Question: Do the dead-in-Christ arise at the time of the Seventh Trumpet spoken of in the Book of Revelation?

Answer: No, they don’t! In fact, they arise from the dead long before that. First of all, the last trump spoken of does not refer to the Seventh Trumpet of the Book of Revelation. When the Apostle Paul spoke of the last trump, he was certainly not referring to the Book of Revelation, which had not yet been declared or delivered. In fact, Paul was already dead when the Book of Revelation was delivered to the Apostle John. He was speaking of another last trump, the final warning before the Holy City of Jerusalem is stormed and the last stand is made by God’s servants THE PROPHETS. You’ll recall the account of the last stand of God’s servants the prophets in the early part of the same chapter as the reference to the Seventh Trumpet is spoken of. We’ll get to that in a few moments, but first let’s deal with the Seventh Trumpet sounded by the seventh angel:

Rev 11:15-19 "The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the WORLD has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign for ever and ever." ¹⁶ And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, ¹⁷ saying: "We give thanks to you, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY [The Father], the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power AND HAVE BEGUN TO REIGN. ¹⁸ The nations [of the world] were angry; and your wrath has come. THE TIME HAS COME FOR JUDGING THE DEAD, and for REWARDING YOUR SERVANTS THE PROPHETS and your SAINTS and those who reverence your Name, both small and great – and for destroying those who destroy the earth." ¹⁹ Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the Ark of His Covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm." This is the time when the Lord God Almighty [The Father] begins to reign, and also the time for the judging of the dead (sometimes referred to as the Great White Throne Judgment).

And just to remind the reader of a few fundamental principles of Bible teaching: 1Cor 15:22 "For as in Adam all die, so [ALL IN CHRIST] will be made alive. ²³ But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when He comes, THOSE WHO BELONG TO HIM. ²⁴ Then the END will come, when He hands over the Kingdom to GOD THE FATHER AFTER He has DESTROYED all dominion, authority and power. ²⁵ For He must reign UNTIL He has put all His enemies under his feet. ²⁶ The last enemy to be destroyed is Death. ²⁷ For He "has put everything under His feet." Now when it says that "everything" has been put under Him, it is clear that this does NOT include God Himself, who put everything under Christ. ²⁸ When He has done this, then the Son himself will be made SUBJECT TO HIM who put everything under Him, so that God may be all in all." So Christ will already be reigning and destroying all dominion, authority and power, and putting all His enemies under His feet BEFORE He hands over the Kingdom to the Father – which occurs at the time of the Seventh Trumpet. Then God the Father will reign on earth, and Jesus will be subject to Him as any good son would be.

So let’s not get confused over when all those who are Christ’s will be made alive. This occurs when He comes and reigns – not at the time of the Seventh Trumpet when He hands over the Kingdom to the Father and the Father begins to reign. Where it says that God’s wrath has come (Rev 11:18) this will be expressed in THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES which follow in the immediate aftermath of the Seven Trumpets and the beginning of the reign of God the Father.

So what last trumpet was Paul speaking of? First of all, Jesus spoke of getting out of Judah at a certain time of great distress. This is what He said: Matt 24:15 "So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation’, spoken of through the prophet Daniel – let the reader understand – ¹⁶ then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷ Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. ¹⁸ Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. ¹⁹ How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! ²⁰ Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now – and never to be equaled again. ²² If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. ²³ At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect – if that were possible. ²⁵ See, I have told you ahead of time." Leaving aside the lengthy discussion that could ensue from this passage of Scripture with the reference to what was spoken of by Daniel – which no-one understood, except God’s servants the prophets, the trumpet will certainly be sounding on that day. Luke adds a bit more information: Luke 21:20 "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. ²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the City get out, and let those in the country not enter the City." This follows a period of 3½ years when the Gentiles will tread down the Holy City and after God’s servants the prophets arrive on the scene and clear out the Gentiles. For 1260 days, these two men will wreak havoc on the hordes that surround the Holy Land and then the King of Greece (as spoken of by Daniel – Dan 10:20) will come and surround the City of Jerusalem.

Concerning the judging of the dead, there will be many who die in the coming holocaust that will not have distinguished themselves in martyrdom and therefore have never proven themselves faithful to God in accordance with the standards set by Jesus. But they were saints never-the-less because they had God’s Holy Spirit. So what can be done with them? Well, they will have to be judged according to what they have done.

Rev 20:1-6 "And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. ² He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. ³ He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time." At the beginning of the thousand years Satan is imprisoned, and this is when the Judgment begins. V4 "I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their Testimony for Jesus and because of the Word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. ⁵ (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years."

As you will see, obedience to God requires moral strength of character, and weak people won’t make it. If they cave in under the onslaught they will never enter God’s Kingdom. You’ll note that these people died in defense of the Testimony of Jesus and the Word of God and gave their lives willingly. Weaklings, who don’t defend the Testimony of Jesus and the Word of God will be judged as worthless and fit only to be burned. This type of person will have been indoctrinated to believe that God is a fool who will give them eternal life for doing nothing, and who deny the fundamental principles of God’s teachings. Matt 10:32-36 "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. ³³ But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." And in this context Jesus adds more. He gives some idea of what awaits the trials of the saints: V34 "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law – ³⁶ a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household." We’ve seen enough examples of people who deny the very Word of God under zero provocation, so it’s not hard to imagine their lack of character when their lives are on the line.

Depending on how you look at it, the beast power is already on the move. The King of Greece will come just like Alexander the Great and subjugate the nations of the Middle East to his authority. His armies will begin as Alexander’s did with the conquest of all Macedonia to the border of the Danube to the southern tip of Greece and Cypress and will be the Greek-Macedonian Empire. And like Alexander, this beast will crush the Persians first and sweep through the Middle East knocking down nations like nine-pins until he has absolute control and authority. Like Alexander, he will consider himself to be a god and will demand worship of himself. The hold-outs will be Egypt and its allies, but these will be crushed utterly, and have no part of the Beast’s Empire. Egypt will be allied with Libya, and the third, I’m guessing, may be Saudi Arabia, but it may be Yemen, Somalia, or any one of the North Africa Moslem states. These hold-outs to the insurgency of the King of Greece (who is called the King of the North) will be termed the King of the South.

