America – Meltdown to Global Multipolarism

By Wilfred Hahn

Researched by Pastor Gary Boyd

May 5th 2022

Has the financial bust of the Apocalypse started after all? One could be tempted to think so. Since financial markets began to fracture more than 15 months ago, waves of selling, unwinding and deleveraging have continued unabated around the world. Just before this writing, the entire global stock market had fallen 55% (as represented by the MSCI Barra, All Country World Index in US dollars. See chart on back page.) Imagine that? By more than half, or almost $36 trillion! Of course, there has been rampant devastation everywhere, not just in the stock markets. US housing values are sinking the fastest since the Great Depression and everything from bond markets to art and used trucks are deflating in value.



Any extra-terrestrial visiting this planet would greatly wonder about a civilization that is so fickle about the value of its wealth. Of course, we know better. This world—which Christians surely live within, but its values do not endorse—is vulnerable to mankind’s idolatries and vain confidence. In fact, it is hubris and confidence taken to the extreme—mankind’s confidence in its surveys of confidence—that has brought the planet to this brink. But is it the beginning of the end?



Well yes … and no. Yes, great global events such as are occurring now must be seen as part of mankind’s progression to an end … actually, one of several ends that still lie ahead as the Bible tells us. But it is not yet the start of the Great Apocalypse, though surely very close. We lay out the reasons for this perspective in the recent article series, What Chance a Global Financial Apocalypse Now.



Then what does the present global financial storm signify? We think at least two … perhaps three developments. Firstly, it is the natural outcome of bad, bad economic policies and financial management. Here, leaders and voters can be blamed. Any common-sense observer will confirm this view. The world is simply reaping what it sowed. A second one is that a massive world crisis is required at this late, great stage of global economic and financial integration. For this, accountability can be given to powers in high places (Ephesians 6:12) but also flesh and blood complicitor elites. But why? This current crisis will serve the familiar role of catalyst, drawing most nations together and further setting up the conditions for the last-day 10 kings (more about which in a moment).



A third corollary development that must fall out of this prophetic fulfillment of 10 kings, is that the world must first enter an age of multipolarism. What is multipolarism? It is a world power arrangement that is balanced between many countries and not dominated by one or more powerful nations. Certainly, there can be no world power structure comprised of 10 kings as the Bible prophesies (Daniel 2:41-42, Daniel 7, Revelation 12, 13, 17) if there is one superpower that can ignore or undermine such a world order. We have recently written a 2-part article series on this exact question, entitled Endtime Shoe: Fitting the World for 10 Toes. We touch on a few of its points in this article.



Financial Meltdown: How Much Further



We have long expressed our concerns that the day of a financial meltdown was becoming ever more probable. (In fact, we laid out the possibilities for such a scenario in the 2002 book, The Endtime Money Snare.) But, we are not prophets. It has not been given to mankind to know the near future, thankfully. Yes, the Bible clearly lays out the future in advance, but it provides no specific calendar dates for this dispensation. It would be a much more chaotic world than it already is, were humankind to be given the capacity to know the near-term future(in other words, perfect future visibility). It couldn’t work, given mankind’s fatal penchant for money (“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” -1 Titus 6:10) security and self-reliance. Imagine. If we did know the exact timing of future events, everyone would act on this information at the same time, thus changing the future. It would be a maniacal world.



Related to this is the reason why God doesn’t much oblige so-called “spirit-led” investors. The Holy Spirit must have much more important functions than to provide “buy/sell” advice to materialistic Christians. Investors continue to get scammed by so-called Christian advisors who see themselves as divinely inspired to meet people’s appetite for gains. Beware. There are already plenty of prosperity gospel teachers who fill this service niche. Crucially, this deceptive, corrupt teaching lies at the very foundation of the troubles that America and other nations are presently experiencing.



Prosperity gospel is deeply imbedded in the psyche of Western Christians. While many will guffaw at the shamefully transparent teachings and techniques of the likes of Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar and Peter Popoff—he of the “divine transfer”—and many others, this false gospel has much more sophisticated forms. Why, of course, Christianity and the Bible was invented by God for no other reason than the sanctification of human esteem and as a self-help regime to personal betterment in the here and now. In this view, eternity gets short shrift—either not believed nor promising sufficient instant gratification to the earth-bound consumer. In fact, I am personally ashamed to sometimes fall for the more subtler forms of prosperity gospel myself, as likely will most others. We whine sometimes to God as did Jeremiah, “Will you be to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails?” (Jeremiah 15:18).



Jeremiah figured that since he was walking with God and answering His calling, that he deserved a few easy breaks. He bargained with God, saying “I never sat in the company of revelers, never made merry with them; I sat alone because your hand was on me, and you had filled me with indignation. Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable?” (Jeremiah 15-17-18). How did God respond? He didn’t even acknowledge the complaint. He simply said this: “If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me” (verse 19). No doubt, all 12 of the New Testament apostles met this same issue. They were doing the Lord’s will, yet 11 of them died an unnatural death. Was this just? Said Paul, “Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love […]” (2 Corinthians 6:4-6). Yes, there is great eternal value to be found in the privilege of serving Him; the undeserved promise of eternal life and the indescribable prospect of being in His presence forever more.



But, most so-called Christians today would not identify with such a perspective. That is exactly why the present juncture in America is so terrifying at present. For, what will be the result of the deep economic troubles that have now come upon the America? Will there be repentance or rebelliousness and anarchy? Both outcomes are possible. But I greatly fear for the latter outcome. As Revelation tells us about the Great Tribulation, we learn that people refused to repent, despite the wrath and hardship on no less than 4 occasions. (Revelation 9:20-21, 16:9, 11, 21) They would not let go of their idolatries.



That could happen now. It would be understandable, after all. Hasn’t our great society ingrained in us the right to prosperity … the good life … and effortless, endless progress to greater wealth? Haven’t countless pastors told us that prosperity is the emblem and purpose of our Christian faith? It would be no surprise, therefore, if many “fair-weather” Christians turned on God, bewailing the same perspectives as will the earth dwellers during the Apocalypse. What God would allow such economic hardships and prove to be such a “false brook” of prosperity? Fair-weather Christians and most others would reject such a God, and instead turn to the promises of government or some future demagogue. And, if in turn these don’t end the economic sufferings, would some resort to rioting and pillaging? We certainly hope not, although some are actually predicting such an outcome. One reputable trend watcher (Gerald Celente, CEO of Trend Research Institute) goes so far as to open the possibility that America will “plunge to the status of an undeveloped nation” and that “America’s going through a transition the likes of which no one is prepared for.” He predicts that by December 2012, consumer Christmas will only be a memory, since getting food on the table will be the priority, not gifts. Anything is possible. However, we are suspicious of the date he uses, (December 2012) which seems to be coming up in a lot of forecasts lately, particularly from those seers basing their views on the Mayan calendar.



But why is America being hit so hard financially and economically? Indeed, the current troubles facing the US are epic and much more severe than most other countries. Who are we to confirm the reasons why God would want to either test or discipline the US (this also being true from some of its sister nations like the UK and Canada)? Could it be that He finally has remembered the sins of this once “evangelistic” Philadelphian nation? Or has America shot itself in the foot?



As always we seek to take the pre-millennial perspective (in other words, we take a literal Biblical view). Then what might be underfoot? It indeed has much to do with a foot, we think … the foot with 10 toes seen by Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2:41-42). Is America now being downsized, making way for the 10-king multipolar world to arrive? Bible prophecy confirms such an outcome. As such, at some point, in some way, America must become a relatively smaller power. This may be a process that may yet require a long time. However, conditions are such that this shift on the world stage could happen rather suddenly.



Just how bad will things yet get? To this point, I have been rather silent on this issue. After many years of warning that America and other Western nations were on an unsustainable path leading to certain disaster, I do not now want to be a fearmonger. It has happened. Yet blindness is as entrenched as ever. People do not know the purposes of the Lord. While the current crisis is now obvious to everyone, few still have any idea as to the next developments … the traps, both economic and political, and likely the rapidly-nearing multipolar reign of 10 kings.



But, even were an economic downturn to become as severe as in the Great Depression of the 1930s (possible, but likely not that bad) violent upward surges can be expected to occur in financial markets. Two major recoveries were experienced in the 1930s, triggering stock markets surges that doubled and tripled market levels. Similar surges are likely today.



However, it will not be easy navigating this environment. These are treacherous, diabolical times. The world seems to be urgently wanting to meet its destiny … hurrying along the path. I expect enormous shifts over the next several years that the vast majority of savers and investors will not anticipate. Just consider the recent deceptions of the Mammon realm. No sooner was everybody convinced that the US dollar was going to collapse forever (after the euro had already risen 93% in US dollar terms from its low), the US dollar soared 29% over a few short months.



It is virtually impossible to forecast anything accurately. All the doomsters who had predicted that gold bullion prices would explode when the long-awaited financial crisis finally arrived also have been wrong. Most of them are licking their wounds … some of these Christian prophetic ministries. There are assuredly explainable reasons for these twists and turns, aspects of which are the subject of our studies. Though we might understand many of these developments, it is yet quite another matter to predict their timing. As we often mention, we are not prophets but simply “seeking to understand the times” as this slogan is Eternal Value Review’s motto (EVR).



Given the manic and desperate situation that is unfolding for America, you can be sure that everyone who is running into Treasury bonds will eventually be caught in a trap. Once the panic phase is over, it is likely that the US dollar will again fall markedly and then gold will likely again surge as will inflation. It is all very confusing and desperate. But such is the times … the approaching brief time of the emerging 10- king order before the Antichrist appears. It is only “one hour” that they will have the dubious honor of holding global power in the service of the Antichrist (Revelation 17:12).



Just how deeply could America fall? As we have already suggested, there are sufficient reasons to worry, especially with respect to a deeply imbedded condition of idolatry. However, even secular economic analysts see ominous long-term problems. The next few years are critical. Will America earn a reprieve? The jury is out. Maranatha



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Is Financial Armageddon Here?
By Wilfred Hahn
Researched by Pastor Gary Boyd
May 4th 2022

By now, everybody knows it. It’s front page news. Tough economic and financial times have hit Western economies … notably the United States. Securities markets are reeling and financial companies are falling like flies.

Is it financial Armageddon … the start of the big, deflationary bust that pitches the entire world into the final economic crisis? We have had this question put to us several times and not just from Christians. It is a hazardous question, and not just for reasons of economic accuracy but also theology. Therefore, we need to tread lightly. But, we admit our bias: No, this is not the final Financial Armageddon. Recent financial events ricocheting around the world are surely part of process that will culminate in the prophesied event. But for now, if anything, current financial down-turns represent little more than another station stop on the road to a thoroughly globalized world and a launch point for the next world-wide economic boom (should the Lord tarry, of course.) We’ll yet put this perspective into the context of a pre-tribulational view.

For now, and true to form, grim news and dour economic data are being spewed out in North America. No doubt you have read the reports. Perhaps over 1.5 million US households this year may default on their mortgages and perhaps lose their homes. As many as 10% of all US households are now upside down (meaning the house is now valued less than the outstanding mortgage) according to some analysts, with much worse to come.

The US economy at large, according to economists, is now in recession. US and other international financial institutions are likely to face losses mounting to as high as $2.7 trillion before the current credit “revulsion” is papered over. And, the US dollar is again plumbing new lows against the euro … surely to crash much farther so everyone thinks … even while the price of commodities such as gold, oil and foodstuffs surge … at least, until recently.

However, we’ll stop there. Recounting obvious headlines doesn’t do anyone a service. Frankly, it is much too late and it would actually only serve to mislead given the dynamics of “crowd psychology” playing out at present. Consider that the euro has already soared some 90% against the US dollar in recent years and that the housing bubble peaked almost 3 years ago. Now that the great majority have come to recognize the reality of what we have warned about for years, we need to look ahead to the next stage. (We are not prophets, just common-sense analysts.) If that is so, to what perspective should we then orient ourselves? What should we expect next?

To be sure, the world is currently facing a financial crisis that is most certainly the worst since the 1930s. This should not be a surprise. And, it is indeed a palpable possibility that a financial meltdown may yet get much worse in some parts of the world. But, it certainly is not the end of the world nor is it likely to spell doom for the majority of the world’s population. The direct impact of the credit system breakdowns of late are largely confined to the Western nations. That is not to say that there will not be reverberations around the world. Yet, once this period has passed, some countries will emerge much weakened, and others will be in a more powerful position. (Likely, the United States, will have lost some strength and authority.) However, the key thing to see is that world will have moved to a more centralized, globally-coordinated state. What we are witnessing today is simply part of the pattern of that long continuing process.

While there surely are real consequences for many households in North America, we must take a global view and not forget that there is a world financial system today that is much bigger than just America. To be sure, it is thoroughly compromised — a post-modern, relativistic, immoral system that is in the service of the Mammon spirit. It is specifically designed to deceive and entrap. Frankly it is surprising how few Christians are wise to this reality.

Bible readers who understands things of the end (eschatology) know that an economic and financial control structure takes form; a boom in (false) wealth takes place; and an elite group of wealthy complicators emerges even as a greater part of humanity become entrapped slaves. All these processes, though perhaps not yet complete, are clearly observable today. Much worse manifestations occur in the Tribulation itself.

Consider that the global trend of financialization is the bedrock — the very seedbed — of the endtime power structure that underpins the last-day ecumenicism and rulership of the final Antichrist. It is the trends of globalization, globalism, financialization, corporatization … etc. — all of which are related — that provides the sinew and connectedness of a last-day world that has staked its hopes and faith upon the common commercialism of mankind. We have commented on this role numerous times (See the book, Endtime Money Snare: How to live free.)

All of which serves to make this point: None of these outcomes can happen if the world’s financial systems collapse before its time. It is a perspective that also applied to the Y2K hysteria which swept the world in the late 1990s (including, we might note, various pulpits and ministries).

To recall, the Y2K mania ended up being more of a psychological crisis than an unsolvable technical problem. Some intrepid observers early on defused concerns about Y2K with the simple deduction that computer technologies were essential to global interconnectedness and therefore were absolutely necessary to bring about a number of conditions that were clearly prophesied in Scripture. (See Dave Hunt’s book Y2K: A Reasoned Response to Mass Hysteria, 1999.)

As such, it was a reasonable conclusion that the world would not succumb to a Y2K-type holocaust before the prophesied Antichrist could complete his program. And, while we cannot know the exact time that any crisis will occur, we at least know that apocalyptic events play out inside the 7-year tribulation period (and therefore after the rapture — the harpazo).

To illustrate the role of fear, in the 1990s this writer was still managing a large global investment operation and needed to plan for the Y2K issue in various parts of the world. It was actually comforting to witness the high levels of concern at the time. Why? It ensured motivation and action to solve what was really a simple technological problem.

The same consideration applies to the world’s developing financial system and the current crisis. Consider then this perspective: If you believe that the current financial meltdown is the start of “THE”global financial and economic bust, then you may have missed the rapture. This perspective does not at all deny the imminency of the rapture, a doctrine we consider as inviolable. The fact that we are even considering this question should quicken our hopes to the promise of His coming very soon! The Antichrist needs an integrated, functioning, global financial system to bring about his agenda. Therefore, all that we are postulating here is that the final world-spanning financial crisis does not occur until the Tribulation period … probably near the mid-point. Of course, smaller financial crises will occur before that point, but these will all be survivable and play a necessary role in prodding further global commercial convergence.

