COMING SOON—
AN INVASION FROM SPACE!
Believe it or not, this planet will be the scene of a MASSIVE INVASION FROM OUTER SPACE, probably within YOUR LIFETIME! The invasion will be preceded by the greatest wars in all history; by massive earthquakes wherein MILLIONS will be killed; by monstrous disease epidemics and famines, and by such mind-boggling displays in the solar system that people will topple over dead from heart attacks! The sun will suddenly turn BLACK; the moon will appear red as blood; a vast meteorite shower will SHOCK the world with tens of millions of asteroids streaking across the sky! Huge tsunamis or tidal waves will ravage hundreds of major coastal cities! The invasion will come just as a massive nuclear exchange has occurred; when, if it were not for INTERVENTION FROM SPACE, there would not be a man, woman, or child left alive on this earth!
It is the job of THIS WORK; this group of AGENTS who are already committed to this new government; already having established citizenship, to WARN the world of what is coming!
by Garner Ted Armstrong
What you are about to read is incredible. Most will not believe it. But that doesn't matter — it will happen anyhow. We do not need to "believe" in the inevitable to make it happen! Whether you believe it or not, a NEW WORLD GOVERNMENT will soon be established, which will be an ABSOLUTE MONARCHY. It is not coming from any human leader; not coming from any coalition or alliance of human governments. It is coming as the result of an INVASION FROM OUTER SPACE!
It will rule from one world capital; will impose a one world economic system, one world language, one world flat tax, and a massive resettlement program; moving tens of millions of people representing the various ethnic groups onto their own lands! It is a program which will be ENFORCED with unheard-of "super weapons," far more powerful, more accurate, more immediate and more devastating than any of the destructive weapons in human arsenals today! Such forces will be used against any nation attempting to resist the new government!
What will this globe-girdling new world order mean to YOU and your loved ones? WHO is behind it? HOW will it succeed? WHEN will it be set up? WHO will try to prevent it?
Imagine, if you can, some of the following HEADLINES being written within the near future:
"MASSED EUROPEAN ARMY OF 20 MILLION MEN WIPED OUT IN SINGLE BATTLE!" "NEW SUPER WEAPONS DISINTEGRATE ARMIES OF MILLIONS INSTANTANEOUSLY!" "WITNESSES SAY `ONLY SKELETONS ARE LEFT!' AS MILLIONS OF SOLDIERS' FLESH DISINTEGRATES IN SECONDS!"
"MILLIONS OF AMERICANS, BRITISH AND AUSTRALIANS RELEASED FROM SLAVE LABOR CAMPS." "WORLD-WIDE SEARCH FOR SURVIVING JEWS UNDERWAY." "NEW SUPER-GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED IN JERUSALEM." "HOLY CITY DECLARED `CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.'" "RUSSIA ANNOUNCES CONSTRUCTION OF MASSIVE NEW FACTORIES FOR CONVERTING THOUSANDS OF TANKS INTO SMALL, SOLAR-POWERED TRACTORS." "NEW SUPER-HIGHWAY LINKS GERMANY, ISRAEL, SPANS BOSPORUS." "GLOBAL `UNLEARNING' PROGRAM ANNOUNCED: REEDUCATION OF MILLIONS UNDERWAY." "TEN PERCENT `FLAT TAX' IMPOSED WORLDWIDE!"
Sound IMPOSSIBLE? But WHY? Do not millions, in this day and age of the super thrillers in motion pictures imagine, again and again, that great "star wars" will take place; that great evil empires in SPACE will be slugging it out with ray guns, lasers, and neutron bombs in the future?
Do some of the headlines above sound like "big brother"? Believe it or not, just such headlines will be seen by tens of millions of shocked, dismayed, bewildered populations following the greatest wars in history within a few more years!
Hitherto secret documents, which had been closed and sealed are now opened up for public understanding! They reveal a plan so vast in scope as to stagger the imagination — the plan of BEINGS FROM OUTER SPACE TO INVADE THIS EARTH!!
MILLIONS know nothing about it. The CIA, the FBI, the KGB, MI-5, Naval Intelligence, the NSC — all remain IGNORANT of the plan, which is proceeding HOURLY, now, toward execution.
There is a COUNTDOWN now taking place in outer space! As the seconds tick off, the moment of the final launch of GIGANTIC ARMIES OF SUPER-BEINGS — D-DAY FOR EARTH — edges ever closer! These super-beings have a PLAN; a strategy for conquering earth! This many-faceted, detailed plan has been in plain sight for thousands of years, but was deliberately written in such a way that only a precious FEW could understand it. It was carefully crafted by super-powerful, super-intelligent Beings from OUTER SPACE; delivered to human beings, copied, translated, distributed, published to millions, in dozens of languages.
Yet, the real truth of the vast plan for a coming NEW WORLD ORDER has remained incomprehensible! Why? Because it was deliberately SEALED to human understanding by great forces and powers from outer space. If it had been made plain long ago, the nations of the world would have allied together to try to prevent it. Other super beings, headed by a great, evil one; a wicked, perverted, desperate spirit, have been doing everything in their evil power to PREVENT this invasion from space -- primarily, they have worked to KEEP THE TRUTH ABOUT THE COMING INVASION FROM THE WORLD! Mostly, they have succeeded! The vast majority of people — far more than 90 percent of the entire population of the world, SCOFFS at the warning! They simply do not believe it!
Whether scoffers believe it or not, messengers from an unknown source brought top-secret information to selected agents; those chosen to write down and preserve what they said. Yet, these messengers from space told the human agents they visited that their messages would remain CLOSED until what they characterized as "the TIME OF THE END" of human civilization as we know it.
One such human agent was selected because of his humble and contrite heart, and because of his native intelligence; his race; his position at the time (close to the throne of an ancient world-ruling empire). His character; his humility; his contrite heart resulted in intensive communication with these Beings in outer space, who tuned in to his prevailing attempts to get in touch with them. He had discovered the perfect "wave length," by which to communicate. His name meant, "God [the All-powerful; All-knowing; All-seeing; Everywhere-present; Eternal One] will judge," or, "God will discern." His name was Daniel.
The first visit he received so shocked and stunned him, that he fainted! Even though he had been crying out to be heard; to get in touch with the great Power in space, when it happened he sank down, prostrate on the ground, completely overcome by what he saw! He probably thought he was as good as dead! Here, in his own words, as he might tell it in our modern English if he were being interviewed today, is his account of his sighting: "It was the 24th of Abib, the first month, when I was standing there by the side of the Tigris River in Babylon [modern-day Iraq], when I looked up and there was a man wearing a linen garment, with a brilliant gold sash. His body looked like beryl, and his face was so bright it was like looking at lightning! His eyes were like shooting flames, and he had arms and feet like burnished brass. When He spoke, His voice was so powerful it was like hearing a vast crowd of people.
"Although there were some men with me, it was only I who saw this vision. Even so, they began to tremble and shake, so much that they ran away and tried to hide! So there I was, alone, seeing this incredible vision! I found I was weak; all my strength seemed to drain away, so much so that I sank to the ground, with my face in the dirt — I passed out!
"Yet, at the same time a hand touched me; it was him! He lifted me up on my knees and hands, and said, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, I want you to understand what I say to you. Stand up, because it is to you I am sent!
"When he said this, it was as if I could stand. But I was still trembling. Then he said,
"Don't be afraid, Daniel, because from the first day you set your heart to understand; from the time you confessed sins of yourself and your people, your words were heard, and I am here because of them.
