Category: Zion’s Hope

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THE MYSTERY OF BABYLON – 2024

~ Michael Young, Sr. ~ Leave a comment

 

THE MYSERY OF BABYLON – THE HARLOT

Mecca-SaudiArbia.jpg

photo of MECCA, Saudi Arabia

There is much debate and discussion about the identity of

  • “BABYLON THE GREAT MOTHER OF HARLOTS” – Ezekiel 38
  • “THE ABOMINATION OF THE EARTH” – Daniel 7,9
  • “THE BEAST WITH SEVEN HEADS AND TEN HORNS” – Revelation 17

(Link to resources used for this page are  Zion’s Hope Videos Parts1, 2 & 3.  (I suggest watching all three videos, in order, but, video Part-2 may be of particular interest)

To be clear, this discussion is interesting and is helpful to some, but generally, it has nothing to do with our salvation in Christ. It can be helpful in our preparation, as followers and disciples of Jesus for His return. We are to be about His Work in these Last Days.  Some of the most popular guesses are that…

  • The Great Harlot, as suggested by Bible scholars, theologians and Bible teachers, could be Rome, (that is, the reemergence of Rome as a power),
  • One view suggest that the Apostle Peter uses the word “Babylon” as a symbolic way of referring to the new world culture at war with the covenant community. The Whore of Babylon is the spirit of seductive culture, actively engaged in the deception and destruction of God’s people. That she rides upon “the beast” means she is propped up by the forces of anti-Christian government.
  • The great whore, the harlot (Revised Version), seems to leave no doubt in some theologian’s minds, that this figure describes the degenerate portion of the Church of God. That the harlot sits on many waters therefore shows us that the faithless portion of the Church is to be found distributed amongst “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” (see Revelation 17:1).

Just like the beast, who was, and is not and is about to rise, the “Whore” keeps on rising from the dead! A particular brand of her seductive charm may fall into the dust and be buried by the sands of time, but just you wait! Before you know it, she will rise again in another place, known by another name but waging the same destructive war against God’s covenant people. With that said…

The Bible calls this a mystery for good reason. But, in Revelation 17, we read, starting in

Verse 1. (NOTE: At this point, the 6th Tribulation seal has been broken, and the Church is with Christ, before the Throne of God in heaven. Subsequently, the 7 Seal Judgements and the 7 Trumpet Judgements are also finished ). “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,

verse 2.  “with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.”

verse 3.  “And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.

verse 4.  “The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality,

verse 5.  “and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery,

verse 9 “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits,

verse 10.  “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.

verse 11.  “The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.

verse 12. “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.

verse 13. “These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

verse 14.  “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”

verse 15.  “And he said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.

verse 16.  “And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire.”

David Rosenthal Videos posted give a complete and compelling description – video Part 2, in particular):

A COMMON AND TRADITIONAL VIEW OF THE MYSTERY OF BABYLON:

VERSE 9. “Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.”

a. The seven heads are seven mountains: Many quickly associate the seven mountains with Rome and the Papacy, because Rome is well known as the city on seven hills. Yet literally, the Greek word means mountains, not hills.

i. Many commentators – especially those who see all of Revelation fulfilled in history – regard the seven mountains as an irrefutable connection with Rome. Clarke is a good example of this when he writes, “This verse has been almost universally considered to allude to the seven hills upon which Rome originally stood.”

ii. But in the Bible mountains are sometimes a figure of governments (such as in Daniel 2:35) and the city of Rome is built on hills, not mountains.

b. The seven heads are seven mountains: It is probably better to see the seven mountains as representing the seven kings and kingdoms described in Revelation 17:10. Many people find the connection between religious Babylon and Roman Catholicism irresistible, yet it is flawed in the sense that there is no doubt that religious Babylon will incorporate a strong Roman Catholic element, but it will be much bigger than Roman Catholicism.

i. Tendencies for Roman Catholicism’s ultimate partnership with a one-world religion were evident in Pope John Paul II’s bizarre involvement with and approval of other anti-Christian religions.

ii. In addressing a “prayer gathering” of Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and others, Pope John Paul II told participants that their efforts were “unleashing profound spiritual energies in the world and bringing about a new climate of peace.” The Pope pledged that “the Catholic Church intends to ‘share in and promote’ such ecumenical and inter-religious cooperation.”

iii. The Catholic Review commented on this and said, “The unity of religion promoted by the Holy Father Pope John Paul II and approved by His Holiness the Dalai Lama is not a goal to be achieved immediately, but a day may come when the love and compassion which both Buddha and Christ preached so eloquently will unite the world in a common effort to save humanity from senseless destruction, and lead toward the light in which we all believe.” (Note: This is the endorsement for the One World Apostate Church.)

VERSE 10 – Seven kings and kingdoms.

“There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time.”

a. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come: This is one of the more difficult passages in the Book of Revelation. Some explain these seven kings, five past, one present, and one to come in the succession of Roman Emperors in John’s era, but there are many historical difficulties with this approach. More likely, it is a reference to:

· Five have fallen refers to the five world empires before John’s day: Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Medo-Persia, and Greece

· One refers to the world empire of John’s day: Rome

· The other has not yet come refers to the one world empire to come: a revival of the Roman Empire

b. When he comes, he must continue a short time: This seventh will quickly be taken over by an eighth – and will become the state of the Antichrist (Revelation 17:11).

NOTE:  There are problems with this viewpoint as well (so some have taken the seven as symbolic). This plainly is a difficult passage!

VERSE 11. The beast (the Antichrist) is clearly identified as the eighth king.

“And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.”

Is he, himself, also the eighth: He is of the seven in the sense that he shares characteristics with all previous world empires, but his fate is clear. Perdition means “destruction,” and the beast will be destroyed.

Verses 12-15 – Ten kings to come, allies of the Antichrist.

“The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.” Then he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.

Ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet: This probably alludes to a ten-nation confederation (as in the toes of the image, Daniel 2:24-45), but some take ten as a symbolic number.

They are ten kingdoms which shall arise out of the fourth great kingdom there: ten European powers, which in the last time, in concert with and subjugation to the antichristian power, shall make war against Christ. In the precise number and form here indicated, they have not yet arisen… What changes in Europe may bring them into the required tale and form, it is not for us to say.” (Alford, 1866)

These are of one mind: Many have seen the European Union (formerly the European Economic Community) as the potential fulfillment of this. Perhaps, but now there are more than ten nations in this revived European power, and more on the way.

There is little doubt the EU itself claims to be a successor to the ancient Roman Empire. The EEC started in 1957, when six European nations met to talk about combining their nuclear, coal, and economic resources. They met together in Rome and signed the treaty of Rome – the beginnings of the present EU. In many places in Europe, the EU flag is just as prominent as any national flag.

We could still say what Alford wrote in 1866: “In the precise number and form here indicated, they have not yet arisen. What changes in Europe may bring them into the required tale and form, it is not for us to say.” But it will happen, and this confederation of nations will emerge as an heir to the ancient Roman Empire.

These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast: Whatever their exact identity, their actions are clear. They join with the Antichrist in the war against Christ, in the battle alluded to in the sixth and seventh bowls (Revelation 16:12-21).

The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits: The harlot presides over peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. This tells us that the harlot’s influence is worldwide, through her connection to the beast. This will be a truly one-world religion.

The interpretation of the harlot focuses on her relation to the beast: she is utterly connected to the beast and his government. If this sounds unthinkable, remember that throughout history, religion – not true Christianity – has often been the willing servant and supporter of tyrants.

A VIEW MORE BIBLICALLY ALIGNED – DAVID ROSENTHAL, Zion’s Hope:  The 10 Nation Confederation, (THE HEADS), of the BEAST from Ezekiel 38, of Daniel 7,9 and Revelation 17):

Nation #1. Gog:  A Reubenite, son of Shemaiah, the prophetic prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and Magog. Gog is identified as a descendant of the prophet Joel, and in Ezekiel 38–39, he is the chief prince of the tribes of Meshech and Tubal in the land of Magog, the mountainous region between Cappadocia and Media.

Nation #2. Magog:  The 2nd son of Japheth, grandson of Noah, and progenitor of several tribes northward from Israel; the mountainous region between Cappadocia and Media and habitation of the descendants of Magog, son of Japheth and grandson of Noah

Nation #3. Rosh:  “the Prince of Rosh” is Asiatic Russia receives confirmation from the Imperial Dictionary. “Evidence exists of an ancient people called Rosh, or Rhos, supposed to be the original stem from which the Russia or modern Russians have derived their race and name.” The scholar, Bishop Lowther says: “Rosh, taken as a proper name, in Ezekiel, signifies the inhabitants of Scythia, from whom modern Russians derived their name. We must conclude therefore, that Ezekiel’s “episode of Gog’s invasion” (A. B. Davidson) points irrefutably and undeniably to the Russians.

Nation #4. Meschack:  Was a Chaldean. The Chaldeans inhabited the coastal area near the Persian Gulf. About 630 Nabopolassar became king of the Chaldeans and in 626 he forced the Assyrians out of Uruk and crowned himself king of Babylonia. Modern day Turkey.

Nation #5. Tubal:  a region in east Asia Minor, perhaps nearly equal to Cappadocia

Nation #6. Persia:  Iran

Nation #7. Cush (Ethiopia):  located on either side or both sides of the Red Sea. As such, “Cush” is alternately identified in scripture with the Kingdom of Kush or ancient Ethiopia.

Nation #8. Put (Libya):  Ancient Libya. In this sense, Libya was the whole known African continent to the west of the Nile Valley and extended south of Egypt. Herodotus described the inhabitants of Libya as two peoples: The Libyans in northern Africa and the Ethiopians in the south.

Nation #9. Gomer:  (was the wife of the prophet Hosea (8th century BC), mentioned in the Hebrew Bible‘s Book of Hosea (1:3). Hosea 1:2 refers to her alternatively as a “promiscuous woman” (NIV), a “harlot” (NASB), and a “whore” (KJV) but Hosea is told to marry her according to Divine appointment. She is also described as the daughter of Diblaim.) The Hebrew name Gomer refers to the Cimmerians, who dwelt in what is now southern Russia, “beyond the Caucusus”, and attacked Assyria in the late 7th century BC.

Nation #10. Beth-Togarmah:  Togarmah is a city mentioned in Assyrian and Hittite texts. It was north of Carchemish on an Assyrian trade route. It may be related to modern Gurun between the Halys and Euphrates Rivers.

These are the 10 Nation Confederation, (THE HEADS), of the BEAST Ezekiel 38, of Daniel 7,9 and Revelation 17. All are Islamic, the Center of which is MECCA (see video #2).

The common argument is for Rome which is built on 10 hills. Guzik deals with the assumption as incorrect.

I know this is a difficult subject and a ‘tough read’. So, I will conclude by asking, “SO WHAT”?

While scholars may debate some of the fine details of this particular vision, the main points of application seem abundantly clear:

#1. We are crossing the threshold of a Global Transformation – and it does not look good for most people.

#2. By all indicators, God’s prophecy of the End of Days is well under way.

#3. The Bible says events will turn cataclysmic – very soon.

#4. Culture is not neutral. You will have to choose sides by your actions. Talk won’t work.
#5. Satan is boldly walking through the front door of a worldwide governmental alignment, even as I write this.

#6. The devil is encroaching through the backdoor of seduction, idolatry, technology, perverse entertainment and has crept into the church. He is now in the church, deceiving many.

#7. The majority of the Church is either compromised, asleep, ignorant or afraid to engage the enemy.
#8. A remnant is rising at the Voice of God.

#9. God is calling and it is time you and I mobilize and do the Works Jesus has commanded.
#10. Doing nothing, except being nice and “going to church”, assures you of nothing!

Let’s Remain, IN HIS GRIP!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

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additional reading:

The Age of Babylon and the Great Harlot

The Mystery of Babylon – The 7 Hills

The 7 Hills of Rome

The Mystery of Babylon – 2 views

What are the 70 of Sevens (Daniel’s 70 Weeks)

The Christian Betrayal of Jesus

When does the 7 Years of Tribulation Begin

EVIDENCE THAT WE ARE IN THE LAST DAYS – PRE-WRATH, PRE-TRIBULATION

~ Michael Young, Sr. ~ Leave a comment

 

Matthew 24:3 says,  “As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

Verse 4, “And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.

Verse 5, “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.

Verse 6, “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.

Verse 7, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.

Verse 8, “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

Verse 9, “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.”

So, when will these things happen?

I. Many will come IN MY NAME:

This can be someone literally saying ‘I am the Christ’, but it is proving to be those who consider themselves as an emissary of Christ – such as ‘ordained pastors’ – who speak for Christ, but are blindly following ‘new age’ or errant doctrines; or, as we are clearly seeing, now, in our day, ‘institutional deception’, where entire denominations fall away from the clear teachings of Jesus and lead millions astray. (Also see“Shipwrecked”).

So, how can we know ‘which of the false Christs’ Jesus is referring to, WHICH WILL MARK THE ‘END OF THE AGE’?

II. WARS and rumors of war:

There have been thousands upon thousands of wars and conflicts since the time of Christ. Most notable for their scope and breadth are the

  • Religious Crusades (1095 – 1291, Muslims vs Latin Church, almost 2 million dead),
  • WWI (1914 – 1918, 17 million dead), and
  • WW2 (1939 – 1945, over 70 million dead).

Current wars and conflicts 2018: Interactive global conflict tracker.

historical_activity_200years.jpg

So, how can we know ‘which wars and rumors of wars‘ Jesus is referring to, WHICH WILL MARK THE ‘END OF THE AGE’?

III. EARTHQUAKES & VOLCANOES:

Earthquakes are nothing new. In fact, they are so numerous that I can only give you a web link by period of time and let you view what has been recorded. But, Jesus did warn they would come.

Lists of earthquakes by period. (use the links below).

HISTORY_of_earthquakes_1900-.svg.png

Seismic Event List Index

Volcanoes are nothing new, either, but it would seem that seismic events (volcanoes) are on the rise.

historical_activity_600years.jpg

Figure 1. Graph lines showing the number of volcanoes reported to have been active each year since 1400 and 1800 C.E.

At first glance the nearly exponential increase through recent centuries suggests that the planet may soon be overwhelmed by volcanic activity, but this increase tracks the striking growth of global population that has spread potential observers of eruptions over much of the Earth and the technological advances that have facilitated reporting of those eruptions. Global Volcanism Program, 2013. Volcanoes of the World, Smithsonian Institution. January 2020.

So, how can we know ‘which EARTHQUAKES‘ Jesus is referring to, WHICH WILL MARK THE ‘END OF THE AGE’?

IV. FAMINES:

Famines have taken hundreds of millions of lives since the time of Christ, so this is nothing new, either.

