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The Mystery of Iniquity – 7th Millennium Edition by Michael Rood

Copyright ©2001 (Aviv 1, 6001) by Michael Rood

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2009936718

International Standard Book Number 978-0-88270-998-7

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked GINT are from the Greek Interlinear New Testament ©1972 13th edition by Zondervan Publishing. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked MIV indicate the Marine Infantry Version, the author’s dynamic paraphrase.

Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved. Under International Copyright Law, no part of this publicaiton may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—electronic, mechanical, photographic (photocopy), recording, or otherwise—without written permission from the Publisher.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

About the Author

The Mystery of Iniquity

Prerequisite to the Rapture

The Chronology: From Here ... To Eternity

Coming in Great Power and Glory

Dispensationalism and the Secret Pre-tribulation Rapture

The Strong Delusion is Imminent

The Mystery Revealed

The Feast of Trumpets and the Rapture or What are Christian Holidays?

Zechariah’s Thermonuclear War

Afterword

The Chronological Outline of the Book of Revelation

A Letter to the Thessalonians

The Day of Deliverance

The Day of Deliverance

The Modern Day Prophets Speak

Set the Trumpet to thy Mouth

Through the Fire Without Burning

A Vision of Henry Gruver

The Witness in the Heavens

Perseus and Andromeda

The Souls Under the Altar

Modern Warfare Technology in Revelation

One Megaton Nuclear Blast The “Scroll” Effect

Nuclear Desolation at 12.5 Kilotons

30 Megaton Nuclear Device Comparison

A Horse Prepared for Battle

Iron Plated Locusts

AH-64 Apache with Teeth as Lions

Lion Mouthed Horses with Serpents

144,000 and the Innumerable Multitude of Revelation 7

Also by Michael Rood

Back Cover Material

Introduction

It will take the better part of four hours to read this book. After reading the introduction, it is recommended that you begin with the first chapter when you can be completely undistracted for the duration. Your preconceptions will need to be challenged by you as you read. For that reason, you should read the book from the beginning. As in the Bible, context is everything.

If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is mere flight and disgrace...

Martin Luther

The culture has swallowed the 501(c)3 tax exempt, non-profit corporation doing business as, “the Christian church.” We pray for revival, yet we are unwilling to put our comfort at risk, unwilling to venture outside the self-protective shell of our denominational fortresses that have us fortified within the walls of complacency. “Change the world, Lord, but don’t change...” is under the breath of the prayers of those who do not want to see their world shaken. But shake it will, and soon. This time though, not only the earth as in the days of Noah, but the heavens will be shaken as well. All those who live in the false confidence of ignorance to what Jesus said, “must come to pass,” will have reality crashing in on them.

The Mystery of Iniquity exposes an ecclesiastically ingrained stronghold of Satan that has reached its apex in this modern church age. The Church as an institution of man’s endeavor will stand against this exposé. The Mystery of Iniquity will be ignored if possible, just as its reference in the Bible has been ignored. If it cannot be ignored, sentences from it will be isolated and attacked, just as sentences from the Scriptures have been isolated from their context and twisted.

The Mystery of Iniquity will be censored by the peace and safety prophets who have anointed themselves as the guardians of your conscience, and the only ones authorized by God to teach you the truth. Too many ministers act as mediators between you and your heavenly Father. But the true shepherd assured us that only the truth sets men free, and the Spirit of the LORD was sent to lead you into all truth. Ministries were given to the church for the maturing of each member. Open your eyes to the Lord’s provision for you.

The Mystery of Iniquity exposes and extinguishes the strong delusion that has become the false hope of the Christian church; the snare that has been set by Satan through many years of working behind the scenes. What began as gentle misleading has, through the years, taken a winding path to the valley of full deception. The Mystery of Iniquity is the warning of Y’shua (Jesus), Shaul (Paul), and Yochanan (John) concerning the absolute prerequisite to the return of the Messiah to gather the saints at the “rapture.” That warning is not long range prophetic, as it was in their day, but reiterated in the context of the accomplished deception of the Christian church in our modern times. The Mystery of Iniquity is a final warning given to America and the world as to what is impending and cannot be circumvented, regardless how one votes. This book documents the legal ramifications of Satan’s original rebellion, his authority as the god of this age, his rebellious stand on earth, and his final revolt. This is how the long war against God will play out in our lifetime.

The Saints—filled with and led by the Spirit of the living God—will hear the battle cry and fight on ground where façade-bearers fear to tread. Strip down to fighting weight, gird up your loins, and enjoin the battle. You must now choose whether you will walk quietly into the snare of The Mystery of Iniquity, or stand faithfully against it until the end.

Michael Rood

About the Author

Michael Rood—author, lecturer, and Moreh (teacher) among the Messianic Jewish community, has a natural story-telling flair, intellect, and exuberance that make him a favorite with radio, television, and live audiences that have dubbed his seminars, “A Rood Awakening.” At home with the secular radio talk show circuit, he is a recurring favorite of religious television programming as well. Few speakers have the energy and stage presence to anchor an audience to their seats for a 5-hour weeknight lecture and then field questions until 1:00a.m. Michael recently performed this exhausting ritual for over 400 hours in 80 cities in 6 months. Readers will enjoy the same scholarship and verve in his writings as he sacrifices several of modern Christianity’s sacred cows on the altar of reality. This is the meat of the Word to which others have only alluded.

The 7th Millennium edition of The Mystery of Iniquity bridges the time of the Gentiles and the Messianic age by taking the reader from a Greek mindset and western Gentile theological base into a Hebrew mindset and doctrinal base. This will be a landmark book in your life. The truths expounded will change your perceptions of the Hebrew Scriptures forever. This volume will allow the Gentile Christian reader to feel at home while taking a no-return trip back to the Hebrew roots of “the faith once delivered to the Saints.”

Michael is a former Marine and Christian minister, the father of four daughters. He is the author of The Mystery of Iniquity, The Pagan-Christian Connection Exposed, “The Astronomically and Agriculturally corrected Biblical Hebrew Calendar,” the forthcoming three volume set: “The Feasts of the LORD and their Prophetic Fulfillment,” and “The Great Secret of Solomon’s Temple.” He is the host of the internationally syndicated television series, “A Rood Awakening!” His work is recognized among Jewish scholars in the land of Israel and Christian chronologists alike and is cited in periodicals and websites on an ongoing basis.

The Mystery of Iniquity

Among the many mysteries of life, the most challenging and exciting mysteries are found in the pages of the Bible. It is there that we ponder the meaning of life, the nature of God, the nature of evil, and the realities of our existence. But few mysteries have furrowed the questioning brow as deeply as the mystery of iniquity. Mysteries of God are buried under many layers of truth. To dig down to the bedrock, many layers of preconceptions need to be challenged and exposed. Inaccurate presuppositions must be peeled away, in search of the deeper mysteries of God buried within his Word.

It is not comfortable to consider that the pictures held in one’s mind—the pictures on which one bases concepts of truth or theology—may be in error. I was an adult before I questioned the “flannel graph” Sunday school pictures in my mind of a young boy Daniel standing safely in the lions’ den. Once that picture was embedded I had no reason to question its validity. It was not until 40 years later that I saw a new picture developing from the biblical record—a picture of an older Daniel, 80ish, who had been a ruler of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and now Darius. Deeper levels of understanding opened and the book of Daniel took on a texture to which I could not have previously related.

The mystery of iniquity is even more shrouded in the veils of flawed bias. We carry in our mind inaccurate pictures of what it is like in heaven at this hour, and the way it will be in the future. We have accepted pictures concerning the nature and timing of the return of Jesus Christ to gather the church, as they were spoken from the pulpit—not based on Scripture, but upon traditions passed down in like manner from the previous generation. The phrase “mystery of iniquity” is used only once in the Bible, in II Thessalonians 2:7, yet the context of this phrase is extremely important to the followers of the Messiah. Many have read those words dozens of times without ever considering their significance.

Since mysteries are not readily understood by the uninquisitive perusal of a novice, these words have been treated as insignificant and inconsequential to the Christian believers for hundreds of years. The manifestation of this mystery of iniquity, however, is soon to bring about one of the earth’s most spiritually and physically significant events. These incidents concern the last days preceding Messiah’s return for his saints and his subsequent return to live and reign on earth for a thousand years. The events that will transpire in the near future will result in a profound disruption of life on the planet, the details of which Jesus himself wants his servants to read and accurately understand.

Your life and mine are about to change dramatically because of the events that are about to take place in heaven and on the earth. At the time of Noah, God shook the earth in judgment. At the time of the end, he has declared that he will not only shake the earth, but he will shake the heavens as well. The Messiah, with the angels under his command, will subdue all authority in the heavens and on earth in preparation for the binding and ultimate destruction of Satan. Powers in the spirit realm must be broken and bound in preparation for the reign of Messiah on earth.

To understand the mystery of iniquity, or any other biblical mystery, we are personally responsible for challenging our own preconceptions and thought patterns in search of the truth. Through this investigation you will see the prophetic future of this world, from here to eternity, through new eyes. Your vision will be clearer than you have ever thought possible as you dig through the layers of tradition to expose the mystery of iniquity.

II Thessalonians 2:7, For the mystery of iniquity doth already work...

The word mystery in Greek is μυστεριον (musterion). Webster’s 1925 Unabridged International Dictionary defines mystery, derived from μυστεριον, as:

A substantive secret, that which has been kept cautiously concealed. Something that has not been revealed, or cannot be explained to novices or the uninitiated; Hence, a spiritual truth that is beyond natural understanding.

The substantive secrets, or mysteries of God, can be described by two categories: (a) that which has not been revealed and therefore cannot be known until it is explained, and (b) that which cannot be explained to novices. The second category is much more common, because all of us are, in one field or another, inexperienced. In either case, a mystery is something that cannot be understood without spiritual understanding.

Spiritual understanding can come via direct revelation from God to the individual or by the revelation contained in his written Word, which originated via direct revelation from God to his prophets. But even the understanding of the revelation in his written word does not open in full bloom to a novice upon first perusal of the Scriptures. The Scriptures display the heart and understanding of God. He will not open these treasures to those who zealously guard inaccurate preconceptions or to those who live in disobedience to him, regardless of academic degrees or social standing. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge without which there are some things that cannot and will never be understood. A case in point concerns the book of Revelation.

Revelation 1:1, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant <δουλοσ> (doulos, bond slave by choice), John.

According to John, this book could be more accurately titled, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ,” rather than “The Revelation of Saint John the Divine,” as it is titled in most of our English Bibles today. Furthermore, he states that this revelation is addressed to, and can only open to those who serve the Messiah. The book is cryptic enough to discourage the casual Christian. There are also many things that could not be understood in past generations. The technology, as well as the geopolitical composition of the planet, had not advanced to the state that John the apostle described. Fanciful, specially created monsters were conjured up in the minds of the readers of the Revelation account, because the war machinery described by John did not exist even one hundred years ago. Today these “monsters” are easily recognized as common military hardware.

The interpretations of respected theologians of a past century, who would never live to see the times in which the book of Revelation would be fulfilled, should be carefully reconsidered. It was never necessary for the LORD to clarify it for them, as it was not the time of its fulfillment. They could only interpret these prophecies in the light of the geopolitical world and reality in which they lived, just as we do today. The horse and buggy technology of a past generation could not have provided the experiential framework to interpret these Scriptures as we are now able to do. It is clear to us living today that past generations of theologians would never have seen the book of Revelation tied daily to front page news reports of the generation that is being primed to welcome in the world government and the much heralded New World Order.

It is the Messiah who opened the Revelation to John to show his servants. And he alone can open it to our understanding, if he finds meek and obedient hearts that will listen to him over the din of a thousand scholarly interpretations. Many of us have become so well versed in the inherited misinterpretations of the past that we cannot see the clarity and beauty of the chronology that unfolds in its pages. Understanding must be sought on one’s knees and in the discipline of one’s mind to the truth rather than by adhering to comfortable traditions of thought and activity. Jesus the Messiah, the revealer himself, is to be sought, allowing the interpretive works of men to pale before him.

Mysteries are opened to the mind through the work of the Spirit of God. It is the work of the Spirit to personally lead us into the truth. The provisions of the LORD are abundant along the path of righteousness. The Spirit of the LORD will shine into your heart, exposing sin and error, so the eyes of your spiritual understanding can be enlightened. Spiritual understanding comes with asking, seeking, knocking, and aggressively obeying. The LORD desires to open this mystery of iniquity to your understanding, but the truth must be tried on and your own inclinations analyzed and reconsidered. Not everything we think about the Scriptures is truth. Only the Word of God is truth.

No one can force you to reconsider the pictures you hold in your mind. That is your burden alone. However, the LORD is willing to lead you through the pain of doubt and the discomfort of transformation. Trust him rather than your own understanding. The Word of God will not “fall apart” if you dig deeply and reconsider your interpretation of certain Scriptures, but your eschatological viewpoint may. Are you willing to risk your present interpretation of a particular Scripture by putting your trust in the one who has promised to lead you into all truth?

I am asking you to “watch the movie” within these pages. I know there are many ways to look at prophetic Scriptures, and the more serious students are certain to have their own interpretive pictures planted firmly in their minds. For now, I am asking you to just watch the movie without attempting to defend your own or someone else’s interpretation as you read. If you can suspend your position long enough to take a fresh look, you will understand the mystery of iniquity with unimagined clarity.

The Tribulated Church

The gathering together, or rapture of the Saints, in its timely relationship to the mystery of iniquity and the revealing of the son of destruction, is the focus of Paul the apostle’s second letter to the believers in Thessalonica. It is in this letter that we are given a glimpse of the mystery of iniquity for the first time. We will consider that letter in detail. It was written to encourage the believers experiencing great tribulation, who were remaining faithful even to their death. Paul, Silas, and Timothy praised their brothers and sisters for their endurance in the face of such persecution.

Their sacrificial living was held up as an example to the entire body of believers. Then, and through the centuries, their endurance in the face of persecution and death has remained a beacon. Their example teaches us that the reality of the resurrection is a far more certain reward than anything that we may gain in this life.

Man has been allowed this age to repent and turn to God for forgiveness and mercy, but the age is soon to end. The sword of God’s righteous and holy indignation is about to fall. The day of his wrath is fast approaching. When the last trumpet sounds, the saints of God, living and dead, will be gathered, and the wrath of God will be poured out upon those who have afflicted and killed his people. But this will not happen until the sin of man has been brought to its climax. The disparity between the righteous followers of GOD and the evil of this world will be separated by the sword of God’s judgment. Man will have absolutely no excuse. Rejection of the one true GOD and the persecution of his people will be repaid in full measure.

The mystery of iniquity will play a big part in your life in the next few years. Unfortunately, the mystery of iniquity has been ignored or redefined and neutered of its significance. It is uncomfortable to consider its impact on the way we should live in these last days. The redefinition of this section of Scripture pertaining to the mystery of iniquity was offered as part of the well-received “peace, safety, and prosperity gospel” that caught on at the onset of the Industrial Revolution. The outgrowth of this redefinition and resultant doctrinal error has become part of the strong delusion to which both Y’shua (Jesus) and Shaul (Paul) prophesied. The warnings we see in God’s Word are clear. If God’s people continue to ignore these warnings, he will allow those who love comfort more than truth to walk straight into the snare that has been set for them. This is one of the workings of the mystery of iniquity. They will believe a lie, and be hung by their own apathetic unconcern.

II Thessalonians 2:7, For the mystery of iniquity doth already work...

“The mystery of iniquity doth already work,” and has been at work since Satan took his rebellious stand against God, and subsequently man. One construct of the mystery of iniquity is the hidden, behind the scenes workings of Satan, the god of this age as Paul refers to him.

II Corinthians 4:4, The god of this world [< αιον> (age)] hath blinded the minds of those that do not believe, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, (who is the image of God), should shine unto them.

The mystery of iniquity entails Satan’s legal authority as god of this age. If a person’s mind is blinded by Satan, he is unable to see even the obvious truths of life; much less so the conflicts of power in the spiritual realm and the deep mysteries of God. This spiritual blindness can account for much of the disparity in the mental perception of intelligent persons such as the late Carl Sagan, an eminent New Age science philosopher, who stated, “The cosmos is all that is, all that was, and all that ever will...” This is a fine example of a blinded mind producing a profoundly distorted view of reality from an otherwise respectable intellect. This is one man who may be at a real loss for words when he stands before the judgment of Almighty God. His “cosmos” philosophy will come back to bite him in the end. This blindness is very subtle when one considers one’s own prejudices and presuppositions which filter out the truth in favor of evidence that confirms one’s comfortable belief system. We must never stop questioning and questing for truth.

Rebellion in Heaven

To understand the mystery of iniquity, we must dig deep and search the Scriptures diligently. We must realize that the god of this age desires to blind our eyes to what he desires to accomplish so we can become ensnared in his world view and remain ineffective. For our search in uncovering the mystery of iniquity, it would be helpful to have a command of the following definitions. They will be essential to our understanding. Please take a moment to study and comprehend these important legal terms as they are defined in the 1925 edition of Websters International Dictionary. The mystery (the hidden secrets that cannot be revealed to novices) that we are exploring, is that of iniquity.

Iniquity is defined as: The deviation from that which is just or upright. A deed of injustice, or maleficent act.

The Greek word for iniquity is ανομια (anomia), also translated as lawlessness in the KJV.

Lawlessness is defined as: the state of being without or in opposition to the law. Hence, lawlessness entails the stand of one who is in opposition to the originator, or author of the law. An act of open rebellion, and renunciation of the one to whom one owes allegiance.

Rebellion is: An open, organized and armed resistance to authority; an organized uprising of subjects to overthrow their lawful ruler.

Sedition, on the other hand, is: conduct or speech which is in opposition to lawful authority, but lacks an overt act that would constitute treason or rebellion.

Satan acted in open rebellion against the one to whom he owed his allegiance. Satan led an organized uprising of angels who sought to overthrow their lawful ruler, God. We see that Satan was able to draw away one third of the heavenly hosts in his original rebellion against God, as is depicted in Revelation.

Revelation 12:4, ... his (the dragon, Satan’s) tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth.

Why did God not squash Satan like a bug when he rebelled against him? Why, if God is loving and just, did he allow Satan to enter into the affairs of man and corrupt creation? Why? Because God is love, God is holy, and God is absolutely just. God will not act in a maleficent, unjust, or lawless manner to subdue Satan. Satan was given great power and authority in the beginning, and that authority can only be stripped from him in a legal manner by one who has the right to do so. Through his obedience to God, Y’shua has prevailed, receiving the authority to strip Satan of his delegated dominion (Rev 5), defeat him in heaven (Rev 12), subdue him in his rule over the kingdoms of this world (Rev 19, 20), and finally destroy the disobedient, lawless one in the lake of fire (Rev 20).

The Title Deed

Satan is now holding fast to his authority in the heavens which allows him access before the throne of God where he now positions himself as the “accuser of the brethren.” Satan’s purposes and methodology are exposed in Revelation 12 (verse 10), and the book of Job (1:6–2:7) where he is depicted in both scenarios as the accuser before the throne, and the one who steals, kills, and destroys (John 10:10). Besides Satan’s position as the accuser before the throne of God, by his deceptive wiles he also received the dominion of this world from the hand of Adam.

Adam originally received from God complete dominion and authority over the entire creation on earth (Gen 1:26). He also had dominion over Satan, but was “bribed” into a deal with Satan after Eve was seduced to sin. Now Satan legally holds the title deed to this world, a title and authority that was delivered to him by the original recipient, Adam. This same authority was offered to Y’shua by Satan, for the small price of worship.

Luke 4:5-7, And the devil, took Y’shua up into an high mountain, and showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will, I give it. If you worship me, all this shall be yours.

Y’shua did not dispute Satan’s claim that this world was delivered to his authority. Y’shua did not even challenge his jurisdiction, but flatly refused Satan’s offer, choosing obedience to God and the plan for his blood to be poured out as the atonement for sin. God had ordained the sacrificial death of Y’shua before Adam relinquished the dominion of this world to the authority of Satan.

Ephesians 1:4, God has chosen us in Messiah before the foundation [<καταβολε> (katabole)] to throw over, or give over completely, to relinquish] of the world ... (KJV)

God has chosen us in Christ before the relinquishing of the world ... (MIV)

After Adam relinquished his dominion over the world to Satan, there was no way for man to get it back. It was lost forever. However, Y’shua prevailed over temptation, sin, and death to strip Satan of his delegated authority, securing the kingdoms of this world God’s way. Revelation chapter 5 shows us that only Y’shua has the authority to take the scroll of the title deed of this world from the hand of God. That scroll was bound by the seals of Satan’s power and authority. Only Y’shua has the God given authority to actively dispossess Satan of his legal claim, by stripping the seals of power from the scroll of the title deed to this world.

Revelation 5:1, I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a scroll written within, and on the backside sealed with seven seals. 2And I saw a strong angel proclaim with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose the seals?” 3And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. 4And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book...

John was utterly shattered over the realization that there was no hope. There was not a man living or dead who was worthy to loose the seals of the authority of Satan from the title deed. He was in irreconcilable emotional chaos to weep so profoundly before the throne of Almighty God. There was no hope for redemption. The fate of the creation was sealed, and there was no way out from under the authority that was delivered to Satan. Satan kept the deed bound with the power of his authority, and no one had the power to divest his authority from the deed to the dominion of this world. John’s only response to this desperate dilemma was to anguish in tears. Put yourself in his place. He was devastated. There was no hope.

Revelation 5:5, ... And one of the elders said unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll, and to loose the seven seals. 7And the Lamb of God came and took the scroll out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. 8And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb...

The Lion of Judah alone has prevailed, and only he is worthy to divest Satan of the dominion laid under his authority by the first Adam. By the first Adam came the offense; by the second Adam, Y’shua the Messiah, came the reconciliation.

9And they sung a new song, “Thou art worthy to take the scroll, and to open the seals: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;10And hast made unto our God kings and priests: and they shall reign on the earth.”

Revelation 6:1, And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts shout, Go! (KJV-GINT)

The power and authority by which Satan securely holds fast his claim, his legal authority to stand before the throne as the accuser, and his authority over the kingdoms of this world is being stripped away in heaven at this very hour. Each time a seal of Satan’s authority is torn from the scroll, the unbridled power and fury of Satan is unleashed on the earth. With each victory in heaven, mankind is brought one giant step closer to the global government of the destroyer. Y’shua is not causing the death and destruction on earth as the seals are removed. The destruction is just the unavoidable consequence of stripping Satan’s legal command in the spiritual realm. Satan is holding fast to his authority over the world, which we also see in Ephesians:

Ephesians 6:10-12, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, [αρχηε = primary powers] against powers, [εξουσια = exercised authority (from the author)] against the world rulers [kosmokrateros] of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in the Heavenlies. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (KJV-GINT)

...against the world rulers [(kosmokrateros) Kosmo=the world, the domain of the exercised power of Satan. Krateros=to lay hold of, seize, retain by force]. Satan and his minions have seized and maintain their exercised dominion by force in the heavenlies. That spiritual wickedness has a powerful presence in the heavenlies at this time. But that power is being stripped away by the authority delegated to Y’shua when he was raised from the dead. There is a battle raging in the heavenlies against the power of the accuser. He is now holding fast to his position in the heavens as the accuser before the throne of God. But there is also a battle raging on earth for the souls of men. It is a life and death struggle with the heavenly hosts fully engaged. Y’shua and his angels are not willing that any of his chosen perish. Y’shua is not lounging around heaven in his pajamas watching Oprah reruns. There is strife and warfare up above and a battle here on earth. We are told to put on the whole armor of God and enjoin the battle. This spiritual warfare is reality, it is not a figure of speech.

Satan was delegated power and authority before iniquity was found in him. That authority has to be removed from his dominion legally, by one who has overcome the same temptations to which Satan succumbed. The Messiah has prevailed to loose the seven seals. Soon, an all out war in the heavens will result in Michael and his angels’ consummate victory over Satan in the heavenlies.

War in Heaven

We now look into the throne room in heaven where the hidden, behind the scenes working of Satan as the accuser is revealed. The mystery of iniquity begins to unfold as Y’shua reveals the details to John.

Revelation 12:7, And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8And they prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Messiah: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night...”

Verses 6 and 14 in this chapter, pinpoint the war in heaven occurring three and a half years before Armageddon. The war described is not Satan’s original rebellion, but a future event in which the heavens will be shaken and the powers of evil will be defeated in heaven. When Y’shua spoke of the heavens being shaken and the stars of heaven being cast to the earth, he was referring to this future cataclysm. The victory of the Lion of Judah will be completed first in heaven, then on the earth three and a half years later as Y’shua the Messiah sets up his kingdom. He will incarcerate Satan by casting him into the bottomless pit for 1,000 years.

Concerning this war in heaven, Michael and his angels will prevail over Satan and his angels. Their victory will end his rebellious stand in heaven and despoil Satan of his authority to stand in the midst of the throne room of God where he now accuses the brethren day and night. He will not relinquish his position willingly, but will hold fast to his position until he is conquered and cast out into the earth. This victory in heaven will occur precisely three and a half years before Messiah returns from heaven with the resurrected saints to conquer and rule at the battle of Armageddon. At this “midst of the last seven years” event, Satan, who has taken his rebellious stand against God in the heavens, will then take his stand on the earth, opposing God and those who “keep His commandments and have the testimony of Y’shua Messiah.”

The book of Daniel gives a vivid description of the ruler and the world government under his control (referred herein as the New World Order). That government will bear totalitarian control over the entire planet before the Messiah comes to rule the Earth. According to the Prophets Daniel and Shaul, the casting out of Satan occurs at the exact time that the abomination of desolation takes place.

The Destroyer is revealed as he takes his stand in Jerusalem. This is referred to as Satan’s time, and he will control the world government and the man who sits at the top of it; the man of sin (II Thes 2:3), the son of destruction (II Thes 2:3), the Wicked one (II Thes 2:8), the prince that shall come (Dan 9:27), the king (Dan 11:36), the mouth of the little horn (Dan 7:8), the mouth speaking great things and blasphemies (Rev 13:5), he who shall magnify himself above all (Dan 11:37, II Thes 2:4), he to whom authority is given to make war with the saints and overcome them (Rev 13:7), he who has authority to continue 42 months (Rev 13:5), he who blasphemes God, his namesake, his tabernacle, and the angels (Rev 13:6, Dan 11:36, II Thes 2:3), he whose army shall pollute the sanctuary and shall place the abomination of desolation (Dan 11:31), he who will plant the tents of his command post between the seas in the glorious holy mountain (Dan 11:45), the voice of the beast (Dan 7:11), he who wears out the saints of God for three and a half years (Dan 7:25), antichrist (I John 2:18), he whose coming is after the working of Satan (II Thes 2:9), the Destroyer (Rev 9:11), he who rises to power out of the smoke of the sixth seal nuclear war and its bloody aftermath (Rev 9:11), the commander and CEO of the New World Order military machine (Rev 9:11), the spokesman or representative for the beast system (Rev 19:19), he whose coming is with all lying signs and wonders (II Thes 2:9), he who has full ability to deceive utilizing the unrighteousness that is in them that perish (II Thes 2:10), he who will come in his own name and the people will receive (John 5:43), and he who shall be destroyed by the brightness of Messiah’s coming at the battle of Armageddon (II Thes 2:8).

It is important to note that the individual spoken of is not the beast, as the beast is indicative of the government system. The son of destruction sits as the undisputed ruler of the beast government. As the head, he is referred to as “the beast” only once in Rev 19:19-20, just as Nebuchadnezzar was referred to as “the head of gold” in Dan 2:38, because he was the personal ruler of Babylon. All other references to the beast, such as Rev 13:1, are direct references to the government. People do not have seven heads and ten horns, but governments are described as having such features.

Revelation 12:11, ... And [the brethren] overcame [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Living to the end and saving our own skin is not the ultimate goal of life and never has been; enduring faithful to the end is. This verity never changes. It was true in the first Covenant period. In the gospels, Y’shua told the leaders of the Renewed Covenant assemblies that it would be so for us, and Shaul confirmed this truth throughout his letters. In the opening of his “revelation to his servants concerning the things which must come to pass,” Y’shua hammered the same message to his followers to prepare them for the rough times ahead. He that endures faithful to the end, shall be saved (Mat 24:13; Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; Mat 10:32, 33; Luke 9:25, 26). Hang in there; I have read the end of the Revelation and Y’shua guarantees that it will be worth any amount of pain and suffering the world may heap on us.

Concerning the war in heaven and the victory won there:

Revelation 12:12, Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time...

At the outcome of this war in heaven, Satan is cast down from heaven against his will. His rebellious stand before the throne of God is abruptly terminated. He is taken out of the midst of the throne room and cast down to the earth where he then takes his rebellious stand on earth. That stand is manifested in the revealing of the son of destruction, a man who is fully complemented with all the power of Satan, replete with lying signs, wonders, and a false prophet. This is truly Woe to the earth and coincides with the first woe which occurs at the fifth trumpet. Abaddon, Apollyon, the Destroyer is revealed as the king or commander of the New World Order military forces. He establishes order after the war that brings the world government into full power over the inhabitants of the earth. It is not a peculiar coincidence that Satan is cast out of heaven three and a half years before the return of Messiah to reign on earth, and the Destroyer is revealed at exactly the same time. It is the identical incident. Satan’s expulsion is the direct cause of the Wicked one being revealed. His coming is after the working of Satan.

The mystery of iniquity is already at work behind the scenes and before the throne of God. However, that mystery will be in its full rage and devastation when Satan, the lawless one himself, is cast down to the earth, and works his will through the son of destruction, antichrist personified.

Revelation 12:13, ... And when the dragon (Satan) saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman (Israel) which brought forth the man child (Y’shua). 14And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time (three and a half years), away from the face of the serpent. 15And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood [common reference to an army] after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. 16And the earth [or forces of the earth] helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 17And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Messiah Y’shua.

The Destroyer is thwarted in his attempt to destroy the people of Israel. They flee from Judea into the mountains as his army is engulfed in a war with a 200 million-man army from out of the east at the sixth trumpet. After a successful defense against the eastern communist bloc, he then moves to exterminate Israel, and wipe from the planet all followers of the Messiah who keep the commandments of GOD. (Those who “say” they follow Jesus, but don’t bother to obey him by keeping the commandments of God, are no threat to the dragon—he doesn’t waste his time with non-combatants.) After this comes the events of the seven thunders, the contents of which John was forbidden to disclose to the servants of Messiah.

Prerequisite to the Rapture

We have seen that Satan does have a dominion that was his in the beginning with God, and an authority that was transferred to him by Adam. He uses that authority stealthily and ruthlessly to injure God by hurting his people. God is bound by his nature to be just, righteous, and loving. God cannot act in an unlawful manner to defeat Satan, even though Satan stands in absolute rebellion against him. God has committed all judgment into the hands of his Son (John 5:22). Messiah must rule until he has put down all authority and power in heaven and earth (I Cor. 15:24-28). The mystery of iniquity, Satan’s lawlessness, has been shrouded. But now we begin to more fully understand the position that Satan maintains, and to which he holds fast—rights that he was given before his rebellion, and the authority he secured by his conquest over Adam, subjugating the entire human race. Let us now look at the context of the mystery of iniquity.

He Who Now Holds Fast

II Thessalonians 2:5-6, Remember, when I was with you, I told you these things? Now you know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his own time ... (KJV)

The Greek indicates that the believers in Thessalonica already knew what Paul was about to restate. How did they know? Paul may have spent several days and nights on the subject while he was with them. The evidence indicates that Paul was shown many of the same things that John recorded in Revelation (II Cor 12). Some things he could tell them, others he could not (such as the specific events of the Seven Thunders).

...Now you already know what withholdeth...

The word withholdeth is a poor translation of [<κατεχω> (katecho)], which primarily translates: To seize and hold fast to retain possession. To know what holds fast to retain possession, we must consider the larger context:

Now you already know what holds fast (katecho) that he (the son of destruction) might be revealed in his own time, because the mystery of iniquity is already at work. But he now holds fast (katecho) only until he is taken out of the midst [<μεσοσ> (mesos)]. Then shall the Wicked one (the man of sin) be revealed, whose coming is after the working of Satan. (GINT)

The context allows only one interpretation of that which is holding fast. It is, and can legally and grammatically only be, the mystery of iniquity which is already at work. It is Satan, the lawless one in rebellion against the one to whom he owes his allegiance, who is now holding fast to his delegated power and authority until he is taken out of the midst of the throne room of God, where he now stands as the accuser. It is the behind the scenes working in the spirit realm of the god of this age, who will be cast down to the earth and finally bound, judged, and cast into the Lake of Fire. It is he, the lawless one himself, who now holds fast to his delegated authority before the throne of God, and his delivered authority from the hand of Adam.

We have seen the mystery of iniquity at work as it was revealed in Revelation 12, where Satan holds fast to his position of authority before the throne of God only until he is taken out of the midst by Michael and his angels, acting under the authority of Y’shua. Midst (mesos) is the term used for the area within the throne room of God (Rev 4:6, 5:6, 6:6), where both Y’shua and Satan have authority; Satan as the accuser, and Y’shua as our advocate. The term throne in Revelation refers not solely to a seat, but also to the expansive area around the throne, or throne room. This is where Satan accuses the brethren day and night. Satan now holds fast to that position, but only until he is overcome by Michael and his angels, taken out of the midst, and cast down to the earth. Then, at that time, the Wicked one will be revealed [<αποκαλυπτω> (apokalupto)=suddenly uncovered]. He is the man of sin, the son of destruction, in II Thes 2:3. It is he who is revealed in verse 7 and it is he whom the Messiah will destroy with the brightness of his coming at the Battle of Armageddon in verse 8. It is he who was also prophesied in Dan 9:26 as the prince that shall come who shall cause the abomination of desolation.

Straining for a “Restrainer”

For several decades I, along with a multitude of ultra-dispensational, pretribulation secret rapturists, have redefined the word katecho to mean “the restrainer.” We fabricated a scenario that was never alluded to in any of Shaul’s writings or in the text of the entire Bible: That the Holy Spirit is restraining Satan’s power, and when the Holy Spirit is taken from the earth (as well as the Christians), then the man of sin will be revealed. Even though the language and the context would never allow this redefinition, some of the modern Bible translations were influenced by this error. That redefinition has even further buried the working of the mystery of iniquity. But redefinition does not truth make, especially when it is in direct contradiction to the clear teaching in the context, and the words of Messiah himself.

No matter how much one wrestles the words “that which holds fast” to say that the Holy Spirit or the Christians in this world are restraining the man of sin from being revealed, it will never make it the truth. The Christians in America could not even keep our republic, which was rooted in adherence to the Scriptures, from being taken over by atheist socialists. There is not one shred of evidence in the entire Bible that we are keeping the man of sin from being revealed. We have nothing to do with this event, Michael and his angels do! This strained restrainer concept is an attempt to take our eyes off the context of Thessalonians, and produce a rapture, an easy out, before the man of sin is revealed. Twisting this word to produce what the context clearly condemns is the working of Satan. He is the author of the strong but comfortable delusion that Paul exposes.

You could torture katecho to say restrains, out of duress (much like you can get a child to say “uncle” by twisting his arm). However, the context would never justify twisting “the mystery of iniquity which holds fast to his authority until he is taken out of the midst of God’s throne room by Michael and his angels” into “the Holy Spirit within the believer, which restrains the working of Satan until the church is taken out in a secret rapture before the man of sin is revealed.” Only one would be the truth, the other would be a deliberate twisting of the Scripture, the result of the working of Satan to bury the mystery of iniquity and the truth of the timing of the return of Messiah from the eyes of the Christian’s understanding.

A Letter to the Church in Tribulation

The section of Scripture we have been considering in II Thessalonians is in the middle of a letter to the believers in the throes of great tribulation. It is very significant that this letter to the believers in tribulation is the last of Shaul’s seven epistles in their sequential order. It depicts Messiah’s return for his persecuted saints proclaiming their glorious hour of deliverance. They are encouraged to endure faithfully to the end when Y’shua will set them free from the pains of tribulation.

To understand this letter we need to read it as a letter from the beginning, rather than by selecting a few isolated numbered sound bites (verses); a series of specific sentences that “prove” a preconceived notion. It takes a few minutes to carefully read the letter. It is worth every second, because we will find out exactly when Messiah Y’shua will return to gather the church and pour out the wrath of God. We will see the legal parameters of what must occur before the gathering of the Saints so that we will not be misled nor taken by surprise. For clarification, brackets [] have been inserted to bring in the truths concerning the mystery of iniquity that we have discovered from the 12th chapter of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

Second Letter of Shaul the Apostle to the Thessalonians

From: 1Shaul, Silas, and Timothy

To: The church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord and Messiah, Y’shua:

2Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Messiah Y’shua.

3We are constrained to always thank God for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows greatly, and the love of every one of you abounds toward each other. 4We glory in you (among the churches of God) for your endurance and faith in all the persecutions and tribulations that you are enduring. 5 Your endurance and faith being a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that you may continue to be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are now suffering.

6Seeing it is a righteous act for God to recompense tribulation to those that tribulate you; 7And you who are now being tribulated with us, will rest [<anasin> (anacin)=to be suddenly loosed of the strain, be relieved of the pain] when the Lord Y’shua shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that do not know God, and on those that do not obey the gospel of our Lord and Messiah, Y’shua.

Here we see exactly when the believers will be suddenly relieved of the strain of tribulation. This is the glorious Day of the Lord, when he is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, just as he indicated to his disciples on the Mount of Olives. This is the day of our deliverance, and the day the Lord repays tribulation to those who have tribulated us. We continue:

9 (who [those who tribulated us] shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.)

“Who shall,” in verse 9, starts a parenthetical future clause which indicates the final disposition of those who do not obey Y’shua. The Lord shall in the future accomplish this act, but not at this moment. We have another parenthetical future clause in chapter 2 verse 8, which is just as obvious.

8Then shall the Wicked one be revealed, (whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming,)

The Wicked one will not be destroyed at the moment that he is revealed, or at the coming of Messiah for his saints at the last trumpet, but at the Battle of Armageddon, just as Revelation 19 indicates. Here we see the absolute necessity of staying with the chronology of the book of Revelation if we are going to make sense of the order that these prophetic occurrences transpire. This future parenthetical clause that we are addressing in the first chapter does not indicate that which will happen at his return for his saints, but looks forward to the future time of the White Throne Judgment after the millennial reign of Messiah, when the final disposition of Satan and those whose names are not found in the Book of Life are cast into the lake of fire and “punished with everlasting destruction.” Now we read this parenthetical in its entirety, inserting in bold italics the timing of this occurrence as we understand from Rev 20:11-15.

9(who shall [ in the end] be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.)

Now let us back up and read from verse 6, leaving out the explanatory parenthesis to follow the flow of the letter.

6Seeing it is a righteous act for God to recompense tribulation to those that tribulate you; 7And you who are now tribulated with us, rest, the strain and pain that you are experiencing will be suddenly relieved, when the Lord Y’shua shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that do not know God, and on those that do not obey the gospel of our Lord and Messiah, Y’shua,10 IN THAT DAY, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in those that believe (because our testimony among you was believed).

When will the tribulation of the saints be suddenly relieved? In that day. For whom is he coming? For his saints. Why is he going to be glorified in them? Because their (Shaul, Silas, and Timothy’s) testimony among them was believed. Of which day is he speaking? That day when the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel and the trump of God, taking vengeance on those who have been tribulating the believers and suddenly relieving the pain and strain of tribulation. The tribulated will rest when the Lord Y’shua comes for his saints in all of his glory. The word rest in the Greek is ανεσιν, anacin (from whence is derived the brand name of a famous pain reliever). The picture that the word anacin paints is a person bound and stretched tightly on a rack. Bones are popping out of their sockets and internal organs are beginning to tear loose from the connecting tissue. Ropes and chains holding the body in tension are as tight as a violin string. At the point of losing consciousness, when there appears to be no hope; the avenger breaks through the door, slashes the binding chains, and destroys those who have been torturing his beloved. It is the Day of the Lord. (See Appendix IV, The Witness of the Heavens).

11Therefore we always pray for you, that our God would consider you worthy of this calling, (by your endurance unto the end) and fulfill in you, the pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: 12That the name of our Lord and Messiah, Y’shua, may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord and Messiah, Y’shua.

After his prayer for the tribulated Saints, Shaul expounds with clarity the day of our deliverance at the glorious coming of the Lord and Messiah, Y’shua.

2:1 Now we implore you brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord and Messiah, Y’shua, and our gathering together unto him;2 Do not be shaken up or troubled, (not by a spirit, nor by dissertation, nor by a letter as if it were from us), thinking that the day of the Lord is imminent [<ενεστηκεν> (enestaken) = standing near, impending, close at hand]. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means; BECAUSE that day shall not come, EXCEPT FIRST

This third paragraph, starting with chapter 2:1, is concerning the coming of our Lord and Messiah, Y’shua, and our gathering together unto him. They were not, and we are not, to be troubled or deceived by any of the means that truth (and lies) are generally disseminated. We are not to be worked into a frenzy, thinking that the gathering together is imminent. We are told the condition that first must be fulfilled before that day can happen. BECAUSE sets the reason. EXCEPT FIRST sets the condition that must be met, the absolute legal prerequisite to his coming to gather the saints, thereby relieving the pain and strain of tribulation. What is it?

3 Let no man deceive you by any means; BECAUSE that day shall not come, EXCEPT FIRST there come the rebellious stand, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or is venerated; so that he, as God, sits in the temple of God, proclaiming that he is God.

There are no other words that can be used to express with greater clarity, the reason, the condition, and the act. We are not to be shaken because the gathering together is not imminent. The condition that must come first is the rebellious stand. The result of this rebellious stand is that the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction who exalts himself above God. Verse four is nearly a verbatim recitation of Daniel’s description of the king of wickedness in chapter 11, verses 36 and 37, and the mouth, or blasphemous spokesman of the beast government in Rev 13:5-8. Why did we not see it more clearly? Because the mystery of iniquity is already at work to blind the eyes of men to the truth.

A Falling Away?

Once men formulate an opinion, they have a tendency to protect their theology as if the universe revolves around their interpretation. Meekness is a fine line to walk, and not very comfortable. The King James translators did not help things much either. After laying out the reason and absolute prerequisite for the gathering together of the saints, they let the whole buildup fall flat on its face:

BECAUSE that day shall not come, EXCEPT FIRST there come...

...a falling away

I must express my personal disappointment at such an uneventful conclusion to a most intense crescendo. I am about to find out in no uncertain terms when the Lord is returning to gather the saints together and end our tribulations. I am finally going to know so specifically that I will not be deceived by any means. Then I get this vague, lackluster, inconclusive: “a falling away.”

A is a general article. In the Greek the word is ‘η, which is the definitive article the. It can be most accurately described by pointing the finger at an object, thereby defining it precisely, and saying, “the _____.” The words “falling away” do not help much either. A falling away from what? The truth? That is how it has been handled in a million and six sermons. Even in Shaul’s time:

II Timothy 1:15 ... all they which are in Asia be turned away from me...

II Timothy 4:16 ... all men have forsaken me...

Falling away from the truth had certainly happened in Shaul’s time, but it happened during the Dark Ages as well. Can we be more specific since we are pointing the finger at an occurrence that will signal an event that must come to pass before Messiah can gather us to the throne room of God for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb? Or do we acquiesce to a generic “falling away” to point to the absolute prerequisite to his coming to deliver us?

“A falling away” in the Greek is: η (he) = the,αποστασια (apostasia) = to stand in seditious opposition, or open rebellion. Apostasia has been transliterated into the English as “apostasy,” and has come laden with the misconceived meaning “a falling away from the truth.” In Greek literature apostasia was used as “divorce,” which indicated a betrayal against one’s covenant. It was a stand in opposition to one’s spouse, not a simple “falling out of love.” There is only one other time that the word apostasia is used in the Bible. This one occurrence is rich with meaning.

Acts 21:20 ... You see brother Shaul, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe, and they are all zealous for the law; And they were seditiously informed about you, that you teach all of the Jews which are among the Gentiles, to forsake Moses...

“Forsake” is αποστασισ (apostasis), apo=away from, stasis=to stand; hence to stand away from, in opposition. Here we see the activity of the word sedition that we defined earlier.