"But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me for twenty-one days, until Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, and so I stayed there with the kings of Persia. Now, I am come to make you understand what is going to happen to your people in the last days, because this vision is for long, long in the future.
"When he said all this, I set my face toward the ground, and became completely speechless! But then, one like any other man touched my lips, and I found I could open my mouth! So I said to this great one who stood there, O my Lord, by seeing you, I am filled with shame, and I am terribly weak. How can such an one as me assay to talk to someone like you? I have no strength, and I can't get my breath!"
"Then, for the second time, one like a man came and touched me, and I felt strength returning. He said, O man greatly beloved, fear not! Be strong! Be strong!
"And when he had said this to me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my Lord speak — I'm alright now; you have given me strength.
"So then he said, Do you know why I have come here to you? So now, I must return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I have gone, the prince of Grecia will come. But I will show you that which is noted in the scripture of truth: that there is no one who stands with me in these things except Michael your prince.
"It was in the first year of Darius the Mede that I stood to confirm his rule, and to give him strength. Now, I'm going to show you the truth about what will happen: Look, there will yet arise three kings in Persia, and the fourth will be far richer than all the rest, and because of his strength and power he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece..." (Daniel 10:1-21; 11:1, 2, paraphrased).
Daniel was amazed. He had no idea these great and powerful spirit beings were actually struggling against each other to influence the minds and policies of world leaders! He had never known before about any "Prince of Grecia," some exalted spirit from another dimension who could have such power that it required TWO other great and powerful spirit beings named Gabriel and Michael to overcome him! Daniel soon learned that the being who spoke to him was one of the two remaining loyal archangels, Gabriel! Gabriel then continued to tell Daniel the entire sweep and scope of history; from the fall of Babylon to the fall of Persia and rise of Alexander; from the disintegration of Alexander's empire into four lesser kingdoms to the rise of Rome, and from the ancient Roman empire to the time of a yet future invasion of Palestine by a fabled "King of the North."
Rawlinson's history, along with many other histories, such as Dorothy Ruth Miller's Ancient History in Bible Light give a verse-by-verse description of how Gabriel's prophecies delivered to Daniel came to pass EXACTLY as he said they would!
After the lengthy prophecies, Gabriel told Daniel that there would come a time when once again Michael, who is the other of the two loyal archangels, would "stand up," meaning he would visit this earth in great power, and cause major events to occur, exactly as predicted. But let Gabriel tell Daniel in his own words. He was, after all, the eyewitness: "And at the end time, the king of the South will engage in a shoving match with the King of the North, who will come against him like a tornado, with armored vehicles, soldiers, cavalry, and with many ships. He will invade many countries, and pass over many borders. He will enter into the land they call glorious, and attack many countries, which will fall before him. But these shall escape out of his hand; Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
"And he shall stretch forth his hand; sending his military forces into many countries, and even the land of Egypt shall not escape.
"He will seize all the gold and silver, and all the national treasures of Egypt, and Put and Cush will be at his borders.
"But intelligence from the East and the North shall trouble him: because of this he will go forth with great fury to destroy, and to uproot and deport many.
"And he will plant the tabernacles of his palace; his headquarters, between the seas in the mountain of delight of holiness; the holy mount; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
"It is at this time that Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands for the children of your people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never before in all history; since as never was since there was a nation, and at that time your people will be delivered; every one that shall be found written in the book.
"And many of them that are sleeping in the ground shall awake; some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
"And they that are wise teachers shall shine as the brightness of the heavens: and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
"But you, O Daniel, must shut up the words, and seal the scroll, even until the time of the end: many will be running back and forth, and knowledge will be increased" (Daniel 11:40 to 12:4).
From the time Daniel wrote down all his experiences, the exact sequence of events just as Gabriel had predicted began to occur. Babylon fell on a night of a drunken debauch, just as Daniel wrote in his fifth chapter. Persia became the dominant world-ruling empire, as he had predicted. Then Alexander toppled the Persian empire, as Daniel had written in his fourth and seventh chapters. At his death, his four generals divided up the Greco-Macedonian kingdom, exactly as Gabriel said it would be (Daniel 11:4). Then came the long period of the Ptolimies in Egypt and the Seleucidae in Syria, detailed in the lengthy discourse of Gabriel, recorded in Daniel's eleventh chapter. For centuries, the prophecies continued to be fulfilled exactly as Gabriel said they would be!
The astonishing sighting by Daniel of an archangel was a direct result of his humble desire to learn of God's plan — it was also a result of God's desire to communicate with those men and women who would humble themselves before Him, and who were willing to act as His agents on earth to communicate His words to others.
Daniel was not the only human being who had a visit from Beings from outer space. Adam and Eve both saw One who said He was Elohim, and who spoke openly with them. Abraham entertained THREE beings from space; two of whom were angels, and the other of whom was the one who became Christ! Study Genesis 18 and 19 for the eyewitness account.
Jacob wrestled with the one who was to become Christ! Study Genesis 32 for this strange occurrence.
Men divided the ancient scrolls into chapters and verses. The quotation from Gabriel, however, continues unbroken from the beginning of Daniel 10:20 until the end of chapter 12.
Daniel's curiosity was overwhelming. He wanted to know what the final outcome would be of all these amazing prophecies. He said, "Then I looked, and, behold, there were two others, one on my side of the bank of the river, and the other on the other bank. And one of them said to the man clothed in linen, who appeared to be standing over the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?
"And I heard the man clothed in linen, who appeared to be standing on the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and swore by Him that lives forever and ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things will be finished.
"And I heard, but I didn't understand. So I said, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
"And he said to me, Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.
"Many will be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked will do wickedly, and none of the wicked will understand; but the wise shall understand."
Daniel did not complain or argue. He was so overwhelmed emotionally that he found himself so weak it was all he could do to function. But in due time he WROTE all that had occurred, telling every detail of the circumstances; the appearance of the great Beings from space who had spoken with him; their exact words — even their rejoinder that he was to "close up" and "seal" the words. This he did. When he had finished the scroll, he closed it tight, sealing it carefully. Little could Daniel know that, following the Babylonian captivity, others would collect all the archives of the writings of other prisoners; that they would be especially interested in Daniel's writings, because he was acting premier for a time, and was close to the throne during four successive Babylonian administrations. As the centuries passed, it was recognized that Daniel had indeed experienced some remarkable visits from extra-terrestrial beings, and that his writings should be copied, and made available to the world.
Still, true to Gabriel's predictions, even though the words themselves were now brought out into the open, they were not deciphered by those who read them. Even today, millions of people read portions of what Daniel wrote, and still do not understand it!
But the great beings from space had a PURPOSE in closing and sealing the meaning of the prophecies!
The Purpose Of Bible Prophecy
Prophecy is like an OUTLINE of the PLAN OF GOD. It is a detailed analysis of the course of human history according to the carnal, natural impulses of human nature. Human nature is primarily composed of vanity, jealousy, lust, and greed. At the center of human vanity is EGO. Self-worship, self-determination, self-justification, self-perpetuation; these are at the root of man's religions and man's wars. The prophecies delivered to man from great Visitors from space contain not only the humanly guided course of history, but those special interventions in human affairs necessary to insure the final outcome.
As was seen in Gabriel's communication to Daniel, the great Elohim in His space abode called "heaven" (the "third heaven" of II Corinthians 12:2), sent both Gabriel and Michael to insure the transition of government in Persia, and to withstand fallen Lucifer, who is now called "Satan" from his attempt to thwart God's prophecies.
