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The Great Tribulation and the Great Deception


WilliamL

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Index and summaries of all articles is here: https://www.worthychristianforums.com/blogs/entry/1403-index-and-summaries-of-articles/

Please note: these articles are meant to be read in reverse order, that is, from the bottommost entry (Introduction) to the topmost. This one contains some "strong meat," even for me.

The Great Tribulation and the Great Deception

Jesus has told us that the Great Tribulation will be preceded by the Abomination of Desolation, and end with the heavenly signs (stars falling, sun darkened, etc.), which announce his coming in the clouds for his elect. Matt. 24:15-31

Revelation 12 and Daniel 11:45 - 12:2 also prophesy about this period. Exodus 11-19 (telling of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt in 1507 B.C.), in a ‘type and shadow of things to come,’ does also. Here are excerpts from these four passages:

Matthew 24:15-16 “Therefore when you see the Abomination of Desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the [lit. a] Holy Place…then let those who are in Judea flee…”

The Holy Place is on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. The flight of God’s people is also found in Rev. 12:6f.: “…the Woman fled into the wilderness…”

Daniel 11:45 - 12:1 “[The King of the North] shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between [the] seas at the glorious holy mountain… At that time your people shall escape.”

The glorious holy mountain” is, again, the Temple Mount. The King of the North’s setting up his headquarters there is either itself the Abomination of Desolation, or soon precedes it.

Exodus 12:23, 29, 33 …the Destroyer…[of] the LORD struck…the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne… [Then the Israelites fled] out of the land in haste.

Pharaoh was worshiped as the god Osiris, and his firstborn son as the god Horus. The Destroyer killed Horus in the temple-palace of Egypt, thus defiling/desolating it.
 

To summarize: in all three passages, 1) a desolator/destroyer comes to a world-revered temple site, 2) causing it to be defiled. 3) The righteous then flee, as a period of ultimate crisis begins:

Matt. 24:21 “…then there will be [the] Great Tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

Dan. 12:1 “And [then] there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that time.”

Ex. 11:6 “And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again.”

Resurrections DURING the Great Tribulation

From this point on, things get complicated. Elsewhere I have outlined the remaining End Time events in their order. Here I will focus solely on events having to do with the resurrections of both the righteous and the unrighteous dead.

Rev. 12:1, 5 [John saw in a vision that] a Woman [the Ecclesia/Church/God’s people] bore a Manchild who [is] to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her child [will be] caught up to God, and to his throne. 1

Immediately after this (12:5), “the Woman flees into the wilderness.” Then Michael, his angels, and the Overcomers fight against and cast Satan and his angels out of heaven. Rev. 12:7-11

Dan. 12:1-2 “At that time Michael shall stand up…there shall be a time of trouble such as never was…your people shall escape… And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

Daniel is specific about a limited resurrection of the dead taking place, but gives no details about its timing.

Matt. 24:24 “[During the Great Tribulation], there shall be awakened [Greek, egerthesontai] false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”

Other than in Matt. 24:11 and 24, the Greek word egerthesontai is used in the Bible in only one other place, 1 Cor. 15:52: “the dead egerthesontai/shall be raised.” Its root, egeiro, means “to waken/arouse (from sleep or death).” Strong’s #G1453 In many places, the New Testament uses egeiro in its various forms to refer to the resurrection of Christ and others. 1 Corinthians 15:52 is a prophecy about the resurrection of the dead in the Latter Days.

Ex. 13:19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him [when the Israelites fled out of Egypt]…
Book of Jasher 80:62 And Moses hastened…to the river of Egypt, and brought up from thence
the coffin of Joseph and took it with him. The children of Israel also brought up…each man the coffins of his tribe.

Matt. 27:52 [Immediately after the death of Jesus], the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were awakened…

Awakened [from death-sleep]” = egerthesan, another form of egeiro. These most righteous of the saints had their spirits enter into and awaken their dead bodies, but their bodies did not “come out of the graves [until] after His resurrection.” Matt. 27:53

So. 1) Right after the “great cry” in Egypt began, many of Israel’s dead, including the 12 Patriarchs, were ‘awakened/raised from the dead,’ in type.

