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  • Anakypto Afterthoughts

    The World We’re Leaving Behind

    We’re living in an evil and Christ-rejecting world.  I don’t know any true believers who are happy with the current state.  Political corruption, child-killing, sex trafficking … choose ANY area of human activity and you’ll find deeply-entrenched sin.  The world lies in the evil one and rejects the written Word of God.  Jesus said the gospel of the kingdom had to be preached to all the world, as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end would come.  So we have it on the authority of Jesus Christ Himself that when we leave, the world will have gotten the message.  Those who reject that message will be left on earth when the trumpet sounds.

    The preceding is accepted pretty much without question by those who believe scripture and are paying attention to what is going on in the world.  So my question is, on what basis are we to believe that after the rapture, when the evil in this Christ-rejecting cesspool is unrestrained, we should expect to see a “great revival” in which “… a great multitude, which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues” will be won to Christ and received into heaven?   Is this really what the Bible teaches?

    We believe in miracles, but this miracle is not in the Bible.  Rather, some Bible teachers have invented a fantasy that the 144,000 Jews who are sealed in Rev. 7:1-8 become a global evangelistic task force and there is a huge revival after the rapture.  This false conjecture is usually based on the fact that the account of their sealing is immediately followed by Rev. 7:9 where this great, innumerable crowd is seen in heaven. What follows is the incorrect assumption that there is a chronology and cause/effect relationship between these two events.  And it is buttressed by the thoroughly unbiblical belief that man is basically good, and somehow worthy to be saved.

    To suggest that the crowd seen in heaven is actually the recently raptured church violates the “popular narrative” because the phrase “great tribulation” in Rev. 7:14 is seen as post-rapture.  That is, the church would be raptured, and THEN the Great Tribulation transpires, and these people come out of that post-rapture period of Great Tribulation.  However, the phrase “great tribulation” is a highly accurate description of what we commonly call the “church age” (see https://stevekerp.wordpress.com/2017/08/24/the-pre-tribulation-misnomer/) and in addition, there is NO MENTION in the scriptures of these Jews evangelizing anybody.  (There is also no mention of “church age” in the Bible.)

    Let’s think this through:  You go to your neighbor, to whom you’ve preached and for whom you’ve prayed for years.  It’s always the same response:  “Look, Steve, I appreciate your passion.  But I’m a good person.  I follow the law, I pay my taxes and my debts.  I’m just not interested in Jesus.  God loves me anyway and my good deeds will outweigh my bad deeds.  OK?”  The rapture will leave him behind and he’ll find himself in the Dragon’s 42-month Global Reign of Terror (Rev. 13:5).  The banking system collapses and his money is worthless (the supply chains have also collapsed, so there’s nothing to buy), the Chinese start shooting, and there’s beachfront property available in Nevada and West Virginia.  Then some Jewish evangelists show up … and THEN your neighbor repents?

    This is not going to happen.  Even if a couple of Jewish evangelists arrived, your neighbor would do what he’s always done:  harden his heart just like Pharaoh did.  He would think, “I’ve been a good person all my life, and this is the thanks I get!  Well, I guess this is where God and I will have to part company, unless He repents and starts taking better care of me.”  Your unbelieving neighbor would “accept Christ” if Jesus apologized.  Otherwise, no deal.

    The neighbors you left behind are not the same people after the rapture. According to scripture, something else happens:

    And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. For this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

    2 Thess. 2:8-12 NKJV (emphasis added)

    We know these are not people who were ignorant of God and His gospel before the rapture, because we know from Jesus’ own words that the gospel of the kingdom would be preached in all the world as a testimony to all the nations, and THEN the end will come.  So everyone gets as much gospel as they are willing to receive.  The vast majority of those people who find themselves in a post-rapture world are people who have rejected the gospel.  God has been very good to them, as He has to us.  The goodness of God leads them to repentance, but they aren’t interested (Romans 2:4).  God’s law leads them to Christ so they can be justified (Gal. 3:24) but they reject God’s law. So God sends a delusion, and they believe “the lie.”

    Rev. 9:20-21 paints a frightening picture:

    But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

    Rev. 9:20-21 NKJV (emphasis added)

    These are folks who get a five-month taste of hell.  In His mercy, God allows these people to live.  They may think death is preferable to the miseries of the 5th Trumpet, but as we know, hell is a whole lot worse.  God is loving, patient and gracious to these people right up to the rapture.  No repentance.  Then He gives them a taste of His wrath and that does not lead to repentance either.  You just can’t help some people.

    So at this point, I must part ways with the “popular” (and unbiblical) narrative that lots of people get saved after the rapture.  There is a small believing remnant, referred to as “the rest of her offspring” in Rev. 12:17 who go INTO the Great Tribulation but they were saved before the Tribulation started.  God gives authority to Satan to prevail over them, but their names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev. 13:7-8). 