Sedition: Conduct or speech which is in opposition to lawful authority, but lacks an overt act that would constitute treason or rebellion.

The self appointed guardians of orthodox religious thought had so seriously twisted Shaul’s teachings out of context, that they provoked Shaul’s fellow countrymen against him before they even heard his testimony. They attempted to twist Shaul’s message into an incitement to rebel against the lawful authority of Moses. They accused him of teaching people to rebel against the authority of God. We are told that these accusations against Shaul were libelous, but if their accusations were true, his message would have been seditious. The act of the people in response would have been rebellion against Moses.

Rebellion: An open, organized, and armed resistance to authority. An organized uprising of subjects to overthrow their lawful ruler.

Apostasis is an act. The substantive form designated by the suffix “σισ” indicates an act or stand taken. That would put this “stand in opposition” into the category of rebellion, if it were acted upon by the hearers of Shaul’s “so called” seditious teachings.

We see then that the apostasia in II Thessalonians chapter 2 is not a vague falling away but rather the act of rebellion. This rebellious act is an active stand against the lawful ruler of the universe, God. The act of rebellion was initiated by Satan himself, who stood in rebellious opposition to God’s authority since his original act, and Satan’s rebellion is not yet complete. He now opposes God before his throne. When he is cast down to the earth he will take his stand of rebellion against God and his people here through the son of destruction—the man of sin.

Apostasia is an act. The substantive form designated by the suffix σια indicates an act or stand taken, but not yet completed. That would put this “stand in opposition” into the category of a rebellion that was begun, but not yet completed. The stand of rebellion that Satan initiated against the Most High God will be quashed while he is bound in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years. His rebellion on earth will resume when he is released and deceives the world one last time at the end of the millennial reign of Messiah on earth. Satan’s rebellion will be eternally terminated as he is cast into the lake of fire and tormented day and night, from ages to ages.

The result of the rebellious stand that must come is that the man of sin will be revealed before Messiah gathers his Saints. The son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, will be venerated by most of those that dwell on the earth. He as God, will sit in the temple of God proclaiming that he is God before the Messiah comes for his Saints and relieves the pain of tribulation.

The definite article ‘η— the—is also very important to understand when one looks at the next phrase: The man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction, who ... This is not referring to some general sinful condition of man or some destructive tendency of mankind. It is in no uncertain terms pointing to the one who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or is venerated; so that he, as God, sits in the temple of God, proclaiming that he is God. Now we plainly see that the event which must come to pass is the event spoken of by Y’shua and Daniel as the abomination of desolation or the revealing of the king of unrighteousness. This statement is a near verbatim recitation of the accounts in Daniel, Revelation, and Isaiah.

Daniel 11:31, Arms shall stand on his behalf ... and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate ... 36And the king shall do according to his will and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods ... 37Neither shall he regard any god for he shall magnify himself above all.

Revelation 13:5-7, And there was given unto the beast, a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and authority was given unto him to continue forty two months. 6And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7And authority was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them: and authority was given to him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

Isaiah 14:13-14, For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into the heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most high.

This section in Isaiah has been attributed to the rebellion of Satan, but in the context it is a proverb spoken against the king of Babylon who is portrayed as the morning star having fallen from heaven. This could very well be speaking prophetically concerning Satan’s future casting down to the earth, and the ruler of the last “Babylon” taking his throne under the power of Satan’s working. It also could have a direct prophetic application for Satan, Nimrod, and Nebuchadnezzar, and a final specific fulfillment at the end time with the antichrist. In any case, the attitude and verbiage are the same as we see in II Thessalonians chapter 2. It appears that the man of sin is one groomed to be inhabited by Satan himself. He is described as the man [anthropos=offspring of man] of sin—a man completely possessed by Satan.

II Thessalonians 2:5, Remember, when I was with you, I told you these things?

Shaul had rehearsed the specifics of this revelation with them in detail while he was with them in Thessalonica. He also put some of these things down on parchment so that we would have a record of the things that must come to pass in the latter days. This revelation fully corroborates the revelation that John received on Patmos Island. We were not there to know all of the things that Shaul revealed to those in Thessalonica. He may have spent days unmasking the mystery of iniquity for them. What you are seeing unfold in this book is a portion of what Shaul laid out for those believers. What was necessary for the Saints in tribulation to know then is even more necessary for us (who will experience great tribulation) to know now.

6Now you already know what holds fast (to his position in heaven as the accuser) that he (the son of destruction) might be revealed in his own time,7because the mystery of iniquity (the accuser’s exercised authority before the throne of God, and clandestine attacks on the brethren below) is already at work. But, he now holds fast (to the authority and dominion delivered to him) only until he is taken out of the midst (of the throne room of God, by Michael and his angels). 8 Then shall the Wicked one be revealed, (whom the Lord shall, at Armageddon, consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming,) 9 He whose coming (the man of sin) is after the working of Satan; With all power and signs and lying wonders, 10having full ability to deceive utilizing the unrighteousness that is in them that perish; because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11For this reason, God shall let them go [<pempw>(pempo)] to a working error, so that they will believe the lie:12That they might all be damned who do not believe the truth, but had pleasure living in unrighteousness.

The Legal Prerequisite

The context of the first and second chapters of II Thessalonians gives us a picture of persecuted, but courageous Saints of God. They are being encouraged to endure. Shaul told them that they will be relieved of the strain and pain of persecution when the Lord Y’shua is revealed from heaven with his angels, taking fiery vengeance on those who have been tribulating them with torture and death.

Shaul instructs them not to be shaken up by anyone who indicates that the day of the Lord gathering his saints and taking vengeance on the world is imminent. Paul sets the absolute prerequisite for that day, being the rebellious stand of Satan when he is cast down to the earth. The result of this rebellious stand is that the man of sin is then revealed (apokalupto, suddenly uncovered), the son of destruction who exalts himself as God. This will happen prior to the gathering together.

No believer is to be deceived by anyone who teaches that the Lord could return at any moment, even though they mean well. We are not to be deceived by 88 reasons why the Messiah will return on the 8th day of the 8th month of the year 1988 of a pagan sun god calendar system. And no one should be deceived into thinking that the Day of the Lord can not refer to the day that Messiah raises the dead at the first resurrection and gathers those that are alive and remain to meet him in the air. They are one and the same. This is made abundantly clear in the two Epistles to the Thessalonians, as well as I Corinthians and the Revelation.

We can now see that over the last 2000 years, the Lord’s return was never imminent. He could not have returned 100 years ago. The abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, Y’shua, Shaul, and Yochanan must occur first. Shaul reminded them that what he is saying refers back to what he taught them while he was in Thessalonica. They were already aware of the mystery of iniquity at work and holding fast to his position in heaven until the time of the future war with Michael and his angels results in his being cast down to earth. When that takes place, the Wicked one will be revealed whose coming is energized by the power of Satan. That man of sin will be destroyed by our Messiah when he returns to establish his kingdom at the Battle of Armageddon. Those who love this world more than they love the truth will be allowed to go to a working error of the mystery of iniquity. They will believe the lie about which Shaul again tells them not to be deceived. This deception concerns the timing of the gathering together of the Saints in relation to the abomination of desolation, when the man of sin, the son of destruction is revealed. II Thessalonians 2:11 (KJV) reads:

...God shall send them strong delusion...

The word send is πεμπω (pempo) which properly translates “to send home.” Because some would rather listen to the voice of men over the voice of God as it is recorded in the Scriptures, God will send them home to where they are comfortable with their own delusions and commodious errors. All who do not love and believe the truth but find their reward living in the comfortable lap of the world of religion will be judged accordingly.

In II Thessalonians chapters 1 and 2, there is a clear and repeating emphasis throughout concerning Satan and the revealing of the man of sin.

Satan

The one who takes his rebellious stand

That which holds fast

The mystery of iniquity

That which is already at work

He who now holds fast

He who is taken out of the midst

The working of Satan

The Destroyer

The man of sin revealed

The son of destruction

He who exalts himself above all

He who proclaims himself God

He who will be revealed in his own time

The Wicked one who shall be revealed

He who is coming after Satan’s working

There is also a clear and repeating emphasis all through this section of Scripture concerning the day that the Lord Y’shua is revealed at his coming for the saints to gather them together.

The Lord Y’shua

Who will repay tribulation to those who are now tribulating you.

You who are now being tribulated, rest—the strain and pain will be relieved:

When Y’shua is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels

When the Lord takes out his vengeance in flaming fire

In that day when he comes to be glorified in his saints

In that day when he comes to be admired in them that believe

In that day when he gathers us together

In that day that will not happen, EXCEPT FIRST...

There is absolutely no context for that which is now holding fast to be considered as anything other than Satan holding fast to his position before the throne of God as the accuser. This section of Scripture is telling the Saints that the prerequisite for Messiah returning to end the pain of tribulation is the events laid out in the book of Revelation when Satan is cast out of heaven and the man of sin is then revealed at the fifth trump, the first Woe. He will not return before then. He cannot. Legal prerequisites exist. God cannot break his word. Praying contrary to his word will not change anything. Satan must be expelled from heaven and his dominion terminated there before the victory in heaven is complete. Y’shua cannot gather us to the sea of fire and glass in front of the throne of our heavenly Father until the mystery of iniquity is conquered and taken out of the midst. No one can enter the throne room for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb until Satan is permanently expelled from heaven and the wrath of God is completely poured out. Satan’s authority must be stripped from him, legally and permanently. No one goes up before Satan is cast down. Period!

I was guilty of twisting these Scriptures in just the way that I have exposed to you. I had to do so to prove my pre-tribulation secret rapture teachings. I was an energetic exponent of the teachings of my theological institution. I had a doctrine, position, reputation, and denomination to protect. In short, I was party to the system of this world that had been well rooted in my religious sect. Just because a denomination is in the mainstream of modern Christianity does not mean that truth is much of a concern.

But I did have concerns. For twenty years I did not feel completely comfortable with the way that I was handling II Thessalonians chapter 2; but I would feel more uncomfortable not having a command of the denominational party line on these verses. During one weekend of seclusion, with no one to impress and nothing to prove, I prayed honestly: “Lord, you know that I don’t understand the mystery of iniquity—or how it relates to the gathering together of the Saints. If you desire, you can show it to me. I know that you are able to reveal anything that you want.” I was in no hurry. I picked up my Greek New Testament and began to read and think. But I was strangely compelled to leave II Thessalonians and go to the 12th chapter of Revelation, which in my mind had nothing to do with Thessalonians. The mystery of iniquity was revealed to me in a chapter of the Bible that I had blindly misinterpreted for over 20 years. Fourteen hours later, it all fit together. I was electrified by what I saw, but my eschatology lay in shattered pieces on the stone picnic table at which I sat. The verses on which I had based my dispensational interpretation of the pre-tribulation rapture had melted before my eyes. For the first time in my life, I understood what Paul was communicating to the Saints in Thessalonica and to the Saints today. Once I dropped my haughty intellectual pre-suppositions and went to my knees, my heart began to open to the truth of God’s Word.

Hours later I asked the Lord if he was willing to open the book of Revelation to me. I had been pretending to have a command of the book of Revelation for years. Although it was my “pet book,” honestly, I knew He had never opened it to me. I had pried it open by studying the interpreters of current and past generations. I knew that if Y’shua had given the revelation to Yochanan to show his servants, then Y’shua could, if he wanted, open it up to me. As I prayed on my knees, a brilliant explosion of light in my mind’s eye resulted in my repeating over and over, “It is all there, and it is all in order. The abomination of desolation is there, the gathering of the church is there, it is all there and it is all in order.” I repeated that explosion in my mind so many times, that now many years later, it is as fluent as the moment I saw it. I reached for my unmarked reading Bible and began to feverishly mark up the book of Revelation with a rainbow of color. I knew where all of the major events were instinctively. I was unable to sleep for the next three days. My personal interpretation was in ruins, but for the first time the book of Revelation was clear to me. It is all there, and it is all in order. Reading it in sequence, setting aside the chapters of parenthetical explanations, brings out a Technicolor picture that is both horrifying in its destruction and awesome in its glory.

For the next several weeks of solitude I prayed over and over again, “Lord, if you have shown this to me and it is true and not the fabrication of an overactive imagination, burn it in my soul and don’t let me compromise what you have shown me. Show me how to communicate this, if it is you Lord. If this is not true, take it from me Lord. I cannot bear to separate myself from my friends. If this is not your revelation, take it from me Lord.”

The fire kept growing in me. During the months to come, the Word was very unforgettably confirmed to me. The Holy Spirit repeated specific verbal confirmations from several sources verbatim; sometimes from very unwilling sources. A fire was shut up in my bones that I could not quench. Months passed with nothing to sustain me but the clarity of the revelation and the drive to teach.

In May of 1996, I started this manuscript as a personal letter in response to a minister’s question. Within a few hours, I knew that I could not stop until I had committed to written form some of the things that the Lord had revealed to me. I deliberately avoided reading any of the recently published prophetic works on the subject until after the draft of the manuscript was finished. I have been asked by many if I had read Rosenthal’s work on the pre-wrath rapture. I had not. If the revelation stands or falls, it must be judged against the Word of God and future reality – not by man’s work. I do not know what revelations have been seen or what conclusions have been reached by others. There are however, a few specific revelations to which I have been led which verify what I have seen in the pages of Scripture. Appendix III presents the modern day prophets whose voices the Lord used to confirm the revelation.

Because I had previously been an unwitting party to the mystery of iniquity, it is now my responsibility to speak out. No minister would want to be party to that mystery. Yet by omission, the mystery of iniquity has been hidden from the Saints because ecclesiastically appointed teachers have not exposed the hidden, behind the scenes workings of Satan. While the system of the god of this age labors to bring about the world government and the man who will be revealed as the prince of the New World Order, the Christian church has remained mute as godless humanism is forced upon our offspring. Our silence plays directly into his hand.

By teaching error from the pulpit, we have set the snare of Satan that will catch the church in its own comfort zone. Remember, your denominational hierarchy will not be sitting on the throne in front of you on Judgment Day. He will. You will answer to him personally, and you cannot plead ignorance or, that “I was just following orders.” Y’shua gives the orders around here. If you don’t want to listen to him, get out of the way and quit misleading God’s people. Your reward may not be as severe if you decide to quit actively promulgating the mystery of iniquity.

The Chronology: From Here ... To Eternity

The most well defined signpost concerning the end times is the event referred to by Y’shua and Daniel as the abomination of desolation, which takes place precisely three and a half years years before Messiah establishes his earthly kingdom. This event and its timing is one of the most documented references on the prophetic calendar. Shaul refers to this as the revealing of the man of sin, the son of destruction, the Wicked one who proclaims himself to be God. Yochanan refers to him as antichrist, the mouth speaking great things, and as Abaddon, Apollyon—the Destroyer.

The chronological order of end time events is detailed within the specific seals, trumpets, thunders, and bowls of wrath in the book of Revelation. Please note that chapter 12, from which we have been reading, sits as a parenthesis within the chronology of the Revelation. This particular parenthesis covers several thousand years. It details, among other things, the original rebellion of Satan and a third of the angels in heaven, the birth and ascension of the Messiah, and Satan’s subsequent rebellious stand on earth after he is cast out of heaven three and a half years before Armageddon. But before we discuss the parenthetical explanations in the book of Revelation, it will be helpful to set the chronology first.

Nowhere else in Scripture are we given future prophecies concerning the end times in chronological order. Those who have studied the prophetic accounts in the Gospels and the prophets are painfully aware of this. They simply were not written by one man and then laid down chronologically. For generations we have attempted to assemble the ancient prophecies in an order that has made sense, both biblically and in the current geopolitical world in which we live. It is wise to remember that only the Word of God is flawless. Our interpretation of Bible prophecy is subject to our own presuppositions, the times in which we live, and to our extremely limited comprehension of the eternal purposes of God.

Well respected prophetic interpreters of the past have fallen into disrepute because they have failed to reconsider their interpretations in the light of what has developed on the world scene. Many of these interpretations have proven invalid through the years, and if they do not reevaluate their positions, both interpreter and interpretation become relics of a past generation. God’s Word alone is completely reliable. What we think about it should always be suspect and open for reevaluation.

The only sure way to assemble the chronology of end time events is to go to the only book in which the chronological order of events is recorded: The Revelation of Y’shua Messiah. After the introduction, the book of Revelation begins with the Messiah laying down the structure for how the entire revelation will be given. The revelation commences in verse 10.

Revelation 1:10, I (Yochanan) was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, 11Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia.

After Yochanan was given this instruction, he saw the Messiah in the glory of his resurrected body. Yochanan was so shaken that he fell down on his face as if he were dead. Y’shua then touched him, told him not to fear, and to:

19 Write the things which thou hast seen (Y’shua appearing to John in the glory of his resurrected body), and the things which are (Messiah’s current messages to the assemblies), and the things which shall be hereafter (in the future); 20The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden lamp stands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven lamp stands which thou sawest are the seven churches.

The things which thou hast seen, are recorded in chapter 1 verses 12-18.

The things which are, are recorded in chapter 1 verse 20 through chapter 3 verse 22. Even though these messages addressed specifics in the assemblies of that day and time (the way they are, back then), their relevance to the assemblies throughout history and today is undeniable. It is sobering to recognize that Y’shua sees behind our facades and cannot be fooled by the fronts we project to even our closest friends. Reading this section of Revelation and weighing each reproof personally can be a very rough experience. The format is there in each message. What does the Lord have against your personal lifestyle and walk with him? What can he praise you about? What encouragement to a more worthy endeavor can he entice you with? What vision of the future reward will give you courage to endure? If you will read these messages, asking your Lord to speak to your heart and to be brutally honest with you, you can be brought to true repentance. You will not need to be crushed by the world before you turn your heart to him. If you will judge yourself and keep yourself from sin, he will purge you and keep you in the hour of tribulation that is coming upon the whole world. That is one of his promises to you.

Otherwise, you can try this thing on your own, do it your own way, and see how you fare. Business as usual is not going to cut it in the months and years ahead. If you are not living for him and walking by the spirit of God now, don’t think that you are going to miraculously change when the economy crashes and you can’t buy a loaf of bread with your entire retirement fund. Do not think that a host of angels is going to descend on your house to keep you warm and safe while you watch five hours of entertainment TV and eat steak out of a freezer that never goes empty. If Daniel, who fervently sought the Lord all his days, had to wait 21 days for an angel to get through the spiritual battle to deliver such an eternally important message to him, I think that it would be wise to assume that the angels are not waiting in the wings ready and available at the drop of a hat to cater to your whims or rescue you in your crisis of spiritual negligence. I think it would be wise to dedicate yourself to seeking and doing the will of the Lord now so that He can prepare you to take your place in the firefight at hand.

The things which shall be hereafter are recorded in chapter 4:1 through chapter 22:6. This section addresses those things which are in the future to the 90 AD assemblies in Asia, and have been future to all but those who will see the end of the age. Y’shua described some of these events to his “future followers” as he addressed his disciples just days before his crucifixion, when he sat them down in private on the mount of Olives (Matthew chapters 24, 25).

Revelation 4:1, After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

Yochanan was then taken to the throne of God to see the future of mankind and the battle that rages in the heavens because of the rebellious stand that Satan has taken against God and his people. To extrapolate from this verse that Yochanan “represents” the church as it is taken up into heaven in a secret rapture, destroys any possibility of understanding the book of Revelation.

Utilizing that logic, we must say that Yochanan, falling down as dead at the feet of Y’shua, represents the church paralyzed by fear and incoherent (Rev 1:17). Of course this is an inane abstraction, but not more so than the “secret rapture indicator.” If we are allowed to allegorize the Bible in this “anything goes” fashion, we might as well close the book and make up our own stories. I am not saying that there is no rapture, but this is not it! We will see the day that he raises and rewards his Saints later in the book of Revelation. It will be no secret. It will not be a vague allusion or indistinct insinuation. It will not be stuck in between verses or between seals or thunders. It will be the most glorious revelation since the Day of Trumpets at Sinai. Y’shua said that every eye will see when he sends forth his angels to gather the elect, and all of the tribes of the earth who have not obeyed his Word shall mourn. As we explore the things which must be hereafter, we see that the book is laid out in chronological succession.

SEVEN Seals: Satan’s authority stripped from heaven; his unbridled power unleashed on earth.

SIX Trumpets: War devastation that gives the New World Order full control on earth.

SEVEN THUNDERS: Great tribulation and persecution of the believers.

SEVENTH and LAST TRUMPET: The Saints’ (first) resurrection and rewards.

SEVEN BOWLS OF GOD’S WRATH: The day of vengeance of our God; tribulators tribulated.

ARMAGEDDON: Messiah returns to the earth to rule; Satan bound for 1,000 years.

MILLENNIUM: The 1000 year reign of Messiah on earth; saints rule with a rod of iron.

THE END: The last (second) resurrection and final judgment; death and the grave destroyed.

ETERNITY: The new heaven, and earth, and new Jerusalem; God wipes the tears away.

Every significant prophetic future event in the Hebrew Scriptures will fit precisely into the chronological sequence that unfolds in the book of the Revelation. When speaking of the chronological order of events, it is obvious that Y’shua could not strip off the fourth seal before he stripped off the first seal, because the fourth seal would then have been the first seal. When Y’shua strips off the seventh seal, the seven angels with trumpets are introduced and begin sounding their trumpets in successive, chronological order. If this seems like we are dealing with elementary logic, we are. Why then have we not been able to intelligently see the order of events in the book of Revelation? Honestly, because we don’t like seeing what takes place. I don’t like it either, but that is not the criterion by which God rules the universe. Where the chronology is clearly disturbing, some have attempted to legitimize an “early...” by engaging in a “dance of the seals and trumpets,” that stacks seals on top of thunders, on top of trumpets, on top of bowls. This leaves the book of Revelation in an indecipherable time warp continuum, all in an attempt to get us out of here before the first resurrection at the last trump. (See Appendix I, The Chronological Outline of the book of Revelation).

Every prophetic event in the Torah, Prophets, writings and renewed covenants will fit precisely into the chronological sequence that unfolds in Revelation. Prophetic events of great significance are indicated by the events described by the seals, trumpets, thunders, last trumpet, and bowls in precise chronological sequence. The revealing of the Destroyer is there. The raising of the dead by Messiah at the rapture of the Saints is there. It is all in there, and it is all in order.

There is an extremely important and fearsome warning to those who would trifle with the book of Revelation. It originates in the Gospel of Matthew, in Y’shua’s warning to, “Take heed that no man deceive you, for many shall come in my name ... and deceive many.” Sincerity will not make a difference when it comes to casually explaining away the solemn warnings of the Messiah concerning his second coming. The snares have been set. Most believers will walk blindly into them. Yes, I am talking about you! Unless you carefully listen and take heed in meekness, willing to broadly apply his sobering warnings to your own thought processes, you will be snared.

The Secret Rapture?

Our thought processes and beliefs are primarily shaped by the pew that we sat in and by the experiences that grew out of that understanding. But there is a higher authority to whom we must answer, and religious professionals will not be with us before the throne to accept the blame for how we lived. Do not trifle with the warnings, but rather, try your heart diligently according to the Messiah’s words.

Revelation 22:18 I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

I will not add an extra resurrection into the book of Revelation, or in any book of the Bible, in an attempt to get us out of here early. The penalty is too severe. I will not take away the value of the warnings, thereby taking away the validity of the entire book by insisting that it is not written to the servants of the Messiah, but rather to “Jews in the future.” I will not take away the Saints before Messiah takes us away at the Last Trumpet. I would rather err on the side of caution than to assume a most damnable attitude of frivolity concerning these warnings. Let me err on the side of caution. As a man, err I will. I will not attempt to change the timing of events by insisting that extremely significant events must have happened between verses or between seals or trumpets. I will not attempt to sneak in a secret rapture anywhere in the book. Y’shua clearly revealed to Yochanan and Shaul that the resurrection of the justified would take place: at the seventh an the last trump.

The seals, trumpets, and thunders record the destruction of man against man under the influence of Satan. Nations are being judged at this time, by God’s time honored method of allowing other nations to crush those who have turned away from him. Yet, none of the occurrences in Revelation is the vengeance and wrath of God until we get to the seven bowls of God’s wrath. That is the time of his punishing those who have destroyed the earth (Rev 11:18).

To be truthful with you, I don’t like what happens before the Destroyer is introduced at the fifth trumpet. I don’t like the seven thunders. I don’t like what happens before the last trump. I like the end, but the journey looks a bit rough. I would like the waters of life to be very smooth until the Lord returns to take me to heaven in the middle of a five course Sunday brunch at the Country Club. I would like my daughters to grow up in the America of 50 years ago. I would like to have a million dollars in my pocket, and world peace. I would like...

Once you read the book of Revelation by staying directly with the chronology of the seven seals, the six trumpets, the seven thunders, the last (seventh) trumpet, the sea of Fire and Glass, the seven bowls of Wrath, the marriage supper of the Lamb, the Battle of Armageddon and the succeeding events, you can then go back and fill in the details with the parenthetical sections of Scripture. The parentheticals do not change the chronology, they only amplify. They give detail, and show cause and effect. They describe past and foretell future events. They tie the beginnings to the endings, but they never contradict the perfection of the chronology. Some parentheticals cover three and a half years, one covers several thousand years, but the chronology of the book of Revelation stands alone.

The Three Resurrections

The parenthetical section that we have been dealing with in the 12th chapter of Revelation is directly after the chronological revelation of the seventh and last trump, when the mystery of God is executed. This particular mystery concerns the resurrection out from among the dead of those who are “in Messiah” from both the first and the renewed covenant. This is the first resurrection, the resurrection of the just, when the saints will be raised incorruptible and rewarded for their faithful service.

Revelation 10:7, In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God shall be executed, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

This is the mystery of God concerning the resurrection that Shaul revealed for the first time to the Corinthians. It is important to recognize that before Shaul revealed this mystery, the resurrection of the saints was not understood in the detail that we comprehend it today. The body with which we will be raised is addressed for the first time in the records of the church.

I Corinthians 15:50, ... flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God ... Behold I show you a mystery...

This is the first time that Shaul puts together the change from the corrupted corpse to the incorruptible new body and from the mortal flesh to the immortality of a body like Messiah’s resurrected body. How fast will this change happen?

I Corinthians 15:52, In a moment, in a twinkling of an eye...

When will this mystery be executed?

I Corinthians 15:52, ... At the last trump...

There is no confusion between Y’shua, Shaul, and Yochanan. This is when the mystery of God is executed-at the last trump. This is the moment that the righteous dead will be raised, judged and rewarded. This is the exact picture that we see when the seventh angel sounds the last trumpet:

Rev 11:15, And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Messiah; and he shall reign for ever and ever. 18And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

The faithful martyrs from A ble to Z echariah; Stephen, Matthew, and Thomas, to those who stand against the son of destruction; these all will be raised and rewarded at the last trumpet. They will be given authority to reign with Messiah a thousand years. Of the two resurrections, this is without question the better one in which to participate.

Hebrews 11:35, ... others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection.

Some say that there is no resurrection or future judgment. In I Cor 15:12 and following, Shaul refuted some errors that had crept into the body of believers at Corinth. Shaul laid out the specifics of the three times that the dead are raised, Y’shua himself becoming among the firstfruits of those who have died, being alive now and forevermore.

I Corinthians 15:20, But Messiah is risen from the dead, becoming the firstfruits of them that slept.21Since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead.22For in Adam all die, even so in Messiah all shall be made alive.23 But every man in his own order: Messiah the firstfruits; afterward they that are Messiah’s at his coming;24 then cometh the end...

The word: cometh, being in italics, was added by the King James translator. There is no authority to add the word cometh. It is improperly supplied and should be deleted and read as follows:

22 ... in Messiah all shall be made alive.23 But every man in his own order: (1) Messiah the firstfruits; (2) afterward they that are Messiah’s at his coming;24 (3) Then the end; (When he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.)

Messiah will have put down all rule, authority, and power by the time of the “Great White Throne Judgment” near the end of the book of Revelation. He will have cleansed heaven of the exercised authority of Satan. He will have put down all rule on earth and subjected this world under himself as Adam was to have done. Then he will overcome all the power of Satan, opening the grave and casting Satan into the lake of fire. Note the order of the time indicators: first fruits, after ward, then. That summarizes the resurrections.

After Messiah’s resurrection, when he raised the firstfruits saints (Matthew 27:50-53), the next resurrection, in order, will be those who belong to him at his coming. This is referred to as the first resurrection (Rev 20:5). In I Cor 15:12-54, the truth of the resurrection, the nature of the new body, the indication of rewards, the speed at which this change will occur, and the timing of this first resurrection are all addressed in this chapter. The entire context of this section of Scripture is the resurrection of “they that are Messiah’s at his coming” for his saints at the last trump. This is our hope; not a “get out of tribulation free” card. These are the three resurrections, or times that the dead will be raised to life. In these three resurrections all will be made alive:

1. The resurrection of Y’shua, who, when he was raised, then raised the firstfruits from among the dead and presented the bikkurim (firstfruits) offering before the throne of heaven—left them there and returned to earth to intercept two of his heartbroken disciples on the road to Emmaus later that day.

2. Those that are Messiah’s at his coming. The justified in Messiah who looked forward to his coming in faith, such as Abraham, Moses, and David, and those of us who look back at his sacrifice in faith, as we do today. They will be rewarded for their righteous works. This is the resurrection of the just.

3. The end, or last resurrection, when all who have ever lived will stand in judgment before the great white throne. This excludes all those who have previously stood at judgment in the first resurrection.

At this time, the two resurrections remaining to be fulfilled are “those who are Messiah’s at his coming,” and “the end resurrection” when he has conquered all principalities and powers. These remaining two resurrections are documented fully in the book of Revelation. They occur at the seventh and last trump (Rev 10:7; 11:15, 18), and at the end, just before the final judgment (Rev 20:11-15). These are the only times that the dead are raised. That is all there is, and there ain’t no more.

Do not tamper with God’s Word. There remain two resurrections after Y’shua was raised from the dead. He now holds the keys to the grave, and all who live will be raised and judged by him. Do not trifle with the Word of God by adding more resurrections to the book of Revelation and to I Corinthians chapter 15. You will find yourself in contempt of God, having loved a comfortable lie more than you love the truth. He will not change his plan to suit your fancy, you will simply be judged for misleading others into your personal plan of salvation.

There are those who have redefined the resurrection of those in Messiah in I Corinthians 15 as not a “resurrection,” but only a “raising of the dead.” This asinine and illegitimate redefinition is a contrived striving over words in a vain attempt to insert another resurrection of the dead. The raising of the dead in Messiah is a resurrection; the terms are synonymous and legally describe the resurrection of the justified at the last trump. The audacity to redefine this entire chapter is inexcusable. Attempting to redefine the resurrection as “a raising” is a prime example of the wrestling of definitions that needs to be accomplished to support an extra resurrection in which to insert the secret, pre-tribulation rapture of the Saints.

Without the illegitimate redefinition of the word “resurrection,” there is no legal base for a pre- or mid-tribulation rapture. None. The theological juggling of parables must then be resorted to, in order to justify the assumption. The word “resurrection” appears in the 15th chapter of I Corinthians more than any other place in the Bible. This chapter is speaking specifically of the gathering of those in Messiah as the resurrection of those who have been justified by him. If you are in Messiah, when the last trumpet sounds you will either be resurrected or changed. You will in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, be “born again.”

Born Again?

Scripture declares a literal resurrection of every person who has ever lived. The euphemism “sleep” is used here in I Corinthians, because death will end. In Revelation 1:18, Y’shua holds the keys to death and hell (the grave). All will be made alive by him, and stand before his judgment. Y’shua was raised as the first born from among the dead (Rev 1:5). When he spoke to Nicodemus, he told him of the necessity of being γενναω ανοθεν (gennao anathen) “born again” in order to inherit the kingdom of heaven. Nicodemus responded with a question for further clarification. Nicodemus knew that one does not enter into their own mother’s womb a second time. He was not a fool; he was a Torah Scholar.

Nicodemus knew that Y’shua was using a parable which is simply a parallel between a well known reality of the physical universe as it relates to a spiritual reality or a concept that has not yet been revealed. Just as we are born into the physical world with a body equipped to live in this physical universe, we must be born again with a spiritual body equipped to live in the kingdom of heaven.

Shaul clearly expounded the truth concerning the incorruptible body with which we will be raised, “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven.” This corrupted body must put on incorruption, and this mortal body must put on an immortal one (I Cor 15:50 ff). That new body will be like the body with which Y’shua was raised. When Y’shua was raised, he was the firstborn from among the dead. He was raised with a body that was no longer powered by blood but by the spirit, yet it had physical properties that are quite tangible. This is when Y’shua was “born again” as he used the term when speaking to Nicodemus.

Y’shua was raised from the dead with a new body that is equipped to live eternally in the kingdom of heaven. We too will receive a new body that is like his resurrected body (Phil 3:21), at the time we are either raised from the grave or clothed with a new body at the moment of his return. Then, we too will be “born again.” Since the flesh and blood body of this first physical birth cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven, “marvel not that I say unto you, you must be born again.” No one enters by any other door, and Y’shua himself is the door to eternal life.

I realize that like myself, most Christians have grown up using the term “born again” as describing the experience of confessing Y’shua as Lord and being filled with the Holy Spirit. I in no way deny that experience. I am simply saying that Y’shua did not use the term “born again” to describe that experience. While this error is not evil in itself, its wrong usage paints an incorrect picture of not only our salvation, but the change that must transpire before we can inherit the kingdom of heaven. The lights will go on when this truth takes root. One thing is obvious, however: none of us is “born again” in a literal sense at this time. It is a future experience that will have a physical impact on our bodies whether we are alive or in the grave.

Be Not Misled

Matthew 24:4, ... Take heed that no man deceive [< πλανοσ> (planos)] you.

The word deceive is πλανοσ, (planos) from which we get the word planet, meaning wandering star. It means to mislead or cause to wander. It does not carry the weight of the word “deception.” Y’shua explained, when the blind leads the blind, they both fall into a ditch (Mat 15:14). The blind are attempting to help each other, but they still get hurt. The two walking together may find strength, encouragement, and hope from each other as they stumble down the road. Their assistance from each other is more encouraging than no help at all, yet they are still blind and cannot know what they cannot see. They are not to be criticized and condemned as unenlightened fools. They need to be helped, not jeered. They may very well be doing their best, as they follow the advice of other blind men who have walked the path before them. I will not mock them, yet I will not put out my eyes and join them either. I have enough blind spots in my own life without making more.

In the Gospel of Luke we find another very critical warning from Y’shua. It concerns his return and the prophesied deception that will be rampant in the church.

Luke 21:8, And he said, “Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many will come in my name saying that I am Messiah, and that the time draweth near <συνελαυνω εγγιζω>: go ye not therefore after them!”

To not be deceived, Y’shua said that it is up to us to take heed. It is our responsibility to listen carefully to what he has said, comparing his teachings with the teachings of those who come in his name. We see from the Scriptures that false prophets are inside the church and may speak the truth in many areas. They may be completely sincere ministers and teachers, but they still mislead, especially those who are not rooted in the Word of God. There is, however, a very specific warning that Y’shua focuses on here. Those who are going to be misleading the church in the end times will proclaim that Y’shua is the Messiah and that the time (of his return) draweth near. The “time draweth near” is referring to his promised return for them, just as it does in the record in the 24th chapter of Matthew.

The words for draweth near in the Greek are: συνελαυνω (sunelauno), which means to drive together with intensity, and εγγιζω (eggidzo), which means to closely approach; to be near at hand. Its usage paints the picture that the time of his return is intently imminent, the time is now at hand, it could happen at any moment. Y’shua warned his followers: when those who name the name of Messiah say that his return is imminent, do not follow them. The words are clear, and the warning to the terminal generation, timely. There are prerequisites to his return, as Y’shua will clarify in the following section. When teachers in the church at the end of the age say that the return of Y’shua is imminent, Y’shua said very boldly and clearly to go not after them; do not follow their teachings for they are not teaching the truth. In the following dissertation, Y’shua tells them that many things will happen that will terrify most people, but that even then, the end is not imminent. Y’shua goes on to describe the days of Satan’s vengeance that will cause Y’shua’s disciples to be persecuted and killed. He speaks further of the signs in the sun, moon, and stars; the shaking of the powers of the heavens that will precede his return for them. In verse 27, Y’shua says that after the powers of the heaven are shaken, then they will see him coming in power and great glory.

Luke 21:28, And when you see these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth near <συνελαυνω εγγιζω>.

Right here Y’shua wraps up the whole teaching on “the scandalous deception,” and ties it with a big pretty bow. He starts out the warning by telling his disciples not to follow those who say his return is συνελαυνω εγγιζω (sunelauno eggidzo). He then states the prerequisites that must be fulfilled. When those conditions are met then they are to look up because his return is συνελαυνω εγγιζω (sunelauno eggidzo). When are they to look up? When all of these things begin happening, as they are initiated by the shaking of the heavens when Satan is cast out. These are the exact terms that are used by Y’shua to indicate the beginning of the devastation of the Great Tribulation.

Do not follow those who come in his name and say that his return is imminent. They are speaking a lie. They will answer to Y’shua for their deceptive handling of the Scriptures, even if it was handed down to them by their denominational traditions. They are setting the snare of the mystery of iniquity for the strong delusion. Do not follow them. Reprove them. Give them a copy of this book so that they will see the error of their ways and repent. Do not assume that they are too hard hearted or set in their ways. The Lord knows their heart and he may have been working on them for years. I was in the same deception. Our Lord is merciful to those who seek him with their whole heart.

We will be able to say that the Lord’s return is imminent before too long. We know that in just less than three andn a half years after the Destroyer is revealed as the commander of the New World Order, Y’shua will return for his church. Our redemption will be especially longed for, after a few years of great tribulation. I have observed that those who teach the imminent (at any moment) return of Y’shua avoid Luke 21:8-28 like the plague. I do not feel that the words of the Messiah can be swept under the rug as insignificant chatter. I will stick with Y’shua on this one, if you don’t mind.

The Greatest Scandal of the Christian Church

This scandal will not likely be reported on the evening news, yet it is the most serious scandal that the Saints will face in history. It will be more shocking than the bones of hundreds of babies found at the bottom of the lake at the cloistered convents in France. It will be more contemptible than the executions of millions of Jews and Christians in Europe during the Crusades. It will be more devastating than Stalin exterminating 7 million Christians in the Ukraine with the financial aid and knowledge of the United States government, under the regime of Franklin Roosevelt. This scandal will result in so-called believers hating and betraying each other to death! Disappointed expectation will be the reason that believers will hate and betray each other. They will be snared in their own preconceptions and habit patterns, because they have believed that which Y’shua said, “Believe not!”

Matthew 24:10, And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

WHY? What could cause such bitterness, disappointment, and hurt that believers would betray each other to the death? What terrible traps have been laid for the Christian church? What are the results of the mystery of iniquity that could put us into such a condition? It appears that there will be two groups of believers: The haters and betrayers, and the hated and betrayed. It will not be a pretty picture.

I know how it feels to find your religious denomination riddled with envy, pride, jealousy, and sexual promiscuity and perversion. I know many ministers who are now recuperating as truck drivers because they have witnessed the same hypocrisy within the upper echelons of their own denominations. It crushed their lives and their spirit. I know what it is like. Life can be bitterly disappointing, even when things are going relatively well. But what could cause such wholesale hatred against each other? What disappointed expectation? What could cause the Christian church to turn their backs on the clear instructions of the Messiah and destroy each other? What could cause such bitter hostility? Could it be that they would have reason to believe that Y’shua himself has let them down? Life is not lived in a vacuum. What is the cause of this terror? What is this trap, Lord?

10And then shall many be offended, [<σκανδαλιζω> (skandalidzo) = snared] and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

Skandalidzo is a snare. A snare is set to capture the prey in its own environment and habit patterns. A snare is set by watching the habit patterns of the intended victim: You observe where they feed, where they go to water, and where they go for rest. You learn the comfort zones of the beast that you are attempting to capture. The snare is then set to catch them in their own habit patterns by a device that is well camouflaged and appears to be a harmless part of their comfortable environment.

Skandalidzo is the Greek word from which we get the English scandal. Legally, to lure with bait is to entrap, but to catch someone in an act in which they are willingly engaged is scandal. The Christian church will be caught in its own habits, snared by thought patterns and taken captive in their own comfort zones. Their expectations are about to be irreversibly disappointed. When this snare is sprung, it will cause them to turn on each other with venom and vengeance. Their world will be turned upside down. What are the snares that will catch the Christian church in their own expectations, thought patterns, and habits?

Matthew 24:11-13, And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love <agape> of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

There are two major snares that Y’shua exposes in this section of Scripture. The first is the nature of salvation, confessing Y’shua as Lord, and our accountability to him. Part of this snare concerns our responsibility to Y’shua as our Lord, our continuing in the path he laid down for us, and the requirement of enduring and remaining faithful to the end. It is clear that we are accountable to the Lord for our works as his servants. That is the main thrust of the parables in this section. The result of this snare does not manifest itself until he returns to gather the Saints. Many grief stricken servants will be weeping and wailing and gnashing their teeth over lost opportunities, lost rewards, and, perhaps worse, being left behind to inherit the reward of disobedience. The parable in Matthew 24:42-51 and the warning of II Thessalonians 1:8 speak to those who do not obey their Lord.

The second snare concerns the nature and timing of his return to gather his servants together. By timing, I do not mean the day and hour, but the parameters that we as awake and sober Saints are instructed to know so as not to be deceived by the strong delusion already at work in the mystery of iniquity. Believers who believe that Y’shua is going to come and get them before the Great Tribulation will feel betrayed by their religious leaders—they will have been. The let down will be severe. It is certain that they will feel lied to by those who have preached this “gospel.” The hatred and betrayal will cause the love of God to grow cold in many. The ensuing confusion will cause all but the very elect to be deceived by the “prince that shall come.”

Forewarned is Forearmed

Y’shua foretold the wrestling of Scriptures to try to prove that there is another resurrection, a secret rapture or “tameion” coming for his saints. He detailed this deception as recorded by Matthew, and warned about adding to and subtracting from the chronological sequence of Revelation. He also told Shaul that those who love comfortable lies more than the truth will be allowed to go home to their own working error and right into the waiting arms of the “messiah from hell”. The snare has been set, just as Y’shua foretold.

Matthew 24:24, For there shall arise false Messiahs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before.

For thirty years I assumed “behold, I have told you before”, meant that Y’shua was reiterating something that he had told them previously. That is what the King James Version indicates. Since we do not have a scriptural record of the previous occurrence, I relegated his warning to insignificance. I never seriously questioned the scope of his statement, I just read by it with unconcern. I was wrong, and the King James is weakly translated here. The Greek text reads:

...Look, I am foretelling this!

These words highlight one of the most serious warnings of the Messiah to his followers concerning his return for them. Cautiously heeding this warning will ensure that “we will not be deceived by any...”. He is foretelling the future condition that will allow all but the very elect to be deceived. This deception will dominate the teachings of the “church” before he returns, and it will have been introduced by ministers who have spoken what Y’shua has not authorized and repeated by those who found the message comforting. Given the solemnity of the warnings, one takes a dangerous position by ignoring, glossing over, or attaching insignificant meaning to the specifics Y’shua describes.

Y’shua stated to the twelve Apostles, nearly 2000 years before the fact, that these false teachings will so permeate the church that it will deceive nearly everyone! Listen! Listen! If there is one warning to be heeded from the lips of the Messiah concerning his coming for his followers, it is this prophetic warning of the teachings that will abound before he returns.

Do not trivialize this warning! Let it haunt you day and night. I pray that you will not be able to sleep until the truth of what Y’shua spoke grabs your heart and shakes you to the depth of your soul. I pray that you wake up shaking in cold sweats over the veracity of this warning. This is serious. You have been set up for the great deception if you love the words of manufactured comfort from man more than you love the warnings of your Lord. He has shown us the path and has promised us strength to endure until the end.

Matthew 24:26, Therefore if they (false Christs) shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; [<ερημοσ> (eremos)] go not forth!

