Posted on 04/03/2022 5:17:57 AM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal
Recently, while working on the third novel, MESSIAH, following the first, REVELATIONS, and the second, MICHAEL, I was caught up in thinking how near the Rapture must be. I tried to get my mind around how near we might be to the time Israel will fall for the False Messiah, Antichrist.
The words of Winston Churchill came to mind in his 1942 speech at Mansion House in London. England had just survived Hitler’s Blitz and the horrific bombing. Rommel’s tank onslaught in Egypt had just been routed by the forces of Great Britain and others at Alamein.
People wanted to know how near they were to the end of the world war they were agonizingly enduring. Churchill was greatly encouraged because of the turn of the conflict’s direction. He said the following in his typical eloquent mastery of the moment and of the English language.
Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
People are constantly asking about when all of this will end and when the Lord will take us home. Thinking on the writing, as I say, and studying the deluge of events and issues of prophetic significance bombarding us, I was impressed that we are now not at the end. Prophecy is not yet in a state of fulfillment, as far as the final prophecies are concerned. It isn’t even the beginning of the end—i.e., Jesus said, “there will be wars and rumors of wars, but the end is not yet.” But we are, maybe, bumping up against the very end of this pre-Trib time of the beginning of fulfillment of end-times prophecy.
So, like Churchill said about World War II, we are, perhaps, at the end of this age and at the beginning of fulfillment of the last of end-times prophecy about to unfold.
I mean, of course, that it is the Rapture of the Church that will bring that beginning of end-time prophecies. There is no prophetic fulfillment given to precede the Rapture. The caveat is that Israel being once again a nation—and one at the center of controversies involving all nations—is a prophecy at least partially fulfilled at this point.
And that’s what we’re looking at here: the matter of Israel being at the center of things involving the world’s nation-states.
We all know the awful things transpiring in Ukraine, such as the loss of life and the carnage inflicted by Russia’s invasion. Alternate news sites are telling the full story that the mainstream media most often will not. For example, these alternate sources have reported that the Russian soldiers are sometimes laying down their weapons, defecting, and returning home to Russia. For some reason, such facts don’t fit the narrative of the traditional news media. Also, I’ve noticed a tremendous difference between reports of the majority of Russian people being against the invasion and the mainstream news reporting that polls taken in Russia show the Russian people are wholeheartedly in favor of the invasion.
It is almost impossible to get the full story. However, one thing becoming clear is the powers that constitute the New World Order—the globalists elite—have become exceedingly concerned about Vladimir Putin’s strategy to reconstruct the way business is done with regard to how and to whom oil and gas are bought and sold.
It seems that NATO, Biden, the European Union, and most every Western Hemisphere globalist principality are now chomping at the bit to do battle with Russia. All it took to begin talk of moving troops near the battle was for Mr. Putin to say he intends to make all who want Russian oil and gas to deal in rubles, the Russian currency unit.
That did it. Putin’s obvious strategy to diminish or even destroy the petrodollar as the chief exchange system in petroleum transactions made guys like Sen. Lindsey Graham want to go to war—even if nuclear—with the Russkis. The hawks have their feathers ruffled. Putin garnering most of the oil and gas business is too much to bear, as it is said.
It is quite interesting to see how Putin, whom many in the diplomatic circles are calling a madman, has completely out-strategized them all. Even America, after shutting down the pipelines, has to now look to Russia, as does Europe. It’s either deal with Russia and with rubles, or go without. Biden has even begged Venezuela to release more oil for sale. But the dictator Nicolás Maduro, like the oil sheiks of Saudi, has refused to even talk with the president of the United States.
Instead, they are more and more joining the Russian/Chinese economic model and are weaning from the American/European petrodollar conglomerate that has ruled the petroleum industry worldwide for so long.
Here’s where I hope to go with this. It is postulation, to be certain, but it is an interesting direction of thought, in considering the nation Israel and its strategic positioning—His chosen nation put there by the Lord Himself.
Europe is now at the mercy of Vladimir Putin and the Russian consortium that includes China and now other petroleum powers like Saudi Arabia. The oil and gas crisis will not only involve Europe freezing in the winter, but will inflict collateral damage to food production.
The US is now, as I see it, almost supernaturally paralyzed because of this administration being run by the green insanity that shut down the gas and oil pipelines. I’m not sure the Lord will even allow such thinking to come to a rational decision to reopen these conduits, so reprobate they are because of turning their backs on Him.
Now here is my thinking involving Israel.
Israel now has, it has been determined, tremendous oil and gas reserves, including in the Golan area, which Vlad has said is no longer Israel’s sovereign territory. There are vast such reserves, as I understand, beneath Israel’s territorial waters of the Mediterranean.
It is possible, without too much stretch of imagination—to suggest that the Western alliance—Europe and America—will pour whatever money and resources necessary into funding the swift development of Israel’s petroleum industry to enhance their capability of beginning to provide the West with the Jewish State’s newly acquired oil and gas assets. This would: 1) make sure Europe doesn’t starve or freeze; and 2) make sure the American and European financial masters in the petrodollar system of sales and distribution continue to make their billions.