2) Right after “women…bewailed and lamented” at the crucifixion (Luke 23:27), and “Jesus cried out with a loud voice” (Matt. 27:50), the elect of the saints were awakened from death, and soon after arose from their graves.

3) Right after Rev. 12’s “Woman…with child cries, travailing in birth” (12:1-2), the Manchild(ren) will be born/awakened into immortal bodies, and sometime thereafter will be caught up to heaven.

Immediately after the above awakenings, the Israelite Church fled out of Egypt; the Apostolic Church hid, then went to Galilee; and the Last Days Church will “flee into the wilderness.”

God Empowers His Chosen Rulers

After 40 days in the wilderness (the biblical period of trial and testing), the Israelites were attacked by the Israelite-hating Amalekites. Then –

Ex. 17:9-10, 13, 16 Moses…went up to the top of the hill…with the rod of God in his hand. … So Joshua/Yeshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. … Because a hand was lifted up to the throne of the LORD

Jasher 81:53 [Amalek] brought with him…magicians and conjurers…

Magicians and conjurers of the Old Testament correspond to “false christs and false prophets…showing great signs and wonders” in the End Times. Matt. 24:24

Acts 1:3, 9, 11-12; 7:55 Forty days [after his resurrection, Jesus] was taken up…into heaven…from the Mount of Olives…[to] stand at the right hand of God.

Psalm 110:1-2; 2:9 The LORD said unto my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” The LORD shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion. ... “You shall break them with a rod of iron.”

At his Ascension, Jesus/Yeshua received power “at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to him.” 2 Peter 3:22

Rev. 2:26-27 “He who overcomes…to him will give power over the nations: ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron…as I also have received from my Father.”

Rev. 12:5 [The Woman] brought forth a Manchild, who [is] to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. 1

Thereafter, Satan and his angelic host, the enemy/“accuser of our brethren…[is] cast down…overcome…by the blood of the Lamb and by the Word [Rod] of their testimony…” Rev. 12:10-11

So. 1) Moses ascended in type to the throne of God, holding the rod of God, thereby overcoming his people’s enemies.

2) Jesus likewise, in actuality, in his day.

3) The Manchildren likewise in the End Times.

All at the end of the tribulation periods of their peoples.

The Great Deception

As I’ve shown in other articles, the Latter Day event corresponding to Amalek’s attack upon Israel is the similar killing of God’s people in the Great Tribulation, during the Fifth Seal:

Rev. 6:9 …Fifth Seal: I saw under the altar the souls of those slain for the word of God, and for the testimony they held.

Matt. 24:9-12 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. …and many false prophets shall be awakened [from sleep or death: egerthesontai] and will deceive many [with great signs and wonders, vs. 24]; and…lawlessness will abound…”

Dan. 12:2 “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake [from death]…to everlasting contempt.”

Jasher 81:53 Amalek brought with him…magicians and conjurers…

Daniel 12:2 says flatly that evil dead will be resurrected during the “time of trouble” = the Great Tribulation, so there is no reason to assume that Matthew 24:11 and 24’s egerthesontai means anything differently. So what are the implications of this?

Christians who speak and write about prophecy practically never mention that the evil dead shall rise in the End Times: they focus solely on the resurrection and ascension of the righteous. Therefore, when the evil dead do arise, and, like those resurrected shortly after the crucifixion, “appear unto many” (Matt. 27:53) – many people probably will accept that they are the righteous! In addition, these evil ones will have power to “…show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” Matt. 24:24 Who else will be involved in this Great Deception?