The word desert is not indicating a dry hot area with cactus, snakes, and lizards. Words paint pictures in the mind as a means of communicating thoughts and emotions from one mind to another. What is the picture or communication being painted by the word <ερημοσ> eremos? Here eremos is a noun used as an adjective which is descriptive, indicating the environment. This Hebrew linguistic construction is very common in Matthew and Revelation. But, what is the environment? It is the same word and environment, which described where Yochanan the Baptizer was teaching:

Mark 1:4, Yochanan did baptize in the wilderness (eremos), and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5And there went out unto him all the land of Judea...

Yochanan was in the wilderness where everyone who wanted to see him had to go forth to see him. Y’shua described the same environment here. False Messiahs, “anointed ones,” will mislead believerss into thinking that they will need to go to him when he returns. Y’shua warned us to go not forth, and went on to tell us the true environment of his coming that cannot be falsified.

Matthew 24:31, And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

This is why we will not need to “go forth” to see him. He is sending forth his angels to get us. He is coming in all of his power and glory. No one will be able to duplicate his coming. No one could deceive you unless you were taught to look for a “different” coming: a secret imminent coming with no known precursors to the event. Y’shua said that the snare would be set by “anointed ones” lurking among his future followers.

A man pretending to be the Messiah would not elicit much of a favorable response by the majority of Christendom at the time of this writing. But the mystery of iniquity has laid plans for a very dangerous deception in the near future that will deceive all but the very elect of God. Most of the Christian church will fall prey to this snare. Be forewarned, this is not an idle prophecy from Y’shua! The snare is set. To keep from getting snared read on carefully. No matter who shows up as the messiah, go not forth!

You may very well witness this snare as it is sprung on the church. Remember, Y’shua has foretold it. But how will this snare be set? By prophets and teachers who have spoken falsely in the name of the Lord. However, this snare cannot be sprung without the false teaching that Y’shua now exposes for his future disciples who will live to see his return.

This is the picture that Y’shua paints of his return for his disciples. However, Y’shua warned us of false prophets who would sow the seeds of a deadly snare into the church at the end of the age. Y’shua stated the form that this deception would take so that his disciples would not be deceived by anyone who taught a different gospel. Remember, he is foretelling this so that we will not be deceived by men!

Matthew 24:26b, If they <the false prophets> shall say unto you, behold! he is in the secret chambers; <tameion> Believe it not!

Secret chambers is ταμειον (tameion), which again is a noun used as an adjective describing the environment of his coming back for his disciples. The significance is clearly not on the place, but the condition. The Hebrew emphasis is again on the picture the words paint, rather than the more typical mathematical construction of the Greek language. The environment of his coming is the emphasis. What is the environment described? Please look at the context of these two other occurrences of tameion. It becomes very clear.

Matthew 6:5-6, ... And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward (which is to be seen openly praying). 6But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, <tameion> and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Tameion shows us that which is done deliberately in secret so as not to be seen openly. It is an intentional secret for the purpose of concealing the activity from those who could see if it were done openly. Tameion can be, and is translated as closet, storehouse, storeroom, and inner-chamber; anyplace that can obscure the actions of one from being observed. Its usage is not meant to convey where one hangs clothes or stores grain. Y’shua is not painting the picture of a deception by false prophets who will teach that Y’shua will come back and that you will find him in a closet standing amidst your suits and dresses, or you will find him behind a sack of wheat flour. No! The false teaching is that he will return to gather us in a secret rapture, unseen by the world. The act, as well as its timing, would be a secret with no precursors to the coming event. His real coming, however, will be preceded by several events that are an integral part of the Great Tribulation. Y’shua foretold of the deception by false prophets, that you would not know when it would happen, and that it would be an unseen event. Let’s look at Y’shua’s other usage of tameion:

Luke 12:2-3, For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid that shall not be known.3Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets (tameion) shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

What are the conditions described by tameion? Secret, covered, hidden, not known, in darkness, silent. Tameion clearly indicates that which is not open for visual inspection, a secret occurrence, or a mystery event unseen by the world. If false prophets (who may be honest, sincere Christians) say, “Look, he will return at any time to gather his church in secret!” DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT BELIEVE IT! Look, Y’shua foretold of this deception!

Y’shua said that this teaching would become predominate in the church. He foretold it 1900 years ago! Yet we have swallowed this secret pre-tribulation rapture hook, line, and sinker since it made its major debut in the early 1800s. Y’shua said that this would happen yet many people are more willing to accept the words of a man in the pulpit than the words of the Messiah himself. It is not a question of the sincerity of those who teach it, it is a question of authenticity.

It has been recently reported that pre-tribulation rapturists have uncovered evidence that suggests that the pre-tribulation rapture was taught hundreds of years before the false prophecy of Margaret McDonald started this current craze. I fail to recognize that the longevity or antiquity of a lie qualifies it to be considered truth. It does not matter when the lie was first spoken or by whom. It was exposed by Y’shua as a future deception that would mislead all but the very elect. His prophecy stands. All that stand contrary are misled misleaders, the unwitting assistants of the mystery of iniquity. We will all stand before the judgment throne very soon. Let us at least consider what Y’shua said before accepting this new and comfortable doctrine. Y’shua is not coming in tameion. How then is he coming? His disciples asked...

Matthew 24:3, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the age? And Y’shua answered, “TAKE HEED THAT NO MAN DECEIVE YOU!”

The apostles asked when and what, and Y’shua began with the caution: Take heed that no man deceive you. He then went on to answer their question but gave them prophetic detail about the snares that will be set by the false anointed ones and false prophets in the church. Y’shua painted the picture of what life will be like before he returns for the apostles and for all the believers who would follow in their footsteps throughout the centuries. He made no effort to paint a rosy picture for those “to whom were given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of...” (Mat 13:11). After a very discouraging set up, Y’shua told them exactly what his coming will look like, and when it will be. Make no mistake; Y’shua was speaking to his disciples, his dedicated followers, about his promised return for them.

Matthew 24:27, For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.28(For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.) 29Immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

30And THEN shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they [all the tribes of the earth] shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.31And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Y’shua nailed every specific that he had just warned them about concerning the false Messiahs and false prophets:

1. When he returns, you will not need to go forth to him, he is sending forth his angels to raise the dead and gather the elect.

2. It will not be a secret in its timing or in its execution. Every eye on earth will witness his power and great glory; all those left behind will mourn. This will be the great and notable day of the Lord, the day that the Lord acts. It will take place after the tribulation.

When will it happen? After the tribulation of those days, which begins at the abomination of desolation, detailed in verses 15–22. The powers of heaven will be shaken and the Great Tribulation begins when Satan and his angels are cast down to the earth, forevermore defeated in the heavens. After the tribulation of those days is when Y’shua will return for his disciples, as he has promised. The gathering together, or rapture of the elect, is neither a secret in its timing or in its execution. Y’shua has given us specific parameters for both what it will look like and when it will happen.

The Rapture: Timing and Execution

Nearly two thousand years ago Y’shua prophesied of the secret pretribulation rapture heresy and warned us of the “false prophets” that would be teaching this very doctrine (just as I, myself, did for over twenty-five years). Must the Christian church continue to deny his words and every Scripture concerning his coming for his church because we are afraid to believe the Bible over our denominational associations? The Day of the Lord will be the most triumphant revealing in the history of man. Unfortunately, many who have been misled by the false prophets insert a secret rapture between verses, and then allegorize the book of Revelation any way that fits that presumption. The pre-tribulation rapture is not reality. It is a fairy-tale from the prince of fairies himself, Satan. No one can read the Bible and come up with a pre or mid-tribulation rapture. It simply is not in the plain text of the Bible. It needs to be explained by the “enlightened ones,” to the theologically ignorant masses. After the masses are shown which sentences to isolate to prove this fabrication, we then can pass it down to the next generation of unenlightened “sheeple.” This self comforting theology attempts to get us out of here before we must face what life is now like in many other parts of the world. But it won’t happen! If you think things are bad now, cheer up. They are going to get a lot worse. Y’shua clearly teaches his followers when he is coming back and what it will look like. They have not been asking about Armageddon, they know nothing about Armageddon. They want to know when Y’shua is coming back for them! Y’shua knows what must happen first so he tells them:

Matthew 24:27, For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.28(For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles [vultures] be gathered together.)

As scavengers make their timely arrival at the carcass of those who have fallen, so will the angels make their timely arrival at the graves of the just, when they are sent forth to raise them in the twinkling of the eye.

29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days (the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken): 30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven:

When will the sign appear? After the tribulation of those days, which will be worse than any other time in the history of mankind, and unless those days were cut short, there would not be anyone left alive on the planet. What is the sign? Like lightning, splitting the sky from east to west as he sends forth his angels to gather the elect. In the atmosphere darkened by the nuclear war at the sixth seal and a more conventional war in the Mideast at the sixth trumpet, the entire earth will witness the angels in full glory being sent out to gather the elect over all the earth. This darkened atmospheric condition was prophesied to exist “before the great and terrible day of the LORD.” (Joel 2:10, 31; 3:15; Mat 24; Mark 13; Luke 21; Acts 2:20).

But we never learn the cause of the condition until it is revealed in the book of Revelation (Rev 6:12; 8:12; 9:2). The sign is not the darkened atmosphere but the light of the mighty angels piercing the darkness as they are sent forth to gather the elect from the four winds.

30And THEN shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.31And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect (the justified in Messiah from all ages) from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Then and only then (after the tribulation of those days that begins at the abomination of desolation) will we all see the angels sent forth. Not everyone on the globe will see the Messiah personally at the moment of his return, that would be an optical impossibility. However, the sign—millions of angels being sent forth—will not be missed by anyone alive on planet earth. This is Messiah’s coming in power and great glory!

Coming in Great Power and Glory

Let’s look at the words of the Messiah in the light of the other records which speak of his coming to gather the Saints, that “where he is, we may be also” (John 14:3).

Matthew 24:27, For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be ... 30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they (all the tribes of the earth) shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.31And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Does this scenario of his coming look and sound familiar? Let us peruse the writings of Shaul for related accounts.

I Thessalonians 4:15, For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not precede them which are asleep. 16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Messiah shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up [<‘αρπηζω>] together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Plenty of noise and glory going on here. This cannot be a secret to anyone on earth. Caught up, Αρπηζω (harpadzo), was translated into the Latin as rapturo, from whence comes the term “rapture” as it is used in Christian circles today. “Caught up” and “gathering together” are used in the KJV Bible as the event described by Y’shua of his coming again to his followers to receive them unto himself. The place he has prepared for us in his Father’s house will be accessed via Y’shua, who is The Way. Any attempt to approach the throne of God, other than by him will be a futile attempt (Yochanan 14:1-6). He will come and get us how and when he told us he was coming, and not a moment sooner.

II Thessalonians 1:6, Seeing it is a righteous act with God to repay tribulation to them that tribulate you; 7And you who are tribulated with us, rest <ανεσιν> when the Lord Y’shua shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Messiah Y’shua.

Pay back time is coming. The day of vengeance and the wrath of God nears. The tribulated church will rest [<ανεσιν> (anacin)] yes, the pain will be relieved! When? When (and not a moment sooner than when) the Lord is revealed from heaven to gather the church and execute his vengeance and wrath on all those who have tribulated his people in the last days. The glory and power of the Lord will be revealed on that day.

Revelation 1:7, Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.

There is no secret here either. The last trump is the great day of victory for the Messiah and the faithful Saints. Every eye shall see and all the earth shall wail, who have not made him Lord.

I Corinthians 15:51, Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

If this is a secret rapture, the trumpet has got to go. If the English and Greek language can be depended on as a reliable means of communication, the speed at which this change will occur and the timing are both addressed in this verse. At the last trump is when. The last trumpet is the literal fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets. The Feast of Trumpets establishes the revelation that Yochanan and Shaul received concerning the first resurrection of the dead in Messiah at the last trump. Looking back at these verses after seeing them a thousand times, it is easy to forget that when Shaul wrote concerning the changing of our bodies at the last trump, he was declaring a mystery. These believers had never before heard this revelation. The mystery he was revealing to the believers at Corinth is the same mystery to which Y’shua alluded and which God has kept secret until this time. It is the mystery of the new birth, when our corrupted or mortal bodies will be changed into a body that is equipped for the kingdom of heaven. Shaul said the same thing Y’shua told Nicodemus, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven. We must be changed. We must be born again, just as Y’shua was when he was raised from the dead. Y’shua has been given the keys to death and hell. No one gets up until he raises us up, and the first to rise will be the justified in Messiah at the last trump. The mystery of the new birth will be executed at the last trump. Yohanan was told the exact same thing by the angel in heaven.

Revelation 10:7, But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God shall be finished <τελεω> EXECUTED, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

When is this mystery to be executed? When the seventh and last trump sounds.

Revelation 11:15, 18, And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Messiah; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

18And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and THE TIME OF THE DEAD, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

Here it is at last. The last trump was revealed by Y’shua to his servants, the prophets Yochanan and Shaul. Through the mouth of these two witnesses (Deut 19:15), the when of the gathering of the saints to their reward was established. There is no confusion. This is exactly the same picture Y’shua presented to his disciples, as recorded in the book of Matthew. Shaul presented it to the Saints in tribulation in Thessalonica, when he was with them, and to those in Corinth, when he revealed the mystery of the new birth at the resurrection of the saints. This last trumpet is the day of the LORD and our gathering together unto him, thereby saving us from the wrath of God. The seventh trumpet is also the day of vengeance of our God, when he will tribulate those who have tribulated us. This is the glorious day of our deliverance from tribulation and the grave.

The Time of the Dead

Rev 11:18 refers to the time of the dead having now come at the last trump. Which time of the dead is this? It should be obvious to even the most casual student of the Bible. According to I Corinthians chapter 15, there remain only two times that the dead will be raised. This is certainly not the end resurrection after the millennial reign of Messiah at the White Throne Judgment! It is the resurrection of those in Messiah from all ages. The resurrection of those who looked forward in faith to the coming of Messiah, such as Abraham, Moses, David, and those who looked back in faith, like Stephen, Peter, and his mother, Mary. This is the first resurrection, the resurrection of the just, the better resurrection. This is the resurrection out from among the dead when the dead will be raised incorruptible and the living Saints will be changed. This is when we will be rewarded for faithful service by the one who raises us from the dead. This will be the execution of the “mystery of the resurrection out from among the dead and the changing of the mortal to immortality”, as was declared by the prophets (I Cor 15:51, Rev 10:7). This is the mystery of the new birth, the resurrection of the just, as was revealed and declared by Shaul.

The reference to this particular “mystery of...” presented a great problem to me as a lifelong dispensational, pre-tribulation secret rapturist. When I considered the truth that this mystery is executed at the seventh and last trumpet, I had to go back and reinterpret the book of Revelation to fit what was revealed by Y’shua. This was not comfortable to do, as I had over 25 years invested in my theology. But when I did, the chronology of events fit in a perfectly logical sense and I no longer had to shut my eyes to the myriad of evidence that does not make any sense at all to pre- and mid-tribulation secret rapturists. After 25 years of reading it, the book of Revelation finally made sense from beginning to end.

When I say that the book of Revelation finally made sense, I mean that even the geopolitical spectrum that shapes the destinies of nations also began to unfold. Not only did the Bible begin to explode from cover to cover unfolding God’s great plan of redemption, but the planned strategy of the rulers of this world (kosmokrateros) to devolve the world into the New World Order came alive in the pages of the prophetic records. The planned course of action that was published under the direction of the Luciferian Illuminati and their present day atheist globalist offspring, began to make perfect sense. Their stated goal to bring the United States and all nations into a one world government has been moving relentlessly forward on several fronts. Fortunately for those who are watching, their plans can be clearly seen in the pages of history and the Scripture. Their fulfillment is inevitable. Y’shua said these things must come to pass ... but woe to him that brings the offense.

Some of these topics are part of the subject matter in the 12 hour seminar concerning the book of Revelation and the coming New World Order: From Here ... To Eternity. Once the rug is pulled out from under the monetary house of cards and the coming economic earthquake ensues, there may be very little opportunity to educate yourself or prepare. From Here ... To Eternity exposes the plan that will allow our melding into the final world government that will dominate the earth, and exactly which of the several options they will finally execute to bring about the Novus Ordo Seclorum out of the planned chaos.

The Resurrection has Passed

The tameion rapture is clearly a violation of the warnings of the Messiah, as well as every Scripture that concerns his coming for the saints in power and great glory. The secret rapture of the church is a heresy that has been affectionately accepted in the church for over 150 years. This snare was given its first public hearing in the first century by Philetus and Hymenaeus; it is still alive and well on planet earth. Some of the Christians were trapped into thinking that they had already missed the first resurrection. That appears to be the case as Shaul writes to Timothy:

II Timothy 2:17-18, And their word will eat as doth a cancer: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is already past; and overthrow the faith of some.

If the believers were mislead into thinking that the resurrection of the saints at the return of Messiah was going to be a secret, silent pre-tribulation rapture, it would be relatively easy to lead the gullible into thinking that the resurrection has already past, and that they had missed it.

How much easier it will be to mislead disenchanted Christians into thinking that they have been “left behind” to endure God’s wrath—especially after a best-selling, pre-tribulation fairy tale of the same name has sown fruitless tares into the minds of American Christians. They have been primed by the teaching of the pre-tribulation rapture from birth: When the war that destroys national sovereignty decimates the earth, out of the ashes of this supposed “Armageddon” will arise “the false messiah.”

Very soon things are really going to get rough in America, during the coming economic earthquake and war. There are millions of Christians who live with the false hope of a tameion rapture before anything bad goes down in America, and before they need to change their lifestyle. When the seal that will plunge the world into economic chaos is stripped, revolution will erupt in the States, martial law will be declared, and your cold dead fingers will be pried from the trigger if you attempt to maintain your God given rights of self-protection and self-determination.

The nuclear war that Russia has been building toward at breakneck speed over the last “peaceful” decades will plunge the world into chaos; the global government of the New World Order will emerge. The United States of America will cease to maintain the facade of the Christian nation that it once was. God will use atheist communists to judge a nation that has thumbed her nose at the Almighty, and now proclaims to all her offspring that there is no God. America will be smashed by Gog-Magog surely as Gog-Magog will be incinerated by God at the culmination of their invasion of Israel.

The New World Order of the “rich men of the world” (James 5) will rise up out of the smoke of this war just as the Phoenix bird is pictured rising out of the ashes of the final glorious bloody revolution in the painting directly over the head of the secretary general of the United Nations. Satan has had this planned to perfection for generations. The plan is carried out by those who, unlike Y’shua, have bowed their knee to Satan in return for the wealth, power, and glory of this present world. The plan is unwavering as it is carried out under the watchful “all seeing...” of the god of this age, Satan. The evil in the heart of man is about to come to its full fruition in the most violent and bloody turmoil that mankind has ever, and will ever experience. Hitlers will be punished for being too easy on people. The transgressors will come to full maturity in this time of the wrath of Satan.

Those expecting the tameion rapture will believe that either Y’shua stood them up and is not really returning, or that the resurrection has already passed and they missed it. Y’shua said that the love of God in many would grow cold. They will hate each other and betray one another to death (Mat 24:12). These prophecies will be a reality in our lifetime. Closing our eyes to the warnings of Y’shua will not make truth go away. How this hatred and betrayal could happen becomes apparent when one considers the working of Satan and the mystery of iniquity. The stage is set for the strong delusion of the religious world.

The Thief in the Night

Every one of the accounts that we read concerning the rapture is describing the very same event in specific detail. They are identical. One of the great mysteries of life still remains to be answered. Why, when the Bible shows the same clear picture of the coming of Y’shua in all of his glory to gather the church, have we so easily fallen prey to the tameion rapture heresy and denied everything that he said to the Apostles, as if Y’shua did not know about his return himself? The popularity of this doctrine has been legitimized by an over extrapolation of the “thief in the night” parable.

In Matthew 24 we have a parable that tells us that Y’shua is returning as a thief in the night. What it communicates is sobering, but simple. If you know when a thief is coming, you will be ready for him and not allow your home to be plundered. The picture painted in this parable is a man asleep and drunk, with no idea that something is going to happen that will profoundly disturb his life. On the other hand, there are those who are aware that the times and the seasons are changing. They are doing the job that they were commissioned to complete, they are alert and prepared, so as not to be taken by surprise by the trouble that will soon be upon us.

All parables break down, as there are only so many similarities that can be compared from one situation to another. Only the point intended can be communicated with any amount of accuracy. What is the point of this parable? Accountability. When our Lord returns, what are you going to be doing with what he has entrusted to you?

Matthew 24:42-51, Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken up.44Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

45Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.47Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;49And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware,51And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

This parable is scary. Y’shua says that he expects us to be living our commitment to him. He is our Lord, and he has given us a job to do. Faithfulness will be rewarded, slothfulness and disobedience punished. He tells us to be especially careful how we live, and how we treat our fellow servants. We are fully accountable to our Lord for how we conduct ourselves and how we spend our time and money in these final years. Especially those who are his ministers! Is this the time to start a new 20 year building program? Is your life and ministry focused on the reality of the times, or are you living with the goals and aspirations of the past? Are you attempting to hold on to the American dream? Wake up! It’s gone! The priorities of the last generation should be considerably different from the generations that have gone before us. The Spirit of God wants you to know where you are today in relationship to the history of mankind and the plan of God.

Earlier in the 24th chapter of Matthew, Y’shua told us of the snares that will catch the Christians, and that many will hate one another and betray one another to death. The tameion rapture of the church is one of these snares. To teach that this parable of “the thief in the night” is indicating that life will flow gently down the stream until one day Christians will just disappear without a trace, is 99.44 percent pure nonsense. First, it destroys the solemn warning of accountable living that Y’shua is making to his disciples. Secondly, it contradicts every Scripture in the Bible that depicts his coming. This is just one of the fairy tale lifestyle pictures that has been painted over the eyelids of the sleeping, lukewarm Christian church in America. Where did we get the picture that no one will know that he has come and gone? The secret rapture has no grounds in reality, or in Scripture. The fertile soil was found in the minds of those who have milked the cash cow of the prosperity gospel. If it feels good, it will sell! The secret rapture is the primary foundation stone to the “strong delusion” of II Thessalonians 2:11.

The strong delusion is the skandalidzo of Satan that will play out differently in the lives of each deceived Christian. Each person will be taken by their own ignorance of the Scriptures. That is one of the reasons that Satan has worked so feverishly to dumb down the population through entertainment and the government funded public re-education centers that replaced a once independent school system. When one reads the Federalist Papers and realizes that they were written to explain the constitutional republic to the general population of the late 1700s, then one can appreciate how dumbed down we have become. In the 1700s, anyone in America who would be considered educated, had to have a command of the Scriptures that few graduating from theological cemeteries today could comprehend. Our complacent ignorance has helped set the deadly snare for the mystery of iniquity.

The strong delusion according to the context of II Thessalonians 2 is: “Y’shua will come at any moment, and certainly before the Wicked one is revealed.”

The strong delusion according to the context of Luke 21 is: “His return is imminent, he can return at any moment.”

The strong delusion according to the context of Matthew 24 is: “Y’shua is going to return in secret—before the tribulation to gather his lukewarm complacent church.”

The strong delusion according to the context of II Timothy 2 is: “The resurrection is past. Y’shua has come and gone, and you have missed it. You have been ‘left behind.’”

The strong delusion according to the context of Matthew 24 is: “Since you have missed the secret rapture, after the big war you can go see “messiah” in the temple.” (Or just stay home and watch him on CNN).

The strong delusion according to the context of Mark 13 and Revelation 13 is: “You don’t need to endure until the end, just say the sinner’s prayer, put the gospel of John on your shelf, and you are in. Don’t worry about that little microchip in your forehead!”

The strong delusion according to the context of Dispensationalism is: “None of what Y’shua said has anything to do with the Christians, reeelllaaaxxx. We’ll be outa here before you know it. Don’t listen to Y’shua; he will just confuse you. Listen to me! I’ll set you free from all of the negative thinking that keeps you from being a full expression of the self-actualized individual you were created to be. Jesus just wants you to be haaapppyyy!”

The strong delusion snare is set. The Christian church is expecting the lie and has closed their eyes to the truth. You had better start waking people up by shaking them up. The snare is about to be sprung.

If people feel more at home with a comfortable lie than they do the truth, they will believe the lie regardless of what the Bible clearly teaches. The Laodicean lifestyle does not go very well with the seventh trumpet resurrection of the just, but it does fit well with the imminent, thief in the night, pre-tribulation secret rapture delusion. The last trumpet gathering of the saints in the book of Revelation makes perfect sense. It teaches us to strip down to fighting weight and prepare for the deadly battle ahead. It constrains us to give our all now, realizing we will be judged and rewarded by what we have laid up in the Kingdom of God and not by the junk that we accumulate and cannot take with us. Your death is a more imminent reality than the return of Messiah. We should live like we don’t have next year. We probably won’t.

The delusion of the pre-tribulation rapture allows us to live for the present time in relative comfort if we have the things in life that can make us comfortable. We can live in denial of the trials that are part of dying Saints all over the world today and deny that we will be required to make the same sacrifices in the upcoming great tribulation. The imminent return of Jesus theology has lulled the church of the last days to sleep, just as Y’shua prophesied. Perhaps American Christians would have more cautiously guarded their nation from an internal atheist socialist takeover if they thought their children were going to have to live with the result of their sin, waste, and the ultimate judgment of God on this nation. Yes, it would be nice to get out of here before the piper has to be paid, but it won’t happen. Y’shua is longsuffering, waiting for the latter rain and harvest. He needs us in there to do the work of the ministry until the last trump sounds. If you think you are getting out of here before then, you are deluded by your own over inflated self-worth. Of the twelve apostles, only Yochanan was spared a martyr’s death, and he was boiled in oil! War is hell. Yet, there are those who don’t even put on the armor and engage in the fight. The party is about over!

The Day of the Lord

In I Thessalonians we see this day of the Lord referred to as coming as a thief in the night:

1 Thessalonians 4:16, For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Messiah shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

Times and the seasons is a figure of speech that is in use in nearly every culture and language of the world. It indicates the events that play across the stage of history, and the manifold changes that a careful observer sees in the natural world before the season changes. Life, after all, does not happen in a vacuum. Life is cause and effect, sowing and reaping. But there is a deeper truth beneath those words from a Hebrew perspective: We are oblivious to God’s reckoning of time, clearly defined in the Scriptures, but forsaken by the “Christian” world for a pagan sun god calendar. The western world has inherited a reckoning of time that is completely incongruous with reality. It is as if the hands of God’s clock have been broken from the face and we have no idea what time it is. The word “Seasons” throughout the Scriptures is derived from the Hebrew word “moedim” which refer to the Feasts of the LORD which the teachings of Shaul indicate are “prophetic shadow pictures of good things to come.” But again, we in the western “Christian” world have inherited “holy days” that honour such perverse personalities as “Easter,” the reincarnated sex goddess of the Babylonian child sacrifice cult, who descended from heaven in a giant egg at sunrise on the first “Sun” day after the vernal equinox, and magically turned a bird into an egg-laying rabbit. Even though these first century believers could not conceive of a time in which the entire world would have forsaken God’s reckoning of time, and the Feasts which play the prophetic symphony of the details of the Messiah’s first and second coming – we have been brought up in a culture in which the day, or millennium of the LORD can come upon us completely unawares.

5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, (as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.) But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that, that day should overtake you as a thief.

The world will be crying out for peace at any price. Their personal safety will be more important than freedom of conscience or individual sovereignty before our Creator. In the aftermath of the coming desolation, all of mankind will be crying out for peace; for security. But their destruction will come forth as surely as a child will be born of a woman struggling in labor. There will be no turning back. Y’shua is coming back in vengeance against those who have denied God and destroyed his people. Their destruction will come upon them as a thief, completely unaware. But we are not in darkness; we are not unaware of the signs of the times, and God’s reckoning of time is being restored now that we have returned to the Land of Israel. We have the light of God’s Word that tells us what must come to pass, and we can understand the prophetic shadows embedded in the Feasts of the LORD that were committed to Israel’s keeping. We will not falter, but by his empowering grace we will endure to the end.

That day of our deliverance is coming, when we will be caught up, raptured. The times and seasons are obvious to the careful observer. We see the day approaching. What day? What is the context? The day of the LORD, which throughout the Hebrew Scriptures refers to the seventh or Sabbath millennium, will begin Aviv 1, 6001, although that is not the day of the rapture. The day of the LORD also refers to the day in the seventh millennium that the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God. The dead in Messiah shall rise first. The same day of the LORD spoken by the prophets will be fulfilled by the Messiah. That day of which we are not to be in darkness. That day that shall not overtake us as a thief. We have been given the specific parameters of what it will look like and when it will take place so that we will not be deceived. It will be on the day that he saves us from the grave and calls us home. It is the day of victory for the Lord when he raises the dead, and gives the mortal a new spiritual body just before he pours out his wrath. The Day of the Lord is his day and his finest hour.

The Day of the Lord is used many times in reference to the gathering together of the saints of God. But for those “left behind” because of their disobedience to the commandments of God, it is a different kind of day. It is the day that he takes vengeance on God rejecters and infidels. It is the day the “thief” takes the recalcitrant by surprise and breaks up their house. It is the day that he pours out the wrath and fury of Almighty God.

5Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as do others; but let us watch and be sober...

Many are proclaiming, “Relax, there is nothing to be concerned about,” as the world marches straight into a Godless totalitarian one world government. “Jesus is coming back any second now!” No! We are not to be intoxicated by the promises of peace and safety from Moscow, the Oval office, Palestinian authority, or the pulpit.

7For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love (protect your heart) and for an helmet, the hope of salvation (protect your mind and thoughts, keep clear on your priorities). For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord and Messiah Y’shua.

We will not be subject to the wrath of God as it is poured out on the earth. We will be saved from the wrath to come. When will we obtain this salvation? IN THAT DAY.

The day the tribulated saints will be relieved from the strain and pain of tribulation.

The day the Lord Y’shua comes to rescue us.

The day the Captain of our salvation returns to gather his elect, as he promised his disciples.

The day he comes again to receive us unto himself; that where he is, we may be also.

The day he comes to take us to the Father.

The day of his appearing; his coming; his revealing.

The day the unrepentant will look on him whom they have pierced.

The day all the tribes of the earth will mourn.

The day every eye will see him, and many will realize it is too late.

The day he returns in like manner as you have seen him go up into heaven.

The day the angel of the Almighty will make a great blast with the last trumpet of God.

The day the angel shouts and the dead are raised incorruptible.

The day the living believers will be changed and caught up together to meet the Lord in the air.

The day he cuts us loose from the bands of the wicked one.

The day he comes to be glorified in his saints.

The day he takes vengeance on those who do not obey him as their Lord.

The day he sends forth his angels to gather the elect from the four winds of heaven.

The Great and Notable Day of the Lord!

I Thessalonians 1:10, And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Y’shua, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

Even though I would prefer to go to heaven much earlier than when Y’shua says he is returning, we must patiently wait and endure, just as our fallen brothers and sisters did in Thessalonica, in Rome, in Persia, in Medieval Europe, in the German death camps, in the Soviet Gulags, in communist China, in Cuba, in Ethiopia, and in America. But glory be to God, we will be delivered before the seven bowls of God’s wrath are poured out. We will be received up into glory at the last trump. We are going to be delivered from the wrath of God, which has been promised for thousands of years. We will not endure his wrath, but the wrath of man and Satan will continue to be a part of our lives until the end of the age. That is just the way life is. It is written, “They that live godly in the Messiah will suffer persecution.”

Before the righteous judgment of God can be poured upon the earth’s inhabitants, the world must fully set themselves against the Lord and against his people. Before the entire planet is given blood to drink, they must be worthy of such wrath—because they have poured out the blood of the saints (Rev 16:4-7). The world is now polarizing and must continue to polarize to the extreme. As the feast of unleavened bread reminds us, there is no room for compromise. We must aggressively obey our Lord and seek ways to separate ourselves from the entanglements of this world, while at the same time increasing our ability and intensity of reaching into the world to save that which is lost.

Romans 2:5, But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

The day of wrath is the day of vengeance of our God. This is the only reason that the Saints will be removed from the earth. They will not be subjected to the wrath of God, only the judgment seat of Messiah. The wrath of God has been promised as righteous retribution against the godless. The wrath of God revealed against Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim are pictures of the coming wrath of God. The angels sent to remove Lot and his family is a type, or prophetic picture, of the angels being sent to gather the saints (Luke 17:28-30). We will be taken to the sea of fire and glass, and the marriage supper of the Lamb. But at the same time the fury and wrath of God will be poured out on those who have tortured his saints. That day is our victory celebration. The day of his coming will be our day of redemption, and our day of perfection.

Romans 2:16, In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Messiah Y’shua.

I Corinthians 1:8, Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord and Messiah Y’shua.

I Corinthians 5:5, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Y’shua.

Ephesians 4:30, And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Philippians 1:6, Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Messiah Y’shua:

Philippians 2:16, Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Messiah, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.

The Day of the Lord “Redefined”

In order to teach the pre- or mid-tribulation rapture, one must redefine The Day of the Lord exclusively as a period of time in which the Lord does the judging, in the future. This redefinition attempts to separate the day of the Lord pouring out his wrath, from the day of the Lord gathering the Saints. While it is true that the day of the Lord can, and at times does refer to a period of time in which the Lord judges, it definitely points to the Day that the Lord gathers his saints. It is the Day of monumental significance that ends the age of God’s goodness and longsuffering, and begins the Day of God’s vengeance and wrath. As we have seen in the previous six verses, the Day of the Lord, The Day of the Lord and Messiah Y’shua, the Day of Redemption, and the Day of Messiah Y’shua, are all used synonymously. They are very clear in their meaning. They refer to the day that the righteous are gathered and the day of his wrath begins. It is the same day.

Great pains have to be taken by pre- and mid-tribulation rapturists to keep us as far as possible from the last trumpet resurrection and the ensuing bowls of God’s wrath. Those espousing an early secret rapture avoid the “last trumpet” record in the book of Revelation. It clearly exposes their “added” unauthorized resurrections, and “taking away” the church earlier in a secret rapture. But I relate too closely with them. I did the same thing for many years myself.

The day of the Lord is when the Lord moves and shakes the foundations of the earth, and he will bring to pass a “very strange...” on the day that the Lord returns to gather his saints. That day will be the Day of vengeance of our God, the end of God’s longsuffering, and the commencement of his wrath. It is the Day the Lord Y’shua does the judging. It is not an indistinct “period of time in the future.” It is the distinct day that he delivers his people from the hands of the enemy and takes vengeance on those who tribulated the saints of God, and it is coming soon. While the wrath of God is being poured out upon the earth, we will be standing before the judgment throne of the Messiah, giving an account of what we were entrusted in this life.

II Corinthians 5:10-11, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Messiah; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.

This warning is a little disconcerting isn’t it? I know it is for me. But ... “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” We are individually accountable before our Lord. We should all be a little more humble and disconcerted.

Y’shua warned that “anointed ones” were going to falsely proclaim that Y’shua has returned and you need to go out to him.

Y’shua said, Do not go; when I return I will send my angels to gather you together. You will not miss me because I will get you! He then said that religious leaders will prophesy falsely that he is returning to gather the church in secret and will not be seen. He said do not believe them. As the lightning splits the sky from east to west, that is how obvious it will be when he returns. Every eye will see him.

Dispensationalism and the Secret Pre-tribulation Rapture

Would you care to consider the logic that Y’shua was only talking to Israel in general, and that nothing in this section of Matthew 24 concerns the “church”? This is the most common device that is used to assign anything that Y’shua said to another group—usually to Jews. Many consider this concept a criminal devise that has been used to disregard everything that Y’shua taught the apostles whom he chose and trained to lead the first century Jewish and Gentile believers. One can literally scrap everything that Y’shua said by using that same logic. It provides the perfect excuse to license everything from A dultery to the Z ecret Rapture.

Let’s consider for a moment that Y’shua is not really answering his disciples, who would be recording this for dissemination to the believers that they would be responsible to shepherd in just a few weeks. Y’shua would then be telling “Israel” not to listen to the false prophets who teach that Y’shua is coming back in secret, after he would have already come back in secret for his church! That is nonsense. No one is supposed to listen to the false prophets that teach this fable.

Some find it difficult to believe that Y’shua’s disciples would have asked him about the signs of his promised return for them, and that Y’shua would have told them all these things, but “forgot” to tell them that none of this pertains to them. As strained as this dispensational explanation is, in an attempt to disregard Y’shua’s clear teaching on his return after the tribulation, pre-tribulation rapturists have abandoned the rules of context and common sense in favor of isolating a few numbered sentences and overextrapolating parables for the sake of personal mental comfort. These dispensational inventions have been used for over 150 years and have become the accepted methodology of a number of theological institutions. It is primarily used to support the teaching of what Y’shua condemned. Without this dispensational invention, there is no way to contrive a pre- or mid-tribulation rapture. This is the best “peace and safety” device that can be manufactured. New age dispensationalists have succeeded in convincing most churches that Jesus did not know to whom he was speaking on the Mount of Olives, and that he will in fact go against everything he said and take us out of here before the tribulation of those days. Some may think that I am beating a dead horse, but few realize that the entire pre- and mid-tribulation rapture is built on the rotting carcass of this dead horse!

What began as an honest attempt to explain certain uncomfortable Scriptures in the early 1800s, dispensationalism has become a most clever instrument in the arsenal of the mystery of iniquity. A very flexible use of dispensationalism has been applied by mid-tribulation rapturists to pick and choose what does apply to Jews and does not apply to Christians in the 24th chapter of Matthew. This flexibility allows any number of interpretational schemes and rules out none. It leaves us without any concrete guide as to whom Y’shua is speaking at any particular moment. It can get real crazy. Either Y’shua is speaking to his disciples or he is not. No selective applications or secret raptures between verses allowed. We cannot make up the story as we go to fit our lifestyle or theology. We cannot extrapolate meanings out of the associated parables that deny the clear events indicated in the context. Parables must be interpreted tightly and conservatively in regards to the context. It is better to underinterpret than to overapply. Isolating parables from their context to formulate doctrinal conclusions leads to extensive error.

Dispensationalism assumes a pre-tribulation rapture and therefore isolates numbered sentences, individual words, or parables in an attempt to prove the preconceived assumption. Many reasonable theological arguments can be marshaled to prove such a theory. If one disregards the absolute legal prerequisites that exist in the plain text of Scripture, one can argue against the words of Y’shua and the prophets from now until the gathering together after the tribulation, but no one is getting out of here before the last trumpet. You must not put down this book until you have read through chapter eight which introduces the Prophetic fulfillments of the Feasts of the LORD in which the Feast of Trumpets is considered – and no skipping ahead is allowed.

Another covert and dangerous side effect of dispensationalism that has misled many believers, is the instruction that portions of the Bible were not “addressed to them” and have no relevance to their lives. This danger is especially acute in the Gospels where the standard of our obedience to the Lord Y’shua is established. The Gospels show us the context in which all of the Apostles lived and moved in their ministry through the remainder of the first century. The parables that were spoken to the masses without explanation were addressed to the masses. They did not understand them, nor were they supposed to understand them. The explanations of these parables were addressed to the followers of the Messiah. We are supposed to sit at his feet until we understand them, and then we are to live them.

Y’shua’s life was our example, not our substitute. His death was our substitute. It is true that Y’shua was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and only very reluctantly ministered to anyone outside that fold. However, he was on a specific mission from God. That mission, for the time being, required him to focus on the heavy burden of paying for the sins of the world. Y’shua also had to establish a corps of disciples who would eventually follow him to a martyr’s death.

Of his disciples, he chose twelve Apostles to lead the new believers after his ascension. Those twelve, and perhaps several more disciples, had just heard Y’shua foretell the destruction of their civilization (Matthew 24:2). Their hearts were very heavy and they were looking for a light at the end of the tunnel. They asked Y’shua when he is going to return to get them, and what it will look like. Y’shua then takes the leaders of the first century church, and subsequent generations of followers down a very dark tunnel. Not to scare them, but to let them know that this long war against God was going to get mighty nasty. Y’shua encourages us to hang tough and do what he called us to do no matter how desperate things get. He is patient to wait for the latter rain (James 5:7), but there will come a time that he says, “Enough is enough.” He will then rescue his elect (II Thes 1:6,7). That day will end the age of God’s longsuffering (Rom 2:3-11). That day of the Lord will begin the day of vengeance of our God (II Thes 1:7, 8; Isaiah 61:2).

Plan “A” and Plan “B”

There are those who teach that Y’shua came to Israel with plan A and plan B. The theological term for this concept is dispensationalism. In a nutshell, dispensationalism has been explained in a plan A, plan B scenario and can be understood very well as such.

Plan A: Y’shua was to come to Israel, have Israel accept him as the Messiah, and live happily ever after.

Plan B: If they denied him as King, the Gentiles would beat and torture him to death, thereby paying for the sins of the whole world, so that whosoever believeth on him, could have everlasting life.

Let’s look at plan A for a moment.

Matthew 15:24, Y’shua said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

That is true. But how did he relate to the house of Israel?

Matthew 13:34, All these things spoke Y’shua unto the multitude in parables; and he did not speak to them unless he spoke in parables.

Matthew 13:10-13, And the disciples came and said unto him, Why do you speak to them in parables? He answered, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. Therefore I speak to them in parables: because seeing, they see not; and hearing, hear not, neither do they understand the things that I say unto them.

Y’shua deliberately hid his identity from the multitudes, while at the same time fulfilling the prophecies concerning the Messiah’s coming. Yet when some would make him known, he rebuked them and told them to keep quiet concerning his identity.

Luke 4:34-35, The man with a devil spirit cried out saying, Leave us alone; I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. Y’shua rebuked him, saying, Shut up, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him down, he came out of him, and no longer hurt him ... 41And devils came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Messiah the Son of God. And he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak: for they knew that he was Messiah. (MIV)

Y’shua fulfilled the prophecies that would prove his being the Messiah, yet he spoke very cryptically about his mission. He did not come to be anointed as King. Not yet.

Matthew 11:2, Now when Yochanan (in prison) had heard of the works of Messiah, he sent two of his disciples, 3And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?4Y’shua answered, Go and shew Yochanan those things which you hear and see:5The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

Did Y’shua answer their question? Yes, and no. Yochanan had to put two and two together to get an answer. Y’shua did not openly disclose his identity, but he made the equation simple enough. Yochanan was apparently offended that he was not being miraculously sprung from jail—if in fact his cousin Y’shua was the Messiah. Three days before his crucifixion, Y’shua asked his disciples:

Matthew 16:13, Whom do men say that I am? And they said, Some say Yochanan the Baptist: some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Then he said, But whom say ye that I am? And Kefa answered, Thou art the Messiah, the Son of the living God. And Y’shua answered him, Blessed art thou, Kefa: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. Then he charged his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Y’shua the Messiah. From that time forth Jesus began to show unto his disciples, how he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

Right to the end, he kept his true identity and mission covert. If Satan had comprehended what Y’shua’s death would accomplish, he would never have crucified him (I Cor 2:7, 8). That is the reason the prophets, and often the words of Y’shua himself, were so “cryptic.” Satan is well read. Some things needed to be hidden from him. But God can still open the windows of spiritual understanding to his people, just as he did for Kefa. After the resurrection, Y’shua met two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus, and engaged them in conversation.

Luke 24:19-21, And they said, Y’shua of Nazareth was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: But the chief priests and our Gentile rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that he should have been the one to redeem Israel ... 25Then Y’shua said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Messiah to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

He did redeem Israel; not by “plan A” as they expected, but by “plan B,” which was God’s only plan. Y’shua knew it. Moses and all of the prophets knew it and testified concerning his suffering.

Y’shua died fulfilling Isaac’s question, “Where is the Lamb?” Abraham’s prophecy, “God shall provide himself a lamb!”, and Yochanan the Baptist’s proclamation, “Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world!” (Genesis 22:7, 8 and John 1:29, 36). Long before his crucifixion, Y’shua confided to Nicodemus:

John 3:14-16, As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of man must be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Y’shua’s death paid the price for man’s redemption in full, and opened the door to all nations immediately; that whosoever will, may come.

Matthew 28:18-20, Y’shua said, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in my name (Shem Tov’s Hebrew Matthew text), teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age. (Amen)

Thus, when Y’shua spoke to his disciples in the gospels generally, and in answering their questions concerning his return for them specifically, he was not speaking in vague uninterpreted parables as he did to the multitude. It was not given to everyone to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but it was given to his disciples to know. He did not reveal the plan of redemption to all Israel, but he did, in part, to his Jewish disciples. He will also fulfill his promises to his disciples concerning his coming again to gather them together and reward their faithful service.

