Is This 'the Beginning of Sorrows'?

 

GREETINGS again Everyone! It’s a pleasure to be with you once again. Also, greetings to our dear friends in Belle, and Charleston, West Virginia; Columbia, Maryland; Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and across the ocean in Nyanza, Kenya! Welcome. This is the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries, and I’m Leonard V. Johnson.

Here in the Tampa Bay area where I live, the gasoline prices are $4.18 a gallon! And the average price for gasoline throughout Florida surpasses $4 dollars. And looking up today the price of a barrel of oil is at $106.99. And as I’ve been mentioning in our The WatchMan Report, we are certainly paying higher prices for nearly every commodity that is connected with oil.

What I am very aware of is – just what are we, as ministers, going to give a message about!? And I say this because in my mind I’m sure that we, as servants of God, have a thousand messages we would like to give at once – because there is so much happening in this world today. As I gave a sermon not long ago entitled “The Calm Is Over!”, truly the calm before the storm is over! I know in my mind I have a million subjects that could be preached today. Certainly, messages that I have preached in the past along with others. There are points and pages within God’s living word that are literally crying out to be preached! And we here at the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries and our affiliated churches are certainly hearing this calling. And these electrifying messages are almost unbearable, and yet, we NEED to answer this calling from God to give these messages.

I’m sure the majority of us are inundated with all the news media about this grave war in Ukraine. Of course, this has been terrible devastation to families in Ukraine. I saw and read an article about this one pregnant woman in a Ukrainian hospital who dies along with her baby from a blast! We can certainly try and put ourselves in the lives of the Ukrainians. They were just going along with their lives a few weeks ago comfortably and safely in their home, and now they’re sitting outside a tent with a paper plate in their hands – refugees! All as a result of a war! How quickly life can change!

Also, as we here in the states have been hearing – Russia has been taking control of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants. They provide somewhere up to 20 percent of the power of Ukraine. And, Russia, along with the United States of America, is continuing to crack down on their media. There was one program I watched where the whole Russian newscast got up and walked out in protest against the fact that the Russian government wants them to spew out their controlled messages. And even some of the very citizens of Russia are trying to flee their own country because they have family that lives in Ukraine. And, of course, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy is crying out for help – from the whole world. It certainly makes one wonder if it's only a matter of time before the methodical and certainly overwhelming force of Russia will leave Kyiv in utter destruction!?

One Scripture that surely comes to immediate mind to servants of God, is Daniel chapter 11 where it states, “But news from the east, and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many” – vs. 44.

But I want you to properly understand this - so, let’s set the scene here - this vast armada crosses the ocean, lands in Egypt, comes up from the south, enters into the Palestinian area of Jerusalem (Judea), and then it says, ‘news from the east and the north shall trouble him.’ Well, to the north you have countries like Syria and Turkey. And to the east, you have like Saudi Arabia and Iraq. This, of course, is talking about the final European ‘beast’ power which will, with ‘flattery,’ come into Palestine. Now, we DO NOT teach that it is Russia. But the news which will come to this final European ‘beast’ power is a coming counter-attack from Islamic countries which will attack the European military forces.

Now, over the years, the remnant churches of God have struggled over this – as they continue to do so. If you would turn to the Book of Revelation chapter 9.

Verse 13 – “Then the sixth angel sounded: …” So remember, you have the seven seals, with the SEVENTH SEAL being the SEVEN TRUMPETS. “ … And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14) saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.’”

Now, throughout God’s living word, especially in prophetic terms, an angelic being can be in charge of nations. As an example, in the Book of Daniel, we read that there are angelic beings – or rather demonic beings – in charge of certain states. So these FOUR ANGELS or rather FOUR COUNTRIES that are spoken about here in Revelation chapter 9 – could very well be such countries as Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, maybe even India!? There are some 195 million Moslems living in India (2021 census)!