    This group of believers includes the Revelation 2:22 crowd who refused to repent of their spiritual adulteries.  These are our Christian friends who choose to not believe Jesus when He promises to deliver (Rev. 3:10).  These are the “carnal Christians” (1 Cor. 3:3-4).  These are the ones who have enough faith to be saved but refused to grow.  These are the ones who do their own thing instead of abiding in the vine (John 5:15).  They are alive but do not “remain” (1 Thess. 4:15).  They “keep their husks on” to use the wheat metaphor.  They cling to their flesh and need to have that husk removed.  That’s what tribulation does.

    The only gospel preached after the rapture seems to be Rev. 14:6-7 and that is identified as the “everlasting gospel.”  Its content is simple:  “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”  This is NOT a salvation message, and it appears that it is not obeyed anyway until close to the end of the wrath of God, described in Rev. 11:13 where it says, “… there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.”

    God is always gracious, but I think the root of this question is a misunderstanding of the nature of man. The heart of man is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.  We wear a veneer of civility and reasonableness, like the candy shell on an M&M — but that’s not chocolate inside.  When the veneer is removed, what’s left is worse than awful.  Words really can’t describe what sin has done to all of us. I strongly suspect that the post-rapture world will be populated by people with their veneers largely removed. It will not be pleasant.

    Suffice to say, Revelation says over and over again that when God gave rebellious men what they asked for – a world without Christian influence, centered on creature comforts and mammon – that men blasphemed God and refused to give Him glory.  Over and over again.  There is no indication at all in Revelation that people repented. 

    There is no “plan of salvation” for tares:  they are gathered in bundles and burned, not improved, transformed or recycled.  Rebellious men may not want Christ, but they want what He has.  That option does not exist.  The grace of God and the blessings of God are all in Christ.  What we’re seeing with this post-rapture “plan of salvation” is the hope that sinful men can avoid the results of their rejection of Christ.  “Poor guys, they are suffering SO MUCH.  And hell will be even worse!  God wouldn’t be fair if He didn’t save them, too.”  So we try to impress on the Word OUR ideas of fairness and justice.  We try to set a standard that God must reach in order to be God. 

    I don’t think so.

  • Anakypto Afterthoughts

    Pumping Iron

    You can’t improve your physical condition by watching other people work out. Reading, or even writing books on exercise, fitness and nutrition are of value only with application. You don’t lose weight by studying a diet and exercise program. Happily, you also can’t gain weight by looking at pictures of cookies and cakes. But there is a corollary to this thought that has spiritual application: when you go to the gym and exercise, the equipment you use gets no benefit. Barbells are no better off for you having lifted them; no worse off for being left on the rack.

    “What brought this up?” you may wonder. Here’s the backstory:

    I received an item in my email a few days ago, expounding the eschatological conclusions of a person who claims to be a Bible scholar. Within his narrative, he asserted that “the Bible clearly states …” followed by one of his eschatological conclusions. I understand that lots of people (most without examining the scriptures, one might think) believe as he does. What he offered as clear and unquestionable Bible truth is broadly embraced. However, the Bible does not “clearly state” any such thing. It’s a conclusion; an interpretation, an inference.

    My question was with the “clearly states” part, so I replied to the email, politely suggesting that what might be “plain” to him is not plain to me. I wrote that a little more light on what might be “clear” to him would be appreciated. (The substance of his position has been discussed elsewhere.) The response I got was insulting and acrimonious. Hardly what one might expect from a purported “man of God.”

    You don’t have to spend much time among “prophecy buffs” to realize that many of them become unpleasantly contentious when their strongly-held conclusions are challenged. How should we respond?

    That’s easy – we all know HOW we should respond. The real issue is, how DO we respond?

    Love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

    Luke 6:35-36 NKJV

    If this is how we are directed to treat our enemies, then how much more gracious should we be to our brothers? Again, we know the answer. How gracious are we? And I think more importantly: WHY?

    Why should we be gracious and kind and generous and tolerant to people who are angry and bitter and unrepentant and probably heading for an eternity you-know-where? Why? Because it’s good for US. Put another plate on the barbell, and do some heavy lifting. Be kind to those who hate you and spitefully use you. Become like the Father.

    The folks you try to love when they are unlovable may or may not be any better off. Jesus says that WE will be better off. If you’re working out, one might presume that your coach or trainer is in better shape than you are. If you want to become like him, you need to work at it. Same thing spiritually; you won’t ever exceed the Teacher, but you can become like him (Luke 6:40).

