Prepared for the Kingdom

By G. R. Workman

Copyright © 2014, 2020 by G. R. Workman

All rights reserved.  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, scanning, or otherwise, without permission in writing from the author, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Visit the author’s website at www.ingodstrust.com

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1:  A Letter to Those That Remain

Chapter 2:  The Rapture and Preparedness

Chapter 3:  Jesus - The Greatest Love

Chapter 4:  Post Rapture

Chapter 5:  Daniel 1 & 2 - Dream of the Statue

Chapter 6:  Daniel 7 - Four Beasts from the Sea

Chapter 7:  Daniel 8 - Vision of the Ram

Chapter 8:  Daniel 9 - The Seventy Weeks

Chapter 9:  Daniel 10 & 11 - History/Tribulation/Judgment

Chapter 10:  Daniel 12 - Victory

Chapter 11:  Why the Tribulation?

Chapter 12:  Zechariah 12 & 13 - Israel’s Repentance

Chapter 13:  Zechariah 14 - The Day of the Lord

Chapter 14:  Revelation 1, 2 & 3 - The Seven Churches

Chapter 15:  Revelation 4 - The Throne of God

Chapter 16:  Revelation 5 - The Lamb of God

Chapter 17:  Revelation 6 and 7 - The Seal Judgments

Chapter 18:  Revelation 8 and 9 - The Trumpet Judgments

Chapter 19:  Revelation 12 - The Great Tribulation

Chapter 20:  Revelation 13 - The Beast

Chapter 21:  Revelation 14 - Great Winepress of the Wrath of God

Chapter 22:  Revelation 15 - Seven Last Plagues Decreed

Chapter 23:  Revelation 16 - The Seven Bowl Judgments

Chapter 24:  Revelation 17, 18, 19 - A Heavenly Summation of Events

Chapter 25:  Revelation 20 - Judgment Day

Chapter 26:  Revelation 21 and 22 - New Beginnings

Chapter 27:  Now is the Time of Decision and of Evangelizing the Lost

Chapter 28:  Conclusion

Introduction

This book was written from the perspective of those who have just found themselves lost and alone after the Rapture of the Church.  These people will be confused and searching for answers.  I hope that this book will rightly guide them to the truth in so much that they will understand why they were left behind.  With this understanding may these individuals then rightly prepare themselves for the future Kingdom of God.

Chapter 1.

A Letter to Those That Remain

I am sure there are a great many terrified and confused people in the world right now.  But I want to tell you the truth concerning the strange events that have taken place recently.  Those of us who seem to be missing are very much alive and well, but just living in a different place.  A very dear friend of ours came and took us there and it was not against our wills.  This is something that each and every one who left has been waiting for and longing to occur.  Those that remain may be mourning and, no doubt, the whole event has caused world-wide chaos.  Yet, we are very happy to have been taken.

Although the world is in shock at the surprise of this event, the only surprise for us was that we didn’t know at what day or time He would show up to get us.  We knew, however, that He was coming.  It was our Blessed Hope and not just a wish, for the Bible made it clear that our Hope was a real upcoming event.  We are presently spending much time acquainting ourselves with this massive gathering of people.  We are also receiving rewards for our prior service on Earth as well as learning more than we could have ever imagined about pretty much everything.  Our bodies have been renewed and our minds have been opened.  Yet, we are who we are - just better than ever.  Most of all, we are with the One who made this all possible; the One who gave us this gift of eternal living; the One who forgave us of our sins; the One who paid himself for those sins by dying on that cross two thousand years ago so that we would never stand in judgment for them ourselves.  The Christ, the Son of God.  JESUS.

Therefore, do not mourn for us as if we are dead for as much as you may miss us all, we did not die!  We were a group of people that had the privilege of being transformed into our eternal heavenly bodies without having first died.  I know this all sounds extremely far-fetched.  Yet it was all foretold a long time ago in a book that has been on the best seller’s list for many years, the Bible.  Although many viewed it as a work of fiction, it is the most accurate text ever written regarding the history of mankind as well as the future of mankind.  A large percentage of the book was prophetic in nature.  In other words, events that have occurred in history were foretold ahead of time, in many cases, by hundreds of years or more, with complete accuracy.  Every prophesied event that the Bible says should have already happened has in fact happened.  It has never missed one and it has never been wrong.  Many books have been written regarding the uncanny accuracy of the hundreds upon hundreds of the Bible’s prophecies, yet did the majority of Earth’s people flock to God’s word declaring it infallible and true?  Sadly, no they did not.  People instead spent much time on attempting to refute the Word of God.  When faced with the reality of documented historical facts and the corroboration of archaeological findings, men merely set about changing the history books to achieve their goals of disqualifying the historical accuracy of the Bible.

The event that just occurred was also foretold in the Bible.  It is what we as Christians called the Rapture.  Although we are now safe and secure from all harm, those that remain are in grave danger.  Consider this: If the Bible has never been wrong and has accurately foretold future events all down through history, including the recent Rapture, then would it be wise to continue to ignore its writings?  It explains what will happen in the next several years, both in Heaven and on Earth.  You are living in what the Bible calls the End Times which has consisted of mankind’s falling away from the truth of God’s word.  The time that you have left will be a time of reckoning.  Those that remain will either choose God or choose death.  They will choose to trust in the One who saved them or they will choose to put their trust in another.  By the end of the next seven years or so, every person on Earth will have made a choice for or against God.  There can be no neutrality, for a lukewarm person has, in fact, chosen death over life.

There will arise upon the political scene a very dynamic personality who will captivate nearly everyone remaining on Earth.  He will have answers and solutions for all of the upheaval that has happened since the Rapture.  He may even provide a plausible scientific explanation for our disappearances.  He will rise to prominence and power in one of the world’s major organizations such as the United Nations.  He will portray himself as a peacemaker that will for the first time in history formulate a plan for peace in the Middle East.  This man will sign, and strengthen, a peace treaty that already exists between Israel and the surrounding nations who rise against her.  It has been generally accepted that this signing will signify the beginning of what the Bible calls the Tribulation Period - seven years of hell on Earth. 

This man will be praised on Earth.  People will gladly accept his help and leadership.  He will quickly rise from obscurity to become the most powerful man on the planet.  Yet, he was already spoken of often in the Bible and is called by many names: Son of Perdition, the Beast and the Anti-Christ to name a few.  He was spoken of by Daniel in the Old Testament, John and others in the New Testament, as well as by Jesus himself.  The book of Revelation describes his deeds during the Tribulation in much detail.  Watch for this person and do not be deceived by his charm.  His words and actions may be awe inspiring and powerful, but do not embrace him or his political system.  He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  Under his reign, thousands if not millions will be murdered.  Hitler’s holocaust will seem mild compared to the destruction that he will unleash upon the Earth, and in particular, upon Christians and Jews.

Christians?  Did you not say that they all disappeared?  Yes.  All born again, Jesus-believing people did disappear.  However, after the Rapture a great number of people from all over the Earth will come to their senses and choose Christ.  Yet life for them now will be more difficult than for any other group of people that has ever lived.  Believing and professing to be a Christian during these seven years just may cost them their very lives.  But think of it in this manner, seven years or less may be all that anyone has left to live.  Losing your life for Christ’s sake is better than denying Him and losing your life for all eternity in Hell at Judgment Day.

According to the Bible, approximately three quarters of this planet’s population will lose their lives during this seven year period of time.  The Earth will experience the most horrifying natural and manmade disasters of all time.  The Bible describes events and the consequences of those events in great detail - much more detail than anyone of John’s time period could have known without direct inspiration from God.  These events will follow a set order on a given timeline of which there are two major sections - the first half of the Tribulation and the second half, which is called the Great Tribulation.  It will be so bad that if God doesn’t halt the catastrophes that are occurring, which He Himself controls, nothing would survive.

Although many of these events may seem to be completely of man’s own making as well as natural, they are in fact judgments from God Himself.  He has been lenient with men throughout history.  He could have merely abandoned us at any time in all of our sinfulness and destroyed the Earth, but He didn’t.  Instead, He provided us a way to be united with Him.  He gave His Son to us as a sacrifice that we would have a way to be justified from our sins.  We didn’t deserve it.  Yet, He loved us that much and He has waited for as long as possible before coming back so that many would choose Him.  He warned us and showed us the signs of His eminent return.  As it was in the day of Noah, so shall it be at the time of the end.  At the time that God flooded the Earth, Noah was the only person left who was not completely corrupted by sin.  God destroyed this planet with water, but He said that the next time it will be by fire.

Even though His judgments will be great and harsh, He is still merciful.  He could catastrophically destroy the Earth as before, yet, He isn’t.  That is, not quite yet.  Many men will rightfully recognize what is happening as coming from God.  Multitudes will be saved during the Tribulation.  Probably most of these would never have chosen God if not for witnessing the sheer power of His might.  Men will be shaken to the core.  They will literally die from fright.  For those that choose Christ during this time, even their deaths will be a victory for they will reap special rewards upon reaching Heaven.  God’s incredible display of His terrifying might will still be tempered because of His great love for us, and His spirit will inhabit all those that choose Him.

The Bible says that there will be wars followed by great famines and diseases.  There will be natural disasters followed by, again, famines and diseases.  Is there anything new about this?  Hasn’t this always happened down through history?  How many countless thousands died of famine and disease after the 2004 tsunami?  What will make the Tribulation disasters any different?  Why would people perceive these disasters as judgments from God Himself?  We’ve always had wars and the Middle East has always been a focus of world attention and tension.  What will cause men to come to the conclusion that this is the Seven Year Tribulation?

Well, for one thing, the prior disappearance of millions from the planet Earth.  Secondly, the severity of the disasters will be unprecedented.  There may even have been, for the first time in history, terrorist attacks using nuclear weapons.  This would cause a world-wide epidemic of wars, famines and disease.  There will be earthquakes of great magnitude which will subsequently cause, over and over, a torrent of tsunamis, mudslides and land devastation.  What always follows is famine and disease.  In the past there was always time between disasters for recovery.  Nations would help other nations with food, money and manpower.  What if these events happened with such frequency that nations could barely help themselves, let alone any others?  Epidemics would abound.  Millions would die and many more would long for death.

Thirdly, a system of government will come into existence like none other before it.  A ten nation or regions of government will be established.  One man will become the central authoritative figure of this government - the Anti-Christ, the Son of Perdition, the Beast.  After deceiving the world for three and one-half years, he will break his own treaty with Israel and walk into the Temple in Jerusalem defiling it by proclaiming that he himself is a god.  He will cause all that live to agree to his system of government by accepting a mark in their hand or forehead, without which they cannot buy or sell.  A one world system of government using computers and implanted chips or tattoos is no longer futuristic or far-fetched.  It will be a working reality and the technology for such a system is nearly in place.  It is just a matter of uniting the world to agree to implement such a system.  Most likely it will be out of economic necessity that this system will be born.

However, the Bible says that anyone who accepts the Mark of the beast will be doomed to Hell.  People may not perceive it as submitting to a person’s theology.  Would we question the morality of getting a debit card?  Of course not.  It’s just another technological advance.  Not this time.  The Bible is plain on this one.  Do not accept the Mark!  There will be no turning back.  No amount of repentance will change the destiny of your soul.  People will accept the Mark out of ignorance unless warned.  However, by warning people you may be endangering your very life.  Many will understand the danger yet succumb to the Mark because they are hungry or need health care for themselves or their loved ones.  All they bought for themselves were a few more days upon the Earth and an eternity of misery for themselves in Hell.  It will be better to die without the Mark than to live for a short time with it.  Don’t give in and don’t give up.  Don’t, under any circumstance, receive the Mark - in whatever form that it takes!

This will be a time of great deception.  The world will be under what the devil believes to be his control.  A great delusion will fall upon man to believe a great lie – the devil’s lie.  He will cause man to seek out and destroy Christians and Jews.  There have been many books written about this period of time, about hiding and living under these circumstances.  It may be far more difficult and dangerous than any of these novels have described.  It may very well become totally impossible to survive without accepting the Anti-Christ or his mark.  What then is a person to do?  How will it be possible for men and women to keep their families safe?  How will it be possible to eat?  How will it be possible to receive medical help?  The fact is, it may not be possible – any of it.  What then?

No matter what the circumstances, do not accept the Mark.  If you love your families and friends, do not accept the Mark.  You may be struggling with the fact that it could buy you or a loved one some extra time on Earth.  Yes, in fact it may, but your death sentence will be signed and sealed.  This is like no other time in history and what may make sense to you now is not like before.  Faith is the only thing that can save you and your loved ones at this point.  It will take believing in the supernatural.  It means believing that there is a God and believing that there is a devil.  You will need to believe that there is a war between good and evil and that we all are in the middle of it.  It will take faith to believe that this will all come to an end around seven years after this period of time has begun.  It will take faith to believe that what the Bible has forewarned is real.  It will take faith to possibly lay down your very life and the lives of your families in order that you all will ultimately remain safe and alive – forever.  It will take faith to believe that there is a God who can give you eternal life.

This kind of faith can only be achieved by personally getting to know the giver of eternal life – God, the Father of our Savior Jesus Christ.  The only way to get to know Him is to hear Him and the only way to do that is to hear what He is saying to us through the Bible.  It is the very Word of God.  Through His word you can attain a faith to believe without a shadow of a doubt that His gift of eternal life is given to us when we personally trust that His son, Jesus, came to Earth as flesh and blood, lived a sinless life and then died in our place on the cross.  He personally bore every one of mankind’s sins; past, present and future when He was upon that cross.  He died in your place.  He suffered personally for your sins.  When you place your trust in Him, He will personally stand before God and declare you innocent so that you may enter into the presence of God wholly and completely blameless, justified and welcomed to be there.

Faith in God is therefore the only way to save you and your loved one’s lives.  It may very well take dying here on Earth for what you believe.  Many will no doubt be tortured for their beliefs.  You may even need to be courageous enough to watch as someone you love is tortured and possibly executed, yet, staying strong enough to not succumb to accepting the mark or to deny Christ.  You will need to trust that through all of the agony and pain, there is One that will forever stand with you and that person is Jesus Christ.  He will be there through all of the pain and tribulations that you may endure.  If He chooses to supernaturally save you from that pain, you may count it fortunate.  If not, He will still be there to welcome you home.

Seek out and find a church and/or a competent religious leader.  However, beware of false teachers and preachers.  Be careful of whom you listen to for spiritual help.  Not everyone that cries out the name of God is trustworthy.  Beware of religious radicals who claim to know God but who deny His power or deny Jesus and the cross.  Personally get acquainted with God’s Word in the Bible so that you may be able to discern good from evil.  Learn as much as possible.  Pray continuously that God will open your eyes to see and understand the truth.  Pray that you will have the courage to stand when circumstances become difficult and dangerous.  Have faith that God will see you through to victory and everlasting life.

Your Friend

Chapter 2.

The Rapture and Preparedness

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

For most, the hours and days following the disappearances are going to be incredibly surreal.  Only in the movies could such an occurrence have happened.  Who would ever know how many lives were lost at that moment.  It could literally take years to even come close to determining the number that died that day.  In the blink of an eye, thousands of cars on highways around the world were left without drivers, crashing uncontrollably, leaving countless occupants dead, dying or injured.  Terrified airline passengers plummeted thousands of feet without ever understanding why they were about to die.  Wives disappeared leaving their husbands.  Children left, leaving their parents in utter panic driven hysteria in search of them.  Yet, it was all foretold in the Bible more than two thousand years ago.  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

It all came down to a matter of preparedness.  Those left behind were not prepared when the Lord, true to His Word, came back for His children.  He didn’t tell us the exact day that He was returning but He did let us know the general time period and the warning signs to watch for prior to His appearance.  According to His Word, He was expecting us to expect Him at any given time.  In that way, we would always keep ourselves in a constant state of preparedness.  We would not be caught off guard and, therefore, not ready morally and spiritually for His return, having refused to repent and accept Jesus as Lord.

But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.

But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 24:43-51).

If you are taking the time to read this book, then you are searching for answers.  Some readers may have already accepted the Biblical reasons for the disappearances and now want to learn what will happen next.  Others are probably “cautiously” curious, still not wanting to commit to any person’s or to any Godly explanation.  Take my advice and do not wait.  Embrace the truth of God’s Word before other evil forces sway your mind into a self-destructive decision.  Why self-destructive?  Well, because you have the choice right now to choose the truth or to choose a lie - to ultimately choose life or to choose death.  Let God’s Word explain the truth to you.  Do not let the words of men deceive you into believing what will be lies upon lies that will ultimately lead you to the destruction of your soul.

Various passages in the Bible foretell of the recent disappearances or Rapture as it is referred to by many.  It had been one of the most anticipated events in all of history for most Christians.  It was their Blessed Hope – to be whisked away from this world into the very presence of the Lord their God.

Paul the Apostle, one of the original followers of Jesus Christ here on Earth after Christ’s death, taught of the Rapture in his communications with the church at Thessalonica.  Paul was happy to hear that these people were steadfast in their faith.  He counted it as a glory and a joy to him that they had remained that way.  Paul explained to the church that he knew of their continued faithfulness and wanted to make sure that if great trials and tribulations fell upon them, they would still hold fast to their newfound faith.

Paul prayed that, despite being held up by their own tribulations, they would eventually get the chance to again speak with that church before these new believers were enticed away from the truth of God’s Word.  He prayed night and day that he would be given that opportunity.  He wanted to be able to establish their hearts with a faith that would guide their subsequent behavior in a direction that pleased God; a lasting faith that would allow them to stand wholly and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith? Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you (1 Thessalonians 3:10-11).

To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints (1 Thessalonians 3:13).

Paul's main goal was to see as many lives as possible saved through faith in Jesus Christ.  He wanted them to understand that the only way to actually stand before God blameless and without shame is to place their faith in Jesus Christ's redemptive work on the Cross where He shed His blood for their very own sins.  Then, because of what Christ did for them, he wanted them to be motivated to live righteous and holy lives.  He instructed this church on how to love, on how to treat other people and on honesty, as well as many other things.  Paul was ultimately preparing these people for life after death.  He wanted to comfort them by helping them understand that those who have died and were believers were not forever dead.  They would rise again.  He went on to foretell of the Rapture.  He explained that there would be a day when all believers would be caught up altogether in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and that we would forever be with the Lord.

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18).

Paul also explained that no one will know the exact date and time of the Lord’s return.  But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2).  So, he stressed the need for preparedness.  Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:6-8).  All of his teaching, preaching, prayer and instruction were to help get these people prepared to meet Christ.  And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

Obviously, these early Christians were not to take part in the actual Rapture of the church but they were still being prepared for life after death.  As the Rapture is a departure from this earthly life, death is also a departure from this life.  As the Rapture gathers God’s children into the presence of the Lord, Paul wanted death to usher these people into the presence of the Lord – not unto everlasting condemnation and Hell.

For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.  And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.  See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophecyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren.  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen (1 Thessalonians 5:9-28).

God did not let this event blindside us.  Christians were not blindsided as they were always living with the expectation that it was likely to happen at any moment.  However, non-believers were definitely blindsided by their own unwillingness to turn around and look to the future.  They were so entrenched in the pleasures of this world that they would not heed the warnings and take notice of the “signs of the times” as the Bible states.

In the Bible, God gave us many signs of His eventual “coming again” but more people chose to ignore the scriptures as a piece of fiction than those that have claimed it as an undeniable truth.  Yet in all of the hundreds of Bible prophecies, there has never been one mistake.  It has been completely accurate in its foretelling of future events, whether they happened a few thousand years ago or over the last two thousand years since the time of Christ.  Many have been fulfilled during this past century, as well as on into the present.

Why have people ignored something so accurate?  One reason is because the Bible also calls its readers to be prepared.  Frankly, that just wasn’t what most people wanted to do.  In their minds, that would kill all the fun that they were having in this life.  There would be no more lascivious living, no more drinking and drugs to distort their behavior, no more lying, cheating and stealing, and, heaven help us, no more adultery and fornication.  It meant that they would have to embrace a God that despised this kind of behavior.  It meant that they would need to turn their backs on what God calls sin and claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

In order to continue living in the manner in which they wanted, people chose to willingly ignore God’s Word and to remain unprepared for His return.  They did not take to heart His warnings that He would return and, therefore, were blindsided by the event when it happened.  Peter provided a scenario of people’s attitudes prior to Christ’s return, and it was dead on:

...Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen (2 Peter 3:3-18).

Before the disappearances people said, “Christians have been saying for two thousand years that God is going to return.  Well, if it hasn’t happened by now then it never will.  Life is still going on like it always has been and always will be.  There is no god who is coming back.”  This is the attitude that most people possessed before the Rapture.  They chose to be “willingly” ignorant of the scriptures and, therefore, when they heard them quoted, the Word of God made no sense to them.  In fact, they did not want it to make sense to them because it would mean that they would have to make a change in how they conducted themselves in their daily living.  They would rather die in willful ignorance then obey and live.

