Is God Judging us now?

I hear people ask or wonder if God is judging their country, the world or their city, etc. They generally site things like the transgender garbage or abortions or both or other things like them. The thing is that God began judging most of the civilized countries a while ago and no one seemed to notice it. Well, we noticed it, we just didn't realize it was a judgement. I'm speaking of how there seems to be little true discernment in the Church; like it disappeared some time ago. This is in fulfillment of scripture. It's easy to know why there's no true discernment, which is why the people are swallowing false teaching and even outright heresy whole. It's because they no longer read and study their Bibles daily as the Lord commands us to do. He even tells us that is the only way we can get discernment. But because of the lack of discernment and all the false teaching and heresy that's now in the church and every part of our lives the Church is going through what's usually called "the great falling away" (1 Timothy 4:1). That is a judgement of God on His children who haven't obeyed Him. Remember, 1 Peter 4:17 tells us that judgement always starts with God's family. The great falling away is actually preparing the way for the Antichrist.

Then, on top of the great falling away, as though that wasn't enough, we have the fact that sin has gone rampant all over the world. By this I mean all sin, but we see it especially in sexual sins which is another indication that the end is near. This is because God first allows those who have rejected Him and His Word to have a sexual revolution. He simply stops restraining sin and that causes the sexual revolution. We saw that as far back as the 60's, but people didn't turn back to the Lord. Then the Lord lifts his restraint even more and allows the sins of homosexuality and transgender etc to increase, a homosexual revolution if you will, as judgements on those who refuse to accept His gift of salvation. (see Romans 1:18-32)  Still in Romans 1, when people still don't return to Him, He gives unbelievers over to a reprobate or depraved mind. This is a mind that's marked by corruption and evil; it's perverted. When we take even a quick look around today, it's very easy to see that this mind is what is at work in unbelievers today, including those unbelievers that are pretending to be Christians. 

So all of these particular sins are happening today as a judgement of God - again, preparing for the Antichrist. Romans 1:24-28 is especially relevant here. Finally, God tells us what else will happen because He's given them over to these sexual perversions, and here we see all the other sins that we're seeing in abundance today: “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.” (Romans 1:29–31) Another good list of what people are like today can be found in 2 Timothy 3:1–5.

In conclusion we can see that the falling away is God's judgement on the Church, and the sexual sins and perversions etc are His judgement on the unbelievers. Both of which are preparing the way for the Antichrist. That does not mean the Tribulation has begun - it hasn't. This is preparing for it to begin though. Just as all the so called "natural disasters" are also preparing for the antichrist and are like mini previews of what will happen during the Tribulation. They are therefore warning His children that play time is over and they need to get really serious about their faith, as well as judging those who don't believe. The problem is that in most judgements, including these, true believers also get hurt because of them.  Believers can be hurt by these judgements because unsaved family members will have the depraved mind, so there is more division in families; Christians will also face more persecutions. But we are safe from the depraved mind, because we have the mind of Christ.  The difference between a believer and unbeliever being hurt by a judgment is that the judgment that harms a believer will be used for His good by the Lord to make him more like Christ; so it has a purpose. 

While being made more like Christ is always the best thing that can happen to us - to be made more like Christ -, now it's especially important that we become more like Him. So now is the time to put our noses into His Word every spare moment we have, as well as dedicating a good amount of time to reading His Word every day. For it is through reading and applying His Word to our lives that God changes us, transforming us to be more like Christ, and renewing our minds so we can have the mind of Christ. There's not much time left before the rapture will occur, (it could be today!) so I'd suggest getting rid of anything in your life that interferes with spending time with the Lord and in His Word. 

Will the Rapture Be Invisible?

 

In all the fiction books, shows and movies, the rapture is presented as all of the believers being invisible when they are snatched up to be with the Lord. Most of us simply accept that without question, but I tend to question everything and wanted to know what the bible actually says about this. I think you might be surprised at what I discovered.

The only thing the bible says directly about the rapture is that we will be changed and that it will happen in "the twinkling of an eye". After that, in 1 Cor 15:51-52, we're simply told the dead will be raised with their new bodies and then our bodies will be changed. Nothing at all about it being invisible to other people. In one way it will be invisible, simply because it will happen so fast that anyone watching a believer at the time wouldn't actually "see" anything change. One second they'd be like they always had been and the next, they'd have imperishable bodies like our Lord had. So if the Bible doesn't actually say, how else can we find out without looking beyond it? We need to look at other examples of when something similar happened.

We know that Enoch was the first one to be taken to heaven without dying, but that's all the bible says about him so it's no help. The next one was Elijah and that tells us quite a bit. His story is in 2 Kings 2:11–18. First a Chariot and horses or fire appeared and forced Elisha away from Elijah as they were walking together. Then a whirlwind appeared and Elijah was taken up to heaven in it, in the full view of Elisha! He saw it all.

There's also an example in Revelation when the 2 prophets are brought back to life and taken up to heaven in Rev 11:12-13. First they heard the loud voice saying "come up here" and they then went up to heaven in a cloud. The verse states quite matter of factly that this happened while all the people were watching them. Immediately after this happened there was a bad earthquake. I mention this because we're going to see that there are often earthquakes or some other "natural" phenomenon surrounding events like this. Just as in Elijah's case when we saw the whirlwind.

