Dave Hunt Classic: Prophecy and World Events
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Saturday, November 30, 2013
The End Times - How Close Are We?
by Dave Hunt - Source Link - thebereancall.org
Anti is
a Greek prefix which not only means “opposed to” but “in the place of.”
Antichrist will indeed oppose Christ, but in the most diabolically clever way
possible: by pretending to be Christ. For the world to follow and worship him,
a false antichrist “Christianity” must become the world religion—a
“Christianity” that all religions can accept and which embraces all religions
into “one faith.” Hence the necessity for today’s growing apostasy: to create
an apostate church to be the Antichrist’s earthly bride, just as the true
church is Christ’s heavenly bride. Such is the important role of the New Age
movement and the many accelerating delusions and seductions in these “last
days.”
Through
a false gospel, false prophets, occultic religious practices and lying “signs
and wonders,” today’s churches are being filled with millions who call
themselves Christians, but who are not. Left behind at the Rapture, and happy
that the “negative” influence of the vanished troublemakers has been removed, they
will worship and follow the Antichrist, thinking he is the true Christ and that
they have “never had it so good.” An ecumenized “Christianity,” in partnership
with all religions, will carry on and prosper even more after the Rapture than
before. The unifying factor will be concern for Mother Earth. Working for peace
and ecological wholeness will have replaced truth as the basis of Christianity,
as the World Council of Churches has already decreed.
The Necessity for a
Pretribulation Rapture
Far
from being a cop-out invented by those who desire to escape persecution (which
could become very severe in America before the Rapture), a pretribulation
Rapture is essential for a number of reasons: first of all, to remove true
Christians from earth. If they were present when Antichrist was revealed, they
would oppose and expose him. Such opposition must be removed in order to give
Satan and man, under Antichrist’s leadership, full freedom to prove that this
earth can be turned back into a garden paradise without God. The Holy Spirit,
who is omnipresent, will still convict and draw many to Christ during the Great
Tribulation. The restraining influence, however, which He has wielded in this
world through the millions of true Christians, will have suddenly been removed,
leaving a moral and spiritual vacuum in homes, neighborhoods, businesses, and
schools such as we cannot even imagine.
A
pretrib Rapture is also necessary because the Antichrist will be given
authority by God “to make war with the saints, and to overcome them” (Rv 13:7).
Such a fate could not befall the church, for Christ said that the “gates of
hell shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18). Moreover, true Christians have
authority and power to “resist the devil” and “he will flee” (Jas 4:7), for
“greater is he that is in [us], than he that is in the world” (1 Jn 4:4). So
the fact that Antichrist is given power by God “to make war with the saints and
to overcome [i.e., kill] them” is proof that the true church is no longer
present.
The
“saints” mentioned are those who have not heard and rejected the gospel prior
to the Rapture and who believe in Christ during the Great Tribulation. They
will pay for their faith with their lives. Those who take the mark of the beast
suffer the wrath of the Lamb, while those who don’t are slain by Antichrist.
Thus a post-trib rapture would be a classic nonevent, for there would be very
few if any surviving believers to be raptured at that time. And surely those
Christians who were left alive, seeing the judgment of God poured out upon
mankind and earth’s armies gathered for the battle of Armageddon in an attempt
to destroy Israel, would know beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Second
Coming was about to occur—and would be watching for their Lord to appear. Yet
Christ declared that He would return at a time of such ease that even the “five
wise virgins” would “slumber and sleep.” He warned, “[F]or in such an hour as
ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Mt 24:44). Hardly likely in the midst of
the greatest tribulation and destruction the world has ever seen or ever will
see!
The Stage is Being Set
To
understand how the stage is being set for the final conflict between Christ and
Antichrist, it is helpful to consider some comparisons and contrasts between
these two antagonists. First of all, the procession of events is in God’s
hands. While we cannot know the day or hour of our Lord’s return, the Bible
does give us many clues as to the general timing of this great occurrence.
There
is a precise time for Christ’s second coming just as there was for the first:
“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son...” (Gal
4:4). The same is true of the Antichrist. Though already present in the world
and waiting in the wings, this “man of sin” known as “that Wicked [one]” (2
Thes 2:3,8) can only take power when it is God’s time: “And now ye know what
withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time” (2:6).
Timing and Rome
Interestingly,
the Roman Empire plays an integral part in the timing for the revelation both
of God’s Messiah and Satan’s. Ancient Rome set the stage for Christ’s birth:
“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar
Augustus, that all the world should be taxed” (Lk 2:1). It was this decree that
caused Joseph and Mary to be in Bethlehem so that Christ would be born there in
fulfillment of Micah 5:2. And of course He also had to be executed during the
time of the Roman Empire, which introduced crucifixion, in order to fulfill
Psalm 22.
For
Christ to return, the Roman Empire must be revived. This is clear from Daniel’s
interpretation that the distinct parts of the image seen by Nebuchadnezzar
“...head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his
thighs of brass, his legs of iron” (Dn 2:32-33) represented four world
kingdoms: the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian and Roman. That the “feet and
toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron” (2:41) represent the fourth
world kingdom revived in the last days is clear from the statement, “And in the
days of these kings [i.e., represented by the ten toes] shall the God of heaven
set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed...[and] it shall break in
pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (2:44).
