God's plan for man is written in The Holy Bible, and this plan is drawing to its conclusion as shown by daily news reports.

FULFILLMENT OF BIBLE PROPHECY
IN TODAY'S NEWS

Newspaper, radio, and television news reports repeatedly show that ancient, centuries-old Bible prophecies are now being fulfilled. These prophecies proclaim one truth: JESUS THE CHRIST IS RETURNING FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN HIM! Read a sample of these prophecies and the news reports of events which pave the way for Jesus' return in our lifetime.

God has given us His plan for the end of the age of grace, and we now live in the last days of this age. All prophecies pointing to Jesus' return have been sufficiently fulfilled for His return. He can appear in the clouds to call His believers to join Him at any moment. In this Website, current news stories and ancient Bible prophecies are correlated to show that THE HOLY BIBLE IS TRUE, GOD IS REAL, and JESUS WILL RETURN SOON. The true significance of events reported daily in the news media can be understood only by studying Bible prophecy. It is impossible to read Bible prophecy with an open mind without coming away with an unshakable belief in God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Prepare to meet Jesus— the Savior of all mankind— in glory and reward, not in shame and punishment. Warn others you know to prepare for His return. Persons who receive salvation through your efforts will be your spiritual children for eternity.

"Remember this... I am God, and there is no other.... I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please." Isaiah 46:8-10

[Says God the LORD] "Behold the former things have come to pass, and the new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them." Isaiah 42:9

[The words of the Preacher, Son of David] "That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun." Ecclesiastes 1:9

DIRECTORY: CLICK ON TOPIC SECTIONS:
NEWS TOPIC: NEWS TOPIC: NEWS TOPIC: ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND AND STUDY INFORMATION: COLUMNISTS/ ESSAYISTS:
GO: Alcoholism, alcohol abuse
GO: Antichrist and his kingdom
GO: Apostasy (falling from faith)
GO: Astrology
GO: Bowl Judgment, First
GO: Bowl Judgment, Second
GO: Bowl Judgment, Sixth
GO: China (Kings of the East)
GO: Christians: persecution of
GO: Communist China, N. Korea
GO: Droughts
GO: Drug abuse
GO: Earthquakes
GO: Epidemics
GO: Ethnic conflicts
GO: European Union (E.U.)
GO: Evangelism
GO: False doctrines
GO: False Prophet
GO: Famines
GO: Financial system, one-world 		GO: Gospel, spread of
GO: Government, one-world
GO: Hinduism
GO: Homicide bombings
GO: Infectious diseases
GO: Islam, Islamic nations
GO: Israel: destiny, conflict
GO: Jerusalem, struggle for
GO: Jews,anti-Semitism
GO: King of the North
GO: King of the South
GO: Kings of the East
GO: Koran— excerpts of
GO: Knowledge, rapid growth of
GO: Magic arts
GO: Martyrs, martyrdom
GO: Miscellaneous items
GO: Muslim nations
GO: Noah, days of
GO: North Korea
GO: Occult, The 		GO: Persecution
GO: Plagues
GO: Religion, one-world
GO: Roman Empire, revived
GO: Russia
GO: Seal Judgment, First
GO: Seal Judgment, Fourth
GO: Seal Judgment, Second
GO: Seal Judgment, Third
GO: Sorceries
GO: Space wonders
GO: "Suicide" bombings
GO: Terrorism
GO: Trumpet Judgment, Fifth
GO: Trumpet Judgment, First
GO: Trumpet Judgment, Fourth
GO: Trumpet Judgment, Second
GO: Trumpet Judgment, Third
GO: Wars, rumors of wars
GO: Weather disturbances 		GO: Anti-Christian sentiment in European Union
GO: Muslim hatred for Jews/ Christians
GO: Study aids
GO: Other prophecy news sites
GO: Prophecy study rewards
GO: How to become a Christian
GO: Future events
GO: Your encounter with God
GO: Contact the author
GO: About the author
GO: Reference acknowledgment
GO: Topic essays

STUDY AIDS/ BREAKING NEWS LINKS:
GO: Study aids/ breaking news 		Glenn Beck
Patrick Buchanan
Mona Charen
Ann Coulter
Jim Cramer
Lou Dobbs
Matt Drudge
Joseph Farah
Suzanne Fields
John Fund
Bill Gertz
Sean Hannity
Hugh Hewitt
Alan Keyes
Charles Krauthammer
Rush Limbaugh
Hal Lindsey
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jan Markell
Dick Morris
Thomas Sowell
Cal Thomas
Walter Williams

GUESTBOOK (added 13 Dec 09):
SIGN my guestbook. Strenthen other believers' faith in the Savior and encourage them to work for Him, until He returns. VIEW my guestbook to read other persons' notes.

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SUBSCRIBE TO PROPHECY NEWSLETTER:
I write a prophecy electronic newsletter, which I would like to send to you by email (free of charge). See the section immediately following for an archive of past e-newsletters. To read, click on underlined title.
If you would like to receive the newsletters by email, please EMAIL your name (first name and surname) and email address to me.

ARCHIVE OF PAST NEWSLETTER ISSUES (2009)
Click on underlined title to read.

Prophecy newsletters are now issued as Message Outlines and are ARCHIVED in the RIO Maranatha Fellowship Website under the "Messages" section. A newly written prophecy newsletter/ message outline is issued each week.

ANNOUNCEMENT
Restoration International Outreach (RIO) Maranatha Fellowship

I am honored to lead a worship service, Restoration International Outreach (RIO) Maranatha Fellowship, at my home church. The Fellowship meets at 7:00 pm (Eastern time) at Restoration International Outreach (RIO) Central, 370 S. Long Hollow Road, Maryville, Tennessee.

The Fellowship is intended to be a congregation of believers awaiting and preparing for the soon return of Jesus the Messiah. The Bible tells of things believers should do in the last days to prepare for Jesus' return. Two outstanding men of God serve as our friends and mentors— Pastor Ronnie Hepperly, Restoration International Outreach Central, Maryville, Tennessee; and Messianic Rabbi Michael Weiner, Shomair Yisrael Messianic Jewish Congregation, Knoxville, Tennessee.

We are assembling a simple Website to communicate our goals, teachings, and announcements: www.rio-maranatha.com.

If you live within driving distance of our church, please worship with us on Saturday evenings.

If you live too far away to attend services, please pray for our efforts to serve the Lord and keep up with our activities on the Fellowship's Website. You may also receive (free of charge) by email a summary of the weekly message by sending a simple "subscribe" EMAIL REQUEST to us. Maranatha!

Raymond Finney

DIRECTORY: Return to directory
NEWS: Antichrist, False Prophet | Apostasy, days of Noah | Arabic, Islamic nations | China, eastern powers | Earthquakes | Epidemics, plagues | European Union | Evangelism | Famines, droughts | Jerusalem, Israel, Jews | Knowledge, space wonders | Miscellaneous items | Persecution, martyrdom | Russia | Sorceries | Wars, terrorism | Weather disturbances
OTHER: Anti-Christian symbolism, sentiment in European Union | Contact author | Future events | Guestbook | How to become a Christian | Muslim hatred for Jews and Christians | Prophecy, news sites | Rewards for prophecy student | Study aids
ESSAYS: Links to topic essays elsewhere in this site

See also: Media Coverage: Stratfor Global Intelligence

WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS,
TERRORISM
BIBLE PROPHECY CURRENT NEWS

BACKGROUND: Jesus prophesied a world filled with wars, rumors of wars, and terrorism prior to His return to Earth. In Jesus' teaching, the Greek word ethnos has been poorly translated as "nation." A better translation is "ethnic group" or "people." This term accurately describes terrorist groups— small groups of people with, at best, only loose connection with any recognized national government.

Since World War II, there has not been a single day free of international war, civil war, or terrorism somewhere in the world. Islam now holds the nations of the Earth— especially the United States ("the great Satan") and Israel ("the little Satan")— in expectation of the next terrorist attack. The September 11, 2001 attack on the United States was a dramatic foretaste of the terrorism to be inflicted on America and Western countries. The unusually meticulous preparation of terrorists and the war on terrorism being conducted in the Middle East has likely delayed additional attacks on America. More likely, the lull in repeat terror attacks may represent God's pattern of judgment: warning, followed by a period of grace (to determine if repentance will occur), followed by judgment (if people do not repent). More terrorism attacks can be anticipated, and weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, chemical, or biological) will surely be employed.

See a Wars, Rumors of Wars, Terrorism e-newsletter archived elsewhere in this Website.

REPRESENTATIVE SCRIPTURES: Matthew 24:6-7: [Jesus said] "You will hear or wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things will happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom...."
Mark 13:7-8: [Jesus said] "When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom...."
Luke 21:9-10: [Jesus said] "When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away." Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom."
Revelation 6:3-4: When the Lamb [Jesus] opened the second seal, I [John the Revelator] heard the second living creature say, "Come!" Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword [nuclear weapons?].		 Click on title to read details.

DIRECTORY: Return to directory
NEWS: Antichrist, False Prophet | Apostasy, days of Noah | Arabic, Islamic nations | China, eastern powers | Earthquakes | Epidemics, plagues | European Union | Evangelism | Famines, droughts | Jerusalem, Israel, Jews | Knowledge, space wonders | Miscellaneous items | Persecution, martyrdom | Russia | Sorceries | Wars, terrorism | Weather disturbances
OTHER: Anti-Christian symbolism, sentiment in European Union | Contact author | Future events | Guestbook | How to become a Christian | Muslim hatred for Jews and Christians | Prophecy, news sites | Rewards for prophecy student | Study aids
ESSAYS: Links to topic essays elsewhere in this site

ISRAEL (DESTINY OF AND STRUGGLE FOR)
JERUSALEM (DESIRE OF MANY AND SOURCE OF CONFLICT)
JEWS, HATRED OF (ANTI-SEMITISM)
BIBLE PROPHECY CURRENT NEWS
BACKGROUND: All end-of-the-age prophecy revolves around:
  1. God's Covenant people (the Jews), God's Covenant land (Israel), and God's Holy City (Jerusalem), at a time when the Jews occupy Israel; and
  2. How the nations of the Earth treat the Jews.
Many Bible prophecies have been fulfilled since May, 1948, e.g., the return of the Jews from nearly 1,900 years of exile (the Diaspora); the re-birth of a Jewish nation under the name "Israel," with language and religious practices intact; return to Israel of sons and daughters of Zion from around the world; and intense hatred of the Jews by all nations and peoples of the world. After the 1948 re-establishment of Israel, God has promised to provide victory for Israel against all future assaults. Israel is under Divine protection, and all of her enemies will be destroyed.

REPRESENTATIVE SCRIPTURES: Genesis 12:2-3: [The LORD speaking to Abram, who would be re-named Abraham, said] "I will make unto you a great nation* and I will bless you.... I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse...." *EXPLANATION: This promised great nation, rising as sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are the Jews. After Jesus, His followers— Christians— were grafted into God's "olive tree" (Israel). See a God's Two Olive Trees e-newsletter archived elsewhere in this Website.

Only Jews and Christians are in fellowship with God. Only Jews and Christians have a right to own Jerusalem and Israel. Others who claim Israel and Jerusalem, e.g., Muslims, have a counterfeit claim. The Arabs' inheritance is to land east of Israel, i.e., the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabs' gift from God is not His Covenant relationship, but His grace for salvation— a gift available to every person in the world.