You see, Christ was not waiting two thousand years for no particular reason.  He was waiting as long as He possibly could so that as many as possible would turn to Him before He came back in judgment.  Two thousand years to us seems like forever but to God who says that a thousand years is like a day to Him, that passage of time is nothing.  He was giving mankind time.  But time had to run out as He warned us so many times that it would.

Those that studied the Bible and believed were, for the most part, found diligently waiting and prepared for His coming.  They were God fearing, Bible believing Christians who had previously acknowledged Jesus’ sin debt payment on the Cross of Calvary and who had accepted Him as Lord and Savior of their lives.  They knew without a shadow of a doubt that, by accepting Christ, they had already been given the free gift of eternal life.

For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:20-23).

They believed God’s Holy Word and were found “prepared” to leave when He came back to get them.  Yet the manner in which they chose to live caused them to be perceived by non-believers as a peculiar breed of people.  Their beliefs just made no sense to them.  Christians were boring and strange and told that they were not living in the “real world.”  Christians were told that their beliefs were outdated, hate filled and condemning.  Yet, what they believed mirrored the only true authority in existence – God’s Word.

True Christians clung to the Word of God as the ultimate authority on daily living.  They believed what His Word said and obeyed to the best of their abilities.  You see, they were not living for “the now” but looking toward the future when they would be standing in judgment before an all seeing and all-knowing God.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences (2 Corinthians 5:10-11).  They believed God’s Word and heeded its warnings.  They wanted to be found faithful in order to avoid the days of God’s wrath upon the Earth and Hell in the end.

True Christians didn’t pick and choose which Bible passages to follow or which ones were no longer valid in this day and age.  God said that the way people were acting in the days before the Tribulation would be the same as in the days of Noah.  That was thousands of years ago and the same behavior is still considered sin by God in today’s time. Both have brought wrath upon mankind.  As Noah warned the people of his day that judgment was coming, God also warned many times that this present judgment was coming.  He said that people would be eating and drinking and basically “living it up their own way” all the while ignoring God’s Word regarding sinful behavior.  They would be caught off guard and unprepared.  Yet, if they had only believed and studied God’s Word and recognized the signs of His imminent return, that He was already right at the door, they would have been saved from the wrath to come.  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come (Matthew 24:32-42).

There are going to be a myriad of theories regarding the disappearances.  Intertwined amongst them will be talk of what the “Christians called the Rapture” spoken of with much sarcasm.  Even though this is actually the best explanation, it will be shunned off as fiction and fables – a coincidence.  Yet, to those who realize that all those who have become missing professed Christ, it will be a heartbreaking revelation.  They have missed the boat and are now lost and without hope.

However, within a very short time of the Rapture, countless thousands will accept Christ as their Savior.  They will bow down in all of their utter devastation and proclaim that they were wrong in waiting to receive Him as their personal Savior.  They will ask His forgiveness of their sins and call upon His strength and His Will to guide them in the coming days ahead.

Don’t wait.  Get prepared.  False explanations of the disappearances that sound extremely plausible will cause many to be deceived.  Look to the only source that has accurately foretold of this event – the Bible.  It’s not too late.  You may have missed the Rapture but if you are still alive, then you still have a choice.  The days ahead are going to be more than a little difficult and you will literally need all of the supernatural strength that you can get in order to survive.  You need God now more than ever.  You need the healing and saving power of Jesus Christ and you need the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God for comfort and inspiration.  You need to be “saved.”

There is that dreaded word again – “saved.”  You heard it mentioned time and again by those Bible spouting Christians your entire life.  They were just plain embarrassing to be around as they handed out tracks and preached the gospel on street corners.  They were made fun of in movies and various television shows portrayed them as unintelligent idiots, freaks and wimps.  Guess where those freaks are now?  They are partaking in a great reunion and feast of unimaginable proportions.

Yes, you still need to be “saved.”  Heaven is a place of perfection and only those without sin can enter into it.  “Well,” you say, and many others are now saying, “It is not obvious that all those that disappeared were Christians.  Not all of them carried around Bibles and quoted scriptures.  Many of them seemed to act just like everyone else.”  Yes, unfortunately, that is definitely true.  “So, how can it be said that they were Christians?”

Christians are people just like everyone else on Earth with all of the flaws that are inherent to all people.  We were all born as sinners into this world.  We all have the knowledge of what is good and evil engrained into our beings, yet we cannot help but sin.  There has never been a man or woman live out their entire lifetime without performing some act of sin – apart from one who possessed the greatest love of all for mankind - Jesus.

Chapter 3.

JESUS

Why this one man’s sinless life and sacrificial death became mankind’s saving grace.

The Greatest Love

Have you ever wondered, “Just what is the purpose of life?  Why were we given life, especially when life in general sometimes seems far too difficult to actually live?”  If it seems hard to us, think about those in most other countries around the world where it is simply a struggle to find something to eat on any given day.  Why be given life if it is plain miserable to live?  What’s the point in all of this?

It’s hard to comprehend and understand the reasons why God would let our world be such a difficult place to live.  It didn’t start out that way, however.  It was perfect and beautiful.  It was a place that a perfect God created for His perfect children.  Yet, these children chose, on their own and through their own lusts, to disobey God and bring sinfulness upon mankind – the future generations of their very own children.  God’s perfect world began to disintegrate from that point forward.  Just as the world physically began deteriorating, mankind physically began deteriorating.  Diseases, immoral behavior, and all manner of emotional and psychological disorders, as well as death itself, were caused by the sin of mankind.

Since mankind, itself, basically made this world a difficult place to live in by committing sin in the first place, how then can we ask the questions “Why is God allowing pain, suffering and hardships?” or “Why doesn’t God just step in and put a stop to it?”  Well, He did that once with the great flood.  He said that He will do that again someday, not with water but by fire.  God is not “allowing” this world to be like this.  The Bible answers these questions by saying that He is merely waiting as long as possible or as long as He can stand it so that as many people as possible will turn to Him before He steps in and stops it.  He is waiting, not out of some sadistic need to see us suffer, but out of His great love for His children – you and I and everyone else on Earth.  He is enduring our misbehavior only because He is giving us time to repent and turn to Him.  How much time would you give your own children to turn from their evil ways and repent, especially if you knew that by stepping in and stopping it, many of them would die in Hell that might otherwise have repented if you had just waited a while longer.  It would be a horrible decision to have to make.  Yet, He will have to make that decision someday.

When God steps in, people will die.  It won’t be just the evil and suffering in this world that God will abolish.  It will be all those who have not turned to Him and repented of their sins claiming Jesus as their savior.  They will all die in Hell because God’s tolerance for sin is zero.  One sin in an unsaved person’s life produces a sentence of death.  There is no jail time.  There is no probation.  There is no type of community service that we can perform to rid of ourselves of our sin charges.  It’s actually the perfect correctional system.  If you sin, you die – in Hell in this case.  You see, life never actually ends.  God created us as “eternal” beings capable of complete “free will.”  We have the ability to choose whether or not to sin.  We all have engrained within us the knowledge of what is right and wrong.  We can choose to do either.  However, God also knew that people could not live an entire life without sinning.  It’s hard enough to go one day without it.  We are sinners plain and simple.  We all have been sentenced to death and Hell as a punishment for committing those sins.  So, if we are all sentenced to die or actually live eternally in Hell, what’s the point in living or ever having been created?

God knew us personally and individually even before He ever created our world.  He knew that if He created men and women the world would someday end up like this.  He knew that people with free will would sin and ultimately suffer and die as a consequence.  Yet, out of His great love for you and me, He chose to go forward with our creation.  God also knew that He Himself would one day suffer over the consequences of our creation.  He knew, even before He created us, that He would one day need to send His own son, Jesus, to suffer and die for our sins so that we could ultimately live forever with Him in Heaven. How does that work?

Since every sin comes with a penalty of death, we ourselves have no way of paying for them – other than to die and then live in Hell.  The only way to escape it would be for someone to step in and say, “I want to take the punishment for him/her.”  Yet, no person on Earth can do that because there is no one who is completely sinless.  Therefore, there is no person qualified to take someone else’s punishment for them.  Since every person is a sinner, they are all then required to pay for their own sins by death and Hell.  They can’t pay for someone else’s too.  It would take someone who has never sinned.  This person would have to possess a completely clean sin record in order for him to actually take on and pay for another person’s sin.  Yet, there has never been a man or woman who has lived a perfect life without sinning.  The only perfect being in existence is God Himself.

Jesus, being God and being perfect in every way, knew that giving His life would be the only recourse for saving mankind.  He knew that He would one day be sent by the Holy Father down to Earth to be born as a man and to live a spotless, sinless life.  He knew that He would be sentenced as an innocent man to die on a cross.  He could have said that we were not worth it.  Don’t create these people.  But He didn’t.  He looked down through the ages and saw us individually and loved us enough to choose “yes” to our creation.  Out of that great love He chose to suffer and die a most painful and hideous death.  It wasn’t just the physical pain and suffering that He endured.  It was something far worse.  As He hung on that cross, somehow supernaturally and miraculously, every single sin of mankind, every sin that you and I have ever committed and ever will commit was laid on His person.  They became His sins to die for.  Jesus was consumed so much by our sin that the Father in Heaven actually turned His back to His Son.  Jesus cried out the pain of that revelation.  He knows by personal experience what it feels like for every sinner who dies without having first turned to God in repentance.  He knows how it feels to have God turn away from them in death and to feel the fear that comes with knowing that they no longer have a chance to repent and to know that Hell is their destination – period – no more chances.

Yet, being the Son of God and without true blemish, Satan was defeated in His endeavor to cast Jesus forever into Hell.  Jesus suffered and died for our sins but He Himself was not a sinner.  God reached down and raised Him from the grave and brought Him to Heaven to reign with Him forever at His side.  By that act, we know without a doubt that God will raise those who have chosen Christ as their savior from the dead to live with Him in Heaven.

God sent His son to fulfill this great mission in order for us to escape death and Hell.  That is why He is waiting so patiently.  He wants as many as possible to choose Christ Jesus as their Savior before He steps in to declare judgment upon mankind.  There is already a final court date set.  He calls it The Great White Throne Judgment.  At that final court hearing it will be a very somber and heartbreaking place for those who denied or never knew Christ.  The Lamb's Book of Life will be opened and all those who do not have their names written in it will be sentenced to death and Hell.  The Bible says that all these people will literally bow on their knees admitting that they were sinners and declare that Jesus is Lord.  They will know that they deserve their punishment.  They will understand that they were wrong and that they should have chosen Christ but there will be nothing that they can say or do to change the situation.  They will feel the helplessness and hopelessness of their situation.  They will be cast into Hell to pay for their own sins by suffering bodily forever in the Lake of Fire.  There will be nothing that will ever quench the flames that will forever burn and yet not consume their very beings.

Yet, those who had previously chosen in this life to accept Jesus’ own payment for their sins will never participate in that court hearing.  Jesus will step in between them and the Almighty Father declaring that they are innocent, that their sins have already been paid for by death.  He will declare that they don’t have to die for their sins because He Himself has already done that for them.  Their debts have been paid in full and their records are clean.  Praise the Father, praise the Son and praise the Holy Spirit that lives in each and every one of us that has chosen to accept Christ Jesus’ payment for our sins.

He is not a God who enjoys seeing all the suffering that we experience in this world.  He is a God who has done everything possible even to the extent of sending His own son to die for us in order that we would one day live with Him in eternity.  He is patiently waiting, but not forever, so that many will have the chance to repent.  He will one day clean up the world but at a great price of many lives.  His own heart breaks for all those that die and will die at that time without knowing Jesus as their Savior.

Our greatest mission as followers of Christ is to be ambassadors for Him.  We are a part of His coming Kingdom and He wants us to spread the good news.  What’s that?  Well, the best news that a person can receive is that they have been pardoned of their crime of sin and that they have been declared innocent, not by anything that they have done but because someone has actually chosen to take their punishment for them.  We need to love people enough to tell them that fact.  We need to not be embarrassed to declare this fact to those around us.  We need to stand up and be bold, even in the face of ridicule.  We need to Show People - How to Live Forever.

Therefore, to be saved you must:

Realize and confess that you have broken God’s commandments and that you have sinned against God.  The Bible says that if you have lied, cheated, stolen, taken God’s name in vain and used it in place of a curse word, dishonored your parents, killed – hatred is regarded as murder in the heart, committed adultery or even to have just lusted after another that is not your husband/wife, have coveted other people’s possessions or desired what is not yours, then you are guilty of sinning against God Himself and deserve His coming wrath and judgment.  Repent of your sins and ask God for His mercy.  Believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for your sins on the cross and was raised for your justification.  Receive and proclaim Him as your personal Savior.

In order to know that what you have done will save your life, here is your assurance given to you by God’s very own Words:

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (Romans 10:9).

People are called to God just as they are now and how you are now – a person living in sin.  You are a sinner.  Christ doesn’t require you to become good enough first in order to be saved.  You can’t do that.  He calls you now.  His sacrifice on that cross already paid for the sins that you are carrying around with you.  Confess them now and be rid of them forever.  He will cast them as far as the east is from the west never to condemn you again.

He will then begin a great work in you, teaching you, molding you into the person that you were always meant to be.  You won’t ever in this life become perfect in all of your actions, but you are still saved.  That is why many who disappeared didn’t always seem to be the best of people.  They hadn’t achieved perfection by any means.  But they were still saved.  No man is perfect and everyone is at their own stage of Christian development at any given time.  Every Christian still sins from time to time.  Yet, we are still saved and we still need to confess and repent of our sins, asking for forgiveness on a regular basis.

So, hopefully you are now prepared to meet your future.  If you did not make the decision to be saved, then please don’t wait.  Now is the time.  God has not promised you a tomorrow and, in fact, there are in reality not that many tomorrows left for anyone.  Get prepared.  Choose Christ now.

Chapter 4.

Post Rapture

So what happens now?  I’ve missed the boat.  Well, Christ still loves you, but you must understand what is in store for mankind in the next seven years or so.  It will be like no other time in history.  If you think the last few days or weeks since the Rapture has been bad, it doesn’t even compare to what is going to happen soon.  Again, look to God’s Word for the answers and not completely unto men’s explanations of these events that will be occurring.

God has foretold what will occur during what is called the “Seven Year Tribulation,” literally hell on Earth.  It will consist of catastrophes of never seen before magnitude that will kill billions and nearly rip the Earth apart.  Evil, demon-possessed men who possess the power to perform miraculous signs and wonders will rise to lead our governments.  Angels and demons will battle in the heavens.  Satan will be cast down to Earth to wreak havoc.

Sounds crazy?  Sounds like a science fiction movie?  Yes, it does.  This will be like no other time in history.  A new chapter has begun here on Earth where a battle is coming to a climax between the forces of Heaven and Hell, and we are in the middle of it all.

Since this book was written pre-Rapture and pre-Tribulation, a few events may have happened in a different order than what this book states.  Events of the Tribulation will happen in a set order within a given timeline.  However, as of the writing of this book, there are things that we just didn’t know yet.  We could see the world’s nations aligning in such a manner that would make the fulfillment of the prophecies of Ezekiel, Zechariah, Joel, Daniel, Revelation and others seem very close.  Yet we, in the evangelistic community, were still arguing over details.

Such as, were the legs and feet of the famous statue mentioned in Daniel regarding the successive empires that would rule the world right up until the end of times referring to the Roman Empire or to the Greek Empire or of the Byzantium blend of both.  This empire would have previously ruled and then faded into the background only to make a comeback for the very end of days as the fourth and final empire.  This would be known as the empire of the Anti-Christ – a man who is the very antithesis of Christ himself.  He will be the devil’s mockery of our Lord and Savior.  He will be given the ability to perform such signs and lying wonders that, if it were possible, even the very children of God, Christians, would be tempted to believe in him.  So, which empire will he rule?  Well, there are very good and plausible arguments for both sides – the Roman or the Roman/Greek blend which would have encompassed even the more modern areas of Islamic nations surrounding Israel.

Take for instance the verse Daniel 9:26 ...and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.  Does this mean that the Anti-Christ's kingdom will be a Roman because “the people” in this verse means that this was a Roman Army that destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70?  That is very plausible when taken at face value.

Then there is the argument that these Roman Armies, because of the wide, vast areas they conquered, had become incapable of using only Roman soldiers from Italy and Europe.  It was believed by many that the Roman Emperor was forced to enlist the services of those known as “Provincials.”  These were citizens who lived in the provinces of the greater Roman Empire.  These would have been people from areas near Israel.  These armies would basically have been comprised of Israel’s longtime, natural enemies from what we know today as the surrounding Muslim countries.  There is evidence that once these people began their destruction of Jerusalem, not even the actual direct orders from Rome could stop them from destroying the temple. They may have been in the Roman Army but their allegiances were probably not Roman.

Therefore, this argument would mean that the Anti-Christ's kingdom mentioned in Daniel 9:26 ...and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, would be mostly comprised of those who were the bulk of the Roman Army that destroyed the city, which would be those from the areas surrounding Israel.  In modern geopolitical terms, it would be the Muslim/Arab nations encompassing the tiny nation state of Israel.

Both arguments have their valid points.  But the question as to whether or not we could have yet understood many of these details before the Rapture/Tribulation may be answered in Daniel 12:4 - But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.  In Daniel 12:9 he inquired as to when the end would come and was told - And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

You see, as an event draws closer you can see the pieces falling into their correct places.  You can then look at the prophecies and understand that they are being fulfilled as they were stated.  It does not mean that you are attempting to fit current events into the scenarios of the prophecies.  These prophecies are so precise that once they are fulfilled, you would literally knock yourself in the head for not being able to understand them before.  That is just how it works.

The prophecies are like road signs and hints leading to a destination such as from the country to a great city.  You can see by the hints that you are nearing the place as you see the suburbs, people, and shops. You are following the signs to see where they are leading but it is not until you actually run upon the city that you understand the roadmap in reverse.  You can now visualize the entire journey and understand all of the landmarks or signs that you were given.

Those of us living before the Tribulation just won’t understand and, therefore, get every detail right.  However, you who are now living through this nightmare will be able to understand as these prophesied events take place.  You will be able to understand these prophetic scriptures as they unfold right before your very eyes.  But you must seek the true source of knowledge for answers – the Bible.  Do not look to non-Christians for their opinions and beliefs.  They will mislead you and this is no time to be misled.  Your very life depends upon properly understanding the scriptures that foretell with great detail what will occur during this time of tribulation.

Approximately a quarter or more of the Bible is prophetic in nature.  Not only that, it is 100% accurate in the foretelling of future events.  In fact, prophecies that were penned hundreds to thousands of years ahead of time have always come to fruition 100% of the time.  There are prophetic scriptures regarding the future in not only the New Testament but throughout the Old Testament as well.  Some who do not have much experience reading the Bible mistakenly believe that Revelation is the only book that tells of the End Times.

Throughout the books of the Old Testament you will find prophecies referring to the End Times.  One of these books is Daniel.  Some of the others are Joel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Isaiah and many others.  In the New Testament, Jesus spoke many times of the End of Days, as in Matthew 24, and many other passages.  The disciples also wrote many times of the End Times in their writings to the churches.

John, however, wrote what might be called the crowning crescendo of all prophetic books – Revelation.  Is it hard to understand?  Of course it is.  It is unlike any of the other prophetic passages in the Bible, yet it is a perfect complement to them all.  In fact, all of the End Time prophecies of the Bible complement one another.  Some retell others in greater detail which further illuminates them for the readers.  Where all of the scriptures illuminate ever upwards, Revelation is the crowning chandelier that picturesquely illuminates and reveals the End and its End in a truly visual way bringing it all together for the final Portrait of the Ages.

In the next several chapters we will work our way through many of the Old Testament and New Testament scriptures attempting to gain a foothold on their meanings.  You must then attempt to understand them as it pertains to your present situation.  Remember, according to Daniel you will be able to understand them in the End Times, as you are now living within this time frame.

Chapter 5.

Daniel - Dream of the Statue

(Daniel 1 & 2)

 

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, King of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon invaded Jerusalem and took it over.  This was around 606 BC.  Not only did they sack the House of God in order to carry back to their land many of the precious items that were in the temple, they also were told to bring back many children of Israel, in particular, those that were of the king’s seed and those that were of the princes.  He wanted those children who were not blemished but well favored, skilled in wisdom and cunning in knowledge and who had an understanding of science.

Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were thus stolen away to Babylon where they were given new names – Daniel became Belteshazzar, Hannaniah became Shadrach, Mishael became Meshach and Azariah became Abednego.  These four individuals were given the king’s meat for nourishment and schooled for three years in the language and other learning of the Chaldeans.  They were then to stand before the king.

