ESCHATOLOGY 101 DIFFICULTIES

by Jesse Johnson

 

Why is eschatology a difficult topic? Consider: there are three views on the return of Christ as it relates to the millennial kingdom. Either Jesus will return before the kingdom or after the kingdom, or that there is no millennial kingdom. That pretty much covers all of the bases right there. Moreover, when you look through church history, you see all three of those views advanced by major theologians. Why isn’t this easier?
The same tension is true inside of premillennialism. You have those who think the rapture is before the tribulation, those who see it as occurring during the tribulation, and those that see it at the end. Why can’t MacArthur and Piper simply meet at Starbucks and sort this out for the rest of us?
I think there are a two main reasons studying eschatology is difficult:  1. The complexity of church history. As I noted, there are famous pastors and theologians all over the eschatological map. Thus, people on all sides often appeal to authority, as in “Jonathan Edwards was the greatest theologian ever, and he was post-mil, so there.” I call this the “Confessions Can’t be Possibly be Wrong” syndrome.
The problem with it of course is that all of the views have their adherents. It is easy to forget that people—even our heroes in church history—are products of their time and their own education. Every era has its own theological blind spots, and some of those remain even to this day.

2. The difficulty of telescoping prophecy. Prophecy tells of future events, but it often does not distinguish between future events that may be separated by thousands of years. The most obvious example of this is Isaiah 61, which describes the advent of the Messiah. Isaiah tells us that he will come to preach the good news to the afflicted and proclaim liberty to the captives. Jesus said that he fulfilled that prophecy. But then Isaiah 61:2 says that the Messiah would also proclaim the day of Vengeance from God. When Jesus read the scroll of Isaiah 61 in Luke 4:18, he stopped in the middle of the verse, declaring that some of it was fulfilled at his first coming, and implying that the rest would be fulfilled at his second coming.
This effect is often compared to the similar illusion you have of mountain peaks. From a distant valley two peaks appear to be next to each other, but once you begin hiking, you realize that they might in fact be several miles apart. From a distance they looked parallel, but on top of them you see a huge valley between.
This same effect is in prophecy. Daniel tells of 70 weeks for example, and the first 7 and the second 62 are end-on-end. But it is that 70^th one that lies on the other side of over 2,000 years. Isaiah describes the kingdom and the eternal state, two events that I think are separated by 1,000 years, but he often flows from one to the other seamlessly.
This effect makes the study of prophecy anything but an exact science. Scripture is clear as to the future events, and we know that they will be fulfilled down to the exact detail (as was prophecy at the Messiah’s first coming), but it becomes difficult to sort out the precise order of all future events.
Yetwith that said, I hasten to add that scripture is perspicuous, and while the exact order of all future events is prophetic and thus slightly veiled, there is enough revelation to discern a general framework.
Which is why I am comfortable calling myself premillennial and pretribulational. The teaching of the Bible is such that I have never really been able to understand how someone could reject the reality of the millennial kingdom, and the weight of a few passages compels me to see the return of Christ before that kingdom. That’s not to say that I know all the details of the kingdom, but I am more than comfortable saying that I thinks Scripture is clear on the issue.
As for the rapture, because of the difficulty of prophetic passages, I understand why all three major rapture views (pre-trib, pre-wrath, and post-trib) have problem passages. They involve the timing of future events, and those events are often described in contexts where prophecy is telescoped, and it remains unclear precisely how all the details will line up.  However, I am still confident with saying that the best understanding of the verses that speak of a rapture points to one that is pretribulational.
Next week I’ll lay out my positive argument for that view.

Related Posts

• 4 Honest Questions About the Millennial Kingdom
• Eschatology 101--definitions

THE END OF THE AGE OF GRACE IS AT HAND

- By Carl Worline -http://www.raptureready.com/soap/worline7.html

I am not a prophet. In-fact, I do not even have the gift of prophecy. Instead, I am a Christian who reads the news each day, including the prophetic news websites and I consider myself a "watcher on the wall."

As such, I feel the need to sound the alarm. The signs in the world today all point to the end of the Age of Grace and to the imminent arrival of the Rapture. We are, quite literally, in the very last moments of the opportunity that mankind has to find salvation through repentance of sin and faith in Jesus as the Savior of the world. At this moment eternal life in heaven with Jesus is a free gift. Very soon now that will change. Salvation will still be attainable, but at a very high price.

The vast majority of people seem to feel exceptionally uncomfortable when I mention the word "Rapture." Perhaps this is because date setters, such as Harold Camping, have all been wrong in the past and have lost all of their credibility. I tend to believe that people today are uncomfortable with any mention of the Rapture and the end of the Age of Grace, because they have a well-founded fear deep in their soul that something really big is about to happen and they know that they are going to be left behind to face a horrible fate of some kind.

There are signs out there that flood us with warnings that the end of the Age of Grace is here. In fact, there are so many signs that it is becoming all but impossible to see the road on which we are traveling. Every person on this planet has been impacted by these signs in one way or another. Let's take a look at a few of the signs that have occurred recently. Space does not permit me to list them all or to delve very deeply into specifics, but we can certainly look at some of the major signs of the time.

The earth, itself, is groaning. Our weather is nothing less than freakish. It seems that every place that is not experiencing a drought is under water from floods of biblical proportions. Freak hailstorms now seem routine. Dormant volcanoes all over the planet are coming back to life as we see a major up-tick in earthquakes. Tornadoes have become super-sized and almost seem to have a mind of their own at times - a mind that does not seem to like us very much. Wildfires appear much more frequently and also seem to be much more destructive. Natural disasters displaced 32.4 million people in 2012.

Incidents of mass-animal die-offs are averaging more than two per day. Strange, creepy, and very loud sounds are being hard over large areas and nobody has been able to explain them, or even discern the direction they are coming from. The earth's magnetic poles are moving at an accelerated rate while sinkholes are popping up in diverse places around the world.

Despite so many floods, water is becoming scarce. One-third of the world's population has limited access to fresh water. Most of the major rivers in the world are experiencing reduced rates of flow. Egypt is ready to go to war with Ethiopia over the Nile. The Colorado River, the High Plains Aquifer, and the entire western half of the United States, are rapidly drying up.

There are many signs in the heavens. Large meteors and fireballs are hitting the earth. Solar flares are unusually intense. Solar and lunar eclipses, complete with blood moons, are occurring and they are occurring on Jewish feast days. Near misses by asteroids now occur on a seemingly regular basis. A huge chunk of space rock recently struck the moon and produced an impact so large it was visible from earth without a telescope. God told us in the first chapter of Genesis that He put the stars, planets, and moon in the heavens as signs for us. Perhaps we should believe Him and look up once in awhile.

The stars remain fixed in their relationship to one another as the planets wander through them, telling a story that is constantly changing (and often difficult to interpret). Later this month the Star of David planetary alignment will occur for the last time leading up to the Tetrad of blood moons that will occur in 2014 - 2015 and will not occur again for another century. What exactly does this mean, or is it just a coincidence?

There is a huge increase in sickeningly evil acts throughout the world, just as Jesus said there would be. I will not list examples here. They are too horrible to think about. How could mankind have become so grotesque in its inhumanity?

Islam has experienced a rabidly intolerant worldwide awakening. Muslims slaughter Christians and Jews for the most seemingly trivial of excuses while demanding that the world accept Sharia law with all of its cruelty. The cruelty of Islam intensifies daily with each new act seemingly more cruel and inhuman than the last.

Christian persecution has increased to the point that Christianity is literally threatened with extinction in many areas of the world. The Vatican just declared that 100,000 people are killed each year for their Christian beliefs. North Korea alone has imprisoned an estimated 70,000 people for being a Christian. The Christian population of the Holy Land is rapidly heading toward extinction, as is the rest of the Middle East as well.

Egypt's Christians face arson, beatings, and forced conversion among the upheavals. Here at home in the United States an Arizona pastor was just imprisoned for holding a Bible study in his home. He was sentenced to 60 days, plus 3 years probation, plus a $12,180 fine. However, it is not a crime to have an unlimited number of buddies over to watch a football game on TV while drinking as much beer, wine, or hard liquor as one can consume.

