This universe was born as a place of judgment; its very creation was a matter of judgment, and nothing within this physical universe shall escape judgment.

Judgment was born out of light. Genesis 1:4 records the very first instance of Divine judgment; “And God saw the light, that it was good . . .”

Throughout Scripture, God uses light and darkness as metaphors for good and evil. So it is fitting that He began this universe with His judgment of light and darkness.

Having judged light to be “good” Genesis says God exercised a different kind of judgment when He divided the light from the darkness. Without a clear division between light and darkness, everything would be shades of gray.

We often attempt to color our own moral judgments using similar metaphors; “it isn’t that black and white” or, “this is a gray area” to explain and justify our compromises.

Hebrews 9:27 is a Scripture often quoted in terms of judgment; “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

First, note that each man has an appointment with death. We all die, eventually. But it is not a random event, any more than was our birth. The time, manner and hour are already predetermined.

Jesus used another metaphor, “born again” to describe our salvation process. We are born from the womb, but not voluntarily. When the time comes, we are expelled into the light. And it is hardly a pleasant transition.

In one second, we are in our place of warm and peaceful tranquility, oblivious to anything except our own comfortable existence. In the next, our world is violently shaken. Our environment collapses around us and begins to expel us from itself.

As we get near the light, we are yanked out of the warmth into a cold metal tray by a pair of salad spoons. The transition is our introduction to pain, beginning with a jarring slap on the behind.

The blinding light burns our eyes only slightly less than the silver nitrate. It is a moment of incomparable terror, since nothing in our experience has prepared us for what follows.

Of course, that is all from the perspective of the baby we all once were. But having tasted this life, the warm, dark comfort of the womb would be an unbearable prison. So being ‘born again’ is the perfect metaphor to describe the transition from this life to eternal life.

We dread the process even though we know, intellectually, that eternal life is as incomparable to this life as this life is to the womb.

Death comes also to those who don’t know Christ — for them the prospect of death must be doubly disturbing — its an unpleasant transition to nowhere. That kind of hopelessness was best expressed on a tombstone I once saw: “Here lies an atheist. All dressed up with no place to go.”

The Scriptures say that judgment, like death, comes to ALL men by appointment. For Christians, judgment comes in two parts. Hebrews 9:27 says “AS it is appointed . . . ” the next verse completes the thought.

Look at it in context: “And as it is appointed unto men ONCE to die, but after this the judgement, so Christ was ONCE offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”

Without sin unto salvation . . . that doesn’t sound like the Second Coming, in judgment with a two-edged sword, encompassed by ten thousands of His saints, to judge the earth and destroy the antichrist and his army. Does it?

Logically, it can only refer to the Rapture — that is the only ’second coming unto salvation’ alluded to by Scripture. The dead in Christ are resurrected, then we are changed into our resurrection bodies, and we all meet the Lord in the air.

And then what?

Paul outlines the exact sequence. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” (2nd Corinthians 5:10)

THIS is the place where the Scriptures say that our works have relevance.

“Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” (1st Corinthians 3:13-15)

This the the Bema Seat of Christ, so-called because the judgment is not whether or not one is saved or damned. That judgment takes place here. That judgment is in this earth and this life. That judgment is in your heart and soul.

You are already judged NOW.

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It is not a future judgment. If you are Christ’s, you are as securely saved as if you were ALREADY in heaven. If you are lost, it is not a case that you WILL BE lost.

You are lost NOW.

It has nothing to do with being good or bad. It has to do with trusting in one’s own righteousness or trusting in the righteousness of Christ.

(Let me make it simple. If you are trusting in being good to get to heaven, you aren’t going there.)

That is what the second coming unto salvation refers to . . . the gathering of the saints to the Bema Seat for judgment.

This is another reason why I believe the Bible supports a pre-tribulation Rapture. The Bema Seat judgment MUST take place AFTER the Rapture. Our lives are not judged at the moment they are concluded. The influence of a man’s life lives on long after he does.

How could the Apostle John be adequately judged for his rewards in the first century, when his life ended? Or John the Baptist? The influence of their lives is still affecting the Church. Their rewards are still being calculated.

That is also why the Great White Throne Judgment is reserved until the final hours of human history before the new heavens and new earth. It will take that long to calculate the measure of evil perpetrated by guys like Hitler or Stalin. (Think of it as compound interest.)

Paul writes to Timothy; “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom. . . ” (4:1)

Do you see the two separate judgments here? One is for the ‘quick’ — the other is for the ‘dead’. One takes place at His ‘appearing’ and the other takes place at ‘His Kingdom.’

The ‘quick’ are the saved. The ‘dead’ are the lost. The quick are judged at the Bema Seat. The lost are judged at the Great White Throne.

(”But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.”)

The saved are judged for rewards, including a special crown of righteousness reserved “on that day” for those who love His appearing (2nd Timothy 4:8)

Here’s what I want you to see. As in the case of the twenty-four elders, the second that we remove the doctrine eternal security or a pre-Tribulation Rapture from the narrative, it all gets too complicated to follow.

Absent the doctrine of eternal security, what does 1st Corinthians 3:15; (”yet he himself shall be saved yet so as by fire”) mean? Absent the pre-Trib Rapture, the judgment of the “quick at His appearing” (2nd Timothy 4:8) doesn’t make much sense either.

Which then means we have to come up with a whole new timeline. Or else allegorize away the one that exists, giving rise to the question, “why give one?” since the Scripture most certainly does.