Christ did not establish His kingdom the first
time He came, so He must come again to do so. When? “In the days of those
kings”—i.e., when the Roman Empire has been revived, out of which the
Antichrist will arise. No longer “as a lamb to the slaughter” (Is 53:7), but
now returning in power and glory to execute judgment upon those who crucified
Him, Christ will destroy this evil empire in its revived form at His second
coming. So although the date is not given, the timing of Christ’s return is
clearly indicated.
It is
also essential for the Roman Empire to be revived in order for the Antichrist
to appear. Daniel prophesied that “the people of the prince that shall come
[i.e., Antichrist] shall destroy the city and the sanctuary...” (Dn 9:26). The
Roman armies under the command of Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in
a.d.70. It is therefore from these people that the Antichrist must arise. That
doesn’t necessarily mean that he has to be Roman, since her legions came from
many parts of the Empire. It does mean, however, that he must come from that
world kingdom—and for that to happen the Roman Empire must be revived. We are
seeing the fulfillment of this most remarkable prophecy in our day.
Calling
Antichrist “the prince that shall come” indicates that he, like the ancient
Caesars, will rule the Empire when it is revived. Moreover, the ancient Roman
Empire was not only a political, economic and military entity, but also a
religious one with the god-emperor the head of the pagan priesthood. So in
conjunction with a world government, a world religion headed by the new Caesar,
the Antichrist, must be established in the last days exactly as Revelation 13
indicates.
During
the periodic waves of Roman persecution which the early Christians endured, all
citizens of the Empire were required to bow down to an image of the current
Caesar and worship him as god. Those who did not were killed. Such will also be
the case under Antichrist in the revived Roman Empire: “And all that dwell upon
the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of
life...[and] as many as would not worship the image of the beast [Antichrist]
should be killed” (Rv 13:8,15).
Christ and Antichrist
The
contrasts between Christ and Antichrist are also instructive. Our Lord was
despised and rejected by Israel and by the world: the Antichrist will be hailed
and embraced. Christ was mocked and jeered: the Antichrist will be praised. The
cry of those who rejected Christ was, “We’ll not have this man to reign over
us!” It is awesome to realize that in contrast the Antichrist will be accepted
not only by the world but by Israel as well. Jesus told the Jewish leaders in
His day, “I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another
shall come in his own name, him ye will receive” (Jn 5:43).
Christ’s
kingdom of light and truth is heavenly (“My kingdom is not of this world”- Jn
18:36); Antichrist’s kingdom of darkness is built upon a lie and is totally of
this world. It is sad to see so many evangelical Christians becoming
increasingly entangled in this world, joining with Catholics, Mormons and other
cultists and occultists to pursue its political and social agendas—and in the
process losing their hope of heaven. It was characteristic of the early church
that they knew they were the ekklesia, the called-out ones who were no longer
of this world (Jn 17:6,14,16) but were eagerly waiting (1 Thes 1:10) and
watching for Christ to return to take them to heaven (Heb 9:28; Jn 14:2-3).
That hope must be awakened!
Mystery
surrounds both Christ and Antichrist. Of Christ, Paul wrote, “great is the
mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh...” (1 Tm 3:16). And of
Antichrist he wrote, “[T]he mystery of iniquity doth already work” (2 Thes
2:7). Each has a mysterious bride, one a virgin, the other a harlot. The mystery
of godliness, which will be revealed in Christ’s bride, the church, has been
“kept secret since the world began” (Rom 16:25) and is “Christ in you, the hope
of glory” (Col 1:27). It can only be fully revealed at the last time (1 Pt
1:5).The mystery of iniquity, which could conversely be called “Satan in you,
the hope of damnation,” will also be revealed through a bride, the
Antichrist’s. She is called “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Rv 17:5). As Christ loves and preserves His
bride, so Satan will “hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked,
and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire” (Rv 17:16).
The Second Coming
That
the second coming of Christ in power and glory to rescue Israel, destroy the
armies that are about to destroy her, and to set up His kingdom upon the throne
of His father David is a separate event from the rapture of His bride, the
church, is very clear. Some try to make them one event by suggesting that we
will be “caught up to meet the Lord in the air” on His way to earth and will
immediately turn around and accompany Him to the Mount of Olives and His
intervention at Armageddon. However, Revelation 19:7-14 tells of Christ’s
marriage to His bride in heaven before He comes to earth to execute judgment
and set up His kingdom.
A major
purpose of the Second Coming is to destroy Antichrist: “whom the Lord
shall...destroy with the brightness of his coming (2 Thes 2:8). Thus it is
clear that the Second Coming cannot take place until the Antichrist has been
revealed and has established his kingdom upon earth. If the Rapture were not a
separate event from the Second Coming before the Antichrist is revealed, then
Christians would not be watching, waiting and looking for Christ, but for the
Antichrist, which is unthinkable!
One of
the growing delusions today is the belief that the church is not to be raptured
at all, but that when we have taken over the world (and not until then) Christ
will return to reign over the kingdom we have established for Him. Yet Christ
promised, “And if I go and prepare a place for you [in heaven], I will come
again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (Jn
14:3). Paul wrote that “the dead in Christ 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 [obviously to be taken home to His Father’s house of many
mansions]: and so shall we ever be with the Lord [in heaven, where He has gone
to prepare a place for us]” (1 Thes 4:16-17).