Christian fundamentals are crumbling. Upon his confirmation as the new pope,

Francis dedicated his reign to Mary and promised redemption for the "good atheists." Lutherans have elected their first gay bishop. The Church of Scotland has voted to allow gay ministers. The Church of England has formally given up the fight against gay marriage. In the UK there are more people who believe in aliens than believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The White House has formed a petition to ban teaching creationism and intelligent design in schools. The rising new religion of Chrislam is replacing the one true God with the Islamic god known as Allah. Blasphemy and mocking abound as Hollywood releases two new movies ridiculing the Rapture. Saint Malachy's pope number 112 has come to power as lightning strikes Saint Peter's Basilica (twice). Meanwhile a pro-abortion mob chants "God is dead," and "Hail Satan," on the steps of the Texas Legislature during a session considering legislation to save unborn children.

Anti-Semitism is increasing across Europe once again, as well as on college campuses around the world.

Homosexuality is not only becoming legalized, but is becoming morally acceptable all over the world. Those who believe it is wrong are accused of being the ones who have the mental disease or defect. Brazil has paved the way for gay marriage. France has become the fourteenth country to legalize gay weddings. Cubans are holding marches to protest "homophobia." Tel Aviv recently had a turnout of 100,000 for a gay pride parade. In France, mandatory sex education for 6 year olds aims to shift the perception of traditional biological roles.

A former police officer was just arrested in the UK for publicly stating that he believes homosexuality to be a sin. Third-graders introduced President Obama at an LGBT pride event at the White House in June. A Milwaukee school held a "gender-bender" day where boys came dressed as girls, and girls came dressed as boys. A children's television network has launched a transsexual superhero show. The Boy Scouts of America voted to accept gay youths and then marched in a gay pride parade in Salt Lake City. Not to be out done, over 90 Girl Scouts marched in a gay pride parade in San Francisco.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled against the Defense of Marriage Act, and also ruled in such a manner as to allow gay marriages to resume in California. The bells of our National Cathedral in Washington D.C. rang for joy as celebrations broke out in major cities around the world regarding our Supreme Court's decision. It would almost seem that our highest court has become the mouthpiece of the homosexual cause.

Our Pentagon held a formal ceremony to celebrate our gay troops, declaring our nation to be a safer place because of them. Oklahoma suffered two F5 tornadoes after proclaiming that their state homosexual pride week would begin at 4 PM on Pentecost. And in Seattle, gay pride participants viciously beat a Christian street preacher.

The rise of sexual perversion defies imagination. The White House marked Mothers Day by celebrating birth control. Recent legislation allows 15-year-old girls to purchase the morning after pill without parental permission or knowledge. The California legislature passed the kindergarten through 12th grade transgender rights bill that allows children to use whatever bathroom, or shower room they identify with.

Wars and rumors of wars seem to be at an all-time fever pitch. Chemical weapons have been used in the Middle East. Syria and Israel are exchanging fire in the Golan Heights while Assad has announced that he is serious about opening a new front against Israel.   Conservative reports estimate that 100,000 have been killed so far in Syria's civil war. The Syrian conflict has spread to Lebanon. Russia has been taking an increasingly active interest in Syria, sending Assad ship killing missiles. Iran has sent 4,000 of their top troops to Syria.

Egypt and Jordan have expelled their ambassadors from Israel. Muslims are turning against Muslims in many places such as Turkey and Syria. Egypt has cut all ties with Syria and closed the embassy in Cairo, and has withdrawn the Egyptian envoy from Damascus because of Hezbollah's aggression in the Syrian conflict. Australia has abandoned the Golan Heights. Egypt teeters on the brink of civil war after Mohammad Morsi's overthrow. A recent anti-Muslim Brotherhood protest in Egypt was the largest political event ever in world history. And finally, North Korea continues with its short- range missile tests and threatens nuclear war with the United States.

The economy of the entire world is a house of cards in which the financial system of one bankrupt nation artificially holds up another using imaginary currency that exists only in the electronic memory of world banking computers. Such a Ponzi scheme cannot last forever, and it is nothing short of a supernatural miracle that is has been able to last this long. Taxes on the wealthy in France top 100 percent. Cypress has already confiscated a large chunk of the bank accounts of their wealthy. Suspicious sales of gold have caused the price to plunge. The Eurozone is now in the midst of its longest recession ever.

In Greece 65.5 percent of young people are out of work. In Spain it is 56.4 percent. In Portugal it is 42.5 percent. And in Italy 40.5 percent of young people are out of work. The financial system in Japan is beginning to spin wildly out of control. The dreaded "Hindenburg Omen" appeared in the stock market during the first week of June. Egyptians have never been in such dire economic straits. America's mortgage rates have just taken their largest jump in 26 years.

Our military is shutting down due to budget cutbacks. We have aircraft carriers sitting in port because we cannot afford to fix them. One-third of our Air Force has been shut down because we cannot afford to continue training. Recent reports to our Congress speak of "rot" in the ranks of our nuclear launch corp. An average of 22 veterans commit suicide each day─as well as an average of more than one active duty soldier each day. Sexual assaults are up 35 percent since 2010. Military members are punished for their Christian beliefs and our president threatens to veto the proposed religious protection clauses now being considered.

Our political system is collapsing. Polls show a growing support for the impeachment of our president over the Benghazi scandal, the IRS scandal, the Fast and Furious scandal, and the Associated Press Scandal. There is a total lack of leadership at the top. While Egypt erupted in chaos, our president went golfing and our Secretary of State took the day off to spend sailing on his private yacht. Neither lifted a finger or said a word to help.

Our nation is on the verge of a moral collapse. At last count 27 NFL players have been arrested since the Super Bowl. Vermont has become the third state to legalize assisted suicide. More Americans are committing suicide now than during the great depression.

I have often said that I do not believe in government conspiracies and yet it is becoming increasingly more difficult to deny their existence. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has purchased well over 2 billion rounds of hollow point ammunition and has another billion, or so, more rounds are on order. The Geneva Convention forbids the use of hollow point bullets in war, so the only possible use of these rounds that are expressly designed to kill (rather than for target practice) is to be used right here at home in the United States.

DHS has also purchased a couple thousand bulletproof checkpoint booths. Why? Even more shocking, DHS has purchased around 2,700 tanks. Please explain to me why DHS needs its own private fleet of tanks (totally separate from what our military has). And to top that, IRS agents are now training with AR-15 fully automatic assault rifles as well as rat-holing away millions of rounds of ammunition. Who does the IRS plan to use these weapons against? Is the IRS going to start collecting taxes from American citizens at gunpoint? Now I can understand why our government has suddenly become so obsessed with the confiscation of all privately owned firearms. It is preparing for an armed conflict against its own citizens.

The Bible tells us that the Antichrist will use the mark of the beast to control the entire worldwide economy and that private transactions will not be possible. The only way the Antichrist will be able to accomplish this will be for him to have a huge database in which he knows virtually everything about everybody. Such a database will require astronomical amounts of storage capability. Does this storage capability exist today? The answer is yes. The United States government currently has data storage facilities in Salt Lake City, Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas and Fort Mead, Maryland that each hold storage capacities in the multiple-yottabyte range.

A yottabyte is the largest named classification to date for data storage. One yottabyte of data typed out in standard type on 8 ½" x 11 paper would be a stack of paper approximately 3 light years tall (16 quadrillion miles). Why does our government need to collect and keep forever so much information? America is fully embracing a police state culture.

Virtually everything that we do is watched, monitored, tracked, or recorded in some way. Our government is monitoring all phone calls, emails, credit card transactions, and Internet activity. The IRS improperly seized ten million medical records. A federal judge has ordered Google to hand over customer data to the FBI without warrants. The NSA and the FBI are collecting all cell phone calls. The front and back of every single piece of mail is photographed and the images are stored. In 2012 there were 160 billion photographs of mail taken and permanently stored by our postal system.

