, 14-17)
"Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion. For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon. Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth. Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land." (Isaiah 16:1-4)
"Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth." (Isaiah 63:1-6)
During the tribulation, untold millions of believers will be persecuted and killed for their faith. With the witness of God's Two "two olive trees, and the two candlesticks" (Revelation 11:4) many Jews and gentiles are converted. These are hated by the world, and like a pack of wolves, they turn upon these sheep to devour them as they become the the special target of Antichrist their god. This persecution intensifies and now includes the Jews, especially after the midway point of the tribulation when he declares himself to be the only god who may be worshipped. He begins to root these out by mandatory worship and implimentation of his economic plan via the "mark of the beast". Many will escape and go into hiding, but multitudes will be caught and made a public example by beheading.
The Antichrist also destroys the Mother of Harlots as he will tolerate no other gods but himself, not even false ones. All the harlots she has spawned, that is, every religion that does not worship the one true God of Creation is also marked for annihilation if they will not worship Antichrist. And so, many who are loyal to their idols will also perish whether they be Muslim, Hindu, Buddist, Animists, Environmentalists, Christian cults etc., will also have to worship the Antichrist and the image of the Beast and receive his mark or be killed in vain.
"And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." (Revelation 6:9-11)
"And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." (Revelation 13:7)
"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake." (Matthew 24:9)
"After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands... And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:9, 13-14)
"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." (Revelation 12:11)
"And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God." (Revelation 15:2)
"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." (Revelation 20:4)
"I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom... And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." (Daniel 7:21, 25)
During the first half of the tribulation the gospel has been going out via the Two Witnesses. They have been preaching the Word with signs and wonders authenticating their message just like the apostles before the New Testament Canon was complete (Mark 16:20, Hebrews 2:1-4). They are going forth in the Spirit and power of Elijah, holding forth the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, and in these days none will be able to say, "I never knew, or never heard". Multitudes of Jews and gentiles are converted and saved for the Gospel "is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." (Romans 1:16) The apostle Paul had preached the gospel saying, "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). This was the central message that the apostles preached wherever they went.
The greatest revival that ever shall be known is that which takes place during the tribulation. There shall never be that many saved in such a brief period of time. Even Jesus told his disciples, "Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come." (Matthew 10:23) The end shall only come when the gospel reaches the ends of the earth as a witness to all nations, so by chance, if any be beyond the message of the Two Witnesses and their converts, an angel flies to and fro throughout the whole earth preaching the everlasting gospel that they might be saved from their sins, and the just judgment that is about to come upon the whole earth.
"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." (Matthew 24:14)
"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." (Revelation 14:6-7)
God has alway born witness to man whether it be through His creation, through conscience of through His ministers, however, if there ever was a time that the nations will be "without excuse" (Romans 1:20) and "willingly ... ignorant" (2 Peter 3:5) it is during the tribulation. This time will truly reveal how stiff necked and hard hearted man has become. God has gone forth through this dispensation of grace, showering His lovingkindness upon humanity, "for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matthew 5:45) "Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness." (Acts 14:17) And finally so loving the world, He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who in His earthly ministry went forth "preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people." (Matthew 9:35) He "went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil" (Acts 10:38), and finally when He finished the work His Father gave Him to do, He laid down His life freely, lovingly and willingly, bearing our sins and shame, the sins of the unjust, on a cruel cross. He died for our sins and was buried and was gloriously raised again from the dead for our justification, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Sadly, by this time, those who are left have refused to repent, they have trampled Jesus Christ under their feet, and counted His shed blood for sinners as an unworthy thing, and so, there is nothing left but "a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries" (Hebrews 10:27).
How long He has stretched forth His hand to an unworthy and gainsaying people, but they have refused to return. There is no remedy. "But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds... unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile" (Romans 2:5-9).
"And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God." (Zechariah 13:8-9)
"Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you." (Ezekiel 22:18-22)
"And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin: And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness. And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed." (Isaiah 1:25-28)
"But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness." (Malachi 3:2-3)
The last seven plagues are now poured out upon the earth. These are the seven bowls of wrath. This first judgment only affects those who are destined for hell, having pledged their allegiance to Satan receiving the mark of the beast and worshipping his image. These have refused to repent of their wicked deeds even after the display of God's mighty power and so are now reaping what they have sown, gnawing their tongues for pain because of their grievous sores, which will be nothing compared to an eternity in hell that awaits them. "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." (Revelation 14:9-11)
"And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image... and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds." (Revelation 16:1-2, 10-11)
The next two judgments poured out by the second and third angels affect the sea and the rivers and the fountains of waters turning them to blood. In a previous judgment one third of the creatures in the sea died (Revelation 8:9). Now every creature that was left living dies. Jesus had continually stretched out His long arm of salvation beckoning that if any man thirst they could come to Him and drink the waters of life freely. But having rejected Him and His offer, all the earth's waters are turned to blood and so if any man thirst they are given blood to drink for they have shed the blood of saints and prophets.
"And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy." (Revelation 16:3-6)
The fourth angel pours out his vial upon the sun scorching men with great heat. They are no match for the great power of God who alone can control these plagues upon His creation, but alas, like Pharaoh of old, they refuse to repent. Jesus said, "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken." (Matthew 24:25-26) This is no doubt another one of the "signs" (plural) in the sun.
