TRIBULATION CHRONICLES, PART 8: THE GREAT TRIBULATION

By Alice Childs

Revelation chapters 8-18

 

As I finished the previous article, I had brought you from the beginning events post rapture to the midpoint of this last 7-year time period under the usurper Satan's regime. After this point, things will deteriorate rapidly. The judgments that are to come will be far worse than anything that will have happened so far.

 

You need to prepare yourself to either accept Christ now, if you are still lost (that is if you have still not accepted the fact that you are a sinner in need of a Savior and have not as yet believed in Jesus Christ alone for salvation according to the scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Once you do believe, you must remain faithful EVEN UNTO DEATH. You will not have to rely on your own failing efforts; the Holy Spirit of God will be with you to enable you to withstand whatever comes your way - including your martyrdom if it comes to that.

 

From here on out, until King Jesus the Messiah returns, the loss of life and complete planetary devastation that has commenced, and will continue to ramp up, will be the outpouring of wrath from a merciful God whose cup of indignation has finally been filled to overflowing, and whose awesome righteous wrath has finally been kindled.

 

The Ancient of Days is about to fully unleash His wrath, mete out His justice, and avenge the blood of all of His saints from every era and dispensation. He is now going to avenge all those who have endured the hatred of the Great Deceiver - that slandering, murderous, rebellious Dragon - the fallen cherub Satan, along with all those who have willingly chosen to follow this Deceiver in his rebellion in such a vile, sin-saturated world.

 

The risen Lamb - the Lion of Judah - is about to roar out the terrifying culmination of His vengeance from the throne room of Heaven, and the atmospheric heavens along with the very foundations of Planet Earth are about to be shaken as never before in human history.

 

But before we proceed any further, let me once again, for just a moment, back up to the instant right after the rapture has occurred, to remind you yet again of some truths of which I've already told you but which bear repeating. Never forget that the hallmark of Satan is deception.

 

Remember that I told you in earlier epistles that there will be many "religious" people who will have been left behind. Religion is always man's attempt to reconcile himself to God on his (man's) own terms apart from God's terms. True Christianity as defined by the Bible is not and never has been a "religion." In fact, Christianity as defined by the Bible stands diametrically opposed to every "religion" on earth, including all that calls itself "Christian" but which is in reality a false Christianity, bearing NO resemblance to true Biblical Christianity.

 

There will be religious leaders from every religion, denomination, and cult known to man (including, sad to say, many well-known and big-name evangelical leaders who call themselves "Christians" but who are not true Christians as defined by the Bible).

 

These apostate religions and religious leaders will still be here post rapture, and they will band together under one ecumenical religious umbrella, overseen by a great and powerful world religious leader (pay particular attention to the Roman Catholic Church).

 

Religious diversity and tolerance will be the popular rallying cry, at least during the first half of the Tribulation period, just as it is today. Do you recall the oh-so-tolerant sounding cry of COEXIST? Well, that will be the very banner under which all of the left-behind false religions (including a milder form of Islam) will unite.

 

Do not be at all surprised to find that most, if not all, of the most well-known "prosperity" and/or "social gospel" preachers and teachers - the false "Word of Faith/name-it-and-claim-it teachers and preachers (who are nothing more than slick, religious snake oil salesmen who have spent their lives swelling their obscenely fat bank accounts by fleecing the elderly, the foolish, and the undiscerning of the majority of their money) - the "seeker sensitive," all-inclusive, let's-just-all-coexist Christian-in-name-only groups and leaders will also have been left behind.

 

It will only be those whose Christianity followed the Bible - the Biblical "fundamentalists" as we were derisively called - those of us who believed and took the Bible literally, who followed Christ literally according to the scriptures that will have been taken in the great vanishing that was the rapture of the Church.

 

These false CINOs (Christians in name only) will be left here after the rapture, because they NEVER believed in Christ alone for their salvation. This is why they are still here post rapture, and why they did not go with the genuine church of Jesus Christ when He came to catch away His body/bride, when the rapture occurred.

 

These false, left-behind religious ones will join themselves with the Roman Catholic hierarchy, the Hindus, the Buddhists, the New Agers, the Mormons, and ALL of the other myriad of false religions to bring DECEPTION to those of you left behind after the rapture of the true Church has occurred. Do not be deceived by them and do not follow them under any circumstances. They themselves are deceived and will only lead you further into deception and into an eternity in Hell.