Our government keeps a list of the names of 8 million people it considers to be a threat. Likewise, our government has built a photo recognition database of 120 million American citizens from driver license records. License plate readers mounted on cars have recorded photographs and the location of millions of motor vehicles in the United States. Satellites have taken billions of photographs from space with resolution so precise that documents on the ground can be read. With so much information collected on each and every individual I can see how it would be completely possible to control all financial transactions, both personal and public, with a single biometric mark on either the right hand or forehead.

Israel is God's chosen people as well as being God's time clock. I truly believe that we can tell exactly how close we are to the end by watching what is happening in Israel. One huge sign that we are at the end is that Israel has stopped issuing aliya visas. Aliya is the return of Jews to the Promised Land during the last days and it is now another biblical prophecy that has been fulfilled. Israel has struck energy gold in the form of oil and natural gas. Here is the reason that Gog, from the land of Magog, will attack Israel to seize a spoil, which is straight out of Ezekiel 38. Israel is surrounded in exactly the manner described in Ezekiel 38 and Psalm 83.

Let's look at one little sign from Psalm 83 that nobody ever seems to mention. When Asaph wrote Psalm 83 back in the days of King David, he described one of antagonists of Israel as the "Tents of the Edomites." There has been a lot of blending and mixing over the past 3,000 years (plus or minus), but the Edomites can be traced back to the people who now identify themselves as the Palestinians. Now ask yourself, who lives in tents? The answer, of course would be a people who do not have a nation of their own, just like the Palestinians of today. I would say that Asaph certainly had a clear vision of the current political situation of today.

The political situation in the Middle East is very fluid. It is constantly changing. At this very moment everything is lined up exactly as the Bible says it will be during the last of the last days and it will not remain this way for very long.   Therefore, I expect the end of the Age of Grace to occur extremely soon.

Other signs of the end of the Age of Grace would include the specter of the black horse of the Apocalypse that now looms on the horizon. World food sources are being attacked on every front and we are just one disaster away from mass starvation. The European commission is attempting to criminalize nearly all seeds and plants that are not registered with the government.

One-third of America's bees died last winter, aggravating the threat of famine from reduced pollination. Disease is spreading through the continent of Africa destroying entire crops of casaba. Japan and South Korea have banned US wheat out of fear from our genetic modifications. Most of Haiti is malnourished and starving. Syria's crop destruction from civil war is worsening food shortages. Crops all over the world have been damaged and destroyed by the freakish weather.

Disease and pestilence are two things that are mentions by Jesus in Matthew 24 as signs of the end of the age. The H7N9 bird flu has killed or caused the destruction of millions of birds. The new sex super-bug has been declared worse than AIDS. A flu is rising among pigs in China. Chinese officials have also confirmed that the latest bird flu strain is fatal in one-third of patients.

Singapore is suffering an outbreak of the Dengue fever virus. There has been a huge outbreak of hemorrhagic fever in Argentina. The World Health Organization is warning that the Saudi coronal virus is spreading and the Middle Eastern MERS virus is a threat to the entire world, with mortality rates currently at 65 percent.

The east coast of the United States is being overrun with a plague of cicadas. Israel was hit with a plague of locusts─just days before Passover. Billions of locust eggs have hatched in the Negev Desert. Bosnia has been experiencing a plague of flies. Fully one-third of the world's food supply is currently destroyed each year by pestilence.

The Bible tells us that one of the signs of the end of the ago will be an increase in knowledge. With an increase in knowledge comes an increase in technology. Currently we are on the brink of creating a computer that not only thinks for itself, but will actually be aware of its own existence. This will be a new form or life created by Man instead of God. In the meantime we have hacked our way far enough past the firewalls of God's computer to gain access to the DNA codes of life, and we have begun the incredibly dangerous and irresponsibly foolish act of tinkering with them.

The first genetically modified babies have now been born. Scientists have created a living embryo of a formerly extinct frog and have cloned a mouse from a single drop of blood. The UK plans to approve creating babies with DNA from 3 parents. I believe that chapter 6 of Genesis makes it quite clear that tampering with DNA is what made God so angry that He ended the Antediluvian Age, and I believe that tampering with DNA will be a major contributing factor in God's decision to end the Age of Grace really soon, before any more damage can occur.

In recent weeks the talk of rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem has become surprisingly more serious despite Islamic objections.

The Bible tells us that even the very elect will be deceived in a great deception during the last days. This makes me highly suspicious of the Vatican's increasing interest in space and alien life. There seems to be a lot of recent evidence to suggest that the Vatican is preparing to announce the existence of alien life and that it is not a violation of Christian (Catholic) dogma. I find it really strange that the Catholic Church owns several state-of-the-art observatories and telescopes, including one with the strange acronym "Lucifer."

UFO activity has certainly spiked in recent months. About a year ago a UFO was photographed from several angles descending and hovering over the Dome of the Rock on Temple Mount. A UFO was also photographed descending and hovering over the Vatican, and a UFO was recently photographed entering Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano.

The European Union has taken the Tower of Babel and the woman riding upon the beast as its symbols. I find this a bit unnerving, a bit blasphemous, and very prophetic. Is the European Union daring God to strike it down? Has the challenge been made to God to remove the Restrainer and allow the Tribulation to begin? Is Isaiah 17 on the very verge of fulfillment? Is Isaiah 19 on the very verge of fulfillment as well?

The Bible tells us that during the last days young men will see visions and old men will dream dreams. A lot of people are reporting dreams and visions of the Rapture and Tribulation. Most of these dreams seem to contradict each other as far as specifics, but I have noticed a very marked increase in urgency that seems to tie them together. Something incredibly big is definitely about to happen.

The gift of prophecy is not required in order to sense that something huge is happening right now in preparation for something even more important. When this event occurs it is going to be spectacular beyond our present ability to comprehend. Christians feel the building urgency with either a sense of peace or else a sense of anxiety that comes from a knowledge that they still have issues to be resolved with God and that there is precious little time remaining.

Those who do not believe also sense the urgency of the hour and are angry that there unbelief and present lifestyles are being challenged. The unbelieving are also frantic because they sense that time is running out, just as Satan must be frantic because he knows so little time remains.

Fasten your seatbelt and lovingly remind the person next to you to fasten their seatbelt as well. Then close your eyes and think about this verse, which seems to apply to us now more than ever:

"Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).

Carl Worline

Oaktree3168@aol.com

QUESTION: "WILL BABIES AND YOUNG CHILDREN BE TAKEN IN THE RAPTURE?"

Answer: The Bible does not specifically say what will happen to babies, infants, and children when the rapture occurs. This causes many Christians to worry that they will be taken in the rapture, and their young children will be left behind to face the terrible tribulation. Is this possible? No, we do not believe it is. As we explain our viewpoint, please understand that this is, at best, informed speculation. Again, the Bible does not specifically address this issue.

As a background, please read our article on the "age of accountability." It is our view that children who are under the age of accountability will be taken in the rapture. If a child has not reached the point that he/she can make a decision for or against Christ, we would hold that if he/she dies, he/she will be granted entrance into heaven. We also hold that this principle, based entirely on God's mercy, applies to the rapture. Some propose that only the children of believers will be raptured. We disagree. If a child's salvation while under the age of accountability is not based on the faith-status of his/her parents, neither is the child's participation in the deliverance of the rapture. It is our belief, albeit not explicitly taught in Scripture, that all those under the age of accountability will be taken in the rapture.

Recommended Resources: Logos Bible Software and The Rapture: Who Will Face the Tribulation by Tim LaHaye.

While he is not the author of every article on GotQuestions.org, for citation purposes, you may reference our CEO, S. Michael Houdmann.

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Related Topics:

What are the seventy sevens in Daniel 9:24-27?

What is the difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming?

Where do I find the age of accountability in the Bible?

What does the Bible say about household salvation?

Will there be a partial rapture?

Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/rapture-children.html#ixzz2Tq9pRkZB

HOW LONG WILL IT BE UNTIL THE RAPTURE?