It should surprise no-one that the Balkans is the territory of Alexander’s initial kingdom, where he inherited his father Philip’s Macedonian Kingdom. But even more surprising, is the fact that the West, under the auspices of President Clinton, attacked the Macedonians to protect the Muslims – as was suggested – from genocide. Real genocides like Rwanda, where Muslims slaughtered the Christians, and more currently, in Sudan where the same type of genocide is continuing today, were ignored! If you understand anything about the Greek-Macedonians, you’ll find they have long memories. And a man like Alexander won’t forget in a hurry what the West did to his national territory with the destruction they wrought, and the final humiliation of arresting their leaders and putting them on trial. Oddly enough, the Greek-Macedonians know who the real world enemy is – they know it’s Islam! This is why the Muslims were given the option of getting out of their territory or being killed. But self-righteous ‘Bubba’ Clinton saw things differently, and saw it as his duty to protect the Muslims. It should be noted that Bubba doesn’t possess the same mechanism of mind to protect Jews and Christians! It was under Clinton’s watch that Islam became emboldened, and realized that despite their wanton and merciless behaviour, they had allies in the most powerful nation on earth. They realized that the Democrats were push-overs when it comes to believing deceptive lies. Clinton had greased the wheel and it began to roll. Within months the Muslim hordes began plotting to strike a devastating blow to the Americans on September 11, 2001. It’s been all downhill from there with these wanton creatures swarming all over the earth bringing death and destruction to many nations.

Meanwhile, the King of Greece is biding his time. When Alexander came to power, he was obsessed with the conquest of an age-old enemy of his father’s kingdom – the Persians! And against all odds, he engaged them in battle and destroyed them. He then surged through the Middle East conquering everything in his path. The Persians are the Iranians today. They differ from the majority of Islam in that they are Shi’ite rather than Sunnis.

You might recall the similarity of these events with the teachings spoken of through the Prophet Daniel – a reference made by Jesus in Matt 24:15. And just to digress for a moment, the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) imagined, through ‘creative reasoning’, that the beast power was to be Europe, the home of the ‘lost ten Tribes of Israel’. Unlike Christ, they didn’t believe Daniel! They were obsessed with creating their own prophecy from their own imaginations. Nothing they taught had any connection with the words spoken of through the Prophet Daniel. To the WCG the whole book of Daniel could have been just a bit of cute history – they certainly didn’t believe what Daniel wrote! Nevertheless, they cherry-picked a few verses to bolster their lies and ignored the rest. Regardless of how plausible prophecy may sound, if it is not based on the teachings of the Bible then it is not Bible prophecy.

They also believed the Pope was the ‘great whore’ of the Book of Revelation. What monstrous assumptions they made! Curiously, some of these ‘chameleon’ offshoots of the Churches now believe that Britain and the U.S. are the ‘great whore’, and you’d never guess what term one of these egotistical Church leaders used to collectively describe them! He called them bankers and Zionists. He seems to believe the propaganda of the spurious book ‘The Protocols of the Elders of Zion’. It seems the man’s lunacy has no bounds. This man also claimed that all we are seeing today is merely a false start. He gives no explanation from the Bible about his alleged ‘false start’. Ignoring the preponderance of evidence of the forces of evil sweeping around the world in the form of Islam, he immediately launches into his theory that America is really the beast. It’s not Islam that is responsible for the evil spreading all over the world, in his view, but America! Again, no Bible explanations are forthcoming, but only further reasoning conjured up from his feeble mind. And this statement perfectly mirrors what Islam is chanting all over the world that America is the arch-evil of the world. According to this man’s reasoning, America is the ‘great satan’ and, presumably, little Israel is the ‘little satan’.

Anyone who imagines such people to be sincere can only be cut from the same cloth. Most of the leaders of the Churches of God are laying low and ignoring the obvious - but not this man! He’s seen his support drain to the point of desperation where he is prepared to say or do anything. But it goes to show how the real losers are trying to claw back their assumed ‘reputations’ through lies and deceit. The man himself scarcely rates a mention but he is indicative of the many who are now floundering from the lying ‘prophecies’ of the past. Like so many of these evil creatures, he’s prepared to do anything to weaken the nations of Israel for his own financial gain.

What this all shows is what happens when people remain wedded to the lies of the past and seek to continue to align with them. They seem never able to shake loose from them, but consider it a badge of honour to have been a member of such worthless teachings of fake prophecies. The WCG has just one thing in their favour – they once received the Holy Spirit of God for their obedience at the time of their commitment to baptism. In the course of time they have amassed a great deal of teachings to repent of. But only a remnant of them will carry with them into the Great Tribulation the Testimony of Jesus and The Commandments of God (Rev 12:17). The rest will be worthless for any purpose, and will pay the penalty in the lake of fire.

It’s not enough to merely keep the Commandments of God. Jesus said, when you have done all that is required of you, consider yourselves unworthy servants. Luke 17:9-10 "Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’" Those who don’t do everything they’ve been told to do will find themselves worthy of nothing.

Concerning the two witnesses or prophets spoken of in Rev 11:1-14 (just prior to the mention of the Seventh Trumpet – V15), there will be an indeterminable amount of time for the measuring and the planning of the Temple in accordance with the instructions of Ezekiel, chapters 40-48. It’s clear that in the lead-up to this, the Temple will be built just as Zechariah confirms in Zech 6:11 "Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak. ¹² Tell him this is what the LORD Almighty says: `Here is the man whose name is The Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the LORD. ¹³ It is he who will build the temple of the LORD, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ ¹⁴ The crown will be given to Heldai, ⁿ Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen son of Zephaniah as a memorial in the Temple of the LORD. ¹⁵ Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the LORD, and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the LORD your God." Of course, The Branch is not the rightful heir to the Throne, and will merely be a caretaker king. The crown will be deposited in the Temple as a memorial. Significantly, it will be a true High Priest of Almighty God who will fulfill this role as King of kings and His power and authority will extend over all the earth. (King David will rule over the Tribes of Israel).