Finally, we can look at some things that happened when Jesus was here before. First we have His transformation. This was seen by the 3 apostles. They saw Jesus, Moses and Elijah together. That story is in Matthew 17:1-5. So again, He was seen by them, although He told them not to tell anyone until after He'd risen from the dead. the disciples also heard the voice of the Father at that time, telling them that Jesus was His Son and He was very pleased with Him, and that they should listen to Him. This was something they'd remember the rest of their lives and Peter even talked about it in 2 Peter 1:16-17 as I'm quite sure the others did as well.

We also have all the stories of Jesus raising people from the dead. One moment their bodies were quite dead, and the next, they were quite alive. Even Lazarus whose body had already begun to decompose, was seen quite alive once the Lord called him back to life.

Finally, we have the reports of when our Lord died, when He was resurrected and when He ascended to Heaven. It's not spoken about much, but in Matthew 27:51-53 we're told that after the curtain in the temple was torn, there was an earthquake. Tombs broke open and were told many people who were considered to be holy people that had died, were resurrected at the time of our Lord's death. We're not told where they went or what they did for the next couple of days, but when our Lord was resurrected they were seen in Jerusalem by many people. That's always amazed me! It must have really blown people's minds back then and it's really surprising to me that there's not more about it in the Bible. But then again, I'm quite sure that it was something that was so well known and spoken about constantly that they probably figured there was no reason to write more about it.

Next, when our Lord was raised from the dead there was another earthquake. An angel or two appeared and scared the guards half to death. This was when the women had gone to the tomb to anoint His body, and the angels told her that He was alive and they'd see Him soon. (Matthew 28:2-7) We know the Lord was seen by many people during the next 40 days as we're told any number of times that "God caused Him to be seen", such as in Acts 10:40.

Finally, when the Lord ascended to Heaven, He didn't do this in secret. He'd been talking to a large crowd in fact. He gave them his last command and began to lift up into the air right in front of their eyes! We're told about this in Acts 1:9–11, Mark 16:19,and Luke 24:51.

Everything I've spoken about here wasn't done in secret, no one was invisible. Other people, believers and unbelievers alike saw these things. There are many other incidents in the OT where the Lord revealed Himself to people. Sometimes to one or two, and sometimes to large crowds. There was always something like an earthquake or clouds, strong wind, or fire happening whenever this would happen. But He certainly wasn't invisible and neither were they. He always had a reason whenever something supernatural like this would take place. Sometimes it was to reward someone, or teach them so they could teach others, or sometimes it was to warn them. Other times, such as when Jesus was here, it was to confirm that Jesus was in fact His Son and had the authority to do what He said He would. And sometimes it was a mixture of those reasons.

We're told in Acts 17:31 that the resurrection is proof that Jesus is who He said He is and that there will come a day when He will judge the world. This is one reason why the resurrection and ascension were visible. God was letting everyone for all time know that He was serious and that Jesus would be the one judging every man, woman and child one day. While we aren't privy to seeing a lot of supernatural miracles of that kind in our time, the time is coming when once again the supernatural will happen even more frequently then it ever has before. That time is during the Tribulation. I'm not talking just about the judgments, but about the angels that will interact with humans during that time and other supernatural events like that, which will be almost common place then. There will not be a human being alive at that time who won't know for sure that God exists and is watching and able to do all that He says. That's why taking the Mark is unforgivable. When they take that mark, they will knowingly be choosing to worship the antichrist instead of God, and that's what makes it unforgivable. It sounds dire to us, but really it's not much different then happens every day. Each time a person refuses to accept the offer of salvation after hearing about it, they harden their hearts, until eventually their hearts are so hard that they couldn't change their minds if they wanted to. It's the same thing that will happen then. The only difference is that there will be a visible mark to prove it.

The day of judgment is something the Lord has warned about since the beginning and is obviously very important. Those who are saved have nothing to worry about because our sins have already been judged at the cross. Jesus paid the price for us. But it's something God wants everyone to be aware of, that one day, they will be judged. What better way to get that across to the generation that will go through the tribulation then the rapture? I believe that the rapture will be quite visible to everyone. I don't think they'll be able to see Jesus because He will be high in the air waiting for us. With the eyesight we'll have with our new bodies, we will be able to see Him as we rise up to meet Him there. I think it's quite possible that everyone on earth will hear Him call us to come up to Him, just as they'll hear Him again when He calls the prophets up to Him. He warned about this in the old testament and when He was here the first time. There's no reason for Him to keep this a secret from the rest of the world.

