How Short is Shortened? - The Secret! Chapter 50

How Short is Shortened? – The Secret!

Dennis Edwards

In the last chapter I mentioned that Jesus has shortened the days of Tribulation to 3 and ½ years. How do we know that? What about the secret rapture? 

Isn’t there a secret rapture for the saved Christians sometimes during or at the beginning of the Tribulation before it really gets bad? Isn’t that what Jesus meant when he said he was going to shorten the days of Tribulation? God wouldn’t let us suffer, would He?

Well, let’s read what Apostle Peter wrote about suffering.

If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.[1] Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator.[2]

So as Christians, suffering should not be something we are not prepared for. Apostle Paul said,

All that live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.[3]

Jesus Himself said,

If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.[4]

If we are not prepared to suffer for our faith, what kind of believers are we?

(In the above chart the bottom purple arrow with "7-Year Tribulation! should read "Last 7 Years." The tribulation according to Matthew 24:15&21 and Daniel 9:27 starts in the middle of the last 7-year period, or as written in Daniel "in the midst of the week." The week is actually translated from the Hebrew word for seven. Genesis 29:18&27-28 show that the word "week" is used to mean a 7-year period.) 

Now let’s get back to the shortened days. Yes, Jesus said He would shorten the days of Tribulation and He has. He has shortened them and He has let us know in His revelation to John in the book of Revelation that the Great Tribulation period will be 3 and ½ years. How do we know this? The prophecies in Revelation show us that the Tribulation period will be 3 and ½ years. Five times 3 and ½ years, or its equivalent, is mentioned in Jesus’ prophecy to Apostle John within a three chapter spread.

1. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they (the Antichrist forces) tread under foot forty and two months. (3 and ½ years)[5]

In the above verse in Revelation 11 we see that the Antichrist forces will be in control for 42 months.

2. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. (3 and ½ years)[6]

Here we see that the two end-time witnesses will prophesize for 1260 days against the Antichrist world government.

3. And the woman (the church in Tribulation) fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. (3 and ½ years)[7]

4. And when the dragon (the devil) saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman (the church) which brought forth the man child. And to the woman (the church) were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time (1), and times (2), and half a time (½), from the face of the serpent. (3 and ½ years)[8]

The above verses from Revelation 12 show the persecution of God’s people during the Tribulation period will be for 1260 days, or time, times, and half a time; which is again the 3 and ½ year period. Notice that the Jews had a 360-day year based on 12 lunar months, each month having between 29-30 days. They added extra days periodically to realign the lunar-year with the solar-year.

5. And there was given unto him (the Antichrist) a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given him to continue forty and two months. (3 and ½ years) ... And it was given unto him (the Antichrist) to make war with the saints (God’s people, the church), and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.[9]

Revelation 13 is from the perspective of the Antichrist government which implements the computer-chip implant and enforces its dictates over the world and God’s people for 42 months.

In all the verses mentioned above the numbers are equivalent to 3 and ½ years, therefore we know the Great Tribulation will be 3 and ½ years long. Each time Jesus is talking about the same time period, the Great Tribulation, from a slightly different viewpoint.

In conclusion we see that Revelation 11, 12, and 13 are all talking about the same events, but each from a slightly different perspective. They are not in chronological order. They are the same event from different perspectives. The 3 and ½ year period is repeated by Jesus over and over again because He doesn’t want us to miss it. He wants us to get the point. The prophecies of Daniel even confirm and reinforce this viewpoint where we see the Antichrist persecuting God’s people for the same 3 and ½ year period.

And he (the Antichrist) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints (the church in Tribulation) of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they (God’s people, the church in Tribulation) shall be given into his (the Antichrist’s) hand until a time (1) and times (2) and the dividing of time (½). (3 and ½ years)[10]

The following verses show the persecution element like we find in Revelation and elsewhere.

And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (the Antichrist) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power (Satan’s power): and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty (the USA?) and the holy people (God’s people in Tribulation).[11]

In Daniel 12 we see the Great Tribulation period mentioned along with 3 and ½ years.

And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time (the Great Tribulation): and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.[12] (The second part of the verse is an illusion to the rapture which will happen soon afterwards when the Great Tribulation is over.)

(Please ignore the purple arrow with "7 Year Tribulation." As noted earlier it should read "Last 7 Years." At  the end of the tribulation, before the Millennium starts, we will have the 75 days of the Wrath of God. It is not included on the chart.) 

And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and swore by him that lives for ever that it shall be for a time (1), times (2) and an half (½); and when he (the Antichrist) shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. (3 and ½ years)[13]

I am sorry, I don’t want to get too deeply into this subject at the moment. I have already given you quite a bit to think about and study. In the sequel to this book we can look at this period in more detail. But because some churches are teaching the idea that Christ will shortened the days of Tribulation and will secretly rapture the believing Christians out before the really bad stuff happens, I have had to clarify this point.

NO! A shortening of the days cannot be confirmed by scriptural. It’s a false idea. It’s wishful thinking and is contrary to the overall picture presented by Christ and his disciples in the New Testament and in the prophecies of Daniel and other prophets in the Old Testament. The shortened days are the 3 and ½ year period mentioned over and over again in the scripture. The truth is that there is no secret rapture. That’s the secret.

