The Overcomers’ Benefits and Rewards (Revisited)

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Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Prophecy, Spiritual

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assembly, benefits, Community, ekklesia, faithful, obedient, overcomers, rewards, spiritually mature saints, victorious saints, YeHoVah, Yeshua

¹Loved ones, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from [YeHoVaH]. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²You know the Ruach Elohim by this—every spirit that acknowledges that Messiah Yeshua has come in human flesh is from [YeHoVaH], ³but every spirit that does not acknowledge Yeshua is not from [YeHoVaH]. This is the spirit of the anti-messiah, which you have heard is coming and now is already in the world. ⁴You are from [YeHoVaH], children, and you have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. ⁵They are from the world, so they speak from the world and the world listens to them. ⁶We are from [YeHoVaH]; whoever knows [YeHoVaH] listens to us, but whoever is not from [YeHoVaH] does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. ~ 1 John 4:1-6

Overcomers are believers who truly are more than conquerors; they clearly are the faithful and obedient victorious members of the Body of Yeshua — the faithful and obedient spiritual conquerors. Notice that, in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, Yeshua never addresses the entire Body of Believers — His whole Ekklesia — as overcomers. Nor does He address one entire ekklesia (one assembly or one “church”) as overcomers.

While speaking individually to the seven “churches” (more correct translations of ekklesiae are assembly and community), Yeshua only promises benefits and rewards to the saints who OVERCOME, even though He uses only the singular pronoun. Yeshua repeatedly says, “He who overcomes.” Therefore, Yeshua is making it clear that not all saints — not all members in His Ekklesia — are or will be OVERCOMERS. These overcomers in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 are saints who shine like the stars that are far and above the spiritual corruptions or spiritual problems Yeshua mentions to Revelation‘s seven “churches.”

I know what I said above is an uncomfortable truth, but the Divine Truth is that there are Bible verses that prove the overcomers — the ones to whom specific benefits and rewards are promised/offered and to whom these promised benefits and rewards will be given — are separate and distinct types of saints. If we read closely, we see that in every one of the seven “churches” Yeshua mentions in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 there were — and, indeed, there always will be — the kind of saints who were faithful believers in Yeshua and the kind of saints who were unfaithful believers in Yeshua. There were — and there always have been — the kind of saints who were obedient children of YeHoVaH and those saints who were disobedient children of YeHoVaH. In other words, there were then — and always have been — spiritual and carnal members in the Body of Yeshua. Therefore, there also always were (and always will be, including right now) holy overcomers AND the kind of saints who were or are overwhelmed, worn down, and defeated. To put it differently, from the beginning of Yeshua’s Ekklesia, there always have been those believers who have become spiritual conquerors and those believers who have been spiritually conquered!

Again, the Scriptures prove that Yeshua only promises EACH spiritual conqueror in each of Revelation’s seven “churches” that if he or she is a faithful and obedient overcomer; that is, if the spiritually mature man or spiritually mature woman in each “church” continues to fight against Satan’s fiery darts, his destructive deceptions, and his toxic lies, AND WINS even if his or her resistance leads to his or her death, then that OVERCOMER is the believer in Yeshua who will receive the following specific benefits and rewards:

1. The Tree of Life

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach is saying to Messiah’s communities. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the Tree of Life, which is in the Paradise of [YeHoVaH]. ” ~ Revelation 2:7 (Ephesus)

2. The Crown of Life

Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, so that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach is saying to Messiah’s communities. The one who overcomes shall never be harmed by the second death.” ~ Revelation 2:10-11 (Smyrna)

3. The White Stone

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach is saying to Messiah’s communities. To the one who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone—and written on the stone a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.” ~ Revelation 2:17 (Pergamum)

4. The National Authority

To the one who overcomes and guards My deeds until the end, ‘I will give him authority over the nations and he shall rule them with an iron rod, as when clay pots are broken into pieces.’
Even as I have received from My Father, so I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach is saying to Messiah’s communities.” ~ Revelation 2:26-29 (Thyatira)

5. The White Robes

“But still, you have a few people in Sardis who have not stained their clothes. They will walk with Me in white, because they are worthy. The one who overcomes thus will be dressed in white clothes; I will never blot his name out of the Book of Life, and will confess his name before My Father and His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach is saying to Messiah’s communities. ~ Revelation 3:5-6 (Sardis)

6. The Permanent Pillar

The one who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the Temple of My God, and he will never leave it. And on him I will write the name of My God and the name of the city of My God—the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God—and My own new Name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach is saying to Messiah’s communities.” ~ Revelation 3:12-13 (Philadelphia)

7. The Throne

To the one who overcomes I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I myself overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach is saying to Messiah’s communities.” ~ Revelation 3:21-22 (Laodicea)

He or she who has an ear needs to hear that Yeshua’s overcomer is not just the run-of-the-mill kind of saint, who gets into Heaven with the smell of smoke on him or her (see 1 Corinthians 3:15). To get these mentioned benefits and rewards, a saint must be a spiritual conqueror kind of overcomer — a faithful and obedient even unto death kind of saint.

Is anybody listening?

Yeshua’s Death, Burial, and Resurrection Happened on YeHoVaH’s Moedim

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Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Prophecy, Bible Study

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Appointed Feast Days, Appointed Times of YeHoVaH, Barley Harvest, blameless, Easter Sunday, First Fruits, firstfruits, fulfilled, Good Friday, hametz, High Sabbath, Leaven, Matzot, omer, Passover, Passover Lamb, perfect Lamb of YeHoVah, regular weekly Sabbath, Shabbat, sheaf, sin, sinless, Unleavened Bread, YeHoVaH's Moedim, Yeshua

“These are the appointed feasts of YeHoVaH, holy convocations which you are to proclaim in their appointed season. During the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, is YeHoVaH’s Passover. ~ Leviticus 23:4-5

“Observe the month of Aviv [Nisan] and keep the Passover to YeHoVaH your God, for in the month of Aviv YeHoVaH your God brought you out from Egypt by night. …For seven days you are to eat matzot with it, the bread of affliction—for you came out from the land of Egypt in haste. Do this so that all the days of your life you will remember the day when you came out from the land of Egypt. ~ Deuteronomy 16:1, 3

On the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Matzot [Unleavened Bread] to YeHoVaH. For seven days you are to eat matzah [unleavened bread]. On the first day you are to have a holy convocation and you should do no regular work. Instead you are to present an offering made by fire to YeHoVaH for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation, when you are to do no regular work.” ~ Leviticus 23:6-8

YeHoVaH spoke to Moses saying: “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael [children of Israel] and tell them: When you have come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you are to bring the omer of the firstfruits of your harvest to the kohen. He is to wave the omer before YeHoVaH, to be accepted for you. On the morrow after the Shabbat, the kohen is to wave it. ~ Leviticus 23:9-11

Get rid of the old hametz [leavened food], so you may be a new batch, just as you are unleavened—for Messiah, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. ~ 1 Corinthians 5:7

But now Messiah has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also has come through a Man. For as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah will all be made alive. But each in its own order: Messiah the firstfruits; then, at His coming, those who belong to Messiah; ~ 1 Corinthians 15:20-23

According to Scripture, Yeshua died on Passover (14 Nisan) – not on the man-made, man-established Good Friday. Furthermore, Scripture says that YeHoVaH established 14 Nisan (Aviv) as the date on which the Hebrews would annually keep the Passover (see Deuteronomy 16:1 above).

This year, Passover, 14 Nisan, began at sunset on March 27. Now, it is important to mention here that a Jewish day starts at sunset and ends, 24 hours later, at the next sunset.

Concerning Yeshua’s Passover crucifixion, it is written:

Now it was the third hour when they nailed Him on the stake. And the inscription of the charge against Him was written above: “THE KING OF THE JEWS.” And with Him they execute two outlaws, one on His right and one on His left. ~ Mark 15:25-27

NOTE:

According to Scripture, the Jewish third hour of daylight time is 9 AM.

Concerning Yeshua’s Passover death, it is written:

Now from the sixth hour, darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Yeshua cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?” – Matthew 27:45-46

NOTE:

According to Scripture, the Jewish sixth hour of daylight time is 12 Noon, and the Jewish ninth hour of daylight time is 3 PM.

In Scripture, YeHoVaH makes it known why the Jewish followers of Yeshua had to take Him down from the cross and put Him into a grave before the Feast of Unleavened Bread began at sunset on 15 Nisan – the start of a new 24-hour day. The reason they had to rush to get Yeshua in the grave is because the first day of the seven days YeHoVaH established for the Feast of Unleavened Bread was a High Sabbath (a festival Sabbath). A High Sabbath is different from the weekly seventh-day Sabbath because a High Sabbath can fall on any day of the week.

It is written:

It was the Day of Preparation, and the next day was a festival Shabbat. So that the bodies should not remain on the execution stake during Shabbat, the Judean leaders asked Pilate to have the legs broken and to have the bodies taken away. ~ John 19:31

Without a doubt, Yeshua fulfilled YeHoVaH’s Passover Feast because He was the prophesied human Passover Lamb. Yeshua was the only person who could satisfy the without spot or blemish PERFECT sacrificial lamb prerequisite.

Now, throughout the Bible, leaven is used to symbolize sin. Since Yeshua never sinned during His entire life, this truth is why He also fulfilled the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Yeshua was unleavened, meaning He was without sin, just like the matzah bread YeHoVaH commanded the Jewish people to eat for the seven days of Unleavened Bread.

It is written:

Get rid of the old hametz [food with leaven in it], so you may be a new batch, just as you are unleavened— ~ 1 Corinthians 5:7a

On the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Matzot [Unleavened Bread] to YEHOVAH. For seven days you are to eat matzah [unleavened bread]. ~ Leviticus 23:6

Lastly, nothing associated with Easter Sunday makes it the day Yeshua was resurrected because His resurrection fulfilled First Fruits. Yeshua’s resurrection on First Fruits fulfilled this feast day because His risen body represents the “firstfruits” of the souls who will be raised from the dead.

On the holy convocation day of First Fruits, Jewish family members took a sheaf, the firstfruits of their Barley Harvest, to the Temple for the priest to wave it – to offer it up to YeHoVaH – so that He would accept the offering and then bless the rest of their harvest. It was on His First Fruits’ resurrection day that Yeshua ascended into Heaven with those who were raised from their graves, AFTER Yeshua had risen, and presented them and Himself to YeHoVaH for His acceptance so that He would bless the future Barley harvests of saved souls.

It is written:

And the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the kedoshim [saints, holy ones] who were sleeping were raised to life. And coming forth out of the tombs after His [Yeshua’s] resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. ~ Matthew 27:52-53

Yeshua says to her [Mary Magdalene, a.k.a., Miriam], “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet gone up to the Father. Go to My brothers and tell them, ‘I am going up to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’” ~ John 20:17

Now, the deceased saints could not rise before Yeshua rose because Yeshua had to be the firstfruits so that we who are His can also be resurrected from the dead.

It is written:

Since Yeshua specifically had to be the firstfruits of those who died in Him, this truth is why He had to be resurrected on to fulfill the First Fruits feast day. He not only had to rise from the grave on the third day following His burial but also Yeshua had to ascend into Heaven to present Himself to YeHoVaH as the firstfruits of the Barley Harvest of saved souls that He needed YeHoVaH to bless so that none would be lost.

As a final point, I say unequivocally that the uncomfortable truth is Yeshua wasn’t Good Friday’s Passover Lamb because Passover, during the week Yeshua died, was on the fourth day of the week, which in the western world is Wednesday. Yeshua also wasn’t Easter Sunday’s Firstfruits because First Fruits, during the week Yeshua was crucified, was on the first day of the week that was three 24-hour days after He was buried on the first day of Unleavened Bread. In the western world, the first day of Unleavened Bread during the week Yeshua died was on Thursday.

The bottom line is that Yeshua fulfilled Passover (as the Passover Lamb), Unleavened Bread (as the blameless, spotless, sinless Sacrifice), and First Fruits (as the resurrected Firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep). Since it is undeniable that Yeshua’s Death, Burial, and Resurrection coincided precisely with YeHoVaH’s first three spring Moedim, which foreshadowed YeHoVaH’s plan of redemption and restoration that is still unfolding, I wonder what Christians will say when the LORD asks them why they continued to celebrate EASTER after they learned the truth about this pagan festival. I also wonder what these same Christians will say when the LORD questions them about changing HIS HOLY SEVENTH DAY SABBATH to the world’s Sunday (the first day of the week), especially since these Christians will have read or heard that Sunday was the day the pagan Sun-God worshippers worshipped their idol gods.

My prayer is for the millions, if not billions, of people who claim to love YeHoVaH and Yeshua but continue to celebrate the traditions of men – Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter, etcetera – instead of the Appointed Times of YeHoVaH to turn from their wicked ways. If this is Your Will, YeHoVaH, please make it happen soon. In Yeshua’s Name, I pray. Amen.

Jude’s End-Time Apostates

12 Sunday Apr 2020

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Prophecy

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²⁰But you, loved ones, continue building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Ruach ha-Kodesh. ²¹Keep yourselves in the love of [YeHoVaH], eagerly waiting for the mercy of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah that leads to eternal life. ²²And have mercy on those who are wavering— ²³save them by snatching them out of the fire; but on others have mercy with fear—hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. – Jude vv. 20-23, TLV (the bracketed word is my emphasis)

I used to be unable to understand how apostates could creep in anywhere unaware. That changed while I was evangelizing in South Korea.

Sadly, at the South Korean Christian school where I taught English, there were professed Christians who, as Jude describes, were “…bellyaching grumblers, following after their own desires. Their mouth speaks grandiose things, showing favoritism for the sake of gain” (Jude v. 16, TLV). They were believers in Yeshua who also possessed knowledge of Yeshua’s Gospel; however, they were way too much like the metaphorical seed that falls on rocky soil and springs up quickly only to wilt when the scorching sun of trouble shines on them or when they are under the roasting pressure of persecution.

For sure, it was their love for more money, larger schools, more curriculum knowledge, and/or better-paying jobs that had caused them to fall away from what they at one time must have believed. Put differently, they were not walking in obedience to Yeshua, as it was evident that, as backsliders, they were following the desires of their flesh.

They were behaving like the kind of apostates Jude says the apostle Paul had warned about – “…the ones who cause divisions—worldly-minded, not having the Ruach” (Jude v.19, TLV). Indeed, the people who worked at this school when I was there were definitely spiritually divided – that is to say, those who kept the faith were spiritually separated from those who had sincere doubt. It also didn’t help that the school’s Christian owners also physically separated certain staff members from each other. In other words, the backsliders or those who were wavering — those who had not become committed apostates – were isolated. These segregated backsliding apostates are the ones that Jude advises the overcomers to “…save…by snatching them out of the fire” (Jude v.23a).

At this school, there also was another kind of apostates – those who willfully rejected the Gospel of Yeshua. These were the apostates that not only distorted YeHoVaH’s Truths but also denied those spiritual Truths and biblical doctrines that defined the genuinely saved believers in Yeshua. In other words, these apostates were no longer backslidden believers but rather they had become the kind of unbelievers that the writer of Hebrews says cannot be brought back to repentance (see Hebrews 6:4-6).

There were the kind of apostates who had passed the point of no return – those whom Jude describes as the apostates that overcomers should “…have mercy with fear—hating even the garment defiled by the flesh” (Jude v.23b), as they are apostates whose damnation had already been secured (Jude v.4). Additionally, the apostle Peter describes these apostates as the proverbial dogs who return to their own vomit and pigs who return to wallowing in the mire (see 2 Peter 2:22 and Proverbs 26:11).

Now, the reasons why these apostates were able to creep into our churches, our schools, our business, etcetera is because so few of today’s believers in Yeshua are spiritually savvy enough to discern when believers have departed from the faith, or when wolves have joined flocks, or when a backslider’s conscience has been seared, or when so-called Christians have a form of godliness, and so forth. For sure, there are many believers in Yeshua today who are living and/or behaving as the apostates who are described above, BUT far too many professed Christians either are clueless or indifferent about these apostates who clearly neither are clinging to the Holy Spirit nor are controlled by (cooperating with) Him. In other words, these professed Christians have not crucified their own ‘self,’ and they have not been filled or controlled by the Holy Spirit. They, instead, are sensual, which means they live in accordance with their senses because they are too soulish. This truth is why they are walking after their own lusts instead of being in accordance with the Holy Spirit.

Lastly, Jude makes it clear that believers in Yeshua can have victory over apostasy but only as overcomers who stay filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the only One who is able to keep believers in Yeshua from falling away from the faith. He also is the only One who is able to present believers in Yeshua as blameless before their Lord and Savior, but only if they allow Him to change them into overcomers.

Becoming overcomers begins when believers in Yeshua realize their assured victory does not mean that they don’t have to fight to win. Every genuine believer has to contend for the faith – the kind of faith that will help them to become victorious over sin, the world, and their flesh. However, living a holy life will keep those believers who are progressively becoming overcomers on the battlefield. Put differently, there is no way that contending for the faith won’t be dangerous at times. That is why it is important to remember what Yeshua and His apostles taught, which is that those seeking to become overcomers will obediently do the following: 1. Build themselves up on their most holy faith; 2. Pray in the Holy Spirit; and 3.Keep themselves in the Love of YeHoVaH (Jude vv. 20-21). This is how they not only survive apostasy but also how they become victorious over sin, the world, and their flesh. Additionally, this is how they will have the power to snatch backsliders out of the fire – apostates who have NOT passed the point of no return.

Once again, the ultimate solution to apostasy is believers’ proximity to Yeshua, which is achieved through the Holy Spirit. This Divine Truth is why believers in Yeshua must always stay close to Him, and they must always keep preaching His Gospel. By contending for the faith, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, and by staying close – via the Holy Spirit – to the only One who is able to keep believers in Yeshua from falling, Yeshua’s believers will be able not only to survive apostasy but also able to thrive as holy overcomers in spite of the fact that apostasy is everywhere in today’s world. Selah . . .

Even If Many Professed Yeshua Believers Think It Is Hooey, There Will Be a Pre-Tribulation Rapture

06 Thursday Feb 2020

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Prophecy

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But know this, that if the master of the house had known what time the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and not let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” – Matthew 24:43-44, TLV

Not everyone who claims to love Yeshua, as well as not everyone who claims to be born again and saved, will be “caught up” on the clouds where he/she will meet Yeshua before the Tribulation Period begins. That’s right! Not everyone who defines him or herself as a follower of Yeshua will be in the pre-Tribulation Rapture. Let there be no doubt about it, regardless if a professed Yeshua believer no longer believes in a pre-Tribulation Rapture, or if he or she never believed in it, the pre-Tribulation Rapture will happen.

