IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD, AND THE WORD WAS GOD-Jn 1:1. Jesus is the Word. And GOD CREATED THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH-Gen 1:1.
And God created man in His own image, and God blessed them-ref Gen 1:27,28. Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, and there put the man-ref Gen 2:8. And the Lord God commanded the man telling him that he could eat of every tree of the garden, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God warned Adam of the penalty of disobedience by telling him that in the day he would eat thereof, he would surely die-ref Gen 2:15-17.
Now the serpent, which is Satan, the devil, was more crafty than any of the wild animals that the Lord God had made-ref Gen 3:1. He began sowing doubt in Eve’s mind by asking her, "Has God said, ‘Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’ " Then he contradicted what God had said by telling her that she would not surely die. Thus, the fear of God’s judgment had been eliminated by Satan’s lie. Her emotions chose to believe a lie rather than God’s Word. And when she saw the tree was good for food, and pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she did eat-ref Gen 3:1-6. She also gave to her husband, and he did eat. They had sinned. They had disobeyed God’s command-ref Gen 3:6. Then their eyes were opened, and they realized they were naked-ref Gen 3:7.
And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said, "Where are you?" Because they had sinned and were naked, they were afraid and hid-ref Gen 3:8. And the Lord God said, "Have you eaten of the tree?"-ref Gen 3:11. Then Adam blamed his wife by saying, "She gave me, and I ate it"-ref Gen 3:12. The Lord God asked the woman, "What have you done?" She blamed the devil by saying, "The serpent deceived me"-ref Gen 3:13. Adam and Eve had sinned, and were now spiritually dead. They were without hope. Their sin was separating them from God.
Now God begins to reveal His mercy and plan to redeem people from their sins. He begins to reveal the coming of Messiah. And as we now know, it is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ that we can be reconciled to God through faith. The Lord God said, I WILL PUT ENMITY BETWEEN YOU (Satan) AND THE WOMAN (Israel), AND BETWEEN YOUR OFFSPRING (the offspring of Satan, the son of Satan, the Antichrist which is yet to come, as well as the children of the devil) AND HERS (the Son of Man, the Son of God, Jesus Christ); HE (Jesus) WILL CRUSH YOUR HEAD, AND YOU (Satan) WILL STRIKE HIS HEEL-Gen 3:15 NIV. (Satan was defeated at the cross, and, ultimately, will be cast into the lake of fire; however, Satan was allowed to cause the death of Jesus, but to his own defeat.) Adam had sinned, but now, God has shown His great mercy in announcing the coming of the Messiah. So the Lord God banished Adam from the garden of Eden, and from the tree of life-ref Gen 3:24. God put a curse on the ground, and told Adam, "To dust you shall return"-ref Gen 3:19.
Now Eve, Adam’s wife, gave birth to Cain and Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time, Cain brought the fruit of the ground for an offering unto the Lord. (This indicates that God had instructed them in some manner concerning offerings.) Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock, and of the fat thereof. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering He did not look with favor. So Cain was angry. The Lord said to Cain, "If you do right, will you not be accepted?"-ref Gen 4:1-7. It may be noted there is a right attitude and a wrong attitude. There is a right way and a wrong way. The right attitude is one of repentance and believing God. The wrong attitude is one of no repentance and not believing God. The right way is doing it God’s way. Abel’s offering was of the best of the flock. Cain’s offering was of the ground that was cursed. Note, God accepted Abel, and as a result, his offering which was correct, was also accepted. However, God did not accept Cain for he did not do that which was right. As a result, his offering was also not accepted. In addition, he also brought a wrong offering, which may indicate he did not believe in doing it God’s way. Still, God left the door open for repentance, as He said to Cain, that if he did right, would he not be accepted? The right way is repentance: a transformation, a conversion, and coming by faith in Jesus Christ, Who shed His blood for our sins. The wrong way is coming without repentance. If you come by believing in Jesus Christ, you must also come by "His" way and by believing "His" Word.
