Urgent Warning

Prophecy, throughout Biblical history, usually serves as a warning from God. The prophets warned of impending judgement and captivity by Ninevah and by Babylon. They also warned of drought and peril. Prophecy is not designed to merely satisfy curiosity, or to tickle your fancy with good news.

When I wrote the book, Right At The Door, I sought to re-examine and explain the prophecies of the last days. I did not emphasize the warning inherent in those prophecies. But I am changing the tone of my message. Prophecy is not merely a theological debate; it is an urgent warning. A warning both for the saved and for the unsaved.  The warning to the unsaved is obvious. They need to trust in Jesus as their savior and redeemer if they want to spend eternity in His righteous kingdom. The warning to Christians is not so obvious, at least not to those who believe in a rapture occurring before the Great Tribulation. The warning is completely lost if you believe that we will escape the turmoil and destruction of the last days. All you need to be concerned about is booking your next cruise, investing in a new beach house, or managing your 401k. After all, you are taking exit number seven, getting off the highway before it leads to destruction.

What makes the prophecies of the last days so urgent, though? Who among us is watching, waiting, and prepared for the destruction of America, prophesied in Daniel 7:11-12? Who has a plan for living through turmoil and tribulation without electricity, without refrigerators, cell phones, or internet. Without gas, propane, heat, stoves, transportation or grocery stores. 

How close is the end of the age? The seven trumpet warnings of Revelation began with World War I, in 1914. Trumpet warnings 2, 3, 4, and 5 have also taken place. We are now waiting for trumpet six, the buildup to Armageddon. And if the timeframe of warning prior to the Great Flood is any indicator, God’s warning of major judgment spans a timeframe of 120 years. “As in the days of Noah” may be an indicator that God’s patience is about complete. If so, then we might expect that the return of Jesus to engage the enemies of Israel at Armageddon might take place in 2034. Prior to that point in time the Arab alliance must eliminate America as a deterrent to their invasion of Israel. So sometime prior to 2034 we can expect that America will be destroyed. It is at the time of the second coming of Christ that Christians will be caught up, at the seventh trumpet.

Perhaps I am wrong on the 120-year timeframe. Then consider another timeframe. If five of the seven trumpet warnings have already taken place, starting in 1914, do you really think that God has in mind to wait much longer before He imparts the judgment of which He is warning? The end of the age is not twenty years away, or fifty, or a hundred years. It is imminent.

There you have it. We urgently need to prepare for dark and difficult days ahead, for sword, famine and plague (Rev 18::8). We will not be raptured away. No blissful escape. God’s judgment will soon fall upon America, and Christians will not be spared. The word “maranatha” will take on a whole new meaning. The blessed hope will become a desperate hope for the Lord’s return. 

Lord of Lords, King of Kings

 

When Jesus returns to the Earth the second time He will come as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. His first coming fulfilled the role of “Lamb of God”, but His return will be as an absolute ruler over all rulers, all nations, and all powers. That is what the title means in Revelation – Jesus is returning to judge the world and establish His earthly kingdom. No power, no king, no lord can oppose him and hope to win, because He is coming to reign supreme over a kingdom that will never end (Dan 7:13-14).

The title is used in two places in John’s visions. The first is in Revelation 17:14 where Messiah is referred to as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. In this first reference the title Lord of Lords precedes the title King of Kings. That is perhaps due to the emphasis in chapter 17 of Jesus returning to defeat the eighth beast in the battle of Armageddon. That great rebellion and assault on Israel will be led by the man of lawlessness, who will claim to be God (II Thes 2:4, 9), deceiving his followers with signs and wonders. Jesus will defeat him because He is the Lord above all Lords, the divine Son of God.

In Revelation 19:16 the title is used again, but the title King of Kings precedes the title Lord of Lords. In this passage Jesus is viewed as a warrior-judge who administers God’s judgment and wrath upon all the nations (Rev 19 11-16). In so doing, He establishes His kingdom, becoming the King of Kings for the rest of time and eternity.

Other New Testament writings amplify this title, declaring the supremacy of Jesus Christ (Col 1:18). God raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand (Eph 1:19-23). God placed all things under his rule – all powers, all creation, the universe, even the angels (Heb 1:3-4). Because Jesus humbled himself and became obedient, even to death on a cross, God exalted him and gave him the name that is above all names (Phil 2:5-11). The Lamb of God will return as the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings.

