Planet
Earth wobbles toward a foreboding future under the fear filled eyes of nervous
world-watchers. However, the portentous events filling today's headlines
thrillingly
echo Daniel the prophet's words within spiritually attuned ears: "... and
the end thereof shall be with a flood... " (Daniel 9:26).
The
book of final prophecies that Daniel was told to "... shut up... and seal
... even to the time of the end" seems to now be open, its contents
spilling
across
our newspapers' front pages and our television screens (see Daniel 12:4). No
previous generation has experienced the number, frequency and intensity
of
signals so similar to things prophesied to be witnessed by the generation alive
at the consummation of human history. Daniel's last-days flood indeed
seems
to be deluging the planet while the prophet's words in Daniel 12 resound
hourly. Knowledge now doubles every two years. With the advent of the Internet
and
other communication technologies, that pace continues to increase at a rate
impossible to comprehend or harness. We run to and fro at breakneck speed.
We
do so literally through travel that enables us to cover millions of miles of
space in just a matter of days. We do so electronically, our communications
running
like lightning in a fraction of a second to every point on earth-and even to
distant worlds. Jesus' words about the signs of the times just before
His
return at the time of Armageddon are becoming reality before our eyes as we
move through our daily lives. False Christ’s, false prophets, wars and rumors
of
wars and all the other signals our Lord said will be happening concurrently in
birth-pang fashion convulse our world with continuing regularity. Israel,
pressured
from all sides to accept absurd demands in a satanically inspired pseudo-peace
process; Russia and its neighbors positioned precisely as Ezekiel
38
and 39 prophesy; China gaining strength and exerting increasing hegemony over
the Rising Sun regions from which the "kings of the cast" will come;
the
European
Union poised to become the colossus that will produce the "ten kings"
power base of Revelation 17:12,13, from which the Antichrist will launch
his
drive for world conquest: The nations of prophecy appear ready to play out the
final, violent scenes of this Earth Age. Mankind grows worse and worse,
just
as the apostle Paul prophesied. Perilous times are here as the fierce, heady,
high-minded lovers of pleasure more and more dominate societies and
cultures.
Current ecumenical movements to bring all religious systems together into one
configuration prove Paul's prediction that end time man will have
a
"form of godliness, but [deny] the power thereof" (2 Timothy 3:5).
Man's intellect continues to produce technology that Antichrist will no doubt
use
to
subdue, control and ultimately force all people to worship him or be killed.
Foreshadows of Wrath and Redemption examines in-depth the signs that Jesus
and
the prophets foretold would prevail during the seven-year tribulation period
(see Revelation 6-19). Moreover, the vast body of evidence herein presented
points
to the stunning fact that many signals foreshadowing the coming wrath of God
are observable today! Last Days Deluge No matter which way we look
on
earth's horizon, we see thunderheads of the approaching end-time storm. Despite
rosy predictions by politicians, scientists, religionists and philosophers
that
earth's Golden Age lies just over the next hill or just around the next bend,
we hear rumblings and see the lightning that signal ominous things to
come.
While it is true that an infinitely magnificent golden future lies just beyond
earth's stormy horizon, such a future will not be produced by fallen
mankind,
but by Jesus Christ upon His return to put down satanic rebellion and establish
His kingdom. Human beings will never produce heaven on earth.
A
brief examination of the direction the humanistic flood is sweeping this
generation documents that we are gushing down a sin-darkened ravine toward
apocalypse.
False
Christ’s, False Prophets, Great Deception Proof abounds that we live in a time
marked by false Christ’s, false prophets and deception. Deceived victims
number
in the thousands. For example, consider the Jim Jones Guyana massacre, the
David Koresh Waco debacle and the deluded cult members who thought they
could
hitch a ride on a spacecraft hidden behind the Hale-Bopp comet. Benjamin Creme
still proclaims Lord Matreya to be the coming Christ. Dozens of lesser-known
false
Christ’s and their false prophets deceive growing numbers of people who seek to
fill the void only the true Christ can fill. These luciferically empowered
death
cults, most of which claim apocalyptic prophecies as their foundational
doctrines, are making shocking headlines more and more. If there is any
question
about
the fact that many people are already deeply involved in the end-time
deception, consider the billions of dollars spent on the psychic hotlines.