- By Carl Worline - http://www.raptureready.com/soap/worline6.html

How long will it be until the Rapture? That is the question we all have been asking ourselves for a very long time now. The problem is that there are so many prophetic signs out there that we can no longer see the road we are trying to follow. We over analyze each sign looking for both hidden meanings, as well as obvious meanings, and then we become disheartened when the Rapture fails to occur when we predict that it will happen. We all secretly look for possible dates for the departure of the church. Yet those who openly announce their predictions are usually viewed with, contempt by the prophetic community.  

Each time a "watch date" comes and goes I feel disappointed, like the proverbial bride who is stood-up at the altar. I then work that much harder trying to find even more clues and hidden meanings in both Scripture and in current world events. To date, I have been a failure in all my efforts. It is time to take an entirely new approach. I truly have not been able to see the forest because of all the trees.

It is time to take a step back and look at the "big picture," and not get wrapped up in all of the specific details. When we step back things often come into a much clearer focus.   Christians have expected the rapture to occur ever since the crucifixion. Paul wrote his second letter the Thessalonians to assure them that they had not been left behind. Is the Rapture truly "imminent" at this moment in history, or is it still way off in the future? Let's put aside our obsession with details and specifics for the moment, take a huge breath and re-evaluate what has been happening in our nation, the world, and (of course) Israel.

The overall weather is well beyond weird, and it is getting weirder and weirder by the moment. This has gone well beyond the natural fluctuations that occur at random. At first we suspected global warming was the cause, but what we are experiencing has gone well past anything like global warming can explain. It is almost like God, Himself, is trying to get the world's attention.

Earthquakes are definitely happening with greater frequency and intensity. The one we had a couple of years ago in Japan moved Japan, itself, 8 feet and knocked the earth a little off its axis and actually shortened the day by a tiny amount. At the same time dormant volcanoes all over the planet are coming back to life. Sinkholes are popping up all over the world as well. This is more than just a coincidence. Something big has to be up. Doesn't the Bible say something about the Earth longing to be free of "the curse?"

Speaking of weird things going on with the Earth, let's take a look at the strange noises being heard all around the world. I would dismiss them as wild rumors if it were not for the fact that so many people have reported hearing them. What I find really odd is that those who report them all say that it is impossible to tell the direction from which they come. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem the local religious officials told Jesus to silence the multitudes, those who were there to be a witness. Jesus replied that if He were to silence the people the very rocks would cry out. That seems like an odd response for Him to make at the time, but now it seems that the very rocks themselves are crying out to announce His imminent arrival, while at the same time the people are being silent.

While we are on the topic of weird things occurring in nature let's take a look at the animals that are dropping dead all over the world. It seemingly started back on November 2, 2010, when thousands of sea birds were found dead in Tasmania, Australia. Nobody thought much about it at the time. A couple of months later over 5,000 red-winged blackbirds and starlings fell out of the sky near midnight on New Year's Eve in Beebe, Arkansas. The media picked up on this, and on a few subsequent animal die-offs.

There were lots of end-of-the-world jokes and an increase of ridicule of those who study eschatology. When the novelty wore off the ridicule subsided. Nobody noticed anymore, but the slaughter has never ceased. The website below records the carnage that continues to take place. During 2011 this website records 42 mass animal die-off events and includes links to an article on each one. I am not talking about 42 dead animals. I am talking about 42 separate events were there was a mass die-off of huge numbers of animals. In 2012 there were 464 known events where animals were killed off in mass and occurred in 67 different countries. This staggers the imagination. As of May 3, 2013, there have been 222 know mass animal die-offs occurring in 47 different countries. One can only guess as to how horrible this carnage will become by the end of the year. That is, of course, assuming that we make it to the end of 2013.

http://www.end-times-prophecy.org/animal-deaths-birds-fish-end-times.html

I have to apologize here. I said I wasn't going to get into specifics because it is too easy to get wrapped around the spoke and lose sight of the big picture. My point is that the Bible has something to say about God killing off animals in (presumably) the last days. Maybe He wasn't joking or using this seemingly odd wording as filler in His book.

"Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away" (Hosea 4:3).

I want to add one other thought here. While all of these animals have been dropping dead our scientific community has attempted to come up with an explanation. Much of what they offer is so ridiculous that it makes me wonder how they can believe this and still laugh at (and reject) the idea that God created the world and everything in it. My answer to these scientific scoffers is this: "So what? The Bible says nothing about whether the scientific community will understand it or not. The Bible says only that it will happen. It happened; end of discussion."

Let's get away from strange signs in nature and look elsewhere for the moment. Let's look at the advances that the homosexual agenda has made in the last few years versus the advances they have made for the 3,000 or 4,000 years prior to that. Wow. There has been an explosion of perversion. Homosexuality is one of the sins that the Bible seems to indicate is especially offensive to God. At the current rate that the homosexual agenda is accelerating and expanding, how much longer can it be before God deals with us in the same way that He did with Sodom and Gomorrah?

If there were any truth to Darwin's theory of evolution, or the theory of the survival of the fittest, homosexuality would have become extinct a great many generations ago.

Abortion is another sin, which, I am sure, is especially offensive to God. The numbers of victims, both infants and mothers, is beyond my ability to comprehend. The horror seems to be increasing geometrically. I feel physically sickened each time I read of a new revelation in the current trial of the abortionist, Dr. Gosnell. How much worse can it get? How much worse will God let it get?

Everything evil seems to be increasing geometrically these days. Each day, as I read the news on the prophetic websites, I learn of things taking place that are too horrible to write about in this article. Has the love of humanity grown this cold? Didn't the Bible say something about that happening in the last days?

At the very end of the book of Daniel, the prophet tells the angel that he does not understand what he just written. The angel tells Daniel not to worry about it and to just write it down. The angel also tells Daniel that we will understand what he wrote in the end times. Obviously there are things in the Bible not intended to be, fully understood until the last days. I have read many things in the Bible that I do not understand, and seem strange even appearing there. The following are two examples:

In the biblical account of the fall of the Tower of Babel, God says something that really seems strange to me. He said that one of His reasons for destroying the tower was that if He did not do so, mankind would be able to accomplish whatever it set out to do.   Apparently there are limits to the technology, which God will allow us to possess. A few years ago science announced that we were on the very cusp of achieving singularity.   Singularity is a difficult concept to define, but an overly simplistic explanation is that singularity is the point where we are actually able to build a computer that can not only think for itself, but actually becomes aware of its own existence. In other words, we would be creating a form of life.  

We agonize over the morality of killing unborn children in their mother's womb who cannot speak for themselves. Imagine what it would be like to have a home computer that would beg and plead with us not to shut it off, or pull the plug, because it would kill it. What if our machines plotted to kill us out of the primordial instinct of self-preservation? Science fiction doesn't sound so much like "fiction" anymore. How much have we advanced in the years since science announced that we were on the very cusp of achieving singularity? Will God allow mankind to create life, or will He reserve this knowledge and skill exclusively for Himself?

Something else that seems really strange to me in the Bible is how Jesus compared the last days of the end-times to the "Days of Noah." Up until just recently, such a reference really seemed a bit odd. Did Jesus use an awkward analogy by accident, or did He really mean what He said? Genesis chapter 6 tells us that the world became so evil that God was actually sorry He had made mankind, and decided to destroy the Earth. Only Noah and seven members of his immediate family were allowed to survive, plus (of course) pairs of certain animals. The same chapter of Genesis goes on to tell us that the sin that angered God so much, and caused God so much sorrow, was the mingling of angels that chose to leave their estate (that's Bible-speak for rebelling against God) and had sexual relations with the daughters of men to produce hybrids. Apparently this is an extremely major sin.

Today our top scientists have hacked their way far enough through the firewalls of God's computer that they have gained access to the databanks for the very genetic code of life itself. We only understand a tiny fraction of the information we have discovered, but we are already playing around with altering the codes. We are tinkering with the mixing of DNA of animals, plants, and humans. I wonder. Is there anything else that we could think of that would provoke God any more than this? How much more will He allow?

Going back to Genesis once more, wasn't the fall from grace that Adam and Eve experienced due to their disobedience in eating from the tree of knowledge? Did the forbidden fruit they ate plant the seeds of knowledge that brought us, in part at least, to the point where our knowledge destroys us? I wonder . . .