The Mystery of the Church

The church is one body throughout all time. When the Saints are raised at the last trump, the entire church, First Covenant Saints and Renewed Covenant Saints, will be raised to enjoy the reward of their faithfulness. Together they will partake in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in heaven and the Millennial Kingdom of the Messiah according as their reward provides. Before Y’shua made both Israel and Gentile one, Gentiles were never heirs of that promise.

Some dispensationalists, in their attempt to justify a pre-tribulation tameion rapture, teach that the Gospels are addressed to Israel, the Bride of Messiah, and that the church Epistles are addressed and applicable to a distinctly separate group, the Body of Messiah. Beside the point that these “bride and body” references are both figures of speech, how many times do you think Israel is referred to as the bride, or wife of Messiah in the Gospels? ZERO. How many times is the church in the Epistles referred to as the bride or wife of Messiah? Twice. Clearly and specifically in Romans 7:4, and in Ephesians 5:25, which finds its fulfillment in Revelation 19:7.

In the Epistles, the church is referred to figuratively as the bride, body, soldiers, farmers, wrestlers, fist fighters, and runners. Dividing the Church by using the figures of the bride and body, negates the work of the Messiah in establishing the Renewed Covenant. The great mystery revealed to the Apostle Shaul was that the Gentiles, who were outside of the promises to Israel, would be brought together with Israel through the blood of Messiah, and that the two unrelated parties would become one singular body. The promises that were made to Israel became available for all to acquire in Messiah.

Ephesians 2:12-20, You [Gentiles] were without Messiah, being alien to the wealth that was common to all of Israel. You were strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Messiah Y’shua you who were far off, are made near by the blood of Messiah. For he is our peace, who has made the two (both Israel and the Gentiles) one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between the two; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, to make in himself one new man, out of two, so making peace; And reconciling both unto God in one body by the cross. For through Messiah we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints (of Israel), and of the household of God; And you are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Messiah Y’shua himself being the chief corner stone.

Ephesians 3:3, By revelation [God] made known unto me the good news of the mystery; Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of t he same body, and partakers of God’s promise in Messiah.

Rather than recognizing the one body of Israel and the Gentiles that Y’shua brought together in his blood and accepting our responsibility to him as our Lord, we have these dispensational devices that were introduced into the church and have put many to sleep. Now when I chide dispensationalism, I am not attempting to put everyone in the same box and burn it. I realize that there are no two people considering themselves dispensationalists taking the same path of interpretation. If some of the dispensational views I present appear extreme, I agree. But if dispensationalism is the truth, it will be truth when followed to the extreme. Extreme dispensationalists are at least honest with their concept. I am not painting everyone with the same brush, nor do I desire to pigeonhole anyone. Likewise do not pigeonhole and attach a label to yourself that you would be better off without. As with any “truth,” it can be slightly twisted, extrapolated upon, and end as a lie. That is what Satan did with Eve in Eden; that is what Satan has done with the rapture in churches. In both cases, man was warned of the deception well in advance.

Many extreme dispensationalists have instructed that Y’shua was never speaking to us when he made his demands for commitment and obedience. Some consider Y’shua unenlightened compared to us, because “he did not know the mystery that was revealed to Paul.” Nor did he really understand what he was talking about when he spoke of “the coming of the gift of the Holy Spirit.” They tell us that he never addressed any of his teachings to the twelve apostles as the soon-to-be leaders of the church. We are told that he only addressed them as “Israel the bride,” and that all of his teachings are being held in abeyance because Israel did not accept him as their Messiah. Therefore, everything that Y’shua said concerning his coming to gather the saints as meticulously detailed in Matthew chapter 24, is for someone else—even though it matches every detail of his coming as indicated throughout the Epistles and the book of Revelation. Y’shua’s words must be discounted, because they put several critical stakes through the heart of the pre- and midtribulation rapture. In fact, he flatly told us that these teachings will come from the mouth of false prophets.

I further assert that this extreme dispensational fabrication is even more dangerous considering that one cannot make Y’shua Lord if they are able to disregard everything or anything that he says, at their discretion. Our salvation is established on our confessing Y’shua as Lord, not by accepting Y’shua as Savior. That puts many people on very shaky ground. Being savior is what Y’shua is, and does. He needs no acceptance. Making Y’shua Lord is what we must do, so he can save us! I consider dispensationalism very dangerous on this ground alone.

Romans 10:9, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Y’shua, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (σοζωθεν).

The four words: “Thou shalt be saved” are the future tense of the one word: σοζωθεν (sodzothen), which translates: Thou shalt, in the future, be saved. It is a future occurrence that we anticipate, when the captain of our salvation saves us. Many Scriptures point to this future time when we will obtain the hope of our salvation. Once we are saved (at the coming of our Lord Y’shua), we will be forever saved. On the day that we are raised from the grave, we will be “born again” with an incorruptible new body, and the living mortal will put on a new immortal body. At the execution of this mystery of the new birth, we are biblically “saved.” Those are the primary (but not only) usages of the words “saved” and “born again,” in the Bible. Christians have used these words very loosely. The most important thing for us to recognize here, is that we must make Y’shua Lord in our own lives. “Accepting Y’shua as Savior” while maintaining the lordship over your own life will not get you anywhere. If you are happy being your own lord, perhaps you can save yourself while you are at it. That way you can be your own lord and savior!

To Whom Addressed

Why do dispensationalists go through such contortions to get Matthew chapter 24 and 25 addressed to Jews at the time of the end? Because it clearly shows that the Saints will not be gathered until after the time of great tribulation that is instigated at the abomination of desolation, when the unspoken terror of Satan’s fury brings mankind to the eve of destruction. Dispensationalists attempt to sell the idea that these Scriptures are the picture of Y’shua returning to the earth at the Battle of Armageddon. This is a rather bizarre idea, but the only fabrication that allows them to dismiss the entire section and continue to teach the tameion pre-tribulation rapture. When Y’shua condemns the tameion rapture, dispensationalists either completely avoid his warning or relegate this warning to insignificant prattling with no relevance to anyone. We may not entirely like the picture painted here, but I doubt that the disciples liked the picture Y’shua painted of the temple being destroyed and the nation of Israel ravaged.

Matthew 24:1, Y’shua went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to show him the buildings of the temple. 2And Y’shua said unto them, See all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

There was silence from the disciples for about a Sabbath’s day journey, until they were up on the Mount of Olives. Y’shua had just told them that their entire lifestyle was to be violently interrupted. The temple was central to the Jewish culture. Y’shua told them that their world was about to be reduced to a pile of smoking rubble and the fabric of their society torn to shreds. Do you think that may have had an impact on those disciples with families? Israel clung to their nation, lifestyle, and traditions more than to keeping the heart of the Torah. Y’shua said that it’s over, your nation is finished. This was a very heavy revelation. It sobered them. When it happened, a million people were slaughtered in the streets under the sword of the Roman legions.

Accepting the truth of the future desolation of their nation, they then asked him about his promised return for them. Y’shua answered his disciples’ questions concerning the when and what of his return for them, in fulfillment of his earlier promises to do so. To whom is he addressing his answer? To the nation of Israel, who he had just left in the temple, having cursed their leaders, temple buildings and nation? No! He is addressing his disciplined followers, who will lead the Jewish believers in a few short weeks and the Gentile believers as they were added to the congregation 15 years later. He is addressing those who he had chosen and trained to leave behind. He is addressing those who will be required to give their life’s blood as a witness to the world. He is addressing those who will pen these words of truth for future generations of followers, who will believe through their testimony. If you are a follower of the Lord Y’shua, this is addressed to you!

Dispensationalism has been very flimsily supported by a redefinition of the Greek word: οικονομια (oikonomia), which was translated dispensation four times, and stewardship thrice, in the King James Version. The following was adapted from Strong’s Concordance:

Oikonomia is translated as dispensation four times and stewardship 3 times, totaling 7 usages in the KJV. Usages depict the management of a household or of household affairs. Specifically, (a) the management, oversight, and administration of other’s property; (b) denoting a steward’s responsibility and accountability to his master for the wise use of his goods; (c) the office of a manager or overseer, stewardship; and (d) dispensation.

The foundation of the word oikonomia is stewardship, a bond slave’s responsibility and accountability to his master. The redefinition has portrayed little “oikonomias” or “houses in time” into which one can conveniently stuff the unpopular commandments of God and ignore them. Consider these “dispensation” verses, with “stewardship responsibility” properly supplied:

I Corinthians 9:17-19, If I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but I have no reward if I preach the Gospel against my will. A stewardship responsibility of the gospel is entrusted to me. What is my reward then? When I preach the gospel, I make the gospel of Messiah available without charging money, so that I do not abuse that which has been entrusted to me. For though I myself am free, I have made myself a servant [<δουλοσ> (doulos) = bond slave] unto all, that I might gain my reward. (MIV)

This is not referring to a dispensation of time or an administration of time, such as the “age of grace” being committed entirely to Shaul. It was his individual responsibility as a steward (a bond slave to his master), to carry out what his Lord had committed to him. We each have our own stewardship responsibility. No one can do the job you were called to do, and you cannot do what Shaul was called to do. There are two other important points to consider here: (1) Making Y’shua your Lord and making yourself his [<δουλοσ> (doulos) = bond slave] is a free will choice, and (2) the gospel is taught without charge. It is up to the hearers to support the ministry by their free will sacrifice so that others can hear, or the minister needs to keep making “tents” (talits).

Ephesians 3:2, You have heard of my responsibility as steward of the grace of God, which was given to me, for you...

Shaul’s responsibility included getting the word out to others. His individual calling was to communicate the grace of God extended to the Gentiles through the Lord Y’shua. Others have been called to communicate other parts of the gospel, to other lands and people. Even today, not everyone has the same gift or calling. It is healthy to eat off the plate of many ministers, spit out the bones, and chew the meat well before swallowing—you have enough milk.

Return to Sender...

Both of these Scriptures denote Shaul’s responsibility to God concerning the Gospel that was committed to him, not a dispensation of time. Further complicating our stewardship responsibilities, some dispensationalists have renamed dispensations as: Administrations. They like to picture these administrations as individual houses positioned in time, each with its own particular administrative directives. Each house has a different address, and its own place in time. Hence, when you find uncomfortable requirements from God the Father or the Lord Y’shua, you can simply address it to someone else. You just stamp on the envelope of the gospels: “Please forward to the nearest Jew.” That way we have to live with the responsibility and accountability to the Lord, not you! It is ingenious, but disingenuous.

Obviously there are things that are spoken to individuals or groups that cannot be construed to relate directly to us. In that light, dispensation makes sense, but it is never a mindless blanket that covers the whole bed. There are many things that are spoken to one group that cannot be universally applied to another group. That fact is true in the letters of Shaul, as well as in the book of Genesis. The called out, or eklesia, has taken on a new dimension since Pentecost. Those who looked forward to the coming Messiah and those who look back at the Messiah who came are both “in Messiah.” He will raise them together at the first resurrection on the day of the Lord and Messiah Y’shua. The faithful in Israel anticipated the resurrection. Moses and David will share in the honor of reigning with Y’shua in his millennial kingdom. By grace, Gentiles will share in the same victory. God’s “called...” spans time, nations, and “dispensations.” He will gather his elect from all ages at the last trump resurrection of the just.

There is now no difference between Jew and Gentile if we are in the Messiah. The words of Y’shua are as pertinent to Gentile followers as they were to his twelve apostles. To propound that the words of the Lord to his disciples can be dismissed under the guise of dispensationalism or “convenient avoidance” is not only dishonest, but will be indefensible before the throne of God on judgment day.

Y’shua knew why he was here the first time, and he knows that he is coming again to receive his followers unto himself that where he is, they may be also. In Matthew 24, Y’shua is answering the specific question of when he is going to return to gather his disciples together and reward them, and what it will look like. Anyone attempting to mislead you by saying that Y’shua does not know to whom or what he is talking about, has succumbed to a doctrine of false prophets.

I, too, had not only believed this heresy, I taught it. I was a paid professional false prophet. I have repented because the Lord has given me the space to turn to him, and away from my sin of mishandling the Scriptures. Parroting the teachings of childhood is not the way a minister is to conduct himself. A minister of the Lord must first look to his Master and then teach the truth, even if it means being ostracized by his particular denomination. Unless we repent now, we will stand in judgment before the throne. Ministers of the Lord Y’shua will answer to him, for being part of the strong deception of the mystery of iniquity that will rip at the heart of the believers in the months ahead. Bear in mind that these Scriptures were addressed primarily to those who would live at the end of the age and see the deception as part of their own “Christian heritage.” It is past the time for this last generation to wake up and smell the fire.

The Strong Delusion is Imminent

The more pumped up the church becomes in its expectation of the imminent return of the Lord, the greater will be the shock and disappointment when the pleasantries of American life are reduced to daily survival. The imminency of Messiah’s return has been poetically extolled by the secret rapturists as the “breath by breath motivation that has served the Christian church for centuries”. However, many ministers of today are blaming this false hope as the primary drug that has dulled the heart of action, the emotions of intensity, and the mind of sound reason.

Tim LaHaye is one of a million Christian ministers who have been led down the path of pre-tribulationism since childhood. I use this example from Dr. LaHaye’s books, the Left Behind series, because no one would doubt his sincerity, but he has swallowed the hook of dispensational theology and took the whole line and sinker of the pre-tribulation rapture with it. That, however, is the church pew in which he and I were raised. He states:

Down through the centuries Christians have lived ... with an expectation

...in the next breath,

the next blink of an eye,

the next tick of the clock,

the next rustle of the leaves,

the next sigh,

The Lord and Jesus Christ could descend from heaven with a shout and call them home.

Wait just a moment! Stop the world. Look at your own life, and the lives of your most dedicated Christian friends. Do you know anyone on the planet that lives with this intense, moment-by-moment, imminency-driven expectation? No, no one does. But it sounds very poetic, doesn’t it? You can only pull people’s legs with this circumlocution so many times before it wears thin. Ministers recognize it as a reliable, if not timeworn ending to an otherwise lackluster sermon. Congregants recognize it as an ineffective and overused attempt to motivate them.

Imminency theology causes serious Bible students to play redefinitional pogo stick with isolated sentences in Thessalonians in order to get us out of here before the abomination of desolation. As we have clearly seen, Y’shua indicated that the abomination of desolation will initiate the Great Tribulation, and that he will return after that takes place. I cannot say, as so many others do, “maybe he didn’t know what he was talking about”, or “he didn’t realize to whom he was speaking” when he answered Yochanan and Kefa’s question about when he would return to take them to where Y’shua said he was going to prepare a place.

Believers living a Christian life have the hope of the return, the resurrection out from among the dead, and eternal rewards to motivate them and provide focus for their endeavors. Our love for God and desire to please our Lord encourages us to labor for him out of love and to store our treasure in heaven, rather than to build temporal fortunes. Y’shua never told us that he could return at any moment, and the Apostles never lived with this false concept. In any generation, believers could have interpreted the signs of the times to believe that it could happen in their lifetime. Most of the history of the Christian church has seen their blood spilled for the witness of Y’shua. Every generation has seen great tribulation (when you are the one being tortured, the “tribulation” doesn’t get any “greater”). However, Satan has not been cast down from the throne room of God, and the destroyer has not been revealed. Therefore, we know without any hesitation that we are at least a few bloody and violent years from the return of our Lord. What are we going to do with those years? Live for him? Or live to build an estate that will be ultimately burned.

When John Huss was burning at the stake for his resolute stand on the Word of God, he was not feverishly scanning the horizon for Y’shua’s return at the next “blink of an eye.” As his melting fat fed the flames, he sang hymns of praise to the Captain of his salvation who would raise his cindered body from the grave at his future return.

Matthew had the promises of the Lord deeply etched in his mind as the King of Ethiopia staked his hands and feet to the ground. As the axeman poised his gleaming blade over Matthew’s neck, his expectation was not that in the next breath Y’shua would return. He imminently expected to die as he shouted, “Father forgive them fo..........” Matthew lost consciousness as the blood drained from his severed head. In his expectation lived the resurrection of the just at the last trumpet. Matthew had penned the words of his Lord, detailing the greatest tribulation that the world would ever see. He described the darkened atmosphere that would prevail before Y’shua would return in all of his glory, just as the descriptions had come from Y’shua’s lips. Matthew had no false hope. He lived with a sense of reality that drove him, as a faithful witness, to a martyr’s death. Matthew gave his all during the early rain. The latter rain is yet to come...

More and more ministers are awaking to the realization that the false hope of the imminent return of Messiah has put their congregations to sleep. The opiated pew warmers have closed their eyes to the world, hoping that it will all be over before they experience any of the hardship that is part of the daily routine of their foreign brethren. They have a false hope that Y’shua is legally bound to appear before the time when man’s and Satan’s wrath are escalated to the point of predominance over a fallen world. The lie of the imminent return of Messiah has put people to sleep, and now we are being told that the lie is good for us. We might have expected as much. The mystery of iniquity is already at work, just as Y’shua foretold.

II Thessalonians 2:2, Do not be shaken up or troubled, thinking that the day of the Lord is imminent.3 Let no man deceive you by any means; Because that day shall not come, except first there come the rebellious stand, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction 4who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called by God, or is venerated; so that he, as God, sits in the temple of God, proclaiming that he is God.

Y’shua will not return to gather his saints until after the abomination of desolation takes place. Period. It doesn’t matter how much you wrestle the Scriptures, things are going to get extremely rough and you had better come to grips with the fact that if Y’shua is your Lord; the resurrection is reality. You had better not be loving this life more than you love the Lord. You can wrestle isolated Scriptures to say nearly anything that you want. However, there will be no resurrection of the Saints, and no gathering together before the last trumpet in the book of Revelation. You cannot take away the Church before the last trump and you cannot add resurrections at will to the book of Revelation. There are very stiff penalties for this kind of activity, and I don’t feel comfortable with ignorance as a defense.

Revelation 22:18, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life...

There are only two resurrections to come. The first one will be at the last trump, the last one at the final judgment. That is it! When they happen, neither will be a secret. Every eye will see him and all those on the earth who have not made him their Lord will be in shock and sorrow. If every knee shall bow, why not now?

Living in the Comfort Zone

Earlier in the book we studied the skandalidzo, the snares that are set to capture the prey in its own environment and habit patterns. We saw that a snare is set by watching the habit patterns of the intended victim. By observing where it feeds, where it goes to water, and where it goes for rest, you learn the comfort zones of the beast you are attempting to capture. The snare is then set to catch it in its own habit patterns by a device that is well camouflaged and appears to be a harmless part of its comfortable environment. Let us consider the habit patterns of the modern church as they are revealed in the auspicious message of Y’shua to the church of the Laodiceans:

Revelation 3:15, I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Mediocrity, or living in the comfort zone, is the goal of most modern Christians. The desire to fit in with the world, not make waves, and not appear to be a religious fanatic for the sake of friendships or business, drives us more often than the desire to step out of our self-protective shells and give ourselves in love, as Y’shua loved. Rather than laying up treasures in the kingdom of heaven, we find ourselves preoccupied with our treasures on the earth.

Revelation 3:17, Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.

We too readily accept the world’s measure of success. We are in control of our lives. We have a manageable God, and our church social structure works well for our personal goals. We do not view our personal prosperity in the same light that Y’shua does, as filthy rags of temporal distractions from the true wealth.

Revelation 3:18, I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich.

Gold tried in a fire indicates the burning away of the things that are impure and have no eternal value. Volunteering for the furnace of the refiner to be purified is stepping way out of the comfort zone. Through the centuries, persecution has been the purifier of the Saints from without. During the upcoming tribulation, those who are practicing Christianity as a hobby will find a new hobby. The Lord purifies us for his service with adversity.

Revelation 3:19, As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Repentance is an individual thing, and so is rebuke and chastening by the Lord. People repent and turn to God individually. Nations do not. I suggest that we attempt to reach as many individuals as possible with the gospel of Y’shua the Messiah. I will not waste my time trying to turn America back to God; but rather Americans back to God.

The Fiery Judgment of America

In 1776 Americans boldly declared to the world that, “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal (in) that they are endowed by their Creator with absolute, unalienable rights.” America’s corridors of power have been taken over by atheist socialists who are dedicated to the destruction of our Constitution, our sovereignty, and all vestiges of Christianity in our country. The fiery wrath of God is being stored up against those who have perverted the ways of righteousness and have murdered the innocent. I refuse to idolize the nation that we once had. America as we knew it is gone.

America was founded as a Christian nation and was declared so by the Supreme Court in 1892. Unfortunately, we are no longer a Christian society. Neither do the people of our land or our government servants believe in what originally constituted us as a nation: “That all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator...” We have allowed deceptive or uneducated people to take the oath to protect and defend our Constitution. They have no knowledge of, and do not even believe that there is a Creator, let alone the “certain (absolute) inalienable (un-revocable, God-given) rights” that our Federal government was established to secure and protect for us as a people. Our “new” government and the socialist controlled Department of Re-education has replaced the true history of America’s Christian past with multi-cultural babbling. Those who wrestled control of the halls of power in our nation have diligently worked to subvert the knowledge of God as our Creator and originator of rights.

The government is now the supreme giver and taker of rights. Ask any school child attending one of the federally funded public re-education centers. The official doctrine of the United States government is atheism—there is no God. Where there is no God, there are no God given rights, only “civil” rights granted by the mercies of the governing “guardians.”

Atheists live with astounding faith! They live with a hope that contradicts all that their senses tell them about the physical universe. They hope that the incomprehensible intricacies of our bodies, the marvels of mental reasoning, and the unknown property of life itself is the result of millions of years of aberrant chance mutations in a purely mechanical universe. Against the laws and verifiable facts of science, they hold to the scientifically untenable, mathematically impossible, geologically insupportable, philosophically unlivable, theologically inconceivable, and intellectually unsubstantiatable fairy tale of the evolutionary genesis of life. This is an act of extreme faith. A faith that transcends any found in the Christian world. To protect its religion from exposure to rational thinking, millions of people have, out of necessity, been executed by atheist run governments. Evolution is the religion of those who refuse to open their eyes to scientific facts and the cause of our one time existence in this universe—God Almighty.

Atheist/Socialists promoting the New World Order of international socialism are the “domestic enemies” that conquered our government and are polluting the minds of our children through the fallacious and deceptively presented theory of evolution. Educate yourself and your children before the ability to think for ourselves is lost forever to the New World Order. There is no time to let our children discover for themselves that “Santa Claus” does not really exist. Tell them plainly that evolution, atheism, and socialism/communism are pure totalitarian slavery.

It should not be a surprise that socialism is the form of government of the new atheist regime that now sits in Washington. An atheist cannot conceive of a limited constitutional republic based on absolute God given rights. That was the form of government that our Christian forefathers designed for America. Our new government has removed any purpose and reason for life. They have replaced meaning with the constant, mindless entertainment and dumbing down of America through the mass media.

The voices of the prophets warn of the judgment of God that will come upon this nation for having forsaken him, carving out our own religious systems in which the Spirit of the living God cannot speak. It is over. Our only hope is in eternity with a just God, and in the coming of the Lord Y’shua to pull us out of the coming carnage. Unfortunately, just as with Israel, when a nation is judged even the faithful get cut down in the crossfire and shredded by the shrapnel. There is no one who is “innocent” in this matter.

I heard a statement which was attributed to Ruth Graham: “If God does not judge America, he will need to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!” There will be no apologies. This statement is in full agreement with the Scriptures as well as the revelation visions of several modern prophets of God. David Wilkerson saw the great cities in America burning in an apocalyptic holocaust.

This vision and the visions of Henry Gruver and Romanian Pastor Dimitru Duduman, are about to be fulfilled. David Wilkerson detailed the coming judgments of God on America in his 1985 book, Set a Trumpet to Thy Mouth. Dimitru Duduman warned of the impending desolation of America in his book, Through the Fire Without Burning. The Lord led me to both of these books after I had finished the rough draft of this book. What the Lord revealed when he opened the book of Revelation to me, he had already shown years before to these and other prophets of God. For me, however, I had to see it in the pages of the Scripture before I would listen to anyone else. At the times when the opposition had been the greatest, the Lord put each of these books in front of my face to make it clear to me that he had shown me the future of America and that I am indeed responsible to sound the alarm. America is going to be judged by the nuclear fist of Russia, soon. If you live through it and are reading this book, get ready; the worst is yet to come. (See appendix III. The Modern Day Prophets Speak).

The snare of the mystery of iniquity is intact and waiting for the button to be pushed. Allow me to explain. The Fall Feasts of the LORD are the prophetic shadow pictures of the things that will transpire at the beginning of the seventh or Sabbath millennium. For several years I have been working with astronomers, chronologists, mathematicians and Jewish scholars in the land of Israel to correct the biblical Hebrew Calendar. If our calculations are correct in determining the beginning of the seventh millennium, Aviv 1, 6001 occurred at sundown in Jerusalem on March 26, 2001. Cataclysmic events around the corner will lead to the elimination of national sovereignty all over the globe.

The initiation of this trouble will start in the land of Israel. The Philistines under the direction of the Palestinian Authority will galvanize the Arab states against Israel in pursuit of statehood for their manufactured national entity. Jerusalem is the prize that the Philistines will demand, but will not be awarded, regardless of their threats and tantrums. True Israelites will not allow the covenant between God and Abraham to be tread upon.

The terrorist attacks against the Jewish people will escalate and the countries round about Israel will begin to marshal their forces. When the Islamic terrorists step over the line, the nation of Israel will come down with the equivalent of millions of tons of TNT. The people of the earth will shake in uncontrollable fear. The inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem will stand up against the aggression and incinerate their enemies round about. Damascus will become a ruinous heap of radioactive rubble. When lions from the tribe of Judah, who invented nuclear weapons, become “like a torch among the sheaves” of their enemies, the United Nations will stand up in condemnation of their unsanctioned victory over their enemies. The world government will call for the full-scale invasion of Israel.

The stage is fully set and the Feasts of the LORD will be fulfilled on his schedule—to the very day and hour. The “Covenant with Death” (Isaiah 28) that Israel entered into Tishri 1, 5993 (September 13, 1993) was annulled on Elul 30, 6000 (October 28, 2000—corrected), when Ariel Sharon ascended the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and read the latter day prophesy of Ezekial, concerning the joining of the two sticks—Judah and Israel. The bloodbath of the second Intifada began at that time. The Arabs will continue to escalate the conflict until Israel is forced to exercise the “Samson Option” which is to bring down the house around them with nuclear weapons. “Kill ‘em all, let God sort ‘em...” will be the final option.

How long it will take to escalate to this point is uncertain, but each year we watch for the events that will initiate the intermediate fulfillment of the Fall Feasts of the LORD. The year that Judah incinerates her enemies, the stage will be set for the full scale invasion to take place during the 10 days of Awe—Tishri 1, through Tishri 10. When this invasion occurs, there will be no hope for the salvation of Israel. Even Israel’s allies will be cut in shreds when the whole world is gathered against her. When all is lost, on Tishri 10, the Day of Atonement, God will fight for His people. God will be sanctified in the eyes of the nations when He incinerates the armies of Gog-Magog on the mountains of Israel. That day the Ark of the Covenant will be revealed. The Ark, which is the testimony that God put in the earth, the testimony that God gave of his Son, will bear witness to all the people of Israel. The Day of Atonement depicts the national redemption of Israel. The covenant that was made as the blood of Messiah poured out of his side, down the earthquake crack, into the stone chamber in which Jeremiah hid the Ark, and onto the west end of the Ark of the Covenant, will be confirmed with his people. The new covenant made at the time of “the anointing of the most holy” spoken by Daniel, will be confirmed by the Messiah. (See The Great Secret of Solomon’s Temple by Michael Rood.) Gog-Magog will be turned back and humiliated. A hook in their jaw will compel them to go up against “the land of unwalled villages to ‘my people of Israel’ who dwell peacefully in the midst of the land” to take a desperately needed spoil. America will be attacked.

When the invasion in Israel occurs, the ensuing chaos will result in an armed uprising as martial law is declared to restore order in America. After the “peace” agreement ends in nuclear holocaust, not just the Jews, but the remnant of the ten northern tribes of Israel will be brought back from the nations to which they have been scattered since the Assyrian and Roman exiles. Their eyes will be opened and they will return to the land of Israel after the Gog-Magog war. The cause of the exile of Israel, the “sins of Jereboam”—adopting pagan worship practices, will be exposed. When they repent, they will be brought back into the land of Israel. Judah, who did not recognize the time of their visitation by Messiah will have their eyes opened and they too will return. This modern, but supernatural return will cause the Red Sea crossing to pale in memory. Those who return to the land will be as a migrating monarch butterfly, which, several generations removed from its ancestors, returns to the same nesting fields that preceding generations inhabited. The returning seed of Abraham will “metamorphis” by the Spirit of God, having the Torah written in their hearts. They will want to obey the Law of the land of Israel. The enmity against the Torah and commandments will have been removed and they will walk by the Spirit into the promise of the latter rain outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Tishri 22, the day of the Shiloam water oblation.

For the first three and one half years after the Ark is revealed and the Covenant that was made in Messiah’s blood confirmed, Israel will stand independent from the world government. The entire world will know that God has fought for Israel, and Israel will know her Messiah. But, the remaining nations will lose their sovereignty as the New World Order rises from the ashes to implement their global monetary, governmental, and religious systems to control the masses of humanity. On Aviv 10, three and one half years after the confirmation of the true covenant, the antichrist world leader will converge on Jerusalem, and occupy the most holy place on earth. The abomination of desolation will be accomplished as the man of sin sits upon the throne of God—the Ark of the Covenant—and proclaims himself to be God. The Destroyer will be revealed in the “midst of the week” of years that stretches from Tishri 10, the year the covenant is confirmed—until Tishri 10, seven years later. The man who ultimately sits at the helm of the New World Order is the Destroyer himself, the Wicked one whose coming is after the working of Satan.

Russia and her hoards of Islamic co-conspirators (Gog-Magog) who have been in preparation for decades, will launch against the United States while she is in the turmoil of martial law, resulting from the manufactured economic collapse of the world bankers and the shakedown in the Middle East. Russia will crush the last vestiges of the republic and make way for the totalitarian phase of the New World Order. This wound unto death to the head of the beast system (Rev 13:3) will result in the seventh world empire of the United States (the people of which came over from the collapsed Roman Empire) giving way to the eighth and final incarnation of the beast New World Order (Rev 17:10-11).

The details of the sixth seal nuclear destruction are seen in the first four trumpets. This war will provide for the judgment of God on the nation that has forsaken him. The initial attack of short range tactical nuclear submarines will knock out the coastal ports that have commercial and military significance. The totality of this coastal debris will be “as a great mountain” which will pollute the waters of the seas and knock out a third of the ports and a third of the ships. The retaliation for this act will result in the carnage that is detailed in the first four trumpets. (The modern battle gear pictured in Revelation is detailed in Appendix VI). Out of the smoke of this global thermonuclear war, will come the Destroyer. The focal point of the fifth trumpet is not to describe destructive power of the rotary wing aircraft of the New World Order, even though Yochanan was understandably awed by the spectacle. The focal point is the introduction of their “king” or commander. This is the first Woe! The Woe begins when Satan is taken out of his place in the heavens and cast down to the earth, having great wrath because he knows that he has but a short time. This revealing of the Wicked one will commence the worst tribulation and slaughter of human life that has ever, or will ever be. Except for the fact that man’s days on this earth will be shortened by the intervention of the Messiah, no one would remain alive.

This final phase of the Illuminist’s Luciferian World Order will seek to destroy the remnant of Israel and all those who have the testimony of Y’shua the Messiah and keep the commandments of God. This group is already seriously understaffed. These Saints will be hated and betrayed by those Christians who compromise to save their skin and their own sense of dead denominational churchianity. The compromisers will be the haters and betrayers of Matthew 24:10.

Those Christians who believe that Y’shua is legally obligated to come get them before there is any tribulation on earth will be in shock. They will not trust the word of any preacher; preachers won’t trust themselves. People willing to do anything to survive and feed themselves and their family will capitulate to the New World Order which will be ruled by the Destroyer. They will worship and obey him as their messiah, the one who will promise peace to the earth, through total obedience to him. He will expunge the irrational social deviants who wait for another messiah, the Lord Y’shua.

To the unlearned, this coming war will appear as if Armageddon has taken place. The sixth seal global thermonuclear war and its devastating effects will plunge the world into an anarchist’s nightmare. With millions vaporized and the planet in chaos, it will be reasonable for untrained and scripturally illiterate western Gentile Christians to imagine that the resurrection has “already passed” and that they have been “left behind” to endure the wrath of God. The sky is dark at noonday. Out of the ashes of the war emerges “the prince that shall come” and the final phase of the New World Order.

The prince that sits on the throne will be none other than the son of destruction himself. He will appear to establish peace on the earth, enlisting the help of the religious leaders of the world to assist in building a new millennium of peace and good will toward men. To all but the elect of God, it will appear that after “Armageddon,” the “messiah” has appeared to take his throne. All of the world will worship him. This is when “the snare of the false Messiah” will take its toll. Those few Saints that are aware of the snare will be wise. By preparing ahead and walking by the spirit, they will be able to do things that would make James Bond cringe in fear.

Daniel 11:32, ... the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. 33And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. 34Now when they shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help ... 35And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white...

Daniel 12:3, And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

Could This Be a Conspiracy?

You may well have said, “This sounds like some kind of conspiracy.” You would be correct. We clearly see from the pages of the Bible and from life itself, that it is bound in the heart of man to agree with others to do evil for their corporate gain. Organized crime has existed since Satan rebelled and convinced other angels to do so. Conspiracies are commonly seen throughout the Bible. We read in the second Psalm verses 2 and 3:

The Kings of the earth, and the rulers of the earth take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying: “Let us break their constraints in pieces, and cast their restraints from...”

This is the specific conspiracy of which we are speaking. Reading the remainder of the second Psalm, we see that the Messiah himself will take revenge on these world conspirators by dashing them to pieces like a potters vessel. Do I feel compelled to pray for these conspirators? Yes, that this destruction will be swift and their plans to destroy us will be thwarted by the angels. When evil men act alone, they have little power. If there is no premeditation to do evil, there is very little chance of success by the wicked. It would have been very difficult for Hitler to murder millions of innocent Jews had he not taken counsel together with others who were atheist evolutionists. It would have been very difficult to hide the cocaine smuggling operation in Mena, Arkansas, unless crooked politicians were able to conspire with other evil men to have eyewitnesses executed. The nature of Satan is to bribe those who would conspire with him to do evil. Since he is the overseer of the plan to subdue the world in a totalitarian New World Order, it is axiomatic that the plan will continue to move ahead as he planned from the beginning. His co-conspirators follow his plans for the payoff that they will receive from him. There is no disputing the fact. If Satan exists, conspiracy on a worldwide scale is inevitable. Conspiracy? Absolutely! Not theory!

Moving Targets

There is only one way to claim the promises of being the target of persecution. You must open your mouth! Not in obnoxious defiance, but in love. You must take a stand on one side or the other. There is no halfway, mediocre, fence sitting position that Y’shua has ordained for the Saints. He did not come to make life peaceful. Y’shua came to make a difference, to set at variance, to bring a sword, and to separate the true heart from the facade.

It is disappointing to realize how deeply the false doctrine of the secret rapture has invaded the majority of Christian churches. I hope you will risk yourself, for the sake of your brothers and sisters to expose them to the truth of God’s Word concerning the mystery of iniquity and the timing and nature of Messiah’s return. There will be great resistance and denial by your dearest friends. You will find very few people who enjoy being awakened, but many that are thankful after you wake them. You may get a harsh dose of hatred and betrayal, but you are in good company. “They that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever.”

Matthew 10:22, And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved ... 32Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. 34Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. 37He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 39He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

There is one Scripture that has been isolated to support both the pretribulation and secret mid-tribulation rapture. It is found in the third chapter of Revelation. When I mention the secret mid-tribulation rapture, I am addressing the teaching of those who understand that the prerequisite for the gathering together is the revealing of the Wicked one, but who still attempt to get us out of here before the revealing of the Destroyer at the fifth trumpet, in the aftermath of the sixth seal nuclear war before the seventh and last trumpet. For this to be plausible, they generally insist that the abomination of desolation happens between the third and fifth seals, and the rapture occurs between the fourth and fifth seals. The rapture would also take place at a secret time between verses in the early part of Matthew 24. In other words, they are a “secret” within the time chronology. In this way the pre-tribulation rapture is also secret. It is not found in Matthew 24, since “this is addressed to Israel only, and must only refer to the Battle of Armageddon.” The Rapture is not found in the book of Revelation at all for some dispensationalists who insist that the book is not to be read as it is addressed to some poor souls in the future who will have to go through tribulation from which the Saints have been raptured. Others say the rapture is “alluded to” when Yochanan is taken to the throne room of God to get the revelation about that which is to happen in the future.

In refutation to the above concepts that leave the book of Revelation in a raveled up mess, the abomination of desolation is the most time documented prophetic fact concerning the last days. The Destroyer is revealed when Satan is cast down to the earth three and a half years before Armageddon. It is Woe to the earth when he is cast out, which corresponds to the first woe on earth at the fifth trumpet. That is when the Destroyer himself is revealed as the commander in chief of the New World Order. We have seen that the first resurrection, when Messiah returns for his saints and the dead are raised and rewarded, occurs at the last trump in the book of Revelation and I Corinthians. All other interpretations of the events of the book of Revelation have to be reworked to fit those two major, irrefutable occurrences. I know from months of experience that it is a lot of work. It is also not a real pretty picture until the end, but it is the truth.

Now, let us look at the primary verse that both the pre- and midtribulation rapturists use to support their claim to a secret rapture before the last trumpet.

Revelation 3:7, And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth. 8I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it...

In each message to an individual church, there is a reference to the things Yochanan saw in his vision of the resurrected Messiah. Each one has special significance. This message is referencing the keys of death and hell (the grave) over which Y’shua alone has power.

Revelation 1:18, I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have t he keys of hell and of death.

Y’shua was alive, was dead, and is now alive forevermore. God raised his Son from the dead and gave him all authority in heaven and earth. Y’shua has the keys to unlock death and the grave. What he locks stays shut, and when he opens the grave all the power of Satan cannot stop him. As he was victorious over death, so he will make us victorious in him. David is now dead. He is in the grave. Y’shua holds the key that will unlock his grave, and David his servant will come forth with a new body. David will reign with the Messiah in the day or millennium of the LORD. Before us is the same open door. We will escape the grave through the resurrection power and authority of Messiah.

Revelation 3:8b, ... Thou hast a little strength, and hast kept <tereso> my word, and hast not denied my name. 10Because thou hast kept <tereso> the word of my endurance, I also will keep <tereso> thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

The word “kept” is tereso which translates:

1. To watch carefully, as in guarding.

2. To observe and do as ordinances.

The condition is set: Because you have kept (watched carefully and observed) my word, I will keep (watch over and guard) you from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world...

Because they had carefully guarded, observed, and lived according to the commandments of God’s enduring Word, the Messiah will keep them out of temptation, not take them out of the world. Those who live godly in Messiah will not endure the same temptations and bitter disappointments as those who have lived for the temporary pleasures of this world. The fleeting promises of peace and prosperity will only be dashed to pieces on the altars of idolatry and turned to ashes as they are offered to the god of self. But because these have faithfully kept themselves from sin, they are not drawn away of their own lusts and enticed. They are kept by the hand of God.

I John 5:18, We know that whosoever is begotten of God does not practice sin; but he that is begotten, God keeps [<τερεσο> (tereso)] him; and that wicked one does not touch him. (GINT)

Yochanan confirms the principle that if the Saints meet the conditions through their own self-discipline, God will guard and keep them out of temptation during a time when all of the world will be tried in the fire of adversity. Y’shua will not take them out of the world, but will keep them out of temptation. Look again at Revelation 3:10:

I also will keep [<τερεσο> (tereso)] thee from [<εκ> (ek)] the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

The word εκ (ek) is a preposition which means out from and is described as a line drawn out from the center of a circle. This preposition has been used to give credence to the notion that we are to be taken out from this world before the tribulation that is pictured in this book takes place. However, we have seen in all other Scriptures that we will be taken out before the seven bowls of the wrath of God are poured out. This word ek does not indicate that we will be taken out of this world, but that we will be guarded and kept out of evil and temptation. Y’shua again repeats this desire in his prayer. Yochanan was again the penman for the Lord as he wrote:

John 17:14, I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of <εκ> the world, but that thou shouldest keep <τερεσο> them from <εκ> the evil one.

It is clear that Y’shua had no intention of taking us out of the world, but that we would be guarded from the evil one of the world, while still living in the world.

16They are not of <εκ> the world, even as I am not of <εκ> the world. 17Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18As thou hast sent me into <εισ> the world, even so have I also sent them into <εισ> the world. 20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

Y’shua prays that we will be kept <τερεσο>, holy and separated from the world and its evil, by the enduring word of truth. When we keep <τερεσο> the Word, and keep <τερεσο> ourselves out of <εκ> sin, we are actively kept <τερεσο> by the power of God. This prayer and promise is not to his twelve alone but to all of us that believe until he returns from heaven at the last trump.

Only by disregarding the rest of the Scriptures written by the same prophet on the same subject, can we manufacture an “out of this world, early secret rapture.” This is an excellent example of a time worn method of Bible “interpretation.” If a numbered sentence cannot be isolated to prove one’s theology, isolating a few words will work just as well. Either way is twisting the Scriptures. Interestingly enough, “twisting” and “wickedness” are from the same root word. Let us look at what Paul tells us about ek and its relationship to temptation.

I Corinthians 10:13, There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape [<εκβανο> (ekbano)], that ye may be able to endure.

Εκβανω is the Greek εκ (ek), out from, and βανω (bano), to take in the hand. Amidst the tribulations in life we have the promise that God will always make ekbano. God will take us in his hand to keep us out of temptation, not take us out of the world. There is no precedent for God to take his people out of this world to avoid the spiritual and physical warfare that the mystery of iniquity wages against God and man. There is, however, a day coming in which the age of the goodness and longsuffering of God is going to come to a halt at the edge of the sword that divides the soul from the spirit and discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart. The inanity will end. Just as in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, God will send his angels to gather the just to safety, and the fire of God will rain down on those who have rejected his son (Luke 17:28, 29).

Saints through the ages have been tortured to death for the witness of their Lord. Some have sung while flames roasted their body. Others had their skin peeled from their flesh, some with no evidence of discomfort. Others have cried in agony for death, but refused to recant and deny their Lord for the promise of no more pain. Others yet fell asleep, dying for no apparent reason to the dismay of the would-be torturers. The temptation, regardless of its intensity, comes with the promise that he will always make ekbano, a way out, by being taken into the palm of his hand, that we will be able to endure whatever man or Satan throws at us. Y’shua is your Lord. He will keep you in his hand. No one and no thing can separate you from his love for you, or his promise to be with you and keep you in the hour of temptation.

Revelation 3:11-12, Behold, I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out.

If you have been teaching the secret rapture, I implore you in the name of Y’shua the Messiah, stop. No matter how much theology you have invested, there will be deep remorse before his throne if you continue to set the snares for others. I was given the space to repent. It is now your decision. Unless shepherds dedicate themselves to the truth, the blood of the flock will be upon their heads.

Teaching the secret pre-tribulation rapture is the “Holy Grail” of the American prosperity gospel. You may be as sincere as I was, but I was still accomplice to the mystery of iniquity. The same is true for anyone who teaches that the rapture of the church is at any time other than when Y’shua told his prophets Shaul and Yochanan: At the last trump. To teach any other peace and safety gospel leaves your brothers and sisters unprepared emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually for a time that Y’shua warned would be darker than any other time in the history of man.

The coming tribulation will bring mankind to the brink of destruction. As he promised, those days will be shortened for the elects’ sake, but not avoided. But God will ekbano. He will always make a way out. He will take us into the palm of his hand and we will be able to endure to the very end. We keep his Word and he will keep us. We, like father Abraham, look for a better resurrection.

The Mystery Revealed

I will say unto many

Who say Lord unto me,

I never knew you

Depart from me,

Ye that work Iniquity!