Daniel was a man of great faith in God.  He remained steadfast in his faith throughout his life and trusted God in all things.  He literally trusted God with his life.  God in turn gave Daniel great gifts of prophecy.  These gifts were manifested by way of visions, dreams and the ability to interpret dreams.  He exhibited this trust in God early when he and the other three refused to eat the king’s meat, which was probably sacrificed to idols, and asked instead for what we would consider a vegetarian diet.  He defied the king and obeyed God even though it put his life in danger.  Because of this it says in Daniel 1:17 that As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

In the second chapter of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that troubled him very much but he just could not remember what it was about.  He called all of the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers and Chaldeans that he could find to interpret the dream.  He asked that they first tell him what he had dreamed before they attempted to interpret it.  Of course they could not.  The king knew of their deceitfulness and vowed in his anger to destroy all of the wise men of Babylon.  Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were in danger of being killed.

Daniel asked to be brought before the king.  That night Daniel and his friends prayed to God that he would be given the answer to this secret dream.  God revealed the dream to Daniel in a night vision.  Daniel then blessed the God of Heaven.  Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter (Daniel 2:20-23).  Daniel didn’t cower in fear when his life was threatened.  He boldly asked God for help and trusted Him with the answers.

When brought before the king, Daniel also boldly proclaimed that it was God in Heaven that revealed the secrets of his dream and what shall happen in the latter days.  Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that he dreamed of a great image whose form was very bright and terrible.  The head was of fine gold and the breast and arms were of silver.  The belly and thighs were made of brass.  The legs were of iron and the feet were part iron and part clay and they broke into pieces.  The iron, clay, brass, silver and gold were broken together and became like chaff to be blown away in the wind to be found no more.  The great stone that was cut from the mountain by no human hands smashed the image and became a great mountain that filled the whole Earth.  This was the dream.

Daniel then began to interpret the dream.  He said that the God of Heaven had made him, Nebuchadnezzar, a great king of kings and had given him a large kingdom encompassing every other kingdom.  God had made him ruler over all of them.  Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that he was the head of gold on the statue.

Daniel said the breast and arms of silver referred to the kingdom that would succeed his but would also be inferior to Nebuchadnezzar’s.  The next kingdom of brass, referring to the belly of the statue, would rule over all of the Earth.  The legs of the statue referred to the fourth kingdom to come as it would be as strong as iron. Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron - for iron breaks and smashes everything - and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.  Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.   And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.  In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.  This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands - a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.  The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy (Daniel 2:40-45).

The first kingdom ruled by Nebuchadnezzar was the Babylonian kingdom.  The second kingdom was referring to the Medo-Persian empire.  The third kingdom was referring to the Greek empire ruled by Alexander the Great.  This leads us to the fourth kingdom.

For much of the last several hundred years it was widely taught that the fourth kingdom of iron could not have been any other empire but the Roman.  Yet, other views remain plausible, such as the Byzantine, which very much was a blend of both Roman and Greek encompassing the geographical areas to the north of Israel.  However, many, over the last couple of decades, have made bold claims that it is none other than the Ottoman Empire.  These all have their talking points.   Even so, it is from this fourth and final kingdom that the Anti-Christ will rise to rule with unprecedented power and global authority.  It is this fourth and final kingdom that God will smash to pieces as depicted by the rock that was cut out of the mountain by no human hands.  It is this final kingdom that will be replaced by God’s Kingdom that will never then be replaced.

The fourth kingdom apparently digressed from being as strong as iron to partly strong and partly brittle such as a mixture of iron and clay – which do not mix at all.  This kingdom, according to the Roman interpretation, became diluted over the generations with other peoples to the point that it had become incapacitated, lacking power.  Yet, it never really disappeared from the world scene entirely.  It was never actually conquered.  It just became very weak and ineffectual.  In this scenario the reemerged future Roman Empire will divide into ten regions which represent the ten toes out of which the Anti-Christ will eventually rise to rule.

At the time of the writing of this book, before the Rapture, many believed that the fourth empire was the Ottoman Empire, whose main authority was from the area known as Turkey.  It had come to power around 1299 encompassing a wide area of the middle east as well as northern Africa.  This empire lasted until after World War I and dissolved around 1920.  This was an Islamic Empire.  Since 1920 the countries that were previously governed by the Islamic Caliphate have been in a state of inner unrest.  They have toyed with democracy at times, such as Iran did until 1979.  Turkey has done the same until around 2008 when its leaders began mentioning the idea of reestablishing the Caliphate and uniting all of Islam under its control – Sunni and Shia alike.

In this scenario, the powerful Ottoman Empire of Iron would re-emerge from its early 20^th century demise but much weaker.  It would divide and conquer into ten regions out of which the Anti-Christ would emerge.  However, it is highly unlikely that the fourth kingdom of the Anti-Christ will, in fact, be a re-born Ottoman Empire, primarily because it would be comprised of those who practice the Islamic faith.  Whoever this Anti-Christ is, Israel will be embracing him as possibly their Messiah.  They are going to put so much faith in his abilities that they will be willing to let him negotiate a peace contract between themselves and their surrounding nations.  It is therefore doubtful that this person could possibly be Islamic, nor could his territory be one that wholly embraces that faith.

Could it be that this kingdom will be some revision of the Byzantium Empire, which was actually born of a blending, over the years, of Roman and Greek?  The areas of the eastern side of that empire coincide with Israel’s north, the area of which the Seleucids once resided – Syria, Turkey, Germany, Greece. etc.

Currently, however, how could the Byzantine scenario be possible since most of this region is Islamic?  Ezekiel 38’s upcoming war of Gog and Magog could very well provide that solution.  Ezekiel describes a war involving Russia, Iran, Turkey, Sudan, Libya where which these nations will be gathered just to the north of Israel.  At some point, Gog will have an evil thought and that thought will act like a hook into his jaw that turns him toward Israel in order to take a spoil.  Who is Gog?  Gog is the description of a leader – the Prince of Magog.  Who is Magog?  In Genesis 10, we find that Magog is a name for a group of people that descended from the sons of Noah during the repopulation of the Earth.  This particular group settled to the far north of Israel in the area of modern-day Russia.  It is generally accepted that Gog will be the leader of Russia.

Incredibly, at the time of the writing of this book, before the Rapture, due to many circumstances, these same forces had already gathered in the exact geographical location that the Bible described approximately twenty-six hundred years ago.  Furthermore, Israel, once a resource poor region, discovered vast amounts of natural gas off its coasts, as well as oil in the Golan Heights.  They were quickly becoming a major exporter and Russia had its sights set upon her.  Shortly after Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu rejected Russian President Putin’s offer to jointly produce and no doubt own the gas resources, Putin began hedging into Syria.  Russia’s life’s blood economically had been the export to Europe of natural gas.  Politically, he wielded great power over those nations because of their need for the energy he provided.  Consequently, many nations began negotiating with Israel in order to relieve themselves of Russia’s control.  This could very well be the hook that begins that short lived war.

Iran, modern day Persia, has its own agenda for entering into Syria.  Using the excuse of defeating Isis, they have been able to create a land bridge between themselves and Lebanon in order to transport weapons and troops.  Their main goal is to destroy Israel.  It is a satanically inspired evil obsession with them, and they won’t stop until Israel has effectively been wiped from the face of the map.

Ezekiel provides a very detailed description of the war and its aftermath.  It could occur very swiftly and may possibly be over with in one day or even one night.  God will defend Israel and their enemies will be, themselves, wiped out, or at least defeated to the point of irrelevance.  Many believe that this event will occur in or around the time of the Rapture.  The whole region will be in great turmoil and primed for a leader to step into the situation in order to command control – the Anti-Christ.

As you can see, both scenarios, Roman or Byzantine, are plausible given their individual selling points and experts on both sides can convince many of their merits.  Yet, which one is correct?  In all probability, it will no doubt be a revised Roman Empire which also includes all that the Byzantine empire owned as well.  Time will only tell.  We may not be able to seriously determine this until the time of the Tribulation, in which you are now living.

Take the time and effort to read the book of Daniel.  Also, learn what’s going on in the world outside of your own little box.  Learn to look at world events from the perspective of Israel.  More than once God stated that Jerusalem was at the center of world.  Thus says the Lord God, ‘This is Jerusalem; I have set her at the center of the nations, with lands around her’ (Ezekiel 5:5).  In order to relate prophecy to current world events you must look at these events from the perspective of Israel.  God has placed this nation and its city of Jerusalem right smack in the middle of all things prophetic.

Chapter 6.

Daniel - Four Beasts from the Sea

(Daniel 7)

 

Daniel chapter 7 is another retelling of the Daniel chapter 2 prophecy.  However, it explains a little more about these kingdoms, such as who they conquered.  It delves a little deeper into the nature of the beast or the Anti-Christ as we call him.  It also explains from where he will emerge and how long he will rule.

In Daniel’s dream he sees four beasts rising from the sea all different from one another. The first was like a lion with eagle's wings.  The second was like a bear with ribs in its mouth and the third like a leopard with four heads and on its back it had four wings.  He then saw the fourth beast of iron - After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns (Daniel 7:7).

These beasts refer to kingdoms as did the four major sections of the statue in Daniel 2.  The second kingdom that was likened to a bear had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth.  It was to devour much flesh.  This Medo-Persian Empire conquered or basically devoured the powers of Lydia, Babylon and Egypt.

The third beast depicts the Greek Empire but Daniel 7:6 also states that the beast had four wings and four heads.  This refers to the four sub-kingdoms that the Greek Empire split into before succumbing to the Roman Empire.

The fourth beast again is said to be as strong as iron and it devoured and broke everything in its path to pieces and trampled on the remnants of its victories.  Again, it was different from the other three kingdoms.  Just like the statue had ten toes, this beast had ten horns.  Now this is where this retelling goes a little deeper - I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things (Daniel 7:8).

Daniel grieved in his spirit within this dream and he inquired as to the meaning of these visions.  He asked that he would know ...the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;  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. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom (Daniel 7:19-22).

Daniel 7:24 says that the ten horns are ten kings that would rise out of this fourth kingdom.  Then there would rise up another that would be different than those previous and he would subdue three of the kings.  This one would speak great words against God and oppress and persecute God’s holy people.  He would try to change the current times and laws by which we live.  The holy people of God would be delivered into his hands for three and a half years.

Therefore, this fourth kingdom would eventually be comprised of ten major nations or regions of government.  Another would rise and conquer or take over three of the ten.  This one is in direct reference to the Anti-Christ and his rule.  It describes his nature, his morality, his personality, his utter blaspheming disregard for God and the lack of fear of our almighty God.  He and his kingdom will prevail over God’s holy people, Israel, for a period of three and a half years.  Yet strewn throughout this chapter God reminds us that He will prevail in the end.  Daniel said that - As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.  His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool.  His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.  A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him.  Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.  The court was seated, and the books were opened. Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.  The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.  In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.  He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed (Daniel 7:9-14).

Daniel 7:18 says that ...the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever - yes, for ever and ever.  Jesus Himself would come and rule from Jerusalem.  The Anti-Christ and his kingdom will be obliterated but the other kingdoms would be merely stripped of their authority and allowed to survive for a certain period of time.

The chapter ends on a very high note indeed - And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him (Daniel 7:27).

Chapter 7.

Daniel - Vision of the Ram

(Daniel 8)

 

The prophecy of Daniel 8 is admittedly a tough read.  Daniel, who was given by God the gift of prophecy, dreams, visions and their interpretations, could not understand this particular prophecy and it distressed him to the point of exhaustion.  It was made clear that it was not for Daniel to understand because it concerned the far distant future.  ...but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.   I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding (Daniel 8:26-27).

This book, again, is a complement to the other prophecies of Daniel in that it tells of the future kingdoms to come, as well as of the Anti-Christ and his eventual destruction by God.  Many, who have studied prophecy in the past, have been baffled by what they perceive to be inconsistencies with the other scriptures.  Yet, as stated earlier, prophecy is hard to understand beforehand, but after fulfillment, it becomes quite clear.  Much of this chapter was meant to be understood at a much later date.

How can we then be reassured that the Bible’s prophecies are accurate?  No problem.  By examining the first eight verses we can be comforted in its historical accuracy.  It has been proven over and over again that the prophecies of the Bible concerning our history have been completely accurate.  Why then would we be skeptical of yet future unfulfilled prophecy?

Daniel didn’t understand years ahead of time that the empire that would succeed the one he lived in, Babylonian, would be the Medo-Persian.  He could not have fully comprehended that the Greek Empire would rise next.  Yet he faithfully recorded what God told him and, sure enough, they became accurate foretellings of our very own history.

So don’t dismiss as inaccurate what we don’t yet understand regarding future unfulfilled prophecy.  Trust that God is in control.  Fulfilled prophecy should remind us of that fact.  God knows what is going to happen.  He has shown us the warning signs leading us to the time of His Great Wrath upon a sinful and unrepentant people.  He has not let this time in history blindside us.  We are here now after the Rapture only because we deliberately blinded ourselves to the truth of God’s Word concerning the End Times.  We desired the things of the flesh more than seeking after the righteousness of God.  Trust now in God’s Word.  Study and pray for enlightenment and strength in these difficult days ahead.

In Daniel’s vision he was standing at ...Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai (Daniel 8:2).  This place is around fifteen miles southeast of modern day Dezful, Khuzestan, Iran.  It was Susa which is about 150 miles north of the head of the Persian Gulf.  He was in Persia, specifically the ancient capitol of Elam.  Years later this city would be prominent in the Persian Empire and also the location of the palace of the King.

As he stood by the river he saw a ram with two high horns, one higher than the other but the smaller grew up larger in the end.  Daniel ...saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great (Daniel 8:4).  The two horns represent the Medo-Persian Empire.  The Persian Empire became the greater and dominated many other nations and was ruled with great arrogance.

Daniel then saw a goat coming from the west that had a large notable horn between its eyes.  In great fury the goat attacked the ram and shattered its two horns, slammed it to the ground and trampled upon it.  None could rescue the ram from its power.  The goat became very great and strong.  However, at the height of its power the great horn was broken.  Four new prominent horns grew up in its place toward the four winds of heaven.

The goat represents the third kingdom to come which was Greece and Alexander the Great.  History tells us that in 334 BC, Alexander invaded and broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles.  He overthrew the Persian King Darius III and conquered all of the Persian Empire.  His goal was to reach the “ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea.”

Alexander eventually considered himself to be more than just a man.  He believed that he was of divine nature and the possible son of the Greek god Zeus.  In 332 BC, while on his way to conquer Egypt, he was shown the Book of Daniel in Jerusalem.  He read chapter 8 and how it described a mighty Greek king who would years later conquer the Persian Empire.  He rightly recognized that the scriptures were referring to him.  Because of this, he spared Jerusalem and pressed on toward Egypt.  Alexander was known to be very brutal and in his conquest of the area known now as Pakistan, he slaughtered the entire population of Massaga and reduced its buildings to rubble.  He did the same to others in his path.  He eventually ruled an area over five million square miles in size.

Daniel 8:8 says Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.  In June of 323 BC, Alexander died in the Palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon at the age of only thirty-two.  There is evidence that he may have been poisoned but no one is for certain.  The point is however, at the very height of his power, he suddenly died as the scripture states.  The empire eventually divided into four stable power blocks which were the Seleucid Empire, the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, the Pergamon Kingdom and the Macedon.  The scripture says that they would be notable ones themselves and history reveals the truth in their stability.

Verse nine begins the events concerning the last days.  Out of one of the four kingdoms ...came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.  And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them (Daniel 8:9-10).  This “little” horn grew to be exceedingly great in power conquering many areas as he pushed toward the Holy land.

The little horn, which represents the Anti-Christ, emerges from what seems to be obscurity and rises to great power and influence.  In verses 10 and 11, we get a glimpse of this man’s satanic influence – Satan incarnate.  And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.  Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down (Daniel 8:10-11).  We are very much reminded that this is not only a power struggle between men, but also of God, Satan and the host of Heaven.  This seems to be a glimpse into Revelation 12:3-4 - And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.  And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth...

This man will be more than a little arrogant.  He will believe that he is as great as God, if not a god himself.  Isn’t that what Satan has always wanted?  Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down (Daniel 8:11).  The Anti-Christ will enter the temple at Jerusalem and defile it, claim to be god and abolish the daily sacrifice.

Daniel 8:12 says that because of Israel’s transgression or rebellion, the daily sacrifice was given over to the Anti-Christ.  Truth was cast to the ground and he seemed to succeed and prosper in everything he set out to do including the trampling underfoot of the Lord’s people.  However, Daniel heard one saint speaking to another saying, “How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?”  And he said unto me, “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed (Daniel 8:13-14).”  His days are numbered.

The Angel Gabriel was then instructed to enlighten Daniel as to what he had just seen.  He described the first three kingdoms and then described the Anti-Christ as a king of fierce countenance who understands dark sentences.  He would be mighty but not with his own power.  He would destroy “wonderfully” or as the NIV states, cause “astounding devastation.”  And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand (Daniel 8:24-25).

Readers of this chapter come away with the sense that this “Anti-Christ” is very powerful, arrogant, cunning and quite deceptive.  However, it is made obvious that it is not by his power but by Satan.  This man will assume and attempt to fulfill the ultimate desires of Satan that possesses him.  What are these desires?  Isaiah 14:12-14 says, How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Gabriel assures Daniel that the events of this vision are true but stresses again that it concerns the distant future.  And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days (Daniel 8:26).  He was not to show these prophecies to anyone of his day.  They may have actually been sealed in his writings only to be revealed after his death.

This chapter should have reaffirmed your confidence in the accuracy of the Bible’s prophetic writings.  It confirmed our past history even though written several hundred years prior to those events that came to pass.  It also yet further reveals the “nature of the Beast.”

It told us that a man will rise to power from seemingly nowhere who will be very charismatic.  Many will trust him but he will be very deceitful.  He may be on the world scene already.  Before putting your trust in any leader, compare him with the “little horn” to see if it could be him.  His deceitfulness may be so disguised as to fool, if possible, even the most devout of God’s followers.  But God would not have given us these prophecies if we weren’t capable of using them to reveal this man of sin when needed.

Study the scriptures in order that you may rightly discern right from wrong and good from evil.  Study the Bible to find the truth in all matters so that you won’t be ashamed at being ignorant and therefore blindsided by things that the scriptures should have already revealed to a faithful student.  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

Chapter 8.

Daniel - The Seventy Weeks

(Daniel 9)

 

In the first year of King Darius’ reign, Daniel read in the book of Jeremiah the prophet that seventy years was proclaimed by God to be the punishment for the sins of his people.  ...I Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes (Daniel 9:2-3). Nearing an end to that allotted time period Daniel began to pray for God’s forgiveness.

Why would Daniel need to beg for God’s forgiveness?  Wasn’t he a faithful servant who trusted God in all things including his life?  Daniel survived being shut up in the den of lions all night because he trusted God who shut the mouths of the beasts and kept Daniel from harm.  If he were so faithful to God, why then did he beg for His forgiveness so adamantly? We have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws (Daniel 9:5).

Daniel rightly recognized that the reasons that he and his people were in their current predicament was because they had sinned against God.  ...you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you.  We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you (Daniel 9:7-8).  Refusal to obey God caused the people of Israel to be scattered abroad and to be taken into captivity.  We have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets.  All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you (Daniel 9:10-11).

Daniel understood just how exceedingly bad sin was.  When we sin and transgress the laws of God, we are sinning against God Himself.  If it were just mankind we were sinning against we could just say, “whoops, my bad” and that would be that.  But it just isn’t that way.  We must understand just how awful sin is.  If we don’t deeply understand how horrific sin is, then how can we understand the reasons for God’s wrath and judgment to come?  His judgments would seem harsh and unjust.

When we break God’s commandments; when we lie; when we steal; when we commit adultery physically or mentally; when we murder; when we blaspheme the Holy Name of Jesus; etc., we are sinning against God.  We have transgressed God’s laws and are liable for our actions.  We are under God’s judgment and there is a court date set for our sentencing.  God will be forced to give you justice according to your works.  God says in Revelation 20:13-15 that the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.  If we are judged by our works alone and if we are found guilty of breaking God’s laws, then His judgment will be ...But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death (Revelation 21:7-8).

Oh, you might say, “God is good and would never send us to such a place as Hell.”  Yes, God is good.  God is righteous.  Yet, God is also to be feared.  Even Daniel who trusted God so much still had great fear of Him.  Daniel greatly respected God and therefore knew that he must obey and follow His laws. Matthew 10:28 says, And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.  So how could a good and loving God pronounce a sentence of Hell for anyone?

