The 144,000 Servants of Jesus!

The 144,000 Servants of Jesus!

 

 

 

Our upcoming study on April 26 maybe one of the most encouraging topics in the entire book of Revelation! That’s quite a statement but I believe it’s true.

Like much of Revelation, mystery surrounds the 144,000 Tribulation witnesses. Who are they? What will be their objective? Will they be protected? Will they have an effect on the lost people of the Last Days?

In chapter 7 and chapter 14 of Revelation, God reveals His plan to seal 144,000 Jewish evangelists. They could be called Israel’s Tribulation Forces but I like to call them: “The Saviors’ Special Forces.”

Being sealed by God protects these amazing servants from death so God is able to send them into the heat of the Tribulation to go up against Satan and Antichrist at the very height of their power. 

As Satan’s forces get busy marking the devil’s followers with the Mark of the Beast, “The Saviors’ Special Forces” get busy evangelizing souls. What develops out of this great CLASH is probably the greatest revival of all time. It’s described in Rev. 7.

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands.

Revelation 7:9

But this is not the end of story. It gets ever better… much better!

The reason Satan hates the Jewish people and the nation of Israel is because he knows that the chosen people are God’s promised nation who are prophesied to one day rule the world with Jesus as their King. Satan is jealous of God’s love for Israel and will do anything to prevent that from happening. In fact, he’s been trying to wipe out the Jewish people ever since Pharaoh tried to kill them at the Red Sea.

The devil’s plan is to overwhelm and kill all the Jews in the Tribulation by using his 10-nation, nuclear powered Caliphate and then rule the world himself, from Jerusalem, in their place!

But without warning, God slams the door shut on his demonic dream to overturn the Abrahamic Covenant and rule the world. He does so by plucking out and sealing 12,000 righteous men, from each of the 12 tribes of Israel who can never die yet remain in their normal human bodies. The importance of this action cannot be overstated.

By supernaturally sealing these men, God insures that Israel will survive forever! In this one momentous act, God assures the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant and guarantees that the nation of Israel will not be annihilated in the Tribulation. As prophesied, the chosen nation will one day rule and rein with Jesus in the coming Millennial Kingdom.

This prompts one of the great scenes in the book of Revelation. When the Cloud-Rider returns to earth at the end of the Tribulation to set up His Kingdom, the scene finds Jesus on Mount Zion, standing shoulder to shoulder and embracing His Special Forces.

 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the Father’s name written on their foreheads.

Revelation 14:1

As believers, it’s clear we are in an epic battle for our faith, our families and our nation! How do we live in this world by loving others and yet hating the darkness?
Wormwood Hits Earth! NASA Warns The Asteroid Of Revelation 8 May Already Be Heading To Earth?

Wormwood Hits Earth! NASA Warns The Asteroid Of Revelation 8 May Already Be Heading To Earth?

 

 

 

 

Wormwood Hits Earth

The third Trumpet judgment in Revelation 8 speaks of Wormwood, a “star” that falls from the heavens, poisoning the waters and killing many people. Wormwood is an ancient word for a poisonous plant (Jer. 9:15; 23:15).

10 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— 11 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.

Revelation 8:10-11
Is Wormwood already headed toward Earth? What’s more, do government officials already know the answer to that question?

Perhaps you’ve heard about the asteroid Apophis. According to NASA, it’s scheduled to enter our atmosphere on Friday the 13th, in April of 2029…
8 short years way!

Traditional scholarly interpretation for the timeline of the Trumpet Judgments have them playing out in years 3-5 of the 7-year Tribulation. That’s saying the judgements basically arrive around the middle of the Tribulation period.

So the question that needs to be asked is this: If the deadly asteroid of Revelation 8 arrives in the middle of the Tribulation on April 13, 2029, how far would we be today from the start of the Tribulation?

Before the Wrath

Before the Wrath

How the Four Horsemen Of the Apocalypse Teach a Pre-Tribulation Rapture

One of the great promises to the church is that we are, “saved from the wrath to come” – 1 Thess. 1:10.

What wrath?

The context of this verse is very important. Paul is teaching the Thessalonian’s about the Rapture and the promise of being saved from the wrath of the coming Tribulation. That’s why we believe in a Pre-Tribulation rapture.

But in the last several decades, two new positions have developed regarding the timing of the Rapture: The Mid-Tribulation and the Pre-Wrath Rapture Theories.

I my view, both these theories suffer from the same error. They both teach that God’s wrath doesn’t show up in the first half of the Tribulation.