It’s obvious that the Temple described by Ezekiel (Chapts. 40-48) will be built by men. This is why such specific instruction is given. Ezekiel was given a vision of all these things, and through this vision was privileged to view the end result. What is more, we also find this in these chapters: Eze 43:1-5 "Then the man brought me to the gate facing east (the King’s Gate or Golden Gate), ² and I saw the Glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with His Glory. ³ The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when He came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown. ⁴ The Glory of the LORD entered the Temple through the gate facing east. ⁵ Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the Glory of the LORD filled the Temple." The following few verses make it clear who is going to live in this Temple forever: V6 "While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the Temple. ⁷ He said: "Son of man, this is the place of my Throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever. The House of Israel will never again defile my Holy Name – neither they nor their kings – by their prostitution and the lifeless idols of their kings at their high places. ⁸ When they placed their threshold next to my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they defiled my holy name by their detestable practices. So I destroyed them in my anger. ⁹ Now let them put away from me their prostitution and the lifeless idols of their kings, and I will live among them forever." V10-12 "Son of man, describe the Temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their sins. Let them consider the plan, ¹¹ and if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the Temple – its arrangement, its exits and entrances – its whole design and all its regulations and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations. ¹² This is the law of the temple: All the surrounding area on top of the mountain will be most holy. Such is the law of the Temple."

These same chapters also describe the River of Life (Eze 47:1-6), the Trees of Life (V7, 12), and the allocation of the Holy Land to the 12 Tribes of Israel (Chapt 48).

So that’s how the Temple will be built and the importance of its existence. And it’s against this background that the Book of Revelation begins the description of the two witnesses or prophets after the Temple has been built. Rev 11:1-14 "I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the Temple of God and the Altar, and count the worshipers there. ² But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the Holy City for 42 months. ³ And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. ⁴ These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. ⁵ If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. ⁶ These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want."

So after people have come from far away to help build the Temple and after its completion, something begins to go wrong. Suddenly, Gentiles are mooching around the Outer Court of the Temple and trampling down the Holy City of Jerusalem, and claiming the right to be there. And what brings this about? Well, the Prophet Daniel gives the answer, and it has to do with the King of Greece: Dan 11:30-39 "Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the Holy Covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the Holy Covenant." Typically, those who came and helped build the Temple, and who have enjoyed relative peace, will cave in to his demands and begin to liberalize the Holy Covenant and actually forsake it for a guarantee of peace. And having corrupted them with flattery and lies, and induced them to forsake the Holy Covenant and betrayed the people who know their God, the beast will make his move to capture the Temple Fortress: V31 "His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the Temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. ³² With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the Covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him." Those who easily succumb to flattery are easy to corrupt, but the people who know their God never succumb to it. Such people never consider their own reputations – only God’s! So never trust vain and conceited people who easily fall prey to flattery, because such people betray others for their own advantage. And these are the type of people mentioned here. They are filled with treachery!

Meanwhile there will be others scattered around the world in jeopardy of their lives as we see from the next verse: V33 "Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. ³⁴ When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. ³⁵ Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time."

THE REAL RULERS ARE NOT FLESH AND BLOOD!

It’s worth noting that these rulers of the heavenly realms are usually in a position to rule. They are controllers, and they control the hordes of the earth. As a point of interest, one of these was ruling the Persian Empire at the time of Daniel, and so powerful was this ‘god’ that he detained Gabriel the Archangel for 21 days until Michael, one of the chief Princes, came and freed him: Dan 10:13-14 "But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. ¹⁴ Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come." It should be noted that Gabriel is no slouch as a warrior, and it took a mighty spirit ruler to capture and hold him. But this ruler of the heavenly realms was no match for both Michael and Gabriel. It should be obvious to anyone that a mere human ruler would not have stopped Gabriel.

It’s also worth noting the rulers of the heavenly realms have human protégés that eventually die, but the real ruler’s dominion lives on in the man’s successor. Typically, they favour men who most mirror their own personal ambition.

And just to add a bit more information about this king or beast, we find this in V36 "The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. ³⁷ He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. ³⁸ Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his fathers he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. ³⁹ He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price." This man will honour a god of fortresses – a god of war and conquest, and that god is not flesh and blood but a ruler of the heavenly realms as the Apostle Paul points out in Eph 6:12. These are the real enemies and all people outside of the Tribes of Israel are their protégés.

The Greeks are famous for their gods, and the Greek influence and even their language was widely dispersed throughout the world at the time of Jesus. The most widely worshipped Greek gods were Zeus and his son Apollo. This father and son team of gods represented rulers of the heavenly realms who just love to be worshipped. The King of Greece will seek the ‘help of a foreign god’. This foreign god is one who had dominion over another religious culture, that is, one other than Greek, and he sees himself as an ‘imam’. This ruler of the heavenly realm will lose his dominion to the King of Greece, but will cooperate to unite the Middle East against a common ‘foe’ – the Lord Christ!

God has decreed that what has been determined must take place until His wrath against His errant people Israel is fulfilled. Then God’s wrath will target Satan and his rulers of the heavenly realms and all his noxious brood. One of the things that God has determined is that His two witnesses will be honoured with martyrdom at the hands of the beast: Rev 11:7 "Now when they have finished their Testimony (the completion of 3½ years in the Temple Fortress), the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. ⁸ Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. ⁹ For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. ¹⁰ The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth." When God speaks of Jerusalem being figuratively-speaking ‘Sodom and Egypt’, He is speaking of the perfect description for that period. Infested with evil, they will sanction the assault on the Temple Mount and the killing of God’s servants. V11-14 "But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. ¹² Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. ¹³ At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. ¹⁴ The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon."