It is because of His goodness that He will mete out this punishment.  Would a judge faced with sentencing a lying, thieving murderer, be a good judge if he were to let the person go free simply because he himself, the judge, was a good man?  No, of course not.  He would be forced by his goodness to execute a just judgment.  God is by far more “good” than any human judge and He will be forced by the very nature of that goodness to execute judgment upon all mankind who are guilty of breaking His laws.

God and His goodness and righteousness are located at one end of the spectrum and sin is at the exact opposite.  There is an infinite amount of space between them.  Sin cannot abide where God is.  Our acts of sin separate us from God infinitely.  Therefore, we must understand just how horrific it is for us when we sin.  We are deliberately separating ourselves from Him infinitely.  Hell will be infinitely and forever apart from God and His Kingdom.

But God is a God of mercy.  Because of His great love, He provided a way to escape our deserved sentence of death and Hell.  God sent His son Jesus to be born of a virgin.  He lived a completely sinless life and then was crucified on a cross.  We broke God’s laws and Jesus paid the fine by dying in our places.  He took our punishment for us.  How can we not be so grateful to God for this act of kindness that we don’t fall on our faces and cry out “Oh Lord, forgive me, I have sinned against you?  Forgive me, not because I deserve it but because of your great mercy.”  How can we from then on not tremble in fear when we deliberately sin and break one of God’s laws knowing the horrific consequences of sin?  How can we not continually praise Him for the tremendous price that He Himself paid to save us from Hell?

Daniel begged for God’s forgiveness not because he himself was worthy of it but solely because of God’s mercy.  We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.  Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name (Daniel 9:18-19).  God responded to Daniel by sending the Angel Gabriel who was told to help him understand.  He told Daniel that he was greatly loved.

Before we continue on to the final verses of Daniel 9, we need to understand some of the terminology in this prophecy.  In our day and age when we speak of a span of time such as ten years, we use the term “decade.”  In Daniel’s time when they spoke of a span of seven years they often used the phrase “week of years.”  So, one week, of years, would be seven years.  Seven weeks would be 49 years.  Sixty-two weeks would be 483 years.  Seventy weeks would therefore translate to 490 years. 

This prophecy is only four verses long but it contains a vast amount of information.  It is regarded as one of the most important end times prophecies in the Bible.  It is also regarded as one of the most difficult to understand.  This prophecy again reveals still further information regarding the coming Anti-Christ and his subsequent destruction.  It also reveals the first coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ hundreds of years after the time of Daniel.

Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and your Holy City to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most Holy (place) (Daniel 9:24).

This is the first verse of the prophecy, yet it is actually a summation of the entire prophecy itself.  This one verse spans the time of Israel’s and Daniel’s captivity, Christ’s first coming, Christ’s sin debt payment, the fulfillment of end times prophecy and the anointing of the Holy sanctuary – Christ’s reign on Earth.  Let’s break it apart into its six components.

1. End the time of their rebellion

2. Putting an end to sin

3. Atone for wickedness

4. Bring an everlasting righteousness

5. Fulfill end times visions and prophecy

6. Anoint the most Holy (Place – Sanctuary)

Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until The Anointed One the Ruler comes there will be seven weeks and sixty two weeks. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench but in times of trouble (Daniel 9:25).

Although Cyrus the Persian freed the Jews when he conquered Babylon in 535 BC, the actual decree to rebuild Jerusalem was not given until March 14, 445 BC by King Artaxerxes of Persia.  It was 483 years later on April 6, 32 AD that the Lord Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on a donkey in preparation to be crucified for all mankind’s sins - the Anointed Ruler.  That would be exactly 62 weeks and 7 weeks or 69 weeks.  In other words, it translates to 62 weeks = 434 years + 7 weeks = 49 years = 483 years or 173880 days (remembering to use 360 days for a year instead of the 365 used today).  How can we wonder at the accuracy of this prophecy when it was God, the creator of time itself, who authored it?  How then can we doubt those prophecies yet to be fulfilled in our future?

After the sixty two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off and have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue till the end and desolations have been decreed (Daniel 9:26).

This verse predicts the death of the Anointed One, the Holy Son of God.  It then moves directly to telling from what people the Anti-Christ would rise.  In doing so it is also foretelling the destruction of the City of Jerusalem and of the Temple in AD 70.  The Anti-Christ, or the ruler who will come, will rise from the people who came to destroy the city and sanctuary.

The Roman armies completely destroyed the temple and the city in AD 70.  They killed more than a million Jews.  Most of the rest were dispersed throughout the rest of the Roman Empire.  Israel’s dispersion was not necessarily a punishment for the actual killing of Jesus.  He died as atonement for their sins as well.  However, they did refuse to accept Him and they still do today.  They knew the prophecies of Isaiah, Micah, Zechariah, Daniel and others, yet they did not want to believe and therefore did not recognize Him as their coming King.

After Israel’s rejection of Christ, we entered the Age of Grace.  The time of the Jews, the Age of Law, was put on hold because of their unbelief.  This marked the end of the 69th week.  The approximate 2000 year gap between the 69th week and the 70th is this Grace period and will last until the time of the Gentiles is to be fulfilled, culminating in the Rapture of the Church.  Israel, however, has not yet accepted Jesus for who He really is - their Savior and King.  The beginning of the 70th week was delayed until the Age of Grace was to be fulfilled.  At a point after the Rapture when believers in Jesus who lived under the Age of Grace have been delivered into Christ’s realm, the stage will then be set for the 70th week to begin - the Seven Year Tribulation or God’s Time of Wrath upon the Earth.

He will confirm a covenant with many for one week. In the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the Temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation until the end that is decreed is poured out on him (Daniel 9:27).

The person who will confirm a covenant with Israel will be the same person referred to in the previous verse, Daniel 9:26, as the “ruler who will come.”  He is the Anti-Christ.  He will mediate the signing of a seven year covenant or peace treaty of some sort between Israel and its surrounding nations.  This may very well be a peace agreement to stop a war being waged between Israel and its neighboring Islamic nations.  It could also be the result of serious rising tensions that is escalating out of control bordering on war or nuclear war.  Another possible scenario would be the culmination of the, before mentioned, war of Gog and Magog.

The result of this peace treaty is that Israel will again be able to build a Temple and reestablish the practice of their Old Covenant Worship.  Three and one-half years later, in the middle of the covenant, this Anti-Christ will enter into the new temple and defile it.  According to Paul the Apostle, this man of sin will stand in the Temple proclaiming himself to be god.  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God (2 Thessalonians 2:4).  Jesus in Mathew 24:15 says that, When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:).

This abomination will bring down the very wrath of God upon him to his ultimate destruction.  The last section of Daniel 9:27 refers to what happens after angering God to this extent - desolation until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.  This abomination results in the beginning of the time of the three and one-half year “Great Tribulation.”  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened (Matthew 24:21-22).

Chapter 9.

Daniel - History/Tribulation/Judgment

(Daniel 10 & 11)

 

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.  In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks (Daniel 10:1-2).

In 539 BC it is revealed to Daniel that there were great wars to come spanning a very long period of time.  After he fasted and prayed for three weeks, he was shown in a vision the details of that “thing” that was revealed to him.  The one in his vision said, Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days (Daniel 10:14).  Daniel was again shown that the second and third kingdoms were Persia and Greece.  Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come (Daniel 10:20).

The great wars that were coming referred to the Greek conquest by Alexander the Great and then the subsequent wars between the four kingdoms that it divided into after his death.  Specifically, it was mainly between the nations of the Seleucids and of the Ptolemys.  Seleucus and Ptolemy were two of the four leaders that eventually assumed power after Alexander’s death and the Empire’s breakup.  The Ptolemys resided to the South in the areas of Israel, Jordan and Egypt.  The Seleucus were to the North in the areas of Syria, Lebanon and Turkey.  They also eventually encompassed the area that Iraq and Iran now resides.

A large portion of Daniel chapter 11 is actually an incredible historical document regarding the details of the third kingdom – the Greek Empire.  It is incredibly specific, so much so that skeptics have tried to prove that only someone from a later date in history could have penned it.  However, evidence proves to the contrary.  This book has been the most scrutinized book in the entire Bible by a great many scholars and historians.  However, all of this scrutiny has done nothing other than to completely validate it historically and prophetically.  Remember, this is our history, but to Daniel, it was all prophecy since he wrote it hundreds of years prior to it happening.

Why so much history?  Well, the accuracy of it definitely establishes credibility.  There is so much historically corroborated detail that it would seem impossible for anyone not to believe.  Yet, unfortunately, stubborn minded people still attempt to find ways to disprove it.  However, in this case, all of their attempts have backfired and have actually proven to authenticate it.  If so much of chapter eleven that is dedicated to our history is true, then we can be assured that the remaining prophecies of Daniel concerning the End Days are true.  God knew we needed proof and He supplied it.

Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will appear in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. Then a mighty king will appear, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. After he has appeared, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others (Daniel 11:2-4).

The three kings that followed Cyrus as King of Persia were Cambyses (530-522 BC) Pseudo-Smerdis (522 BC) and Darius 1 (522-486 BC). The fourth king was Zerxes 1 (486-465 BC).   He later took Esther, a Jew, for his wife. This is the same woman written about in the Old Testament Book of Esther.  One Hundred thirty years later, Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire by defeating King Darius III.  He is the mighty king who would rule with great power.  After Alexander died, suddenly, and had no descendants, his kingdom eventually divided into four separate but stable power blocks.

Daniel 11:5-35 describe the reigns of two of these kings and kingdoms that split apart from Alexander’s Empire – Seleucus who ruled in the North and Ptolemy who ruled to the South.

The king of the South (Ptolemy I Soter 323-285) will become strong, but one of his commanders (Seleucus I Nicator 311-280) will become even stronger than he and will rule his own kingdom (Babylon) with great power. After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South (Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, 285-246) will go to the king of the North (Antiochus II Theos 261-246) to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power will not last. In those days she will be handed over, together with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her (Daniel 11:5-6).

The latter part of this verse describes how Antiochus left his wife, Laodice, for Berenice.  Laodice then conspired to have Berenice and her son Antiochus killed in 246 BC.  It is believed that her father Ptolemy II was poisoned by the revengeful Laodice.  Remember, these events, as well as those that are described in the next several verses, are documented in our world history.

In the next verse we see that Berenice’s brother, Ptolemy III 246-221 took her place and, in his anger over their deaths, he declared war and invaded the Seleucid Empire.  This was part of the reason for the Third Syrian War which is also known as the War of Laodice.

One from her family line will arise to take her place.  He will attack the forces of the king of the North (Seleucus II Callinicus 246-225) and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious. He will also seize their gods, their metal images and their valuable articles of silver and gold and carry them off to Egypt. For some years he will leave the king of the North alone. Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country. His sons (Seleucus III Ceranus 226-223 and Antiochus III the Great, 222-187) will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress (Daniel 11:7-10).

Then the king of the South (Ptolemy IV Philopator 221-205) will march out in a rage and fight against the king of the North (Antiochus the Great), who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated. (This was the Battle of Raphia in 217) When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, (The historian Polybius said that 10,000 were slaughtered.) yet he will not remain triumphant. For the king of the North (Antiochus) will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped (Daniel 11:11-13).

In those times many will rise against the king of the South (Ptolemy V Epiphanes 204-181). The violent men among your own people (Jews) will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success. (In 200 BC the Jews led a rebellion but were crushed by Scopas who was a General under Ptolemy.)  Then the king of the North (Antiochus the Great) will come and build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the strength to stand. The invader will do as he pleases; no one will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land (The Beautiful Land is Israel which was captured from the King of the South in 197 BC.) and will have the power to destroy it. He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans will not succeed or help him. (He gave his daughter Cleopatra I in marriage to Ptolemy V in 193 BC.) Then he will turn his attention to the coastlands and will take many of them, but a commander (Roman Consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus at the Battle of Magnesia) will put an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back upon him. After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall, to be seen no more (Daniel 11:14-19). (Antiochus the Great died in battle in 187 BC.)

In the next verse we learn that Antiochus’ successor was Seleucus IV Philopator 187 BC-175 BC.  He became so indebted to Rome over the cost of the recent wars that he decided to collect a tax money by seizing the Jewish Temple Treasury.  He sent his minister, Heliodorus, to Jerusalem to collect the money.  However, after returning, Heliodorus assassinated Seleucus, and seized the throne for himself.  The true heir to the throne was Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, who was, at that time, a Roman hostage.  The younger brother of Seleucus, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, then seized the throne for himself by ousting Heliodorus.

His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. In a few years, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle.  He will be succeeded by a contemptible person (Antiochus IV Epiphanes 175-164) who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed. (Onias III, was murdered in 170 BC.)  After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power. When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers. He will plot the overthrow of fortresses - but only for a time (Daniel 11:20-24).

The next verse begins with Antiochus IV attacking Ptolemy VI 180 BC-145 BC in 170 BC.  Antiochus prevailed in the battle and was crowned King of that southern kingdom in 168 BC.  However, he had to abandon that claim on orders from Rome.  He basically allowed Ptolemy to continue to rule as a puppet king.  When Antiochus withdrew, the people of the city of Alexandria chose Ptolemy VIII Euergetes, who was Ptolemy VI’s brother, as their new king.  This could have caused a civil war, but instead the two brothers agreed to rule Egypt jointly.  Meanwhile, when Antiochus was forced to leave to go back to the North of Israel in Syria, he plundered the Temple on his way through Jerusalem and killed many priests.

With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South (Ptolemy VI). The king of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him. Those who eat from the king’s provisions (Ptolemy’s family): will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle. The two kings (Antiochus and Ptolemy), with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time. The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country (Daniel 11:25-28).

In 168 BC Antiochus led a second attack on Egypt.  He also sent a fleet to capture Cyprus.  However, before he could reach Alexandria he was confronted by the Roman Ambassador Gaius Popillius Laenas.  The Roman Senate directed Gaius to tell Antiochus to withdraw completely from Egypt and Cyprus or he should consider himself at war with not only Egypt but Rome itself.  Antiochus wanted to wait and discuss it with his council but Gaius was firm.  He drew a line in the sand around Antiochus and said “Before you cross this circle, I want you to give me a reply for the Roman Senate.”  Basically, if Antiochus had stepped out of the circle without replying that he would withdraw then Rome would declare war.  Antiochus reluctantly withdrew.

Antiochus Epiphanes withdrew but was so enraged that on his way through Jerusalem he committed a very horrific act which then prompted the Maccabean revolt.  Antiochus killed many people.  Many others escaped by fleeing into the hills.  Only those known as the Hellenists were allowed to remain.  Antiochus ordered that there was to be no Sabbath, no Holy Days and no circumcision.  He placed a statue of Zeus/Antiochus in the Temple right above the alter.  He then had a pig sacrificed upon the alter.  This was the Abomination of Desolation.

At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. Ships of the western coastlands (Rome) will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant (Daniel 11:29-30).

His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him (Daniel 11:31-32).

Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time (Daniel 11:33-35).

The Hasidim, who remained faithful to God, were the ancestors of today’s Hasidic Jews.  After the Maccabeans, in their revolt, defeated Antiochus, they cleansed the Temple.  The next Dynasty that ruled Israel was the Hasmonean Dynasty that lasted around 100 years until the Roman Empire acquired the territory.

The above historical and Biblical account of the Selucids and the Ptolemy’s pretty much ended with the Abomination of Desolation by Antiochus Epiphanes.  After this, Daniel 11 shifts from speaking of events before the time of Christ directly to the time of the Tribulation Period.  He left off with one who desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem, Antiochus, to telling of another who will do the same at the mid point of the Seven Year Tribulation, the Anti-Christ.  We therefore know by the acts of Antiochus Epiphanes what is meant when Jesus in the book of Matthew says ...When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) as well as in Daniel - He will confirm a covenant with many for one week. In the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the Temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation until the end that is decreed is poured out on him (Daniel 9:27).  God is showing us, from history, a clear example of the character and actions of the present-day Anti-Christ.  I say “present” because he is probably already either on the world-wide political scene or is preparing for it shortly.

Again, why so much history?  God is kind and merciful and He gives wisdom to those who seek it.  Yet, no matter how much evidence He unveils, there will be those who are too proud, arrogant and self-righteous to believe it.  When the rich man in Hades called to Abraham across the great gulf that separated them, he asked, ”Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.”  Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.”  (Lazarus replied) “No, father Abraham,” he said, “but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.”  He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead (Luke 16:27-31).”

For some it literally would not matter if they saw the dead rise from the grave and proclaim Christ is coming.  They would still choose not to believe it.  There is so much prophetic scripture that has been soundly documented as true history that it seems very incredulous that there are those who still do not believe it.  How can people be so stubborn as to not recognize the truth that is right before their very eyes?  It is their basic lust for sin.  If they chose to believe, then there would be a necessity for change in their lives.  They would need to put aside their pride and arrogance confessing that their lifestyles are in direct opposition of God’s Laws.  Pride of this type is not easily broken.  Even the dead coming to life could not rock many of them from their high adversarial stands.  Yet the evidence is here, and history testifies of its truth.

Daniel 11 starting with verse 36, as in previous chapters, again delves into the character and deeds of the Anti-Christ.  We are given so many descriptions of him because God wants him to be recognized.  He does not want anyone to be fooled by this evil man.  He will be a man of great charisma, knowing all of the right things to say to win over the masses, yet don’t be fooled.  Carefully scrutinize and compare the actions of all men who are seeking to gain powerful positions in relation to Middle Eastern affairs with the character of the Anti-Christ in scriptures.  Is there one who overtly blasphemes our God?  Does he exalt himself above everyone and anything including God Himself?  He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:4).  Is it possible to determine which political figure is the Anti-Christ?  Sure it is.  If it wasn’t, then God would not have written so much about this man’s character.  Therefore, study the scriptures and keep a watchful eye out on the horizon – specifically the Middle East.

The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place (Daniel 11:36).  The Seven Year Tribulation period or Time of Wrath is the 70th week described earlier in Chapter 8 of this book - Daniel Chapter 9.  God says that every detail of what He has determined for this seven-year event will happen and be completed in its entirety.

He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all.  Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his ancestors he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.  He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him.  He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price (Daniel 11:37-39).  The Anti-Christ will not seem to have any regard for the gods of his lineage or for any other for that matter.  He will be so consumed in the power of his own might, evidenced through mighty conquests and political intrigue, that he will arrogantly and greatly reward those who obey and worship him as their ruler, king and eventual god.

At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood.  He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand. He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape.   He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Cushites in submission (Daniel 11:40-43).

Daniel 11:40-43 indicates that after the Anti-Christ has already enjoyed many conquests, he will be challenged by nations from the South and nations from the North will attack him.  Yet, he will prevail as he sweeps through Israel, the Beautiful Land, and defeats Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Libya and Algeria.  For some reason, Jordan or at least parts of Jordan will not fall under his control - ...Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand.

But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many.   He will pitch his royal tents between the seas and the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him (Daniel 11:44:45).

At some point the Anti-Christ will learn of a threat coming from somewhere in the North and the East.  This must be somewhere other than the northern countries that he has already defeated.  Could this be referring to Russia?  Not unless they would have somehow revived from being decimated in the prior war of Gog/Magog.  The threat from the east could very well be China but at the time of the writing of this book, before the Rapture, it would not be clear.  In Revelation 16 we are told that the river Euphrates dries up in preparation for an invasion by the kings of the east.  In fact, at that point many armies will be gathering for war in a place called Armageddon.   For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.  Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.  And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon (Revelation 6:14-16).

The Anti-Christ will have set up his seat of government in Israel and is preparing for a great battle with the forces from many nations.  This will be the ultimate battle of battles.  The very fate of the world will be determined by this climactic war of wars.  It will be waged on the historic plains of Megiddo.  The first battle that was ever recorded in detail for the sake of history was in 1479 BC.  Ironically it was located on the very same plains of Megiddo.  Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, led a campaign against the Prince of Kadesh who was in Megiddo.  The very first and last “recorded” battles in the history of our world will take place in the exact same spot.  Also, ironic is the fact that it was the place where the Ottoman Empire, the Turks, was defeated in 1917 by the British General Edmund Allenby. 

When it seems that nothing can stop the Anti-Christ, at least in his mind, Daniel (11:45) says that ...he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.  Remember that in Daniel Chapter 2, God said that the rock cut from the mountain by no human hands would crush the fourth kingdom.  God Himself will step in and annihilate the beast and his armies. There will be none that can help him.

Daniel Chapter 11 took us through the histories of the 3rd Empire of Greece after it divided into four nations.  Specifically, it addressed the Kings of the North and the Kings of the South and their epic battles.  It also told about how the Beautiful Lands of Israel would be basically a stomping ground for their armies to pass through to battle their enemies.  It described how the king of the North on his way back toward Syria desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem.  In other words, there was a battle between the North and the South and then the Temple was desecrated.