That return will occur very, very soon. Every man and woman have the opportunity to submit to His loving, righteous reign, by humbly accepting His atonement for sin. Or they can choose to ignore His claims as Lord of all and be found as an enemy of the King when He returns.

 

Preparing for America's Destruction

 

In Oregon we have to anticipate forest fires each and every summer. On Labor Day of 2020 a fire started up in the Cascade foothills and became a raging inferno, blown by 40 mph east winds. It started 50 miles from our home, but within 36 hours it was within 3 miles. We were warned in plenty of time and told to evacuate, immediately. My wife was scared, frightfully so, and could not get me to hurry fast enough. She was in such a hurry that she forgot to take any clean clothes, just family heirlooms. It took us two hours to drive ten miles as everybody headed west out of the fire zone. The car in front of us had goats and sheep staring at us out of the back window. Nobody knew what would become of their homes, their farms, their livelihoods.

I suppose I could have ignored the warnings. After all, evacuation orders usually prove to be unnecessary – a false alarm. I could have continued on with my farm projects, had an evening BBQ, then watch a movie or go hot tubbing that evening. No need to get all worked up, even though the sun was red, and the sky was black with smoke.

Now consider the Biblical warnings of the end times. Cataclysmic destruction and extreme tribulation are heading our way. And if the timing of the seven trumpets and bowls are heeded, that forest fire inferno could erupt within the next ten years. America will be destroyed, first, most likely by the eighth beast (Rev 17:15, Dan 7:12). Israel will be next in the crosshairs of destruction as the Man of Lawlessness brings his massive army into the holy land with the intent of annihilating the Jews. The Day of the Lord will be in full swing as Armageddon is unleashed. Then, and only then, will the remnant of Jews and Christians be rescued and raptured by the return of Christ.

But Christians do not expect any of this destruction to come anywhere near them. They do not believe that judgment will precede the rapture. We continue on, along with the rest of mankind, just as in the days of Noah -- ­eating and drinking, going about our business, our ventures, our investments, our pursuits, booking our next cruise. While the end of the age is almost upon us.

It’s going to happen. It is clearly prophesied. America will be destroyed. God has a pattern of saying what He plans to do before He does it (Amos 3:7). Daniel’s vision of the beasts makes it clear that the fifth beast, the little horn, will be destroyed (Daniel 7:11). Revelation prophesies that the 10-horn beast (an Arab alliance) will hate the Prostitute (another description of America) and bring her to ruin – “they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire” (Rev 17:16). That sounds to me like a pre-modern description of nuclear attack. How America gets to the point of being vulnerable to nuclear attack and unable to defend itself is anyone’s guess. But with the chaotic political scene that we are in, and with no end to that chaos in sight, that is a very real possibility.

No matter how extensive the destruction, it will probably put an end to government, the electric grid, distribution of fuel and groceries. Those who survive will resort to anarchy and vigilantism. Your IRA and bank account will become worthless. Americans will need to live off the land and ration their stored goods. Sorry, no telephones or internet, and not enough gas for cars or generators. Realize that your neighbors will be as desperate as you. Will you shoot them, or will you share with them?

^“Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it…. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless… Encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!  Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner” (I Peter 4 7-13)

There will come a day, soon, when the handwriting will appear on the wall. Destruction will be at the doorstep. Suffering will then be our lot, and we will be crying out, “Jesus, come quickly!

The Two Wtnesses

 

Who are the two witnesses highlighted in Revelation 11? And just what is the prophetic message of this enigmatic vision? The teaching that most Christians have grown accustomed to is that the two witnesses are Elijah and Moses, or Enoch and Elijah, who will come back to earth to witness, and perform miracles during the Great Tribulation. They will be killed, and left to lay in the streets of Jerusalem for three days. Then they will be caught up to heaven, in full view of all the inhabitants of the world. That interpretation makes for an incredibly dramatic storyline for the Great Tribulation fantasy, but it is not at all what God was delineating.

The two witnesses are not two men, rather they are two chosen and elected peoples of God – Israel and the Church. For several millennia they have fulfilled the role of bearing witness to God’s offer of love and redemption, as well as His sovereignty. Elijah and Moses were the hallmark personalities of the first witness, Israel, performing miracles that glorified the God of the Jews. The four miracles mentioned in Revelation 11 happened in history past; they are not going to occur again during the last days.