Instead,
many who claim to be Christians are looking forward to meeting a “Christ” with
their feet planted firmly on planet earth—a “Christ” who has not arrived to
take them to heaven but to reign over the kingdom they have established for
him. What a delusion! Such have not been working for the true Christ, but for
the counterfeit, the Antichrist. They have not been “lay[ing] up...treasures in
heaven” (Mt 6:20), but have been building an earthly kingdom. May our
Bridegroom reawaken our love for Him, and may our hearts, as it should be with
a bride, long to see and be with Him!
—Dave Hunt
1990
Reprint July 2002
Eschatology 102: why I believe in the rapture
I was going to write today about why I believe in the pre-tribulational rapture, but as I began that, it occurred to me that something more basic often needs to be proved. I have talked to many amillennialists that find the way premillennialists describe the rapture to be unconvincing. So before getting to why I believe in the pre-trib rapture, I wanted to explain why I believe in a rapture at all.
Scripture describes the rapture as the physical removal of believers from the earth, where we are caught up into the air to meet the Lord, and then we will be with the Lord forever.The word rapture is a biblical word, the Latin translation of harpazo in 1 Thess 4:17, which in English gets translated as “caught up” or “suddenly caught up” (NET).
Some think this sounds fantastical, or that it is too extreme to be plausible. I remember reading a Nathan Wilson book that mocked the idea of a rapture (he joked that people must by necessity leave their clothes and appendixes behind, both being useless in our new bodies). But the fact is the Bible does describe this event in at least three places.
In John 14:3, Jesus tells the discouraged disciples that he is going to leave them and return to his father. But he tells them that when arrives in glory he is not going to be idle. Instead, he is going to be busy preparing a place for believers to dwell. He says, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am.” In this passage, Jesus describes an act of removing Christians from the earth, and taking them to heaven—or wherever it is that he is preparing a place for us.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:17, Paul uses very similar language. He explains that when the Lord comes in the air with the souls of those who have already died, he will raise their bodies from the earth. And: “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” Both Paul and Jesus describe a physical removal of believers from the earth. And notably both say that their new home will be with the Lord, in glory, forever.
First Corinthians 15:51-54 is the most detailed account of this rapture. Here, Paul describes it as happening in an instant, “in the twinkling of an eye” (v. 52). He says that the trumpet will sound (cf. 1 Thess 4:16), our physical bodies will be “raised” and “changed” (v. 52), and our mortal flesh will put on “immortality” (v. 54).
In 1 Thessalonians 4:17, Paul uses very similar language. He explains that when the Lord comes in the air with the souls of those who have already died, he will raise their bodies from the earth. And: “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” Both Paul and Jesus describe a physical removal of believers from the earth. And notably both say that their new home will be with the Lord, in glory, forever.
First Corinthians 15:51-54 is the most detailed account of this rapture. Here, Paul describes it as happening in an instant, “in the twinkling of an eye” (v. 52). He says that the trumpet will sound (cf. 1 Thess 4:16), our physical bodies will be “raised” and “changed” (v. 52), and our mortal flesh will put on “immortality” (v. 54).
Other passages hint at the reality of the rapture. The day of the Lord is described as both a time of judgement on the earth and a time of rescue for believers. Revelation 3:10 pledges that believers who endure the trials of this age will be kept from the time of tribulation to come. First Thessalonians 5:9 says that despite the coming judgment in the Day of the Lord, that believers will be spared that wrath. Those verses all paint this picture of escape from judgment, but don’t exactly describe how.
But John 14:3, 1 Thessalonians 4:17, and 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 make clear that there is coming a time when believers will be physically removed from the planet, meet the Lord Jesus in the air, and be with him forever.
[empty suit]
Maybe not, but Jesus did leave his grave clothes behind.
Will this be like the Left Behind books? Will planes with Christian pilots crash into the ocean, and cars veer into ravines? That is more the stuff of fiction than scripture. Scripture does not detail the how—and it definitely doesn’t tell the when!—but it does give us enough to say that those of us who are alive when the Lord returns will by physically caught up into the air, where we will meet Jesus.
The Old Testament describes this happening twice before. Enoch did not die, but rather “God took him” and he was no more (Gen 5:24). Elijah likewise escaped death, and instead of the grave, Yahweh “took Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind” (2 Kings 2:1, and again in v. 11).
Will the rapture of believers be anything like that? Scripture doesn’t say, but it does make clear that while we will not all sleep, we will all be changed.
Mysterious Mecca
by Dave Hunt - Source Link - thebereancall.org
Much attention has been given to the Iron and Bamboo Curtains
of communism. Recent events are causing the world to take notice at last of the
even worse Islamic Curtain. Behind that wall any religion but Islam is
forbidden. Freedoms Muslims enjoy in the West are denied in Muslim countries.
Converts to Christianity have been imprisoned and killed in large numbers in
Islamic countries, often by their own family members. Freedom of the press, of
speech and of assembly, along with freedom of religion and the import of Bibles
and Christian literature, have been denied behind the Islamic Curtain even more
strictly than behind the Iron Curtain.