Famine-victims-and-world-population-sinc

So, how can we know ‘which FAMINES‘ Jesus is referring to, WHICH WILL MARK THE ‘END OF THE AGE’?

V. PERSECUTION:

Jesus tells us there will be a worldwide persecution of Christians. A look at history shows us that In the first few centuries, Christianity grew quickly. By A.D. 325, an estimated 7 million people were Christians, with as many as 2 million killed for their faith in Jesus.

However, according to a Christian think-tank. The Center for the Study of Global Christianity (CSGC) says 900,000 Christians have been ‘martyred’ in the last decade, equating to 90,000 a year and one every six minutes.

This may be the most dangerous time in history to be Christian

 

At least 327 million Christians face persecution, according to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), which released its biannual report on Religious Freedom in the World in November 2018. That is 7 percent of the world’s 2.3 billion Christians, estimated by Pew Research Center in 2015.

245 million Christians in the top 50 countries on Open Doors USA’s 2019 World Watch List experience high levels of persecution (i.e.: torture, rape, sex-slavery, for conversion to Christianity, murder and genocide), an increase of 14 percent from 2018. Sixty percent of those enduring persecution are children; women and girls are most violated. Release International, a UK-based human rights watchdog in operation for the past 50 years who partner with U.S.-based “Voice of the Martyrs” said they expect global anti-Christian persecution is set to rise ‘sharply’ in 2019. – (Read the report here)

So, how can we know ‘which period of Christian Persecution’ Jesus is referring to, WHICH WILL MARK THE ‘END OF THE AGE’?

So, where does all of this lead?

1. You will know when ‘The End of the Age’ is near, not when one or two of these events occur, but when ALL of ‘these things’ occur and converge concurrently, as Jesus said they would; then these things are the harbinger of ‘those things’ which are yet to come to pass. (Also, see “The Tribulation of Those Days’).

2. The phrase “the beginning of birth pangs” is a statement made by Jesus in or around the year AD 30 and is a translation of the Greek archē _ ōdin . The meaning of the phrase, translated in the KJV as “the beginning of sorrows” is a direct reference to preliminary birth pangs that ultimately lead to the full scale contractions and travail, which leads to the actual birth.

Recognizing the Old Testament reference that Jesus is referencing, is an essential, but often overlooked key to determining the timing of the prophecy. Jesus was pointing his disciples to two key passages from the prophet Isaiah.

These passages are found in Isaiah 26, a portion of Scripture that is sometimes referred to as “Isaiah’s little apocalypse”. There, the Lord speaks through Isaiah, specifically contrasting the expectations of the Jewish people regarding deliverance, redemption and physical resurrection with the reality of the pain, suffering and travail that they had corporately experienced. In verses 16-18, the complaint of Israel is raised that despite having endured the great suffering of labor, the expected “birth” of deliverance, redemption and resurrection had not arrived.

This helps make clear that the Last Days and the opening of the first five tribulation Seals began in our around the birth of Christ through A.D 95.

When considering this question, we must, once again look at the words and testimonies of Jesus and the Apostles who referred to these periods and to those days as:  ‘The Last Days’, ‘The Last Times’, ‘The End of All Things’, ‘The End of The Ages’, and “Jesus has appeared, once for all, at the End of The Ages’. Here are the references which further confirm these dates:

Matthew 24:4-31, (Jesus), describing a panorama of the tribulation and the Last Days.

From these verses, we can plainly see that the first 5 tribulation Seals were broken and the effects had begun between the time of the birth of Jesus and A.D 95.

Acts 2:14-17, (the Apostle Peter), saying, “let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: ‘And in the last days it shall be…’

1 Peter 1:20, (the Apostle Peter), saying, “ He, (Jesus), was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you.”

 1 Peter 4:7, (the Apostle Peter), saying, “The end of all things is at hand.”

 2 Peter 3:3. (the Apostle Peter), saying, “knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days.”

 1 Corinthians 10:11, (the Apostle Paul), saying, “Now these things happened to them as an example and warning [to us]; they were written for our instruction [to admonish and equip us], upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

Hebrews 1:2, (the Apostle Paul), saying, “but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.”

Hebrews 9:26, (the Apostle Paul), saying, “But as it is, Jesus has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

 2 Timothy 3:1, (Timothy), saying, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.”

 

 

 1 John 2:18. (the Apostle John), saying, “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.”

 Revelation 1:9, (The Apostle John), saying, “I, John, your brother and fellow participant in the tribulation.”

The Sixth Seal – Terror

Verse 12. I looked when He (the Lamb) broke open the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as, [footnote ‘h’], sackcloth [made] of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; verse 13, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree shedding its late [summer] figs when shaken by a strong wind. Verse 14. The sky was split, [separated from the land], and rolled up like a scroll, and every mountain and island were dislodged and moved out of their places. Verse 15. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the, [footnote ‘i’], military commanders and the wealthy and the strong and everyone, [whether] slave or free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; verse 16, and they called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne, and from the [righteous] wrath and indignation of the Lamb; verse 17, for the great day of their wrath and vengeance and retribution has come, and who is able to [face God and] stand [before the wrath of the Lamb]?”

It is clear from history, that the events describing the 6th Tribulation Seal have not yet occurred. Furthermore, it could be said that the Seal Judgments actually come in 2 stages: The first five Seals could be referred to as the first stage of seals, known as the “birth pains” , which “are not yet the end” – as they have been described by Jesus in Matthew 24:6.

 These are followed by what we could call the second stage of tribulation Seals, 6th and 7th,, also known as the Great Tribulation Seals and The Day of Wrath.

It is plain to see that the intensity of the 6th Seal increases exponentially over the previous five Seals. This period is rightly named “The Great Tribulation” period. There is a continuing escalation of intensity as we approach the Trumpet Judgments, (The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord), and the Bowl Judgments, (The Wrath of the Lamb.)

Additionally, these three events occur during the 6th Tribulation Seal: (#1). An interlude for the sealing of the 144,000. (#2). The sealing of the 144,000 from the 12 Tribes of Israel, (see Revelation chapter 7), and (#3). The gathering of the ‘multitudes from the tribulation – also known as the Rapture. (also read Matthew 24:20-31). (End this commentary).

(You can also see a teaching by Pastor and Teacher, John Piper on the timing of the End Times. But, one of the first, most accurate, and persistent advocates of the Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church can be found at Zion’s Hope, with videos on this site.)

3. You must ask yourself, “why would Jesus warn His disciples (and subsequent disciples or anyone who would eventually read His Words in the Bible) about these coming events if they would not experience these events? Said another way, if we would have been Raptured before the tribulation, why warn us?  Why warn His disciples and followers about something they would not experience?” The anwer is, “HE WOULD NOT HAVE WARNED US UNLESS WE WOULD ENDURE THE FIRST 5 TRIBULATION SEALS, AND WOULD  NEED TO BE PREPARED!”

NOTE: The first five tribulation seals have been opened progressively since around the birth of Christ, have been overlapping, (occurring concurrently and converging), and increasing in intensity to this day. All of which will lead to the future opening of the 6th Tribulation Seal. This will usher in The Great Tribulation, also known as the Great andTerrible Day of The Lord, with cosmic disturbances, a blood red moon, a darkened sun, the Rapture, the multitude of people out of the tribulation before the throne of God, the Sealing of the 144,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel.

4. How can we tell WHICH ‘wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes’ were the result of the breaking of the first Seal of the tribulation, because there have been thousands of them since Jesus said these words.

5. I say again, Jesus, the Apostles Paul, Peter and Timothy, plus direct, clear and obvious scriptural references in  Hebrews 1:2, Hebrews 9:26, Acts 2:14-17, 2 Timothy 3:1, 1 Peter 1:20, 1 Peter 4:7, 2 Peter 3:3. confirm that these events began in or around the birth of Christ through A.D 95.

6. Was Jesus wanting to ‘scare’ listeners into believing by warning them ahead of time? (I think not. Trickery is not in Jesus Character. And, He tells us “do not be frightened” by these things.)

7. Jesus tells His disciples (and subsequent disciples or anyone who would eventually read His Word in the bible), in Matthew 24:6 that

“You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. Verse 7. “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. Verse 8. “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.”

And a few verses later, Matthew 24:13 “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”

If we will have been “Raptured” and out of harms way when these things begin, then why would He be telling us these things?

Why is Jesus telling us that we should not be frightened by the WARS, Rumors OF WARS, NATIONS RISING AGAINST NATIONS, FAMINES, EARTHQUAKES, and that we must ENDURE TO THE END TO BE SAVED if we would not be affected?

Again I ask if we will have been “Raptured” and out of harms way when these things begin, then why would He be telling us these things?

Finally, let’s look at it this way:  When Hurricane Irma hit the U.S. in 2917, it was a classified as a category 5 storm;  As Irma progressed up the peninsula of Florida, it became a category 4 storm;  then as it entered Alabama it became a category 3 storm;  and finally as it entered Georgia, Irma became a tropical storm; and later as it entered Tennessee, it became a rain event.

To those in the various areas and states which hurricane Irma entered, it would have appeared to them that Irma might have been 5 different storms, occurring consecutively; first a Category 5 storm, then, a Category 4 storm, then, a Category 3 hurricane, then, a Tropical storm, and, finally, a rain event.  But if viewed “From Above” it was ONE CONTINUOUS STORM, progressively unfolding to its conclusion.

So it is with the breaking of the tribulation Seals.

Your Brother and Friend

Mike Young

Belows is a short video illustrating a simplified Pre-Tribulation, Pre-Wrath, Tribulation Timeline for your use. (Or, click on this link for a larger version enchanced PDF verson of ->).The Tribulation Timeline

Presenting The Pretribulation Pre-Wrath Rapture Timeline.

(A supplemental to the video above).

This headline section represent a timeframe from 2 B.C to A.D 95. These are the Tribulation Seals which have been opened, are overlapping, and intensifying to this day.  This center section represents our current day and year. The purple colored section represents Future Dates.

This is an illustration and graph depicting the Pre-Tribulation, Pre-Wrath Rapture. A Short outline comparing Jesus’ account of the Tribulation period, found both in the Book of Revelation and in the Book of Matthew and in His Words.

(The illustration text is color-coded for reference:

  • Purple text represents future events.
  • Green text represents scriptures from the book of The Revelation.
  • Red text represents scriptures from the Book of Matthew.
  • Black text is narration or descriptive commentary.
  • Blue text are links to Bible references or external commentaries.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Jesus names tribulations Seals 1 through 5 the “birth pains” of the tribulation period and says, “they are not yet the end”.  He then says of the 6th Tribulation Seal and the Judgements to follow, “there will be a Great Tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again.” This is the beginning of the 7 Years of Great Tribulation, The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord and The Wrath of the Lamb.

Next are the Judgements which are to follow.

This illustration compares the Book of Revelation Chapter 6  as corresponding to – the book of Matthew Chapter 24.

Jesus compares the 1st Tribulation Seal as found in Revelation chapter 6, verses 1 and 2, to Global conquest and political intrigue found in Matthew chapter 24 verses 6 and 7. (This Seal was broken between A.D 1 and A.D 95, has been ongoing and has been overlapping the other Seals, and has been intensifying.)

The 2nd Tribulation Seal as found in Revelation 6, verses 2 and 4, as corresponding to Matthew 24, verse 7,  Wars and Rumors of War. (This Seal was broken between A.D 1 and A.D 95, has been ongoing and has been overlapping the other Seals, and has been intensifying.)

The 3rd Tribulation Seal from Revelation 6, verse 5, as compared to Matthew 24, verse 7, Famine and earthquakes. (This Seal was broken between A.D 1 and A.D 95, has been ongoing and has been overlapping the other Seals, and has been intensifying.)

The 4th Tribulation Seal from Revelation 6, verses 7 and 8, as compared to Matthew 24, verse 9, Death. (This Seal was broken between A.D 1 and A.D 95, has been ongoing and has been overlapping the other Seals, and has been intensifying.)

The 5th Tribulation Seal from Revelation 6, verses 9 through 11, as compared to Matthew 24, verses 9 and 10, Martyrs, persecution, Anti-Christ, falling away. (This Seal was broken between A.D 1 and A.D 95, has been ongoing and has been overlapping the other Seals, and has been intensifying.)

The 6th Tribulation Seal  from Revelation 6 verses 12 through 14, as compared to Matthew 24, verse 29, Cosmic disturbances, blood moon, darkened sun. (The Opening of the 6th Tribulation Seal is the beginning of the SEVEN YEARS OF GREAT TRIBULATION, also known as Daniel’s 70th Week, and is yet to occur. It will be The BEGINNING OF the 7 years of THE GREAT TRIBULATION period, also known as The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord or the Wrath of the Lamb.) These first 6 Seals will be followed by ‘a silence in heaven for half an hour’, while these 3 events occur:

  • Sealing of the 144,000 during the 6th Seal. (Revelation 7, verses 1 through 8).
  • The gathering and The Rapture of God’s Elect. (Matthew 24, verses 29 through 31).
  • Multitude from the tribulation before the Throne of God. (Revelation 7, verses 9 through 17).

The foregoing events are followed by the breaking of the 7th Tribulation Seal; then the Great and Terrible Day of The Lord begins with the sounding of the 7 Tribulation Trumpets. (the 6th Trumpet is the mid-point of the Great Tribulation); and finally The Wrath of The Lamb through the pouring out of the 7 Bowls of Wrath.

NEXT:  Below, watch each of the 5 videos on this page, which explain the Pre-Wrath Rapture and teaching commentary on this subject by Pastor John Piper. Please watch, listen, pray and think.

Zion’s Hope – Flash Point – Geo-Prophecy Update – The Qatar Connection: Hamas, College Campus Protests, and the Muslim Brotherhood

~ Michael Young, Sr. ~ Leave a comment

Beyond the provocative, yet accurate and descriptive title, I will offer nothing more, except that I am providing a hyperlink to “The 10 Nation Confederation” referred to at the end of the Zion’s Hope video. The 10 Nations are not listed by name in the video, so I am listing them at the end of this page with links to a detailed article.

First, please watch and share this video (or this web page). It is a ‘must watch’, specifically for all Christians and for conservatives. A video by David Rosenthal, president of Zion’s Hope Ministries.

Below, is the Email I received as a subscriber and supporter of Zion’s Hope ministries. I am providing it for your information.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

View this email in your browser
Upfront-header
The Qatar Connection

Dear Special Friend,

Less than 80 years removed from the murders of more than 6 million Jewish people by the Nazis during the Holocaust, it’s inconceivable that America’s prestigious Ivy League universities – along with many others throughout the country – have become hotbeds of anti-Semitism.

