A Christian 1985

What this axiom does say is that if a spiritual universe exists that does not have laws or principles in common with our physical universe, then we cannot be aware of it and thus it would be of no concern to us. However, if a spiritual universe exists such that we are aware of some of its manifestations, then it will have laws or principles in common with our physical universe. Thus, for any postulated assertion of a spiritual reality, there should be corresponding evidence of that reality reflected in our physical universe. Conversely, it should be possible to formulate a framework of characteristics of the physical universe that will indicate the nature of the corresponding spiritual reality. Practically speaking, this axiom means that it is possible to construct a logical theory encompassing virtually every field of science that will explain the purpose behind everything known to man.

A Message for the Human Race, at Blogger What this axiom does say is that if a spiritual universe exists that does not have laws or principles in common with our physical universe, then we cannot be aware of it and thus it would be of no concern to us. However, if a spiritual universe exists such that we are aware of some of its manifestations, then it will have laws or principles in common with our physical universe. Thus, for any postulated assertion of a spiritual reality, there should be corresponding evidence of that reality reflected in our physical universe. Conversely, it should be possible to formulate a framework of characteristics of the physical universe that will indicate the nature of the corresponding spiritual reality. Practically speaking, this axiom means that it is possible to construct a logical theory encompassing virtually every field of science that will explain the purpose behind everything known to man.

Omegaman 3.0 removed video link and self promoting blog links. If you want a link to your personal blog, put it in your signature, not the body of your post. PLEASE: to EVERY one reading this, send this link as much and as far as you can- for the sake of saving unbelievers before this age ends! The 'Catholic' "church" is Babylon the mother of harlots in Revelation.

Omegaman 3.0 removed video link and self promoting blog links. If you want a link to your personal blog, put it in your signature, not the body of your post. PLEASE: to EVERY one reading this, send this link as much and as far as you can- for the sake of saving unbelievers before this age ends!

Edited by Omegaman 3.0 - Deleted video and Amazon link. Sorry A Christian 1985, we do not allow videos here, except in the video area of the forums, and we do not allow promoting of things for sale. Also, I should point out, that you are off topic, the topic is the Protestant Reformation CHAPTER ONE THE AXIOM I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say . . . Seek me in chaos. --(Isaiah 5:19 D.S.V.) If a “#spiritual #universe” exists, there likewise must also exist laws or principles common to both such a “spiritual universe” and to the physical universe, in order for us to be able to perceive any manifestation of such a “spiritual universe.” Practically speaking, this axiom means that it is possible to construct a #logical theory encompassing virtually every field of science that will explain the purpose behind everything known to man. Chapter Two AN EXTRAPOLATION “... before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” (Isaiah 43:10) It is my contention that the inevitable and ultimate result of evolution is this: that somewhere, sooner or later, an entity would be evolved through either natural or artificial means which would no longer be subject to time. What are the implications of such a conclusion? Such an entity would in all practicality be: 1. #Omnipotent and 2. #Omniscient and 3. #Omnipresent. Such an entity would, by definition, be God. By no means am I intending to speculate about the origin of God. Such speculation is vain at best and blasphemous at worst. My intention is to show that no matter what method that you employ to explain the existence of life; the inevitable implication is the existence and reality of God. Summary of Chapter Two: “The fool has said in his heart; there is no God.” (Psalm 12:1) TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One. The Axiom p.1 Chapter Two. An Extrapolation p.3 Chapter Three. The Logic of It All p.11 I. Divine Purpose II. The Necessity for a Secondary Will III. Free Will IV. Further Steps Necessary for the Attainment of Divine Purpose V. Correlations to Sections I-IV: A. Divine Purpose (I) B. The Necessity for a Secondary Will (II) C. Free Will (III) D. Further Steps Necessary for the Attainment of Divine Purpose (IV) Chapter Four. What Is Man? p.17 I. The Parts of Man A. Physical Body B. The Human Soul C. The Human Spirit D. The Heart II. Ramifications of Free Will III. The Effects of the Fall on Man IV. God’s Solution to the Fall: Christ V. Regeneration VI. Transformation (and Transfiguration) Chapter Five. The Remote Past p.53 I. Spiritual Beings (Angels) A. Abilities and Characteristics of Spiritual Beings B. Present-Day Manifestations of the Fallen Angels II. Another Race A. Abilities and Characteristics of Demons B. The Origin of Demons C. Present-Day Manifestations of Demons D. The Source(s) of Para psychological Phenomena Chapter Six. Prehistory p.87 I. The “Creation versus Evolution” Controversy; or: “Much Ado About Nothing” II. The Methods Utilized in Divine Creation: A. Evolution B. Catastrophism C. Direct Divine Intervention Chapter Seven. Past History: The World System p.125 I. The Material System A. The Origin of the Material System B. The True Purpose of the Material System II. The Religious System A. The Source of Religion B. The World’s Religions C. The Jewish Religion D. Christianity, the Religion Chapter Eight. The Kingdom of God p.187 I. The Kingdom – Here Today in a Hidden Way II. The Church: The Expression of the Kingdom on the Earth III. The Coming Full Manifestation