General Articles

Dark Storm Clouds Are Approaching :: By Grant Phillips

Published on: by RR10

Eleven years ago, I wrote an article titled The Stage Is Nearly Set, in which I listed several important occurrences and their dates. Following is that listing.

  • 1920 American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) founded
  • 1945 The United Nations (U.N.) replaced The League of Nations.
  • 1945 The atomic age began with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
  • 1946 The Atomic Energy Commission was created.
  • 1946 Xerographic photocopying process was invented.
  • 1947 Truman Doctrine (aid to countries whose governments are threatened with overthrow)
  • 1947 India and Pakistan proclaimed independent nations
  • 1947 First airplane to break the speed of sound
  • 1947 The transistor invented at Bell Laboratories
  • 1947 Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) founded
  • 1947 Holography invented
  • 1947 Doomsday Clock invented by scientists
  • 1948 The Marshall Plan (giving aid to 16 European countries)
  • 1948 Foundation of the State of Israel
  • 1948 Communists take over Czechoslovakia
  • 1948 Organization of American States founded (human rights)
  • 1948 First flight of first commercial jet airliner
  • 1948 World Council of Churches formed
  • 1948 U.N. adopts Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  • 1948 World Health Organization (WHO) founded
  • 1949 Communists forces gain power in China (nationalists flee to Taiwan)
  • 1949 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) established
  • 1949 Soviet Union detonates its first atomic bomb
  • 1949 Israel admitted to the U.N.
  • 1949 Lucky Lady (U.S. Air Force) completes first non-stop around-the-world flight
  • 1949 Electron microscopy developed
  • 1949 Council of Europe formed
  • 1950 National Council of Churches formed
  • 1958 European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and European Economic Community (EEC) formed by six European countries (the beginnings of the European Union, as known today)

I also find it interesting that Madalyn Murray O’Hair was born in 1919, and one year later, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was founded. The American Atheist, founded in 1963 by Madalyn Murray O’Hair, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), founded in 1920, have been Satan’s left hand and right hand in his attack upon Christianity.

Isn’t it interesting that most of the dates listed above are in the same general time period, either before or after another very important date? Israel became a nation on May 14, 1948.

If that isn’t enough, here are some more occurrences and their dates that are in the general time period, either before or after another very important date. On June 7, 1967, during the Six Day War, Israel reunified Jerusalem.

  • 1963 American Atheist founded by Madalyn Murray O’Hair (pushed separation of church and state)
  • 1963 Murray vs. Curlett resulting in Supreme Court decision (8-1) that year, which made it unconstitutional for school-sponsored Bible reading in public schools
  • 1967 Israel defeats Arabs in Six-Day War
  • 1967 First Super Bowl
  • 1967 First heart transplant (by Dr. Christian Bernard)
  • 1967 First celebration of Earth Day
  • 1967 First broadcast of Sesame Street
  • 1967 Israel reunified Jerusalem

In 1980, the Israeli Parliament declared Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel. On May 14, 2018, the United States of America moved its embassy to Jerusalem under President Donald Trump.

When I was born, there was no nation of Israel, but God said He would bring them back, and bring them back He did.

“Before she was in labor, she gave birth; Before her pain came, She delivered a male child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children” (Isaiah 66:7-8).

“Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again” (Ezekiel 37:21-22).

By the time I was one year old, God brought the children of Israel back from where they had been scattered and established them back as a nation in ONE DAY! That is unheard of! No other group of people, EVER, has been dismantled, scattered throughout the other nations, and then brought back as the SAME nation! … let alone in ONE DAY! He is still bringing His children home.

God has made it clear in the book of Daniel, Ezekiel, and others that He would bring Israel back as a nation, and they would have seven remaining years that He would judge them, and He would also judge the world. We know this period as the Tribulation, and the last 3 ½ years of the Tribulation as the Great Tribulation. That time period is getting closer and closer.

In the late fifties, the Internet was birthed, and on August 6, 1991, the World Wide Web became publicly available. Today, nearly everything functions via the Internet. We can’t live without it. Don’t think so? Ask any teenager.

Most all of the items I have shown in the two listings, and many more I haven’t listed, have been stepping stones that have brought us to the last days spoken of in God’s Word, the Bible. We don’t know the day or hour of Jesus’ return, but you can rest assured that we are in the season of His return.

Israel becoming a nation again in 1948 is the one major sign that the clock is ticking. The second major sign, in my opinion, is the convergence of all the prophetic signs in our day. When I was born, none of the signs of the coming Tribulation existed, but today they are overwhelmingly visible.

David Reagan has written an excellent article on an overview of the signs of the times at http://christinprophecy.org/articles/an-overview-of-the-signs-of-the-times/. It would be well worth your time to read his article.

Folks, time is running out. One day soon, maybe much closer than we think, Jesus is going to remove His bride (the true Church) from this earth, and then the seven-year Tribulation will begin.