Make no mistake, the radical campus protests that have erupted from New York to California and from Minnesota to Texas are not based on historical facts or an accurate understanding of the war taking place in Gaza. They’re rooted in deep-seated hatred, and are largely funded by outside money and influence.

It’s no secret that many of America’s most esteemed universities have long ago abandoned their Judeo-Christian foundations in favor of humanistic, self-centered ideologies. These academic institutions now consider themselves to be the bastions of “free speech and thought”, with presidents and boards that are loathe to jeopardize their coveted liberal status and risk alienating their outspoken students, tenured professors, and corporate sponsors.

But the question must be asked, “Are there more nefarious forces at work within our universities influencing them to turn a blind eye to the hate-filled anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian ‘protests’ erupting on campuses and at graduation ceremonies?” I believe the clear, unequivocal answer is, “yes.”

I invite you to watch my most recent Flashpoint GeoProphecy Report, entitled, “The Qatar Connection: Hamas, College Campus Protests, and the Muslim Brotherhood.” In it, you’ll discover who is pouring staggering sums of money into our universities, how this financial pipeline is connected to Islamic terrorism, and how all of this may be linked to biblical prophecy and a coming clash of kingdoms.

Watch now, and be sure to share this email with your family and friends.

All for His glory,

David Rosenthal
President, Zion’s Hope

P.S. Your donations strengthen our voice as we explain the geopolitical realities of the Middle East in the context of the prophetic Scriptures. They also make it possible for us to continue touching Jewish hearts in Israel with the Gospel of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah). Thank you, beloved friend, for your support of Zion’s Hope.

Here is the list found in Ezekiel 38:1-6:

  1. Gog, also known as Rosh, (Russia) and,
  2. Rosh, (Russia),
  3. Magog, also known as (Russia),
  4. Gomer, also known as (Eastern Europe-Southern Russia),
  5. Put, also known as (Libya),
  6. Cush, also known as (Ethiopia),
  7. Persia, also known as (Iran),
  8. Meshech, also known as (Modern Day Turkey),
  9. Tubal, also known as (an area in central Turkey),
  10. Beth-Togarmah, also known as (Georgia, Chechnya, Turkey -Armenia)

It is important you see and know more about the ’10 Nation Confederation’, I am providing this link where you will find details of these 10 Nations listed about halfway through the article “Ezekiel’s Prophecy – The Invasion of Ukraine“.

There is ‘tribulation’, then there will be TRIBULATION!

~ Michael Young, Sr. ~ Leave a comment

THERE are times of ‘birth pains’ & tribulation AND THEN THERE WILL BE  GREAT

There are many differing views, much debate, disagreements, and apparent contradictions regarding the doctrines of the Last Days, the Rapture and the tribulation.

So, what does the Bible actually say about this End of Days?

More specifically, what did Jesus tell His disciples and the rest of the listening and believing world what about what is coming? What we can expect to happen? What are we to do in order to ‘get ready’ and ‘stay ready’ until He returns to claim His Church?

There are those who will tell you that the seven years of tribulation are coming with the breaking of the first of seven seals, and that the rapture is imminent. There is a distinction here that is often overlooked. So, let me repeat: Some are saying that the 7 years of the tribulation will begin with the breaking of the 1st tribulation seal – followed by the breaking of seals 2 through 7, then the blowing of the 7 tribulation trumpets, and ending with the pouring out of the 7 tribulation bowls.

However, there is clear and staggering evidence that the Last Days began in our around A.D. 1 through A.D. 95 and that tribulation seals 1 through 5 have been progressively opened, are overlapping and intensifying to this day. And that we are on the precipice of the opening of the 6th Tribulation Seal which signals the beginning of the period known as the Great Tribulation or the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord and the Wrath of the Lamb – which will continue with the breaking of tribulation seal 7, then the blowing of the 7 tribulation trumpets, and ending with the pouring out of the 7 tribulation bowls.

Scriptures clearly tell us that

  1. The last days and, also known as ‘the beginning of sorrows’ or the ‘tribulation’ (small ‘t’) are here now; but that
  2. The Great Tribulation is yet to come; and that
  3. The rapture will not occur unless the apostasy comes first, and that
  4. The man of lawlessness is revealed, that is the son of destruction,(the antichrist), 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.

THESE ARE THE SCRIPTURES THAT SAY SO

Matthew 24:9

“Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.”

(This was spoken around A.D. 30 – around 2,000 years ago, and there has been ongoing and intensifying persecution of Christians to this day. Compare this to the 5th tribulation seal as found in Revelation 6:9-11 and referenced by Jesus in Matthew 24:9-12.)

Matthew 24:21

“For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again.”

(This seven-year period of Great tribulation has not yet occurred,  but with a careful study, one can see that the tribulations as referenced by the words, “for then there will be a great tribulation” are the tribulation seals 1 through 5 (see Revelation 6:1-11), which are also referenced by Jesus in Matthew 24:9-12, which have been occurring and are continuing to occur. But Seals 6 and 7 are the beginning of The Great Tribulation, a.k.a., The Great and Terrible Day of The Lord or the Wrath of the Lamb, which begin with the 6th Tribulation Seal and will conclude with the 7th Bowl Judgment.)

Matthew 24:29

“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.”

(This is speaking of the tribulation that will come after the tribulation events that have already occurred and continue to occur, as being described by Jesus in Matthew 24:1-28, (i.e., tribulation seals 1 through 5). These “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” have not occurred yet, but with a careful study, one can see that the tribulations spoken of in Seals 1 through 5 have occurred and are continuing to occur, but Seals 6 and 7 have not occurred.)

Mark 13:19

“For those days will be such a time of tribulation as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will again.”

(In order to get the chronology right, please read Mark 13:1-27. There will be tribulations and then will come “such a time of tribulation as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will again.” I.e., there will be tribulations then there will be a Great Tribulation, a.k.a. The Great and Terrible Day of The Lord or the Wrath of the Lamb, which begin with the 6th Tribulation Seal and will conclude with the 7th Bowl Judgment.)

Mark 13:24

“But in those days, after that tribulation (referring to the events that have already occurred), THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT.”

(In order to get the chronology right, please read Mark 13:1-27. There will be tribulations and then will come “be such a time of tribulation as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will again.” I.e., there will be tribulations then there will be a Great Tribulation, a.k.a. The Great and Terrible Day of The Lord or the Wrath of the Lamb, which begin with the 6th Tribulation Seal and will conclude with the 7th Bowl Judgment.)

John 16:33

“These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Revelation 1:9

“I, John, your brother and fellow participant in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.”

Revelation 2:10

“Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

Revelation 7:14

“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.”

THESE ARE THE ONES WHO SAY SO

The Last Days and the opening of the tribulation Seals began in our around A.D. 30 according to the words spoken by Jesus, the Apostles Paul, Peter and Timothy :

WHAT ARE GOD’S PURPOSES OF THE TRIBULATION?

Daniel 9, verse 24 says the PURPOSE is:

1) “to finish transgression,” (that is, to end man’s rebellion toward God)

2) “to put an end to sin,” (that is, to bring an end to sin)

3) “to atone for wickedness,” (that is, to make amends or reparation for wickedness)

4) “to bring in everlasting righteousness,” (that is, the quality of being morally right or justifiable)

5) “to seal up vision and prophecy,” and (that is, to confirm these prophetic visions)

6) “to anoint the most holy.” (that is, to anoint, or to confer divine or holy office upon; in this case the Holy One, Jesus.)

Notice that the results of this six-fold purpose concerns the total eradication of sin and the establishing of righteousness.

The prophecy of the 70 weeks summarizes what happens before Jesus sets up His millennial kingdom.

*Of special note is the third in the list of results: “to atone for wickedness.” Jesus accomplished the atonement for sin by His death on the cross (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:17).

Secondly, it is important to know the four-fold PLANNED OUTCOME of the tribulation found in Daniel 12:10, (Which is the purpose of the Tribulation Seals ONE through FIVE):

“Many will be purged,

cleansed, and

refined,

those who have insight will understand.”

(SPECIAL NOTE: Tribulation Seal SIX through the SEVENTH Tribulation Bowl, also known as the GREAT Tribulation or the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord, are judgments directed specifically at the non-believing world.)

WHY DO THESE THINGS MATTER?

  • They matter because many Christians are sitting idly waiting for an event that has already begun, and they are not DOING what He told them to do and therefore are in grave danger.
  • They matter because some of our family, friends and neighbors are completely unaware or just don’t believe that Christ will return and God’s final judgments will sentence them to outer darkness.
  • They matter because as Christians, our faith, our convictions and our behavior are speaking louder than our words.
  • They matter because being ready for His Return is proof of True Christianity, and only a True Believer in Christ will be guaranteed to join Christ at the sound of His Great Trumpet call and escape the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord.
  • They matter because being ready requires believing and doing what He has instructed us to do in preparation for His return.
  • They matter because He has warned that “Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”

WHO ELSE IS SEEING AND SAYING THESE THINGS?

  1. Corrie Ten Boom speaks out about a prevailing tribulation and rapture view.
  2. Pastor John Piper. You can also see a teaching by Pastor and Teacher, John Piper on the timing of the End Times.
  3. David Rosenthal and Zion’s Hope. One of the first, most accurate, and persistent advocates of the Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church can be found at Zion’s Hope, with videos on this site.)
  4. Pastor Jack Hibbs, senior pastor of Cavalry Chapel of Chino Hills, California is an advocate saying we are NOW in the Last Days and the End of Days period known as the Great Tribulation, the Great and Terrible Day of the LORD or the Wrath of the Lamb.
    • Pastor Hibbs is informing and warning about the current Marxist-style Globalist movement, which is being led by the U.N., the U.N.’s Agenda 2030, UNESCO and their sustainable development goals, and the World Economic Forum. (Please also see “The One World Government – How It Is Fitting Together”.)

I offer this article to say that these things matter in our preparation and readiness for Jesus’ return. They should alert us to get ready and stay ready.

What these things don’t change or affect is the steady guarantee of our salvation in Christ. My concern, which I believe should be all our concern, is that when the time comes we all will hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant”, and not the fateful words, “Why do you call me Lord when you do not what I say?”

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

PS: It is written – “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9). There is no way anyone can earn their salvation through works. But what we continually practice in our lives, reveals the true intentions of our heart. Please, get ready and stay ready for His return by serving God and obeying the Words of Jesus. Let’s pray for one another to be strengthened.

 

PSS: There are five major views of eschatology.

 

The Harlot – The Beast – 7 Heads and 10 Horns

~ Michael Young, Sr. ~ 3 Comments

The Harlot – The Beast – 7 Heads and 10 Horns

I know this is a difficult subject and a ‘tough read’. So, I will begin and end with…

“SO, WHAT”?

The Bible calls this a mystery for good reason. (NOTE: – At this point, the 7 Seal Judgements are finished and the Church is with Christ, before the Throne of God in heaven) But, in Revelation 17, we read, starting in,

Revelation 17, Verse 1, Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,

verse 2.  “with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.”

verse 3.  “And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.

verse 4.  “The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality,

verse 5.  “and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery,

verse 9 “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits,

verse 10.  “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.

verse 11.  “The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.

verse 12. “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.

verse 13. “These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

verse 14.  “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”

verse 15.  “And he said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.

verse 16.  “And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire.”

“SO, WHAT” does this have to do with you or with me?

While scholars may debate some of the fine details of this particular vision, the main points of application seem abundantly clear:

#1. We are crossing the threshold of a Global Transformation – and it does not look good for most people.

#2. By all indicators, God’s prophecy of the End of Days is well under way.

#3. The Bible says events will turn cataclysmic – very soon.

#4. Culture is not neutral. You will have to choose sides by your actions. Talk won’t work.

#5. Satan is boldly walking through the front door of a worldwide governmental alignment, even as I write this.

#6. The devil is encroaching through the backdoor of seduction, idolatry, technology, perverse entertainment and has crept into the church. He is now in the church, deceiving many.

#7. The majority of the Church is either compromised, asleep, ignorant or afraid to engage the enemy.

#8. A remnant is rising at the Voice of God.

#9. God is calling and it is time you and I mobilize and do the Works Jesus has commanded.

#10. Doing nothing, except being nice and “going to church”, assures you of nothing!

To begin with, there are four great signs and events which mark the rise of the Antichrist and the False Prophet, the deception of millions, leading to the End of The Age. These events will affect every single person on this planet. Be informed in order to get ready.

There is much debate and discussion about the identity of

  1. “BABYLON THE GREAT MOTHER OF HARLOTS” – Ezekiel 38.
  2. “THE ABOMINATION OF THE EARTH” – Daniel 7, and Daniel 9.
  3. THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON – Revelation 16.
  4. “THE BEAST WITH SEVEN HEADS AND TEN HORNS” – Revelation 17.

(Links to resources used for this page are Enduring Word Bible Commentary and Zion’s Hope Videos Parts1,2 & 3  (I suggest watching all three videos, in order, but, video Part-2 may be of particular interest)

To be clear, this discussion is interesting and is helpful, but generally it has nothing to do with our salvation in Christ. However, knowledge coupled with action will be vital in your preparation, as followers and disciples of Jesus for His return. We are to be about His Work in these Last Days.

First, some of the most popular speculations about the Great Harlot are:

  • The Great Harlot could be Rome (the reemergence of Rome as a power),
  • Or, that even New York City, USA, could be the Great Harlot.
  • One view suggest that the Apostle Peter uses the word “Babylon” as a symbolic way of referring to the new world culture at war with the covenant community. The Whore of Babylon is the spirit of seductive culture, actively engaged in the deception and destruction of God’s people. That she rides upon “the beast” means she is propped up by the forces of anti-Christian government.

Just like the beast, who was, and is not and is about to rise, the “Whore” keeps on rising from the dead! A particular brand of her seductive charm may fall into the dust and be buried by the sands of time, but just you wait! Before you know it, she will rise again in another place, known by another name but waging the same destructive war against God’s covenant people.

Be watchful. What we are discussing are signs, first, of the beginning of the final 7 years of the Great Tribulation, also known as the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord or the Last Days, and secondly, the final three and one-half years. We will know that the time is near by the changing of the ‘seasons’, which is occurring now. (By the way, this is an extremely slow moving storm of cosmic proportions).

Keep a watchful eye on these 10 nations as they align together against, and then for an invasion of Israel. 

  1. Gog, a.k.a., Rosh (Russia) and
  2. Rosh (Russia)
  3. Magog (Russia)
  4. Gomer (Eastern Europe-Southern Russia),
  5. Put (Libya),
  6. Cush (Ethiopia),
  7. Persia (Iran)
  8. Meshech (Southern Russia, *Ukraine and possibly the Republic of Georgia)
  9. Tubal (an area in central Turkey),
  10. Beth-Togarmah (Georgia, Chechnya, Turkey/Armenia)

  When they are aligned and armed against Israel, the End of Days Clock is only seconds from God’s intervention in the defense of Israel and the destruction of Israel’s enemies, the dragon and the beast.

