Malefaction and Malevolence Movement toward Millennium

“The evil men do live after them; the good is oft interred with their bones….”

Thus, William Shakespeare put the English words into the mouth of his fictionalized characterization of Mark Antony, as the Roman general and politician eulogized the assassinated emperor, Julius Caesar. Antony’s words were framed carefully to convince those who were in power and who had been complicit in one way or another in Caesar’s murder that he wasn’t praising the dead leader. At the same time, Antony was cleverly praising Caesar and appealing to the Roman citizens in attendance to understand that Caesar had ruled with the people’s best interest in mind at the center of all he did while their emperor.

Antony, speaking Latin translated into Shakespeare’s English words, in a way, unwittingly encapsulated humankind’s committing wickedness throughout the ages, while pointing out that all is ultimately leading to good things for Heaven’s citizens.

But it isn’t an earthly, sinful, fallen Caesar whose dead bones will bring forth the ultimate Good. It is the resurrected King of all Kings, the only Good that exists—who will one day bring about a Kingdom of perfection and goodness that will last forever.

We witness “the evil men do” daily through our newsfeeds. We’re especially given daily news cycles that report the usually terrible news of malefaction and malevolence—for example, the reports that thousands of young people are dying weekly in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Down through the years of the twentieth century and so far into the twenty-first, evil leaders have caused the deaths of millions of the youth of enemies and of their own young men, and, like in the case of Mao and Stalin and many others, slaughtered millions of their own people to hold onto political power. If there was any “good…interred with their bones” of the likes of those tyrants or others such as Hitler, I certainly haven’t learned of it.

There seems no hope for humankind if one delves into the vaults of history. Malefaction and malevolence are so evil as to invoke within those who examine history a depression from which there can be no recovery.

The dark storm clouds continue to roll upon the immediate horizon, and much of the news I receive in daily alerts points to the prospect that soon the earth will again be embroiled within world war.

Even Christian writers who report on geopolitics, et cetera, dwell upon how we are stumbling into the Bible’s prophesied time of Tribulation. There is, they hold within their theological outlook—their view of eschatology (study of end things)—that there is no hope. They say we’ll all soon be in the middle of what Jesus said will be the worst time of all human history (Matthew 24: 21).

A couple of such fearful reports by a pre-Trib Rapture-denying Christian writer were posted in our Raptureready.com News on Monday July13, 2026:

• There Is Going to Be an All-Out Fight for Control of the Strait of Hormuz, and the Implications Are Staggering
  There will be no negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz, only fighting. The U.S. and Iran will now engage in all-out war for control of the Strait, and the consequences will be felt by everyone. Traffic through the Strait will be paralyzed for the foreseeable future, and there will be a severe worldwide energy supply crunch as a result.
• The Future Is Now: War, Famine, Pestilence and Natural Disasters Will Define the Months Ahead
  The war in the Middle East has escalated dramatically over the past week, the “Super El Niño” is causing crazy heatwaves and storms, the Ebola outbreak in Africa is out of control, and we’ve had some very large earthquakes in Venezuela and elsewhere. Global events have started to spiral out of control, and the chaos is not going to stop.

Indeed, malefaction and malevolence perpetrated by the evil leaders of history and of our moment on earth have seemingly engendered a course of murderous evil out of which humankind cannot escape. The very fact that America’s military is now engaged against a religiously fanatical regime determined to blow up the US and Israel by producing nuclear weaponry shows just how nearly hopeless things appear geopolitically. Most of the world’s news sources and most of the politicians and diplomats of the world are focused on how to achieve peace. They “cry peace, peace, when there is no peace.”

There seems no hope. But there should be no fear-induced bondage for the Christian who looks to the God of Heaven and to the King of all Kings, the Lord Jesus Christ, in consideration of the Heaven-promised future. The hourly news cycles announcing that the world will soon be aflame with war only means that the Christian is but an eye blink away from instantaneous transport into the clouds of Glory to be with the Lord of Lords forever.

The evil the world has endured since the Fall in the Garden of Eden will be dealt with during the seven years of Tribulation. With all believers of the Age of Grace (Church Age) in Heaven enjoying the marriage supper of the Lamb in the union with Christ, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, God will be at work on the earth. He will use twenty-one specific judgments—the scrolls, trumpets, and bowls—to prepare a remnant of Israel for receiving their returning Messiah at the end of Armageddon.