In the Holy Bible, more than once, YeHoVaH shows His Children that His Wrath or Judgment cannot come until His Righteous Children are secure/safe. For example, in the Old Testament, only Noah and his family were considered righteous enough to enter the Ark and be secure/safe. Put differently, Noah and his family didn’t have to feel YeHoVaH’s Wrath or Judgment that was poured out upon the entire earth (see Genesis 6:6-7, Genesis 6:13-22; Genesis 7:6-24; The Flood). Similarly, in Genesis 19:22 and Genesis 19:24-25, Lot and his family safely escaped to Zoar before judgment was poured out on Sodom and Gomorrah (Fire and Brimstone). These Scriptures make it clear that only the folks YeHoVaH considered to be unrighteous felt His Wrath or Judgment.

Likewise, in the New Testament, YeHoVaH shows His Children that His Wrath or Judgment will only be poured out on the individuals who are considered to be unrighteous people. This Truth – YeHoVaH’s Wrath or Judgment is not meant for those who are considered to be His righteous Children – is why there will be a pre-Tribulation Rapture. Once again, more than once, YeHoVaH says in His holy Scriptures that His Wrath or Judgment cannot come until His Righteous Children are secure/safe.

The above-stated Truth about who feels YeHoVaH’s Wrath or Judgment is why there will be several types of unrighteous people who will miss the pre-Tribulation Rapture – YeHoVaH’s Ark in the end times. The following are the three groups of unrighteous people who will not enter the pre-Tribulation Rapture:

1. Unbelievers – the people who haven’t accepted Yeshua as Lord and Savior. Specifically, they are the ones who are described in Revelation 21:8; their final judgment, once the Tribulation period is over, will be the Lake of Fire.

2. Unbelieving believers – saved individuals who profess they know Yeshua, yet they don’t believe in what the Scriptures say about becoming overcomers, nor do they believe in what the Scriptures say about the power of YeHoVaH. Unbelieving believers, who are unrighteous because of their unbelief, can’t be raptured. Now, the precise kind of unrighteous unbelieving believers is described in Hebrews 2:1 as the individuals who didn’t pay close attention to what they heard and ended up becoming deceived apostates. These unrighteous unbelieving believers are also described in Hebrews 3:7-8 as the individuals who hardened their hearts to the Holy Spirit’s teachings and then fell away from the Truth; and in Hebrews 6:6, these fallen away from the Truth unrighteous unbelieving believers are devoted apostates who can’t be renewed again to repentance.

3. Unbelieving believers – in their unbelief, they mock the Truth that they hear and claim it will not happen (e.g., those who mock the pre-Tribulation Rapture) [see 2 Peter 3:3-4].

The above-mentioned three groups of unrighteous unbelieving people will miss the pre-Tribulation Rapture; however, the unrighteous unbelieving Yeshua believers will also miss the pre-Tribulation Rapture because they failed to meet Yeshua’s five godly conditions that would allow them to be counted worthy/righteous enough to be raptured. Here are the five godly conditions that must be met in order for believers in Yeshua to be prepared for and worthy to be chosen in the pre-Tribulation Rapture. Believers in Yeshua must be and do the following:

1. Must be an overcomer – Revelation 21:7 (see also Revelation chapters 2 & 3 . . . the one who overcomes references); all Yeshua believers must overcome the world, or the desires of the world; must overcome the flesh; and must overcome the devil

2. Must watch and pray for Yeshua’s thief in the night appearance – Mark 13:33

3. Must pray to be accounted worthy to escape the things that will happen in the end times – Luke 21:36

4. Must look for/anticipate Yeshua’s second appearance – Hebrews 9:28

5. Must cleanse themselves (get rid) of all filthiness so that they can achieve holiness – 2 Corinthians 7:1 (to get rid of every weight and entangling sin) – Hebrews 12:1

To be sure, there are things that only YeHoVaH via His Holy Spirit can cleanse in Yeshua believers. However, there are some things believers in Yeshua can do/can sacrifice to show YeHoVaH how much they hate sinning, how much they love Him, how much they want to be obedient and faithful, and how much they want to be like Yeshua.

Sadly, just as most believers in Yeshua won’t even try to purge themselves of every weight and entangling sin that is within their power to get rid of, there also are far too many professed Yeshua believers who refuse to believe/accept that Yeshua will come for His own like a thief in the night. The latter uses the fact that Yeshua is no sinner as their reason for their disbelief in the Scriptures that use the thief in the night simile. These Yeshua believers fail to understand that the thief in the night simile (image) is 100% figurative language, and, as figurative language, this simile means Yeshua isn’t a literal thief. However, the uncomfortably Truth they miss when they refuse to accept and believe the Scriptures that describe Yeshua as a THIEF is that, like a thief, Yeshua will indeed come secretly for His own.

This thief simile is found in the following biblical verses and found in one verse as a metaphor:

43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what time the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and not let his house be broken into. – Matthew 24:43, TLV

2 For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. – 1 Thessalonians 5:2, TLV

4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the dark, so that the Day might overtake you like a thief. – 1 Thessalonians 5:4, TLV

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that day the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements will melt and disintegrate, and the earth and everything done on it shall be exposed. – 2 Peter 3:10, TLV

3 So remember what you have received and heard—keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. – Revelation 3:3, TLV

15 “Behold, I am coming like a thief! How fortunate is the one who stays alert and keeps his clothes on, lest he walk around naked and they see his shamefulness.” – Revelation 16:15, TLV

It is in an Olivet Discourse’s mini-parable that Yeshua also compares His Overcomers to a collective Goodman who actually not only is prepared for the Thief but also watches for Him. Once again, Yeshua’s Overcomers are the righteous believers He is coming to get so that He can TAKE them with Him to a safe place before YeHoVaH pours out His Wrath and Judgment upon the entire earth for the very last time.

Now, right before the Goodman mini-parable (see Matthew 24:43-44), Yeshua describes the pre-Tribulation Rapture in two mini-parables. The Lord teaches about an individual who is working in the field and about a person who is grinding at the mill who are TAKEN by Him, while the second field worker and the second grain grinder are left behind (see Matthew 24:40-42). A similar pre-Tribulation Rapture description is also in Luke 17:34. In this mini-parable, Yeshua teaches about one of the two who are in bed is TAKEN, and the other is left behind. This mini-parable in Luke 17 is followed by the mini-parables about the two field workers and, in some translations, the two grain grinders.

In Matthew 24, the two pre-Tribulation Rapture mini-parables end with a warning to believers to be prepared and to stay alert so that they won’t miss the One who comes for them like a thief in the night (see Matthew 24:42). This warning is then restated as a parabolic statement in the Goodman mini-parable (Matthew 24:43-44). The Goodman (homeowner or master of the house) is robbed by a thief all because the Goodman was neither prepared nor on the lookout for the thief’s unannounced coming and, as a result, was not able to prevent the unfavorable outcomes – his house broken into, and his possessions stolen.

Just like the Lord is using the TAKEN righteous field worker and grain grinder as metaphors for His righteous Vineyard Workers or Overcomers, He also is comparing, by contrasting, the Goodman metaphor to His righteous Overcomers – His truly righteous believers. The bottom line is this: Yeshua’s parabolic statement in the Goodman mini-parable is that His Overcomers must stay prepared and stay alert because none of them knows the precise hour when Yeshua will return. In other words, Yeshua’s parabolic statement explains, by contrasting the Goodman in the mini-parable with the righteous Overcomes in the two preceding mini-parables, how serious Yeshua is about His righteous Overcomes being ready/prepared and staying alert so that they will not miss meeting Him in the air when He returns for them.

Now, while the Greek language has different meanings for the verbs to “take” and to “receive,” and these different meanings have different Greek verbs, the Greek verb paralambano is the same to TAKE verb that is used in John 14:3 (“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you may also be”), in Matthew 24:40 (“Then two men will be in the field, one taken and one left”), in Matthew 24:41 (“Two women will be grinding at the mill, one taken and one left”), and in Luke 17:34 (“I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken along and the other left”). In all four of these verses, paralambano means that the individuals who are TAKEN (snatched away/caught up) are Yeshua’s Overcomers who are saved from YeHoVaH’s Wrath or Judgment. Additionally, in all four of these verses, the folks who are left behind are the ones who receive YeHoVaH’s Judgment – His Wrath. In this case, YeHoVaH’s Judgment or Wrath is the seven-year Tribulation Period.

What is important to mention here is that the righteous Overcomers who are TAKEN in Matthew 24:40-41 (also see Luke 17:35-36) are TAKEN during a daylight moment while they are doing daytime jobs. In contrast, the one TAKEN from the bed who is sleeping (Luke 17:34) is TAKEN during a nighttime moment. It should be evident that these referenced Scriptures show how Yeshua has dealt with the issue of different time zones on this earth – some are rapture during the day (daylight time) and some are rapture in the night.

NOTE:

In Luke 17, some manuscripts add the following verse: “There will be two in the field. One will be taken along, and the other left.” – Luke 17:36

Finally, believers in Yeshua can only receive from YeHoVaH that which they believe He will do for them. Put differently, if believers in Yeshua don’t believe it is possible for something to happen; for example, if they have unbelief about what is presented in certain Scriptures about a pre-Tribulation Rapture, then they will not be in the pre-Tribulation Rapture. They can’t receive that part of salvation because they refuse to believe in it.

So, once again, the reasons why so many who say they are saved, born-again believers of Yeshua will miss the pre-Tribulation Rapture are because they will not take to heart the Scriptures that warn them about their need to get prepared, stay ready, and stay alert – keep looking out for Yeshua’s Return – and because they don’t believe in a pre-Tribulation Rapture. Matthew 13:58 says “And He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” Romans 11:20 says “True enough. They were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith….” First Timothy 1:13 says, “even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man. Yet I was shown mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,” but then Paul says in Hebrews 4:6, “So then it remains for some to enter into it; yet those who formerly had Good News proclaimed to them did not enter because of disobedience.” Lastly, Paul in Hebrews 4:11 says “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through the same pattern of disobedience.” The point here is crucial. If Yeshua believers do not believe in the pre-Tribulation Rapture, their unbelief not only prevents them from being raptured before the Tribulation Period begins but also because their unbelief is a form of disobedience they cannot enter into the Shabbat rest.

It should be clear from the above-cited verses that apostle Paul also describes Yeshua believers’ unbelief as disobedience (see also Hebrews 3:18-19). This unbelief and a lack of trust/faith prevent unrighteous unbelieving believers from entering into eternal rest. Their kind of unbelief is the same as the unbelief that caused many Israelites to perish in the wilderness – to never see the Promised Land. In comparison, just like the unrighteous unbelieving Israelites couldn’t enter the Promised Land of Israel, Yeshua believers with unbelief won’t be able to enter into the Shabbat rest with Yeshua in Heaven (the Promised Land for believers in Yeshua) – see Hebrews 4:9, and see Hebrews 4:1-2). All believers in Yeshua must be Overcomers in order to receive Overcomers’ promises, but they will never be Overcomers if they have any bit of unbelief.

To be sure, not believing that a pre-Tribulation Rapture will happen is indeed unbelief. This unbelief is also the same kind of unbelief that prevented Yeshua from doing any miracles in His hometown synagogue. It is also the kind of unbelief that will prevent Yeshua from TAKING the unrighteous unbelieving believers during the pre-Tribulation Rapture – the only rapture event that no one will know or be able to figure out the day or the hour of Yeshua’s Return.

Any raptures that happen during the Tribulation won’t be hard to figure out, as the Scriptures mention Raptures happening at a particular time during and after the seven-year Tribulation. Therefore, neither the mid-Tribulation nor the post-Tribulation Rapture will happen secretly, so Yeshua will not be returning like a thief in the night for those raptures.

If Yeshua believers think that a pre-Tribulation Rapture is hooey, then they will not be TAKEN (caught-up) in it. Furthermore, their unbelief in a pre-Tribulation Rapture is a form of disobedience, so they also may not enter into Yeshua’s Shabbat rest. It will depend on whether they are able to renew their minds to righteous thinking during the Tribulation Period.

A word to the wise should be sufficient!

The Second Advent vs. The Pre-Trib Rapture in a Nutshell

07 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Prophecy

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alive in Christ, Armies of Heaven, around midnight, Bride of Christ, Bridegroom, caught up, dead in Christ, end of Tribulation, Host of saints, imminent return, in secret, in the air on a cloud, jugment, Lion of Judah, mid-Trib, mid-Trib rapture, overcomers, pre-Trib Rapture, protect from Wrath, removed from the earth, saints, Second Advent, Second Coming, taken up, thief in the night, Tribulation Period, two witnesses, wise virgins, with the clouds

The Day Is Coming

^1-2Note well: God’s Judgment Day is on the way:
    “Plunder will be piled high and handed out.
I’m bringing all the godless nations
    to war against Jerusalem—
Houses plundered,
    women raped,
Half the city taken into exile,
    the other half left behind.”

^3-5But then God will march out against the godless nations and fight—a great war! That’s the Day he’ll take his stand on the Mount of Olives, facing Jerusalem from the east. The Mount of Olives will be split right down the middle, from east to west, leaving a wide valley. Half the mountain will shift north, the other half south. Then you will run for your lives down the valley, your escape route that will take you all the way to Azal. You’ll run for your lives, just as you ran on the day of the great earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah. Then my God will arrive and all the holy angels with him. – Zechariah 14:1-5, MSG

A White Horse and Its Rider

^11-16Then I saw Heaven open wide—and oh! a white horse and its Rider. The Rider, named Faithful and True, judges and makes war in pure righteousness. His eyes are a blaze of fire, on his head many crowns. He has a Name inscribed that’s known only to himself. He is dressed in a robe soaked with blood, and he is addressed as “Word of God.” The armies of Heaven, mounted on white horses and dressed in dazzling white linen, follow him. A sharp sword comes out of his mouth so he can subdue the nations, then rule them with a rod of iron. He treads the winepress of the raging wrath of God, the Sovereign-Strong. On his robe and thigh is written, King of kings, Lord of lords. – Revelation 19:11-16, MSG

^51-52But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I’ll probably never fully understand. We’re not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes—it’s over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we’ll all be changed. – 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, MSG

^15-18And then this: We can tell you with complete confidence—we have the Master’s word on it—that when the Master comes again to get us, those of us who are still alive will not get a jump on the dead and leave them behind. In actual fact, they’ll be ahead of us. The Master himself will give the command. Archangel thunder! God’s trumpet blast! He’ll come down from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise—they’ll go first. Then the rest of us who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. Oh, we’ll be walking on air! And then there will be one huge family reunion with the Master. So reassure one another with these words. – 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, MSG

^1-3I don’t think, friends, that I need to deal with the question of when all this is going to happen. You know as well as I that the day of the Master’s coming can’t be posted on our calendars. He won’t call ahead and make an appointment any more than a burglar would. About the time everybody’s walking around complacently, congratulating each other—“We’ve sure got it made! Now we can take it easy!”—suddenly everything will fall apart. It’s going to come as suddenly and inescapably as birth pangs to a pregnant woman. – 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3, MSG

¹¹“Then, after three and a half days, the Living Spirit of God will enter them—they’re on their feet!—and all those gloating spectators will be scared to death.”

¹²I heard a strong voice out of Heaven calling, “Come up here!” and up they went to Heaven, wrapped in a cloud, their enemies watching it all. – Revelation 11:11-12, MSG

⁶“In the middle of the night someone yelled out, ‘He’s here! The bride-groom’s here! Go out and greet him!’

^7-8“The ten virgins got up and got their lamps ready. The silly virgins said to the smart ones, ‘Our lamps are going out; lend us some of your oil.’

⁹“They answered, ‘There might not be enough to go around; go buy your own.’

¹⁰“They did, but while they were out buying oil, the bridegroom arrived. When everyone who was there to greet him had gone into the wedding feast, the door was locked. – Matthew 25:6-10, MSG

Recently, I have been reading several Facebook postings in which some “Christians” declare that the prophesied pre-Tribulation (pre-Trib) Rapture of Christ’s saints (the Bride of Christ) will not be done secretly. These “Christians” claim that every eye will see this Rapture. Now, while many people in the Tribulation may see the mid-Tribulation (mid-Trib) Rapture of the two witnesses who were killed and resurrected from the dead (see Revelation 11:11-12), the mid-Trib Rapture is neither the same as the pre-Trib Rapture of Christ’s Bride (the overcomers/saints) nor the Second Advent (Christ’s prophesied Second Coming).

Christ’s Second Advent (His Second Coming) happens when His feet touch down on the Mount of Olives and it splits (see Zechariah 14:4). Every eye will see Him, as Christ returns to earth with His saints/overcomers (see Revelation 1:7, Revelation 19:11-16). He comes back to bring judgment – God’s poured out Wrath – for those who have rejected Him (Christ) as their Savior.

This Second-Coming event is NOT the same as the pre-Trib Rapture of Christ’s Bride (saints/overcomers) event. Scripture clearly states that during the pre-Trib Rapture – when the Bride is caught up/taken up in the air (raptured) – Christ (the Bridegroom) meets His Bride in the air and on a cloud (see 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, Matthew 25:6-10). This pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Bride of Christ (when the dead in Christ and those who are alive at the time the Bridegroom comes for His Bride are removed off this earth) is imminent – can happen at any time – and it will happen in secret because He will come for them like a thief in the night (see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3). In contrast, His Second Advent (Christ’s Second Coming) happens near the end of the seven-year Tribulation, and every person who is alive on earth at the time of Christ’s second bodily return will see Him coming with His Host of saints.

Once again, The pre-Trib Rapture is the event in which Christ returns to the earth but stays in the air and on a cloud. He will return, at that time and in that manner, because He will be fulfilling God’s Promise to remove all His saints/overcomers from the earth before Father God’s Wrath (the Tribulation Period) begins to pour out on the earth. The Second Coming (the Second Advent) is the event in which Christ returns to the earth (with the clouds – with His Host of raptured saints/the armies of Heaven). Christ will return to earth, at that time and in that manner, because He will be fulling God’s Promise to send the Lion of Judah to the Hebrews/Jewish people. Christ, as the Lion of Judah, will be bringing the Tribulation Period to an end by defeating the Antichrist and his evil world empire in the Battle of Armageddon.

Selah (pause and calmly think about that). Shalom . . . .

Aliens or FALLEN ANGELS

02 Wednesday Oct 2019

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Prophecy

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abyss, alien abductions, alien invasion, Azazel, Book of Enoch, Book of Jubilees, Book of Zohar, demon spirits, Divine Judgments, fallen angels, fallen ones, fifth trumpet, giants in the earth, Hebraic legends, horses and riders, Isheth Zenunim, Lilit, Lilith, Lilitu, locusts, Luciferians, malevolent or evil aliens, Nephilim, pit of gloom, pit of Hell, pit of the deep, powerful delusion, rapture, Satanists, sci-fi movies, Serpent Lilith, Serpents, sixth trumpet, sons of Belial, UFOs, Watchers, wrath

…Satan…uses all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs, spurious wonders, and every form of evil deception in order to deceive those who are perishing because they rejected the love of the truth that would lead them to being saved.Because of this, God sends them a powerful delusion that leads them to believe what is false. So then all who found their pleasure in unrighteousness and did not believe the truth will be judged. – 2 Thessalonians 2:9b-12, TPT

THE POWERFUL DELUSION

Many followers of Christ believe that the powerful or strong delusion apostle Paul writes about in 2 Thessalonians 2:11 is the ungodly belief that the sudden disappearances of countless saints will not be because their disappearances were the fulfillment of the prophesied Rapture of the Bride (Body of Christ) but rather the saints’ disappearances will be because they were abducted by aliens. That’s right! An unbelievable number of left behinders will find it easier to buy into the lie that the followers of Christ were beamed up into UFOs than it is for them to believe these saints were truly caught up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

Additionally, this alien abduction belief has been a powerful/strong delusion for centuries. Indeed, many who believe there are aliens “out there” are considered to be members of a UFO religion – “any religion in which the existence of extraterrestrial (ET) entities operating unidentified flying objects (UFOs) is an element of [people’s] belief.” Moreover, several “adherents believe that the arrival or rediscovery of alien civilizations, technologies and spirituality will enable humans to overcome current ecological, spiritual and social problems. Issues such as hatred, war, bigotry, poverty and so on are said to be resolvable through the use of superior alien technology and spiritual abilities. Such belief systems are also described as millenarian in their outlook.”

