CHAPTER EIGHT

Point

 

      | --------------------------------------------- Concurrent Judgments ---------------------------------------|
 

#	SEVEN SEALS	SEVEN TRUMPETS	SEVEN BOWLS
1	White Horse reveals Antichrist(Rev 6:2)	1/3 of  Trees and Grass Destroyed (Rev. 8:7)
2	Red Horse brings WWIII (Rev. 6:4)	1/3 Sea turned to Blood (Rev. 8:8)
3	Black Horse of ecnonomic collapse (Rev. 6:5)	1/3 of Rivers turned to Wormwood (Rev. 8:10)
4	Pale Horse of death (Rev. 6:8)	1/3 of Atmosphere destroyed (Rev. 8:12)

NOTE: No prophetic events must take place before the Rapture of the Church according to the Scripture^a

    Since we have described the end of the shabua period, I would like to view the beginning or Point A event as given from two different perspectives: the destruction brought upon society and the devastation visited upon the environment. This initial focal point for the tribulation counter consists of a series of four rapidly occurring events as presented by the first four seal judgments (Rev. 6:1-8). The first four trumpet judgments present the overall result of this horrible cataclysm as seen in the destruction of nature, a view of its effect upon vegetation, water sources, oceans, and the atmosphere.

    The "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" (Rev. 6:1-8), as the first four seals are commonly called, are apocalyptic figures pictured upon four horses of color. The calling forth of this macabre Calvary represents a call to "let the games of evil begin." God is no longer patiently waiting for the fullness of iniquity to arrive; the time of grace is over. The White Horse has a rider who conquers but has no arrows for his bow. This is not Christ as seen in chapter nineteen, but another who comes as an impostor at the appointed time (John 5:43). This rider's going forth results in war, famine, and death. The rider on this white horse has a crown but no name except for the one his father has given him.

    The horses are used as symbols to convey a rapid succession of sub-events in the opening of the first act of the Tribulation drama. Just like horses racing at the Steeple Downs, they pursue each other in energetic pace to reach the finish line. The finish line being the establishment of a new world order headed by the mysterious man in white, "for even Satan appears as an angel of light" (2Cor. 11:14). Just as Hitler, the prototype of Antichrist, was placed in power by the aftermath of a post-W.W.I Germany, this madman will receive his crown without firing a shot or arrow. He will be recognized as the savior of the world, the prince of economic and political peace. He will pick up the pieces of a chaotic world system and will implement the most amazing government the world has ever seen - a true wonder worker. (Hitler was given power by the German aristocracy in order to solidify the people with his powerful rhetoric and personality, see"The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany " by Willaim L. Shirer^b)
 
 

    Revelation chapter six records that one-fourth of the world's population will die as a result of these demonic night riders. Given the current earth population, that would be well over 1.5 billion souls. This war, represented by the "red horse" will result in famine and world-wide economic collapse. But what about the cost to the environment of such a nuclear holocaust? The first four trumpet judgments give us four perspective environmental impact statements, God's style. Although many Revelation scholars have interpreted the seven seals and seven trumpets as two different chronological series, one following the other, I purpose that these are concurrent and correlated judgments. The first four seals and the first four trumpets are giving us different information about the same events, just like the four Gospels compliment but do not contradict one another. If this is true, then how can we reconcile the destruction of one forth of the earth's population with only a one-third world environmental impact?

   What if there was a nuclear war between Russia and her allies and the United States, Israel, and our allies? As of this writing, Russia is appears on the verge of economic collapse and may be courting the terrorist enemies of Israel (who have vast oil wealth but need nuclear expertise and advanced technology). A nuclear exchange between our old adversary and ourselves would devastate North America and Russia. Some experts believe this time is much more dangerous than even the past days of the Cold War since a clear-cut hierarchy of checks and balances has dissolved.

    Unlike the undeveloped world which is now being called the "2/3rds world"^c (as opposed to the developed 1/3), advanced countries contain relatively more resources, than people. The majority of the world's population lives within the 10/40 window^d, an area between 10 degrees and 40 degrees north of the equator. It is almost impossible to accurately predict the effect of nuclear war, but the prevailing winds of fallout would most certainly circle the globe at the latitude of impact and spread the initial radioactive plague around the world. The southern hemisphere and much of the tropics might theoretically escape the worst (direct strike and peripheral contamination). There are those who estimate that up to one fourth of the world's population would die from such an exchange, and most of the land and sea resources comprising the territories of the United States and Russia would be devastated, possibly as much as one third of the world's resources. Does the Bible contain prophesy concerning a great war at the end besides this visionary glimpse handed down by the pen of an elderly apostle? We shall see. It's obviously going to be a hot time in the old town that night.

    A source of confusion to many prophetic scholars is the attack upon Israel mentioned in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39. Rosh, the old name for Russia, and five allies (indicated by their ancient names: Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer, and Togarmah) attack Israel from the north in the last days (Ezek. 38:8,15,19). Their advance against the reborn state prompts a response from Israel's allies, Tarshish and the young lions, but Rosh's aim is to take a spoil (Ezek. 38:13). There is a great shaking in the Land (v.19), and nuclear fallout covers the area (vv. 19-22). Only one sixth of the Russian army survives to retreat to Siberia (Ezek. 39:2). God says that He will,

"send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD" (Ezek. 39:6 KJV).
 