These are the harshest words in the pages of Scripture, the harshest in the history of the recorded word. These words were reserved for the final judgment and were spoken to those individuals who considered themselves spirit-filled, charismatic, or evangelical Christians. The Lord only takes us to the Judgment day scenario in the most serious of matters.

In this scene in the Gospel of Matthew, the screams of millions of Christians are extinguished in the lake of fire reserved for Satan and his emissaries. These verses are seldom, if ever read in Churches. It is assumed that these words are for people in every denomination and walk of life except for the present company of pew warmers. But it is better to be shocked into reality now, while we have opportunity to correct our ways, than to be dragged kicking and screaming from the presence of the Lord that we thought we served!

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name we have cast out devils? And in thy name we have done many wonderful works?23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

First we note that this is addressed to those who have confessed with their mouth that Jesus is their Lord. They have prophesied in the name of Jesus. They have cast out demonic spirits in the name of Jesus. They have raised money to build cathedrals to the glory of God and their television ministries may have spanned the globe as they paraded the biggest names in show business across the stage—praising the name of Jesus and what wonderful things he has done for their lives. But now, with the flames of the Lake of Fire fanned by the flailing arms of their favorite praise and worship leader who was just tossed into the molten brimstone, we ask the belated question: Have we done the will of the Father? Or have we mindlessly followed a religion concocted by the twisted mind of man? It will be too late then to make a course correction. Let us consider deeply this personal working of the Mystery of Iniquity.

The Sermon Few Cared to Hear

To understand this most critical construct of the Mystery of Iniquity and its undermining of the life of a believer, it is necessary to capture the context of this statement as it was originally spoken, and thoughtfully consider its ramifications to you and me today. Contextualizing Scripture is almost non-existent in modern Christianity, where isolating numbered sound bytes (verses) and arranging them into a 25-minute positive-self-image message has replaced thoughtful consideration of the Hebrew Scriptures.

To understand the seventh chapter of the book of Matthew, where this passage is situated, we must begin in chapter four. It is there that we witness the first adult activity of the one born “King of the Jews” as his cousin Yochanan baptizes him. Y’shua then goes into the desert on the East bank of the Jordan for the 40-day fast that ends in his overcoming the temptations of Satan. We know from the other gospel accounts that upon his return to the Jordan, at least two of Yochanan’s disciples begin to follow Y’shua. The marriage in Cana on the shore of the Sea of Galilee is one of the first recorded stops as he and his growing band of disciples make their way from one village to another, teaching in the local Synagogues each Sabbath. The fame of his teaching echoed throughout the region as he stripped the doctrines and commandments of the religious hierarchy off from the purity of the commandments delivered through Moses. The people loved him—they had never heard anyone with such a command of the Scriptures and the boldness to expose religious corruption. They anxiously followed him to his next teaching location the following Sabbath. Leaders in the local synagogues were excited to see all of the new faces that he brought with him – not so positive when most of the regulars were in another village to hear him the next Sabbath. A multitude was now itching to hear the next words from the young teacher’s lips.

Matthew 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

Just as when Moses saw the burning but unconsumed bush and turned aside to see, so the disciples—the disciplined students turned aside, and climbed the mountain to hear words reserved for the few. They left behind thousands who were willing to listen as long as no exertion was required. Those who wanted a convenient feel good message would wait comfortably on the beach below.

2And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, 3Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

These are the first recorded words of the Messiah as he addresses his disciples on the mountain. He begins by citing qualifications required for those desiring access into the kingdom of heaven. To understand the magnitude of his words we must step back, not just a few weeks, but several thousand years as we begin to explore the purpose of this specific message, as it had been prophesied from the beginning of time.

Thousands and thousands of years before Moses recorded the instructions that were given him from Sinai, God gave his instructions to Adam. Among these instructions God declared the purpose of the spherical bodies that he put in motion in the heavens.

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years. Genesis 1:14

The sun, moon, planets, and stars were put in their courses to reveal the Creator’s reckoning of time: the passing of days, weeks, months and years. The modern Christian world, however, has forsaken God’s reckoning of time, clearly detailed in the Hebrew Scriptures, and has adopted a pagan sun god worship calendar which has no basis in reality whatsoever.

The sun, moon, planets, and stars were put in their courses to reveal the Creator’s seasons: (moedim in Hebrew) the appointed times which became known as the Feasts of the LORD, detailed in the 23rd chapter of Leviticus. The Feasts of the LORD are the prophetic shadow pictures by which God told the end from the beginning. Again, the modern Christian world has forsaken God’s Feasts, which Shaul said are all “shadow pictures of good things to come in the future” and has adopted and adapted pagan sun god worship festivals such as Easter—the name of the Babylonian fertility goddess; and Child mass—the ritual sacrifice of infants to the god of prosperity at the winter solstice.

The sun, moon, planets, and stars were put in their courses to reveal the Creator’s signs in the heavens, which have proclaimed God’s plan of redemption from the first starry night of Adam’s existence. The names of the stars reveal the constellations, which are the larger story pictures in the heavens of good things to come. The stars reveal nothing about your personal day-to-day life; that is an astrological perversion. The stars reveal God’s nature to man, day after day. The heavenly bodies are signs in the heavens that foretell the coming of the redeemer. God named the stars, and their original Hebrew names declare his glory:

Psalm 147:4 He tells the number of the stars; he calls them all by their names.

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handywork. 2Day unto day the heavens utter speech, and night unto night they show knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. 4Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world...

God taught the names and meanings of the stars to Adam, and these instructions were passed all the way down to Shem who was the Malik-Tzedek living in Jerusalem at the time the languages were divided at the tower of Babel. To this day the stars retain the original meaning of their God given names in nearly every culture under the sun.

The Sign of the Tzadik—Tzemach

The constellation Bethula (Hebrew for “Virgin”) is known in Latin as Virgo and in Greek as Parthenos. The constellation cannot be seen as an outline of a virgin in the heavens; however, the names of the individual stars in the constellation describe the attributes of the heavenly sign. Bethula has in her left hand one star—called in Hebrew: Tzemach. Yet, Bethula has been depicted for thousands of years with five branches in her left hand. Why?

The word Tzemach is used five times by the Hebrew Prophets. It was translated into English as BRANCH in capitals, as the rabbis and translators understood it to refer to the Messiah as the Righteous Branch, the sprout of the root of Jesse—the offspring of King David. The New Testament Scriptures show the fulfillment of these five “BRANCH” prophecies as they are recorded in the five gospel records.

In the Gospel of Matthew the Messiah is depicted as the BRANCH, the King from heaven as he lays down the rules of the Kingdom of Heaven and the criterion by which the King will judge his subjects. The phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” is used 56 times in Matthew. The corresponding prophecy is found in Jeremiah 23:5:

I will raise unto David a righteous BRANCH—Tzemach, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

In the Gospel of Mark the Messiah is depicted as the BRANCH, the servant as he gives his life in service. He lives the lifestyle he expects his disciples to follow. The terminology of the gospel paints a picture of undistracted service. The word “immediately” is used 17 times, “straightway” 19 times—no grass is growing under the feet of the Branch. The corresponding prophecy is found in Zechariah 3:8:

Behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH—Tzemach.

In the Gospel of Luke the Messiah is depicted as the BRANCH, the Son of man as he lives his life as an example of service to God. The phrase Son of Man is used 25 times. The corresponding prophecy is found in Zechariah 6:12:

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, saying, behold the man whose name is The BRANCH—Tzemach. He shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD.

In the Gospel of John the Messiah is depicted as the BRANCH, the Son of God as he gives his life as a ransom for man’s sins and his sinless blood is poured out on the golden altar as the atonement that was foreshadowed by animal sacrifice. Without the shedding of sinless blood, there is no remission of sins. The price had to be paid by the righteous Branch. The corresponding prophecy is found in Isaiah 4:2:

In that day shall the BRANCH—Tzemach of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel ... 4When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

In the gospel of The Revelation, the Messiah is depicted as the BRANCH, the Judge from heaven as he subdues all earthly power and authority and rules the world with a rod of iron according to the Laws that God has ordained. The King judges and rules his subjects in righteousness. Yes, the book of The Revelation is the fifth gospel. It is “good news” to those who love his coming—bad news for those who have been living by their own rules. The corresponding prophecy is found in Jeremiah 33:15:

I cause the BRANCH—Tzemach of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

From the beginning God made provision for the seed of David, the righteous Branch, the King to proclaim the kingdom of heaven and the rules by which it will be governed. From the pages of the gospel of which the stars spoke, we will hear directly from the one of which Moses spoke, “every soul which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people” (Acts 3:22).

18I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words, which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him (Deuteronomy 18:18).

Moving ahead thousands of years, we resume the context in the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. The King from heaven lays down the rules of the kingdom of heaven. These are the words that will be required of us all. The end of his warning is the final judgment: “Depart from...” We should listen to him with great carefulness.

6Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled <chortazo>.

The Greek word “chortazo” means “to fill to the point of one’s hunger.” If your hunger for God can be satisfied by a 25-minute rehash of a message that was lukewarm 150 years ago when the heads of a denominational sect of Christianity cooked up a pot of inoffensive middle-of-the-road sermonettes to keep the supporting parishioners complacent, then you are easily filled. But if after 20 years of doing your dull denominational duties, you find yourself daydreaming during the sermon and asking yourself, “Is there nothing more than this insipid drivel?”—you may be on your way to breaking the religious bondage of the system and being filled to overflowing. The Messiah stated the purpose for eternal life as recorded in John 17:3:

“...That they might know thee the only true God, and Messiah Y’shua, whom thou hast sent.”

Many people do not want to know the true God or His Son— now. Why would they want to spend eternity getting to know him? Would God clutter heaven with a bunch of pew warmers and pain-in-the-neck ignorant bystanders?

Only in Your Sick, Twisted, Western Gentile Mind!

As we will soon see in the ensuing chapters of Matthew, the King has a way of separating those who hunger and thirst for righteousness from those who wait for his return in the comfort of their religious traditions. In the 17th verse of chapter 5 we read what has become the unspoken motto of the modern Christian Church:

17Think not...

“May this word of comfort from the Scriptures guide you until we meet again in the same pew at the same time next week. Amen. Now, we will receive an offering to release the anointing.”

OK. Let’s put this verse back in the context and make certain that I handle the words of the Lord faithfully. Watch closely.

17Think not that I am come to destroy the law (Torah), or the prophets (Nevim): I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

This is the first recorded teaching of the Messiah where thousands of Galilean Jews have the opportunity to hear the King as he lays down the rules of the kingdom of heaven. His disciples press their way up the mountain to be there for every word. They know that what he has been saying goes against the grain of the system, but it makes sense. Carefully consider my paraphrase!

Do not think, for one moment—no matter what you hear from anyone in the days, weeks, months, years, and centuries to come—that I have come to destroy either the law or the prophets. Again, let me reiterate what I just said in the last sentence, lest your mind has already wandered— I have not come to destroy—I have come to fulfill, to complete, and to satisfy the words of the Torah, and the words of the prophets.

The word translated “law” is the Greek word “nomos,” which is the word that was used to translate the Hebrew word “Torah” in the Alexandrian Septuagint. “Torah” in Hebrew means “Instructions”—and is used synonymously with the five books of Moses. It is the Torah that King David said is sweeter than honey. “Nomos” in the Greek version of the Scriptures, means Torah—which Shaul the apostle said is good, and holy and righteous and just. Nomos is incorporated in the word “astronomy” which literally means “ star instructions.” The word “Law,” however, stirs up images of flashing blue lights in the rear-view mirror, handcuffs, and the right to call an attorney. For clarity, I will use the original Hebrew word Torah in the place of law. It is important to see that the Torah is the basis to all that will be discussed in the following chapters.

17Think not that I am come to destroy the Torah, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

18For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot (Yod) or one tittle (decorative ornament on a letter) shall in no wise pass from the Torah, till all be fulfilled.

Here we have a double conditional clause.

Till heaven and earth pass:

Till all be fulfilled:

The Torah will not be altered in any detail.

It should be obvious to the most casual observer that heaven and earth have not passed. What about the other conditional phrase? Have all of the Torah and all of the prophets been fulfilled?

Modern Christianity has developed a theology in which the instructions in the books of the “Old Testament” have all passed away, with the exception of one verse in the book of Malachi, which is interpreted to say that 501(c)3 corporations must collect a 10 percent religion tax each Sunday—or God will curse everyone in the building. But, before we jump to such conclusions, let us look at the very words and actions of the Messiah as he entered the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth as recorded in the 4th chapter of the gospel of Luke:

14And Y’shua returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. 15And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. 16And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17And there was delivered unto him the book (scroll) of the prophet Yeshiyahu. And when he had opened the scroll, he found the place where it was written, 18The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord...

20And he closed the scroll, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

The Lord just did something that was completely unexpected by the people who were raised with the words of the prophet Isaiah from their youth. Why did he stop reading? Why has the entire assembly stopped breathing? Every eye was riveted on him. What is he doing to the prophet Isaiah? Why did his voice not trail off as he concluded the last word? He stopped dead—in the middle of a sentence!

21And he began to say unto them, “This day, is this Scripture, fulfilled in your ears.”

The people were stunned. Why has he done this? The prophet Isaiah did not say this! We read the text from the 61st chapter:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance of our God.

Why did he not read the rest of the words of the prophet? Why did he stop in the middle of a sentence? He did not come to fulfill the day of vengeance of our God! He came to fulfill the roll of Messiah Ben Joseph, the suffering servant—the atoning sin sacrifice. He did not come to be heralded as the Messiah Ben David—the conquering King who reigns over the earth with a rod of Iron. He did not come the first time as the Judge who wields the sword of vengeance. That is why he stopped reading in the middle of the sentence, closed the scroll and said, “This day, is this Scripture, fulfilled in your ears.”

I ask you again, have all of the Torah and Prophets been fulfilled??? Only if you have never read the Torah and the Prophets could you concoct such an uninformed, and deadly theological premise! Half of the Torah and Prophets tell of the Messiah coming as the suffering servant who will atone for the sins of his people; that is the message of the first four Gospels. That is the picture embedded in the Spring Feasts of the LORD—the shadow of the Messiah as Suffering Servant.

The other half of the Torah and Prophets tell of the Messiah ruling over the earth with a rod of iron as the King of Kings; that is the message of the fifth Gospel—the book of The Revelation. That is the picture embedded in the Fall Feasts of the LORD—the shadow of the Messiah as the Reigning King.

Have all of the Torah and Prophets been fulfilled??? Only in your sick, twisted, western Gentile mind! Or in the words of the Messiah: “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures—the Torah and Prophets.”

Ye Do Err, Not Knowing the Torah

I think that as a general policy we would have much less confusion if we would simply allow the Jews to interpret all the Scriptures that the Jews have written and let the Gentiles interpret all the Scriptures that the Gentiles have written. To illustrate, let’s consider what Kefa writes of Shaul:

15Even as our beloved brother Shaul hath written to you ... 16some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrestle these things as they wrestle the other Scriptures unto their own destruction. (II Peter 3:15)

What are the Scriptures of which they are ignorant and unstable? The Torah and prophets from which Shaul is constantly quoting! These are the Scriptures that the believers in Berea searched every day, to prove whether Shaul was teaching them the truth, or personal opinion. Shaul proved that Y’shua was Messiah by teaching the Torah. Apollos proved that Y’shua was Messiah by teaching the Torah. Bereans proved that Shaul taught the truth by researching the Torah. Timothy was taught the Torah from a youth – the Scriptures able to make one wise unto salvation. Shaul said that the Torah was given by inspiration of God and was profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. The modern Christian church, however, has been raised in ignorance of, and with emnity against, this Torah.

We, like Kefa, are “fishermen.” We were not raised at the feet of Gamaliel, as was Shaul—having memorized the entire Torah by the time he reached his twentieth year. We have grown up in a culture that has ignorantly twisted the writings of Shaul into four thousand denominations that curse each other and butcher Scripture about which they know little. Because of our vast ignorance of the Torah, most Christians don’t recognize that the Torah is continually referenced in Shaul’s letters and the gospels. The writings in the New Testament never cite chapter and verse from the Torah and prophets because there were no chapter and verse designations for a thousand years after the New Testament was written. Christians think that the New Testament fell out of a thin blue sky, that Y’shua was born in the year one, and that God’s chosen people finally arrived on the scene at Pentecost. Christians have been raised ignorant of Torah—which is the context of the entire New Testament! Modern Christianity has ignorantly proclaimed the passing of the Torah and the prophets because in their shallow understanding—“all the Torah and prophets have already been fulfilled. Obedience is bondage, we are all under grace.”

Those who have been raised in a Gentile world, ignorant of the Torah, can twist the simplest of Scriptures, just as Shaul stated to some unstable Gentile believers in Galatia:

Galatians 2:15: We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners among the Gentiles, Know that a man is not justified by the works of law...

Let us stop here for a moment and catch the context. Those who are born Jews, know something that is apparently escaping the Gentiles in Galatia. The Gentiles must recognize what Shaul so eloquently wrote to the Gentiles in Ephesus:

Ephesians 2:12, Remember that at one time you Gentiles were without Messiah, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world...

In other words, the prophets were sent to the children of Israel, they received the Torah and the covenants were theirs. The Gentiles, on the other hand, were completely immersed in pagan sun god worship, fertility rites, and child sacrifice. As Shaul wrote to the Gentile believers in Rome:

Some of the natural olive branches (Israel) were broken off because of unbelief, and you Gentiles, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them to partake of the root and sap of the natural olive tree. But, do not exalt yourself over the natural branches. You do not bear the root. The root bears you. Don’t get haughty—but fear.

Since God did not spare natural branches, take heed ... If you do not continue in his goodness, you also will be cut off. I don’t want you Gentile brethren to be blinded by your conceit and ignorance of this mystery: That blindness in part (and only in part) is happened to Israel, until (and only until) the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. Israel is the Fathers beloved, and God’s gifts and calling to Israel will never be revoked. (Romans 11:17-29 MIV, edited for brevity.)

Now that we have gained a more honest perspective concerning the Gentiles and their recent grafting into the Hebrew roots from paganism, lets see what Shaul, a natural born Jew who was not cut off, has to say to these former heathens.

We who are Jews by nature, and not heathen among the Gentiles, Know that a man is not justified by the works of law, but by faith in Messiah.

The Jews understand that we are not now, nor ever have been, justified by keeping any law—manmade or God-given. Gentiles think, that the Jews believe that their righteousness is earned by keeping laws. That is a Gentile misconception—and that is what Shaul is attempting to communicate. Every Gentile culture has laws that describe their righteousness and they ascribe their problem to the Jews. Abraham our father believed God, and was justified. Our righteousness is not earned by keeping the minutiae of commandments. Our righteousness comes by faith, just as the righteousness of our father Abraham. However, religious systems develop in every culture, and Israel is no exception. Men want to control others, and they develop laws that define righteousness so they can control people. God wants to lead us by his Spirit. Those who do not want to be obedient to God’s simple instructions and then learn to live in the spirit of those instructions will always make their own legalistic rules to govern themselves and others. Shaul is attempting to break down this legalism as it exists among the Jewish followers of the Messiah and the Gentile followers of the Jewish Messiah.

Galatians 2:16: Even we (Jews) who have believed in Messiah Y’shua, are justified by faith in Messiah, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of law shall no flesh be justified.

No works of any law, man-made or God-made, produces righteousness. The Lord does not want us to be confused by Jewish or Gentile religious leaders who twist the Scriptures into their own rules and regulations to conduct followers into their own peace, safety, and prosperity goldmine.

19Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

To which commandments is he making reference? (Context!) The commandments in the Torah! The very commandments that he said would not pass away until all of the Torah and Prophets have been fulfilled—and the new heaven and earth replace the old. Which is the least of the commandments? I would suggest that it is the one you break because you don’t think it matters. There are 613 commandments in the Torah. There are over 900 in the New Testament. Many of the commandments in the Torah don’t apply to your situation. Some apply only to adult men, others to adult women or children. Some apply just to the Levite, others to Cohanim among the Levites. Some apply if you do not want to share in the deadly diseases from which Gentile Christians drop like flies but kosher Jews never get. Others apply if you do not want your carcass to be cast upon the carcasses of the pagan idols that you have inherited from your ancestors. Take your pick, but my advice is: be aggressively obedient to the commandments of God. You cannot go wrong by engaging in acts of righteousness. Your personal pursuit of living according to God’s instructions is obedience—not legalism.

Legalism Versus Obedience

Keeping the commandments of God is referred to as obedience throughout the Scriptures. God defines sin and He defines obedience. Legalism, on the other hand, can only refer to the strict adherence to doctrines, commandments, religious rules and regulations of men. This is the systematized bondage from which the Messiah came to set us free. The word “legalism” is not found in the Scriptures, but bondage to the rules and traditions of men is railed upon from its very first pages.

The religious system in Israel was full of bondage in the fifth millennium. But the repression of their system doesn’t hold a candle to the manipulation, intimidation, and fear by which religious Gentiles rule over their flocks of sheeple. If you do not want to govern yourself according to the commandments of God, there is a plethora of religious professionals who will be happy to control you and your assets with their own brand of legalism. Don’t allow others to manipulate you—break every rule that religious systems put in front of you to measure your righteousness. Break every legalistic rule and regulation of men, but never break even one of the least commandments in the Torah. Breaking the rules and commandments of religious systems and refusing to be manipulated by religious guilt will set you free from every form of religious bondage, even Christian bondage. Getting free from the doctrines and commandments of men will only work if you walk by the Spirit and live by the revealed Word of God. Remember, there are no “least” commandments, unless of course you are vying for the title of “Least” in the kingdom of heaven.

Volunteers for “Least” in the Kingdom?

Some have suggested that being least in the kingdom is better than not being in the kingdom at all. They willingly sell their birthright for the pleasures of the flesh now, thinking that they may have just a little lower stature for eternity. Ministers commit adultery with their secretaries, paying for abortions with a portion of the congregational tithes. They rationalize that all sin is the same in God’s eyes, “grace” permits them to sin, and being “least” is not all that bad.

The King himself offered the title “least in the kingdom of heaven” and the qualifications for the title were succinctly delineated. But I feel that there has never been an adequate theological treatise on the subject, and so I offer my uniquely qualified perspective. We immediately recognize that “least” is a relative term, and its subtle nuances and implications must be explored with meticulous deliberation. In my youth, I worked on several farms and have had, in my opinion, sufficient experience with beef cattle to posit a credible association of “least” in this environment. It may not take the same years of experience for most readers to select what they would consider to be “least” among the following list of beef cattle products:

1. T-bone steak

2. Rump roast

3. Hamburger

4. Cow Pie

My experience has brought me in contact with the fourth selection far more often than I care to articulate. But, I can say with confidence that one who would turn the grace of God into a license to sin in the matters that we are discussing, in the kingdom of heaven we affectionately refer to him as “Reverend Cow Dung.” This may not seem to be a particularly pleasant appellation, but certainly fitting for those who would not only break the Torah of God, but also teach others to do the same. Just as the Lord said of the religious leaders of his day,

“You cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn him into twice the son of hell as yourselves” (Matthew 23:15).

After he denigrates those who break the Torah and teach others to do the same, a causal conjunction begins the next statement, which sets the stage for the remainder of his dialogue through chapter seven:

20 For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

The Pharisees were ultra-conservative and had orthodoxy for nearly every situation in life. They would not break the smallest of rules among the religious establishment. They prided themselves on being correct in their handling of the Scriptures and spent much time memorizing the same. Shaul proclaimed near the end of the book of The Acts, that he was a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee; of this he was never ashamed. Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, and Yosef of Arimathaea were both followers of the Messiah and Pharisees as well. In the fifteenth chapter of Acts we read of a group of zealous Pharisees who were part of the Messianic community in Jerusalem. Pharisees were not typical religionists who attended a meeting once a week to scratch a mild religious bug. The Scriptures were their life, and they had a very organized system of righteousness that defined their every action.

The Scribes, in their own field, were perhaps even more disciplined than the Pharisees. They were trained to hand copy every yod and flourish of the Scriptures onto a sheet of lambskin with absolute accuracy. Scribes were not inexperienced seminary graduates with a pastoral degree. Yet, this is the caliber of men that the Lord used to illustrate the righteousness that would be required of those who would enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Please allow me to offer this paraphrase from the MIV (Marine Infantry Version) for your consideration:

For verily I say unto you, “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the most religious members of your ministerial associations, theological cemeteries, and schools of prophetic anointing, you can kiss your ticket to heaven—goodbye...”

Enmity Against the Torah

For the next three chapters, the Lord is going to describe to the disciples, the essence of the righteousness that must surpass that of the most austere religionists of their day. We will select one example from chapter five which will effectively prove the point and hopefully inspire you to spend the rest of your life understanding the sermon that few desired to hear.

27Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

This is a perfect example of the letter of the Torah. It is one of the Ten Commandments quoted verbatim in English. There is no misunderstanding the commandment. God’s instructions usually interpret themselves in their original context.

27But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

This is a perfect example of the spirit of the Torah. Messiah interpreted the heart of this instruction to mean that God wants us to not only refrain from the act, but we are to control our mind so that our imagination does not even consider the possibility of fleshly fulfillment. We should be able to trust each other around our wives, sisters, and daughters. This is the spirit of the Torah, which in this instance is more restrictive than the letter of the Torah. If you keep the spirit of the Torah, you will not be under the letter of the Torah.

Many Christian ministers are teaching by their actions that grace is a license to sin. They teach that the Torah, including this particular commandment, has been destroyed by the death of the Messiah. They isolate and twist the words of Shaul to legitimize their systematic perversion of grace.

Romans 8, 4The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit ... 6For to be carnally minded (entertaining the thoughts of fleshly lusts—such as adultery) is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it (the thoughts of the natural man and his unbridled fleshly lusts) is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8So then they that are in the flesh (unbridled in their mind and body) cannot please God.

The carnal mind, the natural fleshly desire and craving of the natural man, is at enmity with God and his instructions—his Torah. The natural man refuses to subject himself to the instructions of God and he refuses to control his fleshly lusts.

9But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Messiah, he is none of his.

These are very hard words to those who yield to the flesh and pervert grace to facilitate their twisted theology. They are none of his! Yochanan iterated the same principle in his letter:

I John 2:3: By this we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments. 4He that says, “I know him,” but he does not keep his commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Shaul intimates that the enmity that natural man has against God’s instructions has been crucified. The natural man with his refusal to subject himself to the will of God has died with the Messiah and we are now set free from our natural animosity against his Torah. He paid the price, now all he asks, “If you love me, keep my commandments, they are not grievous.” We love him because he first loved us, and gave his life as the atonement for our sins. We are to desire the Torah more than treasures of fine gold. Once the enmity is destroyed, the Torah is sweeter than honey from the comb. Once the Spirit of God resides within, we will not have enmity against the Torah unless we have been taught to rebel against his instructions. But, we can repent from our misguided lawlessness, and he will write the commandments on our hearts as we study and learn them. They are not grievous.

Men incite rebellion against God’s Torah so that they can control the innocent with rules and regulations of their own choosing. They want your obedience, adoration, and worship. They want to be your god. As long as you are not obedient to the commandments of the true God, Satan will be happy for you to worship anyone, anything, and anywhere that you please. Satan has a plan for your life. It is called the Mystery of Iniquity. That mystery is about to be revealed by the Lord.

Doctrine is What You Do

In chapter seven we find the summary of his entire message to those disciples who would desire to enter into the Kingdom of heaven. He concludes with the final example of what will befall those who call him Lord but refuse to obey his commandments. This is what it will look like if our righteousness does not exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees.

Matthew 7:21, Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Here we see the essence of the Hebrew concept of doctrine; it is encapsulated in the first two letters of do ctrine DO. “Doctrine” is not what you sit in a pew and think—that is “theology”—the science of comprehending and describing the nature of God. Theology is a Greek philosophic and intellectual perversion of the Hebrew concept of doctrine. You cannot sit in a building and have the correct doctrine because you are not doing anything. As James said:

The Devil believes in God; what’s that all about? You propose to show me your faith by sitting in a meeting? I’ll show you my faith by what I do! If you don’t do acts of righteousness, you are as good as dead (James 2:18 MIV).

We all have hit-and-miss theology. Not one of us fully understands the Creator of the heavens and earth, nor can we accurately express his nature in words. If we have been touched by God’s power, the Creator’s nature should be manifest in our lives. We will express his nature. What we do – our doctrine is the result of what we become as we abide in his will. If our life has been transformed by his love, we will transform others. We will bear fruit, not sit in a building and think about it.

I have a point of doctrine relative to this verse that I would like for you to consider. It would appear that the exercise of confessing with one’s mouth that Y’shua is Lord, the singular goad of evangelical Christianity, might be highly over-rated. It appears that the Lord himself doesn’t even give it a second thought. Perhaps we need to rethink this entire field of religious activity to ensure that we are in compliance with the will of the heavenly Father. I distinctly recall that Y’shua chided one who did confess him as Lord with, “Why do you call me Lord, but you do not do the things I say to do” as if to say, “One of us doesn’t understand the word ‘Lord,’ and I don’t have the problem!” A verbal confession doesn’t appear to have much of an effect if our actions are not aligned with our words. We now recognize the gravity of this chilling scene as it is played out in the final episode of your worst nightmare:

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name we have cast out devils? and in thy name we have done many wonderful works?

I can picture the Lord as he leans forward from his throne and thunders incredulously, “We? Who is we? Do you have a mouse in your pocket? I only see you, and I don’t have any idea who you are! Did you join some kind of group that gets in under a package deal? Get out of my face! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!” The words could never be more harsh or the response more desperate...

“But ... but Lord ... didn’t I...”

Bu? There is no but! There is no recourse—there is no appeal! The Judgment is final and no anguishing screams for mercy will be recognized. Your Christian theology didn’t work.

23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

The sermon that began with the stern warning, “Do not think that I am come to destroy the Torah...” is now closed with the hardest words in the Scripture, “Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

The word iniquity is again—anomia.

A=without

Nomia=Torah

What is a worker of iniquity? (Context!) A worker of iniquity is one who breaks the least of the commandments of God, and teaches others to do the same. One who is without Torah and encourages rebellion against the giver of the Torah. One who is least in the kingdom of heaven and doomed to be rebuffed with those terrifying words. Yes, the sermon that few wanted to hear—the sermon that began with the stern warning, “Do not think that I am come to destroy the Torah...” now ends with, “Depart from me, ye who are without Torah.”

In the opening chapter we considered Noah Webster’s definition of lawlessness because the King James translators use the word iniquity and lawlessness interchangeably from the Greek anomia. Here we see the full depth of the Mystery of Iniquity as it relates to the verdict on Judgment Day.

Lawlessness is defined as: The state of being without or in opposition to the law (Torah). Hence, lawlessness entails the stand of one who is in opposition to the originator, or author of the law (Torah). An act of open rebellion, and renunciation of the one to whom one owes allegiance.

We now see the severity of what Satan has been able to produce through the modern Christian religious system. Isolating numbered sentences into theological statements that cloister converts within the sterile walls of complacency, Satan builds systems of theology that destroy the Torah of God. Those who are without Torah, no matter how religious, are in open rebellion and have in action renounced the Author of the Torah. They say that they know Him, but by their Doctrine have denied Him. They will be joining the Master of Iniquity in the lake of fire! The words of Yochanan return to haunt us: If we keep his commandments, we know him. If we say we know him, yet we do not keep his commandments, we are liars. Now the Lord says, “You call me Lord but you do not keep the Torah? Liar! You do not know me, I do not know you, depart from...” Just as the Messiah said of the religious system leaders of his day:

Matthew 15, 6You have made the commandments of God of none effect by your religious traditions. 7Ye hypocrites ... you worship me in vain, teaching the commandments of men as doctrine.

Satan’s emissaries promise freedom from God’s Torah, but they themselves are liars and the paid professional servants of sin. They are wells without water, having a form of asceticism without power, religious activity without Torah, and eternity without God. They break the least commandments and teach others to do so under the promise of freedom under grace. They are not really cow dung in the kingdom; cow dung has value in many applications. They masquerade as the apostles of light leading the innocent before the throne to hear the words, “Depart from me, you are without Torah. You call me Lord, but yet you never did what I asked you to do. You were always busy in your slick religious sideshows. You built cathedrals to praise yourself, but you don’t even know what I asked you to do. I gave you a brain and thousands of Saints gave their lives so that you could have my Torah, my instructions as close as your motel nightstand, but you chose to listen to another master. My first words in the New Testament warned you of the false prophets who would break my everlasting Torah and then lead others to the same destruction, but you would not listen to me. I clearly warned you that the leaders of the most disciplined religious systems were not going to enter the kingdom, and you chose to not listen to me. You chose to not live according to my written instructions in Torah, you turned away from my verbal instructions in the New Testament, and yet you pranced around telling everyone how ‘the Lord told you this, and the Lord told you that...’ You refused to hear my voice. You made up your own prophecies. You never knew me, and I don’t know you! Depart!”

Please consider that whatever pain you endure as you repent from your current course, can never be measured against the words:

“I never knew you, and you never knew me. You lived your own reality – without my Torah. You did your own will, now I do mine: Depart from...”

“Grace”—Your License to Sin

The working of the Mystery of Iniquity comes full circle in the heart of modern Christianity. We have been raised without Torah, and unless we repent and return to Torah, we have already heard the final words from the one who will be our Judge on that day.

In the 16th chapter of his book, Jeremiah was told that when judgment fell on the house of Israel, the people would finally ask,

“Why hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity? What is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God? 11Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshiped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my Torah...”

Judgment will fall on the Christian Church in America and the nation as well—because, just as with Israel, we have not kept the Torah. If you were to ask the Israelis if they had forsaken God or followed other Gods or worshiped them, they would have scoffed at the accusation. They had no idea that they had disobeyed the Torah, because they had stopped reading it in their synagogues. The government of Israel had ordained priests who were not Levites, and they were unlearned in Torah. They preached a feel good message and never separated the holy from the profane. God instructed his people, “Do not learn the way that the heathen nations worshiped their gods and do the same thing to worship me! It is utterly repugnant, repulsive, putrid, vile and disgusting!” But, the Israelis took on the forms of pagan sun god worship until they were celebrating all of the worldly “holy” days. They had forsaken the instructions and broken the least of the commandments until Shalmanessar carried the Northern tribes into captivity and slaughtered the people of God with the edge of the sword.

The Gentile Christian Church has also become lawless. That lawlessness has spread throughout America. Christians whine because the Ten Commandments have been taken out of the school and are being chiseled off the facades of public buildings across the country. But why are they so upset about that? When is the last time you saw the Ten Commandments for sale in a Christian bookstore? When is the last time you saw them emblazoned upon the walls of a church building? They were commonplace in the early 1960s, but where are they now? The Christian church is the instrument that has removed the Ten Commandments from our nation! Quit whining about the government—those who call themselves Christians have destroyed the Torah of God! If the Torah was ever written on the hearts of the people, we have become reprobate and the spirit of God no longer is part of the national conscience. Prosperity is the religion of America, and the god in whom the Christians trust is green and thin and has occult symbols on the reverse side.

Jude 3, ... Earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered unto the saints. 4For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord and Messiah, Y’shua.

The faith once resident among the first century saints was being quickly eroded by the satanic intervention of religious philosophers who were unlearned in Torah. These ungodly men stealthily entered the ministry for the purpose of turning the grace of God into lasciviousness—a license that allows sin. They deny the reality of the Lordship of the Father and the Son. The reslut of their “ministry” is that believers are no longer obedient to the commandments—we no longer do what the Lord tells us to do. They replace obedience to Torah with license, and they renamed this manufactured perversion “grace.” They immediately proffer a system of religious rules and regulations to which you must comply to maintain the “righteousness” that they offer. We will either control ourselves by obedience to God’s law and stay free from religious bondage, or men will make laws to control us. If a religious system can cause a man to forsake God’s law, he can then be manipulated under an invented law and intimidated to comply with an ever-moving standard. He will have no freedom of conscience. He can be controlled by guilt if he simply violates their ever-changing rules and regulations. A never-ending series of flaming hoops await those who would climb the Nicolaitan ladder of success in the religious systems of man.

In the 6th chapter of Romans, Shaul asks the rhetorical question, “Shall we continue (to live) in sin, because (God’s) grace is abundant? God forbid.” He clarifies the power of the grace of God in his letter to Titus:

The grace of God that brings salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.

This is the Scriptural definition of God’s grace. It teaches us that we should deny the attractions of ungodliness and worldly lusts, and we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the age in which we live. These are the very things that grace taught the patriarchs. God’s grace has been evident since the opening of the book of Genesis. Even when the world was on a fast track to destruction in the time of Noah, we find that he was righteous in his generation and “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Noah was empowered by God’s grace.

The religious “grace” offered through modern Christianity ends in eternal destruction. God’s grace leads us to eternal life. The working of the Mystery of Iniquity results in death. The working of God’s grace is life. God’s grace and lawlessness—living without Torah—are mutually exclusive. God’s Torah is God’s grace revealed. How should we then live? Even though the word for “grace” (chen and chesed in Hebrew) occurs twice as often in the Torah and prophets than in the New Testament, we must never assume that Grace ended at Pentecost. God’s grace still empowers the believer to live a sober, righteous and godly life even in this sick, perverted, religious world.

We will allow the Lord to conclude this teaching the way he closed it two millennia ago...

24Who ever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and does not do them, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. 28 And when Y’shua had ended these sayings, the people were stunned...

And we are still stunned today when we hear him conclude the whole matter. The continuance of the record in chapter 8 is apropos to the popular Christian culture:

1When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.

Only his disciples made the laborious climb up into the mountain. Relatively few heard the hard things that he had to say concerning the kingdom. Multitudes waited below for the next healing show. They, like multitudes who crowd the stadiums today, desire an instantaneous touch from the Spirit, but are unwilling to be disciplined followers. It was very stylish to follow Y’shua around to all the happenings—just as it is today. Followers sport all of the latest Jesus paraphernalia and look for the next multi-million dollar marketing idea. The mass marketing of the “WWJD?” wristbands and T-shirts has produced millions in revenue through the Pop-Christian market. You cannot imagine our shock when we opened the Scriptures and found the answer!

The Feast of Trumpets and the Rapture or What are Christian Holidays?

So often is heard the complaint that Christmas and Easter have become so commercialized that we have lost their true meaning. The term “Easter Sunday” is used so glibly among Christians that you would think that Easter, the goddess of fertility who came down from the “gods” in a giant egg, is somehow related to the resurrection of Y’shua. Christian churches now commonly commemorate the fertility rites and sex ceremonies that were part of occult festivals for centuries. Goddess of fertility egg hunts, the proliferating rabbit, and the sunrise service that originally honored the sun god on the venerable day of the sun (Sun day) have all been “baptized” for Christian use. But these holy days were set apart for the worship of the wrong god. The vows to the sun god rituals, the sexual fertility rites of the priests of Baal and their Greek counterparts who worship the goddess Easter, make strange “Christian” holy days indeed.

Bible scholars and knowledgeable historians concur that Y’shua was not born at the pagan festival of the Saturnalia on December 25th but at the Hebrew Feast of Tabernacles, which is in the fall of the year. The Saternalia originated as the birth date of Tammuz, the bastard son of Semeramis, the widow of Nimrod of biblical evil fame. After Shem cut Nimrod in pieces, Babylonian legend insists that he ascended into the heavens and became the sun god himself. The rays of the sun implanted the seed into his widow and presto! The son of the sun god was miraculously conceived, as was the adoration of the mother and child evident in every culture on the earth. On the winter solstice Tammuz was born, as were most of the traditions surrounding “the child-mass” season. Tammuz, the reincarnation of the sun god, Nimrod, was killed in a hunting accident when he was gored to death by a wild boar in his 40th year. Those who worshiped the reincarnated “sun...” then set aside 40 days of weeping for Tammuz. They celebrated “Lent” one day for each year of his incarnation—in which they would deny themselves a worldly pleasure for Tammuz’s pleasure in the afterworld. (See Ezekiel 8.).

After many years, his mother Semeramis died. The gods looked favorably on “the mother of...” and sent her back to earth as the spring fertility goddess—always depicted as an exaggeratedly endowed bare breasted queen of sexual desire. Semeramis, the queen of heaven, was “born again” as the goddess Easter (Ashstarte) as she emerged from a giant egg that landed in the Euphrates river on the first “sun” day after the vernal equinox. To proclaim her divinity, Easter changed a bird into an egg-laying rabbit.

As the cult developed, the priests of Easter would impregnate young virgins on the altar of the goddess of fertility at the sunrise service on Easter Sunday. A year later the priests of Easter would sacrifice those three-month-old babies on the altar at the front of the Sanctuary and dye Easter eggs in the blood of the sacrificed infants. The forty days of Lent—or weeping for Tammuz starts the Easter fertility season. The festivities culminate on Easter Sunday, when the priests of Easter slaughtered the “wild boar that killed Tammuz” and the entire congregation would eat “ham” on Easter Sunday. In later years “Good Friday”, the day that the Philistines sacrificed to Dagon, the Philistine fish god, also became an integral part of the Easter pageantry (if you are over 40 years of age, you will recall eating fish on Friday in the public school system in America). This entire menagerie of satanic festivities is the pinnacle of the abominations that God had denounced to the Children of Israel before they entered the Promised Land:

...Do not learn the way of the heathen—how they worship and serve their gods. Do not do the same and say that you are doing so unto me. For all that they do is an abomination (utterly detestable, repugnant, putrid, vile and sickening) to me ... and thou shalt not mention the name of other gods (Easter) out of thy mouth ... but three times a year you are to have a feast unto me in the manner that I shall prescribe ... Deut. 12:30, Ex 23:13 Paraphrased

The Feast of Mangers

The birth of Y’shua occurred in the fall of the year at the Feast of Tabernacles. The origination of the Feast of Tabernacles celebrated God dwelling with men in the tabernacle that was built under the direction of Moses. Each year at the feast, Israel would remember the time that they, and their God, dwelt in tabernacles, or tents, in the wilderness. In the fall of each year they assembled in and around Jerusalem, living in tabernacles, tents, succahs, mangers (they are all the same Hebrew word) for a week of celebration as they relived the past and looked forward to the coming of the Messiah to set up his kingdom. Each feast, and the Sabbath itself, has intermediate and final future fulfillments to which the Saints look forward. The Gospel of Yochanan pinpoints the first prophetic fulfillment of the feast of tabernacles when the Son of God, Y’shua, tabernacled among men.

John 1:14, And the word was made flesh and dwelt [<eskhnwsen>=(tabernacled)] among us...

The second, or intermediate fulfillment is when the Messiah reigns over the earth from his throne in Jerusalem for one thousand years.

Revelation 20:4, And I saw thrones and they sat upon them ... and they lived and reigned with Messiah a thousand years.

During this period of time, all of the nations of the world will be required to go up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles (Zech.14:16). The feast is still not fulfilled at this time. During the millennium it remains a shadow or picture of the final fulfillment on the new earth.

Revelation 21:1, And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell (tabernacle) with them and they shall be his people ... and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.”

Finally we see the fulfillment of the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. This is one of the holy convocations, or assemblies, which Shaul told the Hebrew believers not to forsake. Even though the blood sacrifices have been completed in the sacrifice (crucifixion) of the Lamb of God, these holidays are a celebration of the past acts of God, and what he will do in the future.

Hebrews 10:25, Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is; but encourage each other more and more as you see The Day approaching.

We should be encouraging each other by these assemblies, more and more as we see The Day of his tabernacle-ing with us approaching. Though the blood sacrifice of bulls and goats is no longer part of these assemblies, it is still God’s desire that we sacrifice to him with thanksgiving in our hearts until he does tabernacle with us. These are a different type of sacrifice since the cross.

Hebrews 13:15, Through Y’shua, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his namesake. And do not forget to do good works, and give to those in need; such sacrifices are well pleasing to God.

I had followed family and religious traditions without questioning their origins for most of my life. After years of careful thought and study, I found that the vast majority of the Christian holy day traditions and methods of celebration are directly traceable to the Babylonian and Egyptian roots of sun god worship. I also found that even though the knowledge of these pagan roots is widespread, those who are aware of its occult origins casually compromise with these worldly traditions. Long ago Christians should have dug back to the Hebrew roots of faith in Messiah. We should have based our holidays on the holidays of our spiritual ancestors, the Hebrew Saints, rather than continuing the occult practices of Babylon. Those original faith roots were “executed” out of the church under the bloody hand of the Roman Emperors and Popes during the dark ages. However, that should not keep the believers from challenging the infiltration of the world’s philosophies and traditions into our lives now. Too often comfort with the world system holds a higher priority than truth.