Cain had a wrong attitude. Afterwards, Cain killed Abel-ref Gen 4:8; and God pronounced judgment upon Cain-ref Gen 4:11,12.
And Adam had a son, and called his name Seth-ref Gen 5:3. It was from the lineage of Seth that, ultimately, Noah would come forth. The number of people greatly increased upon the earth.
It came to pass that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and God was grieved that He had made man-ref Gen 6:5,6. God made a decision to destroy man and animals, including the creatures that went along the ground, and the birds; but Noah found grace in God's eyes-ref Gen 6:7,8. Noah built an ark at God's direction-ref Gen 6:14-22. Noah entered the ark, and his family, and all the creatures that God had determined to keep alive came into the ark, and the Lord shut him in-ref Gen 7:13-16. The flood came, and all flesh died that moved upon the earth-ref Gen 7:17,21-23. All the high mountains were covered with the water-Gen 7:19. Finally, the waters receded, and Noah and his family, and all the living things left the ark-ref Gen 8:15-19. Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and God made a covenant with Noah-ref Gen 8:20-9:15. Through the sons of Noah, the whole earth was repopulated-Gen 9:18,19. After the flood, the earth was of one language. Man again rebelled against God. Then God confounded their language, and scattered them all over the earth-Gen 11:1-8.
From the lineage of Noah and Shem, came Abram. From Abram (Abraham) came Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael was born of the bond woman, and Isaac was born of the free woman. These two half brothers were at odds with each other. It was originally expected that Ishmael would be Abram's heir; however, GOD SAID...IN ISAAC SHALL THY SEED BE CALLED-Gen 21:12. Many of the Arabs today are descendants of Ishmael. They believe the land of Israel should belong to them as they are the offspring of the firstborn of Abram. But God said the heir would be the offspring of Isaac. Thus, there is what appears to be an unsolvable problem in the Middle East. This same feud between Ishmael and Isaac goes on today. This forms the basis for much of the Bible prophecy that is yet to happen. God's covenant is with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their seed.
Sodom and Gomorrah, in which ten just men could not be found, was destroyed-ref Gen 18:32; 19:22-25.
Abraham begat Isaac. Isaac begat Jacob, whose name was changed by God, to Israel-ref Gen 35:10. From Jacob came twelve sons, which would become the twelve tribes of Israel-ref Gen 35:22-26. Israel went to Egypt.
Let us recap some of the news from the past that led us to this awful, horrifying event.
The prophets over 2500 years ago foretold that both Israel and Judah would be destroyed because of sin. Few believed it would happen, but it did. In app. 721 BC, Israel was destroyed, and, in app. 586 BC, Judah was destroyed. Yet the prophets foretold there would come a day when Israel would be reborn into a nation in a moment of time; and when it happened, Judah and Israel would be united. They would no longer be divided. This seemed impossible, yet the Bible said Israel’s rebirth would take place one day; and when that day happened, it would signify the beginning of the latter days of the last days. It would also signify that Jesus Christ would return to this earth within a generation and at the time of the Battle of Armageddon.
When Jesus Christ, Who is come in the flesh, was born—the land of Israel was under Roman control. Jesus Himself later foretold of its coming destruction, but few believed Him. Then, in 70 AD, the Romans came with a massive force. Masada was the last place to fall. Just as Jesus had said, the Jews were dispersed throughout the world. For nearly 2000 years, the land of Israel changed hands many times. The idea of Israel’s rebirth faded as time passed. It seemed impossible, but God’s Word cannot be broken.
From the time Daniel was written (app. 2500 years ago), the prophecies of the latter days in Daniel were closed up and sealed until the time of the end-Dan 12:9. They could not be understood. Then, in the early 20th century, this began to change, as God moved through men, such as Clarence Larkin. Many of the prophecies that could not be understood, were now revealed. In the same time period, the Balfour Declaration was issued by Great Britain. This was a letter from the United Kingdom’s foreign secretary saying that His Majesty’s government views with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.