The great financial fears (as in the Y2K saga) now hastens the actions of policymakers and central banks around the globe. They are fighting the current financial crisis tooth and nail, working every possible trick of financial alchemy in their toolkit. As this takes place, the seeds for the next boom are being laid … the next stage of globalization and world deception. Very likely, at least one more inflationary world boom will begin, though there is no telling how soon this might occur. Near the peak of one of these booms (if not the next one) may be the time where “as ye think not” (Matthew 24:44) that the Lord may come … when people are “eating, drinking … marrying.” (Luke 17:26) Of course, that is speculation as we do not know the “day nor the hour.” However, it is also true that the Lord’s first appearance will not be in the midst of a world-spanning crisis. It is more likely that the False Prophet and Antichrist will seize the advantage from such an occurrence.

If events proceed as per past progressions, we should expect the next boom to be world scale; enveloping the entirety of all nations; firmly entrenching mankind in the last-day money snare … the systemic Babylonian colossus of Bible prophecy. It could be argued that 60% and more of the world’s population are yet only marginal participants in the world’s emerging commercial structure. Much more globalization could lie ahead. But before anyone might get too elated about this prospect, let’s ground our perspective in a Dispensationalist, pre-tribulational view. We must make three points.

Above all, the Lord’s return is imminent. Whatever the theories or speculations, we could be with Him at any time and our sojourn upon earth completed. We would have no more chance to set things right … to shed our idolatries and worldliness. The Bema Seat lies ahead.

Secondly, certainty about the time of future events has not been given to man. We can know the season and such things as the destination point of the path upon which the world is traveling, but we are not given the hour or the day. That means that even though we may theorize that another global boom may be underway at some point and that the final “big financial meltdown” need wait until the Tribulation, these give no assurances of anything near-term.

With respect to the world’s headlong rush into the last-day super-religion — the merging of God and Mammon — we can be sure of its occurrence. The world is on a path to destruction … morally, economically and spiritually. We have the more sure word of prophesy on that point. On this road, there are serious, scary financial tremors (also wars, pestilences, earthquakes … etc.) through which many people (greedy, naïve or otherwise) will suffer or profit greatly.

This brings us to the third and final point. Deception and corruption remains the mode of the world’s developing systems. The successive economic booms of the world … the temptations of the rising endtime apparition of great wealth … the greater material comforts … the “cares of this world” … the ever ensnaring endtime money trap … they all play upon the affections of Christians. Who then can sustain such an assault on the affections and still stand ready at all times for His coming? “Pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:36)

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Roe vs Wade Overturned!
By Pastor Gary Boyd
2-3-2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – According to an initial leaked draft majority opinion allegedly written by Justice Samuel Alito and obtained by Politico, the U.S. Supreme Court has voted 5-4 to overturn its nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade decision, which imposed abortion on demand across the country.

As reported by Politico, the opinion is “a full-throated, unflinching repudiation of the 1973 decision which guaranteed federal constitutional protections of abortion rights [sic],” marking a gigantic victory for the pro-life movement. The leak of a drafted opinion is unprecedented in Supreme Court history and is sending shockwaves through the legal world tonight.

“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” writes Alito in the document that would, if officially issued by the court, be a monumental victory for the pro-life movement. “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” adds the majority opinion.

“It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives,” emphasized Alito.

Pro-lifers were hopeful that this decision would be made by the U.S. Supreme Court after the court heard arguments in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case last year, which concerns Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban.

While the current draft of the ruling does indeed overturn the landmark pro-abortion precedent that has resulted in over the murder of 60 million babies, the decision will not be considered official until the opinion is published by the court, likely within the next two months according to Politico.

The alleged leaked decision was met with mixed reactions, with adulation from the political right and dismay by the political left.

“The Supreme Court is preparing to overturn Roe—the most significant and glorious news of our lifetime. Join me in praying to God for the right outcome. Life begins at conception. Let’s protect it,” celebrated Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

(Comment by Pastor Boyd - This is one of the most significant decisions of my life time. Millions of infants will now be saved from murder in the womb and outside. Many Catholic nations should follow suit bringing a massive stop to the killing of the unborn and born. There is power in Jesus holy name as many have been praying for this. The Prophet Mark Taylor in 2-24-2016 made this pronouncement that has just now happened. He also said Trump would be elected in 2016 in the year 2011. God is watching over his children and the Lord is now in control. Maranatha.)

Rumors of War

by Wilfred Hahn

Researched by Pastor Gary Boyd

May 2nd 2022

A topic recently reviewed in this Signs of the Times column was the prophecy of “earthquakes in divers places” (Matthew 24:7, KJV). Our conclusions with respect to their likely timing did trigger quite a few responses from readers. As such, we endeavored to publish a more in-depth study on the Bible’s portrayal and usage of earthquakes. It is an interesting subject. For instance, did you know that the earthquakes mentioned in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24) are not the same as the 5 major earthquake events mentioned in the Revelation? Look for these articles in the Midnight Call issues of July and August, where they will appear first.



In the Olivet prophecies there are named several other phenomena. When the disciples asked Christ, “When shall these things be?” He said the following:



““And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” (Matthew 24: 6-8, KJV)



All three accounts of the Olivet Discourse or portions thereof (span style=”mso-font-kerning:14.0pt”>found in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21) confirm the occurrence of earthquakes, war, rumors of war, pestilences and nations rising against nations and kingdoms against kingdoms. Crucially, we observe that war-related events figure very prominently. But just when will these times of strife occur?



Before answering this question, we must first outline two important points: To begin, it is essential to note that Christ clearly partitions his prophecies into three separate time periods: 1. That which is before the “end” comes (“the end is not yet”); 2. the beginning of the end, which is referred to as the “beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:8, Mark 13:8, Luke 21:9); and 3. the time that comes thereafter (events described from Matthew 24:9 and Mark 13:9 onwards).



These periods correspond to the time leading up to the Tribulation Period, the first half of the Tribulation (42 months) and the next 42 months, often referred to as the Great Tribulation.



Next, we must therefore notice that “war” is mentioned in two different contexts: Firstly, these occur as the “hearing of wars and rumors of wars” before the end comes (namely, before the Tribulation period starts) and also as “nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” during the time of sorrows, this being at a later time during the first part of the Tribulation.



Just what is the difference between “hearing of wars, and rumors of wars” and the advent of “nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom”? Moreover, if wars always occurred down through history, just when do wars now become markers of the time before the Tribulation is to start? This all seems puzzling.



The main distinction that we can draw between the two periods is that in the first stage, wars and rumors thereof are mainly only being heard about. There obviously are wars and strife occurring, whether between individual countries or alliances, but these are mainly the subject of “hearing.” That suggests a period where international news has become the norm. At any one period of time, more people are hearing about wars than there are countries and people actually participating in them. Moreover, there is likely a higher frequency of the “rumors of war.”



Later, during the first half of the Tribulation, the situation changes markedly. Now, the general condition is that nations and kingdoms are rising against each other. These wars no longer need to be mostly “heard” about or reported because they are occurring everywhere, involving the entire world. This corresponds with the period of the second seal when the rider on the red horse takes peace away from the world. “And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword” (Revelation 6:4).



It appears reasonable to conclude that the general state of all the nations of the world at that time will be “war.”



Obviously, the world has not yet entered the Tribulation period. While our newspapers around the world today are full of “rumors of war,” a general state of war involving the majority of nations does not yet exist.



But, can we deduce that “rumors of war” today are increasing, thereby signifying that the time before the Tribulation is ever shorter? A recent study of this topic indeed concludes that the incidence of war has been steadily rising worldwide, at least over the last 130 years or so. Published by Mark Harrison and Nikolaus Wolf of the University of Warwickand Humboldt University, respectively, the conclusion of this study is contrary to that of many other such studies in recent decades.



While the authors state that “many indicators of interstate conflict have been flat or declining for decades or longer […] there has been a steady upward trend in the number of bilateral conflicts over 130 years.” The chart on the front page of this issue of EVR has been reproduced from this study and shows bilateral wars increasing by an average rate of 2% per annum during this period.



Why is their conclusion so different? The analysts count conflicts between pairs of nations, not only wars that may involve multiple nations. As an example, World War II will have accounted for many dozens of bilateral conflicts as nations declared wars against many others separately. The main reason, however, that wars have increased is because of the growth in the number of sovereign nations over the period of study (from 50 to more than 180). With the emergence of a globalized media industry, “rumors of war” have surely increased as no other time.



World affairs we observe today very much meet the condition of “hearing of wars and rumors of wars.” Not only are there today many more nations in the world that can have spats and taunts against each other, there is also a rising incidence of actual wars as well as a media explosion. Maranatha

How the Spirit Brings Joy -
By David Wilkerson (1931-2011) -
Researched by Pastor Gary Boyd
April 28th 2022

The Holy Spirit drives out all fear from us — fear of failing beyond redemption, of being cut off from God, of losing the presence of the Holy Spirit — by implanting his joy in us. We are to go forth rejoicing as David did, because God has assured us that we will prevail. So few Christians have this joy and exceeding gladness. Multitudes never know rest of soul or the peace of Christ’s presence. They walk around as if in mourning, picturing themselves under the thumb of God’s wrath rather than under his protective wings. They see him as a harsh taskmaster, always ready to bring a whip down on their backs. They live unhappily with little hope, more dead than alive. In God’s eyes, our problem is trust. Jesus settled our sin problem once and for all at Calvary. He doesn’t constantly harp on us, “This time you’ve crossed the line.” His attitude toward us is just the opposite. His Spirit is constantly wooing us, reminding us of the Father’s loving-kindness even in the midst of our failures. When we become focused on our sin, we lose all sight of what God wants most: “Without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6, NKJV). This verse says it all. Our God is a rewarder, and he’s so anxious to shower us with his loving-kindness that he blesses us way ahead of schedule. This is the concept our heavenly Father longs for us to have of him. He cherishes those who trust in him, as scripture proclaims, “Now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:16). The Lord says, “I want to assure my children that my Son’s cleansing blood has covered them, and I have prepared a place for them.” His Spirit in us whispers this promise to our hearts and fills us with joy. –

God’s Prophetic Outline for Prosperity – Part III
By Wilfred Hahn
Researched by Pastor Gary Boyd
April 26th 2022

Who likes to have something cancelled … perhaps an appointment or an upcoming entertainment event for which tickets have been purchased? Or, to be confronted by a sign notifying them: “Cancelled Until Further Notice.” Not many. Yet, “cancellation” is one of the most redeeming concepts of all. Not only does it apply to eternal matters, but also is essential for human affairs on earth. As the Lord’s prayer mentions, “[…] forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). More than ever, the world is in need of “cancellations.” Around the globe, debt is soaring to unprecedented levels; more people falling into economic oppression. While God put a plan in place that would redeem people from sin; so there is also a plan to redeem the earth from debt.

The History of Debt Write-Offs

Cancellation of debts became a common royal practice in the old Babylonian period. Hammurabi who was the Babylonian king early in the second millennium BC around 1800 BC … dating vary) founded the basic principle of ruler-mandated debt cancellation in the renown Code of Hammurabi. It is very likely that Abraham, the Biblical patriarch, lived during the very same time as Hammurabi. In fact, some scholars consider that the account of Genesis 14 actually references this same king, though under the different name of Amraphel, King of Shinar. To recall, it was this king along with several others who had captured Lot, the nephew of Abraham. As it was, Abraham himself originally came from Ur, a location which by most accounts is on the southern extremity of Shinar.

Debt cancellation was one of Hammurabi’s first acts when he came into power. He is recorded to have ordered debt cancellations on at least two occasions in his reign. As in our time today, overindebtedness was a major problem in Babylonian society. Citizens could easily become enslaved to the creditor class. Anyone falling upon hard times or not able to pay taxes would be forced to borrow. Interest rates were onerous … commonly as high as 33% over the duration of the loan period (this sometimes being as short as a few weeks).

Once indebted, people were almost certainly doomed to even deeper debt or slavery. With such usurious interest rates, it would not take long for wealth distribution and concentration of land ownership to become extreme, this potentially also threatening the power of the king. It made sense to periodically decree an amnesty from all personal debts (this not including commercial liabilities in the case of the Babylonian system). This wiping out of debts rejuvenated society and served to maintain a sustainable wealth and power balance.

Biblical Foundations for Debt Cancellation

Down through history, philosophers and religious thinkers came to similar conclusions on the issue of repressive debts and wealth distribution. For example, more than two and a half millennium after Hammurabi, Islamic scholars began to develop principles that sought to achieve relief for the poor and sustainable wealth balance. Alone their teaching of “al riba” served this end. This is the doctrine that money is not allowed to earn income through interest. According to Islam, gain is only to be achieved through labor and trading. If money is allowed to earn income, though producing nothing, eventually it would lead to an imbalance of wealth distribution.

Originally, Mohammed’s forbidding of debt interest was more likely rooted in the idea that a fixed rate of interest was an affront to Allah, as only he could determine and underwrite the certainty of future income, not mankind. Later, Islam further intellectualized its view on “al riba”

But much earlier than Islam (only some 500 years after the era of Abraham and Hammurabi) during the time of 40 year wilderness journey of the Hebrews, God gave Moses the commands of the Sabbath. As already reviewed in detail in Part II, there were two ordinances with respect to debt and credit cancellation.

After entering Canaan, the Hebrews were additionally commanded to observe the Sabbath Year and the Jubilee Year. Moses codified the rules of debt forgiveness and the restoration of wealth distribution much more than the general haphazard concepts of debt forgiveness of the Akkadians 500 years earlier. These proved to be a most wonderful ordinances for a number of reasons. Both practices of the Sabbath Year of the Jubilee were an effective means of ensuring that a permanent poverty class would not emerge; nor, that a society of a few ultra-rich could enslave everyone for perpetuity.

Creation and Money

God has created the world for his purposes and glory. He made it so that the world could not function righteously without the concept of “cancellation.” It is not a coincidence that we commonly refer to the cancellation of debts as a “forgiveness” of debt.

The Creation deliberately included such human notions as property rights and justice could not be possible without the concepts of indebtedness and ownership, therefore the facility of mankind to use money. But the notion of money had to be subject to God’s Glory. Therefore, the pitfalls of money needed are part of the created order. Any human society — indeed, any person — who places their hope, affections or worship upon money (Mammon), will suffer eventual eternal loss or destruction (not to mention its corrosive ramifications for society). It is unavoidable because God is a just and “jealous” God. In fact, Exodus 34:14 declares that Jealous is actually a name for God.

We only briefly raise these points to better illustrate the wisdom of the Sabbath and Jubilee year. One of the pitfalls of money (this being a reflection of the nature of human lusts and affections) is its tendency to become concentrated in the hands of a few. Anyone who has played the game of Monopoly will recognizes this tendency. Eventually one player wins all the money and the time comes to restart the game. Jesus himself so much as acknowledged this fallen state, saying, “You will always have the poor among you” (John 12:8).

This tendency of “ wealth begetting wealth” today is viewed by economists as a “flaw” of capitalism. They observe that over time, the competitive economic arena leads to winners who then become very large or wealthy, in turn having the ability to suppress new competitors. (At times, the U.S. government intervened to break up companies that were thought to have become too large …i.e. ATT and General Motors). The point we wish to emphasize is that the laws of money, compound interest and relative advantage (everything else being equal) contribute to the tendency that the wealthy get wealthier, and the poor, relatively poorer. However, these very trends over time lead to instability and eventual destruction.