The Babylonian black mass developed from the shrouded worship of Satan. It is the mass or sacrifice of infant children to the sun god Nimrod, adapted by the Roman church, that replaced the true celebrations of God’s holy days. The holy days that were celebrated for centuries by Israel were continued by the early Jewish followers of the Messiah. The church let in a little leaven; a little yeast into the dough of their uncompromising stand. Years of stalwart faith had them living in the catacombs under Rome. After years of tribulation under the hand of the Roman government, they accepted Constantine’s compromised paganism as a “new form of Christianity.” That little leaven of compromise eventually leavened the whole lump. The western church forsook all of the assemblies including the holy days of unleavened bread. They no longer “burned” the “adulterated” loaves of compromise each year. They had forsaken not only the reminder holiday, they had forsaken the act of analyzing their lives and traditions in the light of the Scriptures. They no longer burned those compromised activities as an offering to the Lord in an act of obedience, keeping their lives uncontaminated by the world.

The church in Colossi had compromised with the world in the same fashion, as we see in Shaul’s letter to them:

Colossians 2:8, Be alert, lest any man capture you as a hostage, through philosophy and self glorifying deceit, by following after the traditions of men and their systematic view of this world; and not following after Messiah...

16Therefore, let no man judge you concerning your eating and drinking and taking part in a holyday, new moon, or Sabbath; 17which things are all shadow pictures of things yet to come. Let no man judge you, but rather the body of Messiah.

The context is the contrast between following the truth of the Messiah and following the perverted philosophies and worldly traditions of men who find their roots in the pantheistic, materialistic paganism of their day. The men of the world who desire to snare you into their godless philosophies by getting you to follow their traditions, are not to be your judges on what celebrations you are to be taking part. The body of Messiah is to judge those things based on the foundation of faith, the Bible (which at that time consisted of the Torah and Prophets). The assembly of Spirit-filled believers is to judge our holy day traditions with respect to what Y’shua accomplished for us. The body of Messiah—the Saints—are alone qualified, by the indwelling spirit of truth to determine how the holy days are to be kept. Since the blood sacrifices have been fulfilled in Y’shua, these holy days are kept in a manner that differs from the assemblies of the first and second Temple periods. In fact, without a Temple, not even the Jews keep the Feasts—we celebrate the Feasts. Verse 17 lost its sense when the King James translators added the word is. It was italicized to show that they added it, but in doing so, they confused the text.

17which things are all shadow pictures of things yet to come, but the body is of Christ.

The phrase, “but the body is of Christ,” is completely irrelevant to the context. Reading it in context without adding the word is reads, “Let no man judge you, but rather the body of Messiah.” Now the phrase makes sense. The body of Messiah, the believers, develop our own traditions based on Scripture and the accomplished work of our Messiah. We look back at our faith roots and follow after him, not the traditions of godless materialism or satanic sun god worship.

The Stench of Nicolaitanism

It is important to understand that there is an origination of the commanded assembly, subsequent or intermediate fulfillments, and the end fulfillment to which the Gentile believers will be party. Y’shua has broken down the wall of separation, and made the two (Israel and Gentile) one new body. For the entire body of Messiah, Israel and Gentile, to have “forsaken the assembly of ourselves together as the manner of some” is truly a deep loss for the believers. To have adopted the satanic festivals of the Saturnalia, Easter, and Halloween is a travesty. We have not been alert as we were specifically warned to be. We have allowed men who were influenced by Satan to sell us their traditions and, unfortunately, we have been captured by their philosophies as well. We have been captured by their deceit. Our eyes have been blinded by the god of this age and we have been taken hostage by their world-view and enslaved by their system. We have been brought into their Nicolaitan priesthood system as well. The Church had one mediator between God and man, Y’shua the Messiah, and we were all brothers. Now we have set up a hierarchy pyramid system of denominational enclaves that exalt those who have climbed the Nicolaitan political ladder, and exclude brothers and ministries that Messiah gave to the church for edification and maturity.

If we refuse to acknowledge the yeast infections that have begun to grow in the body of believers and each year burn the traditions that have stopped our ears to the Spirit of God, denominational inbreeding will have us living in the cesspool of the world system. We will become too sick to comprehend that the stench of our decaying system keeps those who hunger and thirst after righteousness far away from our doors. Open your eyes and look around. No one man, group, or denomination will have all the truth. The truth is too big to be fully explored and expounded by one “universal and correct” denomination. If your denomination alone has the whole and unadulterated understanding of Scripture, you are either insane or in a cult (whether you shave your head or not). Open your eyes and question everything. Question especially your own thought processes, your own presuppositions. Go back to the words of God and his proven prophets.

Those who God has called to teach can turn the shadow pictures of things to come into a prophetic Technicolor picture show. That teaching is a vital part of observing any of the holy days. The reality of future prophetic events will come alive when the body properly judges how to respect the holidays of our Hebrew fathers. Rather than blindly accepting the traditions of this world that enslave God’s people in the philosophies and world views that concocted them, we should now, as we see The Day approaching, assemble with the family of God, set our hearts on things above, and on the fulfillment of all things that Y’shua said, “must come to pass.” The Book of Revelation gives us the picture of the final fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles, and the Last Great Day. It is the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets that immediately concerns Messiah’s coming for his ready Bride.

Remember the Blowing of Trumpets

The origination of the Feast of the Blowing of Trumpets was at the base of Mount Sinai in the land of Midian or present day Saudi Arabia. God told Moses to have the people wash, dress, and prepare for his coming. They prepared, but they did not know exactly when the trumpet would sound to call them to the gathering together to meet him at the base of the mountain. They remained ready. They waited. Then trumpets began to blow. They became so loud that two and a half million people began to shake in fear. Then the trumpets got even louder, they “exceeded” loud. This was more awesome than anything they had ever experienced. (And they had just witnessed Pharaoh’s army destroyed in the Gulf of Aqaba as the Red Sea closed over them). They had seen the hand of the Almighty. They were trembling in fear as Moses led them out of the camp to the base of the mountain. The mountain was ablaze with lightning, and smoke, and thunder. It was like a blast furnace that engulfed the mountain with a fire that consumed everything in its vicinity. Moses cried out to God, and God answered him in the presence of the congregation. “Come up hither,” God told Moses in a voice that shook the mountains. Moses had all of the credibility that he needed before the people at that moment. Moses went up and received last minute instructions to pass on to the elders and the people. Moses came back down, set the people in order at the base of the mountain, and the thundering voice of God shook the mountain and the people as he spoke:

Exodus 20:2, I AM THE LORD THY GOD WHICH BROUGHT YOU OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT ... THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME...

It was there and then that the Ten Commandments were first given in person, by God himself. Later they were carved in tablets of stone. After God spoke to the people, they were so shaken by the experience that they pled with Moses that they would not be required to go through this trauma again. It was truly a fearful thing to stand in the presence of the living God.

Exodus 20:19, And the people said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will listen to you. But let not God speak to us, lest we die!”

From that point on Moses met with God alone, in private; but God never wanted his people to forget what had transpired on that day. He wanted this record to be told forever. “A memorial day of the blowing of trumpets” was instituted at Sinai. This is just one of the seven feasts (detailed in the 23rd chapter of Leviticus) which will never pass away until all is fulfilled on the new heaven and earth. Then, eternity will be a continual feast and celebration of the presence of God. Leviticus gives us the timing of this Feast of the blowing of Trumpets.

Leviticus 23:24, In the first day of the seventh month you shall have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy assembly.

The Feast of Trumpets was a commemoration of the time that God came down from heaven in all of his power and glory, and gathered his people together at the mountain of God to give them the “Everlasting Covenant.” The fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets is when the Messiah comes down from heaven in all of his power and glory and sends forth the angels to gather together his people in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. The timing of this gathering together of the righteous dead and living, is at the first resurrection. Shaul announced this gathering and rewarding in his first letter to the Corinthian church.

I Corinthians 15:51-52, Behold, I show you a mystery, not all of us will sleep, but we shall all be changed ... at the last trump.

Years later, Y’shua revealed to Yochanan the chronology of events that would unfold in the last generation. He showed him the events that will bring the New World Order into its position as the totalitarian ruler of the earth under the fist of the Destroyer. Y’shua showed Yochanan the execution of the mystery of the new birth, when at the last trump the dead will be raised at the first resurrection with a new body and the righteous mortal will put on immortality.

Revelation 10:7, In the day that the seventh angel sounds his trumpet, the mystery of God shall be executed...

Revelation 11:15,18, The seventh angel sounded his trumpet ... thy wrath is now come, and the time of the dead that they shall be judged and thou shall reward thy servants the prophets, and the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great...

The seventh trumpet is the last trumpet in the book of Revelation. It is the trumpet of God that will be sounded and heard all over the earth as the Lord descends from heaven with a shout. It will be the fulfillment of Yom Teruach—the Day of Trumpets.

Matthew 24:27-31, For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be ... And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they (all the tribes of the earth) shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

I Thessalonians 4:16-17, For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Messiah shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

I Thessalonians 4:16-17, When the Lord Y’shua shall be revealed from heaven with a his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, (they do not keep his commandments) and those that do not obey the good news of our Lord and Messiah, Y’shua (who told us to keep the commandments).

We have been told precisely that he will come to gather the Saints, living and dead, at the last trumpet. But when is that last trumpet going to sound?

Mark 13:32, The day and hour of his coming, no man knows, not the Angels, not the Son; only the Father knows.

Now we have the perfect picture of the Feast of Trumpets and the time of its final fulfillment. It will be fulfilled at the last trumpet gathering of those that are in Messiah; those who looked forward in faith to his coming; as did Abraham, Moses, and Daniel—and those of us living today who look back in faith at his sacrifice. How is this a perfect picture? Look again at the timing of the Feast of Trumpets in Leviticus.

Leviticus 23:24, ... In the first day of the seventh month you shall have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy assembly.

The Feast of Trumpets begins on the first day of the seventh month of the year. All of the other feasts begin further into the month. The significance of this is marvelous. To reckon the first of the month, the Hebrews looked for the first sliver of the new moon. It took a visible sighting to establish this first day of the month. When the sighting was confirmed, it was, at that moment, the high Sabbath of the Feast of Trumpets. Unless you were prepared ahead of time, your work was finished, provisions for the feast purchased, and your garments washed, you were not ready. Unless you were prepared and waiting for the sighting of the new moon and the trumpet that would sound at that moment, you were unprepared. You had missed the day and the hour.

Just as Israel had to be prepared at Sinai and did not know when they were to be gathered together until the trumpet of God sounded, so we must be ready. We too must be washed in the Word, clothed in spotless garments, and waiting with expectation, loving his coming more than we love the world. When the trumpet sounds, all that is needed is that your feet are washed at the door and your whitened garment is donned before the celebration feast.

I was reposing under a moonless sky on the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. The stars were spectacular in the darkness of the northern wilderness. The next evening, the moon, which was unseen the night before, appeared as a thin crescent sliver against the blue sky of the setting sun. If I were in Jerusalem 3,000 years ago, the trumpet would have sounded, announcing that the Feast of Trumpets had begun. That day and hour, no man knows until the moon is sighted and the trumpet sounds. Will you be ready for the last trump?

Every feast has had its intermediate or final fulfillment on the exact day of the feast itself. I believe that we will not know the day or hour that Messiah will return in all his glory at the last trumpet fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets, but I believe that it will be fulfilled to the day and hour. The day and hour remain a mystery until the moment that it happens.

We have a job to do and the time is short. If you think you can play along with the cares and pleasures of this life and still be ready when he comes, you are not ready, and you will not be ready when he comes. At the time of this printing there are at least a few years before he returns, but you may be dead in a year. This is the only moment that you have to get your heart right and set your feet on the narrow path. The world is going to be in a state of devastation before the day and hour of his return. Live for him today. Work for the night is coming.

Praise the Name of the Sex Goddess

These godly holy days, the commanded assemblies, still remain uncontaminated from the commercialization of the culture in which we live. They also remain a secret to the majority of Christians because they do not fit in with the rest of the worldly traditions that they have adopted. Having a Feast of Trumpets celebration would seem very strange to the majority of church-goers in America. We have remained unlearned in the Scriptures, even though we may have sat in the same pew for 50 years. Our traditions are never challenged on a regular or thoughtful basis. That is why most Christian churches are dying of old age; unable to reach the younger generation because even their pagan traditions are stale—there is no life in them. We really don’t know why we do the things we do or think, we just have always done it that way. When we don’t challenge our wholesale acceptance of the traditions of the world rooted in the occult, there remains little hope that we will ever be alive enough to challenge our archaic, and boring “Christian” ways of being.

Do we really want to separate ourselves from the systematic philosophies of the world, live uncontaminated lives, and boldly profess and obey the Messiah? Compromise is the slickest path to destruction, and it is the native language of Satan; “Has God really said...?” Those who miss the great blessing of celebrating the Sabbath and the rest of God’s commanded holidays are selling their birthright for a mess of pottage from the table of man’s corrupted traditions. I have personally found obedience to these assemblies to be a joy. I have found God’s holidays to be refreshment to my soul. There is no “post Christmatic stress depression” that is usually experienced within 24 hours of 0900 December 25th. I feel that I have been deprived most of my life for never having known the truth of what these holy days communicate. I now pass it on to you, so that you may enjoy the bounty of the Lord’s provision for these last days.

Many times I have been asked, “Are Christians required to keep these assemblies?” I think it is important to consider why one is asking the question. Are we looking to do the bare minimums of obedience, or do we desire to aggressively obey out of a heart of love? Does the question reveal a heart that is still at enmity against the law of God? The law is just and holy. The Torah was our schoolmaster, teaching us those things that are well pleasing in God’s sight. By the sacrifice of Y’shua, we are no longer under the penalty of the law, which is death. We, who are Jews by nature, know that our righteousness does not come by the works of law, but by faith. No one is justified because one keeps the Feasts. But, do we live in opposition to the Torah because the grace of God covers our sin? God forbid. Do we commit adultery because we are not under the penalty of sin and will not be stoned outside the city gate? God forbid. God’s law is still holy. We do not transgress those things in the Torah, because the Torah is eternal and our transformed heart’s desire is to live in obedience to God. The enmity against God’s law that was in me, Messiah has nailed to the cross. He took away the rebellion that I had in my soul. I continue to renew my mind by controlling my thoughts to resist contamination by this sinful world. Out of love I now serve him and desire to obey him. I do not desire to sin. We are not looking for minimal standards. We are looking for the heart of our Creator. We desire to live for him in a crooked and perverted world.

When you understand what the Feasts of the LORD commemorate and understand the shadow pictures of what is to be fulfilled in the future, why wouldn’t you want to celebrate these festivals? On the other hand, when you understand the origins of the occult celebrations that have been handed down to us in the spirit of compromise, why would you want to celebrate these pagan festivals? When Moses understood the truth, he declined to live in the pleasures of the court of Pharaoh, turned his back on the culture, and decided to suffer with his own people. He rejected the gods, reverie, and prosperity of Egypt, choosing instead the narrow path of aggressive obedience to the God of his fathers. His Messianic attitude toward the world is certainly an example for our lives.

No, I will not answer the question for you. You must answer the question for yourself. My denomination will not be standing as a group before the judgment throne of the Messiah. You, as an individual, will. You must walk your own path before the Lord. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Each day you must decide how you will serve him. I will not judge you, as you are not my servant. Your master is the one to whom you must answer. Listen very carefully. If your heart or the Word of God condemns your actions, change your actions. If the Lord approves your actions, delight yourself in the Lord as you dye your eggs to the pornography queen Easter—the goddess of unbridled sexual desire.

Early Warning Device

In the early 1990s there was much speculation that the last “shevua” or seven years of Daniel began September 13, 1993. That date was, on the Astronomically Corrected Biblical Hebrew Calendar: Tishri 1, 5993. That is the day that Israel entered into a covenant with the world government of the United Nations with the United States acting as guarantor. The “Covenant with Death” was signed on the White House lawn in front of about 3,000 dignitaries. That day Israel entered into a covenant that caused them to pledge land to the UN that had been given to Israel by an everlasting covenant with God. That agreement with death was made in response to the UN’s promise for peace and safety from their enemies. This agreement was annulled Elul 30, 6000 (September 28, 2000, according to the Astronomically and Agriculturally corrected Biblical Hebrew Calendar). That was exactly hours before its seven-year fulfillment. God said that he would annul this covenant and the result will be an overflowing scourge of troops passing through the land (Isaiah 28).

In early July of 2000, all was at peace in Israel. I spoke to a group in Dallas, Texas and said, “If we have accurately corrected the calendar in Jerusalem this past spring, we will see violence erupt before September 28, 2000—sundown in Jerusalem.” That day Ariel Sharon, who later became Prime Minister in Israel, went up to the Temple Mount and publicly read the latter day prophecy of Ezekiel. The portion which he read concerns the re-uniting of the two houses of Israel. He declared that Ephraim, representing the ten northern tribes of Israel, who were scattered over the face of the earth from the time of Shalmanessar, would be re-joined to their brother Judah in the last days. The reading of that prophetic Scripture incited the sons of Ishmael to start their war against the tribe of Judah. I expected it to escalate into full-blown nuclear confrontation in the ensuing weeks. I am thankful that it did not. We apparently have a little bit more time before it escalates into the Gog-Magog war. We must prepare and live each year as if this is the year that the Gog-Magog invasion commences. We watch and occupy, always ready for the Fall Feasts to begin their intermediate fulfillment on the first day of Tishri.

I am not telling you to relax, and that you can expect to live out your days in the manner in which you have become accustomed. I am saying that we have more time to make a difference. We must prepare to minister in an environment that will have both small and great, rich and poor, bond and free, shaking in fear. But there is nothing to fear, IF we, as the servants of Messiah, are cognizant of what must come to pass in the last days (Revelation 1:1). He has a job for us to do during the final harvest. The Lord has a vested interest in the survival of vital members of his body. On the other hand, dead wood burns well in a fire. (Ezekiel 9, Daniel 3, John 14)

The Last Trump ... and the Feast of Trumpets

Just as the spring Feasts of the LORD were fulfilled to the day, hour, and moment at his first coming, the fall Feasts will be fulfilled with the same exactitude. The Feasts are all shadow pictures of that which is to come. As with the Feast of Trumpets itself, we will never know the day or hour that the Messiah will return until it happens, but we will be able to narrow it down when we see certain events take place as the Feasts are fulfilled. Why will his servants know in advance? Because we are not ignorant of the times and moedim of the Lord. The revealed Word of God and the Holy Spirit will show us things to come. We will be able to see the finish line and have hope, but it will be too late to do anything but trust in the Lord and do the work of the Kingdom. We can’t change the course of history no matter how hard we try. This is it! When God reveals the Ark of the Covenant, we are eighty-four prophetic months from the Day of Atonement on the sea of fire and glass.

The coming of the LORD draws nearer and the final harvest is at the door. We anticipate with great joy the return of our Messiah and we will prepare ourselves as his bride to be arrayed in bright, spotless garments at his return. There are a few violent, bloody years ahead of us, but ... it will be worth it all when we see Y’shua. Our trials of life will end when we see him. One glimpse of his dear face, all sorrow will erase. So boldly run the race, till we see him.

“Blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

...and the spirit and the bride say, “Come.”

Zechariah’s Thermonuclear War

or

I would like an order of fries, a large Coke, and an evil woman in a basket...

Make that to go, please. And be sure to put a lead lid on that basket

In the fall of last year I arrived in Jerusalem with one day left to build a sukkah before the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles) began. Chaim, the producer of our A Rood Awakening! television series, masterminded the construction of an 8 x 10 foot burlap tabernacle, which could seat 10 around the meal table comfortably and sleep three to four at night. Seldom did we have fewer than 15 to 20 people in and around the sukkah during the Feast. We met old and new friends from around the globe who broke bread with us. Joshua Cohen arrived a few days before me, and had built a personal sukkah in the Old City where he stayed engaged in personal study most of the day, but early in the week he visited our sukkah. As we chatted, he inquired with a very perplexed expression on his face, “What is the situation with the woman who is so evil that they stuffed her in a basket and put a lead lid on...” I attempted to put this mental picture into context, but could only respond with an incredulous, “What?” Cohen said it had been bothering him for days and thought that I might have some insight on it. I told him that I didn’t have the foggiest recollection of anything remotely associated with an evil woman in a basket. I considered that my clueless response might be due to my particular English version of the Scriptures. But before we could explore it further, guests arrived, introductions of new acquaintances ensued, and we never resumed the topic. Days passed, and by the end of the week I had about all of the fellowship that I could stand for one Feast. After the Sabbath meal I excused myself from the table early and retired to my room. I needed a Sabbath from people.

When I study, I usually print the Scriptures in a larger font so that I can see the words and make notes and diagrams—I rewrite sentences and retranslate words to make certain that I understand what I am reading. Sometimes I spend several hours on one verse. This erev Shabbat, I printed out the entire book of Zechariah. I do not recall why I was compelled to study Zechariah—perhaps it is the fact that after 30 years of studying the prophet, I still don’t understand him. I fell asleep with the manuscript in my hands and awoke in the morning with nothing to do but read the Scriptures still in my grasp. I had nowhere to go. There was no one to accommodate. No meals needed to be eaten. Just a good, quiet Sabbath in Jerusalem on HaShana Rabbah—the Last Great Day of the Feast of Sukkot with the prophecies of Zechariah which were written just a few short blocks away. Several hours later, I saw something in the fifth chapter that shook me. I completed my impromptu translation and rushed down to share it with three men in the sukkah. They were shocked with what I am about to share with you.

The Hebrew Prophets: Loved and Respected in their day

Historically, we know that the scribes of the Sanhedrin (the ruling elders of Israel) were the primary recorders of the words of the prophets. As background, let’s consider for a moment the prophet Amos. We do not know whether the Tekoan shepherd, Amos, knew how to read or write, but we do know that he received revelation and went up to Jerusalem and appeared before the elders with the proclamation, “Thus saith YHWH.” The Temple scribes wrote down his revelation and when the words of Amos came to pass, his words were preserved as the words of a Prophet. The opening of the scroll of Amos reads:

“The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel ... two years before the earthquake.”

How do we know that Amos spoke these words two years before the earthquake? Because it was archived in the records of Israel before the earthquake, but his revelation was not considered the words of a prophet and classified as such until after the earthquake took place. Amos may have given the coming earthquake as the sign that his words were from Yahweh. We don’t know. Not everything that Amos said was written—just the specifics of the revelation. Amos may have given precise details concerning the future earthquake as the proof that he was speaking by revelation from the Almighty. When the earthquake came at the exact time that he indicated, the elders had tangible proof of his authority as a true prophet.

A prophet may be considered a nut case until his prophesy came to pass. The scribes of the Sanhedrin accurately recorded Isaiah’s words, but that didn’t account for much respect in his day. The political and religious leaders hated his message so intensely that they took him outside the city walls of Jerusalem and ripped his living body in half with a rusty two-man lumberjack saw. But when his words came to pass, they all knew that a prophet had been in their midst. That is why his words are still preserved for us today. Zechariah spoke things contrary to the politically and religiously correct standards of his day, so they ushered him out of the city and crushed his skull with a rock. When the prophets were faced with certain death, they refused to recant. We have the words of these prophets because scribes wrote down their unwelcome words and kept them safely until they were confirmed. Zechariah may have appeared before the Sanhedrin several times with a revelation from the Almighty. His words are not recorded in a time-blocked sequence of events. There may have been years between his appearances before the elders of Israel. But one thing is certain; when they had heard enough – they killed him. However, when the smoke of God’s judgment cleared, the elders of Israel all knew that a prophet had been in their midst. The prophet’s words for their day and time were precisely fulfilled, and their revelation of the last days is just as sure.

Zechariah spoke of a great war in the last days. The nations of the Earth would shake uncontrollably over the events looming on the horizon. At the onset of this war, Israel will be brought to the brink of destruction. There will appear to be no hope for the salvation of the nation. But at the last dying gasp, the Almighty will reveal his hand from the heavens and fight for Israel. All of the nations of the world will know that He has delivered His people from destruction and they will know that Yahweh is the Elohim of Israel.

Before that day comes, there will be a progression of events that will bring the players into the battle theatre. Zechariah saw a vision, a revelation that has not had an historical context until just this decade. In chapter five, verse one, in King James of England’s governmentally authorized version of the English translation of the Hebrew Scriptures we read:

Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.

Words create pictures in the mind. Those pictures are supposed to communicate reality, but words have a different reality to each individual. When an overweight, breakfast cereal sugar shocked, Attention Deficit Disorder, third grade public school student on Ritalin pictures a flying roll, they may think of a Hostess Twinkie flying through the sky, or perhaps a cream filled “long john” with chocolate frosting. Carpeting professionals will picture a roll differently than a sushi chef, but there are similarities. Now you will see how my mind works as I re-translated this same phrase, lying in bed, without the help of any study aids.

I, Zechariah, looked up and saw a flying scroll in the sky.

First, I added the words, “in the...” to give clarity in light of the context. I read ahead and saw that the vision transpired in an outdoor setting. If Zechariah had seen this vision play out on the ceiling of his house, we may form a different conclusion—context is everything. The added words, “in the...” are rendered in italics, just as we see in the modern printed versions of the King James Version. In the early years of the publication of the Bible in England, many scholars objected to the King James translators propensity to add words or phrases “to clarify the text” without any notation that they were diverging from the Hebrew or Greek manuscripts. In 1881-85 italics were added to the King James Version so as to appease the serious Bible students in England. I use the same italics protocol in my writings to let you know when I have added words to clarify the text according to context. I mark my particular translating endeavors with the acronym, “MIV” for “Marine Infantry Version”—my unpublished dynamic translation. I started studying and retranslating in this manner over 30 years ago while serving as an Infantry Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps.

This is One Bad Megillah!

I did not have the Hebrew text as I lay in bed reading this, but I expected that the word “roll” was from the Hebrew word “megillah”—and it is. A megill ah is a singular scroll—such as the megillah of Esther. It is a small volume and does not require megill ot—two scrolls, which are necessary for a larger volume, such as the Torah. We have a long history of what a scroll looks like. It is a cylinder that is several times longer than its diameter. It has neither a chocolate frosting or a salmon and cream cheese filling—it is just a cylinder that is doing something very unusual to Zechariah’s way of thinking—2,500 years before airplanes were invented—it is flying. Let’s watch the picture develop.

2And he said unto me, “What seest thou?” I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits (KJV).

My translation:

2And the angel that was showing me these things said,

What do you see? I see a flying scroll in the sky; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits (MIV).

The cubit used in the land of Israel through the time of Solomon is the measurement commonly referred to as either the “Divine Cubit” or the “Royal Egyptian Cubit” which is 29.62 British inches. The intact gates of Meggido, Gezer and Hazor in Israel, which were built by Solomon, measure out to the perfect 29.62 inch cubit. This measurement may more properly be referred to as “the sacred cubit” as it was used in the building and furnishing of the Tabernacle in the wilderness as well as the Temple of Solomon. It was also the standard of measurement for the Great Pyramid of Giza, which was built long before the Egyptians attempted to copy the structure. Since the Divine cubit is the predominant measurement in the Holy Scriptures, I think that I am very safe using the 29.62 inch cubit as the standard of measurement in this prophetic description by Zechariah.

The 20-cubit length of this megillah is twice the 10 breadth, which would make this look more like a soup can, than a scroll. If this prophecy originated in a Greek mindset or were written in Greek, then we could assume that the term “breadth” is referring to its “diameter”—a Greek mathematical concept and word. The Hebrews had a different method and terminology for measuring a cylinder. It is called “a line cast about” and it was the method for measuring circumference—such as the 12-cubit circumference of the brazen pillars of Solomon’s Temple. (I Kings 7:15) If the 10-cubit “breadth” is describing the circumference—which we would assume to be a normative measurement in a formal Hebrew document, then we have the dimensions of a traditional megillah. Translating these dimensions into standard U.S. and Metric measurements:

I see a flying scroll; 34.3 feet long, and 5.5 feet in diameter.

Or

I see a flying scroll; 10.5 meters long, and 1.7 meters in diameter.

I have seen many a flying scroll with these dimensions. Let’s go on...

3Then said he unto me, this is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth. KJV

The term “earth” is usually from eretz, which can and often does refer only to eretz Israel—the land of Israel. Context alone determines its usage, and sometimes the context is indecisive. We know that it is at least the entire land of Israel, but it may be the entire planet. I decided to be conservative in my estimation of its impact so I rendered it...

3Then he said, “This flying scroll is the curse that will afflict the entire land of Israel.

Then the angel qualifies the reason for its existence and who is ultimately responsible for its implementation...

Every one that steals and every one that swears falsely by my name will be destroyed by it. 4And I will bring it forth, says YHWH T’zavaot.

Those who carry the name of the Holy One of Israel for their own personal glory and agenda—those who say that they speak for the Almighty but only speak their own desires, are swearing falsely in His name. Those who say, “the Lord told me...” and the LORD never told them anything—those are the individuals who will be destroyed by this curse that will afflict at least the entire land of Israel, and perhaps inflict devastation on a global scale. The prophet Jeremiah speaks of false prophets who steal God’s words ‘one from another.’ They say they have a word from the Lord, but it is the same word that the false prophet who heads their denomination has been mouthing for the last 60 years. This flying scroll that will afflict the entire land will destroy those who steal and swear falsely in His name, and YHWH will bring it forth...

This flying scroll that you see, will completely consume the timbers and stones of the house of the thief, and he that swears falsely by my name. It shall enter into the house, and it shall remain in the midst of his house.

This is one bad megillah! Any idea of what kind of flying scroll might have that kind of destructive capacity and leave a destructive residue in its wake?

5Then the angel said, “Look up and see what this flying scroll is.” 6And I responded, “What is...” MIV

This is a treasure. The angel is actually going to give us more detail about this destructive device.

And he said, “This is an ephah that goeth forth (propelled into the sky).” He said moreover, “This is their resemblance through all the earth.” 7And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah (KJV).

Aha! This is where Cohen got the picture of a woman in a basket—from an English translation of ephah.

When we measure out an ephah of corn at the market, we use a basket that will hold an ephah measure of product. Growing up on an orchard in Michigan, I know what a peck of apples looks like—whether it is in the old wooden basket with wire handles, or in a white paper sack with nylon handles. A peck, like an ephah, is a measurement—it is a container. But this is a container that flies! It is a flying container that is 34.3 feet long and it is 5.5 feet in diameter and it is going to destroy all of those who are outside of God’s will in the land of Israel. The angel said furthermore, these destructive devices all look the same, everywhere on the face of the earth.

7And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. 8And he said, “This is wickedness.” And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof (KJV).

Aha! Aha! Here is the woman who is so evil that they put her in a basket with a lead lid on it—and here is the answer.

This is not a woman—this is a fire!

Now, I must remind you of the scenario. I am laying in bed on the Sabbath during the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. I am scribbling in the oversized margins of my freshly printed 8.5 X 11 inch paper, as I am translating this text without so much as a dictionary with me. I came to this verse, sat up in bed and shouted out, “This is not a woman—this is a fire. This is not a woman in a basket—this is a fire in a container.”

Now, I know what a hare-brained idea is. I have had my share. But at that moment I saw something that did not come from my mind. I have had a few experiences in my life when I was given a revelation so clear that I can still tell you the day, hour and moment that it occurred. It is infrequent enough that each incident changed my life. This was one of those moments.

I got out of bed and sat at my desk as I rewrote my entire dynamic translation onto a fresh sheet of paper. I got dressed and went out to the sukkah where Chaim, Cohen, and David were all studying together. I interrupted them and insisted that they listen to what I had been working. I started by saying that I was going to do something unusual—I am going to replace the word “woman” with the word “fire.” David was not very happy with that idea, “You can’t arbitrarily change a word—what does it say in Hebrew?” David is an attorney, and his U.S. law and Jerusalem yeshiva training was not going to allow for any nonsense. I told him, “I don’t know what the Hebrew word is—I just want you to listen to what I am seeing here.” After a few moments of conscientious dispute the group finally agreed to hear me out.

When I finished reading everyone was stunned. David said, “OK, let’s find out what it says in Hebrew. Chaim read down the page, paused, and looked up at us, “It is the word ‘aisha.’” David emphatically exclaimed, “It is a fire offering!” That is the moment that I knew that this had come by revelation, and not by my mind. I was not smart enough to know this, nor did I have the tools in my hand to figure it out. “Aisha—fire offering” and “Isha—woman” are the same consonants in Hebrew, and there were no vowel paintings in the original scrolls—the context determines the meaning. The Karaites in the middle ages who developed the Masoretic text, used the vowel point that interpreted this word as ‘woman’ because they had no idea of it’s prophetic significance. A fire in a flying container that incinerates buildings throughout Israel did not make any sense a thousand years ago—but neither did an evil woman in a lead lidded basket! For well over 1,000 years, every translation of the Hebrew Scriptures on the planet has been derived from the same Karaite Masorah—with the same dot under the Aleph— a dot that did not exist in the original text. From that same text, every translation, in every language has been resultant.

For centuries, men had followed each other’s translations and completely missed the point of Zechariah’s vision. Now, I hope that you will take me seriously as we continue. I did not start out by saying, “The Lord told me...” because until that moment when Chaim, David and Cohen confirmed the Hebrew, I wasn’t certain. I took you through this chain of events so that you can judge for yourself the validity of what I am about to show you. I assert that the Word still goes forth from Zion.

7Then I saw a mass of lead and a fire offering, as it was lifted up and secured in the container. 8And he said, “This fire that you see being put in the container, is an evil fire offering.” Then he secured the fire offering in the container and put the lead mass in the opening (MIV).

The container in which this mass of lead and fire offering is placed is 34.3 feet long and 5.5 feet in diameter. It flies. It will completely consume the homes of the disobedient in the land of Israel – including all of the wood and the stones. This fire offering is evil and it is encased in lead. That, my friends, is a missile with a nuclear warhead poised to strike the land of Israel. Swallow hard.

Non-critical masses of U-235 uranium or other fissionable materials are encased in lead to protect friendly personnel from contamination before detonation. When the warhead is activated, a controlled explosion propels the non-critical masses together to reach critical mass. That creates the evil fire that produces a holocaust—a burnt offering of everything in the path of the fireball. Moments later, the vacuum left from the departing fireball sucks the smoke and debris back into the void, and a pillar of fire and smoke shoots up into the stratosphere, darkening the sun, moon, and stars. (See Appendix VI—Modern Warfare Technology in the Book of Revelation.)

Now the vision makes sense. The precursor to the upcoming war detailed in the 12th chapter, is the development and deployment of nuclear missiles against the land of Israel. Thermonuclear war in the land of Israel is going to happen. I live in Israel. This is not a theological curiosity for me. It is life and death that looms across the view of the Golan Heights from my living room. But, I know from experience that the safest place for me is in the will of God. No other generation ever got out of this life alive. The goal is not to live to the end, but be faithful to the end—whenever it is, wherever it happens.

The angel gives specific details to Zechariah so that we would know the things that must come to pass in the last days. Knowing that God has told the end from the beginning gives us great confidence that he is the master of time and space, and we can trust Him with our children’s lives in the times of trouble ahead.

9Then I looked up and saw as two “fires” came out of the container, and the “fires” caused the wind to lift the container by its “stork like” wings, from the earth into the sky (MIV).

Zechariah saw two fires come out of the container that propelled the missile into the sky. A two stage nuclear missile is a very common bird among the nuclear arsenals of the world. India’s nuclear missile is a two-stage device (two fires) that is named “Agni” which in Hindi means “fire.” The missile that Zechariah was watching has short wings that resemble the wings of a stork. Every missile on the face of the earth has that same feature. I will regress to verse 4 for a moment...

4And I will bring it forth, says YHWH T’zavaot (the LORD of Hosts (KJV).

Jewish scientists created each of the three varieties of nuclear warheads on the planet. In fact, it was the lineage of Levi that developed this modern “fire offering” technology. As I say, “If you don’t have the Levites up on the Temple mount doing sacrifices, they get into all sorts of weird stuff. They are going to do a fire offering—one way or another.” As the Scriptures say in Genesis 49:5:

Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

Finally, Zechariah asks a question of the angel that is absolutely critical for our understanding.

10Then I asked the angel, “Where are they taking the container?” 11And he said, “To establish a base for it, and set it up in the land of Shinar.”

The land of Shinar encompasses parts of modern day Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Jordan!!

Nuclear Missiles launched from the land of Shinar!

During the 1980s, the Iraqis (with indispensable help from the French) built a nuclear warhead production facility in the land of Shinar. Israel knew that Iraq would attack at the earliest occasion, so Israel made a pre-emptive strike and bombed the nuclear plant into a pile of rubble. Iraq knew that it would be impossible to rebuild its nuclear arsenal within striking distance of Israel’s fighter/bombers. Soon after, the U.S. media reported that several Iraqi nuclear scientists “defected” to Pakistan. Untold millions of Iraqi dollars also “defected” to Pakistan. The Chinese also invested heavily into the project. The Pakis successfully tested their first nuclear warhead a few years later, and ever since the Pakis and the Indians have been rattling their nuclear sabers.

When I returned to America after Sukkot, I traveled to Washington D.C. to shoot a few scenes for our “A ROOD AWAKENING!” television series. When I arrived at Union Station, the front cover of Scientific American magazine caught my attention with a glowing nuclear fireball that resembled our logo for “Last Great Day Productions.” The feature article: “India, Pakistan, and the Bomb.” On page eighty-one I found a detailed comparison of India’s nuclear missiles to those of Pakistan. A man was depicted at the foot of a Pakistani missile as a scale comparison. The missile appeared to be about 35 feet tall and about five and a half feet in diameter. The Iraqi scud is 37 feet long. The Syrian missiles are about the same dimensions. Their missiles are visually the same dimensions that Zechariah saw by revelation nearly 2,500 years ago.

In the coming months or years we will see nuclear missiles in “the land of Shinar.” The warheads will be sealed into rocket-propelled flying containers. These lead encased warheads may have been smuggled out of Iraq into Syria, which is the #1 hotbed of radical Islamic terrorists who have sworn to destroy the land of Israel. From one of the modern sectors of the ancient land of Shinar, the nuclear missiles will be launched against Israel. The land of Israel, the house of the LORD, will be judged first. But the judgment will continue into the Christian world, which has been swearing falsely with great profusity. In order to bring America into the battle theatre, a major incident will be necessary. Zechariah records that incident—he saw it take place—and so did I.

Late in the pagan month of August 2001—the month of Elul 6001, I was in Costa Rica teaching and writing scripts for the A Rood Awakening! television series. Something very uncomfortable and heavy was stirring in my soul. I knelt by my bed to pray. In less than 5 minutes I leaped to my feet and began packing for a trip back to America. I knew that I was to get all of my master tapes and personal gear out of America as soon as possible—but I had no idea why. I just knew that something big was going down and it would change the complexion of life in America. It was time to prepare for my move to Israel.

My ordeal in the States took longer than expected, and my return trip to Costa Rica had to be rearranged. When I arrived at the airport with all of my gear, there was a serious problem with my ticket. My Costa Rican ticketing agent had a far better command of the English language than I do of Spanish, but sometimes that is not good enough. An executive supervisor with an American airline became aware of my dilemma, and sold me a ticket at one-third the original price. As the agents were rushing to get me on the plane, I was abruptly halted by an embargo that was put in place two days earlier. By the stroke of a bureaucrat’s pen, I had three times as much gear as was legally allowed to leave the U.S. for Costa Rica. What is going on? The supervisor stepped in and circumvented the embargo through a loophole of which only he was aware. All of my gear arrived in Costa Rica with me. If my original ticket had been in order, there is no way that the Costa Rican airlines could have overridden the U.S. embargo. In everything give thanks.

When I returned to Costa Rica I was still unsettled; the urgency in my spirit could not be quenched. Talking the situation over with friends during dinner, Frank said, “I think that it is time for you to go to Iceland.” That is it! In 24 hours I was on my way to Iceland—with my heart in my throat. I did not know why I felt such unrest, such exigency, but I could not even sleep on the plane. I arrived at BWI and had to spend the night waiting for my Air Iceland flight, but still I couldn’t sleep. I paced, and prayed, and fussed all night long. My flight lasted all through the following sleepless night.

When the plane landed, I still did not know what message I was to deliver to the people of Iceland—or why I could not sleep for the past two days. My hosts delivered me to a quaint bed and breakfast on a quiet lake outside of Reykjavik. We prayed together, and I immediately went to bed. I had a quiet assurance from our time of prayer that I would have the answer when I awoke. I slept soundly. A few hours later, the innkeeper hammered on my door, opened it and shouted, “A terrible thing has just happened in America...” I sat up in bed and said, “This is it. This is the sign that I have been waiting for.” I threw on my robe and rushed to the television room moments before a second jet struck the World Trade Center buildings. I watched until both of these man-made mountains crumbled to the ground. In the midst of this tragedy, I was completely at peace. The events of the last two weeks came into sharp focus and I felt fully prepared for the mission. It just happens that I was on the last plane, in or out of Iceland from America for the entire week. We were isolated from both Europe and the Western hemisphere. It was time to deliver the message to Iceland—I knew what I was supposed to do.

Two Man-made Mountains Go Up in Smoke

Four days later I fielded questions from an audience in Reykjavik. One person asked if I was going to comment on the relationship between the two brass pillars of Solomon’s Temple and the two towers of the World Trade Center. Another spoke up expressing the same. I paused for a few moments and said, “Perhaps I will, but it had not entered my mind before this moment.” I knew that there was a revelation waiting for me. That revelation would come from the prophet Zechariah in Jerusalem.

Iceland’s quarantine from America ended a week later when I got on my regularly scheduled flight and returned to Costa Rica, and then on to Israel to prepare for the Feast of Tabernacles. A few days later I read what Zechariah saw in this continuing vision, the same thing that you and I saw on the television...

And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass (KJV).

Chariots are implements of war, not commercial vehicles or modes of personal transportation. These war machines come out from between two mountains—but these mountains are not natural geologic formations. These mountains are constructed of a man-made alloy—brass. Brass is always used in reference to man because it is a manufactured alloy that does not occur in nature. Brass is used specifically in reference to the judgment of man. These are two man-made mountains—out from which come the war chariots. I chose to render Zechariah’s statement as follows:

Then I turned and saw four war chariots coming out from between two man-made mountains.

Those two man-made mountains in New York City were the tallest man-made objects on the planet—probably the largest man-made mountains that will ever exist. These mountains were purchased by a Jewish firm just weeks before they were struck by two fires that were carried on the stork like wings of two passenger jets. Judgment was coming to America. Out of the smoke of these collapsing man-made mountains came the war chariots. “America’s New...” had begun.

America’s New War

As the troops bridled their horses, many asked, why are we immediately going after Osama Bin Laden? I though the Bin Laden family and the Bush family were very close and had joint business ventures in oil and gas? When all of the planes were grounded, the FAA was given orders to allow the Bin Laden family to fly in U.S. airspace at the time that millions of U.S. citizens were quarantined to the ground. Why were we supposedly going after one member of the Bin Laden family? I thought that the Taliban in Afghanistan were the friends of the U.S.? I distinctly remember the C.I.A. and U.S. State Department funding and equipping the Taliban to overthrow the legitimate government of Afghanistan, which refused to allow American oil companies to build a pipeline through Afghanistan in order to exploit the oil reserves in Turkmenistan. How could U.S. foreign policy be so fickle as to attack their friends the Taliban, just because they also refused to accept the offer that American oil companies were willing to pay for pipeline easements? And when the war did ensue, why did the U.S. instruct the Northern Alliance of Afghan nationals not to conquer the Taliban who were holding the capitol of Kabul, until after the U.N. figured out who they wanted to put in charge of Afghanistan’s national resources? Apparently the Afghan nationals who bled and died to take their country back from the U.S. financed Taliban, are not the ones who are to control the destiny of their country. I have a lot of questions, but I am not getting many reasonable answers from the media.