Therefore, prophecy is not only predictions of God's divine interventions into human affairs, but it is also HISTORY, WRITTEN IN ADVANCE — before it happens. It is concerned with human EVENTS, as well as their causes. Prophecy is also a warning to individuals, nations, and the world, conveying CHOICES. God sets before us the choice of two opposite ways of life; the way of obedience to God, and His laws, or the way of rejection of God, and following the wiles and deceits of Satan.
God expressed it this way: "See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
"In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
"But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
"I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.
"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live" (Deuteronomy 30:15-19).
This is both a promise and a threat. The choice involves an entire life span, and is therefore FUTURISTIC in nature; a prophecy! As a loving parent might warn, "If you disobey me, I will take away your allowance for six months, but if you are a good boy, I will give you an extra allowance," so God urges mankind to make the RIGHT CHOICE, but promises horrible consequences if we make the wrong choice.
About one-third of the Bible is prophecy. All of the prophets are included as a part of the spiritual foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20). In the transfiguration, James, Peter, and John saw Moses and Elijah (Luke 9:28-31) as if spirit beings, together with Christ in the kingdom of God. Moses was a great prophet, and a type of Christ. Elijah (whose name meant, "God, He is God") was a great prophet. As Elijah was sent to evil kings to warn them of the consequences of their dastardly deeds, so Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel were commissioned to WARN world leaders of the coming intervention of God in human affairs.
But prophecy is not a "religious" exercise. It does not belong to the realm of nones and vespers; of guttering candles, silent nuns, shaved priests, stained glass windows, chants, repetitive prayers uttered in unison, wailing songs, steepled hands, or sanctimonious, posturing, self-righteousness! There is nothing "religious" about a drought, a major earthquake, a famine, or a massive disease epidemic!
Prophecy is analogous to a warning from a loving parent toward his children, who might say, "If you do so and so, I am going to have to punish you until you repent, and do what you should." Therefore, prophecy has, as its ultimate goal, the objective of causing people to REPENT OF SIN, and then receive and accept the witness of God, and become a member of His coming new government; a member of His ever-expanding family!
Prophecy is inseparable from Christ's gospel for the simple reason that the gospel is prophecy! It is the GOOD NEWS about the coming super world-ruling government which Christ will establish on earth. It is also the BAD news about man's wars, ethnic cleansing, pogroms, mass murder; about violent, upset weather; about disease epidemics and attacks by wild animals; about earthquakes and floods; about signs in the heavens; all of which are designed to CAUSE MEN TO REPENT! Christ said, "REPENT YE, and BELIEVE the good news!"
One of the most important prophecies of all is Christ's "Olivet" prophecy. He said: "And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet [there is nothing "religious" or "sanctimonious" about a war, except that oftentimes posturing "religious" men cause them],
"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
"All these are the beginning of sorrows [troubles, trials: tribulation].
"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake,"
"And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
"And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
"And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
"But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
"And this gospel [good news!] of the kingdom [the GOVERNMENT of God] shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
"Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains...For then [at the time of the setting up of the "Abomination of desolation"] shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
"And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved [ALIVE! He was speaking of human survival, not spiritual salvation]: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened" (Matthew 24:5-22).
The ultimate climax of all prophecy is the coming of the KINGDOM OF GOD — the second coming of Jesus Christ! The primary purpose of Bible prophecy is to WITNESS to mankind the following:
1) God is the CREATOR; the Maker of man himself, and the entirety of the physical universe.
2) God is the RULER, who has all power to act upon His creation.
3) God decides the course of nations. It is He who sets up or deposes world leaders; presidents, premiers, prime ministers; kings (Daniel 2:21, 37).
4) Mankind is lost in SIN as a result of Satan's deceptions (Romans 3:23) and man's surrender to his own physical appetites and emotional compulsions. Sin is the transgression of God's law, the Ten Commandments (I John 3:4).
5) Jesus Christ, who was God in the flesh, and is the CREATOR; the creating Agent who made the universe, the solar system, the earth, and all life upon it (John 1; Heb. 1), and whose ONE life is worth more than all human life combined, came to die for the sins of the world; for all mankind; for His own creation.
6) To those who repent of SIN, Christ will create a "new creature" by the begettal of the Spirit of God with the human spirit, thus forming a cadre of spiritually-begotten members of His spiritual body, the church.
7) Since the church is the AGENCY through which Christ will perform His WORK of witness and warning, it is the commission of the church to COME OUT of spiritual Babylon (Revelation 18:4), and to PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS of that coming Kingdom to the world!
Many, many times throughout history, the divine Family member of Elohim whom we know of as "Jesus Christ" visited this earth. He did so following billions of years of lifelessness; stygian darkness and tossing seas, resulting from Satan's original "star wars" in which the solar system was wrecked, and the space around it filled with debris; in which gigantic asteroids flew about, smashing into the planets, pock-marking them with huge craters, knocking them into different orbits. He came down to see a Venusian-like atmosphere thickly swaddling the earth, permitting no light to reach the raging seas.
By His omnipresent power, and by divine fiat, He said, in a thundering, booming voice, "LET THERE BE LIGHT!" Immediately, the clouds parted and began to burn off. He then commanded, "LET THE DRY LAND APPEAR," and immediately, in only twenty-four hours, with ear-splitting roaring which would have deafened any human ear, the tectonic plates heaved to the surface, stretching, expanding, colliding, moving about on a viscous underground sea of molten magma. The waters collected in gigantic basins which would become the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Arctic Oceans, as the continents crumbled, heaved, reared into the skies, with pinnacles of solid granite thrusting through to soar into the sky, folding and then collapsing, folding again, as continents shoved against each other, then collapsing again, to form tortured shapes of twisted rock. But you can read all of this in Genesis, the first two chapters.
This divine Being from space soon knelt on the ground by a stream in the land we now call Palestine, and, with His own hands, shaped and sculpted a clay model of Himself. When it was perfect, he stood the reddish clay upright, took its lifeless cheeks in His hands, placed His lips on its mouth, and, blowing hard, caused it to breathe! Suddenly, the turgid, lifeless clay turned to flesh! Suddenly, the sightless blobs of clay became intelligent eyes, shining with life! The two divine Beings had said, in complete agreement, "Let US make man in OUR IMAGE" (Genesis 2:26).
John was inspired to write in some detail about this miraculous occurrence: "In the beginning was the Word [Greek: logos, meaning "Spokesman"], and the Word was with God [Theos, meaning more than one; the Greek equivalent of Elohim], and the Word was God.
"The same was in the beginning with God.
"All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
"In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
"And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
"There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
"The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
"He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
"That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
"He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
"He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name;
"Which were born [Greek: gennao or "begotten"], not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt [Greek: TABERNACLED, meaning dwelt temporarily] among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" (John 1:1-14).
To this day, not only have "His own," the Jewish race as a whole, rejected Him, and received Him not, but MILLIONS who profess the name "Jesus Christ" are IGNORANT of this great, yet simple and inescapable truth, that it was the Member of Divine Elohim who said "LET THERE BE LIGHT" who came to this earth to be born as a human being, and to die for the sins of His own creation!
If they understood only those few verses, millions of God-defying, law-breaking, believers in "grace," (by which they mean they DO NOT HAVE TO OBEY THE TEN COMMANDMENTS) would know that God DOES NOT CHANGE, and that the One who wrote the Ten Commandments with His own finger is the SAME person of the Divine Elohim who died on the stake! They would come to know, truly, that He is "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever" (Hebrews 13:8); that He CHANGES NOT (Malachi 3:6).