Daniel gives further description of this time of the end concerning the saints: Dan 7:19-26 "Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws – the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. ²⁰ I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell – the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. ²¹ As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them, ²² until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom." This other horn that came up and was more imposing than the others is the foreign god – a god foreign to the Greek-Macedonian Empire. This is when Death and Hades (also called the Grave) become unified in purpose (Rev 6:8). This is the Fourth Seal.

V23 "He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. ²⁴ The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king (called Hades or Grave – a spirit ruler) will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. ²⁵ He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time. ²⁶ But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. ²⁷ Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His Kingdom will be an everlasting Kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey Him’."

THE BLACK HORSE

Why black? What does it mean? Well, there is a Bible term ‘utter darkness’ that does, in fact, refer to death, and death is the ultimate darkness – the complete absence of light and therefore totally black. And who is this rider on the black horse? It’s a spirit being called Death, and Grave follows closely behind him. But now Death is looking pale, not so brutal and merciless among those he has conquered, as he consolidates his position among the conquered as he sets his heart to violate the Covenant of God and to seize the Holy City.

You’ll note that the Third Seal (Rev 6:5) speaks of the rider of a black horse with a pair of scales in his hand and weighing up his options. He notes that the ‘foreign god’ is destroying the saints of the Most High. This ‘foreign god’ has corrupted the people of God – the House of Israel, and is defeating them along with the saints. They have used a combination of oil (petroleum) of which they have a strong monopoly, and wine, which has the House of Israel in a stupor. This wine is the propaganda of Satan, who has made the nations drink the maddening WINE of Babylon’s corruption (Rev 14:8). Babylon is Satan’s city of old, and the place where successive empires ruled, and where Alexander the Great died. So the rider of the black horse is just biding his time and waiting until the right balance of circumstances permits him to make his move. Then he will come like a whirlwind and strike down the Persian Empire and seize the Middle East. He will reset boundaries and carve up the Middle East into sovereign states for those who please him, setting them up as rulers – just as Alexander the Great did. The foreign god, however, will have issues with three of these sovereign states and they will fall before him.

So if this is the black horse and rider, who then is the pale horse? It’s the same horse and rider transformed as a potential saviour, who like Alexander, comes and conquers and then is considered a god by the conquered. Suddenly, he is not a black horse but a pale horse, and then along comes Grave – the foreign god – right behind him. You’ll notice that this spirit ruler on the black horse is weighing up the circumstances and considering the odds, and determining the outcome of moving against the Prince of Persia. With his heart set on death and destruction he successfully makes his move, but only after the prince of Persia has weakened himself fulfilling what is written about him in the Second Seal: Rev 6:3-4 "When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" ⁴ Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was GIVEN POWER to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a LARGE SWORD." ‘A fiery red one’ is a perfect description of this prince of Persia who has transformed his nation from moderate complacency to a virtual fire-eating dragon set on the destruction of Israel, America and Europe. They Shi’ites are already waging war against the Sunnis under his auspices, and both share a mutual hatred of Americans and Jews. When he assumed power in the guise of Ahmadinejab, the war in Iraq took a giant turn for the worst. He even has Muslims slaying Muslims, but his rhetoric is hatred for Americans and Israelis above all else. Even more ominously, he has been given a LARGE SWORD – and he’s prepared to use it!

So why would the rider of the black horse make his move until the prince of Persia has made his run? He’s aware of the power given to the prince of Persia, and he’s happy to wait until he is softened up in the crucible of war. In all the confusion of the aftermath, the prince of Greece will power up and deliver a devastating attack and seize the entire Middle East.

At that time, it will be obvious to Islam that the Holy Land is a no-go area, and the conquest of it and the Holy City Jerusalem will no longer be viable against the invincible forces operating there. The prince of Greece will be convinced that it can be won over by flattery and cunning. And he will be partially right!

Meanwhile, the prince of Persia is determined to wipe Israel off the map and thereby forestall any rise of Judah to invincibility. He’ll have just a very short season to do this, but he’ll pay a very great price for his contempt for God’s City and His people.

This is the time of the end, but the final end is yet to come. The final end is actually when the Lord Christ hands the Kingdom over to the Father (1Cor 15:24) at the time of the Seventh Trumpet (Rev 11:15-18). Now is the time for all the fanciful dreamers to get their act together and to start believing Bible prophecy. As you can see, the outlook for the House of Israel and the saints, at least in the short term, will be incredibly destructive! And for all those who didn’t want to obey God, expect the worst! And especially those who taught disobedience after tasting God’s heavenly gift of the Holy Spirit.

So long before the time of the Seventh Trumpet, the Lord Christ will be ruling. Matt 24:30-31 "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send his angels with A LOUD TRUMPET CALL, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other." And this is the ‘last trumpet’ that Paul was referring to. This is the time when the Lord Christ begins to rule and begins to put down all dominion, authority and power before handing over the Kingdom to God the Father – which occurs at the time of the Seventh Trumpet of the Book of Revelation. THE LORD CHRIST MUST REIGN UNTIL THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED.

The reference to His elect is a reference to the Tribes of Israel, and only a remnant will return (Rom 9:27, Isa 10:22-23). And what remnant would this be? These are the ones who have returned to God through the efforts of the offspring of the ‘Woman’ (Rev 12:17). This offspring must face the fury of Satan the devil in the Great Tribulation along with the ‘lost Tribes of Israel’. They will take with them the Testimony of Jesus and the Commandments of God (same verse) and will be a lamp to the Israelites. Meanwhile, the ‘Woman’ will be out of Satan’s reach and conducting their appointed duty to God. Only those who have ‘returned to God’ will be gathered, and it’s these who are the remnant of the House of Israel.

Paul makes it clear that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God: 1Cor 15:50-54 "I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory"." So is everyone in the Kingdom of God going to be immortal? No, only those who actually inherit it. Just to give a feeble example of this, if someone inherits a house, then they own it with all rights, title and interest. On the other hand, just because someone lives in a house, they don’t necessarily own it. So will it be in the Kingdom of God. And to give a further example from the Bible, we have a description of the inhabitants of the Kingdom of God in Isa 65:19 "I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. ²⁰ Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who DIES at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. ²¹ They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. ²² No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; MY CHOSEN ONES will long enjoy the works of their hands. ²³ They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them."

