The Tribulation Incubator

Evidence that the Tribulation is about to be birthed has exploded from the hourly news feeds. That eruption has the diplomats, particularly of the Western world, searching desperately for the calculus that will bring the chance of nuclear conflict into a more controllable configuration.

It is a real curiosity that while those diplomats seek a ceasefire in the Middle East—a one-sided nuclear threat, supposedly—they almost treat as a minor concern things going on between Russia and Ukraine, from where all-out nuclear war is much more likely to be unleashed.

Israel, indeed, has a nuclear arsenal. But its blood-vowed enemies, although vicious and certainly militant to the max, haven’t such an arsenal with which to engage in nuclear exchange… at least not yet, that we know of. (Iran’s nearness to achieving weapons-grade nuclear material is a great concern.)

With Russian President Vladimir Putin stating on a number of occasions that Russia might be willing to use tactical nukes, and even stating that America is in their crosshairs with the big nukes if pushed by NATO in the Ukraine matter, it seems to me the diplomatic concerns should be to pursue a ceasefire and peace in that region. But instead, most all the diplomatic efforts—influenced to great degree by the military-industrial complex—seem concentrated on making Israel cave to a ceasefire arrangement with enemies whose whole purpose, in writing, is to eradicate the Jewish state “from the river to the sea.”

There is no doubt that most all attention in that regard is on things happening in and around Israel. The following are brief news links on our Rapture Ready News forum that point to the tremendous uptick in tensions in the land most frequently mentioned in Bible prophecy.

Here are very brief excerpts of several stories from Thursday, September 5.

Details Emerge: Israel’s Response to Iran in April Destroyed Russian-Made Defense System

A major scoop by the Jerusalem Post was published on Monday… According to an article published in the Jerusalem Post, “Israel’s April strike on Iran’s S-300 missile system deterred Iran and Hezbollah from launching large-scale attacks in August.”

Israel Poised to Establish Military Government in Gaza Amid Aid Distribution Crisis

There are no alternatives, and nobody wants to risk allowing Hamas to seize control of the aid. “There is no one else who can do the job; the current situation does not serve the Israeli interest; we must take upon ourselves the distribution of aid,” a senior Israeli security source told TPS-IL.

Starve Them Out: Israeli Generals Present “plan to defeat Hamas”

Two-phased “Generals’ Plan” calls for the forced evacuation of northern Gaza and a total siege on the terrorists who remain there. A forum of top Israeli army reserve commanders this morning published a “plan to defeat Hamas” that is certain to raise eyebrows. “The Generals’ Plan” is the right way at this time to defeat Hamas and free the hostages, and we should have implemented it months ago. Those who cannot implement it are failing in their duty.

Hezbollah Fires Over 100 Rockets at Upper Galilee, Destroying Houses and Causing Fires

The long-suffering residents of Israel’s northern regions, who have not yet been evacuated from their homes, experienced another day under Hezbollah fire, as the terror group fired over 100 rockets into the Upper Galilee on Wednesday.

Air Force Chief: IDF Poised to Combat Hezbollah, Nearing Victory over Hamas in Gaza

The head of Israel’s air force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, announced on Thursday… “We are in the midst of the longest war in our history since the War of Independence,” Bar stated. “We have been fighting for almost nine months without respite, tirelessly. Hamas in Gaza will be defeated soon.” The Israeli military is prepared to shift its focus to potential conflicts with Hezbollah in the north.

I could have included in this list many other similar story links posted on that one day. All pointed to the military turmoil building all around Bible prophecy’s nation most central to the end times. The cries for peace from the diplomatic world are intensively focused on the building conflict. Most pointedly, the cries are for Israel to cave in to demands from the international community to stop destruction to Israel’s hate-filled enemies in making peace in the region.

The region is indeed the incubator of the peace that will destroy many. That “false peace” will be the covenant made with “death and hell” (Isaiah 28:15, 18). It will be Satan’s ultimately evil document that will be confirmed (Daniel 9: 27) by the man of sin who will become the world’s most vicious dictator—the Antichrist.

We are witnessing at this moment that incubator in its process of gestating what will become the final seven years of hell on earth leading to the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ at Armageddon.

All of this Mideast turbulence means the Rapture must be very near. You want to be part of that glorious time when the Lord takes all of His children out of harm’s way (Revelation 3:10).

Here, once again, is how to go to Jesus when He calls:

“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

The UN 2.0

What’s the most key event of the upcoming months? Here in America, most would point to the presidential election in early November. While that’s significant for a variety of reasons, I’m thinking of something that will someday, perhaps soon, overshadow who sits in the Oval Office at the White House.