Mecca, Rome, and Israel
Like Marxism, Islam has failed to produce the ideal society
it promised. Many Arab countries, in
spite of billions in annual revenues from oil, remain among the most primitive
nations in the world, outside of their few large modernized cities. Islam has
perpetuated an autocratic feudalism and cruelly held back basic human rights in
the name of Allah.
While tolerating a great deal of homosexuality, Islam, to its
credit, has kept out much of the Western world’s wickedness so rampant in
nominally “Christian” countries such as the United States. The immorality in
the West, however, is contrary to the teachings of the Bible and is done in defiance
of Christ— whereas in Islamic countries much evil is due to the Qur’an itself
and is practiced in the name of Allah in obedience to his prophet Muhammad.
No one now calls for a Holy War in the name of Christ, as is
done in the name of Allah. Terrorism and the taking of hostages is not done in
the name of Christ but is carried out in good conscience in the name of Allah.
Christ taught us to love our enemies, to turn the other cheek. He seeks to win
men’s hearts with His love. In contrast, Muhammad taught that Islam should be
spread by the sword. That satanic doctrine has been applied everywhere,
beginning with Muhammad’s own Quraish tribe in Saudi Arabia. Islam’s teaching
that those who die fighting in its defense go immediately to Paradise made the
Arab armies almost invincible. After Muhammad’s death they conquered Persia, Turkey,
all of North Africa, crossed the Mediterranean to conquer Spain, and were well
on their way to taking all of Europe when they were defeated in A.D.732 at the
Battle of Tours in France.
Thus was the “faith” of Islam taken to the world. It was either
submit to Allah and to the teachings of his prophet, Muhammad, or die. It is
still quite in keeping with their religion for Muslims to consider it their
honorable duty to kill Christians and Jews today.
Yes, there were the Crusaders, who struck back against the
Arab invaders, but they acted contrary to the Bible. Inspired by Pope Urban II,
the members of the First Crusade went to recover “for the Church” the land that
rightfully belonged to Israel. Plundering, raping and murdering along the way,
they slaughtered all the Muslims and Jews in Jerusalem when they took that
“holy city” for the Roman Catholic Church. They were acting in direct violation
of the teachings of Jesus whose cross they claimed to be carrying. Not to be
outdone by Islam’s promise of instant Paradise for those who died in jihad,
the Pope offered a “plenary indulgence remitting all punishments due to
sin...to those who should fall in the war.” The call by various popes for Holy
Wars ranks among the worst violations of true Christianity from the Dark Ages
and would never be repeated today. The shrill cry of jihad, however, is still
heard and heeded. It is in perfect harmony with Islam and with the deeds of its
prophet, Muhammad.
The Qur’an
It is impossible to understand the current situation in the Middle
East, much less anticipate probable future developments there, except in the
context of the religion which grips and motivates the Arab world. Today’s
fastest growing religion, Islam means “surrender to Allah,” the “God” whose
revelations (the Qur’an) were allegedly dictated to the prophet Muhammad. Here
we encounter the first of many contradictions. In its early chapters the Qur’an
endorses the Old Testament and Gospels of the New as inspired by God, appeals
to their authority to authenticate Muhammad’s revelations, and urges obedience to
their precepts. Yet the Qur’an goes on to contradict the Bible by declaring
that Jesus did not die upon the cross for our sins or rise from the dead, and
that salvation is by one’s own good works rather than by grace through what God
has done for us, etc. To “explain” the flagrant contradictions between the
Qur’an and the Bible, which it affirms, Muslims insist that the Bible has been
corrupted since the days of Muhammad. That this is a blatantly false charge is
proved by the many manuscripts in existence from the time of Muhammad and
before, which are identical to the Bible as we have it today. The Bible must be
discredited to maintain the claim that the Arabs, as descendants of Ishmael,
are the true heirs of God’s promises to Abraham. The Qur’an declares that it was
Ishmael, not Isaac, whom Abraham was told to offer to God and to whose
descendants the land of Canaan was given.
Ongoing History
In 1948, both Jews and Arabs were living in Palestine. Jews
had been trying to return to the land of their ancestors for decades, but most
were denied entrance by Britain. Horrified by the murder of 6 million Jews in
Nazi extermination camps, the UN voted to partition Palestine (18 percent to
the Jews) in order to create a small Jewish state as a place for resettlement
of the survivors of Hitler’s holocaust. The Palestinian Arabs were given 82
percent of Palestine as a state of their own. Insisting that Allah had promised
it all to them, and unwilling to allow a Jewish state to exist, six Arab
nations attacked, confident of driving the Jews into the Mediterranean.
Thus began the war of 1948. The Jews were forced to fight
for survival against a force far superior in numbers and equipment. Having been
allotted such a narrow strip of land along the sea that it was indefensible,
tiny Israel, as part of her victory, pushed her boundaries outward to a more
defensible position. Jordan subsequently annexed the remainder of Palestine that
had been partitioned to the Palestinian Arabs. Since that time, the countries
of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria have refused to integrate these Palestinian Arabs
into society, confining them to refugee camps. Most remain there today, to keep
the “Palestinian problem” alive.
