The One Forty-Four Thousand

In Rev.6, one finds a description of the events of the 70th week of
Daniel, from its inception at the signing of the covenant of apostasy(Dan.9:27), till The Day Of The Lord is about to commence after the breaking of the sixth seal( Rev.6:15-17). It chronicles the events of the first three and one-half years, the beginning of sorrows or the beginning birth pangs(Rev.6:1-6), from the emergence of the false Christ( first seal: Rev.6:1-2), through wars, commotions and rumors of wars(second seal: Rev.6:3-4), to famines, pestilences, and earthquakes( Rev.6:5,6).

Precisely at the midpoint of the 70th seven, the fourth seal is broken, and the Great Tribulation by the antiChrist begins(Rev.6:7-8). It is initiated in the middle of the 70th week by the revelation of the man of sin(2 Thess.2:3,4), the antiMessiah, and the abomination that make the desolate(Matt.24:15). At the breaking of the fifth seal, martyrs under the altar of incense of the Temple in heaven are revealed(Rev.6:9-11). The fifth seal is an heavenly scene, a reflection of the killing of the faithful saints taking place here on earth at the breaking of the fourth seal. The fifth seal does not necessarily advance the chronology of events on earth, but is concurrent with the fourth seal. The souls of the martyred saints here on earth are arriving in heaven. These are faithful saints who are killed for their refusal to capitulate to the authority of the antiMessiah by taking his mark of allegiance. Their souls are keptunder the altar in heaven where they cry out to God for vengeance, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on the that dwell on earth?”(Rev.6:10). There is a complement of the saints to be martyred. When that complement is full, God will
put a stop to the mayhem going on under the rulership of the
antiMessiah.

At the breaking of the sixth seal, there is cosmocelestial disturbance which is preludial to The Day Of The Lord(Rev.6:12-14). With the cosmic disturbance, God serves notice to the living wicked earth-dwellers, adorers and worshippers of the Dragen-beast that He is about to punish them for theirs evils. At this juncture, the atheists, the evolutionists, the humanists, the false philosophers, the wise men of this age, all the great men, and the mighty men, the high and the low, the poor and the rich, all the kings and nobles as well as peasants shall hide themselves in the caves and the rocks of the mountains, and they shall call on the rocks and the mountains to fall upon them and hide from the glory of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. The humanistic evolutionist will suddenly realize that evolution is a scientific sham, that man was created by God who demands morals of all men. In their consternation, they shall scurry to the caves and the mountains which shall offer
them no protection. The reason for their consternation is that God is about to pour out His wrath on them for their evils:  “For the Great Day Of His Wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?”(Rev.6:17).

God’s wrath begins with the breaking of the seventh seal. In Rev.8, the seventh seal is broken: ”And when He had broken the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets(Rev.8:1-2). The reason for the silence in heaven is the solemnity and awesomeness of the wrath of God. It is so awesome that heaven can only observe in silence. The prophet Zephaniah prophesied saying, ”Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the Lord is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, He hath bidden his guests. And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD’s
sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s children,
and all such as are clothed with strange apparel. In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second , and a great crashing from the hills. Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off. And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will He do evil. Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards , but not drink the wine thereof. The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteneth, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced
cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon
men, that they shall work like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy: for He shall make even a speedy riddance of them that dwell in the land.”(Zeph.1:7-18).

The whole earth is commanded to keep silence because The Day Of The Lord draws near, and the Lord has prepared a sacrifice for the fowls of the heavens. As touching the sacrifice, the word of God is precise; men are not left in doubt: it is God’s judgment of the nations. The prophet Isaiah added his voice to the proclamation, ”Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world and the things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and His fury upon all their armies: He hath utterly destroyed them, He hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heaven shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree. For my sword shall be bathed in the heaven, : behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse to judgment. The sword of the LORD is filled with
blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and
goats, with the fat of the kidneys of Rams: for the LORD hath a
sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea…… For it is the day of the LORD’s vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.”(Is.34:1-8).

At the breaking of the sixth seal in Rev.6, and the attendant
celestial disturbances, God’s wrath is about to be poured out on theliving wicked earth-dwellers, adorers and worshippers of the
Dragon-Beast. At the breaking of the seventh seal in Rev.8, God’s
wrath begins to be poured out on the living wicked earth-dwellers. Between the warning of the outpouring of God’s wrath in Rev.6, and the actual outpouring in Rev.8, is sandwiched Rev.7. In Rev.7, two events of paramount importance occur. The one is the sealing of the 144,000, 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel(Rev.7:1-8), the other is the appearance in heaven of a great multitude which no one could number(Rev.7:9-17). The questions asked are who are these two distinct groups? Who do they represent? And why do they appear at this time?

In Rev.7, John the revelator saw four angels, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. Before these four avenging angels could carry out their duty, another superior angel who emerged from the east, with the seal of the living God commanded them to hold action, saying, ”Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God on their four heads(Rev.7:2-3). Angels
are the messengers of God. Inasmuch as it is God’s wrath to be poured out, it is appropriate the angels of God will be employed(2 Thess.7-8). No angels were employed in the execution of the first five seals which represent man’s ultimate rebellion against God. The identity of the superior angel is debated amongst biblical scholars. Some identify him with archangel Michael, the warrior angel of God that standeth for His people, the children of Israel, and the believers in the Messiah of Israel( Dan.12:1). Some identify him with archangel Gabriel, the bringer of God news( Luk.1:26). Both of these archangels have guardian reletionship to Israel and the believers in the Messiah. The identity of this angel is not particularly relevant to this study.

This angel, whoever he may be, was sent to delay the outpouring of God’s wrath till God’s servants, the 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel were sealed with the seal of the Living God. There are some biblical scholars, especially of the Pretribulation persuasion who teach that Rev.7 is parenthetical, looking back to the earlier events. But it cannot be demonstrated that it is the seals which hurt the earth, sea, and trees, but the trumpet judgments of Rev.8:7-11.

In Rev.14, this group of 144, 000 are said to have the ” Father’s namewritten on their foreheads”(Rev.14:1). Seals are for protection. They stand for ownership. They are also for the purpose of authenticity and legalization. Shortly before the rapture takes place, these Jews are brought into a saving relationship with the God of Israel. The church is about to be raptured, taken out of the earth as
it were. God will not leave Himself without a witness on earth. Since they belong to God, they must be sealed to protect them from the wrath of God which is about to be poured out on the living wicked earth-dwellers, adorers, and worshippers of the antiMessiah.

They are sealed on their foreheads in contrast to the worshippers of the antiMessiah who receive their mark of allegiance on the right hand and forehead(Rev.13:16). The seal of the antiMessiah indicates ownership and protection by the antiChrist. The 144,000 are redeemed from the earth(Rev.14:3). They are not defiled with women, for they are virgins(Rev.14:4). This could mean that they never ever engaged in sexual intercourse with women at all in their entire life or they were celibates in their separation unto God(2 Cor.11:2), though they may have have had sexual intercourse with women earlier on in their life prior to their dedication. Perhaps more appropriately, they did not succumb to the enticement to worship the antiMessiah(Rev.13:15; Is.57:3-4,8). This may be the intended meaning since those who took the mark of allegiance to the antiMessiah are said to have committed, and were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

”And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiest of her fornication: and upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF
THE EARTH(Rev.17:1-5).

The 144, 000 are ” the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb”(Rev.14:). They are the forerunner of a host of the children of Israel who survive the great tribulation by the antiMessiah, and came to a saving knowledge of the Lord prior to the outpouring of the wrath of God. There are those who proclaim they are evangelists, but this claim cannot be scripturally sustained. They were in hiding during the great persecution by the antiMessiah. They were not sealed till after the cosmic distances of Rev.6:12-14( sixth seal), prior to the breaking of the seventh seal which mark the commencement of the outpouring of the wrath of God. No where in the entire Scriptures are they declared evangelists. They must needs be saved, would they save others?

Avraham Shallom.

The Prefigure Of The antiChrist

The rebellion of man against God which began in the Garden Of Eden will have its final hurrah at the rebuilt third Jewish Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. It will be the final attempt by man to enthrone man in the place of God. The catalyst for this ultimate sin is the abomination of desolation,  when the antiMessiah shall erect an image of himself in the rebuilt Jewish Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. ” When ye,  therefore,  shall see the abomination of desolation,  spoken of by Daniel the prophet,  stand in the Holy place (whosoever readeth,  let him understand)”( Matt:24:15). The parenthetical phrase,”(whosoever readeth, let him understand) “,  marks out, underlines and undetscores the importance of what the Lord spoke. There is going to be a  terrible abomination: it will make the temple in  Jerusalem, and the whole land of Israel a desolation. This abomination,  the image of the antiMessiah will be standing in the Holy Place.  It was predicted by Daniel the prophet.  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week; and in the midst of the week,,  he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,  and for the over spreading of the abomination he shall make it desolate “(Dan. 9:27).

Daniel predicted an earlier abomination about Antiochus Epiphanes,  the fourth ruler in the Seluecid dynasty of the Greek Empire. ” He  magnified himself even to the prince of the host,  and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away,  and the place of his sanctuary was cast down”(Dan. 8:14). The prophet Daniel gave a historical precedent of an abomination which occurred in the temple in chapter 8 to help men comprehend the future abomination in chapter 9 which Jesus spoke about in Matt. 24:15.