Noah warned the people of his day that God was going to judge the world by water. All those not in the Ark would drown. For 120 years, Noah warned the people, but they laughed it off, just as people today are laughing at God’s message that another worldwide judgment is coming called the Tribulation. When considering the worldwide flood of Noah’s day and God’s coming judgment in the seven-year Tribulation, the Tribulation will be even worse. Reading the book of Revelation makes that clear. Jesus says of those Tribulation days:

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:21-22).

Don’t be like those of Noah’s day and die without Jesus.

Grant Phillips

Email: Phillip5769@twc.com
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: https://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html

Don’t Mess with the Book of Revelation :: By Jonathan Brentner

Published on: by RR10

Revelation begins with these words: “The revelation of Jesus Christ.” The book is all about Jesus’ magnificence and power. From beginning to end, Revelation glorifies our Lord Jesus Christ.

Revelation is more relevant than ever before as we watch a great many of its prophecies come into sharper focus. Conditions are all in place for the four “horsemen of the apocalypse” to begin their trek through the world. Never before in history has the technology existed for one man to control the buying and selling worldwide.

Unfortunately, the number of those disputing the message of the book of Revelation continues to rapidly grow, even in churches that claim to believe in the inerrancy and inspiration of Scripture. Although the signs of the nearing fulfillment of Revelation 6:1-8 multiply by the day, many pastors deny its relevance for the church today.

Revelation comes with both a promised blessing for those who read it (1:3) and a severe warning for those who revise the meaning of its words (22:8-19).

The Blessing: Jesus’ Exaltation Is Also Our Victory

The Blessing for those who read the last book of the Bible comes from its exaltation of Jesus. It magnifies Christ from beginning to end.

  1. Jesus as the Head of His Church

Chapters 1-3 of Revelation display Jesus as head over His church. These chapters show the Lord in charge of His people, just as Paul described in Ephesians 1:22-23.

Revelation 3:10-11a contains a promise of the Rapture through which Jesus will take us out of the world before the wrath of the day of the Lord descends upon “those that dwell on the earth.”

Chapters 4 and 5 exalt the Lamb as the only One worthy to open the seals binding the title deed to this world. The ensuing seal judgments begin the process of the coming King setting up His kingdom on earth.

  1. The Lord Judges the Earth in Preparation for His Kingdom

Chapter 6-18 proclaims the Lord’s supreme power and sovereignty over the kings of the earth, nature, and all the forces that now rebel against Him. He will prove the righteousness of His Name as He destroys the kingdom of the antichrist along with its lawlessness, deception, and exceedingly great wickedness and lawlessness. Heaven will roar with praise for the Lord Jesus as He celebrates His marriage to the church and prepares to return with us to the earth.

The day of the Lord judgments in Revelation will tear the kingdom of this world away from Satan and usher in the one-thousand-year reign of Jesus.

  1. Jesus Will Reign for a Thousand Years and Then Forever

Jesus’ ultimate display of glory to the earth happens at His Second Coming. He will then destroy the armies of the world gathered against Jerusalem, lock up Satan, and establish His rule upon the earth (19:11-20:6). After putting down a final rebellion, He will judge the world and forever eliminate death and sin (20:7-15).

Revelation 21-22 describes the glorious eternal state of the new earth and the New Jerusalem. Jesus’ last words to us, His church, are these, “Surely I am coming quickly!”

The exaltation of Jesus finds its fullest expression in all of the events recorded in the book of Revelation. Someday we will fill heaven with praise for our Redeemer (Revelation 19:1-5). We will return with Him and watch as He wrests control of the world away from Satan, sets up His kingdom, and takes His rightful place on the throne of David. Jesus will forever destroy sin and death and usher in a glorious eternity.

The Warning: Don’t Mess with the Message!

You’ve likely heard the phrase, “Don’t mess with Texas!” The consequences of that are nothing compared to messing with the message of the book of Revelation.

No other book in the Bible contains such a warning in its last chapter:

“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book” (Revelation 22:18-19).

I believe that these words of caution occur because Revelation…

  1. exalts the Person of Jesus.
  2. describes the Lord’s final victory over sin and death.
  3. Provides immeasurable comfort to believers with its description of how God will deal with this wicked world and bring in a joyous eternal state, including a New Jerusalem.

I believe that those who discredit the message of Revelation for us today tread on dangerous ground. Yet so many scoff at its message to their own peril.

Teachers, pastors, and scholars mess with the message of Revelation in the following ways:

  1. Allegory

Many regard the book of Revelation as allegory, or just symbolism, rather than an eyewitness account of what John saw and heard. This is the most popular way that the scoffers take away from its message of victory and hope.

Allegory began long ago as a way to combine pagan Greek philosophy with Christianity, especially that of the pagan philosopher Plato who believed that only the spiritual realm was good. He believed that the material world was inherently evil.