Here’s a very brief outline. The first stage is the period of the “signs of the times” which Jesus, Paul, John and Peter talked of before the rising of the Antichrist. Many of these prophecies have been fulfilled or are being further fulfilled in today’s world.

The second stage is the rise of the Antichrist and the one-world government coming peaceably into power. It may be that an intermediate stage consists of a banking or economic crash that ushers in the one-world government, or accelerates its implementation.

At some point, the third stage, Antichrist will confirm a seven year agreement with many, called in the scripture the Holy Covenant. It may have to do with the Middle East Crisis as many Bible scholars believe it will give the Jewish nation the permission to build the Third Temple on the Temple Mount which we have talked about earlier. The Temple Institute in Jerusalem is preparing for such an event. With the building of the Temple, the Jews will renew prayer and sacrificial worship on the Temple Mount, something they have not done since 70 AD, almost 1950 years ago.

Now we will look at a prophecy from Daniel 8 about the length of the period of Jewish sacrificial worship together with the period of the Great Tribulation.

Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spoke, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation (the Great Tribulation), to give both, the sanctuary and the host (God’s people, the church of true believers) to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.[14]

In the above prophecy of Daniel we learn that the period of prayer and sacrifice plus the period of the “transgressions of desolation,” or what Jesus referred to as the Great Tribulation period, will together be a total of two thousand and three hundred days. 

We know that the tribulation period will be only one thousand two hundred and sixty days, as we have seen in the five references in Revelation. Therefore, all we need to do is subtract the 1260 days from the 2300 days to find out how many days of prayer and sacrifice will take place. The 1040 day figure we arrive at is the period of prayer and sacrifice by the Jewish and other religious officials on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. These prayers and sacrifices take place before the Tribulation and start some 220 days after the Holy Covenant has been signed. The tribulation starts when the Antichrist breaks the covenant and stops the religious service in Jerusalem and declares himself world dictator. 

(Since writing the above some years ago, I have seen that Daniel 12:11 indicates that the abomination of desolation shall stand for 1,290 days, 30 days longer than the tribulation period. That could mean that that the abomination stays in the Holy Place until Jesus comes back in the Battle of Armageddon found in Revelation 19 some 30 days after the Rapture. That could indicate that during that 30 period, the raptured saints are enjoying the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and receiving their rewards before returning with Christ in that supernatural battle.)

I will go over it once again. The covenant is signed giving the Israelis permission to rebuild their Temple on the Temple Mount. The rebuilding takes them some 220-250 days or little more than seven or eight months to get done as much has been already prepared for by the Temple Institute and possibly the Israeli government. However, if the Temple isn’t finished, the sacrifice will start anyway, perhaps in some sort of tent, like the Jewish people did before the first Temple was built. The sacrifice and prayers will be performed for 1040 days. Then the Antichrist will stop the sacrifice and prayers and stand in the Temple declaring himself authoritarian world ruler. This is the sign that the Great Tribulation has begun and will happen in the middle of the seven-year peace covenant which is the “midst of the week” spoken of by Daniel the prophet. (If we use the 1,290 days instead of 1,260 days as I did when I wrote this post, we would come up with 250 days for rebuilding and 1,010 days for the sacrifice.)

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate.[15]

The word “week” in the above verse comes from the Hebrew word “shabuah” which means seven. It is used in Genesis in the history of Jacob with his father-in-law Laban.[16] Jacob wants to marry Laban’s beautiful younger daughter Rachel and agrees to work seven years as dowry payment. However, the night of the marriage, his father-in-law Laban, unbeknownst to Jacob, gives him his older daughter Leah instead. Jacob wakes up in the morning and lo and behold he’s been sleeping with the wrong woman. His father-in-law assures him that giving away the youngest daughter before the oldest is against the custom of his culture. If Jacob works another seven years for the younger daughter, he can have her also:

Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve me yet seven other years. [17]

The King James translators show here that the word translated as “week” is actually signifying a seven year period.

Resuming again we see that at the midst of the seven-year period, the Antichrist breaks the covenant or peace agreement and tries to initiate a totalitarian world government with himself as ruler. 

The covenant, which he initiated and signed some 3 and ½ years earlier, seems to give the Israeli nation permission to rebuild their Temple on the Temple Mount. At the signing of the Covenant, the Antichrist may already be President of a cooperative One-World government, as he is already a person of authority. In Revelation 17 we see that there are ten political leaders or nations or regions who give their allegiance to the beast, who is the Antichrist.

The ten horns which thou saw are ten kings,…These have one mind, and give their power and strength unto the beast.[18]

We know these “nations” will cooperate with the Antichrist to “make war with the Lamb.”[19] Since the Christians are the people of the Lamb, they are the ones who the Antichrist makes war against. We have seen this over and over again in the Bible verses we have looked at from both Revelation and Daniel. The beast and the ten nations or regions he controls will also

hate the whore,[20] that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth[21] and (together) burn her with fire.[22]

Could this be the destruction of America by some pre-emptive strike? It remains to be seen. But at present, America seems to fit the bill of Babylon the Whore better than any nation on the face of the earth, even though her influence has been worldwide.