Just such a “late stage” situation exists in America and many other nations today. An extreme state of imbalance between the rich and poor is a worldwide phenomenon. An ever smaller minority is becoming wealthier. Recent actions in the U.S. political sphere have signaled just how advanced and repressive this condition has become. Everywhere one looks in the world, a cry is heard for “debt cancellation.” The world groans for a Jubilee Year. As Apostle Paul says, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time” (Romans 8:22). Something else is needed to liberate the world, to free the economic captives.

Debt Forgiveness and the Prophetic Plan

The Lord’s Prayer, given to us to pray from Matthew 6:9-13 has the statement, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (verse 12, KJV). However, Luke provides us a slightly different version of this prayer. He writes: “And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.” (Luke 11:4). Here we note that Matthew refers to “debts” being forgiven while Luke mentions “sins” being forgiven. Two different Greek words are used: “debts” (opheilēma) and “sin” (hamartia), respectively. Are these two accounts therefore inconsistent … one of them perhaps in error?

No. Both of these similarly involve indebtedness. Sin and debt are very closely related concepts. Also to recognize is that the Lord’s prayer embraces the entire cosmology of God’s plan for the world. It is therefore also prophetic in character. The statement that “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven”(Matthew 6:10) will not happen until the Millennium at the earliest. Similarly, the full forgiveness of mankind’s sins and debts, including that of the Hebrews (Daniel 9:24) will not occur at the earliest until the beginning of the Millennium. As such, the forgiveness of both debts and sins are in the view of the Lord’s prayer.

Daniel was told that “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy (Daniel 9:24, KJV). All of these things await His return and the ushering in of the Millennium.

Jesus Christ quoted Isaiah’s prophecy about himself (Isaiah 61:1-13) when he said: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19). Christ deliberately did not read the rest of Isaiah’s prophecy which further reads”[…] and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair” (Isaiah 61:12-13).

Why? Because these were things that would be completed at his Second Coming, signifying the arrival of the “year of the Lord’s favor.” While our Lord proclaimed “the year of the Lord’s favor” during his first coming, it was not to occur until his second. The Lord did not rescue the poor at his first coming, rather the “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3 from the Beatitudes). The rescuing of all poor (Luke 6:20, Sermon on the Plain) will be fulfilled in the Millennium.

Prophetic Parallels to the Jubilee Year

Just what is meant by the Hebrew word for” jubilee”? It refers to the continuous blast of the silver trumpets that were blown as the Year of the Jubilee was ushered in by the priests. “[…] have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land” (Leviticus 25:9).

Ezekiel informs us that the “year of liberty” (year of freedom) will again be observed in the Millennium. He describes a procedure that will apply to a prince during that time: “But if he gives a gift out of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his until the year of liberty [the Year of Jubilee]; after that it shall be returned to the prince; only his sons may keep a gift from his inheritance [permanently]” (Ezekiel 46:17, AMP).

While it is indeed prophetic that the Jubilee year will again be reinstated, it is the prophetic parallels and symmetry of the 50th year of Jubilee to Salvation and the Millennium that we observe that are the most inspiring.

To begin, the number 50 is the year that follows 7 weeks of 7. Therefore, the Jubilee year was the 8th Sabbath in a 50 year period. The number eight in the Bible signifies a new beginning. The blasts of the Jubilee trumpets parallel or foreshadow the final trumpet of the Lord (both for the Church, this being the final calling in the “Sabbath Rest”) and the last judgments in the Tribulation period, these being followed by the Millennium reign of Christ.

The precious year of the Jubilee can also be seen as the prophetic parallel of the Millennial “Year of our Lord.” That year is the Jubilee Year of the Lord. All sins and debts will be forgiven. They will be cancelled.

We see that financial debt in the physical dimension is the parallel of spiritual indebtedness against our Creator. Both must be paid back. Both can be forgiven. There is only one difference: While mankind may be able to pay back debts on earth, they cannot pay back their sin debts. Only Jesus Christ could make this payment.

Thoughts to Ponder

What was the most common accusation of the legalistic religious leaders against Jesus Christ? 10 times in the gospels we read of them charging Jesus that he was breaking the Sabbath. Seven of these accounts involved Jesus healing someone. Indeed, the four gospels provide multiple accounts of some of these miracles. Two of them (involving the healing of the man with the shriveled hand, and the disciples husking grain to eat) are mentioned 3 times each, As such, there were 6 different acts of Jesus and his disciples on a Sabbath that attracted the ire of the religious leaders. It is astounding that the “Lord of be accused of breaking its ordinance.

God has designed a plan for both heaven and earth. He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for the debts of mankind owed to God that they could not pay… a transaction that would be extended to all those who would believe upon Him. Just as in the Jubilee year of ancient times, this opportunity to cancel all debt (sin) is open to all.

How wonderful then is “cancellation.” How many households today would dance for joy at the cancellation of their mortgage? Considering the word origin of “mortgage” it literally means “death pledge” … a state of affairs that will find meaning to those in foreclosure proceedings. However, it is the cancellation of our sin and reconciliation to Jesus Christ that brings the greatest joy for eternity.

We have been given this great promise “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.” (Hebrew 4:9-11)

The trumpets of Jubilee are ever nearer! Maranatha

Greatest Faith of All — Evolutionism – Part II
by Wilfred Hahn
Researched by Pastor Gary Boyd
April 24th 2022

In Part I of this apologetics series we opined that fanatic evolutionists give real science a black eye. Perspectives promoting the theory of evolution, as we reviewed, are mostly supported by pseudo-science and employ as much metaphysics as any other religion. Let’s further examine “science” that concerns itself with the questions of the beginnings…what is sometimes referred to as “historical science.”

Let’s first deal with the basic question of life. For now, let’s leave aside the unfathomable complexities of a human being comprised of trillions upon trillions of organized, specialized and interdependent cells. The probability alone that random events could have produced the complexity of a simple cell (one of the simplest self-sustaining and replicating life forms) is so unlikely that to believe this is possible is to rely completely on metaphysical beliefs. It would represent a religion even more primitive than ancient nature worshippers who nevertheless could at least recognize that there must be a higher power.

My undergraduate degree was in science with an emphasis in biology. I enjoyed learning about physics, biochemistry, genetics, and microbiology. In fact, I even enjoyed learning about invertebrate and vertebrate morphology. Not surprisingly, the prescribed textbooks for these latter courses were heavily laced with Evolutionism. As I recall at the time, it was presented by my biology professors as fact…not theory.

One of the most impactful topics I studied was Histology (the study of the structures of a single cell). Even the most primitive of cells (this itself being a presumptuous statement, as we cannot really be sure what is a primitive cell) with few enzymes, DNA and RNA strands, is so incredibly complex it is IMPOSSIBLE that it could originate from random processes. Why impossible?

No one, were they to dig up a Rolex watch from an archeological site, for instance, would think that it originated from random processes. A design would be evident. The Law of Entropy would otherwise have been overturned. Yet, the simplest enzyme (of which a minimum of 600 different kinds are required for a basic living cell) is countless more times as complex, specific and intricate.

The probability that just one of these enzymes could be formed by chance is 1 to 1047 give or take a few exponents. Evolutionists get picky about these calculations of Creationists and like to claim that these are in error. Usually, they propose a whole further list of imagined preconditions to their calculations, which are complete speculation for which there is NO evidence. (See http://unmaskingevolution.com for some methodologies and sample calculations.)

In any case, an enzyme, once randomly created, would then need to enter a stable, ordered configuration along with another 600-plus randomly produced enzymes for it to serve any useful function. In addition, consider that any molecule cannot be a mirror image of the molecule that is actually required. Otherwise, it would be deadly to a cell.

Then, what about the probability of a complete operating cell being formed out of a chance encounter of atoms and molecules? It is zero (as far as the human mind can comprehend). Multiplying zero probability by billions upon billions of years still produces a big zero. Keep in mind that were it possible (which it isn’t) that such a randomly-formed cell could occur in the first place, it would also have needed the mysterious spark of life. Right away it would need to begin functioning, consuming energy and dispelling waste. And not only that, this randomly formed cell would also have required an immense amount of programmed information in its RNA. If not, for example, how would it automatically start the process of mitosis (the complex reproduction of one cell into two)?

Considering the above-mentioned probabilities, what qualifies as religion…pseudo-science or Creationism? Surely logic and reasonability can be independent of religion, can they not? What perspective is more reasonable…which is more impossible than the other?

Evolution cannot be proven and Creationism cannot be disproven. Intellectual integrity would admit this logical conundrum and cause Evolutionists to come off their high horse with their baseless tactic of ridicule. It is not only Christians (who are Bible-believers) that reject Evolutionism. There are many agnostics and atheists who do as well. Why? They do not have enough faith to believe in Evolutionism.

Do Not Let Facts Get in the Way

It has already been known for many decades that impossible processes and probabilities are required to validate the theory of evolution as well as the random creation of life. Even many secular scientists (some who would consider themselves atheists) have admitted to the impossible probabilities of even one amino acid being formed by random chance (this the basic building block of all enzymes, RNA and DNA…all polypeptides).

Incidentally, there exist many bona fide scientists today who are Creationists. Unfortunately, admitting to such a belief apparently does not accelerate one’s career in academia. This black-balling also applies to any profession with a public profile — from politician to a global investment strategist. Evolutionists are not above persecuting anyone who disagrees with them. In a sense, they use similar tactics as ISIS (the extremist Islamist group). If you do not accept their beliefs at gunpoint, you will be academically beheaded…publicly discredited and baselessly ridiculed. There are countless such cases.

Creationist scientists do not protest providing the evidence for their views. There are some very excellent science journals available that adhere to Creationism! They provide fascinating and thoughtful “scientific” perspectives. (For example, see Journal of Creation or the website of the Creation Research Institute, for a large reserve of peer-reviewed scientific papers. Most readers will prefer somewhat lighter fare such as the Creation Magazine. I devour this bi-monthly publication from cover to cover. It is both fascinating and thought-provoking.)

But let’s change course here for a moment and review an unaligned perspective of a famous avowed atheist. According to the late Fred Hoyle (a famous astronomer and somewhat provocative scientist): “[T]here are about two thousand enzymes, and the chance of obtaining them all in a random trial is only one part in 1040,000, an outrageously small probability that could not be faced even if the whole universe consisted of organic soup.”1

Do you have any notion of what an exponential power of 40,000 actually means? Really, it is not a concept that is comprehensible to the human. There wouldn’t be enough space in the known universe to hold all the failed molecules that supposedly would have resulted from the claimed experimental process of randomness. There are other estimates of these probabilities and these are heavily debated. However, for all intents, the scale of the improbability cannot be contested.

Yet, people persist in clinging onto the theory of random creation of life. The same Fred Hoyle made this comment: “Once we see, however, that the probability of life originating at random is so utterly miniscule as to make it absurd, […] that one wonders why it is not widely accepted as being self-evident. The reasons are psychological rather than scientific.” 2

Hoyle saw this persistence to believe in something that is impossible to be a “psychological” problem. He is on the right track, but not entirely. He himself was vulnerable to the same feats of human speculative illogic with his own theory of Panspermia. He proposed that earth’s life forms found their genesis from viruses that were spread by comets. This theory wouldn’t qualify for any better probabilities than we already reviewed.

The problem is not entirely psychological for scientists that study cosmology. It is a result of there being no option other than to accept the creation account. It would be a logical choice, but heaven forbid that there could be a Creator because that would mean there is a God. Yet, if Evolutionism is proven poppycock, then there really is only one systematic alternative, Creationism. And why not? There is not one shred of any scientific fact that disproves or invalidates Creationism and Evolutionists know this.

The Follies of Anti-Creationists

Large gaps and holes remain in evolutionary theories, forcing its advocates to become ever more inventive and hilarious. Faced with fossil evidence that bears out a world history of perhaps millions of dying species, they spin a false story of evolution…of a process of new life, advancement, and expanding chromosomal information. It is the exact opposite as any child (that has not yet been indoctrinated) would agree. It has been a history of death and lost genetic information, not new life. This would be obvious to anyone honestly looking at the evidence.

Today’s evolutionary theorists and “big bang” advocates regarding the beginning of the universe are already far past midnight. They have had their chance to find supporting evidence. With respect to the theory of evolution, for 150 years and more we have allowed them to continue digging for fossils; to continue to develop and systemize their theories. (Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution in his 1859 book, On the Origin of the Species.) Yet, they have not found any conclusive proofs for their theories.

They have not conclusively found the “missing links”; they have not shown nor proven that life can come from inanimate matter (denying the Law of Biogenesis that says life can only come from life); and they continue to refuse to accept the statistical impossibility of even the most primitive of cells forming from random forces, let alone even one protein or enzyme.

True science would acknowledge facts and evidence. Adaptations and differences in the “kinds” of living creatures wouldn’t be fraudulently passed off as evolution and scientists wouldn’t need to twist and turn their theories to fit their bias. This is one more indication that the evolution theory is not science but religion. It chooses a belief system that is directly in conflict with facts and reasonability. It also is in conflict with the Bible. (A future part of this Apologetics Series will deal with the provenance of the Bible.)

Incorruptibility and Infallibility of Science

Many Christians don’t have the courage to hold to Creationism. They are intimidated by the supposedly “expert” claims of modern science. They do not want to feel ostracized from the popular views of their culture.

The image that most people have of a “scientist” is someone wearing a white-frocked coat who has a Ph.D. in one or more specialities. They are therefore reverenced and held to have “high knowledge” in their field, far above the common person. Their theories and beliefs are therefore felt to be beyond reproach and above question. As such, whatever they say, write or speculate, must be a worthy insight or fact…something based upon evidence.

Indeed, scientists should have an expertise in their field of study and research. I genuinely appreciate the discoveries of gifted scientists. How could one reject wonderful new discoveries and inventions? That would be sheer foolishness. However, some realism and perspective is useful here. Scientists are humans.

This may be surprising to learn: Much activity under the rubric of science is corrupt. There is an increasing recognition of this fact in the media in recent years. An alarming number of researchers have been caught falsifying their data and results. There is tremendous pressure to produce results in order to win recognition and contracts. Science journals have been forced to tighten up peer review requirements for research articles. Surveys have revealed an alarmingly high rate of errors in experiment validation and in the supporting references in published papers.

This should not be surprising. This corruption parallels the trends witnessed in financial markets and most everywhere else. As with everything, money makes the world go around. It can bias perspectives and create bad incentives. The point here is that so-called scientists are fallible human beings like everyone else.

Back to so-called Christians. As it is, “Christian” is hardly a well-defined term. Anyone can declare themselves to be a Christian. There is no standards agency anywhere in the world that validates true Bible-believing Christians. As such, no one will ever be sued for brand fraud should they falsify any tenet or foundation of this faith. Many people are “cultural Christians” and do not hold a Biblical world view. Effectively, by denying the creation account, one has invalidated the entire Bible. Jesus Christ is therefore cast as a liar. (A future article in this Apologetics Series will deal with the question of Christ. Did he really exist or not? What makes him different from Siddhartha Gautama (See founder of Buddhism) or Muhammad?)

The New Testament records Christ referring to the “creation” as the beginning a number of times (Matthew 25:34, Mark 10:6, John 17:24). Mark records him saying specifically “[…] from the beginning, when God created the world, until now […]” (Mark 13:19). On none of these occasions does Jesus refute the Genesis creation account nor provide any clarifications or corrections. None were needed.