 

    In Old Testament revelation, God is always presented as omni-causal, i.e. responsible for everything that happens. Jesus gave us further light and insight in this area by showing that it is Satan who "kills, steals, and destroys"(John 10:10). This verse discusses Magog, an ancient biblical name for the people of Russia (Gen. 10:2). It also mentions a second sphere of power mentioned more by general location than as an ancient coherent people group.- Both of these geographic areas are targeted for a "rain of fire." There were two superpowers in the world; and from a Russian-Magog perspective, they still have the nuclear capability to rank in that category. There is only one nation that comes to the aid of Israel in a pinch.

    In 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail to discover a shorter way to India and the Far East. He was looking for the spice isles that Europeans were familiar with. When he landed in what was later to be known as the New World, he believed he had arrived at these islands. In fact, he called the inhabitants "Indians," i.e. those who live in the India Islands^e. This is not surprising since from ancient biblical times until 1492, civilized man believed that only islands existed west of the Old World shore. Even the fabled Atlantis of legend was an island far out in the Atlantic Ocean ^f.

    Ezekiel wrote what God had shown him in terms that he was able to convey with words that existed in his Hebrew language. He saw something like fire raining down on two national spheres, Magog/Rosh^g, and what he thought were the Isles out west in the ocean. God says that the inhabitants of these Isles "dwell carelessly" (Ezek. 39:6). This means that they are not expecting nor do they believe that this could happen to them. America has not had a conflict involving a foreign nation on its continental turf since the War of 1812. America has never been invaded or attacked with major damage on the home front in a modern war. Even in World War II, this did not occur. This sense of invulnerability has produced a complacency in our time that is only now being challenged by the threat of militant fundamental terrorist groups. Truly, we dwell carelessly in the so-called Isles that were discovered by Columbus and later named for a map-maker of the New World, Amerigo Vespucci.

    Much confusion has existed concerning the Battle of Armageddon and the overall scenario of end time events. Have you ever heard of the War of Armageddon? Maybe in Hollywood circles, but not from Bible scholars. After careful examination of the primary passages concerning the conflicts of the last days, a contrast clearly shows that there must be at least two unique military adventures during the Tribulation. The conflict that occurs in Revelation chapter 19 (cf. Rev. 14:14-20, Zech. 12-14, Isa. 66:24, and Mat. 24:28) is a Battle and not a war. Just as the Battle begins, the attempted war is over before it really gets started -- Jesus returns and disintegrates the entire heathen war machine. The conflict mentioned in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 is best called World War III since it is a full blown war that involves most of the developed world and has consequences that last for years to come. Besides the Rapture of the Church, it is the next major prophetic event for the world. WWIII involves the existing nuclear super powers^h. When the passages concerning WWIII are contrasted with the Battle which occurs at the end of the Tribulation, Armageddon, it is very obvious that the two conflicts are by definition dissimilar (some prophetic scholars have failed to realize this distinctive).
 

WWIII	BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON
Rosh-ian Gog and 5 Allies	All the armies of the world
Magog defeated	Defeat of Magog not mentioned
Russian Army retreats to Siberia	No one retreats anywhere - all enemies are destroyed
Euphrates River not mentioned	Euphrates River being dried up is a major factor
No mention of Kings of East	Kings of East are principle players
Christ does not return, Israel burns WWIII weapons for 7 years (until Christ returns at end of Tribulation)	Christ returns in glory, defeats Antichrist,  Millennial Kingdom established
Antichrist not mentioned	Antichrist is focus of conflict

    As I have stated before, the original text did not contain chapter or verse division; these were introduced over a millennia later by Bishop Langton. Chapters 38 and 39 of Ezekiel are a contiguous thought-train to a prophetic vision which starts in chapter 37, the "Valley of Dry Bones." We must keep the principle of Context, i.e. what is the overall passage that the particular text comes from and what is the entire vision communicating. In this case, scholars commonly agree that the message concerns the reformation of the nation of Israel and events transpiring in the latter days surrounding Israel.

    When we read chapter 38 and continue reading in chapter 39, we discover an interesting passage which is the crux of the chronological question: when does this event occur? Immediately following the rain of fire on Russia and the United States, it states that those in the Land will dispose of the leftover WWIII weapons for seven years. If you remember, seven years is the exact length of the Tribulation period. What is the obvious conclusion when viewing this passage in context and aligned with Daniel and Revelation? That this WWIII occurs as the first event of the Tribulation period just as Daniel 9:27 and Revelation 6:3 concur. WWIII occurs at the same time as Daniel's Antichrist "convenant of peace" and the RED Horse rider of war (Russia's army was called the Red Army).

"And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD. So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken. And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD."(Ezek. 39:6-13 KJV, emphasis mine).

    Ezekiel here speaks of the aftermath of WWIII and how the Israelis will accomplish the decontamination of the land in seven months. However, reading on, the prophet sees another strange phenomenon in verses 14 and 15:

"And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog. And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land."

    This may indicate the work of nuclear contamination squads appointed to collect the irradiated remains. The person finding the remains is not to actually gather them due to potential radiation poisoning, but is to place a sign indicating where the buriers are to find the bones. This would make sense in the aftermath of a nuclear conflict.

[ Chapter Eight | Section Three | Table of Contents ]

    Albert Einstein, a son of Abraham, devised the most well known equation in history, E=MC². From a simplistic layman's perspective, it means that a body accelerated to the speed of light enters into another dimension. I believe that this explains the mechanics of the "rapture." When God accelerates our bodies to the perfection of Christ's Light (at His Coming), then the believers will enter into a new dimension - eternity. The Bible is very scientific.
 