 

The first half of the Tribulation will be filled with this false religious system that has its roots in ancient Babylonian paganism. All of these false religions had their beginnings in ancient Babylon under the first "world ruler" named Nimrod. Nimrod ruled ancient Babylon, located on the Plains of Shinar, thousands and thousands of years ago. However, when the GREAT Tribulation begins (the last 3 ½ years I am about to address further), God is going to bring all of that ancient paganism and perversion in its many and varied forms to its complete and final end.

 

Keep this in mind, for as you shall soon see, God is going to bring this entire false religious travesty down as well as the kingdom of Satan ruled by the Antichrist and his False Prophet, the religious leader who will head up the false world religion in its myriad of forms.

 

Prepare now, for this is what is coming during these last 3 ½ years - the time Jesus Himself termed the GREAT Tribulation:

 

(1) There will be continued ecological events such as unprecedentedly violent earthquakes on a scale never before recorded and in places never before affected by them, as well as in the expected places along known fault lines. There will be volcanic eruptions of unheard of severity, tsunamis, and other geological upheavals on an unprecedented and previously unknown scale. These will be in diverse places and will rise exponentially in both frequency and severity.

 

This geological devastation will be GLOBAL in scope. Not one place on earth will be immune from it. A THIRD PART OF THE TREES AND GRASS WILL BE BURNED UP. The famine, already global in scope, will worsen dramatically as a result of these things (Revelation 6:12; 8:7).

 

(2) There will be astronomical events that will occur: asteroids, meteors, comets, and something that the Apostle John recorded as being "something like a great burning mountain" (whatever that will be) that will strike the oceans. As a result, ONE THIRD PART OF THE SEA "BECAME (will become) BLOOD" as ONE THIRD OF ALL SEA LIFE IS KILLED, AND ONE THIRD OF ALL SHIPS ARE DESTROYED (Revelation 8: 8-9).

 

(3) A "burning star from heaven" will strike the fresh water sources such as lakes, rivers, creeks, and streams, etc. ONE THIRD OF ALL FRESH WATER SOURCES WILL BECOME POISONED AND CONTAMINATED. Think about this! What a calamity it will be for man and animals not to be able to find sufficient, unpolluted and safe drinking water! This catastrophic devastation will result in even more loss of life (Revelation 8:10-11).

 

(4) As a direct result of the above catastrophic events, THE SUN AND MOON WILL BE DARKENED FOR ONE THIRD PART OF THE DAY AND NIGHT. The atmosphere and the amount of breathable air will be so polluted, the atmosphere so obscured, that the very light of the sun and moon will be diminished by ONE THIRD. One's ability to breathe will be seriously impaired from the thickly poisoned and polluted air that will pollute ONE THIRD of the Planet. MANY MORE WILL DIE (Revelation 8:12-13).

 

This is only the beginning. I will pick up in the next entry with the next series of judgments that will swiftly follow these in the 2nd part of The Great Tribulation.

 

Keep reading.

PEACE ON EARTH?

By Daymond Duck

The prophet Zechariah had a vision of a rider on a red horse (Zech. 1:7-17). This rider turned out to be THE (in Hebrew THE is emphasized) Angel of the LORD (capital LORD). Here, THE Angel of the LORD is Jesus (verse 11).

 

There were other riders on horses behind Jesus. Zechariah asked about them and he was told, "These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth" (Zech. 1:9-10).

 

This group of riders was an angel patrol that God had sent to patrol the earth. These angels had just returned with a report, "We have walked to and fro through the earth, and behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest" (Zech. 1:11). They found peace all over the earth.

 

In the last 5,000 years, historians say there have been more than 4,000 wars. Peace on earth is very rare. This time of peace on earth was at the end of the Babylonian captivity, and it was one of those very rare occasions.

 

Most would expect Jesus to be pleased with peace on earth, but there was something about it that troubled Him.

 

He asked God, "O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?" (Zech. 1:12).

