The Pre-wrath Tribune

Extended Coffee Break

2008-02-10T13:56:00.001-06:00

It’s official. My desire to focus on the study of end things is dwindling, and I think it’s time a take a break until I have true motivation that drives me to write out of correct motives rather than feeling motivated to write out of duty to keep my readers happy. It’s been fun to back here for the past year after a year break due to the same reasons, but while my desire for God’s word is never simply focused on end times, it is cyclical, meaning there are times when I have drive to focus on certain aspects of truth more than others.

I would never say that the study of prophecy is all about timing, maps and the rapture, and that it has nothing to do with knowing God. In fact, I try to make sure that truth about God, Himself, is included within this blog and that prophecy is shown to be an aspect of God’s character, and that understanding prophetic truth is most definitely applicable in the here and now and is actually a part of communion with Him.

But I feel like I’m being led to put it on the shelf for the time being and to simply spend quality time knowing Him and seeking scripture more deeply to apply to my daily life and to those around me without spending so much time pondering the future and things to write about concerning it.

Some feel an urgency to continue to write about news events and prophetic topics because of their belief that the WEU is the beast empire, that a certain individual is the Antichrist and that the final week of Daniel has begun. While I would never say that this scenario is untrue, I will say that at this point in time it is only speculation, one should not be dogmatic about it and we can’t know for sure until clear, undeniable signs take place. If these signs take place, believe me, I will be back with a vengeance.

This break of mine may last a month, or it may last a year. I don’t know, and only time will tell, but I think that there’s enough content here for new readers to ponder as they accidentally drop by or are directed here by you, my regular reader. I hope I haven’t disappointed too many of you, and I hope I’m articulating this so that you understand my perspective.

Thanks for all of your great comments, questions and thoughts over the last year! And thanks even to those of you that disagree with me. Life would be boring without disagreements or issues to wrestle with. And feel free to continue to make comments or to ask questions because I’m certain that I will still keep up that portion of the Tribune during my little sabbatical.

Dave

New Pre-wrath Novel

2008-02-05T22:05:00.000-06:00

Robert Van Kampen's daughter, Kristen Wisen, has written an end-times novel. I have not read it, so I can't tell you if it's good, but I'm willing to bet that it is. You may read a little about Kristen and her book here.

Matthew 24 Isn't Literal?

2008-02-05T14:11:00.001-06:00

I am confident that Matthew 24 is a black and white, meat and potatoes passage that is unlike other prophetic passages given to us by old and new testament prophets. Those that have been influenced by Amillennialism and Postmillennialism have told us repeatedly that apocalyptic imagery isn’t fulfilled in any sort of literal fashion due to the nature of it, but I say that this is missing a very important fact.

Matthew 24 is not apocalyptic imagery! Other prophecies have been given to us by a prophet that either had a dream or a vision, or they were moved by the Spirit within them. These prophets didn’t understand much of what they were seeing and had to do their best to describe these events to us. I’m sure that this was especially difficult when we consider that they were not only seeing symbolic dreams and visions (leopard beasts, etc), but some, such as John, were seeing things that involved futuristic qualities that they couldn’t begin to fathom.

But Jesus was not speaking from a dream or a vision when He spoke to His disciples on the Mount of Olives. He was not interpreting what He didn’t understand, and He was not trying to communicate something to His followers that was given to Him in symbolic form. He simply told them a story of what was going to happen because He knew the story firsthand from His Father. He had the inside scoop.

I think we can put our minds at ease and know that Matthew 24 is a simple story that displays real events that will literally take place in the future. We don’t need to be dogmatic about how every detail will take place, but I think it’s safe to say that there will be an abomination of desolation, we will be persecuted and He will come to rescue us after the signs in the sun, moon and stars indicate that He is on His way to deal out retribution to His enemies.

The Beast Empire—More "Was" and "Is" Dilemmas: Part 8

2008-01-23T17:30:00.000-06:00

Continuing from the last post, but remaining within the same subject, we must face another dilemma. It's very clear that the king of Rome was a contemporary of John’s and that this king was the king that the angel described to John as the king that “is.” But if we say that the beast that “was, and is not and will come” is also spoken of from the perspective of John we have the future beast, or Antichrist, as one that lived before John and was dead during John’s life. This king would then be alive once again sometime in the future during the 70th Week.

Many teach this and conclude that Antiochus Epiphanes from the second century BC (167-164), who caused great terror to the Jews only to come to his ruin during the Maccabean revolt, is the beast that will come. I cannot say that this is impossible, or that some other historical figure couldn't be a possible candidate, but I think that it's unlikely.

This Antiochus Epiphanes idea brings us back to square one, and is similar to the problem I have with thinking that the world will be amazed at an empire being reborn. This once again causes me to wonder how the whole world will be amazed at someone coming back from the dead that has been dead for over 2000 years. How on God’s green earth would one be able to convince the world that he used to be Antiochus Epiphanes or any other former dead person?! He would be a laughing stock. At the very least he would be considered a quack and a possible date for Shirley McClain! There’s no way that I can see that the beast could be able to pull this off in a way that could convince the world to follow and worship him. Even if we view the beast as strictly the beast that comes from the abyss in a spirit form, and not the man/Antichrist, how could it be conveyed to the masses that he “was” at one time, ie. was dead or locked in the abyss and is once again alive and free from the abyss? Who would believe it enough to be amazed, and who would care besides a few nutty conspiracy-minded folks that are likely to get sucked into any crazy cult that wanders their way?

If the Beast is Viewed From the Perspective of Those Alive During the 70th Week

If we view the beast that "was, is not and will come" from the perspective, or time period, of those that are alive in the 70th week there are once again problems if we also conclude that the beast is not only a king, but an empire, as well. If the beast that "was" is viewed from the perspective of those living in the 70th Week, and is viewed as an empire, and that empire was Rome, then we have a seventh, unnamed, head in the beast system.

It's clear that the beast that "was, is not and will come" is the eighth and one of the seven. If it's one of the seven, and is Rome, it must be the sixth and eighth empire. So who is the seventh, then? Muhammed’s empire? Hitler’s empire? And why would the scripture be so kind to answer itself by giving us all of the names of the beast empires of those previous six empires so that we can know who each head is (Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Medo/Persian, Grecian, Roman) but briefly pass by the seventh and give absolutely no indication as to who it is. This just doesn't seem plausible or complete to me when I consider the great details that have been provided for us. Plus, it gives leeway for just about anything to be possible.

But…

But if a man (not an empire) during the 70th Week was killed and revived before the eyes of the world, well, that would be amazing and would cause true beast worship! I know, some of you are rolling your eyes, and some of you are wondering why I’m being inconsistent in my interpretation. How can I say that the king that “was, is not and will come” is not viewed from John’s perspective and lifetime period when only a few verses away the king of Rome was viewed from John’s perspective? It sounds like very inconsistent hermeneutics.

But I think that this post, and the last post, has become long and laborious enough for the average reader. I have to wonder if any of you were even able to make it to this point without placing a gun to your head to put a stop to my miserable, mind numbing confusion! So I will once again have to continue this at another time. Baby steps, my detailed prophecy friend, baby steps. Stay tuned.

The Beast Empire—Was the Beast “Was” or “Is?”: Part 7

2008-01-23T10:20:00.000-06:00

As I was halfway through writing this piece I became bothered by the realization that unless you are very familiar with this topic this entry (and the next one) may be getting a bit hard to follow as I chase the prophetic rabbit down many different trails, thus I thought the ridiculous title of this entry was appropriate. I try to keep this blog fairly simple so that those new to prophetic study can learn the basics without feeling bogged down, but at times I just need to veer from the path of simplicity. I’ve done my best to write this Beast Empire study in a simple manner so that all can follow, but I understand if you’re starting to see blurry. Hang in there, and feel free to ask questions. It seems that it’s usually only the very studied individuals that leave comments or questions, but don’t let that intimidate you. If you don’t understand something, just ask.

Are the Heads Empires Also?

Revelation 17:8
The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.

Some will claim that the beast that “was, is not, and will come” is an empire that fell and will be revived. First, this hardly seems like something that would cause all the people to “wonder” as it says in verse eight. What is so amazing about a former empire regaining its strength? Who would care? We saw the Soviet Union fall, and as we seem to see Russia growing in strength to the point that there is a great possibility that it will regain its oppressive nature. If this happens will the whole world say, “Who is like the Soviet Union? Who can make war with it? I will worship the Soviet Union because it was not and now is! (Rev. 13)” This seem more than an unlikely stretch to me.

Secondly, while Daniel’s vision clearly indicated that the four beasts and the individual statue parts could be viewed as either empires or as individual leaders of those empires, Revelation doesn’t seem to give this leeway. In verse ten of chapter seventeen the interpretation of the seven heads is said to be seven kings, and I think there's a reason why only kings are specified rather than kings and empires.

If the Beast is Viewed From the Perspective of John

An observant individual commented on one of my previous posts that it seemed confusing that John saw one of the heads as Rome and that he saw it as the head that “was,” meaning that it was in existence during the life of John. But now we have John claiming that he saw a beast that “is not!” Here is his question:

“He [the beast] was, and is not and will come. Seemingly ‘is not’ means not present or here (from John's perspective). Did John not say that ‘one is’? Was not ROME the sixth beast empire? Is not the Roman empire to revive as the seventh? What does "and is not" mean from John's time-frame?”

This is one of the reasons why, three paragraphs previous to this, I mentioned that John does not seem to indicate that the beast heads are kings and empires as Daniel did in his visions. John very clearly wrote that the heads were kings, and I can find nothing in his text that indicates that the heads can flip flop back and forth in their meaning from kings to empires as they did in the book of Daniel. And the only reason that I can see for people concluding this in their interpretation is because they simply assume it is the case because the vision in Daniel worked in this fashion.

Now, because I see John's vision is specifically focusing in on the individual kings, and not the empires, John wrote that the king of Rome was in existence in his (John's) lifetime. He did not say that Rome was in existence during his period. Therefore there is no contradiction in saying that the king (of Rome) “is,” as John’s contemporary, and that the king of the future (revived Rome) “is not” during John’s lifetime. The contradiction is only valid if we interpret the heads as empires because Rome could not be present and not present at the same time of John’s existence if the beast is viewed from John’s perspective, and from his point in time. But then again, there might be other problems if we view this "was, is and will come" beast from John's time perspective! Could I be more difficult?

In the next post I will address more "was" and "is" dilemmas, and hopefully I will at least begin to write my final conclusions about this beast and explain what I believe is the best interpretation of the topic in question.

God is Finished With Israel?

2008-01-20T16:46:00.000-06:00

Many people try to claim that God is through with the literal nation of Israel. They claim that followers of Christ have replaced them. I believe there are many serious problems with this idea. I recently had a friendly conversation with a preterist that lets me hunt his land. He made a few bold claims, and then lumped everyone that believed that Israel had a future with God into a dispensational pre-tribber category. I just had to ask him a few questions! Below is a fairly simple solution that can be used if you run into the same situation.

Jer. 31:37
Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done.

I brought this passage up to my preterist friend, and of course he quickly reminded me that we are the descendants of Israel, and that the passage is saying that God will never reject us.

But to apply Christians to this passage is simply torturing the text due to presuppositions. Yes, I understand that we are Abraham's descendants by faith, but, the last portion of this passage says, "because of all they have done."

The "they" is clearly the literal and physical nation Israel because that is who is being spoken to and about in the passage. Because of this it seems impossible to claim that the descendants being spoken of could be us. If it were, the verse would be saying this:

"Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the CHRISTIANS because of all that the JEWS have done."

Why would He reject any Christian for what Jews have done? This makes absolutely no sense! Problem solved, my preterist friend.

The Beast Empire—A Visual of the Beast That Will Come

2008-01-15T23:54:00.000-06:00

Continuing in my thoughts from part six of The Beast Empire Study, it seems that the beast in Revelation 17:8-13 must be an individual, and not the entire beast system that has seven heads and ten horns as seen in verse seven. I explained my thoughts on this previously, but click the picture to the left to enlarge it for a visual example of what I believe.

Click here to go to part seven of the Beast Empire study. And if you're new here, click here to begin at the beginning of this study.

New Pre-wrath Book

2008-01-14T09:36:00.000-06:00

If you're not aware of the new pre-wrath book by Charles Cooper that has just been released, click here for all the details.

The Beast Empire—The Mystery Beast That Will Come: Part 6

2008-01-07T17:23:00.000-06:00

Thus far I’ve covered the basics for my beliefs of the six heads, the ten horns and some related issues with the future beast empire. Some of my conclusions have been based on facts that I have no doubts about, but a few things were certainly debatable and are open-ended due to the difficulty factor of some of the passages within question.

I’m the type that likes facts, and I don’t always enjoy issues within verses that I believe are too vague to be dogmatic about. But still, these verse and issues need to be evaluated. I bring this up because of the topic I’m writing of now, and will continue to write of for at least one or two more posts—the beast that was, is not and will come, and the seventh and eighth kings of Revelation 17. There are so many conclusions concerning these kings and this mystery beast that will come, and I admit that I am not completely satisfied with all of my conclusions, but no matter what position I try to consider it seems that I always end up concluding that my belief seems like the most viable one (don’t we all?). I refuse to speak dogmatically about this topic, but I will do my best to present my case the best I know how to as I hold the opinion that we will just have to wait and see to know for sure.

And for the record, if anyone desires to come forward claiming that they have the contents of Revelation 17 nailed down to factual conclusions with no “ifs,” “ands” or “buts,” I would like to stress that I believe that anyone that speaks dogmatically about every detail in chapter 17 is at the very least, foolish, and quite possibly even stupid beyond recovery! That being said, blogs and web sites are a perfect place for every kind of individual under the sun to express their every opinion, and it is certainly your right to be dogmatic if you desire, but I think wisdom advises against it.

Revelation 17:7-8
And the angel said to me, "Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction and those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come."

It seems quite obvious, at first, that the beast that “was and is not and will come” must be the same beast spoken of in the previous verse that carried the woman. At first glance it flows perfectly. After all, the angel in verse seven said that he was going to tell John the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, and then continues in verse eight by saying, “The beast that you saw.” But it also, for more than one reason, seems to me that something else is going on here.

The beast spoken of in verse seven is a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns (Rev. 17:3). As I’ve attempted to show in previous posts this beast’s heads represent beast empires, or the kings of those empires, while the ten horns represent kings that will be present when the future eighth king reigns. How can this beast that is a combination, or a collage, of all of these entities, be the beast that “was, and is not?” This scarlet beast is not an individual king, an individual empire, spirit, or even the individual himself (Satan). How can a beast that is made up of seven kings of seven empires, and of ten more kings (including the final, and eighth) be spoken of as something that “was, and is not, and is about to come?” It no longer flows smoothly as it first seems to as it’s simply read from verse seven to verse eight.

Furthermore, we know that Rome is in existence at the time of this vision, and considering the fact that Rome is one of the heads of this scarlet beast it seems unlikely that it could also be included in an entire scarlet beast that “was, and is not.” Rome is (or the king of Rome “is” v. 10) , while the beast of verse eight “is not,” therefore, again, it seems that the entirety of the scarlet beast is not in view here.

I believe the vision makes a beast shift in verse eight and begins speaking of an individual beast. Some will say that this interpretation is very awkward, and I understand this, but as I’ve considered this for many years I do not think that it is awkward.

What if, instead of simply continuing to speak of the entirety of the scarlet beast, the angel begins explaining the scarlet beast by speaking of one aspect of the entire beast system by focusing in on only one of it’s many beastish parts? After all, the explanation to John continues in this manner by explaining one aspect at a time. The angel explains what the seven heads are, what the ten horns are, that there is an eighth king and that the ten kings will be in cahoots with the eighth. All of these revelations are small aspects of the entire scarlet beast that, when combined, make up the scarlet beast in all its “glory.”

Therefore, in verse seven, when the angel says, “I will tell you the mystery…of the beast,” and then continues in verse eight by speaking of “the beast you saw,” it no longer has to be the same entire scarlet beast he just mentioned because the focus shifts to begin speaking of individual parts of the scarlet beast so that John would gain the full picture once the explanation was complete. I will come back to this textual beast shift later.

I think that the “beast that you [John] saw (v. 8)” is referring to the beast that John previously saw in his vision that we have recorded for us in chapter thirteen. The beast. The Antichrist. He will wage war against the saints and will overcome them and he will demand worship from the world (Rev. 13:7-8) until his inevitable destruction by the Son, our redeemer.

Click here to continue to the next part of this study.

And if you are just showing up here and would like to begin at the beginning of this Beast Empire study, click here for part one.

The Beast Empire — Six Headed Chart

2008-01-01T23:41:00.001-06:00

Click chart to enlarge.

If you're anything like me you like things simplified. I try my best to write in a simple form that makes it easy for all to follow, and sometimes a picture is all it takes to make a teaching come to life. This chart is a continuation of what I have been writing of in the previous six posts related to the Beast Empire, and gives a visual of my conclusions laid out in part five. Click HERE to go to part six.

Another Thank You

2007-12-31T07:53:00.000-06:00

Another person has placed me as a permanent link on their blog. Thanks!

http://davidjbutterfield.blogspot.com/

New Web Site: Fourthstream.com

2007-12-30T23:18:00.000-06:00

A friend has recently started a web site that already has quite a bit of content. It's not your usual web site, and is fairly broad. It's in it's beginning stages of being an online independent radio station and it contains a free download of Dave's harmony of the four gospels, another book he wrote, art, study guides, podcasts, people's stories and more. Give it a chance and see what you think. Those of us that spend too much time studying prophecy need to branch out!

Fourthstream.com

Polls, Visitors, Statistics and Search Words

2007-12-27T15:08:00.000-06:00

Within the last few weeks I decided to watch my web site statistics a little closer to try and figure out who was coming here, where you were coming from and why. I took a poll that many of you overlooked, but I still think that it portrayed accurately that most that visit here are pre-wrath believers, or are at least leaning in that direction. Some of you are pre-tribbers, while only one lonely preterist accidentally wandered in to vote.

I’ve been checking my stat counter on a daily basis, and if you don’t have one for your web site I suggest you get one. It helps. In doing so, search words have become my favorite thing to check. It’s been fun to see words typed into people’s search bars that bring them to this site to find exactly what they’re looking for such as “Matthew 24 and Luke 21 compared,” “Revelation 3:10 pre-wrath,” “pre-wrath Revelation chart,” “preterist are wrong” or “is fig tree Israel.” There’s even been ten people that, I'm assuming, have come here by accident in their search for a photo of little Opie from the Andy Griffith Show!

It’s been downright funny to see some of you enter entire sentences into your search bar as if your computer can hear and reason like a human being. Sorry for making fun of you, but I’m not financially supported by your giving, so I can do as I please! One example would be “how does revelation take place?” The two longest search word winners are both related to the Beast Empire study I'm previously working on, and the winners are:

“What does the individual pieces of Daniel's statue represent?”

And:

“The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is.”

I’ve gotten a plethora of visitors due to their searches for John Hagee, and most of these searches don’t bode well for Mr. Sensational. The top three that entertained me the most were “John Hagee shot in his church,” John Hagee is an idiot” and John Hagee the idiot!” Poor John.

And I don't want to leave out the fact that there’s been noticeable visitors coming from the following places the last few weeks. I wanted to thank those of you that have placed my blog on your blog or web site.

http://davidjbutterfield.blogspot.com/

http://www.watchmanbiblestudy.com/about.htm

http://www.strongtowerpublishing.com/prewrath.htm

http://dyspraxicfundamentalist.blogspot.com/

http://www.evangelicalsanonymous.blogspot.com/

http://youarenotindarkness.blogspot.com/

http://www.prewrathrapture.com/

http://www.prophecy.iblog.co.za/

And a big thanks to all of you that keep telling others about the Tribune as you post on other blogs and forums. Don’t think I haven't noticed. It’s fun to see and it’s what keeps this place active, so keep up the good work.

Dave

The Beast Empire—Seven Heads: Part 5

2007-12-23T22:01:00.000-06:00

Now we come to Revelation 13.

And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. (Revelation 13:1-2)

In Daniel 7 we saw a lion that represented the Babylonian empire, a bear that was symbolic of the Medo/Persian empire and a leopard that paralleled the Grecian empire. This beast in Revelation 13 is said to have body parts from each of the previous beasts we’ve discussed in Daniel. The “dreadful and terrifying beast” that signified the Roman empire in Daniel is not directly mentioned in verses 1-2, but as we continue in this study I think it will become apparent that it, too, is clearly represented in this beast entity.

There is much debate concerning who this beast is in chapter thirteen and who the seven heads are. Daniel only told us of five empires, but in this Revelation account we see seven heads. Chapter seventeen expands upon this and further identifies that these heads are indeed representative of the kings of the beast empires.

Here is the mind which has wisdom The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. (Revelation 17:9-10)

Some read of the seven mountains in Revelation and conclude that they are the seven hills that present day Rome consists of, but I tend to lean towards the thought that the seven mountains are simply symbolic of each individual empire as a whole, while the heads are symbolic of the leaders of that empire. In my second installment of this semi-short study I showed that the beasts in Daniel were clearly dualistic, meaning that they were spoken of as empires and as kings of those empires, and I think that the same idea is portrayed here in Revelation, though this mountain interpretation of mine may be debatable. I’m open to suggestions.
_________________________
A Change of Mind

After I wrote this entry I had a new thought that I have previously overlooked and I thought that I should amend this post for accuracy. I think that the seven mountains may not be speaking of the empires of the kings as I suggested above.