So it’s patently obvious that the inhabitants of the Kingdom of God will be human, that is, flesh and blood, and not immortal! They will live to a great age and then DIE. They will produce descendants – children – who will not be doomed to live only a few days.

It really is pathetic to hear evangelical Christians speaking about going to heaven when they die, as if the whole Bible means nothing at all to them. What lies they spew, what madness they possess! Don’t they believe Jesus? Rev 22:12 "Behold I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done." Evangelical Christians are going to be shocked senseless when they realize how stupid they have been in assuming their reward is in heaven when they die.

Enoch and Elijah

Just to clarify a few things about heaven. Jesus said that no man had ascended into heaven but the Son of Man who came from heaven. Enoch and Elijah are not there! Enoch died and was buried – by God. Elijah went up in a ‘fiery chariot’ but was still on earth 20 years later and actually wrote a letter to king Jehoram (2Chron 21:12), who was not the King of Judah when Elijah departed.

The only reference to people going to God’s heaven is found at the time of the Fifth Seal in the Book of Revelation. The people referred to here didn’t just die, they were killed! This is the account: Rev 6:9-11 "When he opened the Fifth Seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the Word of God and the Testimony they had maintained. ¹⁰ They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, Holy and True, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" ¹¹ Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed." These are taken to the Glory Mothership – called the Majestic Glory in 2Pet 1:17, to await the killing of their fellow servants. They will be housed and clothed under the huge expanse beneath the Altar at which the Lord Christ serves as the High Priest of God the Father.

And just to dispel a few other myths, those who are still alive when the Lord Christ begins His reign will certainly not precede those who have died! 1Thess 4:13-17 "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. ¹⁴ We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God (the Father) will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, WILL CERTAINLY NOT PRECEDE THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the TRUMPET CALL OF GOD, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage each other with these words."

As we have seen from Rev 6:9-11, the dead-in-Christ will be incrementally gathered to await the killing of their fellow servants, who too, will be gathered in the Majestic Glory after they are martyred. This is why Paul said they will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep – or rather, have been killed. Paul was relying on the Lord’s own word that he had heard from the other Apostles concerning this, and was unaware of the content of the Book of Revelation that was delivered many years later. It’s clear that there are more than a few minutes difference between the dead arising, and the rising in the air of the living otherwise it would hardly be worth mentioning, and particularly with the emphasis that Paul put on it: ‘will certainly not precede’. So the translation ‘and the dead in Christ will rise first’ could have been better rendered ‘the dead in Christ will have already risen first’.

Obviously, those who are still alive AND ARE LEFT may not receive the same reward as those who were taken after they died in faithful martyrdom and are housed in the Majestic Glory to await the killing of their fellow servants. But this judgment will be made by God according to what they have done. Paul also said that he believed that ‘God (The Father) will bring (or send) with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him’. This is certainly true. When the full compliment of martyrs is complete these will accompany Jesus at the time of the Trumpet blast as He descends. Those who are still alive and were left at the time of the resurrection of the martyrs will meet them in the air.

You’ll notice that the words are ‘fallen asleep in Him’; just ‘falling asleep’ or ‘dying’ doesn’t rate at all in this scenario. Those who died in Him are those who died because of the Word of God and the Testimony they maintained (Rev 6:9). And this is the big difference!

Now would be a good time to divest of the nonsense of the past and the fabricated prophecy which so many people have believed relates to Bible prophecy. Why would anyone want to be deaf, dumb, blind and stupid at such a momentous time of the fulfilling of Bible prophecy? It’s going to be fierce, cruel and dangerous, and certainly not a time to believe fables.

Concerning Christ’s rule and all the events that precede the final end, the Lord Christ has a few things in mind at the very outset. Islam has brokered the destruction of God’s people Israel, and their ferocity continues daily. Now the Lord Christ is aware of where Islam’s holy city is, and He is going to destroy it. This is in retribution for, among other things, their outrageous claim on the Holy City of God – Jerusalem! So it’s to be destroyed and Islam will have to find another city. The wicked woman or harlot – Satan – will have to find his own city to live. By sheer coincidence, he’ll choose his ancient city of old – BABYLON – and the Bible actually records this through a vision by Zechariah: Zech 5:5-11 "Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, "Look up and see what this is that is appearing." ⁶ I asked, "What is it?" He replied, "It is a measuring basket." And he added, "This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land." ⁷ Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! ⁸ He said, "This is wickedness," and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed the lead cover down over its mouth. ⁹ Then I looked up – and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth. ¹⁰ "Where are they taking the basket?" I asked the angel who was speaking to me. ¹¹ He replied, "To the country of Babylonia to build a house for it. When it is ready, the basket will be set there in its place." It’s true that this passage is heavy with symbolic language, but the meaning is clear. This wicked woman or harlot is to be set in a house built for her – in the country of Babylonia!

So what precipitates this sudden move? The prophet Isaiah provides the answer. And just a word of clarification concerning Edom. Edom or Esau (Esau is Edom: Gen 36:1) was Jacob’s brother and he mixed with Ishmael, Abraham’s son through Hagar – the Egyptian slave woman. They settled in Arabia, with Edom occupying predominantly the western side where the city of Mecca is. Edom is hated by God (Mal 1:3) and Mal 1:4 "Edom may say, "Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins." But this is what the LORD Almighty says: "They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the WICKED LAND, a people always under the wrath of the LORD. ⁵ You will see it with your own eyes and say, ‘Great is the LORD – even beyond the borders of Israel!’" (Just beyond the borders of Israel to be exact!)

So who is going to crush Edom and demolish their cities? Here’s Isaiah’s description: Isa 63:1-8 "Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save." ² "Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress?" ³ "I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. ⁴ For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come. ⁵ I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm worked salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me. ⁶ I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground." ⁷ I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us – yes, the many good things he has done for the HOUSE OF ISRAEL, according to his compassion and many kindnesses. ⁸ He said, "Surely they are my people, sons who will not be false to me"; and so He became their Savior."