    So in this case, I hope for the best and respond with loving grace as best I can. As Jesus said, it’s really easy to be nice to people who are pleasant in response. In the Grand Scheme, does it really matter when you’re kind, generous and gracious to people who will accept your largess and then try to injure you?

    For them, maybe not. But it matters for US.

  • Anakypto Afterthoughts

    ‘Seven Year Tribulation’ – Eschatology’s Flawed Lens

    “Seven-Year Tribulation Period” is one of those “facts” that everybody knows.  Almost invariably, any discussion of the end times begins with or includes the idea that at the end of this age, before Jesus returns, there will be seven years of tribulation.  Challenge that and you’ve attacked a sacred cow.  I may not be the only Christian who has been kicked off an online forum or excluded from a discussion for proposing that “seven year tribulation period” is inconsistent with scripture, and cannot be made to fit into the Biblical narrative.

    Sadly, this error has been pounded deeply into eschatology.  I have seen a lot of pastors and teachers who go from a solid Biblical presentation of prophecy into the most bizarre conjectures, because they are trying to make their observations fit into a “seven year tribulation” scheme.  More sadly, they are so wedded to their models which are built on this flawed foundation that they cannot abandon them.  If you’ve been teaching “seven year tribulation period” for twenty years, have books and DVDs out, as well as a YouTube channel and all the rest, it’s hard to say “I was mistaken.”

    I did a daily podcast for about seven years, and I’m sure the early programs had references to a seven-year tribulation period.  That was before I was challenged to question it.  I invite you to do the same.  Please consider my comments, but do your own research and come to your own conclusions.

    The oldest book on eschatology in my personal library is Things To Come by J. Dwight Pentecost, copyright 1958.  All of its analysis is based on a seven-year tribulation period between the end of the “church age” and the beginning of the Millennial Reign.  The possibility of just 3 1/2 years (or less) of “tribulation” is dismissed, based on the assertion that Matthew 24 is a strict end-of-the-age chronology; that is, a lot of bad stuff happens (Matthew 24:3-14) and then the ‘abomination of desolation’ event occurs (v. 15) and then the obedient Jews flee and “great tribulation” begins (v. 16-22) and then “immediately after the tribulation of those days” Jesus visibly returns.  Pentecost wrote:

    While it is recognized that Daniel gave notice that the seventieth week was to be broken into two parts (Dan. 9:27) and while the Lord, speaking of this same period, spoke of the latter half of it as “great tribulation” (Matt. 24:21), yet nowhere in the Scriptures is this period divided into two unrelated parts, each with a different characterization. [Things To Come, page 184]

    Pentecost makes a number of unsupported assumptions, which any diligent student of scripture should identify and challenge:

    • that the Lord was speaking of the latter HALF of Daniel’s 70th week
    • that the entire remainder of the final ‘week’ was “great tribulation”
    • that the appearance of the abomination of desolation is a mid-week event.

    If these assumptions are not correct – and I believe they are not – then everything resting on them is suspect.

    I think we’ve all been a little sloppy.  Daniel chapter 9 is a word from God that pertains to “thy people and thy holy city.”  It’s Jewish, written to the people of Daniel.  The items listed in verse 24 refer to reconciliation, the restoration of a relationship, and God’s dealing with the issues that caused the rift.  That’s the context.  We know it’s yet future because much of it has not happened yet.  Messiah came, He was vicariously cut off, the city and sanctuary were destroyed, and the Jews have experienced desolation ever since that destruction.  We are safe in assuming that we are now on the threshold of Daniel 9:27.

    But Daniel 9 says nothing about “worldwide tribulation” or “wrath” or a scroll, seals, trumpets or bowls.  The book of Revelation discusses those things, and the book of Revelation was addressed to the church.  Daniel’s prophecy is short (4 verses) and arcane.  Revelation is 22 chapters that are rich in mysterious details.  But it appears that what’s been done is to take Daniel as a framework, flesh it out with imaginative details, and then try to squeeze Matthew 24, Luke 21 and Revelation into the model that’s been created.  For example:  Daniel says “in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering” and Matthew wrote “when you see the ‘abomination of desolation’ … flee to the mountains …” and with an unsupported assumption these two things become one, and we get the conclusion that this abominable event triggers “great tribulation” for the last half of Daniel’s final week.

    I’m trying to illustrate my point: that much of our current narrative concerning the end times is based on unsupported conjectures.  The conjectures themselves might be close to the truth, though I don’t think that’s the case.  But there are OTHER narratives that accommodate the writings of the prophets much more consistently.  That’s where I’m going, but it will be difficult for any reader to follow if the incorrect idea of a “seven year tribulation period” is not examined first.