Anti-Creationism: The Answers of Evolutionism Found Wanting

Evolutionism is a religious belief system that also fails to satisfactorily answer the questions that hauntingly harbor in the souls of all mankind. Why do I exist? What is my purpose? What happens to “me” after I die? Is my existence meaningless? What thinking and intellectually-honest person will not admit to such thoughts?

The fact that these questions even exist is itself a refutation of the evolutionary theories of the origin of man. Concepts as are revealed by these questions do not and cannot “evolve” from primordial slime nor are these organically transmitted from one living organism to another.

The greatest atheistic thinkers (whether scientists or philosophers) have no answer to these “why” questions. “Why does the universe even go to the bother to exist?” questions the famous cosmological physicist, Stephen Hawking. The fact that all mankind has ingrained in them such concepts as “love” and “justice” alone proves naturalism cannot explain the inner thoughts and destinies of man. What human being does not feel wronged when some action is deemed to be “unfair”? These are ideas and concepts that evolution has no need nor means to develop. To read the rest go to https://garyboyd2244.blogspot.com

Greatest Faith of All — Evolutionism – Part I
By Wilfred Hahn
Researched by Pastor Gary Boyd
April 22nd 2022

I believe in Creationism. Why? Because upon analysis, it proves to be the most logical and reasonable position.

Apparently, that strikes many people as threatening and strange. They don’t understand how that can be. A global analyst and investment strategist believes in such malarkey? Can a blinkered person such as that make logical decisions and function in the fast-paced world of money?

You may be surprised at my answer.

I am a man of little faith. I simply do not have enough faith to believe any of the alternate arguments on such matters as the origin of life and the universe. I thrive on analysis, evidence and probability.

Some people (and big financial institutions that I will not name) are so unsettled by this “out of the closet” personal perspective that they refuse to do business with an investment management company that I founded.

Just how can I support my position? I will provide proofs. You can choose to consider them. But before I do, a bit of warning would only be fair. What I have discovered as a result of many discussions and debates over the years on this general topic is this: Facts don’t necessarily matter. What I am telling you is that people will deliberately choose to ignore evidence. People will invariably choose to believe what they want to believe. The facts can hang. For various reasons, they will doggedly cling to their a priori views on such issues as Evolutionism, the Big Bang Theory, and a myriad of subsidiary theories.

I recall discussions with people who I consider quite intelligent and for which I had (and continue to have) high respect. They had no valid counter arguments to the facts and probabilities that I laid out before them. Yet, they turned away…perhaps threatened and afraid of the implications that their world view was false. Even such intelligent people — puzzled as they were — deliberately chose to accept on faith the unexplainable and the impossibilities that apply to evolutionary theories. They, in effect, confirmed their religion.

The fact is that any world view or cosmological thesis requires an element of faith. Whether an atheist, agnostic, or believer in a higher power, or someone practicing a new age variant, a measure of faith will be needed. But how much? That’s the key question. Just what facts, proofs and disproofs can be marshaled in support of the reasonableness of a chosen “faith”?

Everyone is free to make their choices and to search out a satisfactory rationale. Please continue to do so as you continue to read this article. However, it is also true that the vast majority of people have never really examined what they believe and why. They have never tested their views against science and reasonable logic. Many choose to simply accept what they have been told and will believe the views and values of the collective zeitgeist of the times.

Such perspectives are not well-advised…certainly not in financial markets, I can tell you. To simply refuse to consider facts or to test one’s views is unwise. Any student of human behavior or an accomplished investment strategist will have only a cautious regard for the correctness of any consensus view. As is well documented, the popular perspectives of the majority or the pulls of crowd psychology will provide no more safety than a crowded strip of flypaper. Consensus views have been legendarily wrong and foolish as the behaviors and beliefs of crowds are rarely logical or sophisticated. It is amazing what crowds will believe!

(If you are interested in reading accounts of crazy financial manias and insane beliefs of crowds, I recommend the following two books. First, a classic written by Charles MacKay in 1841: Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. Also, Manias, Panics and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises by Charles P. Kindleberger.)

In contrast, people who have the mental discipline to remain unfazed by the seemingly metaphysical pull of a delusional crowd and to remain calculated, clear-headed and unintimidated are the ones who do best in financial markets. Everyone else risks becoming a casualty should they hold the “wrong” majority view. The same is true in almost any other field – everywhere one will encounter the psychological pressure to concede to the consensus or popular view.

I have been a global investment analyst/executive working in “Wall Street” environs now well into the fourth decade. At the outset, I seemed to be progressing well. I completed a B.Sc. and a graduate degree in less than 4 years. I was the 2nd youngest in my MBA class; youngest Vice President at a major national investment brokerage firm; youngest partner in a powerful and influential investment bank; Director of Research for a major Wall Street firm at the tender age of 33, etc. I may have been stupid, but I hid it well.

In 1986 I was even named a top global analyst by Euromoney Magazine (my specialty at the time was industrial sectors). At a later date, I was a top-ranked portfolio strategist. During all this time in my profession, I practiced systematic, probabilistic, deductive, empirical and Aristotelian (logic) analysis. I liked to be a thinker. All that still applies…I hope. But how could that be? All that time I was a Creationist. Therefore, isn’t something awry?

Here I will throw down the gauntlet. To this day, I have yet to encounter anyone who could conclusively prove evolution as a fact, or for that matter, disprove Creationism. Not one. I offer an open invitation and will challenge anyone. I would even go so far as to defy anyone to prove Evolutionism to be a reasonable “theory.” The evidence clearly reveals it to be the most “primitive” of religions based on the allegations of “science” itself.

By necessity, in a short article series as this, I can only deal with a few main points. My main objectives are to urge the consideration of the “reasonability” of what is believed and to challenge people to think and consider the evidence for what they believe.

In the past, I have received a lot of correspondence offering only vehement and emotional opinions…threats and slurs. Some of them were cowardly as they didn’t have the courage to identify themselves. I expect this article series will attract many heated responses. But please note: I truly am a man of little faith. I will be looking for verifiable information, facts and sources, not unsubstantiated opinions. May the facts fall where they may.

The Proofs and Theories

Evolution remains a theory. That is a fact as you will see. Yet, disingenuously and dishonestly, many people (including those who consider themselves scientists) speak as if it is fact. No, evolution is a theory. In fact, as the evidence shows, it is a desperate theory as it does not rest on scientific facts. Many questions remain open that the evolutionists cannot answer — virtually millions upon millions of inconsistencies and impossibilities that have not found explanation or resolution. Evolutionists can only offer speculative theories and imaginings that have no evidential support. So, to say that Evolutionism is a scientific theory is even to disparage the legitimate historical discipline of science.

What do you believe? To begin, how many options are there in answering the questions of the origins of life on earth? Basically, there are only two systematic approaches (not counting various hybrids, for the moment). These are Naturalism and Creationism. If there were any additional options, I would consider them. I have proposed a third option — Comealongism. This is the escapist’s option, choosing to avoid any serious contemplation and hoping that another explanatory alternative will come along some day. Which of the two former cosmological views requires the least amount of faith? Which can be disproven by scientific observation? Which one requires a lack of reasonableness?

The Record of Science Versus God

I often hear that science and religion are incompatible. This is not true for a number of reasons and certainly not for the Judeo-Christian faiths. In the first place, this claim is ludicrous simply because of the fact that most of the founders of modern science were Christians. (This includes Pascal, Boyle, Newton, Bernoulli, Mendel, Pasteur…the list is long. Please review this article on Wikipedia for a more complete list.)

These were people who believed in the creation account in the Bible as it seemed obvious and sensible to them. They possessed a Biblical worldview. To them, their discoveries and inventions did not invalidate either the Bible or the existence of a Creator. These only served to magnify their reverence for God. Many of them took a deep interest in theology.

The tired debate that has been fought over the past two centuries, staging the Bible as if it would be in opposition to science, is entirely miscast. Yes, there have been many misguided people, theologians and religious institutions who took positions against natural science (for example that the earth was round and that it revolved around the sun) out of ignorance or outright mendacity.

Nevertheless, there is not one statement in the Bible that misaligns with the physical sciences, apart from miracles. After all, that is the definition of a true miracle…something occurring that cannot be explained in the three-dimensional realm. The difference to be noted here between Evolutionism and Creationism is that it is only the latter that provides full disclosure on the roles of miracles and supernaturalism. Evolutionists require millions upon millions of miracles — not only individually or sequentially, but simultaneously and repeatedly — to make their theories work.

Then, how has science come to argue against a Deity? To answer this, we first must define what we mean by science. It goes without saying that it covers a wide arena of inquiry. Some of it is more of an observational type. It studies natural processes or things and documents them as they are. Other science is applied science. It builds on that which is observed and may find other applications for the natural laws and phenomena that it discovers. Then, some of science concerns itself with explaining the “whys” and “wherefores” of what is observed. Here it ventures into the field of theory.

A hypothesis may align with what is observed and can sometimes be successfully used to deduce other outcomes or to find new applications. However a hypothesis or a theory is not the same as fact. This is the accepted foundation of scientific process. Theory is not fact. Integrity and intellectual honesty require that disclaimers are made, especially so when involving speculative or philosophical views.

A very different pursuit under the name of “science” is the exploration of things and processes of the distant past — back to the beginnings of the universe and the origins of all things. Here, observations cannot be made in real time. Scientist were not around thousands (or as it may be claimed) millions of years ago when things supposedly began. Questions relating to how all things began needed to be theorized should one wish to test a naturalistic approach. Such questions as how the universe came about and how life came to earth are the subjects of this branch of study. No harm there. However, somewhere along the line this field of research was uniquely co-opted by a religion…a metaphysical pseudoscience.

What is the difference between real science and pseudoscience? Science depends on evidence and testing. Says Phillip Johnson, “Scientific methodology exists wherever theories are subjected to rigorous empirical testing, and it is absent wherever the practice is to protect a theory rather than to test it.”i

Interestingly, pseudoscience didn’t co-opt other fields of study to the same extent…i.e. study of arts, literature or language. That said, those studying the origins of language can have the same tendency to ignore evidence just because it doesn’t fit their a priori theory. For instance, the entire objective of a book written by Guy Deutscherii on the origins of languages was to try to explain why the evidence didn’t line up with the theory of evolution. The problem was that evidence showed that the first languages to appear in the historical record were sophisticated and complex (far more so than English). The evolutionist was expecting language to evolve from simple forms to the more sophisticated. The evidence was exactly opposite, therefore requiring his tortured and contorted explanations. Karl Popper’s observation is apropos: “The wrong view of science betrays itself in the craving to be right.”

A priori biases as described, as well as the incredibly speculative musings (to the point of ludicrousness) by so-called scientists recklessly supporting evolutionism, argue that science should have separated itself from this field of inquiry long ago. Why? As mentioned, it is a pseudoscience and because fanatic evolutionists give real science a black eye. Desperately clinging to their religion, they shamefully steal reputational legitimacy and credibility from “real science.” Today, the meaning of the word “science” has been completely changed. It is no longer the science (in the historical sense) of its founders. The word today means “anything ex-God.” Maranatha

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Prophecy and the End of Technology
by Wilfred Hahn
Researched by Pastor Gary Boyd
April 19th 2022

Some years ago in 1989, political scientist Francis Fukuyama published an essay entitled The End of History. It had a large impact. He had concluded that democracy and free market capitalism had won the world’s ideological and political economic debates. The correctness of this new human plateau was so self-evident and so widely endorsed, that no more debate or theoretical advancement was possible. Therefore, the end of history.

Of course, Mr. Fukuyama will have been guilty of hyperbole. Although his thesis triggered thought-provoking perspectives, it today is clear that no such common agreement exists (i.e., consider the actions of countries such as Russia, China, Arab nations and others).

We want to use a bit of hyperbole to make another thought-provoking claim: The world could be facing the End of Technology.

What do we mean by this?

There may be no more new major technological innovations that will either enable or change the course of mankind and its beliefs.

Certainly, there can be no doubt that researchers and laboratories will continue in their work. The patent offices of the world will continue to grant them by the hundreds of thousands every year. Our societies will continue to be inundated by innovative and novel new consumer products, services, apps and service platforms. Scientists can be expected to discover new things about the universe and the natural sciences.

However, the key question is this: Will any of these inventions “radically” change humanity in its beliefs, mental health and earthly confidence? To humanists, this question will surely seem as blasphemy seen from their religious belief system. How could it not be possible that humanity will continue to advance and evolve … to perhaps extend the lifespan of human beings to 150 years and more … to even reach the point of singularity, where human biology is merged with technology and mankind “evolves” to a form that does not even require a physical body.

Others see the developments of new technology as being potentially worrisome. The World Economic Forum, in its recent Global Risks 2015 report, specifically cites emerging biotechnologies as a major risk to be monitored. It says: “Emerging technologies hold great and unprecedented opportunities […]. A range of currently emerging technologies could have […] profound implications for mankind’s future […].”

The WEF goes on to say: “The establishment of new fundamental capabilities, as is happening for example with synthetic biology and artificial intelligence, is especially associated with risks that cannot be fully assessed in the laboratory. Once the genie is out of the bottle, the possibility exists of undesirable applications or effects that could not be anticipated at the time of invention. Some of these risks could be existential—that is, endangering the future of human life.”

Summing up WEF’s perspective, technology could eventually wipe out mankind if there are not sufficient guidelines. In other words, technology could be the end of mankind. Obviously, humanist philosophers themselves remain divided in their views. Some are optimistic, viewing technology as the enabler of human evolution; others the end of human life on earth. We see here that there is no consensus about the future roles of technology.

However, a Biblical worldview and a literal understanding of prophecy lead us to conclude that we indeed are near the end of any new technologies being required to fulfill the Bible’s pre-millennial prophecies. From that point of view, the End of Technology may already be in sight. Just what was the last major technology that needed to be in place?

What Has Technology Done for You Lately?

Without a doubt, the world has experienced a unique period of technological development over the last 150 to 200 years or so. In this small sliver of time, seen from the cosmological timeline of the earthbound human, an explosion of change took place. No one can deny that a massive acceleration occurred in virtually every field and faculty. Science, technology, as well as the Reformation, were at its root.

However, it is debatable whether the pace of change with respect to foundational new discoveries is beginning to fizzle out. For example, the speed of travel for mankind has not advanced in 5 decades. The combustion engine, which all of a sudden made short work of the buggy whip at the turn of the 20th century, is no longer making vehicles go faster. The speed of automobiles has remained the same for many decades (perhaps with the exception of travel on Los Angeles freeways, with its many traffic jams).

Bacterial infections were conquered through the discovery of penicillin and other antibiotics. Believe it or not, penicillin was only made available to a mass market as late as the early 1940s. The impact of antibiotics appears to be already past its zenith of conquering the germ. Also, global telecommunications is near its maximum practical impact (though becoming cheaper). Our long-distance conversations can hardly increase. Very likely, advances in agricultural and industrial productivity are slowing … and so on.

We ask this question: Just what technologies must yet emerge so that pre-millennial Bible prophecy can be fulfilled? Nuclear power sufficient to blow up the entire habitations of mankind already exists. Globalism and a global community of mankind already exist, attributable in part to telecommunications technologies. Flight was invented a little more than a century ago (i.e., fulfilling Isaiah 60:8). What is missing?

