Time
has arrived, I believe, to put together a postulation introspective on
biblically prophesied things to come, in scenario fashion--i.e.: to offer, in
a
stream-of-consciousness way, based upon trends in today’s news, a possible
course the world might take while we trudge through the end of days toward
Armageddon
and Christ’s second advent.
As
always, when entertaining such thoughts in a public forum, I must state up
front that these are nothing more or less than speculations on my part.
However,
the
speculations are undertaken with considerable years of study, writing, and most
of all, praying about matters foretold by Jesus and the Old and New
Testament
prophets. Although I have not received a “word of knowledge” or been given a
vision or dream in the Old or New Testament sense, I do believe
my
thoughts are given here with Holy Spirit-directed thought and insight.
So,
where do we begin? Well, maybe at the beginning, the moment when linear time
seems to have been introduced for this marvelous story of God and man to
begin
its run through history. I say it is good to begin at that point, because we
have–it is obvious to any student of Bible prophecy who is alert to
present
day goings-on—come to the point that the very one who created time for mankind
is now under satanic attack as a liar and/or a lunatic. Jesus, you
see,
is the creator of this thing called time, of the being called man, of all that
is. The Scriptures say:
“In
the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Clear enough,
right? God, not evolution, or any other method born of man’s sophistry,
brought
this world into existence.
“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” (Jn. 1:1-4).
About
Jesus, the Apostle Paul wrote: “For by him were all things created, that are in
heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they
be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by
him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things
consist”
(Col. 1:16-17).
Jesus
himself said: “…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the
Father, but by me” (Jn. 14:6).
The
Bible says that Jesus Christ is God, himself. He said that He and His Father
are one. That is, they are the same. When the pious Jewish religious leaders
asked
Him if He was God, Jesus said: “…Before Abraham was, I am” (Jn. 8:58). This
refers to His being the God of His people of His promises –the Israelites,
as
seen in Exodus 3:6.
The
world of entertainment, e.g., “The Da Vinci Code” fiction, has been saying Jesus
was a mere man who faked His crucifixion, living on to father a child
with
Mary Magdalene. Entertainment, under pseudo-archaeological auspices, is now
telling us that they have found the ossuaries and even the DNA of Jesus'
relatives,
and possibly of Jesus himself in a tomb near Jerusalem. Jesus addressed this
matter in part when He said during His Olivet Discourse: “Behold,
I
have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in
the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe
it
not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the
west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matt. 24:25-27).
Matthew
24:25-27 is, I realize, Jesus’ forewarning of false Christ’s and false prophets
that will deceive all but God’s elect during the tribulation era.
Just
like in all other end time signals of significance that are in view today,
however, the lying--saying Jesus is not the soon returning God of Heaven--is
already
underway for setting up prophetic fulfillment to come.
The
prominently observable fact that the deity of Jesus is under attack is, in
other words, a profound signal that we are bumping up against the very end
of
this Age of Grace. The attack is scheduled, prophetically, to become even more
hateful as we degenerate toward the end of days. Having laid the groundwork
for
showing that Jesus Christ’s deity and God’s veracity are under attack from our
great enemy, the devil, and his supernatural and human minions, we will
examine
the many developments and what they portend for the future, so far as concerns
Bible prophecy. Next , we will begin looking at end-of-days
matters
that are in our daily, even hourly, news--overlaid by God’s always
100%-accurate Word, the Bible.
Again,
I state that the end-of-days scenarios I lay out in this essay are
speculation--postulation based upon my years of prayer, study, observations,
and
thought.
I’m sure there are many who view things to come in a much different way, even
among we who hold to the pre-mil, pre-trib view. So, I present this
for
your consideration, as, in my view, likely possibility, not as set in biblical
stone.
First,
let us look at the way the world is configured.
The
United States of America is the world’s lone superpower. Whether looking at
military, economic, societal, technological, or whatever category we want
to
look at, America stands alone at the top of the nation-heap. I use the word
“heap” because this world is built upon garbage–filth from the heart and
mind
of its father, the devil. Boy! I know how cynical that seems. But, God says
there is none good but One: “And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou
me
good? [there is] none good but one, [that is], God” (Mk. 10:18).
Since
sin entered the world, man is fallen. Mankind must have redemption found only
in God, the Son. People must be born again or they cannot even see the
kingdom
of God: “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jn.
3:3).
Jesus’
words, here, have dual meaning to me: 1) those who refuse Christ by rejecting
their need for a new, spiritual, birth will not go to heaven upon death;
and
2) they cannot even understand heaven and things of God without the new birth
into God’s family. I base this latter assessment upon the following words
of
the Apostle Paul: “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because
they
are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14).
This
is going to sound even more off-putting, but it is true nonetheless. Christians
are the only “good” in this downward-spiraling world. Now, am I saying
that
I, in my fleshly efforts, am better than the one who does not claim Christ as
Savior and Lord? No, absolutely not! I must say that in one regard,
I
am like Paul. But it is not his lovely Christian side, rather is the other.
Paul said: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good
thing:
for to will is present with me; but [how] to perform that which is good I find
not” (Rom. 7:18).
Only
through Christ is any Christian viewed as “good” in God’s sight. Only through
Jesus does a person become fit to inherit an eternal home in heaven.
All
humanly born and humanly-devised matters are due for God’s judgment and for
eternity apart from God because He cannot abide sin. Sin must be dealt
with,
and Jesus is the way sin is forever eradicated.
When
it comes to the future, all hinges upon the person and presence of Jesus Christ
as redeemer.
So,
why all that, to get to the speculation of what will happen from here to
eternity? Because Christians are the key, in my stream-of-consciousness
unfolding
scenarios
for the end of days. God’s final wrath and judgment will not begin falling
until the only good there is in this world is removed. This Bible
prophecy
truth is found in the words of the Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians: “For God
hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our
Lord
Jesus Christ” (1 Thes. 5:9).