With the great heat scorching the earth, the great river Euphrates dries up (Revelation 16:12), and much of the forest and grass burns up. But this great heat may cause something else. God had told Job long ago, “Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?” (Job 38:22-23) We have seen plagues of great hail come down in the Revelation to judge the nations, but what about the “treasures of the snow”? It is interesting that “treasures” are elsewhere also translated “storehouses”. Are you aware of any storehouses of snow that may be reserved against the day of trouble? The great reserves of snow and ice are heaped up on both the North and South poles. While the intense heat of the sun dries up the rivers of the world, it also melts the polar ice caps flooding the many great coastal cities and sea ports of the world in judgment. The Lord is going to restore the earth back to the garden of Eden like conditions, and we know through the fossil record that the arctic regions were once tropical. This intense heat may also restore the pre-Flood water vapor canopy that was above earth's atmosphere (Genesis 1:6-7).
Remember again what Jesus said, "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken." (Matthew 24:25-26) It brings new meaning to my mind if the reserves of snow are melted with fervent heat. Most of the great cities are built on costal waters, not to mention all of men's so called “paradises” on the tropical shores of the world. We are also told that "every island fled away" (Revelation 16:20). They will all be gone and destroyed. Yup, distress of nations, with perplexity.....
"And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory." (Revelation 16:8-9)
"For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall." (Malachi 4:1-2)
"The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left." (Isaiah 24:5-6)
"Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound." (Isaiah 30:26)
The fifth angel pours his vial on the seat of the beast and his kingdom was filled with darkness. The throne of Antichrist will likely be at the newly rebuilt city of Babylon. The new world capital and center of commerce. While the earth is being scorched with heat from the sun, now, the capitol of Antichrist and his kingdom is turned to darkness. The prophet Joel said, "the sun shall be turned to darkness" (Joel 2:31). Isaiah said, "behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people" (Isaiah 60:2). He had judged pharaoh in the nith plague on Egypt in like manner (Exodus 10:21-22), and now He is judging the world again. The world knows that only the Creator can control His creation like this, yet they still refuse to repent, and so the enemies of God are being destroyed out of the earth as He brings forth His judgments to take back the kingdoms of this world in preparation for the coming kingdom of Christ where His will will be done upon the earth as it is in heaven.
"And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds." (Revelation 16:10-11)
The sixth angel pours his vial upon the great river Euphrates, drying it up to make way for the vast armies of the kings of the east that they might be gathered to the great battle of Armageddon. We can think of the armies of China and India, but also, all the Muslim countries along the way, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afganistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Krygyzstan, and eastern Russia among others. The world has by this time been divided up into "ten kingdoms" and so this would likely be in reference to the kings ruling those eastern kingdoms of Antichrist's empire. The Euphrates was the northern border of the land promised to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 15:18) and now it is dried up to make way for the enemies of God from the east to come to their slaughter.
"And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared." (Revelation 16:12)
Satan "knoweth that he hath but a short time" (Revelation 12:12) before Christ returns. Demons are now utilized to gather not only the kings of the east but the nations of the world, to gather them together for the battle of Armageddon. Three demons in specific are mentioned here, each one coming from the satanic trinity, Satan, the Beast, and the False Prophet. They go forth working miracles, signs and lying wonders to deceive the world into thinking they can defeat God, and so, under their strong delusion, the "ten kings" leading all the devil worshippers of the world, come forth to "make war with the Lamb" (Revelation 17:12-14). Satanists are on the rise today, and under the freedom of religion are demanding their place in public schools, and boldly publishing their evil deeds through the liberty we have in the Americas. It may appear like a small fringe group today, but in that day, they will make up a great army, not only to try and destroy God's covenant people Israel, but to do battle with God. These willing pawns are used by Satan in a desperate attempt to try to defeat Christ when He returns, where they shall be cast"into the great winepress of the wrath of God" (Revelation 14:19).
Armageddon in the Hebrew tongue, "Har-Megiddo," means "Mount of Megiddo." This mountain overlooks the plain of Megiddo on the west and the plain of Esdraelon (or valley of Jezreel) on the northeast, about 60 miles north of Jerusalem.
"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty... And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." (Revelation 16:13-14, 16)
"I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land... Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision." (Joel 3:2, 9-14)
"Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle." (Zechariah 14:1-3)
" And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12)
Jesus said there would be wars and rumors of wars intensifying as we approach the great day of the battle of God Almighty. The Euphrates is dried up to prepare for the way of the kings of the east, and we are also told of an invasion out of the north (Ezekiel 38) along with many who are confederate with them. It appears that not all are in allegiance with Antichrist and he goes about in the Middle east trying to conquer those who are not subordinate to him (Daniel 11:35-45). On one of his campaigns in Egypt, "tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him." (Daniel 11:44-45) The exact timing of these events are sometimes hard to discern, given the many interpretations by those who study the Scriptures. Some have placed the destruction of Magog at the beginning of the tribulation, others have timed the destruction of Russia at the battle of Armageddon. But it appears that it will be drawn out over several years, perhaps beginning when Israel is dwelling safely under the first half of the 7 year covenant with Antichrist, but extends into the latter half after the covenant is broken and leading up to the battle of Armageddon.
"Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them... And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes." (Ezekiel 38:2-8, 15-16)
The last of the 7 vials of wrath is poured into the air bringing a great hail each weighing about one hundred pounds and an earthquake of global proportions. In the earlier part of the tribulation there was an earthquake where "every mountain and island were moved out of their places" (Revelation 6:14), however, this earthquake was so massive that every mountain is leveled and the islands of the world vanished. John the baptist had quoted the prophet Isaiah saying, "Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it." (Isaiah 40:4-5) In that day men shall seek to hide and "shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth." (Isaiah 2:19).