The whole body of Scripture, as it pertains to judgment, separates the light from the darkness, the wheat from the chaff, the saved from the lost and the Church from the judgment due those that dwell upon the earth.

First comes the Rapture, then the Bema Seat, then the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. That is the type set forth since Genesis 1:4 — God creates the light, judges the light, separates the light from darkness.

On the earth comes the judgment on the darkness; the Tribulation, the antichrist, the Mark, scary monsters, pestilences, persecution, death and the war of Armageddon.

Then comes the 2nd Coming of Christ.

Then comes the Millennium.

If the timeline is otherwise, we need to allegorize and spiritualize the true meaning of 1st Thessalonians 4:18, since its apparent meaning must obviously be some unfortunate translation:

“Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1st Thessalonians 4:18)

www.omegaletter.com

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Salvation in the Tribulation – By Dr. Thomas Ice

June 28, 2009 by Duncan Conner
Filed under Other Christian Articles, Prophecy Articles

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During the last couple of years, the most frequently asked question I have heard at prophecy conferences, relates to salvation in the Tribulation. It goes something like this: “If a lost person hears, understands and rejects the Gospel before the Tribulation, would he or she be able to be saved during the Tribulation?” Some think the answer is “No,” while others think it is “Yes.” I believe that people will have the possibility to be saved in the Tribulation regardless of how much they have been exposed to the Gospel before the Rapture. Here’s why:

What Are The Issues?
The notion that one who has heard the Gospel and rejects it before the Rapture will thus be unable to be saved in the Tribulation is argued from 2nd Thessalonians 2:10-12, which reads as follows: . . . and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” Proponents of this view contend that God, through the Antichrist, will actively delude those who do not believe. While this is true, nothing in the passage suggests that the delusion is the result of an individual’s unbelief due to his rejection of the Gospel before the Rapture. There are a number of reasons why I do not think that 2nd Thessalonians supports this view.

Answering The Issues
First, 2nd Thessalonians 2 does not say anything about au individual hearing, understanding and then rejecting the Gospel. It does make a universal statement about those who do not love the truth. Thus, all unbelievers are referred to in the same way as one group. There is no basis in this passage for identifying a subclass of unbelievers, such as those who have heard the Gospel, understood it, and rejected it.

Second, the context of the entire passage relates to what will happen in the forthcoming Tribulation period. The context for when “they did not receive the love of the truth” in verse 10 clearly will be taking place during the Tribulation. The 2nd Thessalonians 2 passage is talking about the response of unbelievers during the Tribulation. If the passage were referring to an unbelieving response prior to the Tribulation, with a result that such a decision would impact one’s destiny during the Tribulation, then the passage would have probably been worded differently in order to convey such a message. Since it is not so configured, then there is no support for the belief that a person’s rejection of the Gospel necessarily seals his fate if he enters the Tribulation. Specific support that verses 8-12 encompass events that will transpire in the Tribulation begins in verse 8, which says, “And then that lawless one will be revealed . . .” In other words, “then” denotes a shift from the current Church Age into a future era: the Tribulation. Nothing in verses 8-12 takes any part of that passage out of the context of the Tribulation. All, in my opinion, would agree that verses 8-9 refer to things the Antichrist will do during the Tribulation. Verse 10 is clearly related to its preceding context and speaks of something that will take place during the Tribulation.

Third, verses 11-12 further explain verses 8-10; It has been argued that when Paul says, “God will send upon them a deluding influence . . .” his use of the future tense in the verb send supports the notion that this is a future deluding influence and thus provides a reason for the view that I am rebutting. However, the future tense does not support that view. Instead, it refers to the whole of what is being said in verses 11-12. he future tense in the passage relates to the acts of unbelief (taking place in the Tribulation) as well as Cod’s judgmental response. So this does riot support that view. Verse 12 provides the purpose for God’s judgment dur*ing the Tribulation, which is to judge unbelief.

Further Reasons and Objections
The Bible teaches that the heart of all humanity is fallen and depraved (Genesis 6:5; 8:21; Jeremiah 17:10; Ephesians 417-18, etc.). All unbelievers, from Adam on down, are described as being “spiritually dead” (Ephesians 2:1-3) and “blind” (2nd Corinthians 4:4). Thus, for any individual to believe the Gospel at any time in history requires a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit to regenerate and open the sinner’s eyes to God’s gracious offer. Left to ourselves, we will reject the Gospel when it is preached. What sinner has ever “heard and understood” the Gospel without the miraculous work of God enabling a dead and blind individual to see and believe? No sinner, on his own, has ever “heard and understood” the Gospel in such a way as described by the notion I am dealing with to make such a view feasible. No, unbelievers unaided by the sovereign work of God will remain in their unbelief and rejection equally during the current Church Age as well as during the future generation. Thus, every unbeliever will have an opportunity to hear and believe the Gospel during the Tribulation regardless of the extent of evangelism that they have received before the Rapture.

Revelation 13:8-10 says the following in conjunction with the rise of the Antichrist at the midpoint of the Tribulation: “And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.” Such language about belief and unbelief in the Tribulation-in relation to the Antichrist-as in 2nd Thessalonians 2, does not support the issue that I am addressing. Instead, it speaks of destiny as the factor determining salvation: God’s sovereign will! In other words, one’s salvation in the Tribulation will come about just as it does during our present Church Age.