When the Antichrist breaks the peace agreement or Holy Covenant, the Great Tribulation begins. In his breaking of the Covenant he has had to invade the Middle East which results in a major world war as the nations or regions of the world line up for or against him.

In the areas he controls, he initiates mandatory computer chip implants, or vaccines, or some new technology which enables him to monitor via 5G the whereabouts and identity of most of humanity, if not all. The technology is called "the mark of the beast" in the book of Revelation. At that point the Antichrist, like other demigods before him, will stop all religious worship other than worship of himself. 

He may very well use some type of explosive device like the Electromagnetic Pulse or EMP to put America out of action, as has recently been made popular in the book One Second After.[23] Those who refuse to accept the "mark of the beast" computer chip implant will be persecuted and considered enemies of the state, hunted down, captured, forced to accept the implant or be killed.

The Tribulation will last 1260 days, 42 months, or time, times and half a time; a 3 and ½ year period. The woman, the believing church of Revelation 12, tries to hide or escape to isolated areas to prevent capture and forced computer implants or death. The two end-time witnesses of Revelation 11 prophesize for the 1260 days of Tribulation and are finally killed at the very end in Jerusalem.[24] Their dead bodies are left unburied. But after 3 days and ½, they come back to life, stand upon their feet, and are raptured into heaven at the rapture event that Jesus promised.[25]

Remember, the rapture event will occur “immediately after the tribulation.”

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him (the rapture event), that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that day of Christ is at hand (or could happen at any moment or secretly).

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day (the rapture-our gathering together unto the Lord) shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition (the Antichrist); who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.[26]

Immediately after the Tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens 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. 

And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together (the rapture event using the same words Paul uses in 2Thessalonians 2) his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.[27]

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 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.[28]

Those waiting for a secret rapture will be sadly surprised. It will not happen. There is no secret rapture. Neither is there a rapture for the Christians before nor during the Tribulation and then a later one for the saved Jews after the Tribulation. There is only one rapture event at this time and it comes at the end of the Tribulation after the Antichrist has been revealed and has persecuted the saints for 42 months as Revelation 11, 12 and 13 indicate. The rapture is for all true believers in Jesus Christ whatever their former faith or lack of faith may have been.

So in conclusion, we see that the Antichrist will persecute God’s people and anyone else who refuses to cooperate with him for 3 and ½ years, the second half of the last seven years. Then, “immediately after the tribulation of those days,” the rapture event will take place.[29]

While God’s children will be enjoying the marriage supper of the Lamb in the spiritual dimension,[30] the thirty to seventy-five days of the wrath of God will be poured out on earth on the wicked in God’s attempt to bring them to change.[31] The wrath culminates at the Battle of Armageddon where the Antichrist and Satan will be defeated by Christ at his physical return.

And the beast (the Antichrist) was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.[32]

At that point Jesus will bring peace on earth for a thousand year period.

And he (the angel) laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.[33]

So, as you can see, as I have said before, Jesus’ promised return is the only hope for mankind today.

But, how can these things be? Didn’t Jesus say

that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.[34]

And Apostle Paul said,

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.[35]

Yes, it’s true, we do not know at this time the hour or the day. But when the time comes, if we are diligent servants, we will not be in darkness. We will know the times and the seasons. Paul reminds us right after the above verse:

For when they say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.[36]

Even when Jesus said that no one knew the hour or day, he followed with:

But as the days of Noah were, so shall also of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.[37]

The unbelieving world was caught unawares, while Noah knew what was about to happen and had prepared at God’s command a way of escape.

Knowing God’s will, found in His Word, can give us discernment and can enlighten our eyes. We no longer walk in darkness, but have the light of life. God’s Spirit will also lead us into all truth, just as He said it would.

We will take a more in depth look at the prophecies in Revelation and Daniel in the sequel to Where is America in Bible Prophecy?

To go to the previous chapter click HERE

To go to the next chapter click HERE

To go to the index of chapters for the book click HERE

Notes:

[1] 1Peter 4:14
[2] 1Peter 4:16-19
[3] 2Timothy 3:12
[4] John 15:20
[5] Revelation 11:2
[6] Revelation 11:3
[7] Revelation 12:6
[8] Revelation 12:13-14
[9] Revelation 13:5-7
[10] Daniel 7:25
[11] Daniel 8:23-24
[12] Daniel 12:1
[13] Daniel 12:13
[14] Daniel 8:13-14
[15] Daniel 9:27
[16] Genesis 29:16-30
[17] Genesis 29:27
[18] Revelation 17:11-12
[19] Revelation 17:14
[20] Revelation 17:16
[21] Revelation 17:18
[22] Revelation 17:16
[23] W. R. Forstchen, One Second After, Tom Doherty Ass., NY, 2009.
[24] Revelation 11:8
[25] Revelation 11:11-12
[26] 2Thessalonians 2:1-4
[27] Matthew 24:29-31
[28] 1Thessalonians 4:16-18
[29] Matthew 24:29
[30] Revelation 19:1-9
[31] Revelation 16:1-16
[32] Revelation 19:20
[33] Revelation 20:2-4
[34] Matthew 24:36
[35] 1Thessalonians 5:2
[36] 1Thessalonians 5:3-5
[37] Matthew 24:37-39

Read More

How My First Sales Job Traveling The World Changed My Career

Elaina Giolando, Fast Company, Jan. 12, 2017

It was a Friday morning and I happened to be drinking vodka.