 

             Eternity = Immortal bodies for all Church Age Saints
             M = Mankind redeemed on the earth during the Church Age
             C² = Christ's 2nd Coming
 
 

    The Lord has promised in His Word to keep His Church from the tribulation judgment by removing believers from the earth and transporting them to be with Him (Rev. 3:10). There are many fans of Star Trek who watch people being transported in the series and in the movies ("Beam me up Scotty."). Most sci-fi buffs believe this will become a reality in the future (and with good reason, since we have witnessed the 1930's Buck Rogers adventures become commonplace in our day, i.e. cellphones, NASA, and TV). It is amazing that contemporary skeptics cannot conceive of an omnipotent God removing His creatures from His planet without a magic black box of some kind. These futurists acknowledge the presence of superior beings who operate technologically advanced craft but cannot conceive of an ultimate being who doesn't need a contraption (Oh ye of little imagination.). Sci-fi presents aliensⁱ as gloried evolutionary extrapolations of humanoid creatures who appear to be god-like, when the truth is that the infinite God of the Bible has created men in His image.

* The Rapture could potentially take place between 2000 and 2030 given the accuracy of these projections.

** Some prophetic scholars at this time believe the Y2K bug could be the impetus for the Tribulation

*** There were 33 years from the birth of Jesus, the beginning of the 5th Millennium in 4 BC until the Cross.
        Could there be 33 years from the actual beginning of the 7th Millennium in 1996 until the Coming?
        (i.e. this assumes a 33 year transition period inserted between the 4th and 5th and 6th and 7th days
        of the Six Day Theory of God's Prophetic Week -- meaning The Millennium would start in 2030
        instead of 1996. The Church began in 30AD and not in 4BC as would be expected by the theory.)

[ Chapter Eight | Section Three | Table of Contents ]

    The Rapture, a theological term taken from the Latin Vulgate Bible, means to snatch out or quickly remove. Although the word "rapture" does not appear in the various English Bible translations, it is a valid theological concept. Most of the orthodox Christian world believes in the concept of Trinity, but that word does not appear in the scripture either. The Rapture is a concept which is discerned by contextual insight and Spirit-led inference. The Rapture is the next specific and identifiable event on the prophetic calendar. Nothing must occur before it, and its timing is unknown. Confusion concerning the timing of the Rapture is caused by violations of interpretation: taking isolated scriptures out of context, ignoring the panorama of prophetic chronology, and failing to discern the distinctive between the Church and the nation of Israel. The following eight reasons are some of the major arguments that form a balanced contextual justification for the pre-Tribulation Rapture position.

1. Jesus said that "no man knows the day nor hour" (Mat. 24:36)

2. If the rapture occurred mid-Trib or Post-Trib we would know the exact day!

3. Apostasia and the Holy Withholder of the man of sin (2Thes. 2)

4. God has not appointed his Church to Wrath (Rev. 3:10, 1Thess. 1:10,5:9)  [wrath = 13 times Rev.6-19 only]

5. Tribulation for Jews (OT scriptures, Jacob's Trouble/refiners fire/melting pot
                                             cf. Dan9:27 last week for Jews, 'Thy people')

6. Church not mentioned REV 4-18 but seen with Christ in 19

7. Church called out by trumpet (Rev 4:1, 1Thes4 and 1Cor15)

8. Two Trumpets NUM10:2 (1Cor 15, 2Thes4)

    Although Jesus gave many "birth pang," signs of increasing intensity, that would proceed the ultimate Tribulation events recorded in the book of Revelation, He never told his followers to look for a particular event, i.e. an undisputed occurrence signaling His immediate arrival for the Church. The "fig tree" was given to define the basic generation to see all the end-time signs, but the Rapture is not included in the Olivet Discourse (Mat. 24).

The Lord may have been alluding to the Rapture in the last verses of the chapter (Mat. 24:36-42):

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they did not know until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of man. Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left. Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming." (RSV, emphasis mine).

    The fact that He doesn't mention a pre-Rapture sign and places this passage outside of the clear chronological flow of the earlier discourse emphasizes the mystery. At the time of the discourse, the Holy Spirit had not yet come to indwell believers and the mysteries were not revealed. This mystery was not given to his disciples on the Mount of Olives, although others were (Mark 4:11). The mystery of His coming for the Church was given to a man named Saul of Taurus, St. Paul. Paul uses the term "mystery" (Gr. musterion, def.= what was previously not revealed) 17 times in his epistles (Jesus referenced it once as recorded in three gospel accounts and St. John four times in Revelation). It is Paul in the Epistles of 1 Corinthians and 1 Thessalonians that explains the mysterious event which was hidden from the Twelve before the cross. John on Patmos was later to receive this truth in multimedia form. Jesus told the Elder that the time was at hand (Rev. 1:3) and enraptured him via the Heavenly-Light "transporter beam". "Beam me up Jesus." The bottom line is this - Jesus never told us to look for a sign which would signal the Rapture.

    Reason number one leads nicely to the next: a mid-tribulation rapture would violate the injunction of the Lord, "no man knows the day nor the hour." Since the initial event of the Tribulation is WWIII and the tribulation is divided by 1260 day periods, a simple calculation would compute the exact time of the middle Tribulation point. That means that every believer left alive would be able to compute the exact day of the Rapture. WWIII is a highly observable occurrence taking place on a particular day and probably lasting only several hours (based upon Cold War estimates). For example, if WWIII took place September 13th, 1998 then 1260 days (Rev. 11:2-3, 12:6, 13:5) would bring us to February 24th, 2002 as the date of the Rapture. Not only would there be a clear sign to look for preceding the Rapture, but it would allow for the exact projection of the date. Both of these postulates violate the scripture.