Alexander the Great came to power in 332 BC,  following the death of his father,  Philip of Macedon,  at the tender age of 22 years.  Within a short space of ten years,  he had conquered a substantial part of the known World. Wherever his armies marched,  he spread Greek religion,  language and culture.  The Greek way of life was encapsulated in Greek philosophy known as Hellenism. Following the death of Alexander the Great,  his kingdom was divided among four of his generals. Ptolemi reigned over Egypt,  Seluecus in Syria, Lysimarchus in Greece and western Asia Minor,  and Cassander in Macedonia proper. The territory of the Seluecid dynasty,  Syria was in the north of Israel,  whilst Egypt,  the territory of the Ptolemaic dynasty was to the south of  Israel. For the first 100 years Israel was controlled by Egypt.  Through power struggle and political intrigue,  Israel came under the sway of Syria. For several decades,  a state of war existed between Egypt and Syria. When two elephants fight,  it is the grass that suffers. Because of the struggle between the two giants,  little Israel was trapped between the hammer and the anvil, in a state of uncertainty as it were. At times,  Israel did not know which of the two nations it owed allegiance to and therefore to which to pay tribute.

Within this cultural milleu,  two Jewish parties emerged.  One party which was religiously conservative favoured Egyptian rule. Egypt was a unified Kingdom with an ancient indigenous culture and therefore less Hellenistic.  It gave the Jews a greater measure of liberty and wide latitude for religious freedom. The other Jewish party which was more liberal and less conservative and observant favoured Syrian rule.  The Greek Syrians foisted their Hellenistic culture on all conquered peoples in order to unify their Kingdom. The latter Jewish party was less concerned about the negative influence of the Hellenistic culture on their religious life and the worship of Jehovah. The latter Jewish party consisted mainly of the aristocrats. They changed their names to Greek names,  dressed according to Greek fashion and instituted Greek athletic games. They built gymnasiums and exercised in the nude. It was in this electrified geopolitical and religious atmosphere that Antiochus IV Epiphanes emerged as the fourth ruler in the Seluecid dynasty. Antiochus was zealously Hellenistic. He ruled Syria between 175-164 BC.

Earlier on Antiochus launched a successful military campaign against Egypt. In 168 BC,  he returned again in order to consolidate his earlier successes,  and bring Egypt under Syrian domination. On this occasion,  he was meet by a courier empowered by the Senate in Rome who drew a circle around him and demanded that he either withdrew or face war with Rome. Frustrated and humiliated by Rome at the time of his apparent success, he headed back to Syria. On the way,  he marched his armies into the land of Israel,  stopped in Jerusalem,  and had his soldiers kill a pig at the Jewish altar of Holocaust. Pig was a ceremonially unclean animal.  Besides,  the pig was offered to his patron deity,  Zeus Olympus. To the Jews,  this was the extreme point of abomination,  the offer of a ceremonially unclean animal to a heathen deity on the Jewish altar of Holocaust in the temple built for the worship of Jehovah. He went further to desecrate the Holy Of Holies of the Temple by bringing the image of his heathen deity,  Zeus Olympus into it.  The image of Zeus Olympus was fashioned after a man with the face of Antiochus himself. He then demanded that the Jews bow down to worship1 his god. Many Jews refused to bow down to his god. As many as eight thousand Jews were slain,  whole the rest fled.

In ancient times,  three major  basic,  brilliant and simple steps were involved in the conquest of a people. The first step was to engage the enemy on the battlefield and defeat him. Secondly,  the enemy was humiliated once defeated.  Thirdly,  the enemy was assimilated into the culture,  custom,  religion and government of the triumphant nation.  Ancient armies marched under the ensign,  banner and supposed protection of their gods. To them,  there was no generally accepted concept of awe one true,  universal and omnipotent  God. They viewed gods as localized finite deities. Each nation had its own plurality of gods.  Some had as many as 360 to 1 million gods in their pantheon. The army that was victorious was thought to be the army with superior deities. In order to carry out the second step of humiliating the vanquished foe,  their icons were insolently taken away,  and with great pomp,  degradably placed at the feet of the deities of the conquerors. This was the zenith of humiliation for the vanquished nation. The logic of the act was our army defeated yours because our gods were great than your gods. Where are your gods?  Are they not at the feet of our gods.  Is it not reasonable and beneficial for you to worship our gods?

Senacherib the king of Assyria applied this principle when he tried to intimidate Hezekiah to surrender. Senacherib the king of Assyria sent messengers to Hezekiah saying, ” Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah,  saying,  Let not thy God,  in whom thou trustest, deceive thee saying,  Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold,  thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shall thou be delivered?  Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed,  as Golan, and Haran,  and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Telassar? Where is the king of Hamath,  and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Henah, and Iva?“(Is.37:10-13). Unfortunately for Senacherib king of Assyria,  the Yahweh of Israel was not like the idols of the other nations he and his fathers conquered. Then the Angel Of The Lord moved through the camp of the Assyria and slew 185,000 soldiers overnight. Senacherib withdrew to Nineveh. His life and reign ended 20 years later in ignominy when he was assassinated in a patricidal conspiracy by his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer,  who fled to the land of Armenia. Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead(Is.37:36-38).

Once a defeated people began to worship the deities of their conquerors they were easily assimilated. That meant they will not rebel. Therefore they could serve in the conquerors army,  and pay tribute. Religion was used as instrument of assimilation. When Nebuchadnezzar defeated Israel, in order to humiliate Israel and it’s God, he violated the precincts of the temple by threading on its courts,  and arrogantly and insolently intruding into the temple and taking away the vessels used in the worship of Jehovah. The first commandment of the first table forbade Israel from making any images of the God of Israel. So,  there were no images of the God of Israel in the temple. The sacred vessels used in the worship of The Yahweh of Israel were the only symbols of the God of Israel he could take away to lay at the feet of his gods. Later on,  his grandson Belshazzar used these vessels in a licentious banquet of the gods of Babylon,  for which reason,  his kingdom was taken away from him that very night(Dan.5:1,2,23-29).

When Antiochus brought the image of his patron deity into the Holy Of Holies of the Jewish Temple,  his aim was to assimilate the Jewish people into his kingdom. He could not have Egypt, but he could assimilated Israel into the fabric of his own nation through religion and culture, inasmuch as Israel had no army to be defeated. If assimilated, they would pay tribute to Syria,  Jewish men  would serve in the Syrian military, and be geographically a buffer zone between Syria and Egypt,  incase Egypt latter planned a counterattack.

To humiliate Israel and it’s God, he had a pig sacrificed to his deity,  Zeus Olympus on the Jewish altar of Holocaust. Because there were no icons of the God of Israel to be taken to the feet of his own gods, he brought the image of his patron deity,  Zeus Olympus, into the Holy Of Holies of the Temple built by the returning exiles.

Because Antiochus had considerable support from the nonobservant Jews,  he anticipated the cooperation of the rest of the Jewish people. He seriously miscalculated. Under the leadership of the godly Mattathias and his five sons,  a guerrilla-style resistance ensued. The third son of Mattatais was Judah Maccabaeus. It was after him that the Jewish rebellion against Greek-Syria was named the Maccabian revolt. Within the space of three years, Antiochus and his Syrian army were defeated and driven from Israel.

After the departure of the Syrian army,  the temple was cleansed and rededicated to Jehovah. The temple was desecrated and desolate for three years due to the sacrifice of an unclean animal, the parading of the image of heathen deity in the Holy Of Holies of the temple, and the violation of the sacred precincts by the threading on it by the Gentiles. The consecration and rededication of the temple gave rise to the Jewish feast of Dedication or Lights,  known as Hanukkah.

Any time someone tried to annihilate the Jews,  God gave them a holiday. Pharaoh king of Egypt tried it,  they got Passover.  Haman tried to wipe out the Jews,  they got  the feast of Purim.  For the efforts of Antiochus,  they got the feast of Dedication or Channukah(Jon. 10:22). Hitler tried it,  they got Yom Haatzmaut,  and the Holocaust Rememberance Day.

The prophet Daniel spoke of the conflict between Syria and Egypt in Dan.11:21-32. The prophet Zechariah also alluded to it( Zech.9:11-17).

The introduction of the image of a man in the temple of Jehovah under Antiochus Epiphanes was a historic portrait of the Abomination of Desolation.  It gives a frame of reference for understanding the future prophetic abomination of desolation under the antiMessiah who will be the leader of the 8th and final beast empire of Satan.

The term antiChrist is used to denote the attitude,  spirit and philosophy of this unregenerate world system towards God(1 Jon.4:3).  There have been many antChrists in the past.  There are many antChrists now,  and there will be many antChrists in the future,  more so,  in the first half of the 70th seven of Daniel( Matt. 24:5). But that attitude, spirit and philosophy will be personified in one person who will be the ultimate antiChrist( 1Jon.2:18,22). Antiochus theos Epiphanes was a foreshadow,  Prefigure,  forerunner or precursor of the coming antiChrist.

The Greek word anti means against and in place of. When Satan rebelled against God,  he sought to be against and in place of God(Is. 14:13,14).  The dominant idea about the antiMessiah is someone who is in opposition to,  and in substitution to God(Dan. 11:36; Rev.13:11-17). It is written about the antiMessiah,  ” who opposeth( against) and exalteth himself above( in place of God) all that is called God,  so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,  displaying himself as God( substitution)”( 2Thess.2 4). The attitude of this unregenerate world system is one of opposition towards God and substitution of God with man.

The world is being primed for the coming of the antiChrist. Does it stretch credulity that intelligent,  informed,  sophisticated,  modern, 21st century homo sapiens sapiens would ever bow to the image of man?  That after six thousand years of history,  man would seek to deity his fellow man?  However,  that is unerringly where history is headed.  When the antiMessiah appears at the world’s stage,  he will be the most attractive,  charming, easily accessible man.  Man of the people,  the consumate politician,  the ultimate superman. Therefore the whole world shall go after him.

Avraham Shallom.

Matthew 24: Debunking Pretribulation Rapture View.

Usually ones run in with pretribulationists is when a believer’s attention is drawn to biochipping and numbering of men to continue participation in world commerce. They , the pretribers retort, ” why worry? You would have been ruptured!”

I have asked them to produce scriptures that teach us we would be raptured before the revealing/ unveiling of the antiChrist. Usually, they are unable to produce Scriptures that support their position. I do hope some pretribers would accept this challenge and lead us to Scriptures that support Pretribulation Rapture Position.