2With the first war chariot there were red horses; with the second chariot black horses; 3with the third chariot white horses; and with the fourth chariot salt-and-pepper and strong colored horses. 4Then I asked, “What are these, my lord?” 5And the angel answered, “These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go out from standing before the lord of all the earth. 7They desired to be released to roam throughout the earth, so the angel said, “Go, and roam the earth.” So they did. 6The black horses went into the north country; and the white went after them; and the salt-and-pepper and strong colored horses went toward the south country.”

The deployment of the war chariots carrying U.S. troops to this part of the world has only begun. They have been in preparation for a long time, and have been chomping at the bit to get into the fracas. The internationalists will have their New World Order that George Bush Senior promised. The black “military death and destruction” horses have now been followed by the white “conquer with peace and prosperity” horses of the United Nations. Our attention will soon turn to Iraq and then to Syria and other parts of the Middle East. Soon the war chariots will move south into the land of Shinar. Eventually Shinar will unleash its nukes against Israel. What will be the next “wake-up call” to bring us into the theatre? That will not be too difficult to manage. We have enemies from without, who have infiltrated America, and we have atheist-socialists who are entrenched in the corridors of power in Washington. Both of these groups want to see our constitutional republic, based on Creator-given rights, abolished. They just go about the task a bit differently.

At the time of the publishing of this edition, there is a large task force of Chinese who are building rocket launch bases in Saudi Arabia. These are the same people who heavily invested in bringing the Pakistani nuclear program into fruition. If the bases threaten to become operational, Israel will be forced to take them out if the U.S. does not strike first.

8Then the angel cried out to me saying, “Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.”

End of vision.

When America, who is extremely north of the land of Israel, sent our war chariots over to the land immediately north of Israel, we prayed for victory in bringing our enemies to justice. We did not pray in a spirit of humility and repentance for the sins of our nation that brought on this calamity. We prayed in a spirit of how dare they attack one nation under God—surely God will bless America as we bring these religious fanatics to true justice! The patriotic drumbeats and stirring bugles calling us to arms, quelled the still small voice of the Spirit of the living God. We had been preparing for this war on Afghanistan for a long time, and the search for one man became our excuse to invade. The day before the attack on the World Trade Center, the stallions were snorting and pawing the earth in anticipation. The day after the attack, the war chariots were released.

The Voice of the LORD Silenced by Patriotism

Spiffy new graphics in a red, white, and blue patriotic flag motif announced “America’s New...” as the media immediately snapped to attention, did an “about face,” and became “pro-war” overnight. Banners demanding “God bless America” decorated the most unusual locations—from fast food billboards to the menu boards in front of churches. The 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-prophet corporations, doing business as churches in America, did not call for humility, and repentance from our National sins. They could not even name the sins, because their “Mother” corporation—the Internal Revenue Service, would revoke their tax-exempt status. Instead, the 501(c)3s promoted the same nationalistic pride that swept through Hitler’s Germany. I think one flag decorated bumper sticker in a church parking lot said it best, “THE POWER OF PRIDE.” The American peace and prosperity church corporations are “on a roll” and there will be no call for repentance. The Spirit of Holiness that America threw out of its education system several generations ago has been silenced. The Ten Commandments have been successfully chiseled off the walls of every 501(c)3 church, and every government building in Amerika. His spirit has been quieted—His voice has been silenced.

In the United States Capital building, Senators and Congressmen prayed for God to bring justice to those who had killed thousands. Justice they will receive. These are the same men that legalized the procedure of doctor-assisted child delivery in which seconds before a baby takes his or her first breath, still constricted in the mother’s birth canal, the doctor inserts a sharpened steel instrument up into the base of the babies skull and severs the brain from the spinal column. Instead of taking a breath 5 seconds later and then nursing contently on her mother’s breast, the child is “stillborn”—after the painful convulsions cease. The baby is then gutted and its organs are sold to research facilities. And these calloused atheist politicians pray to God for justice? You sick, arrogant bastards! Instead of humbling yourselves and repenting for the sins of our nation, you haughtily, with great national pride and fanfare, ask the God who we have offended, to give us the strength bring to “justice” all of those who have offended us? More babies are killed each day by the stroke of the pen and the American Medical Industry, than were killed in the WTC attack. Judgment is coming to America, and it will come at the hands of the merciless worshippers of the moon god—because America, as a nation, has forsaken the one true God.

Zechariah 5, I, Zechariah, looked up and saw a flying scroll in the sky. 2And the angel that was showing me these things said, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll; 34.3 feet long, and 5.5 feet in diameter.” 3Then he said, “This is the curse that will afflict the entire land of Israel. Every one that steals and every one that swears falsely by my name will be destroyed by it. 4And I will bring it forth, says YHWH T’zavaot. This flying scroll that you see, will completely consume the timbers and stones of the house of the thief, and he that swears falsely by my name. It shall enter into the house, and it shall remain in the midst of his house.”

5Then the angel said, “Look up and see what this flying scroll...” 6And I responded, “What is...” And he said, “This is a container that flies.” He said, “Furthermore, this is their appearance throughout the whole earth.” 7Then I saw a mass of lead and a fire offering, as it was lifted up and secured in the container. 8And he said, “The fire that you see being put in the container, is an evil fire offering.” Then he secured the fire offering in the container and put the lead mass in the opening.

9Then I looked up and saw as two fires came out of the container, and the fires caused the wind to lift the container by its ‘stork like’ wings, from the earth into the sky. 10Then I asked the angel, “Where are they taking the container?” 11And he said, “To establish a base for it, and set it up in the land of Shinar.”

Zechariah 6, Then I turned and saw four war chariots coming out from between two man-made (brass) mountains. 2With the first war chariot there were red horses; with the second chariot black horses; 3with the third chariot white horses; and with the fourth chariot salt-and-pepper and strong colored horses. 4Then I asked, “What are these, my lord?” 5And the angel answered, “These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go out from standing before the lord of all the earth. 7They desired to be released to roam throughout the earth, so the angel said, “Go, and roam the earth.” So they did. 6The black horses went into the north country; and the white went after them; and the salt-and-pepper and strong colored horses went toward the south country.” 8Then he cried out to me saying, “Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.”

Afterword

In closing, I apologize to my readers for two things. First, I cannot paint the future of the world dark enough, nor can I impress upon you how fast it will come upon us and how desperate these days will be. I am unable to paint the sky black enough, but neither can I paint the glory of our walk as beacons of light in a dying generation, bright enough. I cannot give you an adequate glimpse of the treasures and glory that we will inherit. I cannot show you either end of the spectrum within the pages of this book. Ask the Lord to show you these things personally. Diligently search the Torah, Prophets, the Writings, Gospels, and Letters of Shaul and the apostles as you apply your heart to know and do his will each day.

The following appendices are germane to the understanding of the subject matter and were written to answer specific questions that always come to the mind of the student of prophecy and specifically to the book of Revelation. However, as I promised a four hour read time, these studies will take a bit longer to absorb.

Y’shua leaves us with this promise at the close of his revelation to us: He is coming again, and soon.

Revelation 22:12, Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 13I am Aleph and Tav, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city of New Jerusalem ... 20He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen.

Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

APPENDICES

Appendix One

The Chronological Outline of the Book of Revelation

The structure of the book of Revelation will become apparent, and the chronological timeline coherent, if you follow my suggestion to mark your Bible with various colors to define the parentheses as they are detailed in the following outline. Mark the parentheticals first, then read through the entire text several times for content. Sunesis!

Introduction

1:1-3

Yochanan’s authority

:1-2

Yochanan’s promise

:3

Greeting

1:4-6

Yochanan

:4

Y’shua

:5-6

The promise of Yochanan

:7

The authority from Y’shua

:8

Background

:9-10

Appearance of Messiah Y’shua

:10-20

Instructions to Yochanan

:19

The Letters to the Seven Assemblies

2:1-3:22

Ephesus

2:1-7

The Authority

:1

The Praise

:3-6

The Grievance

:4

The Warning

:5

The Promise

:7

Smyrna

2:8-11

The Authority

:8

The Praise

:9

The Grievance

:9

The Warning

:10

The Promise

:11

Pergamos

2:12-17

The Authority

:12

The Praise

:13

The Grievance

:14-15

The Warning

:16

The Promise

:17

Thyatira

2:18-29

The Authority

:18

The Praise

:19

The Grievance

:20-21

The Warning

:22-23

The Authority

:23

The Promise

:24-29

Sardis

3:1-6

The Authority (No Praise)

:1

The Grievance

:1

The Warning

:1

Few Praised

:2:4

The Promise

:4-6

Philadelphia

3:7-12

The Authority

:7

The Praise (No Grievance)

:8

The Counsel

:11

The Promise

:9-12

Laodicea

3:14-22

The Authority

:14

The Grievance

:15

The Warning

:16-17

The Counsel

:18

The Promise

:19-22

The Revelation: as seen from heaven

4:1-22:6

The Throne Room of God

4:2-5:14

The Glory of God’s Throne

4:2-11

The Title Deed Impossibly Sealed

5:1-4

The Lamb of God Prevails

:5-14

The Seven Seals Stripped from the Deed

6:1-8:5

Seal #1

6:1-2

Seal #2

:3-4

Seal #3

:5-6

Seal #4

:7-8

Seal #5

:9-11

Seal #6

:12-17

(Parentheses

7:1-17)

(144,000 sealed

7:1-8)

(Innumerable Multitude

:9-17)

Seal #7

8:1-15

The Seven Trumpets

8:7-11:18

Trumpet #1

:7

Trumpet #2

:8-9

Trumpet #3

:10-11

Trumpet #4

:12

WOE to the Earth Announced

8:13

Trumpet #5

9:1-12

The Destroyer Revealed

:11

First Woe Executed

:12

Trumpet #6

9:13-21

200 Million Man Army

:15

The Battle “Horses”

:17

The Seven Thunders

10:1-10

The Last Trumpet Declared—Not Sounded

:5-7

Seven Thunders Explained

:8-10

(Parentheses

10:11-11:14)

(Temple Measured

10:11-12:2)

(The Two Witnesses

11:3-13)

Second Woe Executed

11:14

The Seventh Trumpet Sounds

11:15-18

The Shout of Victory

:15-17

First Resurrection, Saints Rewarded

:18

The Wrath is Now Come

:18

Third Woe is Now Executed

:14

The Temple in Heaven is Now Opened

11:19 (15:5)

(Parentheses

12:-15:4)

(Israel’s Promised Seed

12:1-2

Satan’s Original Rebellion

:3-4

Messiah’s Triumph

:5)

(Last 3 1/2 years of the Age

12:6

War in Heaven

:7-8

Satan Cast Down

:9-10

WOE to the Earth

12:12

Invasion of Israel

:13-17

Persecution of the Believers

:17)

(The Beast Government

13:1-4

The Big Mouth’s Rebellious Stand

:5-7

The Promise to Believers

:8-10

The Deceiving “Lamb”

:11-15

The Mark of the Beast

:16-18)

(The 144,000: Firstfruits Before the Throne

14:1-5)

(Babylon’s Judgment Declared

14:6-13

Final Judgment Proclaimed

:8

Vengeance Proclaimed

:9-11

Justice Proclaimed

:12-13)

(The Day of the Lord

14:14-20

The Harvest

:14-16

The Wrath

:17-20)

(The Wrath Prepared

15:1

The Sea of Fire and Glass “Judgment”

:2

Followers of Moses and Messiah Harmonize

:3-4)

The Temple in Heaven is Now Opened

15:5 (11:

The Seven Bowls of Smoking Wrath are Carried from the Throne

:6-7

The Declaration: No One Enters until the Wrath is Poured Out

:8

The Wrath Poured Out

16:1-17

Bowl #1

:2

Bowl #2

:3

Bowl #3

:4

Bowl #4

:8

Bowl #5

:10

Bowl #6

:12

(Satan and His Minions Prepare for Armageddon

16:13-16)

Bowl #7

:17-21

It Is Finished—The Smoke Clears

16:17

(Parentheses

17:1-18:

(Judgment of the Whore is Announced

17:1-17

Description of the Whore

:1-6,18

Description of the Beast

:7-17)

(The Whore is Judged

18:1-24

Judgment is Proclaimed

:1-3

Warning to Evacuate

:4-6

Method of Judgment

:7-24)

Praise for the Lord’s Judgment

19:1-4

Praise the Lord: The Marriage Supper of the Lamb is Now Come

19:5-8

The Angel Honors Attendees

:9

John is Humbled by the Spectacle

:10

Jesus et al Dress for His Return at the Battle of Armageddon

19:11-16

Feast of Leviathan is Proclaimed

:17-18

The Battle Begins

:19

The Battle Ends

:20

The Birds Eat the Feast

:21

Satan Bound 1000 Years

20:1-3

The Martyrs Reign with Messiah 1000 Years

:4-6

Satan Released

20:7

Satan’s Final Rebellious Stand

:8

Satan Defeated and Judged by Messiah

:9-10

The White Throne Judgment

20:11-15

The Earth and Heaven Consumed

:11

The Judgment Set

:12-13

Final Judgment

:14-15

The New Heaven and Earth

21:1-22:5

New Jerusalem

:2

God and Messiah Tabernacle with Men

:3

The Benefits

:4-7

The Exclusions

:8

The Home of the Bride Described

21:9-22:5

Closing

22:6-21

By the Angel

:6-11

By Y’shua Messiah

:12-19

The Spirit’s Work

:16

The Bride’s Duty

:16

By Yochanan

:20-21

Appendix Two

A Letter to the Thessalonians

The Second Letter of Shaul the Apostle, to the Thessalonians

From: Shaul, Silas, and Timothy,

To: The church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Y’shua Messiah:

2Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Y’shua Messiah.

3We are constrained to always thank God for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows greatly, and the love of every one of you abounds toward each other. 4We glory in you (among the churches of God) for your endurance and faith in all the persecutions and tribulations that you are enduring. 5Your endurance and faith being a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that you may continue to be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are now suffering. 6Seeing it is a righteous act for God to recompense tribulation to those that tribulate you; 7And you who are now tribulated with us, will suddenly be relieved of the strain and pain when the Lord Y’shua shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that do not know God, and on those that do not obey the gospel of our Lord Y’shua Messiah,9(who shall in the end, be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.) 10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in those that believe, IN THAT DAY (because our testimony among you was believed). 11Therefore we always pray for you, that our God would consider you worthy of this calling, (by your endurance unto the end) and fulfill in you, the pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: 12That the name of our Lord Y’shua Messiah may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Y’shua Messiah.

2:1Now we implore you brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Y’shua Messiah and our gathering together unto him;2 Do not be shaken up or troubled, (not by a spirit, nor by dissertation, nor by a letter as if it were from us), thinking that the day of the Lord is imminent.3 Let no man deceive you by any means; Because that day shall not come, except first there come the rebellious stand, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction 4who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called by God, or is venerated; so that he, as God, sits in the temple of God, proclaiming that he is God. 5(Remember, when I was with you, I told you these things?) 6Now you already know what holds fast <to his position in heaven as the accuser> that he <the son of destruction> might be revealed in his own time, 7because the mystery of iniquity <the accusers exercised authority before the throne of God, and clandestine attacks on the brethren below> is already at work. But, he now holds fast <to the authority and dominion delivered to him> only until he is taken out of the midst <of the throne room, by Michael and his angels>. 8Then shall the Wicked one be revealed, (whom the Lord shall, at Armageddon, consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming, 9He whose coming is after the working of Satan; With all power and signs and lying wonders, 10with full ability to deceive utilizing the unrighteousness that is in them that perish; because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11For this reason, God shall let them go to a working error, so that they will believe the lie:12That they might all be damned who do not believe the truth, but had pleasure living in unrighteousness.

13But we are constrained to always give thanks to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord. Because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth; 14Whereunto he called you (by our gospel), to obtain the glory of our Lord Y’shua Messiah. 15Therefore brethren, stand fast, and hold fast the traditions which you have been taught by us, whether by dissertation, or epistle. 16Now our Lord Y’shua Messiah himself, and God our Father, who loved us, and gave us everlasting consolation and a good hope through grace, 17comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work (MIV).

The Church in Tribulation

The context of the first and second chapters of II Thessalonians gives us a picture of persecuted but courageous Saints. They are being encouraged to endure and told that they will be relieved of the strain of persecution when the Lord Y’shua is revealed from heaven with his angels, taking fiery vengeance on those who have been tribulating them with torture and death. That day when they will be relieved of the strain and pain of tribulation is the Day of the Lord. Shaul instructs them not to be shaken up by anyone who indicates that the day of the Lord gathering his Saints, and taking vengeance on the world, is imminent. Shaul sets the absolute prerequisite for that day as the rebellious stand of Satan, when he is cast down to the earth. The result of this rebellious stand is that the man of sin is then revealed (apokalupto, suddenly uncovered), the son of destruction who exalts himself as God. This will happen prior to the gathering together.

No believer is to be deceived by anyone who teaches that the Lord could return at any moment, even though they mean well. Also, no believer should be deceived into thinking that the Day of the Lord does not refer to the day that the Lord gathers together the elect, both living and asleep, and takes them to the reward of their inheritance. They are one and the same.

We can now see that over the last 1,900 years the Lord’s return was never imminent. He could not have returned 100 years ago. The revealing of the Destroyer, spoken of by Daniel, Y’shua, Yochanan, and Shaul, must occur first. Shaul then reminds them that what he is saying refers back to what he taught them while he was in Thessalonica. They were aware of the mystery of iniquity that was already at work. Satan has been holding fast to his position in heaven, until the future war with Michael and his angels results in his being cast down to the earth. When that takes place, the Wicked one will be revealed, whose coming is energized by the power of Satan. That man of sin will be destroyed by the Messiah when he returns to establish his kingdom, at the Battle of Armageddon. Those who love this world more than they love the truth will be allowed to go to a working error of the mystery of iniquity. They will believe the lie of which Shaul again tells them not to be deceived. The deception concerns the timing of the gathering together of the church in relation to the abomination of desolation, when the man of sin, the son of destruction is revealed.

The more excited the church becomes in its expectation of the imminent return of the Lord, the greater will be the shock and disappointment when the pleasantries of life are reduced to daily survival. Y’shua clearly stated that the abomination of desolation would commence the Great Tribulation and that he would return after that takes place. This clarification came in response to Yochanan, Kefa, and his other disciplined followers’ questions about when he would return to gather them and take them to where Jesus said he was going to prepare a place for them.

There is absolutely no context for “that which is now holding fast” to be considered as anything other than Satan holding fast to his position before the throne of God, as the accuser. This section of Scripture is telling the Saints that the prerequisites for Messiah returning to end the pain of tribulation are the events laid out in the book of Revelation, when Satan is cast out of heaven and the man of sin is revealed. He will not return before then. He cannot. Legally documented prerequisites exist and God cannot break his Word. Praying contrary to his Word will not change anything. Satan must be expelled from heaven and his dominion terminated there before the victory in heaven is complete. Y’shua cannot gather us to the sea of fire and glass outside the throne room of our heavenly Father until the mystery of iniquity is conquered and taken out of the midst. Satan’s authority must be stripped from him, legally and permanently. No one goes up before Satan is cast down. Period!

At the outcome of this war in heaven, Satan is cast down from heaven against his will. His rebellious stand before the throne of God is abruptly terminated. He is taken out of the midst of the throne room and cast down to the earth, where he then takes his rebellious stand on earth. That stand is manifested in the revealing of the son of destruction, a man who is fully complemented with all the power of Satan, replete with lying signs and wonders. This is Woe to the earth. Satan’s expulsion is the direct cause of the Wicked one being revealed, whose coming is after the working of Satan.

Attachment One

The Day of Deliverance

The Acts of Satan in bold underline

The Day of the Lord Y’shua Messiah and our gathering together.

Its timely relationship to the rebellious stand and revealing of the Wicked one.

II Thessalonians 1:4-10; 2:1-12 (MIV sans parenthesis)

To the Church in tribulation:

We glory in you for your endurance and faith in all the persecutions and tribulations that you are enduring. Your endurance being a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that you may continue to be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are now suffering. Seeing it is a righteous act for God to recompense tribulation to those that tribulate you; And you who are now tribulated with us, the strain and pain of tribulation will be relieved when the Lord Y’shua Messiah shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and on those that do not obey the gospel of our Lord Y’shua Messiah. When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in those that believe in that day.

Now we implore you brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Y’shua Messiah and our gathering together unto him; Do not be shaken up or troubled, thinking that the day of the Lord is imminent. Let no man deceive you by any means; Because that day shall not come, except first there come the rebellious stand, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or is venerated; so that he, as God, sits in the temple of God, proclaiming that he is God. Now you already know what holds fast that he might be revealed in his own time, because the mystery of iniquity is already at work. But he now holds fast only until he is taken out of the midst. Then shall the Wicked one be revealed, whose coming is after the working of Satan; With all power and signs and lying wonders, having full ability to deceive utilizing the unrighteousness that is in them that perish; because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. For this reason, God shall let them go to a working error, so that they will believe the lie: that they might all be judged who do not believe the truth, but had pleasure living in unrighteousness.

Attachment Two

The Day of Deliverance

The Acts of the Destroyer in bold underline

The Day of the Lord Y’shua Messiah and our gathering together.

Its timely relationship to the rebellious stand and revealing of the Wicked one.

II Thessalonians 1:4-10; 2:1-12 (MIV sans parenthesis)

To the Church in tribulation:

We glory in you for your endurance and faith in all the persecutions and tribulations that you are enduring. Your endurance being a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that you may continue to be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are now suffering. Seeing it is a righteous act for God to recompense tribulation to those that tribulate you; And you who are now tribulated with us, the strain and pain of tribulation will be relieved when the Lord Y’shua Messiah shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and on those that do not obey the gospel of our Lord Y’shua Messiah. When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in those that believe in that day.

Now we implore you brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Y’shua Messiah and our gathering together unto him; Do not be shaken up or troubled, thinking that the day of the Lord is imminent. Let no man deceive you by any means; Because that day shall not come, except first there come the rebellious stand, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or is venerated; so that he, as God, sits in the temple of God, proclaiming that he is God. Now you already know what holds fast that he might be revealed in his own time, because the mystery of iniquity is already at work. But he now holds fast only until he is taken out of the midst. Then shall the Wicked one be revealed, whose coming is after the working of Satan; With all power and signs and lying wonders, having full ability to deceive utilizing the unrighteousness that is in them that perish; because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. For this reason, God shall let them go to a working error, so that they will believe the lie: that they might all be judged who do not believe the truth, but had pleasure living in unrighteousness.

Appendix Three

The Modern Day Prophets Speak

I Thessalonians 5:20, Despise not prophesyings.

We listen and we judge the voice of the prophets. Their words must be in alignment with God’s revealed Word. The message that they bring forth in the name of the Lord must come to pass, or they are not to be respected.

A limited thermonuclear war is going to transpire in the near future. The United States is going to be the focus of the assault in the West, with Russia launching in a surprise attack. (This war is detailed in Appendix VI, Modern Warfare Technology in Revelation.) America will be destroyed, first economically, then a few months later, militarily. This will be God’s judgment against the nation who declared to the world: “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal (in) that they are endowed by their Creator will absolute unalienable rights.” America has enjoyed God’s protection and blessing, but has turned away from him and now declares to their offspring and the world: “There is no God.” America is spitting in the face of Almighty God. God is going to judge America. There is no way out.

First, the Lord confirmed the revelation by those who refused to listen to the message. That was a two edged sword. They spoke verbatim the words that confirmed that the revelation was from God, and that I was to deliver this message. But their refusal to hear the message told me clearly that I must learn to live with outright rejection from my closest friends and family. I sequestered myself while writing this book so as not to be influenced by the disapproval of those I respect. Just before the manuscript was completed, the message was again confirmed to me through the voices of the three prophets represented in the following attachments. You will see that the revelation confirms what each was given by the Lord. This is not a message of peace, safety, and prosperity for America. This is a message of repentance. Prepare for the last harvest. Judgment is at hand.

I have quoted and paraphrased their messages and have included information on how to contact these ministries to be apprised of their full messages and subsequent revelations. David Wilkerson needs no introduction to the believers in America. Dumitru Duduman was a Romanian pastor who, as a military officer, was a conduit for Bible smugglers into Russia. He was protected by an angel on many occasions. He was caught and nearly beaten to death. He awoke in a hospital where an angel told him that he would be sent to America. Shortly after his arrival, he was given the message that is recorded in the second attachment. Henry Gruver was given the burden of walking through countries and praying for them. After years of faithfully walking and praying, he was given a vision to warn America.

Attachment One

Set the Trumpet to thy Mouth

David Wilkerson, 1985

America is going to be destroyed by fire! Sudden destruction is coming and few will escape. Unexpectedly, and in one hour, a hydrogen holocaust will engulf America—and this nation will be no more.

God is going to judge America for its violence, its crimes, its backsliding, its murdering of millions of babies, its flaunting of homosexuality and sadomasochism, its corruption, its drunkenness and drug abuse, its form of godliness without power, its lukewarmness toward Christ, its rampant divorce and adultery, its lewd pornography, its child molestations, its cheatings, its robbings, its dirty movies, and its occult practices.

In one hour it will all be over. It’s all over! Judgment is at the door! Our days are numbered! The church is asleep, the congregations are at ease, and the shepherds slumber. How they will scoff and laugh at this message. Theologians will reject it because they can’t fit it into their doctrine. The pillow prophets of peace and prosperity will publicly denounce it.

I no longer care. God has made my face like flint and put steel in my backbone. I am blowing the trumpet with all my might. Let the whole world and all the church call me crazy, but I must blow the trumpet and awaken God’s people. America is about to be shaken and set aside by horrible judgments. Many other praying believers who have been shut in with God are hearing the very same message— “Judgment is at the door! Prepare, awaken!”

Before the great holocaust there will be smaller holocausts—the oil fields of the Middle East will be ablaze, and the smoke will rise night and day as a warning of the greater holocaust yet to come. There will be bombs falling on oil fields, on shipping docks, and storage tanks. There will be panic among all oil producers, and shippers, and upon all nations dependent on that oil.

(Note the 1985 publication date, several years before the first Gulf War when the Kuwait oil field went up in flames.)

Soon, very soon, an economic nightmare will explode into reality. America is about to face a time of mass hysteria, as banks close and financial institutions crumble and our economy spins totally out of control. Gold and silver will lose their value. The chaos that is coming cannot be stopped by our government. The great holocaust follows an economic collapse in America. The enemy will make its move when we are weak and helpless.

God did not keep the three Hebrew children from the fire— he delivered them in it. Christ went with them through the fire, and, whereas they came back to ruin, we will be translated to Glory.

David Wilkerson

World Challenge

P.O. Box 260

Lindale, TX 75771

Attachment Two

Through the Fire Without Burning

Dumitru Duduman, 1984

Suddenly a bright light came toward me. As the light approached, it surrounded me. From the light I heard the same voice that I had heard so many times in prison.

He said, “I brought you to this country because this country will burn.” He showed me California, Las Vegas, New York, and Florida. He said, “These are Sodom and Gomorrah! In one day they will burn. I want to save the Church, but the churches have forsaken...”

“The people praise themselves. The honor that the people are supposed to give Jesus Christ, they take upon themselves. In the churches there are divorces. There is adultery in the churches. There are homosexuals in the churches. There is abortion in the churches; and all other sins that are possible. Because of the sin, I have left some of the churches. You must yell in a loud voice that they must put an end to their sinning. They must turn to the Lord.”

I said, “How will America burn? America is the most powerful nation in the world!”

He said, “The Russian spies have discovered where the nuclear warehouses are in America. When the Americans think that there is peace and safety— from the middle of the country, some of the people will start fighting against the government. The government will be busy with internal problems. Then from the ocean, from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Mexico they will bomb the nuclear warehouses. When they explode, America will burn!”

I asked, “How will you save the ones in the church that turn toward you?”

He said, “Tell them this: How I saved the three young ones in the furnace of fire, and how I saved Daniel in the lion’s den, is the same way I will save them.”

Dumitru Duduman

Attachment Three

A Vision of Henry Gruver

December 14, 1985

I was up above the Earth looking down upon the earth like a globe. I saw a massive amount of ships and airplanes. They were coming from up above Norway, out of the inlet of the North Sea. They headed down between the United States and Europe. They literally covered the whole Atlantic. I looked over on the globe, at the United States. Then I began to see all of these submarines emerging from under the surface. They were in our territorial waters! Then I saw the missiles come out of them. They hit the eastern coastal cities of the United States. I looked over across the country where my family was in the northwest and I saw the submarines. I saw the missiles coming out and hitting the western coastal cities.

I cried out, “Oh God! Oh God! When will this be, and what will be the sign of its coming?”

I heard an audible voice speak to me and say, “When Russia opens her doors and lets the masses go, the free world will occupy themselves with transporting, housing and feeding and caring for the masses, and will let down their weapons and cry peace and safety, then sudden destruction will come. Then is when it will come.”

(Glastnost and Perestroika were unheard of at this time in 1985.)

Henry Gruver

Joyful Sound Ministries

601 Walker

Woodbine, IA 51579

(712)647-3104

Appendix Four

The Witness in the Heavens

Psalm 19:1-2, The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.

For generations, our forefathers sat at the door of their tents on the fertile plains of the Mideast. Under starlit skies they retold the story of Adam’s fall and the redeemer to come, the story passed down to them from the lips of the ancient prophets and patriarchs. The story was recorded in the ancient names and in pictures painted by the constellations that witnessed to them night after night, the story of the redemption of mankind. The greatest handiwork of God is his plan and execution of man’s redemption from the dominion of Satan. From the beginning, God’s prophetic timepiece of the stars in their courses, have told the story of the coming redeemer. Modern man has all but lost their true significance. Current astrological interpretations of the heavenly signs have no correlation to their original declaration. The heavens declare the glory of God—not intimate details of your personal love life.

The redeemer of mankind is pictured in the constellation of Orion “The Heroic One.” Orion’s heel is bruised by the serpent at his feet, but the serpents head is finally crushed in destruction as the redeemer conquers and reigns. What was told from the pages of the heavens, is recorded in the pages of Genesis:

Genesis 3:15, And I will put enmity between thee (the serpent) and the woman (Eve), and between thy seed and her seed (the Messiah); it (He) shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

E.W. Bullinger detailed the ancient Hebrew names and meanings of the stars in their courses in his book, The Witness of the Stars. In the book, Voice Crying in the Heavens, Robert Wadsworth (who I respectfully refer to as “The Star...”) detailed the incredible astronomical display that signals the impending war in heaven when Satan is cast down to the earth, and the return of the Messiah to establish his throne on earth. The “Voice Crying in the Heavens” was louder during the last half of the 1990s than it has ever been, or will ever be in the astronomically foreseeable future. These are indeed the last days, of which the prophets spoke.

During a recent lecture in 1996, Wadsworth projected several constellations on the viewing screen. I nearly leaped from my chair when he projected the constellations of Perseus and Andromeda. There, in the heavens, I saw the exact picture that Shaul had painted of the day of the Lord as he revealed it to the Thessalonian church:

I Thessalonians 1:6-10, ... It is a righteous act for God to recompense tribulation to those that tribulate you; And you who are now tribulated with us, rest when the Lord Y’shua shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that do not know God, and on thoes that do not obey the gospel of our Lord Y’hua Mesiah ... IN THAT DAY.

As we saw in Chapter Two, the word rest is in the Greek ανεσιν (anacin), from whence is derived the brand name of a famous pain reliever. Ανεσιν is to be suddenly loosed of the tightly stretched cords, suddenly relieved of the strain and pain. The picture the word anacin paints in this context is a person bound and being afflicted by the enemy. The chains holding the body in tension are as tight as a violin string. At the point of loosing consciousness, when there seems to be no hope, the avenger breaks through the door, slashes the chains that bind, and destroys those who have been torturing his beloved. This is the Day of the Lord. (See Plate 2, Perseus and Andromeda.)

For thousands of years the voice of the stars has cried out from the heavens declaring the redemption of mankind. The ancient names and pictures of the constellations of Perseus, which is in the Hebrew language, “The Breaker”, and Andromeda, “The Bound and Chained”, have been speaking from the portals of heaven. They speak of the time that the bridegroom will deliver his bride from the chains and strains of a world in rebellion against him. “The Breaker” of our bondage, our deliverer, Y’shua the Messiah, will sever the painful straining bonds of this earth and take his bride to the marriage supper that he has been preparing. At that feast, Y’shua will taste the fruit of the vine for the first time since he told his beloved that he would not touch a drop again until he drank it with us in his Father’s kingdom. “The Bound and Chained” bride will be released when the Captain of our salvation breaks through in all of his glory and takes vengeance on those who have caused his bride pain. While all the world denies his existence and rejects his authority, she has not. In the darkest hour when there seems to be no hope, the deliverer will burst through the heavens and rescue his bride, who has dressed herself in white and waits expectantly for his return...

...If someone wrote a play just to glorify what’s stronger than hate.

Would they not arrange the stage to look as if the hero came too late?

It’s almost in defeat.

It’s looking like the evil side will win.

So on the edge of every seat, from the moment that the whole thing begins...

Now the stage is set.

You feel your own heart beating in your chest.

This life’s not over yet.

So we get up on our feet and do our best, and play against the fear.

We play against the reasons not to try.

We’re playing for the tears burning in the happy angels eyes.

For it’s love who mixed the mortar.

And it’s love who stacked these stones.

And it’s love who made the stage here, though it looks like we’re alone.

In this scene set in shadows like the night is here to stay.

There is evil cast around us,

But its love who wrote the play.

For in this darkness love will show the way.

From the song, Show the Way, by David Wilcox

Plate 1

Perseus and Andromeda

The Breaker and the Chained Bride

Appendix Five

The Souls Under the Altar

There are three occurrences where souls slain for the testimony of Y’shua appear in the book of Revelation. All of these occurrences show these souls “resting” until the first resurrection. If these Scriptures are isolated from their context, one can come up with a theory to prove any number of illegitimate conclusions. These verses have been used to prove that the pre-tribulation or secret mid-tribulation rapture has resulted in these souls being held in an area under the base of the altar, and told to be quiet until their Jewish brothers are killed. They have also been used to “prove” that we are already in the millennial reign. Isolated sentences can be irrational and misleading when separated from the context of the whole, but paint a perfectly logical picture within the framework of the context.

Any Scriptures that are isolated to prove that the Saints will be taken out before the revealing of the man of sin at the time of the abomination of desolation, are twisted Scriptures. The legal parameters have been set and God will not contradict himself. Any paragraphs that are isolated and construed to say that the gathering of the church will take place before the last trumpet, when the dead are raised and rewarded at the 1st resurrection, are twisted Scriptures. Both will mislead to destruction. Any handling of numbered sentences that has us already living in the millennial reign of Messiah, has allegorized the Bible to the point at which it can never be depended on to communicate reality; past, present, or future. Outside of their context, these Scriptures are impossible to interpret, and so it is with everything in life. We cannot take difficult verses, hatch our personal theology, and disregard the volumes of Scripture that they contradict. The context is there and the big job is to read the whole book, the whole Bible, until the whole thing fits and paints a complete picture. I know that it is hard work, but books about The Book will not do the job. You must read, and seek, and knock, and ask.

We will look at each of the occurrences that show these martyred souls “resting” until the first resurrection. The first picture describes the focus of the New World Order exterminations (see Appendix VI), which happen at the 4th and 5th seal:

Revelation 6:9-10, And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar of sacrifice, the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

“The souls of them” is a usage of words peculiar to the Book of Revelation. The phrase is used twice, and can be accurately understood as “the lives of those” who were slain on the altar for their testimony. “The souls of them” always refers to those who have laid their lives on the altar as a living sacrifice, to live for the Lord (Rom 12:1). They have, in living for the Lord, been killed by Satan through his followers. These martyred saints are described as crying out from under the brazen altar of sacrifice, for vengeance. This cry out from the grave for vengeance was first recorded in the book of Genesis.

Genesis 4:10, And God said unto Cain, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground (KJV).

Was Abel’s voice literally crying out from the ground where Cain had hidden his body? No, but nothing is hidden from the eyes of God. The acts of righteous Abel, who had offered an acceptable sacrifice, did not go unnoticed by God. Abel was righteous. He had offered himself as a living sacrifice, and his burnt offering was ignited by God to show his approval of Abel’s heart and life. Throughout the ages God has required his people to present themselves as living sacrifices, putting our lives on the altar before the throne of God. All that Moses and Yochanan were shown concerning the temple in heaven, when on Mount Sinai and Patmos Isle respectively, declares the spiritual reality of life. From the tabernacle that Moses built, we see an exact replica of what Moses and Yochanan saw in heaven. Presenting our bodies as living sacrifices (laying our lives on the altar of sacrifice) is not a vague figure of speech, but rather a solemn and righteous act before God. This is truly our only reasonable response.

Romans 12:1, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Shaul, a Pharisee, was no stranger to living his life as a sacrifice to God. When he was killing Messianic Jews, he thought he was performing a Godly service; that is until Y’shua got a hold of him. When he described our reasonable response to the sacrifice of Y’shua, the lamb of God who was slain at the altar, he was, as a Jew, very familiar with the altar of sacrifice. He was communicating the total, irrevocable, commitment of our lives to live for the Lord Y’shua. That is only reasonable. Should the offering of our living bodies result in our physical bodies being slain, as has been for millions of our forefathers in the faith, our sacrifice will not be in vain. He promised us that we will be hated and killed for the sake of his name. He said that we will be blessed when this happens to us. If our death is for the testimony of Y’shua the Messiah, our sacrifice will be handsomely rewarded.

This first occurrence of souls who were martyred for the witness of Y’shua is found at the fifth seal, before the great tribulation takes place. It seems disrespectful to say that this is not great tribulation, as tribulation never gets any “greater” than when tribulation is happening to you personally. But here we are using the criterion that Y’shua, Daniel, Shaul, and Yochanan used to denote the last three and a half years of “great tribulation:” The revealing of the Wicked one, the Destroyer, at the time of the abomination of desolation. Even though wholesale persecution has not yet reached our shores, millions of Saints have been exterminated in the atheist regimes of totalitarian governments around the world. From Abel to Zechariah and Stephen to the present day, these saints rest and their works of righteousness follow them. The entire section reads:

Revelation 6:9-11, And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar of sacrifice, the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

Yes, things are looking bad at this point in the narrative, but the worst is yet to come. The righteous indignation and furious wrath of God are not yet full. The harvest after the latter rain is not yet complete. There are others that will be killed before all things are fulfilled. However, numbers of dead saints murdered at the hands of the 7th empire, the atheist/socialist New World Order, or its 8th and final Luciferian/totalitarian incarnation, is not what must be fulfilled. What must come to pass is the war in heaven, when Satan is stripped of his authority to stand before the throne of God as the accuser, and his subsequent casting down to the earth. That is “his time”, when Satan’s wrath will be unleashed at the hands of the Destroyer and those who blindly follow him.

Satan, through his minions, will be the one who kills the true believers. God is not the one who slaughters those who lay their lives on the altar of sacrifice before his throne. Y’shua was the Lamb of God who was offered on the altar of sacrifice. His blood was poured out on the altar and his body was at rest in the grave for three days and nights. Satan was the one who literally shed Messiah’s innocent blood, but not without authorization from God. So it is with those who follow the Messiah. They lay their lives on the altar. If Satan takes our lives, as he did the life of Y’shua, we will rest from our labors and wait for him to raise our bodies from the grave, just as God the Father raised him. Figuratively, our souls will cry out for vengeance. We will cry out from under the altar of sacrifice, where our lives and souls were poured out. And figuratively we are given white robes, because our righteous acts will follow us to the other side of the grave; to the resurrection and eternal life. These martyrs for the witness of Jesus rest from their labors, but their acts of righteousness follow them. They rest until the resurrection at the last trumpet, but their reward is sure. Abel, too, cries out from under the altar of sacrifice. His blood, or life, also cried out from the ground in which Cain attempted to hide him. These are pictures, figures which paint the pathos of God. The Love, the commitment, the sacrifice, the horror, the grief, the vengeance, the timing, and the reward are all here in this painting of the brazen altar of sacrifice before the throne of God.

The next occurrence of the souls of the martyrs is found after Y’shua’s return at the battle of Armageddon to set up his throne on earth for 1,000 years.

Revelation 20:4-5, And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Y’shua, and for the word of God, (and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands); <these are the fellowservants and brethren of those who were being martyred before the great tribulation> and they lived and reigned with Messiah a thousand years. (But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished). This is the first resurrection.

Here Yochanan described the thrones, the authority, and the power delegated to those who overcome as they enjoy their reward in the millennial kingdom of Messiah. This is the fulfillment of the promise that Y’shua makes in Revelation 2:25-27:

...Hold fast till I come. He that overcomes and keeps my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations; He shall rule them with a rod of iron...

This description of the reward of those who endure to the end of their own martyrdom is not indicating the timing of the event of the first resurrection, which happens at the time of the righteous dead being raised and rewarded at the seventh and last Trump. This is describing their reward. Does this Scripture say that only those who were beheaded for the witness of Y’shua will be raised at the first of the remaining two resurrections? No. The emphasis here is the pay back to those who have remained faithful through the darkest hour of man’s days on earth. It also indicates that those who are not faithful will not see the resurrection until the great white throne judgment at the end of the thousand years. I would much rather have a part in this first and “better” resurrection. Those who have a part in this first resurrection will not have any possibility in experiencing the second death. It behooves us to be found faithful to the end.

The next occurrence of those who are blessed because they have endured to the end of their shortened lives, appears in one of the parentheticals after the last trump is sounded:

Revelation 14:13, And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. From henceforth (yea, saith the Spirit), they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. (KJV—GINT)

From the moment that we die in the Lord, we rest from our labors and our works follow us. This statement appears after the condemnation of those who give in to receiving the mark of the beast. The statement also appears at the beginning of the scene where Y’shua is seen on a cloud, thrusting in his sickle to harvest the earth. After his harvest, the angels are shown harvesting the grapes of wrath to be crushed in the winepress of the wrath of God (Rev 14:14-20). This is a perfect picture of the last trump, when the righteous are gathered, their pain is relieved, and vengeance is to be taken out on those who have tribulated his saints, with the culmination of that vengeance at his return at the battle of Armageddon. However, in verse 13 we see the complement of chapter 6 verse 11:

Revelation 6:11, ... and white robes were given unto those slain souls, and it was said to them, “rest ... until ... their fellowservants and brothers are killed and ... all is fulfilled.”

White robes are the righteousnesses of the saints (Rev 19:7-8). Those who have died in the Lord and have made themselves ready by keeping his words and works, rest from their labour. They know that their works of righteousness follow them past the grave to the resurrection. No one can take away their reward. It is over and they have endured to the end. They have kept his works. They have overcome. They have not taken the easy road, but now they rest. And we see at the end, that it is all worth the effort:

...and they lived and reigned with Messiah a thousand years.

Appendix Six

Modern Warfare Technology in Revelation

The book of the Revelation is addressed to, and can only open to those who are servants of the Messiah. The last book in the Bible will discourage the casual reader, because a knowledge of the Bible as a whole and the understanding the prophetic shadow pictures contained in the Fall Feasts of the Lord, are the keys to understanding what unfolds in the end. Words are used as mathematical descriptions, legal parameters, and pictures that tell a story. In this appendix you will see word pictures that describe what were, in the time of Yochanan, technological and physical impossibilities. Revelation, and much of Daniel, could not be understood until today. There are many things that could not be understood in past generations. The technology described, as well as the geopolitical composition of the planet, had not advanced to the state that the Apostle Yochanan described. Fanciful, specially created monsters were conjured in the minds of the readers of the Revelation account. The war machinery described by Yochanan did not exist a thousand, or even one hundred years ago. These “monsters” can now be seen in a new light. They are common and easily recognizable military hardware. They had been a part of my life in the United States Marine Corps, and are part of the armament systems of the world today.

The interpretations of respected theologians of a past century, who would never live to see the times in which the book of Revelation would be fulfilled, should be completely reconsidered. It was not really written to them, when we consider the fact that they would never see the day of their fulfillment. It was not necessary for the Lord to clarify it for them. He would do so when the hour was necessary. A former generation could only interpret these prophecies in the context of the world and reality in which they lived, just as we do today. The horse and buggy technology of a past generation could not provide the experiential framework to interpret these Scriptures as we are now able to do. America was still a Christian society a hundred years ago. No one would have guessed the people of this country would be living in a cesspool of godless depravity within a couple of generations.