All the cities of the nations have all crumbled under the hail and massive earthquake of proportions never seen ever before upon the earth. Man has been building up his own kingdom, without God, for himself and it is all destroyed in a moment. For those who are not looking for Him it will be a sad day, but for those who are awaiting His soon return, their desire shall come. The prophet Haggai said, "For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts." (Haggai 2:6-7) The kingdoms of this world have come to nought. In Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, there was a great image representing the kingdoms of this world, but when Christ comes, He smites the image on its feet and the kingdoms of this world come crumbling down. It is broken in pieces by the stone that smites the image, and then that Stone becomes a kingdom that fills the whole earth. "Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." (Daniel 2:34-35)
"And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great." (Revelation 16:17-21)
And now, great Babylon comes to remembrance to give to her the cup of the fierceness of God's wrath. This is the great emblem of man's rebellion against God that goes back to the time shortly after the Flood infecting all of humanity since that time. The great city Babylon is rebuilt and revived once again and becomes the eighth great and final kingdom under Antichrist in the days just prior to Christ's glorious return. "And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition" (Revelation 17:8). Much could be said on this important topic. If you would like to read a more detailed account of Babylon and its effects on the whole world since the time of the Flood, and commentary, click on the "Links" for more info.
"And... great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath... And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication." (Revelation 16:19, 17:1-2)
Many things have been going on in the earth as previously mentioned, much of them simultaneously. However, this scene is one that is in heaven. The church had been raptured prior to the Time of Jacobs Trouble, that is, the 7 year tribulation "which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth" (Revelation 3:10). The Judgment Seat of Christ has already taken place and now, the Church which is the Bride of Christ partakes in the marriage of the Lamb. She has been arrayed with a garment, the "robe of righteousness" (Isaiah 61:10), provided by her Wonderful Saviour. It is "the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe" (Romans 3:22). It is "his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." (v. 26) It is "not by works of righteousness which we have done" (Titus 3:5), for "God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered" (Romans 4:26). Because of sin, "judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life... That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 5:18, 21). "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is all according to God's amazing grace, that Christ should take upon Himself our sin and in exchange, the spotless Lamb of God should clothe us with His righteousness, making us fit for heaven.
"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God." (Revelation 19:7-9)
Back on earth, the armies of Antichrist have been gathered for the great battle of Armageddon. These armies are gathered round about Jerusalem, from the modern day town of Haifa on the Mediterranean in the North, and eastward across the the valley of Meggido and the valley of Jezreel up to the Jordan Valley and down that valley all the way South to the land of Edom, which is modern day Jordan, south of the Dead Sea. Most of the Jews have been providentially protected in the land of Edom where they fled when Antichrist broke the 7 year covenant, but in the end, we find that there is a remnant back in Jerusalem, perhaps the 144,000, and Jerusalem is under siege.
"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 and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it... In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem... For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle" (Zechariah 12:2-3, 8-9, 14:2)
"For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land... In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them. Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision." (Joel 3:1-2, 9-14)
"And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful... And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army." (Revelation 17:12-14, 19:9)
"For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee" (Psalm 83:2-5)
The armies of the Antichrist have been gathered round about Jerusalem. There is yet a remnant who are holed up in Jerusalem while many other Jews have fled to the mountains of Edom (Bozrah). This vast army is stretched on the north through the valley of Meggido, and down the Jordan Valley to the east of Jerusalem, all the way south of the Dead Sea to the wilderness of Edom. Jerusalem is in a siege and the armies of Antichrist are on the doorstep of Edom. The remnant of Israel, it appears, will now succumb to their enemies wishes, "let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance" (Psalm 83:4). It appears that all hope is lost and Satan's long war against God and His people will be won. Some 2000 years before Jesus lamented, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." (Matthew 23:37-39). Israel would not have her God, and so rejected and crucified their Messiah, Jesus Christ. And this must be so as the Scriptures had written that Christ must first come as the Lamb of God dying for the sin of the world so that man through repentance and faith might live. And so, in fulfillment of the Scriptures, Israel was scattered throughout the nations of the world, only to be gathered back in these latter times.
Now back in the land it appears their military might cannot save them and that they are to face certain annihilation. What can they do but call upon the name of the Lord and thus will they do. They will call upon and bless His holy name, and under the shadow of His wings shall they trust.
"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." (Zechariah 12:10)
"In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness... And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God." (Zechariah 13:1, 9)
"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God." (Ezekiel 36:25-28)
"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins." (Romans 11:25-27)
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8:10-12)
"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call." (Joel 2:32)
Having come to their wits end, Israel calls upon the name of the Lord out of a sincere heart and God hears and answers their cry. After the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, Peter testified to them in Jerusalem saying, "But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." (Acts 3:18-21) Much tribulation has come upon God's people throughout the past two millennia. They were called to "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." (James 5:7-8) They have declared that "Christ shall come again" and now, "he that shall come will come, and will not tarry" (Hebrews 10:37), but not as the Lamb of God to die for the sins of the world. This He did once, but now, as the Lion of the tribe of Judah who shall put down all evil and destroy the wicked out of this world and save His people Israel.