We constantly search for any clues in the Bible for when the last days are going to be, hoping to find a clue as to when the Rapture will happen. In Matthew, chapter 24, Jesus disciples asked Him directly when the end times were going to be. Jesus started off by telling them not to be deceived by anyone. Well, there is certainly a lot of deception being put out there right now. The next thing He mentioned was the amount of wars and rumors of wars. Can anybody deny that rumors of war abound at the present time, or that the focus of these rumors center around Israel and Jerusalem. In fact, the Bible also specifically mentions Jerusalem being a "cup of trembling" and a "stumbling stone" to the world in the last days.

The Bible tells us that Israel is the "Apple of God's eye." Every time I think the situation for Israel cannot get any more, dire, something else happens. There are multiple reports in the news of Syria making chemical weapons available to Hezbollah. Israel is now conducting air strikes deep into Syria. Assad's only chance to remain in power is to attack Israel so that the nations and people who are opposing him stop their hostilities, lest they appear to be fighting on the side of the Jews. Israel's only viable option will be to attack Syria. A conventional war would be too costly and take too long. Israel could end Assad's rule overnight by dropping a nuclear weapon on Damascus and totally destroying Assad and his government. Doesn't the Bible say something about this is Isaiah in chapter 17?

In Matthew, Jesus talked about many indicators of His return. These include things like famine and pestilence, and He also talked about the persecution of Christians as a sign of the last days and His return. Just look at the rabid and prolific spread of Islam. Notice that I didn't say "radical" Islam. All of Islam is extremely anti-Christian. Some of its followers are just more vocal than others in spreading the violence and intolerance they profess. Other parts of the world are equally vicious in their persecution of anybody who dares to believe in God, or His son. I find it beyond my ability to comprehend how 70,000 people can be imprisoned in North Korea merely for believing in God or owning a Bible. Just try to imagine the horrors of living in a communist prison where there is absolutely no regard for human rights or dignity.

Is there any possible way that the current political situation in the Middle East could match the description laid out by Asaph during the time of King David and recorded in Psalm 83? The political situation of the world, and in particular the Middle East, is constantly changing. The dominos will not be in such a perfect alignment for very long. I believe that the rapture will occur before the bride of Christ can be harmed by the incredible worldwide Tribulation that is sure to erupt from such a conflict, for reasons that I will give in just a moment.

Christianity is in danger of becoming extinct in many parts of the Holy Land. Stop and think for a moment about how outrageous my last sentence is. Christianity is in danger of becoming extinct in many parts of the Holy Land. How much longer will God allow this condition to exist? Christianity is also in danger of becoming extinct in many other parts of the world.

Let's move to another area. Doesn't the Bible say something about signs in the sun, moon, and stars? Have there been signs in the sun, moon, and stars? Most definitely: yes. There have been a ton of them. The sun has been acting up with all kinds of flares. The moon has been going through a series of tetrads, and they have been falling on or near Jewish feast days. That just has to have some kind of prophetic significance just by itself. The stars have been aligning in all kinds of ways that are incredibly rare. Yes, I know that astrology is a big sin. On the other hand, God told us in the very first chapter of Genesis (verse 14) that the sun, moon, and stars were given to us specifically for "signs." I know there is a lot of arguing about how serious God was when He said this, but He did say it, so I mention it here.

Also, isn't there supposed to be one of the all-time biggest and brightest comets of all time coming our way later this year?

I believe the evidence in the Bible is overwhelming to support the idea that the Rapture of the church will occur before the Tribulation starts. Common sense seems to agree. What groom would allow His bride to be savagely beaten, especially before the wedding? Jesus told us that at the end of the last days there would be a Tribulation that was far worse than anything that has ever happened before. I believe Him.

I do not believe in the idea of government conspiracies. The main reason that I do not believe in government conspiracies is because our government is not smart enough to come up with these conspiracies, and they would not be able to keep their mouths shut about the existence of a major conspiracy. Too many people would be writing books about them.   Nevertheless, Homeland Security has purchased over two billion (that is billion with a "B") rounds of hollow-point ammunition and has just applied to purchase another billion, or so. The quantity of ammunition they are stockpiling is something that my mind cannot grasp.

Why do they need a dozen rounds of ammunition for each and every man, woman, and child in the nation? Why are they buying hollow-point ammunition? Under the rules of the Geneva Convention even our military cannot use hollow-point ammunition in combat. Obviously, Homeland Security intends to use this ammunition domestically. These same people also purchased 2,700 tanks. Why does Homeland Security think they need a tank? Why does Homeland Security feel they need 2,700 tanks?

I could go on and on about so many different types of signs that we are not only in the last days, but that we are in the "last" of the "last days." For whatever reason, God wants to keep the date a secret, and we can only guess why. But if we read Revelation 3:3 and believe what it says, we are not only told─we are commanded─to watch for the return of Jesus. What's more, Jesus says that if we fail to watch, the Rapture of Christ will take us some by surprise, like a "thief in the night."

If we believe what the Revelation 3:3 says, we can at least know the season of His return. By opening our eyes to what is going on in the world around us we can see with our own eyes that we are in the very last days of that season. The Rapture of the church is going to happen and it is going to happen at any moment. If for no other reason, the Rapture is about to happen because the Tribulation spoken of in the Bible is about to happen, and the Rapture has to happen first.

Why is God sending all of these signs, and especially now?

The answer is so obvious that even a blind man can see it. God is trying to get our attention. He is also not going to violate any of His rules. We are the ones who have to make the conscious decision to accept Him, believe in Him, and believe that His Son died so we can spend our eternal lives with Him in heaven. We have to come to the point that we realize we are sinners by nature and we have to repent of those sins. That is why God does not appear in the sky or take over television broadcasts to address us more directly. We have to arrive at our decision to believe and repent on our own. The scary part is that we have to arrive at this point on our own before the door slams shut "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." At that instant it will be too late. At that moment our individual fate and our eternal destiny will be set forever and cannot be changed.

For those who believe that Jesus is returning soon and that the Rapture is imminent, no additional proof is necessary. For those who do not believe, no additional proof will ever be sufficient.  

Where do you stand at this very instant?

Carl Worline

oaktree3168@aol.com 

BEHOLD THE DEATH HORSE

- Pete Garcia - http://www.omegaletter.com/articles/articles.asp?ArticleID=7561

The Rapture of the Church can also be referred to as the Blessed Hope after Titus 2:13. Many feel that the topic of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is outdated and old news. It's been covered by so many teachers and pastors for so long, it is 'the theological equivalent to beating a dead horse'.

I would like to emphatically counter this idea, and say, that if we had a 1,000 more years on planet earth, we would not even begin to scratch the surface of God's wonderful plan of love and redemption He has for His people.

The Wedding

The Pre-Tribulation Rapture (catching up) is a beautiful picture in type of a Jewish wedding, and is the ONLY model of the Rapture that so perfectly fits it. For me, once I understood not only was there a Pre-Trib Rapture, but understood why there was one, I've never looked back.   In order to understand why the Rapture has to happen prior to any portion of the Tribulation, one has to have a firm grasp on Ecclesiology, and the role and nature of who the Church is.

Being a Pre-Millennial Dispensationalist, I understand that when Christ was here on earth, His role then was as a Prophet (Deut 18:15,18, Acts 3:22-23). At His trial and crucifixion He was our Sacrifice (1 Cor 5:7). The purchase price for His bride was His life. In His resurrection, He is both our Kinsman Redeemer and Priest and even now, serves as our Mediator (1 Tim 2:5) before the throne of God. One day He will return in power and in glory as the King of Kings before the whole world, but in the context of the Jewish wedding, He must return first to retrieve His bride at the conclusion of the betrothal period which only the Father knows. When He returns for His bride, He does so as a thief in the night (1 Thess 5:2), NOT with war, the sky receding back as a scroll and the peoples of the earth mourning at His appearing (Matt 24:30).