I don’t even drink, but I’d just closed a deal with the CEO of a Mongolian hedge fund and he insisted on drinking shots to celebrate.

From his boardroom on the twelfth floor, I could see the frozen streets of Ulaanbaatar below, a foreboding reminder that I still had the rest of winter in the world’s coldest capital city to suffer through, not to mention a half-million dollar target to hit.

But hey, I was 24, working in one of the world’s most interesting emerging markets, and gaining experience doing something my entry-level consulting position back in New York hadn’t prepared me to do: sell.

And not just sell to anyone, but sell to presidents, prime ministers, CEOs, and other intimidatingly influential personalities in every country where I was sent, from Nigeria to Qatar, South Africa to Turkey. I landed the gig through the simple magic of referrals–namely the “weak link” kind that research has shown to be the most powerful. A friend of a friend was in the same position and recommended me for an opening.

In just one week, I did a first-round interview, flew out to the company’s European headquarters for the final round, and received and accepted an offer on the spot. That may go against traditional career coach–issued advice, but it worked for me and I never regretted it. I flew straight home, quit my consulting job, and was off to my first assignment in Nigeria a few weeks later.

In my new role as country director for an international media company, I was in charge of selling advertising in promotional country reports that would be distributed by major media brands. And all the while, I had to manage a remote team of three, no matter where those sales duties took me.

For two years, I pitched in parliamentary palaces, climbed 10 stories in Ethiopian office buildings with no elevator, and drove to government offices halfway across countries I’d arrived in less than 48 hours before. I would fly from the Middle East to South America on the same day if we scored a half-hour slot with the governor of a central bank.

I signed contracts with farmers in warehouses in Paraguay and with CEOs in top-floor multinational headquarters in Johannesburg. The contrasts of these experiences kept me on my toes. I learned to strategize, pitch, negotiate, and close deals on five continents and in a handful of languages.

Some people say that everything is sales, and I’ve reluctantly come to believe them.

In February 2015, the Wall Street Journal reported that the youngest members of the workforce are hesitating to take sales jobs, and a Forbes contributor agreed, arguing the same year that companies needed to do a better job (ironically enough) of selling their sales positions to sales-shy millennials.

Here’s the thing, though: Selling is a universal skill, and it’s instrumental in every career. Personally, I couldn’t be happier that I took a couple of years early in my own career to pound the pavement and learn the ins and outs of sales. In the process, I single-handedly delivered over $1.5 million in revenue to my company in 27 months. Even if you aren’t in a sales role, you need to be able to interact with people you’ve never met before, learn what they need, and explain how you can help deliver it to them at a competitive price (ever been on a job interview?).

I learned directly from government officials and company executives about every imaginable industry, from stocks and steel to reinsurance and cement. I toured leather factories, soybean farms, and coffee plantations, learning to speak the language of my clients, whether that was investment banking or industrial agriculture. To this day, I’m one of the only people my age who I know has this depth or breadth of firsthand sales experience.

And it’s proved to be an asset, even outside of sales jobs. Since exiting that role in 2015, I’ve moved into an operations and project management position for a top tech company in Silicon Valley. I know I’m going to keep drawing on my experience as a young, globetrotting sales rep in the years ahead.

People in my former company have big personalities. Every one of us can walk into a boardroom of 10 executives in any foreign country on the planet and command the room in at least three different languages. We ooze confidence and enthusiasm for our product, the country we’re in, and the person in front of us. We know it’s not only what we say, but how we say it.

That job taught me to project confidence when I least felt like it, which has been a useful lesson for everything from assuming leadership on a new team to going on dates in New York. The more confidently I act, the better I perform.

Lose control, lose the sale. I was taught to keep my eyes on the objective of every meeting with a potential client, which was usually a signed contract. You can be friendly, but you’re always steering the interaction.

The ability to subtly maintain control of an interaction as it unfolds is a powerful job skill. It’s useful for every type of business interaction on the planet: What’s the goal of the email you’re sending? What do you want to communicate to your boss during your weekly check-in? What are the most important parts of your work experience to get across during your job interview? If you can be clear and purposeful the whole time, you can keep things moving in your direction.

Preparation, preparation, preparation. For every one-hour sales meeting, I prepared for days. I always researched the company, its competitors, the entire industry, the relevant economic background of the country it operated in, and the career and personal history of the individual I was going to meet.

I apply this principle to every meeting I have with important stakeholders in my current job, and I plan to do the same on every new job interview I ever go on. I’m notorious for not leaving my house for up to 48 hours before a big interview, but my preparation pays off when I know the company, the role, and my most relevant experience inside and out.

High spirits, high sales. Your attitude is an aura. No matter what you’re saying or how big you’re smiling, people can feel how you feel. If you’re always focused on the positive, your team will be more motivated, your friends will want to spend more time with you, and some researchers say you’ll attract better mates and earn more money in the long run.

It’s better to win big than avoid losing small. In my sales job, I focused less on the likelihood that we’d probably sell $25,000 that week and more on the possibility of landing a six-figure deal at any moment. I made my team’s mantra about aiming for the big wins, not getting by with the minimum to make our target.

