For those who observe the signs of the times—the end-times weather report—indicators continue to mount that Christ’s Second Coming must be near. For pre-Tribbers, this accumulation of signals means the Rapture of the Church could be near indeed.

We’ll take a brief look at two signs that point to the approaching seven years of Daniel’s seventieth week, also called the Tribulation. Like so many other developments, these seem to speak specifically of major prophetic fulfillment following the Rapture (see 1 Corinthians 15: 51–55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; John 14:1–3; and Revelation 4:1).

First, we have the two beasts of Revelation chapter 13, the Antichrist and the False Prophet. The first beast, Antichrist, will be the world political dictator who ultimately will be indwelt by Satan. The second beast, the False Prophet, will head the global religion that is against the God of Heaven and Jesus Christ with all demonic power that the “woman that rides the beast” can muster.

Like so many other signs we analyze in these increasingly wicked times, the second beast’s system of false religion is coming into focus. The current Catholic pope, as many Bible prophecy students have suggested, seems to be at the forefront of prophetic progression. The foretelling of this demonic, religious system is described in the prophetic passage below. The strange “beast” described here is comprised of the future ten worldwide spheres of control, Antichrist’s government. The “great whore” who rides this beast is the False Prophet’s evil, religious organization.

“And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

^“And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration” (Revelation 17:1–6).

So it shouldn’t surprise us that if this generation is near the end of this Church Age (Age of Grace), there should be signs of this evil system at least in some stage of development.

The following excerpt, I believe, provides such a signal:

Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Ahmed Al-Tayeb, and Pope Francis of the Catholic Church, held a special Chrislam summit in the Vatican, following their participation in the Summit of Religious Leaders on Climate Change, entitled “Faith and Science.” Welcome to the One-World Religion!

Pope Francis flew to Abu Dhabi to present the end-times covenant of Chrislam to Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb, how both men signed this document and then sealed their pact by a kiss on the mouth. Today, Ahmed al-Tayeb was present and accounted for at the Vatican as part of Rome’s preparation for their upcoming participation in the COP26 UN Climate Conference in Glasgow in November. (“Pope Francis Holds Special Gaia One-World Religion Meeting With Chrislam Co-Founder Grand Muslim Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb at Vatican Today,” Geoffrey Grider, NTEB, Rapture Ready post, October 6, 2021)

The other item that lets us peer a bit into prophetic progression toward Tribulation-era fulfillment involves Revelation 13:16–18).

This, of course, is an area of prophecy we’ve looked at many times. It’s almost uncanny, the clarity with which we can detect the rapid coming-together of satanic control that will mark the Tribulation era. We are, for example, seeing now advanced stages of manipulative, governmental machinations through growing mandates demanding that people around the world obey COVID compliance. Already their dictatorial tyranny is declaring that people can’t buy or sell without proof of vaccine compliance.

A report several days ago stated that one man was so eager to display his vaccine “passport” that he had it tattooed, in detail, on top of his hand. He was about to take a booster shot, so was going to get that additional detail included to bring his compliance up to date.

It also shouldn’t be surprising that the nation and people most mentioned in Bible prophecy yet future are at the very center of the developing Orwellian demand with regard to governmental compliance.

After earlier claiming that only two injections would be necessary in order to obtain a “green pass,” the government of Israel is now forcefully demanding that all Israelis received a third jab of the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) in order to maintain the “privilege” of buying and selling.

As many as two million Israelis who took the first two “vaccines” from “Operation Warp Speed” but not the third recently lost their green passes, according to reports. Until they comply, these double-jabbed people will now be considered “unvaccinated” in the eye of the government. (“Israel just nullified vaccine passports for all double-jabbed people…now only the triple-jabbed get ‘freedom,’” Ethan Huff, Naturalness, Rapture Ready post, October 05, 2021)

The entirety of the prophetic horizon seems filled with such developing Tribulation storm clouds.

Stage-setting for what might be soon fulfillment inundates our daily lives. The Rapture will suddenly bring judgment and wrath upon an unsuspecting world of anti-God rebellion and wickedness. That should cause all of us who are looking for our blessed hope to witness of Christ’s soul-saving power and of His offering supernatural safety from the coming Tribulation storm.

“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21: 28).

 

An incendiary heads-up made our Rapture Ready News headlines recently: “Humanity on brink of nuclear annihilation with threat highest for 40 YEARS, UN chief warns in chilling message.”