Many of us have become so well versed in the inherited misinterpretations of the past that we cannot see the clarity with which the book of Revelation speaks to this terminal generation. For years I did not want to see it. It was frightening to think that the Lord was specifically speaking to my generation about the things that must come to pass before his return. It is the Lord Y’shua who opened the Revelation to Yochanan, to show his servants. It is the Lord alone who can open it to our understanding, if he finds a meek and obedient heart that will listen to him rather than to the voice of past interpretations.

Before we get into the war machinery, let’s look at a couple of events described in the seals and trumpets, to get a feel of the world as Y’shua said it will be in the last generation.

Revelation 6:8, And I looked and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with hunger and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

To kill with the sword describes the military armament used in Yochanan’s time. Today swords are not used by the combat infantryman. However, individual combat armament is still used when the logistics of modern warfare brings infantrymen in close proximity to destroy the enemy. This verse is in parallel with Matthew 24 verse 7:

For nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom...

Today’s weapons of national and ethnic warfare are the military armaments of modern technology. The sword was the most complete description John could have used to designate modern combat weapons.

To kill with hunger represents a manufactured famine for the purpose of exterminating the enemy. This method was used by Stalin to exterminate over 7 million professing Christians in the Ukraine. Stalin did so with the full knowledge and financial blessing of the Franklin Roosevelt administration. The turning point in American history began when godless socialists took over the corridors of power in Washington D.C. Many of those in Roosevelt’s enclave were Luciferian Illuminists whose goal has always been a totalitarian global dominion.

All of the mass starvations in the last 50 years have been political exterminations. There has always been enough food to feed the poor. While millions were starving to death in Poland, the food to feed them was purposefully rotting on the ships in their own harbors. Atheist communists murdered these people because they were of an opposing philosophical viewpoint. The parallel of this is also found in Matthew 24:7:

...And there shall be famines...

The wars and famines described by Y’shua and Yochanan are not just random disagreements. They are systematic steps taken by the god of this world and his trusted kosmokrateros (world rulers) to bring about the global government that will dominate the planet in the end times. Daniel detailed the world government’s rise to power through the centuries and Yochanan described its final bid for global domination in the last generation. The book of Revelation gives us the play-by-play account of how the New World Order will come to its full authority over the nations of the world. There are those who watch the myriad of tentacles strangling the sovereignty out of our nation and its citizens and wonder what is going to happen next. The Revelation tells us specifically what methods will be employed and in what order they will pull the pins to bring the entire globe under their dominion. There is no guess work for the servants of the Messiah. He has given us the details so we will not be taken by surprise.

To kill with Death. How do you kill with death? The word “death” in the Greek is θανατοσ (thanatos), which is a sentence of death for punishment. This is wholesale extermination, such as was seen in Rwanda just a few short years ago. What the controlled American and international news media reported as ethnic cleansing, was the planned extermination of entire populations of Christians. There were so many bodies bloating in the rivers that the human “log-jam” caused the river to overflow its banks and spread death and disease to hundreds of thousands more innocent victims of the atheist world socialists. The cover of Newsweek magazine sported the largest group of Christians ever photographed—the log-jam clotting the river. They were all killed by thanatos. The parallel verse is in Matthew 24:9:

Then they shall deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you...

To kill with the beasts of the earth. I have heard this explained as an increase in the number of rabid bunny rabbits coming out of the woods and biting people on the buttocks. I don’t think so. The word “beasts” is θεριον (therion) in Greek, which means “the living,” or “that which has life.” It is not a natural occurrence that is bringing the NWO into full authority on the planet. This is biological warfare. The modern day manufacturing of virulent strains of death toxins. This concept has been used since the days that diseased cows were catapulted over the walls of besieged castles. According to knowledgeable insiders, Aids was developed in Fort Detrick, Maryland, as a population control measure under the global 2000 plan contrived by the club of Rome, a world socialist think tank. Deadly Anthrax strains have been cultivated there for decades. The military research on biological exterminations have continued around the clock for years. I have read several books that detail the development of U.S. and Soviet toxins. The effects are so frightening that I care not to graphically describe their heinous capabilities.

The Product Ingredient Technology (PIT) lab in Boca Raton, Florida, appears to be one of the two laboratories in the U.S. who have been linked to the origination of the Gulf War Syndrome: The “non-existent” disease has now taken the lives of over 8,000 servicemen, their wives, their deformed children, and their household pets. Ishan Barboudie International, known to have terrorist contacts in Iraq before the Gulf War, leased the PIT lab and another building in Houston, Texas, that were both used as toxin warfare plants. Peter Kawaja, a DOD security contractor, was hired by the Barboudies to set up a high level security system for the PIT lab in Florida. He discovered that they were manufacturing Prussian Blue, a deadly hydrogen cyanide compound, and shipping it overseas. Kawaja notified the FBI and CIA. He was asked to secure the evidence necessary to prove the case for the government. The evidence that he secured proved a conspiracy that reached into the corridors of power in the U.S. government and Iraq. The evidence linked the manufacture of deadly biological and chemical warfare toxins to a CIA operation that supplied Iraq with the biological soup that was apparently used against our troops. Kawaja’s place was raided by black masked, unidentifiable Federal Marshals armed with automatic assault weapons and a warrant signed by George Bush under the War Powers Act. All the evidence was confiscated and sealed under the guise of national security.

Less than two years later, our troops may have been subjected to a toxic biological soup manufactured in the United States. Thousands of young servicemen and women are now dying a slow, cruel, agonizing death while the government denies that there is anything wrong with them. These people are all being killed with θεριον (Therion). Many people have died over this cover-up, but why should the power brokers of the New World Order care? Millions are expendable in the march toward a global plantation. The parallel verse is found in Matthew 24:7:

...and there shall be pestilence...

In the third seal we see that total economic control will have the world citizens working a full day to earn enough to buy the ingredients for a loaf of bread (Rev 6:5-6). The rich men of this world (James 5) are in full control of the world banking system and international monetary fund. They will eventually pull the plug on the entire house of cards and throw the United States into receivership. Few people realize that the national, industrial, and consumer debt in the U.S. is fully collateralized. The Depository Trust Corporation (DTC) housed in New York City has over 9 trillion dollars in assets which are held against the national debt for the privately held Federal Reserve Bank. The Federal Reserve is owned by eight families. It is not an American institution. It owns America. That is why Baron Rothschild, one of its owners said, “Give me control of a nation’s money supply, and I don’t care who makes the laws.” Why? Because they buy and sell the politicians we send to Washington. They are merely pawns in their game.

Those who try to get out from under their system (which both Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy attempted by legally printing Greenbacks and United States Notes respectively) end up dead. Ten days before his execution by the globalists, Kennedy told a group of citizens at Columbia University, “The high office of the president has been used to foment a plot to destroy the Americans’ freedom, and before I leave office I must inform the citizen of his plight.” Kennedy never got to tell us, but his successor gave us a big clue. As soon as Lyndon Johnson was sworn in, he rescinded the printing authorization of the United States Note. The full depravity of this international banking system will be revealed as they plunge the world into the unrecoverable depression that will have us in a death spiral into the New World Order.

The 6th seal begins with a great shaking of the earth, or “seismos” in the Greek. We are not immediately told what causes this shaking of the earth. It could be a geological fault, the thundering hoofs of a thousand chariots, or 10,000 tanks. What is the cause of the earth shaking?

Revelation 6:12, And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood:

Now we see more detail. Y’shua and the prophet Yoel predicted that before the Lord returns there will be an incident that will cause the sun and moon to darken. They also prophesied that the stars would not be as bright. What could cause this phenomenon? Does God turn the rheostat down on the lights of the universe? With God this is possible, but is this very realistic? What causes this darkening of the lights in the sky at both daytime and at night?

Revelation 6:13, And stars from heaven fell to the earth...

Yochanan saw something happen on the earth that appeared as though stars were falling to the earth. Are they literally stars? Are Alpha Centari and several other distant stars going to come crashing to the earth? No. Even our tiny moon would destroy the entire planet if it fell to the earth. Is he seeing a meteor shower? That is a possibility, but Yochanan had probably seen more meteor showers and shooting stars than any of us modern city dwellers will ever see. Yochanan then describes the cause of the earth’s shaking and the darkened atmosphere:

Revelation 6:14, And the heaven departed, as a scroll when it is rolled together...

We now have a full picture. The fiery star-like formations were coming toward the earth in streaking, high speed trajectories. As they were detonated, the sky departed and then rolled up on itself as a scroll does when you let the two ends go free. We have been given the perfect description of a nuclear attack and warhead detonation. When the “stars” make their final approach, the warhead splits off into multiple independent re-entry vehicles (MIRVs). Each of these independent warheads are then detonated. Upon detonation, the sky literally “departs.” The fireball from a small one megaton blast departs the detonation point at 275 kilometers per hour. The flash instantly vaporizes the human body, leaving a small pile of white ash about 3/16 of an inch deep. After about 11 seconds, the blast which caused the sky to depart draws back up on itself to fill the vacuum. The cloud of smoke, dust, and debris rolls back up on itself at over 375 kilometers per hour, nearly twice as fast as the sky departed. The visual effect is that of a giant scroll rolling back on itself, and then continuing to roll up as the pillar of smoke from the mushroom cloud soars 30,000 feet into the stillness of the stratosphere. There it spreads out its black radioactive cloud, blocking out the brightness of the sun, moon, and stars. This thermonuclear attack is further depicted in Yoel. (See Plate 1.)

Yoel 2:30-33, And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon to blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord come ... And whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered.

Here we see not only the fireball and the vaporized life’s blood of those under the fireball, but we also see the pillar of smoke that rolls up into the stratosphere and turns the atmosphere dark. Note that here again we see this nuclear nightmare unfold on planet earth before the day of the Lord. Since the evil in the heart of man has devised these weapons of mass destruction, it seems only right that God would allow mankind to experience his own hideous plans before Y’shua steps in to right the wrong of man’s evil ways. It is poetic justice, is it not?

Revelation 6:14, ... Every mountain and Island were shaken out of their places. 15And the kings of the earth (top political leaders), and the great men (those who tell the political leaders what to do), and the rich men (the world super wealthy who own countries), and the chief captains (top military brass), and the mighty men (military personnel), and every bondman (taxpayers who work half the year to pay for their country’s debt to the rich men), and every free man (both of them), hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

Wait a moment. Do you mean to tell me that the President of the United States is going to be out in Potomac Park, north of the CIA headquarters, looking for an unused cave or an abandoned foxhole in which to hide? No, they already have the Denver Airport and a hundred other fortified nuclear command posts scattered all over the continent. This is not a picture of the world rulers randomly looking for a place to hide. These are the hardened nuclear bunkers that have been prepared (with taxpayers money) for use during the coming nuclear holocaust. The New York Times recently reported on the underground nuclear war command center that Russia has been feverishly attempting to finish. The Russians have been working around the clock for the past ten years. While their people were starving, it seems a bit odd that they would be spending billions on this fortified underground den. The underground fortress is larger than Washington DC (including Maryland and Virginia) inside the capitol beltway.

Why is it that the former NATO commander warned the free world that the Soviets were building one new typhoon class, nuclear powered, nuclear MIRV warhead equipped submarine every 60 days? Quite an ambitious project for a peaceful world. For the last three years, the project has been sped up to the rate of one new craft, replete with crew, rolling into the water every 37 days. This well documented military intelligence was also confirmed by a Russian friend of mine who is a defected jet engineer now enjoying political asylum in Canada. The Russians are getting ready for what we read in the 6th chapter of Revelation. This is reality. Get ready!

Revelation 6:16, And (these who were in hiding in their mountain bunkers) said to the mountain and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17For the great day of his wrath is come and who shall be able to stand?

Do these people want the rocks and the mountains to fall on them and crush them to death? No, their desire is to be covered and hidden from the devastation that is happening at ground level. Throughout history, God has used nations to bring judgment on other nations who have forsaken him or have done great evil against his people. This is the scenario here. This is the judgment of God, not by the bowls of his wrath, but by nations rising against other nations. This is the war that ends national sovereignty and brings about the New World Order.

I had a very disturbing problem with this verse indicating that this is the wrath of the Lamb. We are to be saved from the wrath to come. However, these events take place long before the last trumpet when “the wrath of God is now come”. During the wrath of God, those who experience the torment still do not repent, but are hardened against God to the point that they gather together at Meggido to do battle against Y’shua when he returns to set up his kingdom and reign on the earth. I prayed over and over again, “Lord, everything that you showed me fits perfectly, but this verse puts the order of events into a state of confusion. I don’t understand. It looks like the wrath begins here.”

I was driving at the time and a whisper in my mind said, “Look who is saying that the wrath is now come.” I immediately stopped the truck and looked. It is not an angel, it is not Y’shua, and it is not Yochanan. It is the people in the bomb shelters at the onset of the nuclear war that declare that his wrath is now come. It was their explanation of the destruction of their godless civilization, not the Lord’s. This is not God’s wrath. This is a war that man brings about himself. This is more of man’s inhumanity to man that will be initiated by the unleashed power of Satan. Thus begins man’s desolation of the earth that prompts the angels to proclaim at the last trumpet, “Thy wrath is now come and the time ... thou shouldest destroy them which destroyed the earth” (Rev 11:18). The war that has just begun brings vast devastation to the planet. If the Messiah doesn’t cut man’s days short, there will not be any survivors. These people in their fallout shelters and nuclear war command posts are speaking out of a heart of fear for their lives and their future. Life on earth will never be the same, and they know it. It is fear that causes them to think that this is the wrath of God and of Y’shua. It is not. It is a setup by Satan to make the world think that this is Armageddon and that the Messiah will come at the end of this war to set up his kingdom of peace on earth. The “messiah” who comes to power at the close of this war is the Destroyer. His coming is after the working of Satan, who has been laying the deceptive snares that will cause all but the very elect to be deceived.

The next several trumpets spell out the destruction of life and the environment that is caused by this initial attack at the 6th seal. The silence in heaven at the 7th seal is when Satan is cast out by Michael and his angels. The war in heaven and the war on earth at the 6th seal are simultaneous. When the smoke clears, the man who sits at the helm of the New World Order is the Destroyer himself, the Wicked one whose coming is after the working of Satan. The details of the 6th seal nuclear destruction are seen in the first four trumpets. We will go directly to the 1st trumpet and pick up the action.

Revelation 8:7, The first angel sounded and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

After the detonation of a nuclear warhead, the first thing to return to earth after the pillar of “scrolling” smoke rises into the stratosphere is 1/2 inch to 1 inch pieces of pulverized rock and concrete that have been swept up into the backdraft of the departed sky. This debris is “dirty” with radioactive particles and presents the first danger to those who have lived through the initial blast. The fire mingled with blood is the flash and fireball that has vaporized perhaps millions of people at ground zero. Nuclear warheads are all detonated by an electronic key before the device impacts the earth. An actual impact would destroy the detonation mechanism and render the missile as ineffective as an empty freight train plunging from a mile high railroad trestle. Blood always represents the life of the flesh (Leviticus 17:11). These lives are vaporized in the fire that departs from the point of detonation. Millions of voices will cry out in terror, and then be instantly hushed. (See Plate 2.)

The term “the third part” appears ten times in this section. Whereas some have proposed that this third part may be a localized area, verse 12 indicates that the third part describes the level of darkening of the sun, moon, and stars. Since this depicts the global atmospheric conditions that prevail after the war, the third part would seem to indicate a global scope of the other desolations as well. It will be interesting to see what this phrase is indicating exactly. Either way will be no picnic. We may be seeing the reality of this situation in just a few short months. Then the debate will be pointless. A third part of the oxygen producing trees and all of the green grasses will be burned up during this war.

Revelation 8:8-9, And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; and the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

Note that this is not a great burning mountain, but is as it were a great burning mountain. We are seeing the Soviet first strike plan for sub-launched short-range ballistic missiles taking out the coastal military targets, commercial ports, and major coastal cities of trade. This attack will cripple the U.S. military and destroy its economic framework, but leave the heartland intact. The composite of this seething pile of nuclear debris will be dumped into the seas. One third of the ships will be destroyed in this attack, and the resultant fiery radioactive debris from a trillion tons of rubble will poison the waters of the ocean. A third part of the marine life will be killed. The fishing industry will be fruitless from here to the millennial reign of Messiah.

Revelation 8:10-11, And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers and upon the fountains of water; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

Up to this point we have seen the smaller sub-launched tactical nuclear weapons launching en masse against the coastal economic and military targets. Now we see the devastation of the great stars, representing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). To appreciate the power of a great star ICBM, we would do well to recall the picture in our mind of the devastation of Hiroshima. That bomb was the equivalent of 12,500 tons of TNT. It was a twelve and a half kiloton hydrogen bomb. It would have taken a freight train loaded with TNT over 50 miles long to approximate its explosive power, yet it was compacted to the size of an old Volkswagon “beetle.” The ICBMs of today are a different bug. They pack the wallop of 30,000,000 tons of TNT. It is the equivalent of a freight train loaded with TNT stretched from Los Angeles, California, all the way to New York City, back to Los Angeles, and back again to New York City. All of that is compacted into the size of an old Volkswagon beetle. Several of these “stars” are aimed at the major cities of the United States. (See Plate 3.)

These man-made “great stars” will decimate vast areas of the planet surface and turn the upper stratosphere into a dark eeriness all over the world. They will pollute the underground rivers and aquifers. The springs will bubble radioactive debris out of what once were crystal fountains. Much of the fresh water on the planet will be turned to poison, and many millions of people will die because of the poisoned water. I believe it is significant that the word “Wormwood” in the Ukraine translation of the Bible is the word Chernyoble, which was the site of the most deadly nuclear accident in history. Many have died, not only in the initial meltdown, but also in attempting to maintain the concrete sarcophagus that entombs the deadly radiation. I do not think it is coincidence that these two references to wormwood both refer to radioactive poisoning of the environment. God knew 2,000 years ago what would transpire in our generation.

Revelation 8:12, And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for the third part of it, and the night likewise.

We see the result of the whole shooting match. The prophecies of Yoel and Y’shua have now been fulfilled. The great war has ended and the sky is darkened. All before the great and terrible day of the LORD. It is just as he had stated.

Revelation 8:13, And I saw and heard an angel flying through the midst of the heaven crying out with a loud voice, Woe, Woe, Woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpets of the three angels which are yet to sound.

Frankly, things were looking bad enough without these Woes. Now we will see the great tribulation begin at the hand of the Destroyer who is introduced at the 5th trumpet. The Woe to the earth is because Satan has been cast down, having great wrath (Rev. 12:12).

Revelation 9:1, And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and unto it (the star) was given the key to the shaft of the abyss. 2And it opened the shaft of the abyss and there arose smoke out of the abyss, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke out of the abyss.

This picture could very well be showing us the detonation of one of the great stars. Unto the star was given the electronic key that unlocks the shaft of the missile which creates an abyss when it is detonated. The great furnace of fire and shaft of smoke unleashed by the key is what turns the sun and the air to darkness. Here we see that the darkened atmosphere causes the sun to have the appearance of being a third part as bright as it was before the war.

Revelation 9:3, And there came out of the smoke, locusts down upon the earth; and their power is comparable to the power of the scorpions of the earth. 4And their authority was that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither anything that was green, but only those who do not have the seal of God in their foreheads. 5And their orders were not to kill, but to inflict torment five months: and the torment was similar to the torment of a scorpion striking a man (GINT).

Out of the smoke and ashes of the war, Yochanan sees something that is coming down to the earth that looks like a locust, but does not eat grass like a locust. They have the authority to inflict torment on men, but not on those who are protected by God. Yochanan gives further descriptions of these awesome war machines:

Revelation 9:7, And the likeness of the locusts were like horses that are prepared to do battle...

What did a horse look like when it was prepared to go into battle in Yochanan’s day? It was covered with metal armor. Yochanan is seeing what appears to be a flying locust which is covered in metal. To this day, this is an almost perfect description of military rotary wing aircraft. I have flown in the Marine Corps counterparts of this NWO air cavalry countless times. (See Plate 4.)

Revelation 9:7, ... and on their heads were as it were, crowns; like gold crowns...

These are not gold crowns but as gold crowns. Each time the phrase as or as it were is seen in the Scripture, we have a figure of speech that indicates that there are comparisons that can be made by their similarities. What are the similarities here? On top of the heads of these flying metal locusts, it looked like a crown. Again, the perfect picture of the spinning rotor assembly that resembles a metal crown on the head of the chopper.

Revelation 9:7, ... and their faces were as the faces of men.

As Yochanan looked into the “faces” of these rotary winged aircraft, he saw what appeared to be the faces (plural) of men (plural). This is exactly what one sees as he looks into the face of the metal locust. There are two men in helmets, the pilot and co-pilot, in helmets and battle dress uniform. (See plate 5.)

Revelation 9:8, And they had hair as the hair of women...

When the blades are spinning, the turbulence causes foliage to bend and swirl under the air pressure of the blades. When one looks up at the blades, it resembles a woman’s long dark hair blowing in the wind. You can see that the hair is wispily stirring in the breeze, and you can see through it as it is whipped by the wind. When the propellers of a chopper are stopped, one can easily tell that they are very heavy, thick metal appendages with a definite taper. You can see the variable pitch mechanism of the rotor assembly. But while it is running, when you look up through the whirling blades it appears like a woman’s long dark hair blowing in the breeze. You can see through the blades as they rotate, but they are still there in their wispy visual trails.

Revelation 9:8, ... and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

What does a lion use to kill and shred his prey? His teeth. His teeth are his attacking armament, not his defensive shield. The armament systems on the AH-64 Apache cannot be better described than as the teeth of a lion shredding its prey. Westinghouse was responsible for the design and implementation of the target acquisition systems for the Apache attack helicopters. When I organized some of the trade shows for Westinghouse, I used a video demonstration of the Westinghouse targeting systems that showed an AH-64 literally shredding a residential structure with its 7.62 mm minigun in a matter of seconds. The air-to-air and air-to-ground heat seeking and laser guided rockets are even more awesome in their destructive power. The teeth of lions? Yes indeed. (See Plate 6.)

Revelation 9:9, And they had breastplates as it were breastplates of iron...

The underside of the military locusts are all metal, with portions reinforced to protect vital areas. The pilot and co-pilot, after all, cannot sit on their helmets as the infantry Marine is wise to do when flying in enemy airspace. The cockpit area is reinforced with “iron”, and the entire underbelly of the chopper is metal as well.

Revelation 9:9, ... And the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

Here we have the unmistakable description of the sound of the wings of the chopper. Two choppers sound like the soundtrack to the chariot race in the movie Ben Hur. The thundering of the wings is deafening. Making the mistake of flying home for the weekend from Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, to Michigan in a HMH-53 without ear protection, left me with a fractional hearing disability. Hours of thundering hoofbeats will give anyone a headache for days.

Revelation 9:10, And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails...

The eastern scorpion has a long black tail. Out of its tail comes a sting that will put a man down on the ground writhing in agony. The tail that is long and black on a military attack helicopter is the air cooled 7.62 mm cannon that has a sting that will put a man down on the ground writhing in agony. The stings are both in their long black tails.

Revelation 9:10, ... and their authority was to hurt men five months

After the desolation of the global thermonuclear war, it will apparently take five months to establish order and have the mark of the beast in full operation. The plan is to subdue the remainder of the world’s populations, but not necessarily kill any more usable people. They will need a lot of slave labor to begin cleaning up the mess and start the new age of peace and prosperity under the NWO.

Revelation 9:6, And in those days men shall seek death, and shall not find it; and they shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them (MIV).

With rampant radiation sickness, disease, starvation, torture, and slavery, it would be so much easier to die than to live in this hell on earth. But they won’t let you die. They will need what little energy can be squeezed out of you before they push your worthless body into the massive grave you have just finished digging for the thousands of rotting corpses around you. This verse does not mean to imply that if you cut off your head you will still walk around with your head under your left arm unable to die. No, we must be realistic here as well. We will not need a supernatural act of God to make life more miserable than godless man will make it.

As awesome as this spectacle appears to Yochanan, and as precise the revelation is to those who live at the time of the end and see this incredible military hardware, it is not the point of the 5th trumpet. The 5th trumpet announces that Woe has now come upon the inhabitants of the earth, because Satan has been cast down to the earth. He has great wrath and knows that he has but a short time before his incarceration. The working of Satan yields the coming of the wicked one:

Revelation 9:11, And they (the military machinery of the NWO) had a commander over them, the messenger of the bottomless pit, whose name is Abaddon in Hebrew, Apollyon in Greek; The Destroyer (GINT).

Here at last the man of sin, the son of destruction, he whose coming is after the working of Satan, the prince that shall come, the antichrist, is revealed in the book of Revelation. He has taken his throne as the consummate ruler over the peoples of the earth. This begins the last three and one half years. Now things are going to get real rough.

Revelation 9:12-15, One Woe is fulfilled, behold two more Woes come hereafter. And the sixth angel sounded and I heard a voice from the four horns of the Altar of sacrifice which stands before God. The voice said to the angel with the sixth trumpet, loose the four angels which are bound, in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed which were prepared for a specific hour, day, month, and year; to slay the third part of men.

These must be some bad, bad angels who had been bound and now are loosed at this particular time to instigate the carnage that is a Woe in itself. At the time of this writing, a third of men is over 1,000,000,000 (one billion). Perhaps one third will not be as many after the nuclear war at the 6th seal.

Revelation 9:16, And the number of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand (200 million): and I heard the number of them.

Why does Yochanan qualify his narrative with, “and I heard the number of them?” Because this was not his personal guesswork. There were not 200 million people on planet earth in Yochanan’s day and he wanted to emphasize that this is not an indistinct multitude, but an outrageous and exact number that he got directly from heaven. A 200 million man army was impossible until just recently. Right now over 124 million military age Chinese men will never have the opportunity to get married. Never, ever. Why? The Chinese are allowed to have only one child. Period. If it is a girl, they usually murder her.

My daughter’s girlfriend is from China. Her parents wanted to keep her, but they wanted a boy, also. Since they were both college graduates, they were able to get passage to America where they had another baby girl a few years later. In China, that would not be allowed. In some areas of China where ultrasound techniques are available, if an unborn child is determined to be female, she is carefully killed in the womb, delivered prematurely, and served as a high priced delicacy in progressive restaurants. The net result is that there are over 124 million military aged men in the eastern communist block that have nothing better to do with their lives than to conquer the world and get a woman as booty.

Revelation 9:17, And thus I saw the horses in the vision...

In Yochanan’s day, horses carried men and equipment into battle. The horses described here are obviously not of Equine origin.

Revelation 9:17-18, ... they (the men) that sat on them (the horses), had breastplates of fire, jacinth, and sulfur (three colors that are native to the terrain in the area). And the heads of the horses where they sat, were as the heads of lions; and out of those heads came forth fire, smoke, and sulfur, and by these the third part of men were killed as it came out of their mouths ... (MIV).

These horses had heads like lions that sat up on their bodies, with a devastating armament system. Out of these heads came the ingredients that propel a 155 mm howitzer: fire, smoke, and sulfur. Those that sat on top of this battlefield monstrosity were wearing the typical three-color camouflage flack jackets and full coverage tanker helmets that are required for all tank personnel. This gear is standard in every modern armored division because one depleted uranium 50 caliber round that penetrates the armor plate of the tank could ricochet around the interior and kill everyone inside. Three-color camouflage is now standard battle dress in every national army in the world. This is another picture perfect description of the battle tanks and the “human wave” forces that are prepared to march into the Mideast from the eastern communist bloc.

Revelation 9:19, For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails; for they had tails that are likened unto a serpent, and these tails had heads, and with these serpent like tails they hurt.

This is the exact position, clothing, and armament that is found on the battle tanks of every major power on the earth.

Those who ride on the tank turret that controls the 155mm “mouth” that kills as it belches fire and smoke are protected by a required issue camouflage flack jacket. The gunner mans a 50 caliber, air-cooled, belt-fed machine gun with a flash suppresser that looks exactly like a snake with a head. Out of this “snake” comes a half inch diameter round that “hurts” very severely. I saw a man cut down by the Cuban communists with a 50 caliber machine gun while I was on duty at Post 20 on the Guantanamo River. His leg was shredded and hanging by a flap of muscle and skin. He didn’t say specifically, but by the screams of agony, I deduced that it “hurt.” (See Plate 7.)

Y’shua was clear enough in his revelation that we do not need to be ignorant of the times and seasons in which we live. God has been good to reveal these things to us. Live for him today.

Revelation 1:3, Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: For the time is at hand.

Plate 1

One Megaton Nuclear Blast The “Scroll” Effect

Plate 2

Nuclear Desolation at 12.5 Kilotons

Plate 3

30 Megaton Nuclear Device Comparison

The hydrogen bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, that effectively ended World War II in the Pacific, was equivalent in explosive power to approximately 12,500 tons of TNT. The devastating power was packed into a bomb which was about the size of an old Volkswagon Beetle. Yet it would have taken a 50 mile long train with all of the boxcars filled to capacity with TNT to equal the explosive energy of that one small bomb. Compared to today’s 30,000,000 ton inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), the World War II bombs seem a bit dwarfed. Yet, those 30 megaton bombs are no larger than an old Volkswagon Beetle. In a size comparison of explosive power, a singular 8, represents the explosive power of a 12.5 kiloton bomb as a train 50 miles long. The power of the big Soviet and U.S. ICBMs, several of which will be released on major population centers of the United States, is shown by comparison:

Plate 4

A Horse Prepared for Battle

Plate 5

Iron Plated Locusts

Plate 6

AH-64 Apache with Teeth as Lions

Plate 7

Lion Mouthed Horses with Serpents

Appendix Seven

144,000 and the Innumerable Multitude of Revelation 7

The first parenthetical section in the chronology of the book of Revelation occurs after the death, destruction, and persecution that transpire during the first six seals. The souls who were martyred for the witness of Y’shua cry out for vengeance from under the altar of sacrifice in heaven. They rest until the first resurrection, which is yet to come. There are others who will be killed as the tribulation comes into full fury at the hand of the Destroyer. The global thermonuclear war initiated at the 6th seal will turn the atmosphere to darkness, just as was prophesied by the prophet Yoel. Even as mankind brings himself to the brink of destruction, God shows us that he is still in control. Chapter 7 shows us, in stop action detail, that God will seal 144,000 Saints from all of the tribes of Israel, to be protected by God through the desolation that will come upon the earth.

Revelation 7:3-5, ... Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them that were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of Israel. Of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand...

These are not 144,000 Jews. The tribe of Judah comprises only one twelfth of those who will be sealed by God. There are 11 other tribes, ten of which have been lost since the carrying away of the northern tribes by Shalmanessar the Assyrian Emperor. That carrying away and dispersal helped to fulfill the prophecy of God to Abraham that from his loins would come many nations. The prophecy of Israel over his twelve sons was also expedited by this dispersion. The lost tribes of Israel have been traced all over northern Asia and Europe. Modern archaeological finds in Europe show the migration of the Hebrew people throughout the continent. Many of the royal families of Europe can still trace their roots back to their forefather, Israel. The ten lost tribes of Israel may not have much, if any, pure blood left in their families. The vast majority of them do not even know who they are. Yet!

When one analyzes the prophecies that were spoken over Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, there are only two nations that fulfill any of these prophecies. In fact, those two nations fulfill every prophecy concerning the promises to those tribes in the last days. The two nations are Great Britain and the United States. When one realizes that the Oracles (Words) of God were committed to his people Israel, one can understand why the Bible houses of England and America have published over 90% of all the Bibles in the world. The promises of God have been fulfilled right under the noses of those who do not even know their ancient origins.

I do not know if the 144,000 will ever know that they are sealed by God for his protection; in fact, I doubt it. They don’t really need to know. They will just be faithful witnesses of the Messiah. What we know about them and their “sealing” is that they will be untouched by the global thermonuclear war at the sixth seal. They will also be protected from the gunships of the New World Order air cavalry under the direction of the Destroyer at the 5th trumpet. They are later seen as the firstfruits of the tribes of Israel who will be redeemed from the earth at the last trumpet. These servants of God will be totally committed, and undefiled by the world. They will not prostitute themselves for the favor of the beast system. I do not believe the 144,000 of all the tribes of Israel know who they are. I believe they will just keep ending up alive when so many others around them are dropping like flies.

Picture an angel showing up to break Aaron out of a bus headed for a NWO prison camp in Arizona; an airliner is blown out of the sky and Matthew, the lone survivor, ends a 30,000-foot freefall in a soft landing without a scratch; a chemical attack leaves 425,000 people dead in London, but the yellow rain does not even give Miriam a blister. When God seals one of his servants for protection, nothing can touch them. Since they obviously don’t love their lives unto the death, they won’t be spending all of their energy on staying alive, but on witnessing for Y’shua and keeping the commandments.

While we are considering the origins of the peoples of Europe and the United States, it is important to understand where America stands. It is one of the larger repositories of the remnants of the lost tribes of Israel, but also the final incarnation of the vestiges of the Roman Empire. When one looks at the origins of the people who have subdued North America, the roots can be traced back to their European ancestors, the people who made up the “Holy” Roman Empire. Only by ignoring the fact that America is basically the modern day vestige of that empire, prophecy scholars continue to look at Europe itself as the originator of the beast government of the end times. In an attempt to hold onto America’s godly heritage, hoping that we as a nation will make a 180-degree turnabout, prophecy preachers have sought to turn our eyes from the obvious “Mystery Babylon” to some imagined power in the European economic community. That interpretation may have made sense a hundred years ago, but it doesn’t now. Europe will not become the beast system. America already has.

America, in its last decadent days, has given birth to the atheistic socialism of the New World Order. The nation that was founded on Creator-given absolute rights has now thumbed its high technology nose at the God of our fathers. America is the modern day Mystery Babylon who has corrupted the entire world with its godless materialism, having perverted the blessings of God on our nation. The beast system will not come out of Europe, but out of the nation that came out of all the nations of Europe. America is the little horn that subdued three of the first horns, or vestiges, of the ancient Roman Empire. America subdued England, France, and Spain in its rise to power during three separate wars in its infancy. America, the little horn that sprouted up out of the vestiges of Rome, will continue just a short time until it is brought to desolation (Daniel 7). This 7th world superpower will be wounded unto death (Rev 13). Out of the smoke and debris of the 6th seal nuclear war will arise the beast in its most terrible form, as the 8th totalitarian antichrist dictatorship: The New World Order (Rev 17:8-13).

Now, back to Revelation chapter 7. After the vision of the 144,000, we are shown an innumerable multitude. We pick up the second vision, which is a view in heaven, in the 9th verse.

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 11And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped God, 12Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

13And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

The key to this vision is the word come which is in the future tense. The KJV translators inaccurately handled the translation as came, in the past tense. But here we are shown a vision of the future.

Do not forget the context. We have just seen the beginning of a nuclear war that will decimate a third of the seas, forests, fresh water, shipping, and seaports of the world. The fallout will poison the world’s food and water supply and turn the sky to darkness at midday. Jesus said of this time that unless those days would be shortened, there would be no flesh saved alive. In this context we see that God will protect a thimbleful of humanity who is faithful to him: 144,000 of all the tribes of Israel. This means that hundreds of millions of people will die. I do not want to give you any false hope that your hide will be saved from persecution and death. In fact, I doubt that very many of us will make it to the end, especially if they are bold in their witness for the Messiah.

Those who feel they can ignore the warnings of Y’shua, thinking that God will protect their carefree American lifestyle, are wrong. They will be dead wrong. Many Christians think they can just keep living as if Y’shua was lying and that tribulation will never come. They don’t want to prepare mentally, physically, or spiritually for the times ahead. If they think they are going to ignore the clear message of Scripture and continue to invest in this world as if “all things continue as they were since the fathers fell asleep,” they will starve to death, or sell their souls to keep their children alive.

What would have happened if Yoseph had told Pharaoh they didn’t need to prepare for the coming seven years of famine? What if the squirrel does not store up for the long season of barrenness ahead? What if the ant were to eat all of its goods each day and not store any for the winter ahead? What if we buy the two door sports coupe with the optional reclining leather bucket seats and the 24 valve overhead cam turbo package instead of stocking away a few hundred pounds of beans and rice? The answer to all of the above is starve to death, regretting our stupidity. But whether we live or die, we remain faithful to the end. Prepare your heart and mind now, and remember that fatigue makes cowards of us all. Hang in there no matter what.

If your plan for the future is to deliberately not prepare and just trust God, perhaps you should start today by not buying any groceries and running your vehicles on water. This will give you good practice, and you can teach the rest of us how it is done. If my tone seems a bit insulting, perhaps it is. I implore you to prepare mentally and physically for the worst. If Y’shua is wrong and it doesn’t get as bad as he said before his return, you can watch the whole thing on TV in the comfort of your leather easy chair. If Y’shua is right, be faithful unto death and he will give you a crown of life. Stock away some extra beans and rice for your neighbors who haven’t wanted to hear the gospel. After a month of not eating, they will be willing to listen as you read the Bible and serve them a hot meal. The message of hope will have eager ears when the system of this world fails. Prepare for the latter rain and the resultant harvest.

The system of Satan has all of us living on imitation money: Federal Reserve Notes. They will soon be worthless. Most of the world will hold them to the very end, hoping that the system will pay off for them. Our great grandparents could live an entire year on the farm and never go to town to buy food, yet we cannot make it a week without making several hand to mouth trips to the corner store. The system is now ready to make you the absolute slave of the state controlled economy. The rich men of the world (James 5) have the ability to strike and topple the entire world economy (if they haven’t already done so at the time of this reading).

Now that we have set the destitution of the times ahead as the context for this vision, remember that it is a vision in the future to the chronological time frame in which is sets. The multitude will come out of the great tribulation which is yet to occur. The great tribulation will be initiated by the war started at the 6th seal (from which we are now in a parenthetical break). This vision of the future shows us the innumerable multitude, some of which may have lived through the entire tribulation, while others have died as witnesses of the Messiah. They all now have their reward. Whether they were alive or asleep, at the last trumpet they were all changed. The next verse gives us more detail of the vision:

Revelation 7:15, Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

Being before the throne serving him night and day happens after the gathering together at the last trump, and after the 7 bowls of God’s wrath are poured out on the earth. Before the wrath is poured out, no one can enter the temple in heaven. Chapter 15 makes this prerequisite very emphatic.

Revelation 15:1, And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 2And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 5And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: 6And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. 7And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. 8And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

16:1And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

After the last bowl is poured out, the cry goes out from the throne room, “It is finished” (Rev 16:17). When the smoke from the bowls of God’s wrath clears, those who have clothed themselves in white linen garments, which are the righteous acts of the Saints, are invited into the marriage supper of the Lamb, in the throne room of God.

The vision of the innumerable multitude also indicates that:

Revelation 7:15-16, Therefore are (a) they before the throne of God, and (b) serve him day and night in his temple: and (c) he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, (d) neither thirst any more; (e) neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall (f) lead them unto living fountains of waters: and (g) God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

We find the fulfillment of these promises at the end of the book of Revelation on the new earth. In fact all of this prophetic vision is referring to this final fulfillment in the New Jerusalem. I cite the reference in the 15th chapter to show that the situation in heaven precludes this scene taking place before the bowls of wrath were poured out; but we will now go to the final scene in the book of Revelation to see when this promised glory will be fulfilled. It is on the new earth that we will witness the reward of those who remain faithful to the end; whether it is death or a new body at his return. The correlations are indicated (a–g) in both sections.

Revelation 21:1, And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, (c) the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4And (g) God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5And (a) he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. 6And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. (f) I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Revelation. 22:1, And he showed me (f) a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 3And there shall be no more curse: but (c) the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and (b) his servants shall serve him:4And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 5And there shall be no night there; and (e) they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

Here we see the fulfilled promises of Y’shua to each of the seven churches in Asia (Rev 2:1-3:22). Here we see the fulfillment of the vision that Yochanan was shown concerning those that would live and die for the witness of Messiah during the great tribulation. Here we see the reward of the righteous who come out of great tribulation at the last trump. The message of this vision? Some are sealed by God and will make it to the end; love not your life unto the death, you will be protected by the Almighty. Others will be vaporized in the fireball of a 30 million ton nuclear blast, or be tortured to death in a concentration camp for incorrigible religious misfits. Be faithful until the end, my grace is sufficient for you, I am coming back for you and my reward is in my hand. Be faithful unto death and you will sing with an innumerable multitude on high.

Do not live with the false hope that you can “believe” your way out of death. Our believing doesn’t do a thing for us in this scenario. We do not believe in our “believing,” we believe in the living God. We believe that he is faithful to his Word. We believe that if we lose our life in obedience to God we will have a better resurrection. We do not love our lives, even at the cost of death (Rev 12:11). Living to the end is highly over rated. The martyr’s reward is to be sought by opening one’s mouth to boldly witness of our Lord Y’shua.

It is now abundantly clear that this parenthesis is not depicting a gathering of saints in the heavens before the great tribulation starts at the 5th trumpet. That is a misinterpretation of pre- or mid-tribulation secret rapturists. This is a future prophetic vision that is shown at the beginning of the war that will plunge mankind into the great tribulation. It shows us that faithfulness until the end will be rewarded for all of eternity. The vision gives us hope for a time when the world will have no hope, except in the Destroyer himself. This is the reward you and I can cling to in the months and years to come. Commit these pictures to memory. You will want to recall all of the details to those with whom you may be imprisoned.

Also by Michael Rood

The Pagan-Christian Connection Exposed

What can a Jewish scholar and theologian teach a Christian about Christianity? Plenty! Michael Rood proves God’s power with hold-in-your-hand evidence. He explodes the long-held Christian traditions of Christmas, Easter, and Lent. He uses the Bible to lead us back to irrefutable truths from the Word of God.

Includes FREE DVD:

Episide 1: Sodom and Gomorrah Revisited

Episode 2: Truth vs Tradition: The Heavyweight Battle of the Ages

For more information about Michael Rood and the A Rood Awakening! TV series, go to www.ARoodAwakening.tv

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The Mystery of Iniquity

Surely the LORD God will do nothing, except He first reveal His secrets unto His servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)

- Documents the legal ramifications of Satan’s original rebellion, his authority as god of this age. his stand on Earth with the Antichrist, and his final judgment at the throne of God.

- Exposes the deception that has been the dangerously false hope of the modern Church.

- Reminds us of the warning of Y’shua clearly set in Scripture, but too terrifying for the casual Christian to acknowledge.

- Provides the knowledge that effectively disables the snare set by Satan and exposed by Y’shua.

- Discloses the key event that will begin the last seven-year countdown to Armageddon and the physical act that will reveal the Antichrist and constitute the final abomination of desolation: the legal prerequisites to the return of the Messiah!

“Terrifying and glorious!”

MICHAEL ROOD is a messianic moreh (teacher), who resides in Israel. This Jewish scholar and theologian dresses in the sandals, head covering, tunic and robe from an ancient time and distant place. But don’t let the authentic attire and humble introduction disarm you, for in the next split second, Michael shifts into high gear, grabs you by the hand, leads you on a journey back through your Bible, and shakes you to the foundations of your soul.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

About the Author

The Mystery of Iniquity

Prerequisite to the Rapture

The Chronology: From Here ... To Eternity

Coming in Great Power and Glory

Dispensationalism and the Secret Pre-tribulation Rapture

The Strong Delusion is Imminent

The Mystery Revealed

The Feast of Trumpets and the Rapture or What are Christian Holidays?

Zechariah’s Thermonuclear War

Afterword

The Chronological Outline of the Book of Revelation

A Letter to the Thessalonians

The Day of Deliverance

The Day of Deliverance

The Modern Day Prophets Speak

Set the Trumpet to thy Mouth

Through the Fire Without Burning

A Vision of Henry Gruver

The Witness in the Heavens

Perseus and Andromeda

The Souls Under the Altar

Modern Warfare Technology in Revelation

One Megaton Nuclear Blast The “Scroll” Effect

Nuclear Desolation at 12.5 Kilotons

30 Megaton Nuclear Device Comparison

A Horse Prepared for Battle

Iron Plated Locusts

AH-64 Apache with Teeth as Lions

Lion Mouthed Horses with Serpents

144,000 and the Innumerable Multitude of Revelation 7

Also by Michael Rood

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