    I have unpacked my disagreements with the popular prophetic narrative in many posts on this blog.  My conclusions will fit into the following framework:

    1.  The church age will end with the rapture.
    2.  A brief (about ten weeks) period of great tribulation will immediately follow.  Every person on earth whose name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be killed.
    3.  After this tribulation, Satan will be given authority over Planet Earth and everyone living on it for 42 months.  God’s wrath will be poured out, and nobody will repent.
    4.  Satan’s kingdom is crushed at a final battle.  This is popularly called the “battle of Armageddon” however it is not fought at Megiddo, but rather at the Mount of Assembly above Jerusalem.  This ends about 1,335 days after the final seven year period begins.
    5.  The last half of Daniel’s 70th week will be a period of peace, rebuilding, healing and reconciliation.  It will be during this time that the Millennial Temple Complex described in Ezekiel 40-41 will be built.
    6.  At the end of the final seven years, the fall feasts will be fulfilled, reconciliation between God and the Jews will be complete, the Temple will be consecrated, and the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ will begin.

    It should be obvious that this model simply cannot be harmonized with the popular narrative.  However, each point can be supported by explicit scripture, without tortured reasoning, unsupported conjectures, allegory or any such thing.  And, if time permits (and I will admit now that I really don’t think there’s much time left), I will provide the texts upon which I relied.  Those will come later; now I need to make one critical point.

    CRITICAL POINT:  There is a reason for all this confusion.  God wants to bless us, and Satan wants to steal the blessing.  Surprised?  If we love His appearing, there is a crown of righteousness to be received (2 Tim. 4:8).  If we believe and trust Jesus, then He said He would deliver us from the time of trial that is coming on the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth (Rev. 3:10).

    BUT – If we expect to be here for the “seven year tribulation period” then we’re not looking for His appearing; we’re looking for “the AntiChrist.”  If we don’t believe what Jesus said about delivering us, then we don’t have faith to be delivered.  If we don’t believe that Jesus offers us an escape, then we won’t pray to be found worthy (Luke 21:36).  Satan wants as many Christians as possible to be left behind, so he can harass and destroy them if possible.

    There are a few other theological land mines in this false narrative, but that’s a big one.  Life after the rapture will not be endurable even for those “preppers” who have tubs of dried food, water filters and solar power generators.  What is coming has been compared to Germany under Hitler, but trust me:  it will be orders of magnitude worse.  You don’t want to be here.  So don’t let a false eschatological narrative cause you to miss your deliverance.  It is a LOT later than most people think.

  • Anakypto Afterthoughts

    The Pre-Tribulation Equivocation

    In August 2017 I wrote an article exploring the Biblical uses of the terms “tribulation” and “great tribulation” to hopefully bring some clarity to the question of the “pre-trib rapture” since it seems obvious that we can’t really answer the question until we’re clear on what is being asked.

    I have re-written and updated the article, which can be found here: https://stevekerp.wordpress.com/2017/08/24/the-pre-tribulation-misnomer/

    Comments and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

  • Anakypto Afterthoughts

    Anoint the Most Holy

    I don’t think anyone can seriously question that Daniel chapter 9 forms a framework for these end times. Here is a text I would like you to consider:

    Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.

    Daniel 9:24 NKJV

    There’s general agreement that these items must all be completed before the Seventy Weeks are concluded. We know from explicit scripture that Jesus was crucified after sixty-two weeks had elapsed, and it’s accepted that seven weeks preceded that sixty-two week period. I think we also agree that the six items in the verse above have not been accomplished. The last item on the list is not necessarily the last item chronologically, but I’d hope we can all agree that the anointing of the Most Holy must be accomplished before the final ‘week’ ends.

    Now, there are LOTS of rabbit-trails here, but I want to start by asking just one clarifying question: What does the Bible mean when it uses the phrase “Most Holy“?

    To answer the question, we simply go to Blue Letter Bible and search for “most holy.” The phrase appears 46 times in the KJV, 49 in the NKJV. With just one exception (“most holy faith” in Jude 1:20) it refers to either the inner sanctuary of the Temple, or specific objects used there. It is never used to refer to a person.

    The reason I bring this up is because when I ask people about this specific “agenda item” that must be accomplished before the final ‘week’ ends and the Millennium begins, the answer is almost without exception (and no exceptions come to mind) that JESUS is the “most holy” that will be anointed. You may have believed that yourself.

    Now I don’t question Jesus’ holiness. That’s not at issue. He has at least two anointings that we’re aware of: first, as noted in Luke 4:18 where Jesus states that the Spirit of the Lord had anointed him to preach, and second in Mark 14:8 where He was anointed for burial. But the question I’m asking is “what needs to be anointed in order to complete the reconciliation between God and His covenant people, and bring the final seven years to a close?”

