Saturday, December 30, 2017

THE COUNTERFEIT MIRACLES OF THE ANTICHRIST


 
Not everyone in the world today accepts the message of Jesus. This shouldn't surprise you. Even many of those who met Jesus refused to accept His message. In spite of the love He offered... In spite of His revolutionary teachings... In spite of His miracles... They rejected Him. Why? Jesus said it's because such people are children of the devil - the father of lies (John 8:42:44). Otherwise, why would anyone reject Jesus?
 
Jesus embodied truth (John 14:6). He gave sight to the blind (John 9:6-7). He opened the ears of the deaf (Mark 7:35). He cured the lepers (Luke 17:14). He even brought the dead back to life (John 11:43-44). His miracles testified to His identity as the Son of God (John 5:36). Still, many of those who witnessed His miracles turned away from Him. Many of those who heard  His words did not believe Him. And in the years since, millions upon millions have rejected Jesus as the Messiah.
 
Yet Jesus tells us a time will come when the world will gladly follow someone else. He said, "Another will come, and Him you will follow" (John 5:43). Who is this man the world will follow? Who is this false messiah? I'm sure you've heard of him before. His name is the Antichrist.
 
The Bible tells us the Antichrist will be so powerful, the world will worship him (Revelation 13:4). He will command a global government with complete power over every person on earth (Revelation 13:7). His power will be so complete he'll control everyone's ability to buy or sell (Revelation 13:17). But is this power the only reason the world will worship him?
 
Most likely not. Many kings and rulers have held power. Few have been worshiped. But the Bible provides us with a clue as to why the world will worship this man. It says he will perform great miracles (Revelation 13:13). In fact, these miracles will be so amazing, they will deceive God's people - if such a thing were possible (Matthew 24:24).
 
The "Miracles" of Advanced Technology
 
Many describe technology as a modern day miracle. Since the Industrial Revolution, we've witnessed one technological breakthrough after another. With each passing year, our devices cost less and grow in power. Given current trends, we have no reason to believe this won't continue right up until the moment Jesus returns.
 
After all, we live in a world of exponential change. We live in a world where each year technology improves by leaps and bounds. And it's in this world where the Antichrist will perform his deceptive miracles. How will he do this? I don't know. But in the near future, he will be able to use new technologies to copy almost every miracle of Jesus.
 
Is it any wonder he will deceive so many people? The Bible says the whole world will follow him. And his "miracles" are one of the reasons they will. But the Antichrist's miracles won't be miracles at all. They'll be fakes.
 
Keep in mind, counterfeit miracles are nothing new. Pharaoh's magicians copied many of the plagues God sent on Egypt (Exodus 7:11). Is it any surprise the Antichrist will be able to do the same?
 
Are You the Messiah?
 
When John the Baptist sent a messenger to ask Jesus if He was the long awaited Messiah, Jesus responded, "The lame walk. The deaf hear. The blind see..." (Luke 7:22). For John, this was enough. These facts confirmed the identity of Jesus. After all, never in the history of the world had a man restored sight to a man born blind (John 9:32). His miracles proved Jesus was the Messiah.
 
But very soon, such miracles will be commonplace. Advanced technology such as molecular manufacturing, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and biotechnology will cure all disease and disabilities. The blind will see. The lame will walk. The deaf will hear. The sick will be healed.
 
It's easy to imagine that when that happens, one man will claim credit - the Antichrist.
 
Let's look at a few of Jesus' miracles and how the Antichrist could use future technology in an effort to copy them:
 
Feeding the Five Thousand - Tasked with feeding a crowd of 5,000 men (and even more women and children), Jesus took five loaves of bread and two fish. He blessed them, broke them into pieces, and had His disciples hand them out to the people. Everyone ate as much as they wanted, and twelve baskets of leftovers were collected (Matthew 14:13-21).
 
Did you know the dirt in your front yard probably has every element needed to make fish and bread? All you need is a recipe and the means to make them. With the blueprint for a piece of fish or a loaf of bread, advanced technology will be able to do just that.
 