In the meantime, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, I would proceed to highlight/bring scriptures that place end time believers with the pernicious one revealed.

Where else to start but with our Lord’s teaching in Matthew 24. Pastor Avraham Zion’s teachings have been helpful in making Matthew 24 clearer. It turns out that the chapter is a chronologically linear capsule to the very end.

Jesus must have seemed uninterested by the architecture of the temple- unimpressed by it. After all Jesus knew of the real in heaven, and this earthly one was to be destroyed anyway. This must have piqued the interest of the disciples, as they later approached Jesus for more information into the future. Note that it was when the disciples showed interest that Jesus taught them eschatology. Oh! Wish believers would give eschatology the priority it deserves, and we would see how the Holy Spirit would open our eyes to the signs of the times. In fact Mathew 24 is one of the least referred chapters from the pulpit.

It is interesting that Jesus starts His discourse with a warning to us that we be not misled into error( Mat.24:4). Are not Pretribulation, Midtribulation , and Posttribulation Rapture Positions capable of doing just that?

Between verses 5&9 of Matthew 24, our Master lays on ( describes) routine history -wars, earthquakes, floods and famines etc. Famines in today’s parlance can be equated to economic turmoils and upheavals, recessions, depressions, financial meltdowns and collapse, rather than the hungry populations due to poor harvest. Jesus warned that this is not the End, but the beginning of the end and routine history( v 8). We see that there is a beginning well defined. Verse 9 then warns of the coming suffering upon believers- hated of all nations. Verse 10 describes an antichristian world beyond the present postchristian world seen in the West.

Brethren no mention of the Rapture yet. Just Jesus asking us to brace up for the coming attack on believers, with verse 13 warning us to endure, and verse 11 warning us of errors about these teachings.

Verse 14 declares commencement of the End just after the good news is preached to all nations( technology has made this possible).

Fast forward to verse 21-25. Verse 25 says, ” see I have warned you before hand. Why would our Master warn us of this Great Tribulation, if we believers are not going to experience it? Where in the Bible are we believers divided into prerapture believers and postrapture believers as pretribers are wont to explain this scenario away- be careful of false prophets leading many into error( v 11).

Fast forward again to verse 29-31, which at last debut the rapture of the elect. Verse 29 starts with immediately after the tribulation of those days. And verse 31describes our dramatic rescue- the rapture of the elect of God.

No ambiguities here, our Master Jesus warning disciples, and the elect, and saints that it was not going to be rosy for us right on to His coming again for His church. A coming which is will cut short and amputate the oppression of His own chosen ones. Comforting words so that we do not give up, but endure the antiChrist’s persecution ( v 12,22). The Book of Revelation is full of such encouragement to believers ( Rev.7: 9-14; 15:2-4). So also is the Book of Daniel to which our Master Jesus alludes in verse 15 of Mat.24( cf. Dan.8:23-24). So also the second letter to believers in Thessalonica. Th Holy Spirit through Paul, correcting error of some by saying that the Rapture will not occur until the antiChrist is revealed( 2Thess.2:1-5).

I am addressing the issue of our elders telling believers not to perturbed about the coming of the antiChrist, since his persecution and reign will be over nonbelieving world. The Olivet Discourse( Mat.24), does not support this view. The antiChrist is unveiled in verse 15, while the rapture takes place in verse 31.

It is all so consistent that one wonders where pretribers are coming from. Verse 11 of Mat.24 explains how within the church, many have arisen to deceive and lead many to error and damnation as they are not prepared for the reign of the antiChrist.

Brethren, I am not writing to bring fear but joy. Joy similar to a bride receiving her groom. A joy similar to a father welcoming home a son who has been away in a foreign land. And as our Master Jesus puts it, the joy of a new mother receiving her new born in her hands after a prolonged labour.

I encourage us to be prepared like the five wise virgins. Emphasis is necessary because if you live a holy life but get chipped to continue your daily transactions under the rule of the antMessiah, you cannot make it to heaven with Jesus. You have chosen Satan’s Mammon , money, and you cannot serve two Masters. The Pretribulation Rapture view, leads to a state of mind that prevents preparedness to cope with the antiChrist, while the pre-God’s- wrath Rapture View is consistent with the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation.

Olugbenga Jaiyesimi.

The Rebuilding Of The Third Temple.

In the history of Israel,  every period of the kingdom is associated with a temple in Jerusalem.  The period of the kingdom from the institution of the monarchy to the carrying away into captivity in Babylon is referred to as the First Temple Period or simply the First Temple( 1080-586 BC). This period of the kingdom is associated with the temple built by King Solomon. This temple was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 586 BC.

After 70 years in exile in Babylon,  the Jews were freed  by the decree of Cyrus the Persian in 538 BC, according to the words of Jeremiah the prophet(Ezra 1:1-4; Jer.25:12, 29:10). Thus began the Second Temple Period or simply the Second Temple(538 BC-70 AD). By 515 BC,  the returning exiles had completed the Second Temple. This temple, located on the same site as the first was extensively and lavishly refurbished by Herod the Great. It was this temple that was in existence during the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus The Christ. This temple was destroyed by the Roman general Titus in 70 AD as prophesied by the prophet Daniel and reiterated by our Lord Jesus The Christ in His Olivet discourse,  thus ending the second Temple Period(Dan. 9:27; Matt.24:1,2).

As we have pointed out earlier, each period of the kingdom corresponds to a temple. The modern state of Israel was established in 1948 following the end of the British Mandate in Palestine. Up to now,  there is no Temple. Despite the absence of any Temple,  the Jews refer to this period of the kingdom as Third Temple Period or simply the Third Temple(1948-end of the 70th, which corresponds with the death of the two witnesses of Rev.11). During the Yom Kippur War,  when Israel was almost annihilated by her Arab neighbors,  the then Defense Minister of Israel,  the legendary one-eyed general Moshe Dayan said, ” The Third Temple is over.”  up to now as at that time,  there was no Temple. Yet this period of the kingdom without a king is referred to as the Third Temple.

”For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king,  and without a prince,  without a sacrifice,  and without an image,  and without an ephod,  and without teraphim: Afterwards shall the children of Israel return,  and seek the LORD their God,  and David their king ; and shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days”(Hos.6:4,5).

Today Israel is an independent state in the comity of nations,  but it is without  a king. There is no high priest with an ephod and teraphim, no umim and no thumim,  and no sacrifice because there is no Temple. During the Day Of The Lord, the children of Israel shall return to the LORD their God, and David’s greater Son,  our Lord Jesus the Christ shall be king over them,  and the High Priest of God. He shall be a priest upon the throne(Zach.6:13).

The major events of the 70th week of Daniel are centred in and around the Jewish Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem.

”Let no one deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come,  except there come a falling away first,  and that man of Sin be revealed,  the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God,  or worshipped: so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,  shewing that he is God”(2 These.2:3,4).

In order for the antiMessiah to make his debut at the Jewish Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, where he unveils his identity as dead man come back to life,  and displays himself as God,  demanding worship of all mortals in the middle of the 70th week of Daniel,  a  temple must exist on the Temple Mount. Up to now,  the Temple Mount is occupied by the Muslim Dome of the  Rock, the Golden Dome and the Al-aqsa mosque.

Prior to the 70th seven or even within the first three and one half years of the 70th seven,  the third Jewish Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem must be rebuilt.  This is probably one of the feats of politics the antiChrist will perform that will endear him to the Jewish people. However,  it is most likely that after the covenant of Apostasy is made with the antiMessiah that the Jews will be permitted to rebuild their Temple, though we must remind ourselves,  that the rebuilding of the temple is not mentioned as one of the major events in the first three and one-half years of the 70th seven of Daniel. The scriptures are not precise when the third Temple shall be rebuilt,  but there ain’t too many options.  It is either prior to the 70th seven of Daniel,  or in the first three and one-half years; for a temple must be standing, and animal sacrifice and meal offering resumed prior to the midpoint of the 70th seven when the Man of Sin is revealed,  and the sacrifice and oblation caused to cease.

The Temple Mount,  is the most expensive piece of property on Earth today.  As a matter of fact,  it is not up for sale.  Jews,  Muslims, christians and the international community are interested in it. There is a lot of controversy surrounding this piece of real estate. When Israel wrestled control of Jerusalem from Jordan in 1967, the then defense minister of Israel,  Moshe Dayan returned the key to the temple Mount to the Muslim Waqf as gesture of good will. Unfortunately Jews are not even allowed to pray on the Temple Mount. Those who move their lips are arrested.

The real issue however is the location of Holy Of Holies of the temple. Studies by Asher  Kaufman indicate that it is not under the Dome Of The Rock, but a little further northwest of the mosque,  under the Dome of the Tablets,  a location directly west of the Eastern or Golden Gate. It therefore means the Jews could rebuild their Temple on the site of Solomons Temple while the Dome of the Rock is still standing. If that is the case,  the Muslim Dome of the Rock is in the outer court.  This may be what is meant by the angel’s instruction to John the revelator,  not to measure the outer court of the temple. ” And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood,  saying,  Rise,  and measure the temple of God,  and the altar,  and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out,  and measure it not; for is given unto the Gentiles: and the Holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months “( Rev. 11:1,2).

In the light of this understanding,  it may be possible for the Jews to rebuild their Temple at the shortest notice without tampering with Muslim Dome Of The Rock. All the materials for the rebuilding of the temple have been procured. Over $100 million dollars have been raised for the rebuilding of the temple. Priests of the family of Aaron and levites have been identified by DNA tests,  trained, and are rehearsing and doing test runs,  on the wings,  waiting to resume Temple worship and animal sacrifice, grain offering and the pouring of libations(drink offering) at a moment’s notice.  Vigorous search is being made for the red heifer. Several have been identified but disqualified by a few strands of  black or white hair. Recently a pure red heifer was found. Crowd funding is being used to raise money for the cloning of red heifers. When this is successful, there will be no lack of red heifers.