A powerful delusion, indeed! Moreover, it appears that God will strengthen the left behinders’ ungodly beliefs and trust in aliens and alien abductions. The Holy Bible indisputably describes horrific fifth and sixth trumpet events in Revelation that obviously happen during the Tribulation Period. Please keep in mind that the Book of Revelation is definitely not written in chronological order.

To some biblical end-times prophecy interpreters, there are two separate invasions. These same biblical end-times prophecy interpreters say that the first invasion involves the LOCUSTS that come out of the pit of Hell, and these same biblical end-times prophecy interpreters say the second invasion involves the HORSES and their RIDERS that appear near the Euphrates River.

Undeniably, it is in Revelation chapter 9 that John describes God’s Divine Judgments that look somewhat like scenes from science fictions’ alien invasion movies. The Divine Judgments that are associated with the fifth and sixth trumpets are explained as follows: 1. an opening that exposes a long vertical passage that sinks into the earth and leads to the bottomless pit (abyss or pit of Hell) out of which comes smoke and LOCUSTS (vv. 1-10); 2. a release of demonic invaders against the earth and its inhabitants who are to the East of the Euphrates River (vv. 13-19). In the sited verses, John gives a detailed – and frightening – description of these demonic invaders.

Unlike said biblical end-times prophecy interpreters, I don’t believe that the LOCUSTS and the HORSES and their RIDERS are two separate armies that face each other. I believe there is only one demonic invasion and that it is in two phases. I also believe the demonic forces of LOCUSTS and the HORSES and their RIDERS are the bulk of the third of angels that fell with Satan. Satan, thus, is another name for the leader of the LOCUSTS, whom John calls, in Hebrew, Abaddon, which means “destruction”; and who is, in Greek, called Apollyon, which means “destroyer-king” (Revelation 9:11). The reference to the bottomless pit is futuristic in nature, because in Revelation 20:1 John tells us that Satan will be chained in the bottomless pit. This chaining happens after the Tribulation Period but before Christ begins His millennial reign. After 1,000 years of Christ Jesus’ peaceful reign, Satan is released for a short time (Revelation 20:7), and then he is thrown in the Lake of Fire where the Beast or Antichrist and his False Prophet were thrown at the end of the Tribulation Period (Revelation 20:10).

That said, looking again at the HORSES and their RIDERS that John describes, it is evident to me that they symbolize an incalculable portion of the FALLEN ANGELS Satan had assigned to the revived Islamic/Ottoman Empire’s region located to the East of Israel. Moreover, biblically speaking, the Euphrates River – which always has been connected to Babylon – is the farthest eastern physical and spiritual boundary of the land God promised to Israel. Therefore, the four released FALLEN ANGELS that were previously chained in the Euphrates River, no doubt, will divide this his huge demonic army into four parts, and each one of these four released FALLEN ANGELS will lead its portion of demons as they kill a third of humanity, from the four corners of the world, via breathing out three plagues/weapons (fire, smoke, sulfur).

At one time, Satan (Abaddon or Apollyon) also ruled over these four FALLEN ANGELS, whose evildoings aren’t related to the FALLEN ANGELS who slept with the daughters of Adam; yet, their deeds were evil enough that these four FALLEN ANGELS were BOUND until it was time to release them during the Tribulation Period. However, it is important to also note here that by the time the sixth trumpet blows, the Antichrist will have become Satan incarnate. Perhaps this is the reason why God releases the four FALLEN ANGELS. They help the satanic Antichrist destroy as many lives as he can so that Christ Jesus cannot claim them.

Now, according to John, the demonic LOCUSTS have “…the appearance of horses equipped for battle. On their heads were what seemed like golden crowns. And their faces were like human faces. 8 Their hair was long, like women’s hair, and their teeth like lion’s teeth. 9 They wore breastplates that seemed like iron, and their wings made a sound like the noise of horses and chariots rushing into battle. 10 They had tails and stingers like scorpions, with power to injure people for five months.” – Revelation 9:7-10, TPT (fifth trumpet)

Additionally, John describes the demonic HORSES and their RIDERS that come from the East as “…twice ten thousand times ten thousand…horses with riders wearing breastplates of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur. The horses had lions’ heads breathing out fire and smoke and sulfur. 18 They killed a third of humanity by these three plagues—the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur that came from their mouths. 19 For the lethal power of the horses was in their mouths and their tails, and their tails had snakes’ heads that inflict injuries.” – Revelation 9:16-19, TPT (sixth trumpet)

As I said earlier, in Revelation chapter 9, John is describing God’s Tribulation Wrath or Divine Judgments. Clearly, John’s LOCUSTS and the HORSES and their RIDERS’ descriptions come close to the descriptions of some of the aliens that are in many sci-fi alien invasion movies. However, God’s Divine Judgments are not carried out by aliens. In Revelation chapter 9, His Wrath is carried out by FALLEN ANGELS!

THE FALLEN ANGELS

The FALLEN ANGELS are those angels who followed Lucifer in the Great Rebellion in Heaven. Not only did their consciousness fall to lower levels of awareness but also Archangel Michael and his legions of good angels cast these rebellious angels down to earth.

The FALLEN ANGELS are known by many names. Most of those names are as follows: the fallen ones, Luciferians, Watchers, Nephilim, giants in the earth, Satanists, Serpents, sons of Belial, etc. In the Book of Enoch chapters 6–10, the Book of Jubilees chapter 5, and the Dead Sea Scrolls (The Book of Giants), the FALLEN ANGELS left their heavenly estate to have sexual relations with the daughters of Adam.

In Noah’s day, God put the evilest of FALLEN ANGELS who created offspring with the daughters of Adam in chains and BOUND them in Tartarus (the deepest pit of gloom), where they had to wait for their final judgment. In the Holy Bible, specifically 2 Peter 2:4, the Greek term Tartarusis used to describe this deepest pit of gloom. Tartarus is a Hellenistic mythical term for the subterranean underworld, the lowest pit of Hell.

Now, in Hebraic legends/traditions, the evilest demon or evil spirit to whom, in the ancient rite of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), a scapegoat was sent bearing the sins of the Hebrews, was called Azazel (see Leviticus 16:8-10). The Book of Leviticus also reveals that Azazel is the legendary seed of the Serpent, which is why Azazel’s role in the Yom Kippur ceremony identifies him as the Messiah’s rival.

In the Holy Bible, God cursed the Serpent so that its seed would bruise the heel of Eve’s promised seed (Messiah). In the end-times, Eve’s seed, in turn, would crush the head of the Serpent’s child and destroy His seed who, according to Kabbalistic literature, is also Lilith’s child, Azazel. In Hebraic traditions, Azazel is presented as the one that plays the foil in the Yom Kippur ceremony – the second goat (the scapegoat).

Also according to Kabbalistic literature, in particular, The Zohar, Lilith is an evil, immoral, demonic figure working with Satan – often described as Satan’s wife. Lilith also is described as the first female who existed before Eve (see Genesis 1:27; initially, male and female were created at the same time). Now, Lilith was supposedly Adam’s first wife who had a fallen out with Adam and subsequently, after she allegedly spoke the secret name of God, she vanished from the Garden of Eden. After that, Kabbalists say God then created Eve.

What most Holy Bible readers either miss or have never heard of is that Azazel was no ordinary Nephilim. Once again, Azazel was the offspring of Lilith who mated with Semjaza, the leader of the Watchers (FALLEN ANGELS). Therefore, Azazel was less human than all the other Nephilim, and the most powerful. He was even more powerful than his father, Semjaza.

The prophet Isaiah expounds further upon the Genesis prophecy about Eve’s seed crushing the head of the Serpent’s child and destroying His seed. Isaiah 34:14 conveys that in the end time, the slaying of the Serpent’s seed on Yom Kippur would result in the spirit of Lilith being cast into the desert or wilderness of Edom. In other words, it is God’s curse upon the Serpent and its seed (Lilith’s son, Azazel) that becomes the basis of the symbolisms in the Yom Kippur ceremony in Leviticus 16 – a ceremony that actually foretells God’s final judgment of mankind.

Moreover, it is possible that the evil spirit Lilith is connected to Revelation’s Great Whore of Babylon. In the Book of Zohar, there is a “woman of whoredom,” who is called Isheth Zenunim (1:5a, 1:5b). Isheth Zenuim also is known as the evil demon called Lilith who also is known in Hebraic legends as the “screech owl,” and who is described in Isaiah 34:14 as living “in the wilderness.” This well-favored harlot known as Lilith or Lilitu, in Kabbalists’ legends, is the one who returned to Eden disguised as the Serpent who tempted Eve with the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Her whorish relationship to the nations – as the one who sells nations through her whoredoms and families through her witchcraft – is found in Nahum 3:1-4. This evil spirit that is being described as a woman in the wilderness (desert) who is drunk from the blood of those who fell prey to her lies and sorceries (those who were slain) is very similar to the female end-time spirit John describes in Revelation 18:1-6. Selah . . . pause and calmly think about that.

FIRST BOOK OF ENOCH

¹ And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto ² them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men ³ and beget us children.’ And Semjaza, who was their leader, said unto them: ‘I fear ye will not ⁴ indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.’ And they all answered him and said: ‘Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations ⁵ not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.’ Then sware they all together and bound themselves ⁶ by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn ⁷ and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And these are the names of their leaders: Samjazaz, their leader, Araklba, Rameel, Kokablel, Tamlel, Ramlel, Danel, Ezeqeel, Baraqijal, ⁸ Asael, Armaros, Batarel, Ananel, Zaqiel, Samsapeel, Satarel, Turel, Jomjael, Sariel. These are their chiefs of tens. – 1 Enoch 6

…And they have gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the ⁹ women, and have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins. And the women have ¹⁰ borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled with blood and unrighteousness. And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have ascended: and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds which are ¹¹ wrought on the earth. And Thou knowest all things before they come to pass, and Thou seest these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost not say to us what we are to do to them in regard to these.’ – 1 Enoch 9:8b-11

¹ Then said the Most High, the Holy and Great One spake, and sent Uriel to the son of Lamech, ² and said to him: ‘Go to Noah and tell him in my name “Hide thyself!” and reveal to him the end that is approaching: that the whole earth will be destroyed, and a deluge is about to come ³ upon the whole earth, and will destroy all that is on it. And now instruct him that he may escape ⁴ and his seed may be preserved for all the generations of the world.’ And again the Lord said to Raphael: ‘Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening ⁵ in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may ⁶^,7 not see light. And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire. And heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and proclaim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that all the children of men may not perish through all the secret things that the ⁸ Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons. And the whole earth has been corrupted ⁹ through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.’ … – 1 Enoch 10:1-9a

BIBLE VERSES ABOUT FALLEN ANGELS AND THEIR OFFSPRING

⁴The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. – Genesis 6:4, NASB

⁸Then Aharon is to cast lots for the two goats, one lot for Adonai and the other for ‘Az’azel. ⁹Aharon is to present the goat whose lot fell to Adonai and offer it as a sin offering. ¹⁰But the goat whose lot fell to ‘Az’azel is to be presented alive to Adonai to be used for making atonement over it by sending it away into the desert for ‘Az’azel. – Leviticus 16:8-10, CJB

⁸And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats: one lot for Jehovah, and the other lot for Azazel.

⁹And Aaron shall present the goat upon which the lot fell for Jehovah, and offer it [as] a sin-offering.

¹⁰And the goat upon which the lot fell for Azazel shall be set alive before Jehovah, to make atonement with it, to send it away as Azazel into the wilderness. – Leviticus 16:8-10, DARBY

⁸And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. ⁹And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, ¹⁰but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel. – Leviticus 16:8-10, ESV

The creatures of the desert will encounter jackals
And the hairy goat will call to its kind;
Indeed, Lilith (night demon) will settle there
And find herself a place of rest. – Isaiah 34:14, AMP

Wildcats and hyenas will meet there;
and billy-goats call to each other;
Lilit [the night monster] will lurk there
and find herself a place to rest. – Isaiah 34:14, CJB

¹⁴And there shall the beasts of the desert meet with the jackals, and the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; the lilith also shall settle there, and find for herself a place of rest. – Isaiah 34:14, DARBY

⁴Now, don’t forget, God had no pity for the angels when they sinned but threw them into the lowest, darkest dungeon of gloom and locked them in chains, where they are firmly held until the judgment of torment. – 2 Peter 2:4, TPT

⁶In the same way, there were heavenly messengers in rebellion who went outside their rightful domain of authority and abandoned their appointed realms. God bound them in everlasting chains and is keeping them in the dark abyss of the netherworld until the judgment of the great day.

⁷In a similar way, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and nearby towns gave themselves to sexual immorality and the unnatural desire of different flesh. Now they all serve as examples of those who experience the punishment of eternal fire. – Jude vv. 6-7, TPT

Then the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that fell from heaven to earth, and he was handed the key to the shaft leading down to the pit of the deep. ²He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit and a blanket of smoke began to rise out of it, like the smoke of a giant furnace. The sun and the atmosphere were darkened with the smoke rising from the shaft.

³And out of smoke appeared locusts swarming onto the earth, and they were given authority like that of scorpions to inflict pain. ⁴They were told not to harm the grass, or any green growth or any tree, but only to afflict those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵The locusts were given authority to torment them for five months, but not to kill them. Their painful torment is like the scorpion’s sting, ⁶and during that time people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die but death will elude them.

⁷The locusts had the appearance of horses equipped for battle. On their heads were what seemed like golden crowns. And their faces were like human faces. ⁸Their hair was long, like women’s hair, and their teeth like lion’s teeth. ⁹They wore breastplates that seemed like iron, and their wings made a sound like the noise of horses and chariots rushing into battle. ¹⁰They had tails and stingers like scorpions, with power to injure people for five months. ¹¹The angel of the bottomless pit was king over them, and his name in Hebrew is Destruction and in Greek Destroyer. – Revelation 9:1-11, TPT

¹³Then the sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, ¹⁴responding to the sixth angel, who blew his trumpet, “Set free the four angels who are confined at the great river Euphrates.”

¹⁵So the four angels were released, who had been prepared for the right hour, day, month, and year, to kill a third of humanity.

¹⁶I heard the number of soldiers on horseback—it was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. ¹⁷And in my vision I saw the horses with riders wearing breastplates of fire and of sapphire^[^m^] and of sulfur. The horses had lions’ heads breathing out fire and smoke and sulfur. ¹⁸They killed a third of humanity by these three plagues—the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur that came from their mouths. ¹⁹For the lethal power of the horses was in their mouths and their tails, and their tails had snakes’ heads that inflict injuries.

²⁰Those not killed by these plagues did not repent of their deeds so that they would stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—blind and mute idols that have to be carried around. ²¹And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceriesor their thefts or their immorality. – Revelation 9:12-21, TPT

The Dragon Defeated

⁷Then a terrible war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the great dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back. ⁸But the dragon did not have the power to win and they could not regain their place in heaven. ⁹So the great dragon was thrown down once and for all. He was the serpent, the ancient snake called the devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole earth. He was cast down into the earth and his angels along with him. – Revelation 12:7-9, TPT

Binding Satan

Then I saw a mighty angel descending from the heavenly realm, holding a heavy chain and a key—the key of the deep. ²He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent known as the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. ³The mighty angel threw him into the pit, locked it, and sealed it so that he could no longer deceive the nations until the thousand years were over. (After that he must be loosed for a brief time.) – Revelation 20:1-3, TPT

CONCLUSION

From all the above-listed Book of Enoch and Holy Bible verses, it should be clear that God’s powerful delusion will be something that supports so many people’s current beliefs in aliens and alien abductions. Apparently, God will strengthen their ungodly beliefs with His alien-like Divine Judgments (His Wrath) – the LOCUSTS and the HORSES and their RIDERS – that He pours out on the earth during the Tribulation Period. A word to the wise should be sufficient.

THE PASSION TRANSLATION (TPT) Notes:

“Revelation 9:1 [the pit of the deep] Or “the well of the abyss.” This is the same Greek word found throughout the Septuagint for “the deep.” …Jesus is the one who holds the keys of death and Hades (Rev. 1:18), for he unlocked both and walked out triumphantly in resurrection power. Many things are opened in Revelation (heaven, doors, books) with the purpose of releasing a new understanding or revelation. There is a deep place in the human heart, like a pit, that Jesus opens so that we can see what has been there inside us.

Revelation 9:3 Locusts emerged from the smoke. The smoke of the abyss is a picture of deception. The lies of the enemy are a “smoke screen.” The locusts are a picture of the words, actions, and lies of the religious system that dominates and intimidates others (Nah. 3:17). It causes others to feel inferior, like “grasshoppers” (or “locusts”)….

Revelation 9:4 The forehead is a metaphor for our thoughts, our minds. We must have the seal of sonship on our thoughts, the seal of God as our Father, or we will be tormented in our minds over our true identity in Christ.

Revelation 9:5 The Greek word used for “torment” (basanizo) is derived from the word touchstone, or “to examine and test” (the purity of gold and silver). Our thoughts must be examined and made pure in the truth of our sonship and identity before God, which gives us power over the “locusts” that sting like scorpions (demonic power).

Revelation 9:6 As believers, we don’t seek to die, for we have already been crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20). This is difficult to interpret literally. How strange it would be if those with mangled bodies still lived after trying to kill themselves. This is a picture of believers who try to put themselves to death, not recognizing that God has done so already through our co-crucifixion with Christ. Many today still suffer the sting of a scorpion (erroneous concepts of God and tormenting thoughts of self-hatred) until they see the glory of Christ’s empty tomb and the resurrection life that is available to us.

Revelation 9:7 These are not literal horses wearing literal crowns. The words like, as, and appearing as are found nine times in the Greek text in vv. 7-8. They come appearing as battle horses to intimidate with counterfeit crowns, looking like they are on a mission from God, but they are not genuine. They have what appears to be human faces, pointing to the fact that they are false teachers and false apostles with their fake crowns of gold. With hair like that of women and teeth like those of a lion, they will seduce and tear apart those who come into their religious bondage.

Revelation 9:10 See Isa. 9:14-15. The tail is a symbol of false teaching, the lies of the enemy.