COMMENTARY and VIEW by David Rosenthal at Zion’s Hope:  The 10 Nation Confederation, (THE HEADS), of the BEAST from Ezekiel 38, of Daniel 7,9 and Revelation 17:

Nation #1. Gog:  A Reubenite, son of Shemaiah, the prophetic prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and Magog. Gog is identified as a descendant of the prophet Joel, and in Ezekiel 38–39, he is the chief prince of the tribes of Meshech and Tubal in the land of Magog, the mountainous region between Cappadocia and Media.

Nation #2. Magog:  The 2nd son of Japheth, grandson of Noah, and progenitor of several tribes northward from Israel; the mountainous region between Cappadocia and Media and habitation of the descendants of Magog, son of Japheth and grandson of Noah

Nation #3. Rosh:  “the Prince of Rosh” is Asiatic Russia receives confirmation from the Imperial Dictionary. “Evidence exists of an ancient people called Rosh, or Rhos, supposed to be the original stem from which the Russia or modern Russians have derived their race and name.” The scholar, Bishop Lowther says: “Rosh, taken as a proper name, in Ezekiel, signifies the inhabitants of Scythia, from whom modern Russians derived their name. We must conclude therefore, that Ezekiel’s “episode of Gog’s invasion” (A. B. Davidson) points irrefutably and undeniably to the Russians.

Nation #4. Meschach:  Was a Chaldean. The Chaldeans inhabited the coastal area near the Persian Gulf. About 630 Nabopolassar became king of the Chaldeans and in 626 he forced the Assyrians out of Uruk and crowned himself king of Babylonia. Modern day Turkey.

Nation #5. Tubal:  a region in east Asia Minor, perhaps nearly equal to Cappadocia

Nation #6. Persia:  Iran

Nation #7. Cush (Ethiopia):  located on either side or both sides of the Red Sea. As such, “Cush” is alternately identified in scripture with the Kingdom of Kush or ancient Ethiopia.

Nation #8. Put (Libya):  Ancient Libya. In this sense, Libya was the whole known African continent to the west of the Nile Valley and extended south of Egypt. Herodotus described the inhabitants of Libya as two peoples: The Libyans in northern Africa and the Ethiopians in the south.

Nation #9. Gomer:  (was the wife of the prophet Hosea (8th century BC), mentioned in the Hebrew Bible‘s Book of Hosea (1:3). Hosea 1:2 refers to her alternatively as a “promiscuous woman” (NIV), a “harlot” (NASB), and a “whore” (KJV) but Hosea is told to marry her according to Divine appointment. She is also described as the daughter of Diblaim.) The Hebrew name Gomer refers to the Cimmerians, who dwelt in what is now southern Russia, “beyond the Caucusus”, and attacked Assyria in the late 7th century BC.

Nation #10. Beth-Togarmah:  Togarmah is a city mentioned in Assyrian and Hittite texts. It was north of Carchemish on an Assyrian trade route. It may be related to modern Gurun between the Halys and Euphrates Rivers.

These are the 10 Nation Confederation to watch, (THE HEADS), of the BEAST Ezekiel 38, of Daniel 7,9 and Revelation 17. All are Islamic, the Center of which is MECCA.

(For more detail,Watch video #2).

LIST from Ezekiel 38 – Original regional names and current national names:

#1 & #2. (#1 and #2 from Previous List). Gog – Gog and Magog appear in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran as individuals, tribes, or lands. In Ezekiel 38, Gog is an individual and Magog is his land; in Genesis 10, Magog is a man and eponymous ancestor of a nation, but no Gog is mentioned; and centuries later Jewish tradition changed Ezekiel’s “Gog from Magog” into “Gog and Magog”.

The Gog prophecy is meant to be fulfilled at the approach of what is called the “end of days“, but not necessarily the end of the world. Jewish eschatology viewed Gog and Magog as enemies to be defeated by the Messiah, which would usher in the age of the Messiah. Christianity’s interpretation is more starkly apocalyptic: making Gog and Magog, here indicating nations rather than individuals, allies of Satan against God at the end of the millennium, as described in the Book of Revelation. (From Wikipedia).

#3 & #4. (#4 and #5). Meshech, Tubal:  Meshech (also spelled Meshek) and Tubal were sons of Japheth, one of the three sons of Noah who survived the flood with him (Genesis 10:1–2). Meshech (whose name means “long, tall, or drawn out by force”) is the sixth son of Japheth. The land of Meshech is closely associated with that of Tubal, especially in a prophecy of Ezekiel. The region of Meshech is often identified as being north of the Black Sea (southern Russia and Ukraine and possibly the Republic of Georgia), and Tubal as an area in central Turkey.

The land of Meshech is used in Psalm 120:5 as a generic reference to barbarous regions where “those who hate peace” live (verse 6). The lands where Meshech’s and Tubal’s descendants settled figure significantly in some prophecies of Ezekiel, and it is in that book where they are mentioned most. In the prophecy of Ezekiel 38, Meshech and Tubal are ruled by Gog, a prince over those territories: “The word of the LORD came to me: ‘Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, “Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal”’” (Ezekiel 38:1–3). Ezekiel repeats God’s words of judgment against the descendants of the two sons of Japheth when he prophesies that God will defeat them in a war against Israel (Ezekiel 39:1–5).

Many biblical scholars equate the land of Gog in Ezekiel’s prophecies with Russia, who will attack Israel “from the far north” (Ezekiel 38:15). Meshech and Tubal could be two of the “many nations” joining Russia in their invasion of Israel (verse 6).

The advance of the alliance involving Meshech and Tubal will be like “a cloud covering the land” (Ezekiel 38:9). Some commentators believe this war, often called the Battle of Gog and Magog, will be one of the events leading up to the end-times’ tribulation. Others believe it will occur close to the midpoint of the tribulation, since Israel will feel secure at the time, “dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates” (verse 11).

God will defeat this powerful alliance (Ezekiel 38:22) to reveal His greatness to all the world (verse 23) and restore the people of Israel to a right relationship with Himself (Ezekiel 39:21–29). Meshech and Tubal, despite the strength of their numbers and help of their allies, will fall. (GotQuestions.org)

#5. (#7). Cush: The Kingdom of Kush; Assyrian: was an ancient kingdom in Nubia, centered along the Nile Valley in what is now northern Sudan and southern Egypt.

#6. (#8). Put – Phut or Put is the third son of Ham (one of the sons of Noah), in the biblical Table of Nations (Genesis 10:6; 1 Chronicles 1:8). The name Put (or Phut) is used in the Bible for Ancient Libya, but a few scholars proposed the Land of Punt known from Ancient Egyptian annals.

#7. (#9). Gomer: The Hebrew name Gomer refers to the Cimmerians, who dwelt in what is now southern Russia, “beyond the Caucusus”, and attacked Assyria in the late 7th century BC.

#8. (#10). Beth-togarmah: Togarmah is a figure in the “table of nations” in Genesis 10, the list of descendants of Noah that represents the peoples known to the ancient Hebrews. Togarmah is among the descendants of Japheth and is thought to represent some people located in Anatolia. Medieval sources claimed that Togarmah was the legendary ancestor of several peoples of the Caucasus -including Armenians and Georgians.

These are the 10 Nation Confederation (THE HEADS) of the BEAST Ezekiel 38, of Daniel 7,9 and Revelation 17. All are Islamic, the Center of which is MECCA

From Ezekiel 38, 39:

  1. Gog, a.k.a., Rosh (Russia) and
  2. Rosh (Russia)
  3. Magog (Russia)
  4. Gomer (Eastern Europe-Southern Russia),
  5. Put (Libya),
  6. Cush (Ethiopia),
  7. Persia (Iran)
  8. Meshech (Southern Russia, *Ukraine and possibly the Republic of Georgia)
  9. Tubal (an area in central Turkey),
  10. Beth-Togarmah (Georgia, Chechnya, Turkey/Armenia)

 Revised Map of Eastern Europe

From Ezekiel 38, 39:

  1. Gog, (Russia) and
  2. Rosh, (Russia) and
  3. Magog (Russia)
  4. Gomer (Eastern Europe-Southern Russia),
  5. Put (Libya),
  6. Cush (Ethiopia),
  7. Persia (Iran)
  8. Meshech (Southern Russia, *Ukraine and possibly the Republic of Georgia)
  9. Tubal (an area in central Turkey),
  10. Beth-Togarmah (Georgia, Chechnya, Turkey/Armenia)

 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast: Whatever their exact identity, their actions are clear. They join with the Antichrist in the war against Christ, in the battle alluded to in the sixth and seventh bowls (Revelation 16:12-21).

The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits: The harlot presides over peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. This tells us that the harlot’s influence is worldwide, through her connection to the beast. This will be a truly one-world religion.

The interpretation of the harlot focuses on her relation to the beast: she is utterly connected to the beast and his government. If this sounds unthinkable, remember that throughout history, religion – not true Christianity – has often been the willing servant and supporter of tyrants.

I know this is a difficult subject and a ‘tough read’. So, I have begun with and I will end with…

“SO, WHAT”?

While scholars may debate some of the fine details of this particular vision, the main points of application seem abundantly clear:

#1. We are crossing the threshold of a Global Transformation – and it does not look good for most people.

#2. By all indicators, God’s prophecy of the End of Days is well under way.

#3. The Bible says events will turn cataclysmic – very soon.

#4. Culture is not neutral. You will have to choose sides by your actions. Talk won’t work.

#5. Satan is boldly walking through the front door of a worldwide governmental alignment, even as I write this.

#6. The devil is encroaching through the backdoor of seduction, idolatry, technology, perverse entertainment and has crept into the church. He is now in the church, deceiving many.

#7. The majority of the Church is either compromised, asleep, ignorant or afraid to engage the enemy.

#8. A remnant is rising at the Voice of God.

#9. God is calling and it is time you and I mobilize and do the Works Jesus has commanded.

#10. Doing nothing, except being nice and “going to church”, assures you of nothing!

CONCLUSIONS?

FIRST: The final 7 years of the Great Tribulation, also known as the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord or the Last Days are near. We know this by the change of ‘season’. (By the way, this is an extremely slow moving storm of cosmic proportions).

SECOND: Watch these 10 nations. 

  1. Gog, a.k.a., Rosh (Russia) and
  2. Rosh (Russia)
  3. Magog (Russia)
  4. Gomer (Eastern Europe-Southern Russia),
  5. Put (Libya),
  6. Cush (Ethiopia),
  7. Persia (Iran)
  8. Meshech (Southern Russia, *Ukraine and possibly the Republic of Georgia)
  9. Tubal (an area in central Turkey),
  10. Beth-Togarmah (Georgia, Chechnya, Turkey/Armenia)

When they are aligned and armed against Israel, the End of Days Clock is only seconds from God’s intervention in the defense of Israel and the destruction of Israel’s enemies, the dragon and the beast. (Christians will have been taken from the earth 3.5 years prior, and will already be before His Throne, singing Hallelujahs to the King.

Get Ready. Stay Ready. The struggle is great but the victory is greater!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

Additional Reading:

THE MYSTERY OF BABYLON

The 7 Hills of Rome

What are the 70 of Sevens (Daniel’s 70 Weeks)

The Christian Betrayal of Jesus

When does the 7 Years of Tribulation Begin

EYES TO SEE – Romans 11:8

~ Michael Young, Sr. ~ Leave a comment

(Please note that I use page links in lieu of footnotes and references. Each page link provides greater detail and important information on matters contained in this article. Please use all of them for a complete teaching and udnerstanding. This is an urgent message.)

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE EYES TO SEE

As it is written,

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”

My wife and I took a road trip around part of our country in 2011, starting in Florida, proceeding north, up the east coast to Virginia then west through Tennessee, to Oklahoma and all point between. We then headed north to Illinois, Minnesota, turning west again to South Dakota. Our return trip took a more southerly route, arriving back in Florida. I tell you this in order to mention that we each Sunday we would go to church.

We visited several different denominations such as Baptist, Methodist, Nazarene and non-denominational (which seemed to be more Charismatic or Pentecostal). I won’t critique each church experience, but I will comment on the one thing that was similar if not common in each and every church we visited: Shallow.

If I could grade my experience at most of them, on a scale from 1 to 10:

Score: 1 to 3 on greeting a visitor as we entered the building.

Score: 0 to 1 on ‘shaking hands during the greeting time’ in the services.

Score: 3 to 5 on the scriptural content and Biblical context of the sermon.

Score: 0 on follow up.

Score: 7 to 8 on polite.

Score: 0 to 1 on friendly.

But, to be fair, we are just visiting on a one-time basis. So how much can you expect, unless you are a returning visitor? (I wrote to one of the church pastors reflecting on our experience. ‘Crickets’.)

BACK HOME

We have moved locations three times and been members of six different churches over the last 44 years.

  1. Castle Hills Baptist Church, 1975 to 1977. We were brand new Christians. This church was friendly (and I mean FRIENDLY). Non-judgmental. Outward focused. Biblically strong in practice of their faith, (bearing the fruit of the Spirit of God).Worship led you to worship God. Generous. Deacon led. Big on Sunday school and personal relationships. Sermons always fundamentally strong. Transparent. Score 9.
  1. Bethany Place Baptist Church, 1978 to 1995. Friendly and family oriented. Outreach focused. Worship geared toward Jesus. A disciple-making Church.  Score 8 to 9.
  1. Oak Grove Baptist Church, 1996 to 2000. Friendly most of time, but firmly settled demanding on having their own way. Worship led by music minister, very traditional. Family oriented. Inward focused. Couldn’t keep a pastor on staff. Score 6 to 7.
  1. Southside Nazarene Church, 2000 to 2002. Friendly. Family oriented. Outreach focused. Big on fellowship and personal relationships. Worship ‘team’ music focused on scriptures, very good presentation and Was being infiltrated by Emergent church heresy. Score 8 to 9, until Emergent philosophies introduced, then, Score 2 – 5.
  1. White Stone Nazarene, 2002 to 2006. Clique oriented. Polite. Inward focused. Worship ‘team’ scripture oriented, consisted of guitars and drums. Began to teach a new age / Emergent church humanistic religion. Not dependable. Questionable moralities. Score 0 to 2.
  1. Life, 2008 to 2020. Very ‘surface friendly’. Worship ‘team’ entertainment oriented; lighting effects, stage smoke, very loud and repetitive. Both inward and outward focused. Pastor-led polity, tightly controlled, manipulative at times. Members are cliquish. Uses ‘proximity to pastor’ as a punishment-reward method for control. Frequent turnover of members. Secretive-to-questionable financial management. Score 0 to 2.
  1. Covenant Church, 2020 to present. Friendly. Worship team entertaining but always focused on scriptures and leads congregants to think on and worship God. Big on ‘small groups’ for relationships, outward focused. Elder-led church polity. Constant growth. Financially transparent. (Covenant Church left their major denomination PC USA, and aligned with the PCA. We have been at Covenant for just under 2 years as of this writing, so I cannot give my grade yet, but if I did it would be an aberration because it reverses the trend. It would be high.)

