THE
RAPTURE
OF THE LORD'S TRUE CHURCHBy
Steve Van Nattan- Editor As I write this, and
as I FTP it up to my server, I am still here. However; I need to make one
thing clear-- I may be out of here at any time. I don't mean to make you
feel bad-- I don't need to do that, for you will feel horrible soon enough when
you realize you have been left to face a world managed by Satan himself and I
am not here to hate or E-Mail any more. That will be sorrow enough and soon
enough. So I don't mean to just rub your fur the wrong way.
Nevertheless, the discussion of the world's history of great turning points
would not be complete without talking about the moment in time when thousands
of those who loved Jesus Christ are suddenly removed. This is commonly called
the Rapture of the Church. The word "Rapture" is not in the Bible, but nobody
but Liberals and Reformers complain about it. Since this event has
not happened at the time we go to press with this article in August on 1998, we
can only tell you what the Lord Jesus Christ and His prophets and Apostles said
about this event in their entries under inspiration in the Bible, As
it was in the days of Noah and Lot-- life will be good. Luke
17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the
Son of man.
27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given
in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came,
and destroyed them all.
28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they
did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from
heaven, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when
the Son of man is revealed. This text is primarily a
prophecy by Christ to the Jew of the Great Tribulation era of the future. The
Church will be raptured just before this era. The reference to Lot and Noah
is clearly to the Church which will be removed just before the Tribulation Wrath
of God against sinful man. While Lot was in compromise in capitulating to Sodom,
he WAS elect, or he would not have been saved. Noah is the picture of a
man in victory. So, we also see that there will be victorious saints and
compromised saints taken in the Rapture of the Church. This lays to rest
the treacherous teaching of William Marion Branham who claimed that the saints
are raptured in two batches, his faithful who listen to the tapes of the tin horned
prophet, and the rest of us defeated believers who will be taken after suffering
part of the Tribulation wrath. You Branhamites need to pawn
your tape recorder and buy a King James Bible and READ it cover to cover. If
nothing else, you will learn that the revelation of God was given in good grammar.
You will not
know the day or hour, but you will know the season. Mt
24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but
my Father only. Again, this is for the Jew primarily,
but it shows a principle with the great acts of God, that is, God does NOT give
the day of His entries into human events. Those who claim to know the day
of the Rapture or the Second Advent are false prophets, and that now includes
Harold Camping of Family Life Radio. We DO know the seasons. The
following text makes it clear that we should be able to discern that the end of
this era is arriving. Prophecies have been fulfilled, and the world now
has one language. The Gospel has been preached in the whole earth, churches
established, and then they all have turned Laodicean in the majority. This
kind of discussion and observation should cause the saint to see things seasonably.
Thus: 1 Thessalonians 5:1
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto
you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as
a thief in the night.
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden
destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall
not escape.
4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should
overtake you as a thief.
5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children
of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
6 Therefore let us
not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
So, while we must NOT try to give days and hours for the Rapture of the Lord's
Church, we may and must keep an eye on the world as it fulfills God's prophetic
landmarks and arrives at the "season" of the end times. Those
who are dead in Christ will go first. 1
Thessalonians 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning
them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which
sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the
word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord
shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump
of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive
and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord
in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one
another with these words. Those who are dead, but not
in Christ, don't go anywhere. Their damnation has been sealed because they
refused to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ when they were still alive. So,
those who are dead and received Christ's Gospel during life will be leaving earth
physically BEFORE the rest of us. This is God's way of comforting believers
regarding their dead loved ones. The dead in Christ are also
NOT in Purgatory. This place was 100% the invention of Roman Catholic Popes
who wanted a better way to fleece the sheep. ALL of the getting ready for
heaven was done for the believer when Jesus Christ died on the cross one Wednesday
evening in Israel on a hill outside of Jerusalem. Any system which demands
the believer pay part of the price of his salvation is a mongrel counterfeit gospel,
and it should be ignored. Great
falling away and delusion will accompany that day. 2
Thessalonians 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken
in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from
us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any
means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first,
and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Tim Holtrop was talking about this one time during fellowship, and he suggested
that ALL religions, not just Christendom, will experience a falling away from
any god and a resorting to secularism and self-deification. At first, I thought
Tim was pushing the thing too far. Now, I am convinced that Tim was right.
Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, the cults, as well as Christendom have ALL turned
away from the zeal of their founders. The world is now self-possessed, and
it only one small step for Satan to enter and exalt man to lust for godhead. Is
there any precedent for this? Answer: YES, and this is where the fall
of man started in Eden: Genesis
3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD
God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat
of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may
eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree
which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither
shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye
shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof,
then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
There will
be found very little faith in the earth. Luke
18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of
man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? Faith
is in very short supply in the world now. Doubt has been exalted in theology
and in the Roman Catholic Church. Evolutionists have been given the lead
as Christian thinkers have ceased to demand faith in the literal application of
Bible truth and Bible historic facts. Faith in Jesus Christ as the only
way, truth, and life has been trashed by the likes of Billy Graham who has claimed
that Buddhists and other pagans will be allowed into God's heaven based on sincerely.
This essentially blasphemes the unique claim of Christ that men must come
ONLY by Him to find eternal life. Faith is definitely out of fashion in
the whole earth. The
Church will be vastly sick spiritually--
poor, blind, naked, and lusting
for new things. Revelation
3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of
nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and
blind, and naked: The whole of Christendom is not poor,
blind, and naked spiritually. Worldwide, the Church is mocked as unable
to bring change to the evils rampant in all nations. Social concern by Christendom
is totally void of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so humanitarian aid is doled out
with no change in the recipient. Dead men stay dead, and they go to hell
better fed and better clothed as this mongrel church meets their physical needs
without Christ. Alleged saints rush to the front of the Charismatic
churches to indecently expose themselves as they wallow in their own vomit, and
the lusting preacher calls this the work of the Holy Ghost. Is this not a literal
fulfillment of the above passage? One lady, wife of the pastor, in England
goes forward every Sunday morning, during the worship service, and has an orgasm
on the carpet as the saints cheer-- they claim it is the work of the Holy Ghost.
Hell has no better friends on earth that the Brownsville-Toronto Blessing
gang. The
saints will experience change, while the earth will lose salt.
Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of
the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?
it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under
foot of men. Luke 14:34 Salt
is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?
35 It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast
it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. The Church
is the salt of the earth. The salt is tasteless now days as Charismatic
frenzy makes the church look like the B Ward in a mental hospital. The whole
of Christendom has traded in its conviction against sin and compromise in exchange
for the approval of the Pope and washed out scholars and the media. So,
the salt is cast out. The true Church of Christ is to be removed,
and Christendom, as a profane cur dog, will run loose in the earth and raise its
voice in exaltation of Satan himself. This is just as it should be, for these
pigs need an era to wallow in the mire and slime so that Christ's Kingdom will
be in 100% contrast to the Tribulation church. Terror
will immediately come upon all men who miss this Rapture.
Luke 21:25 And there shall be signs
in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of
nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
26 Men's hearts
failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming
on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Heart attacks will literally take millions as the Beast takes over the world
and as God's wrath pours out on the earth in fierce measure. We already
see the effect of fear and worry on humanity in a way unknown in past years.
As the terrors of end Times disasters destroy fortunes and wreck havoc on the
earth, heart failure will become endemic. This is the preparation for the
Great Tribulation. Israel
will be again a nation and ready to crown the Antichrist.
Hosea 14:1 O Israel, return unto
the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
2 Take with you
words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive
us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.
3 Asshur shall not
save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work
of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned
away from him.
5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily,
and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
6 His branches shall spread, and his
beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
7 They
that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn,
and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
Micah 5:3 Therefore will he give them up, until the
time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren
shall return unto the children of Israel.
4 And he shall stand and feed in
the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and
they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
Malachi 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake
often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance
was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his
name.
17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when
I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that
serveth him.
18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and
the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
This return happened in 1948 when the Jews returned to Palestine and Israel
became a nation again after 2500 years in dispersion. This is clearly to
happen close to the return of Christ as Messiah, as king of Israel for 1000 years.
So, by this we see that the Rapture of the Lord's Church must be near.