We certainly need to keep in the back of our minds that if in the news we are watching today – with Russia trying to gain control once again of the old USSR states – will ultimately lead to the spark that ignites our Lord Jesus Christ’s prophetic event, “ …’ and kingdom against kingdom’”!? And will this aggression of Russia eventually be accepted!? And we can certainly ask the question – how many people have thought of Crimea since 2014!? It certainly has been out of the forethought of our minds, and yet Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and we certainly didn’t hear any more about that in our news cycles anymore! This certainly will be but another step by Russia that will eventually get swept under the rug when our government no longer has any use in using it for any political position? And, by the by, there’s a 2022 article by The Week which writes –

“Eight years after the annexation of Crimea, the biggest land-grab in Europe since the Second World War, the peninsula remains caught in the middle of a battle between Kyiv and the Kremlin. …

Economy and banking

Following the annexation in March 2014, Russia forced all Ukrainian banks in the region to close, leaving thousands of people without access to their savings, salaries and pensions. … Reuters reported in November 2014 that the economic turmoil resulting from the conflict had “shuttered” businesses and “complicated life for thousands, forcing people to deal with a Kafkaesque bureaucracy to try to get their money returned”. …

On the positive side, Moscow had “poured in more than $10bn in direct subsidies” and funded major infrastructure projects, including the highway and bridges linking Crimea directly to Russia, in the hope of creating a “success story”, [ Steven Pifer, a former US ambassador to Ukraine] wrote. …

Electricity

Crimea suffered power supply problems for years after the annexation …

In 2015, The Guardian reported that the people of Crimea were “learning to live with thawing fridges, pitch-dark highways and shuttered schools”, after Ukrainian militants began attacking the power lines feeding the region.

In 2018, the region suffered another mass power outage, during which “phone lines were down, traffic lights stopped working and trolley buses halted in their tracks”, said The Moscow Times.

Tourism

National Geographic magazine once described the Crimean Peninsula as “a diamond suspended from the south coast of Ukraine”, and listed the region as one of the world's top destinations. … But the 2014 annexation “marked a drastic shift in the peninsula’s tourism landscape as it had to reorient itself towards the Russian market”, reported Reuters in 2020.”

(READ MORE: https://www.theweek.co.uk/russia/60273/crimea-how-daily-life-has-changed-under-russian-rule). 

Surely, this too will occur in Ukraine!

It certainly can be likened to World War II when Adolf Hitler wanted to annex Austria. And, of course, the Sudetenland. You might recall back in 1938 when they had the Munich Agreement. And Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain had traveled to Germany – because they were worried about this aggression from Hitler – and they signed this agreement. And the ink had not even dried before Hitler was planning his invasions! And, you can listen to the soundbite of Mr. Chamberlain, after having arrived back in England from this Munich Agreement, holding high this signed document speaking to the crowd -

“This morning I had another talk with the German Chancellor Herr Hitler. And here is the paper which bears his name upon it, as well as mine. Some of you, perhaps, have already heard what it contains. But I would like to just read it to you. ‘We, the German Fuhrer and Chancellor, and the British Prime Minister have had a further meeting today, and are agreed, in recognizing that the question of Anglo-German relations, is of the first importance for the two countries and for Europe.’ We regard the agreement signed last night, and the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, as symbolic of the desire of our two peoples, never to go to war with one another again.”

And it was one year – almost to the month – that Germany September 1939 invaded Poland, and Poland had a similar agreement with England that if they were ever attacked England would back them up. And so England had no other choice but to declare war against Germany at that time.

Certainly, this Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which commits each member state to consider an armed attack against one member state, in Europe or North America, to be an armed attack against them all, is as useless as that signed agreement which Neville Chamberlain so foolishly waved high in front of the crowd! Now, certainly Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill didn’t believe it! Because he had read Mein Kampf and he knew the mind of the evil monster that was out there and that this monster would never stop his aggression!

It's important to note: that once a dictator begins gobbling up territories that it can surely motivate other dictators to take their chance too!? When Russia invaded Ukraine, did you notice that China sent warplanes the same day!? And, of course, there is great talk about Iran and how their nuclear program has geared back up – once again. These dictators appear to be feeding off one another.

We could easily think – how will Germany respond to this war!?

As we had reported in The WatchMan Report, Germany has doubled their defense budget as a result of this war! This has certainly been getting the attention of God’s servants. Because here is Germany sort-of sitting on the sidelines – a wealthy nation – and this aggression is coming from their former enemies and has moved them to the very point where they have decided to greatly increase their defense budget! If it hasn’t caught your attention – IT SHOULD!

Will Europe once again begin looking for strong leadership!? And if so, who will this strong leader be!?

MOTHER OF HARLOTS

But what we must also consider is the fact that the Catholic Church will continue to grow and will continue to be a world power within itself.

Let’s begin today in the Book of Daniel chapter 7.

Verse 8 – “’ I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, …’”

This ‘little horn’ is a tremendous world power. It’s had an effect on Europe since 500 AD. This is the papacy. The heart and core of that universal church.