By rearranging matter, you could literally create a fish or a loaf of bread from nothing but dirt. And with enough dirt, you could feed five thousand people. In fact, with enough dirt and the right technology, you could feed the whole world.
 
In a world of advanced technology, the Antichrist will be able to feed the whole world. And if he did, the world would worship him for it (Revelation 13:4). But again, this would be a false miracle. Man does not live off of bread alone, but from the Word of God (Matthew 4:4).
 
Water into Wine - The first miracle Jesus performed in public took place at a wedding. When the wine ran out, Jesus told the servants to fill six jars with water. Then, He told them to dip some out and take it to the master of ceremonies. When they did, the water had turned into wine (John 2:1-11).
 
With advanced technology, the Antichrist could also turn water into wine. Remember, natural chemical processes create both water and wine. Once computers can control the forming and breaking of chemical bonds, humans will be able to direct those chemical processes. If you have the elements needed to form the chemical compounds in wine, advanced technology will open the door for turning water into wine.
 
Curing of Disease - Jesus cured lepers (Luke 17:14), gave sight to the blind (John 9:6-7), healed the lame (Mark 2:11-12), opened the ears of the deaf (Mark 7:35), and cured disease (Luke 8:2). Will the Antichrist be able to do the same? In all likelihood, yes.
 
Advanced technology is on the verge of monumental breakthroughs in medicine. Soon, we'll be able to replace cancerous cells with healthy ones. Designer antibodies will attack and destroy once deadly viruses. Imagine man-made machines so small they can travel through the blood stream. As they encounter deadly bacteria and viruses, they latch on and disable them, effectively ending all illness and disease.
 
In such a world, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, and the paralyzed will walk again. No one will die from infection. No one will die from heart disease. The aging process will be reversed.
 
Some Things Can't Be Replicated
 
Again, counterfeit miracles are nothing new. Pharaoh's magicians appeared to copy many of the plagues God sent on Egypt. But in the end, Pharaoh and his court couldn't match God's power over death. Death ultimately came to the firstborn of Egypt (Exodus 12:29).
 
Likewise, what Jesus did on the cross can't be copied. He took on the sin of the world, and through Him, we receive forgiveness. Can the Antichrist (or any man) forgive sin? No. Jesus is the only name by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12). He has the power to lay down His life and to pick it up again (John 10:18). He has the power to raise the dead (John 11:44), and He has power to judge the world (John 5:22).
 
The end times will be a time of great deception (2 Thessalonians 2:10-11). Even though the teachings of Jesus are well known, much of the world continues to look for a messiah-a savior who will end the suffering of this world. The Bible tells us the world will follow the Antichrist. They will marvel at his "miracles."
 
They will worship him as their savior and god. But it will all be false. It will all be an illusion. Nothing but a counterfeit hope, when real hope is found in Jesus.

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

TRIBULATION CHRONICLES PART. 10: GREAT TRIBULATION -3


 by Alice Childs -

Revelation 8-18
As we move toward the end of the last three and one half years left to planet earth under the rule of the usurper Satan, you will have already witnessed (those few of you who will have managed to survive thus far) and will have already encountered unprecedented supernatural occurrences: globally devastating wars, death on a massive global extinction-level scale, starvation, global famine, incurable pandemic diseases, and earthquakes of previously unrecorded frequencies and intensities on a global scale.
You will have experienced a meteor or asteroid or some kind of astronomical event that entered earth's atmosphere, with the result that 1/3 of all ocean life will have been killed; 1/3 of all green grasses and vegetation along with trees were burned up, and 1/3 of all freshwater sources poisoned.

You will have seen by now a man from somewhere in Europe, from within the shadows of the old Roman Empire, arise to global prominence and power from seemingly nowhere, accompanied by a powerful religious leader who acts as this political phenomenon's right-hand man.

You will have seen heretofore unseen supernatural strength and power exercised by these two men, the political leader having "confirmed" a "peace covenant" between Israel and "the many" (other nations), and you will have seen him broker this peace accord as the result of a devastating war that, against all possible odds, Israel will have won - though not from any military superiority of their own - but by the direct intervention of the true God of Israel.