"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen." (Revelation 1:7)
"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean." (Revelation 19:11-14)
"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." (Jude 14-15)
"To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints." (1 Thessalonians 3:13)
"And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day." (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10)
"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call." (Joel 2:32)
"When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:4)
When Jesus returns to the Mount of Olives, the mountain shall cleave in two making a pathway for the Jews to escape the wrath of Antichrist, and the wrath of God poured out in fury upon his armies. This is much like in the days of Moses when God parted the Red Sea making a way for the Jews to escape the wrath of Pharaoh and his army before God destroyed them all, swallowing them up with the sea. Returning with Christ are "all the saints" who were raptured seven years earlier. Like Enoch was raptured before the judgment that came upon the whole in the Flood in Noah's day, so too were the saints raptured before the tribulation.
"And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey." (Acts 1:9-12)
"And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. (Zechariah 14:4-5)
Jesus said, "if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." (Matthew 24:23-27) His Second Coming will not be a private affair like the rapture. It will be Christ coming from heaven to earth in great glory with His saints, and every eye shall see Him. "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen." (Revelation 1:7)
"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." (Luke 21:25-27)
Although Israel has found a place back in their homeland, only about one third of the Jews are back in the land, the rest are content with staying in the nations where they have been scattered. Because Israel had rejected their Messiah, Jesus said they would "be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." (Luke 21:24) They would be scattered with Jerusalem being trodden down, only "until" the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. That the times of the Gentiles is drawing to a close is evident due to the fact that Israel has once again become a nation on May 14, 1948, and many of the dispersed since that time have been slowly trickling back to the Promised Land.
Those who hold to a post-trib rapture scenario believe that the "elect" mentioned in Matthew 24:31 is the church and that the church must go through the tribulation. This is totally false as the context clearly reveals that this is referring to the nation of the Jews in fulfillment of prophecy.
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." (Matthew 24:29-31)
"Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there." (Nehemiah 1:8-9)
"But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them." (Deuteronomy 4:29-31)
"And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers." (Deuteronomy 30:2-5)
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." (Isaiah 11:11-12)
All of those of the nations who have been deceived by Satan and his two henchmen, and have decided to follow them, are drawn to the battle of Armageddon where they will find themselves up against the King of Creation. His feet have landed upon the Mount of Olives cleaving it in two, making a valley for the remnant to escape from Jerusalem. Perhaps the remnant in Jerusalem were trapped in there and had not had time to escape when the bulk of the Jews fled to the wilderness when Antichrist broke the covenant. These have been under siege, miraculously defending their beloved city (Zechariah 12:1-9). Jesus then proceeds up from Bozrah in the land of Idumaea. This is south of the Dead Sea near modern day Jordan, where the Jews have earlier fled to the wilderness. The Lord then proceeds North through the Jordan Jalley slaying His enemies, and across the Valley of Jehoshaphat and into the Valley of Armageddon where the nations shall stand in judgment.
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem." (Zechariah 12:9)
"Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle." (Zechariah 14:1-3)
"Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor. Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth." (Micah 4:11-13)
"Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree. For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness. For it is the day of the LORD’S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion." (Isaiah 34:1-8)
The armies of Antichrist have been gathered together to cut off Israel from being a nation and to fight against the God of the Jew with the vain notion that they can defeat Him. Their long rebellion against the Lord of Hosts has led them to this strong delusion that they should believe the Lie and their master Satan. However, they shall be crushed in the winepress of God's wrath.
"For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land." (Joel 3:1-2)
"For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." (Revelation 16:14-16)
"These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful." (Revelation 17:14)
"And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." (Revelation 19:19-21)
"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel." (Psalm 2:1-9)
"Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel." (Joel 3:12-16)
"Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. " (Zephaniah 3:8)
"And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs." (Revelation 14:18-20)
"Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come" (Isaiah 63:1-4).
Israel is apparently a great center of migration to many fowls traversing from North to South and back again. These will have more than their fill in that day of all the flesh of the mighty men of war.
"And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great." (Revelation 19:17-18)
"And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD." (Ezekiel 39:17-20)
The Lord had returned from heaven with the army of saints and angels but Christ alone had slain the enemies of God with the mighty sword that proceeded out of His mouth, which is the Word of God. These had been judged and put into the winepress of the wrath of God Almighty and the blood flowed 180 miles up to the horses bridles (Revelation 14:20). So great and quick is their destruction. As for the Beast and False Prophet, these two will be the first to be cast into the Lake of Fire, which is the final Hell. All other lost souls have been confined to Hades at the center of the earth to await their judgment at the Great White Throne Judgment after the Millennium.
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"And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." (Revelation 19:20)
"I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame." (Daniel 7:11)
"And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming" (2 Thessalonians 2:8)
"But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked." (Isaiah 11:4)
After the battle of Armageddon, Satan is bound for one thousand years that he might not deceive the nations any longer. The Millennium will be without the influence of Satan, but not without the influence of sin in the lives of newborns during that time who must be evangelized and saved from their sin.
"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season." (Revelation 20:1-3)
"For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit." (Isaiah 14:13-15)
There are still multitudes of those nations who had not joined the Battle of Armageddon. Of these there are some who were saved as evidenced by their deeds and treatment of Israel. The Lord is a discerner of the thought and intents of the heart. There are many who "profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate" (Titus 1:16). As the saying goes, they shall know we are Christians by our love, and we ought to love our neighbor as ourself, not as the priest and Levite who turned aside when they saw him who fell among thieves and was in need, but as the Samaritan who had compassion and gave his helping hand to the stranger (Luke 10:30-37). Jesus said, "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked" (1 John 2:3-6).