Now, here in this vision of the prophet Daniel, he saw in vision these wild-looking creatures. “The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings.” The second was like a bear. The third is like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. And finally a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, that was difficult for him to even describe.

The Book of Daniel does interpret itself when you go through and read and study it – speaking about world-ruling kingdoms which would rise and fall. The lion was the kingdom of Babylon. The bear was the kingdom of the Medo/Persian Empire. The leopard was the Greco/Macedonian Empire under Alexander the Great. And this fourth beast indescribable to Daniel was the Roman Empire. And certainly, a great many biblical scholars agree that this great vision of Daniel’s is speaking of these great world-ruling kingdoms which rose and fell. And the final beast as having been Rome, which had several resurrections of what is known as the “Holy” Roman Empire. And we know Daniel chapter 2 is speaking of a dream which King Nebuchadnezzar II had, and it talks about the iron and the clay – that “as you [Daniel] saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.” That there will be two groups. And how this would be the final beast power which would exist at the very coming of our Lord Jesus Christ! The time setting is unmistakable! Because it says “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed” – verse 44.

Daniel chapter 8 describes a final civic leader of a united Europe that will arise.

Verse 23 – “’ And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce [countenance] …’”

This is the final resurrection of the “Holy” Roman Empire.

Daniel 7 again –

Verse 8 – “ … ‘coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.’”

Again, speaking here of a tremendous world power – the “MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” – the papacy.

Daniel 8 – once again we see this ‘little horn’ that represents the papacy –

Verse 9 – “And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land [or the Holy Land]. 10) and it grew up to the host of Heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. 11) He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.”

And so here in Verse 11, it makes a reference to what Jesus called ‘the abomination of desolation.’ Or, sometimes, in the Book of Daniel, it says, ‘the abomination that makes desolate.’ And we know there will come a time when this great religious leader, will enter Jerusalem into a “temple” (that apparently is not yet built). I presume, personally, that there will be a temple. Or a cloth tabernacle – something that is the center of the Jewish religion. We know that before the end times, they will have reinstituted animal sacrifices, and gone back to their old ancient ways.

Verse 20 of chapter 7 –

“ …’ and the ten horns that were on its head, …’” - once again, those ‘ten horns’ are the final ten countries that make up the final installment of the “Holy” Roman Empire.

“ …’ and the other horn which came up, …’” – the ‘other little horn,’ the papacy. “ …’ before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, …’” – in fact, blasphemous things. “…’ whose appearance was greater than his fellows.’”

So, this will be a man, and as the apostle Paul writes, “who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” – 2 Thessalonians 2:4. And this same powerful religious leader, as the apostle John writes – “I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, … He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire [lightning] come down from heaven [the atmosphere] in the sight of men” – Revelation 13:11-12, 13.

“Whose appearance was greater than his fellows” – consider: the Catholic pope, also known as supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome, head of the worldwide Catholic Church, and head of state or sovereign of the Vatican City State.

Let’s continue in verse 24 – “’ The ten horns [out of this kingdom] are ten kings …’” – ten kingdoms, as God sees kingdoms, which will be united in the time of the end. “ …’ Who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He [this other ‘little horn whose appearance was greater than his fellows’] shall be different from the first ones, And shall subdue three kings.’”

We believe this means that this final powerful religious leader will end up actually controlling three of these kings – or rather kingdoms.

So, there will be ten kingdoms united – again, kingdoms as God sees kingdoms – and this powerful religious leader will actually be controlling three of these kingdoms. And as verse 25 announces, “’ He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, …’”!

Now, has any of this happened before in our history!?

Certainly it has – and is happening even today!

This was also what I was speaking of in an article entitled “Are You But A Traditionalist?”

“In the fourth century there continued to be a separation of the two groups. Yet, one group obtained considerable Imperial favor after the sun-worshiping emperor claimed to have had a vision – Minister Michael C. Garrett speaks of this in the free PDF online booklet “Prophecy Series – The Last Crusade” page 5 – and in around 332 Emperor Constantine I decided to issue his “Edict Against Heresies” which resulted in the utter persecution of those who professed Jesus Christ who was not part of his group. So, both groups, with all their numerous parts, have existed throughout this evil present age. Both groups exist today.”

And, as we are very much aware – Jorge Bergoglio, aka Pope Francis – often blasphemes God!