We see in the Old Testament over and over, how national Israel ignored Moses's warnings and went chasing off after other gods subsequently prompting their subjugation to pagan nations. We read in the Old Testament the explicit instructions to the sons of Aaron in that a Priest could NOT be married to anyone who wasn't a virgin (Leviticus 21:13-14) because if he did, he could not go before God in the Temple to offer any sacrifices.   So it is not that the Church is purer, because we aren't. We fail God daily, I fail God daily. What makes us different from Israel then, is that we are now hidden in Jesus Christ and His righteousness.

His righteousness is what God sees when He see's the Church. His relationship with His church reinforces this principle as High Priest and Mediator today. The Church is the Bride of Christ. The Church is not Israel. One cannot simultaneously be both the 'harlot' and the 'chaste virgin'. Things that are different are not the same.

The Faith

The Church has not replaced Israel, nor have we become her, and we are certainly no more deserving of salvation than Israel was. National Israel, who came from the Patriarchs, was and still is God's elect from among the nations. We (Christians-wild branches) are grafted into the common vine of salvation through and because of Abraham's like-faith (Rom 4:16, Gal 3:7-9,14). Abraham pre-dated the Law given to Moses at Mt. Sinai by some 500 years. He was not justified by his circumcision, nor by his willingness to sacrifice his only son at Mt. Moriah. Abraham was justified by his faith that God would not only give him a son and many heirs, but could also raise Isaac back from the dead when God asked him to sacrifice his son.

But Isaac was not Abraham's only son. I distinctly remember Abraham having another through his handmaiden Hagar and his name was Ishmael. The beauty and the reality of it is, Ishmael was born out of Abraham's disobedience and sin. God in His forgiveness will not remember our sins when we ask for forgiveness even though we still might have to deal with the physical ramifications. And Abraham's sin is still being dealt with today between the Arab's and the Jews.

The New Testament Church, and Israel, both share in this common salvation. Neither is better, but we are different, separated unto God and unto His purpose He has chosen us. Just like that generation of Israelites who journeyed out of Egypt after 400 years of bondage in their Exodus to the Promised Land, we too are that chosen generation about to journey out of 6,000 years of bondage to sin and death, to the real Promised Land. The Church does not and never was promised a kingdom here on earth, nor do we have a city to call our own. We are looking for that city above, whose builder and maker is God.

The Apocalypse

The Book of Revelation (Greek- Apocálypsis) was meant to reveal or unveil God's future plans for mankind. Jesus mentions the Church 19 times, and deals with 2,000 years of Church history in in two chapters (2-3)...yet reveals to John in 13 chapters (6-19) the seven year Tribulation and doesn't mentions the Church at all. Think about that for a moment.

The reason should be obvious, for had the Church been destined to go through the Tribulation, God wouldn't have needed to go into such great detail because we would be living through it. In fact, if man had written the book of Revelation apart from divine revelation, the material would have been reversed.   Men would have spent most of the 22 chapters describing the Church age and would have included a small section on the Tribulation about the same length and depth as the Olivet Discourse (Matt 24, Mark 13, Luke 21).   Then at the end, there would have been at least five or six chapters, painfully detailing the account of the 2nd Coming. What is interesting though, is that the most glorious, culminating and catastrophic event in human history only warrants half of one chapter (Rev 19:11-21). And to those who would scoff at the idea that Chapters 2 and 3 do not chronicle the age of the Church, would do well to read Revelation 12 and see that this one chapter also covers thousands of years.

Discernment

I remember attending the Pre-Trib Conference in Dallas back in 2009. I was 35 then and I remember looking across the audience of the 500 people sitting there, thinking there was only about five of us who were under the age of 40. I would venture to say that the median age then was around 55 or higher. It was right then at that moment, that I realized that our little Eschatological community of Pre-Trib/Pre-Millennial Dispensationalists was a dying breed. I asked myself then, was it because the message was wrong? Was it too antiquated and outdated? I don't think so.

People always want something new and exciting, and Dispenationalism was new and exciting 160 years ago. But today, people either have prophecy fatigue and have dropped by the wayside, or they are bored and migrate towards the sensational. Simultaneously, many Pre-Trib ministries are trying to remain relevant and draw in newer, younger, and energetic crowds by providing that sensational teachings. The Emergent Church uses a similar technique by watering down the message and ramping up the experience.   But we in the Bible Prophecy community have begun doing this by introducing conspiracy theories, extra-biblical texts (as proof), and the extra-terrestrial into prophetic matters. In other words, we are both angling to remain relevant, but were attacking this problem from two different directions. There is an issue with both.

One doesn't have to embrace the doctrine of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture to be a Christian. I liken those who don't accept it to the seeds that fell among the stony places, but were scorched by the sun, because they had no depth to their eschatological roots. These are they that understood this promise superficially or were never taught it to begin with. People, who are not grounded in the Blessed Hope, are the ones who get swept up by false dates and false teachings. The most hardened Preterist's and skeptics I know personally were at one time in their life, Pre-Trib Dispensationalists. Somewhere along the way, they fell under the sway of a false teacher and got burned and then swore off the Blessed Hope forever. They allowed their shame at being duped, into bitterness...and bitterness became the root that took hold.

The growing Emergent church for the most part is either Preterist or Pan-Millennialist (no bother studying it, it will all pan out in the end). They see prophecy as fulfilled and largely irrelevant to their social-gospel agenda here on earth today. A secondary and unfortunate repercussion of their form of eschatology allows anti-Semitism and Supersessionism to creep in due to their confusion over who the Church is, and how it has somehow replaced Israel. Aside from the anti-Biblical stances on homosexuality, abortion, socialism, and core doctrinal issues like hell, salvation by grace through faith, and the inerrancy of Scriptures, Preterist and Pan-Millennialist are blinded to the lateness of the hour. I caution against these views, because when you take your attention off of looking up, you end up focusing on the drama here on earth...and that day will catch you unawares.

"But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Luke 21:34-35

The Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church really is the Blessed Hope, because when one really understands it, it has a way of sanctifying the believer in three distinct ways. First, it prevents one from ever being deceived into believing a false prophet's claims of date setting, because you would know that the Rapture is imminent, and no one knows the day or hour (Matt 24:36). Secondly, a believer grounded in the Blessed Hope doctrine also has a well-grounded understanding of who the Church is and what our role is (John 14:1-3). Lastly, the believer who hold's to the Blessed Hope doctrine is focused on looking up, not looking around (Luke 12:37-39).

Your standing with Christ is not dependent on your Eschatological viewpoint, but not holding to the Blessed Hope will wreaks havoc on your understanding of the Word of God. There should be no excuse for us today, since we have a complete Bible and 2,000 years of history to look back upon. We are instructed to study to show ourselves approved by rightly dividing the Word (2 Tim 2:15).

Be cautious in following the teachings of just any one person. I've seen hopes dashed and hearts harden within our community because so many people had their hopes pinned to 2011. Certain teachers taught them that Christ had to return by then for a 7 year Tribulation to be complete by 2018 (70 years from 1948). Living out your hope with these kinds of changing expectations is an emotional rollercoaster. We shouldn't be hung up on any dates, whether they are Jewish feasts, blood moons, solar eclipses, wars, or anything else. The Rapture isn't dependent upon those things.

When you pin your hope on some specific event that some teacher taught, and that day comes and goes, you're the one whose left standing there picking up the shattered pieces of your hopeful expectations which are laying scattered about on the ground. Put your hope in the ONE who will never let you down. He is coming back, and I believe it is sooner rather than later.

"I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name...Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." Revelation 3:8,10

HOW MUCH LONGER OH LORD!

 - Grant Phillips - http://grant-phillips.blogspot.ca/2013/03/how-much-longer-o-lord.html#.UT3wzq2TugQ.gmail

As the world we live in today keeps unraveling, we who know that Jesus has promised to return for His own keep wondering, "How much longer?"

I do hope that while we contemplate this question, we don't fail to be busy for Him in getting the Gospel out to those who do not know Him. Surely when He does return, He will find us at work and not loafing. Unfortunately, the work crew seems to be diminishing in droves, while the crowd continues to grow around the water cooler.