We also have a little know scripture in Luke that refers to the rapture. It's Luke 21:17–22.“All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life. “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written.” (Luke 21:17–22) Here Jesus was warning them of what would happen shortly when Jerusalem would fall to the Roman's. After He rose to Heaven, we know He sent prophets and they also warned the Christians before Rome fell reminding them of what the Lord had said, and told them to flee to Pella. Because of that, all but a few Christians who were willing to stay and give up their lives in order to try and reach a few last souls for the Kingdom, were saved. They all had fled to Pella as the Lord had told them too, so only the unbelievers were left in the city when it fell. Why is this important to us? Because this passage is also showing what will happen at the rapture, when the believers will be spared God's wrath. Like most prophecies, this one too has more then one fulfillment. It was fulfilled back then and will be again at the rapture of the Church. “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”(1 Thessalonians 5:9) The Christians back then did not become invisible. They simply left the region. We too will simply leave. The difference will be our route since we will be going straight up into Heaven. Seem impossible? Ask Elijah, as he did this too as did Enoch and as will the two prophets. Like them, I believe we will rise up into the air in full view of all the people on earth.

If it's totally visible as I think it will be, how would that affect the lies that most others will believe? It won't affect it at all, in fact, it would make the lies more believable! Think about it. Seeing this happen would make people believe the new age lies, or the UFO theories etc even more believable to the unsaved! It would be right up their alley! BUT, it would also give those people that we've witnessed to and told about the rapture, and even better chance of believing the Truth and being saved, then having it be invisible would. Speaking of that, I do not for one second believe that people with jewelry, or false teeth or other things like that are going to leave those things behind on this earth the way the books and movies show it. I've always thought that was pretty sick and gory. For instance I had a pump implanted in my abdomen and a according to the movies, my friends would find a nasty bloody pump along with my dentures and my wedding ring, wherever I'd last been before the rapture. That's movies my friends, that's not the Bible! God doesn't need to remove things in order to change our bodies. As I said, the change will happen so quickly that no one will actually see that happen. But I'm positive nothing that's not original to our bodies will be left behind us. Those things will simply cease to be. They will have been changed right along with our natural bodies.

Let me share one last argument with you. We're told: “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.” (Romans 8:19) This doesn't say that creation is waiting for us to be changed and hidden away until the 2nd coming. It says it can't wait until we're revealed! When something is revealed, it's seen, it's not invisible or something to be guessed at or wondered about. Peter says in 1 Peter 5:1, that we will share in the glory to be revealed, so again we're told it's something that will be revealed, not hidden. This will also be true at the second coming, but there's no reason it's not true at the rapture as well. I'll leave you all now with the scripture we all know so well and look forward to, which I hope that we can all see with excitement and new eyes: “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17)

Persecution and growth or the Rapture?

 

I often hear that persecution is coming to true believers and I'm sure that's quite true, but there's one problem with that. Generally when the Church is persecuted it causes the church to grow tremendously. But God says that this time is the time of the great falling away, so there won't be any huge numbers added to the church in our time. To me that says that the rapture most likely will happen before the persecution gets bad enough to cause the church to grow.  Of course God can cause anything to happen, but I'm hoping this is true!

Why God doesn't want us to know when the rapture will be

We hear all kinds of stuff about when the rapture is or might be; whether or not we're supposed to know and if so how much we're supposed to know etc. It's pretty clear to me though that God doesn't want us to know exactly when He's going to call the Church home. Tonight I was considering the reasons why He doesn't want us to know exactly when it will happen.

First I was thinking about when He first left. Remember the scene? He was standing on the Mount of Olives and talking to His followers. It's covered in several different places so we have a couple of different views, but here are two different things that He said to them just before He left:

Matthew 28:19–20 (NIV) — Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Acts 1:6–11 (NIV) — So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Can you imagine what was going on in their minds at that time? We know from the Gospels that the disciples assumed that Jesus would be starting His Kingdom very soon. As of this time, they had no idea that another whole age would pass before that would happen. I've tried to put myself in their shoes and can only imagine what they must have been feeling then. Here they've walked with the Lord for 3 years learning from Him; and what they learned in 3 years takes many of us a lifetime! Then He dies and they're crushed, but then He rises from the dead and they're thrilled! He again walks with them for another 40 days, though not constantly apparently....popping in to teach them or encourage them when they needed it, and finally toward the end (though they don't know it) He tells them to meet Him on the Mount of Olives. So they all gather there...none knowing what He's going to do or say this time. I'm sure that at least some of them thought THIS would be the momentous day that the Lord would begin His Kingdom and they were probably more excited then we can imagine thinking of it. When He didn't, and the meeting seemed to be winding to a close, they couldn't stand it anymore and asked Him about it.

Instead of telling them when it will happen, He tells them basically that it's none of their business and that they should instead concentrate of the job He's given them. He also gives them a tiny hint, that He will be with them always, even to the end of the Age. I bet they all thought about every word He said, many times over the years, trying to figure out when He'd return and when the Kingdom would start. I know I would have been! And then He was gone again, only this time to Heaven! What a roller coaster their emotions were on for those last couple of months!

Bek has read the books in the Mark of the Lion trilogy that starts with A Voice in The Wind so I know she's aware of how the early Christians, including the apostles, thought that the Lord would return for them literally any time, any day. One of the many things I liked about those books was that they showed what it would look like if Christians lived as though they really thought He might return at any moment. That was very revealing and convicting! Remember, these people had seen Jesus die, come back to life and then pop in and out of their lives at the drop of a hat, through locked doors even, for the next 40 days, so it wasn't a stretch at all for them to think He'd return yet again for them at any moment. As Bek can attest, I'm quite sure that the Christians of that time, lived quite differently then we do, and one of the big reasons they did was because they thought He'd be coming back at any moment.