Earth will begin a complete transformation to pristine condition—like it was before the Fall in Eden—when Jesus’ foot touches down on the exact spot where He ascended into Heaven.

He will proceed into the city of Jerusalem through a great valley created when His foot touched the Mount of Olives. His Temple will sit atop of greatly lifted up Mount Zion, where He will reign and rule over the earth for a thousand years. This will be the millennial Kingdom, which only believers will populate, and they will prosper in every way possible under the first perfect government that has ever operated upon Earth.

Satan and his unholy minions will be confined in the bottomless pit for that thousand-year era (Revelation 20:1-2), so there will be no temptation to any inhabitant of Earth, except from the sin nature within each mortal person inhabiting the millennial Kingdom. Christ will rule with an iron scepter, which means with an all-seeing, all-knowing perspective. Sin, when it rarely surfaces to disrupt life, will be instantly dealt with by the King of all Kings.

Christians who went to be with Jesus in the Rapture will serve King Jesus upon Earth in their supernatural, immortal status. They will no doubt oversee the mortal believers who go into the millennial Kingdom following the Tribulation and their offspring who will be born during that era.

My great friend Daymond Duck offers the following about that tremendous time of the millennial reign of Christ:

Below are seven things that the saved [those who were raptured, now in their supernatural bodies] will do:

1) Worship (Revelation 4:9-10)

2) Keep the Feast of Tabernacles (Zechariah 14:16-19)

3) Visit Jerusalem to learn (Isaiah 2:2-3; 1 Corinthians 13:11-12)

4) Fellowship (Revelation 19:9)

5) Serve Jesus (Psalm 72:11; Revelation 22:3)

6) Judge fallen angels (1 Corinthians 6:3)

7) Reign on the earth (Luke 19:11-27; Revelation 5:10; 2 Timothy 2:12

These things will be more than enough to keep us busy.

Amen! And this Kingdom could be as near as seven years away, with the Rapture at any moment! Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

—Terry

Wtjames1@swbell.net

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11 Compelling Signs of the Last Days

I recently came across an article I wrote about two and a half years ago highlighting eleven signs of the last days. At the time, I anticipated that the Lord would’ve already come for us long before July 2026.

The fact that we still wait for His appearing despite the increasing relevance of all the signs I wrote about back then demonstrates God’s patience as well as His restraining hand in holding back the calamities that loom over the world at this moment. And the clouds grow darker by the moment.

My purpose in reviewing these signs in what follows is to encourage those who may have grown weary or even disheartened as they wait for the Lord’s appearing. Please know that what we see is all the more reason to be hopeful the Rapture will happen soon.

The first sign is that of Israel’s miraculous rebirth as a nation. It’s the continuing basis of our assurance that we live in the last days.

The Bible long ago predicted that Israel would again exist as a nation. The miraculous reappearance of the Jewish state in 1948 fulfilled Bible prophecy and testifies to the relevance of the myriad of other signs that continue to converge in our day with increasing intensity.

Second, the growing fever within Israel for the rebuilding of the temple also heralds the nearness of Jesus’ appearing. The Bible says that Israel will have a temple by the midpoint of the Tribulation. The ongoing preparations for the third temple are significant; don’t let anyone tell you they are not.

During the past couple of years, the Temple Institute has begun training a great many Levites for service in the future temple. The Israeli government is planning infrastructure in preparation for the construction of the third temple. The evidence continues to mount; there will be a third temple.

Third, the approaching hoofbeats of the riders of the Apocalypse (Revelation 6:1-8) are louder than ever. During a radio interview a few years ago, the interviewer asked me if I thought we were already living in the time of these seal judgments. I’m not sure he agreed with my explanation that the Rapture must happen first; he seemed to think God’s wrath had already arrived upon the earth.

Fourth, although it has faded from the headlines in recent years, the ongoing push toward a worldwide digital currency displays the world’s preparations for fulfillment of Revelation 13:16-18. Since 2024, data centers have become front and center as the world races toward generating the computing power and databases necessary for the mark of the beast.

The antichrist needs just such a system in place by the midpoint of the Tribulation in order to control the buying and selling throughout the world. And we are already so close to this becoming a reality.