Modern-day
soothsaying has produced an industry that currently generates more than $5
billion annually. Hollywood and music industry celebrities glowingly
report
personal encounters with demon forces through psychic counselors who introduce
them to spirit guides, personal angels or other benign- sounding-but
evil-spiritual
entities. Far more troubling than these devilish activities, however, is the
subtle evil that deludes and corrupts ever-increasing numbers
of
people, including many within the body of Christ. The ravening wolves in
sheep's clothing of Matthew 7:15, like Satan himself, stalk about the
earth-even
among
Christ's fold-seeking whom they may devour. They preach and teach a feel-good
message that promises anything and everything the deluded, spiritually
ignorant
who listen with "itching ears" desire. The false teachers feed their
flocks the garbage that they are good people who deserve only the best despite
the
fact that God's Word plainly teaches that "there is none that doeth good,
no, not one" (Romans 3:12). Those who sit under such abominable false
teaching
have
their egos stroked to the point they themselves become as God in their own
minds. The gospel they hunger for and are given is not the Christ-centered
gospel
of blood atonement for the sin that separates them from God the Father, but a
gospel that evicts God's Son, Jesus Christ, so they can sit upon the
throne
of their own lives. The true joy and peace these deluded flocks yearn for
eludes them because they overtly or unwittingly believe they can achieve
tranquility
through self- effort. Like the geopolitical world that time after time fails at
making peace, people under the influence of false teachers
can
never find lasting inner peace because they reject the Prince of Peace, Jesus
Christ, for whom and by whom all things were made. Unity is the catchword
of
the hour for the ecumenical movement taking place in America and around the
world. Therein lies what looks to be the heart that pulses within the growing
beast
known as apostasy. Disagreement and division equates to intolerance, bigotry
and hate in today's world where we must all strive to get along. Of
course,
this attempt to make peace is pure sophistry. Those who propose unity that fits
within the world system's definition of the word exclude biblical
Christianity
that demands moral account ability to the true God of heaven through His Son,
Jesus Christ. Jesus said He came not to bring peace, but division
(see
Luke 12:51). He said this not because His journey through physical life was to
be lived as a troublemaker, but because He knew the prideful, sinful
hearts
of the creation called man. Christ came to earth in the flesh as both God and
man to seek and to save that which was lost (all mankind). Many people
would
believe and accept Christ as God's Way of salvation; unfortunately, many more
would not believe and would march down the broad way to destruction.
Humanism,
the instrument used by Satan to enslave fallen mankind, calls for a unity that
appeals to fallen man's arrogance and pride. The devil's seducing
words,
"You shall be as gods," echo and reverberate today with ecumenists'
promises that man, through his own effort, can build an earthly utopia.
Tragically,
the
body of Christ, the church, is being drawn into this luciferic quagmire.
Movements are afoot under the guise of bringing Christ's body together that
have
at their cores the vile heresy that instructs Christians to not allow form of
worship to separate them. This sort of theology claims that all Christians
must
unite so God's work can go on and God's kingdom can be produced here on earth
as it is in heaven. Such high-sounding phraseology and heady appeal
sounds
wonderfully irrefutable and, indeed, is to many irresistible. But form of
worship becomes the irreconcilable problem when compromise of the gospel
of
Jesus Christ must be entertained for the purpose of achieving unity. The world
religious system from which springs the ecumenical avalanche currently
crashing
down upon Christianity demands that we all just get along and that we accept
all belief systems within Christianity as equally true and acceptable
in
the eyes of God. But the Scripture says, "For there is one God, and one
mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).
Nothing
and
no one satisfies the holiness of God in the matter of forgiveness of sin. Jesus
Himself said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh
unto
the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). True unity in the sense that God
accepts unity comes only through His Son Jesus. Manmade systems, even
high-sounding
manmade
religious systems, do not meet the Almighty's specifications-or even come close
to meeting them. The current call for unity among all believers
that
comes from the ecumenical movements of our time are antithesis to the true
unity demanded by God the Father as witnessed by God the Son's prayer found
in
John 17. Consider those words of Jesus to those who believe in Him, then ask
yourself: Is this the same Jesus claimed by the ecumenists who say God
accepts
all belief systems?