Prophecy and Technology

Timothy tells us: “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves […] of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1, 4).

According to Paul, the world will be typified by people who are centered upon themselves … pursuing their individual wants. They love themselves uppermost. They therefore will have fallen into a trap. Only God can love us fully and perfectly. People who are lured to the notion that they can love themselves better than God, face unhappiness. No doubt, this trend is linked to the rapid rise of depression—what the World Health Organization has observed to be an epidemic. Sadly, it is seen as a disease, not at all as a spiritual malady.

At the same time that selfishness and narcissism become rampant, the world becomes more bewildering and anxiety-filled. “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth” (Luke 21:34-35).

So, any technology that serves to enable the “love of self”; and to spread information that leads to the magnification of the “anxieties of life”; and centralizes influence and personal monitoring, therefore, is likely to play a prophecy-enabling role.

The Selfie and the Smartphone

Our inquiry on this topic (End of Technology) and several recent developments prompt us to again comment on the phenomena of the smartphone and to alert of its significance. Firstly, the accelerating sales trend of these devices has been eye-catching. Secondly, a high profile article published by the Economist magazine (“Planet of the Phones,” March 3, 2015) outlines this incredible boom and ponders its implications. And, thirdly, the value of Apple Corporation, the maker of i-Phones (the best-selling smartphones in the world), has been rapidly appreciating.

Recently, the stock market valued the Apple company at over $700 billion. Some investment analysts speculate that it is likely to become the first company in history to be valued at more than one trillion (USD). Apple is the most profitable large company in existence on the planet today. Its cash hoard totaled $178 billion at its recent quarter-end.

Imagine that Apple’s biggest challenge is to figure out what to do with its cash hoard. Its cash holdings amount to greater than 10% of all corporate cash holdings in the U.S., and continue to pile up at the rate of $50 billion per year.

The advances of technology are usually driven by money. But that is an entirely different topic.

Back to the Smartphone. Many people enjoy its conveniences; few realize its revolutionizing impact. It has proven to be the fastest adopted technology of all time. As the Economist puts it, “They have become the fastest-selling gadgets in history.”

The Last Technology—the Smartphone

In an earlier column series (“12 Endtime Fuses Burning Alight”), we ventured the opinion that “[…] technology has at least one more role to play in the prophetic timeline of the world. […] The most pivotal technological developments over the past several decades, as everyone will know, have been the internet and the personal cell phone. […] Crucially, these two developments have lately converged into one leading edge—the smart phone.”

That was the significant development—the merging of the cell phone with a web-enabling interconnection.

Why was this significant? This merging opens the gateway to the ultimate “dotage upon the individual” (the self), though within a centrally controlled, global nexus of connections. The smartphone is a personal device. And thus, it becomes the direct channel between the world and the individual’s personal world. The technology coming into existence allows a mass personalization through a complete monitoring of your needs, likes and identifications.

A technology therefore is in process which will know you personally. It controls the information flow to you, and therefore also has the capability of monopolizing the availability of information.

Quoting the Economist article further, “Today about half the adult population owns a smartphone; by 2020, 80% will. Smartphones have also penetrated every aspect of daily life. The average American is buried in one for over two hours every day. […] The phone takes the processing power of yesterday’s supercomputers—even the most basic model has access to more number-crunching capacity than NASA had when it put men on the Moon in 1969—and applies it to ordinary human interactions. […] There are 2 billion people around the world using smartphones that have an internet connection and a touchscreen or something similar as an interface. By the end of the decade that number looks set to double to just over 4 billion.”

Points to Ponder

The Smartphone is transforming our world. It will have an enormous impact. For example, says the Economist: “Teenagers, whose time on phones dwarfs that of their elders, are developing a social life in which face-to-face and digital forms of contact are used interchangeably and often simultaneously.” The younger generation is growing up with an entirely different sense of relationship. They are becoming self-centered, interconnected islands. Everyone is on a mini-stage of their own to the entire world—the Facebook page or some other social medium.

New studies are revealing other concerns: According to a study conducted by the University of Waterloo,1 use of new communication technologies such as the Smartphone is causing a loss in thinking skills. Attention spans are becoming shorter and intellectual laziness is being observed.

Quoting from the survey, “[…] involving 660 participants, the researchers examined various measures including cognitive style ranging from intuitive to analytical, plus verbal and numeracy skills. Then they looked at the participants’ smartphone habits. The study, from researchers at the University of Waterloo and published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, suggests that smartphone users who are intuitive thinkers […] frequently use their device’s search engine rather than their own brainpower. Smartphones allow them to be even lazier than they would otherwise be.” According to Gordon Pennycock, a co-lead of the study, research provides support for an association between heavy smartphone use and lowered intelligence.

The world makes its choices. Mankind can use its technologies for good or bad. However, technology uniquely is a double-edged sword. The conveniences it offers all come with a price … a vulnerability of some kind. It may be a dependence, a loss of independence and self-reliance, or a rising vulnerability to widening controls and monitoring. Technology (and knowledge of true science, for that matter) always moves forward. Its advances do not reverse.

For the Christian, the progression of science and technology presents additional challenges. While on the one hand, enjoying the conveniences that technologies offer, we must be alert to the increasing vulnerabilities. Here, these also may take the form of temptations. And, we must not lose an attitude of reliance upon God.

In the case of the advance of the world-capturing Smartphone and other technologies, we see the world chooses to become increasingly smug and proud. Worldliness and ungodliness find ever bigger and more effective pulpits and distribution channels. The ‘self’ becomes more venerated … and destructive. Who can stand firm?

Says the Psalmist: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm” (Psalm 20:7-8).

The New Testament several times encourages one to stand firm. Paul advises believers, “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14).

The flock is also encouraged that God helps in this task; for, “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22).

“[…] Stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near” (James 5:8).

America – In the Eye of God? – Part III
by Wilfred Hahn
Researched by Pastor Gary Boyd
April 11 2022

To date in this series, we have concluded that, without a doubt, America was definitely in God’s eye when He created the Universe. We left off Part II with this question: Did the Lord purpose to use America as a benevolent or punishing force against the Jews and Israel? Could America have a similar role to the great ancient Persian king, Cyrus? Or, despite its great mandate, will it end up no different than all the rest of the Gentile nations?



After all, the second largest population of Jews today (behind Israel itself) is found in North America. It has been the Golden Age of the Jew in the U.S. (and Canada) since the early 1950s. This would certainly have been a protective, Cyrus-like role for the Jew … at least at the outset.



But, frankly, it is much too early to answer this question. Why? It is not until the last chapter—the ending—that such questions can be answered.



No doubt, America has been decidedly supportive of the Jew and Israel (though certainly not unwaveringly). But what will the future yet hold?



Anything could happen. No scenario regarding the Jews in North America can yet be ruled out. The history of the Diaspora has shown ominous patterns with respect to the treatment of the Jews during this present Age of the Gentile. America’s recent interventions into the affairs of Israel and its handling of Israel’s enemies would certainly not be the actions of another Persian Cyrus.



In any case, it may be more fitting to compare America to other powers that at one time harbored large populations of Jews during the Diaspora. Here we think of Spain in the 1400s, and Russia in the late 1800s. Over the past two millennia many nations have cast out the Jew.



In the end, we are reminded that all the nations will forsake Israel in the last days. Says the Lord: “I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will put them on trial for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel, because they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land” (Joel 3:2). All nations are accused of dividing the land of Israel. Most certainly, America is taking part in this today.



Therefore, all nations will be judged and punished. “The day of the LORD is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head” (Obadiah 1:15).



The Fruits of Pride and Haughtiness



Not only does God exact justice and raise His hand against those who persecute the “apple of His eye” (Zechariah 2:8). He also takes into account the godless conduct of each individual nation.



One characteristic that God punished often is pride. The Lord detests pride … namely, national arrogance. There are innumerable indications of this in the Bible. Says the Proverbs writer: The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished” (Proverbs 16:5); “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (verse 18).



Many examples are given in the Old Testament showing that God abides with those that depend upon Him; whose strength is in Him. Whenever the Israelites became self-confident and dependent on their own strength, God allowed that they be defeated (for example, see the account of the defeat at Ai in Joshua 7). The kings of Judah that walked righteously and depended upon the faithfulness of God, were protected (i.e. Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, Hezekiah). Wicked kings such as Jehoram, Ahaz, and Joash were not.



Even the righteous kings were vulnerable to pride for periods of time. For example, “[…] after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall” (2 Chronicles 26:16); and also 2 Chronicles 32:26, where we see that “[…] Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart.” We conclude from this, that whether righteous—perhaps a Christian—or not, arrogance can bring catastrophic consequences.



We see that nations other than those of Israel or Judah (entities that were not in a covenant with God) were brought down because of their pride. For example, Tyre was punished because, “In the pride of your heart you say, ‘I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas’” (Ezekiel 28:2). Also Moab, “[…] how great is her arrogance!” (Isaiah 16:6). Even the great Nebuchadnezzar—the “head of gold” himself—was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory because, “his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride” (Daniel 5:20).



The same can happen to America. Its arrogance, as with any other nations, will not go unnoticed. In recent decades, America has staked its hope in its economic might; the macroeconomic theories of economists, of monetarism, and its military might. It thinks to create its own prosperity, one that is independent of any consequence of what it has sown.



Incredibly, many believe that its recent economic challenges are attributable to “lack of consumer want.” Its recent presidents have said that it is the will and resolve of its people that allow it to overcome its obstacles, and that it will “build bigger and better” should it face any setbacks.



Near-term Geopolitical Outlook for the U.S.



Lately, geopolitical analysts have been arguing that major new global initiatives have no chance of going ahead unless they are supported by at least two key players. Who are they? The United States and China. Yes, believe it or not, China is now considered by some to be a co-leader of the world.



And surely, during these past few decades, some very significant geopolitical shifts have been underway in the world. China, after nearly two centuries of slumber and isolationism, has re-emerged. It has in mind to establish its control over the South China Sea and is speedily ramping up its military outlay, particularly on its Navy.



Also, Russia is reasserting itself. The Muslim world, too, is in a state of upheaval with much more instability to come. The ancient nations of Iran and Turkey are rousing even as the old, historically Christian-influenced world is crumbling, succumbing to its liberal and humanist values.



That said, we still doubt that China will ultimately play a leading role in the final endtime events. The Bible mentions no specific role for China. However, we think it is possible that a rising China, along with other Asian nations, may very well contribute important influences as well as trigger the responses of the nations of the Roman-derived West. That would, of course, include the Roman Offshoot nations such as the United States, Canada, and perhaps others.



However, let’s make no mistake: America remains the most powerful nation in the world. Other contenders are attempting to usurp its influence and power. Its perceived role as world power regulator and policeman, has been receding, however. A power void is gradually opening up in the world. Will it continue … or will America soon reassert itself on the world stage?



Thoughts to Ponder



America, which indeed has played (and likely will continue to play) a significant and enabling role in the time-line of God’s dealings with Israel (and the nations; and the souls of mankind), will at some point be deposed. It will reign no more. This applies to all nations.



As we have speculated, if America is or is not to be a member of the last-day 10 king coalition described in the Bible (the most complete account of this coalition is given in Revelation 17), either outcome holds significant implications for its earthly stature. In either case, it would seem logical to conclude that America must lose power and influence. Time will tell.



In the end, it is Israel that receives glory. “Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations” (Isaiah 60:15). While America continues to be a great power for now, ultimately, once God has judged the nations of the world, it will be Israel that will be the head, and not the tail (Deuteronomy 28:13).



Zechariah describes this outcome most majestically: “‘Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,’ declares the LORD. ‘Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you. The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem. Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling’” (Zechariah 2:10-13).



Before that happens, God has purposed that the Gentile nations would be used one last time to discipline and punish the Israelites (Hosea 10:10).



Could mighty America itself be disciplined by God? This is, of course, all within the power of God. He is the one that considers nations “[…] like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust” (Isaiah 40:15). He is the One that laughs at the machinations of the nations. “[…] The Lord scoffs at them” (Psalm 2:4).



Nebuchadnezzar—he whose dynasty is shown as the third head on the 7-headed beast of Revelation 17—himself confirmed this outcome, saying that “[…] the King of Heaven […] is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble” (Daniel 4:37).



John the Revelator shows this symbolically. “The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place” (Revelation 6:14). And, “In that day the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below” (Isaiah 24:21).



Here we see the consistency of the Bible from beginning to end, both in symbol and in word. “Mountains” (these representing the might of nations) and “islands” (nations of the world) are being deposed from their rule. Both earthly kings (representing nations) and “powers in the heavens above” (the Serpent and his demons) will be punished. Mentioned here are the participants of the “Man/Satan Collusion” (a collaboration of demons and mankind) against God, that are represented by the 7-headed beast.



America most certainly has played a significant role in God’s plans for Israel and the Jew. Whatever we may think of America, the erstwhile protector and ally of modern-day Israel (and pro-Israel Canada) today, the Bible foretells that all of them will abandon and persecute Israel.



Then the day comes where, “The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled and human pride brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day” (Isaiah 2:11; also Isaiah 3:17).



What next for America—good or bad actions?



The Bible tells us in advance the free-will choices of nations and people. Whether yes or no—though we know in advance the final outcomes according to the Bible—this does not release anyone to lose hope or participate in an evil which might be inevitable according to prophecy. Christians, whether individual citizens of America, Canada, or other nations, remain free to continue making free-will choices that honor God. In His grace, He is inclined to leave choices to every generation. There is (almost) always the opportunity for the present generation to repent and change its ways. Maranatha

Defending the Rapture
By Joel Joseph
Researched by Pastor Gary Boyd
Conclusion by Pastor Boyd
April 6th 2022



Introduction:

These are words of life!

This edition is a timely, important defence of the pre-tribulation rapture of the true church of the living God. It is a summary of some of the many important factors and includes some new material that I have never shared before.

The next edition continues the theme.

I have a lot of material on this and related subjects that I have not shared before and will do so as we move forward and as the Lord leads. Right now we are again in a bit of a prophetic impasse, so we just have to wait, which is not my style!

There are some exciting facts in this edition, don’t underestimate it! Some of these points are very strong and other less so. I’ve simply put them all together for your benefit.

As these end-time events roll on, the doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture is coming under greater attack. That’s what we would expect from the world, but not from within the church. (Much of it) This, as always, has a negative influence upon new believers, and the weak.

In effectively examining these things, we also need to look at the contra-position. In other words, what evidence is there for a post-tribulation rapture and what would its effects be?

Although there is a growing attack on the pre-tribulation rapture, there is also a new acceptance of it by numerous teachers and ministries open to the truth of God’s word.

As the tribulation approaches, the faith of many will be rocked, hijacked and overthrown. The faith of others will grow stronger and stronger.

This edition is designed to strengthen your beliefs, hope and faith.

Why the big attack on the rapture?

The first big thing to understand is that Satan is not afraid of, or barred from using the church, or at least the church which has many demonic doors open to him.

Satan’s strategy:

●It is to nullify, negate and neutralise that which damages him and his despicable kingdom. ●It is to remove obstacles in his way and create obstacles for God's people. ●It is to keep his people in perpetual darkness. ●It is to prevent as many believers as possible from godly knowledge, victory and triumph. ●Satan’s big thing is to hide and obscure his position as god of the world. ●His plan is to mess up God’s plans for the church and Israel.