Note some examples:

“Pope Francis was speaking with a group of Catholic theologians regarding the complexity of unity and how to achieve union with so many disparities and disagreements. [Jorge] said that we must do what the Trinity does – argue behind closed doors but publicly give the appearance of unity: … ‘Inside the Holy Trinity they’re all arguing behind closed doors…but on the outside they give the picture of unity.’

[Jorge] related the story of how he was able to get a young Jewish student with disciplinary problems to behave. He grabbed the boy by the ear and showed him a crucifix of Christ nailed to a cross and warned him by pointing to Jesus and saying, “That was a Jew like you, if you misbehave, you will end up the same.” …

Speaking about Jesus as a child, [Jorge] said that he believes Jesus begged forgiveness of His parents: “Instead of returning home with his family, he stayed in Jerusalem, in the Temple, causing great distress to Mary and Joseph who were unable to find him. For this little escapade, Jesus probably had to beg forgiveness of his parents. The Gospel doesn’t say this, but I believe that we can presume it.” …

[Jorge] also believes that … Mary felt that God was a liar for not fulfilling His promise to her. [Jorge] said the following about God in her heart: “You had told me that he would be great, you had told me that you would have given him the throne of David, his forefather, that he would have reigned forever and now I see him there! (on the cross) Lies! I was deceived!”

(Roman, A., Blasphemy: Pope Francis Makes Jokes About God, Advent Messenger, 28 March 2017; retrieved 30 March 2022).

Again, verse 25 – “He [this great religious leader] shall speak pompous [blasphemous] words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law.’”

So, friends, your very Bible is speaking of a great false Church – a religious system – which would “intend to change times and law.” And indeed they have! This world’s so-called Christian system – which, as I stated in the article “ChristMas … Its Origin,” originally came from Nimrod who is mentioned in Genesis 10:8-11. No man has the authority to change God’s “master clock.” And even now, we know that the holy Sabbath is the SEVENTH-DAY of the week. Yet, there is a whole so-called Christian system that teaches that the Sabbath is the first day of the week! We also rightly know that “the feasts of the LORD” are still in effect, and yet, this “little horn” – this beast which looked like a lamb, but spoke as a dragon – along with the people who have represented him down throughout the centuries, have convinced the Western world that the ‘Mass-of-Christ’ should be celebrated instead. And that Easter, the day of Ishtar, should be celebrated. And they have completely done away with the LORD’s feasts! So, yes, “times and law” have been changed!

“’ Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time.’”

And we, over the years, have come to understand that means 3 ½ years.

Now turning to the Book of Revelation chapter 13 – and I won’t take you through all the books of Revelation today. As you might be aware, I am systematically going through the books of Revelation, and you can find these articles on our website – www.owensborocojc.com.

• Revelation – A Book of the Past and the Future Part 1. (Chapter 1)
• Revelation – A Book of the Past and the Future Part 2. (Chapter 1 cont.)
• Revelation – A Book of the Past and the Future Part 3. (Chapters 4-5)
• Revelation – A Book of the Past and the Future Part 4. (Chapters 4 cont. w/5)
• Revelation – A Book of the Past and the Future Part 5. (Chapters 6-9)

But as for this article, I just wanted to update some things which the Lord Jesus Christ has taught us over the years with His prophecies concerning the time of the end – cf. 2 Peter 3:18.

Verse 15 – “He [[referring to a great religious leader here. It’s not referring to a political leader here] was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, …”

So, this great religious leader within a United States of Europe becomes like a rock star! With this religious leader coming onto the scene with all of this ‘power to make lightning fall from the sky,’ and other signs and wonders, that organization will become highly relevant. And this religious leader will become like a rock star!

“ … that the image of the beast should both speak [which certainly means papal announcements] and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.”

And there is something here that all needs to bear in mind – including a great many of the remnant churches of God – there will come a time in EUROPE primarily, a requirement – do you recall the Catholic Inquisitions!? There have been times throughout the centuries in EUROPE when hundreds of thousands of true Christians were martyred because they were not part of nor following the precepts of this great Mother Church or her offspring!

Verse 16 – “He [again, referring to a great religious leader here] causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and [bond], to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17) and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark …”

So, unless you are a part of that other group (of which I spoke of in the article “Are You But A Traditionalist?”) – unless you are part of that “woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (Revelation 17:6) – all of the faithful of that particular religious group are – especially during their Ash Wednesday – to receive a black cross on their forehead. And this same faithful of that particular group – every time they have a prayer – they have to take their right hand, and they begin at their forehead, and they make a cross – THAT’S WHAT THE MARK OF THE BEAST IS! An actual thing – a symbol. It’s not a concept or an idea. Truly, the identifying sign of the churches of false Christianity is the cross - from the time of the Roman Empire down to today.