It is possible that an entire Temple may not be built,  but only a tabernacles like structure that could be erected quickly to provide a place for worship and animal sacrifice,  not unlike the temporary structure called the tabernacle which Moses erected in the wilderness.  Greek scholars tell us that the Greek word used to describe the temple the antiChtist will desecrate at the midpoint of the 70th seven permits such a view.  At any rate,  a place of  sacrifice is not necessarily a precursor to the 70th seven of Daniel,  and in reality may not be built until shortly before the midpoint of the 70th seven of Daniel.

Avraham Shallom.

The Appointment Of The Cohen Gadol

The newly reconstituted Sanhedrin‎, the council of 70 elders that governed Israel in ancient times has appointed a Cohen Gadol or High Priest, from the house of Aaron. He is Rabbi Baruch Kahane. This revelation was made by Rabbi Hillel Weiss, the spokesperson for the nascent Sanhedrin. Rabbi Baruch Kahane is part of the Halacha Berurah Institute established by Rabbi Avraham Isaac Hacohen Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of Israel. The Temple Institute has established a registry of kohanim, and a school for the training of the priests in the details of the Temple service. Thisis a landmark development; inasmuch as there has not been any temple or High Priest since the destruction of the Temple on Mount Moriah, Jerusalem, in 70 AD by the Roman General Titus.

With political will on the part of the Israeli government, temple worship, and animal sacrifice, grain and drink offerings could resume at any moment. A full temple need not be erected, though everything required for the building of the third temple based on the plan drawn from Ezekiel 40-43 has been procured. Over $100 million dollars has been raised in cash for the rebuilding of the third Temple. The red heifer has been identified. Through crowd funding money is being raised for cloning and breeding of the red heifer. The golden altar of incense that stands in the holy place has been reconstructed

However, the plan of the temple in Ezekiel 40-43 refers to the fourth and Millennial temple to be erected by The Messiah Himself after the War of Armageddon(Ezek.39,39; Rev.16:16, 19:11-21), and the subsequent renovation of the Temple Mount, the land of Israel, and the whole Earth(Ezek.44-48), during the 45-day Restoration Period(Dan.12:12). It is not likely an elaborate temple like the one described by the prophet Ezekiel could be built in this age. For a temple of this size to be built, the whole Temple Mount most be reclaimed. The situation on the ground in Israel at this time does not permit that. However, the situation may change.

There is no record of the plan of the Third Temple anywhere in the whole of the Scripture‎s, though a Third temple must exist on the Temple Mount for the events of the 70th Seven of Daniel to be fulfilled(Dan.9:27; Matt.24:15; Mk.13:14; 2 Thessalonians.2:3,4; Rev.11:1,2). The Third Temple may not be a full temple like the First built by Solomon which was destroyed in 586 BC by the Neobabylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar II, or like the Second Temple built by the returning exiles following the decree of Cyrus of Medopersia, in 538. This temple completed in 515 BC, was extensively refurbished and embellished by Herod the Great. It was this temple that was in existence during the ministry of Jesus. This temple was destroyed in 70 AD by the Roman General Titus.

The Third Temple may be a tabernacle like structure hurriedly fabricated. With modern technology, and considering the development in architecture and civil engineering in Israel, such a structure may be erected within a week or even overnight. The politics in the Holy Land and the situation on the ground on the Temple Mount may not permit the erection of an elaborate temple like the one described in Ezekiel 40-43. What will happen to the Done of the Rock, and the Musque of Omer? Admittedly, any attempt to forcibly  remove these two‎ structures in order to erect a Jewish temple on the Temple Mount, will raise a lot of dust, and may in fact spark a global religious war.

In Rev.11:1,2, John the revelator was instructed by the angel of God to measure the Third Temple and those who worship in it, and to leave out the outer court to the Gentiles who shall tread it under foot for forty and two months. This period is of the same length as the ministry of the Two Witnesses who shall prophesy for a thousand three hundred and sixty day(Rev.11:3). Biblical scholars are agreed that this periods corresponds with the Second half of the 70th Seven of Daniel which is the time allotted to the antiChrist to reign.

Israel is the clock. It is God’s time piece for the End Times. It is NOT the Church. With the Church, there is no way we can objectively identify our locus in the eschatological timeline. With Israel we can monitor the times and the seasons. This is not Judaism. It is biblical eschatology of which we do well to be aware.

Avraham Shallom.

Exposition On Isaiah 2:1-22

Isaiah, the son of Amoz was one of the pre-exilic prophets, a contemporary of Hosea, Amos, and Micah. He descended from the kingly line of David. Therefore he is a member of the royal household. Unlike prophet Amos who was a farmer before the Lord called him, Isaiah was highly educated and a man of culture having descended from royalty as is also suggested by the richness of his vocabulary. One could imagine how devoted he was to the God of Israel for him to obey God promptly in answering the call(Isa.6:8). In his unalloyed obedience to God, he performed a prophet act of walking about naked for three years to demonstrate how the Egyptians and Cushites, even their nobles like Isaiah would be led away naked and barefoot into captivity by Sargon II king of Assyria(Isa.20:3,4). God had to so disgrace Egypt and Cush because the southern kingdom of Judah was allied to them, and trusted them to save them from the Assyrian king rather than trust in the Lord their God. Cush was their expectation and Egypt their glory(Isa.20:5).

The name Isaiah means Yahweh saves or Yahweh is Saviour or salvation. As his name suggests, the theme of his work is Yahweh saves or Yahweh is salvation or Saviour. The book of Isaiah contains more prophecies about the Messiah than any other book in the Old Testatment. God’s plan of salvation is so fully and comprehensively revealed in the book of prophet Isaiah that Aurelius Augustinus(Augustine of Hippo: 354-430) called it the Fifth Gospel. Other great biblical scholars have referred to it as the “the Bible in miniature.”

I have retained the Hebrew name Cush rather than Ethiopia as in KJV because this name does not refer to modern day Ethiopia at all. Ethiopia was formerly named Abyssinia. In ancient times it was referred to as Sheba. Cush simply means black. In ancient times it referred to the area south and west of Egypt which more or less corresponds to the nations of modern day Sudan and South Sudan. The reference in the Book of Acts to the noble man who was in charge of the treasures of Queen Candace of Cush(Ethiopia) speaks of Queen Candace of Mero, an ancient kingdom in the region of modern day Sudan(Acts 8:26-40). In antiquities, these areas were inhabited by black skinned people, the Cushites. Hence, the proverb, “can the Cushite change his skin?”(Jer.13:23).

Isaiah was the prophet par excellence. He prophesied for a very long period, spanning the reign of four kings of the southern kingdom of Judah. Isaiah prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah kings of Judah. Uzziah(Azaiah), Son Of Amaziah reigned for 52 years[767(79)2-740] BC(2 kin.15:1-7; 2 Chron.26:1-23). Isaiah was called the year Uzziah died(2 Chron.26:5). Therefore, the 52 years of the reign of Uzziah was not part of the period of his active ministry. Nevertheless Uzziah laid the foundation for the period. Jotham, Son Of Uzziah reigned for 16 years[740(750)-731]{2 Kin.15:32-38; 2 Chron.27:1-9}. Ahaz, Son Of Jotham reigned for 16 years[731(735)-731] BC {2 Kin.16:1-20; 2 Chron.228:1-27}. Hezekiah son Ahaz ruled for 29 years[715(729)-686] BC{2 kin.18:1-20:21; 2 Chron.29:1-32:33 Is.36:1-39:8}? Isaiah probably ministered for up to half a century or thereabouts. It is not known when Isaiah died. According to tradition, he was sawn in two during the reign of wicked Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah[686(696)-642]. During the reign of these kings, the southern kingdom of Judah experienced prosperity, but the people were morally bankrupt and spiritually destitute as revealed by those of his contemporary prophets(Hos.4:1-2, 6-8; Amos 2:6-8; Mic.1:5, 3:1-11). Their land was full of silver and gold, and there was no end to their treasures. “Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.”(Isaiah 2:8-9).

Despite their prosperity, they were greedy and rapacious. They copied their neighboring powers, especially Egypt and Assyria, and imported horses and chariots from Egypt which led to trust in their military mighty and prowess(Isa.2:7). As if that was not enough, they added insult to injury, and worshipped idols. These were graven and molten images crafted by their own fingers. This they learned through associations with the peoples of neighboring powers, like the Egyptians and Assyrians who were idol worshippers. Their land was full of idols(Isa.2:8). Whatever the nobles did, the am ha’ aretz, the ordinary people of the land copied them and followed suit. The ordinary people of the land took their cues from the elites. The mean bowed down, and the great man humbled himself before the works of their hands. Because they have bowed themselves to graven images, and worshipped the works of their hands, the God of Israel would not forgive them and spare them any punishment which was due. They had to go into captivity. It was not that God was unwilling to forgive them, but rather, they were unwilling to repent.

This was the situation in Israel during the reign of these kings when the prophet Isaiah prophesied to the kings, nobles and people of Judah. He was also looking beyond the immediate period to the End of Time. This is what theologians call the near and far views of prophecy. During this period of the far view of Isaiah’s prophecy, Israel shall enter into a seven-year peace treaty with the Man Of Sin, the Son Of perdition or destruction(Dan.9:27; 2Thess.2:3). For the first three and one-half years, Israel shall be relatively peaceful. They shall prosper being protected by the armies of the most powerful world ruler. When Jesus came to His own in the name of the God of Israel, they rejected Him. When another, the antiMessiah shall come in his own name, they will receive him. “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.”(John 1:10-11). “I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.”(John 5:43). The another here is the antiMessiah; a mere man whose breath is in his nostrils(v22).