    By the way, this understanding also precludes a Post-Tribulation Rapture view since there are 1260 days from the Abomination of Desolation at the mid-trib point to the Second Coming. The exact timing of the Second Coming would be easily computed and thus cannot be the same event as the Rapture. Not to mention, that to be Raptured to meet Jesus coming in the clouds (Rev. 19) just to descend to earth again is not the context of Paul's writings on the subject. It would be the fastest elevator ride in history and is nonsensical in the context of the Millennial Kingdom. Righteous mortal human beings will have to initially populate the Kingdom. Those who are Raptured will be immortal and the heathen antichrists will be sentenced to judgment and are not eligible to inherit the Kingdom (all the rest will be dead). So we see that Post-Tribulation Rapture precludes a Millennial Kingdom, a gross violation of interpretation. An amillennial view, i.e. there is no Millennial Kingdom, is contrary to the interpretation of the most respected early church fathers and the clear enunciation of scripture (Zech. 14:16-19; Rev. 20:2,7).
 
 

    Jesus said that believers are the preservative which keeps the world from total corruption, "ye are the salt of the earth" (Mat. 5:13). If there were no believers on the earth, it would go to the proverbial "hell in a hand basket." Can you imagine what the United States of America would be like if all the believers were suddenly removed? The moral climate in this so-called Christian country is highly questionable as it is (America was founded by Christians but is a democracy where the majority rules for good or evil).

    Paul, the revealer of the mystery, tells what will happen when the salt is taken out. In his second letter to the Thessalonians, he speaks to calm their fears that the rapture has already taken place (there was some false teaching which spread after his first missionary journey). In chapter two, he starts off by giving the general context, the second coming of the Lord. The believers should not be troubled that the day of Christ is at hand (this is an eschatological term, "day of Christ" which refers to the events surrounding the Parousia), because two things have to happen first: the "falling away" and that the "man of sin be revealed" (2 Thes. 2:3).

    Although the Greek term translated "falling away" is usually translated apostasy, its root is from two words, apo = away from , and stasis = a state of being. The literal and original root meaning is "to be taken from one state of being to be placed in another." [note: In the medical sphere, the term "stasis" means a patient is stabilized or in a consistent state of being. NASA and orbital flight have made the term "apogee" a household word (def.= literally Gr. apo=away from + ge = earth)]. I believe that Paul is using this term with two implications: that there will be an apostasy from the faith before Jesus returns, and also a play on the word's root meaning - that the believers will literally be removed from one state of being to another (heavenly). This neither violates the meaning nor the context of Paul's passage. In fact, it clarifies his chronological presentation in answer to their questions concerning the timing of events.

    He starts out with reference to the Parousia (v.1), the end of the tribulation, and then moves from the Rapture (v.3) to the Abomination of Desolation (v.3b-4). Here the ABCs of prophecy are confirmed: Rapture-Abomination-Parousia. In verse four as an elaboration on Antichrist, Paul defines this personage in the same terms as did Daniel (9:27) and Jesus (Mat. 24:15). However, Paul in verse six gives another insight into this mystery that had not been revealed yet (RSV translation):

"you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time."

    There is a restraining force that is holding back this man of evil. The apostle lets us know that evil is working in the world now, but there will come a time when the personification of evil, the Antichrist, will escalate evil to a new level. The end-time revelation of total and complete evil can only happen when the Restrainer is removed.

"he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed . . ." (2Thes. 2:7-8)

    In Revelation 6:1, the first event of the Tribulation, the rider on the white horse of false peace who carries the weapon of war but doesn't have to fire a shot (he carries no arrows) rides forth to take the lead in war, economic collapse, and death.

    The interpretation of Paul's message properly correlated with John's Revelation makes it all too clear that the Restraining influence of the Holy Spirit empowering born-again believers in the Church must be "taken out of the way" to allow the final countdown to begin. This doesn't mean that the Holy Spirit will not be present in the earth; but the work of the Spirit will manifest in an outer rather inner-working, much like the previous dispensation in the days before Pentecost.

    The Rapture will immediately, in the twinkling of an eye, precede WWIII, else the Church will be judged in the nuclear holocaust rained upon the heathen. When the dam is breached, its waters immediately rush forth. The scripture gives us two types of this: Noah raised above and out of the waters of judgment, and Lot's family being escorted out of Sodom immediately before the rain of God's wrath. At the same moment that God shut the door of Noah's ark, the rain of judgment came and Noah was lifted up and out of the wrath. As soon as God's angels ushered Lot from Sodom, the fire of God consumed the city. In both cases, the righteous were taken out before the "tribulation".
 
 

    In Revelation, Jesus promises to keep his faithful church from the hour of testing that will come upon the world (Rev. 3:10). It is interesting to note that the judgments of Revelation come upon the earth-dwellers (Rev. 6:10) which is a term for the unbelievers. Chapters six through nineteen cover the seven-year period of the Tribulation judgments, often expressed as the "wrath" of God. Paul writes to his churches that the believers are not appointed to this judgment, "God has not appointed us to wrath." (1Thess. 5:9). This is in the context of the entirety of chapter five. Paul starts out setting the topic as a discussion of the end-time chronology and states that when the world thinks peace has been achieved, sudden destruction shall come upon them.