Some who advocate the view that no salvation is possible in the Tribulation for those who previously heard the Gospel say that if their view is not true, then some unbelievers will be given a second chance. This is also faulty thinking based upon a mischaracterization. The notion of a second chance, which no one will ever receive, relates to those who have departed this life through death and have gone into eternity without Christ. That is not what will be going on when any unbeliever is left behind at the Rapture. Instead, all unbelievers will simply be passing from one phase of history (the present Church Age) into another phase (the Tribulation). They are not leaving history and passing into eternity yet. All unbelievers passing from the Church Age into the Tribulation will continue to have an opportunity to receive Christ until they have been either saved, killed, or have received the mark of the beast in the second half of the Tribulation. This is not a second, chance, since unbelievers will still be in history, not heaven.

We can see that 2nd Thessalonians 2 is a summary of Antichrist’s “career” that will take place during the Tribulation Period. Nothing in the text even suggests a relationship between things that will happen in the Tribulation and the current Church Age. So why does such a belief have a significant following among Pretribulationists?

Evangelistic Urgency
It appears to me that the view that I am opposing has been developed by sincere Pretribulationists who want to press an urgency to their preaching of the Gospel message. How so? If the Rapture occurred before people accepted Christ, then it would be the same as if they had already died without Christ. Thus, at that moment, an extra urgency could be added to the argument that unbelievers should trust Christ now, since they may never have another opportunity. While it is true that this would pragmatically increase the urgency of the matter, it is not an idea supported by Scripture. It is easy to see why believers pleading with sinners to accept Christ would want to challenge unbelievers with all possible ramifications of their decision. However, pragmatics are never a valid reason to go beyond the limits of God’s Word.

Conclusion
While this is not the most important issue in the Bible, it is one that I am frequently asked about at prophecy conferences and when I am fielding questions on radio and television. Since I have not really seen anyone give a written answer. I thought I would do so at this time. I believe that millions of unbelievers will be saved during the terrible time of the Tribulation. For that we can all be thankful. Many of those who will be saved will include some who had heard the Gospel many times before the Rapture. In the meantime, we, as believers, should make every effort to preach the Gospel of God’s grace before the Rapture so that as many as possible will be taken at the Rapture, thus escaping the horrors of the Tribulation. Even though we are intensely interested in seeing as many as possible come to Christ, the ends do not justify the means. We should not exceed the bounds of Scripture in our proclamation. Adding threats that God has not actually made will not result in a single individual being saved who would not otherwise come to faith. People are saved by the preaching of the Gospel in conjunction with the power of the Holy Spirit that only God can apply. The eminency of the Rapture should be used in conjunction with the preaching of the Gospel, but, again, we cannot exceed the bounds of Scripture. Maranatha!

www.pre-trib.org

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Will The Antichrist Be Headquartered In Babylon? - By Nathan Jones

June 28, 2009 by Duncan Conner
Filed under Other Christian Articles, Prophecy Articles

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Where will the headquarters of the Antichrist be located during the Great Tribulation? Will it be Rome, Jerusalem, New York, Babylon, or some other city? Twelve different Bible prophecy experts were asked this question. The following seven believe his headquarters will be a rebuilt Babylon in Iraq.

Daymond Duck
I believe it will be Babylon. I have believed that Babylon will be rebuilt for several years, for several reasons.

First, Zechariah 5:5-11 teaches about a wicked women, a women called “wickedness” who represents commerce and false religion which will be moved to the land of Shinar at the end of the age. And, I believe that women called “wickedness” is Mystery Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots. So, I think she will go to Babylon.

Second, virtually all scholars trace false religion and world government back to the Tower of Babel and Babylon. And, that is where I believe it will go back to. Revelation 17:10 teaches us this false religious system existed in Egypt and Assyria and Babylon and Medo-Persia and Greece before Rome ever came on the scene.

Third, I think there are several prophecies about the final destruction of Babylon that have not been fulfilled. Isaiah 13:4 indicates that Babylon’s final destruction will be by many nations, but ancient Babylon was not destroyed by many nations. The Medes and the Persians conquered it and eventually ancient Babylon was buried under sand. Isaiah 13:5 indicates that Babylon’s final destruction will be during the indignation or the Tribulation period. Ancient Babylon was not destroyed during the indignation or the Tribulation period; that is still future. Isaiah 13:19 says Babylon’s final destruction will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Ancient Babylon wasn’t destroyed by fire and brimstone like Sodom and Gomorrah were. In fact, if you go to the book of Revelation it tells us three times that Babylon will be destroyed by fire in one hour. It seems to me that God is going out of his way to tell us that there is going to be a Babylon that is going to be destroyed differently from the way ancient Babylon was destroyed. Isaiah 13:20 says Babylon will never be inhabited again. We do know that a few people are living in the part that Saddam Hussein has rebuilt. Isaiah 14 says Israel will be in the land when Babylon is destroyed. Well, when ancient Babylon was captured by the Medes and Persians, Israel was not in the land. One more of these, the bricks will never be reused again (Jer. 51:26). Saddam Hussein reused some of the bricks when he started rebuilding Babylon. There are many prophecies.