This covenant is called the covenant of apostasy, because it will lead to total abandonment of the God of Israel by some Jews and Christians three and one-half years later when the antiMessiah shall declare himself God in the rebuilt Third Jewish Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem and demand to be worshipped by all and sundry(Dan.9:27; 2Thess.2:4). It is called covenant with death and agreement with Hell. “Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.”(Isaiah 28:15, 18-19).

When the antiMessiah breaks his peace agreement with Israel, he shall persecute Jews who refuse to worship him. During the reign of the antiChrist, enlivened images of the Beast shall be situated in strategic places for public worship. This will be like in the Roman period when emperor worship was demanded of citizens. Every Roman citizen was required to offer a pinch of incense to the statue of the emperor at the city square or in the Temple Of Caesar. These images, empowered by AI, and energized by demonic powers shall be able to identify those who do not have the mark of the Beast, and cause them to be put to death if they refuse to capitulate to the authority of the antiMessiah by accepting to be branded with his mark of allegiance. Those who agree to worship him shall be instructed by the second Beast, the false prophet, his enforcer, to make images of the Beast in gold, silver, bronze, iron, and wood to worship in their homes, offices, and cars, every man according what he can afford. The second half of the 70th week shall be like the period of the reign of the aforementioned kings when the land of Judah was full of idols, and even worse because the antiChrist shall make the worship of his image mandatory. Although Isaiah was speaking of the situation in his day, but he was also looking forward to the second half of the 70th week when there shall be mass idolatry all over the world. The false prophet, the spiritual head of the one world religion shall instruct his followers all over the world to worship the First Beast and the Dragon(Rev.13:4).

“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”(Rev.13:11-18).

This shall account for the preponderance of idols during the second half of the 70th week. Anyone who refuses to bow to these images shall be punished with death, banishment or captivity as the case may be. During this period many shall betray one another. The martyred saints arriving heaven is the fifth seal. “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: 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, should be fulfilled.”(Rev.6:9-11).

When the complement of the saints to be martyred is fulfilled as evidenced by the fifth seal, God shall amputate the Great Tribulation with cosmic disturbances which constitute the sixth seal. “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; 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.”(Rev.6:12-14).

The fifth seal promises wrath during the Day Of The Lord. The sixth seal portends wrath during the Day Of The Lord. There is an interlude between the sixth and the seventh seals. During this interlude, the Shechinah, the sign of the Coming of the Son Of Man appears in the heavens, the 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel are sealed with the seal of God for protection during the Day Of The Lord, and the saints are raptured into heaven, taken away from the scene of persecution from the antiChrist, and the wrath of God during the Day Of The Lord, which begins the very same day the surviving saints are translated into heaven(Rev.7). The interlude between the sixth and the seventh seal therefore protects from the wrath of God.

At the breaking of the sixth seal, the branded idol worshippers who worship the Beast, his image, and the Great Red Dragon, who gave power and authority to the Beast shall dispose of their idols to the moles and bats to hide in the rocks and the mountains, invoking these to fall upon them, and to hide them from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. “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?”(Rev.6:15-17).

These branded worshippers of the Beast shall be composed of the high and low, the rich and the poor, the mighty men and generals of the armies of nations and kingdoms, bond and free.

We can see that Isa.2:11-22 parallels Rev.6:15-19:21, barring Rev.10-14 which is parenthetic. During this period, the Day Of The Lord’s Wrath, the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in That Day(Isa.2:11,17). It shall be a terrible day for every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low(v.12). It shall be upon the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures(vv.13-16). The cedars of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan are the tallest of trees in the Mid East. They are figurative of the high and mighty, the powerful and influential men, the great men and the nobles. The mountains and hills symbolize the kingdoms of the Earth and their kings which shall be devastated by the wrath of God in the Day Of The Lord. All that man has achieved in defiance to God shall be destroyed, the skyscrapers, the lofty institutions of man, his global ideal epitomized by Babylon shall be utterly destroyed at the outpouring of the seventh bowl judgment. The cities of the nations shall be leveled by the great earthquake of the seventh bowl judgment. Apostle Peter asked us, seeing that all these things shall be destroyed, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness?(2 Pet.3:13,14).

“And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.”(Rev.16:17-21).

During the Day Of The Lord, the idols, the enlivened images of the Beast in gold, silver, precious stones, wood, etc shall be utterly abolished(v.18). Once the Day Of The Lord has begun, no man or idol shall be worshipped any more anywhere on the planet Earth. Men shall throw away their idols, the enlivened images of the Beast, to go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the Earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His Majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the Earth. Every man alive on Earth at that time shall know instinctively that God is about to punish the world for their evils. They will throw away their idols to run for their dear lives. God shall shake the heavens and Earth, and everything that man has built in defiance to God shall be destroyed(v.19).

“In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.”(Isaiah 2:20-21). Based on this scenario painted by the prophet Isaiah and corroborated by all the other OT and NT prophets, and graphically summarized by Apostle John, the revelator, Isaiah admonished us, “cease ye from man whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted.”(v.22). This verse is applicable to every man, that man should not worship his fellow man. However, in context, it is referent to the antiMessiah, the ultimate superman who shall arise in the last days to demand worship of all mortals. We must not worship him. He is man not God. And because he is man, he shall die like every other mortal man. He is not to be accounted of anything.

The pretribulationists tell us the whole 70th week of Daniel is the wrath of God. And because the Church is not appointed unto wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus the Christ, the Church shall be raptured before the commencement of the 70th week of Daniel at the breaking of the first seal(1 Thess.1:10, 5:9). But it is inconceivable, in the light of the scenario painted by the prophets that after the wrath of God has begun in the Day Of His Wrath, that the antiChrist can arise, achieve a worldwide domination, transfer his headquarters to the Jewish Holy City of Jerusalem, demand worship of all men, desecrate the Third Jewish Temple on Mount Moriah, built for the worship of Jehovah, institute the Great Tribulation, brand men as farmers brand cattle, and slave dealers brand their victims, martyr the saints of the Most High all over the world, mount the enlivened images of himself at strategic locations all over the world for men to worship, attempt to kill everyone who refuses the mark of allegiance to him, in the day when the haughtiness of men shall be brought low and the idols utterly abolished? In the day when no man shall be exalted but God alone. All these theological and biblical impossibilities are flouted in an attempt to keep the Church out of the Great Tribulation. Impossible you will say, and you are right.

If the whole of the 70th week were the wrath of God, why are the three angelic announcements made at the midpoint of the 70th. Who shall go about proclaiming the gospel in the Day Of The Lord?(Rev.14:6,7). No one. Who shall abide in Babylon in the Day of her desolation?(Rev.14:8). No one. Who shall worship the Beast or his image in the Day Of The Lord?(Rev.14:9-13). No one. The Day Of The Lord is darkness and not light. It is a day of gloominess, as one did flee from a lion(the Great Tribulation), and bear(the wrath of God) met him; as if one did flee from a lion(the Great Tribulation), entered his house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent(the wrath of God) bit him(Amos 5:18-20). These men in spite of their stellar biblical scholarship and holy living have not rightly divided the word of God(2 Tim.2:15). They have failed to distinguish the wrath of Satan(Rev.12:12), man’s inhumanity to man, from the wrath of God(Rev.6:17) which is God’s direct intervention in the affairs of men to justify the righteous and punish the wicked who bowed to the image of the Beast. One of these dear ministers of God arrogantly tells us, if you are here after the rapture, I tell you 20 things you must do to survive the reign of the antiChrist. When I read through, I said to myself, these are the things he should teach his congregation now in order that they might survive the horrors of the Great Tribulation. He may sleep in the Lord before the antiChrist shows up, but certainly, some members of his congregation or their descendants after them shall one day face the horrors of the Great Tribulation by the antiChrist before the Rapture takes place.

Although the picture graphically painted here by the prophet Isaiah is gloomy, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Our God is wonderful. He works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform. He knows all things. He knows the end from the beginning. The word spoken here concerns Judah and Jerusalem, but it has ripples all over the world. “The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.”(v1). Israel will not cease to be a nation before God. Jerusalem, her Holy and capital city will not be destroyed. There will be consummative and eschatological restorations. At the end of Armageddon, the whole Earth shall be renovated. The land of Israel shall be restored. Mount Zion shall be restored. It shall be elevated above all other mountains. On its summit shall sit the Fourth And Millennial Temple to be built by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself(Ezek.40-43). Therefore it shall be called The Mountain Of The Lord’s House. All those from all nations who survived the Sheep And Goat Judgment after Armageddon shall flow unto it. “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.”(v2).

The gentile survivors of the Sheep And Goat Judgment shall make yearly pilgrimages to Jerusalem to keep the Feast Of Tabernacles and to receive instructions on the Word Of God in order that they may learn to walk in His ways. They shall learn His instructions and do them; for out of Zion shall go forth The Law(Torah; instructions, teachings), and the Word Of the Lord from Jerusalem. “And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”(v3). Our Lord Jesus, David’s greater Son shall be judge over the nations and peoples of the Earth. He shall rule with the rod of iron(ps.2:8). He shall rebuke the heathen(peoples). The nations shall not learn war anymore. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks. The nations shall not lift up sword one against another. Every man shall be under his vine and under his fig tree. The heavens and the Earth shall know peace and tranquility. The present laws that govern nature were instituted by Satan after the fall of Adam. They shall be abrogated. New and better laws that govern nature shall be instituted. There shall be no more hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, monsoon rains and landslides etc. There shall be neither pests nor plagues. There shall be no more wars nor hostility between nations. “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”(v4).