And I might remind you – you don’t need to be Catholic to be a part of that “woman, drunk with the blood of the saints,” you could easily be a part of one of her offspring. Christianity represented by Rome is the largest Christian denomination; in it and its ‘daughters’, i.e. other than Catholic Christian churches, there are a total of over a billion people.

“ … or the name of the beast; or the number of his name.”

And we, over the years, have come to understand that means the name of the founder of Rome – ROMULUS. This blasphemous name is what all citizens of that governmental system are called – ROMANS. The Greek name for Romulus was LATEINOS.

L = 30; A = 1; T = 300; E = 5; I = 10; N = 50; O = 70; S = 200 which equals 666.

Now, I was just going to go on to the next thought here, but the Spirit moved me and I feel compelled to say something else here. Having heard many of these remnant Church of God leaders preach on this very subject of the “mark of the beast” – most are completely misleading. They continue to tell their flock, “And we’ve always understood that, or felt like that, doesn’t necessarily mean some sort of a brand or tattoo into your skin, it might be some implant of some computer chip … But more likely is symbolism here.”

Well, friends, they are deceived and they do not understand. Let us here be reminded of what Minister Garrett wrote:

“I do know that people of the Far Right Wing and in the evangelical Christian community put great stock in a series of books which were written about a couple of decades ago called the Left Behind series. … And these books appear to reflect the actual worldwide view of millions of Americans, including many prominent conservatives. … I went to a website entitled learnreligions.com. And in this article concerning the mark of the beast, it says, “Some believe these verses refer to a tattoo, a brand, or even a microchip implant..” And, the people of the Far-Right absolutely love that! They – in the Left Behind world – they love the idea of a microchip. Now, also, I turned to some ICG websites, and I found a booklet – written by Mr. Garner Ted Armstrong (GTA) – The Mark of the Beast – What Is It? - a man who knew what the Bible said (for the most part), a man who studied and thought about the Word of God, but now has been in his grave for almost sixteen years – wrote the following:

“Millions are deceived! Many believe the Mark of the Beast is yet some future development, a national identity card, or an invisible tattoo, or a microchip implanted beneath the skin, or a plastic credit card.”

Now, pay attention here, because he puts an exclamation point at the end of this sentence.

“All of this is nonsense!”

(Garrett, M.C., The MARK of the BEAST, 2019, pgs. 6, 7).

So, what that shows us is that they, again, are deceived and do not properly understand.

Let us also be reminded of what the LORD God says to us in the Book of Amos – “’ Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! For what good is the day of the LORD to you? It will be darkness, and not light’” – Amos 5:18.

Are You Still Sleeping and Resting?

In the Book of Matthew chapter 24, the Lord our God Jesus Christ says –

Verse 36 - “’ But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.’”

When He said this, He didn’t even know. Now, certainly, we can surmise that at this point in time God the Father has shared with Him this timing. But, we don’t know. But, does this mean that we can know just when the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ will be!? No. As our Lord says, ‘no one knows, not even the angels of heaven.’ But does this mean that we are not to be alert and watch what is happening around the world!? Should we not be concerned with what is happening in Ukraine!?

In chapter 26 of the Book of Matthew – an event that happened in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ –

In verse 36 – “Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, ‘Sit here while I go and pray over there.’”

Verse 37 – “And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee [James and John], and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.”

Think about Jesus – He, after His conversion, ends up in the Garden of Gethsemane and He’s having some of His final and quiet prayers with God the Father. He was about to be murdered – and He knew it.

Verse 38 – “ … ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.’ 39) He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; …’” – ‘take this horrible ordeal I’m going to have to go through away from Me.’

“ …’ nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’” – isn’t this a wonderful example – a wonderful attitude!?

And then He comes to His disciples and finds them sleeping. Verse 40 – “ … and said to Peter, ‘What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41) Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’”

Amen to this statement, and I can certainly attest to that! Can’t you!?

Verse 42 – “Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.’”

We should take this as a way of our Lord Jesus Christ telling us that we need to be alert, we need to be watching – because we don’t know when our Lord Jesus Christ is going to return – so we need to watch and pray always.