In life, I’ve learned that you can either focus on the probable or the possible. Guess which one successful people choose more often.

Always ask, “How’s your granny doing?” Contrary to what many people think about salespeople (smarmy, ingratiating, fake), my sales job taught me to be deeply authentic. Americans tend to want to get straight down to business, but some of my biggest sales were made after hours of talking to CEOs in Latin America or Africa about their grandmothers or their hometown cricket teams or their passion for woodworking. And it was genuinely wonderful.

Sales, and life itself, is about making connections, sharing experiences, admitting mistakes, laughing, and letting go. Doing it well demands being human, which is something we forget when we get caught up in competition, money, sales targets, promotions, and power–things that can add to your stress and cloud your judgment in any role in any industry, anywhere in the world.

More than anything else, my experience as a sales rep traveling around on my own made me more comfortable opening up to all kinds of people, understanding what we’re all really saying (and not saying), and creating space for human connections, not just commercial ones. I can’t think of a better training ground right at the start of my career.

Elaina Giolando is an international sales director and digital nomad who’s lived and worked in more than 50 countries.

Read More

The Scofield Connection and the Pre-Tribulation Fallacy with Corrie Ten Boom's Perspective! - Chapter 47

The Scofield Connection – The Pre-Tribulation Fallacy with Corrie Ten Boom’s Perspective

I have just been re-watching Bill Salus’s video on America in Bible Prophecy.[1] Bill comes out as a defender of the pre-tribulation rapture. Many Christians hold dearly to the pre-tribulation rapture escape doctrine in spite of the fact that it is contrary to sound doctrine and traditional Bible interpretation held for hundreds of years by our Christian forefathers. I will need to make a short case to refute the pre-tribulation doctrine as it is called.

Up until the 1830s no one had ever heard of such a doctrine. Since the time of Christ the church had taught that the true believers would suffer persecution for their faith. Jesus, himself, had said,

The servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.[2]

Apostle Paul when writing to the Corinthian believers said,

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.[3]

In fact in the book of Hebrews the eleventh chapter we find a history of the heroes of faith of times past many who died for their beliefs.

And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: and others had trial of cruel mocking and scourging, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in mountains, and in dens and in caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.[4]

In 1563 Foxe's Book of Martyrs was first published. Written by John Foxe the Protestant theologian and leader, it was a famous collection of the history of the Christian martyrs from the time of the Christian persecutions by Nero to the then present.[5] In it, over and over again, one could see that God did not always rescue His beloved servants, but He gave them strength to suffer and die for their faith. As Apostle Peter had said,

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s suffering; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.[6]

The mentality of the Christian believer for eighteen hundred years was that he was going to suffer for his Christian faith and world view in this life. Jesus had told us so,

If the world hates you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.[7]

However, that all changed around the 1830’s when John Nelson Darby a famous Plymouth Brethren preacher in England visited a spirited revival in Glasgow, Scotland. A young woman named Margaret MacDonald, a member of the congregation, shared a revelation she claimed to have received of the Lord. She believed that the church would not go through tribulation in the last days but would be miraculously saved by Christ. Darby incorporated this idea into his own Biblical framework and eschatology.[8]

Later, C. I. Scofield amplified Darby’s teachings and spent various years researching and footnoting Biblical passages to reinforce the pre-tribulation idea. Scofield himself seems to have a dubious background. He abandoned his first wife and two children after being released from jail. He had been serving time for his part in a railroad scam including criminal forgery. He then adopted as his mistress a young woman from the St. Louis Flower Mission whom he afterwards left for a rich widower.[9]

Scofield’s financial supporters were wealthy Jewish businessmen who were determined that the Jews should have a homeland, a place where they could be safe from religious persecution. We do not know for sure that their motivation was humanitarian, as some believe it was totally diabolical. We do know that Scofield worked in their employ for many years and used as his residence the famous Lotus Club in New York City indirectly owned by some of these financial barons. 

One of the first Scofield met was Samuel Untermeyer, who later became chairman of the American Jewish Committee, president of the American League of Jewish Patriots, and chairman of the Non-sectarian Anti-Nazi League. Untermeyer introduced Scofield to such influential Jewish leaders as Samuel Gompers, Fiorello LaGuardia, Abraham Straus, Bernard Baruch, and Jacob Schiff. Scofield later travelled to Europe where he studied and researched at Oxford and elsewhere at their expense. They later arranged the publication and distribution of his concordance and annotated Scofield Reference Bible in 1909.[10]

The result was the Scofield Bible footnotes and concordance adhered to a thoroughly pro-Jewish interpretation of the Scriptures. His footnotes reinforced the idea that the Jews were still God’s chosen people despite the fact that they had denied Christ and instigated His death. Scofield not only incorporated the pro-Jewish doctrine into his Bible footnotes, but also, the pre-tribulation doctrine and the doctrine of millions of years of theistic evolution.