Since 1948 the relentless cry of the Arabs has been to liquidate
Israel, which they have attempted to do in several wars. Israelis live under the
constant threat of all-out destruction by the surrounding Arab nations, which outnumber
them nearly 50 to 1. Had Israel been left in peace she would never have
enlarged her borders.
The Arabs have reaped the results of their own greed and
hatred, which frustrates and angers them all the more. The extension of
Israel’s boundaries has only taken place as a result of wars she has been
forced to fight in order to defend her very existence against an enemy sworn to
exterminate her.
The Golan Heights, for example, were long used by the
Syrians for sniper and rocket attacks upon the Israeli farm settlements below.
In the Yom Kippur war of 1973, while the Egyptians simultaneously attacked across
the Sinai, the Syrians poured over the Golan and down into Israel with
thousands of tanks. The Israelis, caught by surprise and with only a fraction
of Syria’s tanks and men, drove the Syrians (at great cost of life) back over
the top of the Golan and the Egyptians back to the Suez Canal. Israel has since
relinquished the territory it took from Egypt under a peace treaty with that
country. On the other hand, in view of the continued threats of extermination
from Syria, which like other Islamic nations refuses even to acknowledge its
existence, Israel prudently retains the Golan Heights in order to prevent its
use once again as a point of harassment and attack.
When Iraq’s forces overwhelmed tiny and defenseless but
oil-rich Kuwait it was only the swift action of the United States responding to Saudi Arabia’s urgent appeal
for help that prevented Saddam Hussein from taking
over that country as well. This brought about something that previously had
been unthinkable: “infidels” upon the soil of Islam’s holiest nation defending
Mecca and Medina, Islam’s two most sacred shrines, from Muslim enemies!
For the first time in its history, the United Nations responded
quickly and almost unanimously to oppose with practical and severe steps an
aggressor nation, raising hopes of a truly effective “new world order.” Equally
amazing, the majority of the Arab states sided with the UN against a fellow
Islamic country.
One of Hussein’s demands, however, appealed to most Arabs:
that any withdrawal of his forces from Kuwait should be linked to a similar
withdrawal of Israel from “occupied” Palestine. In their joint press conference
in Helsinki, Bush and Gorbachev disagreed on this point. Bush correctly “saw no
link between the Arab-Israeli dispute and the Gulf crisis.” Hussein’s takeover
of Kuwait was an act of unprovoked aggression, whereas Israel occupies
territory which it was forced to take in self-defense.
Questions
that Must be Faced
All Arabs are now faced with some serious questions. Why did
mobs of Arabs give credence to the call for Holy War from Saddam Hussein, a
Muslim who was ruthlessly trampling other Islamic nations? Why are fanatical
Muslims responsible for most of the terrorism and hostage-taking in today’s
world and seem to outdo infidels in the commission of atrocities? And if Allah
is all-powerful, why do infidels have to defend Mecca—and against Muslims? The
Emir of Kuwait’s appearance at the UN presented an embarrassing spectacle. An
Islamic nation was appealing to a world of “infidels” to help rescue it from another
Islamic nation, which was at that moment plundering it and raping and torturing
its citizens. Moreover, the Emir of Kuwait was a feudal monarch who, prior to
Iraq’s invasion, had muzzled the press and jailed human-rights activists. In
exchange for UN liberation of Kuwait, the Emir was forced to yield to pressures
for democratic rule. Change must come to the Arab world.
The West has suddenly awakened to the fact that six Arab
families ruling from feudal thrones control 44 percent of the world’s oil
reserves. The pressure of world opinion and growing grass-roots movements in those
countries will eventually force new freedom and rights for citizens. Democracy
must come to the Arab world as it is painfully coming to the communist world. That
will weaken Islam’s fanatical hold so that Muslims, too, can become part of
Antichrist’s empire and religion.
Opportunity for the Gospel
As the collapse of communism is providing great opportunity
for the gospel to be made known and received by many in Eastern Europe, so the
coming upheavals in the Arab world will bring similar opportunities. After
centuries of almost no response to the gospel, Muslims are now coming to Christ
as a result of facing some of the serious shortcomings and contradictions in
Islam. It promises heaven, but offers little assurance of getting there,
including death in Holy War (Surah 3:160; 47:5; 70:25). As in Catholicism, where
nothing is ever enough to keep one out of purgatory, so in Islam one never
knows whether enough prayers have been said, enough alms given and enough good
deeds done to bring one to Paradise.
Confronted at last by some of the embarrassing questions
about Islam, the faith of many Muslims is being shaken. Why did Muhammad with
his “new revelation” give his God the same name (Allah) as the chief idol in
the kaaba, the ancient pagan temple at Mecca? Why, although he destroyed the
idols which it housed, did Muhammad retain the
kaaba itself as a sacred shrine? Why did he keep and continue to revere
the Black Stone that had long been worshiped along with the idols in the ancient
religious ceremonies of Mecca? And why do Muslims consider the kaaba holy and
kiss its Black Stone as an important part
of their pilgrimage to Mecca?