    If you would now answer, “the sanctuary for the Millennial Temple” then you are correct. That is exactly what Daniel is referring to. The follow-up questions are: 1) how long will it take to build the Temple (believed by many – myself included – to be the Temple Complex that Ezekiel describes in Ezek. 40-41), and 2) is it reasonable to believe that this construction can be done during a period of great tribulation and wrath while the Antichrist is ruling the planet?

    Because, as you know, this is exactly what some “Bible scholars” and “prophecy experts” necessarily require if their Seven-Year-Tribulation-Period timelines can be believed. They usually posit 3 1/2 years of general misery, then The Disclosure, when Satan casts aside the masquerade and shows his true colors, and then 3 1/2 years of GREAT tribulation when things are really awful and lots of people die …. and then suddenly it’s Mayberry, the war is over, peace returns to the global village, and Jesus is anointed and begins to reign from Jerusalem.

    I don’t think so, and the Bible certainly does not say so either. Lindsey in The Late, Great Planet Earth suggested that Daniel 12:12 was 1,335 days after the mid-point of the “Seven year tribulation period” but that would put it well after the close of the final seven years. In other words, the math in his model requires that the six items in Daniel 9:24 be completed, the final ‘week’ ends, and then another 45 days must pass before the Day of Blessing. I would submit that this “Day of Blessing” is counted from the beginning of Daniel’s 70th week. Satan’s 42-month grant of authority follows, and the Day of Blessing follows the end of Satan’s reign. This allows the last half of the ‘week’ for cleansing the land and building the Millennial Temple including the Most Holy Place.

    If you search YouTube or similar platforms, you may find videos with models of the Temple built to the specifications in Ezekiel. It’s huge, majestic, elaborate, and not the sort of thing that could be built quickly, or during intense wartime or earthquakes. This is NOT the temple described in Revelation 21 for what should be obvious reasons. It must be built, and building takes time. I would submit about three years.

  • Anakypto Afterthoughts

    Would Jesus Wear a Mask?

    I expected the “what would Jesus do?” crowd to weigh in on the subject of masks (or vaccines).  I did a search and the results and comments by some of the self-identified Christians is fairly nauseating. One might expect the pastors to lead the charge, and by God’s grace some have stepped up.  But as we know, the media-controllers have turned down the volume on their platforms as much as possible.  Here on main street, it’s a mixed bag, with some spiritual leaders asserting that mask-wearing is the “loving” thing to do and others calling out tyrannical government for egregious over-reach. Just another issue to divide the church, one might think.

    But at least one courageous voice has stated the issue with clarity. Here’s a salient point:

    Wearing a mask communicates that I accept the premise that everyone should wear a mask, even if vaccinated, even if possessing natural antibodies, even if a child to whom the flu is more dangerous, even if an adult who believes living with risk is part of human life and that attempting to eliminate risk is more dangerous than accepting it. It communicates that the entire world should look like a hospital, a fearful and sad place where people are desperately sick, even if they don’t know it.

    It communicates that I believe harassing the living hell out of Americans is a justified response to a disease with a 99.5 percent survival rate or better for those younger than 65. It communicates that it is reasonable to worship health as an idol, and to control citizens with fear. Well, I simply don’t believe any of that, and I’m not going to be forced to communicate that I do. (emphasis added)

    Joy Pullman, The Federalist

    While I’m not at all persuaded that everyone gets the same “message” when they see others wearing masks, I think it’s safe to say that wearing a mask communicates the message that the mask-wearer agrees with the current “pandemic narrative.”  If you DON’T agree with the current narrative but you wear a mask, do you lack courage? If you are saying with your actions something you believe is untrue, are you lying?

    As Ms. Pullmann points out, there is an IDOLATRY issue here.  What others point out is that there is also a sorcery/pharmakaia issue here.  What would Jesus do?  I would hope that for every true Christian, it’s a no-brainer.  For the rest; for those who may prefer to avoid conflict and cower … well, cowards don’t do well in the end.   

    There is a verse in Revelation that ties it all together: cowardice, lying, idolatry and sorcery:

    But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

    Rev. 21:8 NKJV

    Wow! The Lord bundles them all up with the abominable, unbelievers, murderers and sexually immoral people, and throws them all into the Lake of Fire.

    Don’t misunderstand – I am NOT saying that if you wear a mask you will go to hell. It’s not a salvation issue. If you have a family to feed and your employer requires a mask at work, you may not have much of an option (though I would certainly hope you made it crystal clear to your boss how you feel about it). NOW is the time (or maybe it’s past time) for you to decide when it’s time to push back, and how to push back effectively – not for your sake but for Christ’s. After all, we know where this is going. The Great Reset is almost here. What are you, as a Christian, going to do about it?