Somehow, Scofield became a good friend of Dwight L. Moody. When Moody died suddenly in 1899 at the age of 62, it was Scofield who gave the first funeral eulogy of the great evangelist. In fact Scofield was known as Moody’s pastor. Scofield’s Reference Bible with his footnotes was later adopted by the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and the Torrey Bible Institute in Los Angeles. As a result Scofield’s doctrines influenced all the Full-Gospel Businessmen, the Fundamentalist and Evangelical churches and universities. The Scofield Reference Bible became the favorite study Bible of almost all Protestant pastors. It is impossible to overstate the influence of Cyrus Scofield on twentieth-century Christian beliefs. His Bible has been the standard reference work in virtually all Christian ministries and divinity schools in the USA during the last century.[11]

I want to finish this chapter with a warning from a famous Evangelist, Miss Corrie Ten Boom. Miss Boom was a Dutch survivor of the WWII Nazi Concentration Camps. Because of a typographical error, she was miraculously released from a camp where her sister had died. Her mother and father had also died in a previous camp. On her release Corrie returned to Holland and after the war worked with victims of Nazi brutality. 

She taught and lectured on forgiveness travelling even in Germany. She noted that those who had the power to forgive were able to readjust to post war life and to reincorporate into society. Those however who held unto bitterness became incapacitated and were unable to find fulfillment in the post war period. Corrie became a world traveler speaking about her WWII concentration camp experience. Her famous book, The Hiding Place[12] documents her experience and was also made into a movie.[13]

During her travels to China, she was able to speak with the leaders of the underground Christian Chinese church. She learned that it was the pre-tribulation doctrine that had caused the Chinese Christians to be unprepared for the persecution which they experienced under Mao. The Chinese Christians implored Corrie to warn the Christians in the West of the dangers of such a doctrine. In 1974, Corrie published an article Prepared for the Coming Tribulation, from which I will paraphrase.

Corrie believes the world is deadly ill and dying. But although the world is dying and God has signed its death certificate, He still needs His ambassadors, His over-comers, to be streams of living waters and channels of mercy to the dying world.

In Ravensbruck, the concentration camp where Corrie’s sister Betsy died, she and her sister had been God’s representatives from Heaven. They were there because they had helped persecuted Jewish families. Seven hundred people from Holland, Russia, Poland, and Belgium were crammed into a room built for a mere two hundred. As far as Corrie knew, she and her sister were the only representatives’ of God’s Kingdom in that room. But because of their presence and because of their sharing their faith with others, things changed. Jesus said,

In the world you shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.[14]

Corrie says that we can be over-comers today by bringing the love and light of God to a world filled with darkness and hate. When we read the Bible we may even get frightened as we read of the promised tribulation and persecution that are to come. We even see them coming true today. But we can still shout “hallelujah,” because Jesus has said,

He that overcomes shall inherit all things: and I will be His God, and he shall be My son.[15]

This is the future and hope of this world. Not that the world will survive – but that we shall be over-comers in the midst of a dying world.[16] - Corrie Ten Boom

Corrie went on further and said she could not understand why God let her sister die in that horrible concentration camp. But later, she realized that Betsy’s death was the catalyst that caused Corrie to end up travelling the world to tell people about Jesus. But she warned:

There are some among us teaching there will be no tribulation, that the Christians will be able to escape all this. These are the false teachers that Jesus was warning us to expect in the latter days. Most of them have little knowledge of what is already going on across the world. I have been in countries where the saints are already suffering terrible persecution.[17]

Corrie goes on to explain about what happened on her visit to China. The Chinese Christian leaders said that the American missionaries had told them that before the tribulation would come they would be raptured away. Therefore, the Chinese Christians were not prepared for tribulation or persecution. They were expecting God to supernaturally save them. But then the Chinese communists came and millions were tortured to death. The Chinese Christians encouraged Corrie to warn the west of the coming persecution. She writes:

In America, the churches sing, "Let the congregation escape tribulation", but in China and Africa (and throughout the Middle East and India) the tribulation has already arrived. In last year alone, more than two hundred thousand Christians were martyred in Africa. Now things like that never get into the newspapers because they cause bad political relations. But I know. I have been there. We need to think about that when we sit down in our nice houses with our nice clothes to eat our steak dinners. 

Many, many members of the Body of Christ are being tortured to death at this very moment, yet we continue right on as though we are all going to escape the tribulation. I feel I have a divine mandate to go and tell the people of this world that it is possible to be strong in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are in training for the tribulation, but more than sixty percent of the Body of Christ across the world has already entered into the tribulation. There is no way to escape it….We are next![18]

Corrie also tells us how we can get ready for the persecution that will come one day. First of all she says we need to feed on God’s Word and digest it so that it becomes part of our very being. Like Joshua said to the Jews as they entered the promise land:

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shall meditate upon it day and night that thou may observe to do all that is written therein, for then shall thou make thy way prosperous and then thou shall have good success.[19]

Corrie says we should have disciplined Bible study each day, not only to memorize Bible passages, but to apply those passages to our lives. She goes on to say that we need to develop a personal relationship with Jesus, not the Jesus of yesterday, but the life-changing Son of God who is alive and well and willing to move in the hearts of men today.

We need an infilling of the Holy Spirit as a priority. The disciples of the past could not have stood up against the horrible persecution they received without the power of the Holy Spirit. Neither will we be able to face the coming persecution and tribulation without our own personal infilling of the God’s Spirit. Nor must we wait until tribulation comes before starting to encourage one another.