The winepress is where the wine is made, and certainly a lot of this ‘wine’ was produced in Mecca! You’ll notice that ‘their blood spattered His garments’, and you may recall that the harlot that rules over the country of Babylonia is described in the Book of Revelation as being drunk on the blood of the saints. It’s obvious from reading this that not only are the cities destroyed as mentioned in Mal 1:3, and for which God says He will destroy again if they try to build them, but there will also be blood everywhere and even on the Lord Christ’s clothes. When God says He hates Esau or Edom, He really means it! You’ll notice that this event is described among the good things that God has done for the House of Israel, and He became their Saviour when they acknowledged these good things He has done for them. One of those good things will be to show the House of Israel how much He hates Islam, and this will give them comfort at a very crucial time. After destroying Edom, the Lord Christ became their Saviour. As we’ve said many times before, being saved means being rescued from the hands of the enemy!

One of the other prophets adds even more clarity. Obadiah really nails it down: Obad 1:9 "Your warriors, O Teman (sons of Ishmael), will be terrified, and everyone in Esau’s mountains will be cut down in the slaughter. ¹⁰ Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever. ¹¹ On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. ¹² You should not look down on your brother in the day of his misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast so much in the day of their trouble. ¹³ You should not march through the gates of my people in the day of their disaster, nor look down on them in their calamity in the day of their disaster, nor seize their wealth in the day of their disaster. ¹⁴ You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble. ¹⁵ "The day of the LORD is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head. ¹⁶ Just as you drank on my Holy Hill, so all the nations will drink continually; they will drink and drink and be as if they had never been. ¹⁷ But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will possess its inheritance. ¹⁸ The House of Jacob will be a fire and the House of Joseph a flame; the house of Esau will be stubble, and they will set it on fire and consume it. There will be no survivors from the house of Esau." The LORD has spoken."

And just a short observation. Muslims don’t drink wine – courtesy of Satan who wants to offset any suggestion of his wine applying to them. The reality of course is that Muslims were the first to believe Satan’s lying wine or propaganda – like the propaganda of seventy two virgins await them for killing God’s people Israel. But on God’s Holy Hill, only Muslims are permitted to go and worship there today, and of course, to be indoctrinated with Satan’s ‘wine’. Hence the words, ‘Just as you drank on my Holy Hill’. We could discuss many things connected with these verses, but this would require many explanations and many references to other Bible prophecies. But there is one thing that should be brought to the attention of the reader, and this is the reference to the House of Joseph becoming a flame and destroying Esau. When Esau tries to rebuild, the House of Joseph will be there, together with the Jews and the Levites. And this is mentioned in another prophecy: Zech 10:3-9 "My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the LORD Almighty will care for his flock, the House of Judah, and make them like a proud horse in battle. ⁴ From Judah will come the Cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler. ⁵ Together they (the House of Joseph and the House of Judah) will be like mighty men trampling the muddy streets in battle. Because the LORD is with them, they will fight and overthrow THE HORSEMEN (a reference to the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse). ⁶ "I will strengthen the House of Judah and SAVE the House of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them. They will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them." And which of the two tribes of the House of Joseph will become prominent as mighty men? It’s Ephraim! V7 "The Ephraimites will become like mighty men, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD. ⁸ I will signal for them and gather them in. Surely I will redeem them; they will be as numerous as before. ⁹ Though I scatter them among the peoples, yet in distant lands they will remember me. They and their children will survive, AND THEY WILL RETURN."

As God has stated here, He will gather the Ephraimites from wherever they’ve been scattered and they will return. They will enjoy some of the privileges of Judah who will become strong like mighty men, and the mighty men, in this case, are the Sons of Jerusalem: Zech 12:4-5 "On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness," declares the LORD. "I will keep a watchful eye over the House of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations (again a reference to the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse). ⁵ Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are STRONG, because the LORD Almighty is their God.’" So when the leaders of Judah come to the conclusion that the people of Jerusalem are STRONG, they’ll be aware of some good reasons for being strong themselves. All it will take is a few demonstrations of how to deal with the ‘horses’ and their ‘riders’ and Judah will be ready for action: V6 "On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the SURROUNDING peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place. ⁷ "The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the House of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah. ⁸ On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them. ⁹ On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem."

So we can see that the example of the people or Sons of Jerusalem set a new benchmark for dealing with Islam – the surrounding nations – and Judah is the first to step up to the plate and follow suite. The Ephraimites have to take a real pounding before they arrive at the same conclusion. The Ephraimites have a few problems to sort out first. Ephraim has shown a marked tendency to ‘win the hearts and minds’ of Islam instead of following the Lord Christ’s example and pounding them into submission. For this insult, God plans to have Islam pound them into submission – until they beat their breast in shame! America is Ephraim in Bible prophecy! Jer 31:16 "This is what the LORD says: "Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded," declares the LORD. "They will return from the land of the enemy. ¹⁷ So there is hope for your future," declares the LORD. "Your children will return to their own land. ¹⁸ I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me like an unruly calf, and I have been disciplined. Restore me, and I will return, because you are the LORD my God. ¹⁹ After I strayed, I repented; after I came to understand, I beat my breast. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’ ²⁰ Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him," declares the LORD. ²¹ "Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Take note of the highway, the road that you take. Return, O Virgin Israel, return to your towns. ²² How long will you wander, O unfaithful DAUGHTER? The LORD will create a new thing on earth – a WOMAN will surround (or protect) a man." That man is Ephraim, whom God also calls His ‘unfaithful DAUGHTER’. The reason for this symbolic language is to draw the attention of the reader to another woman mentioned in Rev 12:14, and this woman is the House of David (which gave birth to Christ – He was the Son of David). But this woman has offspring (V17) – specifically a daughter, and this daughter has an obligation to face the fury of Satan and accompany Israel (referred to as ‘Virgin Israel’ because God plans to restore their purity or virginity) and save them from the hands of their enemies. At that time, the WOMAN will protect them! It shouldn’t be too hard for the reader to work out who the Virgins are that make up the Bride of Christ: Rev 14:1 "Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His Name and his Father's Name written on their foreheads. ² And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. ³ And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been REDEEMED from the earth. ⁴ These are those who did not defile themselves with women (harlots – see V8 below), for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. ⁵ No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless." V8 "A second angel followed and said, "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her ADULTERIES."