When
Christians are removed in the rapture (read 1 Cor. 15:51-55 and 1 Thes.
4:13-18), the things on Earth will change dramatically. We get a prophetic
glimpse
of that removal of Christians from the planet in Paul’s additional words to the
Thessalonians: “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” (2 Thes. 2:6-7).
The
word “he” in verse 7 refers to God the Holy Spirit removing from His office as
He interacted with mankind during the age of grace (church age –which
is
this present dispensation). The Holy Spirit, resident in the church during this
present dispensation, will, in the moment of rapture, no longer work
in
exactly the same way as now. He will interact with the human creation much as
He did during the time before the church was born at Pentecost (Acts,
Chapter
2). (I know some believe the church was born on the shores of Galilee earlier,
when Christ called forth the first disciples. I disagree.)
God
the Holy Spirit, living within Christians, is the only “good” to be found in
people. The rapture will take that "good" to be with Jesus Christ for
eternity.
All
who are “born again” (see John 3:3) will go to the heavenly homes (dwelling
places) Jesus has been preparing for them since He ascended to the right
hand
of God the Father (read John 14:1-3). These will include everyone–dead and
living--who have accepted Christ for salvation of their souls. There will
be
no good people left on the planet –that is, none that are “good” in God’s holy
view.
With
the Holy Spirit no longer acting to influence the consciences of humans in as
powerful ways as He does at present, mankind’s actions and reactions
will
be exponentially accelerated for the worse.
The rebelliousness of the creature called man is, in my view, manifest blatantly for the student of God’s truth to discern in a recent news story. It involved
media and the politically correct crowd’s uproar over the U.S. chairman of the joint chiefs of staff making the comment –when asked his personal opinion
-- that he thought members of the same sex in the military who engage in sex with each other are committing immoral acts was quite telling. The voracious
feeding frenzy to start the drumbeat for having Gen. Peter Pace removed from his position in the Pentagon has fueled new vitriolic invective against those
who
hold to such “unenlightened” prejudices.
God,
incidentally, is obviously included in our ranks. His Word, the Bible –the
instruction manual for the creature, mankind, whom he made from the dirt
upon
which we stand—says about homosexuality:
“For
this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did
change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also
the
men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward
another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in
themselves
that
recompence of their error which was [fitting]” (Rom. 1:26-27).
The
Creator’s Word against homosexuality is even more powerful in an Old Testament
prescription for those who engage in that activity. (If it makes you
angry,
get mad at God, not me. I don’t make the rules. He does.)
“If
a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have
committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood [shall
be]
upon them” (Lev. 20:13).
I
know what will be one of the objections: This was for the Israelites, not today’s
people. Really? Well, in giving the prescription for living, God hasn’t
changed
for any people at any time. Jesus, we have established, is Creator of all
things, and by His power holds all things together. This, God’s Word
says
about the Lord of all creation: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day,
and forever” (Heb. 13:8).
The
problem is, as we’ve seen this week with this one issue, fallen mankind will
not have the God of heaven rule on Planet Earth. Since the fall, man has
determined
to do what is right in his own eyes. This is an attitude for catastrophe. Human
government is fatally flawed. These have tried to create a utopian
earth
for millennia. All efforts to do it their way –apart from God—have met with
abject failure.
The
earliest attempt of human government, which followed the flood of Noah’s
antediluvian era, was Nimrod’s attempt to build the tower to heaven (read
Genesis
chapter
11). The Lord knew this would end in disaster for mankind, so He came down and
separated the one-world builders by giving multiple languages, thus
driving
them to diverse places around the globe. But man has spent the millennia since
that time circumventing God’s intervention. The one-world drive
is
again being pursued in a concerted effort by the powers elite. When things
reach a certain point of depravity, God always has intervened. A prime example
was
when He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. (Read Genesis, chapter 19 to learn about
both the depravity and the Lord’s intervention.) Which gets us to the
thing
about end-of-days scenarios I would like to explore.
Jesus
himself set the prophetic stage for a future time when He will again
intervene–catastrophically—into depraved man’s playhouse of lasciviousness. He
said:
“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” (Lk. 17:28-29).
This
is a description of a society, a culture, a generation going forward with
business as usual. Jesus prophesied that it would be just like this, when
judgment
from heaven would fall, at the time of His end-of-days intervention. It is not,
however, description of the tribulation era when Jesus comes physically
to
earth, as foretold in Revelation 19:11. At that time, as many as two-thirds of
the earth’s population will have died in the apocalyptic judgments. It
will
not be business as usual, like the Lord describes here. The things that
transpire here, though not as disastrous as things will get later in man’s
last
grasp to rule himself, will still be calamitous. And, the possible scenarios
presented are mesmerizing. Let us look at my postulations, based upon
the
pre-trib view of the rapture, which, of course, we at Rapture Ready are
convinced is the correct view, from God’s perspective.
Jesus’
description of Lot’s being removed from that condemned city is almost certainly
a picture of the rapture of the only good God sees on this earth…born
again
Christians… the church Jesus began building, and which was born at Pentecost
(in Acts, Chapter 2). Lot, Abraham’s nephew, although not a perfect
example
of living a godly life, was nonetheless considered a “just” man in God’s eyes.
That is, the Lord saw Lot as righteous, a believer –one who accepted
God’s
governance over his life, accepted God’s salvation plan. Lot and his family
lived in a society that was–well—much like ours. It was wicked to its
black
core. Incidentally, homosexuality had, in that society, become accepted as,
even expected to be, part of life in Sodom.
God
removed Lot, and His wrath began to fall upon that wicked, ungovernable people.