    My apologies for not posting this sooner. Of course, if it’s as late in the game as we think, it may not matter.

    https://thefederalist.com/2021/09/08/the-top-reason-i-hate-masks-is-they-force-me-to-live-by-lies/

  • Anakypto Afterthoughts

    The Skunk at the Garden Party

    That would be … uh …. me. Here’s a verse that says nothing of skunks or garden parties; you will perhaps see a connection if you stay with me:

    Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.

    Matthew 10:21 NKJV

    I have a working premise, well borne out by history, that sin is ever-present and always flows to opportunities for its expression. From Hitler to the current administration, the political opportunities for treachery, betrayal, theft, murder and all the rest have been great, and few (if any) opportunities have been missed. But the sweet little non-Christian lady down the street may be every bit as evil as the rest. She lacks opportunity, but that is ALL she lacks. Political leaders may round up their political foes and imprison or kill them as long as they enjoy impunity for their activities. We would hope that the sweet little lady down the street would NEVER betray her neighbors to our malignant government.

    Or would she?

    With that bit of foundation, I explore the verse above and my first question is: “Has this been fulfilled?” Granted, this is not presented in a prophetic context, but rather in the context of what Jesus’ disciples should expect as a response to their evangelistic efforts.

    And yet, it did not happen, at least not then. Jesus sent the twelve out with this warning and as far as the gospel record shows, they all returned. None reported being delivered up to councils, scourged in the synagogues, or delivered up to death. In fact, while they weren’t sent to the Gentiles (Matt. 10:5) we see that their testimony was also for them (v. 18).

    In summarizing His comments, Jesus said He brought division – a sword – and that He required absolute fidelity from His disciples, even to the point of death. In the middle of this crystal clear admonition, He said, “… and a man’s foes will be those of his own household.” I bring this up because I believe we are on the very threshold of these words being fulfilled, with global inter-familial treachery being writ large across the pages of human history. This world is about to become a place where betrayal unto death becomes commonplace, and those left behind will see it. This is the fifth seal.

    This is an extremely unpopular message, easily written off as “fear porn” or “gloom and doom.” Most of the folks I know want to believe that the old normal will return, that the craziness will end (or at least won’t get any worse), and that reason and honesty can be voted back in. I see current developments and trajectories as leading inevitably in the other direction, with a lot of pain and misery in the near term. This is not craziness at all; it’s deliberate and premeditated global treachery. People don’t want to hear that. Even Christian people seem to prefer “smooth things and deceits” (Isaiah 30:10). Hence: skunk at the garden party.

    Satan understands human nature. Let’s face it: he’s really smart and he has 6,000 years of experience. In challenging God over the character of Job, Satan said, “Skin for skin. Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.” (Job 2:4) Will your unbelieving friends or family members betray the left-behind believers as the Beast government tightens the screws? Will they betray YOU if you are left behind? Sadly, the answer seems to be “yes, they will.“

    I’ve gone on the record as being hopeful for a rapture event this month or next. The bad guys – the NWO “movers and shakers” and some really powerful people among them – have made no secret of their plan to collapse the U.S. dollar and then, as part of their “great reset” deploy a global digital currency. They have also given us a timetable: THIS YEAR. What might this look like? What follows is a hypothetical model.

    In this hypothetical model, the rapture occurs on some October 12th in the future. Three days later, Janet Yellen announces that Federal Reserve notes are being de-valued and she gives a target date in the very near term when Federal Reserve Notes (hereinafter “FRNs”) will be officially worthless. As you may know, these so-called “notes” have had no valuable backing for many years, with their “value” supported only by the “full faith and credit of the United States” and the legal requirement that they be used in all petroleum transactions (hence the term “petrodollar”) and as one of several reserve currencies. When Yellen officially pulls the plug, “full faith and credit” evaporates. This, needless to say, will be extremely demoralizing.

    Maybe a week or ten days later, they announce that because FRNs are worthless, all debts denominated in FRNs are basically cancelled. You recently bought a car and have a $20,000 loan? The loan is zeroed out and you own the car free and clear. House? School loans? Credit card debt? Same deal – you are debt-free. This will make people happy enough to vote for more!

    Maybe a week after that they say that everyone who signs up for the new, replacement digital currency will instantly get 100 units of the new currency in their account. It will be backed by gold which means each unit will have much greater value, and the value will not change. Maybe 100 “marks” (or whatever they call them) does not sound like much, but if a loaf of bread costs a nickel, and gallon of gas costs a dime, and a brand new car costs 300 marks, people will be highly motivated to sign up. Wow! More free money!