Fifth, another sign of the last days is sadly the rapid rise of antisemitism that’s reached epidemic proportions in many places around the world. The Lord said there would be an abnormal obsession with Jerusalem, hatred for Israel and its people, and a desire to divide the promised land in the last days (Zechariah 8:13, 12:1-3; Joel 3:1-3). And this is exactly what we see today as the anti-Zion fervor grows stronger every day, even among some who profess to be Christians.

Sixth, the world’s fascination with UFOs and aliens has grown considerably in the past couple of years. In recent months, the scoffers of our faith believe that the evidence of extraterrestrial life will undermine our beliefs. Will this be the deception that the world will accept as the reason for our sudden disappearance? It’s entirely possible, if not probable.

During the past couple of years, belief in the existence of UFOs has grown immensely.

Seventh, back in 2024, I wrote about the UN’s 2023 seven-year commitment to implement all of its 17 Strategic Development Goals (SDGs) of Agenda 2030. At the time, I wondered if globalists believed they were falling behind on their agenda. I also believed it was significant that they were talking about a “seven-year plan.”

I’m convinced that the plans of the elite will remain somewhat frustrated until after the Rapture. They will continue to make some progress, but our disappearance along with the “sudden destruction” that will mark the start of the Day of the Lord will be the crises they need in order to achieve global dominance.

Eighth, the scoffing that I noted a couple of years ago has expanded beyond that of mocking the Rapture to that of our Premillennial belief in Jesus’ thousand-year reign in Zion. The apostle’s warning in 2 Peter 3:3-4 aptly describes the day in which we live as its prophetic words come to life all around us:

“. . . knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.’”

The ninth sign is the epidemic of deception. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) to deceive people has grown exponentially in the past two years. My recent experience with its capabilities to portray a false reality went beyond anything I could’ve imagined just a few weeks ago.

After the disciples asked Jesus about the signs of the end of the age and of His coming, the first words He spoke were these, “Take heed that no man deceive you” (Matthew 24:4). I can’t imagine how this sign will get any worse during the Tribulation, but the Bible says it will (Matthew 24:24). The tools that the antichrist will need to deceive the masses are available; how close must we be to our departure?

Tenth, since 2001, Earth’s magnetic north pole has been moving. A May 2020 article on the Forbes Magazine website discussed how this shift has speeded up in recent years, but did not discuss the dire consequences should the north and south poles swap places.[i] What does this have to do with Bible prophecy?

It’s because what many scientists, mostly unbelievers, tell us will happen during a pole shift is remarkably similar to what Isaiah says will happen in the Day of the Lord (24:19-20) and also closely resembles John’s description of the sixth seal in Revelation 6:12-17.

Eleventh, another sign that continues to capture our attention as students of Bible prophecy is the building of underground bunkers by the ultra-rich. Back in 2024, social media was abuzz with reports of Mark Zuckerberg, billionaire founder of Facebook, building a massive underground shelter in Hawaii at a cost of about one hundred million dollars. Today we read reports of many other wealthy people constructing elaborate underground places of refuge packed with storable food and resources for a long duration.

This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 2:17-19, which John also alludes to in Revelation 6:15-17.

Will I be updating these signs two years from now? I hope that will not be necessary because we will already be with the Lord.

Jesus is coming for us very soon; I very much hope this is the year we meet Him in the air. Regardless of whether or not that happens, I will continue to live with the sense of imminence that I wrote about last week. It not only keeps me hopeful, but it also keeps me reasonably sane as I follow current events.

-Jonathan

jonathanbrentner@yahoo.com

[i] Eric Mack, Earth’s Magnetic North Pole Is Shifting Dramatically From A Powerful Tug Of War, May 7, 2020, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2020/05/07/earths-magnetic-north-pole-is-shifting-dramatically-from-a-powerful-tug-of-war/?sh=1934c391ffe1

America’s Dependence Day

America’s celebration of birth since 1776 was spectacular, our independence from mother England 250 years previous having been a painful and bloody one, to say the least. That separation, however, wasn’t one of merely exerting cleavage from an empire determined to rule over the colonies. That is, there has been a much more profound leverage than a revolutionary spirit at work in producing that schism than just the colonists’ desire to break free of overbearing bondage.

America’s founding fathers–that is, a majority of them—recognized the nature of the profound leverage they were allowed to apply in order to burst free from the most powerful military on the planet at the time. It was providential leverage that most of them acknowledged as the intervening force that birthed this nation.