Russia will
have a good reason to attack Israel. Russia in the Bible
is known as Gog and Magog. She is the ultimate rebel. Russia will soon attack
Israel, and she will be defeated by God personally. Russia will only get
back one in six of all the men she sends against Israel. This will not cause
Russia to learn. After the 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ, as she did during
the Great Tribulation, Russia will again come against Israel. There are
today many true believers in Russia. What I say next has nothing to do with them
because they love Jesus Christ and the Jewish people. As a nation, it is
very important to understand that Russia has always been a brutal and barbarian
people. And, they will be that way until the end of earth's history. Any
nation which trusts the leaders of Russia, or joins them in any kind of league,
will be injured severely. Now, read the terror soon to come against
Russia: Ezekiel chapter 38 Ezekiel
38:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy
face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and
prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against
thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee
back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine
army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even
a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5
Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all
his bands: and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for
thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a
guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years
thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered
out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste:
but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of
them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud
to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.
10
Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall
things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou
shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that
are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having
neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine
hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that
are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell
in the midst of the land.
13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish,
with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a
spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and
gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
14 Therefore,
son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when
my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
15 And thou
shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee,
all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16 And
thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land;
it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the
heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time
by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years
that I would bring thee against them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the
same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD,
that my fury shall come up in my face.
19 For in my jealousy and in the fire
of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in
the land of Israel;
20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the
heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the
earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my
presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall,
and every wall shall fall to the ground.
21 And I will call for a sword against
him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be
against his brother.
22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and
with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people
that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in
the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel chapter 39 Ezekiel 1:1
Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord
GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will
cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains
of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause
thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains
of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give
thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to
be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it,
saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that
dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7
So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will
not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I
am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done,
saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
9 And they that
dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the
weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves,
and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
10 So that
they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests;
for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled
them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.
11 And it shall
come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in
Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop
the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude:
and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.
12 And seven months shall
the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
13
Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown
the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.
14 And they shall
sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the
passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after
the end of seven months shall they search.
15 And the passengers that pass
through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by
it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog.
16 And also
the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.
17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl,
and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves
on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice
upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.
18
Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the
earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken,
of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20 Thus ye shall be filled
at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war,
saith the Lord GOD.
21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all
the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have
laid upon them.
22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their
God from that day and forward.
23 And the heathen shall know that the house
of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against
me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies:
so fell they all by the sword.
24 According to their uncleanness and according
to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.
25 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of
Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for
my holy name;
26 After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses
whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land,
and none made them afraid.
27 When I have brought them again from the people,
and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the
sight of many nations;
28 Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God,
which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered
them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.
29 Neither
will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the
house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. In Chapter 38,
verse 6 you read that Gomer and Togarmah will join Russia and come with them against
Israel. Gomer is Germany. Germany is second only to Russia as the brute
of the White race. I saw the results of their colonial policy in Africa.
The Germans treated the Africans under their power in the most
brutal terms. Germans have a nature which is beyond belief when Satan takes them
over. Of course, when Jesus Christ is invited into the heart of a German,
the change is complete, and we look back on the Germans of the Reformation and
the Anabaptists of Germany and marvel at their zeal to throw off the Pope and
the Roman Catholic bondage. Germans who are living in Christ are mighty to the
pulling down of Satan's strongholds. But, the ungodly Germans
of today's Germany are now rising up again in hate of Jews and anyone who is not
of the German race. History is destined to repeat itself again soon
in Germany as Gomer (Germany) joins Russia and attacks the Jews in israel. Many
people can think back no further than Hitler in viewing the psyche of Germans.
Do some reading on the Kaiser and the Bismark. These men were mindless animals.
I also note that Hitler made a concordat with the Pope which the Pope found
very much to old Mother Church's taste. We must remember that Germany and
the Whore Church are very cozy pals. This too will fit well with the Roman
Church's hate for Israel and the Jews which is an ongoing policy since Constantine.
The kings
of the East will also have reason to attack Israel. Revelation
16:12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;
and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might
be prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the
mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of
the false prophet.
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles,
which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them
to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Who
would have thought that the whole Far East would unite and march against Israel
one day? Only 50 years ago this would have seemed impossible. The 1938 massacre
of China by Japan is one of the historians' most evil secrets. The story of this
massacre is basically unknown by 99% of the world today. And, it would seem that
China and Japan are very close to a bond of self-preservation, along with Indonesia
and the Philippines, which would make the Far East the world's most powerful financial
power. With this clout, these nations could then turn west and march against Israel,
and possibly against Europe. If the Muslim nations joined these
forces in some political and commercial union, the world would be at their mercy.