The fruit of the Spirit should be the dominant force of every Christian's life.[20]

We also may be fearful of the coming tribulation. But as Corrie says, when we are weak, then He can be strong in us.[21] If we have been faithful in preparation, the mighty inner strengthening of the Holy Spirit will help us through. We may not be strong in ourselves, but we will be strong in Him who will make us more than conquerors.[22] And though it may seem He slays us, by not saving us from the persecution or tribulation, yet will we trust in Him[23]; knowing that if we endure until the end, we shall receive a crown of life![24] Get ready. It’s later than we think!

To go to previous chapter click HERE

To go to the next chapter click HERE

To go to the index of chapters to the book click HERE

Notes:

All Bible verses are from the King James Bible, although I have changed some of the old English. Any similarity to any modern version is only by coincidence. Bible verses other than the King James have been foot-noted properly.

Copyright @ Dennis M. Edwards (photos used from Google images for educational purposes only) 

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKOKqCk5vuo (accessed 03/16)
[2] John 15:20
[3] 2Corinthians 4:8-9
[4] Hebrews 11:35-40
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxe's_Book_of_Martyrs (03/16)
[6] 1Peter 4:12,13
[7] John 15:18-19
[8] http://reformed-theology.org/html/issue06/pre-trib.htm (03/16)
[9] http://proliberty.com/observer/20090507.htm (accessed 03/16)
[10] http://www.sweetliberty.org//issues/hoax/unified.htm#.VLlq8I2ePPk
[11] Ibid
[12] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hiding_Place_%28biography%29
[13] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX0GwjXExFE (accessed 03/16)
[14] John 16;33
[15] Revelation 21:7
[16] http://www.emoaf.org/RAPTURE.html (accessed 03/16)
[17] Ibid
[18] Ibid
[19] Joshua 1:8
[20] http://www.emoaf.org/RAPTURE.html

[21] 2Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

[22] Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

[23] Job 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.

[24] James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Read More

At Paris Meeting, Major Powers to Warn Trump Over Middle East Peace

by Dennis Edwards

Reuters announced last week that the major powers will send a message to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday. The message concerns Trump's plan to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. World leaders in Europe, China, Russia and elsewhere believe that a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians is the only way forward. If the U.S. insists on moving its embassy to Jerusalem peace efforts would be derailed.

From Bible prophecy we see that 10 nations will agree with the Antichrist and make war with Babylon. I have argued that modern day Babylon could very well be the U.S.A. If America takes this step to further strengthen Israel's rights over the lands obtained in the 1967 6-Day War, this would isolate her further from the rest of the world. Eventually the Bible says that the ten nations of the former Roman Empire will

give their power and strength unto the beast (the Antichrist).[1] 

The beast will lead the 10 nations against Israel in the Battle of Armageddon. The Bible says,

And the ten horns (kings or nations) which thou saw upon the beast, these shall hate the whore (American Capitalistic Corporate Empire), and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God has put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God be fulfilled. And the woman (the whore) which thou saw is that great city, (the American Capitalistic Corporate Empire) which reigns over the kings of the earth.[2]

If my perspective is correct, then this announcement would be in accord with what Bible prophecy predicts. America and Israel becoming further isolated from the rest of the world and pushing the other nations into the arms of the beast (Antichrist) which eventually leads to Babylon's destruction at the hand of the beast and his ten supporting nations.

In Ezekiel 38 and 39 we see a northern European nation leading an invasion of Israel with the help of Turkey and Iran, presently two of the strongest military forces in the Middle East, and some other nations.

Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog (Russia), the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia (Iran), Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (Turkey) of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.[3] 

Saudi Arabia, a strong U.S. ally in the Middle East, is caught by surprise and questions the motives for the invasion along with Tarshish (Great Britain) and its young lions, or its former colonies: Canada, Australia, India, and U.S.A. 

Sheba, and Dedan, (Saudi Arabia) and the merchants of Tarshish (Great Britain), with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?[4]

Ezekiel 39 has similarities to Revelation 19, so they could very well be talking of the same events. I will be going over these points more thoroughly in my next book on Bible Prophecy. In the mean time take a look at Where is America in Bible Prophecy, where I argue that America could be Babylon the Whore.

[1] Revelation 17:13

[2] Revelation 17:16-18

[3] Ezekiel 38:2-6

[4] Ezekiel 38:13

Read More

How did the Nephilim return before the flood?

Read More

Mythology and the Great Deception

Read More

Weekend Warriors Show Survival Benefits

By Gretchen Reynolds, NY Times, Jan. 11, 2017

Working out only on the weekends or otherwise compressing your total physical activity into one or two prolonged runs or a single vigorous basketball or soccer game each week could lessen your risks of dying prematurely almost as effectively as more frequent, shorter workouts spread throughout the week, according to an interesting new study of the so-called weekend warrior phenomenon.

As most of us have heard by now, the standard recommendation about how much exercise we should complete each week for health purposes is 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity. Moderate exercise consists of activities like brisk walking or easy cycling that raise heart rates while still allowing us to talk to training partners, and vigorous activities are those like running, fast-paced cycling, and many team sports, including basketball and soccer, that raise heart rates into a zone where speaking is difficult.

Meeting these guidelines is associated with a substantially reduced risk of developing a wide range of diseases and dying too young.