Amos 9:11-15: "In that day I will restore David's fallen tent [the nation of Israel], I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be; so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name," declares the LORD, who will do these things. "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from the hills. I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them," says the LORD your God. EXPLANATION: Prior to 1948, present-day Israel was a sparsely populated, impoverished, unproductive wasteland. Since the Jews' return in 1948, the land has become a vibrant, productive, modern, democratic country, by the grace of God and in fulfillment of His promise to the Jews.
Zechariah 12:2-4, 6: "I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah [Israel] will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness," declares the LORD. "I will keep a watchful eye over the house of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. | On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place." EXPLANATION: God will not permit Israel to be defeated in battle after the Jews' final return (in 1948) to the Covenant Land. Nations of the world will turn against Israel and hate the Jews, but they cannot— they will not— defeat Israel because an all-powerful God will defend the Jews and defeat providentially all of the Jews' enemies!
Psalm 83:2-8: See how your [God's] enemies are astir, how your foes raise their heads. With cunning they conspire against your people [the Jews]; they plot against those you cherish. "Come," they say, "let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more." With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you— the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites, Gebal, Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre. Even Assyria has joined them.... EXPLANATION: This list of ancient peoples is the same list of Arab/Muslim nations now fanatically desiring to push the Jews into the Mediterranean Sea, that the nation of Israel will never exist again.
Ancient place names in which these enemies of Israel lived (live) and modern equivalents are:
  • Edom: ancient Palestine between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba— Edomites were descendants of Esau, twin brother of Jacob (Israel);
  • Ishmaelites: Arabian Peninsula— Ishmaelites were descendants of Ishmael, son of Abraham and Hagar;
  • Moab: land east of the Dead Sea in present-day southwest Jordan— Moabites were descendants of Lot and his daughter;
  • Hagrites: similar to Ishmaelites (see above), Hagrites lived in desert land east and south of ancient Palestine (Israel)— Hagrites were descendants of Ishmael, son of Abraham and Hagar;
  • Gebal: mountainous land of Edom (see above) south of the Dead Sea, now called Djebal;
  • Ammon: an ancient kingdom east of the Jordan River in present-day northwest Jordan; its capital, Rabbath-Ammon, was on the site of present-day Amman, Jordan; the Ammonites were descendants of Lot and his daughter;
  • Amalek: Amalek, Esau's grandson, gave rise to Israel's perpetual enemy, the Amalekites, an ancient nomadic people in Canaan and the Sinai Peninsula:
  • Philistia: ancient land in southwestern Palestine along the important Egypt-Syria trade route— its people were the Philistines, long-standing enemies of the Israelites;
  • Tyre: ancient Phoenician city on the eastern Mediterranean Sea in present-day southern Lebanon; and
  • Assyria: an ancient Asian civilization, which included much of the land between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, and as far south as the Persian Gulf.
Ezekiel, chapter 37: SUMMARY: The LORD gave Ezekiel a vision: He saw a valley littered with many dry bones. The LORD said He would restore the bones. They were joined together and were covered with flesh, as men and women, but they did not breathe. Then, breath came to them from the "four winds", and the assembled forms had the breath of life. The LORD said that these bones depicted the whole house of Israel. The LORD promised to bring His people back to the land of Israel. Ezekiel was then told to take two sticks of wood, writing "Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him" on one and "Ephraim's stick belonging to Joseph and all of the house of Israel associated with him" on the other. Ezekiel was told to unite the two sticks into one because they will never again be divided. Then, "David" will be King over them and they will follow God's laws. COMMENT: This important prophecy, written nearly 2,600 years ago, surely was written for our time. In AD 70, Roman legions defeated the Jewish people, destroyed their Temple, and either slaughtered the Jews or carried them into captivity throughout the world— a nearly nineteen-century period known as "the Diaspora." The Jews remained dispersed until May 14, 1948, when they returned to re-establish Israel (the dry bones becoming flesh). Since 1948, the Jews have re-built Israel under one government (the two sticks joined as one), and God has promised they never again will be defeated. Jews from all parts of the world (the breath from the four winds— the four cardinal points of the world) have come to Israel. Rule under "David" will not occur until the Millennial Kingdom, when Jesus Christ will rule the world and all nations will know and worship God (Jesus was from the House of David— see Jesus' genealogy in the Gospels) and was sometimes called "Son of David.".
Deuteronomy 30:1-5, 7: When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you and you take them to heart wherever the LORD your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul... then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you back to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers.... | The LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you....

SUMMARY: As present-day events spiral out of control, one country and one people are and will remain at the center of the world's turmoil— exactly as foretold in The Holy Bible by the writings of prophets thousands of years ago.

The descendants of Abraham's two sons— Isaac and Ishmael— will continue contending for the land given by God to Abraham and his son Isaac. As The Holy Bible clearly states:

  • God gave the Jews (see Genesis) and the Christians (see Romans) the land of Israel, made Jerusalem His Holy City, and gave the Jews His eternal blessing.
  • God gave the land east of Israel— including the Arabian Peninsula— to the descendants of Ishmael (the Arabs), Lot (the Moabites and Ammonites), and Esau (the Edomites).
  • The important blessing God extended to Ishmaelites and their cousins (Arabs, or centuries later, the Muslims) is His grace, that they may convert from Islam to Christianity and receive eternal life in Heaven. God's grace is available to every person in the world.

The lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (the Jews) are the rightful heirs of the Covenant Land (Israel) and God's Holy City in that Land (Jerusalem). This lineage continues through David and Jesus Christ, so that engrafted, or "adopted," Jews (Christians) are also the rightful heirs of the Covenant Land and Jerusalem.

The lineage of Abraham and Hagar, of Ishmael, of Esau, of Lot, and sons of Abrahah and Keturah— present-day Muslims— are not the heirs of Israel and Jerusalem.

The Holy Bible clearly informs that the struggle between Jews and Christians and their enemies will increase dramatically prior to the return of Jesus; that the conflict between followers of the God of Israel (Jehovah for Jews and Christians) and other gods (Allah for the Muslims and secular humanism for the Europeans) will take peace from the Earth; and that mankind will not achieve lasting peace until the return (the Second Coming) of Jesus the Messiah.

Expect wars, rumors of wars, and violence to continue in the Middle East and elsewhere until the Lord Jesus Christ returns to bind Satan and stop the warring nature of man. Expect Jews to continue coming home to Israel from all parts of the world to fulfill prophecy of an aliyah (rising up to go home) of Jews in the last days.



RELATED REFERENCE SITES:
+ The Mitchell Report (April 30, 2001)... Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-finding Committee Final Report.
+ The Tenet Plan (June 13, 2001)... The Tenet Plan: Israeli-Palestinian Ceasefire and Security Plan, Proposed by CIA Director George Tenet.
+ The Wye River Memorandum
+ UNISPAL... United Nations Information Site on the Question of Palestine.
+ The Palestinian National Charter
+ Peace in the Middle East: Senate floor statement by U.S. Senator James M. Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), March 4, 2002
+ Zola Levitt Ministries— On the home page, click on "The History of Israel in a Nutshell"
+ The Search for Peace (The United States of America Embassy in Israel)
+ U.S. State Department: Middle East Peace Process
+ The Peace Process Reference Documents
+ CAMERA Media Report (The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
+ Israel's Timeline
+ The Bible promises that the Jews will rebuild the Third Temple. The Western Wall is the only part of the Second Temple which remains at the present time.
WISDOM AND TRUTH IN TWO SENTENCES:
I cannot give credit where due because I do not remember who said the following two sentences, but they sum up the present powderkeg situation in Israel:

If the Palestinians lay down their arms, there will be no more war.
If the Israelis lay down their arms, there will be no more Israel.


STATISTICS FOR AMERICANS TO UNDERSTAND THE MAGNITUDE OF TERRORISM IN ISRAEL: (population numbers are close approximations)
  • The population of Jews in Israel is 6.75-million (2006 estimate).
  • The population of the United States is 301.14-million (July, 2007 estimate).
  • For every 1 Israeli Jew, there are approximately 44.6 Americans (301.14/ 6.75 = 44.6).
  • An American should multiply each Israeli death by 44.6 to appreciate the equivalent loss of life in the U.S.A.
  • For example, if a homicide bomber "only" kills 1 innocent, civilian Jew in Israel, it would be equivalent to 45 Americans killed by a terrorist; 10 killed Israeli Jews would be equivalent to 446 killed Americans; 200 killed Israeli Jews would be equivalent to 8,920 killed Americans; and so forth.
  • Americans would demand that the U.S. government stop such terrorism on American soil by any means possible, if such carnage were inflicted by terrorists. Should Americans demand less protection of her citizens by the Israeli government?

PRAY FOR Jews, Jerusalem, and Israel.

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DIRECTORY: Return to directory
NEWS: Antichrist, False Prophet | Apostasy, days of Noah | Arabic, Islamic nations | China, eastern powers | Earthquakes | Epidemics, plagues | European Union | Evangelism | Famines, droughts | Jerusalem, Israel, Jews | Knowledge, space wonders | Miscellaneous items | Persecution, martyrdom | Russia | Sorceries | Wars, terrorism | Weather disturbances
OTHER: Anti-Christian symbolism, sentiment in European Union | Contact author | Future events | Guestbook | How to become a Christian | Muslim hatred for Jews and Christians | Prophecy, news sites | Rewards for prophecy student | Study aids

ESSAYS: Links to topic essays elsewhere in this site

EUROPEAN UNION (E.U.)— THE REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE
BIBLE PROPHECY CURRENT NEWS

BACKGROUND: The Jewish prophet Daniel served as King Nebuchadnezzar's slave in Babylon. The King had a troubling dream about a magnificent statue. With guidance from God, Daniel was the only one who could interpret the dream. This interpretation is found in Daniel, chapter 2. Even though the Book of Daniel was written more than 2,500 years ago, the prophetic interpretation of the dream has been inerrant in predicting the great empires that would affect the Jews from Daniel's time to the present time. There is no reason to believe that the remaining portion of the prophecy will not be fulfilled in the future.

The statue's parts and what the parts represented are:

  • Head of gold: Babylonian Empire (the dominant empire in Daniel's time)
  • Chest and arms of silver: Medo-Persian Empire
  • Belly and thighs of bronze: Grecian Empire (Greece)
  • Legs of iron: Roman Empire (Rome).
At the time of Jesus, this part of the dream had been fulfilled. John had a vision of a similar beast in Revelation, chapter 17.

But the dream continued. The legs of iron (representing the Roman Empire, which by now has passed into history) will sprout feet and toes made of iron and clay. Multiple toes represent multiple nations of the revived Roman Empire— the European Union (E.U.)— which will occupy the land previously ruled by Rome. The mixed composition will note a mixture of strong nations (iron) and weak nations (clay). As prophesied, the E.U. is a mixture of strong and weak nations, and blending these nations into a single united states of Europe has at times been difficult and controversial (just as clay and iron do not mix well together).

But the dream still continued. A stone cut without hands (which is a Biblical metaphor for Jesus the Messiah) will crush the toes and, then, will become a mountain covering the Earth. This prophecy coincides with other prophecies that Jesus, at His Second Coming, will crush the armies at Armageddon (including the army of the E.U.) and will establish His Kingdom worldwide (the Millennial Kingdom).

Fulfillment of the final part of Daniel's prophetic interpretation began in 1948— the same year the Jews were allowed to return to Israel to re-establish Israel after nineteen centuries of dispersion into other countries (the Diaspora) and the same year dozens of other end-of-the-age prophecies were fulfilled! European countries were weary of war (two world wars had been fought on their continent in three decades) and were frightened that they were sandwichewd between two nuclear powers. Three small countries— Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg— formed the Benelux federation, which has grown into a multi-national alliance of nations, the European Union.

The E.U. now occupies much of the land formerly occupied by the Roman Empire. The E.U. now has a single monetary system (currency), which is the first time this has happened since the collapse of the Roman Empire many centuries ago. The E.U. is building an impressive military force, in an attempt to replace NATO and the United States in the "defense" of Europe. The E.U. is actively engaged in international affairs, in an attempt to replace American diplomacy and influence. The E.U. grows economically stronger each day.