These are among the first indications that a period called “the time of the end” was beginning, and the latter days of the last days was on the horizon.
Then Hitler came to power in the 1930s. World War II resulted a few years later. During this time, the unspeakable happened—the deliberate annihilation of about 6 million Jews and others by the Nazis. There was a huge outcry as a result. Some of the Jews that survived, began returning to the land we now call Israel, but with great difficulty.
Then, the seemingly impossible happened. After nearly 2000 years, as the prophets of God as well as Jesus had prophesied—in one day, in an instant of time—Israel became a nation again on May 14, 1948.
This event foretold by the prophets was far more significant than most people understood. With the rebirth of Israel, the world had entered into a biblical time period called the LATTER DAYS, the latter times, the latter years. From that date, the countdown began, as the Bible indicated that this generation would not pass away till certain events had taken place. These events included about 365 prophecies of what the people would be like, other nations that would exist, events that would happen, weapons that would exist, wars that would take place, how violence would increase, and alternate lifestyles would become common and accepted. These prophecies also included how the churches would be, and even that the currency in Israel would be the shekel. The Bible also prophesied that within a generation of the rebirth of Israel, the Rapture of those few that followed Jesus, and a shortened 7 year Tribulation, followed by the Battle of Armageddon and Christ’s return would take place.
Not long after Israel’s rebirth, other major events began to transpire. One was the creation of the EEC (or European Economic Community) or EU (European Union), which was sometimes called the revived Roman Empire. In 1949, the Council of Europe was established. In 1957, the Treaty of Rome was signed. Six nations became known as the European Community. In 1979, the European parliament was formed with 410 delegates and an elected president. The number of nations continued to increase. Major changes continued to take place.
This was of immense importance, as the Antichrist, who was revealed later on, came forth immediately after the Rapture from this revived Roman Empire.
The preaching of the Gospel became more and more watered-down. There was a turning away from God. Sin increased.
Some public schools, colleges, and universities became hostile toward the Bible and its words. The teaching of evolution replaced the teaching of creation. Some that even suggested that creationism was correct found themselves on the outside looking in.
Even in the churches, many ministers misunderstood the Scriptures dealing with the creation.
Storytelling and saying what people’s own desires wanted to hear, and sometimes almost endless commentaries replaced much of God’s Word. It became so bad that in many churches the people knew far more about their preacher and his family than they did about Christ. Since faith comes only through the pure Word of God, people became weak in their faith, and, as a result, their obedience to God’s Word decreased. The fear of God was disappearing. Jokes filled some teaching, which was combined with laughing and “feel good” teaching, even though the Bible states “the thought of foolishness is sin”-Pv 24:9.
Most people in the early 21st century no longer tolerated preaching about humbling oneself, fearing God, about sin, brokenness, repentance, and the judgments, hell and the lake of fire, immersing yourself in the Word of God and obeying the Gospel, and forsaking all for Jesus, denying self and taking up your cross daily and following Jesus.
The few preachers of Jesus Christ that brought forth God’s uncompromised Word were largely ignored or ridiculed. True faith that would enable a person to pick up their cross and follow Jesus was disappearing. True faith that would enable a person to die for Christ was disappearing.
People became more and more worldly. They wanted the good things of this life. Sex often became part of a date. Some drugs became legalized.
Meanwhile, in some third world countries, a religion called Islam was persecuting and killing many that trusted in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
One might have thought that with Israel’s rebirth, the world would take notice that the last generation was at hand. It didn’t. It was as if Israel’s rebirth meant nothing. As time passed, the world and even many churches increasingly turned against Israel in favor of a group called the Palestinians.