Jesus indicated that this is exactly what will happen near the time
of
His coming again. It will happen at the rapture --at least seven years before
He comes back and touches down on the Mount of Olives. The first part
of
God’s wrath, I’m convinced, will be His removal from the consciences of
earth-dwellers. The people left behind will have rejected God’s governance.
Now,
raptured saints will perhaps, from the balcony of heaven, be given a God’s-eye
view of whether the rebels' claim that they don’t need God to govern
them
is true.
Millions
will vanish in a millisecond –an “atomos” of time-- the prophecy tells us. This
nation, the United States of America, which had at the same time
more
gospel light than any other nation of history and access to more filth and
depravity than even ancient Rome at its decadent, orgiastic worse, will
experience
an implosion that, upon its contemplation, staggers the imagination.
We
will have a look at how the end time stage is set for the scenarios we will
explore.
America
is at the top of the food chain, so far as nations of Planet Earth are
concerned. She is the richest, most materially blessed nation-state ever
to
exist. Her achievements in almost every facet of human endeavor are without
peer in the annals of the ages.
The
European Union is developing rapidly into a colossus that will challenge the
U.S. for the title of world champ, so far as superpowers are concerned.
But
Europe lacks one ingredient in order to achieve America’s superpower status, no
matter how economically strong the EU becomes. That one missing element
is
the military might–particularly the high-tech military complex, firmly
entrenched and fortified by (likely) the most horrific thermonuclear capability
and
the most sophisticated means to deliver total devastation to any other nation
foolish enough to initiate such conflagration.
Russia
is again beginning to show signs of beefing up for super power military status.
It, too, however, lags far behind in high-tech matters –things that
prevent
it from achieving the degree of hegemony over parts of the world formerly under
the dictatorial eyes of the USSR. The Russian economy continues
to
be in shambles, and achieving the high-tech needed is thus impeded.
China
is biding its time, building a strong economic base for one purpose: to attain
a level of fiscal power that can buy and/or develop the high-tech
sophistication
essential
to superpower status. The Chinese raw manpower capabilities unquestionably
present potentially the greatest threat, in terms of sheer numbers,
of
any military force in human history.
All
other nations are bit players in the scenarios we will examine. But, combined,
they present massive--even insurmountable--problems for the prophesied
frightening
world of the perhaps not-too-distant future.
Israel
is smack in the center of all this global chemistry. That nation will be
–according to the very Word of the Creator of all things—the catalyst that
will
galvanize earth-dwellers into rebellion against Him, thus, will bring all
armies of the world to Armageddon. Here is what the One who knows the end
from
the beginning has to say about Israel and all other nations at the time of the
end of days:
“And
in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that
burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people
of
the earth be gathered together against it” (Zech. 12: 3).
So,
with the world stage set, as far as geopolitical matters are concerned, let’s
begin to try to look into the future, again with the crucial caveat that
this
is all speculation, though well-studied and prayed-over speculation on the part
of yours truly. Daniel the prophet gave the end time wrap up in one
concise
prophetic passage:
“And
he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the
week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for
the
overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the
consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (Dan.
9:27).
Will
the consummation as foretold in that passage begin to rumble upon this
judgment-bound earth something like this? Business will be going along at a
dynamic
clip, despite occasional blips, flare-ups, and glitches. Jesus tells us that in
Luke 17: 26-29. The rich will be getting richer, the poor will
be
going further into poverty –despite the socialist-elites promises to the
contrary. Terrorism will be pervasive, and increasingly so, just as Paul the
apostle
foretold when he said that men and seducers would grow worse and worse, and
just as Jesus prophesied when He said things would be just like in
Noah’s
day, a time when violence filled the whole earth (Gen. 6:11,13).
The
Arab Islamic states, wanting--as they have for millennia--to erase the Jews
from the earth, will be looking for ways to penetrate Israel’s protective
shell,
fearful of direct assault because of Israel’s lethal nuclear arsenal. The world
of diplomats–the so-called international community—will, led by
the
American State Department— be looking for a way to placate the hostile
Islamics. Israel’s territory, as always, will be the offering on the altar of
Mid-East
peacemaking. This, while giving Israel little or no say in the offering.
Every
major Mid-East terrorist organization, with headquarters in Damascus, Syria,
will beat the drums of hatred against Israel as never before. Concern
that
Israel will take preemptive action will trouble the James Bakers of the times
in this scenario. Even some who call themselves evangelical Christians
will
join with other religious entities to point a finger at Israel as the obstinate
party in the growing threat to regional, maybe even world, peace.
We
have seen that Jesus forewarned that the time of His coming again to Planet
Earth will be “as it was in the days of Noah.” That is, the characteristics
of
the end time generation will be like in the days presented in Genesis, chapter
6. When we look at that chapter, we conclude that it must have been a
terrifying
time. This must have been true especially for Noah and his seven family members
while the time just before the Flood surrounded them. But, the
whole
generation of earth-dwellers must have lived under threat of violence. Violence
filled the whole earth, God’s Word reports (Gen. 6: 11, 13). Even
though
business was moving along at a good, even accelerated pace, violence–terrorist
activity--filled the earth.
Does
this sound familiar? What did the president call the war declared upon an
almost unidentifiable enemy following the 9/11 attacks? That’s correct, he
called
it “the war on terrorism.” And now the whole international community is uptight
about the possibility of ramifications of the terror–the violence—that
threatens
to ignite war in the Middle East.
Every
time such sparks begin to fly, members of the media begin to contact Todd and
me, as well as others who have studied and expounded upon Armageddon
and
the “end of days,” as media like to frame the end time. Violence of the
deadliest sort fills the world with terror, and the cry for peace and safety
from
media and government diplomatic types proves it.