This is how Satan works:

He works to discredit the truth through the use of confusion, false teachers and messages. They then misrepresent error as truth, and you end up being misdirected and misinformed. Once you have swallowed the misconception that the pre-tribulation rapture is myth, you are ready to receive the replacement lie that you are going through the tribulation.

If you submit to Satan’s working, you will be supernaturally blinded to the truth. In place of your sight, you will receive blindness from the false authority of the half-seeing eye of the evil one, masquerading as an angel of light. You will be a victim of your own great miscalculation, because you rejected the leading of the Spirit of God.

Proverbs 24:20 “There will be no prospect for the evil man. The lamp of the wicked will be put out.”

The rapture separates, is exclusive and conditional. It will come as the compromised church’s biggest shock as they are excluded.

The compromised, half-baked church always attacks truth that offends it.

We must understand that the attack on the pre-tribulation rapture comes primarily from churches that believe in a post-tribulation rapture. (More on this in the next edition!)

Pre-tribulation rapture evidence:

►In the messages to the seven churches of the Revelation, Yeshua concludes each letter with: “He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. We see the same admonition in verses used to describe the tribulation period, but with an important exclusion. Revelation 13:9-10 “He, who has an ear, let him here.” “Churches” is omitted.

It’s strange that the word “churches” is missing for the same discourse but now in the tribulation. I wonder why that would be? It’s because the church is not in the tribulation.

►The dramatic opening verses of the book of Revelation sees our Lord walking majestically between seven lampstands (Menorahs) Revelation 1:20 “...These are the seven churches.”

Now, we come to the most enlightening rapture of John to heaven. Revelation 4:1 “Come up here,” is the word! Immediately John is caught up to heaven and he sees twenty four elders clothed in white, with gold crowns on their heads. (Being clothed in white and having crowns indicates rewards already given.)

At the same time John sees seven lamps blazing before the throne of God in heaven. (Revelation 4:5) Here, the seven lamps are called the seven Spirits of God. The Spirit of God is in the heart of the believer. These seven lamps are the seven churches, with the seven Spirits in their heart.

But note that the rapture of John and his seeing of these things happens before the tribulation events begin with the first seal being opened, releasing the antichrist on earth.

►The Bible succinctly describes two end-time comings of the Lord. In the first, we are told that we will be caught up to “meet the Lord in the air” in a atomic split second. The second sees no such thing, as believers are seen by everyone, returning from heaven with our Lord at the Second Coming.

The reason for the big difference between the two comings is to identify two separate events, separated by a period of time (seven years in this case.) They cannot be the same event.

►The Bible teaches that the righteous are taken at the rapture and the wicked are left behind (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17. But then we see that the wicked are taken to judgement and the righteous are left behind. (Matthew 13:30, 49)

Do we have a problem here? Relax, it is no problem because the former relates to the rapture and the latter relates to the Second Coming! Again, this is powerful proof of two distinct comings.

►Consider these facts: As born-again believers, we have the Holy Spirit “glued” into our hearts. We depend on Him, His leading, His provision, gifts, voice and more. There is a widely held consensus that the biblical “restrainer” to be taken out of the way at the start of the tribulation is the church filled with the Holy Spirit, which I believe. Some believe it is the Holy Spirit alone that will be removed, which I reject. Some believe that the restrainer is the Archangel Michael, which I reject.

But here is the point: If the church goes through the tribulation, it would then be the Holy Spirit that is the restrainer, which is to be removed. How do you get the Holy Spirit out of the believer’s heart? The tribulation is going to be the worst time mankind has ever seen, and now he has to go unprepared into the fray!

►The tribulation period is a judgement on the unsaved world. The true believer has God in his heart, through the new-birth, by the Holy Spirit. God cannot judge Himself. The true church has already been judged at the cross of Calvary and its future judgement at the “bema seat’” is exclusively for rewards.

►In relation to the above point, legally, a person cannot be judged twice for the same crime. True Christians have already been judged for all sin through the cross. If the church goes through the tribulation, which is judgement upon sin, it would mean we are judged twice.

►Enoch was raptured alive unto God. He was a Gentile and represents the mostly Gentile church. His name means “teaching”, which is of course the main ministry of the church. Enoch was raptured before the flood of Noah, a type of the tribulation.

If Enoch is a type of the rapture, as he is, then Jude seems to seal it. Jude 1:14 “Enoch the seventh from Adam prophesied about these men also, saying, ‘Behold the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgement on all.”

This verse above implies that “saints” who will be returning with the Lord are in fact the church, meaning that they have been in heaven with Him during the tribulation on earth.



►Lot was removed from Sodom, before the judgement fell on the city.

►Rahab the Gentile was removed to a camp outside the walls of Jericho before the city fell.

►Joseph, a type of Messiah, took a Gentile bride, before the seven years of famine, a type of the tribulation. He was married to her during the time he was rejected by his Jewish brothers.

►Moses married a Gentile bride after his rejection by his brethren and before their “tribulation in the wilderness.” (Exodus 2:21) She gave birth to their son named Gershom, which means: “Stranger in a foreign land.” The name could also mean, “Gentile.” This may be a reference to the Gentile church and a pre-tribulation rapture.

►The Feast of Trumpets: Jewish tradition holds that the gates of heaven are opened on Rosh Hashanah that the righteous may enter in. (Psalm 118:19-20) There is much to say about the Feast of Trumpets and the rapture – next edition!

►The rapture marks a required dispensation change, from the church age to the seven year tribulation, which is the closing of the Old Covenant dispensation, now on hold. The seven-year period is also called the seventieth week of Daniel. It still has to be fulfilled. No rapture, no dispensation change!

►The conditions on earth at that time of the seven-year tribulation are consistent with Old Covenant times, descriptions, dealing and operations by God. They are totally different to this dispensation. The church which is in the dispensation of grace, cannot be in this time period.

►If there is a post-tribulation rapture, the church saints have to become one with the saints of Israel, and there would be no dispensational difference or change. The destiny of church then becomes that of Israel too, which is an earthly kingdom, after going through the tribulation. This all contradicts numerous verses.

►If the rapture is a post-tribulation event, obviously the church becomes the tribulation saints together with Israel as one, and all will be raptured together at the Second Coming, leaving no believers on earth to re-populate the earth in the Millennium.

►As believers get to heaven in their new resurrection bodies, there will be no marrying or having children anymore. (Matthew 22:30) But the saints who go, saved into the Millennium will reproduce.

If there is a post-tribulation rapture all will come back in glorified, resurrected bodies and will not marry or have children. So who will repopulate the earth in the Millennium?

►”It was given to Satan to overcome the saints”! (Revelation 13:7) But how can this be? As born-again, Spirit-filled believers, Satan can’t get to “God in us.” Those being referred to here are a different sort of saint. These are the tribulation saints, who do not have the indwelling Spirit like the church. This is a pre-tribulation rapture proof.

►Romans 11:25-26 “I do not desire you to be ignorant brethren of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own opinion, that hardening in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved.”

The term “has come in” (Strong’s G1525) means: “To arise and enter in, and to begin to exist in a new place”. Note what happens next: “And so all Israel will be saved.” You just as accurately say, “And then all Israel will be saved.” This indicates a pre-tribulation rapture, just before the saving work of God begins with Israel in a big way.

►Isaiah 63:2-3 “Why is Your apparel red and Your garments like one who treads the winepress. I have trodden the winepress alone, in My anger and fury. Their blood is sprinkled upon My garment, and I have stained all My robes.”

A “tribulum,” (where we get the word tribulation from), is a Latin word for a threshing roller or board that was used in a winepress to crush the grapes.

Revelation 19:13-14 “He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called, The Word of God, and the armies in heaven clothed in fine linen, white and clean followed Him on white horses.”

We see the Isaiah description of our Lord’s clothing splattered with blood from the tribulation events, and the insightful description of our Lord with His robes splattered in blood, in the Revelation account. Do you see the parallel?

Note that in the Revelation account, we see armies from heaven following our Lord back to the earth at the Second Coming. Note that these armies are clothed in clean white linen. “Clean and white robes” speaks of imputed righteousness. (Revelation 19:8) These armies are the church and must have been in heaven already to be returning.

The church in heaven, the tribulation on earth:

►Jude 1:14 speaks of the Lord coming with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgement on the ungodly at the end of the tribulation period.

►Revelation 5:14 speaks of the twenty four elders falling down to worship the Lord as He takes the scroll and opens it, beginning the tribulation period on earth.

►Revelation 13:6 speaks of the antichrist and his followers “blaspheming those who are in heaven.” Who are those who are in heaven during the tribulation?

►Revelation 12:12 speaks of the rejoicing of those who dwell in heaven, while “woe” and “wrath” continue on earth.

►Revelation 3:10 “I will keep them from the hour of trial that will come upon the whole world.”

The original word used for “keep from” in the verse above, is “ek tereo.” This is a most insightful word! “Tereo” is where we get the word “terrain” from. It means the physical earth. The word “ek” means “clean out away from.”

Many post-tribbers claim that the church will be protected through the tribulation period. This word usage alone does not allow that interpretation! Besides, the tribulation saints (many of them) will be martyred in the tribulation and not protected.

The term “hour of trial” is accepted to mean the seven-year tribulation. There is no dispute.

We will be kept clean out away from the tribulation-terrain! Isn’t that good to know!

For those who believe in a post-tribulation rapture, a most important event is missing at the Second Coming! They are in for a big surprise.

►Revelation 19:11-21 describes the events of the Second Coming at the end of the tribulation. (Many other verses too)There is no rapture found here anywhere, except a “rapture” of unbelievers to the “feast of vultures” where they become vulture food. (Matthew 24:28, Ezekiel 39:17).

No mention is made of a post-tribulation rapture in relation to the Second Coming in any verse anywhere in the Bible.

Be careful who you receive from:



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The Instant Rapture
By Joel Joseph
Researched by Pastor Gary Boyd
March 2nd 2021

The rapture will instantly cause, amongst the people, great jealousy, great anger, great regret and great hatred. No one will be neutral towards it. Those left behind who are wise, will fall in immediate, humble surrender to God.

The nature of the church:
The true church will be raptured just before at the start of the tribulation period. To fully understand why the tribulation will be such a terror, we need to understand just what the church is.
The heart of the true, born-again church is: ●The dwelling place of God. ●The church is the restrainer of evil in the world. ●The church is a haven of love and truth. ●The church is a place of comfort for the lost to run to. ●The church is a refuge of rest, joy, peace and more in holiness. ●The church is the place of the manifestation of the spiritual gifts, which includes weapons of warfare to restrict and conquer the demonic. ●The church is the place of already completed judgement of sin – through the cross of Calvary. ●The church is the lover of Israel and God’s plans for her.
There are many more benefits and characteristics of the true-Spirit – indwelt church.
So if all of these things are suddenly gone in a blinding flash at the rapture, do you see why the world will immediately become such a living terror?
Horror, terror, trembling or great rewards:
There are no words that can be used to describe the full horror of the tribulation period.
The world has fallen. If you are unsaved, your hero, the world has fallen. Not will fall - has fallen. It is judged! (1 John 5:19, John 12:31).
Here is the lot for the unsaved who will go through the tribulation, Go to https://www.biblegateway.com/ then put scripture in you want to find:
Jeremiah 30:5-7, Matthew 24:21, Daniel 12:1, Joel 2:2
But for those who, through the grace of God, have been saved, the future is one of great glory with great eternal rewards.
After fire hits a pile of gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay and straw, what will be left is smoke and refined gold, silver and precious stones. (1 Corinthians 3:12-13)
For some, they will receive no reward but still be “saved, so as through fire.” They will only have smoke left – smoked turkey! (1 Corinthians 3:15)
It is God’s fire that hits man’s works. Your presumption of what was good works matters nothing. Let me add that no one is saved by works – it is rewarded by works after you have been saved.
1 Corinthians 9:24 “Do you not know that those who run a race, all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.”
The following verses all speak of great reward coming for the believer. There are many more including the five crowns. Read of them here using Biblegateway:
Psalm 19:11, Matthew 10:41, Hebrews 10:35, 2 John 1:8, Philippians 3:14, 1 Corinthians 3:8.
Differences between the rapture and Second Coming:
At the Second Advent our Lord returns to the Mount of Olives in the same manner as he left which was a slow ascent. (Acts 1:11) At the pre tribulation rapture we are caught up, not come down! We are caught up in a “moment, in a twinkling of an eye” (Atomo” is the original word, which means the shortest division of time possible.)
According to the Bible the rapture will occur in a flash. This is not the description of the Second Advent at all.
The two can’t be the same event by any stretch of the imagination as many claim!
The post-trib rapture is impossible:
►1 Thessalonians 1:10 “He delivers us from the wrath to come.”
If we are to have a post- trib rapture, what “wrath to come” is this? A post-trib rapture is followed immediately by the Millennium and not wrath! So, is the Millennium the “wrath to come?” Of course not!
►Revelation 3:10 “Because you have kept My word to persevere, I also will keep you from (Lit = clean out away from) the hour (Lit =- wider time period) of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth.”
If we have a post-trib rapture, what trial is this? A post-trib rapture would mean that believers are kept clean out away from the trial which is the Millennium!
►2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 “Now concerning the coming of the Lord and our gathering together to him, we ask you not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the Day of the Lord had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that day will not come unless the falling away (departure of the church) comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.”
Due to persecution, the believers at Thessalonica thought they were in the tribulation and had missed the rapture. If we have a post- trib rapture, why would that be an issue, why would you be troubled by a letter saying that you are going through the tribulation at the end of the tribulation?
►If we have a post- trib rapture, sinners are cast into hell and all believers raptured at the Second Advent, therefore we will have an empty earth. Who then are the believers on earth in natural bodies during the Millennium?
►1 Corinthians 15:22-24 “As in Adam all die, even so in Messiah all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterwards those who are Messiah’s at His coming. Then the end shall come...”
The above verse shows a rapture order. First are the first fruits, who are the Church, afterwards comes another group of believers. These are the tribulation saints and are His at His 2nd coming. This very clearly speaks of two groups of believers. If we extrapolate this to a post- trib rapture, nothing makes sense or fits together! There would be no “order” of events in a post- trib scenario.
Post tribbers believe that the church will be protected through the tribulation.
Many will be tortured and savagely killed just like they were by the Catholic popes in the inquisitions.
Revelation 13:7 “It was granted to him (antichrist) to make war with the saints and overcome them.” Where does protection fit into this?
Many don’t have eyes for the rapture?
Luke 19:42-44 “If you had known, even you (Jews), especially in this your day, the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes...They will not leave one stone standing upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
Note one very important fact in this discourse above. The Jews were not only rebuked by our Lord for not knowing the time, but they were told that because they did not know their Messiah or the time, they would now not be able to know the time because they were blinded!

The “what if you’re wrong” crowd:
Don’t you just love the Christian sceptics who repeatedly point out that people have been wrong trying to time the rapture?
Here’s a good example: If a train is due at the station at 9am and you get ready, and go to the station. The train doesn’t arrive at 9am. You can now do one of two things:
(1) You can go home and say, the train is never coming or at least I have no idea when it’s coming so let’s just carry on with our lives.
(2) You can say, well the train will now be here very soon. It may be in the next 15 minutes. So let’s just watch and wait.
Unfortunately very few choose the latter, because they’ve got no brains.

The Bible does not say “no one knows the time.” It says, “no one knows the day and the hour of His coming.” There’s a very big difference. If I were to say to you that next year we will go to the game reserve in the winter, but I don’t know the day or hour yet. You would know exactly what I mean.