Here's why:
The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits and they are seven kings... (Rev 17:9-10)

The seven heads are the SYMBOLIC message. The symbolic is made clear and interpreted to be seven kings. It doesn't make sense that a symbolic message would be interpreted to be a literal seven kings only to give another symbolic answer in "the mountains." I think the mountains must be literal, and not another symbolic answer that came from the original symbolic vision.

You saw it here first. Someone that writes a prophecy blog admitting that they were probably wrong about something!
_________________________

Nevertheless, Revelation 17:10 makes it clear that the seven heads are seven kings. But these seven kings are two more than were spoken of in Daniel, so who are these extra kings?

…five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come... (Revelation 17:9-10)

Walking Backwards

I think the logical way to begin is to begin with what we know, and that is that one king “is” according to this vision, and we know that the kingdom in existence at the time of this vision that John had was Rome, therefore “five have fallen” before Rome. Considering Revelation links its beast to Daniel’s by showing it’s leopard, lion and bear qualities, and that the end of the world that Daniel spoke of is the same end spoken of in Revelation, and that the final beast empire that Daniel wrote about is the same that John speaks of in Revelation, it seems that we should, as usual, be able to combine the two accounts of the beast empires to gain a bigger and better picture.

Knowing that Rome is the kingdom present in John’s day we should be able to search in reverse order from this point and follow the trail that Daniel left us. Daniel showed that the empires previous to the Roman empire were Grecian, Medo/Persian, and first, at the time of Daniel, was the Babylonian empire. But still, according to Revelation the king of Rome was the sixth king, and including the three previous to Rome as we just have we only have the fifth, fourth and third kings clarified. Where do the other two “heads” come from?

Again, and as usual, there is debate, but it seems the simplest answer is found in the two empires previous to Babylon. Daniel’s vision began for him at a place where it was relevant to him and his people. God was showing Daniel what would take place in Israel’s near and distant future, thus the vision began with the king/kingdom that was present in Daniel’s day (Babylon) and moved forward until the vision culminated into the final empire. But here in Revelation 13 and 17 I believe that John is given a much broader view of the entire history and future of the beast empires combined.

In Revelation chapter seventeen it’s made clear that the vision included the historical kings/kingdoms that were previous to John and the Roman empire, so there is really no reason to reject that the vision could include empires previous to Daniel’s vision, too. It seems that one reason this historical view is given is to show believers in Christ who the real leader of each of these empires actually is, and has been, since the beginning. It is Satan. In chapter twelve we see a beast in heaven that is described as a dragon, and this dragon is shown to have seven heads and ten horns just as the beast out of the sea in chapter thirteen is said to have.

Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. (Revelation 12:3)

It seems to me that this is done in order to give us insight into this satanic beast system. The beast system, from beginning to end, is a part of Satan’s system engineered to persecute the saints and to further rebel against God and His eternal kingdom.

And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (Revelation 12:9)

Though the above passage is not speaking of the original instance when Satan was cast from heaven, it clearly indicates that the dragon represents him. Maybe I will delve further at another time into this second instance where Satan will be thrown from the heavens.

As it usually goes with writing of prophecy I’ve gotten off track. So who were the two main empires that were previous to Daniel as shown in the Bible? They can be none other than Egypt and Assyria, thus we have in John’s vision a seven headed beast that shows Satan’s beast system from beginning to end, from the Egyptian empire to the beast empire’s end sometime in the, potentially, not too distant future.

It’s Still Rome

What I’ve discussed above adds to my list of reasons why I believe that the fourth beast of Daniel must be Rome rather than the Islamic empire that began rising years afterwards with Muhammad’s conquests as some have suggested. While some of the below reasons are closely related to each other, there are different nuances within each that merit mentioning.

1. It seems awkward that Daniel’s vision would skip over the Roman empire when I consider the importance that Rome played in biblical history.

2. Adding to the above thought, why would Daniel exclude Rome considering the fact that the 69th week concluded during the Roman Empire?

3. The Roman king in Revelation 17 is clearly indicated as the king/kingdom that “is” at the time of John, and that it is one of the beast’s heads within the entire beast system.

4. Considering the smooth parallels between the books of Revelation and Daniel, why exclude Rome in Daniel when it’s clearly mentioned in Revelation?

5. The number of empires add up perfectly when Biblical history is combined with the two books. According to Revelation, Rome was the sixth empire. Counting backwards from Rome there were five other world empires that previously fell just as chapter seventeen indicates.

6. It makes sense that Egypt and Syria were not mentioned in Daniel. This smoothly brings us to the sixth, Rome, in Revelation 17.

7. The fact that Revelation includes Rome as part of the beast system makes it seem illogical for me to conclude that the Roman empire is not mentioned in Daniel's beasts.

If you have other reasons related to Daniel or Revelation that ad to the above seven, please comment and let me/us know.

Now I could also go into Daniel nine and discuss the seventieth week in more detail in an attempt to add to the above list, but Charles Cooper’s book release that covers the 70th Week is just around the corner and I feel I would do the subject absolutely no justice when compared to his work. I’m seriously looking forward to this new book that will most certainly add to my understanding of Daniel nine and that, of course, comes from a pre-wrath author. Maybe he or Alan will send me a free copy. I would do it for them.

Click here for a visual of the six heads discussed in this post.

Take the Poll!

2007-12-18T16:23:00.000-06:00

Let's find out exactly who is reading this blog. Take the poll on the left side of this page and we'll see who comes here over the next week.

The Beast Empire—Empire Charts According to Daniel

2007-12-17T20:19:00.001-06:00

Click charts to enlarge.
Here are some charts that give a picture of what I've previously written of in the first four posts related to the Beast Empire. Just click the chart to enlarge it. Click here to go to part five.

The Beast Empire—The Ten Toes After What?: Part 4

2007-12-16T22:10:00.000-06:00

Among or After?

Now, a problem arises when we compare Daniel’s vision to the interpretation of the vision. In part three of this Beast Empire study we just saw that the “little horn” will come up among the ten horns, but the explanation of the vision given to Daniel seems to say otherwise.

As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom (fourth kingdom) ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them… (Dan. 7:24)

This is one of the main argument people use to prove that the ten horns are historical. They claim it’s a fact that the above passage teaches that each horn/kingdom will spring up and replace the previous horn, one after the other, and that the “little horn,” or "another" horn, as it's called in the above passage, is not a contemporary with all ten due to the word “after.”

But considering the conclusions I’ve come to in the previous posts I believe there must be another answer for this dilemma. The “after” doesn’t necessarily need to mean that the ten kings are historical kings that are dead and gone or usurped. It seems very reasonable to conclude that the word “after,” and it’s clear timing implication, should not place emphasis upon the “little horn” and his specific place in time. I think the emphasis should be placed upon when he arises to power in relation to the period when the ten kings receive their power. The ten kings arise to power first, and then the “little horn” arises to his place of power after they have risen to power, but while their power still remains, thus the "little horn" comes up among the ten and arises after them. This makes sense considering the ten must already be in power in order to fulfill their purpose—to give the beast their authority, helping him establish his empire and rise to power.

The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. (Revelation 17:12-13).

Click here to go to the charts I've created that display what we've covered to this point.

Pre-wrathers Are Brighter Than Jesus?

2007-12-14T10:06:00.000-06:00

A reader has posted a comment claiming that "prewrath believers are in direct disobedience to the Lord's commands." In fact, he suggests that we need to "grow up," and that we are "deliberately disobeying" God's commands. He also adds that we "think [we] are brighter than Jesus." Do any of my other readers care to address this individual? It might be a good learning/teaching experience for lurkers.

Romney, Huckabee and Mormonism

2007-12-13T22:10:00.000-06:00

I'm taking a break from the Beast Empire study I'm presently working on to briefly mention a current event. Most of us have heard the political hype related to republican Mike Huckabee's question concerning Mormonism. Huckabee asked, "Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?" Huckabee later apologized and Romney accepted, though Mitt claimed that it's untrue that the Church of the Latter-day Saints teach that Satan and Jesus are brothers. This will certainly continue to drag on for the next few days on every radio talk show so I thought I would post the actual facts so that we can all know the truth of the matter. Romney was wrong about his religion.

From the library of the Latter-day Saints

We needed a Savior to pay for our sins and teach us how to return to our Heavenly Father. Our Father said, "Whom shall I send?" (Abraham 3:27). Two of our brothers offered to help. Our oldest brother, Jesus Christ, who was then called Jehovah, said, "Here am I, send me" (Abraham 3:27).

Jesus was willing to come to the earth, give his life for us, and take upon himself our sins. He, like our Heavenly Father, wanted us to choose whether we would obey Heavenly Father's commandments. He knew we must be free to choose in order to prove ourselves worthy of exaltation. Jesus said, "Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever" (Moses 4:2).

Satan, who was called Lucifer, also came, saying, "Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor" (Moses 4:1). Satan wanted to force us all to do his will. Under his plan, we would not be allowed to choose. He would take away the freedom of choice that our Father had given us. Satan wanted to have all the honor for our salvation.

After hearing both sons speak, Heavenly Father said, "I will send the first" (Abraham 3:27).

Because our Heavenly Father chose Jesus Christ to be our Savior, Satan became angryand rebelled. There was war in heaven. Satan and his followers fought against Jesus and his followers.

In this great rebellion, Satan and all the spirits who followed him were sent away from the presence of God and cast down from heaven. One-third of the spirits in heaven were punished for following Satan: they were denied the right to receive mortal bodies.

Because we are here on earth and have mortal bodies, we know that we chose to follow Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. Satan and his followers are also on the earth, but as spirits. They have not forgotten who we are, and they are around us daily, tempting us and enticing us to do things that are not pleasing to our Heavenly Father. In our premortal life, we chose the right. We must continue to choose the right here on earth. Only by following Jesus can we return to our heavenly home.

The Beast Empire—Timing the Ten Horns: Part 3

2007-12-10T13:25:00.000-06:00

Now we’ve finally come to the fourth beast which coincides with the statue’s legs of iron in Daniel chapter two. I will only be discussing three or four verses, but what loaded verses they are!

The vision continues from the last blog entry:

After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. (Dan. 7:7)

As I’ve explained previously, I’m viewing the fourth beast as Rome. Rome certainly did its share of crushing and trampling, and when pictured as a “beast” it makes sense that part of its demolition of the former empire and culture would be viewed as devouring. The thought that the beast “devoured,” or ate the previous beast, seems parallel to Rome as it adopted, absorbed or digested the previous empire and surrounding cultures. Rome assimilated surrounding lands and peoples into it’s beasty belly.

The Pope?

And as I perused the internet today it became apparent that many people that agree with me that Rome is the fourth beast part ways with me by viewing the ten horns as historical. They claim that the ten horns represent ten kingdoms that branched from Rome thus culminating into the Catholic Church.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time in study considering the papal system as the Antichrist, and I understand why some would come to this conclusion, especially those who were alive during the religious domination of the Catholic church in its historical setting. But as I set aside mere appearances and similarities and interpret the Bible with itself rather than with headlines or history it seems to me that this is an impossibility.

Many see the vision of Daniel and rightly conclude that the ten toes/horns are very closely related and linked to Rome. They then conclude that the ten toes/horns must be historical. But it seems as if they see what they want to see, maybe due to their extreme distaste for Catholicism, when they gloss over the details to arrive at their conclusion. I admit that the vision does appear to link the toes and horns in the manner these individuals are interpreting it, but the details of the vision and the book of Revelation make this a poor conclusion in my opinion.

The vision Daniel wrote of says this:

…it (Rome beast) was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. (Dan. 7:7)

As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom (Rome beast) ten kings will arise… (Dan. 24)

It does appear that the beast’s horns should be present along with the fourth beast when this is all we read, but verse 24 also says that the “little horn,” the Antichrist, will “subdue three kings.” Verse 8 tells us that it’s three of the first horns that are uprooted.

While I was contemplating the [ten] horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it (before/by the little horn)… (Dan. 7:8)

How can he subdue three of the ten kings if they are historical kings that aren’t in power at the time of the future Antichrist? These three kings that are subdued can be nothing other than three of the ten kings that are represented by the horns.

Later, the ten horns are seen once again in Revelation 12, 13 and 17. I will show more of the linkage between the horns of Daniel and Revelation at a later time, but for now notice what Revelation 17 says:

The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. (Rev. 17:12-13)

Compare this to what Daniel wrote:

While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them… (Dan. 7:8)

Revelation informs us that the ten kings receive authority with the beast/Antichrist for one hour. This coincides with Daniel’s vision when he wrote that the “little horn,” or Antichrist will come “up among” the ten horns/kings. “With” and “among” seem pretty clear. The details are fuzzy, though, concerning exactly when the “little horn” will subdue three of the ten, but it seems logical to me that this subduing will take place after the Antichrist comes to power at the midpoint of the Seventieth Week when we consider the fact that Revelation says that the ten will give him their power. After all, the Antichrist and his power is not a real biblical issue before the midpoint.

Certainly Daniel makes it clear that it is the fourth beast that has ten horns, and that the ten grow from the head of the fourth beast. But considering the conclusions I have written of here, and other conclusion in the future posts I will make, I hope it is, or will be, clear that the horns are not contemporaries of, or even closely related in time to, the historical Rome/fourth beast.

The way the horns are presented as growing from the fourth beast is one reason why many conclude all are historical, but it is also one reason why many, including myself, see the ten kings and the beast empire as a sort of revived Roman empire. The horns must be future, yet they grow from the head of the fourth beast, thus the link to historical Rome and the term “Revived Roman Empire” to describe the empire of the future "lawless one." What exactly this "Revived Roman Empire" will be, I suppose only time will tell. And if you can think of a better term to describe the beast empire that will come from the fourth, dreadful and terrifying beast, I would like to hear it.

Click here to go to The Beast Empire—The Ten Toes After What?: Part 4

The Beast Empire—Daniel's Beasts: Part 2

2007-12-06T13:56:00.000-06:00

Just as it was shown in chapter two, chapter seven records a similar vision that Daniel had concerning the beast empires that will conclude with the “man of sin” sometime in the, potentially near, future.

The Winged Lion

And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it. (Dan. 7:3-4)

This first beast with the appearance of a winged lion corresponds with the head of gold in chapter two (Babylon). And I think that it’s safe to say that when verse four mentions “stand[ing] on two feet” and “a human mind” it is speaking of Nebuchadnezzar’s restoration from crazyville after God smote him with the mind of an animal due to his proud heart (4:29-34).

This section of the vision also makes it clear to us that the particular statue portions (chapter 2) and beasts spoken of are not only empires, but are representative of the king, or leader of that empire, as well. Though the term “kingdom” is used numerous times in chapter two, Daniel made it clear that Nebuchadnezzar was the golden head of the statue.

“You are the head of gold.” (Dan. 2:38)

Plus, in the interpretation of this dream in chapter seven Daniel is told that they are more than just kingdoms.

These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth. (Dan. 7:17)

And the mentioning of Nebuchadnezzar’s mind restoration in 7:4 once again gives us a clue that these beasts are much more than just empires, but are individuals that rule the empires.

The Bear

And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, 'Arise, devour much meat!’ (Dan. 7:5)

Just as the silver chest and arms of chapter two represented the Medo/Persian empire that would follow Babylonian rule, this beast with the appearance of a bear represents the same king/kingdom. The three ribs in its mouth are probably symbolic of the three main conquests of this kingdom.

The Four Headed Leopard With Four Wings

After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. (Dan. 7:6)

If you weren’t sure before this, I assume you can guess by now that this leopard beast coincides with the bronze thighs mentioned in Daniel chapter two. History helps us to know exactly what and who this beast was, and what the four heads represent.

The Grecian empire and Alexander the Great fit this bill to a tee. Alexander the Great died in 323 BC, and his kingdom was split into four sections. The four heads in verse six are symbolic of those four kingdoms/kings that sprung from Greece after the death of Alexander.

Shaggy Goat Parallel

We see more clarification of this in Daniel eight when he had yet another vision. This time Daniel saw a shaggy goat, and Gabriel told him information that lines up with the leopard and four heads we’re discussing presently:

The shaggy goat (parallels leopard of 7:6) represents the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king (Alexander the Great). The broken horn (death of Alexander) and the four horns (parallel the four heads of 7:6) that arose in its place represent four kingdoms which will arise from his nation, although not with his power. (Dan. 8:21-22)

In my next post we will continue in Daniel’s vision from chapter seven and seek to know more concerning the “dreadful and terrifying” beast that has ten horns. This is where it begins to get good, in my opinion.

Click here to go to The Beast Empire—Timing the Ten Horns: Part 3.

The Beast Empire—Daniel's Statue: Part 1

2007-11-26T22:40:00.000-06:00

The book of Daniel is deep water, and I am not attempting to address every detail. That kind of mission would need much more attention and time than me and my little blog have (and probably much more understanding). But I love the book of Daniel and desire that others at least get the basics of the dreams and visions and how they relate to the end and to the book of Revelation.

I will also be linking Daniel's vision to John's vision in the book of Revelation, and will address many of the interpretations out there that I believe fall short of biblical accuracy. I’m not sure how many posts it will take to do this somewhat adequately, but at least eight or nine, I’m sure. And I will certainly get a chance to create some new charts that readers will either love or hate!

Daniel Chapter Two

In Daniel chapter two Daniel interprets king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. He informs the king that the statue represents kingdoms, that the gold head of the statue represents the king and that there will be four more kingdoms after him.

Daniel said:
…You (king Nebuchadnezzar/Babylon) are the head of gold. After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you (Medo/Persian), then another third kingdom of bronze (Greece), which will rule over all the earth. (Dan. 2:38-39)

Now we come to the fourth kingdom. I recently read a book called Antichrist: Islam’s Awaited Messiah which presented a different beast scenario than the one I’m presenting. While I think that my conclusions have more merit, I admit that there are still details that I haven’t completely worked out yet, and I’m willing to say that I’m still thinking about Joel Richardson’s conclusions. At this point I’m not willing to be completely dogmatic about the fourth kingdom and whether it was Rome or Islamic, yet I will be writing from the perspective that it was Rome because it seems more logical to me. I would suggest that you compare my conclusions with your Bible, evaluate other end times scenarios and see what conclusions you come to after your own search.

The Fourth Kingdom

Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. (Dan. 2:40)

The Antichrist’s Kingdom

In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay.

As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle.

And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery. (Dan. 2:41-43)

This final kingdom that is described as the feet and toes of the statue is the kingdom of the Antichrist, otherwise known as the “Little Horn” as he’s named in Daniel 7. As we continue we will find that these toes, or “kings,” are mentioned for a reason, and that the number of toes one’s feet has corresponds to the number of kings that give their power and authority to the Antichrist. These toes/kings will be seen again as we look into another vision of Daniel’s and into John’s vision in Revelation.

Click here to go to The Beast Empire—Daniel's Beasts: Part 2.

A Question About Daniel's Dream

2007-11-20T16:55:00.000-06:00

Hi Dave, I have been studying the pre-wrath view for about 8 months now, and I have taken it to be the one true rapture timing view of the bible. I think your chart is one of the best and most concise I have seen.

Daniel 7:8-10 seems to relate the time of the antichrist's boasting with the opening of the “books.” I see this as the possible time of the opening of the 7 sealed scroll of Revelation at the midpoint of the week. Does this make sense?

Thank you for the great study resources,
Your brother in Christ,
Jake

Jake,

Thanks for the compliment of my chart, Jake. But I don't think that the verses within Daniel 7:9-10 are speaking of the midpoint. Yes, they are sandwiched in between mentioning what the Antichrist will do during the time of the Great Trib, but it seems clear that these verses are an interlude.

Notice Rev 20:12:

And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

Though this passage is speaking of the Great White Throne judgment that will take place after the millennium, I believe a similar instance will take place after the 70th Week before the millennium at the Sheep and Goats Judgment.

But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (Matthew 25:31-34)

I would think that the books would be opened for the Sheep and Goats Judgment just as they would be during the Great White Throne Judgment, and I think this is probably what is being mentioned in Daniel 7:9-10. The scene in the throne room is showing us what is taking place as if they are getting ready for the judging that will be coming in their very near future.

Some might say that this interlude in verses 9-10 is flashing forward all the way to the end of the Millennium to the Great White Throne Judgment, but that seems awkward to me, especially when we consider and apply verses 13-14 to the scenario.

As for your conclusion that the scroll is opened at the midpoint of the seven years I will just have to say, “Maybe.” It’s not something that I will be dogmatic about.

Good question!

Dave

The Next Pres?

2007-11-19T12:50:00.000-06:00

I'm not 100% sure of who I will vote for. I think I will just have to wait until it gets down to the line to see who's still standing, but this ad for Mike Huckabee is just too good. I wish there were more commercials like this one.

It's Official: John Hagee HAS Gone Mad!

2007-11-14T18:40:00.000-06:00

Watch the video here. And make sure you scroll down a bit to the bottom of Alan's post to see the clear biblical passage that refutes what Hagee is claiming.