Israel was only about the size of New Jersey and only 9 miles wide at one point. It had a population of over 8 million and was growing. Besides that, a large part of Israel was desert. Yet some of the world wanted them to give up more and more land. The goal of the Palestinians (or Arabs) was to destroy Israel completely, as they believed this Promised Land belonged to them. They believed God’s covenant regarding the Promised Land was with Abraham and Ishmael from which they descended. They did not accept that God’s covenant was with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
One by one, the 365 prophecies God gave in His Word following Israel’s rebirth were coming to pass. The signs of the times were undeniable. Weapons that could destroy the world increased.
Stealth aircraft and missiles that could carry many of these huge bombs were created.
But as technology advanced, so the people of the world increasingly turned away from God to sin and self-centered pleasures. Sex before marriage became normal as did cheating and lying. Alternate lifestyles and marriages between them became accepted.
Violence spread as a religion called Islam exalted itself. It was split into two main branches which opposed each other. They both hated Israel, because of the covenant that God had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, which the followers of Islam believed was really with Abraham and Ishmael. Thus, God had created an unsolvable problem that was to come to a head in the first war that would take place after the Tribulation began.
Did the world understand any of this? No. Did the world understand God’s prophecies? No, just the opposite. The churches of that time turned away from holiness, repentance and love. As the churches became more and more lukewarm, the people of that time loved it. The church was now preaching to please people and wandered further away from God, but few people noticed. People wanted to believe they could live any way they wished, and when they died they would be in heaven with God.
There were a few preachers that tried to warn the world that the Rapture and the Tribulation were coming soon, but they were mostly ignored. Some of these preachers drifted away from the message of repentance and obedience to God. It became an accepted thing by much of the lukewarm church that all one had to do was say a sinner’s prayer to be saved.
As already said, repentance, obedience to God, obeying God’s commandments, holiness, denying yourself, picking up your cross daily and following Jesus, immersing yourself in God’s Word, and even water baptism by immersion after repentance and believing in Jesus—faded. The signs of the times from God’s Word were there, but few noticed. Few, that is, very, very few were seeking holiness and the meat of the Word, which is perfection. Many clergy did not even understand what the meat of the Word was.
The Catholic Church, despite some of its priests committing obscene acts, continued to prosper. It was almost like the people were in an hypnotic trance. People clung to the Great Harlot like glue. Then a new Pope was elected. Even some evangelical leaders were taken in by him. He made the statement that be believed 2% of the priests were pedophiles.
As time continued, fewer and fewer people spent much time in God’s Word and actually followed Christ and obeyed His Word. Yet, many deceived Bible teachers believed this was the best church age ever, as some had huge churches with worldwide outreaches on the radio, TV, and the Internet. Huge mega churches, which may be called fun and entertainment centers, were built. Many preachers told their flocks to believe they were saved, even though their fruits and lack of repentance indicated otherwise. In reality, the people were drifting into more and more lukewarmness and blindness. Many that called on the name of the Lord were “do nothing” Christians. Christ’s message in the church became so watered-down, even Jesus Himself was portrayed in the Revelation as being outside His own church knocking on the door; but the church never did open that door. Many “accepted” Christ, but would not surrender their life to Him. They would not allow Christ (the Word) to reign and rule over them. The Adversary had deceived the church, and the church knew it not.
The music in many churches sounded more like the world’s music, and less like the old hymns of the past, such as Amazing Grace and the Old Rugged Cross. Some had bus tours, gymnasiums, sports teams, bookstores selling all sorts of books including self-help books, and some even had restaurants. Some people read many books about missionaries and other subjects, while their Bible collected dust. Many of the books could be accessed on handheld devices along with every kind of filth one could imagine. Leading the compromised teaching of the Gospel were the Bible schools and universities.
With little exception, what the world didn’t have, leading up to the Rapture, were people falling down on their knees, crying over their sinful condition and humbly repenting before God.
What the church didn’t have were people being broken and fearing they would perish.
What they didn’t have were people that were afraid of a holy God that had the power to cast a person into hell-as Lk 12:5 stated.
What the churches before the Rapture didn’t have were people like John the Baptist, with an attitude of great humility and meekness.