2 Thes. 2:8-11 And then the Lawless One will be revealed, whom the Lord will…destroy with the brightness of his coming. [The Lawless One comes] with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish… And for this reason God will send them a strong delusion, that they should believe the lie…

So there will be lawlessness abounding, the Lawless One and the newly-resurrected evil dead showing great signs and wonders (as did Amalek’s sorcerers), all the while teaching false doctrines: is it any wonder that “even the elect” might be “deceived?” The Lawless One may well claim that he raised the dead himself, and some of those arisen ones will agree…

What To Do?

During the time of the Exodus, the prevailing world power, the Kingdom of Egypt, collapsed in 7 days. (Abib 14-21.) On Abib 14, God’s people hastily left Egypt for the wilderness. At about the same time, Amalek left Edom, moving towards Egypt. After crossing paths and losing a battle with Israel (although killing many), Amalek invaded and occupied Egypt, brutally plundering it. (The full story and historical evidence is provided in Velikovsky’s Ages in Chaos.)

Like with the Kingdom of Egypt, early in the Great Tribulation the prevailing world power, presumably still the United States government, will rapidly collapse. This fall may be the one foretold in Daniel 11:45 and/or Isaiah 17:4ff.. Many Native American and other non-biblical prophecies describe this time. But also, early in the Tribulation, God will call out his people into the wilderness, and provide for them there. Rev. 12:6, 14 But believers must be ready to depart promptly, and not drag their feet: “Remember Lot’s wife.” Luke 17:28-32 Those who delay will be trapped in a devastated and invaded land, like the Egyptians were. Those who do leave, but are stragglers, will likewise suffer greatly, as they did when Israel came out of Egypt:

Deut. 25:17-18 Amalek…smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary.

God WILL protect and provide for his people, and carry them upon “two wings of a great eagle…to [their] place.” Rev. 12:14 Just as he did during the Exodus: “I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to myself.” Ex. 19:4

Luke 21:34-36 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day [of Great Tribulation] come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” –

who will appear “immediately after the Tribulation,” when he will come in the clouds for his elect. Matt. 24:29-31

Rev. 7:9, 14 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude…standing before the throne [of God] and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes… “These are the ones coming out of the Great Tribulation…”

Note

1. This birth of a ruling Manchild is often incorrectly presumed to refer to the birth of Jesus Christ. Promoters of this belief quote Psalm 2, which says the LORD’s “Anointed One/Messiah,” the LORD’s “Son,” “shall break (or, rule) them [the nations] with a rod of iron.” Ps. 2:2, 7, 9 This psalm truly does refer to Jesus Christ.

However, Jesus states in Revelation 2:26-27 that this same authority over the nations will hereafter also be granted to Overcomers from Christ’s Church:

And he who overcomes, and keeps my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations: He shall rule them with a rod of iron…’ – as I also have received from my Father.”

In Rev. 4:1-2, John is taken up into heaven, and “show[n]…things which must take place after this”: that is, after that point in time. Everything John was shown thereafter was to come in the future, including the vision of the events seen in Rev. 12. Therefore, the birth of the Manchild of Rev. 12 cannot refer to Christ. It must refer to the Overcomers, as verses 10-11 specifically state:

“…the accuser [= Satan, verse 9] of our brethren…has been cast down [from heaven, 8-9]. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…”

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Interesting blog.

 

And he who overcomes, and keeps my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations: He shall rule them with a rod of iron…’ – as I also have received from my Father.”

 

The "Rod of Iron" is always a reference to judgment, condemnation, etc. The saints rule the wicked with a "rod of iron" during the 1000 years because they go over the books of record during that time and apportion out to the wicked - their portion of punishment due in the lake of fire event that happens at the end of the 1000 years.

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Biblically, a Rod (Staff) of Iron/of God refers to the authority to rule over men when they act like dumb and stubborn sheep.

The iron  denotes hardness and inflexibility (unlike a staff made of wood): therefore, it indicates that the rule of the Lord and his chosen overcomers will brook no rebellion against the Kingdom of Heaven's rule over earth during the Millennium.

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