Professing nominal Christians REJECT John's first chapter because the consequences of accepting it are ENORMOUS! It would mean abandoning their false doctrines about observing the day of the sun, and keeping God's SABBATH days, instead! This, they will NEVER do! They will DIE first! And, unfortunately, truer words were never spoken, as you shall see when you learn of the stupendous events to befall this earth in only a few short years when the WRATH of that same great Visitor from space falls upon rebellious mankind!
All the foregoing is why prophecy can never be relegated to a dry study of yesteryear; of "eschatology," as separate from the WAY OF LIFE laid down by the Creator and Savior of all mankind. It is the very outline of His great PLAN being worked out here below; of the PURPOSE for human life in the first place! But prophecies are only UNDERSTOOD by those who, like Daniel, have yielded to the divine will of the great Being in space through broken-hearted repentance! It is only when we truly COMMUNICATE with Him through humble, contrite, self-effacing PRAYER that we establish contact through the spiritual wavelength of His omniscient mind.
There are many analogies set forth in the Bible to help the repentant, yielded ones to understand about the coming new world order; the government of the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Military And Political Analogies
God's Word uses many analogies to portray the truth. An analogy is not the truth in itself, but a representative story which illustrates a truth, even as a shadow is not the substance, but the shadow of the reality, or the substance.
The Bible speaks of the "armor" of each individual who is called; speaks of the enemies from which each person needs protection; speaks of the weapons of the struggle, which is termed "warfare."
Notice, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood [analogy of a wrestling match, requiring great exertion; grappling, struggle], but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
"Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
"Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth [as if cloaked in the word of God], and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
"And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace [so that your "walk" each day is directed toward the WORK of proclaiming the good news of Christ's coming Kingdom to all the world as a witness];
"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints" (Ephesians 6:10-18).
Obviously, each of these pieces of armor are analogies of spiritual "armor" coming from God's Spirit; supplied through prayer, study, meditation, fellowship; communication between one's self and God, and communication with fellow citizens, agents and representatives of the same kingdom.
The bulk of the pieces of armor are defensive in nature. The only offensive weapon is that of TRUTH; the "Word of God," which is described as the "sword of the Spirit."
And that word includes a very LARGE amount of PROPHECY FOR THE FUTURE!
Christ's Return Commonly Misunderstood
Because of FALSE DOCTRINES such as the pagan notion of the "immortality of the soul" and the very popular concept of the "secret rapture," the powerful, earth-shaking events associated with Christ's return at the helm of a vast angelic ARMY are completely misunderstood.
How many times have you seen pictures of a figure in loosely-flowing robes, with a beatific expression on his face, probably bare-footed, with a halo, wreathed in clouds and bright rays of light, seemingly descending from the skies? To millions of deceived, misled people, the second coming of Christ is a vast RELIGIOUS experience! They imagine people weeping with joy; people transported with delight; people making steeples of their hands, kneeling in prayer; people holding up their arms toward heaven in joyful acceptance.
All this is so much religious nonsense — spiritualized fluff and fancy! Ominously, it means that those who hold with such a completely false, nonsensical idea will NOT RECOGNIZE the real Jesus Christ at His coming, and will actually FIGHT against Him with every weapon they can lay their hands on! Most professing Christians would exclaim, "Stuff and nonsense! I would NEVER fight against Christ!" And yet, the very MOST RELIGIOUS are the very ones who, according to the prophecies of your Bible, will do just that!
It will be the ones who believe MIRACLES ARE THE TEST OF TRUTH who will be deceived! They will joyously leap into the arms of Satan's representative on this earth; will be DECEIVED by the Beast and the False Prophet, as you shall soon see.
Christ Is Coming To MAKE WAR!
Christ is not coming to this earth in an ecstatic, emotional, sanctimonious posture to "catch up" His saints in a smarmy, sentimental spiritual experience! Instead, He is coming back to wreak VENGEANCE upon His adversaries — especially those who will have been murdering His true followers!
Notice what prophecy says will happen: "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
"These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
"These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful" (Revelation 17:12-14). The "Beast" of this prophecy is the end-time resurrection of the fourth "Beast" described in Daniel's 7th chapter. Notice the description: "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
"I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
"I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
"A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened" (Daniel 7:7-10). All biblical commentaries and histories agree that the first three beasts describe the first three great world-ruling empires which preceded Rome; Babylon, Persia, and Greco-Macedonia, under Alexander the Great. The fourth beast is describing Rome and its legions, and then describing how another "little" government (the horns symbolize governments) came up from among them, with eyes "like a man" and a mouth, "speaking great things." Thus, we see a prophecy which spans the vast period of time from the rise of the pagan Roman empire to its takeover by the papacy, to the time of the end and the second coming of Christ.
There can be no mistaking the fact that Christ is the "Ancient of days," who comes to "cast down thrones" (subdue and conquer the world, as King of kings and Lord of lords), and who comes in the power and splendor of His throne seen by Ezekiel (See Ezekiel 1 and 10), nor can there be any question about the fact that Christ will JUDGE the world according to the word of God, and the deeds of all mankind.
The fourth Beast of Daniel's 7th chapter is the SAME as the first Beast of Revelation 13. Read the account: "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea [symbol of many peoples; nations], having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy [this government was called "holy"]. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon [Satan and his false church] gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
"And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death [The Roman empire fell in 476]; and his deadly wound was healed [The empire was restored by General Belesarius in 554]: and all the world wondered after the beast.
"And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies [the same "little horn" of Daniel 7; an ecclesiastical government within the ten-nation Beast power]; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
"And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
"And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them [this describes PERSECUTION - MARTYRDOM - not escape to a desert, or being whisked away to heaven before the tribulation!]: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
"If any man have an ear, let him hear.
"He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints" (Revelation 13:1-10).
The patience and faith of the saints is that "vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord!" It is the knowledge that those who persecute and murder Christ-worshiping, Bible-believing, God-fearing people will themselves be put to death in like fashion!
The Beast Will "Hate The Whore"
The ten-nation Beast power, enraged when it sees its own destruction imminently upon it, will turn upon the great fallen woman and destroy her!
The "woman" who rides, or controls the Beast and his ten-nation army boasts that she is the "lady of kingdoms." She is described in Revelation 17 as the "great city which ruleth over the kings of the earth."
There is a very old Irish limerick which seems almost prophetic concerning the relationship between the false church and the Beast.
"There once was a lady from Niger
"Who smiled as she rode on a tiger
"But they returned from the ride
"With the lady inside,
"And the smile on the face of the tiger."
Isaiah prophesied of this boasting "lady of the kingdoms" who bragged that she would be an "eternal" church; that she would never see the loss of her "daughters" who came out of her. Notice! "Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.
"I was wroth with my people [ten-tribed Israel and Judah], I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst show them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.
"And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it.
"Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me [total blasphemy; the very name and title of God!]; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:
"But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments" (Isaiah 47:5-9).
Even though the boasting "lady of the kingdoms" rides the beast; controls it; even though the "little horn" has "eyes like a man" and a "mouth speaking great things" which brings about the most horrible wars in all history, the great fallen woman will not prevail. Instead, the very governments she used to fulfill her evil agenda will turn upon her in fury, and destroy her totally!