If you will read Jeremiah 50:5 and Isaiah 13 and 14, there are many prophecies about Babylon’s final destruction that appear in both of those chapters. I think that God links all of that together. For example, Isaiah 13:21 says satyrs or demons, devils and false spirits will dance in Babylon after its final destruction. We go over to the Book of Revelation 18:2 and we read there that Babylon will become the habitation of devils and false spirits. Jeremiah 50:15 says, “As she, Babylon, as she has done, do unto her.” We go over to the book or Revelation 18:6 and we read, “Reward her even as she has rewarded you.” We go back to Jeremiah 51:7, Babylon has been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand. We go over to Revelation 17:4 and we read mystery Babylon has a golden cup in her hand. Jeremiah 51:7, the nations have been drunk on Babylon’s wine. In Revelation 18:3 we read Babylon has made the nations drunk on wine. Jeremiah 51:8 says Babylon has suddenly fallen. Revelation 18:2, we read that Babylon is fallen. Jeremiah 51:9 says “forsake her.” Revelation 18:4 says “come out of her my people.” One more, Jeremiah 51:13 says Babylon sits upon many waters. In Revelation 17:1 we read Mystery Babylon sits upon many waters.

In other words, there is a lot of ties between what is in the Old Testament that is a prophecy about ancient Babylon and what’s in the new prophecy, the New Testament, that is a prophecy about rebuilt Babylon. I think God tied them together and we’ve always believe that those Old Testament prophecies were about ancient Babylon, not Rome and that kind of thing.

Arnold Fruchtenbaum
I personally take the Bible more literally, so I would say that Babylon would be the capital of the Antichrist. It would be both a political and economic capital. According to both Zechariah 5 as well as Revelation 18, his religious capital will be Jerusalem where he will set up his image in the Jewish Temple. Where his economic and public capital will be Babylon the city.

Al Gist
Generally speaking, I try to always interpret the Bible literally. I think that’s by far the best approach. So, when we read Revelation 17 and 18 where it talks about the city of Babylon, I tend to take that literally as well. I believe that Babylon will be his capital city during his Tribulation reign. Possibly, the events that we are seeing take place right now in Iraq are leading up to that. Iraq is becoming a central focal point of the world since our invasion in Iraq. And, I don’t know where this is going to lead, or how it is going to develop, but I personally do believe in the revival of Babylon itself on the Euphrates River. I have heard the arguments about Rome being the leadership city I guess you would say of the Antichrist, and I am not a 100% opposed to that, but again I just lean more towards the literal acceptance of the city of Babylon.

Phillip Goodman
I believe that it will be Babylon because the Bible speaks of a literal Babylon in the Last Days. If we are to take as an example the prophecy of the First Coming of Jesus, that he would be born in Bethlehem Ephrathah (Micah 5:2), very specifically a city and a Messianic prophecy that was fulfilled literally, then we’ve got to take the prophecy that Babylon will be overthrown as Sodom and Gomorrah and never to rise again. It is a very specific prophecy that has to be fulfilled in every detail, and that prophecy of course has never been fulfilled. So, it requires the rise of Babylon in the Last Days.

You find again in Revelation 16 that Babylon exists right along with Jerusalem and all the cities of the nations they are literal, and so is Babylon. The cities of the nations will fall. Jerusalem will be split into three parts. Babylon will also fall at that time, very literally renderings of that city.

Finally, I want to make one last point. Babylon in Revelation 18 has an exact correspondence with the Babylon that is described in the two lengthy chapters of Jeremiah 50 and 51, precise parallels all the way down through those chapters. So, we know that Jeremiah 50 and 51 at least in parts of that has a prophecy of Babylon in the Last Days. I want to read you a passage out of there that specifically geophysically tells us that this is a literal city in the Last Days, and that it is the Babylon that is on the Euphrates River as we know it in modern day Iraq. Going back to Jeremiah 50:45, it says this it is talking about Babylon in the context of the Last Days of the End Times. It says, “That Babylon and His purposes which He has proposed against the land of the Chaldeans.” So, the land of the Chaldeans is not Rome, it is not New York City, it’s Babylon on the Euphrates. You come on down to verse 35 in chapter 51 and it tells us this, “‘May the violence be done to me, may the violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,’ the inhabitant of Zion will say, the inhabitant of Jerusalem [the literal Jerusalem] will say, ‘and upon the inhabitant of Chaldea.’” So, we have a geopolitical designation for a literal Babylon in the Last Days.

And so, at least we know this much, Babylon is going to be the megacity that Revelation 18 talks about, and it is going to be literal. And, the whole economy of the world is centered in Babylon and the Antichrist controls the economy of the world. The demand and supply that he has on buying and selling that the Scriptures say he will, then his capital will surely be Babylon in the Last Days.

Ray Gano
I am a person who reads Scripture literally. I believe that the End Time capital will be Babylon.

It is interesting to find out that Saddam Hussein started to rebuild the ancient city of Babylon. And, it was his intent to actually create this area as a Wall Street of the Middle East. Babylon today is highly wired. They got all this going on. He was turning it into a visitors center or a business center and then the war took place, construction stopped, things like that. The interesting thing is, is that the UN just announced that they are going to start working and rebuilding Babylon. In fact, just this last November 14 America jumped on board and they are going to start giving money to the process. And, I guess, our soldiers went in and occupied parts of Babylon as a fortress of something. They are going to help rebuild it, repay for it. And back in early 2003, Israel Today reported that the Quartet - and that’s being the US, UN, EU, and Russia - they all came together and they started talking about the UN actually moving their headquarters from New York to Babylon. And so, I do see Babylon being the seat of the Antichrist.

Mark Hitchcock
I think the Antichrist’s End Time capital is going to be a revived city of Babylon there on the Euphrates in what’s modern-day Iraq. The reasons for that is you have the words “Babylon,” “Babylonian,” “Chaldea” - those are used about 300 times through the Bible. And, the Book of Revelation is called the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ. It is an unveiling, it is not a veiling. It seems odd to me that when you get to the very last couple chapters in the Bible all of a sudden Babylon wouldn’t mean Babylon anymore, after 300 times or so of this being stated that that’s what the word indeed refers to.