In addition to the preceding trappings of a world superpower, two other events are shaping the future E.U.: (1) Once strongly or nominally Christian nations are becoming apostate. The worship of God is irrelevant for many Europeans. Many European churches would be empty today, except that they remain favorite tourist attractions. In Europe, secular humanism has largely replaced Christianity. (2) Many European nations are gripped with anti-Semitism. Jews have long been hated in many parts of Europe (witness the Jewish Holocaust in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s), and countries such as France are intensely anti-Semitic. E.U. policies favor Palestine and the Arabs over Israel and the Jews.

The situation thus described sets the stage for the Tribulation. A powerful people— with great military, technical, and economic might, not guided by the precepts of God and antagonistic toward Jews— will be led by a charismatic man, the Antichrist, to make war against God's people.

REPRESENTATIVE SCRIPTURES: Daniel 2:41-43): [Daniel said] "Just as you [Nebuchadnezzar] saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay." COMMENT: Daniel in later life had other visions, foretelling more precisely the nature of the empires portrayed in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, including the role of the E.U. and the Antichrist. See Daniel 7:1-28; 8:1-27; 9:20-27; 11:36-45.



RELATED REFERENCE SITES:
+ EUobserver.com
+ Web Site of the European Union
+ Europa Rising (Chuck Missler):
**** Part I
**** Part II
**** Part III
**** Part IV

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DIRECTORY: Return to directory
NEWS: Antichrist, False Prophet | Apostasy, days of Noah | Arabic, Islamic nations | China, eastern powers | Earthquakes | Epidemics, plagues | European Union | Evangelism | Famines, droughts | Jerusalem, Israel, Jews | Knowledge, space wonders | Miscellaneous items | Persecution, martyrdom | Russia | Sorceries | Wars, terrorism | Weather disturbances
OTHER: Anti-Christian symbolism, sentiment in European Union | Contact author | Future events | Guestbook | How to become a Christian | Muslim hatred for Jews and Christians | Prophecy, news sites | Rewards for prophecy student | Study aids
ESSAYS: Links to topic essays elsewhere in this site

THE ANTICHRIST AND HIS GOVERNMENT,
INCLUDING THE FALSE PROPHET AND HIS FALSE RELIGION
The Unholy Trinity: Satan, Antichrist, and False Prophet
BIBLE PROPHECY CURRENT NEWS
BACKGROUND: Since his expulsion from Heaven, Satan, the enemy of God, and the angels who fell with him have tried to defeat God's plans and God's people. This battle between the good of God and the evil of Satan will intensify as Satan's time grows short. The evil of Satan will become especially intense and wicked during the Tribulation, a seven-year period after the Rapture/Resurrection and immediately prior to the Second Coming of Jesus. There will arise a man, the Antichrist, who will promote Satan's kingdom during the Tribulation. He will be aided by the False Prophet, possibly an apostate Christian or apostate Jew, who will develop a new religion to worship the Antichrist and Satan. Many scholars believe the Antichrist will arise from the European Union (the revived Roman Empire). Recall, though, that the Roman Empire covered many present-day nations including Great Britain, western Europe, Mediterranean nations, and the eastern part of the Middle East, extending to Egypt. He certainly will do Satan's bidding, as Satan attempts to establish a kingdom on Earth to thwart the return of Jesus Christ. Every plan of Satan (through the Antichrist) will be an evil counterfeit of God's plan. Thus, in his kingdom— a counterfeit imitation of God's Kingdom in Heaven, Satan will establish an unholy trinity, an imitation of the Holy Trinity, with Satan attempting to replace God the Father, the Antichrist attempting to replace Jesus the Christ, and the False Prophet attempting to replace the Holy Spirit. The Antichrist will be the First Seal Judgment of the Tribulation in Revelation (Revelation 6:1-2). The Antichrist will come to world prominence when he affirms a peace pact between Israel and her Middle Eastern enemies. At heart, he will be a man of war, and this peace pact will be short-lived. The Antichrist will march into Israel and defile the third Jewish Temple. The influence of the Antichrist will be widespread throughout the world, as he works to establish a one-world (global) government, a one-world cashless financial system, and a one-world sham religion. Not all of the world will follow him, though. Anything at the present time which attempts to unify the world in government, a financial system, or religion serves to prepare people to accept the ultimate global power scheme of the Antichrist during the Tribulation. Watch for the "spirit of the Antichrist" to usher in the actual antichrist. Jesus warned us to not be deceived by and follow false Christs (Matthew 24:4-5; Mark 13:5-6; and Luke 21:8).

In The Holy Bible, the Antichrist is given numerous names:

  • Satan's seed (Genesis 3:15);
  • The king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:4);
  • The ruler of Tyrus (Ezekiel 28:2-19);
  • The little horn— "another horn, a little one" (Daniel 7:8);
  • A stern-faced king, a master of intrigue (Daniel 8:23-25);
  • The prince who shall come (Daniel 9:26);
  • The willful king (Daniel 11:36);
  • The Assyrian (Isaiah 10:24);
  • The destroyer, the oppressor, the aggressor (Isaiah 16:4);
  • The worthless shepherd (Zechariah 11:16-17);
  • The one who comes in his own name (John 5:43);
  • The man of lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:3);
  • The man doomed to destruction (2 Thessalonians 2:3);
  • The man of lawlessness, lawless one (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 8-10);
  • The man doomed to destruction (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 8-10);
  • Antichrist (1 John 2:18);
  • The beast (Revelation 11:7); and
  • The first beast that comes out of the sea (Revelation 13:1-10).

REPRESENTATIVE SCRIPTURES: See the above-cited Scriptures for descriptions of the Antichrist. I will not use space to expound further on the Antichrist and False Prophet. A description of the False Prophet (the Beast out of the Earth), including the infamous mark of the Beast he institutes, is found in Revelation 13:11-18.



RELATED REFERENCE SITES:
+ Charter of the United Nations
+ Applied Digital Solutions Company has developed a miniaturized, implantable device, which can store personal data and generate radio frequency transmissions (VeriChipTM); a miniaturized, implantable power source, which generates electricity from body heat (Thermo Life); and an implantable GPS device. While this company may be completely innocent of any future association with the False Prophet, these devices represent the type of technology which likely will be used as the mark of the Beast (Revelation 13:16-17). Advertisements and news articles for these products are presented to show that technology for the mark of the Beast is now available:
+ VeriChipTM
+ Thermo Life
+ GPS implant
+ Humanist Manifestos I and II (American Humanist Association)

FOR AMERICAN CITIZENS WHO CAN STAND BOTH REALITY AND DEPRESSING NEWS:

Go to U.S. Debt Clock to see how the U.S. debt accumulates as you watch. AND, this debt is before big-ticket items like a nationalized healthcare plan, the cap-and-trade proposal, a possible second stimulus package, and other expenses are added by a completely out-of-control federal government.

Why do I mention this issue in this section? America is financially bankrupt, but her leaders cannot stop reckless spending. As America plunges deeper in debt, we will be owned by other interests— interests which will lead America and other nations into the one-world economy and government that will mark the Antichrist's regime. Jesus' return is at the door!

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ANTI-CHRISTIAN SYMBOLISM AND SENTIMENT IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

In the preceding text, it is stated that the European Union (E.U.) apparently will be the base of power for the Antichrist. The E.U. has chosen pagan symbols, rather than biblical symbols, to portray this emerging confederacy of nations. These symbols are depicted on currency, public buildings, telephone cards, and posters. Anti-Christian and anti-Semitic views are flourishing. The foundation for the government of the Antichrist and the False Prophet is now being laid. Examples include:

  • PARLIAMENT BUILDING: The E.U. Parliament Building in Strasbourg replicates Pieter Brueghel's famous painting, "The Tower of Babel." The E.U. building has an open space with respresentation of scaffolding, reminiscent of the unfinished portion of the Tower of Babel after God stopped the work. In Genesis 11:1-9, The Holy Bible records that the whole world and all people had one language at one time. Men gathered on a plain in Shinar to build a tower which would reach into the heavens, that they would make a name for themselves. The LORD, offended by their arrogance, destroyed the tower, confused their language (creating multiple languages), and scattered them in many lands. GO TO a side-by-side comparison of Brueghel's painting and the European Union Parliament Building. The E.U. has "stuck its thumb in God's eye" by displaying publicly in such a flagrant manner something that God found so detestable many centuries ago.

  • SLOGAN: To further emphasize this connection of Europe with the Tower of Babel, the E.U. has in the past used a slogan, "Europe: Many Tongues, One Voice." This E.U. slogan is a reversal of God's judgment in Genesis— the changing of one voice into many voices— in that the E.U. is taking many voices and speaking as one.

  • EUROPA— THE GODDESS ON THE BULL RISING FROM THE SEA, THE "QUEEN OF HEAVEN": The continent of Europe takes its name from Europa, a Greek mythology goddess. According to this myth, Europa was the beautiful daughter of King Agenor of Phoenicia. Zeus, the primary god of Greek mythology, spied Europa gathering flowers along the Mediterranean coast, and lusted after her. Zeus transformed himself into a white bull and swam through the sea, to lie at Europa's feet. She placed flowers around his neck and climbed on his back. He charged into the sea and swam to Crete, where he raped her under a sycamore tree. Europa bore Zeus three sons. When she died, she was named "Queen of Heaven. The title "Queen of Heaven" has been given to several pagan goddesses. In Old Testament times, she was a fertility goddess and consort of Baal. Worship of her was an offense to God. (See Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-19, 25.) She was worshiped by other names as Ashtoreth and Asherah in Canaan, Ishtar in Babylon, Astarte and Aphrodite in Greece, and Venus in Rome. Examples of Europa and the bull include classical art and modern statues placed before the E.U. Parliament Building in Brussels, Belgium.

The E.U. has made wide use of the mythological Europa. Sitting on a bull rising from the sea, Europa has been the subject of statues, stamps, coins, and telephone cards throughout Europe, and has been pictured as the "Queen of Heaven" by showing her and her bull companion encircled by the twelve stars of the E.U. flag. GO TO examples of Europa and the bull honored throughout Europe.

APOSTASY FROM THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH AND ANTI-SEMITISM: Europe once was composed of Christian nations. Participation in Christ's church has fallen precipitously in recent decades. Some formerly Christian countries have only relatively few praticing and believing Christians. Several European countries have a sad history of anti-Semitism. The Holocaust tempered some of the public expression of hatred for the Jews, but this feeling has begun re-surface and intensify in several countries. Muslims from North Africa are immigrating in large numbers to some European nations, forming a formidable political bloc— a bloc that will be pro-Islam, anti-Judaism, and anti-Christian.

POLITICAL AND MEDIA BIAS: Anti-Christian political and media bias has become public recently, with national leaders and the media criticizing President George W. Bush because of his profession of being a born-again Christian.

PAVING THE WAY: These examples indicate that the European Union is on its way to becoming a secular, non-Christian or anti-Christian, anti-Semitic confederation of nations. The Antichrist will need a powerful economic and military base with little religious conviction— even animus toward Jews and Christians— to form his government during the Tribulation.

SEE ALSO: The Antichrist, European Superstate One World Government.
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THE KING OF THE NORTH—
RUSSIA AND HER ALLIES TO THE NORTH OF ISRAEL
BIBLE PROPHECY CURRENT NEWS
BACKGROUND: The Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (USSR) was the Communist enemy of the West and Israel for much of the last half of the Twentieth Century. The USSR, now dissolved, is today called "Russia."

Recently, Russian leaders have remained relatively quiet, giving the appearance of peaceful cooperation with the West. Recent saber-rattling and invasion of Georgia have revealed the true heart of Russia. Russia's intentions are not important because the prophet Ezekiel states that God will lead Gog, Russia's leader, into war against Israel by setting "a hook in his jaw," as one might use a hook in the jaw of an animal to lead it.