It was made clear earlier that the reference to the previous Temple desecration by Epiphanes was to enable us to understand what the next Temple desecration will look like, and that the desecrator will be the Anti-Christ.  Can we not now understand that the battles of the Ptolemy’s and of the Seleucid’s are in direct correlation to the battles of the North and South by the Anti-Christ who will be the cause of the Abomination of Desolation?  As was Antiochus, the Anti-Christ will be from the area north of Israel.  After already enjoying many conquests, he will trample through the land of Israel on his way to defeat Egypt and so on.  This is not another Russian invasion but the Anti-Christ himself, leading an army to conquer and destroy.  Yet, there is a more northern threat that he will see coming at a later time, along with an eastern one.  This all, of course, culminates with the battle at Armageddon.

The Anti-Christ will be leading an army that is from the regions closely resembling those that the Seleucid’s occupied.  These are the present-day Muslim nations that are to the north of Israel.  Combine those with the more Western European nations and you have none other than a truly revived Roman Empire.  The Anti-Christ will be like a present-day Antiochus Epiphanes but ever so much worse.  As we read earlier, his power will be satanic in nature.  Watch for the signs of this man’s rise to power and how he will conquer many, first by political intrigue and then by mighty force.  His true nature and intentions will eventually emerge as he begins to persecute and prevail against the Saints and God’s Holy people.  Read the scriptures so that you will be able to rightfully discern who this person is.  You now know his nature, his character and approximately where he will be ruling and what armies he will be leading.

Since this chapter of Daniel devoted so much time in regard to the Third Empire and its four successors, we must therefore realize just how significant it really is to our overall understanding of the future Anti-Christ and his rule.  Earlier in our study of the “Vision of the Ram” we learned that the fourth and final kingdom would arise from one of the four kingdoms that the Greek Empire divided into after Alexander’s death – the great horn that was broken.  Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and from it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them (Daniel 8:8-10).  Rome was clearly not one of these four kingdoms for it stood apart and at times directly confronted and opposed the Seleucid armies.  The Seleucids were comprised of peoples from the modern-day areas of Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, etc.  The Ottoman Empire was also comprised of people from these geographical locations.  Because of that, many people believe that the Ottoman Empire is the fourth and final kingdom.  On the surface that seems plausible, but, from whom did the Ottoman Empire acquire these lands?

The Byzantine Empire became the most powerful Empire in Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.  The Eastern Roman Empire was very much Greek in its language and Constantine eventually reorganized the empire making Constantinople the new capital – modern day Istanbul, Turkey.  In 610-641 ad, the Empire’s military and administration were restructured, adopting Greek in place of Latin.  Modern historians only distinguish Byzantium from the Roman in that it was centered in Constantinople and was oriented towards Greek culture rather than Latin culture.  In 1453, Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire and in 1461, the Byzantine Empire completely fell, ending two centuries of wars.

What does all this mean?  In geographical terms, it seems reasonable that the Anti-Christ’s fourth kingdom could, in part, be from an area north of Israel in the areas of what once was the Byzantine Empire that was very much Roman/Greek.  How could this come to pass since the area of Turkey is currently comprised mostly of Islamists with a ruler who desires to re-establish a caliphate, an Islamic state with himself as the caliph who longs for the resurrection of the Ottoman Empire.  The reality of the situation is, Israel would probably never trust a man from this area of the world, let alone enter into a peace agreement with him.  Therefore, in order for this scenario to be realized, what would need to occur?  Perhaps the fall of Islam via Turkey, Iran, and possibly Russia’s demise, leaving this entire region to be absorbed and reorganized by an entity such as the European Union.  The EU and other organizations may have recently established a global or regional power block of ten nations, in essence, a revised Roman/Byzantine Empire encompassing the whole of Europe and much of the Middle East.  Yet, what could possibly cause the fall of a group of Islamic nations, as well as Russia itself?

Ezekiel 38 foretells of a coming war or, more to the point, attempted invasion/annihilation of Israel, that may possibly occur before or near the beginning of the Tribulation.  It is referred to as the War of Gog and Magog.  Ezekiel states the names of those nations partaking in the invasion.  It is quite easy to determine the modern names of those nations from the geographical locations of their ancient names.  The Bible mentions Persia (modern day Iran), Put (Libya), Cush (Sudan), Meshech/Tubal/Gomer/Beth-Togarmah (Turkey), Magog (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan).  It also mentions Russia (Rosh).

Syria, however, is not mentioned as one of the invading forces joining with Russia and Iran in the War of Ezekiel 38.  But the Bible clearly states that these countries assemble on Israel’s northern border and invade from that direction – in order to take a spoil.  As recently as 2010, who could have known that Syria would soon become null and void on the Middle Eastern scene, having been overrun by Russian/Iranian/Turkish/American forces.  Syria’s own dictator, Bashar Assad, spent many years setting the stage for that country’s demise and eventual irrelevance as a nation by literally tearing his country apart in order to crush, at all costs, any dissent of his government.  His ruthless measures of using chemical weapons upon innocent citizens of that nation became the excuse needed for a Russian/Iranian/Turkish intervention.  It also set the stage for the United States influence in that area to begin fading away.  The US President, Obama, was instrumental in causing the eventual irrelevance, militarily, in that area of the Middle East, as he backed off from all “red lines” leaving Russia mostly in control of the outcomes.  Bashar Assad has affectively become nothing more than a puppet ruler with a puppet government that can do nothing without Russia’s consent. 

Then, in October of 2019, the United States announced its withdrawal from the conflict.  Turkey immediately filled the void sending more of its own troops to into northern Syria.  Russia/Iran/Turkey subsequently met in Kazakhstan to further iron out the details of their alliance.  Russia is fully backing their new allies and has issued a warning to the United States and Israel that attacking Iranian sites in Syria would be tantamount to attacking Russia themselves.

How could this have happened?  What circumstances led to this ancient Biblical prophecy having been realized in our day and time?  Many – the fall and nullification of Iraq; Syria’s basic implosion and demise as a nation because of poor leadership as well as Isis; red lines that were crossed leading to Russia’s, for all intents and purposes, take-over of the area; the United State’s eventual withdrawal from the conflict.  Each of these Islamic nations have their own evil reasons for encamping in Syria – mostly the eventual destruction of Israel.  Yet, why would Russia.  Ezekiel states that Gog will think an evil thought - to invade Israel for the purposes of “taking a spoil.”  But what does Israel have worth taking?  Oil and gas - enormous amounts of it. 

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 unwalled 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 (Ezekiel 38:10-12).

This massive army attacks Israel but the battle is short lived.  God swiftly destroys them on the mountains of Israel, leaving only a sixth remaining.  Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:  And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.  Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.  And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD (Ezekiel 39:1-6).

Interestingly, Ezekiel also describes this yet future (with respect to the writing of this book) battle’s aftermath with great detail, possibly more so than any other war.  These scriptures eerily describe the procedures taken when, in modern times, contaminated radioactive areas are being searched, cleaned and contained.  Could this be the scenario where which these Islamic nations are defeated leaving this entire northern geographical area to become a part of Europe as a whole, morphing into the fourth and final kingdom of the Anti-Christ?  There will be chaos and turmoil where a man could quite easily then arise from this general location having become politically influential enough to provide a solution to the crisis – a Treaty.  This is a very real possibility as the stage seems to be setting in that direction. 

Don’t be blind-sided, for a second time, because of ignorance.  The Bible provides a blow by blow narrative of the events that are to occur during the Seven Year Tribulation.  The War of Gog may, however, occur before that period of time.  Some believe that it will happen in conjunction with the Rapture of the church.  At the time of this writing, we cannot know for sure.  Yet, it would be the perfect time for a man to arise, providing all of the answers in order to calm the chaos.  However, if you are reading this after the Rapture and after the signing of the Peace Treaty, then you should already have determined who this Anti-Christ is and where he came from.  But, in order to understand any of it, you must read God’s Word.  Unfortunately, God will cause all to very strongly believe whatever deceptive explanation that the Anti-Christ’s government and “religious” entities of that time provides.  The Bible says -  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth (restraineth in other translations) 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. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12).

Before the Rapture of the Church, the Anti-Christ could never have been revealed.  The Spirit of God who lives in all who disappeared was apparently the restraining force that held him back.  Only after the Rapture and during the Tribulation will it be possible for this man of sin to arise upon the political scene.  Only then will it be possible for mankind to determine his true nature and identity.  Therefore, study the scriptures for it reveals his character; his deeds; his maniacal thirst for the blood of all who love God or who and what God loves – Christians, Israel and the Jewish people.  In order to overcome this strong delusion to believe a lie, you must determine within yourselves to accept Jesus as your Savior.  Only then, having been indwelled by the Holy Spirit, will you be ready and equipped to successfully face the trials and tribulations at such a time as this.

Chapter 10.

Daniel - Victory

(Daniel 12)

 

Daniel Chapter 12 is a continuation of Daniel Chapter 11 which leaves off with the Anti-Christ being crushed by God’s hand alone.  This time of troubles has been building with ever increasing intensity and is now at its climactic finality at the battle of Armageddon.  With the whole world hanging in the balance, Jesus returns with His Heavenly Army, along with His Church riding behind Him, to deliver all those who have placed their trust in Him. And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book (Daniel 12:1).

This chapter is about victory and judgment.  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:2).  It is also about rewards for the faithful. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever (Daniel 12:3).

It is stressed again to Daniel that what he is being told concerns the time of the end.  The wording of verse four would have to indicate that fact.  Daniel, in his day, could not have known of a time when people would have such an increase in knowledge as we have had over the last century.  Daniel could not understand what God was telling him for it was not meant for him.  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased (Daniel 12:4).  God was speaking directly to us more than two thousand years ago.  Only in this day and age are these words to be understood.  And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end (Daniel 12:9).  Even then only the wise in Christ will fully understand.  Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand (Daniel 12:10).

Daniel is then told, again, how long it will be before the end of all these things.  He was told that it will be three and one half years or 1260 days.  And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished (Daniel 12:7).  In this context a “time” is generally believed to equal one year.  “Times” would be two years and “half” would be one half of a year.  It is also normally accepted to use 360 days for one year.

There is much that is very confusing about these time frames.  Many have wondered what the difference between the 1260 days in Daniel 12:7 versus the 1290 days in Daniel 12:11 is all about.  And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days (Daniel 12:11).  How about the additional 45 day period of time at the very end?  Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days (Daniel 12:12).

After the battle of Armageddon, the additional 30 days could be set aside for the judgment of the nations.  The final 45 days could be time needed for setting up the new Kingdom and establishing Jesus’ government.  However, this is just conjecture.  We are not told here what happens during this period of time and may not know until it actually happens.  Is this something that we really need to know?  No.  God has given us these glimpses into our future as warning signs.  What He has chosen to share with us is mostly to help us become prepared for His coming - ahead of time.  That is the most important reason for prophesy.  It is to help us realize that there is a coming end to all that we now know.  Jesus is coming back to conquer and rule someday and the events leading up to this event will be horrific in nature.  Yet, without specifics, He still seems to delight in giving us a hint at how wonderful and blessed the saints will be to make it to the very end.

Chapter 11.

Why the Tribulation?

Since the Rapture whisked away all of God’s professing people, why then would He unleash upon the rest of mankind this terrible period of Hell on Earth?  Why not just end things at the time of the Rapture for everyone?  Well, as you may remember, the Age of Grace, which was the last nearly two thousand years before the Tribulation, was set aside specifically for the Gentiles or non-Jews.  Israel had rejected their Savior so God was allowing the Gentiles, as many as possible, to choose Him.  In the meantime, for the last two millenniums the Jews were scattered abroad throughout the entire world.  Yet they were never completely assimilated by the world.  They have always stood apart.  Therefore the world has always feared and hated them and will do so right up until the very end of days.

It was Israel’s blatant rejection of Jesus as their Messiah that resulted in their Diaspora – the Jewish dispersion from their homeland.  Just imagine, the Savior that they had been waiting for was right there with them in Jerusalem two thousand years ago.  He spoke with great authority, therefore, the rulers feared and hated Him.  He taught of God and performed great miracles such as healing the sick.  The Pharisees, therefore, hated and feared him.  His birth and life fulfilled prophesy concerning their coming Messiah.  They rejected Him.  They brutally beat and murdered Him.

Yet, with the love that only He could have possessed, Jesus still chose to suffer and die for them.  For two thousand years His people, for whom He personally died, has continued to reject Him.  He caused their dispersion because of their sin and rejection of Him just as in times past when the Israelites were scattered abroad - such as in Daniel’s captivity by the Babylonians.  He doesn’t want to just obliterate them all in one fell swoop.  He still longs for Israel’s repentance and their acceptance.  The 70th week, Seven Year Tribulation, was set aside for them.  These are a stubborn people and even their near annihilation under Nazi Germany could not open their closed minds.  However, at some point during the Great Tribulation, the Jews will finally realize the truth and turn to Christ as their Savior and King.

We are experiencing the Tribulation, God’s 70th week, because the severest type of stiff-necked stubbornness and sinfulness is resulting in the severest type of punishment in order to gain repentance and the saving of their souls.  How great will God’s joy be when the people of Israel finally turn to him in repentance?  How great will Israel’s sorrow be for all of the lost years and lives lost in willful unbelief?

Chapter 12.

Israel’s Repentance

(Zechariah 12 & 13)

 

Zechariah began his role of a prophet in 520 BC.  Chapters 9-11 of his book in the Old Testament deal mostly with prophecies that led up to and included Jesus’ first coming.  Chapters 12-14 describe details of the Tribulation, Armageddon, Israel’s repentance and Jesus’ second coming.  The accuracy of the prophecies in chapters 9-11 regarding the birth/life/death of Christ should leave no doubt as to the accuracy of his End Times prophecies in chapters 12-14.

In the first two verses of Chapter 12 God makes a declaration that He Himself, the one who stretches out the heavens and created the Earth and men, will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people that attempt to lay siege to her.  Israel will be like a burdensome heavy stone that is immovable even though all the people of the Earth would be pushing against her.  Those that try will be cut to pieces.  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 (Zechariah 12:1-3).

At the Battle of Armageddon, the Lord will confound Israel’s enemies to the point that it will be understood in the hearts of men that God Himself is defending Jerusalem.  Israel and Jerusalem will be saved by God’s hand.  He will defeat the Anti-Christ for He is the stone cut from the mountain that crushes the Fourth Empire without human hand as stated in Daniel chapter 2.  In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.  In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.  And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:4-9).

The people of Israel will have finally accepted Jesus, the one who they pierced nearly two thousand years ago, as their Lord and Savior.  Israel will then fall into a tremendous state of mourning for all of the lost time that they have spent in rebellion against Jesus.  They will mourn for Him as with the agony of losing a son.  They will completely understand that the lost lives of millions of their past generations were solely because they had rejected Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;  The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;  All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart (Zechariah 12:10-14).

Israel finally repented and God in his faithfulness cleansed the people of their sins.  He caused Israel to abolish all of their idol worship forever more.  In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.  And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land (Zechariah 13:1-2).   As you may recall, one of the six components of Daniel 9:24 was that vision and prophesy would be sealed up.  There will no longer be a need for man to be given prophecies of the future for God Himself will be coming to dwell with us on Earth.  Anyone claiming to be a prophet after that point will be offending God and will be in mortal danger from his fellow man for they will know that it is a lie.

And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God (Zechariah 13:8-9).

A third part of the population of Jewish people will make it through the “fire” which is the Great Tribulation.  They will be tried by the fire and will shine as silver and gold after being refined.  Just as people are stronger after experiencing great trials, these people will become very strong in the Lord after repenting during the Great Tribulation.  However, whether or not this “third part” refers solely to the population that is alive during the Tribulation can only be conjecture at the time of the writing of this book – before the Rapture/Tribulation.

There are those who believe that this is the remaining third that survived after the Holocaust.  Before World War II, there were approximately nine million Jews on Earth.  Six million were murdered during the war leaving a third part.  Now, of course, many of these remaining have since died and the population has continued to grow. 

There are those who believe that an actual two-thirds of the current Jewish population will perish during the Tribulation leaving only a third part to enter the Great Tribulation.  This may well be the case.  Israel will be overrun by its enemies and many may die by the hands of those nations that surround her as well as by civil betrayal.  The people will be forced to flee for their lives to a sanctuary in Jordan – the areas that the Anti-Christ cannot defeat as stated in Daniel 11:41 which we covered in Chapter 9 of this book.  Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains (Mark 13:12-14).

Whichever scenario is the case, know that there will be a portion that will survive until the end.  They will repent and will finally become the people and the nation that God has always intended them to be.  They will love Jesus as their Savior and will gladly welcome Him upon His soon arrival as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Chapter 13.

The Day of the Lord

(Zechariah 14)

 

At the beginning of the Great Tribulation and the Abomination of Desolation by the Anti-Christ, the inhabitants of Israel will begin fleeing to the mountains of Jordan.  There will be little time to prepare for this journey because the Anti-Christ and his armies will be plundering the city.  Those that stay will be in grave danger as the next three and one half years will be utterly horrific for the remaining population.  As the nations gather against Israel before the Battle of Armageddon Zechariah 14:1-2 says - Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Toward the end of the Great Tribulation, the nations will be gathering and the tensions will be rising as all hope seems to be lost for Israel and possibly the whole Earth.  The war of all wars is about to begin.  On that day the Lord will descend to Earth and personally defeat all the nations that have come against her.  He will touch down on the Mount of Olives, the very place from which He left nearly two thousand years ago.  As He does, the mountain will split in half and form a great valley that stretches from the Mediterranean in the west to the Dead Sea in the East.  And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee (Zechariah 14:4-5).

This day will then be like no other day in the history of the world for it will not become dark at the usual time of the evening.  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:  But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light (Zechariah 14:6-7).  The scripture does not say how long this perpetual day time will last.  This may be something that only lasts until the rest of the end time events have been fulfilled.

And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.  And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one (Zechariah 14:8-9).  The great valley that was formed stretching from sea to sea will be filled from water that originates from under the Temple itself.  Ezekiel Chapter 47 describes this river in detail as well as its purpose.  And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh (Ezekiel 47:9).  This river signifies the new life that we will have in Jesus.  It is the living waters that flow from the source of our life’s breadth – He who will now be living here bodily among us as King.  These living waters will even, according to Ezekiel 47, bring to life the once “Dead Sea” allowing fish to live there and fruit trees to line its banks.

All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses.  And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited (Zechariah 14:10-11).  The land around Jerusalem will change drastically as portions will be lowered and the city itself will be elevated.  The peace of Jerusalem will finally become a reality forevermore.  It will be a safe and secure place to live for the first time in history.

And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour (Zechariah 14:12-13).  We are again reminded that in and amongst the events of the Lord bodily returning to Earth, there is still a great battle commencing on the outskirts of Jerusalem.  There will be approximately 300 to 500 million soldiers set for the battle of the ages at Armageddon.  Yet, just as the battle begins, something will turn the attention of the world toward the Heavens.  As Jesus enters the atmosphere, the Anti-Christ and his armies, together with these other nation's armies, will seek to battle with the Lord of Heaven's Armies - Jesus Himself. 

At Christ's Second Coming upon this Earth, the Church will ride behind Him as He enters this planet's atmosphere.  The Beast will be preparing for a great battle. Yet the conflict is short-lived as by a mere breath from the creator King of the universe, He destroys every enemy intending to come against Him.  The descriptions of their demise sound eerily like the effects of an atomic blast, the details of which could not have been known at the time of Zechariah.  Yet, we do know that God alone defeats these armies with a power that possibly resembles the effects of an atom bomb.  However, I am not at all saying that nuclear weapons have not been used by these earthly armies as well.  We won’t know that until the time comes.  Without a doubt, though, by the Word of God, the Beast and False Prophet will be defeated and thrown into the Lake of Fire.  The scriptures have made it clear, that the Anti-Christ’s life and his kingdom will come to an end by the hands of God alone.

And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles (Zechariah 14:16).  When all is finished and the Lord begins His reign, the whole world will be required to observe the Feast of Tabernacles which Deuteronomy 16:13-15 explains - Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:  And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.

Oh the Holiness that will inhabit that city on a hill.  All things will be made Holy unto the Lord for He is Holy.  In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar (Zechariah 14:20).

Chapter 14.

Revelation - The Seven Churches

(Revelation 1, 2 & 3)

 

(Note: I implore readers to not only read this book, "Prepared for the Kingdom", but to, more importantly, study the whole text of every Biblical book referenced.  This book does not always include every verse contained in the various books mentioned.  The goal is to help explain certain passages.  The Bible is meant to be studied in its completeness with nothing taken away from the powerful message that is contained in every single verse of the Word of God.) 