 

There was peace on earth, but it was peace without Jerusalem and the surrounding towns. Without Jerusalem and the surrounding towns, Jesus couldn't be born in Bethlehem, Ephratah; He couldn't ride into Jerusalem on a donkey; He couldn't suddenly appear at the Temple, and many other prophecies couldn't be fulfilled.

 

There was peace on earth, but it was peace on earth on Satan's terms, not God's terms.

 

God said, "I am very sore displeased (very angry) with the heathen that are at ease; for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction" (Zech. 1:15). God didn't like the attitude of the heathen (Gentiles) on earth.

 

Their attitude wasn't a big problem at first when God allowed Babylon to put the Jews off the Promised Land for 70 years, but He was sore displeased 70 years later when they tried to keep Israel off the land forever. God said the Jews would return after 70 years, but Gentiles were trying to make Israel's situation worse than God decreed by keeping the Jews off the land forever, not letting Jerusalem and the Temple be rebuilt, etc.

 

God's punishment of Judah wasn't enough for the Gentiles. They wanted to go beyond what God said. They wanted the permanent destruction of Judah.

 

God wasn't pleased with this. He said the Seed of Woman would bruise Satan's head, and it had to happen. Nations cannot be allowed to prevent the Word of God from being fulfilled.

 

This brings us to Zechariah's second vision (Zech. 1:18-21).

 

First, Zechariah saw "four horns," (kings, kingdoms or nations; Dan. 7:24; Rev. 17:12). He was told, "These horns are the kingdoms or nations that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem" (Zech. 1:19).

 

Next, Zechariah saw "four carpenters." He was told, "These are come to fray (punish) them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles (heathen), which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it" (Zech. 1:21). These four carpenters represent things or nations that God has sent to tear down and get rid of those that are adding to Judah's punishment.

 

These visions apply to Zechariah's day, but the things in the Old Testament are examples for us today (I Cor. 10:11).

 

God is gathering the Jews back to the Promised Land (Isa. 43:5-8). He gave all of the Promised Land to Israel forever (Gen. 17:7-8).

 

The angel Gabriel said the Antichrist will stop the animal sacrifices at the middle of the seventieth week (Dan. 9:27). Paul said, the Antichrist will sit in the Temple and say that he is God (II Thess. 2:3-4).

 

Many Gentiles are trying to stop Israel from getting all of the Promised Land, stop Israel from rebuilding the Temple, resuming the animal sacrifices, etc.

 

World leaders think they can have peace on earth by dividing Jerusalem and the Promised Land, giving part or all of Jerusalem and the Promised Land to the Muslims, etc., but they can't because every jot and tittle of God's Word must be fulfilled.

 

At the time of the end, the Antichrist must arrive, the Temple must be rebuilt. The animal sacrifices must resume, etc. U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is a major indicator of things to come.

 

Before the Temple is rebuilt, members of the religion of peace will schedule days of anger, rage and violence to protest the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, but eventually there will be a false peace, and the Temple will be rebuilt.

 

When that false peace treaty is signed, God's day of wrath will begin (Rev. 6:16). He will use four horsemen (called the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse) to fray the world (Rev. 6:1-8).

 

There may not be a connection, but one of those horsemen will ride a red horse like THE Angel of the LORD in Zechariah 1:8. The rider on the red horse will remove peace from the earth (Rev. 6:3-4).

 

Thankfully, the Church won't be here when the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse come forth. You see, the sudden destruction will come upon them (the lost) when they (the lost) say "Peace and safety" (I Thess. 5:3).

 

The lost will wrongly say "Peace and safety" before the sudden destruction comes (Pre-Trib). They won't say "Peace and safety" halfway through the Tribulation Period (Mid-Trib) or near the end of it (Post-Trib).

 

Christmas is near, and many people will talk about peace on earth, but they are not interested in, or anxious for, the return of Jesus. They don't seem to realize that there won't be peace on earth until Jesus returns (Dan. 9:24). If Jesus doesn't return, no flesh will be saved, but Jesus will return (Matt. 24:22; Acts 1:11).

 

Anyway, Israel needs at least some control over Jerusalem and the Temple Mount to think that they are secure enough to rebuild the Temple. Moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem is a giant step in that direction. More steps are needed, but the ball is rolling.