of the Kingdom Chapter Nine. Future History: Revelation p.219 I. History from the Ascension of Christ to His Literal Return A. History from the Ascension of Christ to the Beginning of the Tribulation B. The Rapture C. The Beginning of the Tribulation D. The Antichrist and the False Prophet E. Events Occurring during the Tribulation F. Ar-Mageddon G. The Future of the Nation of Israel H. Some Indicated Predictions I. When Will These Future Events Probably Happen? II. The Judgment Seat of Christ III. The Millennial Kingdom IV. The Great White Throne Judgment V. The New Jerusalem: The Ultimate Fulfillment of Divine Purpose Chapter Ten. Personal Application for the Reader p.307 I. Your New Life II. Clearance of the Past III. Household Salvation IV. Growing in Christ A. Eating in the Spirit B. Drinking of the Spirit C. Daily Life and Dealing with Your Conscience D. Preaching the Gospel E. Prayer F. Maturing in Christ V. Seeking Fellowship Appendices(I.-XIV.) p.337 p.401 Bibliography Index of Footnotes p.403

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FALSE! Body, Soul, and Spirit!

God is Triune! The Triune God There is nothing more mysterious or enigmatic than the Triune God. How utterly foolish are the attempts by men to systematize God in their futile efforts to understand Him with the human mind. As we will see God is totally beyond mental comprehension. How fortunate that it is absolutely unnecessary for us to comprehend God in order to apprehend Him. God only requires us to receive Him and be one in Him. But how many Christians have been distracted into trying to comprehend God, thinking that in so doing, they are growing spiritually. How subtle is our adversary! ... baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: (Matt. 28:19). Anyone vaguely aware of the Bible knows that the God of Christians is a God of three Persons, yet few people realize the significance behind this. and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon him, and a voice came out of heaven, thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. (Luke 3:22) According to our mentality, this verse proves that there are three separate persons: the Father in heaven, the Son on the earth, and the Holy Spirit as a dove. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ... (Eph. 1:2‑3). Logical mental understanding of these verses proves that God the Father is a distinctly separate entity from the Lord Jesus Christ. Looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ; (Titus 2:13) But this verse refers to Christ as our God and Savior. Mentally, logic would tell us that we must have two Gods‑ God the Father and God the Son. ... how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Luke 11:13) The former treatise I made, 0 Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until the day in which he was received up, after that he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit unto the apostles whom he had ordained: (Acts 1:1‑2). Obviously (according to mental logic), the Holy Spirit must be an entity distinctly separate from the Father and the Son. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While it remained, did it not remain thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thy power? How is it that thou hast conceived this thing in thy heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. (Acts 5:3‑4) A comparison of these two verses shows that the Holy Spirit is equated with God. Do we have three different gods? For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus. (1 Tim. 2:5) Clearly, God and Christ are separate, according to logical mental evaluation of this verse. …and it was ordained by angels through an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. (Gal.3: 19‑20 RSV) Yet this verse states definitely that Christ and God are not two, but one. who hath declared it of old? have not I, Jehovah? and there is no God else besides me, a just God and a Savior; there is none besides me. (Isa. 45:21) There is one, and only one, God. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa 9:6) The child who is born unto us is here called the Mighty God, and the son given unto us is called the Everlasting Father. This child, of course, is Jesus Christ. Can the mind comprehend that the Son is called the Father? No. All we can say is Wonderful! And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father ... (Rev. 1:6 Intl. Greek). “Unto God and his Father.” Try to smoke that in a theological pipe! God has a Father? This does not compute, mentally. but of the Son he saith, Thy throne, 0 God, is forever and ever. . . . (Heb. 1:8) Here the Son is directly called God. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: (Eph. 6:17) According to the original Greek, which refers to Spirit. Thus here we are told that the Spirit is the word of God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us ... (John 1:1, 14). ... Christ: for in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, (Col. 2:8‑9). Here we are told that the Word was God and the Word became flesh. So the Spirit is the Word, God is the Word, and this Word, which is God and the Spirit, became flesh, Christ. Do you still think that you can mentally comprehend God? If ye had known me, ye would have known my Father also: from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.... Jesus saith unto him, “Have I been so long time with you, and dost thou not know me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; how say eat thou, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the father in me? ... (John 14:7, 9‑10). Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was born, I am. (John 8:68) I (Jesus) said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was born, I am. (John 10:30) Jesus Christ is God, manifested in the flesh. For I know that this shall turn out to my salvation, through your supplication and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. (Phil. 1:19) And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, saying, Abba, Father. (Gal. 4:6) Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (1 Cor. 3:16) Or know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? (1 Cor. 6:19) Believers have the Holy Spirit in them, the Spirit of God in them, and the Spirit of Christ the Son in them. Are these three separate Spirits? But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit ... But Peter said unto her, How is it that you have agreed together to try the Spirit of the Lord? ... (Acts 5:3, 9). Here we see, by comparing these two verses, that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Lord. … These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, ... (Rev. 3:1) ... and from the seven Spirits that are before his throne; (Rev. 1:4). which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the Earth. (Rev. 5:6) Just a short interruption here in order to prevent a possible misunderstanding: The number seven in the scriptures signifies completion and/or intensification, in this age. Seven Spirits in these verses does not mean literally seven different Spirits; rather, it signifies that today God's Spirit is intensified seven fold in this age in order to accomplish the completion of His purpose. But unto us God revealed them through the Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. (1 Cor. 2:10) ... because the love of God hath been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, which was given unto us. (Rom. 5:5) The Holy Spirit is the aspect of the Triune God who applies to us all that God is and has accomplished. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive; for it beholdeth him not, neither knoweth him: ye know him for he abideth with you, and shall be in you.... but the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you. (John 14:16‑17, 26) A little while, and ye behold me no more; and again a little while, and ye shall see me. (John 16:16) And when he had said this, he (Jesus) breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit: (John 20:22). And when he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. (Acts 1:9) And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened. And the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. (Acts 7:56) ... and lo, I am with you always, even unto the consummation of the age. (Matt. 28:20) How is it possible that Christ is both in the heavens at the right hand of God and yet He is with us always? Or know ye not as to your own selves that Jesus Christ is in you? ... (2 Cor. 13:6). In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. ... and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (John 14:20, 23) How can Christ (and the Father) come into us? Only as the Spirit! He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world knew him not (John 1:10) hath at the end of these day spoken unto us in his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds; (Heb. 1:2) ...even the blood of Christ: who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was manifested at the end of the times for your sake. (1 Pet. 1: 19‑20) God has always intended even in eternity past, to partake of His creation by incarnation. This is because it is only through incarnation that He will achieve His purpose. Concerning which salvation the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them. (1 Pet. 1:10‑11) What we can say about the Triune God is the following: 1. God as the Father is the source of all things, but as the Father no man has seen Him. 2. God as the Son expressed fully (in human form) to the universe everything that God is. 3. Yet everything that God the Father is and all that the Son has accomplished has no value to us if it cannot be made available to us. Thus, after Christ fulfilled God's purpose, He was resurrected bodily as a God‑man, and ascended the throne in heaven, re‑entering eternity. Then He became the Spirit, so that this could be applied to us for our benefit by His Spirit coming into our spirit, making all that He is and all that He has done available to us. If you are born again, you have both the Father and the Son in you as the Spirit. But there are some barely comprehensible implications from this. From the standpoint of eternity, where there is no time, Christ has always been and has always accomplished His work of incarnation and redemption. Thus it is that Christ keeps popping up in a hidden sort of way in the Old Testament, before (time wise) His incarnation. And Jehovah appeared unto him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood over against him: ... but Abraham stood yet before Jehovah. (Gen. 18:1‑2, 22) And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. ... And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for thou hast striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed.... And Jacob called the name of the place Penial: for, said he, I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. (Gen. 32:24, 28,30) And the angel of Jehovah said unto him, wherefore askest thou after my name, seeing it is wonderful? ... But the angel of Jehovah did no more appear to Manoah or to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of Jehovah. And Manoah said unto his wife, we shall surely die, because we have seen God. (Judg. 13:18, 21‑22) God the Father is spirit, yet in these Old Testament verses, He shows up as a man. How is this possible? Because the living God is not just God: He is God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Father, glorify thy name. There came therefore a voice out of heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.... Jesus answered and said, This voice hath not come for my sake, but for your sakes. (John 12:28‑30) We see here that heavenly special effects were for the benefit of onlookers, being otherwise unnecessary. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:39) Although Christ, from an eternal standpoint, has always done His work of incarnation and redemption, we are living a temporal existence in time. So, from our viewpoint in time, God before the incarnation was God the Father only; since the incarnation He is expressed also as the Son, and since the ascension as the Holy Spirit. This is why, even though Christ was around in the Old Testament times, His work could not be available to the Old Testament believers. The Old Testament believers could only took forward to the coming of Christ by faith and a few would express God's authority by being clothed in an outward way with His Spirit, but they could not experience regeneration in their human spirit. God abides by His temporal rules: only after the ascension could men be regenerated. And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness: ... And God said, behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed ... (Gen. 1:26, 29). God refers to Himself as us in one verse and three verses later refers to Himself as I. Is God us or is God I? Is God three or is God one? And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, whom shall I end, and who will go for us? ... (Isa. 6:8). Again, is God I or is God us? Do you really think that you can understand God with your mind? The living God is not just God; he is expressed in three Persons, which are not separate persons but three different aspects of the same God. Mentally, it is impossible for something to be two different things at the same time. But God is three and God is one, both and the same. The living God, the God of all Christians, is not merely God‑ He is Triune‑ being the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit‑ yet He is one. He is expressed as three Persons, yet these three are one. God is one and God is three. God is one‑in‑three and God is also three‑in‑one. Do not try to make God conform to any kind of mental understanding; all such striving is vain and pointless. The reason our God is Triune is so we can receive Him and He can come into us. All this can only be experienced by us in and with our human spirit, not with our mind. If you are vainly trying to understand God mentally, you are missing the boat spiritually. What we can say is this: the living God is Triune, by no means is He the same as the god of the world's religions‑ that is the god of their imagination, even the god of this world. Also, we are no longer limited to experiencing the God of the Old Testament. This is the age of the New Testament. Today we experience Jehovah plus! Today we have God the Father plus all that He has accomplished as a man in the Son. All this is as available to us today as the air around us; we just have to learn how to use our spiritual lungs.

If a “spiritual universe” exists, there likewise must also exist laws or principles common to both such a “spiritual universe” and to the physical universe, in order for us to be able to perceive any manifestation of such a “spiritual universe.”

B. The Rapture They cried with a loud voice, "0 Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before thou wilt judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth?" Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their follow servants and their brethren should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. (Rev. 6:10‑11 RSV) The day will come when God, who is patient and long‑suffering for our sakes, will respond to these prayers of His martyred saints and wrap things up. What will be involved in such a wrap‑up? I saw in the night visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that till the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion in an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Dan. 7:13‑14) until the ancient of days came, and judgement was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.... But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. (Dan. 7:22,18) There are two distinct aspects to the kingdom, depicted here: The first aspect is when "one like unto a son of man" (Christ) receives the kingdom from the "ancient of days" (God). The second aspect is when Christ bequeaths and jointly shares His kingdom with His chosen ones, the saints of the Most High. What is the significance of these two different aspects? And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God cometh, he answered them and said, the kingdom of God cometh not with observation: (Luke 17:20). On the one hand, the Lord says that the kingdom of God comes without observation, yet in several other places he relates specific outward signs of the coming of the kingdom. Why is this so? Neither shall they say, Lo, here! Or, there! For lo, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:21) And madest them (to be) unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon the earth. (Rev. 6:10) And Jesus answered and spake again in parables unto them, Saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a certain king, who made a marriage feast for his son, (Matt. 22:1‑2) But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. (Matt. 24:36) looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God. . . (2 Pet. 3:12) to whom God was pleased to make known this mystery ... which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: (Col. 1:27) ... may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, even Christ: (Eph. 4:15) Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. (James 5:7 NASB) you are God's field ... (1 Cor. 3:9 NASB) The hidden aspect of the kingdom that comes without observation is this: God the Father is preparing a bride for His Son composed out of people he has chosen from before the foundation of the world. These people are constituted a kingdom unto Christ by letting Christ rule in them. This denying of the self to let Christ rule in them is dependent on the exercise by them of their free will; thus the day of God is not a set date- its coming can be hastened by greater numbers of believers allowing Christ to mature in them and by their letting Him mature in them faster. (See Appendix. XII.) Not all who are called will be chosen; not all believers will pay the price in this life to let Christ rule in them