Jesus
also said in His Luke 17 prophecies that things of society and economy would be
pretty much business as usual at the time of His return at the end
of
days. People will be eating and drinking. Men and women will be marrying,
divorcing, just like nothing fearful was going on in their world. Daniel the
prophet
said in Daniel chapter 12 that great progress would be made in technology,
travel, and communications at the time of the end.
Again,
does any of this sound familiar? As we can see from the strength of the
American economy, things are booming, despite the fact that we are now a
debtor
nation at an unprecedented level. The United States is inarguably the most
materially blessed nation-state in the history of the world. The greatest
king
of Bible times lived at nowhere near the level of luxury and comfort as do even
lower middle-class Americans today.
So,
in that sense, business is going along, in this country at least, better than
merely business as usual. It is just at such time as described that Jesus
will
step out on the clouds of glory and shout “Come up hither!”
Bible
prophecy tells us that the day of the Lord will come (will begin) as a thief in
the night. A thief suddenly breaks in. He doesn’t say “Hey! I’m coming
to
break in!” That is how we can know that the thief-in-the-night-coming analogy
is for another coming, not for the second advent –the time when Jesus’
foot
will touch down on the Mount of Olives, which will then cleave in half and
create a rift all the way to the Mediterranean. Nearly two-thirds of the
world’s
population will have perished in God’s full-blown wrath by the time of that
Revelation 19:11 coming back to Planet Earth. Everyone on the planet
still
alive will see Christ’s coming to the earth’s surface.
The
coming as a thief reference is to the rapture. It will be sudden, it will be
stunning, it will be catastrophic.
Let
us look at the potential calamitous things that will likely immediately follow
the twinkling-of-an-eye intervention into this humanistic, last-days
world
of earth-dwellers.
In
the United States, a young mother, pregnant with her second, and with a small
daughter riding in the basket, will be walking down an aisle in a supermarket.
A
truck driver will be steering a semi-tractor/trailer rig onto a superhighway in
order to merge with the heavy traffic flow. A 757 captain will push the
throttles
to full power, headed down a runway at JFK in New York. A surgeon at a major
hospital in Minnesota will begin to make the initial scalpel cut
that
will open a heart patient’s chest for a bypass procedure. A funeral director
will straighten a collar of the starched white shirt worn by a corpse,
whose
funeral is next on the services schedule.
In
less than the time it takes for a neuro-electrical synapse firing in the brain
to take place, the young mother’s womb is empty. She sees her little girl
vanish
as she, herself, starts her fall to the floor from the shock of the
physiological changes that are taking place in her body. The 18-wheeler is
careening
into
the traffic, driverless, out of control, crushing and demolishing vehicles and
their passengers, while raging ahead in its ungoverned course.
The
757 on the JFK runway is at full take-off speed, but the pilot and co-pilot are
not at the controls, while the right wingtip dips toward the runway
and
catastrophe. The surgeon in Minnesota finds the scalpel cutting air, rather
than flesh, because the patient is gone. The funeral director staggers
backwards,
astonished, because the burial apparel he has been making just right for
presentation has collapsed, and the corpse is no longer in the casket.
Those
snippets –still-frame snapshots of the paradigm-changing dynamics of the
rapture will geometrically
burgeon
from the instant this stunning event takes place. It will be the most powerful
occurrence of human history since Christ’s first advent intervened
into
the affairs of mankind.
Believers
are translated, changed in an atomos of time–in a fraction of an element of
time that cannot be divided. They now look into the holy, omniscient
eyes
of their Lord that are fathomless in the depths of God’s love. He leads them
through the portals of glory, to the city called heaven.
On
earth, millions have vanished into nothingness before the stupefied eyes of
billions of others. All earthly things that belonged to the departed ones
remain
behind, including clothing, jewelry, and prosthetics of every description.
I
once heard a nationally known “reverend” –so-called-- (I don’t like the word
“reverend” in reference to anyone on this fallen planet, because there is
only
one reverend, and He has just whisked all who are His into heaven for their
eternal rewards) say something like this: “A rapture --if it were to be
something
that really happens—would mean that there would be unbelievable carnage upon
the earth. God won’t let that happen.”
Hello,
Reverend, but, what about the judgments for the end of days given by the Old
and New Testaments? What about the Book of Revelation? The seals, trumpets,
and
vials don’t exactly give us the warm, fuzzy feeling that the era of apocalypse
will be a tiptoe through the tulips.
The
"Kingdom Now" folks, with their replacement theology, however, see
these things written in the areas of biblical judgments and God’s wrath as
allegory
or
symbolism. They spiritualize these prophecies, or treat them as already
fulfilled. They preach and teach that the Church (Christians) will make this
earth
a better and better place until Christ can safely return to occupy His earthly
throne. My dear Rapture Ready visitors and family--they are simply
not
looking at the same headlines as yours truly. And the headlines I’m
experiencing each and every day coincide precisely with what God’s holy,
inerrant
Word
has to say about the end of days –again—as the secular media like to call the
end time.
“But
evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived”
(2 Tim. 3:13).
Jesus
himself prophesied for the very end of the tribulation: “And except that the
Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the
elect's
sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days” (Mar. 13:20).
This
world is in for a very rough ride, and the “reverend” was and is wrong in
pronouncing that God would not allow carnage, thus a rapture is not in the
future
of mankind. Nothing could be more ludicrous.
The
“thief in the night” prophecy is aimed particularly at the people who will be
left behind after the rapture. That great event will certainly take most
willfully
ignorant Christians by total surprise, but it will not be like a “thief in the
night” experience to them. We can know this from Paul the apostle's
foretelling,
when he writes to the Thessalonians –to all Christians of the Church Age (Age
of Grace): “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the
Lord
so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety;
then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with
child;
and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day
should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light,
and
the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness” (1 Thes.