You will have witnessed the great majority of the Jewish people embrace this new world leader as their long-awaited Messiah since he will have allowed them to both rebuild their Temple on the ancient temple mount, and reinstate animal sacrifices within it.
However, by now you will have also seen and heard the testimonies of two strange, extremely powerful Jewish men - two emissaries sent from Almighty God, His two "witnesses" - each possessing supernatural powers given them directly by God. These two men will have denounced most strongly this political rising star, his religious cohort, and his claim as being Israel's Messiah.

As a result of the ministries of these two witnesses sent from Almighty God, 144,000 Jewish young male virgins (12,000 from each of Israel's 12 ancient tribes) will have come to faith in Christ, having been sealed in their foreheads. (Whether the "mark of God" upon these Jewish young men will be visible or invisible to humans, I cannot know pre-rapture). These 144,000 Jews will have moved throughout the entire world spreading the gospel of salvation to people from every nation, kindred, tribe and tongue.

You will have seen the two witnesses of God finally overcome and killed, their dead bodies lying in the streets of Jerusalem for three and one half days, and then you will have seen them resurrected and caught up into Heaven, all of this being televised and broadcast worldwide.

You will have seen people endure torment from some kind of supernatural, insectile, locust-like creatures (a torment that will have lasted for five months) from which the agonies had to be endured, because those afflicted were not permitted by God to die to escape their physical agonies.

You will have seen by now this world leader, who is in fact the Antichrist, along with his False Prophet, institute a Satanic "marking" system required to be placed in either the right hand or the forehead, without which no one can live or transact daily life on any level. You will have seen this Antichrist seemingly die from a head wound only to appear to be resurrected miraculously, after which he will have become fully possessed and indwelt by Satan himself.

You will have seen this now Satan-indwelt man betray the Jews by desecrating their newly rebuilt Temple, setting up some type of "living" image of himself (Think of some form of Artificial Intelligence-AI) in the most holy place inside the Jewish Temple called the Holy of Holies, whereupon the Antichrist makes the claim that he is God and demands to be worshipped as such by the world.

You will have seen his hithertofore masked hatred for the Jewish people and new believers in Christ erupt like a festering boil, and in his utter hatred lash out at them to annihilate as many as he can find and kill worldwide by means of mass beheadings.
This is a very abbreviated recap of all you've seen thus far. Following is an abbreviated list of what is yet to come during the remainder of this last seven years. As time ticks down, the last battle in the conflict of the ages is destined to take place in the Valley of Jezreel, in a place called in Hebrew, the Plains of Megiddo - better known as Armageddon.
There, the usurper Satan, his puppet the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and all of the "earth dwellers," - those who have willingly accepted his mark and worshipped this "beast" - meet their end by the mere Word that will proceed forth out of the mouth of the conquering and returning King of Kings, Jesus Christ, as He makes His way from the throne room of Heaven to the devastatingly ravaged earth.

At the end of these last seven years, the Lord Jesus Christ will return physically to the earth, crowned with many diadem, and riding astride a mighty white horse. His first destination will be to Bozrah - Petra, in the ancient Edomite Kingdom of Jordan. There, God will have gathered the Remnant of Israel to protect and provide for those whom He will have preserved. Once gathered there, the Remnant of Israel will at last recognize Jesus "whom they have pierced" as having been their long-awaited Messiah all along.
This Remnant of now-believing Israel will cry aloud for their Messiah King to come to their defense and deliver them. Their Messiah will hear their cry and return to fight for and deliver them from what would otherwise be certain annihilation from Satan and his Antichrist horde (Isaiah 63).

After King Jesus fights for His people in Bozrah, He leaves there, riding astride His horse with His garment stained with the blood of those He will utterly defeat.
The armies of the Antichrist, filled with demonic hatred, will attempt to unite all of the armies of the "earth dwellers," on the Plains of Megiddo, in a final attempt to wipe out the one-third remnant of Israel and to defeat and prevent the physical return of Jesus, the Lion of Judah. They will not succeed, for the Messiah King will PERSONALLY fight for the deliverance of the Jewish believers, the freedom of the land of Israel, and for Jerusalem, God's holy city.