Augustine, the one who firmly established allegory as the way to approach biblical prophecy, said the idea of a millennium “would not be objectionable” if somehow “the nature of the millennial kingdom was a ‘spiritual one’ rather than a physical one.” [i] Augustine thus modified his beliefs regarding Jesus’ future thousand-year reign on the earth in order to make them comply with the teachings of Plato.

His hatred of the Jewish people also factored into his theology of dismissing the biblical promises regarding the future restoration of Israel.

There are many reasons to reject the allegorical approach to the book of Revelation:

  • Revelation repeatedly identifies itself as a book of prophecy (1:3; 22:7, 10, 18-19).
  • The allegorical approach elevates the human wisdom of the interpreter above the inspired words of the text. Words matter very little to those who employ.
  • John’s language negates the allegorical approach to the book of Revelation. The apostle uses the word “saw” forty-four times by itself and twelve times with the word “looked.” He uses “heard” thirty times; he was not telling us a story but rather writing down words as he listened to the angels and the Lord speak.
  • Those who use symbolism to interpret the book of Revelation do not agree among themselves about what is allegorical and literal.
  • Those who use allegory claim to have a special “lens” by which they know the meaning of a passage that, more often than not, has nothing at all to do with the actual words of the text.
  • Allegory turns Christ’s triumphal victory over Satan’s world system into something that fails to glorify Him or comfort us in any way.
  1. It’s Apocalyptic

One pastor told me that the book of Revelation was “apocalyptic,” thereby suggesting that this gave him license to interpret passages other than the way that the Lord inspired them. It came as no surprise to me that he had a unique view of biblical prophecy and the future of Israel, one I had never heard of before despite all my years of study on this matter. It was most certainly not biblical.

The word “apocalyptic” is translated “revelation” in verse one of Revelation. Contrary to how we regard the English equivalent of the word, in the Greek it signifies an unveiling or revealing. In other words, this term introduces the final book of the Bible as the unveiling of Jesus and His glory.

  1. It’s Past History

The preterists tell us that John wrote the book in AD 65 and that the Lord fulfilled all or most of the words of the book of Revelation in AD 70.

There are many problems with this errant approach:

  • Church history assigns the time of the writing of Revelation to about AD 95. Irenaeus, who grew up in the church at Smyrna in the second century AD, tells us that John wrote the book of Revelation at this time. If anyone would know when the book first arrived at the church in Smyrna, it would be someone who grew up in that church and received his training in the faith from Polycarp, whom the apostle John discipled.
  • It’s readily apparent that the prophetic events described in Revelation have not yet happened. John describes Jesus’ Second Coming as a time when “every eye will see him” (1:7). This was most certainly not a first century AD event.
  • The problems Jesus addressed in the church at Ephesus (2:1-7) differ significantly from what Paul wrote about in 2 Timothy as he addressed his prodigy who served as the pastor of this church. The apostle wrote his final book in about AD 67-68.
  • Many believe that the church at Smyrna did not exist until after the martyrdom of the apostle Paul in about AD 68.
  • An earthquake caused considerable damage to the city of Laodicea in about AD 65. They would not have regarded themselves as “rich” at this time.
  • Again, Revelation repeatedly identifies itself as a book of prophecy (1:3; 22:7, 10, 18-19).
  • Even if John wrote Revelation in AD 65, it’s doubtful all seven churches would have received the book, read it aloud in all the house gatherings, and possibly made a copy of it by AD 70. For sure, no other church at the time would have seen its prophecies concerning the Lord’s return.

The preterist approach makes the book of Revelation all about the church with prophecies that would have happened long before the majority of believers would have seen the book or known about it. It exalts the church above its Head.

  1. It’s a Secret Code for First Century Believers

Another popular approach states that John wrote the entire book of Revelation in code for the suffering saints who lived during the first century AD.

All the arguments against the errant use of symbolism apply here. John recorded future events as he saw them and wrote down the words spoken to him by the Lord and by angels.

And since Revelation was written in AD 95, the majority of believers living at the time would not have even seen the book until well into the second century AD.

Don’t Mess with Revelation

I’m convinced that the book of Revelation glorifies Jesus from beginning to end and that those who discredit its words and message do so at their own peril.

There are verses in the book of Revelation that I do not fully understand. Other passages have become clearer as the day approaches, and we see advances in technology and witness current events that point to the future.

But one thing I know for sure: Revelation fills me with hope for what is to come.

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My book, The Triumph of the Redeemed-An eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times, is available on Amazon. This book provides a great deal of biblical support regarding the restoration of a kingdom to Israel. It’s the basis of our hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing to take us to the place that He’s preparing for us.

Note: Please consider signing up for my newsletter on the home page of my website at https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/. It will greatly help me in reaching more people. Thanks!

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[i] Allen, D. Matthew, Theology Adrift: The Early Church Fathers and Their Views of Eschatology, a paper published on the Bible.org website, chapter 5.