I remember at first when reading that book and realizing the ramifications of it all, I felt like it was kind of mean of Jesus to lead them on that way and not let them know that it wouldn't be in their life time. But the more I read of the book, and of course the more I read His Word at the same time, I realized that instead of being mean, He was actually being loving.

It reminds me of when I was a child and would do something wrong... I'd immediately look around quickly to see if my Mom or especially if my Dad was around cause if they were, I knew I was really gonna get it, and I'd immediately apologize; and when I knew they were home and could walk in my room at any moment, I was careful not to do do or say anything that they'd disapprove of. If another child started to do something we weren't supposed to, I'd quickly tell them not to because my Mom or Dad would catch us. I guess because I was obviously so sure that we'd be caught, they'd believe me and stop.

This is how the early Christians lived. They didn't "believe" He was coming back soon. They KNEW He was coming back soon! That complete and total assurance they had that He would be back any time, colored everything they said and did. They figured that they might have days at most to clean up their lives and live the way He told them too and to learn all they needed to learn, so they didn't put anything off. When they sinned, they dealt with it. When someone told them they'd sinned, they blessed that person and rejoiced because now they could confess it and repent of it before the Lord returned! When they were tempted to sin, within seconds they'd remember that He'd be returning any moment and what if they were sinning when He did??? They were horrified at that thought so temptation didn't have the pull it does on those who don't know He could be here at any moment. When they were horribly persecuted, and when they went through severe trials, they could sincerely rejoice because they KNEW it wouldn't be long and Jesus would return and everything they went through till then would be repaid to them 100 times over when He did! So they knew exactly what Paul and Peter meant when they said to "Rejoice in the Lord always" Philippians 4:4 and that they should "rejoice even though "for now" they're going through trials and suffering".

1 Peter 1:6–9 (NIV) — In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Everything they did and said was colored by their knowledge that their Lord would be returning shortly and that got them through the good times and the horrible times of being martyred even. It helped them overcome temptation, it increased their faith and helped them be obedient to the Lord's commands. It helped them to discipline themselves for godliness because they knew that time was short and it helped them tell others, warn others, because again, they knew there wasn't much time. So the Lord wasn't mean to let them think that, He was being kind and loving and because they thought that, they lived their lives in such a way that their lives were testimonies to Him and a guide for us as to how we should live. (1 Corinthians 11:1; Philippians 3:17;)

I honestly believe that this is the main reason the Lord doesn't want us to know exactly when the rapture will happen. I don't think He's pleased when we try and figure it out and say things like "it can't happen for another 20 years" or whatever. When someone really believes that, they're not going to live as though it could happen today and that's the problem. He wants us to KNOW that it will happen, to see the signs and KNOW it will happen SOON, and so live our lives in such a way that reflects that knowledge. Interestingly, in many ways the Church has come full circle and we are now back in very much the same situation that the early Christians were in, and this is yet another way we've come full circle. I know that I constantly feel the pressure of knowing that the Lord will return soon and that it could be any moment, and I'm quite sure that at least some others do as well. That's why I'm always begging people to study their bibles, to admit their sins, to reconcile, to love, to help others, etc, because there really isn't much time left. I honestly don't just believe that. I feel that deep in my soul and Know that with my entire being. It's like I can hear that clock ticking and I'm just waiting to hear His call.

I heard a song the other day that said exactly what I feel. It said the signs were happening all around us all the time but that they weren't looking for signs anymore; instead, because they knew the Lord would be returning soon, they were listening for His call. That's what I'm doing too. There really isn't much time left and I desperately want everyone I know, and myself too, to not just be ready, but to be at their best when He returns! Honestly, everything I say is colored by that, so if you ever wonder why I've posted something, that's the reason.

Heavenly Father, I pray that the truth & power of the scriptures will be revealed in each of our lives, & that Your Word will penetrate deeply into each of our lives, making us each ready & fit for the coming of our Lord Jesus. I pray that we will be continually controlled by the life-transforming knowledge of Your will, which the Holy Spirit imparts as we prayerfully study and reflect on Your Word. I pray also that the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened in order that we may know the hope to which You have called us and live lives worthy of Your calling. In the Name of our great Savior, Jesus, I pray. Amen



 
(originally written a couple of years ago) 

Coming Full Circle

I've been studying in Revelation again recently, specifically the letters to the churches. As I studied today I was struck yet again at how we as believers, the Church--the body of Christ and the world in general have come full circle since it started. Of course it makes sense that would happen at the end of an age, and I see this as yet another sure sign that the rapture is indeed very close. I've only studied about the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, and Thyatira so far today but even that is more then enough to show how much like them we've become today.

There's a lot about false teachers from within the church itself leading the people astray, and as we know that is certainly very true today! What's more amazing is that the things these false teachers taught is the same that's being taught today; it just has a different name now.