This horrible retribution is described in the 17th and 18th chapters of Revelation when, after the Beast power has been conquered, the fallen woman who misled the ten nation Beast will be viciously set upon; tens of thousands will be cruelly put to death! God says, of the ecclesiastical power who rides the Beast, "And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues [it is a supra-national coalition of states; ten nations].
"And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
"For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
"And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth" (Revelation 17:15-18). What great "eternal" city is it which has, for centuries, "reigned over the kings of the earth?" Which city is the city of seven hills? Is it Baghdad? Washington, D.C.? London? Berlin? Tokyo? Teheran? No, none of these are cities where a great religious leader crowned kings, or ruled over many kings and nations at one time, nor are any of these described as "the eternal city."
Physical Flight — Not A Spiritual Rapture
Jesus Christ described a nightmarish time of droughts, famines, disease epidemics, earthquakes, awesome, frightening signs in the heavens and WARS just prior to His return! By no stretch of the imagination did He say there would be an "en masse" spiriting away of His people prior to the tribulation!
Instead, He said, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
"Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
"Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
"Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes [this is something SO IMMEDIATE there is not time to collect personal belongings; take extra clothing, gather food, or survival equipment].
"And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
"But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
"And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened" (Matthew 24:15-22). This is no "secret rapture!" These people are not suddenly "snatched up" through the roofs of their cars, or out of airplanes, or through the roofs of their homes or office buildings. This is a specific WARNING to those "in Judaea," meaning the former Roman province of Judaea/Samaria, encompassing Jerusalem, to FLEE into the mountains nearby. They are to go ON FOOT, or by whatever means available! There is not even 10 minutes' time to gather up personal possessions! They are PRAYING people — SAINTS of God — as Jesus Christ plainly indicated. They are NOT "spirited away" at all, but urged to pray their flight does not take place in snow, sleet, and freezing drizzle; that it NOT take place on God's Sabbath day!
This flight is because they see the great tribulation beginning THEN AND THERE. They are told to walk away; not to turn back. This is plainly a command to go immediately so as to save their lives, and a command to WALK AWAY from danger! It is NOT a "rapture" or a "rapturous" event, but a picture of people who were WATCHING as Christ commanded, so that when the indications are that the Tribulation is about to begin, they INSTANTLY flee for their lives!
Apocalupsis, Ephinea, And Parousia
The three Greek words translated as "arrival," "presence," "revealing,"or "coming," are apocalupsis, epiphanea, and parousia. Those who teach the "rapture," and therefore the FALSE hope of a mass disappearance of the saints prior to the tribulation, seize upon the Greek word parousia and attempt to put meaning and significance into certain verses where the exact opposite is true.
The word parousia, according to Strong's concordance, means: "a being near, i.e., advent (often, return; spec. of Christ to punish Jerusalem, or finally the wicked; (by impl.) Phys. Aspect, coming, presence."
In Christ's famous "Olivet prophecy," He outlined the many globe-girdling, mind-boggling events which will take place just prior to His coming; prior to God's intervention in human affairs. He spoke of "wars and rumors of wars"; of horrible droughts, famines, disease epidemics; of earthquakes and such awesome signs in the heavens that men would drop dead of heart attacks where they stood.
NONE of these events are done surreptitiously; in secret; or as a "snatching away" of the converted members of God's true church! As you just read, Christ said His people who were WATCHING world conditions; who KNEW when the "Abomination of Desolation" was placed, and when "armies surrounded Jerusalem" (John 21:20), they should flee for their lives!
Notice that Christ, in describing His coming invasion of earth at the helm of His angelic forces uses the word parousia, the very word seized upon by advocates of the "secret rapture."
He went on to warn, "And except those days should be shortened [by God's intervention], there should no flesh be saved [alive!]: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
"Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
"For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
"Behold, I have told you before.
"Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
"For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming [Greek: parousia. This is not in the context of a SECRET RAPTURE at all, but an event the WHOLE WORLD will see!] of the Son of man be.
"For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming [parousia] in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
"And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matthew 24:15-31.
His disciples had asked Him, "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming [parousia], and of the end of the world [age]?" (Matthew 24:3).
Christ immediately launched into some grave WARNINGS about false Christs and false prophets who would hoodwink people into believing lies! He said, "Take heed that no man deceive you.
"For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ [saying that Jesus Christ is the Christ, as well as some who would claim THEY are the Christ!]; and shall deceive many.
"And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
"All these are the beginning of sorrows [troubles; trials; tribulation!]" (Matthew 24:4-8). Not one word did Christ say about His disciples watching for some kind of a clandestine "snatching away" or a "secret RAPTURE!" Instead, He described the greatest time of violence; of wars and loss of human life in all history!
It is because millions FALSELY hope in a "secret rapture" that they have the TIME SEQUENCE OF EVENTS all mixed up, and will not believe the second coming of Christ is really occurring! Millions will be firmly convinced they are to be "snatched up" PRIOR to the tribulation! Therefore, many will be deceived, bewildered, confused!
The basic premise of the rapturists is that no "saint" should have to go through the great tribulation! In this most bizarre of all the "escapist" theories, the entire "church" (which many interpret as dozens of bickering, disagreeing, sparring denominations) will be spirited up to heaven, there to look down on the horrors of the tribulation, but already whisked away! Such a doctrine completely denies Christ's own prophecies about the resurrection of the dead!
Christ said, "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
"And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:28, 29).
He inspired Paul to write, "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
"Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed [living Christians will be changed instantly, in the "twinkling of an eye" AT THE LAST TRUMP!].
One might well add, "and not one moment before!" Since it is obvious living Christians are still on this earth ALL DURING THE TRIBULATION, the heavenly signs (when millions more will become Christians; will be suddenly CONVERTED), and the Day of the Lord, it is obvious none have been secretly "raptured" away!
The last trumpet is described in Revelation 10:7; 11:15-19 as well as in Matthew 24:31. Notice Christ's description of this event: "And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matthew 24:31).
One enterprising preacher, whose mind was made up, and deliberately CLOSED to all you have just read, decided to misinterpret this and many other verses which show the absolutely tumultuous, ear-shattering, mind-boggling events surrounding Christ's return in such a way as to completely twist the scriptures out of all reason.
He wrote that ONLY THE ELECT would hear the trumpet — that the trumpet would be on a "secret wave length" which he characterized as "Radio Station BLOOD." This is utterly ludicrous, of course, but some men will resort to any artifice possible to cling to their false THEORIES, instead of believing the word of God exactly as written! The tragic consequences of clinging to the false doctrine of the "rapture" is that when Jesus Christ INVADES THIS EARTH at the helm of His army of millions of angels, many will believe He is the "antichrist" or will assume it is an invasion from some other planet, and will FIGHT Christ at His coming!
Now, carefully take note of the exact sequence of events which utterly DISPROVE the false doctrine of the "rapture."
The "Saints" Are NOT "in heaven"
During The Tribulation
The primary motivation for the various "escape to a place of safety" and "rapture" theories is the desire to avoid the prophesied Great Tribulation. Did Christ promise His people they would always be spared from persecution?
Here are only a FEW of His very strong statements to the contrary: "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
"But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues [churches; places of "worship"];
"And ye shall be brought [under arrest! Not "invited"]before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
"But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
"For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
"And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
"And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved" (Matthew 10:16-22). He was speaking of the horrible persecutions His servants would have to endure, not only in that first century, but at the very time of the end!