Now, on the other hand, there were those who were yet lost having rejected the preaching of the gospel that had gone forth to all nations during the tribulation (Matthew 24:14). Christ also knows their deeds, or lack thereof. They have their reward. These two groups will be divided like a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats, and those who have rejected the gospel will be cast into hell.
"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." (Matthew 25:31-46)
The angels had already gathered the elect of Israel from the four corners of the world back to Israel, now Jesus sends His angels to gather all things that offend out of His kingdom. This is what happened in the days of Noah. Noah was a preacher of righteousness but the world refused to hearken unto him. The Two Witnesses along with the 144,000 Jews will have ensured that the gospel reach all nations. Many will be outside of the Middle East, and not have partaken in the Battle of Armageddon, yet they continued on with their daily lives, acting indifferent to the Word of God. "For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (Matthew 24:38-39). Luke says, "the flood came, and destroyed them all" (Luke 17:27). John the Baptist also spoke of these days saying, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (Matthew 3:11-12). In the end there are only wheat and tares, the wheat and the chaff, that is, those who have been baptised with the Holy Ghost, and those who will be baptised with fire. The wheat will be gathered into His barn, and the tares and the chaff will He burn with unquenchable fire in Hell. So shall it be in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 13:38-42)
Every knee shall bow. Every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. It is a matter of when. We can do it today and be saved, or one can wait, when in shame, shall confess in the day of judgment.
"Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory." (Isaiah 45:22-25)
"For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." (Romans 14:11-12)
"And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:8-11)
Today, many Psycologists and even false teachers from within Christianity will teach that the basic problem with mankind is that he has too low self esteem, or that they do not love themselves enough. This is one of the damnable heresies that will arise in the last days according to the apostle Paul.
"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves" (2 Timothy 3:1-2). This self exaltation is nothing but a doctine of demons that seeks to exalt man, believing the old lie of Satan that he told Eve in the garden,
"ye shall be as gods" (Genesis 3:5). And so shall the Antichrist practice what he preaches, for
"he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods" (Daniel 11:36).
Nevertheless, we need not wait until that day, for He can be King and Lord of our life today. Let every one who names the name of Christ rather, sing the song of Moses,
"The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him" (Exodus 15:2). Today we can honor Him by word and deed. Today we can
"Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name [and] worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness" (Psalm 29:2). Today, with the Psalmist we can sing praise,
"The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted" (Psalm 18:46).
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"The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low" (Isaiah 2:11-12).
"For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." (Romans 14:11-12)
"And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one." (Zechariah 14:9)
Salvation is "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:5-7). So salvation from sin is not by hanging on, holding out, enduring to the end. Rather, we are saved by Him who "endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2). Nevertheless, good works are to be a necessary part of the believer's life for we were "created in Christ Jesus unto good works" (Ephesians 2:9). "This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men" (Titus 3:8). The fact of the matter, is that those who ARE saved endure to the end. "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12), without denying the Lord or falling from the faith. In this world the child of God may stumble, but we can never lose our salvation. Why is that? Because all God's children are in the strong hands of the Lord. "Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand" (Psalm 37:24). Hallelujah for such a wonderful Saviour who not only is able to save to the uttermost them who come to God by Jesus Christ, but also keeps us saved. Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one" (John 10:27-30). It is all of the mercies of God that He will not allow us to utterly fall. Many a Judas has betrayed Him with a kiss. Many a Demas has forsaken Him for the world. Many a Peter has denied Him an oath. But the difference between Peter and Judas and Demas, was that Peter had a faithful High Priest who daily maketh intercession for us. Though Satan desired to have him and sift him as wheat, his Wonderful Saviour prayed for him that his "faith fail not" (Luke 22:31-32). Hallelujah, What a Saviour!
"But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved" (Matthew 24:13).
"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34)
During the tribulation, Jesus had destroyed all sinners out of the earth. Those who had not repented of their sins perished by the plagues that overcome them, the armies of Armageddon were all crushed in the winepress of the wrath of God Almighty. Those who were left of the nations who had not enjoined the battle to destroy the Jews, were then divided as a shepherd divides His sheep from the goats and the lost are cast to Hell. All that are left to enter the millenium are the saved who endured to the end of the tribulation. These shall enter the millennium in mortal bodies and will procreate and repopulate the earth. However, their children will need to be taught the ways of the Lord and so be saved. In the millennium, sin will not be openly tolerated. The Lord shall be king over all the earth and shall rule with a rod of iron. Any who persist in their rebellion will be cut off early, and if it be at a hundred years old, he shall be considered a child. "And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts" (Malachi 3:5).
"There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed." (Isaiah 65:20)
The resurrected saints have received the gift of everlasting life. Just as Jesus "Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him" (Romans 6:9), so too, neither can the saints "die any more" for "on such the second death hath no power" (Revelation 20:6). Because He died for our sins, "we believe that we shall also live with him" (Romans 6:8). Christ's death has become theirs, even so are they are raised incorruptible by the power of the same Spirit that dwelt in Christ. Having paid the debt in full on Calvary's cross, we have now been freed from the bondage of sin and death, for He has paid the "wages of sin" (Romans 6:23) in our stead, which is death and separation from God in Hell for all eternity.
"And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection" (Luke 20:34-36).
"Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah." (Psalm 49:14-15)
The Old Testament Scriptures are riddled with prophecies concerning the coming kingdom of God and the reign of Israel's Messiah. Joseph had prophesied to the children of Israel and Judah in particular that "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be" (Genesis 49:10). In Isaiah's marvellous prophecy he stated, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this" (Isaiah 9:6-7). The prophet Jeremiah said, "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jeremiah 23:5-6).