Future Topic

2007-11-12T20:47:00.000-06:00

I’m going to try to give a brief overview of certain end time events as described by Daniel over the next couple of months. The main issues I will be addressing will be the beast empires, who they were/are, what will take place with the final empire and how Daniel’s vision correlates with Revelation concerning these beasts. I presently have a plan in my head but we will just have to wait and see what transpires in the coming months.

I’ve been very busy lately and may not be posting as much as I should, but have patience. I have not imminently disappeared.

The Rapture Recorder

2007-10-31T16:22:00.000-05:00

Cody G. Carson, who I’ve never met, e-mailed me about two years ago and I’ve been “sitting on it” until now. I try very hard not to make fun of pre-tribbers and the things that sometime come out of their belief, and I will attempt to give you the following information without doing so, but it’s very hard to do if you're anything like me.

Carson has invented a “Rapture Recorder” to videotape and document the rapture once it happens. He feels that it will help those left behind understand why cars and airplanes suddenly, without warning, crash due to disappearing people.

Unfortunately Carson misses that Christ’s coming will be seen by all, and that the world will have no doubts as to Who is behind the big event. I discussed this with him during some e-mail exchanges but it was clear that he didn’t really understand what I was telling him, as if what I was saying was somewhat foreign to him.

The “Rapture Recorder” is said to have different options and backups for the main switch that would trigger the devices to record what takes place at, or after, the rapture. But the main switch is a bone from a deceased Christian. When the rapture takes place the bone will disappear from the device to meet its owner in the sky, the switch will be activated and recording will ensue.

I’ll give him credit for coming up with an interesting thought that would be great for a pre-trib movie, but unfortunately the recorder will be unnecessary and serve no purpose. Upon the real rapture that will take place after the Great Tribulation, Christ will come in visible form for the world to see. His wrath will begin and hail, fire and blood will be thrown to the earth, and a third of the earth, a third of the trees and a third of the grass will be burned up (Rev. 8:7). With the plagues that follow the first trumpet I’m guessing that much of the world will have little ability to watch TV, and I’m afraid that if power is still readily available, Cody’s “Rapture Recorder” will be left unnoticed. It will sit silently, still blinking a digital twelve o’clock. Oops, I made fun. But just a little.

Below is the entire e-mail that discussed the invention.

Rapture Recorder

Press Release: Explanation of the Rapture Recorder

Cody G. Carson publicly unveiled and demonstrated a prototype of his
invention, the Rapture Recorder, during his first sermon at Word
Covenant Fellowship church in East End Arkansas on Sunday night
March 13th. Cody purposed to use the invention to make a “left
behind” documentary using captured video footage of the actual
Rapture. The documentary could then be used as a witnessing tool for
the post-Rapture witnesses of the Great Tribulation.

Background: In1999, Cody was working on a sci-fi oriented left
behind movie plot. He did research in the rapture recorder’s design
until a working plan was created. The Y2K style story plot was not
finished before the new millennium had started, so the story was
shelved. The Left Behind series was gaining popularity, and Cody
decided to explore a different story line that would be more
original. In the mean time, he discussed the invention with several
individuals. The original design was very complicated and expensive.
Cody then designed a more inexpensive Rapture Recorder, but was
uneasy about the reaction he had been receiving while perusing the
idea as a real invention. The project was shelved again until after
Cody completed the movie Culture Wars. Cody was busy preparing two
more movies when he felt the calling to preach his first sermon, and
used the working invention as a visual aid/wakeup call about rapture
reality in his sermon that lasted approximately one and a half hours.

The device was explained in this manor: Cameras would be set up in
multiple time zones located in high traffic areas such as busy
intersections, public walkways, airports, etc. Locations would
target a heavy Christian population. The cameras would send video
and sound data to a website that records a continuous thirty minute
time block. When the Rapture happens, an automatic switch would
signal the website to save the previously recorded thirty minutes
and then record three additional hours to document the initial
reaction of the people, to capture the car crashes, plain crashes,
fires, and the responding rescue and emergency vehicles. Time and
date codes would be imprinted on the footage, which again, would
represent thirty minutes pre-rapture, and three hours post-rapture
time.

The Rapture Recorder can be automatically activated in various ways
by the vanishing of a person. The activation method used in the
sermon was a switch made from a spring clamp with a pull switch
mounted in the handgrip. This “Rapture Switch”, as demonstrated in
the sermon, held a piece of wood that represented a surgically
removed bone of a deceased Christian organ donor. In the
demonstration, the removal of the “bone” from the clamp, caused it
to close, activating the switch, and triggering an alarm. The alarm
was connected to the non-operational computer to represent the
recorder’s activation. Since the rapture is to be a literal and
physical occurrence, it is logical to assume that the removed bone
would be returned to its owner upon vanishing.

Once activated, the computer would be programmed to automatically go
online and log on to a specified home page, which would be the
activation-or “record page” of the recorder’s website. The website
would challenge with a password, and the computer, having a
previously stored password would log on to the page. Log in would
signal the website to save pre-rapture footage and begin recording
and saving post-rapture footage.

Example: If the rapture happened at exactly Midnight, the constantly
running cameras and website have everything from 11:30 PM until
Midnight already recorded in the recording window of the website.
The Bone vanishes and the switch activates the computer. If it took
a total of five minutes for the computer to power up, boot up
windows, the start program to access the internet and for the
computer to log on with the host website, and to begin recording,
then post rapture recording begins at 12:05AM. The Recorder would
save the current 30 minutes (Everything from 11:35PM until 12:05AM)
and record additional footage until 3:05AM. So it would effectively
capture all video from 25 minutes prior to the Rapture until three
hours and five minutes afterwards.

This makes it possible to film the actual Rapture, making the most
important documentary in history.

A second website, not discussed in the sermon would serve as a
manual backup. It would record a full four-hour saved recording
window and would have a manual log in switch. Any left behind
individual with the password would be able to activate the second
website. This is incase the clamp-switch does not work.

Also, an alternate triggering method, not discussed in the sermon
could be in the resurrection switch being placed over the hand or
wrist of a corps to forgo the need for bone removal. The two-wire
switch could easily be connected via an underground extension cord
to the computer. Various other switch designs and recorder designs
exist; the one discussed above is simply the easiest to understand,
and least expensive to build for the sermon/demonstration.

The Jews and the Arabs: Where it Began and Where it Will End

2007-10-24T15:28:00.000-05:00

I recently had a very interesting conversation with an extreme liberal. She asked for my e-mail and wanted me to send her information about what the Bible actually says about the rightful owners of the land of Israel and how the conflict between the Jews and Arabs will finally end. Though she never did e-mail me, unfortunately, I thought I would post my prepared response to her here. The majority of the content is strictly scripture, but short headers and/or explanations are included. Most of you are completely aware of the story, but I found it fun to compact it as much as possible to show the beginning, middle and the end.

Much, of course, is left out in an attempt to keep the content to its minimum, but I think enough is here to give the big picture to the individual that may not be aware of the meat of this awesome story. And even if you know the story by heart, read it again! It still thrills me, and I hope it does you, too.

The Jews and the Arabs: Where it Began and Where it Will End
A verse by verse quick-glance

God Promises Abraham the Promised Land

Genesis 12:1-3
The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

Genesis 15:5-7
He (God) took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."

Genesis 15:18
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.

Sarah Doubts and Ishmael (Arab Nation) is Conceived

Genesis 16:1-4
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; so she said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her."

Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.

Genesis 16:11-12
The angel of the LORD also said to her (Hagar): "You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."

God’s Covenant Promised to Abraham’s Son Isaac Rather Than to Ishmael

Genesis 17:1-2
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."

Genesis 17:7-8
I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God."

Genesis 17:15-21
God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."

Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!"

Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year."

Though the land was promised to Abraham’s descendants God had also made it clear that if they were disobedient there would be grave consequences.

Leviticus 26:14, 30-33
But if you (Jews) do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments I will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and heap your remains on the remains of your idols, for My soul shall abhor you. I will lay waste your cities as well and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your soothing aromas. I will make the land desolate so that your enemies who settle in it will be appalled over it. You, however, I will scatter among the nations and will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become waste.

Israel’s disobedience reached it’s apex when they denied Jesus, God’s Son. Jesus prophesied that their country would be destroyed and that they would be dispersed because they did not recognize Him or the purpose for His visitation to them. Shortly after, in 70 AD, the Romans attacked Jerusalem and Jesus’ words came true. Josephus, a first century historian wrote that over one million Jews were killed.

Luke 19:41-44
When He (Jesus) approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.

In 135 AD Jerusalem came to its finality. Jewish annals report that 580,000 Jews were killed during the course of this war. The Jews were banned from entering Jerusalem and the city was rebuilt as a Roman colony. This event was foretold by the prophet Micah, and just as he said it would happen, portions of Jerusalem were literally plowed under by the Romans.

Micah 3:11-12
Her (Israel) leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD and say, "Is not the LORD among us? No disaster will come upon us."

Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.

But God also promised that the Jews would be brought back to the land of Israel.

Ezekiel 37:21-22
and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel.

The Jews will once again be overcome by great tribulation.

Zechariah 14:2
I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.

And most of the opposing forces will be Arabic/Islamic.

Ezekiel 38:1-9
The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him and say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army—your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops—the many nations with you.

" 'Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.

But God will fight for Israel!

Ezekiel 38:18, 22-23
This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign LORD.

I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.'

It will finally be proven to all the naysayers that the Jews truly are God’s people when a remnant is revived and cleansed by God.

Ezekiel 37:23
They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

Jerusalem will be secure.

Zechariah 14:8-11
On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in winter.

The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.

The whole land, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up and remain in its place, from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses. It will be inhabited; never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.

His Return: Imminent?

2007-10-17T11:06:00.000-05:00

It seems that one of the major hang-ups that pre-trib believers have when it comes to pre-wrath is their belief that Christ could come any moment, and that believing otherwise destroys the doctrine of imminency. This is the reason that my very first post addressed this issue. In that post I didn’t even feel the need to try to persuade the reader to see that the verses didn’t teach that Christ could come at any moment, and trusted people to simply read the verses and decide for themselves:

Do any of these verses really teach that Christ could come back at any moment and that nothing has to happen first?

Of course, they don’t, and an attempt to find imminency within the verses is a true stretch of the imagination. I like what a friend says on this and other issues that are similar.

“Imminency? You must have gotten that out of the Bible…because you certainly didn’t find it in the Bible!”

While reading a great new pre-wrath article written by a recent convert from pre-trib, one particular reader had this exact problem. Here is their comment:

“It (pre-wrath) does violence to the doctrine of the imminency of Christ's return, which is one of the key doctrines that has motivated Christians since the time of Paul. Knowing that Christ could return at any moment is today and has been throughout history a key motivator for Christians.”

I will certainly agree that pre-wrath “does violence to the doctrine of imminency,” but rightly so. But concerning the statement that “this is a key doctrine that has motivated Christians since the time of Paul,” I take issue.

There is a common misconception that imminency was taught by Jesus, Paul and many others afterwards. First, to miss the clear teaching of Paul that actually taught against imminency in 2 Thessalonians is missing a teaching of utmost importance. Paul clearly taught that Christ would not come until after the lawless one was revealed. Click here for one example that I previously wrote about that shows how John Walvoord, a longtime popular pre-trib author, attempts to sidestep this issue.

Secondly, if the doctrine of Christ’s imminent return was so clearly taught by Jesus and Paul I would think that we would have a historical record of such a teaching, but we don’t. There’s not one single mention of this doctrine within all of Christian writings from the time of Christ until we reach the 1800’s! This is quite telling. How could such a clear scriptural truth be lost by the very next generation after Paul if he so adamantly wrote about it?

The most popular historical writing that pre-trib authors have used to show that imminency, and pre-trib in general, was taught over 1500 years ago is "Pseudo-Ephraem." They use Ephraem’s phrase "taken to the Lord” to show that he wrote of a pre-trib rapture, when in fact it becomes clear that Ephraem actually wrote of Christians going through the tribulation when one reads the whole article! Tim Warner has written a great article uncovering the truth.

Thirdly, this doctrine should hardly be a “key motivator for Christians” to live Godly lives. Tim LaHaye has stated that, “Christ could come back at any moment. When the Church loses this anticipation, she tends to become carnal and spiritually dead (Rapture Under Attack, p. 212).”

LaHaye continues to explain how there is no comfort in Christ's coming if it does not take place pre-tribulationally.

If a follower of Christ becomes carnal, or even loses hope because they reject imminency they have a bigger problem than a lack of imminency. They are lacking true spiritual depth. Even a pre-trib believer will have to admit that none of the old testament God followers believed in an imminent rapture, yet they were able to adhere to their faith and to God. In fact, we all know that Peter was told in John 21:18-19 that he would die by crucifixion, so it’s obvious that Peter didn’t think that Jesus was going to rescue him from this life at any moment. After giving Peter this bad news did Jesus then say, “Sorry, I know life is hard without a pre-trib rapture for you Peter, but hang in there and try to be happy and do your best to attempt to be spiritual without the hope of My any moment coming?” No. He simply, and boldly, said, “Follow me.” Where is Tim Lahaye when we need him to tell Jesus that He was potentially destroying the hope and spiritual life of Peter?

Is Revelation Chronological?

2007-10-12T22:50:00.000-05:00

Question:
"I am curious, does it bother you that the persecution of Christians by the beast is presented in Revelation after the seventh trumpet? This means that we have to assume the vision is out of chronological order by that point?"

My answer:
I think it’s crazy talk to say that Revelation is in complete chronological order. A lot is, but there are all sorts of parenthetical sections that zoom in and focus on certain events within the 70th week. There are even portions that jump ahead or flash back. Searching to understand these things is never a waste of time unless one neglects the rest of scripture in order to do so. Timing issues within Revelation is not the first thing on our "to do" list when it comes to knowing God's word.

Here’s one example that shows why perfect chronology is not the correct answer when trying to put the puzzle of Revelation together. The account of the two witnesses is in chapter 11. It is said that they die in between the 6th and 7th trumpet. So, if one places the 3.5 year ministry of the two witnesses in the first half of the week they have to say that the time period of the bowls covers the entire second half of the week, which I’ve seen many claim.

I’m sure you’re very familiar with chapter 16 and the bowls, but if it’s not fresh in your mind, read through it and ask yourself this question. Could the beast be increasing in power as he does at the midpoint of the 70th Week if the bowls were being poured? Could he be dominating the world and roaming freely to pursue and kill large portions of people if it was during a 3.5 year bowl period? During the time-frame of the wrath from the bowls everyone will be covered with malignant sores (Rev. 16:2) and the sun will scorch men with fire (Rev. 16:8), to name a few obstacles. I say that it would be impossible for the period of the bowls to cover the entire second half of the 70th Week. The Antichrist just couldn’t do the job we know he will do.

Now, if Revelation is strictly chronological and the two witnesses in chapter eleven minister during the last 3.5 years (which they do—click here to see why), we see in Revelation 13:5 another 3.5 years (42 months) where Christians are persecuted! Is there a 3.5 year period of time after the second half of the week where Christians suffer? No. So we see that in order to claim that Revelation is strictly chronological many contradictions must be overlooked or ignored. If Revelation is completely chronological the two wits don’t fit anywhere!

A Case for the Prewrath Rapture: the “Cosmic Disturbances”

2007-10-08T22:09:00.000-05:00

Alan over at Prewrath Rapture Dot Com has written a great article that I think will help those of you that are only fairly familiar with the pre-wrath position. Check it out here.

And while you're here, if you have a question about the end times or a particular prophetic verse, send it my way by posting a comment or by e-mailing me at davebussard@yahoo.com. I'm very busy lately and your questions will help me come up with subjects to write about in future posts here at the Tribune. Plus, your questions help me know what the readers actually want to read about! You don't want me picking the topic every time, do you?

Seals, Trumpets and Bowls: Chronological or Concurrent?

2007-10-01T22:26:00.000-05:00

Some claim that the events of the seals, trumpets and bowls overlap and take place concurrently. I don’t think that this is the case, and here are a few reasons why I believe they take place chronologically.

"When the Lamb broke the seventh seal...seven trumpets were given to them (angels). Rev 8:1-2

I don't know how we can get around this clear timing indicator. Now notice the order that’s displayed when we read verse one and jump ahead to continue to read about the beginning of the trumpet judgments.

"When the Lamb broke the seventh seal...then the angel took the censer and filled it...and the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them (Rev. 8:1, 5, 6)

Also, the seals are not just simply seals without a purpose. They are on a scroll and are used for the sealing of it. It is only upon the removal of the final seal that the opening of the scroll may take place so that the contents may be viewed. What could be inside the scroll other than the wrath of God?

This thought lines up perfectly with the fact that we are “not destined for wrath.” When we take into account that Christ comes after the sixth seal to gather His Church it seems quite obvious why we see the wrath of God displayed in the judgments of the seven trumpets that follow the seven seals.

And I don't think that it's a coincidence that upon breaking the seventh seal there is a silence in heaven for half an hour (Rev. 8:1). It appears to me to be a solemn period where all of heaven recognizes that it’s going to hit the fan. They are in awe and they are sobered by the power of the coming wrath.

If the events of the seals, trumpets and bowls take place at the same time we should expect to have complete harmony, but there are many conflicts that arise when things are inspected under a magnifying glass. One such conflict occurs when the second trumpet is compared to the second bowl. When the second trumpet is blown one third of the sea creatures die (Rev. 8:8-9), but when the second bowl is poured Revelation 16:3 says that “every living thing in the sea died.” I desire more accuracy than this in order to believe these two events take place in similar timing.

Plus, an internet friend of mine presented a good argument to me the other day. In Revelation 7:3, after the sixth seal has been removed and the “earthdwellers” have hidden from the presence of the Lamb (6:14-17), we see it said:

"Don't harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants."

Remember, this is said after the sixth seal but before the seventh. Well, when we read about the first four trumpets (8:7-12) we see that the judgment associated with them is entirely about harming the earth, the sea and the trees. Why would it be said during the sixth seal to not harm the earth, sea and trees if they were already harmed previously by the first four trumpets that paralleled the first four seals?! It wouldn’t. I think this shows clear order.

What I see being portrayed is this:

"Hold back the four winds and don't harm the earth until the bond-servants are sealed. Okay, they're sealed. Now you may harm. Blow the first four trumpets to harm the earth, sea and trees."

And notice in Revelation 7:1 that it's four angels holding back the four winds so as to not harm the earth, the sea and the trees. Then we see four angels blowing four trumpets that harm the earth, sea and trees (8:7-12). Are they the same four angels? It certainly sounds like it to me, and seems to add further proof to the above thoughts. If they are the same four it only makes perfect sense that they would be told to hold back the earth harming judgments, or to not blow the trumpets, until the bondservants are sealed and it is time for them to sound their trumpets that initiate the wrath of God via the Day of the Lord.

Is Israel the Fig Tree? Did Christ Promise to Return to Our Generation?

2007-09-24T15:59:00.000-05:00

I recently had a discussion with a woman on a debate forum. She has been claiming to her friends that it’s a 100% fact that the abomination of desolation will take place within a few years and that Christ will come back in less than seven years. While attempting to instill some reason within her, a discussion arose about the parable of the fig tree in Matthew 24. Sue claimed, as many do, that Jesus taught that the fig tree represented Israel, that the fig tree growing leaves was symbolic of Israel becoming a nation, and that Christ will return to the generation that sees this event.

Here's the verse:

Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. (Matthew 24:32-34)

While I would never say that Christ will not come back in our generation, I feel that it’s important to avoid getting sucked into pop culture prophetic interpretations. Below is a portion of my discussion with Sue in an attempt to scripturally and logically show her why the parable of the fig tree teaching that Jesus delivered on the Mount of Olives does not teach what she believes it to teach. I hope you will see why this Hal Lindsey fig tree teaching is absurd, and I think you will certainly find that Sue did not become a fan of yours truly!

Sue's comments are in bold lettering.

Look, Jesus told us that when Israel becomes a nation again, this generation will not pass away.

The fig tree in Matt. 24:32 is not a symbolic message speaking of the Jews obtaining Israel. It is simply a parable, just as Jesus said it was:

"Now learn the parable from the fig tree.."

It's a general statement about ALL trees, and the fact that when they put forth leaves, obviously summer is near. Similarly, when we see the things Jesus teaches of in Matt 24 we will know He is near.

Luke proves that He truly speaking of trees in general and not Israel.

"Behold the fig tree and ALL the trees..." Luke 21:29

Simply a parable! God help you. Why do you even bother to believe that Jesus died for our sins? Do you believe the parable of the seeds? Or maybe that is just a story about seeds? Maybe, Jesus was just telling us how to plant a garden?

Thanks for the sarcasm and rudeness, but you have a misunderstanding of parables. In the parable of the seeds Jesus actually teaches what the meaning of the parable is by explaining what the seeds are, what the soil represents and what the outcome is of each. And you would not, nor would anyone, ever say it meant anything else or that there was some hidden, secret meaning to the parable.

The parable of the fig tree in Matt 24 and Luke 21 is exactly the same. Jesus gives the short parable and then, just as He did with the parable of the seeds, He explains what it means. When the TREES (plural) grow leaves we know that summer is near. Explanation? Just like the trees indicate that summer is near, the end times signs, abomination, etc, indicate that He is near. You won't add to scripture in the parable of the seeds, so why would we add to scripture with this parable?