Beginning on September 22, 2024, member nations of the UN will meet for what it labels as the “Summit of the Future.” The website for upcoming meetings lists these three outcomes for the gathering:

1. Pact for the Future
2. Global Digital Compact
3. Declaration on Future Generations

Within the “Pact for the Future,” the UN website states that nations will recommit themselves to the seventeen sustainable development goals, affirm their desire for “Peace and Security,” and reaffirm their desire for “Transforming Global Governance” (in other words, a one-world government).

What does this all mean? It’s a significant strengthening of the UN’s ability to dictate policies for individual nations, which, of course, increases its power over the lives of their citizens. Their “Pact for the Future” will take its authority far beyond the original intent of the organization. A direct quote from a PDF file linked to the UN’s website sums it up this way:

A strengthened UN human rights pillar that is better resourced and coordinated. A UN that uses innovation, data, digital tools, foresight, and (behavioural) science effectively (UN 2.0) and a sustainably financed UN development system. Deepened partnerships between the UN and other stakeholders, including civil society, the private sector, regional organizations, national parliaments, and local and regional authorities.

And, oh yes, “a sustainably financed UN development system” will mean higher taxes for everyone.

Bible Prophecy on Display

Though it’s more than a little distressing to consider the implications of a more powerful UN committed to its Marxist 2030 Agenda, the Bible tells us that we should expect such things in the last days.

The books of Daniel and Revelation reveal that in the end times, a brutal one-world government will rise to power over which the “man of lawlessness” will eventually assume control (see also 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8).

How do we know that the UN 2.0 is, at a minimum, a prototype of the coming beast system that Scripture says will exert its power over the world for a brief time?

First, Israel is again a nation. Most, if not all, of the Bible’s prophecies concerning the end times depend on Israel becoming a nation again, along with the building of the third temple. Both the nation’s current prosperity and endless hostilities fit with how God’s Word describes the nation’s initial reemergence in the last days. A great many factors are even now preparing Israel for its upcoming pact with the antichrist, which he will break halfway through the Tribulation by desecrating the temple in Jerusalem.

Second, almost two thousand years ago, Paul wrote these words concerning the arrival of the Day of the Lord wrath, which includes the Tribulation period:

“While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

It’s not a coincidence that we find the words “peace and security” prominently placed on the UN’s website. These words, however, are merely a mantra designed to disguise the deadly intent of those “saying” these words. They advocate safety for all while at the same time openly declaring their intentions to greatly reduce the earth’s population. (Why do so many people miss this?)

The UN’s “Global Digital Compact” points directly to the fulfillment of Revelation 13:16-18, which doesn’t happen until the midpoint of the seven-year Tribulation. The antichrist’s ability to exercise total control over buying and selling throughout the world cannot happen apart from the digitizing of all monetary transactions and doing away with cash purchases. The world is already well along this path. Even if the Rapture happens today, the globalists have plenty of time to fully implement a single worldwide digital currency by the middle of the Tribulation.

The Normality Bias

The strengthening of the UN’s authority over the nations is just one of many factors that shout with the message that we live in the last days. In the past, I have written about the “normality bias” that flourishes in America. This causes most people to assume that nothing will interfere with their aspirations for the future because, somehow, things will return to “normal.” Unfortunately, this mindset also dominates the Christian community where the most popular view of the end times is that the church will rise victorious over the evils of our day, and life will get much better.

Yes, we may see pockets of a spiritual awakening before the Lord returns for us. However, the trajectory for the world’s future, as evidenced by the globalists dramatically increasing the powers of the UN, aligns with what Bible prophecy reveals about what we might expect just before the start of the Tribulation.

What we read about the UN 2.0 troubles us, and understandably so. It signifies a giant step toward the beast system that will someday dominate the world for a short while. It doesn’t matter what the majority of people in the world desire; the global elites will have their way in enslaving the world’s population under their rapidly approaching communist regime.

The good news is twofold. First, although we may experience additional oppression in the future, Jesus is coming for us before the full implementation of the beast’s rule over humanity. Our immediate hope consists of Christ’s appearing to take us up to His Father’s house (John 14:2-3). As I look at the world, I often tell myself that it cannot happen soon enough.

Second, during the seven-year Tribulation and His Second Coming, the Lord will destroy the realm of the antichrist along with all those who today seek to enslave the people of the world beneath a totalitarian regime. In the end, we will reign with Jesus in His righteous kingdom, where justice and peace will prevail.

Maranatha!

-Jonathan