These
words spoke Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour
is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee. As thou
hast
given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as
thou hast given him [verses 1,21.
And
this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have
finished
the work which thou gavest me to do [verses 3,4].
And
now, 0 Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had
with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men
who
thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and
they have kept thy word [verses 5,61].
Now
they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For
I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have
received
them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed
that thou didst send me [verses 7,81].
I
pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me;
for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I
am
glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the
world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those
whom
thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are [verses 9-11].
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. And now come I to thee; and these things I
speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves
[verses
12,131.
I
have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not
of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldst
take
them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil. They are
not of the world, even as I am not of the world [verses 14-16].
Sanctify
them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world,
even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes
I
sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither
pray I for these alone, but for them also who shall believe on me through
their
word [verses 17-20].
That
they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also
may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
And
the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as
we are one [verses 21,22]:
I
in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the
world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved
me.
Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am;
that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst
me
before the foundation of the world [verses 23,24].
0
righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and
these have known that thou has sent me. And I have declared unto them thy
name,
and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them,
and I in them [verses 25,26].
Jesus
Christ is the dividing line of truth versus falsehood. An individual human
being is either for Him or against Him, the Scripture says. The world system,
because
it is fallen from man's rebellion in the Garden of Eden, opposes God and His
Son, Jesus Christ. True unification or, better stated,
"reunification,"
with
the true God of heaven comes only through His beloved Son who died on Calvary's
cross, the Lord Jesus Christ. Unity of any other sort is unacceptable
in
God's perfect eternal economy.
Today's
talk of unity is anti-Christ at its black, festering core. This end-time
onslaught of false teaching and false prophecies is rapidly moving this
generation
through great delusion toward the prophesied apostasy of 2 Thessalonians 2:3.
It foreshadows the coming wrath of God.
War
has been a continuing plague within human interaction since the day Cain slew
Abel. Rumors of wars are always with us because, as James wrote, "From
whence
come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that
war in your members?" (James 4: 1).
The
world's concept of peace is never true peace, but merely a lull between
episodes of warfare. When so-called peace is enforced, threats of wars and
murmurings
of
hostilities bubble just below the surface of civility. Jesus, in His Olivet
Discourse on final prophecies, however, was talking about warfare that will
come
with greater frequency and ferocity the closer the end of this earth age comes.
Wars, followed by rumors of wars, will come much like contractions
increase
for a woman who is about to give birth.
We
do not have to go back very far in the historical record to document that we
live in an age of such convulsive activity. Wars on a global scale are the
ultimate
manifestations of man's fallen nature, which cannot find peace apart from
Christ's atonement. Natural man harbors violence capable of producing
great
destruction. One-on-one violence, families warring against each other, gang
warfare in our cities, ethnic group against ethnic group-all these confirm
that
ours is a generation witnessing one of the key final prophecies foretold by
Jesus Christ.
The
frightening fact that mankind now possesses, through nuclear weaponry, the
capability to destroy all life on earth is proof that God's prophetic Word
is
truth (see Mark 13:20). Recent resumption of nuclear testing, first by India,
then, in retaliation, by Pakistan, foreshadows things to come. Diabolical
regimes,
particularly those in the Middle East, threaten devastation upon the whole
world as their technology improves and progresses toward the point
when
missile delivery systems will be capable of hitting their nearest neighbors and
every continent on earth. Not only do these tyrant-led governments
seek
nuclear capabilities, but they already possess warheads that can contain
biological agents such as anthrax and other virulent, life-threatening
microentitics;
nerve
agents of great destructive potential; and other agents even more deadly that
could be unleashed at any moment. Only the staying hand of God has
thus
far prevented wars of world-ending proportions. There is coming a time when God
will remove His restraining hand and mankind's love affair with war
and
killing will bring the human race and all other flesh to the point of
extinction. Remember, Jesus said that if He did not return, "no flesh
should
be
saved" (Mark 13:20).