Although weakened by years of rule by an inept, corrupt Communist regime, Russia still possesses the potential of a world superpower. Russia has a large population of hard-working people accustomed to deprivation and sacrifice, as well as abundant resources (well-trained scientists and the raw materials of weaponry). The Russian stockpile of weapons, e.g., nuclear weapons, missiles, bombers and fighters, tanks, biological weapons, and the like, is still intact and frightening in its excess. Despite the average Russian's poverty, Russia aggressively builds more war weapons and delivery systems of finest quality and superior technology. Russia truly is a "sleeping giant."

Russia is anti-Semitic. Years of rule by an officially atheistic government has weakened the influence of Christianity.

The Holy Bible tells that Israel's enemy to the north— Moscow is due north of Israel— will wage war against Israel and other nations toward the end of the age. Russia is poised for a massive military attack. Russia's allies will be the King of the South, identified by place names in The Holy Bible as the Arab (Muslim) nations who hate Israel and who are economic, political, and military allies of Russia.

Other countries to Israel's north— Turkey and former USSR republics— could be Russia's ally because of their Islamic ties and various political and economical reasons.

God will intervene and crush superior invading forces from the north and south, to save His people Israel. A remnant of the Russian army will apparently re-build and participate in the Battles of Armageddon at the end of the Tribulation, immediately prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

REPRESENTATIVE SCRIPTURES: Genesis 10:1-2: This is the account of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, Noah's sons, who themselves had sons after the flood. The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. EXPLANATION: These sons migrated northward into Russia, and their descendants are listed as invaders of Israel.
Ezekiel, chapters 38 and 39: SUMMARY: These two chapters, too long to reproduce here, are excerpted: God will put "hooks in the jaw" of Gog of the land of Magog, leader of Meshech and Tubal (ancient names of peoples to the north), to lead him against Israel. With him in this invasion will be his southern allies— Persia, Cush, Put, Gomer, and other nations (ancient names for present-day Arab and North African countries). When Israel is living "in safety," Russia and her southern confederates will attack Israel in great force. Other nations of the world will offer diplomatic complaints, but none will offer Israel military assistance. God's anger will be set against Gog. God will send a great earthquake and other judgments against Gog's troops, and He will confuse Gog's leaders. Losses in Gog's armies will be staggering. God will do this to save His people Israel and to demonstrate His sovereign power. EXPLANATION: Gog is the leader of Magog, which is allied with southern nations. There can be no doubt that Magog is Russia and the southern allies are North African and Arab nations. The primary motive for the invasion apparently is to capture the strategically important land bridge between three continents and the access to the Mediterranean Sea for exportation of Middle Eastern petroleum. The secondary motive is the anti-Semitism in Russia and Muslim nations and the Islamic zeal to re-capture land once ruled by Islamic nations. (The Ottoman Empire [Turkey] ruled the land of Israel prior to World War I. Sharia law sets forth the principle that any land that once belonged to Allah is his forever, and it must be regained. Therefore, Islamic leaders are under a religious imperative to regain "Allah's land" of Israel.) Scholars agree that this battle will occur in the near future, but they differ in the timing with respect to the Rapture or Tribulation. It seems reasonable to believe this battle may occur before the Tribulation for these reasons: the prophecy does not mention the Antichrist and the seven-year peace treaty affirmed by the Antichrist and it notes that Israel uses weapons (captured nuclear warheads?) as fuel for seven years (the Tribulation only lasts for seven years). Concerning Israel being "at peace": Israel need not be totally at peace (free from terrorism), but only have a feeling of security (that is, not expecting a major military assault).
Daniel 11:40: [The angel said] "At the time of the end the king of the South will engage in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him [the Antichrist] with chariots and calvary and a great fleet of ships...." 		Click on title to read details.


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THE KING OF THE SOUTH— ARAB AND NORTH AFRICAN (ISLAMIC) NATIONS
BIBLE PROPHECY CURRENT NEWS
BACKGROUND: The controversy between Jews (and engrafted Jews— Christians) and Arabs (now mostly Muslims) began thousands of years ago with Abraham.

God (Jehovah) promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation, a nation which would receive God's blessings. Abraham's wife, Sarah, bore no children after years of marriage. In old age, she believed she could not produce a son for Abraham. Sarah asked Abraham to impregnate Hagar, her much younger Egyptian maidservant, to produce a male heir, which he did.

Hagar bore Abraham's son, Ishmael. Ishmael was not the son God intended to use to establish Abraham's covenant people. The angel of the LORD informed Hagar that Ishmael would be "a wild donkey of a man, his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers" (Genesis 16:12). Ishmael's descendants were given the land to the east (the Arabian Peninsula), and his descendants were promised to be too numerous to count.

Years later, God worked a miracle in Sarah. In her old age, she bore a son for Abraham, Isaac. Isaac was the son God intended for Abraham's heritage. Through Isaac would come God's chosen people, the Jews. God sealed a covenant with Abraham, which would be passed to Isaac and his descendants.

Isaac had twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau, the older twin, foolishly sold his birthright to Jacob, and the inheritance and blessing of Isaac passed to Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons, who became the patriarchs (ruling fathers) of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Ishmael and Esau became the fathers of the Arabs. Many centuries later, a descendant of Ishmael, Mohammed, elevated one of the hundreds of Arabian gods, Allah, to "the greatest" of the gods, and Islam was born.

Isaac, Jacob, and succeeding generations of Jews worshiped Jehovah as God. King David followed centuries later; and, still centuries later, followed Jesus the Christ (the Messiah). After the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, Christianity was established as the Church, the Body of Christ, on the Day of Pentecost, approximately A.D 33.

To this day, there is still a great struggle between three descendants of Abraham:

  • On one hand are:
    • Descendants of Abraham-Isaac-Jacob (Jacob was re-named Israel), who are JEWS professing belief in one God (Jehovah); and
    • Descendants of Abraham-Isaac-Jacob-Jesse-David-Jesus, who are CHRISTIANS (believers in Jehovah but who are grafted into the tree of Israel [as taught in Romans, chapter 11]— see TOPIC ESSAY, posted in another Web page in this site] and who profess belief in a triune God— God the Father, God the Son [Jesus], and God the Holy Spirit)
  • On the other hand are:
    • Descendants of Abraham-Ishmael-Arabian princes (Ishmaelites)— and Abraham-Isaac-Jacob-Esau (Edomites)— and Lot-Moab/Ammon (Moabites/Ammonites), who are MUSLIMS, professing belief in one god (Allah).

This struggle will continue until Jesus' return (the Second Coming), and no man, treaty, or war can stop the struggle.

The Holy Bible clearly teaches that Arab and North African nations will be the intractable enemy of Israel at the end of the age. These nations are named in The Bible, and their alliance with Russia is prophesied.

News accounts are filled with the hostility of Muslim peoples (especially leaders) against Jews and Christians. Western nations learn only a small sample of such hostility because of news media bias (news media self-censorship? anti-Semitic and anti-Christian hostility? greed in not wishing to alienate major advertisers, many of whom are associated directly or indirectly with the petroleum industry?). Thirty-five acres in Jerusalem— located on ancient Moriah and now called the Temple Mount— form the flashpoint for the Jewish-Muslim animosity. This site formerly housed the Jews' First and Second Temple. This site now houses the Muslims' Dome of the Rock. This site will house the Jews' Third Temple, to be built during the Tribulation, and will be all of mankind's source of reverence, when Jesus returns at His Second Coming to sit upon the Throne of David and rule the world during the Millennial Kingdom (thousand year reign of Messiah).

REPRESENTATIVE SCRIPTURES: Genesis 10:1, 6-7: Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And sons were born to them after the flood. | The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. EXPLANATION: More genealogy is recorded in this chapter, but Noah's descendants generally traveled south and became the ancestors of present-day Arabs and North Africans— present-day enemies of Israel.
See the preceding section for a summary of Ezekiel, chapters 38 and 39, and Daniel 11:40, which prophesy an alliance of northern and southern enemies of Israel— Russia and Muslim nations— and their future launch of a massive surprise attack against Israel.

RELATED REFERENCE SITES:
+ The Koran (Qu'ran): + MSA-USC Hadith Database:

Good news reports about Muslim terrorism may be found on WorldNetDaily.

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WHY DO SOME MUSLIMS HATE JEWS AND CHRISTIANS?

Why do some Muslims hate America and Israel? Why is there discord and terrorism in the Middle East and elsewhere?

There are nearly 1.3-billion Muslims, with the majority living in northern Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia— the "10-40 window."

Muslims consider the Koran their holy book, as do Jews consider the Old Testament and Christians The Bible their holy books.

Many "Muslims" are nominal (name only) in beliefs, just as many "Jews" and "Christians" are nominal in their beliefs.

However, there are fundamentalist Muslims who believe the Koran intently and passionately, and who literally apply its teachings to their lives. These Muslims can find passages in the Koran which seemingly support hatred of and war against Jews and Christians. It is this Muslim minority which wages jihad against Christians and Jews the world over. From this Muslim minority come the "apocalyptic Muslims," one of whom is Iran's president Ahmadinejad. This group feels the Twelfth Imam, the Mahdi, will come to the world to convert all persons to Islam only during a period of great strife and war. War between Muslims and non-Muslims, then, is seen as furthering Allah's will. Thus, the struggle between Muslims and non-Muslims is a religious war— a war which cannot be settled by negotiations, money, land exchange, or other appeasements.

In fairness, there are some passages in the Koran which paint Jews and Christians in a favorable light. However, other verses permit Muslim extremists to justify hatred of and war against non-Muslims.

I quote a few verses from the Koran [sura in brackets], which display teachings that could support Muslim hatred against Jews and Christians:

[2:98] Whoever is the enemy of Allah and His angels and His apostles and Jibreel and Meekaeel, so surely Allah is the enemy of the unbelievers.

[2:135] And they say: Be Jews or Christians, you will be on the right course. Say: Nay! [We follow] the religion of Ibrahim, the Hanif, and he was not one of the polytheists.

[4:47] O you who have been given the Book! Believe that which We have revealed, verifying what you have, before We alter faces then turn them on their backs, or curse them as We cursed the violaters of the Sabbath, and the command of Allah shall be executed.

[4:56] (As for) those who disbelieve in Our communications, We shall make them enter fire; so oft as their skins are thoroughly burned, We will change them for other skins, that they may taste the chastisement; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise.

[4:76] Those who believe fight in the way of Allah, and those who disbelieve fight in the way of the Shaitan. Fight therefore against the friends of the Shaitan; surely the strategy of the Shaitan is weak.

[4:144] O ye who believe! Take not the unbelievers for friends rather than believers; do you desire that you should give Allah a manifest proof against yourselves?

[4:160] Wherefore for the iniquity of those who are Jews did We disallow to them the good things which had been made lawful for them and for their hindering many [people] from Allah's way.

[4:171] O followers of the Book! Do not exceed the limits in your religion, and do not speak [lies] against Allah, but [speak] the truth; the Messiah, Isa son of Marium is only an apostle of Allah and His Word which He communicated to Marium and a spirit from Him; believe therefore in Allah and His apostles, and say not, Three. Desist, it is better for you; Allah is only one God; far be It from His glory that He should have a son, whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is His, and Allah is sufficient for a Protector.

[5:33] The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His apostle and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement....

[5:51] O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people.

[5:72-73] Certainly they disbelieve who say: Surely Allah, He is the Messiah, son of Marium; and the Messiah said: O Children of Israel! serve Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Surely whoever associates [others] with Allah, then Allah has forbidden to him the garden, and his abode is the fire; and there shall be no helpers for the unjust. Certainly they disbelieve who say: Surely Allah is the third [person] of the three; and there is no god but the one God, and if they desist not from what they say, a painful chastisement shall befall those among them who disbelieve.

[5:80] You will see many of them befriending those who disbelieve. Certainly evil is that which their souls have sent before for them, that Allah becomes displeased with them and in chastisement shall they abide.

[8:12] When your Lord revealed to the angels: I am with you, therefore make firm those who believe. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.