 

Revelation is divided into three major sections and John, a disciple of Jesus, was instructed to write it down in a book.  Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter (Revelation 1:19).  The first section is Revelation Chapter 1 and is comprised of the “things that he has seen.”  Chapters 2 and 3 is section two and speak of the “things that are.”  Chapters 4 through 22 of Revelation is the third section which concerns the “things which shall be hereafter.”

Revelation Chapter 1 is an introduction which explains to the reader who is giving John this Revelation.  It also tells who is to receive this text – the seven churches of Asia.  It tells of Jesus’ future coming in the clouds and God proclaiming that He is the beginning and the end and that He holds the keys of Hell and of death.

In this chapter, John saw Jesus in all of His glory, authority, power and might.  He now saw Jesus in his Heavenly God form and not man, flesh and blood, as he did when he walked with Jesus on Earth years earlier.  John’s life had been prepared for this moment in time to receive and write down the revelation of mankind’s final outcome.  Jesus was giving to John this revelation as a warning for all people to become prepared for His eventual return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  God never intended for us to be blindsided by His coming.  He expected us to be enthusiastically preparing our lives for His return by, first and foremost, repenting of our sins and accepting Him as Lord and Savior of our lives.  Then, out of respect for His great sacrifice, we were to be motivated to live Holy and Righteous Lives, with the ever present help of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.  After all, it was our reasonable service to Him for giving His life as the penalty for our sins.  God, through Revelation and the numerous other Bible prophecies, warned us of His imminent return.  Basically, He called ahead and said “I will be here soon.  Pay attention to what I am saying and get ready.”

Mankind behaves a lot like children.  A father called home and told the kids, “We are going out for dinner.  I’ll be home soon to pick you up.  I am not sure exactly when but make sure to be ready or you will be left behind.”  The children heard what he said but became or remained so consumed in their own interests at the time that they just let the time slip on by until their father suddenly appeared.  Consequently, when he arrived the children then panicked and suddenly attempted to run around quickly to get ready very fast.  Some of the children didn’t really believe that their father would actually leave them behind.  Others attempted to guilt the father into still taking them, as if it was his fault they were not prepared.  Children are often times left facing the consequences of their inaction and disobedience.

We are God’s children and the prophecies and teachings of the Bible are God’s way of telling us to prepare for His soon coming.  Many at the time of the Rapture suddenly realized what had happened and in a panic attempted to “get right with God.”  Yet, it was too late.  Others fell into accusing God of being unfair by not letting them know ahead of time.  They just had not listened.  They were left facing the consequences of desiring a life style of sin over concentrating on preparing their lives for the Kingdom.  Study the scriptures and if you actually believe in His soon coming, you will desire to become prepared by accepting Jesus as your Savior.

Unfortunately, those of us still alive after the Rapture are now facing the consequences of our disobedience - the Seven Year Tribulation.  Millions if not billions will die before this time period ends.  Jesus will be returning at the end.  I repeat, Jesus will be returning at the end of the Tribulation.  Do not again delay in establishing a relationship with God through Jesus Christ His Son, the consequences of which will be Hell in the End - not Heaven.  Continue studying Revelation to learn what challenges you will be facing throughout these seven years.

And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.  His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength (Revelation 1:13-16).  John saw Jesus standing in the midst of seven golden candlesticks which represent the seven churches.  He was holding seven stars which are the angels of these seven churches.  The Age of Grace was still in effect as of the first three chapters of Revelation.  These churches represented the churches with whom the Gentiles were affiliated with before the Rapture of the Church.  These two chapters evaluate how faithful these churches had been in representing Christ as the Savior of all mankind, as well as other aspects of their character.  Had they been faithful to His Word?  Had they been faithful in preparing mankind for His coming Kingdom?  Did they teach how to live according to the teachings of Christ Jesus?  How sound was their doctrine?  Did they practice what they preached?

Not everyone who cried out, “Lord, Lord,” entered the Kingdom of Heaven at the time of the Rapture.  Many who were in church and believed that they were Christians found themselves lost and confused when their fellow church members disappeared leaving them behind.  Unfortunately many churches failed to properly teach sound biblical doctrine, therefore, leading many people astray.  Before the Rapture, churches could have and should have compared themselves to these seven churches and determined whether or not they were actually in the faith.  If not, they needed to repent and turn their hearts back toward God and to His Word alone for instruction.  By doing so, many lives may have been saved from this terrible time of tribulation by way of the Rapture.

The church, comprised of born-again believers before the Rapture, is gone but we can still read the messages given to the seven churches and personally examine ourselves as to whether or not we are truly living by faith in God alone.  God has always called men to do so.  In 2 Corinthians 13:5, God says to Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.  Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?  Also, read the Bible and examine yourself, inside and out, as to whether or not you are living in such a manner that pleases God.  Let God's Word and the Holy Spirit inspire your conduct, conversations, as well as your inner thought life, to be in line with His Will for your life.  You know what is coming in the next several years.  You know that God will prevail in the end and that He will again be returning, this time bodily to Earth to reign as King.  You may have missed the Rapture, but you are fortunate to still be alive and capable of living for Christ unto the end whether that is death or actually experiencing the events on the final Day of the Lord.  Prepare yourselves.

Chapter 15.

Revelation 4 - The Throne of God

John was then commanded to ”Come up Here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne (Revelation 4:2-3).  This begins the third section of Revelation which concerns the “things which shall be hereafter.”  John was transported in spirit form to Heaven and probably forward in time to witness the events in Heaven immediately after the Rapture of the Church.  It is believed that the command to "Come up Here" signifies the actual Rapture event which would precede the events of the Seven Year Tribulation.

And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God (Revelation 4:4-5).  In the Old Testament, three other prophets had the privilege of seeing the throne of God.  However, their descriptions left out the twenty-four Elders.  This is because they were not yet present to be seated there.  The Elders represent the Church that was later Raptured.  This becomes quite evident in Revelation 5:9-10 when the twenty-four Elders fell down before the Lamb.  They knew him as the Lamb of God who was slain.  They sang out, ”For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”

And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle (Revelation 4:6-7).  The sea of glass is believed to represent the Word of God that we stand upon.  The four beasts are the four cherubim who guard the throne of God.

And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.  And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created (Revelation 4:8-11).  

Chapter 16.

Revelation 5 - The Lamb of God

John was given the opportunity to see what Heaven is like after the Rapture of the Church and continuing on into the Seven Year Tribulation period.  The first half of the Seven Year Tribulation period is comprised of two sets of judgments – Seals and Trumpets.

In Revelation Chapter 5 we are introduced to the Lamb of God who was slain as being the only one worthy to open the book sealed with seven seals.  And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation (Revelation 5:7-9).

Each seal represents a judgment.  An Elder told John that this was the Lion of Judah, the Root of David, who had prevailed and was now worthy to open the book.  Jesus was the only one capable of doing this because He is the great redeemer who overcame sin, death and Hell to prevail victorious in the end.  He will also become the mighty avenger of those who were slain for believing in Him during the Tribulation.  

Chapter 17.

Revelation 6 and 7 - The Seal Judgments

The First Seal

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.  And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer (Revelation 6:1-2).

Although one might believe this to be the Lord because he is riding a “white” horse, in fact, it probably isn’t.  Jesus is usually depicted as carrying a sword, not a bow.  This is more likely to be the Anti-Christ who will emerge on the world scene as a peacemaker.  However, this man will be empowered by Satan to conquer and prevail over many by great deception of words and deeds. Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:9).  The Church has vanished.  There is now very little to stop someone of this caliber to convince multitudes to yield to his will, especially if he can back up his words with supernatural wonders.  His charismatic personality will be so great as to deceive even, if it were possible, some of those who have become believers.  Yet his true goal is to go forth and conquer.  His goal is to acquire the Earth for his purposes – Satan.

This man may be a politician who emerges from obscurity onto the world scene.  He may also be a religious figure emerging from possibly Greek roots.  There were many speculations before the Rapture.  He will initially be perceived as being a great peace maker who has finally secured a seven year peace treaty between Israel and its surrounding nations.  However, watch and do not be deceived by a man crying peace.  He may be a wolf in sheep’s clothing with actual intentions of slaughtering the fold.

The Second Seal

And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.  And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword (Revelation 6:3-4).

Once the Anti-Christ has deceived many by diplomacy, he will begin to conquer by force.  Peace will vanish as he begins to exert his authority over many regions and governments.

The Third Seal

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.  And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine (Revelation 6:5-6).

The world is plunging into an unprecedented economic collapse.  In the day and time of John, a penny, also referred to in the NIV as a denarius, would represent an entire day’s wages.  Basically, it will be very difficult to actually make enough money to pay for what you eat.  Yet there will be a few still living in the lap of luxury that will not be much affected by the crisis, as depicted by the “oil and wine” reference.  There will be a great gap between the wealthy and poor where there is no more a middle class.

The Fourth Seal

And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.  And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth (Revelation 6:7-8).

The Anti-Christ has been waging a great war and a quarter of the Earth will fall under his command.  Whether this is land area or population or both is not known, however, he will have control of a large area.  Remember our earlier study of the book of Daniel regarding the regions that the Anti-Christ will conquer.  Much of the Middle East, as well as northern Africa and possibly other portions of Europe, will succumb to his military and political might.

One consequence of war on that scale would be economic hardship leading to widespread famines and disease.  Starvation will abound.  Any health care available will not be enough to provide for the dying and diseased millions that will be caught in the middle of these conflicts.  Repercussions from wars on this scale will surely impact the entire globe.

The Fifth Seal

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled (Revelation 6:9-11).

The souls under the altar are probably one of the first groups of believers who were martyred for their faith after the Rapture of the Church.  Yet, this seal says that there is going to be a massive purge of Christians on the Earth.  God knows how many there will be and nothing will stop the process until all things are fulfilled according to the Will and plan of God.  These martyred souls cry out to be avenged and God’s wrath being poured out upon the Earth by way of these judgments is great.  Yet, for those who rightfully recognize this time for what it is, He is still a merciful God who saves those who repent of their sins and claim Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

The Sixth Seal

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? (Revelation 6:12-17)

Something catastrophic has happened to the point that men will say that God is reigning down his wrath upon the Earth.  Whether or not they actually believe what they are saying is unknown.  It could be that the horrific magnitude of the events taking place is of such greatness that men can conceive of no other explanation other than to blame God.  Yet, what could cause the sun and moon to be darkened?  Exploding volcanoes as well as the after affects of many nuclear bombs can cause enough particles in the upper atmosphere to dramatically reduce the amount of daylight breaking through to Earth.  This can also cause the moon to take on a dark red appearance.  Earthquakes of great intensity can move everything, including great mountains and the land masses underneath them.

The appearance of the sky departing as a scroll unfolding is a little more unusual.  Whatever caused this may well have triggered the events following it.  Some believe that this reference is referring to events later in Revelation as if these seals were a summation of Revelation as a whole.  However, so far these seals have referred to events in a chronological order from the beginning of the Rapture.  Why change now.  No, something terrible has happened and the affects have shaken men to their core.

The Sealed of God

And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel (Revelation 7:1-4).

Between the sixth and seventh Seal Judgment, God sets aside a period of time for a special group of His servants here on Earth to be sealed in their foreheads.  One hundred and forty-four thousand from the twelve tribes of Israel will be protected from the coming judgments from God.  Twelve thousand will come from each of the twelve tribes.  They will become the greatest evangelists that the world has ever known.

Also during this time, John beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen (Revelation 7:9-12).  These are still others who have been martyred after the Rapture for their faith.  God saved them and they will forever be with the Lord.

The Seventh Seal

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour (Revelation 8:1).  The opening of the seventh seal signifies the beginning of The Trumpet Judgments.

Chapter 18.

Revelation 8 and 9 - The Trumpet Judgments

And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.  And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.  And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.  And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake (Revelation 8:2-5).

As if the Seal Judgments were not bad enough, things have just gotten a whole lot worse.  The people of Earth are still refusing to accept God for who He is.  Instead of turning to Him, they have embraced the Anti-Christ as someone in whom to place their trust.  The prayers of the saints have been heard and God’s righteousness is demanding justice.  His wrath has been flung to Earth and the beginnings of the Trumpet Judgments have been announced by thunder, lightning and an earthquake.  Yet, He is merciful still in His judgments in that He hasn’t chosen to completely destroy the Earth and all of mankind for their wickedness.  Amidst all of these terrible events, people still have the opportunity to repent – if they so desire.

The First Trumpet

The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up (Revelation 8:7).

This Judgment seems to be focused primarily upon land damage.  Great fires destroy much of the Earth’s forests.  Of course, many thousands if not millions will die as a result. Still, the Earth itself is bearing the brunt of this event.

The Second Trumpet

And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed (Revelation 8:8-9).

This judgment appears to be an asteroid or meteor that has crashed into the ocean.  Any impact of great magnitude would cause severe devastation to the ocean’s marine life.  There would also be an extremely large wave disturbance that would cause massive destruction of any floating vessels in the sea.  The world will experience the worst tsunamis it has ever known up to this date and time, which will destroy naval ports for thousands of miles around, if not globally.  Millions could and probably will die as a result.

The Third Trumpet 

And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter (Revelation 8:10-11).

The Third Trumpet Judgment seems to be of a nuclear type.  It could be the effects of nuclear war.  It could also be the aftereffects of “reactors gone wild.”  It could be from both – bombs and power plants.  What happened at the Chernobyl plant in Russia in 1986?  A reactor had a meltdown which contaminated thousands of square miles of trees, plants and water supplies.  Many people died.  What does the word Chernobyl stand for?  Ironically - Wormwood.

In 2012, one of Japan’s nuclear facilities nearly experienced a meltdown due to the destruction caused by a tsunami which was triggered by an earthquake around 90 miles off shore.  Much radiation was released into the air and into the ocean as a result of this close call.  The tsunamis produced by the Second Trumpet may have caused massive damage to many of the world's nuclear power plants that were located near shorelines, leaving them with no means to cool their cores resulting in meltdowns.

It is also quite possible that nuclear war may have broken out.  Some radical nation, group or aspiring world dictator may have finally released a weapon of mass destruction against an enemy.  This could have triggered a return of fire upon them and/or their nuclear facilities resulting in a deadly radioactive release into the air and onto the Earth.

The Fourth Trumpet

And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise (Revelation 8:12).

We have had massive fires, earthquakes, asteroid/meteor impacts, possible nuclear explosions.  What does this cause?  Airborne particles.  Lots of them.  Just the aftereffects of nuclear war have been described by scientists as a nuclear winter.  How could anyone of John’s day and time have known what would happen in the atmosphere after experiencing meteor impacts?  Only by God could he have correctly written such details.

And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound! (Revelation 8:13)

The Three Woes

The remaining Trumpet Judgments take on a decidedly supernatural tone and quite rightfully so.  The judgments have shifted from Earth to man and he will experience pain and suffering seemingly beyond comprehension. Woe to the inhabitants of Earth – mankind.

The Fifth Trumpet

Woe One

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man (Revelation 9:1-5).

This star that fell from heaven is a living being of some sort because John says that “to him” was given the key to the bottomless pit.  This entity has been given the permission to unleash upon mankind a horrific plague by means of some sort of new creature from possibly deep underground or even from another dimension.  They resemble locusts and their stings are similar to scorpions but much, much more intense.  The sting of a scorpion is said to be extremely painful causing numbness and severe burning.  There is little that a victim can do to ease the pain.  The pain will be so severe and last so long that ...In those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them (Revelation 9:6).

John further describes the creature’s looks and behavior as well as the angel of the bottomless pit.  Describing modern day events in terms that made sense to a person two thousand years ago must have been quite challenging.  What was he seeing here?  Did he describe these creatures literally?  Many have read this passage and come away with the sense that these creatures were mechanical in nature, like small helicopters or micro drone warfare carrying biological weapons.  Or, maybe it is just as he described – actual living creatures from the deep that have been unleashed upon mankind to cause pain and suffering.

Since the bottomless pit is considered to be a prison for certain demons, it is likely that these creatures will be none other than a hoard of demonic creatures that have been released as a judgment upon mankind.  Their victims will be only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.  Apparently, all others will be fair game.  Many have speculated that those who have accepted Christ will be sealed as well.  However, the text specifically says that only those men who do not have the seal on their foreheads will be spared.

This army of demons will have a king or leader described as the angel of the bottomless pit.  This could be Satan himself or, more likely, a high-ranking demonic official.  And they had as a king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon (Revelation 9:11).  This further indicates that this judgment will be demonic in nature.

The first Woe has been completed... One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter (Revelation 9:12).

The Sixth Trumpet

Woe Two

And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt (Revelation 9:13-19).

Do not forget what is happening on Earth.  The Anti-Christ has been steadily moving away from his initial peace campaigns toward his more actual goal of world domination – specifically that of the Middle East.  The Far-Eastern Asian countries will no doubt have their own concerns and have been watching the activities of the Anti-Christ with much trepidation.  These countries have massive populations compared to the rest of the world.  Nearly 40% of the world’s population is from these areas.  It would not be hard to understand how war could kill a third part of mankind if it broke out between the countries of those Far-Eastern regions.

How ever this Woe is played out, one thing is unmistakable - there has been a massive human death toll.  Combine that with the nearly one quarter of mankind being killed during the Seal Judgments, it is nothing less than staggering.  More than half of the Earth’s population has died in less than three and one half years.

Some will rightfully recognize these worldwide events for what they are – Judgments from God upon a rebellious and sinful world.  However, most will stubbornly stand fast in their own prideful ways, clinging to life chasing their own lusts and desires to the grave.  And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts (Revelation 9:20-21).

Between the Sixth and Seventh Trumpets many things were revealed to John, some of which he was forbidden to write about.  The Lord is declaring that the beginning of the end is on the verge of occurring.  He is in control and the supernatural war that is being waged between God, Satan and man is coming to an end.

And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets (Revelation 10:5-7).

During this time John is told to measure the temple in Jerusalem.  This confirms that there will be a temple built sometime before the mid-point of the Tribulation, as written about in the book of Daniel and by Jesus in Matthew 24.

John is also told of the two witnesses that will arrive on Earth, specifically Jerusalem, to prophesy before many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings for one thousand two hundred and sixty days or nearly three years.  This passage tells of their mission from beginning to the end when they will ascend back to Heaven.  These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will (Revelation 11:6).  If they are threatened then, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed (Revelation 11:5).

Toward the end of their ministry, or mission here on Earth, Satan, probably by way of the Anti-Christ, will be allowed to kill them.  For three and one half days they will lie in the street for the entire world to see.  And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves (Revelation 11:9).  Only in modern times could the whole world witness such an event.  Their deaths will cause everyone to rejoice for their tormenters have been killed.  However, God will restore their spirits to them at which time they will ascend bodily into the Heavens.  And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.  And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven (Revelation 11:11-13).

Remember, this event begins right before the second half of the Tribulation and lasts for approximately three and one half years.  Basically, God has given John an overview of the two Prophet’s ministry at this time.

The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly (Revelation 11:14).

The Seventh Trumpet

Woe Three

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever (Revelation 11:15).

And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.  And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail (Revelation 11:18-19).

As the twenty-four Elders fell and worshipped God... Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned (Revelation 11:17), we must realize that the people of Earth are overcome with their hatred for God.  They have come to blame Him for everything they are experiencing.  Instead of embracing Him in all of His Glory seeking forgiveness, they choose to embrace the devil and his agenda.  Woe to those who enter the Great Tribulation unprepared to meet death or God in the end.

As the first half of the Tribulation comes to an end, we are reminded of what will signify the beginning of the Great Tribulation or the remaining three and one half years of the 70th Week of Daniel.  He will confirm a covenant with many for one week. In the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the Temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation until the end that is decreed is poured out on him (Daniel 9:27).  The Bible gives us a great example of what the Abomination of Desolation will resemble when in 168 BC Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a Seleucus ruler from approximately the same region as Syria is now located, entered the Temple, slaughtered a pig on the alter and erected a statue of Zeus with his face on it.  He proclaimed himself to be God.  He then forced the Jews to worship him or die.  This act then triggered the Macabbean Revolt which lasted three and one half years.

Around two hundred years later, Jesus said, When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place... (Matthew 24:15).  Jesus was drawing our attention back to Daniel and his teachings of Antiochus Epiphanes.  He was illustrating the parallels between these two rulers to help us understand what lies ahead for us with respect to the Great Tribulation.

Chapter 19.

Revelation 12

The Great Tribulation

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:  And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered (Revelation 12:1-2).  The woman refers to Israel and the child she was birthing is Jesus.  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne (Revelation 12:5).

And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.  And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born (Revelation 12:3-4).