The “day and hour”means a very specific point in time. It does not mean month or year.
Besides, there is another very real and powerful possibility hidden in these words. Let’s look below the surface.

No one knows the day and hour = Strong’s for “know” = eido, and is used only in the past tense. In other words no one has known (at that time)

It does not speak of a future knowing. Besides, we are commanded to know the time and season. That does not imply years. I have always maintained that as the time approaches we will see it much more clearly, in spite of all the false rapture watchers out there.
Different destinies of the churches revealed in the book of Revelation:

The seven letters to the churches of Revelation chapters two and three are of incredible importance. They are God’s assessment of the body of Messiah. They contain three overall purposes. ●Firstly, they were addressed to seven literal churches in Asia Minor (Turkey today) ●Secondly, they speak to us today. ●Thirdly, they plot the course of church history.
There are three destinies of importance that we need to take note of in these letters. They are ● “Kept from the tribulation.” (Revelation 3:10) ●“Cast into great tribulation.” (Revelation 2:22) And ●Spewed out of My mouth.” (Revelation 3:16)
The term, “spewed out” implies a permanent spewing. In other words, these luke-warm Christians get spat out into the tribulation as well.

Don’t think that you are a Christian because you’re just like other half-baked churches who simply go by the title, “Christian.” If you compare yourself with them, you’re lacking discernment, that means you must pray for wisdom to discern. (1 Corinthians 1:10-11)
You can still be saved in the tribulation period, but you won’t miss the tribulation. You will go though in natural bodies into the Millennium.

Doctrines that lead to the tribulation:
There are many false doctrines or doctrines of error that are no big deal and eventually come right with most people who have an open heart to the Lord. But there are some that are deadly and will lead you right into the tribulation.
All those of replacement theology are on very thin ice. Those who reject dispensations are on thin ice. Those of the A-Millennium doctrine are doomed.

Any and every doctrine that nullifies or waters down the work of the cross is doomed.
Post - tribbers are in trouble, but not doomed like some of the others.
The Pre-trib example of Lot:

We know the story of Lot and his wife being removed from the evil city, Sodom, before the judgement of fire fell upon it. This is a type of a pre-tribulation rapture. Lot was not protected through the fiery judgement but removed completely to another town called Zoar.
Now look at these two astounding verses below. Note that God says He can’t even begin the judgement while Lot is still there in Sodom.

Genesis 19:22-23 “Hurry, escape there (from Sodom). For I can’t do anything until you arrive there. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun had risen when Lot entered Zoar.”

Genesis 18:25 “Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
Do you see the powerful pre-trib rapture typology here?

The Pre-trib example of Jericho:
Many use this story to prove a post-tribulation rapture. But if we look a little deeper into what actually happened there is no argument.

In Joshua 2 we see the story of the Gentile, Rahab, hiding two Israeli spies from Jericho's Gentile army who wanted to kill them. She rescues them and is told by the two spies to put a scarlet thread in her window so the invading Israeli army would spare her and her family from destruction when Jericho falls and is consumed by the fire of judgement.

Joshua 6:4-5 “Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of ram’s horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times and the priests shall blow the trumpets. Then it shall come to pass when they make a long blast on the ram’s horns, and when you hear the sound of the trumpets, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city shall fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”

Rahab, is a type of the church. She and her family were removed from the city before it fell to the ground in judgment. Here it is:

Joshua 6:22-24 “But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, ‘Go into the harlot’s house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her.’ The young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel. Then they burned the city and all that was in it with fire...”
In verse 23 we see Rahab being brought out of Jericho and left outside the camp of Israel.
By faith she was made clean and delivered from God’s wrath seven days before judgment. This is a powerful type of the pre-tribulation rapture of the church.

There is another very powerful example in this story that believers would do well to take heed of. Rahab was a Gentile who helped Israel fulfil her calling. She hid the spies in her home thereby facilitating the God-inspired journey of the Jews to the Promised Land. This simple act brought God’s favour to her and her family.

Today we are in a similar situation. Do you want God’s blessing or cursing on your life?
I’ve wandered around the ruins of Jericho, not far from the modern town. I had an eerie feeling alright. My mind went back to the days of the fall of Jericho and forward to the rapture of the church – closely related by those ancient stones of Jericho’s walls!

ThePre-trib type of Enoch:
Enoch is a type of the Church. He was a Gentile, being born before the official formation of the Jews. He was the seventh from Adam.

Enoch was born on the day of Pentecost, further entrenching his type of the church.
Enoch was taken by rapture before the flood of Noah. He was not protected through it, but raptured to heaven. His rapture is consistent with the other types I have referred to in this edition and numerous others that you’ll find in other editions.

If Enoch is a type of the rapture of the Church, isn’t this interesting: Jude 1:14 “Now Enoch the seventh from Adam prophesied about these men also saying, Behold the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints...” When does this occur? It is right at the end of the tribulation period – the Second Coming. And note who it is coming back with our Lord. It is a great company of “His saints.”

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Gilded Ages – Part I Solomon, 666 and Gold
by Wilfred Hahn
Researched by Pastor Gary Boyd
Article from 2007

To this point in history, the greatest period of power and wealth for Israel was during the reign of King Solomon. During this time, for the most part, Israel was at peace. Its land mass stretched from the Mediterranean and northern Egypt to outposts on the River Babylon. Solomon received tributes and levies from many other kingdoms. 1 Kings 10 (and also 2 Chronicles 9) gives an account of Solomon’s Golden Age, including the ostentatious visit by the Queen of Sheba. An excerpt from 1 Kings 10, (verses 21 to 26, NIV) provides an indication of Solomon’s grandeur:

“All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days. The king had a fleet of trading ships at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons. King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules. Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. The king made silver as common inJerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills.”

We see that Solomon was wealthy beyond imagination. However, the Bible makes it clear that these riches were not a result of Solomon’s works, but rather a blessing from God. When Solomon asked God for understanding, the Lord responded thus:

“Behold […] I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour […].”: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.” (1 Kings 3:12-12, KJV)

Yet, we also know that, while God surely did deliver his promise, Solomon did not finish his life faithful. In time, he allowed the blessings themselves to corrupt him. As he gained power, honor and influence, he began to break many of God’s commands. He wandered off to follow his own interests and indulgences. While tragic, it was not surprising. Only two generations earlier, Samuel had warned Israel about the dangers of appointing a king over them. Nevertheless, the people said: “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations.” (Samuel 8:19-20)

Even earlier, Moses had expressly laid down requirements should Israel ever want a king. The king “must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself” (Deuteronomy 17:16); “ He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.” (verse 17) Solomon did all of these things. He had hundreds of horses, wives and concubines. He built himself an immense palace, much larger than the temple he had built for the Lord. Moreover, he built himself an impressive throne. (verses 18-20) While God had told Moses never to build steps in front of any altar, Solomon elected to have 6 steps leading to his throne with 12 golden lions placed upon them.

And, true to the prophecy of Samuel that the entire nation of Israel would end up being oppressed by their kings economically, (1 Samuel 8:10-18) this indeed proved to be the case with Solomon. Jeroboam, appealing to King Rehoboam (Solomon’s son) said, “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us.” (2 Chronicles 10:4) Solomon had raised a levy upon all Israel. (1Kings 5:13) Extra-biblical sources indicate that high levels of inflation existed during the later stages of Solomon’s reign. As a result, the population was in a plaintive mood.

Solomon’s Foreshadowing and 666

The account of Solomon’s reign holds many lessons, only a few of which we can profitably explore here. Interestingly, Solomon’s Golden Age provides a useful type or foreshadow of another type of Gilded Age … one that the world is hankering after today.

The chapter of 1 Kings 11 is rather remarkable in several respects. In this one chapter is shown both the rise and fall of Solomon, providing another example of a man (mankind) receiving blessings but ultimately forgetting its source and conditional aspects. And, most curiously, the number 666 is mentioned.

What could this infamous number have to do with Solomon’s era if anything? In this writer’s view, the mention of this number is neither accidental nor circumstantial. The Holy Spirit intended it for reason.

In 1 Kings 10:14-15 we read. “The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents, not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the land.” This surely was a large income. Based upon recent gold prices, 666 talents would amount to an annual income of about one-half billion in US dollar terms. Based upon the average income of that time, King Solomon would have earned an income equivalent to about 200,000 laborers and more. In those terms, his annual income would be closer to an equivalent of $8 to $10 billion per year. As the Bible confirms, no other king was as rich as he was during that time.

But, let’s return to our examination of this curious number — “six hundred threescore and six” as it is phrased in the King James translation. It comes up on only 3 occasions in the Bible. Most well known is its reference in Revelation 13:18. Another reference is found in Ezra 2:13, where it refers to the number of Adomicam’s family that was returning to Jerusalem from Babylon. However, the parallel account in Nehemiah 7:18, counts them differently at 667. Given this apparent inconsistency, we are best not to attribute any importance to this reference.

However, the first reference in the Bible to the number 666 appears in the two parallel records of the reign of King Solomon. (1 Kings 10 and 2 Chronicles 9) In both, the number is mentioned specifically.

But why should its reference here attract further attention? There are at least two reasons. Firstly, the number is incongruous with the rest of these two chapters. It sticks out as a sore thumb.

The two, almost identical, Scripture accounts employ many numbers in describing the reign of King Solomon and the opulence of his kingdom and possessions. For example, there are mentioned 300 concubines, 1400 chariots, 300 shields, and 12,000 horses. Among more than 15 numbers mentioned, there is found one unusual number — 666. Of the 11 numbers greater than 100 employed in this chapter, only one of these is not rounded to nearest one-hundredth or one-thousandth or ending in zero. It is the number 666.

Secondly, the application and context of this number is ill-fitting. King Solomon’s annual income in terms of talents of gold “was 666 talents, not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the land.” (2 Chronicles 9:13-14. 1 Kings 10:14-15). The text clearly tells us that he had much greater revenues than 666 talents per year. Then why is the odd number of 666 used in describing his income? It would be just as strange to express ones hourly wage of $10.00 as $6.66 plus a whole lot more. In any case, it would be strange if Solomon’s gold income were not to fluctuate from year to year.

Therefore, we should conclude that this number is also meant to provide a symbolic connection. It may simply alert us to the fact that King Solomon commanded a prosperous and opulent economy that then descended into idolatry and bureaucratic controls. It was not a “divine” economy but an enterprise of man with all its usual defects and troubles. In the end, the bureaucracy under Solomon ended up becoming a type of oppressor. Says one commentator, “Solomon’s success came at the high price of individual freedom and tribal sovereignty.”[i]

The Simple Meaning of 666

666 surely is an infamous number among both Christians and non-Christians alike. However, before we comment any further, we best keep in mind Joseph Thayer’s comment (author of The Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament) concerning this number — “six hundred and sixty six, the meaning of which is the basis of much vain speculation.” As such, we will not embark upon any such speculation and limit ourselves to the Bible’s plain meaning. Anything else would risk misdirection.

That said, there assuredly is a lot of non-sensical and ludicrous speculation as to the meaning of this number. Even well-known Bible teachers make speculative associations, employing numerology, arbitrary calculations (gematria) and other twists of mathematics. One high-profile prophecy teacher with a large TV audience openly makes associations with the number 66 purely on the basis of the number values of English names. This is so spurious it can hardly bear comment. For one, this practice presumes that the English language must be used to unlock the meaning of a text originally written in Greek. This is the equivalent to saying that all people — whether Chinese or Swahili — must be required to first learn English before they can be allowed to read the Holy Scriptures. We forget that the Bible’s words were inspired in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. On this theory, we must all first learn these three languages before we can study the scriptures.

No doubt, many levels of meanings may be taken from the number 666. However, in essence, the Bible provides a fairly straightforward description. Said John the Revelator, “If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666.” (Revelation 13:18) Clearly, the beast and man are together indicted in this passage. It is man’s number … representing his systems and beliefs and idolatries. These happen to be enervated by the Prince of this World.

It should be noticed that the Revelator’s mention of the number 666 follows right after the verses that inform us that the false prophet will attempt to induce everyone to take the mark of the beast: “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” (Revelation 13:16-17)

There clearly is an obvious economic and financial connection. An idolatrous man-made system of control is likely indicated, implying self-sufficiency and a reliance upon earthly materialism. Systems such as these are destined for destruction or break-up as happened to Solomon’s kingdom. In this sense, we may see that a common spirit finds a connection with the later stages of Solomon’s reign, the number 666 and the yet future prophetic events.

Thoughts to Ponder

No doubt, today, the world is experiencing a remarkable era. Around the globe, a new unified belief is gaining strength: Mankind’s materialistic systems and globalism — in its simplest form, symbolized by the number 666 — is unstoppable … or so most people think. A grand new gilded era of peace and economic prosperity seems assured. It would be tempting to agree.

No where is this confidence more evident currently than in the fields of global finance, economics and globalism. The popular and celebrated view is that globalization is leading to another golden age for mankind … the best and biggest ever … far better than the previous time that a similar confidence emerged. That period was referred to as the Gilded Age, occurring between 1880 and 1914. It also was a period of rapid technological progress and advances in globalization. Unfortunately, it ended horribly when the First World War erupted.

Solomon’s later reign of self-reliant commercialism and dependence upon a prosperous economy ended badly. So will the current one. The only difference is that today’s “gilded” confidence is more swaggering, unified and globally pervasive than ever before. Its treacheries and deceits are therefore also much larger and more dangerous. We surely are today experiencing the systemic rise of the 666 system that will very soon intersect with the literal prophecies found in Revelation 13.

All of this may not sound very uplifting and optimistic — again the doom and gloom ruminations of a pessimistic, austere, unloving Bible thumper. However, we can choose to view our current epoch from either of two perspectives: As did Abraham, “[…] longing for a better country—a heavenly one.”(Hebrews 11:16); or, as “friends of the world.” (James 4:4) Actually, the former is an optimistic view; the latter a pessimistic one. It is only “friends of the world” who have both feet firmly staked to hopes of a better and more comfortable place upon earth for a season, that will likely view the perspectives of a literally-interpreted Bible’s as pessimistic.

Speaking of perspectives, have you ever wondered what that “great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) would think of our world today? Would they be observing mankind’s crowning capstone of humanism and materialism rapidly taking form — man’s systemic number of 666 coming into view? Would they be dismayed that mankind yet again is intoxicated by the vision of another Tower of Babel, saying “let us make a name” (Genesis 11:4) and determine our own destiny? Most of all, wouldn’t that cloud of witnesses be most grieved to see how many supposed Christians have been thoroughly blinded by the golden promises and cares of our present age?

Seen within the broad fabric of long-term world trends — not simply in the short-term, but as would the great cloud of heavenly witnesses — evident is a human timeline that the Bible has long prophesied. Its ultimate fate has been prophesied through the prophets in no uncertain terms.

So we see that the systemic aspects of the “beast” symbolized by the number 666 are already operative in our day … right under our very noses, so to speak. Some day, this beast that comes out of the sea will be headed by the Antichrist and used to oppress the entire world. However, to the believing and pure church, this will be of no concern. The Church — the Philadelphian church — will be kept from this future period. Christ said to the Philadelphians, “I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.” (Revelation 3:10)

Rapture Reverberations
By Joel Joseph
Researched by Pastor Gary Boyd
June 9th 2020

Introduction:

These are the words of life!