And you've ignored the Luke passage that speaks of "all the trees." Does that mean when all the lost nations become nations again Christ will come back in that generation? Of course not, but YOU would have to say that it does in order to be scripturally consistent.

In Mark 11:13 Jesus shook the fig tree and said that it would die. This symbolizes that Israel has been blinded. In fact, not only does this speak about Israel, but, specifically, the temple. Read the scripture. But, to you, it probably means that your God kills trees that He doesn't like.

Again, Jesus gives the answer to the parable, and tells us what He meant without mincing words or adding a Hal Lindsey type of deep meaning that is not indicated. Please don't poop out on me now! Please keep reading!

Mark 11:20-24
As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. Being reminded, Peter said to Him, "Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered."

And Jesus answered saying to them, "HAVE FAITH IN GOD. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, BELIEVE that you have received them, AND THEY WILL BE GRANTED TO YOU.

Jesus had faith and his request was granted. It showed the disciples that faith can move mountains. That is the answer to the parable and Jesus PLAINLY explained it. Faith can move mountains! But this time you've completely ignored the answer to the parable that Jesus gave and created another Israel application. Is this because of your desire to prove that Christ HAS to come back in this generation?

In Jeremiah 24, God specifically tells us that figs are referring to Israel. Read this.

Sure. In THIS passage figs represent Israel. Does that automatically mean that all references to figs are references to Israel? If so, and to be consistent, you must also say that that all references to seeds are references to the word of God as it is in the Matthew 13 parable. This doesn't add up.

Now if you still wish to believe that it was just a story about trees, then you should read these scriptures. This is a very good scripture.

Luke 12:54-56
He said to the crowd: "When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, 'It's going to rain,' and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, 'It's going to be hot,' and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?

Now you're calling me a hypocrite. Nice. Sorry I've tried, with the utmost patience by the way, to help those that have been misled by teachers that attempt to add to and to create hidden, secret meaning to God's word. Sorry you don't like it when someone disagrees with you and plainly explains scripture in an attempt to help you understand. I feel as if I couldn't have been more gracious in my communication with you.
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There's quite a bit more to this discussion, and you may view it in its entirety here, if you would like. So that you will know who is saying what on the forum, my screen name is "smackbucket."

Far Be it From God That He Should Have a Son!

2007-09-17T23:16:00.000-05:00

Did you know that the above statement is boldly pronounced on a monument within the Islamic mosque located on the Dome of the Rock where the Jews formerly worshiped God in their temple? This fact alone made Joel Richardson’s (pen name to hide his true identity) book, Antichrist: Islam’s Awaited Messiah, worth reading, in my opinion.

He approaches the subject of the end times with the view that there is a very good chance that Islam will be the main player, from the covenant to the Antichrist to Armageddon. He shows the parallels that Islam shares with Christianity when it comes to the end of the world. But there’s a twist. These paralles are more like polar opposites.

Not only does much of Islam see their Mahdi, their awaited messiah, as one who will rule the world politically, militarily and religiously, they believe he will confirm a covenant with Israel for seven years and will offer Jews and Christians a chance to follow Islam and live. Those that refuse will be killed. Starting to sound familiar yet?

The Mahdi’s sidekick will be Jesus. Not your Jesus, though. This Islamic Jesus will come and convince many that the first century Jesus was a liar, and he will behead those that cling to their Christian faith by refusing to reject Christ. Richardson ties the Muslim Jesus to what we understand to be the false prophet in Revelation chapter 13.

The Dajjal is what the Muslim’s view as the Antichrist, and coincidentally, the Dajjal is actually our Jesus. But not to worry (insert sarcasm), the Islamic Jesus will destroy Him by his great power proving that our Jesus Christ was not who He claimed to be.

The only scriptural disagreement that I had that comes to mind was with his interpretation of the 7th and 8th kings of Revelation 17:10, and his thoughts on the revived Roman empire. Though I am not a fan of the label (revived Roman empire) I do see a biblical connection of the final beast empire to the sixth beast empire, Rome. What this connection means, though, I’m undecided and refuse to commit myself to a conclusion.

Richardson did a great job interpreting scripture and presented just about every passage in way that made me feel that we are likeminded individuals with a common force driving us. I’m not ready to commit to this idea that Richardson lays forth, but I believe that Antichrist: Islam’s Awaited Messiah is a book that every follower of Christ should consider reading because of the times we live in, and in order to understand the satanic enemy that we are dealing with. They hate America, Jews, Christians and the one true God, Jesus Christ.

A Great Conversation With an Extreme Liberal

2007-09-14T13:09:00.000-05:00

“The Americans and the Jews are the terrorists! And look at this map. This shows all the Palestinian land that the Jews have stolen from them. It’s their land and the Jews are killing them with America’s help to take what is not rightfully theirs!”

This is a statement made to me by one of my customers this morning. Sharon (fictitious name) is a local activist that is about to marry an Iranian Muslim she has known for five months. As she threw around terms like Zionist rag (referring to The Jerusalem Post) and spoke of despising Zionist Jews and fundamentalist Christians I had to wonder if Sharon was going to remain my customer (though I distance myself from being lumped into the “fundamentalist Christian” camp).

I wanted to address the deception she was buying into, but wasn’t sure how to begin the conversation without enraging her passion any more that it already was. I was certain that if I didn’t pick my words wisely and wasn’t led by the Spirit that this customer relationship would end in a negative way, so I responded to most of her statements with an, “Oh really?” or an, “Are you sure about that?”

But then she said that she was a Quaker, and I knew what to do. I knew it was time to participate with gentleness, but without a fear of how this relationship might end.

“You’re a Quaker?” I responded. “I thought Quakers had a core belief in Jesus?”

“Oh yes, we do.”

I replied, “Well now I’m confused (not really, though). The things you’re claiming don’t line up with what the Bible teaches, and it seems to me that if you want to be on God’s side as a woman who believes in Jesus you should want what He wants. What if God gave the Jews the land of Israel, and what if it is actually the Arabs that are wrong in claiming that the land is theirs?”

“How is that possible. Look at this map,” she said.

“Have you heard of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael? Have you heard that Isaac became the Jewish nation while Ishmael became the Arab nations?”

“Yes.”

“What if that is where this all began? What if your map only shows the recent history of the land, and what if God originally told Abraham that his son Isaac, and not his son Ishmael was the genuine inheritor of the land of Israel?”

Stunned, she said, “Well, I don’t think God would have said such a thing. Maybe Abraham said it though.”

As she pointed to a poster board covered with liberal news articles she continued, “This is my life’s work, and what you’re saying goes against it.”

My reply? “Well, what you’re saying goes against my life’s work which is, in part, the understanding and study of what is in the Bible. There’s nothing wrong with us disagreeing, and I don’t want to lose all the money you would give me as a future customer,” I lightheartedly proclaimed, “But I have to point out the contradiction when you say you believe in the Jesus of the Bible but have devoted your life according to the opposite of His plan. I would be glad to show you the verses in the Bible that show what I am saying so that you can judge for yourself.”

“I’d love to see that. Can I have your e-mail?”

There was more to this conversation, but that was the meat of it. So I went back to work, and about a half hour later she came out onto her back porch to give me a brochure for an interfaith peace gathering and to conclude our conversation. Very seriously, she said, “I only have one question. According to the Bible are the Jews going to continually kill the Arabs and are the Arabs destined to be wanderers without their own land?”

I could see the shock in her face as I explained that it will actually be Islamic nations that are possibly aligned with other nations that will kill most of the Jews before it’s all over, and that in the end God will still give the land to the Jews.

“Wow,” I thought to myself as I could see the sadness in her eyes. Yet, I felt hope as it seemed as though she had a genuine desire to know what the Bibles said. It seemed like she believed that what the Bible said was true, and I had to wonder, and hope, that this would cause her to search the Scriptures for answers rather than to simply believe liberal agenda (and probably her Arabic fiancés’ agenda). Throughout this conversation I could also tell that she was very shocked by what was coming out of her Podunk window cleaner’s mouth!

Stay tuned for my reply to her concerning the history of the covenant made with Abraham, the land’s rightful owners, the rejection of Christ by the Jews, their dispersion and the final outcome of the land of Israel. This could get interesting.

9/11/01 and Beyond

2007-09-11T23:41:00.000-05:00

Old Thoughts Revisited

2007-09-11T07:36:00.000-05:00

I've received a lot of e-mail about my article where I compared Matthew 24 and Luke 21, and as I've watched my stat counter I've noticed a ton of people reading it within the last month even though the piece is from January of 2006 (why very few of you leave comments, I don't know...eh hem). Plus, it's one of my favorite posts because of all of the details, scripture analysis, and time that went into the project.

Because of these three things I thought that I would post a link for it again to make sure that everyone knows it's here. If you would like to know why I think that Matthew 24 and Luke 21 are not referring to the same events, and that one speaks of 70 AD while the other is entirely futuristic in content, click here. I think it goes against what a lot of people think and teach, but I also think you will agree with me if you read the entire article.

It's a fairly long, three part article, but I think it shows an interesting detail within the Bible that displays just how fantastic the study of prophecy can be, and how fun it is when things piece together while searching for answers. Give it a read if you have a 15 or 20 minutes to spare.

Christ is Coming This Week!

2007-09-08T21:30:00.000-05:00

Don't let the title fool you, I'm not the one doing the predicting, but it will certainly be interesting to see what unravels at the message board led by a certain misguided individual. They have claimed that God has told them that the rapture will take place this week between the 10th and 14th, and it appears as though there are quite a few people that believe this tale. As I've read some of their messages it appears to me that most of them are pretty young, and it angers me to think about the consequences of this person's deception once it's proven to the followers that they have been led astray. It can be a hard thing to recover from.

Here is the message board, and I'll even throw another one in for free. Here's a web site predicting that He will come by summer's end.

Complete Muslim Control of Temple Mount?

2007-09-05T20:03:00.000-05:00

If you haven't heard, you should. If it's true I can't believe it's a wise move by Israel. World Net Daily reports that, "Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office today presented the Palestinian Authority with a formal plan in which the Jewish state would forfeit the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site – to Muslim control, according to top Palestinian sources." Read about it here and here.

Lunar Eclipse

2007-08-28T23:01:00.000-05:00

I didn't get up at 4:30 to see the lunar eclipse that we had last night, but here is a web site that has some awesome pictures of one that took place in 2004.

I Can't Help It

2007-08-27T00:31:00.000-05:00

I’ve always known that I tend to view things differently than a lot of believers, but I had a little epiphany tonight concerning the way I view the book of Revelation, and end times study in general, that even made me think to myself, “Self, that sounds crazy. Don’t say that out loud or they will know you’re weird.”

But I’m old enough now that I’m not overly bothered if someone thinks I’m weird, plus, after I give an explanation to my epiphany I think that you just might agree with me about my thoughts.

Most people get overwhelmed when reading the book of Revelation. From what I’ve experienced, most don’t even have a real desire to read it more than a hand-full of times in their entire Christian career. They not only see confusing symbolism that seems impossible to understand, but they see suffering and wrath, bloodshed and loss, and fear quite often overcomes the reader when they consider the possibility of personally encountering the events within the book.

My epiphany: The book of Revelation is beautiful. Every word.

At first, "beautiful" didn't sound like the right word. But as I contemplated I had to accept that God has made me in a way that sees prophecy as beautiful, so I should just go with it. Prophecy is beautiful.

I’m not even specifically referring to the sections which speak of our eternity with Him. It’s a given that those prophecies are beautiful. But when I read the book of Revelation, the Olivet Discourse, Joel, Daniel, portions of Amos, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, etc, I’m overwhelmed with a feeling of beauty. Weird, I know, but when I search these writings the concerns of being confused, the bloodshed, and the fear of the possibilities is far outweighed by His power.

The One that can ordain the final, and ultimate, spiritual battle before He even created the universe comes to life on every page. The One who chose us before the creation of the world is actually letting us in on what very few people know, and is displaying it in advance for us in a brilliant style nonexistent in any other form of literature. The panoramic view of every chaotic event that will take place as recorded in the book of Revelation is able to be held together in harmony with little more than the lint beneath His little toenail, and when He completes this plan everyone from Joseph Smith to Mohammed to the Dragon will be silenced for eternity. That’s how powerful He is, and that is the beauty I see.

Promises: A Movie You Must See

2007-08-25T21:43:00.000-05:00

If you see only one movie this year let it be "Promises." It's a documentary that shows the lives of Arab and Israeli children living in and around Jerusalem. Some have never even known a child from the other nationality, and not one has befriended a child from the other side. Most of the children filmed from both of the religious sides (Islamic/Judaism) are filled with hate and anger, and the brainwashing from the parents, school and culture that has helped cause this is very apparent. Yet two twin Jewish boys that have been raised with a secular mindset do not hate, do not want to kill and are willing to go to the Arabic camp to spend a day with the Arabic children in hopes of breaking down the barriers.

The thickness of the religious tradition within the Jewish community angered and saddened me, and clearly showed that Jesus understood that rituals are not the answer—He is. The religious fervor of the Arabs and their inability to "let go" of the fact that they do not occupy the land that they believe to be theirs was sobering. To see this in children in this way is almost incomprehensible considering the gap between their mindset and the mindset of our children here in America.

But still, a few of the children actually understood and had a desire to begin accepting their "enemies" because of the realization that they will be the ones that will one day be responsible for peace or for war when they reach adulthood. Watching the friendship and discussions take place is heartwarming, but one boy's openness at the end of that day makes this my favorite scene in a long, long time.

Unfortunately, this movie may be next to impossible to come by anywhere else, but you can get it and read customer reviews at Netflix. Yes, it's subtitled, but very easy to follow (there is Hebrew, Arabic and English spoken). And no, it's not necessarily a lighthearted movie, but it's an important one because of the message of acceptance, change and forgiveness. It should be a wake-up-call for some that ignore the times we live in or think that the Issac and Ishmael conflict that will continue until the end has nothing to do with us.

A Question From a Reader

2007-08-20T15:20:00.000-05:00

Raul asked:

Daniel 11:36(NKJV) states "Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done." Now, I've understood this to mean that the Anti-Christ will be successful until the Lord's wrath is complete. Is that correct or it is referring to Satan's/Anti-Christ's wrath during the Great Tribulation period? But, again, if it does mean the Lord's wrath, then how can the A/C be successful until the end of the Lord's wrath if the A/C is only allotted 1260 days and the Lord's wrath extends a bit longer to 1290 days? So, in other words, how can the A/C be successful until the end of the Lord's wrath, if his time is up at 1260 days?

Here’s the verse in the NASB, Raul:

Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done. (Daniel 11:36 NASB)

The context of the entire verse is what the Antichrist will do, not what God will do. Notice that it starts out speaking of the “monstrous” things he will accomplish and finishes with the fact that “what has been decreed will be done.” Because of this context I don’t think that it would make sense within the structure of the verse to throw in a mention of God’s indignation unless the indignation is said to be God’s. It wouldn’t flow or have any clarity.

Think about your question. It’s not making sense to you that the Antichrist could be successful, or could “prosper,” during the time of the Day of the Lord’s wrath. I think there’s a reason that it’s not making sense to you. I think you’ve answered you own question! It’s not possible.

This is one of the reasons that the pre-wrath position sees the Antichrist as being "rendered useless" when the Day of the Lord begins after the sixth seal sometime during the final half of the 70th Week. Certainly he will be around for the complete 1260 days, but during the final portion of this time he will have limited strength due to the trumpets and bowls of God's wrath.

Connected to this is why I, and the pre-wrath position, sees Matthew 24:22 teaching that the actual Great Tribulation where the Church is persecuted will be “cut short.”

Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. (Matthew 24:22)

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the Great Tribulation lasts for 1260 days, or 3.5 years. It’s an assumption based on the verses that describe the Antichrist’s time of activity as being 1260 days. I think that this “cutting short” of the Great Tribulation, as mentioned by Jesus, corresponds to the time-frame you’re questioning. The Antichrist will be successful until his (the Antichrist's) indignation is completed (Daniel 11:36), then Christ will cut short the Great Tribulation by His coming (Matthew 24:22), He will gather the elect (Matthew 24:31) and the Day of the Lord’s wrath will begin (Joel 2:31; Matthew 24:37-39; Rev. 6:12-17/8:1). When Jesus “cuts short” the Great Trib after the opening of the sixth seal the Antichrist will no longer be “successful.” I hope this helps.

Parousia Magazine

2007-08-14T22:27:00.000-05:00

There is more pre-wrath reading than you can probably handle inside the old issues of Parousia magazine. If you haven't heard of this and are interested, you may download all of the old issues here.

Erika 1990-2006

2007-07-30T22:55:00.000-05:00

Erika at camp during the ages of 14-15.

About eight months ago during Thanksgiving week of 2006 one of my best friends had a daughter that was hit and killed by a fire truck. Erika would be seventeen today. I’ve known Erika since she was three or four, and as I worked today I was continually reminded of her smile, her bouncy personality and of countless instances from her childhood.

It’s funny, though. The memories, no matter how fun or cute they are, don’t seem adequate to describe her to you if you didn’t know her. The things she said and did didn't make Erika who she was. She was just Erika. Though I miss things like making her laugh or attempting to instill in her that all boys are predators, it’s not really those types of things that I miss. It’s her that I miss. I just miss her and the essence of Erika and all that made her who she was.

God doesn’t make mistakes no matter what certain people say, and just as wonderfully as He made her, I also have to believe that He somehow wonderfully planned her exit from this earth. I look forward to seeing her someday in that city that He has prepared for us and I’m eagerly awaiting the day when the pain is erased from Erika’s dad and two moms.

If you would type an appropriate verse in the comments bar for Scott, Inez and Bette, I’m sure they would appreciate it.

Speculations

2007-07-22T15:56:00.000-05:00

Pre-tribbers on their way to a prophecy convention.

I was just cleaning out unnecessary items in my Mac’s prophecy folder when I ran across a news item I had saved back in 2001. Prophecy Central, the most popular prophecy web site at the time, posted an article that spoke of a secret new invention that was yet to be revealed that was supposed to change the “face” of travel in the world. Some speculators thought that it might be a hovercraft.

Prophecy Central, the pre-trib web site stated, “If it does turn out to be a fast, clean, inexpensive method of transportation, it would give new meaning to the Biblical prophecy of Daniel 12:4.”

They said this because of the verse in Daniel that some interpreters claim is speaking of technology and travel.

Daniel 12:4
But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.

Well, sorry to say, but the invention was not a hovercraft. It was the Segway—the two wheeled device that has never caught on. This is one of many examples that shows that speculating about news events and what those events might mean in relation to biblical prophetic events is complete guesswork and usually makes the one interpreting the news look silly.

Timing the Two Witnesses

2007-07-14T09:27:00.000-05:00

After posting my end times chart a while back, a few people e-mailed me to tell me I was wrong for placing the Two Witnesses’ ministry in the second half of the Week. Here is my explanation for this if you were one of those wondering why I believe as I do. This is a very neat timing issue within Revelation that is connected to other issues within the book that are equally interesting. When put together a bigger picture of how the puzzle pieces fit together is seen. It will help if you follow along in your Bible.

To start, we know that the abomination of desolation takes place at the midpoint of the Seventieth Week. And we know that the sixth seal takes place after the midpoint of the Week because we see the same triple sign in the sun, moon and stars that Jesus said would take place after the abomination that causes desolation (Rev. 6:12-13, Matt. 24:29). And we know that the trumpet judgments can only begin after the seventh seal is opened. It’s impossible for the seals, trumpets and bowls to take place concurrently as some suggest, but I digress.

This brings us to the moment before the fifth trumpet is sounded. Rev 8:13 says:

Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in mid-heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”

In the above verse the three “woes” are said to be associated with the final three trumpet blasts, and this is exactly what is proven as one reads on. On completion of the fifth trumpet, Revelation 9:12 tells us that:

The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.

Obviously the fifth trumpet is the first “woe,” and the sixth and seventh trumpets will be the second and third “woes.” Chapter nine then continues in consecutive order informing us of what will take place during the time of the sixth trumpet. I won’t include it here, but you should read it to get a clear picture.

Chapter ten takes us to an interlude, and in verse seven we’re informed that, “In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished…”

What is the “seventh angel” “about to sound” that will inform us that “the mystery of God is finished?” The seventh trumpet. The third “woe.”

Now this finally brings us to the chapter in question—chapter eleven. Verses one through fourteen tell us what the Two Witnesses will do and how long they will do it. They will prophesy for 1260 days (Rev 11:3). After their work is completed they will be killed (11:7), they will lay in the street for 3.5 days (11:9), and then they will be brought to life and will be raised to heaven (11:11-12). In that hour there will be an earthquake with thousands of people killed (11:13).

The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly. (Rev. 11:14)

The second woe is said to be in the past once the ministry, death and resurrection of the Two Witnesses is completed, and because the second woe is said to be associated with the sixth trumpet it is clear that their death takes place during the period of the sixth trumpet, and that the ministry of the two take place in the last 3.5 years because, as we discussed in the second paragraph, the seals fill up the first half of the Week and continue into the second half only to lead into the trumpet judgments. And in nice, orderly fashion, the very next thing mentioned in Rev. 11:15 is that “the seventh angel sounded…”

This goes to show that it only makes perfect sense that the Witnesses’ period of prophesying was previously recorded in the beginning of chapter eleven as being linked with the time when the holy city will be trampled.

Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1260 days clothed in sackcloth. (Rev. 11:2-3)

The holy city will not be trampled during the first half of the seventieth week because this is the period when the covenant is yet to be broken, the temple is undefiled by the beast and the Jewish sacrificial system is in progress. It’s not until the midpoint of the Week when the covenant will be broken by the beast and the Great Tribulation will begin resulting in the city being “tread under foot.”

And if you haven’t figured it out already, the timing of the Two Witnesses also shows us why the seven bowls must take place after the completion of the 70th Week. Visit an earlier post for this explanation.

All this may sound complicated to the individual new to the study of prophecy, but hang in there, there are many rewards that come with the study of end things, even if it is the study of secondary issues such as the timing of events.

A New Thought on the Word "Church" in Revelation

2007-06-27T23:09:00.001-05:00

While challenging a pre-tribber the other day I had an epiphany. I think it’s another piece that helps solve the question that many have had concerning why the word “church” is not used in Revelation chapter four through chapter twenty-one when John wrote of the time period of the Great Tribulation.

I suggest that the reason John used the word “church,” or “churches,” frequently throughout Revelation 1-3 and then abruptly stopped using the word is quite obvious. It’s like so many of the other puzzles I’ve encountered in the book that has been staring me back in the face for years, yet I walked past it one hundred and one times only to be smacked in the back of the head one day by the simplicity of the answer.

The word “church,” or “churches,” is used seventeen times in the NASB through chapter three (18 times in the original Greek), and then in chapter four the usage of the word halts. Pre-tribbers will inform us that it’s because the words said to John, “Come up here,” in Rev. 4:1 are symbolic of the pre-trib rapture, thus the need to use the word “church” from this point on is no longer valid because the Church is gone. They say that the earthly Church no longer exists, and that the term “saints” in Revelation describes what they call the Tribulation saints. This is, of course, very weak, but a topic for another post at another time.

Could it be that the reason that the word “church” is so frequently used but then shifts to the point that it’s never used is because the text, itself, shifts? Does it sound crazy for me to say that John did not stop using the word "church" in chapter four, because in reality he never even used the word in the first three chapters? And if this is the case, why should he use the word in chapters four through twenty-one? I know, I just said a moment ago that the word “church” is used eighteen times up to chapter four, but there’s a hitch.

Notice that in the first three chapters it is Jesus giving John the words to write, and that John wrote exactly what Jesus said.

"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia, write..." etc.

But from chapter four on the text shifts and it is no longer Jesus giving John the exact words to write. The words are straight from John’s pen as he attempts to describe what he’s seeing, and he is no longer writing the words from Jesus’ mouth. Why should John have to use the word “church” to describe the Church? It’s arbitrary to claim he must. They’re his thoughts and he can write in any style he wishes as long as it coincides with the vision he is seeing.

Some would say that John starts his letter by addressing the Church. But is this really the case?

“To the seven churches in the province of Asia:” Rev. 4:4

John is not addressing the Church, as in the universal Church, but is addressing “the seven churches” in Asia. John is addressing seven groups that are segments of the universal Church, and he is simply addressing them in the same manor that Jesus told him to:

“Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches.” (Rev. 1:11)

When John began choosing his own words in chapter four, as in the word “saints,” his message was not limited to the seven churches, or seven segments of the Church—he was writing to the universal Church! So why would the term “saints” somehow, all of a sudden, not mean the universal Church? The word “saints” is used 48 times in the NASB before the book of Revelation. Every time, except maybe three where it refers to angels or Old Testament saints, the word refers to the Church, so why ascribe some new, pre-trib dispensational meaning to a word that we already all know the meaning to?

And guess what? As soon as John’s vision of the end is over, the text shifts again. And it should be no surprise that as soon as the text shifts so that John is no longer writing of the events with words of his own choosing, but is writing the words that are straight from the lips of Jesus, the word “churches” reappears and is used to conclude the book of Revelation!

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches.” (Rev. 22:16)

I bet the true believers within the seven churches listened when they were told that the words were for them. Maybe pre-tribbers should listen, also.

Don't Ignore the Details: Revelation Does NOT Reveal Who Jesus Is

2007-06-17T22:28:00.000-05:00

Because of the first five words in the first chapter of Revelation people have concluded that the book was given to us to reveal who Jesus is. Those words are, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” This thought process is then built upon to the point where most Christians believe that the book of Revelation cannot be understood, and that we are not supposed to get caught up in the details anyway because, "It’s not a road map,” they say, “It’s about Jesus.”

But somewhere down the road, one step at a time, things have evolved so that many Christians view the book as an alien form of literature that’s not even worth attempting to unlock. My wife’s NIV Study Bible actually says in its introduction to Revelation that we should “resist the temptation to become overly enamored with the details.” Bull.

I don’t believe that the words “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” are referring to the revealing of Jesus. Certainly Revelation displays His qualities, wrath, mercy, justice, grace, forgiveness, sovereignty and more, but these things and His perfect character have already been “revealed” to us in great detail throughout the rest of Scripture, and there is little within the pages of Revelation concerning Jesus and His character that has not been revealed previously.

If we read beyond the first five words the verse actually tells us what the book is about and why it was given to us. And it doesn’t tell us that it’s about Jesus being revealed.

Revelation 1:1 NASB
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place…

Revelation was given to us to show us what must soon take place! The Amplified Bible really brings out the true meaning.

Revelation 1:1 Amplified
[This is] the revelation of Jesus Christ [His unveiling of the divine mysteries]. God gave it to Him to disclose and make known to His bond servants certain things which must shortly and speedily come to pass in their entirety.

I think that a similar correlation to the meaning of, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ," would be Joe Diddly writing a book called "The Teaching of Joe Diddly." The title wouldn’t be implying that the teaching is ABOUT Joe Diddly, it would be conveying that the teaching IS Joe Diddly’s, just as The Revelation is Jesus’. And if this is the true meaning of "The Revelation," and if it's true that the book was given to us so that we will know what will soon take place, the box that we keep our end times thoughts in should be broken wide open because there are great implications involved.

Jesus gave us this information so that we will know what must soon take place (but I’m not limiting it to this reason). We, no matter what anyone tells us, should definitely become “enamored” with the details of this awesome book. Even if it’s against the advice from someone so important that their opinions are within the pages of the NIV Study Bible.

Synonyms for the word “enamored” are “infatuated,” “captivated” and “smitten.” These words perfectly describe what we should be when it comes to the details within Revelation, and within the Bible as a whole. I find it very ironic that we have been told by many that we should not be captivated by prophetic details. They are there for a reason.

2007-05-18T23:29:00.001-05:00

Click HERE to download chart, or click chart to enlarge.

2006-07-18T17:18:00.000-05:00

Matthew 24:6
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

It's Gettin' Hot in Here

2006-05-27T23:39:00.000-05:00

'An Inconvenient Truth' Documents Al Gore's Efforts To Raise Alarm on Effects of Global Warming

PARK CITY, Utah -- Has ever a little indie film faced a greater hurdle? Imagine this sales pitch: Babe, it's a movie about global warming. Starring Al Gore. Doing a slide show. With charts.

Believe it or not, Al Gore and Sundance Films have put together a little movie to evangelize America about global warming and the inevitable destruction of civilization. Well, it’s supposedly inevitable unless we stop using gas powered automobiles and a few other things. Not only does he say that this issue is the most important item on the world’s agenda, he claims that we may only have ten years left to stop the snowball, and that we may only have as little as fifty years left as a human race. The film is called 'An Inconvenient Truth,' and it’s playing in select areas.

I admire his gumption, but I’m pretty sure that it’s time wasted. As followers of Christ we know how it will end, and it won’t be because of global warming, but because of sin. Ford, Chevy, and even imports like Nissan and Toyota can rest easy, because since the fall of Adam the end of the world has always been inevitable. It’s not their fault.

The end may come within the next ten years, but it may not be for another ten thousand. Either way, I love knowing that God has let me in on what’s seemingly becoming His little secret.

Off Topic: Da Vinci Hype

2006-05-20T10:43:00.000-05:00

I’m not sure if it’s just the way the media is portraying it, or if it’s the majority of our public Christian “leaders” dominating the issue as usual, but it's made to appear as if Christians are “up in arms,” and that Christ followers across the U.S. are demanding that the movie be banned because of the lies (fiction) within the film “The Da Vinci Code.”

Maybe the majority of American Christians really are outraged at the content of the new movie by Ron Howard. Maybe most of Christendom is angry that Christ is being portrayed as being less than Divine (there's nothing wrong with that). Maybe we do want to insist that sweet little Opie (Ron Howard) is a heretic for directing the movie, and that no Christian should give “one red cent” to ticket sales of such a devilish movie (others-not me).

But I suggest we take a much different approach. I believe it’s a perfect time to be a mature Christian with a strong conscience, and that it’s time we quit being suckered into the contrived hype that the media produces. It’s time we quit being sucked in by an American Christianity that teaches us that we must loudly proclaim evil at every corner, point the fingers at everyone that isn’t behaving in a biblical manner, and in turn, create an even larger separation between Christians and the unchurched, all the while driving nonbelievers even further from the search for truth.

I understand that Dan Brown, author of “The Da Vinci Code,” claims that most of what we’ve been taught about Christ is wrong. I know that the book and movie fictionally claim that Jesus was married to, and had children with, Mary Magdalene. As I listen to talk radio, I even seem to be the only one that understands that Jesus created us, and because of this He would be nothing short of an incestuous pervert having sex with His own children if He were, in fact, married to Mary Magdalene.

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisibly, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (Col. 1:16-17)

But as a believer in Jesus I am unafraid. God is in control, and as one who understands sovereignty I am confident that God is unafraid, also.

Instead of getting angry and reacting impulsively, complaining, or feeling good about ourselves because we’ve spotted the heretics, I believe we should see the opportunity and take advantage of it. Americans love movies, and what better time is there to discuss with our friends and neighbors a particular movie that everyone is talking about? Instead of picketing the film or telling neighbors to avoid it, I claim that we should actually see the film. Why not watch it and search for times to discuss the movie and ponder ways to naturally articulate who Jesus really is with those close to us?

The Day of the Lord by Mo Dardinger

2006-05-19T07:45:00.000-05:00

Just what is the Day of the Lord? This topic is generally overlooked in our churches today. Have you ever heard a sermon preached about it? Most haven't. Yet it fills the Scriptures. The Lord our God has a great deal to say about the Day of the Lord, and that makes it a topic which should concern us, His followers.

I attended the first session of a conference on biblical prophecy at a local church recently. The speaker had been assigned the topic “When Does the Day of the Lord Begin?” He briefly but accurately described seven different views of the End Times and the timing of the Rapture. (I really appreciate it when speakers and writers “get it right” concerning views other than their own. No one likes to be misrepresented, and as Christians we ought to be extremely careful to be accurate in what we say about our brothers and sisters, however misguided we may think them.)

This well-known teacher of biblical prophecy then gave us his view on when the Day of the Lord begins, how long it lasts, and what characterizes that Day. But he never gave us the signs that will signal that the Day of the Lord is about to begin. This surprised me greatly, since these signs are mentioned repeatedly in the Old Testament and are also described in the New Testament. If you want to know when the Day of the Lord begins, you must look for the signs the Lord has given us.

We have been studying Joel, which mentions the Day of the Lord in every chapter and which – as discussed in our last study – describes the signs to look for that will tell us that Day is about to begin. You and I must do better than the teacher that I heard. We must “know the code.” We must know the signs.

Signs that Herald the Day of the Lord

These are the Old Testament verses that mention the signs associated with the start of the Day of the Lord:

Isa 13:9-10
9 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming,
Cruel, with fury and burning anger,
To make the land a desolation;
And He will exterminate its sinners from it.
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not flash forth their light;
The sun will be dark when it rises
And the moon will not shed its light.

Joel 2:10-11
10 Before them the earth quakes,
The heavens tremble,
The sun and the moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.
11 The LORD utters His voice before His army;
Surely His camp is very great,
For strong is he who carries out His word.
The day of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome,
And who can endure it?

Joel 2:31-32
31 "The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.
32 And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD
Will be delivered;
For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who escape,
As the LORD has said,
Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.”

Joel 3:14-16
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.
16 The LORD roars from Zion
And utters His voice from Jerusalem,
And the heavens and the earth tremble.
But the LORD is a refuge for His people
And a stronghold to the sons of Israel.

Mal 4:4-6
4 "Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.
5 Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.
6 He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse."

What are the signs? Could they be any more obvious?

∑ Elijah the Prophet returns.
∑ The sun is darkened.
∑ The moon is darkened.
∑ The stars are darkened.

If you come up with a different list, let me know.

The Character of the Day of the Lord

So we know what to look for when the Day of the Lord is about to begin. But what is the Day of the Lord? What does it accomplish?

From my studies, I would say that this Day is a time period when God is reclaiming the Land of Israel for Himself and for the People of Israel, the Jews. It is a time of vengeance on Israel's enemies, and yet it is also a time when many Jews will be suffering and dying, most of them in unbelief. So even though they are in the process of being delivered physically and saved spiritually, the Day of the Lord is still a time for mourning and distress for Israel.

Some Bible teachers extend the Day of the Lord through the Millennium. They do this largely on the basis of 2 Peter 3:7-13, which implies that the Day of the Lord will see the end of the Old Heavens and Old Earth and the creation of the New Heavens and New Earth. They also generally take End Time passages which talk about the Day of the Lord and then use the phrase “in that day” to mean that the “in that day” events are a part of the Day of the Lord. Some of these events are clearly Millennial events.

I do not extend the Day of the Lord into the Millennium, however. The descriptions that I find of the Day of the Lord all indicate that it is not a time of joy, peace, and prosperity like the Millennium is. Read them and see for yourself just what will characterize the period of time that the prophets call “the Day of the Lord”:

Isa 13:6-9
6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near!
It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore all hands will fall limp,
And every man's heart will melt.
8 They will be terrified,
Pains and anguish will take hold of them;
They will writhe like a woman in labor,
They will look at one another in astonishment,
Their faces aflame.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming,
Cruel, with fury and burning anger,
To make the land a desolation;
And He will exterminate its sinners from it.

Ezek 30:2-5
2 "Son of man, prophesy and say, "Thus says the Lord GOD,
"Wail, "Alas for the day!'
3 "For the day is near,
Even the day of the LORD is near;
It will be a day of clouds,
A time of doom for the nations.
4 "A sword will come upon Egypt,
And anguish will be in Ethiopia;
When the slain fall in Egypt,
They take away her wealth,
And her foundations are torn down.
5 "Ethiopia, Put, Lud all Arabia, Libya and the people of the land that is in league will fall with them by the sword."

Joel 2:1-2 NKJV
1 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm in My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;
For the day of the LORD is coming,
For it is at hand:
2 A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.
A people come, great and strong,
The like of whom has never been;
Nor will there ever be any {such} after them,
Even for many successive generations.

Amos 5:18-20
18 Alas, you who are longing for the day of the LORD,
For what purpose will the day of the LORD be to you?
It will be darkness and not light;
19 As when a man flees from a lion
And a bear meets him,
Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall
And a snake bites him.
20 Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light,
Even gloom with no brightness in it?

Obad 15
15 "For the day of the LORD draws near on all the nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you.
Your dealings will return on your own head.”

Zeph 1:14-18
14 Near is the great day of the LORD,
Near and coming very quickly;
Listen, the day of the LORD!
In it the warrior cries out bitterly.
15 A day of wrath is that day,
A day of trouble and distress,
A day of destruction and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of trumpet and battle cry
Against the fortified cities
And the high corner towers.

1 Thess 5:1-11
1 Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.
2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.
3 While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.

2 Peter 3:7-13
7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.
9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!
13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

What is your conclusion, brothers and sisters? The Day of the Lord is a day of gloom and destruction, right? It is a period of time that will be difficult, full of warfare and bloodshed. It will be a time of sorrow, a time of distress and destruction.

Copyright (c) 2006 Mo Dardinger - all rights reserved

Scripture taken, unless otherwise noted, from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Updated Edition (NASU), © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Bible text designated NKJV is from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

History Lesson—Ralph E. Woodrow Weighs In

2006-05-13T20:17:00.000-05:00

Excerpted from Great Prophecies of The Bible by Ralph E. Woodrow. Copyright © 1971.

George Ladd, seminary professor, after making a survey of church history says: "Every church father who deals with this subject expects the church to suffer at the hands of Antichrist...we can find no trace of pretribulationism in the early church: and no modern pretribulationist has successfully proved that this particular doctrine was held by any of the church fathers or students of the word before the nineteenth century."

This is quite a sweeping statement, but one, which we believe, will stand up under investigation. The Didache, one of the earliest pieces of Christian literature written after the New Testament, stated that Antichrist would come, that many would be offended and lost, and the resurrection of the just would follow this time of woe. The Epistle of Barnabas, written about the same time, says: "When the Son comes, he will destroy the time of the Wicked one and will judge the godless"-thus placing the coming of Christ after the reign of the Wicked one, not before. He did not hold to an any moment return of Christ, for he expected the Roman empire to fall first.

Justin Martyr (100-165) spoke of the coming of the Lord in these words: "He shall come from heaven with glory, when the man of apostasy, who speaks strange things against the most High, shall venture to do unlawful deeds on earth against us Christians, who, have learned the true worship of God from the law, and the word which went forth from Jerusalem by means of the apostles of Jesus." Christ "shall come from heaven with glory, accompanied by his angelic hosts, when also he shall raise the bodies of all men who have lived, and shall clothe those of the worthy with immorality."

Irenaeus (130-202) spoke of the resurrection of the just, which takes place after the coming of Antichrist....But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world...then the Lord shall come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom." He spoke of kings whom "shall give their kingdom to the beast, and put the church to flight. After that the coming of our Lord shall destroy them.... In the end the church shall be suddenly caught up: and, having overcome, will be "crowned with incorruption."

Tertullian (160-240) believed that Antichrist would rise to power and persecute the church. He affirmed it was customary for Christians to pray for a part in the resurrection to meet Christ at the end of the world.

Hippolytus (170-236) spoke of the four empires of Daniel and that the breaking up of the fourth empire (which was then in power) would bring on the dreaded Antichrist who would persecute the church. He believed the second advent would be the time that the dead would be raised, Antichrist destroyed, and the saints glorified. Cyprian (200-258), a Christian bishop and martyr, believed Antichrist would reign, after which Christ would come at the end of the world.

Lactantius (260-330) believed the Antichrist would reign over the world and afflict the righteous, but that God would send a Great King to rescue them, to destroy the wicked with fire and sword, to raise the dead and renew the world.

Cyril (315-386), bishop of Jerusalem, wrote: "We believe in Him, who also ascended into the heavens, and sat down on the right hand of the Father, and shall come in glory to judge the quick and dead...at the end of this world, in the last day. For of this world there is to be an end, and this created world is to be re-made anew. It is evident from various statements, that he believed Antichrist would come to power and persecute the church before the second coming of Christ.

Satan: Who is he?

2006-05-07T17:18:00.000-05:00

Other names/descriptions of Satan
Lucifer (KJV, Latin = shining one); Isaiah 14:12
Son of the Dawn (NASB); Isaiah 14:12
Morning Star (NIV); Isaiah 14:12
The devil; Matthew 4:1
Beelzebub the ruler (NASB) / prince (NIV) of demons; Matthew 10:25, 12:24
Murderer, Father of lies; John 8:44
The ruler (NASB) / prince (NIV) of this world; John 12:31
The evil one; John 17:15
The god of this age; 2 Corinthians 4:4
Belial; 2 Corinthians 6:15
The Prince of the Power of the Air; Ephesians 2:2
The tempter; 1 Thessalonians 3:5
The enemy; 1 Timothy 5:14
Dragon / Serpent of old (NASB), Ancient serpent (NIV); Revelation 12:9
Accuser of our brethren; Revelation 12:10

Who owns what?
Man’s loss of earth rulership / rulership handed over to Satan
Genesis 3:6-7
3:22-24
Satan’s rulership
Luke 4:5-6
1 John 5:19
Christ claims positional rulership through the cross / Satan defeated positionally
Colossians 2:13-15
Christ’s final, literal rulership and Satan’s defeat completed
Revelation 20:1-4, 7-10
Revelation 21:3-4

Satan’s Characteristics
Matthew 13:19
John 8:44
2 Corinthians 11:14
1 Peter 5:8
1 John 3:8

Satan’s history
Isaiah 14:12-15 (Historical king of Babylon and probably Satan as double meaning)
Ezekiel 28:12-15 (Historical leader of Tyre and probably dual reference to Satan)
Matthew 4:1
Luke 10:18
Luke 22:3
John 12:31
John 16:11
Hebrews 2:14
1 John 3:8
Jude 1:9
Revelation 12:3-5

Satan’s Future
Matthew 25:41
Romans 16:20
Revelation 12:6-17
Revelation 19:11-21
Revelation 20:1-4; 7-10

Satan and believers
1 Chronicles 21:1
Job 1:6-9
Job 1:12
Job 2:1-7
Zechariah 3:1
Luke 22:31
2 Corinthians 12:7
1 Thessalonians 2:18

God’s protection
2 Thessalonians 3:3
1 John 4:4
1 John 5:18-19

Stand against/avoid the devil
Psalms 119:11
Matthew 4:10
Romans 13:11-14
1 Corinthians 7:4-5
2 Corinthians 2:10-11
2 Cor 6:3-10
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Ephesians 4:26-27
Ephesians 6:10-18
1 Thess. 5:5-8
1 Timothy 3:6
1 Timothy 3:7
1 Timothy 5:13-15
James 4:7

Satan used to bring repentance
1 Corinthians 5:5
1 Timothy 1:20

The Christian's position: Present light vs. former darkness
Acts 26:18
Romans 5:10
Ephesians 2:1-10
Ephesians 5:8
Colossians 1:13

Is This Guy NUTS?