Jesus had told His disciples to pray, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as in heaven", and when Christ first came to the earth there were some like Simeon and Anna and Joseph of Arimathaea, who looked for redemption in Jerusalem and waited for the kingdom of God (Matthew 15:43, Luke 2:25-38). Nevertheless, Israel as a whole, rejected and crucified their Messiah and Saviour so the kingdom was postponed. Hosea said, "For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days" (Hosea 3:4-5).
"When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6).
"Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things." (Acts 15:14-17).
"Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel." (Exodus 19:5-6).
"Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you." (Zechariah 8:22-23).
"But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves... And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed." (Isaiah 61:6, 9).
"Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom... And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." (Daniel 7:22, 27).
It is sad to say that many believe that God is done with Israel even teaching the heresy that the Church is the new Israel. However, God shall not break His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants. They will be brought under the covenant and shall be at the center of God's kingdom and head of the nations as promised by God Himself. "Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you." (Zechariah 8:22-23).
"And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God... And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee. And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee. The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them" (Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 10-13).
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Isaiah 2:2-4).
Having put down all His enemies, God's anointed King, Jesus Christ, shall indeed reign over all the earth. The nations resisted His reign over them so He had to dash them to pieces with His rod of iron (Psalm 2). Even so, He will rule over them with a rod of iron. Many kingdoms have come and gone, but His kingdom shall never be destroyed.
"And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne." (Revelation 12:5).
"And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." (Revelation 19:15-16).
"I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13-14).
"And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one." (Zechariah 14:9).
During the tribulation every mountain and hill was made low. All the mountains round about Jerusalem were leveled and made as a plain and Jerusalem was then exalted and lifted up above the hills about her.
"All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses." (Zechariah 14:10).
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it." (Isaiah 2:2).
In the Bible, the "latter rain" is usually in reference to the autumn rains that would bring the crops to fruition. "That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil." (Deuteronomy 11:14) "Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field." (Zechariah 10:1) The Lord also said He would withhold the latter rains because of Israel's whoredoms (Jeremiah 3:2-3).
Now in the context of Joel's prophecy he is speaking on the "Day of the Lord" (Joel 1:11, 2:1, 15, 31, 3:14). During the tribulation the earth has been smitten by famine, pestilence, drought, and scorching heat so that the earth is entirely devastated. The Lord has gone forth to battle to take back the earth and the kingdoms of this world are now become the kingdom of God's and His Christ and He shall reign forever. Having conquered all His enemies He now goes about to restore the earth and first on the list is to restore the early and latter rains. In Joel 2:23 it says, "Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month."
Sadly, today, some have taken this verse and spiritualized it to mean a great latter day outpouring of the Spirit for the church. Contrary to this the Bible speaks of apostasy in the church in the last days, not a great revival as some falsely teach. Joel also spoke of an outpouring of the Spirit but I think it will be primarily fulfilled after the rapture and upon Israel. We have been given a precursor to its fulfillment 2000 years ago on the Day of Pentecost, but its ultimate fulfillment will be for Israel during Daniel's Seventieth Week when they are refined and brought under the covenant, and on into the Millennium. "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." (Ezekiel 36:25-27). "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest" (Hebrews 8:10-11). "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more" (Hebrews 10:17).
"Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed." (Joel 2:21-27).
In Joel we are told, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim" (Joel 3:18). When the Lord returned and His feet landed upon the Mount of Olives there was a great earthquake that caused a valley to go east and west of Jerusalem. This water will flow out of the house of the Lord, and perhaps courses down through this newly created valley. The waters shall flow into the Dead Sea bringing it to life with an abundance of fish, and its shores shall team with an abundance of vegetation bearing fruit every month as the leaves no longer fade as before with the change of the seasons.
"And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be." (Zechariah 14:8).
"Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over. And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine." (Ezekiel 47:1-12).
Much is said about the future blessing of Israel. Many have marvelled how the children of Israel, by their own effort today, have turned many places that were desert into crop producing businesses via drip irrigation technology. But one only has to look at a recent satellite photo of Israel and it is clear that most of the land is yet barren desert. However, during the Millennium, the efforts of man will not be needed to water the land, it will be needed to harvest an abundance of fruit that will feed the entire world, for the Lord shall restore the early and latter rains causing the desert to blossom as a rose.
"He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit." (Isaiah 27:6).
"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God." (Isaiah 35:1-2).
"For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody." (Isaiah 51:3).
"Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited." (Ezekiel 36:33-35).
The Millennium will not be a time of idleness and playing harps as some have supposed, but it will be a productive and prosperous time where the people shall serve the Lord with gladness. Many of the waste places are rebuilt during this time as the whole earth has been devastated during the tribulation.
"But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded: And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD." (Ezekiel 36:8-11).
"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God." (Amos 9:13-15).
"And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed." (Isaiah 61:4-9).
Today the church is called to "grow in the grace, and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18), But in all reality, today there are not many that know the Lord. "They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate" (Titus 1:6), "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof" (2 Timothy 3:5). But during the Millennium ALL shall know Him, and His forgiveness of sins, and blessings innumerable. "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3).
"They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah 11:9).
"For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." (Habbakuk 2:14).
"And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (Jeremiah 31:34).
"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3).
In the beginning when God created all things "very good" (Genesis 1:31), none of the animals were carnivores, but they ate herbs or green plants for food. "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so" (Genesis 1:29-30). So many things had changed since sin entered the world by Adam, but many things will have been restored back to pre-Flood conditions during the Millennium.