Notice further: "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
"Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you" (Matthew 5:10-12). Here, in the famous "Sermon on the Mount," at the end of the well-known "beatitudes," Christ promises persecution will be the lot of those who remain faithful to His truth!
A major part of His "Olivet Prophecy" dealt with persecution and martyrdom: "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
"All these are the beginning of sorrows" [Great Tribulation! — and where are the SAINTS during this time? Not in heaven, but right in the middle of events!]
"Then [WHEN? "Then!" right during the horrible wars, famines, disease epidemics and massive loss of life!] shall they deliver you [WHO? Evil people; the wicked, or the saints?] up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations [obviously, the saints are WORLD FAMOUS by this time; they will be hated of ALL NATIONS!] for my name's sake.
"And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another [to ecclesiastical and governmental authorities, for persecution and martyrdom!], and shall hate one another.
"And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
"And because iniquity [lawlessness!] shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
"But he that shall endure unto the end [the end of his life, or the end of the age, whichever comes first], the same shall be saved" (Matthew 24:7-13). This prophecy is concerning the Great Tribulation, the heavenly signs, and the Day of the Lord.
Notice what Christ said to His disciples during His famous "Last Supper": "These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
"They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service" (John 16:1, 2). It is the RELIGIOUS people who will murder God's servants, just as it was the religious, self-righteous Pharisees and their ilk who instigated the murder of Christ Himself.
Those who preach the false hope of being "snatched away" by a "rapture" believe there will be NONE OF GOD'S SAINTS LEFT on earth during the tribulation! Those who preach the false doctrine of a great escape to the Jordanian desert believe only members of a certain group; nearly always identified as the "Philadelphian era" of the church, will be somehow transported to the Jordanian desert, to Petra, Jordan's most popular tourist site.
Such beliefs are based upon the concept that God would surely not allow His people to undergo the Great Tribulation; that the Tribulation is reserved for lethargic Christians and evil people. Now, look into your own Bible to see the TRUTH about whether or not there are any SAINTS of God alive on this earth, vulnerable to persecution and even martyrdom (just as Jesus Christ SAID they would be) during the Tribulation, and right up until the moment of Christ's return.
The Prophetic Sequence of Events
Now, notice the TIME SEQUENCE of these great earth-shaking events, and notice carefully where the saints are, and what they will be doing!
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken" (Matthew 24:29). These are the great "heavenly signs" described in many other scriptures, among them Revelation 6:12-17, where the heavenly signs are described.
The final events to occur prior to Christ's invasion of earth are: (1) The Great Tribulation; (2) The heavenly signs; (3) The Day of the Lord. The entire period will consume slightly more than three and one half years. The "rapture" theorists assert that the saints will be whisked away to heaven; some believe to a place of safety on earth; in order to keep them safe from all persecution or martyrdom. No such thing will occur, as all the plain statements of Jesus Christ clearly prove. Notice it is IMMEDIATELY AFTER the tribulation when the "heavenly signs" appear.
Now, notice the relationship between the heavenly signs and the ensuing Day of the Lord; the Day of God's wrath: "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
"The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered [repentance and salvation is still available to people on earth!]: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call" (Joel 2:30-32). So it is the heavenly signs, which occur AFTER the tribulation, which CAUSE countless thousands to "call on the name of the Eternal," and to receive deliverance and God's calling to salvation!
Of course! This is EXACTLY what John wrote of the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude: "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held [this metaphorical reference to the dead is reminiscent of the metaphor of slain Abel's blood "crying unto God from the ground" — again, notice they are MARTYRS; saints of God, converted Christians, who were NOT whisked away to heaven, or taken to a Jordanian desert, but murdered for their convictions and practice]:
"And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
"And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were [this does not promise PETRA, nor HEAVEN in a mass mysterious disappearance — but MARTYRDOM!], should be fulfilled.
"And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood [we have already seen that the heavenly signs come immediately AFTER the tribulation; the fifth seal depicts the religious persecution and martyrdom phase of the tribulation];
"And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
"And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
"And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
"And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
"For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? (Revelation 6:9-17). This is hardly the picture in people's minds of a caricature of what they suppose to be "Christ," standing in a flowing, copious white robe, a shepherd's crook in His hand; a halo around His head, descending from the heavens in a "religious" and "rapturous" ceremony! This is a FURIOUS Christ; an ANGRY Christ, coming at the helm of vast angelic armies to MAKE WAR against the defiant, blasphemous, hating, murdering, cursing, bestial human beings who will FIGHT against Him at His coming!
Now, what is the major PURPOSE for God's great display of the "heavenly signs"?
Read it, in your own Bible: "And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
"Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads [This is BEFORE the Day of the Lord; the falling upon mankind of the trumpet plagues; and AFTER the GREAT TRIBULATION. Yet, there are still millions of human beings who will be CONVERTED as a result of the heavenly signs!].
"And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel..After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
"And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
"And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
"Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
"And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
"And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation [They were IN the tribulation, but came THROUGH it; lived through it until this shocking event, which results in their conversion!], and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
"Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
"They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
"For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes" (Revelation 7:2-17).
This huge number of people, including 144,000 from the tribes of Israel, will not repent and cry out to God for forgiveness from their sins UNTIL they go through the GREAT TRIBULATION, and then see the heavenly signs! They will have been DECEIVED earlier; embracing the FALSE DOCTRINES and FALSE HOPES of false teachers! Many will have believed the LYING WONDERS of the Beast and the False Prophet (II Thessalonians 2:3-11), instead of the plain word of God.
Millions are DECEIVED into picturing, in their mind's eye, Christ's coming as a velvety soft, rapturous, joyous event to be received as if in a staid religious ceremony! This is why so many will THINK that His second coming is an INVASION FROM OUTER SPACE by a foreign enemy, either terrestrial or celestial — why they will, ludicrously and futilely, attempt to "shoot down" Jesus Christ as He appears over earth in the clouds!
Notice what the Bible says about the Beast power who will attempt to resist Christ's invasion of earth: "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
"These have one mind [one policy; one plan], and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
"These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful" (Revelation 17:12-14). In only these three verses, you learn a vast amount about what to expect in the very last times prior to Christ's invasion of earth.
You learn there are ten kings; ten sovereign nations, which, allied together, comprise the "Beast" power described in so many prophecies. You learn they have one policy; that they are in complete agreement; that they give the strength of their nations, such as their economic, industrial and military capacity, into a common coalition of states for a short time; that they will FIGHT CHRIST when He returns, and that they will be SMASHED into ignominious defeat!
How utterly LUDICROUS, and how BLASPHEMOUS it will be when MILLIONS of professing "Christians" who have been DECEIVED by the false hope of the "rapture" will actually BELIEVE THE LIES of the false prophet, who will cause the "image of the beast to speak," and think Christ's invasion of earth is, instead, an invasion by some enemy, either terrestrial or celestial (millions believe in "extra-terrestrial" beings), and will actually try to RESIST Christ at His coming!
Notice the graphic description of Christ's coming, and what He will do as His very FIRST ACT after standing on the Mount of Olives: "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war." This is hardly the description of Christ which is in the minds of millions of church-going, professing Christians. Many would shrink in horror from any suggestion that their "Lord" would MAKE WAR! Yet, this is precisely what He will do!
John SAW, in graphic, close-up, technicolor vision, the INVASION of this earth by Christ at the head of His army from space. He said, "His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
"And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God [Read John 1].