In the light of the proposed millennial reign of Christ, God invited the whole house of Jacob, both the Northern And Southern kingdoms, that is, all the twelves tribes to walk in the light of the Lord. The word of God is light. To receive divine instructions is to receive light. In Him was life and the light was the light of men(Jon.1:4). In thy light shall we see light(Ps.36:9). But the sons of Jacob rebelled. They wanted to be like the surrounding nations. They were replenished from the East, and became soothsayers like the Philistines. They entered into military alliances with neighboring nations. They entered into marriage contracts with foreign women which they were forbidden to do in the Law Of Moses(Exod.34:15,16). They also gave their daughters to the sons of strangers. They turned their sons hearts to worship foreign gods, the idols that the nations worshipped. They entered into trading agreements with the surrounding nations. They prospered materially and financially through trade with these nations. “Their land was full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures”(v7a). They entered into military alliances with these surrounding nations. Therefore they learned to trust in chariots and horses like these nations instead of the Name Of The Lord(Ps.2:7). “Their land also is full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots(v7b). Because of their disobedience and rebellion, the Lord forsook them. “Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people, the house of Jacob.”(v6).

Avraham Shallom.

The Jerusalem Campaign

”And when you shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that in the countries enter thereinto. For these shall be the days of vengeance, that all things written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! for there shall be Great Distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be lead away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled”(Luk.21:20-24).

The phrase translated Great Distress here in verse 23 is the same translated Great Tribulation in Matt.24:21. As we can see here, the fleeing to the mountains of them that are in Judaea is associated with the surrounding of Jerusalem with armies. The same events associated with the surrounding of Jerusalem with armies is associated with the abomination of desolation standing in the place where it ought not, that is, the rebuilt Jewish temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem(Matt.24:15-20; Mark 13:14-18). We have already proven that this event, the abomination that maketh desolate which is the importation of the image of the antiMessiah into the Holy of Holies of the rebuilt Jewish temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem dedicated to the worship of Jehovah occurs precisely in the middle of the 70th seven of Daniel.

“For he shall cut the covenant with the many(from within Israel) for one week; and in the midst of the week(midpoint) he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations, he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the one who maketh desolate”(Dan.9:27).

It therefore follows that these two events are concurrent. They occur when the restrainer is removed. When the opposition of Michael, the archangel that standeth for His people is removed, the Beast-antiChrist shall be at liberty to do as he pleases. This initial invasion of Jerusalem by the armies of the antiMessiah in order to enforce the apostasy is dubbed the Jerusalem campaign in order to distinguish it from the other two campaigns that will take place in the same vicinity, namely the Jehoshaphat campaign and the Armageddon campaign. The Armageddon campaign begins in the vicinity of Jerusalem also but ends in the Battle of Armageddon in the valley of Esdraelon in northern Israel, about 160 km north of Jerusalem.

This campaign which shall occur at the beginning of the Great Tribulation shall lead to increased death toll amongst Jews and Christians in the Holy land if it falls on the sabbath day or in the winter. ” And pray that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day”(Matt.24:20). If it occurs in the winter, many more Jews and Christians fleeing from the antiChrist persecution shall perish from exposure to the elements. Right now we are in the midst of refugee crisis in Europe fleeing ISIS persecution in Syria and Iraq. Something has to be done quickly to provide them shelter before the winter arrives. In the midst of the 70th week, there shall be no government or organization to provide shelter for Jews and Christians fleeing from the antiChrist in the Holy Land. There will be no Red Cross or Medicine sans frontier to provide them with medical care. These international NGOs will not be able to function due to wars and rumors of wars, and earthquakes in diverse places. There will be total disruption of communication and international cooperation. The rules of war enshrined in the Geneva Convention will be rubbished.

It shall be worst for the observant Jews if the flight associated with the invasion of Jerusalem by the antiChrist occurs on the sabbath day. The sabbath day journey is a little more that half a mile. The observant Jew shall run so far and no more. He shall be apprehended, coerced to capitulate to the authority of the antiMessiah by taking his mark of allegiance or be killed on refusal to comply. The majority of the observant Jews shall reject this Mark of allegiance to the antiMessiah outright and pay with their lives.

How difficult shall it be for pregnant mothers and those with children and women who are giving suck in those days? It shall be extremely difficult for them to get away from Jerusalem, more so if the flight occurs in the winter; and worst still on the sabbath day in the winter for the observant jewess. These women and their children shall not be able to go very far, and could die from exposure to the elements or be caught and be coerced to capitulate to the antiChrist or be liquidated on refusal to comply. Others will be taken taken into captivity. Some will be be publically humiliated.

Avraham Shallom.

Author’s Note: I have culled this article from my previous post, The Great Tribulation, to put it here, as it were, on the front page, to make it easier for those who visit our website, in preparation for our seminar on End Times, to access; for that is one of the topics we shall be discussing. Shalom! Maranatha.

The Jehoshaphat Campaign

Towards the end of the Great Tribulation, a little while before the cosmic disturbances that shall interrupt the Great Tribulation, the antiChrist and the nations surrounding Israel which are part of the 8th and Final Beast Empire or allied to the antiMessiah shall carry out another military campaign to destroy all in the land of Israel who do not have the Mark of the Beast. The Great Tribulation which began with the Jerusalem campaign in which Jerusalem was surrounded by the armies of the Beast, shall end with another military campaign carried out in the vicinity of Jerusalem to ferret out and destroy the remnants of Israel who repudiate the authority of the antiChrist by refusing to be chipped or branded with his Mark. These men, women, and children are hiding in cellars, basement, underground bunkers and sewers. This campaign called the Jehoshaphat campaign is the gathering of the armies of the Gentile nations that surround Israel which are part of the ten-nation confederation of the antiChrist, or which are not part of the confederation, but allied to the antiChrist like Jordan, in preparation for the second military assault on Jerusalem.

The Lord Himself shall draw these nations into the valley of Jehoshaphat prior to the inauguration of the Day Of The LORD. ” For behold in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and of Jerusalem, and I will gather all nations, and I will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will plead with them there for my people and my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land”(Joel 3:1,2). The intention of these nations shall be to totally destroy the nation of Israel, but God will gather them there to judge them instead. ” For behold, the Day Of The LORD cometh, and thy spoil, shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; the city shall be taken, and the housed riffled, and the women ravished; and half the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city(Zech.14:1,2). This will be very horrible. One half of the Jewish residents of the city shall be taken captive. Their houses shall be destroyed, and the women sexually violated. The residue of the Jewish residents who shall not be cut off from the city are those who are beast-marked. They are branded with the Mark of the Beast. Therefore they are free to reside in the city, and buy and sell without molestation by the security agents of the antiChrist. However, they shall face the wrath of God in the Day Of The LORD.

“Proclaim ye amongst the Gentiles; prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come all heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be awakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for their will I sit to judge the heathen round about. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the Day Of The LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heaven and earth shall shake: but the LORD shall be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy , and there shall no strangers pass through her any more(Joel 3:9-17).

It is obvious here that this campaign shall begin before the Day Of The LORD, when the sun, moon, and stars shall be darkened. But God shall interrupt this destruction by the armies of the antiChrist and the Gentile nations surrounding Israel with cosmoceletial disturbances. A substantial number of these armies shall be immediately annihilated by the cosmic and celestial disturbances. However some remnants of them shall survive the initial onslaught of the wrath of God, but shall finally be annihilated at Armageddon.

There are some biblical scholars that teach that this is part of the battle of Armageddon. The references to the sickle and the harvest in verse 13, indicate that is is part of the wrath of God. But it is also obvious that the gathering of the Gentiles for this battle occurs under the fourth seal of Rev.6. Remember that the fifth seal is a heavenly scene, reflecting the killings going on here on Earth under the fourth seal, the Great Tribulation, and is therefore concurrent with it. This second invasion of Jerusalem by the armies of the antiChrist shall be the final satanic act to destroy those who do not have the Mark of the Beast in and around Jerusalem, and the whole land of Israel during the Great Tribulation before God amputates it with cosmic disturbances. With the cosmic and celestial disturbances, these armies are incapacitated, and shall finally be annihilated at Armageddon a few years later.

The fact that this battle occurs just before the Day Of The LORD, distinguishes it from the Jerusalem campaign which occurs at the beginning of the the Great Tribulation, in the middle of the 70th seven of Daniel, and the battle of Armageddon that occurs 30 days after the end of the 70th week of Daniel. The Jehoshaphat campaign is a precursor to the Day Of The lord, and the return of Christ. This campaign as we have seen will involve the Gentile nations that surround Israel(Joel 3:11,12 Zech.12:6).

It is likely that these surrounding nations are the seven secondary nations of the ten nation confederation formed by the antiChrist. But they will also include other nations which are not part of the ten nation confederation which are allied to the antiChrist. The three power base nations would already have their armies stationed in Jerusalem by virtue of the Jerusalem campaign that occurred at the midpoint of the 70th week, at the beginning of the Great Tribulation. As a matter of fact, the three power base nations of Magog, Meshech, and Tuval shall station a protection force in the land of Israel and her Holy City , Jerusalem, right from the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel, following the 7-year peace agreement between Israel and the antiMessiah and his ten nation confederation. This accounts for the relative peace that Israel shall enjoy while wars rage on in all other parts of the world for the first three and one-half years of the 70th week of Daniel. This relative peace shall lull Israel into complacency until attacked by these forces at the midpoint of the 70th week of Daniel in the Jerusalem Campaign. The seven secondary nations of the ten nation confederation form a circle around Israel. Whichever these nation would be, the prophet Joel prophesied that God would gather these nations together into the valley of Jehoshaphat just before the Day Of The LORD. Therefore this campaign will occur sometime during the second half of the 70th seven of Daniel, just before God cuts short the Great Tribulation by the antiChrist with cosmic disturbances. The Scriptures did not name them, but gave us a description of them. They are the nations that surround Israel geographically.