    Jesus said it shall be like the days of Noah (Mat. 24:37). The sudden destruction will not come upon the Church as a thief in the night (v.4) but upon the earth-dwellers. Although it is true that the concept of "wrath" can mean the ultimate judgment at the Throne of God, the context is unambiguously framed within the "times and seasons" of the end-time events and follows immediately on the most quoted verses which exclaim the rapture of the Church (1Thess. 4:13-18; keeping in mind that the epistle had no chapter or verse divisions in the original manuscript).
 
 

    Contrary to some prophetic commentary, the purpose of the final seven years of secular human history, the Tribulation, is for one purpose only: the preparation by the Jewish nation to receive Messiah. The rabbis in Israel today are speculating on the approaching era of Messiah based upon Old Testament scripture, and many predict the time is at hand. They are correct, but few if any realize that the fulfillment of their expectations will be a wolf in sheep's clothing. It will be too late by the time they discoverer that they have been deceived; it will be time to run to the hills (Mat. 24:16-20).

    The Church does not rely upon external circumstances and outward signs. We are told that the Holy Spirit within us teaches us of all things (1John 2:27) and is our guide (Rom. 8:14). We are a people who have the third person of the Trinity indwelling us, co-workers with Christ, and joint-heirs of His Kingdom. We are being prepared for the marriage of the Lamb by the Holy Spirit who works in us. God is also preparing another people to inherit their promised blessings, as Paul reminds us, "for all Israel shall be saved" (Romans 11:25-26). Paul makes it clear that this is not some figurative salvation as part of the Church but a separate tree of fulfillment into which the Gentiles are merely grafted. He most certainly is not alluding to a concept of universal salvation for the Jewish people apart from Christ.

    Daniel was given a vision of the final weeks of years of Jewish history (Dan. 9:24-27). One final week (Shabua) is yet to be fulfilled. This seven year period is for Daniel's people, the Jews. The Old Testament calls this "the time of Jacob's trouble" (Jer. 30:7) and the refiner's fire that Israel will pass through just before they receive their Messiah, Jesus (Zech. 12-14):

"they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son" (Zech. 12:10 KJV).

    This occurs at a time when all the armies of the world surround Jerusalem (12:2-3) and only one-third of the Jews will make it through the horrible holocaust of Antichrist (13:9). At that time, their Messiah's feet will touch upon the Mount of Olives (14:4) from where He ascended two thousand years before; and the King which they rejected will set up His Kingdom. The Tribulation is a time of preparation for the nation of Israel not the time of wrath and judgment on the Holy Bride of Christ.
 
 

    The Church is mentioned specifically by name seven times in the beginning chapters of Revelation, but not one time during the definitive Tribulation sections, 6-19. It is not until chapter 19 where the saints are seen coming back with Christ at the Parousia that the Church appears again. The Church is conspicuously absent from the narrative vision that John records. There are believers during that period, but the term "church" is not used. These Tribulation believers appear helpless against the onslaught of Antichrist. The only two figures who manage to take the prince of evil to task are two prophets who seem to manifest the character and miracles of Moses and Elijah more than any New Testament saints. The body of Moses was not found (Deut. 34:6) and Elijah was taken to heaven in a chariot (2Kings 2:11). Both Old Testament saints were seen on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus (Mat. 17).

    One of the first occurrences of the Tribulation found in Revelation chapter seven is the sealing of 144,000 Jewish evangelists selected from the twelve tribes of Israel. God knows the lineage of every descendant of Abraham. These are true witnesses for Jehovah. Why does God need new evangelists in the earth? There are no Church Christians left to witness for him.
 
 

    The experience that John was given on the Isle of Patmos and which he later etched into a scroll, is divided according to Christ's own key descriptive (Rev. 1:19) into three main sections. John would write the things he saw (the vision of the resurrected Christ), the things that are (the letters to the seven churches), and the things that shall happen after these things (i.e. the future Tribulation). [note: John was imprisoned as a very old man under the Roman persecutions and never equates the "tribulations" he suffered under the Caesar's to the eschatological mystery of Tribulation he witnessed during his rapture (even though such commentary would be hard to resist if the author was registering contemporary history in symbolic form as some liberal scholars claim)]. The first two sections encompass chapters one through three, but the last division begins with a parenthetical heavenly prelude to the Tribulation judgments. This prelude covers chapters four and five and begins with John the last living Apostle, and thus the prime representative of Christ's Church on earth, being called to heaven by a trumpet sound.

    This convenient coincidence of John being "raptured" by the sound of a trumpet just before the "four horsemen of the Apocalypse" are sent forth dovetails nicely with the interpretation set forth in this work. In other words, John is Raptured in "type" by the sound of a trumpet, and then WWIII immediately begins. [note: keeping in mind that the scene in heaven envisioned in chapters four and five is "out of the time," it takes place in God's realm of the eternal and timeless (although related by John as an event sequence preceding the chronological unfolding of judgments)].

    The two major New Testament passages that set forth Paul's declaration of a rapture-event speak definitively about the presence of a trumpet and the instantaneous transition of the saints from the mortal earthly existence into an immortal and heavenly reality:

"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" (1Cor. 15:51-55 KJV emphasis mine)

    Paul shows us a "mystery", that which previously had not been revealed but is now plainly made known to the sacred initiates, the believers. For the saints who have physically died before the rapture, their death is swallowed up in the victory of the resurrection. For the saints who are alive when the rapture occurs, death has no sting; they will not have to face physical death at all.