The purpose of our class is exposing this error by showing the true mission of the Four Horsemen in the first half of the Tribulation.

These four characters are nothing to be trifled with as they display the unmitigated wrath of God from day one of the 7-Year Tribulation.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Part 1

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Part 1

The topic of our upcoming class is the Rapture and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. To help you be prepared for the class, you may want to read Revelation chapters 4-6. 

I love those 3 chapters because they cover the rapture of the church, before the Tribulation begins and the scene around God’s Throne immediately following the rapture. I love seeing the Lamb who was slain take the seven-sealed scroll and break loose the four Horsemen.

Over the next two weeks, I’d like to give a brief overview of the four horsemen and their meaning in Revelation 6. We’ll cover the first two Horses this week and the final two horses next week.

There are many movies and shows that deal with apocalyptic circumstances, and many of us have heard reference to the four horsemen. But where does the idea come from? Are they real people? What do they do?
  

In Revelation 6 Jesus opens seven seals of judgment to begin the Tribulation period on earth. The first four seals he opens are the four horsemen, and each one carries the wrath of God which is released from heaven to usher judgments on the earth.

While some apocalyptic judgments are specific events, these four last throughout the first half of the Tribulation and beyond. Here’s a look at the first two horsemen and their symbolic meaning: 

The White Horse

“And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.” (Rev. 6:1-2)

The rider on the white horse is Antichrist.  He will rise just prior to the Tribulation by taking control of the 10 King Empire and making a peace treaty with Israel. He will be a deeply religious leader that operates on behalf of his false god Allah (Dan. 11:39).

 

His power and authority will come from the dragon (Satan), and like Satan he is a great deceiver. The symbol of him on a white horse aptly illustrates his deceptive nature for Jesus also returns to earth on a white horse (Rev. 19:11-14).

Satan’s purpose has always been to counterfeit the work of Christ. By the second half of the Tribulation, Antichrist will break his peace treaty and wage open war against Israel.

The Red Horse

“Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.” (Rev. 6:3-4) 

The next horse is the red horse. The blood-red appearance speaks of the holocaust of war and bloodshed. God will grant this horse the power to create war. Think about that for a moment!  We are told the red horse takes peace from the earth and that he wields a great sword! What do you think that BIG SWORD means?

Here’s how I view that big sword. Most likely, the “great sword” is God’s way of warning us that the coming 10-King Caliphate may possess nuclear weapons and won’t be afraid to use them! 

Nations rise against nations during the Tribulation because they’re stirred up by the spirit of the Red Horse sent out from the Throne of God.

We know the red horse spirit of war lasts through the entire Tribulation because Jesus said if he didn’t return after seven years, no one would be alive.

This will be seven years like no other in history filled with murder, assassination, bloodshed, revolution, and war.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Part 1

The Four Horsemen Part 2

the topic of our upcoming class is the Rapture and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

To be prepared for the class, consider reading Revelation chapters 4-6 and Zechariah 6. 

We continue our brief overview of the four horsemen with the third (Black) and fourth (Green) horses this week. 

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – Pt. 2

In Revelation 6 Jesus opens seven seals of judgment to begin the Tribulation period. The first four seals he opens are the four horsemen, and each one carries the wrath of God which is released from heaven to usher judgments on the earth.

The first two horsemen ride on white (Antichrist) and red (War) horses. Let’s see what the final two horses look like and discuss their meaning: 

The Black Horse

So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.’ (Rev. 6:5-6)

Black is often connected with famine in the Bible. God will grant this horse the power to destroy the world’s economy and to diminish earth’s food resources. Both of these disasters are the byproducts of war.

A denarius was the standard daily wage for ancient laborers. In the early days of the Tribulation period, food will be in such short supply that people will have to work all day just to get enough food to eat.

The famine will play into Antichrist’s hands. Later in the Tribulation, he will require all the captured peoples, who fall under the control of the Caliphate, to wear the symbol of the Islamic empire (mark of the beast) in order to buy or sell. They will either submit to Allah or starve to death.

The Green Horse

“So I looked, and behold, a green horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.” (Rev. 6:8) 

Death rides the green horse and Hades (hell) follows behind. Death doesn’t end life it simply opens the door to heaven or hell. In this case, one quarter of the earth is destined for hell after they die. That’s a stunning statistic. which may refer to the 25% of mankind under the control of Islam.

According to the CIA Fact Book, green is the color of Islam! This incredible prophecy may be telling us that Antichrist will steer the Caliphate to initially go after Muslim nations who refuse to recognize his rule over the Muslim world (25% of earth’s population). 