Revelation 9:10 The life span of a locust in the region of Israel is about five months. And there are five months from the last day of Passover to the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Noah’s ark floated upon the floodwaters for five months.

Revelation 9:11 Or “Abaddon,” which means “destruction.”

Revelation 9:11 Or “Apollyon,” which means “destroyer.” The Aramaic has “in Hebrew, ‘Servant,’ and in Aramaic, ‘Prince.’” The devil holds no keys, for Christ has destroyed the works of the devil and holds the keys of every realm, including death and hell. Christ is the “angel” referred to in this passage. . . .

Revelation 9:14 “The great river Euphrates” is referred to over and over in Scripture as the boundary of Israel’s inheritance (Gen. 15:18; Josh. 1:4; 1 Kings 4:21). It becomes a symbol for us of the boundary of our spiritual inheritance, that which separates our “promised land” and religious “Babylon.” Many believers are “bound” at the boundary and living in less than what they are called to, but they will be loosed in the last days to enter their full inheritance (Eph. 1:10-11).

Revelation 9:16 [twice ten thousand times ten thousand] Or “two myriads of myriads,” a symbolic number, an incalculable number of enormous proportions. The Aramaic and some Greek manuscripts have “twice ten thousand” or “twenty thousand.” It is clear by reading vv. 14-16 that the four messengers become the myriad of horsemen. They are the overcoming ones who are ready to wage war for the Lamb. The locust army and the army of horsemen are two armies facing each other and both are prepared for battle. See Joel 1:4; 2:1-3, 11.

Revelation 9:17 [sapphire] Or “hyacinth.”

Revelation 9:17 The Greek word for “sulfur,” theiōdēs, comes from the word theios, which means “divine in character” or “godlike.” The verb form of this word is theioo and means “to hallow,” “to make divine,” or “to dedicate to a god.”

Revelation 9:18 That is, their burning words carried great power and authority.

Revelation 9:20 [have to be carried around] Or “cannot walk about.”

Revelation 9:21 The Greek word pharmakeia implies drug usage.”

Fullness of the Gentiles . . . Melo Ha’ Goyim

05 Monday Aug 2019

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Prophecy

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10 Lost Tribes, 12 Tribes of Israel, absorbed, assimilated, blessing, blindness, civil war, divided nation, dry bones, Ephraim, exiled, first born, fullness of Gentiles, House of Israel, House of Judah, idolatry, Israel, Jews, lost identity, Northern Kingdom, partial hardening, Promised Land, rebellion, reconciled, redeemed, reunited, Samaria, Samaritans, second born, Southern Kingdom, Tribe of Ephraim, wooden sticks

But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will become great. But his younger brother will become greater than he and his seed will be the fullness of the nations.” – Genesis 48:19, TLV

For I do not want you, brothers and sisters, to be ignorant of this mystery—lest you be wise in your own eyes—that a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; – Romans 11:25, TLV

Just like Isaac and Jacob were second-born sons who received the firstborn’s blessing, the same is true of Ephraim. Jacob blessed Joseph’s second-born son, Ephraim. In addition to the first-born blessing, Ephraim’s descendants also would become “the fullness of the Gentiles” (in Hebrew, melo ha’ goyim) – the fullness of those who did not belong to God.

Ephraim’s history is as follows: The nation of Israel consisted of 12 Tribes (minus the set apart tribe of Levi), which descended from the sons and grandsons of Jacob who also was called Israel. After King Solomon died, the nation of Israel had a civil war that ended with the nation splitting into two Kingdoms – the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom. Ten of the 12 Tribes of Israel made up the Northern Kingdom (a.k.a., House of Israel, House of Joseph, or Ephraim). These 10 Tribes were Ruben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulon, and Joseph whose Tribe was divided in two: 1. Manasseh and 2. Ephraim. The remaining two Tribes were Judah and Benjamin, and they made up the Southern Kingdom that also was known as House of Judah or simply, Judah.

The Northern Kingdom established its capital in Samaria. Over time, the Tribe of Ephraim became the dominant Northern Kingdom Tribe. This Tribe became so powerful that the Northern Kingdom changed its name from Israel to Ephraim.

As a result of the Ephraim-Israelites’ idolatry and rebellion (their partial hardening or temporary blindness, as the apostle Paul describes it), God’s warned judgment on the Northern Kingdom’s 10 Tribes was for them to be scattered. They were no longer allowed to live in the Promised Land.

The Assyrians invaded Israel and took the conquered Ephraim (all 10 Tribes of Israel) into captivity. The Ephraim-Israelites were scattered among the Assyrian Empire’s 120 nations. The surviving Ephraim-Israelites assimilated and intermarried with a variety of the 120 Gentile nations of the Assyrian Empire until the vast majority of these Ephraim-Israelites lost their identity and became Gentiles (also known as the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel) who have Hebrew blood in them.

After the Southern Kingdom also rebelled and committed idolatry, it also was taken into captivity – Babylonian captivity. The Jews stayed in Babylon for 70 years. At the end of Judah’s 70-year exile, some Jews were allowed to return to Israel. Additionally, at this time, the King of Assyria sent some Ephraim-Israelites back to live in Samaria. The descendants of these Ephraim-Israelites were the Samaritans in Jesus’ day. Their ancestors were always at odds with the Jews from Judah who also returned to Israel.

While the Southern Kingdom of Judah returned to Israel, the bulk of the Northern Kingdom never returned. Indeed, they couldn’t return because they had defiled themselves. For this reason, God gave them a certificate of divorce (Jeremiah 3:8).

Eventually, the Northern Kingdom’s 10 Tribes, the remnant who still had its Israelite identity (those individuals who maintained their tribal affiliation and memory of their Hebrew roots), were scattered to the four corners of the world. Here was where most of them were absorbed by the Gentile nations, losing their identity and becoming Gentiles, themselves, who have Hebrew blood in them.

There has been a small remnant of the 10 Lost Tribes that have been rediscovered. They, however, are quick to note that they are from Israel, but they are not Jews. They are correct. The Ephraim-Israelites were from the Kingdom of Ephraim and not from the Kingdom of Judah. Only the people who lived in Judah were known as “Jews” – Jew is the slang term given to the House of Judah members who lived in the land of Judah, which later became known as Judea. Thus, those individuals who lived in Judea were considered “Jews,” as well.

Since God promised that ALL of Israel will be saved (Isaiah 45:17, 59:20; Romans 11:26), that would mean He would have to resurrect and reunite both the entire 10 Lost Tribes of Israel/Ephraim and the Tribe of Judah that also was scattered to the four corners of the world, after 70 AD. Their resurrection and reunion are seen in Ezekiel 37:1-14 (the resurrection of the dry bones that are reunited), and in Ezekiel 37:15-16 (the two sticks [Ephraim and Judah] being reunited). They become one!

It is a Great Mystery – how God will miraculously fix it so that He can be married again to the 10 Lost Tribes, as well as all lost Jews. After all, it is written that Jesus died for the 10 Lost Tribes so that He could bring these lost sheep back into the fold (John 10:15-17). God can keep His Word because Jesus died and was resurrected so that He is now able to redeem His lost sheep and remarry, via the New Covenant, everyone who is reborn as new creatures in Him.

Through Christ, it is now possible for divorced Ephraim (the entire Northern Kingdom) to become the prophesied multitude of nations – the fullness of Gentiles – and not just be scattered among them. That’s right! The fullness of Gentiles refers to the House of Israel (Ephraim) that was scattered and completely absorbed by the world’s Gentile nations and, thus, became Gentiles themselves. As long as these Gentiles who have any amount of Hebrew blood in them are obedient and faithful to Christ and Father God, they can be redeemed, remarried, and allowed to return to the Promised Land of Israel.

Scripture tells us that the fullness of Gentiles will be completed in the prophesied third day. The prophet Hosea writes:

After two days He will revive us.
On the third day He will raise us up,
and we will live in His presence. – Hosea 6:2, TLV

Once we Gentiles who are also born again, saved, and are being sanctified believers understand the importance of the nation of Israel’s division, we will better understand how the Old and New Testament Scriptures are describing, explaining, and revealing so much more than we ever could have imagined. Moreover, we will understand that lineage isn’t what Father God is concerned about; indeed, even if we don’t have any Hebrew blood in us, if we are obedient and faithful to Christ and Father God, and if we are united with those Gentiles who do have Hebrew blood, then we can be united with them and the Jews who are the current God-approved citizens of Israel, as well as united with the holy root that has been supporting us, the new branches (Romans 11:17-18). Selah . . . . .

Christ’s Saints Are Barley Overcomers – Christ’s Carnal Believers Are Tribulation Wheat

02 Tuesday Jul 2019

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Prophecy

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appointed times, Barley Believers, Bride of Christ, carnal believers, conquerors, feast days, First Fruits, first resurrection, glorification, Grapes, greater Harvest, holy, justification, overcomers, Passover, Pentecost, saintly overcomers, saints, sanctification, Tabernacles, three classes of people, Unleavened Bread, unsaved believers, victorious, Wheat Believers

The Master himself will give the command. Archangel thunder! God’s trumpet blast! He’ll come down from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise—they’ll go first. Then the rest of us who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. Oh, we’ll be walking on air! And then there will be one huge family reunion with the Master. So reassure one another with these words. – 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, MSG

…To the one who overcomes I will give access to feast on the fruit of the Tree of Life that is found in the paradise of God. – Revelation 2:7, TPT

…To everyone who is victorious I will let him feast on the hidden manna and give him a shining white stone. And written upon the white stone is inscribed his new name, known only to the one who receives it. – Revelation 2:17, TPT

To everyone who is victorious and continues to do my works to the very end I will give you authority over the nations – Revelation 2:26, TPT

And the one who experiences victory will be dressed in white robes and I will never, no never erase your name from the Book of Life. I will acknowledge your name before my Father and his angels. – Revelation 3:5, TPT

For the one who is victorious, I will make you to be a pillar in the sanctuary of my God, permanently secure. I will write on you the name of my God and the name of the city of my God—the New Jerusalem, descending from my God out of heaven. And I’ll write my own name on you. – Revelation 3:12, TPT

And to the one who conquers I will give the privilege of sitting with me on my throne, just as I conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. – Revelation 3:21, TPT

The Bride of Christ (the collective Body of His Saints) is the prophesied Barley Harvest of Overcomers (Victorious Conquerors) – the glorified firstfruits who are raptured before the Tribulation Period begins.

The Non-overcoming Carnal Believers are the Tribulation Period’s Wheat because they resemble Tares. These Wheat believers are the ones who have not cooperated with the Holy Spirit’s sanctification process (have not allowed Him to gradually change them into the image of Christ).

Prophetically speaking, the Barley Harvest represents the first of God’s three end-time Harvests and, thus, part of the first resurrection. The Scripture refers to these saints as “overcomers.” Additionally, God’s first three feast days – Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits – spiritually represent the three stages of salvation: 1. justification (Passover), 2. sanctification (Unleavened Bread), and 3. glorification (First Fruits). Just as Jesus Christ was the first holy and saintly Barley Harvest Overcomer to be resurrected from the dead as the Barley First Fruits of the greater Barley Harvest to come, the Bride of Christ also represents the rest of the holy and saintly Barley Harvest of Overcomers.

It is written that only Christ’s holy and saintly overcomers – the spiritually mature believes who are transformed into the image of Christ – will either be resurrected from the dead as part of the first resurrection or raptured alive BOTH happening during the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. These are the saints who will rule and reign on the earth during Jesus Christ’s millennial reign. Please note that no matter if God is speaking literally or figuratively, it also is written that the Barley Overcomers (symbolizing the barley grain that always is planted AFTER the Wheat) is always harvested before the Wheat.

The natural (physical) and spiritual orders of the grain harvests are why the Wheat Harvest represents “carnal believers who today are mostly ‘Christian’ churchgoers.” These carnal believers are the end-time gathered Gentile nations. Indeed, Christ’s Gospels’ description of the gathered nations is a picture of God’s Wheat Harvest (see Matthew 25:32, Mark 13:27). It is written that all nations will come to know the Lord and serve Him.

This second harvest speaks of those believers who were justified by faith, but either they did not go through or did not submit to the Holy Spirit’s sanctification process. Many of these carnal believers will also be first resurrection believers, but just barely. They will be saved but have the smell of smoke on them. Furthermore, the alive end-time Wheat (carnal) believers will need to be shifted like wheat in order to become fully sanctified so that they can wear God’s Divine Nature and Character (be glorified). Unfortunately, they will be the beheaded Tribulation martyrs.

Carnal believers who are Wheat still have some rebellion or lawlessness in their lives that must be purged by the Fire of God (the Holy Spirit). The only way for this purging to happen is for this Wheat to be exposed to the Antichrist’s wrath during the prophesied end-time Tribulation. The believers who are part of the Wheat Harvest will be brought forth in the second resurrection (Tribulation Period’s Rapture) to be glorified “ yet so as through fire.” The apostle Paul writes:

Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you’ll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won’t get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn’t, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won’t be torn out; you’ll survive—but just barely. – 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, MSG

If Christ’s believers are not saintly overcomers – victorious over the flesh, the world, and the devil – they are not Christ’s Barley Bride. It is only with the aid of the Holy Spirit that saints who become overcomers are able to control their flesh, conquer the corrupt world systems, and defeat God’s enemy the Devil. Selah (pause and calmly think about that)!

NOTE: God established that three of His seven commanded appointed times (feast days) would be associated with two different grain harvests and one fruit of the vine harvest that took place annually in Israel. The barley grain ripens first around the time of First Fruits, the wheat grain ripens later around the time of Pentecost, and the grapes from the vine ripen last just prior to the feast of Tabernacles. Moreover, God established that these three crops (barley, wheat, and grapes) would also depict, spiritually speaking, three classes of people. The Barley represents the holy and saintly overcomers, the Wheat represents the carnal believers, and the Grapes mostly represent the unsaved unbelievers.

Ten Toes and Mark of the Beast Misinterpretations

27 Thursday Jul 2017

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Prophecy

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biblical picture, clay and iron, computer chip, crushed, devoured, divided kingdom, Fourth Beast, Islamic Caliphate, mark of Cain, Mark of the Beast, Media, Mesopotamian area, Middle East, misinterpretations, Persia, Revived Roman Empire, RFID chip, Seal of God, Second Beast, Shi'a, Sunni, Ten Toes, Third Beast, trampled, Turkish-Ottoman Empire, world-center

⁴⁰Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. ⁴¹In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay. ⁴²As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. ⁴³And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery. ~ Daniel 2:40-43, NASB

¹⁶And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, ¹⁷and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. ¹⁸Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six. ~ Revelation 13:16-18, NASB

In this 21^st century, there are countless people who still believe that the prophesied revived Ten Toes will be ten European Union (EU) countries. Many of these same people also still believe that the Mark of the Beast will be some kind of implanted RFID or computer chip. Neither of these beliefs is correct.

According to the end times’ prophetic passages found in The Book of Daniel, the Ten Toes on Nebuchadnezzar’s statue are not and can never be EU countries. These Ten Toes are ten Middle Eastern Islamic/Arabic countries — the enemies that surround Israel.

Unfortunately, what so many people fail to recognize or acknowledge is that the biblical picture CONSISTENTLY points to the Middle East. This last uncomfortable truth is why these same people try to make the Roman Empire with its countries in Western Europe fit the prophet Daniel’s descriptions of the Middle Eastern ten toes, ram’s horns, and ten horns.

Knowing that the Middle East is the main focus of biblical end times prophecies, it is funny to this writer how so many so-called biblical end times prophecies scholars believe that prophet Daniel’s fourth kingdom is Rome. It is clear to this writer that these biblical end times prophecies scholars assume that Daniel is saying the two kingdoms or empires that come after Nebuchadnezzar’s “gold” kingdom/empire are the “silver” kingdom/empire of Medo-Persia, and the “bronze” kingdom/empire of Greece. There can be no doubt, for this writer, that this repeated and repeated and repeated misinterpretation is why most people today believe that Rome is Daniel’s fourth kingdom/empire.

It is evident to this writer that YeHoVaH is saying, through the prophet Daniel, that the second kingdom/empire is Media, as Media, like Babylon, made the Mesopotamian area (today’s Syria and Iraq) its world-center. The third kingdom is Persia, and Persia, like Babylon and Media, made the Mesopotamian area its world-center. Now, the only kingdom or empire that crushed, devoured, and trampled all the regions of Babylon, Media, and Persia — and far more — is the Islamic Caliphate of the Ottoman Empire, and that is why the Islamic Caliphate of the Ottoman Empire is prophet Daniel’s fourth kingdom/empire.

After the Islamic Caliphate of the Ottoman Empire conquered the lands across the Middle East and broke into pieces all the empires that came before it — all the regions of Babylon, Media, and Persia that had neither been completely conquered by Greece nor Rome — the Islamic Caliphate of the Ottoman Empire became unstable because of its two branches/sects of Islam (two religious or ideological factions): 1. Sunni, and 2. Shi’a. These two branches/sects divided the empire, and, in doing so, their division fulfills the prophecy that Ishmael’s descendants — Sunni and Shi’a Muslims — would be in conflict with one another, as well as would be in conflict with non-Muslims.

Lastly, the Islamic Caliphate of the Ottoman Empire also was a mixture of iron (symbolizing strength) and clay (symbolizing weaknesses that came from the descendants of Ishmael and Esau intermingling — being intermarried — with people from various desert pagan tribes). This intermingling is why the iron and clay toes won’t hold together. For this reason, and all of the above reasons, it is evident to this writer that YeHoVaH is saying, through the prophet Daniel, that the fourth kingdom/empire will be the Islamic Caliphate of the Ottoman Empire — a divided empire as symbolized by the toes on Nebuchadnezzar’s statue that are mixed with iron and clay.

Now, although the demise of the Islamic Caliphate is what ended the reign of the Turkish or Ottoman Empire, the prophesied revival of the Islamic Caliphate also will revive the Ottoman Empire. The Islamic Caliphate of the Ottoman Empire will reign again for a short time, but it will be the last empire/kingdom on Earth that humans will rule. Yeshua, Himself, will return to Earth and destroy the revived Islamic Caliphate of the Ottoman Empire, and then He will set up His Kingdom on Earth.

Once again, the Roman Empire does not fit prophet Daniel’s descriptions of the ten toes on Nebuchadnezzar’s statue nor the ram’s horns (both horns, which symbolize that Media and Persia are not one combined empire). This last truth is why the Roman Empire also does not fit prophet Daniel’s descriptions of the fourth Beast’s ten horns.

I’ve written several very long and well-documented WordPress articles in which I prove that the empire that is revived will be the revived Islamic Caliphate of the Ottoman Empire, and not a revived Roman Empire like so many people believe. Those individuals who want to know what my documented sources are will have to read my articles. My articles can be found by doing a search, on my blog, using key words like Ten Toes, Islamic Caliphate, Ottoman Empire, Revived Empire, and so forth.