Thankfully,
God Almighty will not permit His creation to be utterly destroyed by man. The
Lord Jesus Christ will intervene and put an end to the violence.
All
who harbor murderous, warring intentions within their hearts will be locked
forever in outer darkness when Christ judges and rules. True peace will
at
last permeate the planet as the Lord of lords and King of kings sits upon the
throne of the millennial earth.
Reports
from around the world indicate that earthquakes, famines, pestilence and other
phenomena are noticeably on the increase. Planet Earth seems to be
suffering
from labor contractions through geophysical and environmental upheavals of many
sorts. Earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, droughts, hurricanes,
typhoons,
cyclones and tidal waves have, of course, always been an integral part of life
on this planet. Instantaneous reporting of natural disasters also
plays
a part in adding to the perception that such phenomena are coming with greater
frequency and intensity. Statistical studies by seismologists and
other
scientists show marked increases and troubling trends just within the past
several decades. (See chapter 3 for a more in-depth look.) Documentation
and
research data tell the story that we live in an era of highly unusual
geophysical turbulence.
To add
to the turmoil are the discoveries of new viruses and bacteria, such as Ebola
and Eboli, that threaten entire populations around the world. Pestilences
of
many sorts are on the rise. AIDS and other diseases also point to the
probability that we live in a time in which the final prophecies of God's Word
are
beginning to unfold.
God's
Word tells us that the Pharisees scolded Jesus while He rode the little donkey
into Jerusalem, ordering Him to make the people stop praising Him as
their
Messiah. Jesus answered the Pharisees, saying that if the people remained
silent, the very stones would cry out. Could it be that the more rebellious
people
become in our day, and the more this generation denies Jesus Christ, the more
we are seeing all creation cry out I His praise?
When
gigantic comet fragments slammed into Jupiter a few years ago and the resulting
planetary carnage was recorded by earth's most powerful telescopes
for
all to see, concerns began to rise. What if such a thing happened to this
planet? God's Word seems to indicate that something similar will happen when
a
mountainous flaming object crashes into one of earth's oceans. Jesus apparently
was speaking about that future event and others equally catastrophic
when
He said in Luke 21:26 that men's hearts will fail them with fear for things
they see coming upon the earth.
Since
that Jupiter event, Hollywood has created a number of productions dealing with
comets and meteors striking the earth. Science fiction has made the
leap
to reality with governments now jointly working on plans to use nuclear weapons
to intercept such potentially catastrophic visitors while they are
still
far out in space.
Another
"heavenly" phenomenon is on the rise. UFO sightings have become commonplace.
Roswell, New Mexico, has become a household name because a puzzling
crash
of something took place in 1947. Quasi- documentaries and full-blown news
reports direct our attention to the stars almost nightly. A recent report
from
Arizona said that hundreds of people, including airline pilots, saw gigantic
UFOs, which then left the area at a high rate of speed when pursued by
Air
Force jets.
We
have for many years been entertained by aliens, extraterrestrials and so forth.
People report being buzzed, beeped, burned, abducted and probed by strange,
small,
gray creatures with large heads and big eyes. On a more logical level-and one
more documentable-we view scenes on a daily basis that would have,
until
the late 1960s, been considered spectacular. Now space shuttles taking off and
returning to earth, people in space suits walking on the outside of
space
stations and mechanical rovers moving about the surface of a planet more than
100 million miles away have become almost routine. We have, as a generation,
indeed
witnessed fearful signs in the sun, moon and stars.
Jesus,
however, prophesied occurrences that will truly stagger those people alive on
earth when the final prophecies about the sun, moon and stars come
to
pass. The book of Revelation has much to say about this. For example, the sun
is prophesied to become as dark as sackcloth, the moon is predicted to
turn
blood red. The stars are prophesied to fall and the powers of heaven will be
shaken.
It
is not far-fetched to consider whether the many unusual things transpiring in
our night skies (and even during daylight hours) might be the foreshadows
of
a great delusion that will come upon earth dwellers as prophesied in 2
Thessalonians: "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,
that
they
should believe a lie" (2:11).
