On the Cusp of Apocalypse By Terry James

Every prophet of God is inerrant in his foretellings given through God’s Word. Each prophecy must be considered solemnly and soberly. God said the following through one of His prophets, the Apostle Peter: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Pet. 1: 20-21).

Jesus’ Prophetic Words

How much more solemnly and soberly should the prophetic words of Jesus Christ, who is God himself, be poured over with prayerful, reverential awe. It is with this realization, while pondering these strange times, that I was impressed to revisit the passages from one of the Lord’s prophecies I and others have used numerous times in thinking upon things to come. I am usually hesitant to use such an extensive block of Scripture in this space-limited forum. However, I believe it is good to look at the prophecies involved here, rather than send the reader off to look up the Lord’s words.

Jesus spoke about two specific generations of antiquity. He did so to forewarn one particular future generation, the generation that will be alive at the time He returns to intervene into the affairs of mankind.

”And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.” (Lk. 17:26-27).

God’s People Hated, But Work Continues

The primary point I want to address in Jesus’ prophecy about the earliest generations–the antediluvians of Noah’s day—is that Noah and his seven family members had been pushed to the limits of their unwelcome status upon earth by the beastly, anti-God masses that inhabited the planet. Noah and the others had no choice but to trust God in His instructions to build the ark, in preparation for leaving the hate-filled environs that surrounded them. Noah didn’t know exactly what was going to happen, but he did trust God to deliver him and the others. The others were perhaps less certain than Noah of things to come, but the proverbial handwriting was on the wall. Violence and corruption filled the whole earth. Hatred against them was pressing in from every quarter. They believed God was going to move by supernatural cataclysm as Noah preached forewarnings of judgment that was certain to fall. These eight souls didn’t dig bunkers and accumulate weapons of war against the world of violent, corrupt earthdwellers. They took God’s plan to construct the ark and carried it out to the letter.They trusted God, not human instrumentalities, as they believed the day of God’s judgment and wrath would surely come. They were true believers. They took God at His Word, through His preacher, Noah.

While Noah and the others worked on constructing the vessel–which most likely no one could fully fathom, regarding its purpose because it had never even rained, much less come a flood–the mocking, demon-indwelt people threatened the believers, wanting these judgmental religious fanatics gone from their presence. Just as the hatred reached a crescendo, with the totally corrupted masses groping viciously to get their fingers around the throats of the believers, God told Noah to go inside the ark, now fully prepared, and the Lord himself sealed the door.

The “work” was complete. Noah and his family had carried out the Lord’s directive to build a vessel upon which anyone who would believe could enter for safety from His coming judgment. The God-haters got their way; God’s people were lifted above the floodwaters that destroyed all of incorrigibly wicked mankind.

The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were likewise as corrupt as the whole world of Noah’s pre-flood time. Jesus tells us about Lot’s time, in continuing His prophecy of earth’s final days: “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” (Lk. 17: 28-30).

Day of Lord a Stunning Surprise

Jesus is forewarning here of a specific “day” when He says: “Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” That is the day the entire Book of the Revelation addresses. It is the day that begins, according to Jesus, like a “thief in the night” experience for the world.

Jesus prophesied about His stunning return to intervene in the activities of mankind on Planet Earth using metaphorical language that you and I would not use in describing our Lord. He said: “And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not” (Lk. 12: 39-40).

The Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter address this special “day” using similar metaphorical language. Paul described how Jesus’ return at the end of the age will begin: “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night" (1 Thess. 5:2).

Peter foretold how the Lord’s second coming will begin, in describing that astounding “day” in its totality: “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” (2 Pet. 3:10).

We should understand, then, that the “day of the Lord” starts Christ’s second coming from the moment He breaks in upon an unexpecting world of rebellious earth-dwellers. That “day of the Lord” lasts through to the complete remaking of the heavens and the earth, as reported by John, who recorded the vision he was given:

“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.

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 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” (Rev. 21:1-5).

The Lord himself expounded upon what that day would be like. I believe He spoke directly to what the very start of that day would be like for both God’s children (all born-again into God’s family through belief in Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross) and for unbelievers who are alive at the time of His sudden, “thief in the night” break-in upon the world:

“In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

Remember Lot's wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.

Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together” (Lk. 17:31-37).

Again, this corresponds to the words of Jesus: “And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not” (Lk. 21:39-40).

Significant Differing View

Some--likely, most--of the great seminary scholars in premillennial, pretrib teachers of eschatology hold that the Scriptures in these passages predict the time of the tribulation, just before Christ returns in the Second Advent. They for the most part believe that these passages refer to the people who are taken are taken to punishment to suffer God’s wrath and judgment.

I fall into the Dave Hunt camp regarding these matters. I am more and more of the conviction that these prophecies, given in more or less parabolic language by the Lord, are not about the last of the tribulation era, but of the time when the Lord calls the Church to be with Him–the time of rapture.

Actually, I believe the Lord is talking about both the middle of that tribulation hour in the first part of His prophecy, and the time of rapture in the second part of that prophecy.

First, Jesus says: “In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

Remember Lot's wife.

Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it…”

Jesus was talking about, I’m convinced, the same directive to the Jews as He gives in the Matthew Olivet Discourse:

“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” (Matt. 24: 15-21).

As Different as Day and Night

The second part of Jesus’ prophecy is not about the “day”–the time when the Jews are in the middle of the “day of the Lord”–the middle of the seven-year tribulation when antichrist is in the temple declaring himself to be god. Jesus talks next about “in that night.” It is the end of the Church Age to which I’m convinced He is referring. He abruptly stops foretelling the conditions in the middle of the “day of the Lord” and reverts to talking about “that night,” the night into which He likens the unguarded moment when the thief breaks in. And, note that this time of taking is in all different time zones, referring to both time of sleep and of the working day: “I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”

Jesus Not PC

One of the problems many seminarians will argue is that Jesus can’t be talking about His taking people in the rapture because of the distasteful, even grisly, analogy he draws in describing this one-taken, one-left account: “And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.”

Jesus would never make such a reference in describing His bride, the church, as "eagles” ("vultures" in Biblical vernacular), or to himself as a dead body (after all, He is the Resurrected Lord!).

That argument is a very weak one. We see where the Lord gives the analogy of His breaking in on an unsuspecting world, likening himself to a thief. That's not a very attractive description of the Living God. He is the Creator of all things, and by Him all things are held together. Jesus Christ, however, who is God, doesn’t have to worry about the political correctness or the false niceties of this phony world system. He makes His points in the strongest of terms at times because He doesn’t want the fallen minds of men to miss His point.

This is the description of the rapture, I believe, as my friend Dave Hunt has written. And, why should we not trust that the Lord of heaven would forewarn in the strongest terms about the stupefying event that will mean absolute joy and ecstasy to believers alive at the time of its occurrence, and abject terror to those who do not know Christ for salvation?

He would not, and did not, in my view, leave such an astoundingly vital prophecy to the Apostle Paul without adding His own words of foretelling. As a matter of fact, as I’ve often expressed, I believe that Jesus’ words as recorded in the Gospel account by John were about the “mystery,” which Paul later prophesied as recorded in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 15: “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” (Jn. 14:1-3).