(Notice the trend of the scores over time is high to very low).

I realize that my view of these Churches are largely just opinions from my experiences, which would be affected by age, culture, life circumstances, personal preferences, etc., and probably only partially accurate, although this is how I recall them.

I also want to make sure that I am clear that ‘The Church’ is not just the ordained and professional clergy. They are just a small part of God’s Church. The Church is the everyday Christian who professes the Name of Jesus and claims to follow His teachings, and the one thing I am certain of regarding the Church, is the declension of the moral and the ethical life of the Church, that is to say, the loss of her righteousness, even as late as 1978 (when I was saved and became involved in church life), which is reflected in my ‘opinionated view’ and scoring of my ‘church experience’ over the last 44 years.

There is one thing common to all the churches I have listed, and in fact, from the majority of churches studied, since around 1995, has been a growing quiet-to-open-division, a fracture. Now-a-days, if you don’t agree on fundamentals of doctrine, you probably don’t hang out together, and there is more at work. Secular politics have invaded the church’s thinking and plays a role in this division. People have become galvanized in their opinions and are more self-centered and demanding.

A majority of Christians have become religious consumers and church shoppers – looking for what they think is best for themselves and their families.

Church members have gone from being quietly critical of one another to a form of open religious warfare, causing anxiety, suspicion, divisions and separation.

Cliques are a problem. The ‘religious birds’ within particular denominations are flocking together, and if you don’t wear their color of feathers, you are out! And, they aren’t even shy about it any longer.

Christians have become so judgmental, even of each other, that many are leaving these church ‘war zones’. A new convert is entering an almost impossible socio-religious maze of opinions, mores, traditions and attitudes and is subject to becoming a fatality before he or she can even settle in. So, it falls to the pastors of these Churches to sort out the mess and find balance and reason.

Jesus used the word “shepherd” interchangeably for overseers, pastors, elders, and presbyters. Historically and culturally speaking, the tasks of a Near Eastern shepherd were to watch for enemies trying to attack the sheep to defend the sheep from attackers to heal the wounded and sick sheep to find and save lost or trapped sheep to love them, sharing their lives and so earning their trust.

During World War II, a shepherd was a pilot who guided another pilot whose plane was partially disabled back to the base or carrier by flying alongside him to maintain visual contact.

Pastors and church leaders in our postmodern world, however, tend to deal with the pressures and stress of this ‘church fracture‘ (a.k.a., apostasy) using ‘distancing and insulating methods’. Assign the personal interaction taks to staff or volunteers; give programs priority over people.

Very few pastors actually ‘pastor’, they are CEOs, church leaders, insulated in their role as a survival method. Even with that, pastoral turnover is staggering in most denominations.

LOST?

In short, we, the Church, are lost. We are lost in a postmodern Socialist wilderness. We have been wooed and pursued by the ‘false messiah‘. We have drifted so far from the early Communal Church CALLING, CIRCUMSTANCE, INTENT, METHOD and MISSION, that we have no idea where it all began and really don’t care. We are held captive by and are living in the Great Delusion the Apostle Paul warned about. We say about the early church CALLING, CIRCUMSTANCE, INTENT, METHOD and MISSION, “those were old-fashioned methods and they don’t work any longer”.

We are mistaking function for form. We think because we still ‘do church’, sing hymns, go on mission trips, tithe, pray, have bible studies and wear religious symbols we are Christians like always. But that is not true. We have, without any doubt, lost our first love, both for Christ Jesus and for one another.

LOVE – AGAPE – PHILOS – EROS

  1. Agape-Love

For Christians, Agape is considered a divine love. It is like the love that God had for his son, Jesus Christ. It is the love that Christ had for all human beings when he gave his life to redeem them from their sins. This is considered by many to be the best type of love in the Bible.

This is the love that God commanded all Christians to express for the rest of the earth. In your own life, you may have experience Agape for your spouse, parent or child. It is the kind of unconditional love that is never based on how someone looks or what they can do for you. It is an almost sacrificial type of love where you are willing to hurt yourself or take a risk if it means that you can help the one you love. You do not have to feel Agape to express it, but it is a wonderful kind of love to experience.

  1. Philos-Love

Philos is a common type of love to experience. It is said to be the kind of love that you have for a close friend or companion. Basically, it is like loving someone like your sister or brother. It is the love you have for a friend who you feel like a brother to, and it often develops after two people share intense experiences together. This is the type of love that Christians are supposed to practice toward one another and the rest of the world.

  1. Eros

Eros is a Greek word that is said to mean longing or desire. As we already mentioned, this is the kind of love that you typically experience when you are infatuated with someone or something. It also happens to be the name of the Greek god of love. Later on, Eros became the root word of the modern word, erotic. Basically, this is a selfish form of love that tends to be associated with sexual matters. It is the strong feeling you have for someone during the initial stage in the relationship. Often, Eros develops based on someone’s physical traits. For the relationship to continue, you have to develop other types of love. When Eros is not balanced, it can even lead someone to become possessive. This is the type of ‘love’ that produces the addictive hormones and bio-chemicals of adrenaline, dopamine,

The meaning of ‘love’ in the minds of most has fallen from ‘agape’ and ‘philos’ to ‘eros’. Even in the church, it is expressed in how we dress, how we talk, what we expect and the frightening rise of sexual abuse by the clergy and rampant immorality among Christians.

 JEZEBEL

 Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre and Sidon and priest of the cult of Baal, a cruel, sensuous and revolting false god whose worship involved sexual degradation and lewdness.

The term, “Jezebel spirit” likely comes from Jezebel’s obsessive passion for domineering and controlling others, especially in the spiritual realm. She married Ahab, king of Israel, and became the queen and began a relentless campaign to rid Israel of all evidences of Yahweh worship. She ordered the extermination of all the prophets of the Lord (1 Kings 18:4, 13) and replaced their altars with those of Baal.

She had such a single-minded determination to have her way, no matter who is destroyed in the process, is a characteristic of the ‘Jezebel spirit’.

So infamous was Jezebel’s sexual immorality and idol worship that the Lord Jesus Himself refers to her in a warning to the church at Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29). Most likely referring to a woman in the church who influenced it the same way Jezebel influenced Israel into idolatry and sexual immorality, Jesus declares to the Thyatirans that she is not to be tolerated.

Whoever this woman was, like Jezebel, she refused to repent of her immorality and her false teaching, and her fate was sealed. The Lord Jesus cast her onto a sick bed, along with those who committed idolatry with her. The end for those who succumb to a Jezebel spirit is always death and destruction, both in the physical and the spiritual sense.

Perhaps the best way to define the Jezebel spirit is to say it characterizes anyone who acts in the same manner as Jezebel did, engaging in immorality, idolatry, false teaching, and unrepentant sin. To go beyond that is to engage in conjecture and can possibly lead to false accusations and divisiveness within the body of Christ.

 APHRODITE

Another Greek goddess is mentioned in the Bible, albeit indirectly. Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and sensuality. The Romans called her Venus. Aphrodite is not explicitly named in the Bible, but she still shows up in the name of Epaphroditus, who was a “brother, co-worker and fellow soldier” of Paul (Philippians 2:25). The name Ephaphroditus means “belonging to Aphrodite”—the name of the goddess is actually incorporated into his name.

ANTINOMIAN

 Antinomian: an·ti·no·mi·an| ˌan(t)ēˈnōmēən | adjective relating to the view that Christians are released by grace from the obligation of observing the moral law. noun a person holding antinomian beliefs.

DERIVATIVES antinomianism | -ˌnizəm | noun ORIGIN mid 17th century: from medieval Latin Antinomi, the name of a 16th-century sect in Germany alleged to hold this view, from Greek anti- ‘opposite, against’ + nomos ‘law’.

I am reprinting a section of a book, “Paths to Power”, chapter 5, by Pastor A.W. Tozer, as a corroborating view:

“To any casual observer of the religious scene today, two things will at once be evident: one, that there is very little sense of sin among the unsaved, and two, that the average professed Christian lives a life so worldly and careless that it is difficult to distinguish him from the unconverted man. The power that brings conviction to the sinner and enables the Christian to overcome in daily living is being hindered somewhere. It would be oversimplification to name any one thing as the alone cause, for many things stand in the way of the full realization of our New Testament privileges. There is one class of hindrances, however, which, tends out so conspicuously that we are safe in attributing to it a very large part of our trouble…

“:Fundamental Christianity in our times is deeply influenced by that ancient enemy of righteousness, antinomianism.

“The creed of the antinomian is easily stated: “We are saved by faith alone; Works have no place in salvation; Conduct is works, and is therefore of no importance. What we do cannot matter as long as we believe rightly. The divorce between creed and conduct is absolute and final. The question of sin is settled by the Cross; conduct is outside the circle of faith and cannot come between the believer and God.”

“Such, in brief, is the teaching of the antinomian, And so fully has it permeated the Fundamental element in modern Christianity that it is accepted by the religious masses as the very truth of God.

“Antinomianism is the doctrine of grace carried by uncorrected logic to the point of absurdity. It takes the teaching of justification by faith and twists it into deformity. It plagued the Apostle Paul in the early Church and called out some of his most picturesque denunciations. When the question is asked, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” he answers no with that terrific argument in the sixth chapter of Romans.

“Right after the first World War there broke out an epidemic of popular (NEW or NEO) evangelism with the emphasis upon what was called the “positive” gospel… They talked about a “big,” “lovely” Jesus who had come to help us poor but well-meaning sinners to get the victory. Christ was presented as a powerful but not too particular Answerer of prayer.

“The message was so presented as to encourage a loaves-and fishes attitude toward Christ. That part of the New Testament which acts as an incentive toward holy living was carefully edited out. It was said to be “negative” and was not tolerated. Thousands sought help who had no desire to leave all and follow the Lord. The will of God was interpreted as “Come and get it.” Christ thus became a useful convenience, but His indisputable claim to Lordship Over the believer was tacitly canceled out.

“Much of the stream of gospel thought has been fouled, and its waters are still muddy. One thing that remains as a dangerous hangover is the comfortable habit of blaming everything on the devil. No one was supposed to feel any personal guilt; the devil had done it, so why blame the sinner for the devil’s misdeeds? He became the universal scapegoat, to take the blame for every bit of human devilry from Adam to the present day. One gathered that we genial and lovable sinners are not really bad; we are merely led astray by the blandishments of that mischievous old Puck of the heavenly places. Our sins are not the expression of our rebellious wills; they are only bruises where the devil has been kicking us around. Of course sinners can feel no guilt, seeing they are merely the victims
of another’s wickedness.

“Under that kind of teaching there can be no self-condemnation, but there can be, and is, plenty of self-pity over the raw deal we innocent sinners got at the hand of the devil. Now, no Bible student will underestimate the sinister work of Satan, but to make him responsible for our sins is to practice deadly deception upon ourselves. And the hardest deception to cure is that which is self-imposed.

“Another doctrine which hinders God’s work, and one which is heard almost everywhere, is that sinners are not lost because they have sinned, but because they have not accepted Jesus. “Men are not lost because they murder; they are not sent to hell because they lie and steal and blaspheme; they are sent to hell because they reject a Saviour.” This short-sighted preachment is thundered at us constantly, and is seldom challenged by the hearers. A parallel argument would be hooted down as silly, but apparently no one notices it: “That man with a cancer is dying, but it is not the cancer that is killing him; it is his failure to accept a cure.” Is it not plain that the only reason the man would need a cure is that he is already marked for death by the cancer? The only reason I need a Saviour, in His capacity as Saviour, is that I am already marked for hell by the sins I have committed. Refusing to believe in Christ is a symptom of deeper evil in the life, of sins unconfessed and wicked ways unforsaken. The guilt lies in acts of sin; the proof of that guilt is seen in the rejection of the Saviour.

“If anyone should feel like brushing this aside as mere verbal sparring, let him first pause: the doctrine that the only damning sin is the rejection of Jesus is definitely a contributing cause of our present weakness and lack of moral grip. It is nothing but a neat theological sophism which has become identified with orthodoxy in the mind of the modern Christian and is for that reason very difficult to correct. It is, for all its harmless seeming, a most injurious belief, for it destroys our sense of responsibility for our moral conduct. It robs all sin of its frightfulness and makes evil to consist in a mere technicality. And where sin is not cured power cannot flow…

“The vogue of excusing sin, of seeking theological justification for it instead of treating it as an affront to God, is having its terrible effect among us. Deep searching of heart and a resolute turning from evil will go far to bring back power to the Church of Christ. Tender, tear-stained preaching on this subject must be heard again before revival can come.” – SOURCE: “Paths to Power” – by A. W. Tozer, Ch 5.

“Deep searching of heart and a resolute turning from evil will go far to bring back power to the Church of Christ. Tender, tear-stained preaching on this subject must be heard again before revival can come.”  Tozer’s words, to the postmodern world, sound like strange and alien idealism spoken in a foreign language.

IS THIS HOW IT SHOULD BE?

We shouldn’t be surprised. Bible prophecy has warned that this day and time was coming*, now the false church emerges.

It has been apparent as early as the year of A.D. 1. This is confirmed by Jesus and several Apostles as recorded in Matthew 24, Hebrews 1:2, Hebrews 9:26, Acts 2:14-17, 2 Timothy 3:1, 1 Peter 1:20, 1 Peter 4:7, 2 Peter 3:3. One of the first, most accurate, and most persistent advocates of the Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church can be found at Zion’s Hope, with videos on this site. Finally, in this 21st century, there are a few prominent Bible teachers missionaries who are now arriving at this same conclusions (John Piper, and Corrie Ten Boom).

Read what 2 Timothy 3:1-8 tells us on this matter,

”But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.

 “Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith.”

It is known as the great Apostasy. “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, regarding 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. No one is to deceive you in any way! 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 he will be revealed in his time. 7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is removed. Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate 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 false signs and wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not accept 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 [p]judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.

MANIFEST DESTINY?