The symbolic mention of 42 months and 1260 days is not referring to the last half of the Great Tribulation. The Gentiles are not going to trample on the holy city for 42 months during a supposed Great Tribulation. No, they have been doing so ever since 70AD, when the Jews were dispersed to the four corners of the world. The time period, “times, time, and half a time”, depicted in this chapter as 42 months and 1260 days (Rev 11:2,3), represents an undisclosed length of time, designed and determined by God. So, then, the two witnesses will bear testimony for 1260 days, not during the Great Tribulation, but for the whole course of the age of the Gentiles, the Church age.

Once God’s timeframe for the two witnesses is complete, when their testimony is finished, they will be slain by the beast out of the abyss. They will be left lying in the streets, while the inhabitants of the earth gloat over their dead bodies, celebrating. The great city where they are slain probably refers to the earth as a whole, the same place where Jesus was crucified. Jesus left His place in heaven to come to this earth, take on the likeness of a man, and become obedient to death on a cross.

The beast out of the Abyss is mentioned in other places in Revelation, most notably in Revelation 17. It is synonymous with the eighth beast (17:6, 8, 10-13). That beast is a ten-nation Arab coalition, who will destroy America, the Great Babylon (Rev 17:16), and invade Israel and trample on Jerusalem (Ezek 39:2; Zech 14:1-2). After wreaking all that death and destruction, slaying the two witnesses, it seems that they will pause to gloat over their victory. That is when the story takes an astonishing turn of events.

The witnesses will be resurrected, by the breath of God, and will ascend into heaven, in a cloud, while their enemies watch in amazement. This resurrection and ascension in a cloud is obliquely referring to the rapture. That great event will not just gather the saints who are still alive, but also resurrect the dead in Christ, those of Israel and the Church who have died and been slain over thousands of years. When Christ returns, He will defeat that great beast out of the Abyss (Rev 17:14), and avenge the slaying of the two witnesses – Israel and the Church. The great earthquake mentioned in the closing of Revelation 11 is a trademark event that accompanies the second coming of Christ (cf. Rev 6:12; 8:5; 16:18; Ezek 38:19; Zech 14:4).

Why Will God Judge America?

 

Biblical prophecy reveals that America will be destroyed, sometime prior to the closing chaos of the end of the age. This destruction is not happenstance. It will be the judgment of God. Which raises the question, particularly amongst Americans, themselves, why would God judge America?

God says of America, “Her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes…. Therefore, in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her” (Rev 18:4,8).  

We who live in America view ourselves through gilded glasses. Our perception is tainted by wealth, power, pleasure, ease, and freedom. We think we are uniquely blessed by God. We ignore and excuse the great sins in our past. And we overlook our current culpabilities, as well. Like a frog sitting in a pan of water rising to the boiling point we are unaware of impending doom until the blood begins to boil.

America is repeatedly portrayed in Biblical prophesies as arrogant, prideful, and boasting (Rev 13:5; Dan 7:8,11; Rev 18:7). That is very difficult for Americans to believe, but ask anyone else in the rest of the world and they would agree with Scripture. Furthermore, America is repeatedly portrayed as glorying in her luxury, splendor, and wealth (Rev 18:7,14-17). The nations of the world, though, enjoy the trickle-down effect of America’s great wealth – they worship America (Rev 13:5), while being drunk with the maddening wine of her adulteries (Rev 18:3). America will be judged for mocking God, for blasphemy, and for oppressing the saints (Dan 7:25; Rev 13:5-7). And, let’s not overlook the matter of slavery (Rev 18:13) and bloodshed (Rev 17:6; 18:24). For the most part I leave it to the reader to hash out the details of these Biblical indictments, but the words of God cannot be denied.

Our national desire for wealth and ease of living has run the national debt up into the trillions. The weight of such greed is like filling a dump truck with tons of gravel and trying to balance it on top of a wheelbarrow. Greed, consumption and luxury have run amok, and we all must take responsibility for it.

America is guilty of performing abortions, wholesale, for over 50 years now. The grave cries out for justice for these innocent unborn children. We have been led into the town square of Sodom and Gomorrah and Christian Nationalists think we can still turn back the tide of the LGBTQ’s growing control over our society. Our schools and universities teach that evolution is our source of origin, that everyone’s choices are acceptable and to be tolerated, that God is a silly archaic notion. The meteoric rise of the technological age has enabled America to dominate the world (Rev 13:11-18) – sometimes diabolically.