[9:5] So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush, then if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, leave their way free to them; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

[9:29] Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Apostle have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of superiority and they are in a state of subjection.

[9:123] O you who believe! Fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you hardness; and know that Allah is with those who guard [against evil].

For a brief review of fundamental differences between Christianity and Islam, go to Understanding Islam.

God loves a Muslim every bit as much as He loves a Jew or Christian. To be saved and go to Heaven, however, a Muslim must accept Jesus Christ [Isa in Arabic] as Savior. It is not enough merely for you, a Muslim, to recognize Isa as a historical Person or Prophet. You must have a relationship of love with Him. For more information about Jesus Christ [Isa], go to Christ Seeker: Come Home to God!

To any Muslim reader: God loves you and offers you the gift of eternal salvation, through your faith in Jesus Christ [Isa] as Savior— if you will accept it.

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THE KINGS OF THE EAST
BIBLE PROPHECY CURRENT NEWS
BACKGROUND: Christians, Jews, and the West in general have three potential enemies in the Far East— Communist China and North Korea; Islam, represented by a wide swath of countries extending through northern Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East; and Hinduism (primarily India). Followers of Hinduism and Islam are enemies (witness the ongoing fighting between India and Pakistan).

China and other Far Eastern countries presently feign peaceful co-existence with the West because the trade imbalance provides a surplus of Western money to feed burgeoning populations and build military strength. Part of this trade imbalance is due to countries such as China and North Korea which sell weapons to Middle Eastern countries— enemies of Israel and the West, especially the United States— with no moral constraint.

Hundreds of millions of young men are available for military service, aided by China's one-child policy which has resulted in a surplus of male children.

We are told there will be an army of 200,000,000 soldiers from the Far East which will advance toward Israel immediately before Jesus' Second Coming. Several scenarios can be imagined, including: China and North Korea form the nucleus of an army to fight the West; or, Islamic countries form the nucleus of an army to fight Israel and the West; or, Hindu countries (India) form the nucleus of an army to fight Islamic countries; or, coalitions of these powers form an army to fight Israel and the West.

War could erupt at any moment in the Far East. China could attack Taiwan, which would create a diplomatic and military crisis for the United States. India and Pakistan, both nuclear powers, continually threaten to go to war over Kashmir and other issues.

Thus, any of the Eastern powers could fulfill the westward-marching army that wages war immediately before the Lord Jesus Christ returns.

REPRESENTATIVE SCRIPTURES: Revelation 9:13-21: The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice.... It said to the angel..., 'Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.* And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number. Verses 17 TO 21— SUMMARY: John describes the horde advancing through Asia toward Israel. He tries to explain instruments of modern war, which would have been very strange to him, in terms people of his time could understand. For example: fire out of the mouths of their "horses" could represent tanks; and the fire, smoke, and sulfur that killed a third of mankind surely must represent nuclear warfare.

Revelation 16:12: The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East.
*COMMENT FOR Revelation 9:14 and Revelation 16:12 (preceding two paragraphs): The Euphrates River historically has been a great natural barrier to movement of armies between the East and the West. In the 1980s, the Ataturk Dam was built across the Euphrates. Now, the flow of this river can be stopped by the dam, permitting an advancing army to ford the river bed. 		Click on title to read details.


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OTHER: Anti-Christian symbolism, sentiment in European Union | Contact author | Future events | Guestbook | How to become a Christian | Muslim hatred for Jews and Christians | Prophecy, news sites | Rewards for prophecy student | Study aids
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PERSECUTION OF GOD'S PEOPLE
MARTYRDOM BECAUSE OF FAITH
BIBLE PROPHECY CURRENT NEWS
BACKGROUND: The Christian church has suffered great persecution since its foundation at Pentecost in ca. A.D 33. The Roman Empire tried to stamp out the Christian church through nearly two centuries of horrendous persecution, but the Church grew faster than the Romans could martyr Christians. During the Dark Ages, Christians turned on themselves, as a corrupt Catholic Church sought to stop the Protestant Reformation, but the Church remained intact. In the past century, enemies of Jesus Christ— primarily Muslims— have tried to remove Christians from "their" land through forced conversions to Islam or death, but the Church has grown steadily in these areas. The harder Satan has persecuted God's people, the more resolute and numerous Christians have become! And, of course, the Jews have always been terribly persecuted, in the past and at the present.

The Holy Bible (in large part in the books of Daniel and Revelation) tells of a government during the seven-year Tribulation, which will come through the European Union and will be headed by the Antichrist and the False Prophet. This government will be established to accomplish Satan's bidding and to oppose God the Father and Jesus Christ.

Before the Tribulation begins, Christians will be removed from the Earth by the Rapture. God will not leave the Earth without hope, though, and He will send 144,000 Jewish evangelists and the Two Witnesses to proclaim His Gospel grace (salvation through Jesus Christ) throughout the world. Millions will be converted to faith in Jesus during this time. The Antichrist's government will ruthlessly hunt down these recently converted Christians, and they will be martyred by being beheaded.

All of the pieces of the puzzle are falling into place to fulfill the prophetic scenario outlined above in the very near future. Consider these facts: Europe is building a powerful federation of nations. Europe is mostly apostate, with little practice of Christianity in many countries and with anti-Christian hostility in some countries. Europe's long-standing anti-Semitism is intensifying. Europe is strongly allied with Muslim nations, which hate Jews and Christians. Even in America, the Judicial System, some members of Congress, the State Department, many members of the media, and members of the entertainment community are biased against Christianity. The world is ready for the Antichrist and the unmerciful persecution of Jews and Christians he will unleash. Satan will execute his plan for a few years, until he is defeated by Jesus the Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords, at His Second Coming!

NOTE THIS: A 2002 book review, summarizes the bloodshed of Christian martyrs during the Twentieth Century. In the two millennia of Christian history, 70-million Christians have been martyred (murdered) because they are Christians. Of these, 45.5-million (65 per cent) of martyrs lost their lives during the Twentieth Century. Most Christian martyrdom occurs because of Communism and Islamic and Hindu fundamentalism (extremism).

REPRESENTATIVE SCRIPTURES: Genesis 3:15: [The LORD God said to the serpent, or Satan] "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head...."

Matthew 10:16, 18, 21-22, 28, 39: [Jesus said] "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.... | On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them.... | Brother will betray brother to death.... All men will hate you because of me.... | Do not be afraid of those who will kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.... | Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will find it."
Matthew 24:21: [Jesus said] "For then [during the Tribulation] there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now— and never to be equaled again."
2 Timothy 3:1: But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
Revelation 6:9: When [Jesus] opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.
Revelation 12:12: [A loud voice in heaven says] "... But woe to the earth and sea, because the devil [Satan] has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short."
Revelation 13:15-17: [The False Prophet] was given power to give breath to the image [of the Antichrist], so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand, or his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark....

RELATED REFERENCE SITES:
+ Christian Monitor
+ Hudson Institute
+ OneNewsNow.com - Persecution
+ Open Doors International
+ Voice of the Martyrs, The
+ Worthy News
+ The International Religious Freedom Report for 2002 (U.S. Department of State)
+ Online registration for free subscription to The Voice of the Martyrs, a magazine mailed to your home
+ Human Rights Reports & Country Profiles, a listing of countries in which there is persecution or severe discrimination against Christians

For a printed copy of the VOM [Voice of the Martyrs] Prisoner List, send the request along with your name and address via email to basic@vom-usa.org.

To read early accounts of early Christian martyrdom as recorded by Sixteenth Century historian John Foxe, see Foxe's Book of Martyrs.

PRAY FOR the persecuted church.

GO TO this Web page to sign up for FREE subscription to Voice of the Martyr's Prisoner Alert email update.

Send copies of The Holy Bible to persons throughout the world, including persecuted Christians:

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APOSTASY (FALLING FROM FAITH),
"AS IN THE DAYS OF NOAH"
BIBLE PROPHECY CURRENT NEWS
BACKGROUND: Apostasy, or falling from the faith, is characteristic of the end of the age. Faith is weak to almost non-existent in formerly Christian countries, such as in much of Europe and part of the United States. Many people who state they are Christians do so because of a meaningless encounter with religion, e.g., infant baptism, and they never read and study The Holy Bible, pray, worship, praise God, or seek God's forgiveness of sins. To be a follower of Jesus, one must walk daily with Him and apply Biblical principles to all life experiences. The last church type addressed by Jesus in the second and third chapters of Revelation is the church at Laodicea, which represents the predominant church at the end of the age. Jesus had no praise for the Laodicean church (Revelation 3:14-22) because of its lukewarm efforts. Even today, some church leaders deny the basic tenets of Christianity, e.g., the virgin birth of Jesus, His deity, and His resurrection, while living a life which follows and glorifies Satan, rather than God. Many people, busy with personal life issues, do not find time to consider their relationship with God. Because of their lack of faith, failure to seek salvation and redemption from sin, and following "idols" (any pursuit which is more important in life than the worship of God), they will die a spiritual death (death of the soul in Hell), as did people in Noah's day die a physical death from the flood.

REPRESENTATIVE SCRIPTURES: Matthew 24:10, 12: [Jesus said] "At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other.... | Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold...."
Matthew 24:37-39: [Jesus said] "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man [Jesus]. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away...." EXPLANATION: Day of Noah refers to the way mankind behaved before the Flood. The world will be destroyed twice— by water (flood) in Noah's time and by fire in the near future. Noah's time is described in Genesis 6:5-6: The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.
Luke 18:8b: [Jesus said] "...However, when the Son of Man [Jesus] comes, will he find faith on the earth?"
2 Timothy 4:3-4: For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from truth and turn aside to myths.
2 Peter 3:3-9: First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." Verses 5 TO 7— SUMMARY: Peter taught that the world was destroyed by water long ago [flood in Noah's time], but the world will be destroyed by fire in the future.) ... With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years.... The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Revelation 3:14-16: [Jesus said] "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:.... I know your deeds, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm— neither hot nor cold— I am about to spit [literally, vomit] you out of my mouth." 		Click on title to read details.


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EVANGELISM (SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL)
BIBLE PROPHECY CURRENT NEWS
BACKGROUND: The majority of Christian churches will become the lukewarm churches patterned after the church in Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22), and will be distressful to Jesus. Paradoxically, a minority of Christian churches will become the vibrant, ministering, evangelical churches patterned after the Church in Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13), and will be beloved by Jesus. The Philadelphia-type church will spread the message of Jesus as Lord and Savior and the loving grace of God the Father to all parts of the world before Jesus' return. Impressive evangelical work is now possible by a relatively few workers because messages on radio, television, and satellite communication blanket all parts of the Earth.

REPRESENTATIVE SCRIPTURES: Matthew 24:14: [Jesus said] "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
Mark 13:10: [Jesus said] "And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations."
Matthew 28:19-20: [Jesus said] "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Revelation 3:7-8, 10-11, 13: [Jesus said] "To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:.... I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.... | Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.... | He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

WHY IS THE GOOD NEWS SO HARD TO FIND IN MEDIA REPORTS? The Gospel is called "the Good News" because it tells the world about God's grace and His plan of salvation to save a world from eternal death. Efforts to save souls and help people in Jesus' name go virtually unreported in the national news media. Satan has hardened the hearts of media reporters, editors, and executives.

  • If an evangelist, minister, or priest falls into sin, this failure is repeatedly reported in minute detail. However, for every servant of God who fails, there are many thousands who do not fail; these faithful servants carry the Word of God daily throughout the Earth— but they receive little or no media coverage.
  • If a church or evangelistic ministry embezzles or misuses the treasury of the Kingdom (donations), this, too, is reported in great detail. However, for every dishonest ministry, there are thousands of honest ministries that spend every cent carefully to save souls and minister to persons in need— but they receive little or no media coverage.
  • Any disillusioned or apostate theologian who has a theory on how God or The Holy Bible can be questioned or discredited is given wide media coverage. However, for every lost, confused, apostate theologian, there are thousands of ministers of the Gospel who boldly proclaim God's Holy Word with clarity and without doubt— but they receive little or no media coverage.
Therefore, it is difficult to find news stories in the national media outlets which tell of a Church of Jesus Christ being preached throughout the Earth to all peoples. Neither Satan nor a biased news media can stop evangelism, though. Every moment of every day the message of God's grace and the blood sacrifice of the Savior Jesus Christ reaches every inch of the world through personal, radio, and television ministries. There is Good News in the Earth, even if the news media refuse to acknowledge the good news.