God goes on to explain how to keep oneself pure and the first thing is to stop believing the maddening wine of the Babylonian’s lying deceit and to recognize these evil creatures for what they are! If this is done, then you’ll be pre-armed to resist the worship of the beast: V9-13 "A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, ¹⁰ he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name." ¹² This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s Commandments and remain faithful to Jesus’ [Testimony]. ¹³ Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."

The 144,000 are actually identified by name (Rev 7:4-8), and these are 12,000 of each of the Tribes of Israel, with the exception of the treacherous Danites (the southern Irish – the descendants of the Vikings), who are excluded in favour of a double-portion for the House of Joseph. It’s important to mention this, because so many churches have assumed they are the 144,000. These 12 Tribes have been redeemed from the earth because they kept themselves pure and didn’t succumb to the wine of Satan or accept the mark of the beast. These are the saints who obey God’s Commandments and remain faithful to Jesus’ Testimony. So this alone rules out all the churches who never obeyed God’s Commandments or even had a clue about the meaning of the Testimony of Jesus. The Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy (Rev 19:10), so all those who don’t have the Spirit of Prophecy also don’t have the Testimony of Jesus. And the reader will note that the Book of Revelation is all about Bible prophecy! The fulfillment of Bible prophecy is set to dominate the lives of all the earth’s inhabitants for many years to come!

And what’s your local pastor-prophet-evangelist been doing lately? Is he still preaching the same old emotional and meaningless stuff and embellishing it with stories he’s made up? Cute little stories that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Has he/she convinced you that he/she loves all people, even God’s enemies? Has he/she, through feigned, supercilious sanctimony, railed against the war in Iraq and implied that thousands of Americans have died while killing the innocent? I bet you never heard him/her say that the Muslims are shedding innocent blood every day! There are a few things that the LORD God really hates and detests, and these are listed: Pro 6:16-19 "There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him: ¹⁷ haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, ¹⁸ a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, ¹⁹ a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers." How do you rate yourself with these seven things – guilty or innocent? It’s a fact that the guilty always claim to be innocent. But it’s those who admit guilt that have some hope of being redeemed. But be assured you’ll be tested to see how you fare. And this trial will usher in a very dangerous time: Micah 7:4-7 "The best of them is like a brier, the most upright worse than a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen has come, THE DAY GOD VISITS YOU. Now is the time of their confusion. ⁵ Do not trust a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend. Even with her who lies in your embrace be careful of your words. ⁶ For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law – a man's enemies are the members of his own household. ⁷ But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me." As a point of interest, Jesus quoted from these same words (Matt 10:35).

In fact, it’s the real Testimony of Jesus, that is, Bible prophecy that is going to illuminate the reasons for this treachery. When you least expect it, it will come cascading like the waves of the sea. Betrayers will be everywhere trying to save their skin. Jesus knew what He was talking about. He even added some more information: Matt 10:34-36 "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did NOT come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law – ³⁶ a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’" Yes, well it’s a sword – an invasion – that will cause all this heartburn and treachery. Weak people will do anything to save their lives. By linking up to the prophecies of Book of Micah, Jesus was directing us to that exact time of fulfillment. It’s the day of your watchmen – THE DAY GOD VISITS YOU. The watchmen are already here; they’ve been appointed to witness everything, and then their job will be to begin the reversal of the calamity, to bring justice down on the heads of the perpetrators.

V8 "…upon Edom I toss my sandal" – This is a reference to some of Satan’s brainwashing. Satan has convinced his crazy brood, the Muslim hordes that it’s an insult to expose the sole of the foot to someone. After Saddam was deposed, many Muslims were seen rubbing the sole of their sandals on his many pictures scattered through the city as an act of defiance and triumph. So God is planning to insult Edom according to their own standards.

What is more, by doing so, God is identifying His enemy and His ongoing contempt for them.

Psalm 60:1-11 "You have rejected us, O God, and burst forth upon us; you have been angry – now restore us! ² You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its fractures, for it is quaking. ³ You have shown your people desperate times; you have given us wine that makes us stagger. ⁴ But FOR THOSE WHO FEAR YOU, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow [of the combat ship – in case you’re curious]. Selah ⁵ Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered. ⁶ God has spoken from his sanctuary: "In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Valley of Succoth [parts of the Holy Land]. ⁷ Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah my scepter. ⁸ Moab is my washbasin, upon Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph." ⁹ Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?" No-one is going to lead the Mighty Christ to Edom; He will go willingly and with great fury and that fortified city will be His target! As we learned from Isaiah, chapter 63, there will be blood everywhere.

What Ephraim and Manasseh, the House of Joseph, never knew is that God was with them in battle. When they won glorious battles it was because God was with them. Since they no longer desire victory according to God’s standards, and instead want to ‘win the hearts and minds’ of God’s ancient enemies, now they must fight alone. V10 "Is it not you, O God, you who have rejected us and no longer go out with our armies? ¹¹ Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless. ¹² With God we will gain the victory, and He will trample down our enemies."

And just to dispel the myth over who is the God of the Old Testament! It was the Logos, the Word of God, and the Rock of the Old Testament – the very same Jesus that appeared on earth and is set to come again: 1Cor 10:1-4 "For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. ² They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. ³ They all ate the same spiritual food ⁴ and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from THE SPIRITUAL ROCK THAT ACCOMPANIED THEM, AND THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST." The Father has placed everything in the hands of His Son Jesus. And He will handle everything from the beginning to the end – from the Alpha to the Omega.