The Battle of Armageddon will, in truth, be no battle at all. The conquering King will win with but a word from His mouth. When Jesus returns, He won't be riding into Jerusalem on a lowly donkey as He did when He presented Himself to Jerusalem as the Suffering Savior to offer Himself as the Lamb of God in sacrifice for the sins of the world. No, this time Jesus rides into the dimension of earth seated astride His powerful white steed, crowned in many diadem, His vesture soaked crimson with the blood of His conquered foes, riding in triumphant splendor as the conquering King He most surely is.

Following along behind Him, also astride horses and dressed in garments "white and clean," will be the "armies of Heaven" comprised of the now glorified Church, along with the souls of the Old Testament Saints and the souls of the slain Tribulation Saints (The two latter groups will be awaiting their new and Immortal bodies, which they will receive just prior to entering the new Kingdom), and with the angelic hosts of Heaven.
What a procession it will be to behold! Perhaps God may grant that you may witness Him coming from the throne room of God into the atmosphere of earth on His way from Bozrah to the war-torn, besieged city of Jerusalem and up to the top of the Mount of Olives just outside the city walls.

The instant the King of Glory's foot touches the Mount of Olives, the Insurrection of the Ages will be over - FINISHED. A mighty earthquake will literally split the Mount of Olives in half from east to west. Then, King Jesus will order His angels to gather "from the four corners of the earth" to bring to Jerusalem all His elect (the Remnant of Tribulation Jewish believers and Tribulation Gentile believers), along with all those who managed to survive these last seven years.

There the King will begin the process of exacting His righteous judgment - to pass sentence upon all who are left alive from every country on earth (Matthew 24 & 25). Next, He will begin to restore ALL that the Corrupted One has defiled since Eden.
But before that glorious event occurs, there are yet more horrendous judgments that you who are left behind and still alive have to endure. Look now and see what will be coming upon you in rapid succession:

(1) A bombardment of hailstones weighing at least 100 lbs. each will pulverize the earth.

(2) The very atmosphere of the planet will erupt in fire, smoke, burning ash, and sulfur mixed with blood.

(3) ALL ocean life will be killed. ALL OF IT.

(4) ALL fresh water sources will be poisoned. ALL OF THEM.

(5) ALL green grass and vegetation will be burned away. ALL OF IT.

(6) The almost complete slaughter by beheading of nearly ALL believers (only a very few will escape), although there will be a few from every nation whom God will preserve throughout to bring to the end.

However, no one will know whether he or she will be one of the ones allowed to survive until the return of the King. The truth that must be faced and accepted is that the vast majority will not survive to the end regardless of how diligent one might try to be. The breadth and scale of the devastation, the violence, carnage, and wrath of God poured out in judgment will simply be too unprecedented and too enormous for more than just a handful to survive.

(7) Two-thirds (2/3) of all rebellious Jews will be slaughtered (1/3 of them will be saved by becoming believers in Jesus as their true Messiah and will be preserved and protected by the Lord (Zechariah 13:8-9). These 1/3 "remnant Jews" God will preserve and protect in the ancient fortified rock city in Bozrah, Jordan in the ancient Edomite Kingdom.
(8) The entire earth will be on the very precipice of total annihilation, and indeed would be completely annihilated if King Jesus did not return to put an end to the carnage.
(9) As a result of the astronomical devastation from meteors and asteroids and from Wormwood (whatever it turns out to be), other celestial devastation will occur as a result of the complete atmospheric conflagration. There will be the complete inundation of the upper atmosphere from multiple nuclear detonations, including ash, smoke, and pyroclastic debris from multiple volcanic eruptions. These things will result in utter darkness such as has never been experienced before in all of earth's history. This unprecedented darkness will utterly envelope the earth.
(10) The moon will "turn to blood" whatever that means; YOU will know should you still be alive at this point.
(11) The protective layers of the upper atmosphere, having been stripped away from all of the atmospheric devastation, will strip away all of the earth's protective layers, allowing the sun to burn people with its unfiltered solar intensity, even in the midst of darkness.
(12) In an earthquake so massive and devastating, every mountain range, every valley, and every part of the entire world's topography will be moved and rearranged. Every single one. This will be a truly planetary shaking and upheaval.