I like the "Shoe" cartoon strip. "Shoe" is about birds whose lives center around a newspaper, the Tattler-Tribune. I have "Shoe" bookmarked on my email home page and chuckle every morning at the newest strip. I notice the strip's author, Jeff MacNelly, has written a book, 27 Years of Shoe: World Ends at Ten, Details at Eleven. I have not read the book, but I am amused by its title. If we wait for the news media, government, or many pastors to warn us about the end of the age, we will be "an hour late." That is why God called those who worship Him to be watchmen and sound the trumpet of alarm for our neighbors, as written in Jeremiah 6:17a and other Scriptures: Also, I set watchmen over you, [saying,] "Listen to the sound of the trumpet!" It is up to us who believe— those who watch for the return of Jesus— to sound the trumpet of alarm and warn others of the soon return of Jesus for His church (believers), so that they will not perish.

A modern invention, which facilitates evangelism, is the Internet. GO TO this site to view a worldwide distribution of Internet sites. Another important invention of modern communication is television. I remember reading a National Geographic magazine several years ago about the isolation of parts of eastern Asia. Small, Chinese-made color television sets were being watched, even in what would seem very primitive living standards in most parts of the world. The Gospel will be preached by many means before Jesus returns!

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SORCERIES
BIBLE PROPHECY CURRENT NEWS
BACKGROUND: Many people in developed countries, e.g., countries in North America and Europe, share certain features:
  • They are exceedingly rich by world and historical standards.
  • They typically are not required to work from dawn to dusk to eke out a meager living. Rather than rejoicing in their good lives, many have become bored and disillusioned, and have used their abundance of wealth and leisure time to yield to Satan's temptations by turning to drugs (including alcohol) and other sinful activities to fill their meaningless days and dull their senses.
  • Instead of being grateful for riches and leisure time, they do not help their neighbors in need and do not serve God.
  • These bored people abuse drugs (including alcohol), participate in astrology and various demonic spiritual delusions, and spend their days satisfying only themselves and following Satan deeper into darkness.

The Bible predicted there would be many persons involved in sorceries at the end of the age. Interestingly, the word translated "sorceries" (King James Version) or "magic spells" (New International Version) is the Greek word pharmakeia. The pharm- root is familiar to every person as it relates to drugs (pharmacy, pharmaceutical, pharmacist, pharmacology).

One of the reasons Babylon the Great will fall in the future is her use and exportation of pharmakeia (Revelation, chapter 18). This Babylon, "destroyed in one hour," represents man's governments which rebel against God. America and other nations cannot continue to sin against God, while expecting to avoid His wrath.

REPRESENTATIVE SCRIPTURES: Revelation 18:23-24: [A mighty angel said] "The light of a lamp will never shine in you [Babylon the Great] again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world's great men. By your magic spell [pharmakeia] all the nations were led astray. In her was found the blood of the prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth."

 COMMENT: Any reader must be aware of the drug problems and other addictive, Satan-inspired sins abounding in society, e.g., pornography, adultery, and fornication. The local newspapers are filled with drug busts and alcohol-related traffic accidents. Most of the stories about "sorceries" are omitted from this Website.
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EPIDEMICS, PANDEMICS, PLAGUES
BIBLE PROPHECY CURRENT NEWS
BACKGROUND: Evil and unrepentant mankind will endure epidemics and plagues during the Tribulation.

The stage for these judgments is now set. Viral epidemics can sweep the Earth with amazing speed (influenza epidemics, for example). HIV (the AIDS virus) has infected millions of persons in a few years. Consider the impact if HIV were spread by an airborne route. Consider global spread of a deadly virus such as Ebola virus. Scientists are capable of synthesizing and hybridizing viruses, perhaps creating viruses for which no natural immunity exists. Many bacteria, once easily treated with antibiotics, have now become resistant to virtually all antibiotics. With famines and wars occurring during the Tribulation, people on the Earth will be even more susceptible to epidemics. The environment is always at risk for invasion by hordes of insects and other destructive agents, further worsening famines caused by the wars, droughts, and infections of the Tribulation.

REPRESENTATIVE SCRIPTURES: Revelation 6:7-8: When the Lamb [Jesus] opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" I looked and there before me was a pale horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine, and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
Revelation 9:1-11 foretells the fifth trumpet judgment, in which demonic locusts are released from the bottomless pit to torment those "who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads" with extremely painful, scorpion-like stings for five months during the Tribulation.
Revelation 16:2: The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image.
Revelation 16:3: The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died. COMMENT: Could this judgment be the Red Tide we now experience, or a similar infestation of the ocean waters?

RELATED REFERENCE SITES:
+ CDC News Updates:HIV/AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and Tuberculosis Prevention News Update
+ The Global Infectious Disease Threat and Its Implications for the United States
+ Public Health Emergency Preparedness & Response (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

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FAMINES, DROUGHTS
BIBLE PROPHECY CURRENT NEWS
BACKGROUND: Famines and droughts are major problems now. During the Tribulation, however, the Earth will be gripped by unprecedented famines and droughts, and these conditions— which represent judgments of God (the Third and Fourth Seal Judgments)— will be intensified by worldwide wars and plagues (epidemics) of a magnitude never before experienced on Earth.

REPRESENTATIVE SCRIPTURES: Matthew 24:7b: [Jesus said] "...There will be famines...."
Mark 13:8b: [Jesus said] "...There will be... famines...."
Luke 21:11: [Jesus said] "There will be... famines...."
Revelation 6:5-8: When the Lamb [Jesus in Heaven] opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine! When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, ...there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth."

RELATED REFERENCE SITES:
+ National Drought Mitigation Center.
+ U.S. Drought Monitor
+ World POPClock Projection [up-to-date world population estimates]

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EARTHQUAKES
BIBLE PROPHECY CURRENT NEWS
BACKGROUND: Earthquakes have long accompanied God's judgments and announcements. Jesus foretold of earthquakes prior to His return. It is estimated that more than 3.3-million earthquakes shake the Earth each year. Most earthquakes are small; many cannot be felt, but can be identified only with seismographs. Although some people teach that earthquakes have increased during the Twentieth Century, most geologists apparently believe that the recent "increase" in earthquake activity reflects better detection (more seismographs around the world) and better reporting (global satellite communication). Jesus' prophecy is fulfilled either way. That is, people of the world are made increasingly aware of earthquakes in different places, whether earthquakes occur more frequently or are reported more easily. This increase in knowledge about global earthquake activity also fits Daniel's end-time prophecy about people going here and there to increase knowledge (Daniel 12:4). Remember also that the tectonic plates are unstable and active, and massive earthquake activity could occur throughout the Earth in the days or weeks immediately preceding Jesus' return.

Explanation of the Richter scale:

The Richter scale measures the magnitude (strength) of an earthquake. The scale is logarithmic. That is, an increase of one full number to the left of the decimal point represents a ten-fold increase in earthquake magnitude. (For example, a 6.0 earthquake is ten times stronger than a 5.0 earthquake.) Richter scale numbers approximately correlate with damage, as follows:

  • Less than 3.5 (<3.5): Generally not felt by humans, but measurable by instruments.
  • 3.5 - 5.4: Often felt by humans, but property damage is rare.
  • 5.5 - 6.0: Slight property damage to well-designed buildings, but major damage to poorly designed buildings; damage confined to small region.
  • 6.1 - 6.9: Can be destructive in populated regions in a region up to 100 kilometers (60 miles) in diameter.
  • 7.0 - 7.9: Major earthquake— can cause serious damage over a region exceeding 100 kilometers (60 miles) in diameter.
  • 8.0 or greater (>8.0): Great earthquake— can cause devastating damage in a region several hundred kilometers (several hundred miles) in diameter.

Deaths associated with the larger earthquakes depend upon population density, construction practices for residential homes and public buildings, associated fires, and other factors.

REPRESENTATIVE SCRIPTURES: Matthew 24:7b: [Jesus said] "... There will be ... earthquakes in various places."
Mark 13:8b: [Jesus said] "There will be earthquakes in various places.... These are the beginnings of birth pains."
Luke 21:11a: [Jesus said] "There will be great earthquakes... in various places...."

RELATED REFERENCE SITES:

+ Earthquake Search, U.S. Geological Survey, search for global, national, and local earthquakes
+ Earthquake Lists and Maps (Records), U.S. Geological Survey
+ Earthquake Statistics (2000 - present), U.S. Geological Survey

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A sample of major earthquakes follows. Note that Jesus' Olivet Discourse prophecy begins "But when you hear..." (Luke 21:9) and follows with a listing of signs of His return, including "... great earthquakes in various places..." (Luke 21:11). With modern communication, we can "hear" of earthquakes as they occur throughout the world within minutes. Jesus' prophecy is truly being fulfilled.

See chart showing an increase in severe earthquakes, as we approach the return of the Lord: USGS Worldwide Deadly & Destructive Earthquakes between Magnitudes 6 and 8. Similar information may be obtained at: Historic Worldwide Earthquakes— Sorted by Date. Weekly occurrence of earthquakes may be monitored at: Recent Earthquakes.

Colossal quake may hit Sumatra within 30 years(15 Oct 2009)
6.6 magnitude quake hits off Canada's west coast (17 Nov 2009)
Earthquake shakes northern Chile (12 Nov 2009)
Major earthquake shakes Fiji (09 Nov 2009)
Taiwan hit by 6.0-magnitude quake (05 Nov 2009)
Quake injures 700 in southern Iran (04 Nov 2009)
Strong quake hits off southern Japanese coast (30 Oct 2009)
Strong quake hits eastern Indonesia, causes panic (24 Oct 2009)
Strong earthquake rocks western Indonesia (16 Oct 2009)
USGS reports 6.0 magnitude earthquake off tsunami-hit Samoa(14 Oct 2009)
A 6.4-magnitude quake hits South Pacific (12 Oct 2009)
Moderate 5.9 quake shakes Tonga (10 Oct 2009)
8.1 magnitude earthquake strikes northwest of Vanuatu(07 Oct 2009)
Earthquakes Shake California's Owens Valley(02 Oct 2009)
A 6.4-magnitude quake hits South Pacific(12 Oct 2009)
Moderate 5.9 quake shakes Tonga(10 Oct 2009)
Japan hit by third strong earthquake (13 Aug 2009)
Strong earthquake shakes Tokyo area (09 Aug 2009)
Magnitude 7.6 — OFF WEST COAST OF THE SOUTH ISLAND, N.Z. (15 Jul 2009)
Magnitude 5.3 earthquake hits southern Peru (12 Jul 2009)
400,000 leave their homes after quake in China (10 Jul 2009)
Quake reported off western Mexico (03 Jul 2009)
Strong Earthquake Rattles Greek Island (01 Jul 2009)
Strong 6.0 quake hits mid-Atlantic Ocean: USGS (07 Jun 2009)
Earthquake shakes Honduras before OAS meeting (02 Jun 2009)
Magnitude 6.5 quake hits near Vanuatu, no damage (02 Jun 2009)
7.1 earthquake topples homes, kills 6 in Honduras (28 May 2009)


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WEATHER DISTURBANCES
BIBLE PROPHECY CURRENT NEWS
BACKGROUND: Climatologists warn that the Earth is undergoing global warming, and that the increased sea water and air temperatures will trigger increasingly severe storms. Jesus warned that there will be severe storms prior to His return.