2006-04-30T15:57:00.000-05:00

If you’re an individual that’s not particularly religious and you just happen to stumble across this blog, it may appear somewhat weird. I understand this. There are so many cults and nut jobs in this day and age. How do we distinguish one quack from the next, and how do we know if someone is just an everyday Christian that believes in the Bible basics? It’s usually pretty obvious that a person is nuts if he or she speaks loudly of UFO’s, probing, and the Messiah within the same sentence, but unfortunately it’s not always that clear.

Even if people don’t seem to have a great interest in the Bible as a whole, it appears to me that most become very curious when they hear the contents of the book of Revelation mentioned. The statistics don’t lie—if you’re an American, two thirds of you believe that Christ will return to earth someday. Even if you don’t attend “church,” one third of you believe the same.1 And sixty percent of all Americans believe that the world will end.2 There must be something to it, and one shouldn’t be too quick to conclude that all end times beliefs are spoken by religious fanatics that have secret agendas to overtake Washington and force feed their religious beliefs to the masses, or that have plans to bomb abortion clinics.

My beliefs are simple. I believe the Bible is accurate, and, for the most part, speaks for itself. Many prophecies have already come true exactly as the prophets foretold, and because of this I think it would be unwise to ignore what they say is going to happen. Christ came just as they said He would, and He will come again just as they say He will. It’s that simple.

I believe all you have to do is read a few select passages within the Bible to know what Jesus says about His return and the end of the world. Once you know the basics you should be able to discern, at least on the major issues, if a certain religious person is putting forth fictitious rumors, or if they are simply reciting what the Bible has already said. You shouldn’t have to listen to anyone preach at a pulpit, or have to read anything by so called scholars or experts when it comes to the future of the world.

Here are a few passages that I consider to be Bible basics, to help you better know what the Scriptures say about the issue. I hope this motivates you to crack open a Bible and seek for more knowledge on the issue. And as always, feel free to ask anything you wish. I will try to give answers straight from the Bible so that you may judge for yourself—is this guy nuts?

1. “Update: A 1997 U.S. News & World Report Poll," Sign of the Times, August 1998, p 7
2. Jeffery L. Sheler, “The Christmas Covenant,” U.S. News & World Report, 12/19/1994, p 62

Matthew 24:4–31 (New International Version)

Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, “I am the Christ,” and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of Me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

So when you see standing in the holy place “the abomination that causes desolation,” spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.

At that time if anyone says to you, “Look, here is the Christ!” or, “There He is!” do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time. So if anyone tells you, “There He is, out in the desert,” do not go out; or, “Here He is, in the inner rooms,” do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other (Matt. 24:4–31).

2 Thessalonians 1:8-10 (New International Version)

He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power on the day He comes to be glorified in His people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed.

Revelation 21:1-4 (New International Version)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Matthew 24 and Revelation 6 Compared

2006-04-25T17:03:00.000-05:00

There are other possibilities when comparing Matthew 24 with Revelation 6, but I believe the chart below represents the most probable scenario, and shows that the two chapters must be linked. The similarities are too great to write off, in my opinion.

The Position of the Early Church

2006-04-19T21:19:00.000-05:00

Excerpt from “The Case for the Pre Wrath Rapture” by Kenneth W. Eckerty
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The testimony of the early church was that they would see antichrist and suffer persecution at his hands.

* Tertullian: "That the beast Antichrist with his false prophet may wage war on the Church of God....Since, then, the Scriptures both indicate the stages of the last times, and concentrate the harvest of the Christian hope in the very end of the world."

* Justin Martyr: "The man of apostasy...shall venture to do unlawful things on the earth against us, the Christians."

* The Pastor of Hermas: "Happy ye who endure the Great Tribulation that is coming."

* Iranaeus: "And the ten kings...shall give their kingdom to the beast, and put the Church to flight."

* Barnabas: "Take heed, lest resting at our ease, as those who are called of God, we should fall asleep in our sins, and the wicked prince, acquiring power over us, should thrust us away from the Kingdom of the Lord."

* Hippolytus: "Now concerning the tribulation of the persecution which is to fall upon the Church from the adversary. That refers to the 1260 days during which the tyrant is to reign and persecute the Church."

The Scroll

2006-04-13T21:39:00.000-05:00

I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?" And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it; and one of the elders said to me, "Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals." (Rev. 5:1-5)

Armageddon and More

2006-04-09T17:38:00.000-05:00

On a forum a few weeks ago an individual asked a friend the following question:
________________________________________________________

“Why does pre-wrath teach that the bowls of God’s wrath take place for 30 days after the 70th Week (including Armageddon), and what is the 45 days you claim that follow the 30 days?”

Answer:

At Daniel 12:11-12, we see:
1. There will be 1290 days from the midpoint of the week; from the time that the abomination is set up. That is 30 days after the end of the 2nd half of the week, which is 1260 days.
2. v. 12, how happy is the one who reaches to the 1335 days. This is 45 days more after the 30 days.

Now: to correlate this with the book of Revelation. The prince who is to come (antichrist) breaks the covenant at the midpoint of the week, and places the abomination in the sanctuary. He begins his reign with 3 1/2 years left in the 70th week. Revelation tells us that his reign will be for 42 months.

Persecuted Israel (the woman of Rev. 12) is given protection in the wilderness for 1260 days.
The testimony of the 2 witnesses begins at the same time, for they are granted 1260 days to testify. The completed “official” reign of the beast brings us to the end of the 70th week; the end of the 3 1/2 years.

The completed testimony of the 2 witnesses brings us to the end of the week; the end of the 1260 days. Daniel is told that the end of these things that he has seen (the facts concerning the evil dictator) will be in 3 1/2 years; that is, in 1260 days. However, Dan. 12:11 tells us that the abomination will be in place for 1290 days; 30 days longer; or 30 days BEYOND the end of the week.

After the witnesses complete their testimony, 1260 days will have passed. That will be the end of the 70th week, and the end of the “official” reign of the antichrist.

After the 1260 days of the testimony by 2 witnesses, they are killed and lay in the street for 3 1/2 days. These days are AFTER the 1260, and are the first 4 days of the 30 days that follow the 1260 (the 1290). After the witnesses are removed from the earth, the 7th trumpet sounds which officially announces that the 70th week has come to an end; Ie, Christ has begun to reign.

BUT - the beast is still alive.
BUT - the abomination is still in the sanctuary.
AND - there are still the bowl judgments to be poured out.

That leaves only 26 1/2 days until the abomination will be removed. The bowl judgments take place during this time BECAUSE they follow the 7th trumpet. Armageddon is connected with the 6th and 7th bowl judgments. It is at Armageddon that the beast is destroyed and thrown in the lake. It would also be at this time that the abomination is removed.

Then the rest of humanity need to be evaluated and the unbelievers separated from the believers, so that the believers can go into the Messiah’s earthly kingdom. This evaluation takes place over the next 45 days. That is why it says, HAPPY are those who attain to the 1335 days. These are believers who remain alive and become the citizens of Messiah’s earthly kingdom, populating the various nations in which they live (Gentiles), and the Jews of course, in palestine. Is this a bit clearer?

In grace,
Ron
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You may read more of Ron’s veiws on prophecy here.

The Big Lie?

2006-04-04T21:29:00.000-05:00

Thomas Ice is the executive director of the PreTrib Research Center in Washington D.C. The Research Center was founded a few years ago by Tim LaHaye and Thomas Ice to research, teach, proclaim, and defend pre-tribulationism. Look for a moment at what Thomas Ice has to say about the people who go against the pre-trib doctrine:
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The Big Lie
"One of the things that facilitated the Nazi rise to power in Germany earlier this century was their propaganda approach called "The Big Lie." If you told a big enough lie often enough, then the people would come to believe it. This the Nazis did well. This is what anti-pre-tribulationists like John Bray and Dave MacPherson have done over the last 25 years."
__________________________________________________________

I find it very ironic that this is what's being claimed. Isn't it the pre-trib doctrine that's been repeatedly proclaimed from the rooftops? Isn't it the pre-trib doctrine that's been accepted by many without question because of majority rule in evangelical Christendom? What does it take to motivate someone like Ice to say something this absurd? As a pre-tribber, are you encouraged to have Thomas Ice as one of your main advocates?

Future Hopes Eagerly Awaited And Applied

2006-03-31T17:04:00.000-06:00

Romans 8:23-25
And not only this, but also we ourselves, have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoptions as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

1 Corinthians 1:7
…so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ…

2 Timothy 4:7-8
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Amplified
…who have loved and yearned for and welcomed His appearing.

NIV
…who have longed for his appearing.

Titus 2:11-13
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.

Heb 13:12-14
Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.

1 Peter 1:13
Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 3:11-12
Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat?

1 John 3:2-3
Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when he appears, we will be like Him, because we will See Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Summed Up

With perseverance we wait eagerly for our adoptions as sons, and the redemption of our body. We love, welcome, and long for His appearing. We are seeking the city which is to come. Our hope is fixed completely on the grace to be given us at the revelation of Jesus Christ. We are looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God. We know that when he appears, we will be like Him, because we will See Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Reader Response

2006-03-25T13:21:00.000-06:00

A while back a reader suggested to me that in Matthew 24:1-35 Jesus spoke of His coming at Armageddon, but that in verse 36 He changed His focus and began speaking of a pre-trib rapture due to the fact that Jesus said times would be like the times of Noah and that all would be living in peace. Most pre-trib teachers reject this view, but a few hold to it, so I thought I would post a portion of my response here. You may view the entire conversation in the comment section of this post, if you like.
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I understand that you think that Jesus all of a sudden stops speaking of His coming that takes place after the abomination, and then starts talking about a pre-trib rapture in Matt. 24:36. But there is absolutely no indication for this in the text. In fact, it makes no sense at all.

Matthew 24 in orderly fashion
1. Abomination of desolation and great tribulation - v. 15, 21
2. Christ’s coming, AFTER abomination and GT – v. 29-31
3. When you see ALL these things (signs previously mentioned), He’s near - v. 32-33
4. But of THAT day and hour, no one knows – v. 36

What is “That day?” It can only be the day He’s been speaking about in the entire discourse. How could He say, “But of THAT day,” if all of a sudden He’s speaking about a day (a pre-trib rapture) that He has not previously mentioned until that point in the text? “That day MUST be the day He comes, as shown in verses 29-31.

I suggest that people will be living life as usual and getting married, eating and drinking, etc, because the reign of the beast will not be effecting them. It will be effecting us. They will have peace and safety and will be able to live life as usual because they are under the "protection" of the man of lawlessness and they are not suffering persecution like the saints will be undergoing.

The “Overcomers” Overcome by Being Overcome

2006-03-22T00:09:00.000-06:00

We know Who wins the final battle in the end, but how do we take part in winning that battle? What if followers of Christ (the “overcomers”) are an army that actually wins by being defeated? I believe the struggle between the Church and its enemy in the end times is an oxymoronic battle that is only similar to the battle between God and Satan at the cross.

…so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord… (Ephesians 3:10-11)

When Satan physically overcame Christ on the cross, Christ spiritually overcame Satan.

When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. (Colossians 2:15)

Likewise, in the final 3.5 years, when Satan physically overcomes the Church, the Church will also spiritually overcome Satan.

And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. (Revelation 12:11)

Christ and the Church have already overcome Satan, but it will come to its finality and complete fruition in the end.

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel. (Genesis 3:15)

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. (Romans 16:20)

Therefore, the wisdom of God displayed to Satan at the cross is being displayed at present also, but will once again be displayed in it’s entirety through the Church in the end times when we overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb.

The last will be first. Lose to win.

The Foolish Nation, Jealousy, And Redemption

2006-03-18T23:42:00.000-06:00

They (Israel) have made Me jealous with what is not God; They have provoked Me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. (Deut. 32:21)

You and I are this “foolish nation.” When the Jews rejected God’s Son, their loss became our gain (Rom. 11:12), and as the passage in Deuteronomy 32 informed us, God is going to use us to make the Jewish nation, Israel, jealous.

This brings me to my main point. Many within Christendom are saying Israel has been replaced by the Church, and that God is done with the literal nation of Israel. While I part company with the majority of today’s dispensationalists on many issues, I agree that they have correctly presented the fact that God does have a future plan for Nation Israel, and that a large portion of literal Jews will someday join us, the Church, in our love for His Son.

What’s the point of God using us to make them jealous if it’s not to “win” them back? Why does a teenage boy take another girl to the football game and parade her in front of his ex-girlfriend? Is it only to shove it in her face? Sometimes, maybe, but quite often it’s to show the girl what she is missing, in hopes that she will desire him once again. It is no different with God, other than the fact He doesn’t have to hope that it will come to past—He can, and will do it.

For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery--so that you will not be wise in your own estimation--that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB. THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS (Rom 11:25-27).

Don’t be deceived by the naysayers. The day the skeptics can measure the heavens above is the day that He will be done with Israel.

Thus says the LORD, "If the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out below, then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done," declares the LORD (Jer. 31:37).

The Crucifixion—The Complete Picture

2006-03-15T15:37:00.000-06:00

I've taken every detail found in all four crucifixion accounts and combined them into one complete crucifixion account. Each section of Scripture used has a footnote that you may view at the bottom of the page, or you can click it to see the entire passage at Bible Gateway. Christ's death always comes alive to me when I read about it, but I believe that reading it in its entirety with Matthew’s, Mark’s, Luke’s, and John’s input, brings even more clarity, excitement, and reverence to my heart when I experience it.

NIV
Matthew 27:32-56
Mark 15:21-41
Luke 23:26-49
John 19:17-37

A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross 1 behind Jesus. 2 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then “ ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?" 3

They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall (myrrh 4); but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 5
Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals--one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” 6

Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” 7

The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”

The soldiers also came up and mocked him and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 8

Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”

In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can't save himself! 9 Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe. 10 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” 11

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don't you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” 12

When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

“Let's not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let's decide by lot who will get it.”
This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, “They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” So this is what the soldiers did.

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. 13

It was the third hour when they crucified him. 14 From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”--which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He's calling Elijah.” 15

…Knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 16

Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him.” 17

When he had received the drink, 18 Jesus cried out in a loud voice 19 and said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit 20 and breathed his last. 21

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God 22 (The Centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”23)!” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee 24 to care for his needs, 25 stood at a distance, watching these things. 26 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. 27

Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.” 28

1 Mark 15:21-22
2 Luke 23:26
3 Luke 23:27-31
4 Mark 15:23
5 Matthew 27:34
6 Luke 23:32-33
7 John 19:19-22
8 Luke 23:35-37
9 Matthew 27:39-42
10 Mark 15:32
11 Matthew 27:43
12 Luke 23:39-43
13 John 19:23-27
14 Mark 15:25
15 Matthew 27:46-47
16 John 19:28
17 Matthew 27:48-49
18 John 19:30
19 Matthew 27:50
20 John 19:30
21 Luke 23:46
22 Matthew 27:51-54
23 Luke 23:47
24 Luke 23:48-49
25 Matthew 27:55
26 Luke 23:49
27 Matthew 27:56
28 John 19:31-37

The Tribulation Or the Day of the Lord? — Revisited

2006-03-11T17:42:00.000-06:00

Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. (2 Thess. 2:1-2)

We all agree that somebody, somewhere, was messing with the Church of Thessalonica, and that it appears that some of the Thessalonians may have been duped into wondering if the Day of the Lord had already come. But Paul reassured them that this was not only a false claim, but that it was, in fact, impossible.

So we’ve made it this far in agreement with our pre-trib brothers, but this, unfortunately, is where the agreements end. As we look at what John Walvoord wrote in the late 1970’s, keep in mind that he is working on the assumption that the Tribulation begins at the opening of the first seal. Also, pay close attention and notice how he flip flops with his terminology.

"The situation described in 2 Thessalonians 2 indicates that the teaching that the church would go through the Tribulation was already being advanced by certain teachers whom Paul opposed in this passage…It becomes evident that there were already those who taught that the Church would go through the Tribulation, or as it is here described, the Day of the Lord. It is most important to observe that Paul labeled this a false doctrine and urged the Thessalonians not to be deceived by this teaching. The passage clearly implies that Paul had taught them that they would not enter the Day of the Lord and that the rapture would come before the final persecutions of the saints.” (The Rapture Question, John Walvoord, 1979, p. 238)

Walvoord inserts the term "the Tribulation," when the passage in question says no such thing. In 2 Thessalonians Paul spoke of "the Day of the Lord." In altering the phrase from "Day of the Lord" to "the Tribulation," Walvoord misleads many readers into believing that the apostle Paul is teaching the Thessalonians that they should "not be quickly shaken from [their] composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the [Tribulation] has come (2 Thess. 2:2)."

It’s nothing less than deception, though unintentional, when Walvoord inserts the term “the Tribulation” where the Scripture says, “Day of the Lord.” The term “the Tribulation” cannot be applied to the text instead of “the Day of the Lord” if one wants to remain biblical. “The Tribulation” is caused by the abomination of desolatioin that takes place in the midpoint of the 70th Week (Dan. 9:27), while the Day of the Lord cannot begin until after the triple sign in the sun moon and stars according to Joel 2:31, which we know doesn’t take place until after the Tribulation according to Matthew 24:29.

Notice the simple order of events:

The Abomination of Desolation

…when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. (Matt. 24:15-16)

Then the Tribulation

For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. (Matt. 24:21)

The Sign in the Skies is After the Tribulation

…immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (Matt. 24:29)

The Day of the Lord is After the Sign in the Skies

The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. Joel 2:31

When this term, “the Tribulation” is applied by Walvoord, the automatic conclusion is made that Paul was informing the Thessalonians that “the Tribulation” couldn’t have started because the pre-trib rapture had not taken place yet! And if you care to read his book, this is exactly what Walvoord asserts, and continues by claiming that Paul is teaching the Thessalonians that post-trib is a false teaching. What a sneaky, slight-of-hand maneuver.

What’s funny though, is the fact that Walvoord (along with all pre-trib teachers) ignores that the passage would still be teaching that the “Tribulation” will not come unless the man of lawlessness is revealed. This completely contradicts his claim that the Tribulation and the Day of the Lord begins at the beginning of the 70th Week. Even when the words of the Scripture are altered, the end result is still far from a pre-trib rapture. Don’t be misled.

Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed… (2 Thess. 2:1-3)

2 Thessalonians 2

2006-03-08T16:39:00.000-06:00

As we continue to evaluate the pre-trib claim that the Tribulation and the Day of the Lord are same event, and that they both begin at the opening of the first seal in Revelation, 2 Thessalonians 2 must be very familiar to the reader. If you don’t know the passage backwards and forwards, I would suggest you take a few days to read and think about its content so that you will have a better understanding when I post my next message on this topic in a few days.
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Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. (2 Thess. 2:1-12)
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Click here for the next post where we will evaluate an instance where John Walvoord, a prominent prophecy teacher (now deceased), used the term “the Tribulation” interchangeably with “the Day of the Lord, and we will see just how tricky this little flip flop of the phrases can be.

The Tribulation Or the Day of the Lord?

2006-03-07T14:01:00.000-06:00

“The Tribulation” is not the only term the pre-tribulation rapture camp has misused. They quite often apply the term “the Day of the Lord” to the entire 70th Week, too, because of their preconceived idea that the entire seven year period is God’s wrath. Most claim the Day of the Lord begins with the opening of the first seal, and completely ignore the fact that Joel 2:31 informs us that the Day of the Lord will not take place until after the sign in the sun, moon and stars, which takes place sometime after the sixth seal is removed from scroll.

To confuse the issue even more, they use their term “the Tribulation” interchangeably with the biblical term “the Day of the Lord,” even though there is no biblical foundation for this. This swapping of terms causes much unnecessary confusion, and leads to many wrong conclusions.

It must be understood that the Great Tribulation (Matt. 24:21) that begins after the abomination of desolation (Matt. 24:15) is a period of time containing a trial that’s aimed at followers of Christ, while The Day of the Lord is a period of time that contains a trial that is aimed at God’s enemies. The Great Tribulation and The Day of the Lord are completely different trials aimed at completely different people, and take place at completely different times. First, the Great Tribulation upon the elect, and then at, or slightly after the gathering of the elect, The Day of the Lord and God’s wrath will begin.