Concerning the Mark of the Beast (the mark of the revived empire’s Antichrist), there is no evidence in biblical Scriptures that an implanted chip will be used. In the Word of YeHoVaH, we read that YeHoVaH physically marks Cain with a visible mark that prevents anyone from taking his life — keeps Cain from immediate death — yet prolongs his punishment. Additionally, we read in the Word of YeHoVaH that during the Tribulation Period the Father commands His angels to physically seal His 144,000 servants on their foreheads so that they will not be harmed by His Wrath. Clearly, this Seal of YeHoVaH also is a visible mark, because nowhere is it recorded in the Word of YeHoVaH that His poured-out Wrath stops after it begins so that IT can check to see if someone has the Seal of YeHoVaH implanted in his or her forehead. Also, nowhere is it recorded in the Word of YeHoVaH that the Antichrist’s army checks the Tribulation’s left-behind people, either for an implanted Seal of YeHoVaH or for an implanted RFID/computer chip, before his army beheads them.

Since what has been done in the Word of YeHoVaH always is repeated at least once, it is safe to say that, during the Tribulation Period, Father YeHoVaH will have His angels mark His servants with His visible Seal before He pours out His Wrath. Additionally, it is safe to say that it will be a visible mark similar to the one that prevented Cain from receiving an immediate death that will be given to countless Left Behinders. In Cain’s case, Father YeHoVaH physically marked him. In the Left Behinders’ case, it is the False Prophet who makes sure that the Left Behinders will receive the physical mark that prevents them from suffering an immediate death.

Now, it makes sense that, if someone in the Tribulation Period doesn’t have the Seal of YeHoVaH, the Mark of the Beast is the default mark. Having neither mark will guarantee that this person will experience either some prolonged suffering (the Wrath of YeHoVaH) or an immediate death.

Also, concerning the Mark of the Beast, in the Word of YeHoVaH, it is written that the Beast’s mark is “…either the name of the beast or the number of his name” (Rev. 13:17). Thus, the Antichrist’s name or the number of his name has to be definitely visible — easy to see/read ON foreheads or ON right hands. For the record, in Revelation 13:16, the correct English translations for the Greek words ἐπὶ and ἐπιν, “epi” and “epin,” are ON or UPON and not IN, which the King James Version and a few other translations use.

What should be emphasized one last time is that, like Cain, the Tribulation Period’s survivors who accept the Mark of the Beast will be prevented from receiving an immediate death (e.g., they will not be beheaded); however, they will be allowed to receive prolonged suffering (the Tribulation’s Wrath of YeHoVaH) before receiving their eternal suffering. The point here is that the comparison between the kind of mark Cain received and the Mark of the Beast that Tribulation survivors will receive clearly suggests that the Mark of the Beast also will be as visible as was Cain’s mark. In other words, family members, co-workers, friends, neighbors, grocery store checkout clerks, and so on, will be able TO SEE who is a loyal worshipper of the Antichrist (through whom Satan manifests himself). Lastly, the Mark of the Beast not only will be visible but also will be an extremely attractive image, number, or name that has been permanently and prominently tattooed or scarified on the foreheads of some people OR on the right hands of others.

A word to the wise should be sufficient. Shalom . . . .

The Battles of Armageddon and Gog Are the Same Final Stage to the Apocalypse War

13 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Prophecy

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Ammon, Antichrist, Apocalypse War, Battle of Armageddon, Battle of Gog, battles, Bozrah, campaigns, commingling, crushed like grapes, Cush, Daniel's fourth beast, Edom, Egypt, Gog, Greece, Iran, iron legs, iron toes mixed with clay, Israel, Jerusalem, John's seven-headed ten-horned beast, Jordan, King of the North, long-term fulfillment, Lud, Lydia, Magog, Megiddo, Moab, neo-Ptolemaic empire, neo-Seleucidan empire, Persia. revived Islamic Caliphate, Put, Revived Turkish-Ottoman Empire, Saudi Arabia, Sheba and Dedan, Shiites sects, short-term fulfillment, stages, stone, subsects, Sudan, Sunnis, Syria, Teman, the Little Horn. the Assyrian, Turkey, Umayyad Caliphate, Valley of Jehoshaphat, wine press, `arab, `ereb

It is unfortunate, but there are far too many end-time prophecy scholars who absolutely have missed the fact that the battle on the Great Day of the Lord is the final stage of the Antichrist or Gog’s Apocalypse War — it is when Father God has gathered the Antichrist or Gog and his armies together in the Valley of Jehoshaphat to fight against the Lord in the Battle of Armageddon or the Battle of Gog. Without a doubt, Father God has repeated the same future activity throughout His Word, and this repeated end-time scenario, once again, depicts this frequently overlooked Divine Truth: The Battles of Armageddon and Gog are the same Great Day of the Lord final battle of or final stage to the Antichrist or Gog’s end-time Apocalypse War.

Why this Divine Truth gets overlooked by so many people only can be because the Holy Spirit is not revealing this Divine Truth to the ones who have overlooked it. With the aid of the Holy Spirit, there is no way anyone could miss the fact that Father God actually tells Gog from Magog that he “…will fall on the open field; for it is I who have spoken” (Ezekiel 39:5). This open field or face of the field Father God speaks about is in the Valley of Jehoshaphat — the same valley in which the Antichrist is killed.

Concerning this repeated end-time scenario, the prophet Daniel is one of many Old Testament prophets who retells the same final battle scenario. He says the King of the North (Gog or the Antichrist) “…will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him” (Daniel 11:45, NASB). Now the reason why many people don’t see that Gog and the Antichrist are the same evil end-time ruler is because they believe the Antichrist and the False Prophet IMMEDIATELY are thrown in the Lake of Fire at the end of the battle of Armageddon. Yet the prophet Daniel makes it clear that King of the North, who is widely accepted to be the Antichrist, actually does die (cf. Daniel 7:11) — just like the prophet Ezekiel makes it clear that Gog does die too.

Moreover, even though the apostle John says the Antichrist and the False Prophet are thrown alive into the Lake of Fire (see Revelation 19:20), he does not say that this action is IMMEDIATELY following the end of the Battle of Gog or the Battle of Armageddon. Many people just assume the apostle John means the Antichrist and the False Prophet IMMEDIATELY are thrown alive into the Lake of Fire, even though elsewhere the Scripture says that it is appointed unto men to die once and then stand in judgment (cf. Hebrews 9:27). Thus, since the prophet Ezekiel says that Gog is killed and buried, and since Gog is the apostles Paul and John’s Antichrist, the prophet Isaiah’s Assyrian, and the prophet Daniel’s King of the North, without a doubt the apostle John is speaking about the Antichrist and the False Prophet’s resurrected bodies being thrown alive into the Lake of Fire.

Those who have rejected Christ Jesus will die condemned to an eternal death. They later will be raised so that they can receive their final judgment — an eternity in the Lake of Fire. Until then, according to Hebrew traditions, when they die their physical death, their bodies immediately will go to the place of Torment where they remain until the second resurrection — the resurrection unto eternal damnation (cf. Revelation 20:11-15; please note that the Gog AND Magog the apostle John mentions in Revelation 10:10 is not speaking about the same Gog of Magog that the prophet Ezekiel mentions. Apostle John’s Gog AND Magog are the names for Satan AND his demonic hordes).

Therefore, the prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, as well as the apostle Paul, say the same thing about Gog, the Antichrist, the King of the North, and the Assyrian. These prophets and apostles say that Gog, the Antichrist, the King of the North, and the Assyrian physically die. These prophets and apostles say:

But thou art cast forth away from thy sepulchre like an abominable branch, clothed with the slain, that are thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a dead body trodden under foot. Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of evil-doers shall not be named for ever. ~ Isaiah 14:19-20, ASV (the “them” in the phrase “joined with them” refers to the honorable kings of nations who sleep in glory that are spoken of in Isaiah 14:18; this blue parenthetical information is my emphasis)

Jehovah of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely, as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulder. ~ Isaiah 14:24-25, ASV

‘And it shall come to pass on that day that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passersby on the east of the sea; and it shall stop the noses of the passersby. And there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude; and they shall call it the Valley of Hamongog [that is, The multitude of Gog]. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying them, that they may cleanse the land. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a day of renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God. And they shall separate out men for continual employment, passing through the land, to bury with the passersby those who remain upon the face of the earth to cleanse it. At the end of seven months shall they search. And the passersby who pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamongog. And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah [that is, The multitude]. Thus shall they cleanse the land.’ ~ Ezekiel 39:11-16, KJ21

Then I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire. ~ Daniel 7:11, NASB

~ and ~

Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:8, NASB

Apparently, the Assyrian will be killed in God’s Holy Land, which is Israel (cf. Isaiah 14:25; NOTE: the word “mountains” in this verse is the literary figure of speech called synecdoche — when a part represents a whole, or a whole represents a part. In other words, the word “mountains” represents ALL of Israel, including the mountainous parts of Israel, as well as represents a part of Israel, like Jerusalem or Megiddo, and so forth). Now not only is the Assyrian killed in Israel but also so are the King of the North, Gog, the Antichrist and their hordes. Scriptures point to Christ Jesus as being the One who will slaughter each one of these enemies of God and Israel in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (a part of Israel’s “mountains” figure of speech).

Since Christ Jesus will slaughter the Assyrian, the King of the North, Gog, and the Antichrist while they are in Israel, this truth means that they all will be buried in Israel the same way — in a mass grave or a common pit, where they all will be covered over with the bodies of the rest of the enemies of God and Israel that Christ Jesus has slain (cf. Isaiah 14:19). Therefore, because the Assyrian, the King of the North, Gog, and the Antichrist are all killed in a battle with the Lord, because all are buried in Israel, and because all will be resurrected and thrown alive in the Lake of Fire, then it should be obvious that they all are the same person.

Now even though many end-time prophecy scholars have declared that the Antichrist and Gog are not the same person, as well as declared the Battles of Gog and Armageddon are not the same end-time battle, the truth of the matter is that, for example, just like the four New Testament Gospel writers — Mark, Matthew, Luke and John—provide four different perspectives on (give four retellings of) the life, death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus, there are many different Bible versions or retellings of the prophesied Apocalypse War’s series of campaigns (battles on mountains, battles in northern Israel, battles in southern Israel, and a battle in Edom)—of which the last battle that happens on the Great Day of the Lord will be the Battle of Armageddon. This is when the nations of the world will be gathered for battle and for judgment, and when the Antichrist and his multitudes completely are destroyed. However, what so many people miss is that this final battle is just like the Battle of Gog, which concludes with God’s judgment against Gog and all of his armies (total destruction). Furthermore, what so many people miss is that there also are numerous versions or retellings of the Battle of Gog from Magog, in which Gog completely is defeated in the same manner and in the same place as the end-time Antichrist (see, for example, Joel 3:2, 12; Zechariah 14:1-5, 12; Zephaniah 3:1, 5, 8; Ezekiel 39:2, 4, 17).

The point here is that while, for example, it takes the four New Testament Gospels to give people a complete (or nearly complete) picture of the life and ministry of Christ Jesus, it also takes what each one of the Old Testament prophets says about Gog and the Battle of Gog and what each one of the New Testament apostles says about the Antichrist and/or the Battle of Armageddon—in order for people to understand that Gog and the Antichrist are the same person AND the Battles of Gog and Armageddon are the same final stage of the end-time Apocalypse War. Furthermore, just like throughout the Bible Father God, His only begotten Son, and His Holy Spirit are given numerous names — Elohim, Adonai, YHW-jireh, YHWH-nissi, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Alpha, Omega, Potter, Creator, Prince of Peace, Lamb, Lion, Lord, Shepherd, the Word, the Bridegroom, Savior, Redeemer, Immanuel, Living Water, Comforter, Earnest, Intercessor, Spirit of God, Spirit of Life, Spirit of Truth, Teacher, and so forth—the end-time evil leader of the ten-nation coalition throughout the Bible also is given more than one name —Spoiler, Extortioner, Violent Man, Man of Sin, Son of Perdition, Lawless One, Little Horn, Beast, and many more. Most important, he is called Isaiah’s Assyrian, Daniel’s King of the North, Ezekiel’s Gog, and John’s Antichrist.

More evidence that proves the Battles of Gog and Armageddon are the same final stage to the end-time Apocalypse War, and proof positive that Gog and the Antichrist are the same person is the fact that the Bible is very clear about the end-time Apocalypse War having many campaigns. These campaigns primarily consist of the regional battles the Antichrist, Gog, or the rider on the Red Horse fight, as well as the final stages to the Battle of Gog or the Battle of Armageddon. Then too, in the Qur’an, the Mahdi (the Antichrist or Gog) is described as someone who will wage multiple military campaigns (jihads . . . holy wars) that will include the invasion of many non-Muslim countries, which he will achieve when he makes Islam’s Sharia Law a global practice.

In the Christian Bible and the Muslim Qur’an, readers learn that the Antichrist or Gog also is described as a global leader—the political, military, and religious world leader who comes from the Middle East, out of a Muslim country instead of coming from any European country. Then too, although this global leader might be liked by the people on earth, not everyone will love him. Indeed, after his attempt to convert the Hebrews to Islam fails, he will fight God’s chosen people. The bottom line is that his ultimate goal always has been to destroy the Hebrews, and his desired outcome is predicted to be the Hebrews’ final holocaust that will take place within Israel.

Similarly, this global leader also will come against Christians and try to force them to accept Islam. Again, since one of his goals is to establish a one-world Islamic religion, in order to achieve this goal this global leader (Antichrist or Gog) will have to be anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, and purely satanic.

Without a doubt, the Old Testament prophets speak about the same end-time cataclysmic war that ends with Christ Jesus destroying the enemies of God and Israel who, if left to their own devices, would succeed in wiping out the Hebrews, as well as would succeed in destroying the entire earth. The Old Testament prophets also speak about the same central characters and battles of that war. Moreover, this same end-time war and the same people in that war that the Old Testament prophets speak about always have the same ending. Basically, there is an alliance of nations that attacks Israel. God intervenes in order to save His chosen scattered people from being annihilated. They not only are returned back to their Promised Land but also they are eternally saved and forever restored back into right fellowship with God. The evil ruler of this alliance of nations and his hordes are killed, and Satan is thrown in the bottomless pit. There are one thousand years of peace, after which Satan is released for a short time. He then is completely defeated. The centuries of ungodly, unsaved men and women are resurrected, judged, and thrown into the Lake of Fire, as are Satan, Hell, and Death.

Now concerning those regional battles that the Antichrist or Gog fights, most scholars agree that the first four Seals, which are the beginning of the Wrath of God that is poured out during the Tribulation Period, represent the activities of the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse, who are symbolized by the white, red, black and pale horses with their riders. These horses and riders are metaphoric descriptions not only of the different activities that take place during the Tribulation Period — such as conquests, battles, hunger, and death — but also they are metaphors for the Antichrist or Gog, who is the one who snatches the short-lived peace from the world, and the one who repeatedly attacks Israel.

There can be no doubt that the rider on all four horses is the Antichrist or Gog. This fact is why the first Seal, which represents the activities of the rider on the white horse, is symbolizing how the Antichrist or Gog, with his extraordinary charm, will trick the world’s nations into believing he wants them to have peace. He definitely dupes Israel, because the prophet Daniel prophesies that Israel will sign a peace treaty with the Antichrist or Gog that is supposed to last for seven years.

When the second Seal opens, the Antichrist or Gog, who is the rider on the red horse, not only has changed his peace tune, when he begins to fight for control of the ten-nation coalition that is in existence before he rises to full power and authority, but also when he initiates a war with Israel. This war will escalate until all of Gog or the Antichrist-ruled nations of the world — and those nations against Gog or the Antichrist — will take part in the greatest battle that this world will ever know — the Battle of Armageddon or the Battle of Gog.

As already mentioned, the Antichrist’s Apocalypse War begins with the regional battles he fights. Again, these will be battles he fights before and after he subdues all ten of the nations that become the prophesied coalition under his control—those ten horns or ten nations that will make up the revived Islamic Caliphate system of the revived Turkish-Ottoman Empire that is prophet Daniel’s fourth beast and the apostle John’s eighth head or empire. Put differently, once the ten nations are under Gog or the Antichrist’s control, which will be by around mid-Tribulation, Gog or the Antichrist will begin to fight with Egypt, Libya and Sudan, as well as with other people in his empire, during the Great Tribulation, who are rebelling against him — those individuals who now do not accept Gog or the Antichrist as either their ruler or their Mahdi. He also will be handling those individuals in his empire who fight among themselves (the Sunnis and Shiites). Additionally, Gog or the Antichrist will spend time capturing and beheading those individuals who refuse to be governed by Sharia Law, capturing and beheading those individuals who refuse to accept the mark of the Beast, dealing with those individuals who steal food and kill others for their food, dealing with those human beings who are angry that they no longer have any access to oil, and struggling to keep the diseases and pestilences (God’s plagues) from spreading throughout his empire, and so forth. Most important, at least to end-time prophecies fulfillments, the Antichrist or Gog will be fighting with the people of Israel.

Without a doubt, the majority of these regional battles will be the results of the third Seal, which ushers in a famine judgment—rationed food and inflationary prices that the rider on the black horse (the Antichrist) symbolizes. For sure, scarcity and inflation traditionally go hand in hand with war — in this case, the Apocalypse War that the rider on the red horse (the Antichrist) initiates.

This Apocalypse War — which lasts nearly three and a half years — will spread across the world from the Middle East. The international nations that participate in this war no doubt do so because food, water, gasoline, and other day-to-day necessities have become scarce. These scarcities are why the scales the black horse rider holds symbolize that the food shortage is indeed critical. There can be no doubt that it is the Antichrist or Gog who will be the one controlling the distributions of food and water, especially throughout the Middle East, and the Bible says that this food, for example, is weighed out like gold. It is unbelievable how expensive it will be to eat one meal a day, at this time. For example, according to apostle John, the price set for a day’s ration of wheat and barley suggests that men and women pay a day’s salary in order to feed their family what pretty much is nothing more than the minimum amount of food that people on an extremely strict diet would eat.

Not only will the Antichrist or Gog be in charge of food and water distributions but also he will be the one controlling the distribution of oil. No doubt deciding who gets food, water, and oil and what prices they will pay for them is how the Antichrist or Gog gets the nations of the world to participate in his war against Israel.

For sure, the black horse rider (the Antichrist or Gog) definitely will use these starvation, thirst, and lack of comfort circumstances to make people eager to pull the trigger — to kill more and more human beings so that there is more food, water, gasoline, and so forth, for the living. Clearly the wealthy will not be affected by the scarcity of food, water or gasoline, because the apostle John says they are able to buy luxury items — olive oil and wine — while the very poor pay a day’s wages for a loaf of wheat or three loaves of barley.

As if everything the second and third Seals — the red and black horses with their riders — set in motion is not bad enough, along comes the fourth Seal with its pale (or yellowish-green) horse and its rider, who also symbolizes the Antichrist. As a result of the pale horse Seal, warfare will have increased, and so will have famine, horrible diseases, and terrible plagues. Not only will millions of people die from the Antichrist or Gog’s regional battles — die by swords, starvation and pestilence — but also countless men and women will die from wild animals’ attacks, who no doubt are starving too.