REPRESENTATIVE SCRIPTURE: Luke 21:25b: [Jesus said] "On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea."

 COMMENT: Major storms occur at irregular intervals. The present report may not describe a recent storm of a severe nature. Remember, however, that major storm systems can develop within a few days. Therefore, lack of recent storm activity provides no assurance that the return of Jesus is in the distant future. Look for changing weather patterns— increase in strength and frequency of storms and unusual weather patterns.
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INCREASE OF KNOWLEDGE,
WONDERS IN SPACE
BIBLE PROPHECY CURRENT NEWS
BACKGROUND: There is an explosion of knowledge. At the time of the prophets and Jesus, the base of knowledge doubled over a period of many centuries. At the present time, the base of knowledge doubles over a period of a few months at most. Computers and worldwide communication systems foster rapid growth and dissemination of knowledge.

Marked advances in astronomy— including the Hubble telescope— permit us to see the far reaches of space and to gain more and more knowledge about the universe God has created.

Our astronomy tools reveal that the universe is a hostile place. There are large heavenly bodies, e.g., asteroids, flying through space at great speed. One of these asteroids could hit Earth at any time, causing catastrophic damage. Debris thrown up by such an asteroid-Earth collision would simulate the well-popularized "nuclear winter," and the dust would darken the sun and alter the color of the moon.

REPRESENTATIVE SCRIPTURES: Daniel 12:4: [The angel said] "But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words on the scroll [the Book of Daniel] until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge."
Joel 2:30-31: [The LORD replies] "I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and dreadful day of the LORD."
Luke 21: 11, 25-26: [Jesus said] "There will be... fearful events and great signs from heaven.... | There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars.... Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken."
Revelation 8:7-12: The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees was burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned to blood, a third of the living creatures of the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter. The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.

RELATED REFERENCE SITES:
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+ SPACEVIEWS: Image Galleries

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MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS OF INTEREST
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STUDY AIDS

NOTE: To shorten the length of this Website and reduce downloading time, this section— STUDY AIDS— has been transferred to a separate Web page.

See the STUDY AIDS Web page, including the BREAKING NEWS section.

To return to this Website, click the link in the golden box near the top of the Web page on the left side.


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ESSAYS (LINKS TO PAGES ELSEWHERE IN THIS WEBSITE)

Click on the following links to pages in this Website to read more about prophecy-related topics. You may easily return to the main page of this site.

  • Ages (Dispensations) of God for Man... God has devised eight ages (dispensations) for mankind. Knowledge of these dispensations is important to understand Bible prophecy more fully.


  • Bema Judgment — Rewards (Crowns)... Every person will face one of two judgments— the Bema Judgment, if he/she has chosen eternal life in Heaven, or the Great White Throne Judgment, if he/she has chosen eternal life in Hell. At the Bema Judgment, rewards (crowns) for works in Jesus' name will be awarded or withheld. Next to your salvation, your preparation for the Bema Judgment will be the most important effort in your life. Prepare daily for this judgment!


  • Covenants... God has made eight covenants with mankind. Reading these covenants will enhance your understanding of God, as He deals with mankind through the ages.


  • God's Two Olive Trees... Paul beautifully explains the relationship between Christians and Jews in Romans, chapter 11.


  • How To Become A Christian... The most important decision— a decision of eternal consequence— is whether you will accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; the simple plan of salvation is presented through a few Bible verses.


  • Prayers... Pray for THE PERSECUTED CHURCH (Christians facing harassment, persecution, and martyrdom) and ISRAEL


  • Wars and Rumors of Wars... Jesus and the prophets foretold of wars, as the Age of Grace comes to an end. We are presently engaged in the first of these wars, and preparations are being made for the remaining wars.


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DO YOU WANT INFORMATION ABOUT BECOMING A CHRISTIAN—
RECEIVING JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND
ASSURING YOURSELF OF ETERNAL LIFE IN HEAVEN?

Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven. If you want more information about Him and your choice of whether you will spend eternity in Heaven or Hell, please click on a companion Website I have posted:

Christ Seeker: Come Home to God!

There is a link back to this site, so that you may easily return.

YOUR DECISION OF WHETHER TO ACCEPT OR REJECT JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR IS THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION YOU WILL EVER MAKE! THIS DECISION HAS ETERNAL CONSEQUENCES.

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CONTACT THE AUTHOR

 Please contact me, especially for any of the following reasons:

  • YOU BELIEVE I HAVE MADE AN ERROR: Please courteously explain the error you feel I have made.

  • YOU HAVE SUGGESTIONS ABOUT LINKS I SHOULD ADD OR WAYS I CAN IMPROVE THIS SITE: I will gratefully receive your recommendation. Please help me make this site more useful for other people.

  • YOU BECAME A CHRISTIAN (ACCEPTED JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR), AFTER READING THIS SITE: Only the Holy Spirit can cause you to give your heart to God and only God can save your soul— I certainly cannot save you. If this site has ignited a spark of faith in you and that spark has been used by the Holy Spirit to cause you to accept salvation, however, I will rejoice with you. I will pray for and with you. I will send you by e-mail more information about what it means to be a Christian. I will try my best to answer any questions you may have about Christianity.

    Send an email message to me at raymondfinney@ymail.com, and I will try to answer you promptly. It would be helpful if you would include your first name, but I DO NOT want any other personal information (such as, last name, address, and telephone number). My name is Raymond. God bless you, my new brother or sister, for your decision to follow the Lord Jesus Christ! I will meet you some day in Heaven!

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SIGN AND READ MY GUESTBOOK

Please sign my guestbook, if you can be an encouragement for others. By signing the guestbook, you give me permission to post any submitted message or information on this Website. However, I reserve the right to choose not to publish your post.

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REWARDS FOR (AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF) THE STUDENT OF PROPHECY

 Jesus told the Parable of the Fig Tree (Matthew 24:32-34): [Jesus answered] "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and the leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened."

In this passage, "all these things" refers to all of Jesus' teachings in the preceding verses of this chapter about His return to Earth to bring His followers home to Heaven to be with Him forever. Most Bible prophecy scholars believe that the fig tree bloomed in the Twentieth Century, with the return of Jews to the Promised Land (Israel) in 1948 but most certainly with the capture of the Holy City of God (Jerusalem) in 1967. The Bible uses "generation" in different ways, but a common length of time is forty years. Thus, the return of our Lord may be close at hand— today, tomorrow, next year, or in ten years— but it surely must be close. Why should we watch for summer? Summer is the season of harvest, and Jesus will return at the Resurrection/ Rapture t0 harvest His church— believers (Christians) who will be with Him forever in New Jerusalem (Heaven).

Jesus taught (Matthew 24:36) that only God the Father knows the day and hour of Jesus' return, but He warned us to always be ready and watching for His return (Matthew 24:42, 44): [Jesus said] "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. | So you... must be ready, because the Son of Man [Jesus] will come at an hour when you do not expect him."

Jesus taught other parables about the necessity of watching for and being ready for His return.

One of God's principles is that we are to keep watch for others and sound the alarm for approaching danger (Ezekiel 33:1-6): The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say to them: 'When I bring the sword against a land, and the people choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be own his own head. ...If he had taken the warning, he would have saved himself. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.'"

The Holy Bible notes there are five rewards (crowns) given in Heaven for believers. One of these rewards (crowns) is the Crown of Righteousness for the believer who has faith in and who desires the return of Jesus to take him or her home to Heaven (2 Timothy 4:8): Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will reward to me on that day— and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

There is a blessing for anyone who reads and accepts the prophecy in Revelation— The Apocalypse in the Catholic Bible version (Revelation 1:3): Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

There is also a horrible penalty for anyone who fails to accept in its entirety or attempts to alter the prophecy in Revelation (Revelation 22:18-19): I warn everyone who hears the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. EXPLANATION: Tree of life: since this tree grows in Heaven, this is another way of saying such a person may lose his or her place in Heaven. Holy city is New Jerusalem, or Heaven, which descends to Earth after the Millennial Kingdom to be inhabited by God and believers, who live together for eternity.

You should study prophecy for at least the following reasons:

  1. Prepare yourself to meet Jesus in the clouds when He returns (the Rapture). When the Rapture occurs, the Dispensation of Grace offered to you by God ends immediately— "in the twinkling of an eye." You must be prepared for your judgment, by accepting Jesus fully as your Savior and by seeking God's forgiveness of your sins.

  2. Become a watchman for the return of Jesus, in order that you may "sound the trumpet" and warn others of Jesus' return. Jesus warned (Matthew 24:37-39) that when He returns, the people of the world will not be ready for Him— as were the people in Noah's time not ready for the flood, and they perished in the flood waters. Jesus also warned (John 4:35-36) that the earth is like a field full of ripe grain (lost persons), and believers— including you— must try to save as many perishing souls as possible while there is yet still time.

  3. Study the prophecies for past generations, and marvel at how they were all fulfilled exactly as promised by God. Your faith in the inerrant accuracy of The Holy Bible and your faith in a just, all-powerful God will be strengthened. By understanding that God has faithfully fulfilled earlier prophecies, you can have faith that God will fulfill future prophecies.

  4. Receive a blessing by studying and believing Bible prophecy. Approximately twenty-seven percent of the verses of The Holy Bible relate to prophecy, and many of these verses concern the end of the age (this very time in history). This time is so special to God because soon Satan will be defeated and the struggle between the good of God and the evil of Satan will end forever. There is a blessing promised in The Holy Bible for any believer who reads, studies, teaches, and believes prophecy.

  5. Earn the Crown of Righteousness by longing and watching for Jesus' return. Jesus told us to lay up treasures in Heaven for our eternal life. You can earn treasures only for what you accomplish for God while you live on this Earth. Treasures are earned for faith in God and doing good for others for no reason other than you love God and your neighbor. Of five specific rewards (crowns) mentioned in The Holy Bible, one of them is the Crown of Righteousness given to believers who long and watch for the return of Jesus and who tell others about His return.

Revelation 22:20: He [Jesus] who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.


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FUTURE EVENTS

I summarize some of the Holy Bible's outline of mankind's future, as I understand these holy words.

I will not attempt to include all supporting Bible references in this brief summary (recall: twenty-eight percent of the Bible is prophecy). Many pertinent Scriptures are included elsewhere in this Website. If you cannot locate supporting Scriptures, e-mail your question to me, and I will try to provide a helpful answer.

NOTE THIS:

In Jesus' teaching of the Parable of the Fig Tree (Matthew 24:32-35; Mark 13:28-31; Luke 21:29-33), He said that the generation which sees all of the things He mentioned in these chapters occurring at the same time will not pass away (die) until His return. Most Bible scholars believe the countdown for His return began some time during the interval between 1948 (the Jews' return to Israel) and 1967 (the re-claiming by the Jews of God's Holy City, Jerusalem). The end-time prophecy countdown could not occur until the Jews returned the final tome to the land promised to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus promised to return during the lifetime of at least some of the people who witnessed these events.

This prophecy involves more than an agricultural observation of growing figs. Two trees were symbolic of Israel— the olive and the fig tree. When did the fig tree of Israel bud? In May, 1948, when Jews returned to Israel from all parts of the world, after nearly 1900 years in worldwide dispersal (the Diaspora). Summer is the season of harvest. The budding of the fig tree of Israel would soon be followed by the summer— the harvest of souls gained by the spread of the Gospel and other evangelical efforts of the Christian church. The harvest will occur at the Resurrection/ Rapture, when Jesus returns in the clouds to gather the saints of His church to be with Him forever in New Jerusalem (Heaven)

All prophecy that must be fulfilled before Jesus' return has been sufficiently fulfilled for the Resurrection/ Rapture to occur. Jesus may return for His believers at any moment— possibly even today.

Are you ready to face God? Are your family and friends ready to face God? Are your sins forgiven? Do you need to work harder for God's Kingdom? Do you need to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Today is a good day to start preparing yourself to meet God. You may not have a tomorrow.