Also, when you go back to the Scriptures to the very beginning that’s where, after the Flood, that’s where the first world empire began - Nimrod build this city. And, from the very beginning, some have likened this to the Tail of Two Cities. You have the city of Babylon mentioned in Genesis 10 and 11 with the Tower of Babel and Jerusalem is first introduced in Genesis 14, and you kind of trace these cities all the way through. Then, in Revelation 17 and 18, you have Babylon again, and in Revelation 21 and 22 you have the New Jerusalem. It also says about Babylon in Revelation 17, this great city that rules over the kings of the Earth in the End Times. It says that this city is the mother of all harlotry. It’s the fountain head of all harlotry. And, when you go back to the Bible, into the very beginning the fountain head of all false religion and all idolatry, there was the city of Babylon.

So, I think it’s going to be rebuilt in the End Times as a great economic, political, and religious center for the final world leader. So, history is going to kind of come full circle, from Nimrod and the first world empire to Antichrist in the final world empire of Babylon.

Don McGee
That’s a question I still struggle with. For years I thought it was going to be Rome, but I am beginning to lean in the direction of Babylon. And, one of the reasons I did not think so for many years is because of the decayed state of that part of the world. But, when you look at what is happening in Dubai and other places in the Middle East, you can see the magnificence structures can be built and great cities can be built in very, very short periods of time. I think that if you step back from the whole aspect of Scripture and look at it, I think Babylon means exactly that - Babylon.

Seven of the twelve interviewed have stated that they believe the headquarters of the Antichrist will be Babylon. And, they have given some very good reasons for coming to that conclusion. In an upcoming article we’ll look at the other five answers stating that the Antichrist’s headquarters will not be in a rebuilt Babylon in Iraq.

You can watch this Q&A at our website on Christ in Prophecy.

www.lamblion.us

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Prophecy News For 06/28/2009

June 28, 2009 by Duncan Conner
Filed under Prophecy News & Commentary

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Syria again threatens war over Golan

Israel deflects calls for settlement freeze

Israel, Egypt negotiate terms of new Gaza truce

Netanyahu: EU receptive to Israel stance on Palestinian statehood

Quiet crackdown drains force from Iran dissidents

Iran Pledges a ‘Crushing’ Response to U.S. Critiques

South Korea getting U.S. missiles to boost defenses

ID cards for India: 1.1billion citizens will go into second largest citizens’ database

Huge Underground Chamber Found–Early Christian Refuge?

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Jesus is Coming Soon! - By Dr. David R. Reagan

June 27, 2009 by Duncan Conner
Filed under Prophecy Articles, The Signs Of The Times

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Many people believe there is nothing that can be known about the timing of the Lord’s return because Jesus said He would return like a “thief in the night” (Matthew 24:42-44).

But Paul makes it clear in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 that Jesus’ statement does not apply to believers: “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief…” He then proceeds to explain why: “for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.” Paul is referring, of course, to the light of the Holy Spirit who indwells all true believers and who can enlighten us through our study of Scripture to know the season of the Lord’s return (1 John 2:27).

God’s Attitude
As a matter of fact, God is obligated by His character to warn the world of the imminent return of His Son. The reason is that Jesus is returning in great wrath to “judge and wage war” (Revelation 19:11), and God never pours out His wrath without warning.
God does not wish that any should perish, but that all should be brought to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Therefore, God always warns before He executes His wrath. He warned the world through Noah for 120 years. He warned Sodom and Gomorrah through Abraham. He sent Jonah to warn the pagan city of Ninevah, and He sent Nahum to the same city 150 years later.

Likewise, God is warning the world today that His Son is about to return. He is calling the world to repentance. The message of the hour to unbelievers can be summed up in these words: “Flee from the wrath that is to come by fleeing into the loving arms of Jesus now.” Jesus came the first time as an expression of God’s love; He came to die for the sins of Mankind. But when He returns, He will come in vengeance to pour out the wrath of God on those who have rejected God’s love and grace.

The soon return of Jesus also carries with it a message for believers. Lukewarm Christians and carnal Christians are being called to commit their lives to holiness: “The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Romans 13:12-14).

God’s Method of Warning
God is alerting believers of the soon return of His Son through what are called “signs of the times.” These are prophecies concerning world events that we are told to watch for, prophecies that will identify the season of the Lord’s return.

The Bible is full of these signs. There are about 500 prophecies in the Old Testament that relate to the Second Coming of the Messiah. In the New Testament, one out of every 25 verses is concerned with the return of Jesus.

In fact, there are so many signs that it is difficult to grasp all of them. The best way I have found to do this is to put them in categories:

1) The Signs of Nature - We are told to watch for earthquakes, famine, pestilence, and signs in the heavens (see Matthew 24:7 and Luke 21:11).

This is the least respected category of signs for several reasons. For one thing, many people simply shrug their shoulders and say, “There have always been natural calamities, so what else is new?” Note that Jesus says these signs will be like “birth pangs” (Matthew 24:8) - that is, they will increase in frequency and intensity as the time draws near for His return. In other words, there will be more intense earthquakes and more frequent ones. That is exactly what is happening today.

Another reason these signs are given little respect is because most Christians are so rationalistic that they do not really believe in the supernatural, and they therefore find it difficult to believe that God speaks to the world through signs of nature. Yet, the Bible teaches this principle from start to finish.