Jesus’ model of ministry – versus – “The emergence of the false church”:

Jesus’ Model

Jesus said to follow Him. (AD 27-29)

Jesus was baptized, and the Spirit came upon Him. (Matthew 3:16) We must be baptized. (Acts 2:38)

Jesus was tempted, tested, by the devil. (Matthew 4) We must be tempted and tested. (Matthew 5)

Jesus began His ministry of calling people to Himself, making disciples, teaching and preaching the Gospel, practicing the Gospel.

Jesus instructs His disciples on the cost of following Him.

Leave your home and come with Me (Matthew 19)

Forsake your former life and follow Me

Leave your families and follow Me (Luke 14:26)

Give up all you have, or you cannot follow Me (Luke 14:33)

If you love your life, you will lose it (Matthew 10:39)

Jesus walks with His disciples, teaching and showing His Gospel.

Jesus sends His disciples to do His Work (Matthew 10)

Jesus continues to minister, teach and preach.

Jesus is crucified. (Matthew 27)

Jesus ascends to His Father and sends His disciples to continue His Works. (Matthew 28) We are to make disciples, baptizing them, preaching the Gospel, teaching them all He commanded. (Matthew 28)

A very abbreviated history leading to the Great Apostasy:

The Emergence and Progression of the False Church

AD 1 The Church of Jesus Christ, The Body of Christ, had no buildings, little money and no wealth. The Church was a Movement.

Jesus said to make disciples; collect no money except to make your journey.

The penalty for becoming a Christian was often death.

The Church grew exponentially.

AD 49 The Church expanded into Greece. The Church became a philosophy to many. The Church grew and size and influence.

AD 313 The Church expanded into Rome and it gained recognition. It grew in power and popularity. It obtained wealth, buildings, property and influence. It became an institution.

AD 380 The Church expanded into Europe. It was becoming a worldwide phenomenon. It grew in wealth, stature, power and influence. It had become a culture.

AD 1607 The Church reaches America.

AD 1681 The Church became corporate. It had become a business and incorporated. It became regulated by the government.

The Corporate Church grew. It needed money to support growth and expansion, which meant the Corporate Church needed more people.

AD 1777 The state of Virginia granted tax exemption to houses of worship.

AD 1894 The corporate church was granted tax exemptions by the Federal Government.

AD 1954 The Federal Government regulated what a church could and could not say in order to retain tax-exempt status.

The church continued to grow, and in order to attract more people the Corporate Church lowered its membership and doctrinal standards. More people became ‘members’ and gave more money to support more growth.

The Church corporation is complete with leaders, boards and membership and a business model.

The False church emerges

Local churches compete against one another for members (customers). The church is selling itself in “three line slogans”.

The Church members now have choices and have become religious consumers. Church people can shop around for the religious brand and standards that best suits them. (2 Timothy 3)

The Leadership (pastors and preachers) have become CEOs, disciples have become church leaders, growing their 501(c)(3) business models.

Record numbers of pastors quitting because of stress, burnout or are being fired by their congregations (some stats say 1500 – 1700 leave “the ministry” each month).

Church debt in America soars; church foreclosures soar.

AD 1968 The church ordains homosexuals as clergy.

AD 1972 The United church of Christ ordains homosexual clergy

AD 2010 The Lutheran church ordains homosexual clergy

AD 2012 The Presbyterian church ordains homosexual clergy

The Episcopal Church in the United States and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) have also allowed ordination of openly gay and lesbian candidates for ministry for some years.

Internationally, tens of thousands of churches have ordained openly lesbian or gay clergy. The list includes include the Church of Scotland, the Church of England, the Church in Wales, the Church of Sweden, the Church of Norway, the Church of Denmark, the Church of Iceland, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, the Evangelical Church in Germany, the Methodist Church in Britain, the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, the United Protestant Church in Belgium, the Swiss Reformed Church, the United Protestant Church of France, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, Anglican Church in Canada, the Old Catholic Church, the Czechoslovak Hussite Church and the United Church of Christ in Japan.

AD 2020 The church is losing and has lost influence. The church in 2020 is losing members.

AD 2022 The church is teaching and living a different Gospel than that of the Apostles.

THE AGE OF APOSTASY IS WELL UNDER WAY

Big Evangelical Churches, organizations and conferences, also known as “Big EVA”, have create an economy of power, people, and indeed money which is non-ecclesiastical but highly influential within evangelical churches. It is a populist movement of tremendous influence and minimal accountability. It provides an identity for its most passionate acolytes.

“And because it promises rewards to individuals and organizations – influence, students, platform – it is both very hard to criticize and functionally unaccountable to any but its own. The Trinity controversy of two years ago was a case in point: no church creed had ever taught the nonsense that had become so pervasive in evangelicalism. Quite the contrary – the creedal history of the church was arguably constructed to exclude precisely the kind of views that were being espoused. But key conferences and key organizations had a vested interest in sidestepping orthodoxy and demonizing any who pointed that out.

“An aspiring movement, to direct and shape the policies and testimony of the church, is quite another thing. (This is what has been done, or, put more bluntly, ‘What have we done?’ Selected and edited (comments from Carl Trueman, “Revoice, Evangelical Culture, and the Return of an Old Friend”  July 31, 2018)

Here are links to several other notable and tragic recent SHIPWRECKS:

Willow Creek, Chicago, Illinois and Bill Hybels

Willow Creek, Chicago, Illinois and Bill Hybles, II

Harvest Chapel, Sandwich, Illinois and James MacDonald fired by Harvest Bible Chapel

Harvest Bible Chapel in Naples, Florida sent eviction notice by landlord

This article and its content was collected from various “identified sources” and is reprinted as originally posted by these “identified sources. Some parts are editorialized and contain the opinion of this author.   White Stone Fellowship.

The Apostle Paul instructed Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:18, saying, “This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them, you fight the good fight, 19 keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.”

This is advice to all Christians. Point out and call out evil wherever you see it. Name the by names. Warns others to flee these wolves and false teachers.

Perhaps you are one of the brave souls who have read this far and perhaps you have thought or are thinking, “maybe it is like you say in many churches, but it is not that way in my church. We are a friendly, loving, giving, generous, Bible-based, Bible teaching church”, and if you are, well then, great! Good for you. Would you mind completing a short survey, then?

Do you believe it is sometimes permissable to avoid another Christian because of a disagreement or a dispute?  Yes        No        .

Do you believe it is sometimes permissable to hold a grudge against another Christian? Yes        No        .

Does you believe it is permissable for a Christian church to ordain homosexuals for ministry or allow homosexual laity to teach or hold office in a Christian church? Yes        No        .

Do you believe it is your responsibility to ‘witness your faith’ to others, daily? What I mean is, do you tell others about Jesus, frequently?  Yes        No        I mean to, but usually do not       .

Do you believe it is your responsibility to lead anyone to Jesus; that is, someone who becomes a Christian and follows Jesus, daily? Yes        No        I try, but no success yet       .

If you have done either of the above, do you teach them about Jesus and what He has commanded of us? Yes        No        I don’t have to; my church does that       .

Do believe it is permissible to have sex outside of marriage? Yes        No        .

Do you and your friends at Church believe the Bible is completely true and accurate? Yes        No        .

This is just a sampling but can be revealing about how we, as the Church, have drifted from our foundations and have lost our way without even know it.

I encourage you, let’s return to our first love. Let’s return to a life of obedience to Him. A life of peace, love and joy. A life of abundance through and in Christ Jesus.

It isn’t easy, but it is the only way to the Kingdom of Heaven! Let’s be the few to start a Revival Tidalwave!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

PERFECTION – Chapter 19 – The Bible Says

~ Michael Young, Sr. ~ Leave a comment

GOD SAYS – THE BIBLE SAYS

THE BIBLE IS ALSO WARNING US

Why is knowing the timing and sequence of a Biblical explanation of the tribulation period important in relation to a historical timeline. The answer is that it is because of historical events, both which have already occurred and those which are yet to take place,

(1), will be the direct results of Bible prophecy unfolding in this natural realm, and,

(2), we will have a physical historical timeline which we can identify, and finally,

(3), we will be greatly affected by these coming events and advanced knowledge of them and their approximate timing gives us the opportunity to respond as the Bible teaches so we can endure and survive these calamitous and catastrophic events.

Matthew chapter 24 and Revelations chapters 6 through 16 of The New Testament of the Bible, tells of a period of time known by various names such as “The Tribulation”, “The Last Days or the “Latter Days”, and warns and gives great details of a coming period of Great Tribulation, cataclysmic in its scope, both cosmic and terrestrial in nature, followed by “The End The Age”. (Also see Studylight.org; Also see Revelation 19-22).

This has been a great mystery throughout history. But it no long needs to be.  Here is the Tribulation Timeline, in summary (Pre-Wrath, Pre-tribulation):

Section A.1.

The Last Days began in our around AD 30 to AD 69 as confirmed by Jesus and several Apostles in Matthew 24, Hebrews 1:2, Hebrews 9:26, Acts 2:14-17, 2 Timothy 3:1, 1 Peter 1:20, 1 Peter 4:7, 2 Peter 3:3.

(One of the first, most accurate, and most persistent advocates of the Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church can be found at Zion’s Hope, with videos on this site).

Finally, in this 21st century, there are a few prominent Bible teachers who are now arriving at this same conclusions (John Piper, and Corrie Ten Boom).

The opening of Tribulation Seal ONE began between AD 60 and AD 3000, and perhaps as early as AD1.   Seals ONE through FIVE have been broken, progressively, up until this day. We are now standing at the precipice of the breaking of the 6th Tribulation Seal .

Section A.2.

With the breaking of the 6th Tribulation Seal we will see that 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 and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. (Matthew 24:29-31 & Revelation 6:12-16)

Section A.3.

Sometime after the rapture of the church, which occurs at the 6th Seal, the Antichrist enters a treaty with Israel. This begins the seven-year tribulation.

Section A.4.

At the midpoint of the tribulation (1,260 days later), the Antichrist breaks the treaty, desecrates the temple, and begins to persecute the Jews.

Section A.5.

At the end of the tribulation (1,260 days after the desecration of the temple), Jesus Christ returns to earth and defeats the forces of the Antichrist.

Section A.6.

During the next 30 days (leading up to 1,290 days after the desecration of the temple), Israel is rebuilt, and the earth is restored.

Section A.7.

During the next 45 days (leading up to 1,335 days after the desecration of the temple), the Gentile nations are judged for their treatment of Israel.

Section A.8.

The dispensation of the millennium begins, and it will last for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:3, 5–6).

Here is a more complete and detailed description of the Tribulation Timeline. Concern yourself with the first SIX SEALS.

Section B.1.

The ‘tribulation period of birth pangs‘ (Matthew 24:8 & Revelation 6) begins with the breaking of the 1st Tribulation Seal and continues through the 5th Tribulation Seal, during which time we will see the

    • Apostasy,
    • the great persecution of Christians,
    • the revealing of the man of perdition and
    • the signing of a peace treaty between Israel and her enemies.

The 1st Seal of the tribulation was being broken just after the death and resurrection of Christ and the succeeding seals (Seals 2 – 5) have been broken at various periods of time since AD 30 and that we have now entered the time of the breaking 5th Tribulation Seal. Jesus refers to this period, the breaking of the tribulation Seals ONE through FIVE as “the beginning of the birth pangs”, and He points out that “this is not yet the end”.

Section B.2.

Then, with the breaking of the 6th Tribulation Seal , THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE DAY OF THE LORD, THE GREAT TRIBULATION, BEGINS. (Matthew 24:29, & Revelation 6:12)

As witnessed by, Matthew 24:29 “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. Verse 30. “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. Verse 31. “And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET, and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” 

Section B.3.

The “7 years of Great Tribulation”, (also known as Daniel’s 70th week,) begins with the breaking of the 6th tribulation seal, and, will reach the mid-point of the tribulation period, (after 3.5 years) with the sounding of the 6th Trumpet of the Great Tribulation.

Section B.4.

Then, the Great Tribulation will end with the pouring out of the 7 Bowls of Wrath.

– THE TRIBULATION JUDGMENTS LEAD TO THE END OF THE AGE –

The world has endured, and is enduring, the first 4 tribulation seals, and is now experiencing the beginning of the 5th tribulation seal.  Concern yourself with being ready before the breaking of the Tribulation 6th Seal and the Great and Terrible day of the Lord!

Here is a short outline comparing Jesus’ account of the Tribulation period both in the Book of Revelation and in the Book of Matthew:

Revelation Ch. 6 – as corresponding to – Matthew Chapter 24

the 1st Tribulation Seal  –  Global conquest and political intrigue. (This Seal was broken between A.D. 1 and A.D. 95, has been ongoing and has been overlapping the other Seals, and has been intensifying.)

the 2nd Tribulation Seal –  Wars and Rumors of War. (This Seal was broken between A.D. 1 and A.D. 95, has been ongoing and has been overlapping the other Seals, and has been intensifying.)

the 3rd Tribulation Seal  –  Famine. (This Seal was broken between A.D. 1 and A.D. 95, has been ongoing and has been overlapping the other Seals, and has been intensifying.)

the 4th Tribulation Seal  –  Death. (This Seal was broken between A.D. 1 and A.D. 95, has been ongoing and has been overlapping the other Seals, and has been intensifying.)

the 5th Tribulation Seal  –  Martyrs, persecution, Anti-Christ, falling away. (This Seal was broken between A.D. 1 and A.D. 95, has been ongoing and has been overlapping the other Seals, and has been intensifying.)

The 6th Tribulation Seal  –  Cosmic disturbances, blood moon, darkened sun. (The Opening of the 6th Tribulation Seal is yet to come. It is The BEGINNING OF the 7 years of “THE GREAT TRIBULATION” period, also known as The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord or the Wrath of the Lamb.)

  • Sealing of the 144,000
  • The Rapture
  • Multitude from the tribulation before the Throne of God

All of these things and this historic time had been recorded, in various books of the Bible and is foretold in great and frightening detail, particularly in the Book of Revelation. You simply need the “eyes to see” and “the ears to hear”.

THE ENTIRE EARTH IS GROANING (link).

“For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

“For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.  And not only this, but also, we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption 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.” (Romans 8:19-25)

NEXT:  PERFECTION – Chapter 20 – Agenda 2030, The Socialist Utopia

PREVIOUS: PERFECTION – Chapter 18 – Science says ‘NO’

THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST

~ Michael Young, Sr. ~ Leave a comment

(You can listen by audio and pause the audio to follow page links for important details on these teachings; then resume the audio when you are ready. Please note that I use page links for important details and in lieu of footnotes and references.)

“Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.” 1 John 2:18.  