and thus constitute them a kingdom to Him. This hidden kingdom, which will be the bride to Christ, is a present from one person of the Triune God (the Father) to another person of the Triune God (Christ the Son). What good is a present if the exact time of this giving is not a surprise? This is why not even Christ knows the day and hour when this kingdom will be given to Him. Only the Father knows. The day and hour depends on a sufficient maturity of Christ in an adequate number of believers, sufficient enough to adequately express Christ as His bride and reign with Him during the time of the second aspect of the kingdom. What is the second, open aspect of the kingdom? Look at yourselves, that ye lose not the things which we have wrought, but that ye receive a full reward. (2 John 8) For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matt. 22:14) ... called saints ... (Rom 1:7) And now I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you the inheritance among all them that are sanctified. (Acts 20:32) And if children, then heirs; heir of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him. (Rom 8:17) The co‑reigning with Christ during the millennial kingdom, which is a 1,000‑year wedding feast, is a reward to those believers who go on to be overcomers- ­those who allow Christ to overcome their self‑life and thus transform their souls into His image. All believers will be the new Jerusalem (the wife of Christ) in eternity, but only the overcomers will be the bride of Christ during the millennium. when he shall come to be glorified in his saints ... (2 Thess. 1:10). And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Tim. 3:16 Intl. Greek) For yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. When they are saying, Peace and safety, then suddenly destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child: and they shall in no wise escape. (1 Thess. 5:2‑3) To those overcoming believers who are daily living the kingdom life in their spiritual walk, the rapture will just be a change of location and a fuller enjoyment of what they are experiencing. To both the world and the believers who are not walking in spirit and ready, the rapture will come unexpectedly‑ as a thief in the night. And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her hand a crown of twelve stars, and she was with child; and she crieth out, travailing in birth, and in pain to be delivered. (Rev. 12:1‑2) This sign is a type of all the believers, both Old Testament and New Testament believers, who are always spoken of corporately with respect to God in female types. The woman herself is the universal church: all born‑again believers of all New Testament time. This aspect of the rapture is a hidden one, as the coming of the Lord as a thief in the night is compared also to a woman in travail in (1 Thess. 5:2‑3) above‑ this is the woman in travail spoken of by the apostle in that verse. Also, the beginning of travail spoken of in (Mark 13:7‑8) refers to the start of the church age, not to the end times. What is this child that she is travailing in birth to deliver? and he made us (to be) a kingdom, (to be) priests unto God and his Father; to him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Rev. 1:6) and he that overcometh, and he that keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to shivers; as I also have received of my Father: (Rev. 2:26‑27) And she was delivered of a son, a man-child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne. (Rev. 12:5) The man‑child brought forth by this woman will be the resurrection of the overcoming believers throughout history, who are no longer physically alive. These are the stronger ones of God's people who led victorious spiritual lives while alive on the earth. Because they are the stronger part of God's people (the woman), they are referred to as a man‑child: they are a part of the woman yet they are also distinct from the rest of her. This woman, the universal church, has been pregnant since the church age began and has been travailing to give birth since then. The birth-rapture of the man‑child will occur shortly before the tribulation begins. From all this we may surely infer that, although Satan is a rebel, he has not yet been deprived either of his title or his power. He is till the great High One on high, who divides the world into different provinces according to its nationalities, appointing a powerful angel, assisted by countless subordinates, as viceroy over each kingdom to direct its energies and bend them to his will. 295 And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom, become our God's and the authority is become his Christ's: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their (soul) lives even unto death. (Rev. 12:10)­ When the man‑child is caught up to God, there is no longer any use, excuse or room for Satan and his fallen angels in heaven; the faithful angels under Michael are ordered by the overcomers to cast them out of heaven. This will be the fulfillment of the coming of the kingdom in its hidden aspect. And I heard the number of them that were sealed, a hundred and forty and four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel. (Rev. 7:4) And she was delivered of a son, a man‑child, who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne.... And they overcame him (Satan) ... (Rev. 12:6, 11) To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God. (Rev., 2:7) such a one caught up even to the third heaven ... (2 Cor. 12:21) And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.... These were purchased from among men, to be the first‑fruits unto God and unto the Lamb. (Rev. 14:1,4) and to bring the first fruits of our ground, and the first-fruits of all fruit of all manner of trees, year by year, unto the house of Jehovah: (Neh. 10:35). But watch ye at every season, making supplication that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. (Luke 21:36) Because thou (Philadelpha, the church off brotherly love) hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. (Rev. 