Most biblical scholars believe the valley of Jehoshaphat is the kidron valley in the east of Jerusalem. Jehoshaphat means Jehovah judges which is an apt description. There is no valley in the OT named the valley of Jehoshaphat. It may be that Jehoshaphat was referring to the valley of Beracah located about six miles, approximately 10 Km, southwest of Bethlehem where king Jehoshaphat defeated the coalition forces of Moab, Ammon, and Edom(2 Chron.20:20-26). Whatever the exact location of this campaign, the Almighty God of Israel will defeat these arrogant, insolent, and ungodly nations.

The prophet Zechariah portrayed the same end time scenario. ” In that Day, saith saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open my eyes upon the house of Judah, and I will smite every horse of the people with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God. In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a touch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again on her own place, even in Jerusalem(Zech.12:4-6).

The defeat of these armies by God in the valley of Jehoshaphat shall enable the clans of Judah to mount a counteroffensive against the antiChrist and his allies. It is important to remember that the Jehoshaphat campaign by the antiChrist will begin shortly before the Day Of The LORD is unleashed upon the Earth. The back-to-back sign of the end of the ages, and the sign of Christ’s coming, cannot occur until the Jehoshaphat campaign has been initiated against Israel and her Holy city Jerusalem. It is only after these crucial events that the return of the Lord shall be imminent.

Our Lord addressing His disciples on the end time scenario, said, “the days will come(during the Great Tribulation) when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son Of Man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, see here; or, see there: go not after them nor follow them. For as the lightening, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall the Son Of Man be in His day”(Luk.17:22-24).

Christ continued to admonish his disciples to pray and have faith in God, and not to faint, telling them the parable of the unjust judge. If the unjust judge grants the widow legal redress against her oppressors, so as not to be wearied by her continual coming, shall not God, The Righteous Judge of the Universe grant justice to His elect, who cry to Him, day and night? I tell you, He will grant them justice speedily. However, when the Son Of Man cometh, will He find faith on Earth?(Luk.18:1-8). Therefore we conclude, that the return of the Lord, initiated by the sign of the end of the ages , cannot be imminent until the persecution of the elect begins during the Great Tribulation by the antiChrist, after the beginning of the Jehoshaphat campaign and the cosmic disturbances. The sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give its light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven. There shall be universal darkness and frigidity. It is only after then shall we look for the sign of the coming of the Son Of Man, which is the Shekinah in the heaven. The Shekinah, the glorious presence of the God of Israel shall dispel the darkness and defrost the Earth. This is the sign of His Coming, the appearance of the Son Of Man in the heavens, and of the End Of The Ages.

Avraham Shallom.

Author’s Note: I have culled this article from my previous post, The Great Tribulation, to put it here, as it were, on the front page, to make it easier for those who visit our website, in preparation for our seminar on End Times, to access; for that is one of the topics we shall be discussing. Shalom! Maranatha.

The Last Trump

1 Cor.15 in its entirety is given over to a thorough treatment of the
doctrine of bodily resurrection. Bodily resurrection is an integral
part of the gospel. This lies in the fact that Christ died, and was
buried, but rose again from the dead on the third day according to the
Scriptures(1 Cor.15:1-11). Ab initio, Paul dealt with the irrefutable
logic that if there is no such thing as physical resurrection, then
Christ is not raised from the dead. If Christ is not raised from the
dead, our faith in Him is in vain, and we are still in our sins (1
Cor.15:17). Besides, the Apostles would be false witnesses of God;
because they testified of God that He raised Christ, whom He did not
raise up(1 Cor.15:15). Then those who died in Christ have perished(v.18). “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” Paul made the assertion that Christ rose from the dead; and His resurrection is an absolute and inviolate guarantee that all men will one day rise from the dead(1 Cor.15:55; Jon.5:25-29). “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept”(v.19). The twin enemies of man, death and the grave will finally and summarily be defeated at Christ’s Second Advent(1
Cor.15:20-34).

Paul also talked about the nature of bodily resurrection(1 Cor.15:20-50). At death and burial, the physical body is sown inweakness and dishonor. At the resurrection, it raise in power and glory(v.43). The highlight and the climax of Paul’s teaching and the revelation he received on the nature of bodily resurrection is that one generation of believers in Christ shall receive glorified eternal immortal resurrection body without passing through the intermediate
process of death(vv.51-58). “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 in Christ shall be raised in corruptible, and we shall be
changed”(vv.51,52).

Apostle Paul referred to the fact that one generation of believers in Christ
will receive glorified eternal immortal bodies without dying
physically as a mystery. Mystery in Pauline theology has three
characteristics. Firstly, it means something that has always been part
of God’s plan. Secondly, it was not revealed in the OT, but revealed
in the NT. And thirdly, it is only known by divine revelation(Eph.3:5). Here are some of the significant biblical mysteries revealed in the NT: the mystery of iniquity(2 Thess.2:7); the mystery of
Israel’s blindness(Rom.11:12); the mystery concerning Christ and the
church(Eph.5:32); and the mysteries of the kingdom(Matt.13.11).

When we examine the mystery of Christ and the church, we see the three component parts or characteristics of a biblical mystery. ” How that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in a few words, whereby when you read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellowheirs , and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel(Eph.3:3-6). Here Paul revealed that (1) the church had
always been part of God’s plan; (2) and that this biblical truth was
not revealed in the OT dispensation or ages; (3) and that it was
revealed to Paul and other apostles and prophets of the NT by direct
divine communications.

At the core of the purpose of biblical mystery therefore is the
unveiling in the NT dispensation, of a biblical truth that had always
been part of God’s plan but never before revealed in the past ages of
OT dispensation(Matt:13:11; Rom.11:25; 16:25; 1 Cor.2:7; 15:51;
Eph.3:3-5; 5:32; 6:19; Col.1:26,27; 2:2; 4:3; 1Thess.2:7; 1Tim.3:16;
Rev.1:20; 17:5,7). So, we can see here that Paul revealed to the
Corinthians that one generation of believers in Jesus the Messiah
shall receive a glorified eternal immortal resurrection body without
passage through the intermediate process of death, but by being
snatched or caught up or raptured to meet the Lord in the air(1 Cor.15:51; 1 Thess.4:16,17). He also revealed when that Rapture will
take place, “at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the
dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed”(v.52).
It therefore means that if we identify the last trump, we shall be
able to pinpoint in the eschatological timeline the exact occasion at
which the rapture will occur.

Posttribulationists identify the last trump with the seventh trumpet
of Rev.11:15-19. They also understand it to occur at the end of the
70th week of Daniel. They therefore conclude that since the rapture
must occur at the last trump, and the last trump occurs at the end of
the 70th seven of Daniel, it therefore follows that the rapture must
occur at the end of the 70th seven of Daniel. In other words, the
rapture must be posttribulational. Therefore the church must of
necessity go through the The Day Of The Lord judgment. The midtribulationists also identify the last trump with the seventh trumpet judgment. But unlike the postribulationists, midtribulationists like J. Oliver Buswell place the sounding of the seventh trumpet precisely in the middle of the 70th week of Daniel. They therefore conclude that the church shall be raptured precisely at the midpoint of the 70th seven of Daniel. Therefore the rapture will be midtribuational.
Pretribulationists do not make any strong appeal to the last trump in
relation to the timing of the rapture. The reason for their absence of
appeal to the last trump is obvious. If the rapture were to occur at
the last trump, Pretribulation rapturism have no way to exegetically associate a pre-seventieth week rapture with the last trump.

As we have pointed out earlier, a biblical mystery is the unveiling of
something that had always been part of God’s plan, but not previously
revealed in the OT, but revealed in the NT. The mystery which Apostle
Paul revealed to the Corinthians was that a generation of believers
shall receive a glorified eternal immortal resurrection body without
dying, i.e., through rapture, and that event will occur at the last
trump of God. It must also have been understood and accepted by the
Corinthians. The book of First Corinthians was written around 55-56 AD. The last of the NT books to be written was the Scroll of
Revelation. It was penned by the Apostle John, the revelator about 96
AD. That means there is a gap of forty years between the writing of
these two books of the NT. For Paul’s teaching on the mystery of
bodily resurrection to be meaningful to the Corinthians, they must
have understood the phrase, at the last trump, without the benefit of
the Scroll of Revelation which was written forty years later.

The trumpet played a significant role in the religious ritual of
Judaism and the children of Israel. It’s use began at the time of the
exodus from Egypt, during the wilderness wandering in the time of
Moses. It continues to the present day. When the Israeli army captured
Jerusalem from Jordan during the six day war, on June 7, 1967, after
nineteen years of Jordanian occupation, Rabbi Shlomo Goren, the then chief rabbi of the Israeli army blow the trumpet. He was symbolically calling world jewry to Jerusalem. Today as in Old Testament times, the trumpet is blown at the new moon(Num.10:10), on Israel’s feast days(Lev.25:9), to call a solemn assembly(Num.10:2,3), and to
prepare for war(Num.10:9). The Lord commanded Moses,

“Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shall thou make
them, that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and
for the journeying of the camps. And when thou shall blow with them,
all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation(Num.10:2,3).

During the wilderness wandering, the tabernacle was the dwelling place
of God amongst His people, Israel. To assemble at the tabernacle was
to assemble in God’s presence. Similarly, at the rapture, the trumpet
shall be blown to call the church to the presence of God in heaven.
Our brother Paul writing to the Corinthians said, ” 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; then we who 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(1 Thess.4:16,17). And once again, Our
brother Apostle Paul in that classic passage on the Rapture in First
Corinthians 15, wrote: “Behold I show 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”(1 Cor.15:51,52).

As we have pointed out earlier, apart from the calling of a solemn
assembly, the second major purpose of the sounding of the trumpet in
ancient Israel was to prepare for war. “And if you go to war in your
land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an
alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the Lord
your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies”( Num.10:9).