"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah 11:6-9).
"The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD." (Isaiah 65:25).
The Battle of Armageddon was truly the war to end all wars. What a wonderful day that will be when the children of men "shall learn war no more". From the very beginning when a child is brought into this world, he is immediately taught the ways of war and violence whether through the toys he plays with, the games he plays, the media he watches. All revolves around violence and killing. All this shall come to an end. Why? Because Christ shall be reigning upon His throne. "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this" (Isaiah 9:7). This shall not be a temporary peace for "In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth" (Psalm 72:7).
"And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Isaiah 2:4).
"And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it." (Micah 4:3-4).
"And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited." (Zechariah 14:11).
The Lord had made a covenant with Abraham saying "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates" (Genesis 15:18). This was the land promised to the children of Israel, but the living areas are those described in Ezekiel 47-48 immediately surrounding Jerusalem and the sanctuary. This will be during the Millennium when God restores the kingdom to Israel.
"Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel...And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance..." (Ezekiel 47:13-48:35).
"Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom... And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." (Daniel 7:22, 27).
While Israel is God's covenant people and inherit the land promised to Abraham, and are the head of the nations, the church is a separate entity and has not replaced Israel as God's chosen people. People of Israel are Abraham's physical descendants whereas the Church consist of Jew and Gentile who were saved by believing the gospel after the day of Pentecost, and before the rapture. While the Jew inherits the land between the rivers of Egypt and the Euphrates, the church inherits "all things" and lives and reigns with Christ as His Bride over the twelve tribes of Israel and the nations.
" And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city." (Isaiah 1:26).
"And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father." (Revelation 2:26-27).
"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." (Revelation 3:21).
"And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." (Revelation 5:9-10).
"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." (Revelation 20:4-6).
"Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?" (1 Corinthians 6:2-3).
"And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (Luke 22:29-30).
"And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life." (Matthew 19:28-29).
"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.... He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:17, 32).
It is written in the Scriptures, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." (Matthew 4:10). While there be many that "serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly" (Romans 16:18), in the kingdom of God, it will not be so. As for today, true satisfaction in this life will only be found in following Christ and serving Him.
"Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him." (Psalm 72:11).
"And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." (Daniel 7:27).
"And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him" (Revelation 22:3).
In the Old Testament, the king and the priest were separate offices held by two different persons, but Jesus Christ, who is our King and Priest shall reign upon His throne. He is the King who will sit upon the throne of David, and a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. He shall build the temple of the Lord. No earthly king of Israel was even allowed into the temple, let alone the holy place where was the throne of God, but He shall occupy the throne of grace in the Millennial Temple. The religious and civil offices will be in harmony for the first time, united together in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.
"And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both." (Zechariah 6:12-13).
There are various sacrificial offerings reinstituted during the Millennium and officiated by the Zadokian priesthood. These were descendants of Aaron and Zadok (Ezekiel 43:19) who did not turn from God (Ezekiel 44:15-16). Now the Scriptures are clear that Christ offered one sin for sacrifices forever and there are no more offering for sins, as "we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all... he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever... For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:10-14). The Old Testament sacrifices were a shadow of good things to come and so the partakers thereof were anticipating the coming Lamb of God who would some day come and take away the sin of the world. So the sacrifices of the Millennial Temple are not propitiatory in nature. Rather they are instructional and for a memorial, to remind those newly born in the Millennium of the exceeding wickedness of sin and of its awfulness and horrible consequences, bring all into remembrance of how Christ suffered and died for our sins.
(Read Ezekiel 40-48)
After the Battle of Armageddon, Jesus had judged the nations and cast out of His kingdom all those who were not saved. Entering the Millenium there will only be those who were saved and endured till the end of the tribulation. These will repopulate the earth. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob inhabit the land promised to their fathers by God, immediately round about Jerusalem. The gentile nations however will live in all other lands. These and their offspring will make an annual pilgrimage, to come up to Jerusalem and observe the Feast of Tabernacles. If they choose not to come and worship King Jesus in Jerusalem, their nation will receive no rain. A complacent attitude toward the Lord will not be tolerated in that day and will have direct and immediate consequences.
"And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles." (Zechariah 14:16-19).
In that day Jerusalem shall become the joy of the whole earth. Why? Because the Great King and our Saviour resides there, and they who love His Word shall flow unto it. "Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King" (Psalm 48:1-2).
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem." (Isaiah 2:2-3).
"But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off" (Micah 4:1-3).
The Millennium will truly be a time of peace and prosperity for all. The nations have experienced showers of blessing from our God. There have been no wars during the reign of the Prince of Peace, for He has established it upon His throne. All who entered the Millenium were saved, but their offspring will in turn have to be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and of their own will, come to a saving knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. They too must be born again. By the end of the Millennium it is evident that many, while having an outward conformity, are not really saved, and when Satan is loosed, they quickly are deceived by him, and hasten to rise up in rebellion against the camp of the saints dwelling in Jerusalem. These have not been taught war during the Millennium, but this clearly reveals how "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9). How quick we are to turn back from God without the indwelling Spirit of God. The same is true in the Millennium, "There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Romans 2:10-18).
"And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city" (Revelation 20:7-9).
During the reign of the Messiah during the Millennium some individuals have died prematurely for outwardly manifesting their sin. However, when a concerted effort such as this takes place, a swift judgment is brought upon them with fire from heaven. Outward sin will not be tolerated during His reign and so swift destruction comes upon them.