5:2-5).
Note
Paul’s use of the pronouns “they” and "them" versus "you,” “ye,”
and “we.” He is differentiating between unbelievers and believers during this
Church
Age.
The rapture, for all Christians who are alive at the time, will be an entirely
different experience than the “thief in the night” experience of those
left
behind. We see this in John 14:1-3, and in Paul’s following comforting
prophecy: “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the
great
God and our Savior Jesus Christ…” (Titus 2:13).
So,
getting back to our earth-bound scenarios that we speculate will immediately
follow the rapture, let us look at some dark probabilities.
The
most immediate things that assault the senses, while people look around them,
are the clothing and other things that fall to the ground, the pavement,
the
floors. The only evidence that those who suddenly vanished were ever on earth
are the clothing and other personal items they no longer need. The prosthetic
devices,
too, of every sort, give the news pundits something to talk about on the
programs that are dominated by one subject: the disappearance of millions.
But,
in my speculative view, the most frightening, then, as the knowledge sets in, the
most agonizing thing that will grip the world will be the fact that
every
single child who hasn’t reached the age of accountability for his or her soul
will be gone from the planet in that millisecond of time. Every womb,
of
every left behind woman who was with child at the time of the disappearances
will be instantaneously empty. God, in that astonishing moment, will make
a
monumental, and unmistakable statement about His opinion of when life begins in
the conception process!
Can
we even begin to imagine the excruciating emotional explosion that will take
place all over the world?
With
the intimately personal cataclysms still raging, other just as staggering
considerations flood the fear-filled thoughts of men and women left behind.
Again,
in America, Martial Law is immediately invoked. But, before the much-denuded
military and law enforcement personnel can regroup to enforce Martial
Law,
looters of every sort move freely throughout decimated society, pillaging,
destroying, and raping whatever and whoever they find in their rampaging
paths.
The
consciences of man are no longer under the governance of the Holy Spirit, as in
time just before the disappearances occurred. Homes, empty of their
vanished
occupants, are open game, and the looters don’t stop to give a second thought
to the horrendous future mankind now faces. They think, as I heard
Dr.
Charles Stanley say, they have died and gone to their warped picture of heaven. We’ve
only begun to explore, through our Bible prophecy postulations,
what
the left behind world will be like, and the likely dynamics that will rearrange
Planet Earth for Antichrist’s appearance.
People
have vanished all over the world in less time than it takes for light to enter
the eye and strike the retina. The chaos is worldwide, but nowhere
so
profound as within the United States of America. Just a matter of time,
however, will prove that the ramifications are geopolitically staggering –for
one
nation in particular, in addition to America.
The
American government, at every level, soon analyzes that every child below–most
likely—the teen-age years are gone. Every pregnant woman who was with
child,
and who remains, has suffered the loss of the baby in her womb. But some other
things are discovered that are even more troubling to the officials,
the
politicos of the nation at every level.
Government
is totally disrupted, and the powers-that-be quickly recognize that not even
Martial Law is going to be able to reestablish the revenue basis
for
carrying on government as usual. A huge part of the tax base–a fatally
proportionate one--is no longer here to provide the funds to carry on
government
as
usual! Much of the workforce, particularly the most vital, skilled force that
was the heart and soul of American industry and fidelity to the good work
ethic,
disappeared in that stupefying moment.
Carnage
alone, caused by the many accidents and other disappearance-engendered
problems, will require massive manpower and, in many cases, extraordinary
skills
to begin restoring order. These people are gone in great numbers.
Europe,
on the other hand--while dumbfounded, even extremely worried, over the
vanishings—seems to have suffered little infrastructure damage. Economy,
well
structured by the European Union Parliament, has only minimum glitches in
keeping things running. Now, it is bidden by the upper echelon of the American
government
that is left to advise and assist in helping with things –especially with
reestablishing America’s economic base on sound footing.
America’s
particularly bad circumstances do not go without notice by others within the
nation-states of the world. Russia and China take special notice.
They
assess how America’s military complex has been affected.
Islamics
who want their religion to rule the world are delighted. The great Satan has
gotten its deserved punishment from Allah. Although Islamic children,
too,
have disappeared, the adults who remain in great numbers are still available to
make war--and love, in order to replenish the children. The terrorist
Islamic
organizations are delighted, and immediately see jihad against their enemies
–most particularly against the Jews of the world –and Israel.
Israel’s
governmental leaders come to two stunning realizations: 1) Their only ally,
with the greatest thermonuclear deterrent in the world, is in chaos.
The
U.S. government officials who remain are doing all within their power just to
make deals with the EU in order to –somehow—regain their own power. There
is
no time, or even facility, to see to Israel’s protection. And, 2) The greatest
supporters of Israel and the Jews, in terms of people who supported Israel’s
right
to exist –their best friends on the planet—are no longer on the planet!
While
America’s top leaders who are still around are coming to understand there must
be a complete rearrangement of economy and monetary matters, Israel
is
getting reports of plans for attack by the Arabs, Persians, and other Islamics,
who understand what has happened as an opportunity provided them by
Allah--an
opportunity to once and for all eradicate the hated Jew and the impostor state
of Israel.
The
Jewish leadership is intact, and the Jews –even those of the Labor Party and
the most liberal—know the tiny nation stands alone. Even Mid-East oil
exigencies
are
for the moment off the table for the powers of the west, the industrial nations
that must reorganize, not send their troops on ventures into the sands
of
the Middle East.