Today pastors preach for monetary gain because they're greedy and con people out of their hard earned money. They teach that God wants you to be wealthy and of course the first thing you have to do to be wealthy is give them your money. If this wasn't done under the guise of religion, they'd be locked up instantly as con artists and no one would believe them! God says they're just like Balaam and makes it clear that they will be judged as will their followers.

Today they teach people that immorality is perfectly ok, that you're still saved even though you practice it regularly and that there's no need to repent of it. Makes me think of the many threads in the Today's Teacher's forum about today's pastors doing sermons and writing books about sex and having disgusting public displays to promote it. It reminds me of the homosexual pastors teaching that homosexuality is perfectly normal and ok.

Balaam also got the Israelites to start eating food sacrificed to idols by getting them to marry aliens and accept their customs. When the Jews did that, they became tolerant of sin and began doing it themselves, because "it wasn't a big deal after all". So it is today as well. I don't know how many pastors we've posted about that claim we're to be tolerant of evil and sin and that it's even ok to do it ourselves at least to a certain extent, after all, just like the Jew's thought before God killed 24,000 of them because of it, they were just being "good neighbors" and that's what the false teachers tell us today.

The false teachers told them it was perfectly ok to light incense, affirming your loyalty to Caesar, after all, we're supposed to obey the government and we really don't worship Caesar, we worship God; it's not an actual lie because we're not actually saying that we think Caesar is a god...and God wouldn't want us to lose our jobs and not be able to work anywhere and go hungry would He? What purpose would that serve? God wants us to be able to worship Him and give money for the poor but we can't do that if we're the poor ones...and that's assuming they don't kill us for not doing it! Sound familiar to you? It sure does to me! I can't even begin to count how much as been posted here about pastors who teach that today.

In Thyatira, the Lord commends those who have not fallen for the false teachers and tells us something important about those teachers too. He says they teach the "so called" deep secrets of Satan. To me that says these teachers hooked people into what they taught by telling them that they would learn the "deep secrets about God" which is what the Gnostics taught then and still teach today. On the other hand, God tells us that everything we need to know is in His Word and that if we're obedient He will reveal His secrets to us. We don't need to go anywhere else, join any organization or listen to any teacher to learn them. The Lord tells us Himself, quite freely in His Word if we will but study it with Him.

Another similarity hit me hard too and that's was about Pergamum. That's where the great medical school was and it's symbol is still used today for doctors and hospitals: It's the symbol of a snake curled around a staff. The snake is also a symbol for Satan but it was used there for the god of healing, Asklepios. What struck me about it was that then medicine was mixed in with a lot of superstition and the superstition was all centered around the false gods which we know were and are demons. Medicine eventually cleaned up it's act, thanks in large part to God and Christianity, but today it is once again become greatly mixed with superstition surrounding the demons still worshiped by eastern religions. Those "superstitions" have gone from being consider cultist and on the outside of real medicine to being fully accepted by the medical field today.

Like I said though, God wasn't happy about it then, and He most certainly isn't happy about it now either. Another thing that struck me as interesting was the way God said He would destroy the false prophetess and her followers. He said He would give them a bed of sickness and kill them. The word used actually means "pestilence" and is also translated as "plague" in some verses. God said He wasn't going to wait to judge this particular false teacher and her followers, that it would happen soon if they didn't repent. From what we know of history, they obviously didn't repent because the city is no longer there. God indeed removed their lampstand. The point I'm getting at though is that we are seeing this again now too. It reminds me of Aides right off the bat as well as other things that even now the doctors are beginning to call a plague--like that skin eating disease or the super infections etc.

So today like in Ephesus we have people who are zealous for the Truth and doctrine but who don't have a close relationship with Christ; they've lost their first love. Like Pergamum and Thyatira, we have people who have plenty of love for Christ, but have no discernment and so go along with and are tolerant of evil. Thankfully we also have people like those in Smyrna who love the Lord and His Word, know it well and stand up for the Truth, even though it means suffering for them here and now. And last but not least, we have the Lord's assurance that He is in control and that He is coming soon! Because things have so very obviously come around full circle, it tells me that the rapture cannot be very far away!

(originally written over a year ago) 

What the first Three and a Half years of the Trib will be like

I know some people seem to think that the first half of the Trib will be peaceful but that's simply not biblical.  People generally get that idea from movies and books, but not from the Bible. Think of it this way. I wouldn't even call the way things are now entirely "peaceful" and these things aren't going to get better, they're going to get worse! If nothing else just reading the judgements that are going to happen during this time show it's going to be far from peaceful.  Think about it...between a third and half of the worlds population are going to die during these first 3 and a half years!  And that's AFTER all the people have disappeared from the rapture!  Just realizing that one fact alone should be enough to show that the world is going to be in complete chaos.  If it wasn't, they wouldn't need a "savior"; they wouldn't think they needed the antichrist!  I think another reason that causes some people to think that the first half of the Tribulation will be relatively peaceful is because Jesus called the second half of it the "Great Tribulation". You have to realize why He did that though.  For one thing, the second half will be worse then the first half for everyone, but it will be especially worse for the Jews and that's who Jesus was talking to at that time.  He was letting them know that as bad as the first half is going to be, the second will be even worse.  