George Washington said on a number of occasions following the War of Independence that he felt the hand of the Almighty on him. He said he was providentially prevented from being shot on several occasions. In one incident, there were four rifle ball holes in his general’s uniform, but none of the balls had entered his body.

John Adams repeatedly wrote that America was a nation under God’s hand, that America was a moral nation, and the Constitution would work for no other than a moral people. Even Jefferson acknowledged a greater power as having guided the founders and seen to it that the War of Independence was won because of a providential power.

So, the desire for independence from a tyrannical, overbearing English governance was important as those patriots waged the Revolutionary War. But, in the words of almost every founding father, according to extensive documents we have seen presented by experts on America’s founding, such as David Barton, it was dependence on God in Heaven they acknowledged as the true reason for America’s winning independence.

This dependence was steeped in adherence to the Word of God. The Judeo-Christian reference to America’s founding is that its founding principles were based, by and large, within Old and New Testament principles.

Although there is debate on who made the statement, French historian and political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville is attributed as saying: “America is great because she is good; if America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

During the early times of the nation’s founding, America was indeed good in comparison to today’s America. Jesus Christ was the only good there was at the center of the founding principles. At this late date 250 years hence, however, we can but admit the truth that we have in many areas lost our way in comparison to those earlier times.

The entire world of earth’s inhabitants, for the most part, have strayed ever farther from Heaven’s governance. Independence is now a term that can be applied to the world pulling away from God’s desire that people come nearer to Him, not break away from Him. I believe that because of America’s founding fathers’ dependence on the principles found in God’s Holy Word, the nation could well call the date of July 4, 1776, Dependence Day. It was in large part a dependence upon Heaven above to secure the Revolutionary War victory and nationhood we enjoy today.

America, too, suffers from the independent spirit of anti-God behavior. It is actually the Antichrist Spirit that this country and all nations of the world suffer from as we dive more deeply into the end of the Age of Grace.

But vestiges of that early spirit of dependence upon the God of Heaven still linger in America during this evil day. Despite the world’s mainstream media’s constant railing against Americanism, and the leaderships of the world’s countries lying to their peoples about the ugly Americans, we see, through reports, that this nation that was once populated by a moral people can yet be sensed, even if during this time of liberty’s last gleaming.

American greatness left a World Cup traveler in tears as he admitted what initially caused him “fear to travel to the United States.”

In the weeks since the 2026 FIFA World Cup has been underway, communities across North America have embraced the prolific drinking of the Tartan Army, Norway’s Viking row, and the myriad guests soaking up cities and small towns alike. Despite seeing his home team eliminated by Paraguay, a German’s tears were for love of the U.S. after buying into propaganda about how “the country’s not safe.”

During an interview with NBC10 Boston’s Oscar Margáin, Sebastian Kraus could be seen repeatedly wiping away tears with his hands and his shirt as he got choked up about his experience as a visitor to America.

“I fell in love with this country, and this was so emotional, I even cried in the stadium,” he told the reporter after being seen taking a moment to collect himself, including a breathing exercise, having been asked, “Why? Help us understand, why is this so impactful to you?”

Juxtaposed against video he shared with the outlet of a group of strangers driving him back to his hotel where he joyfully expressed, “Bob takes us home,” and “America is great,” Kraus told Margáin, “To be honest, I was a bit scared or had a fear to travel to the United States. News about shootings and criminals and that the country’s not safe.”…

“We owe America a huge apology, because America is nothing like what the media tells us,” he said in a social media video. “Everyone is so friendly, everyone is so accommodating, and I’ve honestly had the best time.”…

His whole life in Germany, he’s been fed lies about America by their media. There’s a reason so many Europeans mock the US until they visit it for themselves; they’ve been brainwashed by the politicians and media elites. (“German fan moved to tears after experiencing real America, Kevin Haggerty, July 6, 2026, Rapture Ready News July 7, 2026)

America’s relationship with God from its birth was independence from Great Britain through dependence on Heaven’s help. This is a truth that applies to believers in Jesus Christ. It also applies to those who are in Satan’s grip, needing to come into liberty offered only through God’s Son, who died and rose again to make the lost free from sin-bondage.

Our independence from the evil one, Satan, who seeks to destroy humankind, can be only achieved through dependence upon God’s plan of redemption.

Here yet again is that plan:

“That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

—Terry

Wtjames1@swbell.net

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What Makes Imminency So Essential?