There you have it. Enough is enough. You cannot imagine how difficult it is to write about America being worthy of God’s judgment. The warning only comes across as bashing America, or “biting the hand that feeds me”. God’s warning should humble us, not raise our hackles. We must turn our eyes upon Jesus.

The End of America

America will soon be coming to an end – despite being at the zenith of world power and wealth. For most, I reckon, that is beyond imagination. Unfathomable. Even though every other world power has fallen, Americans believe that our nation is too great to ever end. The fact is, nations rise and fall according to God’s plan, exactly on his timeline. America is no exception. We may still be alive when destruction befalls, and Christians will not be rescued by the rapture. America’s end is right at the door. Death, mourning, and famine will be our lot when America is consumed by fire (Rev 18:8).

God doesn’t pull surprises. Nor does anything ever catch Him by surprise. His sovereign plan for the ages controls the destiny of mankind and nations. And when big events are ready to occur, He gives warning signs. “God does nothing without first revealing it to the prophets” (Amos 3:7). What will it take to alert us that God is about to destroy America?  

First of all, a quick review for those who still are unconvinced that America is even included in Biblical prophecies of the end times. America is the seventh beast in God’s great timetable of world-controlling nations.  (The beast of Revelation 13 is not the antichrist as so many have been led to believe.)  The seven heads represent seven nations -- Rome was in power at the time of John’s writing, and America is the one which was yet to come (Rev 17:10).  

In Revelation 17 we are told that America will be displaced by an eighth beast, a beast with ten horns that will reign for “one hour”. That ten-nation Arab alliance will bring America to ruin and eat her flesh (Rev 17:16). The eighth beast is already rising up. It is not difficult to see, or to believe.

Revelation 17 is not the only prophecy that predicts the destruction of America. Daniel 2 records Nebuchadnezzar’s vision of a statute. It is the feet of clay mixed with iron (i.e., America) that is crumbled by the great rock. Daniel 7 records a vision of five beasts, the last of which is the little horn, America. That prophecy clearly indicates that the “little horn” nation will be destroyed, unlike the other beast empires who were allowed to live on for a period of time after their downfall (Dan 7:11-12). America, indeed, will come to an end as we know it. It will not be a power player in the final few years of this age.

Is America deserving of God’s judgment? That question deserves a much greater discussion, but consider a quick overview of factors that God points out.

·         Arrogant, boastful, and oppressive (Dan 7:8, 20, 25, Rev 13:5-7). 

·         Selfish affluence, luxury, glory and greed (Rev 18:7).

·         Dominating power and control over other nations (Rev 13:4, 13).

·         Death of innocent people – slavery, native Americans, and unborn children (Rev 18:13, 24). 

·         In general, a bloodthirsty, arrogant, whore-mongering spirit, the great Babylon of the end of the age (Rev 17:1-6; 18:2-3).

·         America’s sins are piled up to heaven; God will remember her crimes (Rev 18:3, 8, 21-24).

Is it too late to pray for repentance?  Can America yet be saved? Should we hope for Americans to submit to God’s truth and turn their hearts to the Lord? In my opinion, that will only happen in the hearts of a remnant of Christian believers, after America comes to an end.

Did The Church Replace Israel?

Many Christians believe that the Church replaced Israel as God’s chosen people. Perhaps not so much in American Christianity, but throughout the world that belief is widely held. It might seem logical, since Israel rejected their Messiah, and insisted that Jesus be crucified on a cross like a common criminal. But what does God have to say about Israel?  

This question lies at the heart of amillennialism, a widespread belief about the end times that rejects the concept of Christ returning to establish a 1000-year kingdom on earth. They believe that Christ’s second coming will institute the final judgment and initiate the eternal kingdom. In that line of thought there is no room for the restoration of Israel as the prophets of old foretold. So they believe that all of Israel’s promises and blessings were transferred to the Church. In other words, the Church replaced Israel.