PRESENT AND FUTURE HISTORY OF MANKIND

PRESENT TIME:

This time period extends from this moment until the time when Jesus appears in the clouds, with the sound of the trumpet of God and the command, "Come up here!" (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). In that "twinkling of an eye," those who believe in Jesus as Savior will rise from death (resurrection) or be translated, or snatched away (rapture), so that all may meet Him to begin an eternal life of joy and reward in Heaven.

Only those who have accepted God's grace— through belief in Jesus as Savior, acceptance of His blood sacrifice for their sins, and whose sins have been forgiven— will be resurrected or raptired. These believers, who have their names written in the Lamb's Book of Life, need not worry about the future. Their futures are secure and beautiful beyond imagination. Learn more about salvation and eternal security through acceptance of God's loving grace for you from a companion site I have posted.

Tell others about God's grace. According to Jesus' Parable of the Fig Tree (mentioned above), the time for salvation and repentance may be drawing very near. There is no time to lose. Work to take family and friends with you to Heaven, by sharing the Gospel.

BELIEVERS' RESURRECTION AND RAPTURE:

Jesus will return in the sky in a cloud (a cloud of angels?). In "the twinkling of an eye," those who have died believing in Him as Savior will be resurrected to life, and those who are living and believe in Him will be snatched away (raptured) to meet Him in the sky. Both groups will then travel with Jesus to prepare for eternity in Heaven. All persons will be given immortal bodies— bodies which will never age, harbor disease, or have any sad memories.

FATE OF NON-BELIEVERS:

Persons who have rejected God's grace (who have rejected Jesus as Savior and rejected His sacrifice for their sins) will remain on Earth. They will face various wars, deprivations, death, persecution, and other horrors of a seven-year period— the Tribulation— which Jesus warned will be the worst period in the history of the Earth.

END-TIME WARS:

The Bible foretells several horrific end-time wars. Near the time of the Rapture will probably come two events: the destruction of Damascus (Isaiah, chapter 17) and the Battle of Gog and Magog (Ezekiel, chapter 38 and 39). In the Battle of Gog and Magog, Russia and her Arab-Muslim confederates will invade Israel in overwhelming force, but God will deliver Israel from defeat. During the Tribulation, nations will wage war against each other (represented by the Second Seal Judgment of Revelation, chapter 6, with its horseman who rides on a fiery red horse, armed with a large sword [nuclear weapons] by which hundreds of millions of people are killed). Armed forces of the world will invade Israel in great force. In the Middle East and throughout the world, horrific wars will rage, culminating in the Battle of Armageddon which Jesus Christ will stop with His Second Coming.

THE TRIBULATION:

The Tribulation will last exactly seven years, and will occur after the Rapture and immediately before the Second Coming of Jesus.

FATE OF SAVED PERSONS DURING THE TRIBULATION:

Saved persons (saints) will be in Paradise ("the Father's house") with Jesus. They will participate in two events:

  • The Bema Judgment: Each believer will appear before the Bema (Judgment Seat) of Christ, to be judged for his or her service to others during life on Earth. At this judgment, the believer will receive rewards for "good fruit" (good works, deeds) and no rewards for "bad fruit" (bad or absent works, deeds). Believers will place crowns they have earned in life before Jesus in praise, adoration, and thanksgiving.
  • Marriage to, Marriage Supper of the Lamb: Each believer's robe stained with sins of life will be washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, to remove such stain and to be clothed as a bride suitable for the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ's "bride" is the Body of believers in Him (the Christian Church). Patterned after the First Century Jewish wedding, our Bridegroom (Jesus) will consummate the marriage by drinking wine with His bride (the Church) at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. From this moment, believers will be joined spiritually with Jesus, as though married, for eternity. Jesus did not drink the fourth cup at the last Passover meal He observed with His disciples, stating He would not drink again from the fruit of the vine until He drank it with us in His Father's house. The last Passover meal ("the Lord's Supper") will now be complete. Jesus died for three reasons, as prophesied in Isaiah, chapter 53. He died to heal the mind, body, and spirit (soul) of every believer. Because illness and sin continued after His crucifixion, His sacrifice has been incomplete, but it will be complete in Heaven because there will be no more mental illness, physical illness, or sin for believers in eternity.

FATE OF UNSAVED PERSONS DURING THE TRIBULATION: Non-believers will live in "hell on Earth" during the Tribulation. They will partipiate in the following:

Evil governments: The unholy trinity— Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet— will rule much of the Earth. Persecution (especially of Jews and newly converted Christians) will flourish. Citizens will be required to take the "mark of the Beast." Any citizen refusing this mark will be excluded from all benefits of society (buying or selling anything, for example) and possibly will be executed. However, any citizen who takes the mark will be doomed to eternity in Hell.

Evangelism: God will never leave mankind without hope. He will raise up 144,000 Jewish evangelists and will send back Two Witnesses from ancient times (Elijah? Enoch? Moses?). Their efforts will result in millions of persons accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (Tribulation-converted saints), but these saints will be beheaded as soon as they are identified by the Antichrist's government.

God's judgments: God will unleash twenty-one judgments (seven Seal, seven Trumpet, and seven Bowl Judgments) on Earth to attempt to bring sinful man to Him.

Wars: Armies from the four corners of the Earth will engage in worldwide war, marching into Israel for the final battle (Armageddon). A large proportion of the Earth's population will die from the wars and judgments they must endure. One of the armies (the Kings of the East) will field a 200-million man army.

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST:

Jesus' First Coming was two-thousand years ago, when He came as a meek, suffering Messiah to become our sacrificial Lamb. Jesus' Second Coming will occur after the Rapture (immediately seven years after the Tribulation commences). Jesus will come then as Ruler, Judge, and King— the roaring Lion of Judah.

Triumph of good, defeat of evil: Jesus' followers (those who believed in and followed Him on Earth) and angels will form a mighty army, descending on the Mount of Olives at Jerusalem to participate in His victory over Satan. The Antichrist and the False Prophet will be captured and cast alive into the Lake of Fire (Hell). Satan will be bound and thrown into the Abyss, an inescapable pit between Hades and Paradise. The armies which meet at Armageddon and attempt to prevent Jesus' return will be cast alive into the Lake of Fire (Hell).

Judgment of the nations: Jesus will judge the nations (the people of the nations) to separate "goats" (evil persons who have mistreated Jews and Christians during the Tribulation) from "sheep" (good persons who have not mistreated Jews and Christians). The "goats" will be thrown into Hell, whereas the "sheep" will be allowed to enter the Millennial Kingdom.

THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM:

Jesus Christ will rule the world for one-thousand years. With Satan bound in the Abyss, this millennium will be a time when Earth's residents enjoy unprecedented peace and long life.

Resurrected/ raptured believers will assist Jesus in the rule of the Millennial Kingdom. These believers will not marry and reproduce because they have transformed, eternal bodies and will have no need to reproduce.

Those found worthy at the judgment of nations (the "sheep" in Jesus' Parable of the Sheep and Goats) will marry and reproduce. They will be subject to Satan's final temptation.

At the end of the Millennial Kingdom, Satan will be loosed and allowed to leave the Abyss to enter Earth "for a short time" to tempt man one last time. Incredibly, millions of men and women who have known the peace of the Millennial Kingdom under Jesus' rule will succumb to Satan's temptation. They will be punished for eternity in Hell because of their rebellion. Those who do not sin under Satan's temptation will be admitted to Heaven.

THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT OF GOD:

This judgment, which occurs at the end of the Millennial Kingdom, is reserved for sinners of all time who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and who have not repented of their sins. No one who has accepted Jesus— that is, no person who has his or her name written in the Lamb's Book of Life— will appear at this judgment. There is only one outcome of this judgment— the person appearing there will be sentenced to an eternity of torment in the Lake of Fire (Hell).

NOTE: God does not decide whether a person spends eternity in Heaven or Hell. Each person makes his or her own decision in life by whether he or she accepts or rejects God's offer of eternal life in Heaven (accepts or rejects God's grace: salvation through belief in Jesus as Savior and His sacrifice for forgiveness of sin). If you have not made the decision to spend eternity in Heaven, you still have time. You can make that decision today. Come home to the Father's house. He is waiting for you. How? GO TO this site to learn more about salvation.

ETERNITY:

All persons will live forever, either in Heaven or in Hell.

HEAVEN (NEW JERUSALEM): God will cleanse the Earth of all reminders of unrighteousness by intense fire. New Jerusalem (Heaven) will then descend to Earth. The Apostle John was granted a glimpse of this magnificent city built for believers. He wrote about what he was allowed to see of Heaven in Revelation, chapters 21 and 22. All persons who have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior will spend eternity in Heaven with God, Jesus, the angels, and fellow believers.

Jesus' sacrifice on the cross will be completed in Heaven. He died for three reasons, but we have not yet tasted the fullness of His sacrifice for us:

  • Jesus was crucified for our minds, but we will be completely free of sadness, bitterness, and negative thoughts only when we are in Heaven.
  • Jesus was crucified for our bodies, but we will be completely free of illness and death only when we are in Heaven.
  • Jesus was crucified for our souls, but we will be completely free of sin only when we are in Heaven.

Make certain you spend eternity in Heaven! No earthly experience can ever prepare you for the beauty, wonders, joy, and magnificence promised for you for eternity in Heaven!

LAKE OF FIRE (HELL): Hell will be the exact opposite of Heaven— as horrible as Heaven is wonderful. Unrepentant, rebellious sinners will spend eternity in torment and remorse over their failure to accept God's gift. Described as a lake of fire, Hell will be populated not only by sinners, but by Satan and the fallen angels who followed him.

Make certain you avoid spending eternity in Hell! No earthly experience can ever prepare you for the torment, suffering, and regret promised for you for eternity in Hell!


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Laughter is the best medicine. — Old proverb, author unknown.
Since so much of the news is bad, enjoy this lighthearted summary of recent news reports. Source: NewsBusters.
For more serious news, GO TO the breaking news page of this Website.

REFERENCE ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

The "NIV" and "New International Version" trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of the International Bible Society.

All quotations from The Holy Bible are written in red.

All quotations from the Koran are written in green.


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WHAT IS THE DAY AND HOUR OF YOUR ENCOUNTER WITH GOD?

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Because you have learned about Jesus' imminent return, you are commanded to warn others of His return. TODAY COULD BE THE DAY OF JESUS' RETURN OR OF YOUR PHYSICAL DEATH, AND AT THAT MOMENT YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE GOD WILL END. TODAY IS YOUR DAY TO BEGIN SERVING HIM!

Read Ezekiel 33:1-6. Become one of God's watchmen on the walls. The sword of the end of grace, Tribulation, and Judgment are coming. Warn people of the impending end of the age, so that their blood will not be on your hands.

Man's time (GMT) is:

THIS MOMENT COULD BE THE HOUR OF JESUS' RETURN OR OF YOUR PHYSICAL DEATH, AND AT THAT MOMENT YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE GOD WILL END. THIS MOMENT IS YOUR HOUR TO BEGIN SERVING HIM!

Read Matthew 24:36, 42-44. Jesus will return on a day and hour unknown to you. Man's time for you will cease "in the twinkling of an eye." Your sins for which you must account to God and your opportunities to serve the Master will be instantly sealed. You will be, then, on God's eternal time. Are you, your family, and your neighbors ready for the return of Jesus? Is this moment a good time to repent of your sins? Is this a good time to start working for the Kingdom? God's clock is ticking second by second toward your encounter with Him, and this encounter may be very soon.

May God bless you!

Revelation 22:20: He [Jesus] who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Isaac Newton: "About the time of the end, a body of men will be raised up, who will turn their attention to the prophecies, in the midst of much clamor and opposition."

MARANATHA!

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God has written His plan for man in The Holy Bible, and this plan draws to its conclusion as proven by daily news reports.