In the next post, I'll show an example from one of John Walvoord’s books where he erroneously swaps the term “The Day of the Lord” for the term “The Tribulation” in an attempt to prove the pre-tribulation rapture theory. While it may not have been Walvoord’s intent to be sneaky, the fact remains, and will be shown, that his swapping of terms tortures the biblical text in a way that usually slips under the noses of many innocent and unaware individuals, leading them to simply believe the pre-trib argument as presented by Walvoord and many of his counterparts. I know, sounds kind of like a conspiracy theory, doesn’t it?

To continue in this four part article click here.

Seven Year Tribulation—No Such Thing

2006-03-04T21:52:00.000-06:00

Most people are completely unaware that there is no biblical support for using the term, “The Tribulation,” when speaking of the final seven years of Daniel’s 70th Week. In actuality, there is no biblical mention of Christians experiencing end times tribulation until after the abomination of desolation, which takes place at the midpoint of Daniel’s 70th Week.

Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place…then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. (Matt. 24:15,21)

Though there will be difficulties in the first half of the 70th Week, the term, “The Tribulation,” is never associated with the first 3.5 years anywhere in Scripture, but is only linked to the final 3.5 years and the period of suffering that followers of Christ will experience from the man of lawlessness.

This is very important to understand, and the next two messages will make it clear why the misapplication of this important term creates a sneaky maneuver that is used by many pre-trib teachers to, once again, manipulate the text to say something that it doesn’t.

Click here to go to the next post, "The Tribulation or the Day of the Lord?" where I will begin showing how terms are misused to come to faulty, pre-trib conclusions.

The “Tribulation” Challenge

2006-03-01T07:41:00.000-06:00

Dear pre-trib believer,

Can you find anything within the Bible that teaches that there is a seven year “Tribulation?”

Sincerely,

Dave

PS There will be at least two follow-ups to this topic.

Pre-wrath is Meat and Potatoes

2006-02-27T07:40:00.000-06:00

Some have tried desperately, with some success, to convince people that pre-wrath is a confusing position and next to impossible to understand. I believe this is a very inaccurate assessment made by those who are very confused themselves. Pre-wrath is a meat-and-potatoes position for meat-and-potatoes-people, and a plain reading of a few select passages easily sums up the doctrine. Pre-wrath can be broken down to its very bare essentials so that anyone can understand it in under five minutes. Set your watch.

Matthew 24 informs us that, at some unknown time in the future, “the abomination of desolation” (v. 15) will take place. Following the abomination, “there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world” (v. 21).

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky. (v. 29)

[And then all] “will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect. (v. 30)

The gathering mentioned in verse 30 is the rapture of the Church as seen in 1 Thessalonians (and other places):

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. (1 Thess. 4:16-17)

The sign in the sun, moon, and stars, as mentioned in Matt. 24:29, that proceeds the coming of Christ and the gathering of the elect from the great tribulation, is seen in Revelation to take place after the sixth seal is opened.

I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. (Rev. 6:12-13)

Because the rapture is shown to take place after the sign in the sun, moon, and stars in Matthew 24, we should also see evidence of a rapture after the triple sign in Revelation. And we do.

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands…

…Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?"

I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Rev. 7:9,13-14)

So why is this position called pre-wrath? Because we believe that, at an unknown time in the future, God will gather His bride before He distributes His end times wrath.

After the rapture of the Church has taken place, the wrath of God that is contained within the Day of the Lord will begin. We know that the Day of the Lord cannot begin until after the sixth seal is opened and the signs appear in the sky. The prophet Joel made this clear for us:

The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. (Joel 2:31)

Pre-wrath Timeline

1. Abomination of Desolation
2. Great Tribulation
3. Triple Sign at Sixth Seal
4. Christ’s Coming and Gathering of the Elect
5. Day of the Lord/God’s Wrath (contained in the trumpet and bowl judgments that follow the seven seals)

In conclusion, yes, the pre-wrath position is simple, but is it also important? I believe the answer is yes, and no. It is helpful to place everything into a neat and orderly package, name the package in order to give it distinction from the other packages, and present it to others for their evaluation. This is especially true when the other packages are full of erroneous claims that have great potential to hinder an individual’s understanding of God and His plan, among other things. But I’m not one that believes we need to be overly concerned with names and titles, or that we need to have a name for every belief we hold. So, yes, the pre-wrath position is important, but not a necessity.

I believe the important factor within the rapture debate that everyone must understand is this: Christ followers have been given a promise to suffer (Phil. 1:29), no matter what a certain new belief systems teaches. The final generation is not exempt from suffering and gets no special escape ticket from the Great Tribulation, but Christ will come for us when it’s time.

Speaking of time—check your watch.

Advice Column

2006-02-26T16:49:00.000-06:00

Dear Dave,

I need help. I love my pastor and the people at my church. I’ve been going there a long time and don’t want to go anywhere else, but the pastor is in the middle of a four week message centered on the pre-trib rapture…and I’m MAD! I can’t seem to get over it. What do you think I should do?

Christy

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Dear Christy,

If a person is afraid to speak in front of a group, the advice that people give is to view the audience in their underwear. For more than one reason, you may not want to visualize your pastor in his underwear, but I suggest you try picturing him with a milk mustache while he’s teaching the pre-trib theory next Sunday morning. This may help lighten the mood you’re experiencing. But I’m not a trained professional, so you may want to seek a second opinion.

Dave

Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins

The Pre-tribulation Theory is an Old Belief? Part 2

2006-02-24T22:25:00.000-06:00

Here's one more article about the newness of pre-trib that's worth reading.

Not One Uncontested Historical
Reference to a Pretrib Rapture

The Pre-tribulation Theory is an Old Belief? Pseudo-Ephraem says, "No!"

2006-02-22T08:48:00.000-06:00

I understand that there’s been mass marketing involved when it comes to spreading the teaching of the pre-tribulational rapture theory. It began in the early 1900’s with the Scofield Reference Bible, and it slowly gained momentum until things exploded in 1970 with Hal Lindsey’s book, The Late Great Planet Earth. And of course, we all know about the Left Behind phenomenon.

But still, at times, I have trouble understanding how the majority of Americans are completely unaware of the origins of the pre-tribulational rapture theory, or of the fact that there is not a single historical document that references a belief in a pre-trib coming of Christ before the late 1820's. When compared to the entire history of the Church, pre-trib truly is Pop Culture.

Many have tried to manipulate documents in attempts to prove that the theory existed long ago, and many have believed the slick maneuvers. There’s a few books that come to mind that address this issue like “First the Antichrist,” by Bob Gundry, or the painful read “The Rapture Plot,” by Dave MacPherson, but I believe the best piece I’ve read is found at The Last Trumpet.

There, Tim Warner covers the document known as “Pseudo-Ephraem,” the best known “evidence” for an historical document that supposedly shows an early pre-trib belief. It’s fairly lengthy, but very good.

The Tribune’s Purpose

2006-02-19T14:17:00.000-06:00

It’s my desire that this blog be a safe place where friends can send their friends and feel comfortable knowing that they will not be insulted. There are countless individuals within the American church system that “know” that the pre-trib theory is Biblical simply because everyone in their environment has told them that it is. The Pre-wrath Tribune is dedicated to objecting to this conclusion, and is committed to presenting teachings that demonstrate why environmental majority is not necessarily the best place to receive doctrine.

Top Five Purposes of The Pre-wrath Tribune:

1. To help those adhering to the pre-tribulation rapture theory understand why many believe the theory is not based on biblical evidence.

2. To help those who already hold to a pre-wrath or post-trib belief. To present, clarify, and articulate reasons for what they already know to be true so that they can, in turn, better articulate it to their friends.

3. To present and simplify the pre-wrath position and topics pertaining to, but not limited to, the study of prophecy.

4. To advance the truth about Christ’s return in these important times and to create thought that broadens our view of God so that we may know Him more fully (there is much more involved in the study of prophecy than the simple issue of the timing of His return).

5. To stick it to The Man.*

Certainly somebody, somewhere, will get mad while visiting The Pre-wrath Tribune, but in my years of debating this subject I have come to conclude that this is, at times, unavoidable. All I can do is my best. Join me, invite your friends, link the Tribune to your site, and help advance the cause. Have fun, post a lot, and come back often.

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*The Man — The invisible puppeteer operating the strings. The entity with the power; with influence. The one with the ability to hold you back and keep you down in your attempt to pursue spiritual growth and biblical understanding. He is the 21st century American religious system; the Left Behind phenomenon; the Papacy; the dispensational system established in the 1800's; the extreme, hyper-zealous Religious Right movement; etc.

Congratulations!

2006-02-18T09:46:00.000-06:00

A regular reader from Moab, Utah just became visitor # 666 today (see stats counter). Congratulations! You will receive The Pre-wrath Tribune at absolutely no cost for one year. Click here to view your prize.

Albrecht Durer

2006-02-17T21:35:00.000-06:00

I’ve placed my favorite apocalyptic art piece at the bottom of this blog as a permanent footer. It’s a sixteenth century “woodcut” by Albrecht Durer (1471-1528 AD) entitled “The Opening of the Fifth and Sixth Seal,” and is an obviously fitting piece for The Pre-wrath Tribune. Check it out along with his other work.

The Seventieth Week Challenge

2006-02-16T16:58:00.000-06:00

Dear pre-trib believer,

The Church did not experience the first 69 weeks (Dan. 9:20-27). We agree on this. But you take things one step further and say that because the Church was not there for the first 69, it cannot be in the final 70th week, either. Can you find a single passage in the Bible that supports this claim?

Sincerely,

Dave

List of All Previous Posts (Newest posts on top)

2006-02-15T16:58:00.001-06:00

Don't Ignore the Details: Revelation Does NOT Reveal Who Jesus Is
Revelation Chart
It's Gettin' Hot in Here (Global Warming)
Da Vinci Hype (The Movie)
History Lesson
Satan: Who is He?
Is This Guy Nuts?
Matthew 24 / Revelation 6 Chart
The Position of the Early Church
The Scroll
Armageddon and More
The Big Lie?
Future Hopes Eagerly Awaited And Applied
Reader Response
The "Overcomers" Overcome by Being Overcome
The Foolish Nation, Jealousy, And Redemption
The Crucifixion—The Complete Picture
The Tribulation Or the Day of the Lord? — Revisited
2 Thessalonians 2
The Tribulation Or the Day of the Lord
Seven Year Tribulation—No Such Thing
The "Tribulation" Challenge
Pre-wrath Is Meat and Potatoes
Advice Column
The Pre-tribulation Theory is an Old Belief? Part 2
The Pre-tribulation Theory is an Old Belief?
The Tribune’s Purpose
Congratulations!
Albrecht Durer (Art)
The Seventieth Week Challenge
Ruth Graham's Thoughts
Dear Tim LaHaye,
Before or After What, When?
Corrie Ten Boom On Tribulation
Money Making Marketing Machine
Revelation Unsealed (Book review)
Revelation 3:10 — Pre-trib Foundation
Top 10 Verses That Teach Pre-trib
What The Bible Says About The Rapture
1 Peter 2:20-21
Left Behind Soundtrack, Confusion and Irony
The Church Is Not In Rev. 4-18?
Foolish Nation
The Seals Are God's Wrath?
What, Or Who, Is The Church?
Taking Tim To Task
So When Is His Wrath?
Why Isn’t God’s Wrath Mentioned?
The Biggest Sign Not Mentioned?
Love Grown Cold
True Rumors (Pre-trib's origin)
Silly, Silly Rumors (Nobody believed the 70th Week was unfulfilled until recently?)
Matthew 24 And 1 Thessalonians Compared
Pre-wrath Big Picture
Parousia Magazine
Gather and Return to Me
Who Is the Overcomer?
Who Are The Elect In Matthew 24?
Preterists Turn Jesus Into A False Prophet
Find That Bible Verse Challenge
Are Matthew 24 And Luke 21 The Same Teaching? Part 3
Are Matthew 24 And Luke 21 The Same Teaching? Part 2
Are Matthew 24 And Luke 21 The Same Teaching? Part 1
The Invisible Christ Challenge
Christ will come in our generation?
The "Any Moment" Challenge
Overcome By Grace
Pre-trib is supposed to comfort us?
He could come at any moment?

Ruth Graham's Thoughts

2006-02-14T16:05:00.000-06:00

Click the above image to view a larger version of the letter Ruth Graham (Billy's wife) sent to a certain post-tribber many years ago.

Dear Tim,

2006-02-12T18:27:00.000-06:00

I do give Tim LaHaye a hard time, but it's always concerning his teachings, and never his motives or heart. I want to make sure that pre-trib readers know that though I strongly disagree with their end times position, I understand that this is a minor issue in comparison to salvation.

About a year ago I sent a letter to Tim LaHaye, along with a copy of my book. I decided I would share this letter with you today. While I'm certainly adamant that there is not a single passage to support his position, the below letter correctly displays how I really feel about Tim LaHaye, and all who disagree with me. People are more important than doctrinal issues, and when it all comes down to the bottom line, I'm a harmless fuz-ball.
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Dear Tim,
I wanted to send my book to you a while back but didn’t know how to get a hold of you, but recently an internet friend (Donald Salerno, Revelation Unsealed) found your address for me. I’m sending my book to you out of courtesy, because after all, "Who Will Be Left Behind And When" is a critique of the pre-trib position using your name and teachings throughout the book. I’m sorry I didn’t get it to you before it was released.

I did my best not to attack you personally (see page 15) and tried to simply use references from your teaching books as examples. I would be honored if you read my book, but I certainly understand if you don’t.

We obviously strongly disagree on the rapture issue, but I know, and am thankful, that we agree on the most important foundational salvation issues. I look forward to the debate being over and to the time when you and I can literally sit at His feet together and laugh about all the things we were both wrong about!

Sincerely,

Dave Bussard

Before or After What, When?

2006-02-10T07:52:00.000-06:00

This is a one-and-a-half page excerpt from a previous post that was fifteen pages long. I know many will not read a fifteen page blog entry, but I feel that this portion of the teaching is important to understand for more than one reason. And, of course, this is an attempt to get you to read the original post in its entirety. I think it's worth your time, but then again, I am rather biased on this issue.
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After Christ baits them with His comments about the temple’s destruction (in Luke 21:6), the disciples ask the obvious question: “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place (Luke 21:7)?”

Both Matthew and Luke now give us Jesus’ exact same response about the birth pains in reply to their question. He said that many will come in His name, claiming to be the Christ, and will mislead many. He taught that there will be wars and rumors of wars. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines.

There can be no mistake about it. The birth pains mentioned in Matthew and Luke are one and the same.

But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. (Matt. 24:8-9)

Notice that, in Matthew, Jesus says that there will be birth pains and then they will be delivered up to tribulation, death, and hatred. But what does Luke say?

But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake. (Luke 21:12).

…will put some of you to death and you will be hated by all. (v. 16-17)

What “things” are Jesus talking about when He says, “But before all these things?” They could be nothing other than the birth pains He mentioned in the previous verse (including the “terrors and great signs form heaven”, which we will get to later).

In Matthew, Jesus clearly taught that the birth pains would take place first and “then” they would be delivered up to tribulation, hated, and killed. But, in Luke, Jesus tells them that “before all these things” [the same birth pangs mentioned in Matthew 24], they would be persecuted, hated, and killed.

Matthew 24 = Birth pains and then tribulation/hated/killed
Luke 21 = Persecution/hated/killed and then birth pains

There is no possible way that a particular event could take place before and after the birth pains, and therefore it’s impossible that these two accounts are speaking of the same event. There’s only one answer that smoothly harmonizes this dilemma.

In Luke, Jesus speaks to His disciples at the temple during the day and answers their question about when the temple will be destroyed. In verses 12-23, He informs them of the details of the upcoming event that were to take place before the birth pains. We now know this event happened in 70 AD when the Romans attacked Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, and dispersed the Jews among the nations.

Matthew 24 verses 3 through the end of the chapter records what Jesus spoke to the disciples later that evening on the Mount of Olives, answering their question that pertained to His coming and the end of the age. He taught them about what would take place after the birth pains—the final persecution of the elect initiated by the “abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet.”

It fits together quite nicely. The disciples and other listeners had heard earlier that day about the destruction of the temple and about some of the events of the end (Luke). The disciples had thought about it the rest of the day, piquing their curiosity, and later that evening they came to Him privately and asked, “When will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age (Matthew)?”

It appears, in Matthew, as though the disciples assumed the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple were linked to His coming and the end of the age, but there should be no doubt—Jesus implied no such thing. He simply answered the portion of their question pertaining to the end. He gave them what they really wanted to know at that time.

Corrie Ten Boom On Tribulation

2006-02-08T21:42:00.000-06:00

The world is deathly ill. It is dying. The Great Physician has already signed the death certificate. Yet there is still a great work for Christians to do. They are to be streams of living water, channels of mercy to those who are still in the world. It is possible for them to do this because they are overcomers.

Christians are ambassadors for Christ. They are representatives from Heaven to this dying world. And because of our presence here, things will change.

My sister, Betsy, and I were in the Nazi concentration camp at Ravensbruck because we committed the crime of loving Jews. Seven hundred of us from Holland, France, Russia, Poland and Belgium were herded into a room built for two hundred. As far as I knew, Betsy and I were the only two representatives of Heaven in that room.

We may have been the Lord's only representatives in that place of hatred, yet because of our presence there, things changed. Jesus said, "In the world you shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." We too, are to be overcomers – bringing the light of Jesus into a world filled with darkness and hate.

Sometimes I get frightened as I read the Bible, and as I look in this world and see all of the tribulation and persecution promised by the Bible coming true. Now I can tell you, though, if you too are afraid, that I have just read the last pages. I can now come to shouting "Hallelujah! Hallelujah!" for I have found where it is written that Jesus said, "He that overcometh shall inherit all things: and I will be His God, and he shall be My son." This is the future and hope of this world. Not that the world will survive – but that we shall be overcomers in the midst of a dying world.

Betsy and I, in the concentration camp, prayed that God would heal Betsy who was so weak and sick. "Yes, the Lord will heal me,", Betsy said with confidence. She died the next day and I could not understand it. They laid her thin body on the concrete floor along with all the other corpses of the women who died that day.

It was hard for me to understand, to believe that God had a purpose for all that. Yet because of Betsy's death, today I am traveling all over the world telling people about Jesus.

There are some among us teaching there will be no tribulation, that the Christians will be able to escape all this. These are the false teachers that Jesus was warning us to expect in the latter days. Most of them have little knowledge of what is already going on across the world. I have been in countries where the saints are already suffering terrible persecution. In China, the Christians were told, "Don't worry, before the tribulation comes you will be translated – raptured." Then came a terrible persecution. Millions of Christians were tortured to death. Later I heard a Bishop from China say, sadly, "We have failed. We should have made the people strong for persecution rather than telling them Jesus would come first. Tell the people how to be strong in times of persecution, how to stand when the tribulation comes – to stand and not faint."

I feel I have a divine mandate to go and tell the people of this world that it is possible to be strong in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are in training for the tribulation, but more than sixty percent of the Body of Christ across the world has already entered into the tribulation. There is no way to escape it. We are next.

Since I have already gone through prison for Jesus' sake, and since I met the Bishop in China, now every time I read a good Bible text I think, "Hey, I can use that in the time of tribulation." Then I write it down and learn it by heart.

When I was in the concentration camp, a camp where only twenty percent of the women came out alive, we tried to cheer each other up by saying, "Nothing could be any worse than today." But we would find the next day was even worse. During this time a Bible verse that I had committed to memory gave me great hope and joy. "If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you; on their part evil is spoken of, but on your part He is glorified." (I Peter 3:14) I found myself saying, "Hallelujah! Because I am suffering, Jesus is glorified!"

In America, the churches sing, "Let the congregation escape tribulation", but in China and Africa the tribulation has already arrived. This last year alone more than two hundred thousand Christians were martyred in Africa. Now things like that never get into the newspapers because they cause bad political relations. But I know. I have been there. We need to think about that when we sit down in our nice houses with our nice clothes to eat our steak dinners. Many, many members of the Body of Christ are being tortured to death at this very moment, yet we continue right on as though we are all going to escape the tribulation.

Several years ago I was in Africa in a nation where a new government had come into power. The first night I was there some of the Christians were commanded to come to the police station to register. When they arrived they were arrested and that same night they were executed. The next day the same thing happened with other Christians. The third day it was the same. All the Christians in the district were being systematically murdered.

The fourth day I was to speak in a little church. The people came, but they were filled with fear and tension. All during the service they were looking at each other, their eyes asking, "Will this one I am sitting beside be the next one killed? Will I be the next one?"

The room was hot and stuffy with insects that came through the screenless windows and swirled around the naked bulbs over the bare wooden benches. I told them a story out of my childhood.

"When I was a little girl, " I said, "I went to my father and said, "Daddy, I am afraid that I will never be strong enough to be a martyr for Jesus Christ." "Tell me," said Father, "When you take a train trip to Amsterdam, when do I give you the money for the ticket? Three weeks before?" "No, Daddy, you give me the money for the ticket just before we get on the train." "That is right," my father said, "and so it is with God's strength. Our Father in Heaven knows when you will need the strength to be a martyr for Jesus Christ. He will supply all you need – just in time…"

My African friends were nodding and smiling. Suddenly a spirit of joy descended upon that church and the people began singing, " In the sweet, by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore." Later that week, half the congregation of that church was executed. I heard later that the other half was killed some months ago.

