I am a Christian who has a passion for studying God's word. I am a self-taught Greek scholar, and I am currently learning Hebrew. I have been a student of prophesy nearly my whole life. I have a deep, abiding love for writing books and articles. I am writing this article to help my fellow Believers make some sense of the chaos in our world today.
If you are a Christian who is confounded, confused, and bewildered by the events of our day, then this article is for you. No, this is not another "feel good" or "God is in control" thesis. This article is an explanation of what is happening and why it is happening. What's more, it was revealed to us many thousands of years ago, and it is unfolding before our eyes. If you are a Christian, you need to take heart.
Understanding Prophesy Context
When people try to study prophesy, they usually take the book of Revelation, start at the beginning, and read to the end. They try to make sense of it from a chronological point-of-view. Unfortunately, the book of Revelation is not chronological; it is the same story told several times from several different perspectives. This type of writing is true for much of the Bible and is common in Hebrew literature. For instance, Genesis chapters 1-3 is the story of creation told at least two times from 2 different perspectives. The books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are the same story told from 4 different perspectives. The books of Kings and the books of Chronicles, the Prophets and the Minor Prophets, the 4 Gospels, and the book of Acts and the Epistles are all telling the same stories from different viewpoints and with different purposes.
The books of Revelation, Daniel, and Ezekiel follow this same style. For a breakdown of the events in the book of Revelation, click here
To complicate things even further, sometimes prophesy is two-fold, speaking about the near future and the distant future at the same time (Matthew 24, Daniel 12).
Finally, it's essential to study all of the books/chapters of prophecy to fully understand the prophesy context, not just one book. Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah, are full of end times prophesy along with individual sections of many other books of the Bible (2 Thessalonians 2, Joel 2).
The Order of Events
There are lots of things happening in the end times. Here is a synopsis of those events and in the order that they will take place:
- The seeds of the Gospel of Man enter into mainstream thinking
- Increased lawlessness, chaos, and troubles the setting of the stage for a one-world government and a one-world system
- The Rapture - the Christians and the Holy Spirit are removed from the earth
- 144,000 Israelis sealed (protected from God's wrath). This may or may not be an observable event.
- The rise of the Antichrist, the false prophet, and the new world order. 3-1/2 years of peace and prosperity.
o A pact between the Antichrist and Israel
o The rebuilding of the Temple of God - The Antichrist sets himself up as god in the Temple. The end of the 3-1/2 years of peace and prosperity.
- Israel accepts Jesus as the Messiah.
- The 144,000 Israelis are endowed with incredible powers and preach the Gospel to every tribe and nation on earth.
- Unprecedented lawlessness and crime
- Worldwide shortages of goods and services, including food.
- Widespread death caused by war, famine, disease, and wild beasts.
- The battle of Armageddon and the second coming of Jesus Christ
- The 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ along with the Christians who died during the Tribulation
- The White Throne Judgment
- The New Heavens and the New Earth
- The New Jerusalem
- Eden Restored
The Mark of the Beast
To understand what is taking place in our world today and how it relates to prophesy, we have to begin with the mark of the beast: 666.
It is not because that is where we are at in prophesy, but because that is where we are going!
Because this is where the world is headed, we have to ask, "How did we get there? and what happened that got us to that place?"
There have been endless books, movies, and sermons about the mark of the beast. There is so much false and erroneous information out there that confusion about the subject and the meaning of the symbol is lost in fiction and fabrication.
Revelation 13:18 NLT
The meaning of the number of man is two-fold:
- It represents an actual man. It represents the Antichrist. We understand this meaning, and it captivates our focus.
- The second meaning is more insidious and should command our primary focus. It represents a system of belief; more than just a government. It represents the belief that man can solve the world's problems and that man can usher in a new world order free of crime, disease, corruption, inequality, poverty, hunger, greed, and unfairness; a world without sin. A world where love and compassion rule. A world where everyone can reach their full potential through the power of man.
The Greek word for wisdom in Revelation 13:18, 'sophia,' indicates that this required wisdom is not necessarily divine in origin. In other words, the revelation of this system is neither complicated nor enigmatic.
The Gospel of Man
Our world is full of this new world order doctrine. This doctrine is the fundamental world philosophy that will enable the Antichrist to rise to power. Today, this doctrine is being taught and touted in schools, politics, business, churches, movies, and television. On the surface, many of these doctrines seem noble and desirable; however, the underlying tenet is the Gospel of Man: the idea that man can "fix" all of the problems facing mankind. The notion that man can wipe out sin and the negative consequences of sin.