Jesus Christ chose to record John’s attitude in all 4 Gospels, which is extremely rare, but even more, it is also in Acts. This reveals the great emphasis God placed on the attitude John had as an example of how future Christians ought to be. In addition, Jesus said of John the Baptist—AMONG THEM THAT ARE BORN OF WOMEN THERE HATH NOT RISEN A GREATER THAN JOHN THE BAPTIST-Mt 11:11.
So what was John’s attitude? He said regarding Jesus: WHOSE SHOES I AM NOT WORTHY TO BEAR, THE LATCHET OF WHOSE SHOES I AM NOT WORTHY TO STOOP DOWN AND UNLOOSE.
This attitude of brokenness, humility, and meekness was a far, far cry from the prideful, self-centered, self-elevated attitude of the churches and the people that professed Christ prior to the Rapture, with little exception. It is little wonder that when the Rapture did come, many that were positive they would be taken were left behind; and they didn’t understand.
What they did not have was an understanding of Scripture, such as Ps 2:12-KISS THE SON, LEST HE BE ANGRY, AND YE PERISH FROM THE WAY, WHEN HIS WRATH IS KINDLED BUT A LITTLE. BLESSED ARE ALL THEY THAT PUT THEIR TRUST IN HIM.
Teaching that life was a test to see (or prove) if a person would not only believe on Christ, but would follow Christ was almost completely nonexistent.
At a certain revival that was held, the large number of people in attendance were asked if they knew what the RAPTURE really was. Approximately 50% did not know. Then it was explained. Rapture (the biblical terms are “caught up” or “translation”) was a term used to describe the removal from the earth of all living people that were born again as evidenced by their trust in God, faith, love, fruits, and obedience to God’s Word.
This event took place just prior to the Tribulation.
It is written: 1 Cor 15:51,52-“We shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound.” 1 Thes 4:16,17-“and the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds.”
Eternal security became the standard teaching of many churches. People “believed” they could never fall, no matter what sins they committed. They believed they could never fall, until the Rapture came and left nearly all of them behind as the Bible clearly states. Then many stood without, crying, “Lord, Lord, open to us,” but Jesus answered them, saying, “I KNOW YOU NOT”-Mt 25:12. Jesus followed this with teaching about serving Him. Many did receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but afterward they refused to do what He said. They would not deny themselves and follow Him. They would not serve Him. They would not obey His commandments. They would not esteem the WORD OF GOD more necessary than their necessary food. Most churches seldom preached that Jesus said: HIM ONLY SHALT THOU SERVE. Also Mal 3:18-THEN SHALL YE RETURN, AND DISCERN BETWEEN THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED, BETWEEN HIM THAT SERVETH GOD AND HIM THAT SERVETH HIM NOT.
Teaching on being transformed from the ways of the world, and then being conformed to the image of Christ became rare.
Even some Bible prophecy teaching was, at best, lukewarm. Some would say there were no signs when the Rapture would come, even though it is written in Lk 21:28-AND WHEN THESE THINGS (which are many signs somewhat repeated in Mt 24, Mk 13, and Lk 21) “BEGIN” TO COME TO PASS, THEN LOOK UP, AND LIFT UP YOUR HEADS; FOR YOUR REDEMPTION (or the Rapture in this case) DRAWETH NIGH. In another verse, the same words are used, but the word “begin” is omitted, signifying when certain things do come to pass people are to look for something different.
As time went on, relations between Magog (Russia) and the United States became more strained. An alignment of nations began to take place. As prophesied in the Bible, Iran and other nations became allied with Russia. Russia began a huge 10 year buildup in their military—including everything from helicopters to stealth missiles. Advanced weapons were developed. The initial need to do this reportedly was 2009.
Meanwhile, the United States downsized its military, but continued to develop advanced technology. Israel also excelled in technology and had its own satellites and rockets. More and more, the world led by a supernatural hatred was turning against Israel.