“The simultaneous occurrence of events or circumstances”
There is a convergence of events and prophecies as never before. Alarming events have, from time to time, caused people to wonder if the End of Days as spoken of in the Bible had arrived. But, never, have events coincided with prophetic fulfillment as we now see.
When people read the Bible about eschatology, that is the matters about the End Times and the Tribulation period (the books of Matthew chapter 24 and the book of The Revelation), most tend to read it as one would read a ‘story’ or a novel. Most assume it is written in chronological order, a sequence of events, one event beginning as the previous event is ending. THIS IS NOT CORRECT.
When a Tribulation Seal is broken, an event or a series of events occur and will last for certain periods of time. Most events will continue until the “Consummation of the Age”.
Secondly, the book of Revelation is not written in chronological order. Description of events and timelines are repeated in various chapters and are not in a linear order. For example, Revelation chapters six and seven tell us about the breaking of the Sixth Tribulation Seal, cosmic disturbances, great earthquakes, the Rapture and the Sealing of the 144,000 from the Tribes of Israel. THEN, in Revelation chapters 12, 13 and 14 we read the details and outcomes of these events.
Another example is the Second Coming of Jesus. There are those who say He comes back at least twice, once at the rapture, Again, this is a misunderstanding of Jesus’ return. Jesus’ return is one continuous event and He will accomplish both the rapture of the saints and defeat Him enemies as “the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords”.
Revelation 1:7 tells us, “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Matthew 24:19-31 tells us, “But 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. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they 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 BLAST, and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”
Then, Revelation 19:11-16 tells us, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh, He has a name written: “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Once a Tribulation event begins, it may continue for days, weeks, months, years or decades. Then, as a second or third event occurs, events may overlap and occur simultaneously.
Revelation 1:8, informs us that Jesus transcends time as we know it when He says, “I Am The Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come”. This means that ACCORDING TO BIBLICAL ESCHATOLOGY, WHAT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED; AND IS NOW HAPPENING; AND IS YET TO (will continue to) HAPPEN. (Just as a powerful storm such as a hurricane, will appear to be many different storms by those who must endure it from a ground based perspective,as it progresses across the earth to its conclusion; from a heavenly perspective it is seen as one continuous storm, unfolding, changing and concluding.)
Joel 1:1 warned us, over two centuries ago, when he wrote, “The word of the LORD that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:
Verse 2. “Hear this, O elders, And listen, all inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this happened in your days Or in your fathers’ days?
Verse 3. “Tell your sons about it, And let your sons tell their sons, And their sons the next generation.
Joel 2:1. “Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the LORD is coming; Surely it is near,
Verse 2. “A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn is spread over the mountains, So there is a great and mighty people; There has never been anything like it, Nor will there be again after it To the years of many generations.
Joel 2:28 continues with, “It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions.
Verse 29. “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
Verse 30. “I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke.
Verse 31. “The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.
Verse 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 3:9 says, “Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare a war; rouse the mighty men! Let all the soldiers draw near, let them come up!
Verse 10. “Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.”
- THE SIGNS: The confirmation of the Prophecy from Joel – The Announcement (1 AD)
Acts 2:1 -21. “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
“And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
“Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? “And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? “Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs — we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.”
“And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others were mocking and saying, “They are full of sweet wine.”
“But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day;
“but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:
” ‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS;
“EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT And they shall prophesy.
” ‘AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE.
‘THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME.
” ‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’ “
The First Seal —Rider on White Horse – Political Intrigue & Conquest (Ongoing since AD 30)
All of these events were prophesied in the book of Joel 3 and confirmed by the Apostle Peter in Acts 2. We have seen these events progressively occurring since AD 30.
Matthew 24:7, says, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8 “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.”
Correlating verse
Revelation 6:1, says, “Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come.” Verse 2. I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.”
The Second Sea l — Wars and Rumors of War (Ongoing since AD 30)
Revelation6:3, “When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come.” verse 4. And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.
The Third Sea l— Famine (Ongoing since AD 30 – growing in intensity)
Revelation 6:5, “When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. verse 6. And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”
The Fourth Seal — Death (Have been occurring since AD 30 – growing in intensity)
Revelation 6:7, “When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.” Verse 8. I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.
