In the news today we see that Morocco has become the fourth Arab country to normalize relations with Israel this year. In return, the U.S. has recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region. President Trump announced that the two nations would restore diplomatic relations, and eventually open embassies. Much of the motivation for the Abraham Pact is to counter the influence of Iran in the Middle East and stifle the radicle Muslim movement.
Some of my friends have asked me if the Abraham Pact could be the famous "Holy Covenant" spoken of by Daniel in his prophecies. In Daniel 9:27 we see that the Antichrist "will confirm the covenant with many for seven years." But half way through the seven year period, he will break the covenant, stop the daily sacrifice and place the abomination of desolations in the holy place.[Daniel 9:27, 11:31]
In Daniel 11:30, we read that "the ships of Chittum (which is Cyprus where Nato has a naval port) shall come against him (the Antichrist): therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant." We see the "holy covenant," or sometimes called the "Peace Pact," is at the center of the prophecies about the last days.
The next verse continues with, "And arms (military might) shall stand on his part (on part of the Antichrist), and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate." We know that the placing of the abomination takes place at the half way mark of the seven year period because in Daniel 9:27 it says "in the midst of the week" or the seven year period.
Whatever the abomination of desolations is we don't know for sure and many have speculated on its significance. In Revelation 13:15 we see that the False Prophet makes an Image of the Beast. What exactly it is we do not know. But the prophecy says, "And he (the False Prophet) had power to give life to the Image of the Beast, that the Image of the Beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the Image of the Beast should be killed."
Some speculate that the Image of the Beast may be some super computer or artificial intelligence that all mankind is connected to through some type of biometric technology like a computer chip implant, or an invisible tatoo, or special vaccine. Through the connection that humanity has with the super computer, somehow the Artificial Intelligence will be able to kill those who do not worship the Image of the Beast.
Perhaps those that accept the Mark of the Beast will be connected to the Image of the Beast. Those who do not accept the Mark, whether it is a computer chip implant, or tatoo, or vaccine or some other newly invented technology, will be considered enemies of the state and will be hunted down like terrorists or dangerous criminals.A simple scanning device would be able to indicate whether a person has the biometric technology and thus, those who do not have one would be easily identified.
Jesus in His famous endtime prophecy told His disciples that the placing of the Abomination of Desolations in the holy place was the sign to look for as the beginning of the great tribulation. We find His words in Matthew 24:15 which connect down to verse 21 which says, "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to that time, no, nor ever shall be."
Jesus goes on to say, "And except those days be shortened, there should no flesh be saved...." Does that mean that mankind would annililate itself if the Lord did not shorten the time of the tribulation period? Some prophecies scholars think that indeed is the meaning. Jesus goes on to finish with, "but for the elect's sake (those that don't take the Mark of the Beast and do not worship the Image of the Beast, but who love and follow Jesus) those days shall be shortened."
From the prophecies in Daniel and Revelation we know that the tribulation period will be three and a half years, or forty-two months, or 1260 days. Various times in both prophecy books the three and a half year figure is used, sometimes it is expressed as "times" (2). "time" (1), and "half a time" (1/2). God has repeated the number so that we will not forget and will be able to take heart and endure until the end.
Because, "immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give its light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." That's from Matthew 24:29-30. We see Jesus coming back "immediately after the tribulation of those days," not before. Let's see what happens next.
"And He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Matthew 24:31 is none other than the famous "Rapture" event. But contrary to popular American Evangelical doctrine, we see the Rapture taking place after the tribulation period. Did you notice the angels and the sounding trumpet? Where else in Scripture do we find that same imagery? Let's look at Apostle Paul's letter to the Thessalonians.
Paul writes, "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which have died, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which have died in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall not precede them which have died."[1 Thessalonians 4:13-15]
Paul continues, "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words."[1 Thessalonians 4:16-18]
Paul tells us to comfort one another with these words during the time of tribulation, that we remember that the Rapture event is coming soon and therefore we need to endure and not faint in our minds and give in to the forces of Antichrist.