The point here is that by the time the pale horse’s judgments begin, there already will have been a tremendous loss of human life. On top of that, the additional warfare, famine, horrible diseases, and terrible plagues will cause a fourth part of the world’s population to die in a matter of days. Since Death’s companion is Hell (Hades or Torment), as already mentioned, it is believed by many scholars that the billions of people who die at this time in the Tribulation are nonbelievers (unsaved individuals). These biblical prophecy scholars reason that —because the spirits and souls of the believers who die in Christ Jesus go back to God at the time of believers’ deaths — then the billions who die as a result of the pale horse’s judgment have to be nonbelievers. Their spirits and souls are the ones that go to the place that is called Torment (Hell or Hades), where they await their resurrection unto damnation —where they await their final judgment.

With the seventh seal judgment comes the seven trumpet judgments, and with the seventh trumpet judgment comes the time for the latter campaigns of the Apocalypse War — several attacks on the land of Israel and the Hebrew people. The Antichrist or Gog will be mad at God because of the trumpet judgments He has been pouring out on the whole world, especially on the Antichrist or Gog and his hordes. That is why these lasts campaigns will be fought from Edom in southern Jordan, from Megiddo in northern Israel, on the mountains in Israel, and from southern Israel in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, which is outside of Jerusalem.

Now the Valley of Jehoshaphat (see Joel 3:2, 12) is also called the valley of decision (see Joel 3:14). This is where the final battle between Gog or the Antichrist and the Lord takes place. The Scriptures say that God tells Gog: “You will go up, you will come like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you” (Ezekiel 38:9, NASB). In other words, like the Antichrist and his ten-nation coalition, Gog and his hordes are not limited to Megiddo, which is located in the Valley of Jezreel, nor to the mountains of Israel. As already mentioned, God tells Gog that his hordes will cover the entire land of Israel, and that he — Gog, the leader of those hordes—would die in an open field. The only conclusion to draw here is that Megiddo is where Gog or the Antichrist and the majority of his troops are stationed — it is where Gog or the Antichrist strategizes about where in Israel and when he will deploy his troops.

Having said all of that, perhaps the definitive Scriptures that prove the Battles of Armageddon and Gog from Magog are the same final stage of the Apocalypse War are Ezekiel 39:17-20 and Revelation 19:17-18. Certainly if Christ followers have the Holy Spirit’s help, when they are studying Daniel 8, Ezekiel 38 and 39, plus Revelation 19, believers in Christ will realize that prophet Ezekiel’s end-time feast/supper is the same end-time feast/supper apostle John describes. Christ followers’ realization is possible, because the Holy Spirit only REVEALS to believers in Christ God’s spiritual and Divine Truths that are hidden in biblical prophecies. The Holy Spirit NEVER INTERPRETS God’s spiritual and Divine Truths. Interpreting is what human beings do — those men and women to whom the Holy Spirit has NOT revealed God’s spiritual and Divine Truths that are hidden in biblical prophecies. As a result, their interpretations are nothing more than educated guesses that keep them way off track.

Nevertheless, the first definitive verses from the Bible that prove the Battles of Armageddon and Gog from Magog are the same final stage to the same prophesied catastrophic end-time war are found in the book of Ezekiel. The prophet Ezekiel writes:

As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‘Speak to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field, “Assemble and come, gather from every side to My sacrifice which I am going to sacrifice for you, as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, as though they were rams, lambs, goats and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan.So you will eat fat until you are glutted, and drink blood until you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. You will be glutted at My table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all the men of war,” declares the Lord God. ~ Ezekiel 39:17-20, NASB

The second definitive verses from the Bible that not only prove the Battles of Armageddon and Gog from Magog are the same final stage to the same prophesied catastrophic end-time war but also parallel Ezekiel 39:17-20 are found in the book of Revelation. The apostle John writes:

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.” ~ Revelation 19:17-18, NASB

It is obvious that these described suppers for the vultures both represent the feast or supper that happens at the end of the Tribulation Period. It is obvious that the huge feast or supper of God for the vultures and other birds of prey that follows not only Gog’s defeat but also the Antichrist’s defeat is the same great supper of God. The uncomfortable truth is that it doesn’t make sense that such a slaughter would happen twice — once before the seven-year Tribulation begins, and again at the end of the seven-year Tribulation — especially since the slaughter of Gog and his multitudes is so massive.

Then too, the Scriptures say that AFTER the Lord tramples Gog and his armies, the Hebrews will maintain a constant acceptance and acknowledgment of who God is “from that day forward.” The prophet Ezekiel writes:

And I will set My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed and My hand which I have laid on them. And the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God from that day onward. ~ Ezekiel 39:21-22, NASB

If Gog and the Antichrist are two different end-time evil rulers, then why are the Hebrews once again acknowledging who God is after Gog’s defeat? The Scriptures are very clear that this FOREVER acceptance and acknowledgment of who God is ONLY will happen AFTER Christ Jesus returns and defeats the Antichrist or Gog and his multitudes. Furthermore, there doesn’t seem to be any enemies of God and Israel left for Christ Jesus to destroy, after the destruction of Gog. In fact, this enormous slaughter leaves so many corpses that even the vultures can’t eat them all. The prophet Ezekiel says that:

‘For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land. Even all the people of the land will bury them; and it will be to their renown on the day that I glorify Myself,’ declares the Lord God. ‘They will set apart men who will constantly pass through the land, burying those who were passing through, even those left on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search.’ ~ Ezekiel 39:12-14, NASB

Now since the prophet Ezekiel also says that God makes His holy name known again to the people of Israel — something that happens AFTER the destruction of Gog and his multitudes — and since prophet Ezekiel says that from that time forward God isn’t going to let people disrespect or vilify His holy name, this proves that the Antichrist has to be Gog. The truth is that the Hebrews as a whole nation neither will know God’s holy name nor reverence God’s Holy name UNTIL AFTER Christ Jesus returns, saves them, and restores their fellowship with God.

Consider these points: When it is understood that the Battle of Gog also is the Battle of Armageddon, it is easier to understand the timing of Christ Jesus return. The information that is found in the Bible indicates that the Lord returns to save and judge Israel on Yom Kippur — the Day of the Lord/Day of Judgment/Day of Trouble. When 30 days are added to the 1,260 days (the 3½ years of Jacob’s Trouble, or the years that lead to the end of the second half of the Tribulation Period), this 30^th day of the new Millennium not only will mean Christ Jesus will have been on Earth for 30 days but also this 30^th day is the prophet Daniel’s 1,290 days. These 1,290 days pertain to how long it has been since the day the Antichrist or Gog first set up the desolation that causes abomination (see Daniel 9:27, Daniel 11:30-31, and Matthew 24:15). When 45 days are added to Daniel’s 1,290 days, it will be the 75^th day of the new Millennium or the prophet Daniel’s 1,335 days (see Daniel 12:11-12). This 75^th day will be the first Hanukkah of the Millennial Kingdom. This Hanukkah will be when the new cleansed Millennial Temple will be ready to be dedicated.

An equally important point is that the seven months after Gog’s death— the seven months of burying the corpses that are left after the vultures have their great supper of God on Yom Kippur in the month of Tishri — will be the new Millennium’s seventh month on the Jewish civil calendar, or the first month of the Jewish festival calendar, which is Nisan. The month of Nisan will be the time of the Millennium’s first Passover. The Hebrews will have finished cleansing the land just in time for their month-long celebrations. Nissan is the month in which the Hebrews celebrate deliverance, redemption, and a physical and spiritual resurrection. Indeed, the Hebrews’ restoration will begin a time of healing for Israel and all the nations of the world that doesn’t end until after the seven years of burning the weapons of war are over. The uncomfortable truth here is that it will be the saved Hebrews AND Gentiles who are healing. They are the Lord’s Sheep or Wheat who will have survived the Tribulation Period and entered into Christ Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom as His saints whose bodies have NOT been glorified. These individuals will be capable of reproducing — capable of marrying and having children.

However, if the Battle of Armageddon is yet to come sometime AFTER the prophet Ezekiel’s Battle of Gog — as many end-times prophecy scholars say it does — that means there will be ANOTHER gathering of ANOTHER evil ruler (the Assyrian or the Antichrist) and his armies, ANOTHER GREAT earthquake — which will mean God has lied, since He says there would be none other like the earthquake that precedes the hundred-pound hailstones in Revelation 16 — ANOTHER massive slaughter of this second evil ruler and his armies, ANOTHER Great Supper of God for the birds of prey, ANOTHER seven months of burying the dead, ANOTHER seven years of burning weapons from this second battle in which the Lord of Hosts destroys the second gathered armies, and ANOTHER Great Day of the Lord (see Revelation 16:13-20; Revelation 19:17-18; Isaiah 2:4, Micah 4:3, Joel 3:10). Each mentioned ANOTHER is a description of what happens to Gog from Magog and his hordes. Therefore, it should be clear that the Battle of Gog and the Battle of Armageddon are the same end-time Great Day of the Lord battle, and Gog and the Antichrist are the same end-time evil ruler of God and Israel’s enemies.

If it is not clear that the Battles of Gog and Armageddon are the same battle, then consider the following points: If the prophesied seven Tribulation years (Daniel’s 70^th week), as so many people believe, are the same seven years that occur AFTER Israel has burned weapons for fuel, then why does the apostle John say that the people in the Tribulation will be cursing God because of His Wrath? The apostle John says Tribulation individuals will curse God because of the hailstones that weigh a hundred pounds each (see Revelation 16:21). Once again, these are the same hailstones that God rains down on Gog and his hordes. Now according to several Scriptures in the Bible, this hailstone plague happens right before Christ Jesus returns to Earth to fight the Antichrist. This truth means these hailstones happen at the END of the Tribulation Period and not before it even begins.

Therefore, the seven years that Israel is burning weapons for fuel have to be the first seven years of the Millennium, because the prophet Ezekiel says these seven years will take place AFTER the great slaughter of Gog and his armies. No doubt, burying the dead bodies for seven months and burning up all of the antiquated weapons — the arrows, bows, small and large shields, spears, and war clubs (cf. Ezekiel 39:9) — for seven years is Israel and the nations’ of the world’s responsibility, and not Christ Jesus’s responsibility. The point here is that miracles, signs, and wonders are for nonbelievers. At this point in time, Israel is a true believer, and so are the surviving Gentiles (Sheep and Wheat). This truth is why God has no need to supernaturally clean up the Earth for them, since they will be living on the Earth — farming, pruning, and doing other activities that are common for human beings to do—for the next 1,000 years.

Be that as it may; a very major point is that God would not tell prophet Ezekiel to say that He (God) stopped ALL maligning, badmouthing, and disrespecting of His name right AFTER Gog was defeated if the defeated Gog wasn’t also the defeated Antichrist. As the prophet Ezekiel says, it is God who says:

And I will send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the Lord. My holy name I will make known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not let My holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. ~ Ezekiel 39:6-7, NASB

Now as previously mentioned, it is with the aid of the Holy Spirit that any close examination of all of the above-cited Old and New Testament Scriptures will cause believers in Christ to conclude, beyond a shadow of doubt, that the prophet Ezekiel’s Battle of Gog — who is from Magog— is the same final stage to the prophesied catastrophic end-time war as is the end-time Battle of Armageddon. In other words, since the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 39:17-20 is describing the total destruction of Gog and all of his multitudes, then it should stand to reason that the prophet Ezekiel also is describing the complete destruction of the Antichrist and all of his hordes, as well as the complete destruction of the False Prophet. Their total destructions only can happen at the end of the Tribulation Period and in relation to the second bodily return of Christ Jesus (cf. Revelation 19:11-21).

In order to further understand how said battles are the same war, we need to understand the commonly repeated phrases and themes that the Old Testament prophets used. These repeated phrases and themes prove that The Battle of Gog and the Battle of Armageddon are just different accounts of the same end-time final stage to Gog or the Antichrist’s Apocalypse War, in spite of the fact that these battles are called by other names in the Old Testament and/or have different names for their major players. For example, the nations who invade Israel in the end-times have several names in Psalm 83 that are unlike the names in Ezekiel 38 and 39; indeed, even some names are missing altogether from Ezekiel 38 and 39.

Several of the Old Testament prophets prophesy, for example, that in the last days many nations that are Israel’s Middle Eastern neighbors will form a coalition. There can be no doubt that today’s Russians are in cahoots with the Iranians and some Syrians. However, their current alliance only describes the initial phase that will lead to the re-organization of the prophesied end-time coalition — the one that will come against Israel around the middle of the Tribulation Period. This re-organized coalition will consist of the Antichrist — who is the prophet Isaiah’s Assyrian, the prophet Ezekiel’s Gog, and the prophet Daniel’s King of the North or the Little Horn — and the revived ten Islamic horns or Islamic nations (the revived Islamic Caliphate of the Islamic-Turkish Empire). For sure, the ten toes on Nebuchadnezzar’s Statue symbolize the Sunni and Shiite Muslims — primarily Arabs. In the end-time, these two Muslim sects and their branches initially will unite for the sole purpose of waging war against Israel. It is from this formed coalition that the Little Horn (who is the Antichrist, Gog, the King of the North, and the Assyrian) emerges and debuts as a god who begins to reign and rule over the people of the Earth.

For sure, the ten toes on Nebuchadnezzar’s statue mean the ten-nation coalition will be in existence before the end-time Antichrist or Gog, etcetera, rises to full power and authority. In other words, the ten-nation coalition will be in full swing by the time the Tribulation Period begins. Around mid-Tribulation, the Antichrist or Gog, etcetera, not only will reveal that he is indeed the prophesied Gog from Magog or the prophesied Antichrist, etcetera, but also this is when he will stand in the rebuilt Jewish Temple and declare that he is a god. Then he will set up the abomination that causes desolation (cf. Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15). Shortly thereafter he will begin to subdue several Muslim countries of the ten-nation coalition and convince the others to support him as their king. Then the Antichrist or Gog, along with his armies, will wage war on Father God’s chosen people — the Hebrews.

Without a doubt, the passage in Daniel 8:16-26 definitely confirms that the ten-nation coalition will be established in the end-times before the Antichrist (the Little Horn) actually rises to full power and authority. From Daniel’s prophecy in chapter eleven, we now can understand —with the help of the Holy Spirit — that this Daniel 8:16-26 passage contains the beginning of the end-time fulfillment, which is symbolized by the two iron legs on Nebuchadnezzar’s statue that lead to the iron mixed with clay ten toes. In other words, Daniel chapter 8’s prophecies have dual fulfillments — short-term and long-term. This truth is why, the Daniel 8:16-26 passage depicts both the original and the revived Islamic Caliphate dynasties (Daniel’s Kings of the South: Egypt, Sudan, and Libya) and the Turkish or Ottoman Kingdom (Daniel’s Kings of the North: Turkey, Lebanon, and Syria). Their initial union and their revived union both form an Islamic Caliphate system of the Turkish-Ottoman Empire made up of Sunnis and Shiites who were (and will be) governed by Sharia Law. In other words, the Islamic Caliphate system of the Turkish-Ottoman Empire that Daniel 8 describes not only was the seventh successive head, kingdom or empire that apostle John describes but also will be the revived or eighth head that will be a rebirth of the seventh. The prophet Daniel writes:

At the end time the king of the South will collide with him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen and with many ships; and he will enter countries, overflow them and pass through.He will also enter the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab and the foremost of the sons of Ammon. Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. But he will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians [Sudanese] will follow at his heels. ~ Daniel 11:40-43, NASB; the bracketed information is this blogger’s emphasis

Now it should be evident that the prophet Daniel’s Kings of the North and South represent the remnants of the divided Grecian Empire, which splintered into the lands that include Syria, Turkey, Egypt and Greece. Put differently, the end-time Antichrist who is Gog or the Assyrian or the King of the North (the Little Horn) will rise to power and authority from out of a neo-Seleucidan empire — the Kings of the North: Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Iran. The Kings of the North end-time adversaries, those who object to the influence the “Little Horn” has, are the neo-Ptolemaic empire — the Kings of the South: Egypt, Libya, and Sudan.

The originally splintered Grecian Empire was made up of the lands Alexander the Great’s four generals or successors (basileis or kings) received after Alexander’s death: 1. Cassander [Greece], 2. Lysimachus [Turkey], 3. Seleucus [Syria, and other Near East territories such as Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran], and 3. Ptolemy [Egypt, which includes today’s Libya and Sudan]. This splintered Grecian Empire is the prophet Daniel’s third beast — the leopard with four wings and four heads (see Daniel 7:6). The territories of the third beast (Babylonia, Persia, and Greece’s conquered territories), which the third beast controlled, also are the territories belonging to the third successive empire that conquered the land of Israel and persecuted the Hebrews. This beast and its territories eventually are devoured or crushed by the prophet Daniel’s fourth beast, which is extremely strong with large iron teeth and ten horns, from which comes a little horn (cf. Daniel 7:7-8). This fourth beast and its conquered territories are controlled by the Islamic Caliphate system of the Turkish-Ottoman Empire.

In other words, the third beast and the territories it crushes are merely a short-term fulfillment. The end-time crushing of the prophet Daniel’s fourth beast, its and armies, and its trampled and devoured territories are the long-term fulfillment. These truths are why the prophecies in Daniel 8 have a dual fulfillment.

Now, what is most important to note here is that the prophet Daniel’s fourth beast and the corresponding iron legs and iron mixed with clay ten toes on Nebuchadnezzar’s statue (cf. Daniel 2:33a) cannot be the Roman Empire. The reason why prophet Daniel’s fourth beast and the corresponding iron legs and iron mixed with clay ten toes on Nebuchadnezzar’s statue are not the Roman Empire is because the Roman Empire NEVER crushed all of the Babylonian, Persian, and Grecian territories. The empire that completely crushed these territories was the Islamic Caliphate dynasties made up of Sunni and Shiite Muslims who united with the Turks of the Ottoman Empire.

Once again, the Roman Empire neither crushed nor conquered all of the empires that are symbolized on Nebuchadnezzar’s statute that are above the iron legs. Put differently, the Roman Empire didn’t devour the territories that belonged to the Babylonian Empire, the Medo-Persian Empire, and the splintered Greek Empire, nor did the Roman Empire devour the people they conquered. The truth is that the Roman Empire assimilated all of their dominated ethnic groups.

On the other hand, there are several reasons why the Islamic Caliphate system of the Turkish-Ottoman Empire is the only empire prophet Daniel is referring to, when he says that

…there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. ~ Daniel 2:40, NASB

For sure, the Ottoman Empire continued to devour its conquered non-Muslim territories and peoples in the same way as did, for example, the Islamic Umayyad Caliphate dynasty. The Arab Muslims of the Umayyad Dynasty did everything they could do to sustain Islamic civilization in the Holy Land, primarily by erasing any lingering residue from the Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, and Roman empires. The Umayyad Caliphate dynasty successfully stamped out the residue of the Babylonian (Lion), Persian (Bear), and Grecian (Leopard) cultures and languages, as well as stamped out with the Roman Empire’s culture and languages from the Holy Land. They did this: 1. by building the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in the then Palestinian Jerusalem, 2. by building the Great Umayyad Mosque of Damascus on the ruins of the Basilica of St. John the Baptist in Syria, 3. by minting Islamic coinage that everyone had to use, and 4. by mandating that, instead of using the Greek language, the Arabic language now would be used on all public records.