Verse 45 – “Then He came to His disciples and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.’”

Luke chapter 21 –

Verse 36 – “’ Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.’”

Mark chapter 13 –

Verse 35 – “’ Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming – in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning – 36) lest, coming, suddenly, he finds you sleeping. 37) And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!’” - He says this over and over again!

Luke chapter 21 –

Verse 37 – “’ Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.’”

Verse 40 – “’ Therefore you also be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’”

Now, God’s living prophecies tell us WHAT to look for.

End-Time Events

Again, in this article, I won’t be going into great depths, but I do want to give you a quick overview of how we believe this progression will develop – called the Day of the LORD.

1. Truly the first of our peoples to be struck and who are seriously afflicted are those people who are called Israel – meaning Ephraim and Manasseh. We understand who are the descendants of those tribes. And, Judah – modern-day Israel in the Middle East. In the Book of Jeremiah, it’s called “Jacob’s trouble.” So, it appears that Israel – Ephraim, the United Kingdom, and her Commonwealth Nations along with Manasseh, the United States of America – will be the first of our peoples to be overcome by a terrible and destructive financial collapse. The economy will be at the forefront which will be faced by the world. And it certainly was one of the sparks which triggered World War II. If you remember our history, from 1920 to 1923 the German inflation got so terrible that their Papiermark lost all of its value. And by the year 1929, this great economic depression went around the world and would strike the United States of America. It was a terrible time in human history. This certainly motivated Adolf Hitler to not only rebuild Germany economically and militarily – but from 1932 to 1939 their military spending went from 1% of GDP, because of the Treaty of Versailles, to 25% of GDP!

In the Book of Jeremiah chapter 30, verse 3 – “’ For behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the LORD.’ And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’”

When the prophet Jeremiah wrote this, Israel had already gone away captive, and had been in captivity for over a hundred and twenty years – they were “lost” to history. Yet the prophet Jeremiah is writing about Israel and saying, ‘God is going to bring back from captivity Israel and Judah!’ So this is a future statement here.

“ …’ And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave their fathers, and they shall possess it.’”

Verse 4 – “Now these are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah. 5) ‘For thus says the LORD: ‘We have heard a voice of trembling, Of fear, and not of peace. 6) Ask now, and see, Whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins Like a woman in labor, And all faces turned pale?’”

Like a man trying to give birth. He’s bent over double because he can’t believe what he’s looking at on the television! And I can relate to this when I watch the deplorable gaffes and utter mistakes that President Joe Biden makes! Along with the fact that I don’t want to see military helicopters being shot down! – or anything else!

Verse 7 – “’ Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, …’”

Our Lord God Jesus Christ has said, “’ For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be’” – Matthew 24:21.

Unprecedented in all of history!

It will be a time of world war – and whether it will involve nuclear weapons – we are not sure.

We do know that the Lord Jesus says, “’ And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake [and notice: “ … ‘But he shall be saved out of it.’”] those days will be shortened.’”

A time when if God didn’t intervene, every man, woman, and child would be annihilated.

2. Then second the next of our peoples to be terribly afflicted are the Western portions of a confederation of Islam. As we read in such prophecies as Daniel chapter 11.

Let’s read of this in verse 40 – “’ At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; …” – we believe referring to an Islamic confederation that stretches from North Africa up to what we now call the Middle East – up unto basically Turkey. “ … ’and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, …’” – this is talking about armed invasion! “…’ with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; …’”

And in a modern-day language, it certainly would be tanks, battleships – modern mechanized warfare.

And paraphrasing - and he shall enter the countries [of the Middle East], overwhelm them, and pass through. Maybe something on par with a blitzkrieg of World War II?

Verse 41 – “’ He shall also enter the Glorious Land [talking about Palestine and even Jerusalem], and many countries shall be overthrown; but these [initially] shall escape from his hand: Edom [which is Turkey], Moab [which is Iraq], and the prominent people of Ammon [or Jordan].”

So these nations are going to be allied for a time with this United States of Europe! And this EUROPEAN ‘beast’ power is going to bypass them and go into Palestine.

Verse 42 – “’ He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape.’”

This indicates that this EUROPEAN ‘beast’ power is going all the way down into Africa.

Verse 43 – “’ He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians [again speaking about Africa] shall follow at his heels.’”

Verse 44 – “’ But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; …’” – this is the passage I quoted at the beginning of this article. “ …’ therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many.’”