What
Israel determines to do, it must do quickly. Very quickly. The Israeli
leadership realizes one thing beyond all others. They know their blood-vowed
enemies
will do everything within their power to wipe them –including the Labor Party
and other liberal Jews—off Planet Earth. But, there is “the Samson
Option,”
even the liberal Jews agree. The tiny state that is now in the cross-hairs of
practically every Arab state still has perhaps the 3rd or 4th most
lethal
nuclear weapons force in the world. The Islamic fanatics –the entire world—must
be shown that their vow “Never again!” is as strongly in the collective
determination
of the Jew as in the years immediately following Hitler’s Holocaust.
We
live in the last time. This is undeniable, if one accepts God’s Word. It is
indisputable to anyone who holds the Bible as truth. Proof is found right
here:
“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist
shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that
it
is the last time” (1 John 2:18).
So,
this is the end of days, for sure. At least, that’s how I read the Apostle
John’s words. It was already the end of days at the time he wrote his epistles
and
the Revelation. I’m aware some don’t believe that the same John wrote both. I
profoundly disagree. And there are those who believe the reference here
is
to the “spirit of Antichrist,” not to “Antichrist,” as the beast of Revelation
Chapter 13. I profoundly disagree with that assessment, too. John, here,
is
writing about BOTH the spirit of Antichrist and a specific man who will come on
the scene at some point. He will both come posing as (the counterfeit
of)
Jesus Christ, and as against all that is Christian. He will be the worst man
who has ever walked the surface of this fallen planet. We will begin to
postulate
how this beast might come to power while we continue with our hypothetical,
though well-studied and scripturally-based consideration of things
that
will quite possibly happen from this point in time forward.
Following
the rapture of all born-again believers, the leadership of Israel will look
around to find its world support gone with the disappearance of millions
of
people. All who truly believe Israel has a God-given right to the land, based
upon Scriptures in Genesis, will be missing. America will be in total
turmoil,
and desperately searching for ways to regain its national equilibrium. This can
only be accomplished by reestablishing government that will provide
structure
for restoring order. The European Union, somewhat shaken, nonetheless will
remain solid. All civilized parts of the western world will rush to
the
EU for help in trying to regain and/or preserve things lost in the greatest
catastrophe in recorded human history.
The
Islamics of the Middle East, who have for centuries held the people under their
despotic thumbs, will not be cowered by the disappearances—even of all
of
their young children. Rather, they will be emboldened to look toward Israel and
see an Allah-sent opportunity to once-and-for-all scour the Jew from
the
face of what they consider to be their land. This rumor of war will not escape
Israel’s leadership.
While
the Arab-Islamic forces gather in council of war, the military leadership of
Israel will be given the top spot in doing whatever is necessary to insure
the
nation’s continued existence. The liberals and woolly-minded who harbor
delusional thoughts that peace is primary will be pushed to the margins. Israel
must
survive.
Gamel
Abdul Nasser will be remembered in the councils of both Israel and her enemies
who spawned that Egyptian warlord. Nasser gathered the combined forces
of
Arab nations and attacked Israel in 1956. He was in the process of again doing
so in 1967, when the Israeli Defense Force pre-empted the Egyptian dictator’s
plans
and thoroughly defeated that collective foe. The people who declare they will
never again sit still while forces gather to destroy the nation will
now
be in charge in Israel. Dramatic action is called for; it will be taken.
Leadership
of the major Mid-East terrorist organizations will gather at the one place they
are all headquartered—the oldest inhabited city on earth, Damascus,
Syria.
Their drum beat of blood-vowed hatred will make the inevitable obvious to the
Israeli hawks –most all within Israeli leadership. They will decide
to
cut off the heads of the hydra-headed serpent in one mighty blow. That blow
will be delivered by the nuclear sword: “The burden of Damascus. Behold,
Damascus
is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap” (Isa. 17:1).
One
Israeli jet with a 15-kiloton bomb will cut off the heads, bringing much of
Islam into confusion and immense rage. Then, there will be jihad of the
most
nightmarish sort. But, preparation for such jihad will take time. Much of the
diabolical terrorists most proficient at planning such a holy war will
have
gone to their 72 virgins.
Now,
America will agree to agree with EU brainstorming. Something, all agree in the
western power sphere, must be done—immediately. World War III—that some
have
said has already begun with the War on Terrorism—will be about to get underway
in full-blown fury. Israel will then sense the collective wrath not
just
of its Islamic neighbors, but of the entire world, including its former
staunchest ally—the United States of America.
Israel,
through its preemptive destruction of Damascus with a nuclear weapon, will have
enraged everyone, who now looks at the tiny Jewish state as the
number-one
troublemaker on the planet: “The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel,
saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth
the
foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. Behold, I
will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about,
when
they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in
that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all
that
burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the
earth be gathered together against it” (Zech. 12:1-3).
Israel
will be friendless. Most all Jews will know they are doomed. There will be no
choice but to invoke the Samson Option. They will bring all who come
against
them down with their own deadly fall.
But
there will be one man within the hierarchy of the EU who wants to try a
diplomatic tact others haven’t considered.
Damascus
lies in nuclear rubble, completely cut off from ever becoming a city again. The
major jihadist terrorist heads were cut off in Israel’s pre-emptive
strike.
But, the collective wrath of the rest of the world’s nations –led by the U.N.
Israel-haters, surround the tiny Jewish state, figuratively, at least.
The
Islamic hordes of every stripe are in full rage. The battle cries scream from
every media and diplomatic venue, as well as in the streets of Europe
and
other nations where Islam’s populations have grown exponentially.
Israel’s
leadership --particularly the military leadership—know that it is fight or die
as a nation, as a people.
But,
just as the Samson Option is about to be invoked (bringing the house of Israel
and all of its enemies down with nuclear holocaust), a man from the
EU
steps from among his fellows, speaking great things of the diplomatic sort.
“And
of the ten horns that [were] in his head, and [of] the other which came up, and
before whom three fell; even [of] that horn that had eyes, and a mouth
that
spake very great things, whose look [was] more stout than his fellows” (Dan.