God dealt with the world’s sin through a great flood in the days of Noah (Genesis 6). He called the nation of Judah to repentance through a terrible locust invasion (Joel 1). In like manner, He called for the nation of Israel to repent by sending drought, wind storms, mildew, locusts, famine and pestilence (Amos 4:6-10). The prophet Haggai pointed to a drought as evidence that God was calling the people to get their priorities in order (Haggai 1:10-11).

The New Testament begins with a special light in the heavens marking the birth of the Messiah (Matthew 2:2). On the day that Jesus was crucified, there was three hours of darkness and an earthquake (Matthew 27:45-51). And when Jesus returns, the earth will experience the greatest earthquake in its history as every mountain is lowered, every valley is raised, and every island is moved (Revelation 16:17-21).

God has always spoken through signs of nature, and He continues to do so today. We had better pay close attention to them.

2) The Signs of Society - Jesus said that society will become increasingly lawless and immoral as the time approaches for His return. In fact, He said it would become as evil as it was in the days of Noah (Matthew 24:12,37-39).

Paul paints a chilling picture of end time society in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. He says it will be characterized by three loves - the love of self (Humanism), the love of money (Materialism), and the love of pleasure (Hedonism). He then points out that the payoff of this carnal lifestyle will be what the philosophers call Nihilism - that is, a society wallowing in despair. Men’s minds will become depraved (Romans 1:28), and people will call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20).

We are seeing these prophecies fulfilled before our eyes today as we watch our society reject its Christian heritage and descend into a hellish pit of lawlessness, immorality, and despair. Even worse, we are exporting our nihilism around the world through our immoral and violent movies and television programs.

3) The Spiritual Signs - There are both positive and negative spiritual signs that we are to watch for. The negative ones include the appearance of false christs and their cults (Matthew 24:5,11,24), the apostasy of the professing church (2 Thessalonians 2:3), an outbreak of Satanism (1 Timothy 4:1), and the persecution of faithful Christians (Matthew 24:9).

These negative spiritual signs began to appear in the mid-19th Century when Christian cults started forming. First came the Mormons, then the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and then a great variety of spiritualist groups like the Church of Christ Scientists and the Unity Church.

The apostasy of the mainline Christian denominations began in the 1920’s when the German school of higher criticism invaded American seminaries and undermined the authority of the Scriptures, teaching that the Bible is Man’s search for God rather than God’s revelation to Man.

During the 1960’s Satanism exploded on the American scene and has since been exported worldwide through American movies, books, and television programs. Dabbling in the occult has become commonplace in the form of astrology, numerology, crystal gazing, transcendental meditation, and channeling. The whole trend has consummated in the appearance of the New Age Movement with its teaching that Man is God.

As society has secularized, true Christianity has come under increasing attack. Judeo-Christian values, once the foundation of Western Civilization, are now openly mocked, and those who still adhere to them are castigated as “intolerant fundamentalists” by the media.

The positive spiritual signs include the proclamation of the Gospel to the whole world (Matthew 24:14), a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28-32), and spiritual illumination to understand prophecies that have been “sealed up” until the end times (Daniel 12:4,9).

As with the negative signs, we are seeing these positive signs fulfilled in our day and time. Through the use of modern technology, the Gospel has been proclaimed throughout the world in this Century, and the Bible has been translated into all major languages.

The great end time pouring out of the Holy Spirit that was prophesied by the prophet Joel has also begun. Joel called it “the latter rain” (Joel 2:23), and he said it would occur after the Jews had returned to their land. The state of Israel was re-established in 1948. In 1949 God anointed two ministries that would have a worldwide impact - the ministries of Billy Graham and Oral Roberts. Then, in the 60’s, came the Charismatic Movement which prompted renewal in worship and gave emphasis to the continuing validity of the gifts of the Spirit.

The acceleration in the understanding of Bible prophecy began in 1970 with the publication of Hal Lindsey’s book, The Late Great Planet Earth. It seemed to open up to popular understanding many prophecies that had been “sealed up” until the end times (Daniel 12:4, 9). Remarkably, it became the number one best seller in the world - with the sole exception of the Bible - for the next ten years!

4) The Signs of Technology - The book of Daniel says that there will be an explosion of knowledge in the end times and that people will move about quickly (Daniel 12:4). There are many Bible prophecies that cannot be understood apart from modern technology. For example, how can the whole world look upon two bodies lying in the streets of Jerusalem (Revelation 11:8-9)? Modern television satellite technology makes it easy. How can the False Prophet build an image of the Anti-Christ that appears to be alive (Revelation 13:15)? The answer, of course, is the science of robotics. How can the False Prophet require all people on earth to take the mark of the Anti-Christ in order to buy and sell (Revelation 13:16-17)? It would not be possible apart from computers and lasers.

Jesus said that the Tribulation will be so terrible that all life on earth would cease to exist if He did not cut the period short (Matthew 24:21-22). How could all life be threatened prior to the advent of nuclear weapons? Another reference to nuclear power is likely contained in Luke’s statement that men in the end times will “faint from fear” because “the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:26). That certainly sounds like a reference to the splitting of the atom.

5) The Signs of World Politics - The Bible prophesies that there will be a certain pattern of world politics that will characterize the end time geopolitical map.

The focus will be the re-established state of Israel (Zechariah 12:2-3). It will be besieged by a menacing nation from the “remote parts of the north,” the nation of “Rosh” - or modern day Russia (Ezekiel 38:2,6). There will also be a threatening nation to the East that will be capable of sending an army of 200 million - namely, China (Revelation 9:13-16 and Revelation 16:12-13). A third source of danger to Israel will be the Arab nations that immediately surround it. They will covet the land and will try to take it from the Jews (Ezekiel 35:10 and 36:2).