The word “reverberation” means: A persistent sound that makes things seem to shake and vibrate, or a booming repeating wave that follows the initial event.

The rapture will blow our socks off for sure. It takes place in a flash, in an “atomo” (atomic moment) It will occur mysteriously, in the air, silently and out of sight to all unbelievers left behind. (It is the Second Coming that will be seen by all).

The rapture of the true church will be the event that causes reverberation, repercussions and rumblings around the world like echoing thunder, in the hearts, minds and souls of the left behind masses, as the shock sets in and the seven-year tribulation begins.

There will be howling, yelling and shouting in disbelief. The world will be crying, “me too?” “Don’t you know, God – ‘my life matters’?”

Isaiah 13:6-8 “Wail and howl for the day of the Lord (tribulation period) is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will be limp, everyman’s heart will melt and they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrow will take hold of them...Their faces will be like flames.”

But, as the rapture approaches, the reverberations are already starting. Just the teaching and sharing of it is causing the fists of many in opposition, to shake in reverberating anger at the teachers, the Bible, and God!

This edition is about rapture musings, meditations, appraisals and approvals, and about making the rapture opponents mad and angry.

A rapture reverberation is being seen right now in the rejection of rapture teaching by many churches. The rapture rattles their cage.

The greatest proof ever of a pre-tribulation rapture:

In plain sight, is this great and powerful fact and reason for the pre-trib rapture.

The Bible confirms in plain language in four passages that God works differently with man in the different dispensations. (Ephesians 1:10, 3:2, Hebrews 1:1, Colossians 1:25)

The dispensation of the law had specific unique characteristics. Salvation was not through the new-birth experience, but by simply believing and having salvation imputed to them. There was no indwelling Holy Spirit. They were not “new creations” as they are in the New Covenant.

Without going into all the details of Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy, it’s well accepted common knowledge that the Old Covenant dispensation is on hold for the church age, and will resume and be completed by the seven-year tribulation.

So, here’s the big thing: If the church is to go through just one second of the tribulation period, that would mean that the church would have to become un-born-again and un-Spirit filled and un-newly created! The true church would have to be de-churched and made tribulation saints. Do you think that’s going to happen? – It never will!

The destination of the church is heaven. Ultimately it will be the New Jerusalem, heaven, earth and the entire universe. But initially the destination of the church is heaven, and the destination of the tribulation saints is the Millennial earth. There’s a big difference!

Our Lord said: “I will come to receive you to be where I am.” (John 14:3) That is in heaven.

We see here proof supreme that the church cannot be part of the tribulation dispensation at all.

The relationship between the rapture and Israel:

Isaiah 66:19 “I will set a sign amongst them (Israel)...and they shall declare My glory amongst the Gentiles.”

Israel was born in a day on the 14th May 1948. (Isaiah 66:8) This foreshadows Israel’s spiritual birth, which will also begin in a day. Bear in mind that the entire tribulation period is also called “The Day of the Lord.”

What will be the grand sudden sign causing Israel to turn to their Messiah?

Zechariah 3:9 “...I will remove the iniquity of that land (Israel) in one day.”

The church was commanded by God to “take the gospel to the Jew first.” And, to “make the Jew jealous.” The church by and large ignored this and did the opposite.

It is the rapture of the church that will have the most dramatic reverberations amongst the unsaved Jews, left behind. They will immediately become angry and jealous that God has left them, the chosen people behind! (Romans 10:19)

So, finally, in its last breath on earth, every member of the true church suddenly obeys God’s command to take the good news to the Jew and make them jealous, through the rapture!

The rapture itself becomes the great, glorious sign and message. The rapture will shock the hell of the Jews. The rapture will make them instantly angry at God and jealous of the church.

But very quickly Israel will repent and suddenly recognize who their Messiah is, turn to Him, worship Him, clean their acts up, and become the world’s greatest evangelists, in the tribulation.

Isaiah 49:6 “I also will give you (Israel) as a light to the Gentles, that you should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.”

Isaiah 55:5 “You (Israel) shall call a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and the holy One of Israel; for He has glorified you.”

The reverberations of Israel’s very soon-coming awakening are being felt worldwide. Tragically, even many churches and teachers are coming against Israel with a new satanic passion.

By the way, you can prove a post trib rapture if you get rid of Israel!

Part of the very reason for Satan’s creation of a new world order, one world government, economy and religion is a reverberation against the coming glory of Israel and God’s triumphant plans for them, even through much tribulation.

If Satan and his people can create a new world order, reaching up to God, just like at Babel, God’s plans for a new world order called the Millennium would be defeated.

It is the satanic ‘triumph’ of globalism that will be defeated in the greatest conflicts the world has ever seen – soon!

We are about to see the annexation of Judah and Samaria. This will cause major upheavals and conflict. It may well lead to the unfulfilled wars in the Middle East. All of this is a reverberation of the coming glorification of Israel, and expansion of the land.

Rapture reasons:

A major pre-tribulation rapture confirmation is seen in the fact that book of Revelation deals chronologically, with the church in the first four chapters, and the church is not seen again except in heaven, during the tribulation chapters through the rest of the Revelation.

The absence of the church in the tribulation is a powerful reason for the rapture itself and a pre-tribulation rapture.

Interestingly, the birth of the church at Pentecost was marked by the indwelling Spirit, the placing of the law in believer’s hearts, and the giving of the language of the church – tongues.

We see that there is coming a time when “tongues will cease” and prophecy will vanish away or dissipate over time. (1 Corinthians 13:8) The original word for “cease” means to cease in an instant, while the “vanishing away” takes place over time.

It is widely believed (and by me) that the instant “ceasing” is due to the rapture. Tongues are not evident in the tribulation but are in the entire church age.

The world is going crazy:

The forerunners to the catastrophes of the tribulation are lining up right now. They are:

•Plagues (disease) •Famines (evident in many nations) •Pestilences (locust invasion striking like never before right now) • Nations (ethnic) rising against nations (riots and social unrest) •Lawlessness (rioting, defunding the police) •Removal of the restrainer (increase wickedness and evil •One world currency (collapse of earnings and economic hardship) •One world religion (churches joining the agenda of the world) •Still to come are the big wars and all the natural upheavals.

All the craziness in the world currently, is a reverberation of the soon coming rapture. The world’s current upheavals and troubles are just a small glimpse of things to come under antichrist. Maranatha.........

Why the Rapture Is No New Delirium
by Wilfred Hahn
Researched by Pastor Gary Boyd
March 29th 2022


Whenever I mention that my ministry is pre-Millennial, pre-Tribulational, and absurdities of all absurdities—believe in the doctrine of the Rapture, I receive responses. For several reasons, my ministry generally has not entangled ourselves in this issue. But, apparently, according to the responses we receive, to believe that a Rapture will occur brands one as “low brow,” “gullible” and “escapist.”

If anything, it seems that a spirit of derisiveness as well as smugness is becoming more prevalent. Nevertheless, over the years we have observed that the “No-Rapture” proponents apparently feel unsettled with Rapture-believers. We receive letters from supposedly well-meaning people who would like to convert us; some even want to “deliver” us to a post- or mid-tribulation perspective.

Interestingly, most of these respondents will agree that any differences in our perspectives are nothing over which to lose fellowship, as long as both parties are pre-millennial. Yet, for some reason, they still want to disprove the Rapture view, though it is not a “salvation issue.”

Conversely, those who hold the Rapture view do not feel it an imperative to expunge the world of Rapture naysayers. As mentioned, it is not a salvation issue. The Rapture believer knows that the non-Rapture-believing Christian is given salvation through grace as anyone else, and moreover, will be taken up in the Rapture even while they remain doubters.

So why “proselytize” them to the Rapture view, other than to gain the blessing of a full biblical alignment of one’s views?

While not every variant of doctrine threatens one’s salvation, every deviation from Biblical truth does have its price.

We wonder why there is such an opposition to the Rapture view. Just what spirit — or irritation — is behind these attacks? The range of counter arguments and viewpoints range from the thoughtful to pure vitriol.

It would be fine to debate the Rapture doctrine based upon Biblical exegesis. However, increasingly it seems that Rapture-deniers resort to mostly unfounded and unbalanced allegations. They have not come to their opinion by way of “scholarly” study, but rather shallow anti-Rapture propaganda.

Recently, a friend (with an evangelical background and who was raised with the Rapture expectation) rather suddenly changed his mind, announcing to me that he no longer believes in the Rapture. I was curious what was behind this “conversion.”

Apparently, he had swallowed the argument that it was a “new” doctrine, supposedly popularized by a delusional young woman named Margaret MacDonald in the 1800s. This couldn’t be further from the truth in many respects. To fall for such a shallow falsehood is to ignore Scripture and the full history of the Christian church.

This writer may be amongst the least credible apologists to present a case for the Rapture; however, I have certainly consulted and read many solid “dispensationalist” books and arguments supporting this view. As such, we supplement our brief response here by borrowing from pedigreed scholars. Anyone expounding on the Rapture, pro or con, should decide for themselves on the following four points.

1. Back to the Source – First, we must begin with the document that is claimed to be all sufficient for teaching, rebuking and admonishing (2 Timothy 3:16). Its truth towers far above that of all other documents in the world. The Rapture doctrine finds its source in Scripture. Nowhere else. Not only is it spoken of specifically, it is also foreshadowed and deductive, based on the character of God himself.

The doctrine of the Rapture must stand on the Bible “full stop.” The view of any church father, Pope, or entranced young girl cannot add any credence nor pedigree to what Scripture has said. As it is, a so-called church father can be found and quoted to support almost any theological view. We may have our favourites, but quoting them adds nothing proof-worthy to this main point — the Rapture is a scriptural doctrine.

2. Context: The History of the Church – Rapture doubters often claim that a teaching cannot be true because it is alleged to be “new” … i.e. perhaps something popularized over the last several centuries. This argument is not valid for a number of reasons. For one, it ignores church history; and second, it ignores the very warnings of the Bible. Early on—more than 2,000 years ago—Christians were already warned about false doctrines and that deceivers would creep in unawares. This was clearly an issue already during the time of the apostles. (See 2 Timothy 3:8, 4:3; 2 Peter 2:1-3.)

Once the Apostles had passed on, the dilution of the gospel happened rapidly. Over the course of a few centuries, many false doctrines (driven by an “anti-christ spirit”) became embedded in various teachings. The pagan-infused empire of the Holy Roman Church eventually became a full-fledged apostate religious system. As the 1,000 pound religious and state-sponsored gorilla, it oppressed any and all that would differ with its doctrines or disrespect its authority.

Once Constantine (the 4th century Roman emperor) adopted Christianity as the state religion, the Roman Catholic Church eventually became a regal earthly power, abrogating to itself even sovereignty and the role of the vicarious presence of Christ upon earth. Fallaciously claiming that Apostle Peter was its founder, it nevertheless chose to not heed even one statement of Peter’s found in the Bible.

Throughout the centuries of Roman Catholic dominance (the Dark Ages) no contrary opinion upon any matter was allowed other than that of the ostensibly infallible Popes (no matter how despicable and ungodly some of them may have been.) Those believers and preachers who stood up for Biblical truth were jailed, tortured and murdered.

The Roman Church’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was feared. Those with biblical views that were contrary to the “revelations” and pronouncements of the Roman Catholic Magisterium had to flee for their lives, living in obscurity or hiding. To be branded a heretic was a dangerous thing, punishable by incarceration or torture even in Protestant circles.

Is it any wonder that so little of the biblical doctrines and views of the New Testament Church survived through the Middle Ages? Instead, many biblical doctrines were obliterated and suppressed. Those who attempted to revive or restore them (often viewing the “Holy Roman Church” as the whore of Revelation 17) were persecuted. Relatively few writings or records survive of the Church outside of the Holy Roman church anywhere from the period of the 6th to 16th centuries.

History records that millions of Ana-Baptists and other groups (Protestants of various sects — Waldensians, Huguenots, claimed heretics such as the Albigenses, etc.) were slaughtered under the edict of the Popes (and countless Jews were annihilated as well). These are documentable facts.

Only later, as the Middle Ages ended, England repudiated the rule of the Popes, the Reformation occurred, and Luther, Wycliffe and Tyndale opened the Bible to the public did Biblical teachings again see the light of day and could be recorded and published.

However, crucially, these were not “new” teachings. Rather they were largely restored teachings that were based on Scripture. Amongst these was the doctrine of the Rapture.

3. Solid Scholarship and Proofs – Today, we have the benefit of much scholarship on the origins of Christian doctrines. Amongst this record are the teachings of various preachers and theologians of the 16th to 19thcenturies (outside of the Roman Catholic church) which have been found and uncovered. Plain to see in these records is the dominance of pre-millennial interpretations of the Bible.

Moreover, there is much proof of the Rapture being taught once the systematic oppression of Christians (or those with merely opposing scriptural views) starting being gradually lifted. The Rapture view was held by some clergy centuries before the alleged “trance revelations” of Margaret MacDonald. The promotion of this “trance” allegation is a “hatchet job” as far as scholarly evidence is concerned.

Today, we can say with confidence that the trance allegations of the “anti-Rapture” crowd have been thoroughly debunked and invalidated based on scholarship. We can recommend sound scholarly works proving the views expressed here. A recent “light bearer” work is the book titled Dispensationalism Before Darby by Dr. William C. Watson (published by Lampion Press). This book is full of quotes of the dispensationalist perspectives of many pastors, theologians and churchmen from the 16th to 19th centuries.

4. Logic and Apologetics – There are many excellent books available on the doctrine of the Rapture. As such, as already mentioned, we can hardly do credit to this body of work … especially so in such a short article. Students of the entire Bible (Old and New Testaments) can sense in their spirit God’s divine plan behind the Rapture.

It is in alignment with the entirety of the Bible. God always called out and preserved the believing remnant before he unleashed His wrath (the family of Noah, Lot). Why then, would the Church (what He calls His Bride) be allowed to be utterly slaughtered under the justice of his wrath.

Indeed, God disciplines and reproves those whom He loves. As Peter says, “For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household” (1 Peter 4:17). But, he also says in this same passage: “[…] if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”. The treatment of the Church and those who “do not obey” are not one and the same.

We have recently completed a 5-part series called Anxiety Merchants and False Prophets [the first part of which will be published in the February issue of the Midnight Call. You can read it at this link when it is published.] In these articles, we present the point that ALL Christians will be killed in the Tribulation Period.

None who refuse to take the mark and worship the beast (Revelation 20:4) will survive. Contrary to the Bible, if one presumes that Christians will not be “[…] caught up together […] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air […]” (1 Thessalonians 4:17) then what “blessed hope” is there (Titus 2:13)?

To the contrary, says Jesus Christ to the Philadelphian church, “I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth” (Revelation 3:10).

This writer sometimes struggles with the concept of grace. As such, the Partial Rapture Theory can appear logical. Why? It naturally just doesn’t seem just that Jesus Christ would rapture all Christians though hardly any of them could be as worthy as perhaps Elijah and Enoch of the Old Testament who were also raptured. But, if the Lord saves us “while we are yet in sin” (Romans 5:8) through grace, then the Rapture is equally likely and equally undeserved for last-day Christians.

In conclusion, today, the attacks against the Rapture (excepting on the basis of scriptural evidence) can be ignored. Most arguments are fallacious … and sometimes mendacious. ALL last-day Christians are both saved and raptured by grace!

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