7:20).
This
European leader tells Israel that he is their friend. Almost the only friend
they have among the voices of the U.N. and the newly developed superstate,
thanks
to the rapture of the Church, and America coming under the European umbrella,
bringing with it the most powerful and sophisticated nuclear weapons
arsenal
on the planet.
He
may be but one voice, but what a voice! No one would dare to make war with this
man, who commands such awesome might. As a matter of fact, this man will
one
day be worshipped as a god. But not quite yet.
"And
they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped
the beast, saying, Who [is] like unto the beast? who is able to make
war
with him?” (Rev. 13:4).
This
leader promises Israel that he, personally, will guarantee they are not
attacked, and that they are accepted by other leaders of the nations now
threatening
an
all-out assault on the Jewish state.
He
will begin with his wondrous works of convincing all the mesmerized world that
he is the man of the hour. He is the ultimate negotiator –the great, longed-for
peacemaker.
He
even promises Israel they can build a Temple on the most sacred spot to
religious Jews–atop Mount Moriah, the Temple Mount.
But,
in exchange, Israel must agree to put down all of its defense, especially its
great nuclear arsenal. Israel must agree to rely totally on him to be
their
national protector, their savior. They once rejected their true Messiah, but
will readily accept this great leader’s overtures of peace. Jesus prophesied
about
this: “I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall
come in his own name, him ye will receive” (Jn. 5:43).
Although
Israel and the world have been forewarned, this proud, arrogant, nefariously
ambitious man will invoke his peace. It will–ultimately-- produce
catastrophic
results.
However,
he will appear at first to be a miracle worker of unprecedented magnitude:
"And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his
hand;
and he shall magnify [himself] in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many…”
(Dan. 8:25).
He
is called the man of sin, the son of perdition, Antichrist, the beast, the king
of fierce countenance, the prince that shall come, and other names. But,
interestingly,
he is called “the Assyrian.”
I
recommend that you get a book by my great friend, Phillip Goodman, The Assyrian
Connection, to read about the Bible’s reference to this man. He and Antichrist
seem
to be one and the same in terms of considering the future tyrant that is
referred to as the beast most prominently in Revelation, chapter 13.
Antichrist,
though coming out of the geographic area of the ancient Roman Empire, based
upon Daniel 9:26-27, will nonetheless be of Middle Eastern extraction.
I
will let you read Phillip’s much-studied thoughts on the whys and wherefores
surrounding this postulation, but suffice it to say that –in my view, at
least—the
following prophecy seems to reference, to some extent, the beast’s ethnic origin:
"Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire
of
women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all" (Dan.
11:37).
Who
is this “God of his fathers?” If this most terrible tyrant of history is
Assyrian, based upon ethnic and/or religious history considerations, the “god”
referred
to might be the “god” of Islam. However, the “God of his fathers” could refer
to God Jehovah, Abraham, and Abraham’s predecessors. The God of
Heaven.
The use of the capital G in God makes it almost certain that this refers to the
one, true God.
He
rejects the true God of Heaven. (And, I don’t mean that he will be a Jew.
Abraham –and Abraham’s fathers before that great patriarch—sired many, many
people
who are not Jewish. The whole of the Arab nations, for example, have Abraham as
their Gentile father-progenitor.
This
man, the son of perdition, who stands above all others of like mind –to rule
the world, by hook or by crook— is out of the geographical area that comprised
the
old Roman Empire. While he is a prince who comes forth out of territories
encompassed by the ancient Roman Empire, his ethnic origin is from people
(his
fathers) of Middle Eastern extraction.
He
honors the “god of forces.” This is a most interesting proposition. And, there
are other fascinating factors and considerations in pursuing this line
of
conjecture.
The
prince –in our end-of-days scenario--has come forth from the people (the
Romans) who destroyed the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (the Jewish
Temple)
just
as foretold by Daniel the prophet (Dan. 9:27). He comes guaranteeing a peace
that has already been negotiated, and through great, swelling words aggrandizes
himself
in the eyes of many peoples throughout the world (Dan. 7:20).
Daniel
11:38: "But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god
whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with
precious
stones, and pleasant things."
The
Assyrian beast magnifies himself above all. He has attained godhood in his own
inflated opinion of his abilities. He manifests the prideful arrogance
of
all of the great kings, princes, and tyrants of history in one ego-maniacal,
supernaturally empowered man.
The
great leader, at the same time –according to Daniel 11: 38—is in league with
the “god of forces," and heaps riches upon a god his fathers would have
no
part of worshipping. These are a couple of fascinating foretellings about the
prince who has come forth. He casts his lot, at least initially, with
a
couple of interesting “gods.” The first god referenced is a god that invokes
aggressive, militant, and deadly action to achieve its way. The prince who
has
come uses this god and its forces to accomplish great things –for himself, of
course.
The
second god spoken of indicates a religious system, whose love of the riches of
life is at the center of all worship. The former “god” fits the profile
of
Allah, whose holy book, the Koran, demands that all who do not bow the knee to
Islam be dispatched from this life. The latter “god” is further described
in
Revelation chapter 17. The false religious system that seduces the kings of the
earth is both Catholic and Protestant apostate religionists, all rolled
cozily
together with ecumenical entities from the various religions of the world.
Antichrist will, the Scriptures say, turn on both the god of forces and
on
the god his fathers –Abraham and his predecessors-- would not worship. He will
–ultimately—abide no worship other than of himself.