Another key player on the world political scene in the end times will be a coalition of European nations that will form a confederation centered in the area of the old Roman empire (Daniel 2:41-44, Daniel 7:7,23-24, and Revelation 17:12-13). This confederation will serve as the political base for the rise of the Anti-Christ and the creation of his worldwide kingdom (Daniel 7:8).

Other international political signs include wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6), civil wars (Matthew 24:7), and general international terrorism and lawlessness (Matthew 24:12).

6) The Signs of Israel - The signs related to the state of Israel are prolific and very important.

The most frequently repeated prophecy in the Old Testament is the prediction that the Jewish people will be regathered from the “four corners of the earth” in the end times (Isaiah 11:10-12). The Bible states that a consequence of this regathering will be the re-establishment of the state of Israel (Isaiah 66:7-8). The Scriptures say that once the Jews are back in their land, the land itself will experience a miracle of reclamation (Isaiah 35). The desert will bloom and people will exclaim, “This desolate land has become like the garden of Eden” (Ezekiel 36:35).

Another end time miracle will be the revival of the Hebrew language (Zephaniah 3:9). Most people are not aware of the fact that when the Jews were dispersed from their land in 70 A.D., they ceased to speak the Hebrew language. The Jews who settled in Europe developed a new language called Yiddish - a combination of German and Hebrew. The Jews who migrated to the Mediterranean basin created a language called Ladino - a combination of Hebrew and Spanish.

Other significant signs of Israel that we are told to watch for in the end times include the re-occupation of Jerusalem (Luke 21:24), the resurgence of Israeli military strength (Zechariah 12:6), and the re-focusing of world politics on Israel (Zechariah 12:3).

All these signs have been fulfilled in this century. The nation has been re-established, the land has been reclaimed, the ancient language has been revived, the Jews are back in Jerusalem, and Israel is the focal point of world politics.

Jesus says in Luke 21:28 that when these signs begin to happen, we should “straighten up and lift up our heads” because “our redemption is drawing near.”

The Key Signs
The most important signs are the ones that relate to Israel because God uses the Jews throughout the Scriptures as His prophetic time clock. By this I mean that very often when the Lord is revealing an important event that will take place in the future, He will point to the Jewish people and state that when a certain thing happens to them, the important event will also occur.

A good example of this principle can be found in Daniel 9 in the famous “Seventy Weeks of Years” prophecy. The prophet tells us to watch for a decree to be issued that will authorize the rebuilding of Jerusalem. He then says that the Messiah will come sixty-nine weeks of years (483 years) after that decree is issued to the Jewish people.

There are two key prophecies which relate the return of Jesus to events that have occurred in Jewish history since 1948. These two events clearly established the period in which we are now living as the season of the Lord’s return.

The State of Israel
The first is the re-establishment of the state of Israel which occurred on May 14, 1948. Jesus singled out this event as the one that would signal His soon return.

His prophecy is contained in the fig tree parable (Matthew 24:32-35) which He presented in His Olivet Discourse. The day before He delivered this speech, He had put a curse on a barren fig tree, causing it to wither (Matthew 21:28-29). This was a symbolic prophecy that God would soon pour out His wrath upon the Jewish people because of their spiritual barrenness in rejecting His Son.

The next day Jesus reminded His disciples of the fig tree. He said to watch for it to bloom again. In other words, He said watch for the rebirth of Israel. He indicated that when the fig tree blooms again, He would be at the gates of Heaven, ready to return (Matthew 24:33).

Equally significant, He added an interesting observation: “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place” (Matthew 24:34). What generation? The generation that sees the fig tree blossom.

We are that generation. The fig tree has blossomed. Jesus is at the gates.

The City of Jerusalem
The second key event was prophesied by Jesus in the same speech, as recorded by Luke: “[The Jews] will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:24).

The first half of this prophecy was fulfilled in 70 A.D., forty years after Jesus spoke the words. In that year the Romans under Titus conquered Jerusalem and dispersed the Jews among the nations. Jerusalem remained under Gentile occupation for 1,897 years - until June 7, 1967, when Israel won the city back during the Six Day War.

The Jewish re-occupation of the city of Jerusalem is proof positive that we are living in the season of the Lord’s return. Jesus said it would mark the end of the Gentile Age.

A Call to Action
There is no way to escape the conclusion that we are living on borrowed time. The signs of the times are upon us, and they are shouting for our attention.

Are you ready? If Jesus were to return today, would He be your “Blessed Hope” (Titus 2:11-14) or would He be your “Holy Terror” (Revelation 6:12-17)? If you have never received Him as your Lord and Savior, now is the time to act. Repent of your sins, and call upon the name of the Lord that you might be saved (Acts 2:14-39).

And if you are a Christian, are you living as if Jesus might return any minute? Have you committed your life to holiness? Are you praying for the lost and witnessing the Lord when you have an opportunity?

Are you yearning for the Lord’s return? Can you say with Paul that you are a candidate for a “crown of righteousness” because you have lived your life “in the love of His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)?

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Has The Ark of the Covenant Been Found? - By Dr. David R. Reagan

June 27, 2009 by Duncan Conner
Filed under Other Christian Articles, Prophecy Articles

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The Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia has announced that today (Friday, June 26, 2009) he will unveil to the world the Ark of the Covenant.