As previously mentioned, the Islamic Caliphate system of the Turkish-Ottoman Empire, just like the Umayyad Caliphate dynasty had done, rapidly and forcefully continued to devour and break into pieces the Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, and Roman empires’ persistent presence not only by crushing its predecessors’ people but also by dividing up those lands that were once part of said empires. That is why today, for example, in Syria and Israel, there are Palestinian Arabs who practice Islam in what were once Grecian and Roman territories. Then too, this devouring or crushing truth is why the nations of Iraq (Babylonia) and Iran (Persia) are currently Islamic nations! In other words, the lingering residue from said empires’ presence in these lands successfully was removed!

Furthermore, the original Islamic Caliphate system of the Turkish-Ottoman Empire also tried to untangle itself from the heterogeneous mixture of ethnic groups and religious creeds that were in its empire. It tried to free itself from its mixed populations’ conflicting interests, rival groups, and antagonistic sects that the Sunni and Shiite Muslims with their many branches caused. This truth is why the revived Islamic Caliphate system of the Turkish-Ottoman Empire in the future — like it was in the past — will become partly strong and partly brittle.

One last reason why the Roman Empire cannot be the prophet Daniel’s fourth beast, nor the apostle John’s eighth king or head with ten horns and ten crowns, is because the Roman Empire not only NEVER devoured or crushed their conquered territories or peoples but also the Roman Empire NEVER is described as having ten horns with ten crowns. Therefore, the ten horns on prophet Daniel’s fourth beast and the apostle John’s eighth head or king are not ten successive Roman emperors, as some scholars claim, but rather these ten horns with ten crowns are ten end-time kings who rule ten different kingdoms at the same time.

Based on the above truth, it should be clear that the apostle John’s beast kingdom or empire of Revelation 13 and 17 no doubt is the exact same fourth kingdom or empire as represented by the iron legs and ten toes of iron and clay that were on Nebuchadnezzar’s statue, as well as is the same beast as the combined four beasts in prophet Daniel’s vision. Unquestionably, this eighth beast kingdom or empire is the composite of both the initial and the revived amalgamated Babylonian, Medo-Persian, splintered Grecian (Greece, Turkey, Syria, and Egypt), and Ottoman Empires — the seven heads of Daniel’s four beasts. In other words, the prophet Daniel’s three beast kingdoms or empires are devoured by his fourth beast, which means the fourth beast also is the apostle John’s ten horned, seven-headed beast from the sea. The apostle John writes:

…Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. ~ Revelation 13:1-6, NASB

~ and ~

Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits,and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. ~ Revelation 17:9-13, NASB

The prophet Daniel writes:

The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze,its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. ~ Daniel 2:32-33, NASB

Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay. As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery. ~ Daniel 2:40-43, NASB

After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts. ~ Daniel 7:7-8, NASB

~ and ~

Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet, and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head and the other horn which came up, and before which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts and which was larger in appearance than its associates. ~ Daniel 7:19-20, NASB

Notice that the apostle John says that one of the beast’s seven heads looks “…as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed” (Revelation 13:3). “[A]s if it had been slain…” is not describing the death of a person who later comes back to life, which is what many biblical end-time prophecy scholars claim. That head that appears to have been slain is the Islamic Caliphate system of the Turkish or Ottoman Empire, which received a so-called fatal blow in 1924 when the Caliphate system was dismantled. It was Turkey that both obtained and lost the Caliphate system’s power. When the Caliphate system died Sharia Law also died. Sharia Law no longer was the law of the land.

Therefore, it should not be any surprise that the biggest Islamic threat today is Turkey, because its leaders are seeking to revive the old Ottoman Empire. To revive the Ottoman or Turkish Empire, however, the Islamic Caliphate system must be reborn. It will be resurrected, because apostle John says that the head that appeared to have received a “…fatal wound was healed.”

Once again, this revived Islamic Caliphate system of the revived Turkish-Ottoman Empire is the prophesied 8^th head that rules for a short time (42 months or 3½ years of the Tribulation Period’s 7 years). Now the succeeding 7 heads or empires or kingdoms that apostle John reveals as the satanically empowered empires or kingdoms that have invaded Israel, taken the Hebrews from Israel into captivity, and persecuted Hebrews from Israel are: 1. the Egyptian Empire, 2. the Assyrian Empire, 3. the Babylonian Empire, 4. the Medo-Persian Empire, 5. the Grecian Empire, 6. The Roman Empire, and 7. the Islamic Caliphate (made up of Sunni and Shiite Muslims) of the Turkish or Ottoman Empire.

Once again, the ten nations/kingdoms/horns that rise prior to the Antichrist’s rise to full Satanic power and authority are the mixture of Arabs (the Sunni and Shiite) Muslims who are symbolized as the initial two iron legs with ten toes on Nebuchadnezzar’s statue. These ten nations will receive power and authority from the Antichrist (Gog, the Assyrian, the King of the North, the Little Horn) so that they (the ten nations) all are ruling at the same time.

Of these ten nations, the Little Horn (Gog, the Assyrian, the King of the North, the Antichrist) uproots (subdues) three: Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia (Sudan). He later will replant them as figureheads under his rule. Likewise, once the Antichrist or Gog puts out the fire that nations from the East and North of Israel start (no doubt Iran [from the East], Syria [from the North]), the Antichrist also will replant Iran as a figurehead under his rule. Then he will do the same with Saudi Arabia, and every other nation, so that not only will the prophesied ten-nation coalition led by the Antichrist or Gog or Assyrian or King of the North be in place, before the evil ruler wages war on God’s people in Israel, but also so that this ten-nation alliance will be the primary nations that make up the hordes the prophet Ezekiel says come against Israel with Gog in the Battle of Gog — the Battle of Armageddon or the final stage to the prophesied Apocalypse War.

Put differently, the nations mentioned in Psalm 83 plus the nations mentioned in Ezekiel 38 and 39 are the same nations who make up most of the armies Christ Jesus destroys at the end of the Tribulation Period in the Battle of Armageddon or the Battle of Gog. The ten-nation coalition that will be in place before the Antichrist or Gog or the King of the North or the Assyrian rises as Satan’s counterfeit christ (the Muslim Mahdi) will consist of: 1. Iran (Persia), 2. Iraq (Babylonia), 3. Syria, 4. Saudi Arabia (Ishmaelites; Sheba and Dedan), 5. Turkey, 6. Jordan (Ishmaelites, Hagrites, Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites), 7. Lebanon (Gebal and Tyre), 8. Egypt, 9. Libya (Put), and 10. northern Sudan (Cush/ancient Ethiopia). Once again, the three horns that the Antichrist subdues are: Egypt, Libya, and Sudan.

For sure, recorded history teaches that the Islamic Dynasties, specifically the short reign of the Umayyad Caliphate/Dynasty (661-750 A.D.), did the most to expand the Islamic religion and the Islamic Caliphate/Dynasty. The Ottoman or Turkish Empire, which really is the fourth major Islamic Caliphate/Dynasty that followed the three major Islamic Caliphates/Dynasties (Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid), is a commingling of the Turks and the Arabs.

Now, as already mentioned, history records that the Islamic Caliphate’s union with the Turkish-Ottoman Empire created a heterogeneous mixture of ethnic groups and religious creeds. Earlier the point was made about this empire trying to untangle itself from its mixed populations’ conflicting interests, rival groups, and antagonistic sects—Sunni and Shiite Muslims, with their many branches. The point also was made that over time this mixture of Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the Turkish-Ottoman Empire would one day cause the empire to become partly strong and partly weak (breakable). The prophet Daniel writes:

And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery. ~ Daniel 2:43, NASB

The Aramaic word that is translated in the above verse as “mixed” is “`arab.” Furthermore, throughout the Middle East in biblical times, the Arabs were referred to as “mixed desert peoples,” which is why “mixed” always has been synonymous with the word “`arab.” This truth is confirmed by the prophet Nehemiah, who writes about the Hebrews being forbidden by Law to assemble with Ammonites or Moabites because they were “mixed desert peoples” — people of Arab descent. The prophet Nehemiah’s reference to Arabs being a mixed multitude is as follows:

On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that an Ammonite and a Moabite should not enter into the assembly of God for ever, because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, to curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing. And it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude. ~ Nehemiah 13:1-3, ASV

The Hebrew word that is translated in English as the phrase “mixed multitude,” which is in Nehemiah 13:3, is `ereb. Thus, the Law not only says the Hebrews cannot assemble with any Ammonite or Moabite but also forbids them to marry Ammonites or Moabites, because they are a “mixed multitude.”

The point here again is that the original union between the Islamic Caliphate Sunni Arabs and the Islamic Caliphate Shiite Turks or Ottomans was a heterogeneous mixture of many ethnic groups with their varying religious creeds — a mixed multitude of Muslims who were, for example, Turkish-Ottomans, Arabian-Ottomans, Palestinian-Ottomans, Persian-Ottomans, Fulani-Ottomans, Afghani-Ottomans, Pakistani-Ottomans, and so forth, who primarily were Sunni or Shiite Muslims, who were from any one of the following subsects or branches: Hanbali, Hanafi, Ja’fari, Shafii, Maliki, Fiver (Zaydi), Twelver (Ithna-Ashari), Sevener (Ismaili), and so forth. It was these different mixed ethnic and religious groups of Sunni and Shiite Muslims who have been fighting each other for centuries.

This above truth is why the prophet Daniel is prophesying that the revived Islamic Caliphate system of the revived Turkish-Ottoman Empire will be iron mixed with soft clay that will not mix. Furthermore, there is no denying that the prophet Daniel’s prophecy about the iron and clay commingling is an obvious reference to the Arabs in the revived Islamic Caliphate system of the revived Turkish-Ottoman Empire. For sure, the Arabs (the mixed pagan people of the Arabian Desert who historically and biblically have been Esau’s Edomite descendants, as well as the Ammonite and Moabite descendants of Lot) are the Arabs who occupy modern-day Jordan. The rest of the mixed pagan Arabian Desert people are the Arabs who are Ishmael’s descendants, and many of them are today’s Lebanese, Syrians, Jordanians, Iraqis, Libyans, Sudanese, as well as a great many of the Arabs living on the Arabian Peninsula (in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates).

These different Arabs today, with their mixed populations’ conflicting interests, rival groups, and antagonistic religious sects (Sunni and Shiite), have perpetuated their old Islamic schism (Sunni — iron —allegedly the stronger majority of Muslims, and Shiite — clay —allegedly the weaker minority of Muslims). This truth is why these two Muslim sects ultimately will not hold together. For sure, this truth and fact also was the reason why the iron legs and iron mixed with clay ten toes (Sunni and Shiite Muslims) on Nebuchadnezzar’s statue also have symbolized that the original Ottoman or Turkish Empire initially started out as a strong union built on the Islamic Caliphate foundation and governed by Sharia Law. It mostly remained that way, until the Caliphate was dismantled and Sharia Law no longer was the law of the land.

However, as already stated, in the end times, another union between Sunni and Shiite Muslims also will begin like strong iron legs to a revived Islamic Caliphate system of the revived Ottoman or Turkish Empire. The Sunni and Shiite Muslims, who today are governed by Sharia Law (the Islamic foundation to the old Islamic Caliphate system), will unite to serve one central leader who is the future Mahdi (the Antichrist or Gog, and etcetera), but again these two sects and their branches later will begin to fight one another — later will become the iron ten toes that are mixed with clay. No doubt it will be their fighting among themselves that will make their union brittle, again, because the iron and soft clay will not mix together. Once again, prophet Daniel prophesies:

It, thus, should be understood that what prophet Daniel is prophesying is nothing more than the end-time fighting of the Sunni and Shiite Muslims that will take place before the Antichrist (Gog from Magog) brings them all under his control. There can be no doubt that the Sunni vs. Shiite fight also will continue — off and on — throughout the latter half of the Tribulation Period, and that their fights would be one of the major reasons why the Antichrist’s allegorical Mystery Babylon is destroyed.

Now, even though today’s Russian and Syrian troops currently are helping the Iranian military so that Persia/Iran eventually will be able to invade the King of the North’s territories (cf. Daniel 11), the prophetic Scriptures make it very clear that there also is going to be a massive Turkish response to the Persian/Iranian invasion, and this response is represented by Daniel’s goat with the one horn that becomes the four horns out of which arises the little horn or Antichrist, who comes from the region that today includes Turkey and Syria. Without a doubt, Daniel’s ‘Little Horn’ — the military leader who comes from nowhere else except out of Alexander’s splintered kingdom (the four kingdoms mention in Daniel 8, of which Syria and Turkey are more prominent in the end times than are Greece and Egypt).

Hence, this Turkish (Gog of Magog’s) response is the already mentioned long-term fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy about the revived iron legs and iron and clay toes (the toes on Nebuchadnezzar’s statue) that will not hold—will not mix together well (see again Daniel 2:43; see also Nehemiah 13:1-3). Just as Christians are primarily Roman Catholic and Protestants, with many different denominations and sects, there are sects and subsects of Muslims — there are many different Islamic branches of the Sunni and Shiite sects. Therefore, what Daniel is describing when he says iron and clay won’t mix together — once again— is the different branches of the Sunni and Shiite Muslims fighting among themselves — a fight that leads to the Antichrist’s kingdom being in turmoil before the actual beginning of the Battle of Armageddon.

Because of their hatred of Israel, the Sunni and Shiite Muslims, who will be governed by Sharia Law (the Islamic foundation of the Islamic Caliphate system), will unite to serve one central leader who will be none other than the prophesied future Mahdi (the Antichrist). The ten-toe coalition — which is the same as the ten horns in prophet Daniel and apostle John’s visions — is the alliance that is in Psalm 83.

According to the Old Testament’s prophets and apostle John’s prophecies, the second half of the Tribulation will unfold pretty much like this: Sometime after the Bride of Christ is raptured, end-time Israel will make a covenant with the man that, at some point during the first half of the Tribulation Period, the two Jewish witnesses will reveal to be the Antichrist or Gog. The prophet Daniel writes:

And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate. ~ Daniel 9:27, NASB

After the man (Little Horn), who later is revealed to be the Antichrist or Gog, becomes widely accepted as a phenomenal leader, he will begin to consolidate his military power by convincing the then existing ten-nation coalition of Muslim countries that surround Israel—the alliance that is mentioned in Psalm 83 — to let him rule them. With the same charm and deception that he initially uses to fool the world about his true identity and real agenda, this Little Horn also will convince each one of these ten Muslim countries to support ONLY him, either via his battles or via his charisma. Eventually these ten nations will reign with the Little Horn, who gives them power and authority for one hour — for a short period of time, which will start right after the Little Horn reveals that he is the Antichrist or Gog and then sets himself up as god. That will be around mid-Tribulation. Shortly thereafter three of these ten nations will turn on the Antichrist or Gog. He will subdue these three nations and divide their spoils.

Now, as already mentioned, it is revealed in the Word of God that the Antichrist or Gog subdues Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia (Sudan) — the kings of the South. Once again, the prophet Daniel writes:

At the end time the king of the South will collide with him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen and with many ships; and he will enter countries, overflow them and pass through.He will also enter the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab and the foremost of the sons of Ammon. Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. But he will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians [Sudanese] will follow at his heels. ~ Daniel 11:40-43, NASB; the bracketed information is my emphasis

Without a doubt, it is the peace contract Israel signs with the Antichrist or Gog that gives the nation of Israel a false sense of security — makes the Hebrews think they are safe from being invaded by neighboring Arabs, who are their life-long enemies. This truth is expressed via the prophet Ezekiel’s description of Israel being a “land of unwalled villages” (Ezekiel 38:11, NASB). The prophet Ezekiel writes that Gog or the Antichrist thinks to himself:

…‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world.’ ~ Ezekiel 38:11-12, NASB; also see Ezekiel 13:10

Then too, Daniel the prophet also writes:

Out of one of them came forth a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land. ~ Daniel 8:9, NASB

~ and ~

The sequence of events is clear. Around mid-Tribulation, the Antichrist or Gog will battle Egypt, Libya, Sudan, as well as many other countries—primarily the ten nations of the end-time Muslim coalition (Syria [north], Iran [east], and Saudi Arabia [south] are included). Then Gog or the Antichrist and these nations will invade Israel, which is the prophet Daniel’s “the Beautiful Land.”

In other words, Israel never will have true peace and safety until after Christ Jesus has returned and completely has wiped out God and Israel’s enemies. Moreover, since the biblical end-time prophecies make it clear that Christ Jesus doesn’t return until the nation of Israel as a whole has accepted Him as the Lord and Savior, and since the biblical end-time prophecies repeatedly mention that the Lord is the one who gathers the scattered people of God, then it stands to reason that when the prophet Ezekiel says Gog or the Antichrist will come against “the land of unwalled villages,” he definitely only is describing Israel’s wishful thinking. Israel will think She is safe, but the truth is that She has placed Her trust in the wrong man and, as a result, the Hebrews in Israel will think they are as safe as a “walled” nation would be, but they are not. Put differently, they definitely will not expect war. However, the truth of the matter is that Israel only has an illusion of “peace and safety,” and apparently all that is necessary for Israel to be considered a “land of unwalled villages” is the illusion of “peace and safety.”

This last statement must be true because Scriptures point out that the inhabitants of Israel definitely have been lulled into a false sense of security, after which Gog or the Antichrist attacks Israel. The apostle Paul says that there is coming a time when,

While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:3, NASB

The prophet Daniel also describes Gog or the Antichrist’s end-time invasion of Israel. Daniel writes:

Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. ~ Daniel 9:26, NASB

Then too, Daniel writes:

In a time of tranquility he will enter the richest parts of the realm, and he will accomplish what his fathers never did, nor his ancestors; he will distribute plunder, booty and possessions among them, and he will devise his schemes against strongholds, but only for a time. ~ Daniel 11:24, NASB

Again, the total fulfillment of Daniel’s visions is the Battle of Armageddon, which is the Battle of Gog of Magog. Therefore, it needs to be understood that the ten toes of iron mixed with clay are the ten-nation coalition—the same nations that come against Israel in the final Battle of Armageddon. It also needs to be understood that in order for the Lord to be the One who fulfills the prophecy of Him not only delivering Israel’s Hebrew captives from their enemies but also saving the nation as a whole, many Hebrews in today’s Israel must once again be taken captive, many must be destroyed, and there has to be a remnant in the land of Israel BEFORE the Lord can return again as the prophesied Lion of Judah.

This above truth is why it is important to understand that the angel Gabriel is making it clear to Daniel that he (Gabriel) is explaining that the fulfillment of Daniel’s vision happens during “…the final period of the indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end” (Daniel 8:19). THREE times in Daniel 8 the angel Gabriel tells Daniel that his vision’s fulfillment concerns the appointed time of the END —that which will be happening right up until Christ Jesus’ second bodily return.