When
the rapture of the church occurs, might the Antichrist and his system of
propaganda proclaim that extraterrestrials or some great cosmic force has
abducted
those who disappeared-for the betterment of earth? While many who study
prophecy feel it to be a bit too speculative to conjecture on such matters,
we
must conclude that because we are seeing strange signs in the sun, moon and
stars, including weird sightings, the idea that Antichrist forces might
offer
such an explanation is within the realm of possibility.
In
that vein, it seems likewise within the realm of possibility that the Lord's
words, "as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the
Son
of Man," include fallen angels or demonic beings once again interacting
with humanity like when, some biblical students believe, the "sons of
god"
took
as wives the "daughters of men" (see Genesis 1-4).
Although
much of the reporting of abductions and alien contact are mere Hollywood hype
to generate interest in movies about aliens and extraterrestrials,
it
is still prudent to ask: Could such hyperbole help set up end-time mankind for
the great satanic lie that will delude a large multitude of people during
the
time of apocalypse?
Economic
factors plague nations of today's world, causing stresses and distresses for
governments and citizenries alike. Technologies needed to compete
in
the growing global marketplace separate the "have" nations from the
"have-not" nations as never before. Those who can afford the
technologies continue
to
widen the gap between themselves and the poorer nations. Conflicts stem from
such problems and grow to fully blossomed resentments and hatreds. Such
economically
depressed regions become ripe for the plucking by wicked regimes who use the
seething discontent to build power bases, promising not only
relief
from poverty but, ultimately, great prosperity.
Great
masses of people today are in poverty. China, India, most of Africa, South
America, Central America, Mexico, vast areas of Russia and the former USSR
eastern-bloc
nations all harbor great populations of extreme deprivation. Most of these
regions call upon the United States for assistance. For example,
the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected by the world community to fund
Russia's failing economy with "loans" amounting to billions of
dollars.
The
world stock markets went wild in August 1998 when Russia's economy went into
free-fall with the ruble losing most of its value. When that nation's
leaders
demanded billions to prop up Russia's economy, they were refused. This set in
motion fears that the communists in the Duma might have a vehicle
for
moving toward a return to controlling power.
The
ultimate fear, of course, revolves around the 22,000 nuclear warheads in
Russia's arsenal. It is feared that the individual bosses controlling
provincial
power
spheres might begin selling these weapons-or at least the enriched uranium from
them-to tyrant states such as Iraq and Iran in order to gain funds
to
build their own provincial militaries.
What
is not often revealed to the American public is the fact that the IMF is funded
for the most part by the United States. America, however, is in bankruptcy
for
all practical purposes because of national debt that, despite what the economic
planners say, is impossible to ever pay off. A smaller and smaller
core
of productive workers more and more support a welfare class that pays no taxes
but to whom the government insanely contemplates giving tax breaks
in
the form of monetary rebates out of "fairness."
Revelation
13:14 tells the results of nations gone mad with distresses. The one called
Antichrist will come to power offering peace and prosperity through
brilliant
stratagems that will restore order, particularly economic order. Obviously, the
number and mark system of electronic funds transfer through computers
will
be part of this system for control purposes. That control will quickly turn
into enslavement.
We
are seeing in our day foreshadows of the distress and perplexity of nations
that will befall mankind during the time of God's wrath.
World
attention focuses on Israel today while most earthly powers seem to be arrayed
against that nation. Despite the fact that Israel is infinitesimally
small
compared to the vast Middle East region, not just the PLO and Arab leaders such
as Syria's Assad, but all leaders of all nations seem to be insisting
that
this tiny state give up even more land in the false peace process. Prophetic
Scriptures state that conditions will become increasingly worse for Israel
until
the one called Antichrist, indwelt by Satan himself, perpetrates unparalleled
persecution upon the Jews who are alive at the time the final prophecies
come
to pass.
America
travels a dangerous path through the current administration's insistence that
Israel give up more land to further a peace agenda. Economic pressures
and
threats of discontinuance of support in other areas is a dangerous game. More
dangerous for America than for Israel, however. God says in His Word:
"I
will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee" (Genesis
12:3). America's longevity as a powerful influential nation could well be
linked
to its treatment of Israel during these critical days ahead. Although the
United States was instrumental in helping modern Israel come to birth
in
1948, God gave that nation its new life just as the prophet Ezekiel foretold in
the Ezekiel 37 account of the "valley of dry bones." God Almighty
needs
no
help in protecting and sustaining those He chooses to protect and sustain.