At the conquest of Jericho, the priests blew the trumpet(Josh.6:4-6). At the defeat of the oppressive Moabites, the judge Ehud blew the trumpet ( Jud.3:27-30). At the defeat of the Midianites Gideon and his small band of three hundred brave men blew the trumpet(Jug.6:34; 7:8-9,13-16,20,22). At the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem by the returning exiles, Nehemiah instructed the Jews to blow the trumpet whenever under attack by their enemies. “And I said
unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, the
work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, and one
far from another. In whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet,
resort ye there unto us. Our God shall fight for us”(Neh.4:19,20).

Because God is about to go to war with His enemies, who are also the
enemies of the children of God and Israel, the trumpet shall be blown
at the start of the Day Of The Lord. The prophet Joel wrote, “Blow
the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain. Let all
the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the Day Of The Lord cometh,
for it is near at hand”(Joel 2:1 ). The trumpet shall be blown shortly before the day of the Lord begins. The prophet Zephaniah proclaimed, “The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteneth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord; the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of
trouble and distress, a day of waste and desolation, a day of darkness
and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the
trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities, and against the high
towers”(Zeph1:14-16).

The last trump therefore is the final climatic, consummative and
eschatological outpouring of the wrath of God. The Day Of The Lord
commences with the blowing of a trumpet. The final judgment of God
upon the living wicked earth-dwellers is called The Day Of The Lord.

We conclude therefore that the Corinthians understood that truth. The truth which our brother Paul communicated to them was that one
generation of believers in Christ Jesus shall receive glorified eternal immortal resurrection bodies without passage through the
intermediate process of death. And this shall occur through rapture.
And that rapture will occur at the last trump, the final climatic and
eschatological Day Of The Lord. The trumpet shall be blown, the dead
in Christ shall be raised incorruptible, the living believers
raptured, and then the wrath of God upon the living wicked
earth-dwellers shall begin to be poured out. “For God hath not
appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus
The Christ”(1Thess.5:9).

According to the Scroll of Revelation, God’s wrath is to be meted out
to the living wicked earth-dwellers at the breaking of the seventh
seal(Rev.6:17). The seventh seal involves no direct judgment of its
own, but opens into the seven trumpets. In like manner also, the
seventh trumpet involves no judgement of its own, but opens into the seven bowls. Therefore the seventh seal alone contains both the seven trumpets and the seven bowls. When the seventh seal is broken(Rev.8:1), the seven trumpets and the seven bowls will progressively unfold. They are part of a comprehensive whole. Collectively, the seven trumpets and the seven bowls are God’s Day Of The Lord wrath, the final climatic, comprehensive and consummative eschatological judgment. The last trump is the same as the seventh seal. The Rapture occurs at the last trump(1Cor.15:51-52). The rapture also occurs at the breaking of the seventh seal, immediately prior to the commencement of the outpouring of the wrath of God.

 

Avraham Shallom.

A Great Multitude No Man Could Number

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no one 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 who,are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made 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 who is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and For shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”(Rev.7:9-15).

The identification of this special group, a great multitude which no one could number is very crucial to the timing of the Rapture. The traditional view of pretribulationists on this great multitude as exemplified by John F. Walvoord is that Rev.7 does not advance the narrative, but draws attention to two major groups of saints in the tribulation. He describes the opening portion of the chapter as picturing the 144,000 representative of the godly remnant of Israel on earth in the great tribulation. The latter part he describes a great multitude of martyred saints in heaven, those who died as a testimony to their faith from every kindred, tongue and nation. However, it is not recorded any where in their description in considerable details that they are all martyred saints.

In Rev.6, at the breaking of the fifth seal, martyred saints are described. Their martyrdom occurred during the Great Tribulation at the hand of the antiChrist. “And when he had broken the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and the testimony which they held.”(Rev.6:9). They cried out to God for their blood to be avenged on  the perpetrators of their martyrdom ” them that dwell on the earth”(Rev.6:10). God answered in the affirmative. They were given white robes and told to “rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”(Rev.6:11). There is a complement of believers to be martyred. When that number is complete, God amputates the Great Tribulation by the antiMessiah with cosmic disturbances. These martyred saints are given glorified eternal immortal resurrection bodies on the first day of the millennium. “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded(cephalizo) for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had receive his mark upon their foreheads, or in their right hands; and they live and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”(Rev.20:4).

The great multitude which no could number in Rev.7, is a different group from the martyrs under the fifth seal in Rev.6. For the following reasons.

(1) Innumerability

They are so numerous that they cannot be numbered. This is a figure of speech, a hyperbole, an overstatement.  It simply means that they are a very great and large number of people. Given some time they could be numbered, but it will be difficult to number them in a short while. This is in marked contrast to the 144,000 that could be easily number in short while.

(2) Internationality

They are international in scope. They include all nations, kindreds, peoples, and languages or tongues. “After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no 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.”(Rev.7:9). In contrast to the fifth seal martyrs, they are simply said to be martyrs. No  information was provided on their nationalities. It is most probable they are also international in scope. But that information was not given in the relevant passage of the Scriptures.

(3) Martyrdom

The fifth seal saints are said to be martyrs under the altar of the temple in Heaven. There is no biblical evidence this great innumerable multitude are martyrs. A martyr is a saint, a believer in Jesus Christ who is slain for for his faith. For this great multitude to be martyrs, one must postulate that after the Rapture, within the 70th Week of Daniel, in the second half but prior to the cosmic disturbances, a universal multitude of such great magnitude that they could not be enumerated, were saved, baptized, became witnesses for Christ, and were slain for their testimony, appear in Heaven, and are now seen before the throne of God. There is no biblical evidence that such evangelistic success occurred. According to Pretribulation rapturism, the 144,000 have just been sealed. There is no indication that the two witnesses have met with any success in their ministry(Rev.1:3-10). Besides, it is debatable whether the three angelic announcements have been made(Rev.14:6). If these are martyrs, how can one account for this innumerable international and universal multitude of believers after the church is taken away, and God is dealing primarily with Israel according to pretribulationists.

(4) Resurrection Bodies

In Rev.6, the martyrs are souls under the altar. They have not yet received their glorified eternal immortal resurrection bodies. They are souls “under the altar”(Rev.6:9). They are disembodied souls and spirits without glorified eternal immortal resurrection bodies. What the Apostle, John, the revelator saw was their spirit bodies. The soul is internal to the spirit body. It is fluid and invisible even in the spirit realm. The soul is the constellation of the will, intellect and emotion. The spirit body corresponds more or less to the physical body. There is a physical body. There is also a spirit body, and there is a glorified eternal immortal resurrection body(a spiritual body).

In contrast, the great multitude which no man could number in Rev.7, are standing “before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.”(Rev.7:9). They are resurrected saints; they have received their glorified eternal immortal resurrection bodies. They are clothed with immortality.

(5) Appeal For Vengeance

In Rev.6, the souls under the altar appeal to God for vengeance for their blood(Rev.6:9,10). In contrast the great multitude in Rev.7, are proclaiming with a loud voice, “Salvation to our God who sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb.”(Rev.7:10).

(6) Recognition

In Rev.7, the Apostle John the revelator did not know who this great innumerable multitude were. He did not recognize them. When the elder asked him, “who are these…? “(v.13). His response was, “Sir, thou knowest” v.14). The answer is a clear admission that he did not recognize them. In contrast to Rev.6, John the revelator immediately recognized them as those “slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held” ( Rev.6:9).

Conclusion

The question one would ask would be if this great innumerable multitude with universal representation who suddenly appear in heaven, are not martyrs, who are ? The great innumerable and universal multitude, appearing in heaven, clothed with white robes which signal righteousness, and standing in the presence of God with palms  in their hands, signaling justification and triumph, is the raptured church. This event occurs immediately prior to the breaking of the seventh seal which signals the beginning of the outpouring of the wrath of God(Rev.8:1). The church is raptured before the wrath of God begins. “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ(1 Thess.1:5:9).

John is asked two questions concerning this innumerable multitude by the elder: “who are these arrayed in white robes?” , and “From whence do they come?”(Rev.7:13). John did not know the answer to any of the two questions. The elder, the interviewer answered those questions himself. With regards to the question, who are they, he told John they are those who “washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” And for the question, “from whence did they come, he told him, “These are they which came out of the Great Tribulation”(Rev.7:14). It is therefore most probable that the small, and supposedly insignificantly church of the First Century AD have become a Great innumerable multitude.

“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”(Rev.7:11).

We see here that a heavenly host was worshipping God in the Throne Room in Heaven in the behalf of this great multitude, but the church is no where to be found, conspicuously absent as it were. If the church have been raptured pretribulationally, one would expect the church to be present amongst the welcoming heavenly host. We conclude therefore that the great innumerable and universal multitude is the raptured church in Heaven. It is the church that entered the 70th week of Daniel, went through the Great Tribulation, some of whom were martyred, emerged triumphant, and were raptured after the cosmic disturbance that terminated the Great Tribulation, but prior to the breaking of the seventh seal which commences the outpouring of the wrath of God upon the living wicked earth-dwellers, adorers, and worshippers of the antiMessiah.

The symmetry, balance, and timing of Rev.7 should not be missed. It is sandwiched between Rev.6:12-17 after the cosmic disturbance which announces the outpouring of the wrath of God, and Rev.7:1-8, which is the sealing of the 144,000, and Rev.8:1, which is the breaking of the seventh, the commencement of the outpouring of the wrath of God. In Rev.8, the wrath of God begins. In Rev.7, the church is raptured. But immediately prior to the rapture of the church, the 144,000 from the twelves tribes of Israel are sealed for protection prior to the outpouring of the wrath of God. God will not leave Himself without a witness and a representation on Earth. If at any point in time there is no divine representation on Earth, then, Satan has become the sovereign lord of the Earth. But that would not be allowed to happen. The 144,000 are sealed for protection to go through the wrath of God in order that the church can be raptured to the Throne Room in Heaven.

Avraham Shallom.