Another way you could look at it is this:  Human beings might just be able to survive as a race if we only had to go through the first half of the Tribulation.  I say, "might", because honestly, with all the devastation both supernatural as well as that done by men that the earth itself is going to go through, it's also possible that we could do enough damage even in the first half that could cause enough chain reactions for the earth to be eventually uninhabitable.  But I think it's more likely that we could survive it. But there is no way humans could survive the second half of the Tribulation. If Jesus did not return and make the earth habitable again, all life would soon die off on the earth by the end of the Tribulation.  That's one reason Jesus tells us that no one would survive if the Lord doesn't shorten it. (Matthew 24:22)

The AC will get elected because the people are so afraid, so tired of being afraid and hungry and sick etc that they'll be snatching at straws, they'll be desperate for someone to help them. Of course, we know he's not going to help them, he's only going to make promises to help. The only thing he will do that will make people "think" he's just wonderful and that he CAN help, will be to sign the treaty between Israel and her neighbors. We already know he isn't going to keep that treaty though, and we know he isn't even going to totally enforce it either, even at the beginning. Like I said, that will last only long enough to get him into power.

Let's see what the Bible says will happen during that first half of the trib.

The 7 seals will come first: keep in mind that this is occurring during the FIRST 3 years of the Trib:

Revelation 6:1-17 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword. 


During the first part of the Tribulation then, we have the AntiChrist coming on the scene promising peace but giving people war instead.  That's another thing people are often mistaken about.  They think the AC will actually bring peace during the first half, but he won't.  The bible tells us that he lies to the people making them believe that he wants peace and that it's not his fault that the wars break out all over the world.  These wars will affect the entire world, not just parts of it.  Yes, that means even here in the US! No one and no place will be exempt. 

  When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!” 

Now, because of the wars and other problems, we now have famine all over the world.  This is most likely due to the economy failing as well as crops being destroyed by the wars.  The Bible says that the rich people will be OK, but the rest of the world is going to be pretty miserable and hungry.  Hungry, miserable people often start riots, loot stores, and are violent. They rob others to get what they want. (now keep in mind that a huge number of the population has recently disappeared in the rapture, and many of them are in law enforcement agencies. Plus there could be a lot of chaos left from when the rapture happened that will still be a problem.  So now we have a whole lot more crime, plus wars that are quite possibly nuclear, and a lot of hungry, scared, people all over the world, many of which will be the ones behind all the crime, with little to no police available to help stop it all.  Does that sound peaceful to you?  it sure doesn't to me!
 
When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.


Next comes disease and more death.  My guess is that due to the wars obliterating and or poisoning the crops, the animals are going to get sick, possibly rabid and begin attacking people a lot more often then ever before.  Keep in mind too that evil is on the rise.  More and more people will be giving up all restraint and doing anything that pleases them, meaning sin, no matter who it hurts. It will be a time of "anything goes" on the earth. At this point one fourth of the people who were left behind after the rapture will die.  Let's pretend there were only 100,000 people left on the earth after the rapture.  If that were true, then out of that number, 25,000 of them would die!  Now that's not taking into account the number of people who had already died from wars, famine and crime!  What do you think would be a good guess for that number on a world with little police force left?  Let's say 5% of the population which would be another 5,000 people.  So that would leave only 70,000 people left.  The reason I'm using such low numbers is because we can grasp those numbers a lot easier then the actual numbers of the population. So this allows us to at least grasp the huge number of deaths that will be happening.
 
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.



And now we come to the martyrs being killed and a huge number of them as well.  Yet more violence.  As you can easily see by now, the world has become a very violent and ugly place to live in.  It's nothing like what we know it as now. Well nothing like what most of us know it as.  Perhaps those people who currently live in places where ISIS is terrorizing and killing so many people can imagine a whole world like that, where there is no safe place to live. 
 
I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”



Finally, we know that a great earthquake will happen during the first half of the Tribulation as well, which will kill and maim a huge number of the population.  Keep in mind now that none of the other things have stopped happening.  There are still wars, famine, disease, crime, people being killed for their faith in Jesus, and wholesale sin going on constantly.  And we haven't even gotten to any of the Trumpet judgments yet! Scholars differ in just how many of them will happen during the first half of the Tribulation, and a few think they'll all happen in the second half.  So I'm not even going to count any of them, although I do believe that at least the first few of them will happen during the first half of the Tribulation.  So what I'll do is simply list them for you at the end so you can check them out for yourself.

As you can see, during the first 3 and a half years, that's just 42 months, millions of people are going to die! There will be wars, not peace, famine, disease, disasters, unemployment, etc. Food will be scarce and so will money.  People will be living in fear - fear that someone will rob them or kill them, or rape them or beat them. Domestic violence and crime will rise tremendously, as will riots and looting, in part because of all the stress.. This doesn't sound peaceful to me at all! The whole earth will be in utter chaos! I think I can honestly say that the only people on the earth who could be said to be "comfortable" would be those foolish souls who sell out to the Antichrist and work directly for him, staying near him all the time.  While they wouldn't be immune to the judgments, they'd have more money and be part of the rich who would at least still be eating and have a decent roof over their heads, if nothing else.