Verse 45 – “’ And he [this European ‘beast’ power] shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas [the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea] and the glorious holy mountain [or Jerusalem; remember Jerusalem is about 900 meters above sea level]; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.’”

In Matthew chapter 24, our Lord God Jesus Christ says, “’ Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place’ (whoever reads, let him understand)” – verse 15.

Now, of course, we understand that there is no temple in Jerusalem today. For over forty-one years of my life, I have heard servants of God ask the question: will there ever be a third temple built in Jerusalem? Because this speaks of a time when this final European ‘beast’ power and this final ‘false prophet’ stand in what has been called the holy place, where the Jews are and will be doing animal sacrifices once again. They will come in and set up an abominable idol that will be a complete desecration of this temple just like Antiochus IV Epiphanes did when he sacrificed swine in the temple of God.

We can also turn to 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 which says, “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4) who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”

Speaking here of this final ‘false prophet’ claiming that he is God! So, it’s speaking of a future religious leader from the homeland of Europe, practicing the historic religion of Europe, claiming that he is God! What would you call an individual who claims to be the very representative of Christ Himself!? One name: Vicarius Christi. The Vicar of Christ – which literally means substitute Christ.

It will be a time of great distress, especially as in point #1 the descendants of the house of Israel.

The nations of Egypt, Edom (modern Turkey), Moab (modern Syria and portions of Iraq), Ammon (modern portions of Jordan). Also, we’re told in the Book of Obadiah, that the nation of Turkey is going to be simply wiped out! Notice: “’ Will I not in that day,’ says the LORD, ‘Even destroy the wise men from Edom [Edom, Esau, and Turkey all mean the same], And understanding from the mountains of Esau?’” – verse 8. Now, why does the LORD our God single out the nation of Turkey?  God looks upon them as Jacob’s brother; which is why I call them “our peoples.” Recall, Esau and Jacob were brothers! And, at the very time of the end of this present evil age – notice: “’ For violence against your brother Jacob, Shame shall cover you, And you shall be cut off FOREVER. 11) In the day that you stood on the other side – In the day that [foreigners; speaking here of a soon-risen United States of Europe] carried captive his forces, When foreigners entered his gates And cast lots for Jerusalem – even you [Turkey] were as one of them.’” Verse 12 – “’ But you should have not gazed on the day of your brother In the day of his captivity; Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah [modern-day Israel in the Middle East] In the day of their destruction; Nor should you have spoken proudly in the day of distress.’” And, it appears that our peoples of modern-day Israel (Judah), as they see this destruction come upon them, try to escape. They travel north wanting to escape into Europe. And it looks as if Turkey stands “at the crossroads to cut off those among who escaped.” And they take many captive! And this certainly is a cruel betrayal against God. And Turkey is destroyed because of this. Verse 15 – “’ For the day of the LORD upon all the nations is near; As you [Turkey] have done, it shall be done to you; …’” He speaks of wiping out the entire nation! A very severe punishment! We do have online a free no-obligation booklet on this very subject entitled “TURKEY is going to betray HIS BROTHERS!”

3. Third – it appears that the Eastern portions of a confederation of Islam shall attack with a counter-attack.

We read concerning this in Revelation chapter 9 – “Then the sixth angel sounded: … saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels [or rather FOUR COUNTRIES] who are bound at the great river Euphrates.’” – appearing to say, ‘let these four-nation groups loose.’

Verse 15 – “’ So the four angels [or rather four countries], who had been prepared for the hour and the day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.’” A terrible and bloody battle! And this Islamic army will end up being comprised of 200 million soldiers! And it appears in this generation that we have Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Moslem people of India on a counter-attack! They desire Jerusalem as well. Yet, in the end, this mighty army is destroyed!

4. Fourth –

Turning to Revelation chapter 16 we read – “Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, …” – and it should be noted: because of the $32 billion Anatolia Dam Project in southeastern Turkey, the great river Euphrates is nearly “dried up.”

“ … so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared” – verse 12.

So here is another bloc of nations. And logically we believe them to be China, Korea, Japan, and maybe Indonesia – which has a large Moslem population. A spirit of war is spread by Satan the devil, the final “beast” power of Europe, and the final “false prophet” – see verse 13.

“For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings [the leaders; presidents and prime ministers, imams] of the earth and OF THE WHOLE WORLD, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. … to the place called in Hebrew, [Megiddo].” Or rather, Armageddon.