Did you notice the trumpet and the angel in Paul's description of the Rapture event which parallels Jesus's description in Matthew 24 of the same event? No secret Rapture is found in the Scriptures. Only one Rapture is spoken of and that in Jesus's own words takes place "immediately after the tribulation of those days."Shall we take another look at the Rapture event found in Paul's writtings? Let's go over to 1st Corinthians 15 where Paul talks about our new spiritual bodies.
"Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all be dead, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump," again we see Paul's talking about a trumpet sounding. "For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." It's intersting that Paul mentions that it's the "last trump." Where else in the Scriptures do we find trumpets sounding? None other in the book of Revelation where it talks about the "seven trumpets" of tribulation.
In chapter eight of Revelation we find the seven trumpets preparing to sound. I will call them the tribulation trumpets because I believe these trumpets occur during the "great tribulation" spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 24:21. In chapter seven of Revelation we see that an important angel cries out, "Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads."[7:3] The people of God are sealed or marked with a special mark or seal before the terrible tribulation "trumpets" which are to follow begin to fall.
Have we ever seen such an occurence previously in the Scriptures? Yes, we have. In Ezekiel chapter nine we are given a look into the heavenly council where the Lord is ordering an angel to go through Jerusalem before its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar "and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof."[9:4] God is ordering that those people who were not in agreement with the evil that was being done in Jerusalem would be saved at the time of Jerusalem's destruction.
How exactly it was done we do not know. Some how God's people were marked by the angel and then when Nebuchadnezzar came through those people were saved during the slaving of the citizens of Jerusalem. In fact, in the imagery, it is other angels that accompany Nebuchadnezzar's forces in the slaving of the guilty. God has a way to protect His people, those that love and obey Him, even in the most difficult situations. In Revelation we see something similar. God's people are sealed before the horrendous trumpets begin to sound.
In chapter eight of Revelation we find the first four trumpets sounding. With the first trumpet a third part of the trees and green grass on the earth is burnt up. The second trumpet causes a third part of the sea to become blood, and a third part of the sea creature to die, while a third part of the ships are destroyed. The third trumpet seems to be an astroid falling to the earth and causing a third part of the fresh water rivers to become polluted and become undrinkable.
Finally, the fourth trumpet sounds "and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise."[8:12] We are not sure exactly what Apostle John means. Some scholars believe that perhaps the darkening of the sun, stars, and moon could be the affect of nuclear fallout covering the sky and preventing the normal shining of those celestial bodies.
Revelation chapter nine we find the next two trumpets of tribulation. Remember, the plagues are falling on a world under control by an Antichrist world government. The plagues are not falling on God's people, but on the wicked, or unbelievers who are following the Antichrist world government. If you remember, when Moses was in Egypt, the plagues fell on the Egyptians, not in the land of Goshen were the Israelites lived. God is using to plagues to try to bring the unbeliever back to Him.
Under the Antichrist world government men are being forced to accept the Mark of the Beast or be killed. The Antichrist has a firm hand over things and aims to persecute and eliminate God's people as they refuse to submit to his ungodly ways and laws. God is pouring out the judgments of the tribulation trumpets to try and help the ungodly change from their wicked ways and return to the Lord. The Lord has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but wishes that all men change and mend their ways and come unto Him.
The fifth angel sounds the fifth trumpet and some sort of locusts come out of a devastating smoke that darkens the sun and the air. These locusts don't go and eat the grass, but attack those people who do not have the seal of God in their foreheads. It reminds me of how God sent hornets into Palestine before the Jews arrived to scare out the gentile people who were living there. The locust torment men for five months and their sting was like a scorpion sting.