Remember what happened when Rome fell?  The same kind of things only in smaller measure, just like what's happening now really.  What did Rome do to try to control the masses?  They provided them with "entertainment".  Entertainment that was full of death in the Colosseum. They made it easier for the people to get booze and drugs, and passed laws making it legal for homosexuals to marry.  Homosexuality became the "in" thing after awhile.  Women's lib was introduced as was abortion.  Sounds a lot like us doesn't it?  I've always believed that what happened to Rome was a picture of what was going to happen not just to the US, but ultimately to the world. .

Going back to the Judgements though, if you start at the beginning, each judgment adds to the next and is carried over; in other words, things get progressively worse. How can all of these things have happened and yet everyone is still "comfortable". It simply can't be! People are falling for fantasy rather then reality in this. I think the reason for that is that it's so hard for us to imagine the world being that bad.  We think things are horrible now, but really, compared to the way they'll be then, they're not at all.   Think for a moment about what God said about the people on earth during Noah's time.  He said that every single thought and feeling they had was evil.  Not "most of them", but ALL of them.  Not most of the people, but "all of them" except for Noah and his family.  That's how it will be after the rapture.  All of their thoughts and desires will be evil, except for those of the people who are saved or are being saved. .

The first 3 and a half years won't be as bad as the last 3 and a half but that doesn't mean that people will be comfortable. One reason it will be even worse in the last half of the trib is because the people will still be dealing with the effect all of the previous judgments have had on them as well as with the next new judgments. Plus you have to take into account how things are right this minute. Even now with the problems with the economy, and with the tension in the mid east, and the current wars, and the threats of more wars, the unemployment etc. most of the people are not as "comfortable" as they were before and we know from the financial advisers and well as from the bible that these things are going to get worse, not better. Remember, that one of the things that will happen is the economy will continue to get much worse.  The rich will get richer and the middle class will become the new poor (just like is already beginning to happen) and the poor will get even poorer.  But even the rich won't be living in peace.  They're going to need that wine and booze they can afford to buy, to calm their nerves, because they'll be in constant fear; fear for their lives and fear that their money will be stolen or lost and they'll become one of the poor. 
  
So knowing how things are now and having read some of what is going to happen in the first half of the Trib, there is simply no way that people are going to be at peace and nice and comfy during the first half of it. It's not a pretty picture and certainly not something comfortable to think about, but if we tell people the Truth about it, perhaps then it will be enough to plant some seeds about salvation, and perhaps, if we face the truth about it, it will give us the courage to actually speak up to people who need to hear about Jesus.  

Finally, here are the Trumpet judgments, some or all of which may also happen during the first half of the tribulation. 

Revelation 7:1-4 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

Revelation 8:1 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
 
Revelation 8:7-12 The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.

The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.

Revelation 9:1-6 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man. During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.
 
Revelation 9:13-19 The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God. It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number. The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury

The Downfall of Babylon & The World Today

1. I've been studying Revelation again and began studying about Babylon and it's destruction in Rev 18, and why God destroyed it. I wanted to know what the sins were that God hated so much, because I knew that those same sins must be present in our time too. I'm sure they've always been present, but felt they must be even worse in our time since everything seems to be so much worse now and we've been seeing so many previews of all the judgments that will be coming during the tribulation.
   
   What I found both did and didn't surprise me. I guess the part that surprised me was because it's something the Lord has been teaching me about lately anyway. (He often seems to point out things He's teaching me personally during my study time lol) This time one of the main things was about idolatry. The Lord's been teaching me about the sin of idolatry for almost 2 years now, and I've discovered that it's much much more then just bowing down to some statue.
   
   I think it would be safe to say that most of us would never think idolatry would be a problem for any of us. After all, we do worship the one true God, so we're safe, right? Wrong. The Lord's shown me so much about this sin, that it's mind boggling to me. I've learned since I wrote that first piece that idolatry is very much a sin that's familiar to all of us. This is the sin that's going to continue to grow until it's so ugly and monstrous that it should be obvious to all what a horrid sin it is.
   
   One of the first ways I learned to define idolatry, besides bowing to a statue, was that it means putting anything before God and His Word. Most of us would instantly say that we would never do that, and we'd mean it too. But the Lord's shown me how insidious this sin is, and that in fact, most of us are guilty of it and not just once in a while. Yet another definition of idolatry is thinking anything about God that isn't true or trying to make Him something He isn't. It's something God also calls Spiritual adultery. If you think about it, God often accuses Israel of spiritual adultery in the OT, and He warns us from that in the NT too. But what is spiritual adultery? It's when we become involved in false teachings and things like that. It is NOT when we mistakenly believe something that's not true, because we haven't gotten to that truth yet in our daily studies with Him. But, if we hold to a false teaching, and do not study His Word with Him daily, then He does hold us responsible and does call it spiritual adultery and idolatry, because if we had, we would have known the truth.
   