As also expressed many times before, I believe that the Scriptures of prophecy about the days of Noah and the days of Lot, as well as Jesus’ words about the thief in the night breaking in on an unsuspecting world, cannot be the time of the end of the tribulation when Christ returns. Perhaps as many as two-thirds of the world’s population will have died by the time the horrendous wrath of God has fallen in judgment upon the wicked world of earth dwellers. It will NOT be business as usual. Men will not be building, marrying, buying, or selling in anywhere near the normal fashion Jesus says they will be doing when He describes the days of Noah and Lot in the Luke 17 accounts. It will be hell on earth at that time.

Frightening/Exciting Time To Be Alive

This is a generation which can, if one’s head isn’t buried in the sand, sense the groping fingers of ungodly forces reaching, grasping to strangle anything that puts forward the name of Jesus Christ and his righteousness. In sheer political terms, there can be seen on the horizon legislation such as the “fairness doctrine” that would stifle biblical teaching against the abominable practice of homosexuality. Legislation to increase legalization parameters for killing babies in the mother’s wombs awaits the development of a super-majority in Congress that can’t be overridden by presidential veto, or even filibustered against in the legislative process. There now will be a president who seems favorably inclined toward supporting both of these egregious proposals.

Time and time again, we have pointed to the signals that illustrate dramatically the almost certainty that the present generation is within the conditions and experiencing the birthpang convulsions Jesus describes in the Olivet Discourse. The geopolitical upheavals moving the world toward globalization at a dazzling rate, with the sudden economic meltdown drawing even avowed foes into new arrangements in order to try to avert international financial collapse, should alert children of God that the shout “Come up here!” can’t be far from happening. At the same time, the terrifying prospect for those who will be left behind is a mind-boggling matter for those who truly understand the events that put lost human beings on the cusp of apocalypse. The operative instruction for this late hour of the age is that we who name the name of Christ must be about the Father’s business.

Nearing Midnight In depth weekly commentary (Nov 17)

Nov 17

Drowning in a Sea of Red Ink

I’m sure most of you are familiar with the U.S. Government's ongoing plan to save the financial system by pumping trillions of dollars into the banking and credit markets. So much money is being created out of thin air by the Federal Reserve, I believe we are at risk of seeing the dollar suddenly collapse.

This year has seen mind-boggling movements in financial markets. Who would have thought that oil would rise to nearly $150 per barrel and then fall to $54, all in the space of four months? My fear is that we may soon find ourselves marveling over oil prices that are over $1,000, $10,000, or $100,000 per barrel. Hyperinflation is what may cause oil and all other commodities to rise so dramatically in price.

The Federal Reserve traditionally has been very diligent about controlling inflation. In the past, the Fed would risk dragging the economy into a recession to control inflation. The reason for the diligence is the understanding that when inflation gets out of control, little can be done to stop it. Prices rise and people increase what they charge for goods and services in order to keep up with the dwindling value of currency. Of course, this creates a vicious cycle.

Over the past several decades, the amount of money injected into the economy has been increasing at relatively steady rate. In reaction to the financial crisis, the Fed is dumping record amounts of money into the momentary system. It is a very big unknown what will happen with the money supply increase by the scale we see today.

The amount of red ink flowing out of Washington is truly staggering. According to CreditSights, a research firm in New York and London, the U.S. government has already put itself on the hook for some $5 trillion, so far, in an attempt to arrest a collapse of the financial system. The Fed has been guaranteeing trillions of short and long-term bank debt.

This mountain of financial obligation is only from September and October. One can wonder what how large our monetary commitment will be if the crisis continues for a few more months. It’s like the $10 million bridge that ends up costing $100 million. The government has a habit of low-balling the cost of anything. I would think the system would collapse before we reached a $10 trillion tab.

The insurance giant AIG is a perfect example of how this problem is mushrooming. In September, the Fed first provided AIG with an $85 billion loan, then in October it authorized another $37.8 billion. And just a few days ago, the company got an expanded $152.5 billion bailout from the government. The insurer also got access to as much as $20.9 billion from the commercial paper program.

The handing out of billions of dollars to financial firms has other business and labor groups lining up for their share of the bailout package. The auto makers Ford, GM, and Chrysler have warned that they could face bankruptcy before year's end without new government help. The mayors for three major cities have asked the federal government for assistance.

The Federal Reserve has done its best to hide this huge increase in money supply. The Fed recently said it would no longer publish figures for M3, which had been the best description of how quickly the Fed is creating new money and credit.

The folks in Washington have yet to figure out a way to prevent the shortfall from eventually showing up on our federal budget. The Treasury Department said last week it began the new budget year with a record deficit of $237.2 billion. This is over four times larger than the October 2007 deficit of $56.8 billion.

One can only hope that the economy quickly turns around and this orgy of deficit spending slows. If it continues, we’re eventually going to reach a breaking point where the value of the dollar plunges.

A lot people have asked me what we should do if the U.S. goes into a period of hyperinflation. There is the option of buying commodities like gold and oil. One can acquire them through indexes that trade just like stocks. Two examples are GLD for gold and OIL for oil.

I really think that little action would be required on the part of Christians. There is so much activity related to prophecy, an economic meltdown would cause me to be more concerned about the rapture’s nearness than any monetary fallout. My gut feeling tells me that we as the Church are not going to witness such an obvious warning sign.

Because the day of our Lord’s return is described as being relatively calm, I would not be surprised if men managed to put one Band-Aid after another on this financial mess. Of course, when the rapture finally occurs, there will be nothing to stop total calamity.

"But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 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" (Mat 24:37-39).

-- Todd

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Addressing Fears About Coming Years

While much of the rest of the world heaps praise on the American electorate for putting Barak Obama into the most powerful political position on the planet, the United States seems politically split nearly right down the middle. This, though the media almost totally ignores the fact of the split, choosing to try to make us believe it is an almost total majority that is ebullient over the prospects for a new, exciting reincarnation of the Camelot-like years of the John F. Kennedy administration.

Gun sales are up 70 percent from before it became almost certain the way the presidential election would go November 4. Anxiety at every level is as thick as Smoky Mountain fog in these post-election days. My email verifies that there is visceral fear among many Christians, as well as the American public at large.

There is good reason for the angst. However, the emails I’m receiving are increasingly trending toward the “Christians are going to be a part of the very wrath of God because of the election result” model. It is a model to which Rapture Ready does not hold, not because America’s Christians are somehow automatically exempt from bad times, but because God’s prophetic Word plainly teaches that no child of God living during the Age of Grace (Church Age) will ever taste the wrath of their Heavenly Father: “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:9). Jesus himself instructed that Church Age believers won’t taste God’s judgment and wrath. The Lord said, however, something quite interesting: “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Lk. 21:28).

Jesus had just given the Olivet Discourse, during which He described at considerable length the things that would be taking place during the tribulation–the last seven years of history immediately preceding His Second Advent (Rev. 19:11). He said believers would see those horrendous things “begin” to take place.

That’s what Rapture Ready and other prophecy ministries of the Pre-Trib view have been pointing out for some time. We try to alert believers to the coming apocalyptic storm. We aren’t in that storm, but, we can certainly see it approaching. Jesus said that at such time we are to “look up, and lift up our heads, because our redemption draweth nigh.” The rapture will break in on an unsuspecting world of rebellious earth-dwellers like a “thief in the night.”

Certainly we are seeing in this present hour many indicators that we are in that time when we should be “looking up.” But, it seems, so many of our emails are saying we should be “looking out” for the development of global depression and dictatorships. The fearful emails instruct that Christians are expected–the notes imply—to endure, to prove our super-duper saintliness. I’ve excerpted part of a dark, ominous email that constitutes a warning that is in tone as if the writer is rendering prophecy straight from a vision given by the Lord.