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

    Paul is saying that the souls of the believers who have physically died and are present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8) will accompany Him back at the rapture to reunite them with their immortal bodies. As part of the same event, God will translate the living saints in a split-second from finite mortal fleshly existence to eternal bliss. Again, this all occurs at the sound of a "trump" in chorus with the voice of an angel at the Lord's impetus.

Why does Paul refer to the trumpet as the "last" trumpet (1 Cor. 15:52) if it is sounded in the beginning of the Tribulation? Along the same lines, why does Jesus mention the final trumpet in relation to the events surrounding the Second Coming?

"he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Mat. 24:31 KJV emphasis mine).
 
 

    The mystery of the trumpet is revealed by the type found in the Old Testament Feast of Trumpets (Lev. 23:24). Today we know this Hebrew festival as Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. In its original institution in the wandering of the Hebrew slaves set free from Egyptian bondage, two silver trumpets were made for the calling of the assembly and the journeying of the camps. The first trumpet was blown as a call to pack up in preparation to move the camp. When they were ready to journey onward, the second trumpet was blown to "move out." This brings to mind the movies of the old west where the wagon master would circle the wagons and later order the pioneers to get ready to move out followed by the famous shout "westward ho!".

    The Church Age in which we live is a period when God is calling out any who will come to receive His grace; but there is a time ahead when God's clock will punch in the final seven years of Daniel's vision for the Jewish people. God only deals with two spiritual classes in the world, the Church and Israel. He only deals with one at a time. When the Church began, Israel was put on hold (according to Daniel's 70 Shabua prophecy). When the Church is taken out at the Rapture, the remaining one shabua to complete Israel's prophetic clock will commence.

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    When the Holy Spirit Restrainer in the Church is removed, the Tribulation evil will immediately come forth, just as water bursts forth when the damn breaks. So we see that the First Trumpet has a dual purpose; it calls the Church to heaven and the Jews into their last seven-year period of preparation. This testing period of preparation results with the entire Jewish nation moving forth into the Messianic Kingdom under the Messiah that they rejected the first time, 30 AD. The First Trumpet of the Feast of Trumpets is the Last Trump for the Church, i.e. last event for the Church Age. It is all a matter of perspective.

The blowing of the Second Trumpet during the Feast of Trumpets is a type of the "final" trumpet sounded at the end of the Tribulation. This is the trumpet mentioned in Matthew 24:31 which is part of the Sign of His Second Coming. This is not the Last Trump for the Church (1 Cor. 15:52) . The Last Trump for the Church is sounded at the beginning of the Tribulation. The trumpet which resounds to begin the Tribulation has a dual purpose or perspective.

    It is the Last Trump for the Church is the First Trumpet for the Jewish Tribulation. As the First Trumpet for the Shabua, it calls the Jewish people into the final seven years of Daniel's prophecy (Dan. 9:24-27) . The Second Trumpet is the culmination which brings salvation to the Jewish Nation (Zech. 12:10). This Second and "final" trumpet signals the gathering of the Tribulation believers who are still alive at the end of the final holocaust. They will be cloistered by the angels to assure that they continue on through Armageddon to repopulate the earth as righteous mortals during the Millennial Reign of Christ.

    Remember, the heathen will be judged and the Old Testament and Church saints will be immortal (along with the martyred Tribulation believers). Who amongst the righteous of mankind is left to continue on in mortal form? God has to assure that the mortal seed of Adam continues on to fulfill the promise of the final conflict: the battle of Gog and Magog (Rev. 20:8). It is after God's final demonstrated victory over the evil in man's heart that the Great White Throne Judgment takes place (Rev. 20:11-15), and the environment enters into the renovated new heavens and new earth with the heavenly Jerusalem coming down (Rev. 21-22). History as we know it ends, but it's only just the beginning.
 
 

    Parallel fulfillment is the belief that prophetic events occurring in Israel have spiritual correspondence in the Church and overall impact concerning developments in the world. In the Hebrew year that bordered 1947-1948, the world took a quantum leap toward the fulfillment of prophecy. At the same time that the Nation of Israel was being chartered as a nation by the U.N., several other parallel developments began. In this post-WWII period, the Cold War started with nuclear proliferation, some of the 20th Century's greatest ministries began, and reports of "flying saucers" began to circulate. This period marked the beginning of parallel prophetic fulfillment for three spheres: Israel, the Church, and the world.

    WWII had prepared the stage for significant changes: a new Jewish state, the revival of Christianity, and the realignment of the political/military alliance. The Jews and the Allies recognized as a result of the Holocaust that a national Jewish homeland was needed to guarantee the freedom and defense of the Hebrew people. The War had prepared the hearts of America and the world to receive the truth of the Gospel; Americans and most free peoples realized how close they came to losing everything and how much they depended on God as their source. Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, and Jack Van Impe are just a few of the ministries born at this time. On the other side, the forces of Satan began a full fledged campaign to slowly wean mankind from Christian religion to scientific humanism (although this thrust began earlier, it was energized by the post-WWII scientific miracles). The myth of UFOs was born to undercut the belief in the Bible, i.e. earth is not the center of God's creation, we are not alone. The ultimate purpose UFO-ism was to inculcate the world with a new "alien" religion, to substitute faith in God for a belief in super-technological entities who would save us from ourselves. Of course, a few bad aliens were thrown in for good measure.