LAND OF MILK AND HONEY, AND A VERY HEAVY STONE

 

by Pete Garcia -

 

Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. Then He said to Abram: "Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." Genesis 15:12-16

 

The land of Israel was promised to the Jewish people (future descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) some 4,000 years ago. At that time, the pagan peoples of the Amorites, Jebusites, Amalekites, Canaanites, Girgashites, etc., had occupied the land flowing with milk and honey. Around 3,600 years ago, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob made good on His promise and delivered the Hebrews from Egyptian bondage and into the Promised Land (with a 40-year detour added).

 

3,000 years ago, King David founded the city which up until that point had been the Canaanite (Jebusite) cities of Jeru and Shalem. It is here that the angel of the Lord was in the process of destroying Jerushalem when God stopped his path of destruction near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite (2 Samuel 24:16) and instructed Gad the Seer to tell King David to make the sacrifice there. Before doing that, King David bought the threshing floor and the bulls to do so. 2,000 years ago, Jerusalem was the established capital in the Roman province of Judaea.

 

1,000 years ago, Jerusalem had been under the control of the Abbasid Dynasty (Muslim) and was about to be captured by the first Crusaders. 500 years ago, the Ottoman Turks defeated the Mameluke forces and captured Jerusalem. 120 years ago, Theodor Herzl convened the first Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland in 1897. It was here that European Jews began planning to move back to their ancient homeland, which at that time, was still under the control of the Ottoman Turks. 100 years ago, British forces liberated Jerusalem from the Ottoman Turks (who had sided with the Central Powers in WWI). 70 years ago, the Jews won their right for statehood on November 29th, 1947 at the United Nations with Resolution 181.

 

50 years ago, the Jewish forces decisively defeated numerous Arab and Egyptian forces in the Six Day War in 1967 and recaptured the city of Jerusalem from the Jordanians in the process. 40 years ago, US President Jimmy Carter along with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin began setting the stage for what would come to be known as the Camp David Accords. The Accords, which would set in place for the next forty years, the idea of "land for peace." 30 years ago, the Temple Institute was formed to make the third Jewish temple, become a reality. 22 years ago, the US Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which required the US to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem or be waived every six months.

 

Five days ago, US President Donald Trump didn't sign this waiver, and then officially announced Jerusalem as Israel's eternal, and undivided capital. He then instructed his State Department to begin moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He became the first US president to do so in 70 years.

 

Assessment

 

The significance of what Donald Trump just did should not be underestimated. Three previous US presidential administrations all promised during their respective campaigns to do something they probably had no intention of doing. When elected, they didn't do it because they thought they could use Jerusalem as leverage for any final peace deals. But since Trump broke ranks and did the right thing, what are we to make of our seemingly paradoxical situation? Will the US be blessed because of what he did, or will our misfortunes as a nation in moral freefall continue on the prophetic glide path towards last-days irrelevancy?

 

Now the Lord had said to Abram:

"Get out of your country,

from your family

and from your father's house,

to a land that I will show you.

I will make you a great nation;

I will bless you

and make your name great;

and you shall be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,

and I will curse him who curses you;

and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen. 12:1-3)

 

To answer my recent question, I believe it will be both. We as a nation might have some respite from President Trump's decision on a geopolitical level, but I believe the blessing will be with him and those who supported his decision to officially recognize Jerusalem. He may be now viewed in the same category as the great Gentile leaders from antiquity like Cyrus or Artaxerxes II in assisting Israel's survival as a people and as a nation. 

 

In more recent times, he joins President Truman (the first world leader to recognize Israel as a nation) and President Nixon (who came to Israel's aid in her greatest hour of need). Both these presidents supported Israel despite tremendous opposition even from within their own administrations (compare with Ezra 4). To his credit, I believe Caroline Glick's recent article captures the essence of the Trump doctrine and how that will play out in the coming weeks, months, and years.

 

To sum up then, by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Trump made clear that US support for Israel is not conditioned on anything. Israel, the Jewish state, is supported by the US because it deserves US support as an allied democracy. Trump strengthened himself against his political opponents by taking ownership of a deeply popular foreign policy position. He took control of US foreign policy from a State Department that opposes his policies. He made reality, rather than the defiance of reality, the foundation of US Middle East policy. He put US allies and enemies on notice that he is calling the shots in US foreign policy. And he took a large step toward restoring US credibility as a superpower. Oh, and he accomplished all of these things without spending a dime. For his gift to Israel, Trump now enters the pantheon of Israel's friends in the annals of Jewish history. For his gifts to America he has taken his place among the most astute American statesmen. And for his political and economic mastery, he enters the ranks of the geniuses of American political history.