    The entry point, of course, is your tattoo – and that may be all that it is. You need not have an embedded chip at all; a permanent tattoo will work fine and can be easily applied. Everybody who wants one can get one – fast, easy and painless. There will be a LOT of pressure to get onboard. And I would submit that the hardware for deployment is already in place, or will be when needed.

    If the Beast System is to be fully implemented and, more importantly, global authority “over every tribe, tongue and nation” (Rev. 13:7) is to be granted to Satan for 42 months, there will be a short time span to remove from the earth every person whose name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev. 13:8). Revelation 2:10 suggests ten days and if each “day” is actually a week, it runs from the proposed rapture date to December 20th (inclusive).

    One of the conditions of this system will necessarily be that you can’t share the benefits with those outside the system. If your “hesitant” neighbor gives you a few silver rounds and asks you to get him a few things at the store, you risk your account if you do so. And actually more than that, because your account information is tattooed to your hand. So to close your account, they cut off your hand. The Islamic penalty for theft – discouraging even if you’re not a Muslim.

    In addition to this motivation, there may also be a bounty placed on every person who is not part of the system. If you have a family member, friend, acquaintance or neighbor who is not tattooed and you turn them in, you get paid! This will clean the non-conformists out of the country quickly. It could also be that if you know of someone who is not in “the system” and you DON’T turn them in, the discovery of this fact could lead to a penalty for you. Suffice to say, the Bad Guys will pull out all the stops in tracking down everyone who is not marked. Big carrots and bigger sticks.

    For those who lose a hand, they need to be brought back into the system. To re-open your account after suitable repentance, they place the tattoo on your forehead. Any subsequent infraction will be the last.

    I understand this is speculative and rather gruesome. And most people understandably don’t want to spend time thinking of this happening, especially here in the U.S. We think of our friends as trustworthy. We want to believe that effective resistance and survival in an uncertain future are both possible. The soothing prophecies of the political conservatives and Joel Osteen types are much more pleasant, just like the prophecies of Hananiah were in the days before Jerusalem was first destroyed. But we’re already seeing compelling evidence of the Four Horsemen, and Rev. 6:9-11 and 20:4 are still in the Bible.

    Some may push back, saying this is just a pessimistic narrative patched together with verses taken out of context. They may also say that it’s possible to open a bank account today without denying Christ, and it will be the same after the rapture with a new banking system. The only real difference is what’s used for money. And getting a tattoo is not the same as the “Mark of the Beast” because the Mark in Rev. 13:16 is an injected microchip.

    I’d answer first that it’s a plausible narrative that is consistent with both prophetic scriptures and the articulated policies and announced objectives of world leaders. Second, I’d submit that participation in the new system is an act of loyalty to the New World Order, and a betrayal of loyalty to Christ. This may not be clear to us, but it will be crystal clear to those who must choose. It will be a stark choice between God and Mammon.

    No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

    Matthew 6:24 NKJV

    As for the technology of the Mark of the Beast, we don’t really know what it is, nor do Tim LaHaye or Jerry Jenkins. What it does is probably more significant that what it physically is, or how it’s applied. And a tattoo today could be a mandatory chip tomorrow.

    Finally, this is a narrative I would prefer to not write or even think about. But the future is right in front of us, and it won’t go away if we try to ignore it. I am inclined to think that most folks who follow (or stumble upon) this blog don’t need to know because they will leave when the trumpet sounds. For those who don’t claim Rev. 3:10 by faith, or are part of the Rev. 2:22 crowd, maybe this will help.

    Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

    Rev. 3:10 NKJV

    Even so, come Lord Jesus!

  • Anakypto Afterthoughts

    The Resurrection of the Innocent

    Who re-populates the earth for the 1,000 year reign of Christ?

    That is certainly a great question.  Isaiah 13:12 says men will become rare, but not extinct. 

    “I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, a man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.

    Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of her place in the wrath of the Lord of hosts and in the day of His fierce anger.

    Isaiah 13:11-13 NKJV (emphasis added)

    So it may be that God will preserve some from each of the seventy nations He originally ordained (see Genesis 10) to show, once again, His great mercy, and also to preserve the gene pool.  When the curse is lifted during the Millennium, the physical distress of child-bearing will also be removed (Gen. 3:16).  It should be relatively painless to bear children, we can expect fertility to be enhanced, and multiple births may be more common.

    But I have another off-the-reservation idea:  the “resurrection of the innocent” – I’m not married to this, but it resolves a painful question. Consider the case of an aborted child or a newborn that does not survive.  The child was conceived and has personhood.  Notice that God says in Hebrews that Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek because he was in the loins of Abraham when Abraham paid the tithes (Heb. 7:9-10).  Similarly, John the Baptist expressed joy in utero. Pre-borns and newborns are not clumps of cells or “potential” persons; they’re people like us, just a lot younger.