But I must tell you something. I was so happy that the Lord used me to encourage these people, for unlike many of their leaders, I had the word of God. I had been to the Bible and discovered that Jesus said He had not only overcome the world, but to all those who remained faithful to the end, He would give a crown of life.

How can we get ready for the persecution? First we need to feed on the word of God, digest it, make it a part of our being. This will mean disciplined Bible study each day as we not only memorize long passages of scripture, but put the principles to work in our lives.

Next we need to develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Not just the Jesus of yesterday, the Jesus of History, but the life-changing Jesus of today who is still alive and sitting at the right hand of God.

We must be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is no optional command of the Bible, it is absolutely necessary. Those earthly disciples could never have stood up under the persecution of the Jews and Romans had they not waited for Pentecost. Each of us needs our own personal Pentecost, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We will never be able to stand in the tribulation without it.

In the coming persecution we must be ready to help each other and encourage each other. But we must not wait until the tribulation comes before starting. The fruit of the Spirit should be the dominant force of every Christian's life.

Many are fearful of the coming tribulation, they want to run. I, too, am a little bit afraid when I think that after all my eighty years, including the horrible Nazi concentration camp, that I might have to go through the tribulation also. But then I read the Bible and I am glad.

When I am weak, then I shall be strong, the Bible says. Betsy and I were prisoners for the Lord, we were so weak, but we got power because the Holy Spirit was on us. That mighty inner strengthening of the Holy Spirit helped us through. No, you will not be strong in yourself when the tribulation comes. Rather, you will be strong in the power of Him who will not forsake you. For seventy-six years I have known the Lord Jesus and not once has He ever left me, or let me down. Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him, for I know that to all who overcome, He shall give the crown of life. Hallelujah!

-Corrie Ten Boom-1974

Money Making Marketing Machine

2006-02-07T17:51:00.000-06:00

I knew the Left Behind series was backed with a power packed, money making marketing machine (and a slice of cheese), but even I didn't suspect that they would commercialize their agenda to this extent . They have come out with the Left Behind Board Game! Below is the game’s description. Do you think it's funny, angering, or a good way to teach children about Christ's coming?
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Game description:

Imagine having friends and loved ones all around you suddenly disappear in the blink of an eye. Paralyzed with fear in a state of mass confusion, you struggle desparately to make sense of what's just happened. Then you realize...you've been Left Behind! This exciting board game has two parts. The first is prior to the Rapture and the second is after the Rapture. It is the classic contest between good and evil. Answer questions correctly or even deceive other players with false confessions and earn tokens. These tokens are of great value in the second part of the game (which starts without warning). This is when Carpathia enters the game and causes individual players to band together forming the Tribulation Force. From this moment on, the goal is to work together to defeat Carpathia or face elimination. This unique game can give players a heightened awareness of the "end times." For ages 10 to adult. For 2-6 players.

Revelation Unsealed

2006-02-07T08:53:00.000-06:00

I recommend that everyone that loves the study of prophecy read the book, “Revelation Unsealed,” by Donald Salerno. I had a good conversation with him about a year ago. Not only is he a normal, down to earth guy, he is more knowledgeable than your average writer when it comes to the book of Revelation. The book had slight editing problems, but don't let that detract you from its content. It's well worth your time.

The above link will take you to amazon.com where you may read reviews about the book, but if you're interested in buying the book, I would suggest you click here to go directly to the publisher. I believe this may enable Don to receive an extra buck, or so, per book purchased.

And double Kudos to Don. He also gave me Tim LaHaye’s address so that I could send him my book. I sent him a copy along with a nice letter. I never heard back from him.

Revelation 3:10 — Pre-trib Foundation

2006-02-05T16:26:00.001-06:00

The seven churches in the beginning of Revelation each receive a letter coming from the mouth of Jesus. Each letter addresses that church’s present state, as well as a future promise, both of which are relevant to us in this lifetime. The promises given to these churches are based on the same principle as the promises given to men like Abraham in Hebrews 11, meaning that they didn’t get to see them fulfilled in their lifetimes, but they will be fulfilled in the future.

Within the letter directed to the Church of Philadelphia is one of only two verses in the entire Bible that appear to teach that we will not experience the final persecution in the last days. But appearances can be deceptive, especially when we’ve been brainwashed by pre-trib scholars, pastors, books, and movies that have repeatedly told us what this particular passage means.

Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth (Rev. 3:10, NASB).

It is a complete assumption that the “hour of testing” we will be “kept from” is the 70th Week, or the Great Tribulation. When the entirety of the Bible contradicts this interpretation, it seems more than unlikely that this is what an isolated passage would be teaching.

I suggest that most have been wrong about this hotly debated section of scripture, including those who believe as I do – that we will not escape the future suffering. I even have to admit that I was wrong about this passage when I first wrote my book, wasting ten pages (pp. 87-97) analyzing the Greek meaning and the pre-trib interpretation. No such elaborate linguistic gymnastics are necessary.

While I formerly proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that that the translation, “keep you from the hour of testing,” can also be translated (according to the Greek), “preserve you while within the hour of testing,” I now reject that this is what the passage is conveying. I believe that the test has absolutely nothing to do with the Church, or the “tribulation saints,” as the pre-trib theory would call them. The test is not for the followers of Christ, but for enemies of God. The test is not the 70th Week in its entirety or the time span of the Great Tribulation, but rather, the Day of the Lord.

Think about it. If those who hold the pre-tribulation position can assume the “test” is the entire 70th Week, why can’t we just as easily assume the “test” is not the 70th Week, but strictly the Day of the Lord? There is nothing within the passage clearly answering what the “test” actually is, but there is a hint that is usually overlooked, and helps us to avoid jumping to conclusions based on complete assumptions. Notice who the test is for in Revelation 3:10.

…I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

The test is for “those who dwell on the earth.” “Yeah, so what,” you say. There are many keys within the language in the book of Revelation, and “those who dwell on the earth” has a distinct meaning that goes far beyond a simple statement concerning people living on planet earth. The phrase, “those who dwell on the earth,” is used 9 times in Revelation, and each time it is referring to those who are the enemies of God and worshipers of the beast.

All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain (Rev. 13:8).

How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth (Rev. 6:10)?

See also: Revelation 8:13, 11:10, 13:12, 13:14 (twice), 17:2, 17:8

I’ve been wrestling with this concept on and off for about a year, and the other evening, a few months ago, the simplicity of it hit me when I read the following verses. It became obvious that the test is, in fact, the Day of the Lord, and is for those hostile towards God.

When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also (Rev. 6:9-11).

We know from the above passage that God is not “judging” or “avenging” the blood of the martyrs, and is therefore not pouring out end-times wrath during the seals as pre-trib teachers would claim. But I believe there is more going on here. WHY isn't God judging or avenging the martyrs' blood by distributing wrath upon "those who dwell on the earth?" Because it's not about THEM yet! God clearly tells the martyrs to rest – or, as the NIV more accurately translates it, “wait” – until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed was completed. THEN He will judge “those who dwell on the earth.”

Up to this point in the 70th Week, the followers of Christ have been the ones suffering, but this will soon change so that the “earth dwellers” will become the objects of suffering. It is no coincidence that the sixth seal follows His promise to avenge the death of His martyred servants and judge “those who dwell on the earth.”

I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand (Rev. 6:12-17)?"

We know because we have seen the sign in the sun, moon, and stars that the Day of the Lord will soon follow, for the prophet Joel informed us that this sign would take place before the Day.

The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes (Joel 2:31).

The fact that the Day of the Lord cannot take place until after the sign in the sun, moon, and stars verifies that the time period previous to this is not aimed at the enemies of God, “those who dwell on the earth.” Never is there a biblical mention of end-times wrath that will precede the Day of the Lord. It is always the Day of God that evil men are warned about when the subject is concerning God’s wrath.

Since the Day of the Lord has not begun before the sixth seal, no wrath is being poured out upon the “earth dwellers,” and He is not judging or avenging the blood of the martyrs, so the “test” for them couldn’t possibly be under way, no matter what pre-trib teachers proclaim. But once the sixth seal is opened, the triple sign in the sky is displayed, and the sky opens up like a scroll, it is time for the earth dwellers to fear. It’s time for them to hide themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, and from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, because the time has come—it is NOW about THEM! The hour of testing has arrived to test “those who dwell on the earth.”

I have connected the two passages in question to simplify what I believe is being taught.

…“How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”…And they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also...Then God will avenge their blood by throwing those who dwell upon the earth into the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test them.

And fortunately we will be “kept from” the hour of testing, because we will be rescued from the wrath to come (1 Thess. 1:10). When we see the triple sign in the sky we will know that our redemption draws near (Luke 21:28). The sky will split apart (NASB) and recede (NIV) like a scroll (Rev. 6:14), and relief will be given to the afflicted as Christ is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels (2 Thess. 1:7). Christ will gather us from the furthest end of the earth to the furthest end of the heaven (Mark 13:27), and His presence will make the inhabitants of the earth fear for their lives and recognize that the wrath of God has come (Rev. 6:16). The test will begin, and all who have worshiped the beast will fail the test and pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day (2 Thess. 1:8-9)!

For added detail and possibilities, I suggest the following three articles.

An Analysis of Revelation 3:10

The Promise of Revelation 3:10

Earth Dwellers Identified

Top 10 Verses That Teach Pre-trib

2006-02-02T16:20:00.000-06:00

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Every Tribune needs a Funny Page section.

What The Bible Says About The Rapture

2006-01-31T15:47:00.000-06:00

The following is an excerpt from "Before God's Wrath: The Bible's Answer To The Timing Of The Rapture," by H.L. Nigro. Nigro is the founder of Strong Tower Publishing, and has released some great reading material on the subject of eschatology.
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Chapter 2

What the Bible Says
About the Rapture

Despite the popularity of the pretribulation rapture, this teaching cannot be found in the plain reading of scripture. It must be inferred from a handful of passages, and even then, it is a stretch. According to this position, Jesus will return to rapture His Bride, the true believers who make up the body of Christ, prior to the seven-year “Tribulation period” described in the book of Revelation. This period includes three series of judgments: the seals, the trumpets, and the bowls. Because the pretrib doctrine sees all three periods of judgment as God’s wrath, it teaches that the Church must be raptured before these judgments begin. This teaching is based on the promise, “for God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:9).

It is at the earliest stage that the pretrib position falters. Nowhere does the Bible refer to the seals as God’s wrath. It is true that they are a period of intense difficulty decreed by God, but this does not make them His wrath. To get a sense of just how different judgment and wrath are, let’s take a look at the dictionary’s definition of these two words. According to Webster’s Ninth Collegiate Dictionary, judgment in this context is defined as “a divine sentence or decision; a calamity held to be sent by God.” Wrath, on the other hand, is defined as “strong, vengeful anger or indignation; retributory punishment for an offense or a crime.” There is a big difference.

Throughout history, God has decreed many judgments— upon individuals, upon nations, and upon mankind as a whole. In the Garden of Eden, God pronounced judgments on Adam, on Eve, and on the serpent (Gen. 3:14–19). In the time of Noah, He pronounced a judgment on the whole world (Gen. 6:7). In the first century, Jesus pronounced judgments on the fig tree, on Jerusalem, and on cities that rejected the gospel (Matt. 21:18–19, Matt. 11:21–24, Luke 24:2). There are hundreds of judgments in the Bible, including the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments described in Revelation.

Could all of the judgments described in Revelation also be God’s wrath? Maybe. The question is: Are they? No. The Bible teaches that God’s wrath will begin after the opening of the sixth seal, as part of the Day of the Lord (see Chapter 4, “When Does God’s Wrath Begin?”). Thus, there is no scriptural reason to require the rapture to occur before then. In fact, this would create many contradictions of scripture, as we will discuss here.
So when will the rapture occur?

The Bible tells us that, as in the time of Noah, there will come a day when God will run out of patience with the wickedness of mankind. Although most people think of “the end of the world” as the battle of Armageddon, “the end of the age,” as Jesus taught, will actually begin sometime earlier when He returns to earth to take His rightful place as conquering King (Matt. 24:3, 29–30). This will usher in the Day of the Lord, during which God will pour out His wrath on an unrepentant world.

When Will Judgment Come?

Once Jesus’ disciples recognized Jesus as the Messiah, it was only natural that they would want to know when the Day of the Lord would begin. Jesus had already told them that He would go away for awhile, and while the disciples did not—nor could they—understand the full nature of His departure, they knew one thing: Jesus was coming back, and when He did, He would judge the earth as the prophets foretold. But when? This was exactly the question they were asking in Matthew 24: “What will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?” (v. 3).
Jesus replied by giving a long list of events that would precede His return:

1. There would be a rise in false christs (v. 5).
2. There would be a rise in wars between nations (v. 6).
3. There would be famines, pestilence, and earthquakes in various places (v. 7).
4. The Antichrist would desecrate the temple of God (v. 15).
5. There would be a period of severe tribulation for God’s people, more intense than any other in history (v. 21).

Then, after describing all of these events, Jesus said,

Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matt. 24:29–31)

The timing couldn’t be more clear. There will be specific signs—the rise of false christs; widespread war, famine, pestilence, and earthquakes; the desecration of the temple by the Antichrist; the Great Tribulation; and the triple sign in the sun, moon, and stars—that, one by one, will lead us closer and closer to His return. When we compare these signs to the seal judgments described in Revelation, we see that they are one and the same (the significance of this will be seen later).

Disciples Learn of the Rapture

Through the Apostle Paul, Jesus also revealed that the Church would not have to live through the period of destruction and wrath that would follow Christ’s return. Rather, believers will be miraculously transformed into new, heavenly bodies and removed from the earth before Jesus takes vengeance on the ungodly during the Day of the Lord.
Paul described this wonder in 1 Cor. 15:51–52:

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed.

What a beautiful picture! Paul elaborated on this promise in his first letter to the Thessalonians:

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:16–17)

And thus, the early church was introduced to the concept of the rapture. As we would expect, this description is the same as Jesus’ description of His coming in Matthew 24: (1)

…and they will see the son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matt. 24:29–31)

Therefore, when Jesus comes on the clouds after the Great Tribulation, He will also rapture the Church.

Footnote
1. Although the Church is not specifically in view here (since the Church was not founded until Pentecost), Jesus was speaking to Jews who would soon become the New Testament Church. Furthermore, one of the mysteries revealed by Paul is that the Second Coming would include not only the gathering of the elect but the translation of the living in the rapture (1 Cor. 15:51-52, 1 Thess. 4:16-17). Thus, we can legitimately read Matt. 24:31 as applying to the Church, even though it wasn’t spoken to the Church.

1 Peter 2:20-21

2006-01-29T22:44:00.000-06:00

For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps…

Left Behind Soundtrack, Confusion and Irony

2006-01-27T17:42:00.000-06:00

The Left Behind Soundtrack came out in October of 2000. I find it amusing, to say the least, that two of the songs on the CD contain lyrics that are blatantly opposed to the pre-trib rapture, which is the foundation beneath the entire series. I’m unsure if the songs made it onto the CD because those in charge had no biblical understanding, or if they just didn’t care, and were glad to have as many big name artists as possible to make more money. Either way, it happened, and I’m once again amazed.

I strongly suggest you listen to these two songs if you haven’t. Only a buck at iTunes. A portion of their lyrics are posted below to show how clear the songs are, and that the mistake should have been obvious to the producers. The mention of the sign in the sun, moon, and stars taking place before the gathering of the elect shows us where Rebecca St. James and Third Day stand on the issue. In my mind, this is enough of a reason to buy their albums.

Rebecca St. James, Come Quickly Lord

You're close, very close
But Lord I miss You
Here's where I find hope
You're coming soon
And I long so much to see You - that I cry
Everywhere are the signs that the end is near
I say

Come quickly, Lord
When the sun grows dark
And the moon will shine no more
Quickly Lord
When the stars fall out of the sky above
Won't You come, dear Lord
Come dear Lord, dear Lord

Third Day, Sky Falls Down

People talkin' like it's the end of time
I look up to the heavens for a sign
Everybody's lookin' at me
But I won't be deceived or afraid
'Cause I know that the sun is on the way
Sky falls down
It crumbles into the sea
The sun goes out
He's coming back for me
I'll be found at the place
Where the gravity leaves the ground
I won't be comin' down

The Church Is Not In Rev. 4-18?

2006-01-26T16:12:00.000-06:00

One of the arguments the pre-trib theory presents is that the word Church is not used in Revelation chapters 4–18 because we aren't there, but are raptured beforehand. I addressed this issue in my book on pages 21-22, but I just read a response to this argument that has more detail, and a few points I had overlooked. Check it out. It’s great and fairly short.

Foolish Nation

2006-01-24T10:52:00.000-06:00

Did the title leave you expecting a rant about America, declining morality, and political wickedness? Sorry, but no such luck, today. For the last few months I’ve been drawn back to Deuteronomy 32 numerous times. Each time I think of this passage I’m grateful for the fact that God has revealed Himself, and that He was willing to overlook my foolishness and include me in His kingdom. I’m proud to be part of a “foolish nation.”

They (Israel) have made Me jealous with what is not God; They have provoked Me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation (Deut. 32:21).

The Seals Are God's Wrath?

2006-01-22T14:28:00.000-06:00

1 Thessalonians 5:9 informs us that we are “not destined for wrath, but for salvation.” It is claimed that the Church must therefore be removed before the opening of the seals of Revelation (Rev. 6) because they represent the beginning of God’s wrath. But are the seals really God’s wrath?

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed (Rev. 6:9–11, NIV).

In Rev. 6:10, the martyred saints cry, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” If God’s wrath has been poured out since the opening of the first seal, wouldn’t He already be judging those who dwell on the earth and avenging the martyrs’ blood? But, because of this passage, we clearly see that, as of the 5th seal, He is not judging nor avenging, and therefore is not yet pouring out His end-times wrath as the pre-tribulation theory claims.

What, Or Who, Is The Church?

2006-01-20T07:58:00.000-06:00

I will mention the Church more than once in this blog. While speaking with a friend the other day, I realized that I should probably make it very clear to my readers exactly what I mean when I use the word “Church.” Some refer to the Catholic Church as the Church. Some simply think they “go to church” in a building. Some even think a particular denomination is the Church. Below are the definitions I use to determine exactly what the Church is. This should enable us to all be on the same page.

Eph 2:19-22
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

Colossians 1:18
He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

1 Peter 2:5
…you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1 Tim 3:15
…but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

Hebrews 3:5-6 NIV
Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.

If you know Jesus, you ARE a "member" of THE Church.

Taking Tim To Task

2006-01-18T11:34:00.000-06:00

...looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13).

“It [the pre-tribulation rapture theory] is the only view that makes ‘the blessed hope’ truly a blessed hope. Remember: Rapture teaching was given to comfort those who mourn! The threat of going through the Tribulation is hardly a doctrine of comfort to the saints (Rapture Under Attack, Tim LaHaye, p. 211).”

“If Christ does not rapture His church before the Tribulation begins, much of the hope is destroyed, and thus it becomes a blasted hope (Rapture Under Attack, Tim LaHaye, p. 69).”

LaHaye claims that Christ’s coming is a “blasted hope” if it does not take place before the “tribulation.” Tim is unaware that he has, in fact, called Christ’s coming a blasted hope. LaHaye has not only done a great disservice to the Church, he has taken God’s word a little lightly, in my opinion.

Are you sure the Left Behind books, movies, and teachings of Tim LaHaye are a good thing? Why, or why not?

So When Is His Wrath?

2006-01-16T22:40:00.000-06:00

Continuing from yesterday, God’s wrath is not mentioned in Matthew 24 until verses 37-39.

For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be (Matt. 24:37-39).

Luke gives us added detail.

It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed (Luke 17:28-30).

Do these verses say God’s wrath was falling on Lot’s and Noah’s generation years before Lot and Noah were delivered? Pre-trib teaches that God’s wrath will be falling on mankind seven years before the coming Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24.

So if Christ’s coming is “just like the days of Noah” and Lot, shouldn’t His wrath also come at the time of our deliverance, right after the sign in the sun, moon, and stars? Yes. Now we know why God's wrath isn't mentioned before Christ's coming in Matthew 24. It's not there!

Why Isn’t God’s Wrath Mentioned?

2006-01-15T18:41:00.000-06:00

The pre-trib theory teaches that the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven bowls of Revelation all take place during the same time-span shown in Matthew 24, and that this entire period is God’s wrath. It’s stated that we must be raptured before this period because we are not “destined for [God’s] wrath (1 Thess. 5:9).” If it’s true that God’s wrath is poured out on His enemies during the time-frame shown in Matthew 24, why is God's wrath not even hinted at in Matt. 24:1-36?

The Biggest Sign Not Mentioned?

2006-01-13T15:34:00.000-06:00

In Matthew 24 the disciples want to know the sign of Christ's coming, and essentially, when He will come. Jesus then gives them the signs they will need in order to know when His coming is near (verse 33). If His answer was for Israel/the Jewish nation that is left behind after a pre-trib rapture, as pre-trib claims, wouldn’t the best sign for the Jews be millions of people miraculously disappearing? Why isn’t this sign mentioned even once in Matthew 24, or anywhere, before the seals of Revelation take place?