"And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them." (Revelation 20:9).
Hell was originally a place prepared for the Devil and his angels. Apparently about one third of the angelic realm rebelled with Satan (Revelation 12:3-9). The word angel comes from the Greek word "aggelos". It is sometimes translated "messenger" and at times has reference to humans, such as John the Baptist who was the messenger sent to prepare the way before Christ (Matthew 11:10). God's messengers do His bidding and follow Him. Well, the Devil has his angels too who have chosen to follow him in his rebellion against the Most High God. The False Prophet and the Antichrist were cast into the Lake of Fire, and so is Satan. All those who received the mark of the beast during the tribulation are also cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 14:9-11). Furthermore, all those "that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ... shall be punished with everlasting destruction" (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9), and at the end of the Millennium at the Great White Throne Judgment, "whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:15).
"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." (Revelation 20:10).
"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels... And these shall go away into everlasting punishment" (Matthew 25:41, 46).
The message is clear. All those who reject Jesus Christ and His Words, the same Words will judge him in the last day. Jesus said, "every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Matthew 12:36). In that day, the books are opened and man is judged according to those things written in the books. The final book is the book of life that contains the names of all those who have repent and come to Christ for pardon and cleansing of sin. These have believed the gospel, that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again for our justification. Those who have refused to believe by that time will have their names blotted out of the book of life. From conception all names have been written there. All men have been given an allotted time on earth and at the end of their days their name will either remain in the book of life or will be blotted out because of their unbelief. This is the final judgment.
"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection... And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:5, 11-15).
"And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." (Daniel 12:2).
"He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." (John 12:48).
When death takes a man, his body goes to the grave, but his spirit goes to hell (Hades) which is the prison for all unbelievers. After the Great White Throne Judgment, death and hell are cast into the Lake of Fire, which is the final Hell, the place prepared for the Devil and his angels. This is called the second death. Death is a separation. When man physically dies, he is separated from his body, he is separated from his loved ones. For the believer, this is only a temporary situation, for he shall be reunited with his body made incorruptible by God, and with all his loved ones who have died in the faith. He will only ever die once. However, for the unbelieving Christ rejector, he shall be raised only to be judged and cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death, it will be a separation forever from God and His everlasting Kingdom.
"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." (Revelation 20:14).
"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." (Revelation 21:8)
Some have foolishly taught the false doctrine of annihilationism. They believe that when man dies, that is it, a belief somewhat like the athiest. This could not be further from the truth. Man was made in the image of God. Unlike the animals, man has an eternal soul. Where he will live for eternity will be his choice. At any time he can choose to believe and follow Christ, but to remain in an unrepentant attitude toward God is to play with fire. There are no second chances. Every man's choice is sealed at the time of death.
"He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still." (Revelation 22:11).
Since sin entered the world there was the promise of a new heavens and a new earth. God will not patch up the old one with all its scars of sin but will burn it up and make them New.
"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them." (Revelation 20:11).
"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea." (Revelation 21:1).
"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind" (Isaiah 65:17).
"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain." (Isaiah 66:22).
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2 Peter 3:10-13).
Abraham was a pilgrim upon this earth, and by faith, he "looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Hebrews 11:10). This was the place that Jesus had gone to prepare for His own. "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:1-3). It should be noted that "there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth", and sin defiles. This is man's age old problem. It is sin that keeps us out of heaven, and nothing we do can cure us of this problem. No amount of good works can I do to pay for sin because "the wages of sin is death", separation from God forever in the Lake of Fire. But praise be to God, in that while He is just, He is also the justifier of sinners who put their trust in Jesus Christ, in particular, His substitutionary death on the cross in our place so that not one single soul needs go there. Not only did Christ die for sinners, He rose again from the dead, for our justification, to make us right with God, that we might receive the gift of everlasting life, all because God loved us so much.
"And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God... And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life." (Revelation 21:2-3, 27).
Many from all nations over the past several millennia have prayed, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Let me tell you, their prayers are not in vain. The Lord is long suffering, not willing that any should perish, and because He is God He can foresee that there are yet some who will say that wonderful yes to the Lord Jesus Christ. There are perilous times coming upon the nations, so that the heathen may well ask, does God not care? Well, it is only out of pain that a child comes forth, and there may be many yet who will be born again into the kingdom of His dear Son, Jesus Christ. But one day soon, Christ shall return and put down evil and set up His everlasting Kingdom. What a day that will be. Will you be there?
"And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." (Daniel 7:14).
In the Millennium there shall still be death because of sin. However, in the new heavens and earth, there shall be no more curse, and no more death. In today's economy, everything dies because of the sin of Adam, and the resultant curse that came upon all his dominion because of sin. Because of Adam's sin, "the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body" (Romans 8:20-23). One day, man's greatest enemy, death, will be swallowed up in victory. "then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)
"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful... And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him" (Revelation 21:4-5, 22:3).
"He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation." (Isaiah 25:8-9).
"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying." (Isaiah 65:17-19).
Today we may may see through a glass darkly, but God has given to His children His Spirit. He has also given us His Word, that we might know the things that are true, all of His faithful sayings, so with great anticipation and patience we wait for His Son from heaven who has delivered us, not only from the wrath to come, but from so great a death that we so dearly deserved. How can we not praise Him? How can we not serve Him? How can we not bow down before Him?, "the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God", "who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords".
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:4-7).
"Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." (Psalm 16:11).
"For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him." (Isaiah 64:4).
"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God" (1 Corinthians 2:9).