   Knowing this then, and knowing the state of the Church right now, seeing the direction it's going, it's easy to see how this sin is going to continue to grow. There will be no great revival to bring people back to the truth, like the false teachers say, before the rapture. So this is just going to get worse and worse. Then, after the rapture, although there will be a tremendous and great soul harvest during the tribulation, with many saved who know and live the Truth, this sin will continue to grow in the majority of mankind as they basically worship themselves as god, and/or the god they create in their one world religion.
   
   This is one part of the sin of idolatry that will be practiced by the harlot, the woman riding the beast. Remember that she's dressed in purple, and gold and precious gems and jewels, showing luxury. This shows us the other part of the sin of idolatry practiced by her and all who follow her. (the one world religion). Remember how Jesus told us that the love of money was the root of all evil? This is another aspect of idolatry. It's when the love of pleasures or possessions becomes the most important thing in our lives. And this will be very true of the people during the tribulation.
   
   In fact though, it's already true of the majority of the world, even of Christians. This was the hard one for me to learn about. At first I denied that I could possibly be guilty of this. After all, I don't have much money anyway! Think though of how Satan, the prince of the air, has used the media to encourage this sin in our lives. People were much more content with their lives (like God tells us to be) before radio and especially before TV! They weren't being constantly barraged with pictures and sounds of the "new, improved, and better" things they could have like we are. No matter what we own, we constantly see commercials for the same thing only the next model up that's newer, prettier, improved, better, etc. And of course, everyone wants it! Somehow, you lose your desire for the one you've got, and find that you just have to have the newer, better kind.
   
   I think back to my parents childhood, then mine, my children's and now my grandchildren's and it's so very different! Now days, kids have things that many people didn't get until they were adults, if then! The US prides itself on being so prosperous, but what we are is idolatrous, not prosperous and it's getting worse every day.
   
   Let me quote something from one of the commentaries about the verses describing the downfall of Babylon and the sins she's judged for, and see if it doesn't sound an awful lot like how it is today:
   
   A third sin is Babylon’s worship of pleasures and luxury. To “live deliciously” (Rev. 18:7) is to live proudly in luxury while others go without. It means to make possessions and pleasures the most important things in life, and to ignore the needs of others. John summarized this attitude as “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). The world system satisfies the desires of the earth-dwellers who follow “the beast” and reject the Lamb. But worldly things never permanently satisfy or last. The love of pleasures and possessions is but an insidious form of idolatry, demonic in its origin and destructive in its outcome. The Bible exposition commentary.
   
   Babylon’s sins ‎(18:3). The verse links spiritual adultery (idolatry) with “excessive luxuries.” A focus on material things leads not only to self-indulgence but also to an arrogance which denies any need for God. The worldly person puts his or her hope in possessions and in this sense puts things in the place rightly occupied by God. Idolatry is not just bowing down to images; it is also relying on wealth or power rather than on the Lord. The Bible reader’s companion
   
   When we need something, how often is our first thought of how much money we have...do we have enough to buy what we need or want? Do we have enough to see the doctor or pay for those tests? Do we think of things like that or think of how we might be able to make the money before we ever think of God who is our real provider?
   
   I've found that the twin to this is the sin of self idolatry because we often rely on ourselves long before we turn to God. We save God for the things we can't do for ourselves. At least most of us do until we learn better. When I first heard the term, "self idolatry", I thought it meant worshiping myself, and again figured I was safe. But that's not quite it is it? It's when we rely on ourselves instead of God, and that's already something just about everyone's guilty of in our time, and again is only going to get worse.
   
   Note too how idolatry is linked to Satan and the demonic. It's easy to see in God's Word how the love of pleasure and possessions soon draws demons into our lives. So many warnings against getting caught up in it, both in the old and new testaments. Now we know why. And look how all these forms of idolatry are growing tremendously, and right along side them, so is the occult and new age trash, and the false teachings like the prosperity gospel! It's all nothing more then idolatry.
   
   Suddenly, Babylon was looking awfully familiar! I wrote about it when God first started teaching me about idolatry and what it really was, I used to think that I couldn't ever be an idolater... thinking I'd learned my lesson. I had no idea there was so much more to learn!  I see now that much of what we consider normal in life is nothing more then idolatry. God wants to be involved in every part of our lives. He wants to be a constant part of our lives... of every thought, every action. He's not interested in being a part time God or a genie when we want something. That was one of the things that impressed me in studying Leviticus. His laws were made so that the Israelites were forced to make him part of everything they did, and that was the point. When I think back to the first Christians, that's how they lived too, especially since they knew that at any moment they could be arrested and/or killed for their faith, and also believed that at any moment Jesus could return. In reading Revelation, I realized that's how the tribulation saints will also live, except they'll know almost exactly when Jesus will be returning. Neither group makes us look very good does it? I have to admit it really makes me ashamed of myself. It makes me want desperately to live only for Him, to make Him proud of me. I want to heed His call to come out of her, don't you? I'd like to end with what one of my commentaries says about Rev 18:
   
   Our American society increasingly has traits in common with Babylon: materialism, a passion for luxury, and growing immorality especially reflected in movies, literature, and contemporary music. Our society too will share Babylon’s judgment—perhaps before Christ comes. Let’s make sure our allegiance to Christ is so strong that when our Babylon crumbles we will have grace to rejoice. The Bible reader’s companion