The emailer disagreed with a previous Nearing Midnight commentary of mine, in which I said I believed there might yet return a degree of peace and prosperity as part of a move by Satan to delude many. The writer is sincere, and my intention is not to make light of his prophecy-like predictions. I simply want to use his words to frame the kind of fears that are bubbling to the surface of discourse while people look at the change of presidential administration.

The writer first expresses, as if it is as good as a done deal, that the Obama administration plans a national security force made up of draftees who will begin making slaves of U.S. citizens. This plan, according to some who have studied the idea of a "civilian national security force" mentioned by Barak Obama in July 2008, is the brainchild of Obama and his soon-to-be chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel.

Such a force, completely separate from the military, which is substantially limited in interacting with American civilian populations in matters of law enforcement by The Posse Comitatus Act and the Insurrection Act, would indeed be troubling. Adolf Hitler used a national police force to subdue and rule over Germany’s civilian population.

I in no way say we should let down our guard. Any moves in that direction certainly warrant watchfulness. It is, however, the conspiracy tone of the email--the tone that reflects so much of the sort I’ve received lately--that I sense needs addressing. The fears go beyond the bounds of Bible prophecy, especially for God’s people, who should be looking up for the blessed hope, Jesus Christ--not looking out for Antichrist to enslave them in this pre-wrath era of the Age of Grace.

The emailer then says, "You're going to see a depression here, while China and many other countries prosper after the brief slowdown resulting from our collapse. With the collapse of the dollar, these evil people (like Rockefeller and Rothschild) will buy many companies and assets on the cheap but will then concoct a war that they can finance through that corrupt instrument we call the federal reserve and other central banks. Their companies will provide oil and supplies for the war that we fight and we pay for as slaves, as we've done for years… These people are worshipers of Lucifer and have been behind food shortages and genetically modified vegetables among other things…”.

Many facts in the email writer’s words are fuel for the fear we see developing. But, while it is prudent to be aware of the gathering prophetic storm, it is wise to look to Bible prophecy--not to the soul-depressing news that surrounds us--as the final Word in considering things to come.

Again, we look to what God has given us, I believe, for this very generation: “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. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do” (1 Thess. 5: 9-11)

--Terry

***Terry’s New Book***

We live in times of tremendous prophetic importance. America is at the very center of swiftly moving events. Where does it all fit in with end times Bible foretellings?

“The American Apocalypse: Is the United States in Bible prophecy?” presents answers that might surprise.

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What Secret Rapture?

by Todd Strandberg

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What Secret Rapture?

Many Christians in the prophetic realm today believe that when the rapture takes place, very few individuals left behind will understand the true reason for its occurrence. The common reasoning portrays the people left behind as being stunned at first, but then quickly developing some sort of amnesia. The idea that no one will pay any lasting attention to what would have to be a cataclysmic event seems hard to believe. This is especially true since so much information about the rapture has already been disseminated in the form of millions of books, radio or TV broadcasts, and even in the form of bumper stickers: "In Case Of Rapture This Car Will Be Unmanned."

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How the Idea of a Secret Rapture Became Predominant

Most Christian writings, when it comes to the world's reaction regarding the rapture, paint a picture of total ignorance of what has happened. The common understanding is, in order to have the Antichrist come to power, a blanket of ignorance needs to be thrown over all tribulation events. The unsaved typically say, "Where did everyone go?" This thought process has dominated rapture writings for the past 25 years. I believe the whole purpose of the rapture is to get people's attention. In contrast to what some authors think, information about the rapture permeates society, so much so that the occurrence of the rapture will likely cause a good deal of weeping and wailing.

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Will the World Take Notice of the Rapture?

The world will most certainly take notice when the rapture occurs. If the Statue of Liberty suddenly vanished from New York Harbor, ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN would break from regular programming to cover this marvel. To have millions of people disappear without a trace, the media storm cannot be imagined. If one car or airplane crashed without a driver or pilot, it would be a major news item. After the rapture, the media will have thousands of examples to choose from. Think of the vital positions that Christians hold in the workplace. Many businesses will be paralyzed by the loss of key personnel; the economy will suffer a devastating blow; and millions of people, who had friends and family members raptured, will be terrified. The rapture will create a media event that will rival any breaking news event from the past. If you turned on your television, you would find 24-hour-coverage on every channel. The President would be calling emergency meeting after emergency meeting, and churches would be filled to overflowing.

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How the Devil Will Deceive the World

Right after the rapture, millions of people will find "religion," repenting of every sin they have committed--and of some they haven't. The prophecy section in all Christian bookstores will be cleaned out, and you may need reservations to attend Sunday church services. Well, maybe not at all churches. The world will be in a state of supreme chaos, and out of this mess will arise the man who will have an answer to every question. This man, the Antichrist, has been repeatedly mentioned in the New Testament. Paul the Apostle spoke of him frequently. The Antichrist will be the greatest salesman in history because he will sell the people the biggest lie ever. Satan will be so impressed with him that he will give this man his full power. Paul also stated that because the people will have no pleasure in the truth, God will send them strong delusion that they may be damned. Exactly what that delusion is, we can only guess. What methodology the Antichrist will use to explain away the rapture, I have no idea. Some say he will cite space aliens as the reason, and some say the explanation will be that they went into another dimension to receive better understanding. If we are truly grounded in the Word of God, no lie, no matter how beguiling, will be able to shake us loose from the truth.

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End Times Events

Confirming The Sequence

Of End Times Events

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He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” (Matt. 16:2-3)

So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. (Matt. 24:15-16)

For then there will be great distress (Great Tribulation), unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. (Matt. 24:21)

When it comes to developing any kind of time line concerning the End Times, the watershed event has to be the Abomination that Causes Desolation. Why? Because from that time forward, the Bible gives a very clear sequence of events.

First, the Abomination is the event that kicks off the Great Tribulation, a period of judgments 3 1/2 years long.(Matt 24:15,21) After the Great Tribulation, the Lord returns and following His return the Millennium begins. After the Millennium comes Eternity. Any one on Earth during this time will be able to predict these events with reasonable accuracy.

Second, we who study prophecy can also count backward from the Abomination that Causes Desolation and predict the sequence of events leading up to it by applying our knowledge of Scripture.

How Does That Work?

Well, we know that the Abomination involves the anti-Christ standing in the Temple in Israel, proclaiming himself to be God. (Daniel 9:27 and 2 Thes. 2:4)

But that can’t happen until some other things take place first. Obviously the anti-Christ has to be revealed. And the Jews have to build their Temple. This is something that can’t happen until they experience a change in attitude causing them to demand a Temple regardless of the consequences. Today less than 1 in 4 citizens of Israel want a Temple built, but even if every one of them did just the hint that they were going to build one would send the rest of the world into a tizzy. It simply wouldn’t be permitted.

Some major event has to take place to convince the Jewish people that building a Temple in Israel is the right thing to do in spite of all the trouble it could cause, and some world leader has to have enough clout to convince the rest of the world, especially the Moslem Middle East, to let them do it.

Daniel 9:27 also reveals that as the End of the Age approaches, a leader from among the people who destroyed the Temple in 67 AD will confirm (enforce) a 7 year covenant with Israel that includes permission to build a new Temple, and that in the middle of this period he will commit the Abomination that Causes Desolation. That explains the persuasive world leader. He’s the anti-Christ, and he wants the Temple built for reasons that have nothing to do with Israel. The unanswered question in Daniel’s prophecy is why the Jews would desire a Temple at that particular time.