    Now we know that God is just, so He could not send a baby to hell for eternity if the baby is murdered by abortion.  And yet the baby is a sinner by nature, having received a sin nature from Adam.  If babies go to heaven, then Margaret Sanger is a heroine of the church, having saved more people from hell than any evangelist could even imagine.  On the other hand, if babies go to hell, then God is unjust.  They may have sin natures, but they never sinned. But there is no third eternal abode – it’s heaven or hell.

    So my gently-held conjecture is that there is a “resurrection of the innocent” wherein these murdered children are raised in physical bodies, live in the Millennium, and can choose righteousness or (as we sadly see) can choose rebellion. (Rev. 20:3-10).

    That will also put to rest the idea that “if I’d been in Eden instead of Adam, I would not have sinned…” because we’ll have millions of folks raised in a perfect environment, free to choose, who will enjoy all the benefits of Jesus’ reign, and some will STILL REBEL.

    We need to take sin seriously. It’s REALLY nasty stuff.

  • Anakypto Afterthoughts

    The Last Martyrs

    Maybe that title is a little misleading, because we know the last martyrs will be the “two witnesses,” who will be killed near the end of Satan’s 42-month global reign of terror. This is not about them.

    Rather, I’m writing about the last martyrs before the beginning of the Reign of Terror.

    I will spare you the math. It is posted on John Tng’s Five Doves web site. The item is entitled “Collateral Conjecture – Pentecost and the Day of Blessing“.

    The conclusion is that there will be martyrs after the rapture, and the last of these martyrs may be executed on or before Monday, December 19, 2022. Maybe.

    The basic idea is that the “rest of her offspring” are the targets of The Dragon’s intense hatred, and he conducts a global pogrom to wipe them out. At the time the 42-month grant of authority is given to The Dragon over “every tribe, tongue and nation” (Rev. 13:7), there will be none left whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

    The 42-month grant of global authority ends, I would suggest, at Day #1,335 (see Daniel 12:12) which means it begins on Day #75 (1335 – 1260). Since the rapture may happen days or even weeks before the beginning of Daniel’s 70th week, there will be AT LEAST ten calendar weeks. This suggests the “tribulation ten days” of Rev. 210. Lots of room for speculation, but for those of you left behind, now you may know about how much time is left.

  • Anakypto Afterthoughts

    Preserved Blameless

    Please read the following verse very carefully. Go slowly and really think about what you are reading. Does anything give you pause or arrest your attention?

    Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

    1 Thess. 5:23 NKJV

    I was reading a recent blog post by William Males, and this jumped out at me. The post is here: What type of Christian are you? and I hope you will read it. He closes with the verse above, and the thing that arrested my attention was one word: “body.”

    Paul’s statement is not presented as a generally applicable ethical admonition for Christian living, but is a benediction in the context of the Day of the Lord. We can understand what it would mean to preserve your soul and spirit, to keep them blameless. This is where we fight our battle with sin every day. But sin is spiritual; it’s rebellion. Bodies can be used to sin, but the bodies themselves are not morally culpable. That being said, how can a body be preserved blameless?

    There may be a clue in Psalm 19, because the physical universe is a testimony to the power, grandeur, intelligence and beauty of the One who created it all. As part of God’s creation, our bodies testify to His attributes. We’re made in His image. But if our genes are modified, the body then testifies to its “new” designer. The testimony would not be preserved. So while the “blameless” part implies volition and culpability and clearly applies more to soul and spirit, the “preserved” part applies to our bodies.

    Genetic tinkering, genetic modification, chimeras and all the rest are an affront to God. Jesus does not want a GMO for His bride. If God hears and answers Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians and all the holy brethren (v.27) to be PRESERVED blameless, then I would suggest that we must be removed before the global “strong encouragement” to get vax’d becomes mandatory and unavoidable. Again: this is not health care; it’s a planned genocide. THIS may be the attack of the “great fiery red dragon” against the body of Christ. Satan wants to mutilate the body of Christ; all the rest is collateral damage.

    You may also note that this “preservation” is something that God does. “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it. We are HIS workmanship. For those who think that, according to shemitah cycles, pet theories, or the declarations of a favorite prophecy expert we still have a year or more before Daniel’s 70th week begins, I would suggest they wake up and smell the judgment. The bad guys are doubling down as I write.

    The Four Horsemen are arriving. The “new normal” we anticipated is here. The question has been asked, “how long would Jesus have to delay His return before there’s nothing left to return for?” Do you really think there’s another year or more on the clock?

    Because I sure don’t.