    At the same time, the lines were being drawn between East and West. These power blocks began to orient the world  system toward the ultimate fulfillment of Ezekiel 38-39, Russia and her allies against America and her allies (which included Israel). We should not forget that many of colonial states of the Western empires were beginning to gain their independence which would later mean wealth and power from oil and other revenues, especially in the Islamic block - a key factor Ezekiel's prophecy.

    Thirty years later, another quantum leap occurred in Israel, the Church, and the world. In 1967, Israel in the Six Days War recaptured their ancient capitol of Jerusalem. The Church saw the introduction of the Charismatic movement and the Jesus Movement, along with a heightened attack from pagan religions, atheists, feminists, abortionists, and the playboy lifestyle (sexual perversion and hedonism). At this time the Hippie Movement began with drugs and anti-establishment rhetoric. Satan used the Beatles and pop music to introduce LSD, Eastern religions, and free sex. However, the most insidious part of the Devil's end time plan, was the propagation of what is today called the New Age. In 1967, America and much of the world was under the illusion of scientism, the believe in Science as the method to be applied to everything - in effect, the new anti-religion which replaced the archaic and superstitious ideas of Christianity. Satan's ultimate objective was not to move mankind from religion to science. This was just an intermediary step. The forces of evil realized that in the West, the masses would not suddenly switch from Christianity to the New Age occult. They had to be tricked. The plan was and is to move humans from Christian religion to science and then to the New Age (counterfeit spiritualism and mysticism). In our time, this has pretty much been accomplished.

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    Network television broadcasting was introduced in the year of Israel's birth, and has always been key to the plan. The media and Hollywood have channeled the plan since the 50's with Science Fiction being the main vehicle to accomplish the indoctrination. In 1967, the year that Jerusalem was captured by Israel, a series began on TV on a five year mission. This mission is going strong at the present time. At that time, at least in America, most viewers were grounded in some religious teaching. As we prepared to land on the moon, the sky was the limit for our great technological genius and idealistic power. The New Age, then called Metaphysics, was not main stream and had to be slipped in unawares. Science Fiction served the purpose nicely. What irony, that the very individuals who considered themselves scientific and non-superstitious, would be the same ones that would be moved from the god of science to mere occult superstition. I recall a science class where a teenager asked about astrology. The students laughed her to scorn. How unbelievable that someone would actually consider such superstition in the space age. That was only three decades ago. Now I watch psychic networks proliferating and New Age doctrine spewing forth from every audio and visual source, not to mention the Internet.

    Star Trek was the forerunner of many demonic propaganda pieces to come. The main characters were the humanistic captain who by his own mortal ability could overcome any situation, and his pointy-eared science officer who through logic and scientific knowledge overcame all dilemmas (sometimes by occult mind reading). In those days the occult was not a prominent factor in the story lines, but in one episode a comment was made that Spock looked like the Devil (of course he is man human and have Vulcan, i.e. demon). Spock would go on in the movie version to be resurrected from the dead on his planet of Vulcan (pagan god of the underworld) where the prominent symbol of greeting is the image of two horns, the Satanic salute (Rev. 13:11).

    In the Eighties and Nineties, the series evolved for the Next Generation where the science officer of logic was replaced by a computerized humanoid and the Counselor, a humanistic psychologist with the powers of an occult medium. The Deep Space Nine series introduced us to beings who can transform themselves into various manifestations (2 Cor. 11:14), shape-shifters, and to a priestly cast of Eastern-style religious monks, the Bajoran religious cast (Christian religion is never portrayed). Also, an interesting twist on pseudo-scientific demonic possession was introduced: humans acting as symbiont hosts for an alien creatures implanted in their abdomens (out of the bellies shall flow rivers of living demons). In the politically correct "Star Trek: Voyager", the ship's doctor is a computerized holographic projection (Rev. 13:15). Native American shamanism, conjuring demonic spirits, is often in the plot along with other occult themes in this on-going campaign to capture the minds of the next generation (2 Tim. 2:26).

    The Devil is the god of the imagination (Gen. 3; 2 Cor. 10:5). He is churning out major mind-altering presentations to reinforce the plan. Some are sci-fi, some are occult (although the lines are beginning to blur), some are pseudo-scientific, and some are humorous but all subliminally convey the plan:

e.g.
Star Trek series, Star Trek movies (Insurrection is the ninth), Next Generation series, Alien Nation series, Deep Space 9 series, Babylon 5 series, StarTrek:Voyager series, Sightings series, Earth: Final Conflict series, Predator movies, the Abyss, Men in Black, Independence Day, Phenomenon, Contact, My Mother the Alien, Alien, Aliens, Alien3, Alien Resurrection, The Star Wars Trilogy (re-released and a new movie series), Sphere, Cyborg, Event Horizon, X-Files series and movie, fill in the blank, etc. [not to mention a host of movies and TV programs with supernatural themes. Typically the UFO sci-fi enthusiasts are open to the New Age. Devotees of the occult mingle openly with the alien-seeking subculture and are in fact, one and the same.]

    The message is simple: "We are not alone, we will make contact, they are superior, and they are coming! (they may already be here)" The nine Star Trek movies, not to mention the plethora of parallel epics, have helped to keep this demonic propaganda campaign alive and well. The last three cinematic adventures may actually contain a key to the enemies plans: Generations, First Contact, and Insurrection. For generations now, Satan has been brain-washing the young to receive his plan for humanity (especially on Saturday morning). One day, and not too far off, his chosen generation will make first contact with Satan's openly manifested demonic-aliensⁱ. This will be the beginning of the Devil's last reign, the Tribulation Insurrection. According to his nefarious timetable, we may be closer than we think.