While
Islam grows more fanatic, and proliferates through birth rate that far
outstrips any other militant ethnic people, the great leader from the EU and
other
western powers combine and turn against the “god of forces.” Islam has gotten
too threatening to the technological democracy the latest and greatest
Fuhrer
wants to institute. Islam will not adjust. These forces –whose god commands
them to remain pure in Islam’s draconian ways, recede, and reconnoiter
in
regions native to their hordes. They join with powerful allies north of their
comfort zone. The revived Russian military force is led by a leader who
has
special mention in end-of-days Bible prophecy.
“Gog,”
which means ”leader,” looks with lust toward the south and all of the oil-based
riches of the Middle East. Economic and other factors make the Russian
Gog
think an evil thought. The Islamics, unwelcome in their interference with the
Assyrian leader of the newly forming one-world plan, hitch their ambitions
to
the Russian leader’s evil thought to rule the petroleum fields –and to thereby
destroy Israel. Destroying Israel is at the heart of Islamic thinking.
The
Jews must forever be eradicated from the land they proclaim belongs to them.
The
great western leader eyes the great eastern leader. The supernaturally
saturated prince of Bible prophecy will –in our scenario—know that Gog is about
to
get his come-uppance. The western leader, directed by the same “god” as the
eastern leader, knows what is about to happen. He bides his time.
Israel
sits, without means to defend herself. The Jewish nation’s leaders have given
their complete trust to the western leader, who has personally guaranteed
their
peace and safety. But, the great western leader, in spite of his watching the
situation develop, isn’t quite confident in his assessment of what
Bible
prophecy has to say about this moment in human history. He’s not certain
developments are necessarily in his favor.
His
own kingdom Is still under construction. While he won’t move until he fully
consolidates his unstoppable power, he watches Gog and the Islamics gather
for
assault on the Middle East. His time will come. He will move, then, as no other
leader in history has ever moved --in all-out aggression.
“But
tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he
shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many”
(Dan
11:44).
But,
it will be another force that deals with Israel’s great enemy at this
particular moment.
Israel,
in our ongoing end-of-days scenario, has agreed to all stipulations the western
international community –under inspiration of a great world leader—has
required
of the Jewish state. Key to getting the leader to assure Israel’s security –its
peace—is the requirement that Israel give over her nuclear arsenal
to
the still-forming, growing super state. God’s prophetic Word has two things,
basically, to say about this action by Israel:
1.
The first involves not only Israel, but all who embrace this “peace” spawned by
the western superstar and the nations that back him. The world will get
its
much-desired, then ballyhooed, “peace and safety,” but it will come at a
tremendous price. It will, of course, be not a true peace at all, but a
horrific
war.
2.
The second thing God says about this attempt at peace is exclusively directed
at God’s chosen people –the Jews –and the nation Israel: “Because ye have
said,
We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the
overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us:
for
we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves… And
your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with
hell
shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall
be trodden down by it” (Isa. 28:15,18). “For when they shall say,
Peace
and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman
with child; and they shall not escape” (1Th. 5:3).
Jesus,
speaking to the nation Israel, prophesied that Israel would accept this Roman
prince’s overtures, while rejecting Him, their true Messiah: “I am
come
in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own
name, him ye will receive” (Jn. 5:43).
Israel
sits now –in our scenario—like an un-gated community. It doesn’t even have a
local constabulary to protect it. It depends totally on the great Roman
prince’s
promises of peace and safety. It is just at this moment that the other leader
of supernaturally-infused power –the eastern leader to the north
of
Israel--realizes all of the Middle East is ripe for the pickings, while the
western coalition is still consolidating power.
“Thus
saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall
things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: And thou
shalt
say, I will go up to the land of un-walled villages; I will go to them that are
at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and
having
neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand
upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people
that
are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell
in the midst of the land” (Ezek. 38:10-12).
The
only response of the prince and his cronies out of the west to the hordes they
see coalescing in war-like configuration that surrounds Israel and the
oil
fields of the region seems wrapped up in the following prophecy: ”Sheba, and
Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof,
shall
say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to
take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and
goods,
to take a great spoil?” (Ezek. 38:13).
The
“protectors” of Israel offer only a note of diplomatic protest. The Russian and
Islamic heads of Russia’s Arab and Persian allies seize upon the perceived
weakness
of the west’s leadership.
The
questions that need to be considered here –at least in my opinion—are: Is the
note of protest sent out of true weakness, or does the Roman prince realize
what
fate awaits the one called Gog and his Magog forces?
The
demons, God’s Word says, believe in God and tremble. The satanically-driven
prince that shall come will certainly know the Ezekiel prophecies. He will
be
the most brilliant military strategist ever to inhabit flesh on the planet. Can
there be much doubt that he will think –in advance—to take advantage
of
every possibility?
In
our scenario, he takes a look at the gathering storm and sends his note of
protest, all with a sly grin of belief in what Scripture says. He will let
other
forces take care of the insolent Russian and the deluded war lords of Israel’s
enemies.
His
own authority is not fully consolidated. He will, along with his great titans
of wealth backers, watch the Russians destruct upon the mountains of Israel
while
he, himself, prepares to fill the most fortuitous vacuum that is about to be
created in the Middle East.
Gog, the prophesied leader of the
Israel-hating coalition north of Jerusalem, has hooks in his jaws--put there by
none other than the Lord God of all creation.
Our scenario has that hook as lubricated
generously with the black, liquid gold of the Middle East.
The dictator who rules Russia has watched,
with Luciferian-inspired obsession, the whole international rearrangements
following the disappearance of millions.
He receives an “evil thought,” and thinks
to take “great spoil” –the vast oil supplies of the regions surrounding Israel.
It is the Tribulation era--Daniel’s 70th
week—the last seven years of human history that will culminate in Christ’s
second advent. Man has always claimed,
in his humanistic pride, that he can make
this world into paradise. This has been true since before the time of Nimrod
and Babel (Genesis chapter 11).
Th