Muslims everywhere can no longer deny that Islam has perpetuated
a barbaric medieval mentality. Surely they recognize that the continued taking
of hostages, murder and terrorism, and the frequent spectacle on television of
crazed mobs screaming “Jihad! Jihad! Jihad!” and “Death to the United
Sates does not encourage Western viewers
to put much confidence in a “peaceful Arab solution” to problems in the Middle
East. And when a Salman Rushdie, because he writes something offensive to
Muslims, has a price put on his head by Islam’s foremost leader and must go
into hiding to save his life from Muslim assassins, are Arabs proud of such
barbarism, and do they feel that it commends Islam to the world? And to be able
to beat one’s four wives and unlimited concubines and to divorce merely by
pronouncing it done, and to cut off hands and feet for petty thievery, as the
Qur’an decrees? Such practices should, in the minds of all reasonable persons,
mark Islam as a holdover from barbaric practices of apast age. Surely the time
for change has come.
—Dave Hunt
1990
Reprint July 2002
Old Testament Allusions to the Rapture
1) In Noah’s day there were those who passed through the flood
(Noah and his family in the ark); there were those who perished in the flood
(the unbelieving world); and there was Enoch who was “translated” or “caught up”
before the judgment of God was poured out. Enoch walked with God (Genesis 5:24)
and pleased Him (Hebrews 11:5), just as Christians who abide in Christ please
God (1 John 3:22). Interestingly, from the time God told Noah to enter the ark,
until the time when the waters of the flood were on the earth, God granted
seven more days for the world to repent (Gen. 7:1-10). Perhaps this is a foreshadow
of the final seven-year period culminating in the final judgment (Rev. 19:11-21).
2) In
Lot’s day, Lot and his family were “removed” before God rained down His judgment
on Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19). God did not just “preserve” them through
His wrath, He removed them prior to judgment. Jesus said that just before His return
it would be like the days of Noah (Luke 17:26) and like the days of Lot (Luke 17:28).
Judgment in Sodom COULD NOT occur until Lot was removed (Genesis 19:22)! Remarkably, “while [Lot] lingered, the
[angels] took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two
daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him
outside the city…Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive
there (v. 16, 22). In other words, they were forcibly removed prior to judgment
and judgment could not commence until they safely arrived in the new city!
3) Joseph
(a type of Christ in many ways) takes a gentile bride before the 7-year famine begins
(Genesis 41:45). Notice in the account of Joseph that after he received his
gentile bride, his brethren (the Israelites) and the entire world suffered a
SEVEN YEAR FAMINE (Genesis 41:54-57). During this time of famine many came to
Joseph for food. Similarly, after Jesus receives His Bride, his brethren the
Jews (and many in the world), will turn to the Lord Jesus for relief (Rev. 7).
How fitting that the Great Tribulation is called the time of “the time of
Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it” (Jeremiah 30:7). It is also
referred to as “the time of the Gentiles” (Ezekiel 30:3) and many gentiles will
also be saved out of it (Rev. 7). The famine is a type of the Tribulation (Amos
8:11), and Egypt is a picture of the world. This account strongly suggests that
Jesus will get His bride before the 70th Week of Daniel – before the famine
that will come upon the entire world.
4) In Joshua chapter 2, Rahab trusts the Lord and befriends the
Jewish spies. By faith Rahab puts a scarlet thread in her window (a symbol of Christ’s
blood) and she and her family are “brought out” of Jericho before the city is
burned with fire (Joshua 6). Rahab is a prostitute (Heb. 11:31) and a Gentile
woman (Joshua 2), yet she is found in the Messianic line (Matt. 1:5). Rahab is
therefore a beautiful picture of the church (the bride of Christ). Though
formerly a prostitute, Rahab, by faith, was made clean and delivered from God’s
wrath. Amazingly, in this account, we again see seven days of warning preceding
judgment (God’s gracious delay to encourage repentance). The armies of God marched
around the city six days, and on the seventh day they marched around the city seven
times, and then the city was finally destroyed (Joshua 6).
5) In 1 Samuel 25:39-42 Abigail is informed that King David
(foreshadowing King Jesus) wants to take her as his bride. She immediately
responds and “rose is haste” with five of her damsels to “depart” and go to
David for the marriage. Compare this with Matthew 25:1-13 where five wise
virgins who truly had oil went forth to meet the Bridegroom (Jesus) away from
their dwelling place (earth). Interestingly, the name Abigail means the Father’s
joy!
6) The
Song of Solomon is an amazing picture of Christ and His church (Ephesians 5:29-32).
In the Song of Solomon 2:8-13, the Bride (the church) hears the voice of her
Beloved (Jesus) coming for her, then in verse 10 and 13, the Bridegroom speaks
and calls His bride to “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” This is
a beautiful foreshadow of our marriage and honeymoon in heaven!
7) Isaiah 26:20-21 also gives us a possible picture of the Rapture
preceding the Tribulation: “Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your
doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the
indignation is past. For behold, the LORD comes out of His place to punish the
inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth will also disclose her
blood, and will no more cover her slain.” Apparently, believers are tucked away
in heaven before the Tribulation falls on the earth. This may also apply to the
Jews who hide away in Petra during the Tribulation?
8) In
Daniel chapter 3, King Nebuchadnezzar (a type of the Antichrist, cf. Rev. 13) demands
that the entire population bow down to his image. Daniel’s three friends (Jews)
are preserved through the fiery tribulation, but Daniel is nowhere to be found.
Daniel was “ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator
over all the wise men of Babylon” (Dan. 2:48), yet he is missing from the
account. Why? Daniel was apparently away. Might he be a type of the Church?!