Crime, disease, corruption, inequality, poverty, hunger, greed, and unfairness are the result of the Curse. Man cannot "fix" these things. Only Jesus can do that. Now, this doesn't mean that we shouldn't do everything in our power to relieve pain, suffering, inequality, and injustice whenever and however we can; however, we should also realize that Man will never solve these problems.
We are instructed in nearly all forms of media and entertainment that we are on the verge of wiping out disease, of wiping out world hunger, of cleaning the planet, of controlling climate change, of wiping out crime, of creating a perfect government, of creating an ideal world system, etcetera, etcetera. This is a lie. This is a fabrication. We are not! Man cannot wipe out the Curse. With each new generation, these conditions are only getting worse. There are more diseases today than existed during the time of Christ. Drug use, crime, divorce, psychosis, pollution, corruption, betrayal, legitimized sin, and starving children have escalated to unmanageable, unsustainable levels. There are more slaves on the planet today than at any other time in the history of our world. We are not getting better; we are getting worse; more corrupt, more evil, and more wicked. We have murdered over 61 million babies in the womb for the sake of convenience.
In the year 2020, the Gospel of Man came into full context. It was the most significant year for setting the stage for the Tribulation since 1948 when Israel became a nation, and the Lord began gathering Israel from the nations. 2020 is significant, not for the reasons being declared by the religious community, but for these reasons:
- For the first time in history, the whole world is involved. The world as a whole is affected by plague, violence, and financial collapse at the same time.
- For the first time in history, all governments have been given unprecedented power over people, processes, and systems.
- For the first time in history, all business endeavors have sought out payment with a one-world currency - digital payments via credit and debit cards.
- For the first time in history, churches have been closed and people are afraid to leave their homes, exacerbating the great falling away that began before the COVID-19.
- For the first time In history, our salvation is a system and a vaccine developed by man, and we are told repeatedly that this is the only solution.
- For the first time in history, all world governments are working together under an ipso facto and ipso jure world order.
As the world continues down this path of the Gospel of Man, man and society's condition will become progressively worse, as is evident in our world today. Everyone is looking for a savior; someone who can deliver us from all of this madness and restore our lives to what they used to be. Many people and politicians are declaring this to be an opportunity to build a new world order. We are looking for a man and a system that can wipe out crime, disease, corruption, inequality, poverty, hunger, greed, and unfairness.
The Rebellion
In 2 Thessalonians, Paul defines the condition of the world when the Antichrist comes to power.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 NIV
Simply put, lawlessness must increase for the man of lawlessness to be revealed. The things taking place in our world today should not shock Christians. It was foretold and is necessary.
Many religious leaders and prophets are talking about how God is going to bring about a great revival. These people are part of the "feel good" movement happening in Christianity today. The Greek word for "rebellion" in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is ' apostasia' means defection, revolt, falling away, desertion, apostasy. The definite article "the" before the word implies a single falling away event.
The Temple
For the man of lawlessness to set himself up in the Temple, the Temple must be rebuilt. The Temple cannot be rebuilt because the Islamic Dome of the Rock shrine is built on top of the temple mount. A man will rise up, a great man who befriends Israel. His persuasion powers are so profound that he can bring peace to the middle east allowing both Israelis and Arabs to live in peace. This man will enable Israel to rebuild the Temple. For 3-1/2 years, Israel and this wonderful man will enjoy a relationship not seen since the time of Solomon.
At the end of the 3-1/2 years, this wonderful man will reveal himself. He will set himself up as god in the Temple that he enabled Israel to rebuild. Israel will then realize that this man is the abomination of desolation spoken of in the book of Daniel. God will remove the blinders on the Israeli people, and they will realize, at this time, that Jesus was and is the Messiah, and they will worship him.
Israel has already assembled all of the materials required to rebuild the Temple and its instruments. It has been ready for many years. Once the Antichrist permits Israel to rebuild the Temple, it will most likely take less than a year to complete the project.
The Rapture
There will be one final withdrawal that God will perform on the earth; the taking away of the church through the Rapture. This also means the removal of the Holy Spirit from the world. It is the Holy Spirit that is currently preventing lawlessness from having dominion over the earth. When the Holy Spirit is removed, nothing prevents Satan and his demon horde from ransacking the people of earth. This will mark the beginning of the Great Tribulation, the rise of the Antichrist and the false prophet.
Our Hope
Christians, this is a troublesome time; however, this is a time of hope and a time of watchfulness. It is not a time for worry and fear. We know that the Rapture is near. It is very near. While Christians will not go through the Great Tribulation, we will go through the events leading up to it. Take heart. Be a light to the world in this time of chaos. Be the rock that points to Jesus during this time of trouble. You are living your last chance to demonstrate to others the peace that passes all understanding through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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