This, the way I see it, could be why President Biden recently read the line that a New World Order must develop. He followed that up by saying “America must lead in this” (the New World Order).
If this eventuates, with the harshest possible sanctions imposed by the New World Order at the same time driving Russia’s economic plight into ruin, such a development could start Putin or a future Russian leader thinking the “evil thought” Ezekiel foretold. As we’ve mentioned, Putin has already told the world he considers the Golan (the mountains of Israel) to be no longer the nation’s sovereign territory.
The New World Order is already in place and raring to go to war. These economic globalists elite oligarchs are the humanist part of the Ephesians 6:12 wrestling match in which we as Christians are engaged. They could well be the end-times catalyst in bringing about the Gog-Magog fulfillment, the appearance of Antichrist, and the start of the prophesied seven years of hell on earth.
To avoid being here when God unleashes His wrath and judgment on the evil corruption every direction we look, the following is God’s way to soul-saving grace.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10: 9–10)
End Times Ping
FReemail me if you wish to be added to or removed from The End Times Ping List.
Maranatha!
The thought that Christians will be removed from the earth to avoid any coming hardship and persecution is a bit optimistic
If you know your Bible then you would know there is no rapture pedicted.
My God is an optimistic God.
His Word says He will do it.
You’ll have to deal with it.
Pootie-poot can say what he wants. That doesn`t make it so.
I know The Bible.
There are at least 15 Rapture verses in the NT.
You don’t know yours clearly.
His Word says He will do it - he just does not say exactly when. The servant is not greater than the master.
John 14:3
Luke 21:28
Luke 12:56
The time is very very near.
We are admonished to discern the times. Very few “servants” are in the know of the season and times.
A shame really....
America could be energy independent again and not have to worry about begging for oil from foreign sources.
But that wouldn’t contribute to the downfall of the United States.
Who said that?
The rapture is taught in Scripture, but nowhere did anyone ever claim that Christians would avoid any hardship or persecution.
If you’re going to try to argue against the rapture, do try to get your facts right.
I think many people — especially these cranky days — hesitate to “confess their faith” out loud for fear of rejection of their peers and friends. One does not wish to be notorious or “offend” people. They are “nice,” and stay silent to keep the ignorant jackals off their butt.
I have been careful in the past not to offend people at my Thanksgiving table who spoke “unpleasantly” about politics, and paraded their hostility to what once was simple and common Christian belief.
But not this last year — and never again. One “friend” had just said something at the table quite odious and offensive to anyone of faith — and I burst. I called them out in the strongest non-obscene terms I could muster, and my wife and I threw them out, and ended the Thanksgiving feast.
Naturally, they think we’re nutz, and while I reserve the term “hate” for the very strongest of negatives, in common terminology, I think they hate us now.
Fine. They must account someday, I believe — as must we — and I no longer hide or soft-pedal my faith. Let them BE offended. “Sorry ‘bout that...”
If what I truly think and believe offends you, then The Problem is yours, not mine.
Jesus reportedly said (paraphrasing as best I can), “The world hated me before it hated you.”
I’ll stand with Jesus — and take the consequences.
There.
Christ’s church will be spared God’s wrath, but not the wrath of men. And God’s wrath is coming.
What is definition of Christ’s church? Christians who believe in Jesus or the Catholic Church?
Not arguing against a rapture, just the timing. There is a school of thought that teaches that believing Christians will be removed from the Earth prior to any tribulation, wide spread suffering or persecution. They will just be transformed and ascend into the clouds and then bad things will happen to those less worthy left behind while they look down from above. I am not so sure that is going to be the case. It’s more likely that things are going to be pretty grim for believers and there will be extreme pressure for people to deny Christ or face horrible consequences. People need to get themselves prepared for this eventuality and failure to do so because they have expected to evacuated prior to the impending conflict could result in some people making a bad choice. FWIW, Hal Lindsey wrote a series of books that made one of the most compelling arguments for a rapture in the mid 1980’s that quoted chapter and verse but, due to faulty interpretations of scripture, his predictions did not come to pass and that left many disillusioned and skeptical. What is written in the Bible, including a rapture at the time and place unknown to any but The Lord himself, will most likely come to pass in the 21st century but the context is (intentionally?) left ambiguous. I hope I am wrong on this
It’s not a matter of worthiness, as if there are a special class of Christians who will be taken and others not.
The Great Tribulation is a time of God’s judgment on an UNBELIEVING world and a time the restoration of Israel.
Followers of Jesus, true Christians, not those who call themselves Christian because that’s their heritage, or they are not Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist, will the ones being removed, to escape the Great Tribulation, not just overall persecution and troubles that Christians everywhere and throughout history have had to deal with as a natural part of living in this fallen world.
The homosexual infiltrated, child molesting organization calling itself the Catholic church is no church belonging to or representing Christ at all.
The church being spoken of is the one described by Scripture, which makes no mention of Catholicism in the least, and the Roman religion retroactively claiming that the NT means them, does not make it so.
Obviously nobody else has a problem with that.
And I have some swamp land in Florida to sell you.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.