9) In
Zephaniah 2:2-3 we read: “Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as
the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of
the LORD'S anger come upon you. Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, who
have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you
will be hidden in the day of the LORD'S anger.” Believers will be hidden in the
day of the Lord’s anger (cf. Isaiah 26:20-21). See also: Zephaniah 1:7.
10) Malachi chapter 3 deals with the Day of the Lord.
Interestingly, Malachi 3:18 implies two comings: “Then shall ye (believers)
return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that
serveth God and him that serveth him not.” It becomes clear when we read the
entire context of Malachi 3 that believers shall return to the earth. In order to return and discern, believers
must have first been caught away to heaven. Issac and Rebekah, as well as Ruth
and Boaz, also provide beautiful pictures of Christ taking a Gentile bride –
one who counts the cost and leaves their own family – but is not required to
suffer through great tribulation or famine. Other examples could be expounded
on, but these should be sufficient to show that Christians will be removed before
God’s wrath is poured out and likely before the 70th Week of Daniel.
This Generation
by Henry Morris - icr.org
“Verily I say unto you, This
generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” (Matthew 24:34)
This exciting prediction by Christ
climaxes His great prophetic discourse on the Mount of Olives. He had given His disciples the signs they had
requested, then discussed the coming great tribulation and finally His glorious
return in the clouds of heaven. And “all
these things” were to be fulfilled before “this generation” would pass away.
And what generation would that be? Many commentators have taken it as the Jewish
“race,” but that would be redundant, since many other passages had already
promised that the nation of Israel would never pass away (Jeremiah 31:37-40;
etc.). Furthermore, the Greek word for
“generation” (genea) is never used
elsewhere for any meaning but that of a particular age generation. A similar word genos sometimes means “stock” or “kind,” but never genea.
Thus, the generation which Christ was
predicting probably meant the generation that would see the events He had
prophesied. “When ye shall see all these
things,” He said, “know that it is near, even at the doors” (Matthew 24:33).
And what are some of “these
things”? World wars, accompanied and
followed by “earthquakes in divers places,” as well as “famines, and
pestilences” (v. 7), worldwide spread of the gospel witness (v. 14), many false
Christs and false prophets (v. 24), widespread wickedness and spiritual
indifference as in the days of Noah (vv. 37-39), and the budding of the fig
tree, Israel (v.32).
The word for “this” in verse 34 is the
demonstrative adjective, so Christ seems to be referring to “that” generation
which sees “these things begin to come to pass.” That generation will see all these things
fulfilled! To that generation He says:
“Lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28).
Henry Morris
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Do All Roads Lead To God & Are There Moral Absolutes?
by: Shannon R. Haas
It is quite popular within
our culture today (especially among the West & portions of Europe) to
believe that all paths of faith lead to God.
“Like spokes on a wagon wheel,” they say, “all lead to the central hub
of God.” Oprah Winfrey once gave her analogy as describing a mountain we are
all climbing, but taking different paths to the top (which lead to heaven). Also, I’ve heard from many that, “truth is
relative”, and that “truth is ultimately found within ourselves”. Is this true
though? Are we all ultimately on the
right path that leads to God regardless of what we believe or how we live our
lives? Is there an absolute moral set of
standards given to us from some superior or sovereign God, or are we all here
to evolve our morals on our own through time?
It is getting more common when asking just about anyone these days in
that they will tell you, “right and wrong are a matter of human opinion.” “There are no absolutes,” they say, and
therefore, “my view or belief is as good as yours or that of the next person.” Well if this is so, I say, “Then how can we be absolutely sure that
there are no absolutes”? Some would
also be tempted to twist a few verses from the Bible out of context and say
that mankind needs to just live by “the golden rule”, in that we are all to “love
others as we would want to be loved.” Again,
another would say, “let’s just all get along in the name of peace.” “You be
you, and I’ll be me.” That’s a noble idea; however, under whose
definition of love and peace do we go by?? Well, let’s take a look and
examine these popular cultural ideas from a rational, reasonable, and logical
perspective.
Just taking a brief look at
these claims should immediately throw up some red flags to the average thinking
person. If one were to plan a trip (to
let’s say my house), it would be illogical for me to tell that individual that
they could “just jump on any road, and take any direction, and it will lead to
my house”. That would obviously not fly
and would likely lead to the questioning of my sanity. Take a pilot for instance. If a pilot were to board his plane and say,
“well there are no set of standards or laws concerning thermodynamics, so therefore
I will be flying this plane today in the manner as I see fit”, that pilot would
not be keeping his job very long, and would quickly clear his plane of passengers
from fear. However, I have found recently
that when it comes to those who would take the stand of a conservative,
biblical approach of an absolute, “thus says the Lord”, they are usually immediately
ridiculed and scorned as: intolerant, extreme, radical, fundamental, dogmatic,
judgmental, prudes, (and a variety of other titles are given to them from our
current culture). I have even recently
read the word “hater” given to those who would dare to proclaim a moral
absolute. Some argue that, “it’s unfair
to be comparing the natural realm with the spiritual realm!” But I say, that if
one believes in God we ought to know from a common reasonable sense that the
spiritual realm governs the natural in everything we see around us. The Bible declares this in Romans 1:19-20 “….what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it
to them. For since the creation of the
world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things
that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without
excuse.” Also, in Hebrews 11:3
we read, “By faith we understand that
the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen
were not made of things which are visible.”