As readers of the Nearing Midnight column, you recognize the myriad of signs pointing to Jesus’ soon arrival to take us home to glory. However, as the days become weeks and then months and years, we sometimes struggle to maintain an eager anticipation of Jesus’s appearing. If you are like me, you wonder how much closer can we get to the start of the Tribulation before we meet Him in the air?

The silence in most churches regarding our “blessed hope” makes our expectation all the more difficult to maintain. Many of our Christian friends and family members believe it’s irrational to regard the Rapture as something that might happen in our lifetime, if at all. We also hear the laughter of Christians who mock our expectation of Jesus’ imminent appearing.

In spite of all these things, I remain convinced that imminency is not only important for the day in which we live, but also essential for believers regardless of the times in which we live.

I say this for a variety of reasons.

Imminency Imitates the Expectancy of New Testament Saints

When we view the Rapture as something that might take place at any moment, we imitate the expectations of the New Testament saints. Just a cursory sampling of verses from the epistles confirms that they lived each day with a sense of imminency:

• “For the coming of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:8).
• “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20, LSB).
• “So that you are not lacking in any gift, eagerly awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ” 1 Corinthians 1:7, LSB).
• “For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).

Early in his ministry, Paul believed that the Rapture might happen during his lifetime (1 Thessalonians 4:17; 1 Corinthians 15:52). How is that possible apart from believing Jesus’ appearing could happen at any moment?

Imminency Leads to a Closer Walk with Jesus

The awareness that Jesus might come for us at any moment results in a closer walk with Him. The Apostle John alludes to this in 1 John 2:28:

“And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.”

What’s the encouragement in this verse for continuing to “abide” in Jesus? It’s the awareness that at any moment, we might find ourselves in the presence of our glorious and righteous Savior. Does this not motivate us to promptly deal with bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, and other sins rather than let them gain a foothold in us (i.e., Ephesians 4:26-27)?

In 1 John 3:2-3, John explains how our focus on Jesus’ appearing produces greater purity in us:

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”

We will not arrive at sinless perfection in this life; however, living with the awareness that Jesus might come for us at any moment keeps us close to the Savior and quickly brings us back to Him when we sin and go astray.

Imminency Enables Us to Maintain an Eternal Perspective

I remember waiting for Metro trains to arrive in Washington, D.C. Once the countdown for the next train’s arrival neared zero, I fixed my eyes on the tunnel at the end of the platform, watching for its light to shine through the darkness.

Likewise, the awareness that the Rapture might occur at any moment sets our hopes on eternal realities as nothing else can. Paul describes this perspective for us in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18:

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Imminency provides us with a continual reminder that the things of this life are temporary and causes us to place a greater value on eternal realities versus our hopes for a brighter tomorrow. This perspective calms my anxious heart every week, if not daily.

The “no Rapture” message of our day greatly harms believers because it leads to an earthbound outlook on life that ignores eternal realities. They believe in eternal life, but it’s a far-distant, after-death reality that is easily overlooked amid the busyness of life. As a result, they focus on temporary aspirations which inevitably lead to greater frustration when things inevitably go awry.

Imminency Reminds Us of Jesus’ Certain Intervention

Not only does imminency change our perspective of the things of this life, but it also reminds us that Jesus will surely intervene in the world and righteously judge the violence, lawlessness, and widespread government corruption so prevalent in our day.

Although David wrote Psalm 37 a very long time ago, its message continues to calm the anger we feel as we watch evil and corruption prevail around us. Our expectation of Jesus’ soon appearing reminds us that the time of the Lord’s righteous judgment will begin in the not-too-distant future.

We do not need to see the perpetrators of today’s great wickedness and violence face the consequences for their actions (although admittedly, I would like to see many of them behind bars). Even should the Lord call us home before the Rapture, it’s our expectation that it might happen at any moment that keeps us from fretting that people successfully carry out their wicked schemes and steal billions of taxpayer money.

We live on the edge of eternity. The convergence of so many signs awakes us daily to the reality that we live in the last moments before Jesus’ dramatic intervention in human affairs, which we call the Rapture.

We do not know how much longer we will have to wait, but just knowing it could happen at any moment calms our hearts amid the perilous times in which we live. It also continually reminds us that this life is not all there is as we face the many storms and trials here below. Is it any wonder the Apostle Paul referred to it as our “blessed hope?”

Maranatha! Come soon, Lord Jesus.

-Jonathan

jonathanbrentner@yahoo.com