Our knowledge of the Old Testament tells us that a Temple was necessary to fulfill the requirements of the Levitical worship system. So then, because of the uproar it would create, it seems logical to assume that the Jews would only want a Temple if they felt it was absolutely necessary for the Nation of Israel to re-instate their Old Covenant worship of God.

How Does That Happen?

Toward the end of his two-chapter prophecy that speaks of a great end times battle between Israel and its neighbors (Ezek. 38-39), Ezekiel noted that God is going to use this battle to reveal Himself to Israel and the world once again. The way He’ll do this is to give Israel a decisive victory in the face of such overwhelming odds that everyone on Earth will realize that only God could have done it. Ezekiel wrote that following the battle God would gather all His people alive at the time to Israel, not leaving any behind. (Ezek. 39:28)

So this battle is the event that compels a national return to God in Israel. And when all the living Jews in the world are suddenly drawn to Israel because God has called them there, they’ll demand a Temple so they can resume their Old Covenant relationship with Him. If He was calling them through the Messiah into a New Covenant relationship they wouldn’t need a Temple, so it has to be a resumption of the Old Covenant. Their New Covenant call, prophesied in Jeremiah 31:31, happens later during the time of the Two Witnesses (Rev 11) and they’ll respond to it toward the end of the Great Tribulation, according to Zechariah 12:10.

Also on the heels of Ezekiel’s battle, the anti-Christ will emerge with a plan to restore peace to the Middle East. He first appears as a peacemaker as foretold in Daniel 8:25. He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power. I prefer the King James translation of the second sentence, which begins, “By means of peace he will destroy many …”. So the battle of Ezekiel 38-39 creates the circumstances for both the anti-Christ and the Temple to appear on the scene, setting the stage for the Abomination that Causes Desolation.

Connecting The Dots

Using our Bible knowledge to back into the present from the Abomination that Causes Desolation, so far we find the sequence looks like this.

The Abomination can’t happen till the Temple’s built. But that can’t happen till a 7-year covenant is confirmed permitting its construction. (By the way, this 7-year period is often called Daniel’s 70th week because it’s the last week of years in a prophecy consisting of 70 weeks of years given to Daniel in about 538 BC. Dan. 9:24-27)

The 7-year covenant can’t happen till someone from among the descendants of the Roman people emerges with a plan for peace in the Middle East. And that can’t happen till the battle described in Ezekiel 38-39 puts the Middle East in all out war.

Ezekiel’s battle can’t happen until God is ready to reveal Himself to Israel again, bringing Jews from all over the world to Israel clamoring for a Temple so they can re-instate their Old Covenant relationship with Him.

For all of my 25 plus years as a student of prophecy, scholars have been expecting the Battle of Ezekiel 38. Yet the conditions that make it possible have never been met. For one thing, the participants are not all in place, but more importantly Israel has never known a single day of peace, let alone the prolonged period necessary for them to be described as a peaceful and unsuspecting people, the way Ezekiel did (Ezek. 38:11). Something has to happen to make them feel like they no longer have a threatening enemy while leaving Iran, Russia, and the other nations Ezekiel identified in position to attack.

Recently, several writers, myself included, have seen two other Old Testament prophecies as likely preludes to Ezekiel 38. In Psalm 83 it appears that all of Israel’s next door neighbors will rise up in an attack intended to destroy the Jewish nation, and Isaiah 17 specifically mentions Israel’s destruction of Damascus. The defeat of Israel’s neighbors fills in two more blanks in the end times sequence. First, it explains why none of them are mentioned in Ezekiel 38, when logic dictates that they should be right in the thick of things. Second, it reveals how the Jews can be caught with their guard down. With Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah, Lebanon, and the others defeated, Israel will finally have some breathing room. Since Russia and Iran have traditionally used these neighbors as proxies rather than having a face-to-face confrontation, Israel may feel there’s no longer any threat from them either.

But Wait, There’s More!

And neither God’s revelation to Israel nor the emergence of the anti-Christ can happen until the Church is gone, for two very good reasons.

1. In Acts 15:14 James clearly prophesied that after the Lord had taken the church He would return and rebuild the Temple. Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: “After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it” (Acts 15:14-16).

After the Lord has taken the Church, He’ll return and rebuild the Temple. Two Greek words are critical to our understanding of this passage. The one translated tent also means Tabernacle, a reference to the Temple. The one translated taking means to lay hold of, or take up in order to carry, or carry away. I believe it’s a veiled reference to the Rapture of the Church preceding God’s return to Israel.

If so, it’s consistent with God’s way. He seems to focus either on Israel or the Church, never both at once. In the greater context of the passage James was illustrating this very point from the other end of the Church Age. He told the gathered Apostles that God was setting Israel aside while He took from among the Gentiles a people for Himself. But after He had taken them, He would return to restore Israel.

Later, Paul alluded to this sequence in Romans 11:25-27. I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”

As I’ve pointed out before, in Paul’s day the phrase full number was a nautical term that stood for the number of crewmen necessary before a ship could legally set sail. Apparently God has assigned a specific number to the church before it can be raptured. When that number is complete, the Church will “come in” to the place prepared for us. Come in was another nautical term meaning “to arrive at the intended destination”, which Jesus described as His father’s house in John 14:1-3. Then God will turn again to Israel, reversing the hardening of Israel’s heart, taking the blinders from their eyes, and offering salvation once more.

2. In 2nd Thessalonians 2:6-7 Paul explained that the anti-Christ could not be revealed until the power that’s restraining him is taken out of the way (literally out of the midst). To most evangelical scholars the power Paul wrote about is the Holy Spirit as resident in the Church. Since this power is sealed within us (Ephe 1:13) it stands to reason that if the Holy Spirit is taken we have to go too. Here’s another hint of the Rapture of the Church, this time preceding the appearance of the anti-Christ.

So if the Rapture has to precede both the revelation of God to Israel and the revelation of the anti-Christ to the world, then the Rapture has to precede the battle of Ezekiel 38 as well. Since no one knows what the full number of the Church is, no one can know in advance exactly how long before Ezekiel 38 the Rapture will take place. It could literally happen any day, and there’s no day more likely than any other. For that reason we can’t locate it any more specifically in the End Times sequence than to say that it must precede Ezekiel 38.

But apart from that, the sequence of events will go like this. The Battle of Psalm 83/Isaiah 17, the Battle of Ezekiel 38, anti-Christ’s appearance as a peace maker, the 70th week of Daniel begins, the Abomination that Causes Desolation takes place, then the Great Tribulation, the Second Coming, the Millennium, and Eternity. The first of these could be very close. So close that you can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah. 11-05-08

Nearing Midnight In depth weekly commentary (Nov 10)

Nov 10

Fasten Your Seatbelts

The election of Barack Obama as the United States’ 44th President has generated a great deal of interest in what possible connections he may have to Bible prophecy. I can only recall 9/11/01 as the only other time when there was such a sudden rush of traffic to our site.

The number one question being asked: Is Barack Obama the antichrist? I've received dozens of emails pointing out the odd fact that the day after the election, the daily pick-three lottery number in Obama's home state of Illinois was "6-6-6."

At this point, I think it’s unlikely that Obama will be the antichrist. The beast of Revelation will come out Europe, and he will be a man of profound political skills.