"And the armies [countless millions of powerful angels!] which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
"And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword [metaphor for His commands], that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God [Christ is coming in FURY to pour out unrelenting JUSTICE upon evil nations].
"And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
"And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
"That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great [this gruesome "supper" is a carnage field of countless thousands of vain, arrogant, merciless military men, including generals and top-ranked officers! Christ will KILL them in His blazing fury; their bodies will lie unburied, to become fodder for carrion eaters!].
"And I saw the beast [the dictator who will rule over ten kings and who will invade Palestine at the behest of the great "False Prophet"], and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
"And the beast was taken [arrested! seized!], and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
"And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh" (Revelation 19:11-21).
This shocking prophecy plainly says Christ will personally execute the Beast and the False Prophet by casting them into GEHENNA FIRE, which will be ignited at His second coming!
Christ is coming at the helm of armies of millions of powerful ANGELS. There are no "raptured saints" with Him until He arrives close to this earth; close enough to be down into the atmosphere where the clouds form! Instead, the saints will be caught up to meet the conquering Christ as He returns, at the same moment that the DEAD are raised from their graves!
Read the plain truth of this from your own Bible: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first [This is an expression which means CHRISTIANS; converted, praying, studying, overcoming Christians who have died! They are NOT "up in heaven" at all, but soundly ASLEEP in their graves!] :
"Then [When? THEN! At the LAST TRUMP, which comes at the very end of the Day of the Lord, and not a moment before!] we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (I Thessalonians 4:16, 17). The air is a part of this earth; the "atmosphere" which is material, physical; the mantle of life-giving gases which cloak the earth, protecting it from meteorites; the air in which clouds form. He is coming "with CLOUDS" and "every eye shall see Him." The clouds are generally from the surface up to about 40,000 feet, and sometimes higher.
As an analogy, the lacquer finish on a desk-sized globe is thicker than the actual mantle of air which surrounds our earth. Christ is coming all the way back to this earth! He is NOT going to "snatch up" His saints and take them to heaven! They will MEET Him AS HE RETURNS HERE!
Nortice further: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken [Never forget the sequence of events: (1) Tribulation, (2) Heavenly signs, (3) Day of the Lord],
"And then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
"And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matthew 24:29-31).
Again, notice that the angelic hosts GATHER Christ's elect, both the dead in Christ, who are instantaneously resurrected to SPIRIT LIFE, and living saints who will be INSTANTLY CHANGED to Spirit life, and bring them up to meet the returning, conquering Christ. Paul wrote of this exact same stupendous event: "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
"Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep [a term used many, many times in the Bible for the state of the dead] , but we shall all be changed,
"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump [WHEN? AT THE LAST TRUMP, which is the SEVENTH trumpet of which you just read, in Christ's Olivet prophecy; the trumpet blast which signals the last of the seven last plagues, and the second coming of Christ]: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (I Corinthians 15:50-52).
Notice how often the term "sleep" is used to describe the condition of the dead. Paul, describing Christ's resurrection, said, "After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep" (I Corinthians 15:6); "And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
"Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished" (I Corinthians 15:17, 18); "For he that eateth and drinketh un-worthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep" (I Corinthians 11:29, 30).
As Christ's invading army nears the earth, a vast host of MILLIONS will rise from the earth! Tombs will open; the dead will rise from the sea; from nations all over the earth! Instantly, those who are converted, praying, overcoming Christians will be CHANGED! In a flash, their mortal, physical bodies will be changed into SPIRIT BODIES!
Paul wrote of this astonishing event: "All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
"There are also celestial bodies [gigantic stars; super nova, some so large that, if they were moved into the position of our sun, they would absorb the entire solar system!] , and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
"There is one glory [brilliance; magnificence; splendor] of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
"So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
"It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
"It is sown a natural body [mere human flesh]; it is raised a spiritual [spirit essence!] body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body" (I Corinthians 15:39-44).
Of course! Jesus Christ plainly explained this wondrous phenomenon to Nicodemus, a highly-placed member of the Sanhedrin. He told him, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
"Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" There is not the shadow of a doubt that Nicodemus knew Christ used a word for "born" which implied actual BIRTH, much as would be used in the birth of a child, or a litter of kittens! Nicodemus was not being bawdy, or impolite. He was astonished by Jesus' statement. He knew nothing of the spiritual rebirth; being CHANGED into actual SPIRIT!
"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water [both a symbol of baptism, and the "washing of water by the word"] and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
"Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: SO IS every one that is born of the Spirit" (John 3:3-8).
Those who twist this scripture to imply Christ was speaking of a "pentecostal" experience, or speaking of "receiving Christ" in an ecstatic moment of conversion are utterly ignorant of the plain meaning of scripture! The wind is INVISIBLE! It MOVES. It has POWER. It is LIFE GIVING! Christ used the wind as an analogy so Nicodemus would understand He was speaking of a complete CHANGE from flesh to spirit; from mortal to immortal; from human to divine! This is EXACTLY what Paul wrote in his famous "resurrection chapter" of 1 Corinthians 15.
Now, review what you have learned. Following the Tribulation and the Heavenly Signs, Christ will pour out the vast, awesome TRUMPET PLAGUES of Revelation 8, 9, and 10; and then the horrifying LAST GREAT PLAGUES of Revelation 16! Like the sun shining seven times brighter, He will appear in the heavens at the head of countless millions of powerful angels! A great trumpet blast will split the skies like a piercing, deafening sound! (Matthew 24:31).
The second coming of Christ will probably consume one whole DAY. He is coming as "the sun shineth in his strength," and the ENTIRE WORLD will see Him, which means His coming will take place during one full rotation of the earth on its axis.
The Beast and his armies will believe He is either an extra-terrestrial ENEMY, or think He and his army represent some super-weapon of space-launched vehicles from some other earthly enemy. They will launch their missiles, point lasers, cannon, guns of all kinds to the heavens, and attempt to FIGHT CHRIST and His armies (Revelation 17:12-14).
But Christ, by His awesome, limitless, divine POWER, will speak a command, and these vast armies will suddenly be CONSUMED as they stand! Their hair and clothing will burn off in an instant! Their eyes will disappear in their sockets! Their flesh will melt from their bodies, and they will fall to the ground in a pile of nothing but bones! God says, "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south...And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth" (Zechariah 14:4-14).
No "collateral damage" here. No missed targets. Instead, the most awesome, instantaneous, effective killing power ever imagined!
Millions of professing, church-going nominal Christians, deceived by those who "speak smooth things," cannot IMAGINE Jesus Christ of Nazareth meting out the DEATH PENALTY to human armies who would dare to resist Him. Millions will be SHOCKED, astonished, when they learn that Christ is coming back to this earth in blazing FURY; in the WRATH of God, to exact vengeance upon His enemies!
The three and one-half years prior to Christ's return will consist of the Great Tribulation, the Heavenly Signs, and the Day of the Lord. The greatest loss of human life in all history will occur. Just as Christ predicted, it will be a time of "wars and rumors of wars," of droughts and famines, of massive disease epidemics. Then, as a result of the MARTYRDOM of thousands of His saints, Christ will come back to this earth in divine fury and wrath.
The Saints Are On Earth, Not Up In Heaven
It will be the "Beast" and the "false prophet" who will "make war with the saints, and overcome them." While Christ promised that SOME of His faithful followers will be spared; that "not an hair of your head shall perish," He also said that others, selected for their great spiritual strength and courage, would be killed for their testimony.