As I and others have stated on numerous occasions, the signs of His return are so plentiful, it is difficult to zero in on just a few. In answering the disciple's questions upon the Mount of Olives, Jesus briefed them as follows:

"And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24:4-8)

I believe this twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew is directed toward Daniel's seventieth week that we commonly call the Tribulation, but I also believe we can see many of these signs forming now. Jesus stated clearly, "All these are the beginning of sorrows," which leads me to believe they are being introduced now, in the present. If this be true, then the Rapture "may" not be far off. We'll just have to wait and see. The important thing is that we are ready when it does occur.

Anyway, Jesus says that these signs are the "beginning" of sorrows. The "beginning" to me would be at the very front end of the seven-year Tribulation. "Sorrows" would indicate to me the dark times ahead during the Tribulation. These signs are definitely all around us, and increasing as time goes by. It's something to think about.

If the Rapture occurs prior to the seven-year Tribulation, and I believe it will, then how close could it be? I don't know, but it makes one want to look up.

"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth." (1Timothy 4:1-3 NIV)

Apostasy abounds. The church rolls are rapidly dwindling in some areas, and in others they are ballooning with followers of a false gospel. For any remaining who actually believe and practice the true doctrines of Scripture, the pressure of persecution is increasing. "These are old fogies," says society, "out of touch with reality, dinosaurs," and are condemned more and more by the apostate world.

Hatred for true Christian beliefs is growing at an alarming pace. True Christianity is no longer the norm in this country I once knew. It is no longer kind or acceptable to those of Christ, but mocks all and hates all we uphold for our Savior and Lord. If the Rapture were to occur today, many would be glad to see or hear of us no more. We are like a splinter in their finger that would be better removed.

"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth." (2 Timothy 3:1-7 NIV)

Wow! Since these earmarks that Paul mentions are ALL prevalent today, I can't imagine their intensity during the Tribulation. Any true Christian with but a mere ounce of Biblical sense can surely see all of these types in our society today. If you can't spot every single one of these in abundance, God help you.

Having so many years to look back on (born in 1947) I can very easily see a sharp decline in human behavior and acceptance toward anything of God. The rise of evil over these years is astounding. Has evil existed before? Of course it has, but not with the degree of today. It isn't just a blemish here and there. This world is literally saturated with these that Paul speaks.

Could this be an indication that the time is near for the Bridegroom to come? It could be. We'll have to wait and see, but let us be ready.

Since the reality of Psalms 83 may be prior to Ezekiel 38-39, it is obvious that the nations are formed and ready to go. One would think that in regards to Psalms 83 the soldiers are mounting their horses. In regards to Ezekiel 38-39, could it be the national leaders are sniffing the wind? Could these two prophecies be one and the same? Some would argue they are, while others would say they are not. One thing is sure. Only a fool would say we are living in peaceful times and ignore the clear warning of Scripture.

In our own country we have been provided a preview of one who has given us an indication of the Antichrist personality. When the Antichrist does come upon the world scene, after the Church is gone, he will be a megalomaniacal narcissistic egotist. I used to have a problem thinking that people would actually be stupid enough to follow the Antichrist. Now I don't. I've seen with my own eyes, how people can be duped by Satan to follow just about anyone.

The sad part is that with every generation, each generation is more acceptable of the sinfulness that abounds on this earth than the generation just prior to it. As an example, with each passing generation homosexuality is accepted more and more. The world is becoming more and more corrupt.

We, society, are as they were in the days of Noah and in the days of Lot. We live our lives as unto our own greed and entertain no thought of God, unless it is negative. We hate all that is good, and dive head first into every distraction that will damn our souls to hell.

We, the Church, ask, "How much longer O Lord?" Could He be saying, "It won't be long now, the cup of their iniquities is almost full."

"... Even so, come Lord Jesus." (Revelation 22:20 NIV)

Grant Phillips

Email grantphillips@windstream.net

Pre-Rapture Commentary http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com  

Rapture Ready http://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html

OURS THE LAST GENERATION?

- By Gary Stearman -http://www.prophecyinthenews.com/is-ours-the-last-generation/

We are approaching the year 2018, which will mark seventy years from Israeli statehood on May 14th, 1948. Jewish sages have remarked that modern Israel's years should be reckoned in the same way as the man mentioned in Psalm 90:10: "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away." They have written that the formative generation of Israel is nearing 70 years and is therefore, almost at an end; after that, they say, world events will usher in Messiah and the Kingdom.

Christians, reading the New Testament's Olivet Discourse, remember what Jesus said about this idea, which holds a very special place in the hearts of Christians everywhere. Its setting on the Mount of Olives invokes a dramatic vista in the mind of the reader, as Jesus answered

His disciples' questions concerning the future. In His reply to them, He made a remark that has stimulated a number of conjectures over the years. He said, "This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled" (Matthew 24:34).

His pronouncement refers to what has been called "the last generation." This is the generation that witnesses events leading up to the Great Tribulation. Is ours the generation that Jesus spoke of? To answer this question, we shall examine several biblical expressions that use the term.

There is a Hebrew phrase that is usually translated in the Old Testament as, "the generation to come." This idiom is taken from some form of ha dor ha acharon [iurjtv rusv]. The most direct translation of this phrase is, "the last generation."

As we shall see, the meaning of Jesus' prophecy to His disciples is greatly clarified by an understanding of this phrase and its common use in the Old Testament. A bit later, we will return to this expression to show how it points forward to the period of the latter days.

As He spoke to them, Jesus was well aware that the meaning of a "generation" would be something of a mystery to his hearers. But He spoke in a context that had meaning to them. One imagines them seated in the shade of an ancient olive tree, as they gazed across the Kidron Valley toward the magnificent complex of concourses, stairways, porticos, palaces and courtyards. The centerpiece of their attention was the Temple, itself.

Construction on this huge project - considered one of the wonders of the ancient world - had begun some fifty years earlier! At the time Jesus spoke, it would still be almost twenty years before the completion of the whole Temple complex. Tragically, the completed development would only last about a year before being completely destroyed by the Roman forces of Titus and Vespasian in A.D. 70.

As Jesus addressed the inner circle of His followers, He spoke of future world wars, famines and diseases. In this context, He mentioned the latter-day rebirth of Israel, something the disciples could not have understood at the time. He commented upon Daniel's prophecy of the antichrist in the Temple. He used the term, "great tribulation," to describe the events surrounding Israel's regathering. He even spoke of His Second Coming in the clouds of glory.

It was at this point, that He spoke one of his most famous parables:

"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" (Matthew 24:32-34.)

It's safe to say that from the day He made this pronouncement, right down to the present day, men have not ceased trying to understand precisely what He was saying.

What Did Jesus Say?

Today, those of the preterist persuasion teach that He was referring to the generation then alive. The longest-lived among His disciples was John, who survived until the end of the first century. Under this premise, one could stretch Jesus' prophetic words to that time. So the wars, abomination, famine, earthquakes and great tribulation all took place in that time period. Instead of interpreting His prophecy as a global phenomenon, they make all His prophecies fit into the local setting of first-century Jerusalem.

It is true that Israel is the centerpiece of the prophecy, but its context must agree with all other New Testament prophecy, the book of Revelation in particular. There, the prophecy is global in scope.

Nevertheless, His reference to the key prophetic generation of the entire Bible is given in the image of a fig tree. This tree, symbol of national Israel, is depicted "putting forth leaves," as it would in the spring, when getting ready to bear fruit. The point is, the prophetic tree is growing, not diminishing.

So, "this generation," is the "fig tree" generation, and often goes by that name. A key prophecy given by Jeremiah makes this connection crystal clear:

"Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good. For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart" (Jeremiah 24:5-7).

Here, the good figs are the leaders of Israel. Their wholehearted return to the land of Israel is not the near fulfillment witnessed in the Israelite return from Babylonian captivity. It is their final return, when they shall receive a new heart and revival in the Spirit of the Lord.

Jeremiah says that they will be planted and not pulled down. They were, in fact, pulled down in A.D. 70, and again in A.D. 135, following the revolt led by Simeon Bar Kochba. In the final regathering, they will be permanently replanted. And what do you get when you plant a fig? You get a fig tree!

This is the generation to which Jesus undoubtedly referred.