America's
leadership-at least the leadership within the current administration- seems to
be of the opinion that American dollars should speak the final
word
on the Mid-East peace process. The U.S. economy swells pridefully in a bubble
of prosperity that apparently makes some feel this is a nation impervious
to
the economic destitution that afflicts much of the rest of the world. But the
Lord hates a proud look (see Proverbs 6:16,17), and those who entertain
such
delusional notions should heed the words of George Santayana: "Those who
cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." All we have to do is
recall
that one day in 1929 instantly changed the way of life for millions of people
in America.
Israel
is God's prophetic timepiece. It behooves us to keep close watch on that
nation's intricate movements within the geopolitical mix. Each day Israel's
interaction
with the other nations of earth seems to move this generation one tick closer
to that moment when Israel signs the "covenant with death and
hell"
(Isaiah 28:18). To be part of those exerting pressure that will ultimately
force Israel into the deadly pseudo-peace pact with Antichrist (see Daniel
9:27)
is to risk the direct wrath of a righteously jealous God. Israel's increasingly
troubled interaction within the turbulent world of geopolitics is
proof
that foreshadows of God's wrath continue to boil ominously.
Post-Soviet
Russia is more unstable than ever, harboring potential for military action that
most expert observers of foreign affairs refuse to acknowledge.
The
Russian army continues to suffer collective depression since its fall from
being the most powerful military machine on earth. Russian officers long
for
a return to those glory days. But the problem is bigger than that. Reliable
sources report that Russian generals are barely in control of their troops,
many
of whom are alcoholics or drink heavily to forget their terrible plight. Most
troops live at the poverty level or below, and their families often
go
without adequate food, clothing and housing. A number of Russian officers have
committed suicide because their situations are no better than those of
the
troops under them.
Ezk
38 and 39 indicates a horde led by Gog, the chief prince of Rosh (Russia), will
storm over the mountains of Israel to take great spoil. The attack will
take
place in the latter times and will be opposed only by a note of protest from a
Western power bloc of unknown composition.
Alliances
formed between Russia and the pan-Islamic union seem to fit the pattern of the
prophesied Gog-Magog force that God Himself will bring into the
Middle
East toward Israel. The one the Scriptures call Gog will no doubt conceive the
"evil thought" when he considers the vast oil and mineral riches
as
well as the warm water ports of that region. It is interesting that at present
there is great anticipation in some quarters of major oil strikes near
the
southeast end of the Dead Sea. The current situation points to the fact that
the whole region to the extreme north of Israel is a tinderbox that could
kindle
a fire of aggression at any moment. This could spark one of the major
prophecies given in God's Word (read the Gog-Magog references in Ezekiel 38
and
39).
While
Russia appears to be struggling to be a responsible world citizen and to
achieve status equal to its position when it led the USSR, it nonetheless
throws
fuel on the fire of raging hostilities in the Middle East and elsewhere by
selling weapons-including nuclear arms-to even the worst of tyrants in
power
today. Russia's membership in the G-8 and NATO cannot disguise the fact that
much of its leadership continues to think like those who harshly ran
the
Soviet empire. Neither should America's leaders be deceived into thinking
Russian missiles, both land-based and submarine-based, are pointed in
directions
other
than toward the United States. Russia is a very hungry bear upon which the wise
should keep a wary eye.
China
and the other nations of the Orient have always seemed mysterious, even
unknowable, to most of us in the Occidental world. Not so as of late. China
in
particular seems to be aggressively pursuing contact with the West for the
obvious purposes of obtaining Western technology and gaining Western markets.
At
the same time, China is building a military of superpower class. No other
nation in the region more aptly fits the description implied within the
biblically
prophetic
term "kings of the east."
Controversy
abounds about the possibility of problematic activities by foreign governments
and citizens at the very highest levels of American government.