The Fifth Seal — Martyrs (Has been occurring since AD 30 – The great Apostasy, the great Falling Away from the faith has now begun)
verse 9. 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; verse 10. 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?” verse 11. 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.
The Sixth Seal — Terror (coming soon)
Verse 12. 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; verse 13. and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. verse 14. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. verse 15. 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; verse 16. 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; verse 17. for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
An Interlude
Revelation 7:1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. verse 2. And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, verse 3. saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.”
THE PROPHECY – Globalism and The Tower of Babel
Do not be deceived. These are events that must come to pass. They have been foretold, foreshadowed and are coming to pass in our days. They are of a supernatural nature which is manifest in this natural world, and they must be dealt with on both the natural and supernatural levels. IF YOU SCOFF AT THIS, YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN PERIL.
WHAT ARE WE TO DO?
This is ‘forecast’ or what is Prophesied in the Bible. It will occur. It is underway. You and I must PREPARE.
1. Surrender to Jesus as Lord and for Salvation, and He will give you wisdom, strength, courage and knowledge.
2. Repent and enter the Kingdom of God. “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17 This Kingdom is a very real place. It is described by metaphor but it is no metaphor. It is a real place we must possess in these last days. Jesus centers His teaching to His disciples around this Truth, telling them they must enter the Kingdom of God and continue His Works until He returns. (more on this in an upcoming article).
3. Educate yourself. Become Bible literate. “Also, it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom…” Revelation 13:16-1
4. “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.” “Therefore, be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. For this reason, you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.”
5. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
6. LIKE JESUS, WE MUST TESTIFY TO THE TRUTH
John 18:37,says, “Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this purpose I have been born, and for this I have come into the world: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.” This, too, is our calling and our method of resistance in these Last Days!
7. LIKE JESUS, WE MUST BRING A SWORD
Matthew 10:34, Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. Verse 35 For I came to TURN A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; Verse 36 and A PERSON’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.” This, too, is our calling and our method of resistance in these Last Days!
8. LIKE JESUS, WE MUST FULFILL THE LAW
In Matthew 5:17 , “Jesus said, “Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill the Law and the Prophets.”
Romans 8:3 says, “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
This, too, is our calling and our method of resistance in these Last Days!
9. LIKE JESUS, WE MUST CALL SINNERS
Mark 2:17 says, “And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” This, too, is our calling and our method of resistance in these Last Days!
10. LIKE JESUS, WE MUST PROCLAIM HIM SAVIOR OF THE WORLD
John 12:47 , Jesus says, “If anyone hears My teachings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.” In a very real sense, This, too, is our calling and our method of resistance in these Last Days, lifting the Name of Jesus, telling others and leading them to Him.
11. LIKE JESUS, WE MUST CAST FIRE & BRING DIVISION UPON THE EARTH
Luke 12:49 , “Jesus says, “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! Verse 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! Verse 51 Do you think that I came to provide peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather to create division;” This, too, is our calling and our method of resistance in these Last Days!
“WHAT HE REALLY MEANT?”
John 14:12, “Jesus says, “Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I am going to the Father. Verse 13. And whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Verse 14. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”
This is what the Bible says. It is the method and model of Jesus. This is our calling and our duty. Please, brothers and sisters, anything less is failure.
These are real and serious matters and you must know that economics may or may not help, but they will not save you.
- Stockpiles of food and water may help and shelter will help for a while but they will disappear and will not save you.
- Medicines may help for a while, but they will run out and will not save you.
- Guns and politics may help or hurt your efforts, but they will not save you.
- Technology may help in some ways, but it will not save you.
Understanding the power of Knowing Jesus as your LORD and your Savior will give you strength and confidence when and where you need them, guidance and wisdom along the way and eternal security. Please, just do it.
These are exciting times in which we live! We must be prepared and ‘endure to the end’ (most likely the end of the 5th Seal of Revelation) as Jesus said in Matthew 24. And by all accounts, it would seem we are at that stage!
The Rapture Revealed: A Presentation
NEXT: PERFECTION – Chapter 28 – THE 6TH TRIBULATION SEAL
PREVIOUS: PERFECTION – Chapter 26 – Where Do We Go From Here?
Whitestone Fellowship 