Paul anticipated this question and addressed it at length in Romans 11. He was probably motivated by the fact that he, himself, was a Jew, and he wanted his fellow Jewish brethren to understand that their calling and their place in the heart of God was not forever forfeited. But he also wanted the Gentile Church to not become arrogant, thinking that they permanently replaced Israel as the branches of the olive tree. God turned Israel over to disobedience so that He could have mercy on them, just He had mercy on the Gentiles (Rom 11:31). Furthermore, Paul says that God’s gifts and calling are irrevocable (Rom 11:29). Only if the sun and moon cease to shine, declares the Lord, “will Israel ever cease being a nation before me” (Jer 31:35-36). God is not fickle, like humans tends to be. He did not retract his gifts and calling from Israel and give them to someone who might appreciate them more.

The restoration of Israel in the Millennial kingdom is foretold over and over in the Old Testament prophecies. Whenever the Day of the Lord is mentioned, it included invasion of the holy land by the nations, ransacking and destruction of Jerusalem, and great loss of life in a massive war (Zech 14). That correlates to Revelation 17, the battle of Armageddon, where it is prophesied that an alliance of ten Arab nations will invade Israel, and then be defeated by Messiah at His second coming.

But the restoration of Israel is also included in the prophesies of the Day of the Lord (especially Jeremiah 31-33). The remnant that survives the cataclysmic destruction of Armageddon will stand in awe of their Messiah. They will believe in the one they rejected (Zech 12:10). In that sense they will all be saved (Rom 11:26). Their land will be restored and their temple rebuilt, by King Jesus. God’s glory will once again be bestowed upon Israel, and they will be a blessing to the nations.

Daniel's Legacy

The prophecies of Daniel were incredibly accurate in predicting the future that lay ahead for the Jews in Babylon.  So accurate, in fact, that many scholars cannot believe that the real Daniel wrote them in Babylon, in the 6^th century BC. They suggest that someone else, in the first or second century BC, must have written them. Those scholars simply do not have much faith that God could use a God-fearing man to foretell His plans and purposes, in order to guide and inform His chosen people.

Daniel is not only renowned for his prophecies, but also for his righteousness, faithfulness, prayers, and trusted leadership. His amazing stories of faith, alone, would be an honorable legacy. But his prophetic visions and interpretations are perhaps his greatest legacy.

Three visions, in particular, played a prominent role over the years as I re-examined prophecy. First, Nebuchadnezzar’s vision of a statue, representing five nations (chapter 2). Second, Daniel’s own vision of the five beasts (chapter 7), corresponding to the vision of the statute. The third vision is the vision of the seventy weeks (chapter 9), but I will discuss that vision in a separate article, “The Tribulation Hoax”.

Let’s consider, ever so briefly, the visions of the statue and the beasts. They both prophetically foretell four kingdoms which would be oppressive world-rulers (Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome). Each of those kingdoms would have a great impact upon the Jews over the next 600 years. But both of these dreams also predict a fifth nation, one which would rule in the distant future (compare Rev 17:10, “five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come”). Why this fifth nation receives so little consideration is beyond my understanding. It is haplessly misinterpreted, leaving its profound impact upon the end of the age woefully mired in a fog of ambiguity.

This fifth nation is America. In the statue vision America is prophesied by the feet of iron mixed with clay, and its description is far more detailed than the other four kingdoms. And it was the feet of the statue where the great rock struck. That rock represents a kingdom that will never be destroyed, a repetitive theme throughout Daniel’s writings. In the vision of the beasts, it is once again easy to identify the first four – same four as the statue. History has a way of clearly interpreting prophecy. But a fifth beast is uniquely envisioned by a little horn, a new nation, that rose up amongst ten horns, European countries that emerged from the old Roman empire. The little horn subdued three of the ten horns (i.e., England, France, and Spain) and became very powerful. Once again, this little horn is discussed at length (7:20-25).

The feet of clay and iron and the little horn are identical to the seventh head of the beast prophesied in Revelation 13. They are all three prophecies of America, the world-dominating nation of the last days. The importance of this identification is twofold. First, history confirms prophecy – we are in the last days. Secondly, we are warned that America will be destroyed – in the beast vision (Dan 7:11, 26) in the statue vision (Dan 2:34), and confirmed in Revelation 17 and 18. Accordingly, we need to prepare for great turmoil and distress. The destruction of America will surely happen – concurrent with the eighth beast rising up, before the battle of Armageddon, and before the rapture at the second coming of Christ. Jesus said, “Be ready, be prepared, don’t be caught unaware.”