The
troubling questions range from influence peddling through political
contributions to overt espionage involving such nations as China and Indonesia,
as
well as others. At the very moment President Bill Clinton met with Chinese
Communist leaders in Tiananmen Square, where hundreds of student protestors
were
murdered in pro democracy demonstrations a few years ago, evidence was building
at home in the United States that administration-approved sales of
military-applicable
missile and satellite technologies to China pose a direct threat to America's
security. These serious allegations, if true, might hasten
the
formation of the military force scheduled to storm out of that vast Oriental
region of the world to do battle at Armageddon.
With
the implementation of the Maastricht Treaty January 1, 1999, which marked
Europe's coming together as a single economic power, a major final prophecy
seems
to be on the brink of fulfillment. Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the huge metallic
man statue and Daniel's interpretation of the king's dream could soon
take
on tremendous significance for our generation. (See Daniel 2.)
The
European Union (EU) in one day became a stupendous economic power. And because
money rules this world, the EU also became the world's greatest power.
Experts
predict that Europe will now control approximately 46 percent of the world's
bond market, with America controlling about 32 percent. Certainly
the
changes and restructuring taking place throughout the world are staggering. The
reviving Roman Empire is in evidence everywhere in the world today.
The
"ten kings" power base, which Antichrist will enjoy according to
Revelation 17:12,13, might be very near completion by the time the euro,
Europe's
single
monetary unit, is instituted.
Whether
these ten kings are ten nations out of the revived Roman Empire, ten gigantic world-trading
blocs or something else, the Maastricht factor will
cause
dynamic rearrangement in global economic power spheres. Whether those
rearrangements bring about stability or chaos remains to be seen. It is
fascinating
to
consider these world- shaking matters in light of Revelation 13 and the fact
that planet Earth is on the brink of a new millennium. We can see the
foreshadowing
of
those ten kings who will give their power and authority to the beast. (See
Revelation 17:12,13.)
Present-day
power brokers make decisions from their elevated positions in the economic stratosphere
of world finance. At the risk of being dubbed a conspiracy
nut,
I believe it is reasonable to give credit where credit is due. Those who are
behind the World Bank are the same globalist elite who are in the highest
echelon
of the Tri-Lateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, the
International Monetary Fund and so on. These organizations and people control
the
forward motion of earth's money movement. They speed it up, they throttle it
back. They manipulate and cajole. Most likely it is from this strata that
the
ten kings of Revelation 17:12,13 will come. They no doubt will believe they
have almost a divine right to control finance because they alone have the
intellectual.
power as well as the economic power to act in the best interest of mankind.
These people, whoever they are at the time the prophecies of
Revelation
13 are played out, will no doubt be in complete agreement with the man they
believe to be the greatest world leader ever to appear on the scene-the
beast
of Revelation. They will give all their economic power and governmental
authority to him.
More
and more, it appears that now might be the time in human history when
Antichrist's platform of power is being constructed. From that power base, he
will
speak great prideful words that promise peace and prosperity to a desperate and
chaotic generation of earth dwellers. Developments within New Europe
and
the world economic power circles in general might well be contributing to what
is looking like the last-days flood predicted by Daniel the prophet.
In
2 Timothy 3, Paul makes predictions characterizing individuals who will
populate the world during an era he describes as "perilous times." He
paints
a
bleak picture indeed. Those people are predicted to, according to Paul's
writing, grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. While we might
have
trouble believing that mankind can get much worse based upon the horror stories
coming out of the world news sources, Jesus foretold that the last
seven
years of man's history just before His return will be more terrible than any
time ever known on earth. Our daily newspapers and nightly newscasts
report
murders, rapes, thefts and every other type of crime, but what we are seeing
today is but a precursor of a truly savage era.
Vast
documentation could easily be accessed to prove that this present generation of
earth dwellers has among its numbers those who are lovers of self,
proud,
boasters, blasphemers, undisciplined, fierce, heady, high-minded, without
natural affection, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having
a
form of godliness but denying the power thereof. We are already experiencing in
this day the types of heinous behavior God's Word says will dominate
during
the time of apocalypse.
Man's
inhumanity to man makes mockery of the much-ballyhooed theory of evolution,
which is almost a religious system worshiped by the pseudo-intellectuals
of
our time. People are not getting better and better, as the evolutional model
projects, but are growing worse and worse just as God's Word prophesied.