We all must realize that not only are we experiencing world-wide conflict between nations here on Earth, but that there is also a tremendous battle, spiritual and physical, being waged between the forces of good and evil in Heaven itself.  Even though Satan had previously rebelled against God and fallen out of favor, he still had access to Heaven and to the ear of God where he accused the Saints.  However, now ...there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death (Revelation 12:7-11).

Satan obviously loses the war in Heaven and is cast out to Earth along with one third of all the Angels that rebelled against God.  Satan is furious when he realizes that he has but just a short time left.  Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time (Revelation 12:12).  So what does he do?  He begins by persecuting the most beloved of God – Israel.  And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child (Revelation 12:13).

   Satan will possess the Anti-Christ and empower him to persecute Israel and its inhabitants.  The people of Israel will be forced to flee for their lives to a place of God’s protection for the next one thousand two hundred and sixty days.  And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days (Revelation 12:6).

Jesus, himself, told the disciples that the end would come... When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: (Matthew 24:15-16).  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be (Matthew 24:21).  Jesus told of the moment when the Great Tribulation would begin.

In order to survive the next three and one half years, God’s chosen people, Israel, will be given the opportunity to flee to the wilderness where a place has been set aside for her safety.  Jesus, when speaking of the end times to his disciples, stressed that they must run so quickly that they should not even go back to their houses to pick up anything.  Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:  Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes (Matthew 24:17-18).  After desecrating the temple, the Anti-Christ unleashes his full fury against the people of Israel and Jerusalem.   He comes after them like a flood to annihilate them from the Earth.  But God has other plans for His people.

Even though the Anti-Christ has conquered most of the Middle East, Daniel 11:40-43 states that... He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.  Edom and Moab are located in modern day Jordan the capital of which is Amman - biblical Ammon.  Many scholars believe that God’s place of protection for His people will be located in/around the mountains near Petra, Jordan.  And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth (Revelation 12:14-16).

Satan is outraged and takes out his vengeance on all of the rest of the Jews and Christians who did not make it to this safe haven.  And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:17).

Chapter 20.

Revelation 13

The Beast

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority (Revelation 13:1-2).

The Anti-Christ, called the Beast, has taken on a whole new level of evilness by way of the actual possession of him by Satan, the Dragon.  Everyone on Earth is so enamored with his displays of power and military might that they actually worship him as god.  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? (Revelation 13:4)

Apparently the Anti-Christ becomes mortally wounded.  This could very well be the point at which Satan possesses his body and fools the whole world into believing that he had the power to come back to life.  And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast (Revelation 13:3).  After witnessing such an event, many people would truly believe that he was a god and they would begin to worship him as god.   And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).

We learned in the books of Daniel and Zechariah that the Beast is extremely proud and arrogant.  He openly blasphemes God and anything that is God’s.  Revelation also confirms this as his character and behavior.  It also confirms the amount of time that he will have left to attempt to accomplish his destruction of God’s people by reigning down Hell on Earth.  God will let him overcome the saints and he will have control over everyone on Earth, but only for a certain period of time.  And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.  And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.  And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations (Revelation 13:5-7).

If any man have an ear, let him hear.  He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints (Revelation 13:9-10).  Listen to what the Lord is saying and try to understand.  All things will happen as they had been prophesied.  God simply knew from the beginning what the future would be for every single person alive.  He knows who will live and who will die and nothing will stop that process until it has come to its completion.  God is allowing the Anti-Christ to unleash his final fury upon the Earth during the period of the Great Tribulation.  Anyone who professes Christ is in terrible mortal danger.  The faithful in Israel have fled to the only safe haven or sanctuary on the planet.  The next three and one half years will be the most dangerous time in the history of all mankind for the Jews and Christians who are still alive and not in this sanctuary.

And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon (Revelation 13:11).  The Beast secures a companion to help further his agenda.  Scholars refer to him as the False Prophet.  His job seems to be the wide-spread perception that the Anti-Christ should be worshiped as if he were a god.  Is this a whole new world-wide religion that is being instituted by these two individuals?  Could it be the final Islamic End Times Mahdi and his companion, who they call Jesus?  Doubtful.  Could it be an unsaved Roman Catholic Pope who has become so political that his social agendas to "save" the world are outweighing the need of a Savior to save us all?  The Catholic Church currently, at the time of the writing of this book before the Rapture, has as its Pope a man who is a globalist.  The rhetoric that this man has been spouting for years has been that all religions lead to God, the result of which is - a nothing religion that encompasses all religions to the betterment of society - A One World Religion if you will.

If you are living in the end times, you should know who the Anti-Christ is by now.  You’ve read about his character.  You’ve read about his arrogance.  You’ve read about his conquests.  You should know who was responsible for the signing of the Seven Year Peace Treaty between Israel and its surrounding enemies.  You should know who desecrated the Temple of God in Jerusalem three and one half years later.

Don’t be caught off guard by this man’s satanic power.  Do not believe that the lying wonders this False Prophet will perform could indicate that this Beast is a god.  The devil possessed Anti-Christ has a deep desire to be worshiped.  The False Prophet will be supernaturally empowered to perform such wonders only to fool the foolish and unwise into worshiping the Beast.   And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.  And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men… (Revelation 13:12-14).

The Anti-Christ is now in control of many nations and people.  Yet, there is still one big problem – Saints of the one true God.  Many have been killed but there are still thousands if not millions who refuse to abandon their faith in Christ.  They refuse to follow him.  The Beast and False Prophet attempt to solve this problem by two methods – Religious and Economic.  The use of one or both of these methods will serve to efficiently segregate the Saints from the rest of humanity thereby allowing their identities to be known to any religious enforcement entities of the Beast.

The first method will come in the form of a religious edict.  He tells everyone on Earth ...that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.  And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed (Revelation 13:14-15).  Everyone will be required to worship this image or be killed for their defiance.

The second method will be in the form of a mark of some sort.  This could be an implanted microchip or some sort of advanced smart tattoo.  Of course, any number of methods is technologically feasible in this day and age of computers.  This mark may not only be linked to a person’s banking institution but possibly to a national or international identification system.  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name (Revelation 13:16-17).  Before the Rapture, there was a world-wide push to go cashless via the institution of a central bank digital currency.  This would be a programmable form of currency where the banks through government control would be able to determine how and when a person could actually use his money.  In other words, if you don't comply with the system of the Beast by taking the Mark, your money would be easily cut off.

Imagine being an outcast.  Nowhere is safe.  No one is safe to confide in.  You are hungry.  Your kids are starving.  How do you buy food for them?  Do you give in and take the Mark in order to feed yourself and your family?  An angel of the Lord will answer this question by ...saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name (Revelation 14:9-11).

Here is where the patience of the saints will need to be great.  They must endure to the end that has been decreed upon the Earth.  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus (Revelation 14:12).  No matter how bad it gets or how much danger you and your family are in, do not take the Mark.  Doing so may buy yourself and your family some much needed food or healthcare in the short term.  However, it will only secure your future in Hell in the end.  You may actually need to love your family enough to watch them die, rejecting the Mark, so that they may live forever with the Lord.  Think in terms of the long run.  God said that this will be a very trying time for the Saints.  Be patient.  Pray to God for His mercy and the strength to faithfully endure through these dangerous times.  Pray for courage, staying faithful even unto death if necessary.  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them (Revelation 14:13).

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six (Revelation 13:18).  There have been speculations throughout history as to the identity of the Anti-Christ.  The number 666 could refer to any number of things.  It could be a number representing his name.  It could be a number linked to an international identity system.  At the time of this writing no one has the knowledge to determine what it really stands for.  However, after the Rapture of the church, there may be some who will finally crack the code.  Yet, at this point in the Seven Year Tribulation, most should already know who or for what this number stands for.

Chapter 21.

Revelation 14

Great Winepress of the Wrath of God

And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb.  And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God (Revelation 14:1-5).

This group standing with Jesus upon Mount Zion is more than likely the same group of one hundred forty-four thousand spoken of in Revelation Chapter 7.  It is comprised of sealed evangelists who were chosen from each of the twelve tribes of Israel.  Just as the Elders were singing a new song in Revelation Chapter 5, this group is also singing a new song.  This is one that only they can sing.  They are followers of the Lamb of God who is Christ Jesus.  These people were never defiled with women, which many have said is a reference regarding pagan idol worship.  However, more than likely it is a reference to their actual purity as well as their extraordinary devotion, focus and heart for preaching the Gospel of God to the entire world.  It appears that God will grant these men supernatural protection from both God's judgments and the evil schemes of men.

This is a special group of Jewish men that ...were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb.  And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God (Revelation 14:4-5).  After the Rapture, they realized the error of rejecting Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah.  How are they without fault?  In and of themselves they could not have been found without fault of any kind before God.  Only by having their sins covered by the blood of the Lamb could they be counted as without fault.  Only through His righteousness could they have ever been found righteous enough to enter into His Kingdom.  They accepted and acknowledged that the very blood of Jesus bought and paid for their redemption.  No wonder they follow the Lamb wherever He goes.

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters (Revelation 14:6-7).  By way of a loud angelic announcement, a warning is going out to the people of Earth that time is nearly at an end.  The gospel of Christ is being preached all over the world to all of its inhabitants.  They are being told to fear God and give him glory.

And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication (Revelation 14:8).  It is generally accepted that John is referring to the collapse of the one world religion.  The devil possessed Anti-Christ has demanded that all of humanity worship him alone.  He demands their acceptance as a god worthy of their praise and worship.  Oh how he is still attempting to fulfill his great desire of being like the true God in Heaven.  He doesn’t care about the carnage he has caused.  He only cares about his own wicked desire for power and demands men’s praise at the expense of their very souls.

God’s word, however, gives clear warning to those who are on the verge of giving in to the demands of the Beast.  Don’t.  Repent and turn to Jesus as your Savior.  Life will be difficult, but patiently wait upon the Lord - even unto death if necessary.  Remain steadfast in your faith in Jesus, where even death in this world merely ushers you to life with Christ in Heaven.  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus (Revelation 14:9-12).

This will be the most difficult and horrendous time in the history of mankind.  People will be spending long hours, days, weeks and months in pain and suffering.  They will be starving and possibly diseased.  They need help.  They need food.  Their kids are crying and dying.  The Beast has an answer – worship him and take the Mark.  You will then be able to buy food and healthcare.  For those who do not know Christ the answer is a no-brainer.  They will receive their just rewards.

For those who have knowledge of God’s Word and what is written regarding this terrible time in history, the answer is much more distressful.  The Saints who remain faithful will be suffering.  While saints will be seeing beast-worshiping pagans enjoying meals and medicine, they themselves will be experiencing hunger, pain and death.  They will be pursued relentlessly to their martyrdom by this new government of the Anti-Christ.

The only way a person could possibly resist all of this, knowing that death is the consequence of rebellion, is by believing without a shadow of a doubt that there is a real God in Heaven.  He would have to know in his heart that God’s word is true.  He would have to have knowledge of what is written in Revelation.  Why else would he willingly resist taking the Mark and giving his allegiance to this new world leader?  Only by and through a real trust in Jesus will anyone be able to resist.

For countless many, death will be the only end result.  Yet, for these people who have chosen to stand on God’s Word, death is actually a victory.  Death is rest from their immense labor of following Him in this terrible time of the Great Tribulation.  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them (Revelation 14:13).

And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe (Revelation 14:14-15).

God’s time for the ultimate punishments for sin has come.  Nothing can stop it and the end result will be death.  The Earth is filled with unruly sinful God-hating, Beast-loving people.  The people of Earth are literally being thrown into the great winepress of a God who is very angry.  What happens in a winepress?  The clusters of fruit are trampled and trodden.  What is the result?  The blood of the fruit is spilled.  The people of the Earth are the fruit and an enormous amount of blood will be spilled from now until the end of the Great Tribulation.

And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs (Revelation 14:16-20).

Chapter 22.

Revelation 15

Seven Last Plagues Decreed

And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God (Revelation 15:1).

This chapter is an announcement of the coming last seven plagues upon the Earth.  God’s wrath is like a cup filled to the brim.  The Seven Year Tribulation Period from beginning to the end is comprised of the many judgments upon the Earth for its wickedness.  All of these judgments, including these last seven plagues, comprise the wrath that is filling God’s cup.  It starts at the bottom of the cup with the first Seal Judgments then the Trumpet Judgments.  It is topped off with the coming Seven Bowls/Vial Judgments.  The cup of God’s wrath is filled up after these last plagues are completed.

Why is this necessary?  Why does it have to be so bad?  People are cursing God for what is happening upon the Earth.  They curse Him and yet continue to deny Him at the same time.  For thousands of years men have been gently persuaded to come to God and they have mostly refused.  They denied the very existence of an all powerful God.  Now they are experiencing the anger of a God who has had enough.  Men know the truth in their hearts.  These very events they are experiencing are documented in the Word of God, the Bible, and yet they are still too proud and arrogant to accept the truth.

How could anyone living through these judgments actually believe that God is justified in His actions?  Well, as terrible it has been for mankind, even those who have suffered and died for their faith testify to the fact that God is very just and true in all of His ways.  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.   And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.  Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest (Revelation 15:2-4).

We now see that seven angels have emerged from within God’s Temple of the Tabernacle of Testimony in Heaven.  One of the four beasts gives each angel a golden vial full of the Wrath of God.  These are the seven last plagues or what is commonly called the Bowl Judgments.  These angels were clothed in pure white linen which denotes that these judgments are righteous.  And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever (Revelation 15:5-7).

The last of God’s wrath has been set in full motion.  Nothing can stop what has been decreed to happen.  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled (Revelation 15:8).

Chapter 23.

Revelation 16

The Seven Bowl Judgments

And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth (Revelation 16:1).

The First Bowl

The great and terrible judgment of the last seven plagues decreed upon mankind has begun.  It is a make or break time for the people of Earth.  Those who have survived and have not committed to the Anti-Christ may still be able to choose God before it is too late.  For those who have worshiped the Beast and have taken his Mark, there is nothing left but judgment, pain and suffering.  And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image (Revelation 16:2).  God knows who His followers are and isn’t it interesting that only those that are followers of the Beast are afflicted by this judgment.

Millions of people have rejected God by taking the Mark of the Beast.  Millions have also opted to worship him as they were instructed to by the government or because they actually believe him to be a god.  Some believe him to be worthy of such praise because of his position or conquests.  Whatever the case, these multitudes of individuals are now suffering the consequences of their actions.  Each one has been struck with such an awful affliction of painful body sores that they are wailing out in great and noisome cries of agony.

The Second Bowl

 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea (Revelation 16:3).  Earlier in the Tribulation the second Trumpet Judgment had already contaminated a third part of the seas.  Now the rest have been destroyed.

The planet’s oceans are a vital and necessary part of the Earth for many reasons, one of which is a food source.  How many people rely daily upon the seas to provide needed nutrition in their daily diets?  How many people would lose their sources of income if all at once there were no more marine life available to catch?  Three quarters of the Earth has become nothing less than a cesspool of death and disease.  This would impact people on a global scale.  The ramifications of this event are beyond description.

The Third Bowl

And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood (Revelation 16:4).  Now all of the fresh water supplies have been contaminated as if by blood.

And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.  For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.  And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments (Revelation 16:5-7).  The people of Earth have lost their water supply to blood.  Why?  Remember earlier when the Fifth Seal Judgment was opened and ...I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth (Revelation 6:9-10)?  They are being avenged.

With no fresh water left anywhere to be found, every single person on the planet would be immediately affected.  How long can a person survive without fresh water?  Not long.  Thousands, if not millions, could die in a short amount of time after this judgment.

The Fourth Bowl

And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.  And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory (Revelation 16:8-9).  Not only is the Earth’s environment failing catastrophically, the sun itself is delivering a devastating impact upon mankind.  Our own ozone layer may have been depleted to the point of providing very little, if any, protection from the sun’s harmful rays.  It may also be releasing more than the normal amount of particles by way of solar flairs.  Whatever the case, the people on this planet are reeling from the effects of it.

The Fifth Bowl

And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds (Revelation 16:10-11).  The fifth vial is reserved for the kingdom of the beast itself, specifically his area of domain.  Not only are they in severe pain from the sores already inflicted upon them, as well as the lack of water to drink, but these people are now being plunged into utter darkness.  Their judgment for blaspheming God is a very close foretaste of the Hell that they will eventually find themselves in one day after the Wrath of God has run its course.  Even with all of the punishment they are experiencing, they are still intent upon cursing God instead of repenting of their sinful ways.

The Battle of Armageddon

The Sixth Bowl

And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared (Revelation 16:12).  The Beast in all of his fury has set up camp outside of Jerusalem in the Valley known as Megiddo or by its Greek name of Armageddon.  Throughout history the area of Megiddo has been described as being very militarily strategic.  It has been the location of many famous battles.

The first ever “recorded” battle was in Megiddo.  It occurred in 1478 BC between the armies of the Egyptian Pharaoh, Thutmose III, and a large contingent of Canaanites.  Another battle was fought there in 609 BC between the Egyptian Pharaoh, Necho II, and the Kingdom of Judah.  King Josiah fell in that battle.

However, most interesting is the Megiddo battle of 1918 during World War I.  Allied Troops led by General Edmund Allenby battled successfully against the Ottoman army.  What became of this battle and the overall result of World War I?  The Balfour Declaration which eventually led to the modern country of Israel.

How can a person not see that all of these events that have occurred throughout all of mankind’s history have had a plan and purpose?  How can anyone still not believe that there is a God who is in complete control of every event in human history and who also knows the end result?  He documented it for us and it is unfolding like a drama right before our very eyes.  How can men still refuse to see the truth of God’s Word?  How can they continue to ignore it?

And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.  And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon (Revelation 16:13-16).

As we learned in our studies of Daniel and Zechariah, the armies of the Earth are gathering for a great battle.  The kings of the east now have a clear path in which to travel toward Israel by way of the dried up Euphrates river.  Could this be many millions of troops from the Asian countries such as China?  It is more likely to be millions from all over the Earth who are assembling for this fight.  They have been supernaturally enticed to this place to participate in the very last battle of mankind.

At the beginning of these Bowl Judgments, we were told that ...the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs (Revelation 14:19-20).  The vine has been gathered from all over the Earth to this valley of Megiddo and the slaughter has begun.  The bloodshed from this great battle will be nothing like the world has ever seen. 

The Seventh Bowl

And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done (Revelation 16:17).  Once the last vial was poured out upon the Earth, God declared that it is now finished.  The full cup of His Wrath has now been unleashed upon the Earth.

And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.  And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found (Revelation 16-18-20).  This earthquake and the subsequent dividing of the city of Jerusalem is possibly the same as was spoken of in Zechariah Chapter 14.

With this last Judgment the Earth is literally being ripped apart.  Imagine an earthquake that is world-wide in its scope.  It is of such intensity that islands disappeared and mountains all over Earth were leveled.  The only thing that could possibly be holding our planet together now is God Himself.

Finally, There fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great (Revelation 16:21).  The world has done nothing but blaspheme God and the biblical penalty for blasphemy is death by stoning.  Approximately one hundred pound chunks of ice will complete the final phase of the seventh bowl of God’s Wrath.  They will rain down upon the people of Earth a last devastating blow.  The damage they will cause to anyone still alive will be exceedingly great.

How could it be possible that anyone has survived these latest events?  Many will, but many thousands and millions will have surely died.  There will have been many who literally cried out for death to come swiftly during these judgments because of the shear terror of the events that were happening.  Yet what they needed to do was cry out in repentance to God asking for His mercy to give them the strength to overcome.  Yet they continued to blaspheme Him right up to the very end of their lives.

How quickly or in what span of time did these last seven devastating events occur?  Remember, they had to have happened sometime during the second half of the Great Tribulation which was only three and one half years in length.  During that time, the Anti-Christ had broken the Seven Year Treaty and then marched into Jerusalem to defile the Temple of God.  He also was responsible for setting up a system of Government and Religion in order to secure men’s worship, as well as to weed out Christians and Jews, for murder.

Seven years, while living through it, can seem like a very long time.  How we perceive time is based upon many factors.  Events that we are currently experiencing can make the passing of time seem shorter or longer.  Many catastrophic events, all of which are occurring in rapid succession, may make this period of time slip by very quickly.  However, other things like day to day pain and agony can cause the whole time to just drag on endlessly.

The horrific nature of the last seven Bowl Judgments seems to signify that they must have occurred very close to the end of the Great Tribulation period itself, and in very rapid succession.  If God Himself had not stepped in and stopped it, no one could possibly have survived.  The damage to the Earth would not have allowed it to further sustain life.  Mankind would have ceased to exist.  Yet, He did stop the Judgments.  The time of the Great Tribulation finally comes to an end, but the end has not yet come.

Chapter 24.