What makes Obama potentially important to the end time is not the fact that he will be the most socially liberal president in our nation’s history; I think his prophetic significance will center on how he handles our relationship with the state of Israel.

The stability of our nation in part depends on our friendship with Israel. God said to Abraham, "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee" (Gen. 12:3). I believe much of our current economic troubles can be traced to the pressure the Bush administration has placed on Israel. The coming Obama administration doesn’t look very promising.

The Bible warns us that the day will come when Israel is standing by itself against its enemies. For decades, prophecy scholars have wondered what will cause America to become isolated from Israel. Some have wondered if it will be a Russian nuclear attack, while others have thought it might be the impact of the rapture. We can now add the possibility of political change to the list.

With the election of Obama, we have reached a point where so many key players are active on the world stage, we could now see prophecy come together at an exponential rate. Because Obama will be taking the role of the leader of the free world, one should expect the prophetic time clock to tick away at a faster rate.

It’s also important to realize that prophecy is now moving on a multi-front. While the world was fixated on the U.S. elections, I was keeping an eye on events in Russia. Vladimir Putin is said to be working on a plan that would soon put him back in the Kremlin. Putin has already formed an alliance with Arab nations that is amazingly similar to what is described in Ezekiel 38 and 39.

The global financial crisis is rapidly pushing the world towards the one-world economic system the Bible predicts. Later this month, several key nations are going to come together for another strategy summit.

I don’t mean to pick on Obama before he has even taken office. I believe we are so close to the tribulation hour, there is a good reason to be apprehensive about policies he will seek to implement. During the campaign, I thought it was strange that one man could be friends with so many people with radical political views.

Prophetic events have progressed along so far, the only real choice we had between John McCain and Barack Obama in the election was the speed at which we would choose to move towards the end. Now that America has selected the more rapid option, it's time for prophecy-minded Christians to fasten their seat belts.

I don’t see anything shocking in last week’s election. I do believe strongly that a dark demonic cloud has swept over the land, but this is how we should expect the end times to play out. And, I foresee more negative events to come. The only thing that worries me is the Christians who fail to see the danger that comes from prophecy being fulfilled in our day.

I believe we are entering a time when Christians really need to set their priorities. Your last chance to do something for the kingdom of God may be sooner than you realize.

“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Rev. 22:12).

"So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled" (Mat. 24:33-34).

-- Todd

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Next for America: Corrective Measures, or Accumulating Pleasures?

My research in writing my book scheduled for release February 1, 2009--The American Apocalypse: Is the United States in Bible Prophecy?--took me back to God’s harsh dealing with America in the 1930s. The things Americans suffered were considered by preachers and politicians alike to be God’s wrath and judgment. One well-known writer, John Steinbeck, even gave his famous novel on that depressed time in America the title of The Grapes of Wrath.

America had gone through a tremendous time of growth and relative prosperity during the “Gay 90s” (for the younger readers, it had nothing to do with the Clinton years, nor with homosexuality). It was the 1890s, and the term “gay” still enjoyed its proper definition.

Despite the early 1900s bringing about World War I, the nation leaped forward, and soon the “Roaring Twenties” brought forth the flappers and boisterous, even debauched, “good times.” Reformers tried to squash the hedonism, and with the passage of the 18th Amendment instituted prohibition against alcohol manufacture, sale, and transportation. The action only increased rebellion against morality. American gangsters took over, and illegal booze, gambling, and every other type of nefarious activity permeated culture and society.

Then in 1929 came the stock market crash in the United States, and worldwide depression quickly followed. The wrath of God had fallen!

Or had it?

No, it had not. Neither had His judgment against America’s sin fallen upon the nation, thus affecting the world–not in the sense of God’s great judgment that came upon the antediluvians, the wicked, violent, even genetically corrupted earth dwellers of Noah’s day.

But God’s mighty hand of correction through the Great Depression and the horrendous “Dust Bowl” era came down hard on the backside of this nation He so manifestly chose to accomplish great things for His great purposes. Those things would include, in particular: 1) developing the technologies that would spread the gospel around the entire world, and 2) to act as midwife for the birth of modern Israel on May 14, 1948, and to become that Jewish peoples’ closest ally--an ally which just happened to soon become the most materially blessed, most powerful, and most influential nation the world has ever known.

America has, despite recession, economic downturns, and wars that took thousands of young American lives, known a standard of living and pleasures–both unsullied and debauched—like no generation of any people in history. The profoundly disturbing questions to ponder are: Will God choose to again correct this special nation called America? Or, will He take His hand off to an extent, allowing the U.S. to find its own way, which is what the majority of the electorate seems to want?

Daily I get email from people who fear this nation will now feel the Lord’s hand of wrath. The die is cast, as one of Shakespeare’s characters said. I don’t necessarily subscribe to that “judgment and wrath is about to fall” opinion. At least not in the immediate near term way many who send the fear-filled emails believe.

God’s wrath is building. It will be unleashed when the “prince that shall come” confirms the covenant with Israel and Israel’s antagonists (Daniel 9:26-27). That pouring out of God’s anger won’t happen until the Church is removed. However, there is almost certainly a heavenly decision that has already been made, and is even now in the process of implementation. It is likely the decision to either take corrective measures as in God’s past dealings with America in order to get this nation back on the moral course, to complete its work in His grand prophetic design, or to give rebellious masses what they more and more demonstrate they demand. They demand freedom to choose what is right in their own eyes.

God’s decision to take His hand off to some extent would be far more fearful than His again taking corrective action like world economic depression. To let the rebels do what is right in their own eyes, thus casting God away from any semblance of divine guidance, means America’s work is done. That is indeed a frightening thing to contemplate.

I must say that I, with reverential consideration, don’t expect immediate meltdown and correction from Almighty God. I believe with all that is within me that He has been demonstrating corrective movements over the past years and months–movements that have gone unheeded by even the majority of His people. These have chosen, it is obvious to me, at least, to bury their heads in the sands of watered-down messages that have practically no relevance to God’s message of doctrinal truth. Rather than revival, there have been false, emotional outbursts that have done disservice to the Lord who purchased each and every one who has been born again. It seems to me that the Church's work, like that of America, has almost run its course.

Dave Hunt once wrote a book called Peace, Prosperity, and the Coming Holocaust. His basic premise was that this fallen world system, and particularly the United States and even the Church, would be drawn ever deeper into believing in humanistic salvation by seeming peace and prosperity. He demonstrated, then, through historical precedent and Bible prophecy both past and yet to come that the world of fallen man will at a future time of unprecedented evil activity on earth endure a holocaust far worse than that perpetrated by Adolf Hitler. The end will bring, he concluded, God’s wrath and judgment on an incorrigibly wicked world.

I believe America and the world might yet have another burst of so-called peace and prosperity. But the “change” the country and the world is clamoring for through trust in human governmental entities rather than God’s moral governance will, as my friend Dave Hunt wrote, swiftly bring the holocaust of the tribulation.

Let us pray for the new president, and for all governmental leaders, so that we might lead peaceful lives. This is commanded of us by the Lord. But, let us work to complete whatever He puts in front of us to do for the Kingdom. Let us, as Oswald Chambers entitled his book of devotions, do "Our utmost for His highest" while our fleeting time remains upon this fallen sphere.

--Terry

Thief in the Night

By Terry James

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Thief in the Night

No scriptural proof-text in God’s Word more clearly points to the first of the two phases of Jesus Christ’s second coming than does the following: “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2).