The Problematic Legend
There has been a legend for many years that the Ark of the Covenant is in the Saint Mary of Zion Church in Axum, Ethiopia. In recent years this legend has been popularized in the writings of Grant Jeffrey, a Canadian Bible prophecy writer who often specializes in the sensational.

This legend is based on a bizarre story that the Ark was smuggled out of Jerusalem by Menelik I, the supposed son of a union between the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. Supposedly, a replica of the Ark was left in the Holy of Holies in the Temple in Jerusalem. The motivation for moving the Ark was to protect it from King Manasseh, one of the most ungodly kings in the history of Judah.

There are all kinds of problems with this legend. For one thing, it is doubtful that the Queen of Sheba ruled over Ethiopia. It is more likely that her realm was modern day Yemen.

Regarding Menelik I, he ruled over Ethiopia around 950 B.C., according to tradition. Manasseh did not become king of Judah until 253 years later.

Harry Atkins, an Ethiopian historian, contends that there is no record of this legend in Ethiopian history until the end of the 13th Century. At that time there was a dispute over who should be king, and one of the contenders claimed to be a descendant of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Atkins says it was at that point that the legend of the Ark entered into Ethiopian history.

The insurmountable problem with the Ethiopian legend is that 2 Chronicles 35:3 states that the Ark was still in the Temple during the time of King Josiah who reigned from 640 to 609 B.C.

Rabbi Slomo Goren, former Chief Rabbi of Israel (now deceased), spent his life studying the Temple Mount, the Temple, and the Ark of the Covenant. He always argued vehemently that it would have been impossible for anyone, including the priests of the Temple, to have unguarded access to the Ark. He dismissed the whole story as a “foolish suggestion” and a “joke.” Modern day rabbis in Israel also consider the story to be ridiculous. Their consensus of opinion is that the Ark is hidden in a secret compartment beneath the Temple Mount.

The Ark’s Disappearance
No one knows for sure what happened to the Ark. The last time it is mentioned in Scripture is in 2 Chronicles 35:3. That passage makes it clear that the Ark was still in existence at the time of the spiritual revival led by the boy king, Josiah. Within 22 years after Josiah died, Judah fell to the Babylonians (586 B.C.), and the Ark disappeared.

No one knows for sure what happened to the Ark. Some scholars believe it was simply destroyed when the Temple was burned. Others believe it was captured as a prize of war, taken to Babylon, and probably melted down for its gold. This latter theory seems to be substantiated by the Scriptures. For example, in 2 Chronicles 36:18 it states that when the Babylonians destroyed the Temple, they took “all the articles of the house of God, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its fortified buildings with fire, and destroyed all its valuable articles.”

The strongest tradition is that the Ark was taken out of the Temple by Jeremiah and hidden. Some are convinced he hid it in the ground on the Temple Mount. But most who hold to the Jeremiah rescue theory believe he either hid the Ark in a great cavern beneath the Temple Mount (known today as Solomon’s Quarry) or that he hid it somewhere near Mt. Nebo in the modern day nation of Jordan.

The latter theory finds support in the apocryphal book of 2 Maccabees. The narrative in that book says, “the prophet, warned by an oracle, gave orders for the tabernacle and the ark to go with him when he set out for the mountain which Moses had climbed to survey God’s heritage. On his arrival, Jeremiah found a cave dwelling, into which he brought the tabernacle, the ark, and the altar of incense, afterwards blocking up the entrance” (2 Maccabees 2:4 5).

Another theory regarding the fate of the Ark is that it was translated or raptured, being taken up to Heaven to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Chaldeans. This theory is based upon a reference to the Ark in Revelation 11:15. This passage is a flash forward to the end of the Tribulation when Heaven opens and Jesus returns in wrath. The writer states that when Heaven opened “the ark of His covenant appeared in His Temple.” Those who reject this theory argue that the Ark seen in Heaven in this passage is the heavenly reality of which the Ark of the Covenant was only an earthly shadow or copy (Hebrews 8:5).

The Ark in Bible Prophecy
Regardless of what happened to the Ark, the Scriptures suggest that it will never be found again. This comes as quite a shock to some Christians who have assumed that the Ark must be found before the Tribulation Temple can be built and animal sacrifice reinstituted. Others have simply assumed that the Ark would be replaced in the Holy of Holies when the Lord’s Millennial Temple is built.

But Jeremiah says point blank that “the ark of the covenant of the Lord… shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they miss it, nor shall it be made again” (Jeremiah 3:16). The context of this passage is the Millennial reign of Jesus, so it does not rule out the possibility of a discovery prior to that time. Conceivably, the Ark could be discovered, and Satan could use its discovery to incite the rebuilding of a Temple where an apostate sacrificial system would be reinstituted. We know that such a Temple will be built, but I doubt if its construction will be motivated by the discovery of the Ark.

The important point to keep in mind here is that the rediscovery of the Ark is not essential to the rebuilding of the Temple. After all, the Temple was rebuilt by Zerubbabel following the Babylonian captivity, and the Ark had already been lost by that time. There was no Ark in the Holy of Holies during the time when Jesus worshiped in the Temple.

Nor is the Ark needed for the Millennial Temple. Ezekiel describes the Temple in great detail (chapters 40-42), and he never mentions the Ark. There is a Holy of Holies (Ezekiel 41:4), but it is empty, and it is not separated from the Holy Place by a veil.

The Ethiopians may have an object they venerate and consider to be the Ark. But I personally believe there is no possibility that it is the original Ark of the Covenant.

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