These words were written by John of Patmos, (John the Apostle), in or around 85 to 95 A.D.  This is significant because John is telling us two important things:

#1.  John is telling us that the Last Days or the End of Time had already begun in or around A.D. 85.  “From this we know that it is the last hour”.  The term, “the last hour”, in the Greek language, ésxatos, means “future things”; it is the root of “eschatology” which is “the study of last things“. This includes future Bible prophecy, the end-times..

#2.   John is not referring to the person of the Antichrist, also known as the ‘son of perdition’, ‘the man of lawlessness’, ‘the son of destruction’, when he wrote “Now many antichrists have appeared”.  He is referring to the spirit of antichrist,

“And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.” 1 John 4:3.

“For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.”  2 John 1:7

I am breaking this study into 2 parts. The first part is about “The Last Hour”, so we can understand the timing and placement of John’s comments about the ‘spirit of antichrist’ and the coming day of ‘the antichrist’. The second part is about the appearing of the Antichrist and what that means for this world.

 Part 1.  THE LAST HOUR

There is a general misconception about John’s comments about “The Last Hour”. While I was in Bible college, the prevailing teaching was that John said these things based on his perspective at the time. John had seen and experienced persecution by the Jewish Pharisees and had seen his friends, the other Apostles, murdered by the Roman government and that his isolation on the remote island of Patmos had led John to see these as the “Last Days”.

However, Jesus and his disciples, (the Apostles), had been talking about and referring to the period, from as early as A.D. 1, as the “Last Days”.

Hebrews 1:2,   “In these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.”

Hebrews 9:26,  “For then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

This was written Around A.D. 60.

Acts 2:14,   “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. Verse 15. “For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; verse 16, but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:

Verse 17.  ‘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;”

This was written Around AD 60.

2 Timothy 3:1,  “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. Verse 2. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, verse 3, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, verse 4, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, verse 5, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”

This was written Around AD 60.

1 Peter 1:20,  “He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you”.

1 Peter 4:7, “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Verse 8. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.Verse 9.  Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.”

This was written Around AD 60.

2 Peter 3:3,  “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?”

This was written Around AD 60.

Matthew 24:3, tells us, “As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 10:11, tells us, “Now these things happened to them as an example and warning [to us]; they were written for our instruction [to admonish and equip us], upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

This was written around AD 60.

‘The Last Hour’, also known as “The Last Days”, “The End of The Age” the “Latter Days” is considered by most traditional churches as a future event and that the beginning of a seven tribulation period will occur with the breaking of the 7 tribulation seals.  This has become the dominant view and teaching of many modern fundamentalists and conservative evangelicals since John Darby introduced dispensational premillennialism and a pretribulation rapture around 1909.

However, as we draw nearer to the “The Last Days”, and as we continue to closely examine and re-examine the Bible’s Eschatological teachings in light of the concurrence and convergence of events, the matters of The Tribulation period and The Last Days come into clearer focus.

Matthew 24:32-33 tells us, “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: likewise, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.”

Knowing about and watching for “the season of the tribulation” which is the fulfillment or the end of these things, can help you know when the tribulation period began and when the “Great Tribulation” also known as the “Great and Terrible Day of the Lord” will begin, so you can be ready.

I realize these distinctions have been obscured by past misconceptions and that this can be considered as a great mystery, but, it need not be.  I am providing a summery Biblical Tribulation Time line and a videos to assist you:

A.1. The opening of Tribulation Seal ONE began between AD 60 and AD 100, and perhaps as early as AD1.  

This is confirmed by Jesus and several Apostles in Matthew 24, Hebrews 1:2, Hebrews 9:26, Acts 2:14-17, 2 Timothy 3:1, 1 Peter 1:20, 1 Peter 4:7, 2 Peter 3:3. One of the first, most accurate, and most persistent advocates of the Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church can be found at Zion’s Hope, with videos on this site. Finally, in this 21st century, there are a few prominent Bible teachers who are now arriving or have arrived at this same conclusion. (John Piper, and Corrie Ten Boom). Here is a continuing list of Famines: A list of global famines (link)

Seals ONE through FIVE have been broken, progressively, up until this day. We are now standing at the precipice of the breaking of the 6th Tribulation Seal.

A.2. With the breaking of the 6th Tribulation Seal, (also known as the beginning of the Great Tribulation or The Great and Terrible Day of The Lord), we will see that 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 and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. (Matthew 24:29-31 & Revelation 6:12-16)

A.3. Sometime after the rapture of the church, which occurs at the 6th Seal, the Antichrist enters a treaty with Israel. This begins the seven-year tribulation.

 A.4. At the midpoint of the tribulation (1,260 days later), the Antichrist breaks the treaty, desecrates the temple, and begins to persecute the Jews.

 A.5. At the end of the tribulation (1,260 days after the desecration of the temple), Jesus Christ returns to earth and defeats the forces of the Antichrist.

 A.6. During the next 30 days (leading up to 1,290 days after the desecration of the temple), Israel is rebuilt, and the earth is restored.

 A.7. During the next 45 days (leading up to 1,335 days after the desecration of the temple), the Gentile nations are judged for their treatment of Israel.

 A.8. The dispensation of the millennium begins, and it will last for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:3, 5–6).

(Below here is a more complete description of the Tribulation timeline. Concern yourself with the first SIX SEALS.)

B.1. The ‘tribulation period of birth pangs,‘ (Matthew 24:8 & Revelation 6), begins with the breaking of the 1st Tribulation Seal and continues through the 5th Tribulation Seal, during which time we will see the

  • Apostasy,
  • the great persecution of Christians,
  • the revealing of the man of perdition and
  • the signing of a peace treaty between Israel and her enemies.

The 1st Seal of the tribulation was being broken just after the death and resurrection of Christ and the succeeding seals (Seals 2 – 5) have been broken at various periods of time since AD 1 and that we have now entered the time of the breaking 5th Tribulation Seal. Jesus refers to this period, the breaking of the tribulation Seals ONE through FIVE as “the beginning of the birth pangs”, and He points out that “this is not yet the end”.

B.2. Then, with the breaking of the 6th Tribulation Seal, THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE DAY OF THE LORD, THE GREAT TRIBULATION, BEGINS. (Matthew 24:29, & Revelation 6:12)

As witnessed by, Matthew 24:29, “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. Verse 30. “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. Verse 31. “And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET, and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”

B.3. The “7 years of Great Tribulation” , (aka Daniel’s 70th week), begins with the breaking of the 6th tribulation seal, will reach the mid-point of the tribulation period, (after 3.5 years) with the sounding of the 6th Trumpet of the Great Tribulation.

B.4. Then, the Great Tribulation will end with the pouring out of the 7 Bowls of Wrath.

The Tribulation Judgments lead to the End of the Age. (This article concerns the first 6 Seals).

Here is a comparison between Jesus’ Words in Matthew and Revelation regarding the first 6 Tribulation Seals:

Revelation Ch. 6 – as corresponding to – Matthew Chapter 24

the 1st Tribulation Seal  –  Global conquest and political intrigue. (This Seal was broken between A.D. 1 and A.D. 95, has been ongoing and has been overlapping the other Seals, and has been intensifying.)

the 2nd Tribulation Seal –  Wars and Rumors of War. (This Seal was broken between A.D. 1 and A.D. 95, has been ongoing and has been overlapping the other Seals, and has been intensifying.)

the 3rd Tribulation Seal  –  Famine. (This Seal was broken between A.D. 1 and A.D. 95, has been ongoing and has been overlapping the other Seals, and has been intensifying.)

the 4th Tribulation Seal  –  Death. (This Seal was broken between A.D. 1 and A.D. 95, has been ongoing and has been overlapping the other Seals, and has been intensifying.)

the 5th Tribulation Seal  –  Martyrs, persecution, Anti-Christ, falling away. (This Seal was broken between A.D. 1 and A.D. 95, has been ongoing and has been overlapping the other Seals, and has been intensifying.)

The 6th Tribulation Seal  –  Cosmic disturbances, blood moon, darkened sun. (The Opening of the 6th Tribulation Seal is yet to come. It is The BEGINNING OF the 7 years of “THE GREAT TRIBULATION” period, also known as The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord or the Wrath of the Lamb.)

  • The Sounding of a Trumpet.
  • The Rapture.
  • Multitude from the tribulation before the Throne of God.
  • Sealing of the 144,000.

Watch each of the 5 videos on this page, which explain the Pre-Wrath Rapture and teaching commentary on this subject by Pastor John Piper. Please watch, listen, pray and think.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

Please click here for PART #2.  THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST.

“For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.” 2 John 1:7

Video series below:

6 Proofs of a Pre-Wrath Rapture.

Rapture Ready or Not – Part 1 – Zion’s Hope –

Rapture Ready or Not – Part 2A – Zion’s Hope –

Rapture Ready or Not – Part 2B – Zion’s Hope –

Rapture Read or Not – Part 3 – Zion’s Hope-

Rapture Ready or Not – Part 4C – Zion’s Hope –

Rapture Ready or Not – Part 4B – Zion’s Hope –

The 6th Tribulation Seal: Transition from tribulation to Wrath – The Fuel Project –

John Piper – The Last Days –

 

 

PERFECTION – Chapter 11 – Pre-Wrath Rapture

~ Michael Young, Sr. ~ Leave a comment

(You can listen by audio and pause the audio to follow page links for important details on these teachings; then resume the audio when you are ready. Please note that I use page links for important details and in lieu of footnotes and references.)

Chapter 11 –  THE PRE-MILLENNIAL PRE-WRATH RAPTURE

There are several eschatological views of the End Time and The End of The Age. The most traditional views, (which are in constant competition and conflict), are:

      • The Traditional Pre-tribulation Rapture view says that the rapture will occur before the beginning of a seven-year tribulation period, before the breaking of the first tribulation seal.
      • It describes the second coming of Jesus as occurring at the end of the Tribulation period, that is, it will occur after the 7 Seal judgments, the 7 Trumpet judgments and the 7 Bowl judgments.
      • The Pre-tribulation Rapture describes the rapture as Jesus coming for the church – then, Jesus’ second coming, as Him coming with the church.

The first three on this list adhere to the doctrine of the rapture and a fixed seven-year tribulation period. Post-millennialism omits the rapture.

There is another, more recent view, similar to the other four, in that it is called The Pre-wrath Pre-Tribulation Rapture. Which is also Pre-millennial. This view suggests that the Last Days began in our around AD 30 to AD 69. This is confirmed by Jesus and several Apostles in Matthew 24, Hebrews 1:2, Hebrews 9:26, Acts 2:14-17, 2 Timothy 3:1, 1 Peter 1:20, 1 Peter 4:7, 2 Peter 3:3. 

(One of the first, most accurate, and most persistent advocates of the Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church can be found at Zion’s Hope, with videos on this site.)

Finally, in this 21st century, there are a few prominent Bible teachers who are now arriving at this same conclusions (John Piper, and Corrie Ten Boom)

The Pre-wrath Pre-Tribulation Rapture is the clearest explanation, by Jesus, of The Day of the Lord and the rapture.

      • The Bible says, in plain language, that the rapture will occur after or during the 6th tribulation seal.
      • This view holds that the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21) or a Great Distress (Luke21:23) begins during the 6th seal, being Daniel’s 70th week, when the Antichrist is revealed in the temple. This is not a “mid-tribulation view” because it occurs after or during the 6th Seal, but, well before the three- and one-half-year mark of the Great Tribulation.
      • Again, this period is defined, in the Bible, as the Great Tribulation or the time of Great Distress as opposed to “the tribulation” which began as early as AD 60.

The danger of the first four Tribulation and Rapture views are that they leave the believer in an unprepared state for the Tribulation and the Rapture. They teach that a believer need to do nothing more than make a statement of faith, and he or she will escape any and all of the Tribulation period. There is no further need for preparation, evangelism or ‘enduring to the end‘, which are clearly spelled out in scriptures.

The Pre-wrath Pre-Tribulation Rapture teaches that the tribulation period began in or around AD 30 and tribulation seals 1 through 5 have been progressively broken to this day and the effects are overlapping continuing and intensifying. We are near the breaking of the 6th Tribulation Seal which marks the beginning of the Day of the Wrath of the Lamb, the sealing of the 144,000 of Israel, the Rapture of the Church and the pouring out of God’s wrath on earth.

The Pre-wrath Pre-Tribulation Rapture teaches that

In support of the Pre-Wrath Rapture view, here is a quick scan of time and history as it relates to the Bible. Read carefully, and study.

WARS AND RUMORS OF WAR

Jesus says, in Matthew 24:6, “And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.”  

Jesus, in agreement with His statement in Matthew 24:6, again says in chapter Revelation chapter 6, “one who sat on a white horse had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

“When Jesus broke the second seal, the second living creature said, “Come!” And a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that people would kill one another; and a large sword was given to him.”

There have been thousands upon thousands of wars and conflicts since the time of Christ. Most notable for their scope and breadth are the

  • Religious Crusades (1095 – 1291, Muslims vs Latin Church, almost 2 million dead),
  • WWI (1914 – 1918, 17 million dead), and
  • WW2 (1939 – 1945, over 70 million dead).

Current wars and global conflicts, as of 2018 (link).

“Wars and rumors of war” is nothing new.  So, when Jesus says, in Matthew 24:6-8, “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.”

First, we should ask “WHICH wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines” was Jesus referring to?  Those in AD 30?  Those in AD69?  Those later wars?  The answer is, ‘No’.  Jesus was speaking in the present about an unfolding present and future event. These wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines were already occurring, have continued to occur and will increase with intensity until the end!

Look at it this way:   When Hurricane Irma hit the U.S. it was a category 5 storm;  As Irma progressed up the peninsula of Florida, it became a category 4 storm;  then as it entered Alabama it became a category 3 storm;  and finally as it entered Georgia, Irma became a tropical storm; and later as it entered Tennessee, it became a rain event.

To those in the various states which hurricane Irma entered, it would have appeared to them that Irma might have been 5 different storms, occurring consecutively; first a Category 5 storm, then, a Category 4 storm, then, a Category 3 hurricane, then, a Tropical storm, and, finally, a rain event.  But if viewed “From Above” it was ONE CONTINUOUS STORM, progressively unfolding to its conclusion

FAMINES AND EARTHQUAKES

Again, famines and earthquakes are nothing new in history. So, how do we determine TO WHICH famines and earthquakes was Jesus referring?

Here is a continuing list of Famines: A list of global famines and a historical list of global seismic activity.

Compare what Jesus said, found in Matthew 24 and what John said in Revelation about these matters.

  • But that is not yet the end…all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
  • Wars and rumors of wars have been ongoing since the 1st century.
  • The breaking of the 2nd Seal brings outright warfare on a Global Scale.
  • We have now seen two world wars
  • We have seen ‘the sons of Ishmael’ warring with ‘the sons of Isaac’ on a global scale since the time of Christ.