The story was no less troubling than the headline:

HUMANITY is on the brink of “nuclear annihilation” with the threat reaching its highest boiling point in forty years, a top UN chief has warned.

The nuclear arms race has the globe teetering “unacceptably close” to mass atomic destruction, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the world is on the brink of nuclear annihilation. Credit: Getty

He urged nations that have “stockpiled nearly 14,000 nuclear weapons” to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to avoid an international crisis.

It comes as wealthy countries continue to show off a string of advanced destructive arms that could result in catastrophic conflict.

He addressed the issue in a powerful tweet pleading with global powers.

“Now is the time to lift the cloud of nuclear conflict for good, eliminate nuclear weapons from our world, and usher in a new era of trust and peace,” he wrote. (Olivia Burke and Aliki Kraterou, News Corp—The Sun, September 29, 2021)

Peace and safety are at the top of the New World Order elite in light of things happening within the ranks of CCP leadership. China seems to be deliberately creating a war-like atmosphere by sending fighter aircraft over the territorial boundaries of Taiwan. They have apparently flown bombers into airspace claimed by the tiny state that broke away from China, as it was then known as Formosa.

Many observers believe China’s increasing aggression was the result of the weakness displayed by the Biden administration. The militancy has definitely increased significantly since the days when the Trump administration stood staunchly in keeping a strong naval presence in the area of the South China Sea and waters around the area of Taiwan.

The Chinese government is now emboldened to make threats most politically conservative observers believe would never have been made while Donald Trump was commander-in-chief. For example, Beijing’s former ambassador to the UN, Sha Zukang, said China must make the first nuclear strike against the US if Joe Biden continues to defend Taiwan.

This sort of rhetoric has set in motion all sorts of fears among the weak-kneed among the political left and the diplomatic appointees from this and past administrations.

Even considering the fact that China has a much smaller nuclear capability than the US, which has by far the largest nuclear force on earth, there is fear China will initiate a nuclear conflict.

During a meeting of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association in Beijing last week, Sha Zukang said: “The policy not to be the first to use nuclear weapons unconditionally has given China the moral high ground internationally.” But in the next breath, the Chinese say they must reconsider this policy if Biden continues to defend Taiwan against Chinese invasion to take back their rightful territory.

Another worry to those forecasting imminent war that will ignite all-out nuclear warfare are the reports coming out of Iran. Strange things are happening there, and more and more, Israel is suspected by the Israel-hating UN and others as the cause of those strange happenings.

The following news item tells more.

A fire erupted in an IRGC facility in Iran on Sunday leaving two dead and one injured. On Thursday, Tel Aviv-based ImageSat International—ISI, a commercial servicer for satellite images—estimated that the facility was not just any military compound—it was a secret missile base.

ISI reveals: On Monday, 27 September 2021, a mysterious explosion shook western Tehran, Iran. According to ISI intelligence report, the explosion occurred at an IRGC secret missile base of Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group.

It is still unclear why the fire erupted on Sunday.

A series of explosions and fires have hit industrial sites across Iran, including a number of petrochemical plants, in recent months and over the past year.

Iranian officials have referred to most of the cases as incidents or accidents, although some reports have claimed that at least some of them involved foul play.

The aging infrastructure in Iran has also been blamed for at least some of the incidents. Frequent blackouts have plagued Iran recently amid a heatwave. (“Fire in Iran occurred at secret IRGC missile base,” Israeli report by JP staff, Jerusalem Post, September 30, 2021)

It seems that Israel’s IDF and more surreptitious entities within that force might be assisting the Lord in “Restraining” things moving ahead of Heaven’s prophetic schedule for the wrap-up of the Church Age. Our friend Bill Salus has long kept his thumb on the pulse of the developing things in the Middle East and wonders frequently if Israel is about to begin fulfilling prophecies involving that area of ancient Persia—in Elam, for example.

One thing we can be sure of is that there will not be all-out nuclear war this side of the Rapture. China will fulfill its devastating role sometime near the end of the Tribulation, as given in Revelation chapters 9 and 16. The kings of the east force will kill fully one-third of earth’s population at that future time.

There will be no all-out nuclear war between Israel and her enemies, even if there are other conflicts. Prophetic Scripture is quite specific about these conflicts and how they will play out.

So we must, as believers, not listen to the fearful forecasts, but rather to God’s prophetic pronouncements.