This aspect of the times just before or after the Rapture of the Lord's
Church is highly significant. The battle field of these kings of the East will
of course be Armageddon. And, it will be the final battle and rebellion
of humanity against Christ. So, the kings will be defeated in the end, and
all who join them will be destroyed. Will YOU be with them, or are you now ready,
by faith in Jesus Christ, to go out of here BEFORE this horrific battle?
Babylon will be
ripe for destruction. Babylon has NEVER been totally destroyed
as the following chapter prophecies. Bible teachers have for years claimed
that Babylon was destroyed in the past. NOT SO!! In fact, Saddam Hussein
has completely restored Babylon to its original glory, with only the hanging
gardens to finish at last report. Hussein calls himself Nebuchadnezzar III, and
Saddam has monster bill boards in Babylon depicting himself shaking hands with
Nebuchadnezzar II. This will be finished, and the ancient city of Nimrod
and Satan will be restored so that the world can use it as a target to fulfill
God's wrath. This also gives us a clue that Babylon and Iraq will continue
to be a great source of agitation to the Middle East and the world, thus earning
worldwide hate and revenge motives. You can just plan on it. Also,
there is no indication that this destruction of Babylon must happen after the
Rapture of the Lord's Church. It could happen at any time in the future.
Jeremiah 50:1 The word that
the LORD spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah
the prophet.
2 Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard;
publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is
broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.
3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make
her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall
depart, both man and beast.
4 In those days, and in that time, saith the
LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together,
going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God.
5 They shall
ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join
ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.
6 My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray,
they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill,
they have forgotten their restingplace.
7 All that found them have devoured
them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against
the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers.
8 Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the
Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks.
9 For, lo, I will raise
and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north
country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall
be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in
vain.
10 And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied,
saith the LORD.
11 Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers
of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow
as bulls;
12 Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall
be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry
land, and a desert.
13 Because of the wrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited,
but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished,
and hiss at all her plagues.
14 Put yourselves in array against Babylon round
about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned
against the LORD.
15 Shout against her round about: she hath given her hand:
her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it is the vengeance
of the LORD: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.
16 Cut
off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest:
for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and
they shall flee every one to his own land.
17 Israel is a scattered sheep;
the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and
last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.
18 Therefore
thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king
of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.
19 And I
will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan,
and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead.
20 In those
days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought
for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found:
for I will pardon them whom I reserve.
21 Go up against the land of Merathaim,
even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: waste and utterly destroy
after them, saith the LORD, and do according to all that I have commanded thee.
22 A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.
23 How
is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become
a desolation among the nations!
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou
art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught,
because thou hast striven against the LORD.
25 The LORD hath opened his armoury,
and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for this is the work of
the Lord GOD of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from
the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her
utterly: let nothing of her be left.
27 Slay all her bullocks; let them go
down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their
visitation.
28 The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of
Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance of
his temple.
29 Call together the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend
the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her
according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she
hath been proud against the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel.
30 Therefore
shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off
in that day, saith the LORD.
31 Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud,
saith the Lord GOD of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.
32 And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up:
and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him.
33 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The children of Israel and the children
of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast;
they refused to let them go.
34 Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts
is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the
land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 A sword is upon the Chaldeans,
saith the LORD, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and
upon her wise men.
36 A sword is upon the liars; and they shall dote: a sword
is upon her mighty men; and they shall be dismayed.
37 A sword is upon their
horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the
midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures; and
they shall be robbed.
38 A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be
dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.
39 Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands
shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited
for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
40
As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the
LORD; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.
41 Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many
kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
42 They shall hold
the bow and the lance: they are cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall
roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like
a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
43 The king of
Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took
hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail.
44 Behold, he shall come
up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong:
but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that
I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time?
and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?
45 Therefore hear ye
the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes,
that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the
flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitation desolate with
them.
46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the
cry is heard among the nations. The
Gentiles, non-Jews, will have all heard the Gospel and fallen from it.
Matthew 24:14 And this
gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations; and then shall the end come. Though this is
a Kingdom prophecy, it is consistent with God's mercy. The Gospel of Grace
will also be preached to the whole world. Luke
24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name
among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen
through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall
all nations be blessed. Mark 16:15 And
he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power,
after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me
both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part
of the earth. There
may well be a world financial crisis which calls for one united answer and manager.
Revelation 13:1 And I
stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having
seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the
name of blasphemy.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and
his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and
the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
3 And I
saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed:
and all the world wondered after the beast.