When Was the Fig Tree Planted?

The dark years following Israel's first-century diaspora finally began to brighten in the year 1882, when a few Russian Jews pioneered efforts to "make aliyah" (go up to the Land), and establish settlements in the stark deserts and swamps of a then-desolate Israel. Their efforts, and the work of those who followed them, raised the consciousness of world Jewry. In 1897, the first World Zionist Congress was held in Basle, Switzerland. Plans were laid out to win back Israel, then held by the Ottoman Turks.

World War One brought Israel into the sights of British politicians and generals. The Balfour Declaration of 1917 promised Israel access to their Land. But before that could happen, Jews of the diaspora were forced to bear the torture of World War Two, the Holocaust and the ravages of international anti-Semitism.

Following the United Nations Mandate of 1947, Israel's David Ben-Gurion declared statehood on May 14, 1948.

Metaphorically speaking, Jeremiah's description of the planting of figs corresponds with Israel's laborious restoration of the Land. Through many difficulties, wars, pogroms and the enormous obstacles of weather, drought and financial need, the Jews converted the barren Land to remarkable fertility. The first half of the twentieth century saw the first planting of trees come to fruition. By the year 1948, the leaves of the tree began to shoot forth. Expressed differently, the tree of national Israel had grown to the point that it was recognized as viable and strong.

Israel is placed in an international context in Luke's account of the Olivet Discourse:

"And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled" (Luke 21:29-32).

Here, the text adds an additional note of clarification. Not only are we to watch the "fig tree" (national Israel), but we are to watch other trees, as well. If Israel is represented by the fig tree, the other trees would be the nations that rise up at roughly the same time Israel became a nation.

Recent history reveals precisely this kind of development. At the midpoint of the twentieth century, most of the current "nations" were third-world enclaves of tribal illiteracy. In the last fifty years or so, they have rapidly grown (both in numbers and capability) to become important players on the world scene. The following brief look at the U.N. membership roster shows just how rapidly their numbers have grown.

On April 25, 1945, representatives from 50 nations met in San Francisco at "The United Nations Conference on International Organization." They agreed upon a charter, which was signed on the 25th of June of that year.

By 1948, membership had grown to 58. The following year, Israel became a member, bringing the total number of represented nations to 59. By 1960, membership had grown to 99. Growth continued at a rapid rate. By 1970, 127 nations were included. In 1980 the number had risen to 154. In 1990, the number was 159. The year 2000 saw 189 nations in the roster.

Currently - and remaining nearly stable since 2002 - U. N. membership now encompasses 193 nations.

Their rapid growth meets the biblical prediction that they would "shoot forth." Trees that had languished under the long winter of the dark ages, feudalism and colonialism are now realizing modernization through international banking and high-tech telecommunications. Real-time satellite transmission and the Internet have brought them into the cultural medium of the twenty-first century. As the angel told the prophet Daniel, "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).

Just as Luke's Olivet text predicted, we have now seen the latter-day multiplication of nations erupting with unprecedented speed. He added that when this phenomenon was observed, "summer is now nigh at hand." Summer, of course, is the time of harvesting the fruit of the trees. And Jesus, Himself, said, "... the harvest is the end of the world." Here, He refers to the completion of the "age," from the Greek word aion. In context, He is speaking of the grain harvest as a metaphor of the final judgment. It should be remembered that summer is the season when both grain and fruit are harvested:

"The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world" (Matthew 13:38-40).

There are many expressions of the harvest as judgment in the Day of the Lord. One of the clearest is found in Micah, Chapter 7:

"Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fruit" (Micah 7:1).

Here, Micah expresses the same thought as did Jesus in His famous discourse. He speaks as the plaintive voice of national Israel at the time of judgment, when the tiny nation faces the persecution of a massive world system during the Great Tribulation. When the nations spring forth as trees, the harvest judgment is near. This is the generation of which Jesus spoke.

Ha Dor Ha Acharon

This brings us back to the Hebrew expression we mentioned at the beginning of this article. It is ha dor ha acharon [iurjtv rusv]. It is first found in the book of Deuteronomy, in a prophecy that foretells the dispersion of the Jews, as they are scattered to the four corners of the world. This phrase is found in the following passage, where it is translated, "the generation to come:"

"So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it; And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath: Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?" (Deuteronomy 29:22-24).

Here, we have a prophecy of latter-day Israel, ravaged by sin and time, its people dispersed and despised. The generation mentioned here is the generation that will come back to restore the Land. As we have seen, the first stage of this regathering has already begun. This passage must be referring to "the last generation."

It is most important to understand that ha dor ha acharon [iurjtv rusv] can just as easily be translated as, "the last generation," since the word acharon [iurjt] means, "hindmost, last in order, last of a series" or simply, "last." It is clear that this prophecy is referring to the last generation - the one that comes back to prepare Israel to bring in the Kingdom Age.

Other variations of this expression are also found within the framework of Israel's latter-day regathering. Psalm 48 offers an excellent example of the placement of the "last generation" into a prophetic context. This Psalm is focused upon Mount Zion, the Temple Mount. It opens upon a chorus of praise for Jerusalem and the Holy Mountain:

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King" (Psalm 48:1,2).

In these words, there can be no doubt that Jerusalem and the Temple Mount are the focus of the Lord's long-term redemptive plan. This Psalm opens with praise for the City of God, then closes with a command to Israel. It uses a variation of the "last generation" phrase found in Deuteronomy 29:

"Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments. Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death" (Psalm 48:11-14).

Here, Israel's leaders are urged to survey the Holy Mountain, marking its chief features and foundations. This is exactly what modern Israelis have done, since the earliest days that Israel was replanted in the Land. But note the closing reference, which we have highlighted above.

Here, the phrase, "to the generation following" is a translation of the Hebrew l'dor acharon [iurjt rusk]. Again, we find the term acharon [iurjt], meaning "last of an order," or simply, "last." This is a reference to the generation that would return to Israel, there to be charged with the responsibility of surveying and restoring the ancient Temple Mount. It is the "last generation."

The political obstacles to their task are formidable, yet they have made a great deal of progress toward the establishment of the Temple. (Not too long ago, the newly- refounded Sanhedrin even called for the preparation of a prefabricated Temple that could be quickly assembled on the Mount).

Dark Sayings

Psalm 78 offers another reference to the last generation. Here, it is given in the context of Israel's latter-day spiritual condition. The Spirit of the Lord is shown giving them guidance, in spite of their continued unbelief:

"Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children" (Psalm 78:1-6).

In the verses above, we find two occurrences of the phrase l'dor acharon [iurjt rusk], that we have identified as referring to "the last generation." Note that the Lord is making an impassioned appeal to this last generation. He asks them to listen and understand the ancient words of Scripture. There, they will find "dark sayings." That is, they are to search the Scriptures for the hidden, inner meanings that will illuminate God's plan for them. Chiefly, these would be Messianic prophecies, which have been hidden to Israel for many generations.

Now, in this "last generation," they are urged to look deeply, so that they will be prepared for that which is shortly to come.

The Restoration of Zion

There is yet another reference to the last generation, using the same Hebrew term. It is found in Psalm 102. Again, this Psalm refers to the restoration of Zion. Note that it speaks of the very building blocks ("stones") in the ancient architecture of Zion. The rebuilding of Zion is the heart of this prophecy:

"But thou, O LORD, shalt endure forever; and thy remembrance unto all generations. Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come. For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof. So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory. When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory. He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer. This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD" (Psalm 102:12-18)

It would be hard to find a prophecy as distinct and specific as this one. The rebuilding of Zion is the destiny set out "for the generation to come," in other words, the last generation. When Jesus told His disciples, "This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be fulfilled," He was speaking of the generation of the "fig tree," and "all the trees."

If the leaves of the fig tree can be said to have sprung forth in 1948, then the generation is now sixty-five years old. Of course, no one can be certain about the actual birth date of the last generation. On the other hand, there is hardly any doubt that we are witnessing the conditions surrounding the initial restoration of Zion. We must, therefore, be in the last generation, and it is a mere five years until Israel reaches the grand old age of seventy ... the years of a man.