 

As to the relevancy of our nation in terms of the prophetic picture, we are still headed to the same exact place we were while under Barack Obama. Even though Cyrus and Artaxerxes II greatly aided Israel and are remembered in the annals of history for doing so, the mighty Persian Empire still fell to the rising Greek power of Philipp II and Alexander the Great. I believe God will bless President Trump's presidency, but I also still think that those who are the enemy of God and Israel, will continue to suffer at the hands of divine justice (Romans 1:16-32).

 

We still must contend with the reality that this world is currently under the management of Satan and his varied forces (Luke 4:5-7, 1 John 5:19). As long President Trump continues in office, he can expect intense pressure to reverse this decision. Even though Nixon aided Israel during the Yom Kippur War, that didn't prevent his impeachment because of Watergate. However, it was added to the righteous acts he performed in this life. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will protect Trump and his administration until his purposes at this stage of human history are complete. As to the United States, we are still heading to our appointed rendezvous with prophecy. Even we as a nation (if we are still a nation), will one day come against Israel as an enemy.

 

"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. Zechariah 12:2-3

 

Conclusion

 

Like the iniquity of the Amorites, the fullness of the Gentiles is about run its course (Luke 21:24). The Pre-Tribulation (or pre-70th Week) Rapture will instantaneously remove all born-again believers from the earth. We know that according to Scripture, there is a final, Gentile kingdom coming that will dominate the earth for seven years (Rev. 13). According to the Prophet Daniel (Daniel 9:24-27), the prince who is to come is from the same people who destroyed the temple and Jerusalem in 70AD. This would make whoever the Antichrist is, come from somewhere within the boundaries of the old Roman Empire. Through the use of advanced technology (quantum computing, artificial technology, digital currency, etc.), and satanically-charged supernatural power, this man of lawlessness will ruthlessly rule the entire planet for a season. He starts his reign of terror with a covenant committed between Israel and the many nations (Isaiah 28:15, Dan. 9:27).

 

Although we don't know exactly what this covenant entails, we can reasonably assume it will build off Trump's recent declaration and will probably deal with the final status of Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, and the building of a new Jewish temple. We know there is a third temple because the Bible demands one to be rebuilt (Ezekiel 40-48, Matt. 24:15, 2 Thess. 2:4, Rev. 11:1-2). The world under Satan's influence has long desired to make Jerusalem an international city under the pretenses that it serves the world's three major religions. Each religion can claim some connection as Muslims and Christians because both have conquered and held control over it for brief periods of time. In the coming weeks and months, Jerusalem will become an even greater cup of trembling as the nation's rage over this recent declaration (Zech. 12:2-3).

 

But what will really happen, is that this man Antichrist (rider on the white horse) will use peace as justification to take over Jerusalem maybe involved in allowing for the Jews to actually build their new temple. At the midway point of this seven years, this same man will desecrate the newly rebuilt Jewish temple by setting himself up as God-incarnate and his false prophet will demand all peoples worship him on pain of death. Jesus said that when the Jews in Jerusalem see this, they must flee Jerusalem and leave without even packing their things (Matt. 24:15-18). God will shepherd them and move them to a safe place to shelter them during the last half of Daniel's 70th Week (Isaiah 26:20-21, Rev. 12:13-17).

 

President Trump (like Cyrus and Nebuchadnezzar) was selected by God for this appointed time, to at a minimum, do this appointed thing (recognize Jerusalem). We know that there is a spiritual conflict going on because Jerusalem is not strategically significant in any other manner than a religious one. Although the Jews as a people-group have been blinded to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ at present (Romans 11:25-29), God's promises and calling to them are unchangeable (Jer. 31:35-37). After the Rapture and at a certain point during the Tribulation, they will realize that Jesus really was the Messiah, and they will call upon Him for salvation.

 

"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. Zechariah 12:10

 

Until then, pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122)

 

Maranatha!