The ultimate problem is we “suppress
the truth in unrighteousness” because our “deeds are evil” Romans 1:18 & John 3:19. When we look at a building we cannot deny
that there was a builder, when looking at a painting we know there must be a
painter, and when looking at a watch there are no other options but to say
there was indeed a watchmaker. Although
we may not see the watchmaker abroad in Japan (or wherever), we cannot deny
that he exists from the evidence we have before our eyes. The same conclusion is true concerning God.
I believe that much of today’s
problems (especially in America), that have blinded our minds is not only the clinging
to our own selfish sinful lifestyles, but is due to our recent materialistic
and post-modern ideas that have actually developed over many decades. What is post-modernism (PM)? Well, PM takes on many forms today such as:
political correctness, pluralism, moral relativism, deconstructionism, and by a
variety of other titles. From the
mid-1960s through the 1980s, the term was used with increasing frequency to
describe a way of thinking about truth and interpreting language. It ties in directly to the cultural ideas
mentioned above and is well-suited to a society where what we feel is far more
important than facts or what we think.
PM also arrogantly props up evolution as a means of our existence,
instead of special creation that the Bible so clearly declares in Genesis. It has become an integral part of our
education system, political structure, and is pumped aggressively through all
our media. It binds us in ignorance, and
substitutes our own warped reason in place of the Scriptural standard. It is appealing and like a disease because PM
is a way out for living and believing as we wish, without moral accountability
to an absolute, sovereign, righteous, holy, loving, and just God. The total
collapse of morality we see today, and the implementation of PM should be a
stern reminder to us of Proverbs
14:12…”There is a way that seems right to a man, but it’s end is the way of
death.”
During my upbringing, this
idea of ever changing views that evolve through time really bothered me. I was raised believing there was a God, but
didn’t understand all the confusion of different religions, denominations, etc.,
and which was to be trusted as the truth?
My family attended a Catholic Church where (like many liberal Protestant
denominations) its leaders and doctrines continually morph with the culture as
the hierarchy change positions. To me, a
life and world with no set of moral absolutes seemed to have little purpose and
meaning.
To make a long story short,
my frustration grew intensely as I entered my late teen years, which lead to a
life of alcohol and rebellion. At the
infamous high point of it all I ended up committing an armed robbery of a
convenience store at age 21. This
eventually landed me in prison, but ended up being the means and avenue God
used in assisting me to find the truth. Still
lost and confused, one day as I attended a jail Bible study I was struck by a
message the pastor gave concerning Bible prophecy and the astronomical odds of
all these prophecies being fulfilled to the very letter (At this time I was dabbling
with a variety of different religious beliefs: scientology, yoga, etc., and of
course reading the Bible some, but never had any concrete reasons for believing
any of these to be true). Upon hearing
the Bible regarding the fulfillment of prophecy it really drew me to
investigate the Bible further. To my amazement, after continued study and
reading of the Gospels I found that the Bible was indeed trustworthy through
what I call; ‘a sure word of prophecy’. In addition to prophecy, I also found
encouragement in the volumes of Bible apologetics concerning creation,
archeology, and history that confirm the Bible as the unchanging, absolute,
exclusive, infallible, and authoritative Word of God. It is indeed true that the Bible is
sufficient for all matters of life as stated in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped
for every good work.
All of this knowledge
ultimately led me to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior through faith
and repentance (Ephesians 2:8-10). I saw myself as a wretched sinner heaped in
pride and selfishness and in need of God’s forgiveness. My point in briefly sharing this tidbit of
testimony is to explain that for the first time in my life I found a source of absolute truth, a solid rock and
foundation that I could place my trust in.
In fact, the Bible declares that the Lord is the “rock” and “foundation”
for those who place their trust in Him. I now have true peace and no longer have to be
under the world’s post-modern system of an insecure and unstable, ever-changing
culture. In fact, Malachi 3:6 declares: “For I
am the Lord, I do not change”, and in Hebrews
13:8 we see that, “Jesus Christ is
the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
In conclusion, I have become
convinced that the premise behind post-modernism—that everyone has a right to
his own beliefs, and that they all lead to the same place—led to nowhere. Had I
continued on Oprah’s proverbial path up the mountain, God would never have been
waiting at the top for me. Jesus said, “I
am the Way the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through
me.” “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under
heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” John 14:6 & Acts 4:12.
In today’s society, the lack
of absolutes defines our culture. “Whatever you believe is right for you” is
the mantra. Why is this so? Is it because we are now so afraid of offending
anyone? For taking any stand that is unpopular? In my opinion, having NO absolutes
is much more dangerous and frightening. No absolutes mean no rules, no
discipline, and everyone pursuing what is right in his own eyes. It is the
recipe for disaster and the rampant immorality that we now see throughout our
World. It’s like a father who is
unwilling to discipline and set rules for the well-being of his child. The
child grows up rebellious and headstrong towards the path of his own
destruction; we are doing the same as long as we believe there are no
absolutes!
Shannon R. Haas - srh4christ.blogspot.com
06/11/11
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)