We
did not come from an amoebic-type spot of slime that crawled out of a
primordial swamp. Man has not metamorphosed from a single cell and evolved
through
all
these various stages of evolution to the point we are now-allegedly-the highest
order destined to progress toward godhood and perfection. We were created
perfectly
by the Creator of all things, Jesus Christ pre-incarnate, but since the
rebellious act of disobedience and the fall in the Garden of Eden, humanity
is
becoming more and more debased.
Sin-induced
insanity is evident everywhere. Southern Sudan, for example, has become so bad
that, according to reliable sources, hundreds of thousands of
people,
particularly Christians, have been murdered for their faith. Such things as
crucifixions, live burials, and children being murdered so that the
killers
can harvest, then sell, their organs around the world are apparently part of
everyday life in that region. The United Nations and even America
seem
to be turning a blind eye. Apparently it has become so bad that refugees from
Sudan have fled to Ethiopia for relief.
Again,
Jesus foretold that times worse than any ever experienced in our history will
occur during the great tribulation. This is an awesome prediction when
considered
against the background of the historical record that reveals the horrors of
millions of martyrs falling in the time of the Dark Ages, Hitler's
regime,
Stalin's purges, and Mao's genocide.
All
we have to do in order to realize the swiftness with which technology is
advancing is to consider that the computer we buy today for our home or
business
is
well on its way to being obsolete by the time we learn how to use it. It is
hard to imagine how computers and collateral technologies can advance much
beyond
their current sophistication, but that is what people have said throughout the
ages about every revolutionary invention. Revelation 13 clearly prophesied
the
use of computers and other devices for controlling people that will be advanced
far beyond even the amazing current technology. Those rapidly advancing
technologies
foreshadow troubling times ahead for earth's inhabitants. For example,
triangulation tracking through computers and low-orbit global positioning
satellites,
ostensibly for assisting police in their work to fight crime, can locate
objects, animals or people with astounding accuracy. Biochip sensors
are
already being used by implanting transponders beneath the skin to keep tabs on
fish, birds and other wild as well as domestic animals. It's even possible
that
some parents have had such devices implanted in their children to thwart
possible kidnapping attempts. Implanting microchips that contain complete
financial,
medical and personal information dossiers is already within the realm of
possibility.
Antichrist's
system of such intrusion will be infinitely greater in scope, according to
Revelation 13. The beast's control technology is one of the major
prophecies
destined to contribute to the perilous times predicted by Paul. (Read chapter
13 for an in-depth look at where that developing technology stands
at
present.)
Although
God promised mankind that He would never again destroy the world by a water
flood (Genesis 9:12-17), Jesus nonetheless said of the very end of
human
history: "But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the
Son of man be" (Matthew 24:37). Daniel the prophet said, "... and the
end
thereof
shall be with a flood... " (Daniel 9:26), equating the deluge of events
that would bombard end-time man symbolically to a literal flood. Those
prophesied
terrors of judgment are scheduled to cascade like a horrendous avalanche upon
this anti-God, anti-Christ world of unbelievers during the last
seven
years that will consummate human history.
All
authors in this book truly believe we are presently at a critical moment in
God's prophetic timeline. Our collective desire is to hold God's magnifying
glass
over the issues and events of our day, exposing them to the light of God's
unerring truth and His Holy Word, the Bible, so that many people will
be
drawn by God's Holy Spirit to Jesus Christ-the only true source of salvation.
Jesus said, "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).
Each
person who accepts Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, whether he or she has died
during this Church Age or is living when Christ calls us to meet Him
in
the air at the rapture, will escape God's terrible judgment during the seven-year
tribulation period. For if you "confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and
... believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt
be saved" (Romans 10:9)-saved from the wrath to come (see 1 Thessalonians
5:9).
Accept
Christ this moment-then you need not fear the stormy end-time events flooding
this generation. Jesus will bring peace to your heart that will dissipate
those
foreshadows of wrath and highlight the foreshadows of redemption-injecting your
soul with a taste of heaven, your joyous, eternal destination.