We who hold to the pre-trib rapture viewpoint are often accused of being deceivers. We are condemned by our detractors as leading astray Christians alive now–if they live to see it-- who will be required to endure the tribulation, thus to wash their robes clean in preparation for inheriting God’s Kingdom. We are castigated for foisting upon innocent, gullible believers a “secret rapture” that will somehow lead these Christians to take the mark of the beast (Rev. 13:16-18).

I’m not precisely sure of their “reasoning,” but I think they claim this because they are convinced that the ones who fall for the rapture viewpoint won’t be able to recognize Antichrist when he comes to power. We who teach the pre-trib rapture, so the accusation goes, would have falsely led these people to think the Church would not be here when Antichrist is on the world scene.

Almost all who are antagonistic to the pre-trib rapture doctrine teach that the “elect” will have to endure part or all of the seven-year tribulation era. Those who hold to a post-tribulation rapture, or a no-rapture position, believe that Christ will come back at the end of the tribulation, at Armageddon. They hold to the notion that that is His only return in the second coming. There are other views of the second coming that have Christ returning when the earth is perfected and made ready, but we won’t go there in this essay.

Let us look at only the pre-trib rapture and the post-trib rapture positions for the purpose of exploring what is meant by the “thief in the night” references in 1 Thessalonians 5:2 and 2 Peter 3:10.

These two viewpoints–the pre-trib, and the post-trib--offer the greatest contrast to examine in consideration of the second advent of Jesus Christ, within the overall belief that rapture will, according to Bible prophecy, happen before Christ’s foot actually touches down on Planet Earth.

The pre-trib view of rapture says that Christ’s second coming is in two phases, separated by at least seven years. The post-trib rapture view says that the rapture and Christ’s coming back to the Mount of Olives will occur almost simultaneously–certainly with no more than a matter of days separating the two events. The post-trib position says there is no “secret” rapture. Christ’s coming again will be fully seen in the heavens by all, including Christians who will be watching for Him to break through the darkness of that hour.

We agree that the rapture of the Church (all born-again believers in Jesus Christ for salvation since the Church Age began at Pentecost will be anything but a “secret”. The world will instantly go into cataclysmic chaos at the moment that stunning event takes place. The imagination is hard-pressed to fathom the ramifications of what will happen when millions suddenly vanish. Every child below the age of accountability will be gone in that mind-boggling instant of time. All babies (including those in the wombs of their mothers) will be instantly in the presence of Christ in the clouds of glory. Every corpse of every dead Christian will be raised to join with his or her soul to meet Christ in the air in that atomos of time.

The rapture will be mystifying, and to some an inexplicable phenomenon, but it will not be a secret. It will happen before the eyes of a stupefied planet of left-behind earth-dwellers. This declaration that Jesus will call His Church to be with Him seems audacious to many. But, it didn’t seem so to the Apostle Paul. He was quite confident–even adamant—in his prophecy concerning the “mystery” he had been given by the Holy Spirit to instruct all believers down through the Age of Grace (Church Age).

“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” (1 Cor. 15:51-52).

He explains what will take place next, in that stupendous fraction of a second: “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.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 Thess. 4:15-17).

Jesus himself told of this “mystery” Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 15:51. The Lord explains what happens after believers –both the bodies of the dead and those who are living-- are caught up in the air to be with Him: “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” (Jn. 14:1-3).

So, the rapture will take place. Believers and the bodies of those who died during the Church Age will be “caught up” in one single moment of time. “ALL,” not “some,” will go instantly to be with Jesus, who will then take them into heaven, where He has been preparing their dwelling places since He ascended from the Mount of Olives.

Again, the pre-trib position on this joyous event is that it is imminent (could happen at any moment), and will happen before the tribulation period begins. The post-trib position says that it happens at the end of the most terrible time in human history, just as Jesus Christ is returning from heaven at Armageddon.

The pre-trib view holds that it will occur at an unknown time. It will be a stunning, sudden, and unannounced-to-the-world-at-large break-in upon business as usual on Planet Earth. The post-trib proclaims that it will occur following all of the horrors of the judgments outlined in Revelation.

The pre-trib view says that the world at large (left-behind earth-dwellers) won’t see it coming. The rapture will cause all left on earth to wonder what has happened. The post-trib view says that all eyes will behold Christ’s coming again to a hellish planet, and the living and dead saints will then be gathered to Christ.

The defining thing to consider in thinking on the two diametrically different views of the rapture and second coming is wrapped up in the term “thief in the night”. The Apostle Peter again uses this mysterious term, first used by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:2: “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” (2 Pet. 3:10).

Peter is saying here that the day of the Lord–that time when God and His Christ, His Son, takes over this fallen planet—will begin like a thief in the night. It will be a sudden, catastrophic break-in upon a world doing business as usual. (Read Luke 17:26-29 to understand how things will be going along as usual when Christ comes back.)

This description hardly fits the post-trib view, or any other view that says Christ will rapture His Church during a time of unprecedented trouble (Jer. 30:7; Matt. 24:21). This indicates that it will be a total surprise, because a thief in the night doesn’t announce his coming with great, cataclysmic fanfare. The break-in is swift, stealthy–a totally unexpected event.

Peter foretells in these passages that the “day of the Lord” will then run its course, until the remaking of the heavens and the earth. The rapture will begin this “day of the Lord,” which will then run at least 1,007 years.

This is the first phase of Christ’s second coming. The rapture occurs like a “thief in the night”. The second advent, when Jesus’ foot touches down on the Mount of Olives, is the second phase of His second coming.

There are those who say with vehemence that it is blasphemous to equate Christ’s coming again as being like the break-in of a thief in the night. How dare we liken their Lord to a “thief”!

Really? Here’s what Jesus, the Creator of all things, said about this matter:

“But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matt. 24:43-44).

Looks like a pretty good case for the Lord’s sudden intervention into the nefarious affairs of this increasingly wicked world, does it not? That thief-in-the-night moment could happen, literally, at any moment. Certainly, signals of the tribulation are beginning to come to pass.

“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Lk. 21:28).

Nearing Midnight In depth weekly commentary (Oct 13)