This is but a synopsis of all that is yet to be endured during the last three and one-half years before Christ returns to put an end to the destruction and rebellion.
Oh, my dear beloved, if you are reading these chronicles now BEFORE the rapture has occurred, please, I beg you to come to Christ now so that you may become a part of the Church of Jesus Christ. Come to salvation NOW so that you will not be here to endure these coming horrors.

If, however, the event of the rapture already has occurred, then I implore you now to delay no longer! Please come to Christ for salvation now - right now. You will most probably lose your physical life; but if you do, your immortal soul will go immediately to Heaven to dwell forever in the presence of the Lord. You will dwell with Him and with all of the redeemed of all the ages until the end of the Tribulation, when you too will be given a new and immortal body.

If you choose not to come to Christ, if you choose to accept the "mark" of the Antichrist, then you most assuredly WILL die when King Jesus returns to set up His kingdom in Jerusalem, Israel. That is an absolute and unchangeable fact.
Only believers will be allowed to enter into King Jesus' kingdom on earth. Only believers both mortal and Immortal will be allowed to enter and live in His restored and renovated earth.

And you? If you die in your sins, if you take the "mark" of the Antichrist, then you will die physically and spiritually, and your immortal soul will live forever throughout all eternity suffering untold agonies in the Lake that forever burns with fire that God had prepared for Satan and his fallen angels.

Dear Reader, here is what you must do to be saved:
(1) You must understand and accept the truth that you are a justly condemned sinner in need of a Redeemer. You need the sinless God/man, Jesus Christ, to save you because you cannot save yourself by your own actions or merits (Romans 3:23; Romans 10:9-10).
(2) You must believe (place your complete faith and trust) in the fact that Jesus - God the Son, came to earth in human flesh - that He lived a perfect and utterly sinless life so that He could, as a man, pay the penalty (wages) that sin demanded to be paid in order to satisfy God's (John 3:16-18) infinite justice.
(3) You must believe that Jesus, who is God the Son incarnate, died a sinner's death as an innocent man - the perfect sacrifice - in order that by His sacrifice in our place He might redeem (purchase us back) from the penalty exacted upon us by the guilt of sin. You must believe that His death fully atones and pardons all of the sin guilt of all people who are willing to come to Him by faith, believing that Jesus Christ alone is the only One who can save lost mankind, and that through Him alone is the only means of mankind's redemption (John 14:6).
(4) You must believe that Jesus bodily resurrected from the tomb three days later and that, by His resurrection, He conquered Death and sealed the eternal destinies in Heaven for all who are willing to believe on Him and who are willing to trust in His grace alone for the free pardon of their sins (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

Dear Reader, we are drawing to a close in this series of declaration and warning. I have attempted, as best as I am able, to give you the truth of all that is to shortly come to pass. I and all the other teachers, writers, staff, and fellow believers here have tried and will continue to the best of our abilities to be "watchmen and women on the wall" warning, pleading, and exhorting you that time is quickly running out for you to come to Christ before the rapture of the Church occurs.

There will be only one more epistle in this series of letters chronicling what will occur once the Church is gone; and then, all that I have been called to write will have been written, and all that I've been led to do done.

The "ball," as they say, is now in your court. Every believer here urges you with all that is in us not to delay coming to salvation. The rapture of the true Remnant Church of Jesus Christ can (and will) occur at any moment. Once it happens, if you have not accepted Christ as your Savior when we, the Remnant Church, are called up to depart this earth, then you will be left behind; and all (and far more) that I have briefly outlined here in these series of letters will occur to you.

Please, come now to Christ while there is still time.
Keep reading, the last epistle will follow shortly.