Revelation 17, 18, 19

A Heavenly Summation of Events

John was given the rather arduous chore of attempting to mentally process this vision of the future and then to write it down in words that somehow made sense.  He was seeing technologies that, in his day and time, had very few words to describe.  He was being shown earthly events as well as their counter Heavenly events.  Many have read Revelation and attempted to fit every passage of that book into a chronological order of events with the other verses before them.  This simply cannot be done in all cases.   John was given more than one perspective regarding certain events.  Other times he was told about the details of a certain occurrence entirely from beginning to end, which spanned several years.  The narrative would then jump back to the previous point in time as it continued on.

Revelation 17-19 seems to be a Heavenly Summation of the events that have just transpired during the mid to later parts of the Great Tribulation.  God gives John a graphical explanation of the one world religious system, or the whore that the peoples and nations of the world committed to during the reign of the Anti-Christ known as the Beast.  It describes the ten kings who agreed with and gave over their kingdoms to the Beast.  It tells of the great city that was destroyed, which many believe to be the actual rebuilt city of Babylon that was to be utterly annihilated because of its pure evil.  It's quite possible, however, that Babylon in this context is actually in reference to the Beast's kingdom.

So much can be read, and has been read, into these passages that may or may not be true.  Whole books have been written about how this great city refers to America.  Yet, nothing in the rest of prophecy seems to point toward anything outside of the Middle-Eastern area.  If we maintain the perspective that this is a real summation of the events we have already studied, it makes more sense.

Throughout these passages God is imploring believers to stand apart from everyone else and to strive for His righteousness.  There are real consequences for failure to do so, especially during the tribulation.  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues (Revelation 18:4).  When a person is warned to flee from a certain behavior or even a place, then it is best to do so.  The time of the Tribulation is no time to be flirting with sin.  It is a time for real commitment and only those who stand fast on God’s word will have the strength to overcome.

Believers are warned to flee the Anti-Christ’s kingdom and the seat of his power.  They are told to not participate in the sinful living found there or they will experience the coming plagues.  Eventually, in a cataclysmic event ...a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all (Revelation 18:21).  The Anti-Christ’s kingdom has been crushed.

And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.  And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.  And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia (Revelation 19:1-4).  All of Heaven rejoices over the judgment of the whore.  The blood of God’s servants who were murdered during that world-wide religious and governmental reign has finally been avenged.

Marriage Supper of the Lamb

And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.  And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God (Revelation 19:5-9).

This longed for and awaited event is finally transpiring.  The Marriage Supper of the Lamb is a wonderful and Glorious celebration between Christ and all who are in Christ.  It is synonymous of a great Wedding Feast – this one between the Lamb, Jesus, and His bride, the Church.  Jesus, in Matthew 25, illustrated this event in one of His great parables which also reminded all of mankind about the need for constant preparedness.

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.  And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.  They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps (Matthew 25:1-4).  The wise prepared themselves by accepting Christ as their personal Savior and lived their lives from then on for Him.  The foolish did not.

While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.  And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.  Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.  And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.   But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut (Matthew 25:5-10).  When the Rapture occurred, the wise left this Earth to meet Christ in the air.  The foolish were wholly unprepared and unfit to partake in this event and, therefore, were left behind to face the consequences of disobedience.

Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.  But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.  Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh (Matthew 25:11-13).  As did happen after the Rapture, many cried out for the Lord to take them along with the others.  Yet, they had been warned.  God told them repeatedly in the scriptures to be prepared by repenting and accepting Him as their Lord and Savior.  We were told to be examples and disciples to the whole world, preaching His Holy Word to the lost that they might be saved and found worthy to enter His Kingdom.  He told them that He would come without warning as a thief in the night, and to always be prepared for His call.

Those that were wise, the bride/church, are now partaking in a glorious celebration between themselves and the Bridegroom/Christ/Lamb.  To further help understand this event, one must have a concept of what the wedding customs were like at the time Christ walked the Earth two thousand years ago.

A wedding was composed of three major parts – a contract, a betrothal period and then a marriage supper.  The marriage contract was usually signed by the parents of both the bride and bridegroom.  The bride’s parents would pay a dowry to the bridegroom or to his parents.

The two then entered the betrothal period of approximately one year.  At some point after that time had expired, the groom's father would tell him to go get his bride.  The bridegroom and his friends would go to the bride’s house at midnight lighting their way through the streets by torches.  The bride may not have known what day this would occur, but when it did, she and her maidens were prepared to join in the parade that ended back at the bridegroom’s home.

These two and all those who were ready and prepared for the event then partook in the next step, which was the marriage supper.  The bride was prepared to leave when the bridegroom came and she was worthy to be called his bride.  The Church was prepared to leave with Christ when He came at the Rapture and was worthy to be called the Bride of Christ and to celebrate at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

The Great Tribulation - Armageddon

A Heavenly Perspective

As stated earlier, the flow of Revelation is not necessarily chronological by date by order of occurrence of the scripture itself.  John, at times, gives us different perspectives of the same events.  During the Great Tribulation, we already learned of God treading the great winepress of His Wrath upon mankind.  We already learned of the Battle of Armageddon.  In those earlier scripture verses we were given an earthly glimpse of the events that were occurring.  Now, however, we are given a short Heavenly perspective of what is happening during those last few years of the Tribulation, the Battle of Armageddon, as well as the fate of the Beast, False Prophet and Satan himself.

John said that he ...saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean (Revelation 19:11-14).  Jesus leads a mighty army of redeemed saints, the Church, toward Earth to fulfill the final judgments upon mankind, as the the Anti-Christ and his armies are preparing for war with God Himself upon the plains of Megiddo.

Yet, who could possibly stand defiant against the One that from ...his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS (Revelation 19:15-16)?  None, of course, for John then ...saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;  That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great (Revelation 19:17-18).  Jesus knew in advance that He would be victorious even before the battle had begun.  John then sees ...the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army (Revelation 19:19).

In Daniel we learned that the Anti-Christ is defeated by none other than God Himself and not by human hands.  Jesus Himself defeats the Anti-Christ destroying his earthly kingdom on Earth forevermore.  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.  And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh (Revelation 19:20-21).

The Beast and the False Prophet are, for all intents and purposes, dead, but alive and burning in the hellish Lake of Fire forever more.  The fouls that Jesus had previously called to the scene of Armageddon are now gorging themselves upon the flesh of millions of the dead who dared to defy Christ.

Chapter 25.

Revelation 20

Judgment Day

At the end of the Seven Year Tribulation the Anti-Christ and the False Prophet are thrown alive into the Lake of Fire, but what about the fate of Satan himself? John said that he ...saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season (Revelation 20:1-3).

The devil will be bound and imprisoned in some sort of void, secluded from all others, unable to tempt anyone for one thousand years.  Will this prevent sin from infecting mankind?  Does it really take the influence of the Devil exclusively to cause men to acquire an unclean heart?

In this Chapter, John again needs to describe events that will span over a great amount of time – ten centuries in this case.  This time frame is commonly referred to as “the Millennium.”  John starts off by briefly describing who will live and reign with Jesus over the next one thousand years.  These people are going to be Old Testament believers, the Church and those that were martyred and died during the Tribulation.  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years (Revelation 20:4-6).

John then skips to the end of those ten centuries where he describes the events that occur after the devil is temporarily released.  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them (Revelation 20:7-9).  What has happened?  Why was the devil released to again cause havoc on the Earth?  Well, as bad as the Earth had been decimated and nearly destroyed toward the end of the Tribulation period, many upon the Earth survived.  Many of these were believers and many were not.  Those who were unbelievers were ushered away from this Earth to await judgment.  The point is, however, not all died, and believing mortals remained to enter what is called the Millennial Reign Of Christ. The Earth will change, physically, morally, ethically under the new rule of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem.  Nations will rise and populations will vastly increase over the course of the next one thousand years.

However, mankind is still sinful at heart.  Even though Christ is with them physically, sin will still spread like an infectious cancer within the hearts of mankind.  Even though the people of Earth have and will witness unimaginable wonders by the hand of Jesus, mankind will still, as did the devil of old, desire powers of their own.  They will be jealous and rebellious at heart and when the Devil is loosed, their true natures and alliances will be uncovered.  This time, however, when they have gathered against the Lord, God simply destroys them all.  Lucifer is then thrown into Hell’s fire where he will never torment mankind ever again. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever (Revelation 20-10).

Did those that were living during the Millennium need an outside influence such as the Devil or Anti-Christ to entice them to sin?  No.  There was no excuse whatsoever.  They were here with the Lord God himself and they still succumbed to their own sinful natures.  They were still sinners who needed to respectfully fear a living God enough to repent and turn from their own desires.  They needed to call upon Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

The Great White Throne Judgment

The time has finally come for which God’s people have been warning sinners about for thousands of years.  God as Judge is on His Throne, a Great White Throne, and His countenance is such that nothing can stand to hold His gaze, for literally the Heavens and Earth disappear before Him.  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them (Revelation 20:11).

If only men throughout the ages would have not been so shortsighted during their lifetimes.  If only they had persevered to peer down through the ages to catch a glimpse of their final destinies.  This whole scenario had been literally played out like a movie, right before their very eyes in the scriptures of the Bible.  Yet they chose to ignore it as a fictional fantasy.  Why?  Lifestyle.  They desired sin more than they desired to adhere to God’s standards of living.  They committed sin and they will now receive their “just” rewards.  God is a “just” God and justice will now be served.

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works (Revelation 20:12-13).

Our lives were never private.  We were never out of sight from a living God. We had no secrets that He did not know.  For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad (Luke 8:17).  He was always there and aware of everything that we did, thought, felt and desired.  In fact, it was all recorded as evidence to our own condemnation at this final Judgment where the Law of God will be used to lawfully condemn all sinners of their crimes of sinning against God.  At this trial, sinners will be convicted by their own works of lawlessness written in these books.  They will not possess by any good works of their own the necessary righteousness to escape punishment for their acts of sin.

However, the Lamb's Book of Life contains the names of all who had previously admitted to their own guilt.  They had repented of their sins by asking Jesus to forgive them.  They accepted His payment of death on the cross to cover them with His righteousness for all of eternity.  Through the righteousness of Jesus alone, the people who have their names written in that book will not be found guilty of their own acts of sin against God for they have been forgiven.  In fact, these individuals will not participate in this particular judgment at all.

All of those guilty sinners on trial above will fully understand their guilt.  They will equally understand their sentence of death in Hell.  Their names were not found in the Lamb's Book of Life.  They never accepted Jesus as their Savior and turned from their sins.  They will all now bow down before Him, but it will be too late.  Their sentences have been given And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14-15).

Chapter 26.

Revelation 21 and 22

New Beginnings

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son (Revelation 21:1-7).

After the experience of the Tribulation this is genuinely like a breath of fresh air.  These final two chapters of Revelation are absolutely breathtaking in their description of life for believers at the end of the age.  There is, however, some debate as to whether or not these chapters refer to the Millennial Reign of Christ or to life after that or maybe to a mixture of both.  Yet, whatever the case, it is magnificent and glorious and definitely worth dying for, or more to the point, living in Christ for the privilege of partaking in its splendor.  Only we who overcome this world by accepting Jesus as our Savior will be allowed to enter into this future Kingdom of God.

I implore each and everyone to read for themselves these last two chapters of the Word of God.  Let its beauty and truth build in you the desire for God.  Let it fill you with the strength to live like there is a Kingdom to come.  Let this revelation of the future give you the strength to do what is right in the face of ridicule and temptation.  Let it give you the surety that God cares about even the most trivial aspect of your life and that He alone can give you the strength to live your life in a way that reflects the assurance that you have of living in a future Kingdom of God.

Chapter 27.

Now is the Time of Decision and of Evangelizing the Lost

If you haven’t yet made a decision for Christ then all I can say is, “You have been warned.”  God’s Word is true and He has provided so much historical/prophetic evidence of that fact that only the foolhardy would choose to ignore it.  Sadly, for billions, that is the case.  God has literally gone out of His way throughout history to document our future by way of prophecy and examples.  Please don’t ignore God’s Word.  Accept it for what it really is – truth.  Accept Christ Jesus as your Savior before it is too late.

For those of us who have chosen to be saved by faith in Jesus, we are now called to be ambassadors for Christ in our daily living.  We are called to evangelize, and for most, that comes in the form of showing the world how we live for Christ through our daily lives.  We need to be a reflection of the life that is in us.  We do this by letting Christ help us live the life He has chosen for us.  If we call ourselves Christians and then live lawlessly as does the rest of the world, how can we then ask others to live as we do?  Yet, even Christians still need to be vigilant in guarding their hearts and minds from evil throughout their lives.  Sure, true Christians are covered by the Blood of Christ, but it is still necessary for them to behave in such a manner as to not offend non-believers.  That is, don’t live in such a way that your life does not reflect the God that lives in you.

For many it is the fear of being called a fanatic that keeps us from avoiding certain secular activities that are not within the scope of God’s Will.  Be honest. Are you afraid to be different than the rest of the world and therefore avoid telling anyone about Christ, even your closest friends and family members?  Are you a Christian?

True Christians can see the flames and are fanatical about evangelizing the lost, especially those closest to them - their own family members.  A Christian would endure all of the ridicule and embarrassment of being a so called “fanatic” in order to teach his children of Christ.  He would endeavor with all that is in him to open their eyes to see the truth of Heaven and Hell.  If you have never done this, then you must examine yourself as to whether or not you are truly a faithful Christian or even a Christian at all.

Have courage and tell your loved ones that the Bible says all men have sinned and have come short of the Glory of God.  Explain to them that all men are condemned already to Hell for their sin and that, consequently, all men need a Savior to deliver them from this terrible judgment.  Help them understand that there is a wonderful person that is willing to actually take their place at that future trial?  Tell them that He is the only one worthy enough to do this because He is perfect and free of any guilt of His own.  Tell them that God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16-18).  Tell them His name is Jesus, the very Son of God.

Get personal and explain to your child or to a friend that... “Before you were ever born Jesus had you specifically in mind and already knew that you were going to be found guilty of sinning against God on Judgment Day.  Yet, He still loved you so much that He resolved within Himself to take your place at this trial.  But first Jesus had to live a completely sinless life free of any guilt that could condemn Him.  He had to die as an innocent man on the cross.  Just as you were to be sentenced to death in Hell for your own sin charges, Jesus died on that cross taking your sin debt to the grave with Him. Therefore, by asking Him to forgive you and to become your Savior, you can no longer be charged with these crimes.  If you let Him, there will come one future day when Jesus as your Savior will stand between you and God declaring your innocence.  He will say that your sin charges have already been paid for by His own death.  You will be pronounced innocent, not by your own righteousness but by being clothed in His Righteousness – the Righteousness of God.”

So, are you a Christian?  Examine yourself by God’s standards alone.  Attending church, having Godly parents, reading the Bible occasionally, does not automatically make you a Christian.  It can, unfortunately, instill a person with just enough arrogance as to not allow him to seek advice or to listen further to any Christian teaching.  God despises arrogance.  It is un-teachable and unreachable.  It is too proud to be broken.  Yet, men need to be broken in order to accept Jesus as their Savior.  They need to realize that they are sinners.  They need to feel a genuine regret and sorrow for breaking the laws of God.  They need to be broken to the point that they have a respectful fear of a loving God who has not only died for them but has the power to condemn them to Hell for breaking His laws and not accepting Jesus’ sin debt payment for their crimes.

Yet, even a very devout Christian is not, and probably will not remain a perfect person for the remainder of their lives.  Christians still, in fact, need to repent often for slipups in their behavior.  However, you will not need to live a life afraid of being condemned to Hell for sin.  Remember, it is not by your own righteousness that you can enter into God’s Kingdom.  It is only by the righteousness of Jesus that you have been given the free gift of everlasting life.  This gives Christians the liberty of feeling free from the guilt of sin because Jesus was already convicted and found guilty of their sin charges long ago.

Yet with the liberty in Christ that you now possess, you still need to live with an attitude of fearful respect for your Savior, not using God’s Grace as a liberty to deliberately sin.  However, if you do, repent, turn away and fall on your knees asking for forgiveness. Jesus already paid for your past, present and future transgressions on the Cross at Calvary. Let it go and let God lead and direct your paths in all that you do throughout your entire life.

In the end, at that future trial, you will not be able to use the excuse of living your so called Christianity vicariously through another person, such as a Godly parent.  You will not be able to plead your case by announcing that you have merely read the Book, because if you had truly listened to its contents, you would have accepted its author as your Savior and friend.  God makes the whole religious experience very personal between Himself and you. He died alone on that cross personally for you.  He loved you so much that in death He was able to transfer your very own guilt onto Himself to carry to the grave.  He was beaten and bruised for your iniquities and could literally have called ten thousand angels to rescue Him at any time.  Yet He chose to suffer for you - to die for you.  He made it all very personal just for you.

Don’t turn away.  Accept His gift.  It is free to all the broken and lost in sin who genuinely call upon His name asking for forgiveness of their sins.  His gift of Eternal life in His Kingdom is waiting for all who do.  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23).

Chapter 28.

Conclusion

In the introduction, I said that I hoped that this book would rightly guide you to the truth and understanding of why you were left behind.  I hope you now realize that it was because of your sin.  You missed the Rapture because you had not accepted Jesus’ payment for your sin debt.  Therefore, you were still guilty of committing the crimes of breaking God’s Laws and sinning against God.  You were not fit to enter His Kingdom.  Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  And that is what some of you were... (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

If you have gotten this far in the book and are still wrestling with whether or not you have a need to accept Christ’s payment for your sins, then you desperately need to realize that you are condemned.  You are a sinner.  You are condemned right now.  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23-26).  If you die right now, without Christ, you will face God’s Wrath and Judgment and you will be cast into Hell as punishment for sinning against God.  For those that are in Hell the Bible says that there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth over their decisions to not choose Christ.  After the Judgment you will be thrust into this Hell where there will be nothing that will ever quench the flames that will forever burn and yet not consume your very being.

At the time of God’s Judgment the Bible says in Revelation 20:13-15 that ...the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.  Remember, no amount of good works can make you innocent of sin.  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.  This is the second death.  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

This is the Great White Throne Judgment that will occur for all of those who have died without Christ as their personal Savior.  If you have placed your trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ and have had your name permanently placed in the Lamb's Book of Life, you will not take part in this trial for your Savior Jesus Christ has already paid for your crimes by dying on that cross.  If you haven’t chosen Christ, you will have no other recourse but to admit your guilt.  When you are standing there before the Almighty God with all of your sin charges exposed with absolutely no excuses left, you will finally bow down in all of your shame and brokenness to proclaim that Jesus is Lord.  Yet, it will be too late.  There will be no Savior to save you.  You will be cast into Hell.  Your eternal life from then on will be more frightening than anyone could ever imagine.  Hell will be a place where there is no escape from despair, anguish and torture.  Don’t wait a second longer.  Choose now your final destination of Heaven or Hell.  You have only these two choices.  Life never ends.  Choose Christ and live.

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.  This is the second death.   And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10-15).

Prepare yourself now for God’s coming Kingdom by repenting of your sins and choosing Christ as your Savior.  Live your life, no matter how difficult it becomes, as God commands you to.  Read and study the Bible so that you will know what God expects as your reasonable conduct in daily living.  If God so loved you that He died and took upon Himself the very evil that you have committed in order that you could be justified and found innocent of those horrific acts of sin, then what should be your reasonable service to Him?  Obedience.  You should be so grateful to God for His merciful death in your place that you would wholeheartedly strive to be obedient.  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:1-2).  Should this be too much to ask for since He loved you so much that He died such a horrific death in your place?  He willingly took your sins to the grave so that you would never be condemned for them yourself.  He died that you would live.  So then, live in grateful obedience thanking Him continually for His mercy.  In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome (1 John 5:13).

Therefore, in grateful obedience to God, prepare for death and/or His next coming by accepting Him as Savior of your life.  Then, because of what He has done for you, let that motivate you to live a Holy and Righteous life.  So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control.  Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.  So you must live as God's obedient children.  Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires.  You didn't know any better then.  But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.  For the Scriptures say, You must be holy because I am holy (1 Peter 1:13-16).  Read the entire Bible and let His Words guide you in your journey toward an eternity with Him.  Read the Proverbs to learn about wisdom in living.  Read the Gospels to learn of Jesus' birth/life/death/ascension and from the very words He spoke when He walked among men.  Read the letters that God inspired the Apostles to write for they contain a wealth of information regarding salvation, repentance, faith, and your walk with God.  Study the prophecies.  If you are saved, then they will provide comfort for they foretell of your future home in God’s Kingdom.  If you are not saved, then all I can say now is, please, get “Prepared for the Kingdom.” 

 

v4 - 12/16/2024