4 And they worshipped the dragon
which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is
like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
5 And there was given
unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto
him to continue forty and two months.
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy
against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in
heaven.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome
them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written
in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9
If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He that leadeth into captivity shall
go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword.
Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
11 And I beheld another
beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake
as a dragon.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before
him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast,
whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he
maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And
deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he
had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth,
that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and
did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that
the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not
worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he causeth all, both
small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right
hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he
that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast:
for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
What motivation could possibly cause ALL men, even
the most articulate and skeptical scholars and thinkers, to fall in worship of
a man with an answer? What motive in humankind would collect the whole world
in submission to Satan? Answer: Financial panic and disaster. Men
will do ANYTHING for their wealth and financial security: 1
Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted
after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many
sorrows. Last question: What could possibly cause
the whole world to collapse into such financial and economic disaster that they
would be ready to worship anyone, even Satan, if the man had the answer for them
to retain their wealth? Answer: After a united One World Currency and
Monetary system, a computer crash-- The collapse of worldwide commercial and financial
cartels and arrangements would be assured by a powerful object from space which
was electromagnetic. While this seems a bit far out, a neutron bomb over detonated
over the center of world trade and banking would fry all computers and shut down
trade and destroy all record keeping balances and accounts due. There would be
no trade two minutes later. Terrorist nations and groups are now shopping for
these weapons. Osama bin Laden has proved that the best laid schemes of mice and
men can be circumvented. Do you see how close we could be to the Rapture
of the Lord's Church? If you are a skeptic and you feel that you
could not possibly be deceived by such a scam from Hell, well God intends to aim
His mighty power at you and MAKE you believe in Satan. You see, God wants
you to arrive at His throne one day in the future and have NO excuse. You
have every opportunity to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ now, and repent and
believe in Jesus. You have refused this Gospel. But, God wants your rebellion
to mature, to grow stronger, to be so evident that no one would question His authority
to toss you into hell with Satan and the world's other rebels. So here is
what God will do to your mind after the true Church has been removed fro the earth:
2 Thessalonians 2:11 And for
this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
"for this cause--" What does that mean? Answer:
Because you are a committed rebel. You mock at the Lord Jesus Christ
and His Church. You have no time for anything but your own lusts. You reject
the Gospel as "pie in the sky." So, God intends to give you just what you deserve--
hell on earth in the immediate future, and hell in the Lake of Fire for eternity.
And, you are just fool enough to laugh at this and plod on into eternity
without Jesus Christ, right? You poor fool! So, if you find it hard
to believe that Satan could be your leader one day, and you feel you would never
bow to the Devil himself, just be patient-- God will help you to believe in Satan
soon enough. I do wish deeply that you would turn to Jesus Christ today
and receive His salvation so that God in mercy can take you into His heaven with
the rest of the Church. You see, friend, it is your choice. God
never forced anyone to choose life. Any fool can choose death and go to
hell with bells and whistles blowing. God will step aside and let you do
it. Fear
will be rampant in those who do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Hebrews 10:26 For if we
sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth
no more sacrifice for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment
and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28 He that despised
Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29 Of how much
sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under
foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he
was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense,
saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
31 It is a fearful
thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Luke
21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences;
and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Romans 2:8 But unto them that are contentious, and do
not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
Once this process starts, and the true Church is removed, the terror will
be calculated by a creative God in order to generate the maximum fear worldwide.
If you are so unblessed as to reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and you
are left here on the earth, which will be the target of God's wrath, well then
YOU will find that you will live in terror day and night. You will experience
terror of murder, terror of traitorous family members who betray you, terror of
bodies arriving from deep space and poisoning the water, terror of devils who
will have open season on your mind, terror of starvation, terror of severe disease,
terror of animals gone crazy and attacking humanity, terror of Satan himself as
he sets out to kill the maximum number of people on earth. If that turns
you on, then just do nothing about Jesus Christ who died on the cross and rose
from death again to save you from all of this-- just DO NOTHING. Just
one more warning-- the coming terror God sends you will not be on a video you
rent from Blockbuster. It will be inside your head day and night until you die
or fear. True
believers will be at peace. John
14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth,
give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit
of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Romans
8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
The church worldwide
will best be described as a Whore. You note the lower case
"c" on "church." This is because the world church after the true saints
are removed will be the sole property of Satan. If you miss the Rapture
of the saints because you rejected Jesus Christ as you Savior, well then, you
will be part of Satan's church. You can deny this possibility now, but after
I am out of here, YOU will become a full participant since your mind will be altered
by God so that you receive Satan as if he were Christ himself. Thus...