Once again, if we are not to endure these ‘tribulations’ why is Jesus warning us to “endure to the end”?

Matthew 24:15 tells us, “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 

Verse 16:  “Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.

Verse 17:  “Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. 

Verse 18:  “Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 

Verse 19:  “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 

Verse 20:  “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 

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

Verse 22:  “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.” 

The Prophetic Word of God will be manifested in the physical realms of the heavens and the earth.

There is one more important clue to the timing of the rapture and the beginning of the Great Tribulation period found in

2 Thessalonians 2:1 “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, verse 2, 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.

Verse 3. No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, verse 4, 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.”

 We can also see references to these events in Matthew chapter 24 and in  Revelation chapter Six. This is referring to the breaking of the 5th Tribulation Seal.

Next chapter:  PERFECTION – Chapter 12 – The 5th Tribulation Seal

Previous Chapter: PERFECTION – Chapter 10 – Clue #3

Go here for the entire book: The Journey Toward Perfection – God’s Ultimate Plan

(Additional reading similar to this page)

Pre-Wrath-Pre-Trib-Rapture

~ Michael Young, Sr. ~ Leave a comment

At the end of this page, is a collection of videos on the Last Days from a Pre-Wrath-tribulation view, the rapture and a chronological look at eschatological history.

What is the Pre-Wrath (Tribulation) Rapture?

The Pre-wrath-tribulation Rapture is the clearest explanation, by Jesus, of the coming Day of the Lord and the rapture. The Bible says, in plain language, that the rapture will occur after or during the 6th tribulation seal. This view holds that the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21) or a Great Distress (Luke21:23) begins during the 6th seal, being Daniel’s 70th week, when the Antichrist is revealed in the temple. This is not a “mid-tribulation view” because it occurs after or during the 6th Seal, but, well before the three and one-half year mark of the Great Tribulation. Again, this period is defined, in the Bible, as the Great Tribulation or the time of Great Distress as opposed to “the tribulation”.

References from Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 are used as evidence of the coming of Christ to “deliver the righteous” by means of the rapture, which will occur after specific events in Revelation, in particular after or during the breaking of the Sixth Seal when the sun is darkened and the moon is turned to blood.

By this point – the breaking of the 6th Seal – many Christians will have been slaughtered as martyrs by the Antichrist, with many more to come.

After the rapture, God’s wrath of trumpets and bowls will come. The Day of the Lord’s wrath against the ungodly will follow for the remainder of seven years (the 6th and 7th Seal, the 7 Trumpet judgments and the 7 Bowl judgments).

Here are 4 important differences:

(1) The Pre-tribulation view says the final 7 years of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks will commence with the breaking of the first Seal of the Tribulation and will conclude 7 years later with the pouring out of the 7th and final Bowl of God’s Wrath.

But, the Bible clearly teaches that the final 7 years of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks will commence with the breaking of the Sixth Seal of the Tribulation. The first Seal of the Tribulation was broken in or around AD 1 as confirmed by the Apostle Peter in Acts 2:14-21 , and the successive Seals 2 through 5 have been opened at various times over the last 2,019 years, with the 5th Seal being the most recent. The Day of the Lord is near, very near.

(2) The Pre-tribulation view is leading many people to believe that Jesus will come and “gather His elect”, then re-return to rapture His Church in secret.

But, the Bible is clear, Jesus will come and gather His elect in plain view, in the heavens, and continue to defeat the armies of antichrist.

(3) Theologians and Bible teachers who hold the Pre-tribulation view argue that some will be saved during the tribulation period.  This may be so, but, none will be saved after the Sixth Trumpet Judgment.

Revelation 9:20-21, says “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.”

Revelation 16:8-9, also says, “The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire. Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent to give Him glory.”

And, Revelation16:10  says, “Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, 11and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.”

This dispute arises from the problem with timing of the Pre-tribulation view. Although no one know the day or the hour, we are told we can know the seasons. It is true that there will be those who are saved during the seasons of the first 6 Seals of the tribulation – because the Rapture will not have occurred and will not occur until the after or during the breaking of the 6th Seal.

Again, after the Sixth Trumpet Judgment, during this outpouring of The Wrath of the Lamb, none will be saved. (see Revelation 9:20-21 and Revelation 16:9-11 )

Why does it matter “when” the tribulation starts or “when” Christians are to be raptured into heaven?

  • It matters because being ready for His Return is proof of True Christianity, and only a True Believer in Christ will be guaranteed to join Christ at the sound of His Great Trumpet call and escape the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord.
  • It matters because being ready requires believing and doing what He has instructed us to do in preparation for His return.
  • It matters because He has warned that “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
  • It matters because many Christians are sitting idly waiting for an event that has already begun, and they are not DOING what He told them to do and therefore are in grave danger.
  • It matters because some of our family, friends and neighbors are completely unaware or just don’t believe that Christ will return and God’s final judgments will sentence them to outer darkness.
  • It matters because, as Christians, our faith, our convictions and our behavior are speaking louder than our words.

This is important to know because: (#1), you, as a Disciple of Jesus, need to know where you are on God’s Timeline, (#2), what it means to you, (#3) what is required for you to be ready, and, (#4) what it means to be ready for what is at hand and (#5), how to prepare.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young.

The Zion’s Hope videos are in a series, with more to come.  (The date of this posting is 10/29/2021).

You can view all of Zion’s Hope’s material, teachings and videos at Zion’s Hope‘s website.

Following this video are a series of videos of greater detail on these matters:

You can view all the Fuel Project‘s videos at their website.

May God give you wisdom and understanding on these matters as we prepare for His Return and the consummation of the age.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

Pastor-Teacher John Piper’s views on the placement of the “Last Days”

This full-length feature can also be viewed at “7 Pre-trib Problems”

(PS: The Pre-Wrath-Tribulation view says that (#1). The first tribulation judgement seals were broken (opened) at or just after the birth of Jesus, and (#2). Tribulation seals ONE through FIVE have been opened sequentially, progressively, overlapping, and the effects have been intensifying to this date.

The SIXTH tribulation seal is still a future event, at which time and Matthew 24, verse 29 “immediately after the tribulation of the previous 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. Verse 30 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. Verse 31 And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His [c] elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”

Pre-Wrath Rapture

~ Michael Young, Sr. ~ 1 Comment

 

When is the Rapture, the tribulation, the return of Jesus – and why does it matter?

You might say these things are in God’s Hands, I am saved, so what does it matter. I think I am ready, I cannot change these things, so why worry?

Well, if you say that, then you are partially right. You should not worry. However, it does matter. It matters a great deal.

1.  It matters because God’s Words tells us of the things to come and warns us to be ready and to be found doing the things He has told us to do.

Matthew 24:42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
“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.

“Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?

“Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.

“Truly, I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

“But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards;
the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, “and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Another parable tell of the waiting virgins who were not prepared, and the Lord says to them, “Truly I say to you, I do not know you.”

Yet another parable warns us that the worthless slave who is not faithful to be found doing as his Master instructed will be “Thrown out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

2.  It matters because your families and others are watching. You are to be an example for them, and you are to help them be prepared.

Watch each of the 5 videos on this page, which explain the Pre-Wrath Rapture and teaching commentary on this subject by Pastor John Piper. Please watch, listen, pray and think.

THIS IS IMPORTANT.

The term, Rapture, refers to the idea that a day will come when Jesus will appear in the heavens, at which time the dead in Christ will be resurrected to meet Him in the air and to receive their glorified bodies. Living believers will be taken up also and will be translated en route from mortal to immortal. Both the resurrected believers and the living ones will then return to Heaven with Jesus. This event is viewed by most as being separate and apart from the Second Coming of Jesus, when He will return to earth to reign for a thousand years.

The word, Rapture, does not appear in English language Bibles, but it can be found in the Latin Vulgate translation of Jerome, which served as the basic Bible of the Western world for over 1200 years, from 400AD to 1611 when the King James Version was published. The word appears in 1 Thessalonians 4:17.  In English versions, it is expressed as “caught up.” The concept of the Rapture can be found in many other places in the New Testament — for example, in John 14:1-4 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53.

The Question of Timing

Among those who believe in a Rapture of the Church, there is disagreement as to the timing of the event. Until recent years, there were three concepts of the Rapture’s timing:

  1. The Pre-Tribulation View — This is the idea that the Rapture will take place before the Tribulation begins.
  2. The Mid-Tribulation View — This viewpoint places the Rapture in the middle of the Tribulation.
  3. The Post-Tribulation View — According to this view, the Rapture and the Second Coming are all one event that takes place at the end of the Tribulation.
  4. The “Pre-Wrath-Tribulation” View —In 1990 Marvin Rosenthal presented a fourth viewpoint in his book, The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church. Rosenthal was not the originator of this new viewpoint. Rather, he was the one who popularized it with his book. The person who conceived the “Pre-Wrath” view of the Rapture was a man named Robert Van Kampen (1938-1999).

The most popular and widely accepted doctrine on the tribulation is the pre-tribulation rapture. It says that all Christians will be ‘raptured’ off the earth and into heaven, BEFORE any of the tribulation starts (i.e., before any of the tribulation judgment seals are broken or opened)0. Once the rapture has occurred, the 7-year-tribulation will then begin- or so it says.

I accepted the “pre-tribulation-rapture-view” without much thought. It was what I was told would happen and as a new Christian, I never questioned it.

Many years later, a friend and co-teacher, asked me to join him in teaching a Church class on a book about the Rapture and the Tribulation. My assignment was PRE-tribulation Rapture, and he would present and discuss the mid-tribulation rapture view.

It took me almost a year to prepare, and that study and preparation raised questions I could not ignore. I have spent 10 years searching scriptures and studying this matter. For example:

1. Why was Jesus warning His disciples (and subsequent disciples or anyone who would eventually read His Words in the Bible) about coming events it they would not experience those events, if they would be raptured before the tribulation?

2. How can we tell WHICH ‘wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes’ were the result of breaking of the first seal of the tribulation, because there have been thousands of them since Jesus said these words.

3. Was Jesus wanting to ‘scare’ listeners into believing by warning them ahead of time? (I think not. Trickery just doesn’t fit Jesus Character, and He tells us “do not be frightened” by these things.)

4. Jesus tells His disciples (and subsequent disciples or anyone who would eventually read His Word in the bible), in Matthew 24:6 that “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. Verse 7:  “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. Verse 8:  “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.”

And a few verses later, Matthew 24:13 says, “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”

Why is Jesus telling us that we should not be frightened by the WARS, RUMORS OF WARS, NATIONS RISING AGAINST NATIONS, FAMINES, EARTHQUAKES, and that we must ENDURE TO THE END TO BE SAVED if we have been “Raptured” and out of harms way?

5. When you compare Jesus’ Words in the book of Matthew with John the Revelator’s account of the ‘End of Days’ in Revelation, why do you get the very real sense that something about pre-tribulation evangelical or reformed doctrines of the end times don’t line up with or doesn’t fit with what you read IN THE BIBLE.

(There are other daunting questions, but this is enough for this article)

I’m no scholar. But, that year of study changed my views, slowly at first, then after over twelve years of study and review, my mind is changed, permanently.

Here’s a quick scan of time and history. See what you think.

The breaking of the 1st Seal in the Book of Revelation says we will hear of WARS and rumors of war and that we will hear of nation rising against nation (Click here to link to the Rest of The Story – Page 3)

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

(PS: The Pre-Wrath-Tribulation view says that (#1). The first tribulation judgment seals were broken (opened) at or just after the birth of Jesus, and (#2). Tribulation seals ONE through FIVE have been opened sequentially, progressively, overlapping, and the effects have been intensifying to this date.

The SIXTH tribulation seal is still a future event, at which time and Matthew 24, verse 29 “immediately after the tribulation of the previous 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. Verse 30 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. Verse 31 And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His [c] elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”

THE RAPTURE REVEALED

~ Michael Young, Sr. ~ Leave a comment

(You can listen to this audio while you read along, then, you can stop the audio to follow a link, then, resume the audio when you are ready)

There is a lot of interest and conversation and controversy about an event called “The Rapture”, both inside and outside Christian Circles.  Scores of books, articles and movies have been written and produced on the subject, so many in fact, that one internet search returned over 1,500,000 hits on the subject.

The “Rapture”, as it is called, is an eschatological (study on matters of end times) theological position held by some Christians, of an end-time event when all Christian believers who are alive, along with resurrected believers, will rise “in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.”[1] The idea of a rapture as it is currently defined is not found in historic Christianity, and the term “rapture” is not found in the Bible.

The doctrine of a rapture is a relatively recent idea of Evangelical Protestantism, introduce by John Nelson Darby, a British pastor, writer and educator in the mid 1800s .  Darby formulated the idea of the rapture from the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4:13-17, specifically from verse 17, “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” 

The words “caught up” translate from the Greek verb “harpazō”.  The Latin Vulgate translates the Greek as “rapiemur” meaning “we are caught up” or “we are taken away” from the Latin verb rapio, where we get the English word, rapture.

This ministry’s position is a definitive “Pre-Wrath Rapture“.  The foregoing link will take you to an explanation and three videos produced by Zion’s Hope (also shown on this page) ministries and one video by The Fuel Project on this matter.

For the sake of brevity on this posting, I will leave you with this PDF presentation comparing the Words of Jesus in the Book of Matthew, chapter 24 and the book of the Revelation, taken from chapters six and seven. (click on the image or the text below here).

THE RAPTURE REVEALED 

More videos on the Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church:

“RAPTURE AND WRATH:  READY OR NOT?”

“RAPTURE AND WRATH:  READY OR NOT?  PART 2 B – A SCROLL”

“RAPTURE AND WRATH:  READY OR NOT? PART 2 A – THE 7 SEALS”

“THE FUEL PROJECT GUIDE TO THE 6TH TRIBULATION SEAL”

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

More material on the Tribulation and The Rapture by The Whitestone Fellowship:

Am I Really Seeing what I Think I am Seeing?

When do the 7 Years of Tribulation Begin?

The 5th Tribulation Seal.

The 6th Tribulation Seal.

AMERICAN UNDER SIEGE

THE COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN

~ Michael Young, Sr. ~ Leave a comment

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.

David Rosenthal, of Zion’s Hope ministries, explains the crucial significance of the new Abraham Accord recently signed by Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Unlike the peace treaties signed by Israel with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994, this new peace accord is intended to normalize relations between the two countries in ways never before thought possible.  And more Arab nations are coming to the Accord!

Following this video are a series of videos of greater detail on these matters:

May God give you wisdom and understanding on these matters as we prepare for His Return and the consummation of the age.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

For a full description of the Abraham Accord and a description of the 70th Week of Daniel  President Trump’s Peace Plan.