For this last reason, in order for many Christ followers to understand and accept all of the above truth concerning Gog and the Antichrist, as well as the Battles of Gog and Armageddon, believers in Christ must know, understand and accept that the true identity of the prophet Ezekiel’s Gog is that of the Antichrist. The evil end-time ruler’s identity means that the true identity of the land of Magog is NOT Russia, and this fact means that the troops that the Antichrist or Gog brings with him when he invades Israel will come from modern-day Turkey, and other Muslim countries that surround Israel. Knowing these truths —that Gog is the Antichrist and that Magog represents the Turkish army that invades Israel from the north or modern-day Turkey — will help believers in Christ correctly place the timing of the end-time battle that destroys the Antichrist (Gog). In that end-time battle — the Battle of Armageddon or the Battle of Gog — the Antichrist or Gog’s hordes are destroyed, and Gog or the Antichrist and His False Prophet not only die themselves but also they earn a place in the Lake of Fire. Once more, the Battle of Armageddon is the same end-time skirmish as the one the Battle Gog and his multitudes cause.

Let us now continue to reason together. Since Psalm 83 obviously suggests that the enemies of Israel, who are mentioned in this Psalm, will attack each other and nearly wipe each other out, and since this is the same description that is used in reference to Gog and his hordes, as well as used to describe the Antichrist’s armies in the Battle of Armageddon (cf. Ezekiel 38:21-22 and Zechariah 14:12-13), then it stands to reason that the Arabic nations in Psalm 83 definitely comprise the same coalition that is led by the Antichrist or Gog. Once again, those enemies who come against Israel in the final battle of the grandfather of all wars — the Apocalypse War — share the same description of turning on each other and killing each other in one of the several campaigns of said war. This description clearly is a bit reminiscent of what happened in Gideon’s day, when the Midianites, who are Arabs, turned their swords on one another; see Judges 7:19-22. By the way, Gideon is a type of Jesus Christ.

Now isn’t it interesting that the initial reason for why the Midianites, Amalekites, “…and the sons of the east…” (Judges 6:3, NASB) attack Israel in Gideon’s day, ravaging the land and stealing the cattle, oxen, donkeys, and sheep, was for the purpose of leaving the people of Israel absolutely NOTHING to live on or live off? In other words, the goal allegedly was to wipe out the Israelites — to extinguish them. Apparently this is the same motive the invaders in Psalm 83 have. The psalmist declares that the Midianites’ military leaders Oreb, Zeeb, and their kings Zebah and Zalmunna declare that they invade Israel not just to plunder it but also to possess the “…pastures of God” (Psalm 83:12, NASB) — to own the Promise Land by annihilating the Hebrews.

The truth is that plundering is the modus operandi of the Antichrist or Gog, who with his raiding end-time Arabs initially take spoils from three of the ten-nation coalition (Egypt, Libya, and Sudan). Then the Antichrist or Gog divides these spoils among the remaining seven nations. Later he invades three other nations Sheba, Dedan and Tarshish. They actually ask the Antichrist or Gog if he has “…assembled [his] company to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil” (Ezekiel 38:13, NASB). What this last passage reveals about the Arabs of Sheba and Dedan (Mystery Babylon or Saudi Arabia) is that the Antichrist or Gog swiftly will subdue each one of the remaining seven kings of the 10-nation coalition, until he brings them all under his control. Once again, this regional fighting will happen before the attacks on Israel begin, and they continue after Israel ins invaded.

The point here is that the end-time Sunni and Shiite Muslims will have the same reason for why they form the same alliance that is mentioned in Psalm 83. For sure their 10-nation coalition not only wants to plunder and possess all of Israel but also this end-time alliance wants to annihilate all the Hebrews.

Once again, Psalm 83’s end-time coalition led by the Antichrist or Gog will be just like the armies of the Midianites, Amalekites, and other Arabs who invaded Israel in Gideon’s day. The end-time coalition, the names of which are found, for example, in Psalm 83:6-8, Daniel 11:43, and Ezekiel 38:1-5, will invade Israel not only to despoil it but also to wipe out the Hebrews who live in the land.

Although these Muslim nations intend on annihilating the Hebrews, during the Battle of Armageddon or Gog, the Antichrist or Gog and all of his hordes will end up turning on themselves from their fear and confusion, which is just like the fear and confusion that caused the invading Arabs (the Midianites, Amalekites, and other Arabs) in Gideon’s day to panic. Gideon’s enemies panicked after hearing the sounds coming from his three companies of 100 soldiers’ thunderous trumpets, broken pitchers, and their battle cries, as well as after seeing these 300 Israelites’ burning torches. The author of Judges writes:

So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands. When the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing, and cried, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” Each stood in his place around the camp; and all the army ran, crying out as they fled. When they blew 300 trumpets, the Lord set the sword of one against another even throughout the whole army; and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the edge of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. ~ Judges 7:19-22, NASB

In the end-times, God copies what He did to the Midianites and their hordes. God supernaturally fought the battle for Gideon and his 300 men, so He would be the One who saved His Holy Land of Israel and His chosen people living in it from being annihilated. The Almighty supernaturally caused many of Midianites and their hordes to kill themselves with their own swords, and the rest — those who fled back to their own lands to the east — God empowered Gideon and his army of 300 men to pursue them, to kill the two leaders of Midianites and their hordes, to capture the Midianites’ two kings, to defeat their hordes, and later to kill the Midianites’ kings (see Judges 8:4-21). In the end-time, God also will prevent the Antichrist or Gog from slaughtering the remnant of Hebrews who still are living in Israel.

The way in which God copies what He did for Gideon is that God uses the second woe or the sixth trumpet’s judgment — a major end-time earthquake that destroys 1/10^th of the city (Jerusalem) and kills 7,000 men (cf. Revelation 11:13; Ezekiel 38:18-20) — to cause the Antichrist or Gog’s multitudes, who are invading Israel, to panic and become so out of control that they turn on their own swords — they begin to slaughter themselves. After that show of God’s supernatural Wrath, the Antichrist or Gog and his surviving members of his armies retreat back to their homelands — no doubt, this is when they take countless Hebrews into captivity.

However, the Lord’s judgment on the enemies of God and Israel is not done. After the seventh bowl judgment begins, there is the Greatest earthquake that the world has ever seen or felt, and this one is felt around the world (see Revelation 16:18-20). This massive earthquake is the result of God’s seventh bowl judgment. This global earthquake is followed by torrential rain, hailstones, and fire and brimstone (cf. Revelation 16:21; see also Ezekiel 38:22) — those hailstones cause Gog or the Antichrist and his armies to curse God. After this judgment has been poured out, God brings Gog or the Antichrist and his surviving hordes back to Jerusalem, for the final battle against Christ Jesus — the Battle of Gog, which also is the Battle of Armageddon. Because the massive global earthquake and the hundred-pound hailstones have damaged Israel’s infrastructure — for example, apostle John says that this global earthquake splits Jerusalem into three parts and causes the cities of the nations to collapse — they were ruined (Revelation 16:19), this is the reason why Gog or the Antichrist and his hordes have to arrive back in Israel on horseback, and why they arrived armed with bow and arrows.

Once the armies of Gog or the Antichrist, who are on horseback and armed with bow and arrows, cover Israel like a great cloud, Christ Jesus—He returns to Earth AFTER the seventh bowl judgment, which will coincide with the end of Daniel’s 70^th week (the end of the seven-year Tribulation). Scriptures make it clear that it is on the Day of the Lord (Day of Judgment/Day of Trouble/Yom Kippur/Yom HaDin) that the Lord and His armies from Heaven will touch down first in Bozrah, Edom (southern Jordan), where the Lord supernaturally crushes like grapes the Edomites (see Isaiah 63:1-5). On the same day, He will go from Edom to the Mount of Olives, where His feet will split the mountain right down the middle. This split will cause a new valley, which will be the way the Hebrews who will be trapped in Jerusalem will escape (see Zechariah 14:3-5). From the Mount of Olives Christ Jesus will go to Megiddo and crush Gog or the Antichrist’s soldiers who are stationed there, but even then Christ Jesus’ judgment still will not be finished.

God will have caused Gog or the Antichrist and the rest of his armies to gather in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, where they plan to fight Christ Jesus. The Valley of Jehoshaphat is outside Jerusalem, and it is here that the Lord disarms the Antichrist or Gog and his surviving soldiers. Then Christ Jesus completely destroys them — He also crushes them like grapes, which is the imagery apostle John uses, as well as is what the prophet Daniel describes when he prophesies about the “stone” that “…crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold…” (Daniel 2:45).

As mentioned above, all of the enemies of God and Israel, who came with the Antichrist or Gog to destroy Christ Jesus and the remnant of Hebrews in the Battle of Gog or the Battle of Armageddon, will be disarmed and then crushed like grapes. These dead multitudes will become food for the vultures and other scavenging birds of prey, but the final judgment for the Antichrist or Gog and his False Prophet will NOT happen until after Christ Jesus’ 1,000-year reign is over. Then is when Christ Jesus will throw their resurrected bodies alive into the Lake of Fire (cf. Revelation 19:20). However, Christ Jesus’ final judgment on His enemies’ homeland will happen on the Day of Judgment—the day Christ Jesus defeats Gog and the Antichrist, as well as their hordes.

The prophet Ezekiel writes:

‘I will strike your bow from your left hand and dash down your arrows from your right hand. You will fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you as food to every kind of predatory bird and beast of the field. You will fall on the open field; for it is I who have spoken,’ declares the Lord God.^‘And I will send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the Lord.’ ~ Ezekiel 39:3-6, NASB

~ and ~

Now, according to the Old Testament prophecies, as previously mentioned, Israel will be scattered one last time. Israel’s Muslim enemies not only will carry Hebrews off into captivity but also these enemies of God and Israel will almost wipe out the end-time Hebrews.

It has been stated several times that the Antichrist or Gog and his Muslim multitudes will begin their invasions of Israel sometime after mid-Tribulation—sometime after the Antichrist or Gog declares himself to be a god. After that, there will be ongoing exiles, captivities, and persecutions, but they will be the last exiles, captivities, and persecutions that the Hebrews will have to suffer before Christ Jesus makes His second bodily return to this Earth. For sure, the Word of God makes it clear that the Lord is the One who gathers the scattered Hebrews back into their Promised Land, from which they never will be scattered again. The Word of God also declares that the Lord is the One who restores God’s people, and Christ Jesus does it so that the very nations that comprise the ten-nation coalition — and the people who join with these ten nations — as well as the Hebrews who have been spiritual blind up until then, will know that Christ Jesus is indeed the Hebrews’ Lord and King. The prophet Ezekiel writes:

When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall be sanctified through them in the sight of the many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. ~ Ezekiel 39:27-28, NASB

A couple of other retellings of the Hebrews’ final end-time scattering of the Hebrews are as follows:

For behold, in those days and at that time,
When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will gather all the nations
And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.
Then I will enter into judgment with them there
On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
And they have divided up My land. ~ Joel 3:1-2, NASB

~ and ~

I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as a flock in the midst of their pasture; they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men. ~ Micah 2:12, ASV

As already mentioned several times, when Christ Jesus returns to this world He specifically comes back to rid the land of Israel and the Hebrews living in it of their enemies. At that time, He completely will destroy the Antichrist or Gog and his hordes (the ten-nation coalition; the ten kings and their multitudes) during the Battle of Armageddon, which also is the Battle of Gog from Magog. Now when the prophet Daniel writes about the destruction of his fourth beast, which is apostle John’s eighth head or eighth beast kingdom — the revived Islamic Caliphate system of the revived Turkish-Ottoman Empire — Daniel is describing the Lord as the metaphorical “stone” that completely crushes the Antichrist or the Gog’s beast kingdom. Daniel writes:

Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. ~ Daniel 2:35, NASB

~ and ~

In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy. ~ Daniel 2:44-45, NASB

Once again, the apostle John describes how Christ Jesus defeats the Antichrist or Gog and all of his hordes, by trampling them like they are grapes in an extremely large winepress. Metaphorically speaking, that winepress is the entire land of Israel, and again the grapes are the enemies of God and Israel — those surviving Tribulation individuals in Gog or the Antichrist’s armies who never have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, and who also have the mark of the Beast. Indeed, the blood stains that can be seen on Christ Jesus garment, as He comes from Teman (Jordan: specifically, Edom) to Jerusalem, are from Him as He begins to trample His enemies like grapes. The prophet Habakkuk’s version of the Lord’s supernatural defeat is as follows:

Sun and moon stood in their places;
They went away at the light of Your arrows,
At the radiance of Your gleaming spear.
In indignation You marched through the earth;
In anger You trampled the nations.
You went forth for the salvation of Your people,
For the salvation of Your anointed.
You struck the head of the house of the evil
To lay him open from thigh to neck. Selah. ~ Habakkuk 3:11-13, NASB

The prophet Isaiah and the apostle John retell the same event—the Lord’s garments becoming stained with blood during the Bozrah (sheepfold) deliverance of God’s chosen people. Bozrah was the name of an ancient city, the ruins of which were in Edom. The Edomites were Esau’s godless descendants. Today the land of Edom is the southern part of Jordan. The prophet Isaiah and apostle John write:

Who is this who comes from Edom,
With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah,
This One who is majestic in His apparel,
Marching in the greatness of His strength?
‘It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.’ ~ Isaiah 63:1, NASB (see also Isaiah 34:5-6)

~ and ~

He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ~ Revelation 19:13, NASB

As already mentioned, before the Lord splits the Mount of Olives—thereby creating a new valley, which is the way His trapped remnant of Hebrews is set free from Gog or the Antichrist’s armies — the first event in the series of events that culminates in the final battle between Christ Jesus and the Antichrist or Gog (the Battle of Armageddon or the Battle of God) will be the Lord going to Edom and crushing the Edomites (Arabs in southern Jordan) like grapes. For this reason, as well as other stated reason, there can be no denying that the Bible is replete with references to Christ Jesus being the One who finally rids Israel and the rest of the world of the Muslim peoples, especially those Muslims who live in the lands that surround Israel (see, for example, Ezekiel 30:1-5 and Zephaniah 2:8-9, 12-13).

For the record, in the immediately above cited Ezekiel and Zephaniah verses, Lud is modern-day Turkey. As already mentioned, Ethiopians are the Sudanese in modern-day Sudan, and Put is modern-day Libya; however, in the context of these cited verses, Put also is Libya and Northern Africa. Moab and Ammon, again, are parts of modern-day Jordan. Assyria is modern-day Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq; and Nineveh is the modern-day city of Mosul, Iraq.

Lastly, not only is the Battle of Gog from Magog the same battle as the Battle of Armageddon but also this really is no battle — it is not World War III — at all. Yes, the Antichrist or Gog and his hordes will wreak havoc throughout the Middle East, and the Apocalypse War that he will start gradually will escalate to the point that it looks like all of God’s Hebrew people, primarily, will be wiped off this Earth, but in the campaigns of the Antichrist or Gog’s Apocalypse War, God is the One who supernaturally will destroy some of the Antichrist or Gog’s armies who come against Israel. He destroys portions of these armies by a great earthquake and by lightning, which cause many soldiers in the Antichrist or Gog’s armies to turn their swords on themselves. Then too, God’s seventh bowl judgment specifically is poured out on them—the worst earthquake ever; also torrential rains, hailstones, fire and brimstone, pestilence, and blood.

The other reason why the Battle of Gog or Armageddon will not be World War III is because Christ Jesus returns with His host of angels and His saints to destroy Gog or the Antichrist before he and his multitudes have the chance to completely destroy the world. The Lord will fight all of the enemies of God and Israel all by Himself — in the Battle of Gog or Armageddon — and He will wipe all of them off of this Earth. As already mentioned, Christ Jesus first will disarm Gog or the Antichrist and his hordes by knocking their bows and arrows out of their hands, and then the Lord will slaughter His enemies with the sword that comes out of His mouth — with the Word of God, which is Christ Jesus’ judiciary sentence that He enforces.

The apostle John writes:

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. ~ Revelation 19:11-15, NASB

The major point here is that it is Father God who has declared that He not only will cause Gog or the Antichrist to war against Israel but also He is the One who will cause every nation to be gathered in Israel, where they will drink from the cup of His fury. The prophet Jeremiah writes:

For thus the Lord, the God of Israel, says to me, ‘Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it. They will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.’ ~ Jeremiah 25:15-16, NASB

In other words, it does not matter to Father God whether or not the end-time nations want to be involved in today’s Israel or Jerusalem controversy. They are going to find that because of the existing world economics, world religion, and world politics there will be no way they will be able to keep themselves from being saddled with the evil designs the world has upon Israel and the city of Jerusalem. Father God has made it so that they will participate in the final battles of Gog or the Antichrist’s intended Apocalypse war.

For this reason, all of the above-discussed reasons are why the final Battle of Armageddon or Gog happens on the great Day of the Lord. This event is God’s last hurrah — His finale or climax to the history of sinful mankind. This event also is Christ Jesus’ curtain call, so to speak—when Christ Jesus finally will receive His earned praises for the sacrifice He made and the trampling He will give the enemies of God and Israel. Indeed, the Battle of Armageddon or Gog will be when Jesus Christ finally not only gets to roar like the Lion He is but also when He gets to appear as the Lion of Judah. Once again, He first will appear in Edom, where He begins to trample the armies of Gog or the Antichrist, and then He will appear on the horizon of Jerusalem’s eastern border—on the top of the Mount of Olives. Christ Jesus will go from there to Megiddo in northern Israel, and then He will come back down south to an area that is right outside of Jerusalem. This area is the Valley of Jehoshaphat, where Father God will have gathered together the rest of the armies of the Antichrist or Gog, as well as the Antichrist or Gog himself so that they all can be completely destroyed.

By the end of this last battle, the nation of Israel will have become a blood-soaked battlefield—that winepress in which Christ Jesus will have crushed His enemies like grapes. As the apostle John prophesies, this blood from God and Israel’s enemies will flow 200 miles (1,600 furlongs in the King James Version or 1,600 stadia in the English Standard Version). That is the distance from Megiddo in northern Israel to Bozrah in Edom (southern Jordan). This blood also is prophesied to reach as high as to the horses’ bridles. The prophet John writes:

So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles. ~ Revelation 14:19-20

Finally, this concluding campaign to the Antichrist or Gog’s Apocalypse War is without a doubt the very same scenario — with a few variations—that is repeated by the majority of the Old Testament’s minor and major prophets, by Christ Jesus in the four Gospels, and in Scriptures written by the New Testament’s apostles Paul and John. For this reason, it should be irrefutable by now that not only are Gog and the Antichrist the same evil end-time world ruler of the revived Islamic Caliphate system of the revived Turkish-Ottoman Empire but also it should be irrefutable by now that the Battles of Gog and Armageddon are the same event that also have different names. Indeed, the Battle of Gog and the Battle of Armageddon are NOT two separate events like so many people think.

A word to the wise should be sufficient. Selah (pause and calmly think about that—all of above information.