Antichrist and the Caliphate will kill with “the sword, hunger, disease, and wild beasts—the four judgments the Lord said he would send in Ezekiel 14:21. 

Death and Hades are mentioned together three times in Revelation, and the first time in Revelation 1:18 tells us that Christ holds the keys to Death and Hades.

Though the companions will wreak havoc during the Tribulation, Jesus holds the ultimate power and will throw them both into the lake of fire at His Second Coming.

Revelation Generation – Part 2

Revelation Generation – Part 2

Prophecies the Ancients Couldn’t Understand

There are numerous prophesies in Revelation that could not happen until this generation. Many of them would have seemed impossible to first century believers. Here are six prophecies that couldn’t be understood until our generation:

These three were covered in my last blog:
1.    Army of 200 million soldiers
2.    Drying up the Euphrates
3.    Global satellite communication

These three are discussed in this blog:
4.    Nuclear weapons and WMD’s
5.    Israel reborn as a nation
6.    Israel’s LGBT lifestyle

Revelation Generation Prophecies

4. Nuclear Weapons and WMD’s

God warns us, no less than four times in scripture, that the coming 7-year Tribulation will be the worst period in earth’s history (Jer. 30:7; Dan. 12:1; Mt. 24:21; Mk. 13:19).

In His discourse about the end times, Jesus said, “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 24:22). “And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved” (Mark 13:20).

According to this passage, when God planned the Tribulation period, he limited it to seven years so that some of the redeemed remnant of Israel (“elect”) would still be alive at the end of the Tribulation and would therefore be able to populate the earth in the millennium. Anything beyond seven years would be so catastrophic that no one on earth would remain alive.

There’s no army on earth that can kill earth’s population of eight billion today with conventional weapons in seven years. Earth’s population could only be threatened with the arrival of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction.

In the Middle East war that’s centered around the Euphrates River (Rev. 9:14), a third of the world’s population will be wiped out according to Revelation 9:15. That means some two to three billion people will be killed in that war alone!

The best description of nuclear war appears in the prophecy of Zechariah where he describes the horrific details during the Battle of Armageddon,

”This is the plague with which the LORD will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.” (Zechariah 14:12)

Once again, we see the prophecies in Revelation beingfulfilled in our generation.

5. Israel reborn as a nation – 1948

God’s chosen nation is the epicenter of Bible prophecy! In 2018we celebrate the seventy year birthday of the State of Israel(1948-2018). Israel’s return is happening during our generation. Even this week, several airplanes with Jewish families from around the world, landed in Tel Aviv to declare Israel as their new home.

Did you know that the attack waged by the Arab Nations, the next morning after Israel’s Declaration of Independence in 1948, became the fulfillment of a fascinating prophecy?

There are many prophecies about the re-establishment of Israel in the end times, but one of my favorites is a symbolic prophecy. Isaiah records, “Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy.” (Isaiah 66:7-8) 

How many women have ever given birth before the birth pains? They come before the birth, not after. This prophecy says, No! The labor pains will come after the birth.
“Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once?” After her birth, the birth pains came.

Israel didn’t get a very nice welcome from their Arab neighbors. On May 14, 1948, the nation of Israel was declared, and on May 15, 1948, the very next morning, five Arab nations attacked Israel. Since then, throughout our generation, the tiny nation has seen constant threats and constant wars for her survival.

6. Israel’s LGBT lifestyle

Their bodies (2-Witnesses) will lie in the public square of the great city (Jerusalem) which is figuratively called Sodom… where also their Lord was crucified (Rev. 11:8)
When I speak to people about the moral plight of Israel in the end times, it is with a heavy heart. The above verse is a prophecy that forecasts Israel living in the Tribulation and acting like Sodom.
Sadly today, Israel’s reputation for same sex entertainment is world famous. Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest city, was recently named by the Boston Globe as one of the top destinations catering to the alternate lifestyle and featuring them as “one of the best gay pride parades” in the world. The bad news is that the parade is funded through Israel’s state budget.
Israel may have returned to their ancient land but not to the Lord. God’s wayward nation will have to be brought through the fire and the flood of the Tribulation where, according to Zechariah, just one third will come through and survive (Zech. 13:8-9).
Once again, we see a unique prophecy in Revelation being fulfilled in our generation indicating we are closer to the return of the Lord than ever before! We may even be the generation when Jesus returns. Hallelujah! Are YOU READY?