The Bible tells us that "in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; they shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them."[9:6] Some of the other magery of the "locusts" suggest they may in fact be drones or some sort of modern day military equipment. Whatever they are "their power was to hurt men five months."[9:10]
The sixth trumpet is the most gruesome of all. Again the imagery suggests military armament and "by these was the third part of men killed, by fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths."[9:18] A third part of humanity would be some 3 billion people, if that is what it's referring to. Could Apostle John be visioning the affects of nuclear war?
We only have one trumpet left. Each trumpet we have seen so far has been worse than the one it preceded. What could the seventh trumpet bring, the last trumpet? Didn't Apostle Paul say something about the "last trump?" Yes, back in 1st Corinthians 15:51-52 when he was talking about the Rapture event, he said, "Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep (as in death), but we shall all be changed (he had been talking about the difference between the physical and the spiritual body), in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
Did you notice his wording? "I will show you a mystery at the last trump, when the trumpet sounds, we shall be changed." In other words, here is the Rature event at the last trumpet. In 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17, Apostle Paul uses the same imagery. Talking about the coming of the Lord and the Rapture event he writes, "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words."
We have no doubt that Apostle Paul was talking about the same event in the two different epistles. Now, let's remember the words "mystery" and "last trump" as we read about the next trumpet in Revelation chapter ten. Remember, up until this point each tribulation trumpet seems to get worse than the one preceding it. The sixth trumpet may be forecasting the death of a third of humanity. What could the seventh trumpet bring?
Strangely enough, the tone in the tenth chapter of Revelation is totally differnt from that of the two preceding chapters. We see an angel with a rainbow on his head. Where did we see a rainbow before in the Scriptures? Ah, yes, in the book of Genesis, after the Great Flood. God put a rainbow in the sky and promised to Noah and mankind that he would not judge the world with a flood again. The rainbow was a sign of God's blessing on Noah and his descendants.[Genesis 9:9-17]
The angel with the rainbow upon his head, (remember a rainbow is a good sign), begins to cry out with a loud voice. Apostle John begins to write what he heard, when a voice from heaven says, "Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not."[10:4] Then comes some of the most amazing verses in the whole section about the seven trumpets. Let's read them.
"And the angel, which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that lives for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer."[10:5-6] The angel lifts up his hands and swares by Jesus by whom all things were created, that there should be time no longer. Wow, what on earth does that mean? Is God going to break forth from the Heavenly dimension where time as we know it does not exist? Let's keep reading.
"But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he has declared to his servants the prophets."[10:7] Amazing! Do you see those words we were to remember: the "last trump" and "mystery?" We don't see the words "last trump," but the seventh angel should have had the seventh trumpet. The seventh trumpet is indeed the last trumpet. Instead of bringing further destruction and plague on mankind kind like the previous trumpets, the seventh trumpet is something different, something special. Apostle John is not allowed to tell us its significance. But Apostle Paul has already given us the clues.
The seventh trumpet, the last trumpet, is the mystery of God that Apostle Paul gave us a sneak preview back in 1st Corinthians 15:51-52 and which he wrote about in 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17. The seventh trump is in fact the Rapture event which Apostle John was not allowed to write about, but which is none the less hidden in the Scriptures for those who will search diligently. Remember the Bereraians who "searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." [Acts 17:11]
The Rapture event had been spoken of by the prophets of old. In Job we read, "If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come."[Job 14:14] Job, written around the period of Abraham 2000 years before the time of Christ, talks about the "change" like Apostle Paul wrote. Job even has something more shocking to say. Let's read on.
"For I know that my redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me."[Job 19:25-27] Job testifying to the coming of the Redeemer at the latter day promised by God to Adam and Eve in the Garden. Job testifying in his hope in the resurrection.
But, we've gone on quite a bit. You have seen that the Bible is indeed a marvelous book, a fascinating book filled with both terifying future events and wonderful extraordinary promises. It behooves us to study it carefully as one would study for a final exams. God even promises a blessing to all those that read, hear, and keep those things written in the book of Revelation, "for the time is at hand."[Revelation 1:3]
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