Revelation chapter 17 Revelation
17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked
with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the
great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth
have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk
with the wine of her fornication.
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into
the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names
of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman was arrayed
in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls,
having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE
MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunken
with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and
when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
7 And the angel said unto
me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and
of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless
pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose
names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when
they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 And here is the
mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman
sitteth.
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the
other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven,
and goeth into perdition.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten
kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour
with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength
unto the beast.
14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall
overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with
him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
15 And he saith unto me, The waters
which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations,
and tongues.
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these
shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her
flesh, and burn her with fire.
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil
his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words
of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great
city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. Revelation
chapter 18 Revelation18:1
And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great
power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
2 And he cried mightily
with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become
the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every
unclean and hateful bird.
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the
wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication
with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance
of her delicacies.
4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come
out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive
not of her plagues.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath
remembered her iniquities.
6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double
unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill
to her double.
7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously,
so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen,
and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
8 Therefore shall her plagues come
in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with
fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
9 And the kings of the
earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail
her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
10
Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great
city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
11
And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth
their merchandise any more:
12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious
stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and
all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most
precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
13 And cinnamon, and odours,
and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat,
and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and
all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt
find them no more at all.
15 The merchants of these things, which were made
rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
16 And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen,
and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster,
and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood
afar off,
18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What
city is like unto this great city!
19 And they cast dust on their heads,
and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were
made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one
hour is she made desolate.
20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy
apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
21 And a mighty angel
took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus
with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found
no more at all.
22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers,
and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever
craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall
be heard no more at all in thee;
23 And the light of a candle shall shine
no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall
be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth;
for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
24 And in her was found the
blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
Revelation chapter 19 Revelation
19:1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying,
Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great
whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the
blood of his servants at her hand.
3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her
smoke rose up for ever and ever. Now, what does this
mean to you? If you are born again, you will leave BEFORE this Whore is given
complete power. Why can I say this? Answer: God is not the author
of confusion in the Church. God will NOT allow the complete submersion of all
religious life into Satan's very mind until the salt is gone. By nature, the true
saints, as the salt of the earth, are now restraining the Whore system. The
Pope and Jack Van Impe, along with Charismania and TBN, cannot take complete control.
They plan on it, they talk about it, and they implement it, but they fail
over and over. God is using YOU, dear saint, as His chosen restraint on
the Whore. You are the biggest pain in the neck to the Pope and the New World
Order. To you who have rejected Jesus Christ, if you do not turn to
Him you will be part of a great worldwide Whore church which will draw in ALL
religions. Already, the Pope has wooed in the Mullahs of Islam, and the
Pope and the Dalai Lama are on good terms. Men like Billy Graham, Bill
Bright, and Jack Van Impe have drawn many alleged Protestants into the arms of
Papa Roma. The United Nations and other world bodies are talking more and
more of spiritual union. Refusing religious union is spoken of more and
more as an act of genocide and bigotry. Just keep spitting in Jesus' eye,
and you will go right on into this killer church after the Lord's saints are removed.
This
whole picture causes HOPE in the Bible believer, fear and doubt for the backslider.
2 Peter 3:3 Knowing this
first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own
lusts,
4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers
fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
Conclusion:
There are three more great turning points in earth's history,
But, this one, the Rapture of the Lord's Church, is the most urgent to us all
at this time. That is obviously because it is the next event. That
is also why many people don't like to talk about it. They are not ready
for the actual event to take place, so they avoid it. To
the true believer in the Lord's true Church, this soon Rapture out of here is
a blessed hope and a point of joy. It gives us all a sense of walking
on the edge of eternity-- not in some nutty Hale-Bopp suicidal mentality-- But,
we have the very real sense that things are very close to be taken out of our
hands by our Lord. All of our plans and schemes and vocational activity could
be resolved for us rather suddenly and at any moment. To you who continue
to reject the salvation offered you by Jesus Christ, sorry about that-- You are
in for some bad times. Hebrews 2:3 How shall
we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken
by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
LINKS: HERE
IS A PAGE WHICH IS USEFUL 
BACK
TO TITLE PAGE  ge |
