Friday, December 20, 2019
Based on the May 14, 1948 revival of Israel of Matt. 24:32–35 and God’s Psa. 90:10 generation, in less than six years hundreds of millions of people will be traumatized due to the cataclysmic geological and celestial destructions descending upon earth as the world will be engulfed in the tribulation as Jesus Christ foretold in The Revelation. Mind-wrenching catastrophes will cause panic and great fear. Millions will be on their knees in sincere prayer begging God for mercy.
“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds” (Heb. 1:1–2). Consequently, ambassadors of Christ will teach faith in His Son unto repentance, salvation, sanctification, Spirit-empowerment, and enduring to “the last day” (John 6:40, 44) at the resurrection rapture; the whole gospel.
In less than six years, at the First Trumpet judgment, the earth will pass into or through an asteroid and meteor belt which will pummel the earth when “The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up” (Rev. 8:7). While science will likely counter this event by global warming explanations, its rationale will not quell the fear in people’s hearts.
A similar event occurred around 1750 BC when God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah due to their abominations of homosexuality. God warned Lot and his wife and two daughters “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed…Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground” (Gen. 19:17, 24–25).
Then “the second angel sounded; and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed” (Rev. 8:8–9). More than elsewhere in the world a great flotilla of pleasure, merchant and war ships is concentrated in the Pacific Ocean, and this asteroid likely makes impact there destroying a third of those ships. The consequential tsunamis created will be terrifyingly enormous and will travel at extreme speeds.
Minus the oceanic portion, a similar event occurred when the leader of ancient Israel, Joshua, needed help fighting five enemy kings. That was also the day the sun stood still for about a day. Joshua called on God: “And it happened. As they [the enemies] fled before Israel and were in the descent from Beth Horon, that the Lord cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword” (Jos. 10:11).
The First and Second Trumpet judgments are a prelude of much worse to come, as many like those of Sodom and Gomorrah remained unrepentant. As earth is inundated with hail and fire from above it will appear the earth is literally on fire. When we look at the horribly destructive wildfires of California, we see a foreshadowing of what is to come, but on a global scale. And we who are ambassadors for Christ, 2 Cor. 5:20, will work with God who “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4), bearing witness to His Son Jesus.
This is not fear-mongering, but loving Jesus Christ who said “there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the seas and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:25–26). Truly, the catastrophes coming from the heavens will drive many people to their knees in repentance.
The end-times go largely unnoticed by the organized church as it dismisses signs of the times. Ignorance is bliss; lukewarm is approved; homosexuality and transhumanism is progressively normalized; true Christianity is being purged; violence is epidemic; false ecumenism is loved; the U.N. usurps its globalist power; freedoms disappear; artificial intelligence, genetics, brain-computer-interface, and robotics are creating super-humans; the liberal Left despises biblical truths; and Almighty God said “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hos. 4:6).
Jesus said “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36). This means to live a faithful holy life, being found worthy of finding the covering, safety and provision of God for the last 1,260 days of the great tribulation. It will similarly be another Passover for believers who actually believe God and prepare accordingly. (More on this next week).
Why less than six years? The generation that sees God’s fig tree, the land of Israel, “become tender and puts forth leaves” which began in May of 1948, for which God said “this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place” (Matt. 24:32–35) meaning the 7-year tribulation and Christ gathering His elect “Immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:29–31) at the resurrection rapture. And God defined a generation when He said “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years” (Psa. 90:10).
May 2020 will mark the 72nd anniversary of the land of Israel’s rebirth. That’s relevant to the end-times. May 2028 marks Israel’s 80th anniversary, and is the end of the biblical generation. In less than six years this world will be in a catastrophic condition like none other, because, Satan, knowing he and his Antichrist have but a short time, will create unparalleled chaos throughout the world. Inspired Scriptures allow us to observe his destructive powers. For example…
The pre-Adamic era provides a glimpse of Lucifer’s destructive wrath when he said in his heart “I will ascend into heaven…I will be like the Most High” (Isa. 14:13–14), but God judged him, saying “you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit” (Isa. 14:15). In his subsequent wrath Satan “made the world like a wilderness and destroyed its cities” (Isa. 14:17), his “sanctuaries” (Ezek. 28:18) he “defiled”. Then, “In the beginning” (Gen. 1:1) God made the earth anew, because “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep” (Gen. 1:2). And at the end of this present age God will destroy the earth and all the works in it with fire, 2 Peter 3:10–12, after which He makes all things new, 2 Peter 3:13.
Marlin J. Yoder