He said the time would come when those who murdered Christ's servants would "think they do God a service." Just as the GREATEST of God's servants were martyred; Peter, Paul, James, Steven; Christ Himself; SO will the greatest of all prophets, the last TWO WITNESSES be martyred! By the time of the ministry of these two prophets, all organized preaching of the gospel will have been shut down! There will be such horrible conditions, even among the free nations, that utilizing radio, television, and the printing press; maintaining a mailing list, sending out literature, conducting church meetings or evangelistic campaigns, will become impossible, probably punishable by DEATH to those who are caught attempting such things.
The two witnesses are two human beings who have not yet appeared on the world scene. Their ministry begins when the WORK of God, being accomplished by converted, dedicated members of God's Church, is put down and out!
Notice it: "And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth." This period of three and one-half years is the SAME period as the duration of the "treading down of Jerusalem" by the Gentiles; the SAME three and one half years of ten-tribed Israel's captivity during the tribulation; the SAME three and one half years of the persecution of the true church.
"These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
"And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed [therefore, these two great prophets, just as Elijah, who slew the groups of fifty soldiers and their captains with fire, will have the power to mete out God's judgements against armed men who would seek to kill them].
"These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
"And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
"And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
"And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves [this will only be possible via satellite television and the "Internet," instant, global pictures and communication].
"And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
"And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
"And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them" [this is a special resurrection just prior to the arrival of Christ. They ascend up into the clouds, where they can be SEEN, not to the "third heaven" of God's throne].
"And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven [the earthquake is no doubt the same one which will occur just before Christ's return, mentioned in Zechariah 14].
Those who cling to the FALSE HOPE of the "rapture" seem to think that no righteous person will be called upon to be a martyr for Christ; that none of the "saints" shall suffer any persecution during the great tribulation. This is totally false.
Notice the proof from Christ's revelation to John about the Beast and the false prophet; how they will viciously persecute God's true church: "And they worshipped the dragon [symbol for Satan] which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? [this is STATE worship; worship of military power]
"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies [the "mouthpiece" of the Beast is the "little horn" of Daniel 7; the false prophet]; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months [the same three and one-half years of the two witnesses' prophecies].
"And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
"And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations" (Revelation 13:4-7). The saints are NOT "up in heaven" as the result of a "rapture." They are not in a cave in the Jordanian desert. They are on earth, accessible to the Beast and the false prophet and their military forces. Notice Daniel's prophecy of the same thing: "And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things [the false prophet; the "mouthpiece" of the Beast], whose look was more stout than his fellows.
"I beheld, and the same horn [the "little horn" that had eyes like a man, and a mouth. The false prophet, at the head of a great false church] made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
"Until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom" (Daniel 7:20-22). The time setting of this prophecy, just as in John's vision in Revelation, is just prior to the second coming of Christ! Jesus Christ Himself said the saints would be horribly PERSECUTED, even MARTYRED because of their work of preaching the good news of His coming kingdom! He warned, "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
"All these are the beginning of sorrows [tribulation].
"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
"And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
"And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
"And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
"But he that shall endure unto the end [the end of his life, or the end of the age], the same shall be saved.
"And this gospel [good news!]of the kingdom [the coming super world-ruling GOVERNMENT OF GOD] shall be preached in all the world for a witness [it is a witness AGAINST them] unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Matthew 24:7-14).
Christ's prophecies are SURE! The good news of His coming government WILL be preached to ALL THE WORLD before He launches His multi-million member angelic army toward earth.
While millions have heard the NAME of Christ; have heard a message ABOUT Him; about His person; most have not heard the powerful, dynamic message He BROUGHT to deliver to His chosen servants! Instead of the PLAIN TRUTH you have read above, most have heard a sentimental message about Christ; about His death, burial, and resurrection, but have not understood the fact that He will soon stand on this earth to RULE it with a rod of iron!
The average church-going, professing Christian would never think Christ would personally carry out the DEATH penalty upon sinning, warring, murdering men!
One of the major reasons Christ will administer the death penalty is because the ones He will put to death have themselves murdered many of His saints.
Luke's account of this same Olivet prophecy says, "For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
"And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.
"And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.
"But there shall not an hair of your head perish" (Luke 21:15-18).
The nations of the earth do not hate that which they do not know. To be hated of "all nations" and by "all men" the people of God will have to be KNOWN because of the GREAT WORK of witness and warning they will be accomplishing!
Christ's Special Agents
Jesus Christ called His disciples to be His emissaries. They were to be His eye witnesses; His "ambassadors" to the world, to deliver the great, all-encompassing MESSAGE He had delivered to them; that He is coming back to RULE this world with a rod of iron for 1,000 years.
He delivered to them His GREAT COMMISSION. He said, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:
"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen" (Matthew 28:18-20).
Christ had prophesied, "And this gospel [good news] of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Matthew 24:14).
In one of His "kingdom parables," Christ likened the Kingdom of God to leavening. He said, "Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened" (Matthew 13:33).
Leavening, such as yeast, baking soda, or baking powder, is an AGENT. It brings about a dramatic CHANGE in the dough into which it is introduced. An agent is that which CAUSES something which produces an EFFECT. A dictionary definition is: "A person or company having the authority to act for another...any power or cause which produces an effect by its action; representative, deputy, intermediary."
As a disciple was a "student," so an "apostle" was "ONE SENT." When Christ SENT His apostles to proclaim the vast, awesome, great good news of His coming kingdom, He told them he was establishing them as the foundation of His "group of called-out ones," or His "assembly" of individuals in whom God would place His spirit.
The Holy Spirit would then EMPOWER them to act as His AGENTS on this earth; His representatives; His deputies; His ambassadors!
Their calling is set forth again and again in the Holy communication from the Divine Beings in heaven we call the "Holy Bible" which merely means "Holy books, or scrolls" when translated from the Greek.
Just as the prophecies delivered to Daniel during his lengthy encounter with his visitor from space, whose name is Gabriel, came to pass exactly as stated, so will the prophecies of all the prophets come to pass exactly as stated.
Amos said, "Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). What you have read is REAL. It is SURE. It WILL HAPPEN exactly as Christ said, exactly in the sequence of events He predicted! This blood-soaked, disease-ridden, crime-filled, war-torn world will finally be CONQUERED by the King of kings, who will soon INVADE THIS EARTH FROM SPACE!
Woe, woe, woe to those who refuse to RECOGNIZE Him when He comes, and who assay to FIGHT against Him and His armies. But great JOY, BLESSINGS, and ETERNAL LIFE to all those who not only BELIEVE His good news message, but who are actively working as His special agents to proclaim that good news to all the world!
-End-
PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE
WITHOUT MAKING ANY CHANGES and WITHOUT CHARGE TO ANYONE
This publication is intended to be used as a personal study tool. Please know it is not wise to take any man's word for anything, including ours, so prove all things for yourself from the pages of your own Bible. Because your salvation is between you and God, it is through such personal verification that you will gain confidence and come to know for yourself what is truth.
For additional related knowledge and understanding,
may we suggest the following title:
Can You Understand Bible Prophecy?
The Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association
P.O. Box 747
Flint, TX 75762
Phone: (903) 561-7070 • Fax: (903) 561-4141
E-Mail: info@gtaea.org
More FREE literature is available at our Internet Web Site:
http://www.gtaea.org
The activities of the Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic
Association are paid for by tithes, offerings and donations
freely given by Christians and co-workers who are dedicated to preaching the gospel
according to Jesus Christ.