Oct 13 Globalization and the Current Economic Crisis With the state of the global financial markets in such turmoil, I’m sure that most of you folks naturally have assumed that Terry or I would address this issue. I am absolutely amazed at how quickly the monetary health of the world has deteriorated. Stock markets around the globe have been in an absolute free fall. The Dow Jones experienced its worst one-week plunge in history. There is growing concern that the crisis will spread to other sectors of the economy. The lack of credit is decimating the auto industry. Investors on Wall Street have priced the stock of General Motors and Ford to levels that indicate the strong possibility of default. At one point, GM traded as low as $4 and Ford went below to $2 per share. The nation of Iceland has probably been hit the hardest by the crisis. Home to just 300,000 people, Iceland epitomized the global boom in easy credit. Its banks have most of their business overseas, and they amassed a balance sheet that is 200 times the GDP of the whole Icelandic economy. The boom has now turned into a bust. The situation has become so dire, Iceland 's government has been forced to nationalize the nation's top three banks. The whole country is said to be on the brink of bankruptcy. The potential losses are in the tens of billions, and Iceland only has a total GDP of $2.4 trillion. I've long said that economic hardship is the mother's milk of prophetic progression. For this particular crisis, it might be better said that economic hardship is the steroids of prophetic progression. Over the past two decades, there has been an incremental movement towards the global economic system predicted by the Bible. In the past few days, we have seen a sudden leap forward. If the players in this tragedy didn’t act so clueless about what is going on, I’d assume they were part of a pre-arranged plot. For the first time ever, central banks around the world joined together for a coordinated interest rate cut. The G7, normally nothing more than a photo opportunity for world leaders, has laid out a plan to make international banks more interconnected in the lending of money. Many world leaders are calling for tighter control. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi proposed the idea of closing the world's financial markets while they "rewrite the rules of international finance." French President Nicolas Sarkozy said, ``all actors must be supervised. We want a new world to come out of this [crisis]." The U.S. Treasury Department’s role in American society has greatly expanded in the past the couple months. The world's largest bank is now in Washington D.C., with assets of $1.4 trillion. There is now a proposal for the government to take an ownership stakes in certain U.S. banks. I think the greatest indication of the Fed's growing power is a new loan it gave to insurance giant AIG. When AIG received the initial $85 billion bailout loan, there was a huge amount of media attention to the process that led to the largest-ever federal loan to a non-bank. This past week, it became clear that AIG needed more money, so the Fed quietly handed over another $38 billion of taxpayers' money. It’s been very nerve wracking to see the stock market plunge 40 percent since its high set last year, but I think something far more worrisome is on the horizon. When the Antichrist comes to power, he will utilize what is commonly called the mark of the beast to control the global financial system. Unless you have the mark, you can't buy or sell anything. Because anyone who receives the 666 mark is automatically damned, anyone on earth during the time of the mark will have to suffer martyrdom or extreme hardship to maintain his or her faith. “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 14:11). Man now has the technology needed to establish a global, cashless community. At this stage, the only thing really missing is the political will to set the mark into motion. I believe the mark of the beast will come at the mid-point of the tribulation. The fact that we are seeing economic force push for its implantation indicates to me that the time of the rapture must be very near. "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh" (Luke 21:28). -- Todd Change “Change” has been the mantra for as long as I can remember when it comes to presidential politics. “We need change in Washington” is the hue and cry from the echoing lecterns of the political stump, and this presidential election season has produced, I think, the most hyperbolic call for change in the history of the republic. The call for change comes from both of the major candidates. However, the candidate of one particular party continues to bluster for change, yet, at least to my listening ears, hasn’t given one clear definition or any details of the change, what it will mean for the nation, or how it will be accomplished. It is empty rhetoric. Or, might it be much, much more predictive of rearrangements that will profoundly alter the way life is lived in America and the world? Please understand that I am not even in the slightest suggesting that Senator Obama, Senator McCain or anyone else will be the one who will one day be Antichrist. Let’s get that out of mind at the very outset. That person, to become “the beast,” will, I’m convinced, not even be recognized as fitting the mold put forth by Daniel or John in the Revelation until the Church (body of Christ comprised of the born again) is suddenly caught up to be with Jesus (1 Cor. 15: 51-52 and 1 Thess. 4:13-18). We get the assurance that the man of sin, also called the son of perdition, will be revealed when the Holy Spirit, resident in all Church Age believers, is removed as restrainer, and that action by rapture. God the Holy Spirit will, of course, not leave this world, for He is omnipresent. But He will, when the Church is removed, begin a different office of activity on planet Earth. That will be some change! He is presently restraining evil, the passages in 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2 tell. When He removes from his office of restraining evil, life on earth will be… Well, let’s let the Lord Jesus tell us: "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matt. 24:21). Whenever this election’s presidential candidate who is most vociferous about wanting to change things is asked for specifics, he deftly dances around the question, both about what he insists be changed, and how he proposes to change it. I think most of us would agree, regardless of political or religious persuasion, that there definitely needs to be change in Washington, D.C., and in America. There needs to be change--radical change—for the entire planet, as a matter of fact. But the right kind of change, when it is implemented, will be very specific, having plain speaking and consensus acceptance at its heart. The ideal society will come with the return of Christ. Presently, however, evil runs rampant, with fallen minds motivating and ruling over both the governing and the governed at all levels of society, culture, and controlling authority. Yet God the Holy Spirit still oversees and influences the consciences of mankind. There is coming a time when a great deal of that supreme governing authority will be lifted, and Jesus foretold what would happen following that lifting. The Book of Revelation, Chapter 4-20, tells the whole story of what happens from that twinkling of an eye moment forward. All humanistic politics are infected with sin-induced rebellion and sinfulness against the Creator of all things. So it is with America and the American political system. There is recognition by both major candidates and their parties that change is needed. But most of the rhetoric, the invective, the droning mantra, has been directed not at the core causes of the tumult, but toward the compounding economic issues during this political season. Those pocketbook matters are what have gripped the citizenry of America, and by the tremendous influence the U.S. exerts, are what have inflamed the fears of leaders and the peoples of the world. So, the real problems–problems that are the root of what ails the United States of America and the rest of the world—are covered over by the love of money, which, as we know, is the root of all evil, according to God’s Word. The issues at the heart of the sin-sickness engulfing all nations is wrapped in “change” that brought on exponential growth of immorality –the pushing away of Almighty God and the embrace of unrighteousness. In America, for example, “change” started the spiral downward. It began in earnest when God was summarily dismissed by judicial fiat from the classrooms of America. All that is happening now, immersing all of the world’s powers in boiling economic distress and perplexity, is based in refusal to adhere to God’s prescription for living righteously. These principles are found, of course, only in His Word, the Bible. In actuality, that Word is Jesus Christ, himself. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:1-4). Change, then, is something that should be undertaken with great caution. The reordering that resulted from the Supreme Court decision to remove God from the classrooms of America’s public schools and the Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade in 1973 are core moral value changes out of which have come the great turmoil that is spinning America and the world out of control. One party in particular has been at the heart of foisting that deleterious “change” upon this nation, whose founding fathers established America upon principles existing within the Ten Commandments. Anyone who is intellectually honest will recognize that fact after earnestly looking into the matters involved. That political party’s leadership, including its candidate for president this election year, supports keeping God out of public places, especially out of public schools. That party and its candidate supports abortion rights, which have resulted in the legalized murder of more than 50 million babies since 1973. That party and its candidate for president supports through the legislative process, or, if that doesn’t work, through judicial edict, making homosexuality a special classification of lifestyle that they want to be off limits to criticism by Christians and others who see homosexuality as unnatural and debauched. Considering such destructive thinking, the question one must ask is whether such a party, or the candidate it endorses, should be trusted to offer any sort of change that will benefit America or the world America so profoundly affects. --Terry

Second Chance For Salvation

by Christine Peters

I would like to begin by stating that I am not telling people that they don't need salvation today. However, I am a realist, not an idealist. Reality dictates that after the rapture, people will be left behind because of their own unbelief, procrastination, or pride. The point of this article is not to reassure people that they can wait to believe in the Lord until after the Rapture happens. It is simply a look at what the scriptures have to say about salvation during the Tribulation. Those people 'lucky enough' to actually live through that time of wrath will have the opportunity to repent, but they also need to know that they will likely be martyred for their faith. It will be a long, hard road.