As you will see today, on the world stage the House of Joseph is most prominent. The House of Joseph has almost stood alone in the war on terror and has been the motivating force against the heartland of God’s ancient enemies – the Babylonians. America, Britain and Australia are the only ones who shaped up for the fight. The rest of Europe became worthless and gutless when it came to a real fight. America, of course, stood at the forefront and led the charge, being the mightiest nation on earth. And God has made them this way! It was predicted in the final days of Jacob, when he was well-advanced in years, that his offspring would be led in their final days by the sons of Joseph, and Ephraim was to have preeminence. Ephraim and Manasseh are the sons of Joseph, and they dwelt together, but Ephraim was to emerge greater and mightier than Manasseh ever was. God has left no doubt about who represents the prince over his brothers – the Israelites. It’s Ephraim!

What is so amazing about all this is that people who have spent a lifetime believing appalling nonsense – with no support from the Bible, can’t believe that Ephraim, the United States of America, is considered by God to be a son of God. Remember what the Prophet Jeremiah said: Jer 31:20 "Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him," declares the LORD." God loves Ephraim as a dear son, but Ephraim is in need of discipline and this is why God often speaks against him. But this doesn’t give anyone the right to falsely accuse him! And this is what it happening with ever-increasing vehemence.

What is more, with all that is now happening in the world – just as God predicted – these same people can’t discern the signs of the times. They look out and see darkness descending on the world and think what they are seeing is light. What funny people they are!

Those who are most besotted by Satan’s wine now see America as the evil empire, and have begun to agree with Islam that America is the great satan. These bleeding-hearts, these moronic people, castigate their own country with accusations of war crimes; they seize on the flimsiest of reasoning to accuse their own President Bush, who through his diligence has prevented, so far, any further attacks like September 11. To them, the madness of Islam is perfectly normal behaviour. Some of these wanton creatures actually posed as human-shields in defense of Islam in the beginning of the war, and incredibly, they call themselves ‘Christians’.

It’s true that Ephraim has a very severe fault, and one which cannot go unpunished. It’s summarized with these words: Hos 12:8 "Ephraim boasts, "I am very rich; I have become wealthy. With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin." I can’t begin to describe God’s contempt for those who through supercilious self-righteousness boast that they are more righteous than others. God determines what righteousness is, and anyone who feigns righteousness and does not obey God can consider themselves contemptuous before God. How God hates haughty people! But Ephraim means well, and they seem to believe that through their wealth and influence they can bless all the peoples of the earth. Even those who are most undeserving, and especially those whom God considers His enemies.

Oddly enough, at street level, with all the crime and violence (predominantly by ethnic gangs), the rest of the world sees this type of behaviour as indicative of America’s way of doing things. When the most blood-thirsty of serial murderers is caught and tried, they refuse to put him to death. His life is sacred and no-one has the right to take someone else’s life – they say! Never mind what justice stands for and the rights of the victims, in their view these evil creatures have a right to life. On the other hand, life on the battle field is not considered sacred by any of these people, and it’s considered just to kill insurgents and terrorists without trial – and of course it is! But why the bleeding-heart pantomime when a killer of the innocent is convicted? This is the effect of the boasting of being without iniquity or sin! And it could be summarized as self-righteous lunacy and hypocrisy.

God has made it clear to the House of Israel who are deserving of death and He commands the punishment be carried out for all such violations against His Law. He doesn’t permit the self-righteous to override His instructions. But because they’ve chosen to do so, in contempt of God’s instructions, God plans to turn the tables on them. If America listened to God then the street gangs and the drug cartels could be eliminated in just a matter of days and mass burials would eliminate such behaviour permanently. But they’ve refused to listen! Now the problem is set to become magnitudes greater, and God is bringing hordes of them against America to teach them a lesson they will never forget. When you see the result of the bloodshed and carnage, and see the wealth of the nation plundered and destroyed, Ephraimites will see for themselves what all their wealth has bred. And it is certainly not righteousness!

Justice is what God cries out for! And justice will descend, but not for Ephraim! They’ve repudiated justice in all its forms, and replaced it with self-righteousness. Doesn’t justice cry out from the graves of all those who saw no justice for their deaths. Where’s the compassion in the liberalized laws of the land that allows wanton killers to walk free after serving prison terms. And where’s the deterrent factor? God prescribes death for certain offences, both for justice and for a deterrent to others, but the liberals have chosen to override God’s wisdom. Ephraim has sown the wind and reaped the whirlwind, yet they are too blind to see it!

Do you know what God’s judgment is concerning the proliferating street gangs and the drug-dealers among His people Israel? The solution is so simple! Gun them down, destroy their ghettos and burn them out, and drive them from your shores. Permit none of them to live, and wipe out the entire breed. America well knows what ethnic groups are controlling the streets today and where they are crossing the border into their country. Blacks and Hispanics are controlling it all. Ephraim has allowed their national heritage to be diluted by these creatures and every sane person knows it’s time to address this wrong.

Only then will America have some claim to purity. Having done this, they will begin to see clearly what category Islam falls into in other parts of the world, and perhaps then, they might deliver some justice to God’s enemies. In the meanwhile, if they fail on the home front, then they will fail on the other. And failure is only a few heartbeats away.

When God sets up His Kingdom, His Laws will be executed judiciously, and with great dispatch. There will be no doubt in the minds of the people about what justice is, and what it stands for. Human reasoning will play no part in the execution of God’s Laws.

The funny thing about all this is that God is not particularly concerned with the regional squabbles of the ‘lost Ten Tribes of Israel’ around the world with all their wars, including two world wars, God is more interested in the Holy Land and His Holy City Jerusalem which is now under siege. And when we see people like Condoleezza Rice siding against Judah, and bemoaning the status of the Palestinians as an ‘occupied people’, you can just imagine God’s contempt for her!

So how can we be sure we are in the time of the end now?

The Prophet Daniel said that in the days of the kings he formerly spoke of as a result of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the God of heaven would set up a Kingdom that would never be destroyed. Dan 2:44 "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a Kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. ⁴⁵ This is the meaning of the vision of the Rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands – a Rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy." Every Bible student knows what parts of t