The guidelines also suggest that, for practical purposes, people consider breaking the 150 minutes into five moderate 30-minute sessions each week or a comparable number of shorter, more vigorous workouts.

But many people apparently do not have the time or inclination to exercise five times per week. About a third of American adults engage in zero weekly exercise and others pack their workouts into one or two sessions on Saturday or Sunday, when they have more free time.

There has been little information, though, about whether the weekend warrior pattern of exercise lowers the risk for premature death as effectively as more frequent and generally shorter workouts.

So for the new study, which was published on Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers at Loughborough University in England and other institutions decided to delve into the exercise routines of tens of thousands of men and women already participating in the Health Survey for England and the Scottish Health Survey.

The researchers zeroed in on data from 63,591 middle-aged men and women who had provided detailed descriptions of their workout patterns when they first entered the study at least 15 years before, telling the survey questioners how many minutes they had exercised each week during the past month, what kinds of exercise they had undertaken, and how many times per week they had worked out.

The researchers used that data to categorize the men and women into a variety of groups. Those who never exercised were defined, unsurprisingly, as inactive, while those who worked out but did not meet the standard guidelines were considered insufficiently active. Those who did exercise for the full 150 gentle or 75 vigorous weekly minutes were labeled sufficiently active.

This last group was then subdivided into those who spread their physical activity over at least three sessions and those who jammed it into one or two workouts, presumably on weekends (although the actual days were not specified).

Interestingly, these weekend warriors were mostly male, almost half exercised only once per week, and an overwhelming majority, almost 90 percent, reported that their exercise occurred during vigorous sports like competitive running and cycling or team sports like soccer.

Finally, the researchers crosschecked their participants against death registries, to determine mortality in the intervening years since each person had joined the original survey.

It turned out that exercise, in any amount, had substantially lessened the risk that someone would die from any cause, including heart disease and cancer. Men and women who exercised, even if they did not meet the guideline recommendations, were about 29 percent less likely to die prematurely than people who never worked out.

Those who met the recommendations gained a slight edge in longevity, being about 30 percent less likely to have died than people who never exercised.

This advantage remained about the same whether people worked out three or more times during the week or jammed all of their activity into a session or two.

“Reductions in risk were similar in the weekend warriors and the regularly active,” says Gary O’Donovan, a research associate at Loughborough University who led the study.

The good news from this study, Dr. O’Donovan says, is that whatever type of activity you can fit into your schedule appears to be better for your longevity than no activity at all.

Read More

What I Learned From the Intelligence Report on “Russian Hacking”

Read More

The octopus who recognizes humans and has other amazing skills

By Vicky Hallett, Washington Post, January 8, 2017

To turn off a light, you could use the switch. Or you could squirt a jet of water at a bulb until you short-circuit the power supply. That latter technique is what octopuses have done in at least two aquariums, and it’s a sign that they’re smarter–and much more rascally–than most of us realize.

Peter Godfrey-Smith offers a tour of “The Mind of an Octopus” in the January issue of Scientific American Mind. It’s an essay adapted from his book “Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea and the Deep Origins of Consciousness.”

He explains that the nervous system of the octopus evolved entirely differently from the human variety. While an octopus has concentrated neurons in a brain that provides some oversight, most of its neurons are in its arms. These limbs can touch, smell and taste independently. An arm that has been surgically removed can still reach and grasp.

“They are probably the closest we will come to meeting an intelligent alien,” Godfrey-Smith writes.

But sharing a planet doesn’t make them any less baffling. Godfrey-Smith offers the example of the fact that octopuses seem to recognize individual humans. At a lab in New Zealand, for instance, one octopus singled out a staff member for special treatment, dousing her with water whenever she passed behind the tank. Studies have confirmed that octopuses can tell people apart, even those who are wearing identical uniforms.

In several other ways, octopuses can seem quite human. He highlights research showing that some will “play” with objects, even after determining that they’re not food. They exhibit short- and long-term memory. Also, Godfrey-Smith writes, “they seem to have something like sleep.”

And when they’re in captivity, they try to escape. They’re clever about it, Godfrey-Smith explains, noting that they’re “unerringly able to pick the one moment you are not watching them.” If that fails, they have other ideas–like that lightbulb squirting trick. It got so expensive at one lab that the octopus responsible got released back to the wild.

Read More

Countdown begins to Great American Eclipse of 2017

Reuters, January 4, 2017

The United States has started counting down to a total solar eclipse that will be visible from coast to coast on August 21, 2017.

The “Great American Eclipse” of 2017 will start in Oregon and pass over 12 states before exiting in South Carolina. Its path will be 67 miles wide, according to NASA.

The eclipse will only be visible from the U.S. and will mark the first time a total solar eclipse has only been visible within the country since it was founded in 1776.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the new moon passes between the sun and the earth. The sun and its rays are completely blocked by the moon in the path of the eclipse.

The last total solar eclipse visible from the U.S. took place in 1991, but could only be seen from parts of Hawaii.

Total solar eclipses take place about once every 18 months, but it’s rare for them to be so accessible.

Next year’s eclipse will be the first to stretch across the entire U.S. since 1918.

But if you miss this one, don’t worry. According to NASA, the country will only have to wait until 2024 for another total solar eclipse.

Read More