5. Fifth – I spoke of this earlier, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS.

A sovereign city-state and group of people who are severely afflicted in this end-time. The Great Whore.

We find this in Revelation chapter 17 – “ … ‘Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits [in other words, who rules or controls, see verse 15] on many waters …’” – verse 1.

A great religious institution that has held sway over a great multitude of people all across the earth for a very long time!

Verse 16 – “’ And the ten horns …’” – again speaking about a combination of ten united kingdoms within Europe as God views kingdoms.

“ … ‘which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire.’”

So, somewhere as these events progress with a united Europe winning great battles, conquering peoples, taking territories, and reigning supreme – they then get bloodied! And as they decline, they turn their hatred toward their mouthpiece – this MOTHER OF WHORES!

Verse 17 – “’ For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, …’” And they just ravish her out of hatred and contempt!

6. Sixth – there’s one more group of people. Small in number, but most significant!

We find this in Revelation chapter 19 – “And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him [our Lord Jesus Christ] who sat on the horse and against His army [the resurrected saints of God!].”

Verse 20 – “Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.”

In chapter 20, the first three verses describe for us the end part of all of this. A complete doing away of the influence of Satan the devil and his minions! When Satan the Devil and his minions are bound in a great spiritual prison for one-thousand years!

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In the Book of Matthew chapter 24 once again, our Lord Jesus says in verse 29 – “’ Immediately after the tribulation of those days [speaking of the Day of the Lord] …’”

The six seals – they are roughly equivalent to the EARLY part of what Jesus Christ calls ‘great tribulation,’ the end-time ‘troubles,’ Ezekiel 30 refers to it as ‘Jacob’s trouble.’

“ … ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; [the atmosphere will be thick with volcanic ash towers or even radioactive dust and ash!] the stars will fall from heaven [Satan and his demons will be thrown down to the earth from the atmosphere], and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30) Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, …’”

So, much of the confusion among many is about the prophetic order of events. It’s the end-time trauma. What Jesus calls an end-time ‘tribulation.’ – v. 21. Then because of the tremendous ash and smoke in our atmosphere the sun and the moon will be darkened, the “stars” will fall from heaven (Satan and his demons will be thrown to the earth) – v. 29. Then the sign of the Son of Man appearing in heaven [which in this case is outer space] – v. 30. He’s not going to be a “near miss.” This is not going to be a “secret rapture,” skipping off the atmosphere, grabbing the saints, and then leaving in “secret.” Indeed, Jesus says, “’ For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.’” And as the Book of Revelation says, “every eye will see Him. … And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him” – Revelation 1:7 NKJV. In that order.

In this single exposure, cool red giant Betelgeuse is the brightest

Star at the far left in the constellation Orion.

Photo credit: NASA – John Gauvreau.

And, as I have mentioned before - when the throne of God, when New Jerusalem, begins to return to this earth, at some point it will be a little small light in the night sky. And the next night it will be a little brighter – like the giant red star Betelgeuse. And then, it becomes more and more obvious – and people will look up and go, “What is that!?” Now, most of the people of the world will think it is – and they really will – an invading alien force!

“ … ‘and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.’”

Verse 31 – “’ And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.’” – He will be gathering them from all around the world.

And, at the LAST TRUMP the saints of Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ are resurrected – and as Jesus says, ‘the angels are going to gather us from one end of heaven [the atmosphere] to the other end of heaven [the atmosphere].’

Friends, there are people in this world which have different ideas of what our Lord Jesus Christ said here – they say, “Well, this can’t be done until we’ve got men on Mars and other distant planets.” But, as He very plainly said, ‘from the four winds’ and the wind is where clouds are. As the apostle Paul wrote – under the divine inspiration of God’s Spirit – “we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” – 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

Our Lord God Jesus Christ is going to annihilate these evil and vile people – everyone, it tells us in the Book of Revelation that “received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image” – Revelation 19:19-21.

Now, brethren, we are not trying to scare you. That is not why I type this article up TODAY. I would certainly rather speak about love, mercy, forgiveness, and salvation. I’d like to talk about our dear brother Erick Odhiambo in Kenya that has been such a great blessing from God in helping us translate booklets and articles into Swahili. Who needs our prayers and goodwill offerings for the brethren there.

But this is a DIRE WARNING! And it is to get YOUR ATTENTION! And to help us all grow in the loving grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So that when you see all these things come to pass, you will know that our Lord Jesus Christ “’ told you beforehand’” – verse 25. □