    In the satanic strategy, the move from Christianity to science to scientific-witchcraft had been achieved.. The TV serials continue to evolve in this direction with the latest installment, Earth: Final Conflict, portraying unisex demon-like entities who have taken over earth as enlightened Eastern-type alien masters in a one world government (not far from the prophetic history about to unfold). The Bible calls the final conflict, the Tribulation and Armageddon.

    From the first "flying saucer" reports in late 1947 until today, a series of books, TV shows, and movies have been slowly but surely preparing the population to receive a horde of demons as space aliens. The progression is obvious if viewed from the prophetic prism of God's Word with its insight into Satan's plans and goal for planet earth. From weird and laughable alien creations of the 50's until today, the enemy has paraded an evolution of images before the eyes and minds of the populace to desensitize them to the eventual manifestation of Satanic forces during the reign of Antichrist. From Star Trek to Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind to E.T. to the X-Files and beyond, this generation is ready for the materialization of apparently super-technological creatures who look very different from anything on this planet and who have powers that can only be described as supernatural. The song remains the same.

    This generation doesn't believe in the God of the Bible. They consider themselves educated and sophisticated, but they have been hypnotized by a non-stop campaign of Satanic brain-washing to receive the greatest deception of all time (only second to the Garden of Eden - same Snake, same plan, same propaganda). The Antichrist could very well be introduced as the ultimate abductee. A human being taken to a distant alien civilization and training to be the ambassador and overlord to bring peace to the evolving human planet - the emissary of a New Age (this is the premise of the movie, Close Encounters). His blend of worldly knowledge, power, and wisdom (as the scriptures describe) would have to come from much higher powers than mortal man. The message you are to believe: "They are here. They have made contact. They want you to receive them." Antichrist will introduce you to the world prepared for you by your heavenly alien. They have sent alien trans-dimensional light beings into the world to be your helpers (the unholy spirits). You must open yourself up to channel them as a symbiont host and enter into the New Age.
 
 

    How will Antichrist explain the disappearance of millions of believers across the world when the Rapture occurs? The population will readily receive the explanation - the higher powers had to remove them, a la transporter beam, to another planet for reprogramming. The born-again Bible-believing nuts, the non-progressive and unenlightened ones, could not be allowed to impede the planetary evolution. With their intolerant and ignorantly biased viewpoint they were not fit to inherit the kingdom - the kingdom prepared for them by the Alien Father.

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^a Many increasing signs will precede the Rapture, but no specific prophetic event is specified by the Word. [Return]

^b WILLIAM LAWRENCE SHIRER (b. Feb. 23, 1904, Chicago, Ill., U.S.--d. Dec. 28, 1993, Boston, Mass.), American journalist, historian, and novelist, best known for his massive study The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (1960).  [ Return ]

^c The term 'Developing World' is often used but "Two-thirds World" or "Majority World" have been suggested as alternatives, since the people of the South represent two-thirds of the world's population. [ Return ]

^d Definition: 10/40 Window = a window that extends from the tipof Southern Spain across to Japan, and down to the Philipines andacross to the western hump of Africa. More than 3.1 Billion people live in this area of the world. By the year 2000 there will be over 400 cities with more than 1million people. 300 of those cities lie within the Window. It represents the vast pagan religions of the world...706 million Muslims, 717 million Hindus, 153 million Buddhists live in the 10/40 Window. The 8 out of 10 of the poorest people of the world live within the Window, 2.4 billion of them!  [ Return ]

^e "The name Indian was first applied to Native Americans by Christopher Columbus, who believed mistakenly that the mainland and islands of America were part of the Indies, in Asia" [Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia under the topic of Native Americans]  [ Return ]

^f "Atlantis, in the tradition of antiquity, a large island in the Western Ocean (the ocean to the west of the known world)" [Microsoft Encarta 96 Encyclopedia under the topic of Atlantis] [ Return ]

^g The chief prince of Meshech (Ezekiel 38:2,3). The Hebrew word used for "chief" can also mean the top or highest, e.g. Rosh Hashannah or top of the year. Today , The most northern country or "rosh" peoples from Israel are the Russians. The capitol of Moscow is directly north from Jerusalem at 37 35' E 55 45'N. Russia comes from the original name for the Ukrainian area, Rus, i.e. land of the Rus-ians. This is the same etymological root as the Hebrew "rosh" and means most northern land in the context of peoples and territories. "And thou shall come from thy place out of the north parts" (Ezekiel 38:15 KJV) in reference to Gog further emphasizes this. [ Return ]

^h W.W.I and W.W.II were called World Wars but much of the world was not directly involved in the fighting. Russia is still a super power from the standpoint of nuclear war (she still has vast nuclear weapons capability).
[ Return ]

^h2 Definition:   A "type" and "shadow" is a prefiguring image or account designed to teach prophetic truth concerning a future reality (Rom. 5:14; Col. 2:17; Heb. 8:5, 10:1 )[ Return ]

ⁱ Alien beings as presented in science fiction and popular TV programs are in actuality the demons of Biblical mention. They are alien to this planet since Earth was made for mankind and not Satanic forces, but they are not here to save us or help us. They are manifesting themselves to fulfill Satan's plan for the end times. Currnetly, S.E.T.I., via the Plantary Society, is recruiting millions of PC users to help analyze terrabtyes of data to help discoverer the first signal from an extraterrestrial civilization.  It won't be long until the spiritual forces of darkness provide the counterfeit they are desperately searching for .  [ Return ]
 

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