The foundation of our relationship with the Lord is faith, not proof. �Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen� (Hebrews 11:1). The Lord asks us to have faith in Him, and to trust Him by faith alone. It is my belief that, by rapturing the church as He said He would, God is making one last attempt to prove His deity to those who resisted.��God's purpose is ALWAYS redemption.� While He IS removing the church to protect them from His wrath, He is also reaching out to a lost and dying world"�

As described by Jesus in the book of Matthew, the Tribulation will be a time that has never been seen by this world and never will be seen again (24:21). The rapture, in itself, will be a major calamity unlike anything the world has ever seen. There is no guarantee that those who are unsaved at the time of that great event will live through it long enough to repent!

Lately, I have seen some differing opinions on the issue of salvation during the Tribulation. Some people believe that only the Jews in general will be saved. Others believe that only the 144,000 Jews mentioned in Revelation will be saved. Still others believe that no one will be saved during the Tribulation, however, I cannot find scriptural support for those positions and during my study on this topic, what I did find actually disproved all of these ideas.

Let�s take a look at what the Bible has to say about this issue. (All following emphases are mine.)

1. What does God want?

Malachi 3:6a For I [am] the LORD, I change not

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

God is not an ever-changing God. He is now as He was and as He will be. It is His desire that all men come to salvation. These verses prove that His purpose is to redeem the lost.� We can trust that does not change because of the rapture, but, rather, the rapture is because of that purpose.

2. Can people repent during the Tribulation?

Revelation 9:20 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:

Revelation 16:9 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 16:11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

From these passages, we can see that mankind will be given the opportunity to repent during the Tribulation. These are but a few of the references found in Revelation that show repentance and the lack thereof during the Tribulation period. Therefore, we can be confidant that God's offer of salvation and forgiveness will still be available.

3. Who are the Tribulation Saints?

Revelation 7:9 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;

Revelation 7:13-14 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.

The people who repent and turn to God during the Tribulation are called the Tribulation Saints. First we see that they are a multitude from all nations, of all peoples and tongues. Therefore the Tribulation saints will not be limited to only the Jews or the 144,000. In addition, they will come out of the Great Tribulation, therefore they can not be the Old Testament saints or the Church. It is simply logical to believe that "the multitude that no man can number" are the people who turned to the Lord during the Tribulation."

4. What is the purpose of the two witnesses?

Revelation 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

The purpose of the two witnesses is to preach the gospel to all the world during the Tribulation. The fact that the Lord has seen fit to send these two men to accomplish this further clarifies that there is the opportunity for repentance and salvation during the Tribulation.

5. Is there a point of no return?

Revelation 13:16-17� 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 14:9-10 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:�

During the Tribulation, all people will be faced with a destiny-sealing choice. This is what is referred to as the "mark of the beast". Scripture indicates that it is tied to the economy, as no man will be able to buy or sell unless he accepts this mark. Additionally we can see that the mark represents the worship of the Antichrist and the acceptance of his reign on earth. Much speculation abounds about what this mark will be--ranging from a tattoo to a computer chip--but truth be told, until it is instituted, no one will know for sure what it will be. What is important to note here is that the acceptance of the mark will be a willful action and direct rejection of the Lord. The wrath of God will be poured out on those who accept this mark. This passage indicates that it will be hell on earth for those who accept this mark.

Revelation 20:4 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 19:20�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.�

This passage states that the Tribulation Saints who will be martyred for proclaiming the name of Christ will live and reign throughout the millennium. It also states that those who have taken the mark will not be a part of this group--their fate is determined as well. The distinction that the Lord is making here is that the mark will be a defining moment--the point of no return. Once this decision is made, fate is sealed for eternity.

6. Who will populate the Millennium?

Zechariah 14:16 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.

At the end of the Tribulation when Christ returns to set up His millennial reign, the earth will be populated by those who believe in Him and survived the Tribulation.

7. Who is the restrainer?

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 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 2:6-7 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.��For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.�

This scripture shows that the Antichrist cannot rise to power or be revealed until the restrainer is taken out of the way. One�prevalent theory�holds that the Holy Spirit is the restrainer that will be taken�away, thereby making salvation impossible.�However, reading from the book of Joel, that theory is not acceptable.

Joel 2:28-29 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.

Joel 2:32 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.

This passage shows us not that only will the Holy Spirit remain on the earth, but also that the Lord is now and will be willing then to forgive those who repent. The Holy Spirit is omnipresent and will remain with the believers throughout the Tribulation. Without His influence, no one would be able to be saved! The restrainer referred to by Paul in this letter to the Thessalonians is the workings of the Holy Spirit in the church.

8. What about the great delusion?

2Thessalonians 2:9-12 [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.

Wow! Now there's some scary stuff. Paul is saying here that the Lord will send a great delusion to those who rejected His truth so that they will believe the lies of the Antichrist. Will those whose hearts are hardened to the message of salvation today still be hardened to it tomorrow? Romans 1:28 tells us that God is patient but He has his limits--He will turn over a stubborn person to a debased mind.

The big question here is, what truth did they receive? In other words, what did they know?

Let's take a look at five distinct representatives of society.

Case 1: This is an Orthodox Jew with an MBA from Yeshiva University (Jewish College). He knows all about Jesus, but from a historical perspective. He believes that Jesus was just a man that the Gentiles elevated to God status. Out of the blue, I asked him one day what he would think if the Messiah came and it turns out to have been Jesus all along. His response? "If he shows up with holes in his hands, I'm not buying it."

Case 2: This is a devout Muslim. He knows about Jesus, as Islam teaches that Jesus was one in a line of great prophets. Islam also teaches that Jesus (not Mohammed) will return at the end-of-days and gather the faithful to Allah. He also believes that Jesus was not God but, rather, just a man.

Case 3: This person knows the story as well. She is a scientist and rejects the need for God in her life. She can see the benefit for others, just not for herself.

Case 4: A former co-worker of mine is a self-proclaimed Druid. He outwardly rejects the notion of God altogether. He says he wants nothing to do with a God that will allow bad things to happen. Case closed; end of discussion. When his wife went into the hospital for surgery, he was asked �priest or rabbi� by the admitting nurse. He told her to, "bring me a bush to hug".

Case 5: This is the �all paths to God� person. This person believes that, just as the Lord confused the tongues at the tower of Babel, He also sent different messengers to different people at different times. Jesus, Buddha, and Mohammed are all a part of the Godhead as well as the coming Jewish Messiah, whose role it will be to wrap it all up into a nice neat little package. Two years ago, this described me. Sadly, this is also the fastest growing �religion� on the planet today, and is sweeping college campuses like a storm under the name Baha'i.

Assuming these cases are symbolic of the prevalent mentalities in the world today, and representative of people who do not come to repentance prior to the Tribulation, are they all damned? That sure is a lot of people now, isn't it?

No one knows what God's litmus test is regarding the �what did you really know about the gospel� question. During the Tribulation, He will send a deluding influence which will allow people to be tricked, but only if their hearts are hardened to the truth.

If you are reading this and the Rapture has already happened, do not be fooled! Earnestly pray and ask the Lord to show you the truth. Keep your heart open to the answer. If you honestly want to know, just ask Him and He'll tell you. Here is some additional information that will explain in greater detail.

So what's the bottom line?

This is why it is so important to come to faith in Jesus now. Better to be safe than sorry!

Trust me on this one--hedging your bet by waiting on the Rapture is a risky position to be in. I can assure you that you don't want to be driving down the highway being followed by an 18-wheeler driven by a born-again Christian when the Rapture happens. By the time you realize what hit you, it will be too late.

Are you really willing to gamble on the odds that you will live long enough to get a second chance?