3:10 KJV) The 144,000 sealed of the children of Israel are faithful Jews who will pass through the Tribulation on the earth; they are sealed for protection from the supernatural afflictions of that time. These will repent shortly before the Lord's physical return (covered later in Subsection G.) and are probably a literal number. The 144,000 on the heavenly Mount Zion, however, is a symbolic number signifying the maturity and completion of these believers and is probably not a literal number‑ since such maturity is not predestined and depends on the exercise of free will. Enoch, who was translated alive to heaven by God because he was well pleasing to God, was an Old Testament type of the rapture of these first‑fruits. This symbolical number of redeemed are the living overcomers raptured as first‑fruits to God, and (like the man‑child) are raptured not to the clouds, as will be the majority of living believers at the general harvest in Revelation 14:14‑16, but to heaven. This occurs shortly after or simultaneously with the rapture of the man‑child and also precedes the Tribulation. Likewise even as it came to pass in the days of Lot; they ate, they drunk, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all: after the same manner shall it be in the day that the Son of man is revealed. (Luke 17:28‑30) And as were the days of Noah so shall be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man (Matt. 24:37‑39) …but He that taketh refuge in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain. (Isa. 57:13) And they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able to stand? (Rev. 6:16‑17) As we shall see, the coming of the Lord (and the rapture) starts at the beginning of the three‑and‑a‑half‑year Tribulation and ends with the physical return of Christ at the end of the Tribulation. The beginning of the coming of Christ (and the rapture) will occur without much specific prior warning and will catch the world by surprise. These events will alarm the world, and everyone will begin to realize what is happening. Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. (Isa. 55:6 NASB) We are now in the age of grace, with repentance and forgiveness of sins available to all men. The age of grace ends with the coming of the kingdom age and the coming of Christ. But the kingdom comes (in one aspect) three and a half years before Christ returns physically; and Christ begins to return three and a half years before His physical return to the Earth. According to all Scriptural implications (as we shall see) and the ramifications of free will, the age of grace may end at or shortly after the beginning of the Tribulation: repentance and forgiveness of sins, with regeneration, may not be available during the Tribulation (and certainly not afterwards). And when he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they were looking steadfastly into heaven as he went, behold, two man stood by them in white apparel; who also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven. (Acts 1:9‑11) And the stars shall be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send forth the angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. (Mark 13:26‑27) And I saw, and behold, a white cloud; and on the cloud I saw one sitting like unto a son of man, having on his head a golden crown. And in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the temple, crying with a great voice to him that sat on the cloud, Send forth thy sickle, and reap: for the hour to reap is come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped. (Rev. 14:14‑16) Then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:17) Christ will return in the same way that He left: Sometime after the rapture of the man child and first‑fruits, He will leave His throne and come to the atmosphere of the Earth, hidden in the clouds. The living believers who are left will then be caught up to the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. The Judgement‑Seat of Christ will be set up in the clouds during this time (this is what the “one like unto a son of man”, Christ, will be sitting on), and it is then that the Lord will decide whether each believer will receive the reward of the millennial kingdom or suffer punishment (a further disciplining needed to bring them to maturity) during that time. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn. (Matt. 13:30) As we have seen, the return of Christ will occur over a three and a half year period and will be of two aspects: firstly, in a hidden way as a thief in the night to steal away His most precious ones (the man‑child and the first‑fruits) and, secondly, at His actual visible return from the clouds. Thus are these and other apparently contradictory verses reconciled, being illustrations of the two differing aspects of the same process. And he shall send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matt 24:31) And the seven angels that had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. (Rev. 8:6) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump (et) of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:15‑17) The rapture of the large majority of the living believers left on the earth after the rapture of the first‑fruits will occur towards the end of the Tribulation, almost certainly in the last three months. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump (et): for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Cor. 16:5 1‑52) And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed goat voices in heaven, and they said, the kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign forever and ever. (Rev. 11:15) And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. (Dan. 7:27) At the sounding of the last (the seventh) trumpet, all the remaining believers still on the earth will be raptured to the clouds, preceded by the dead in Christ who were not overcomers during their lifetimes and thus were not part of the man‑child. In this way all believers, living and dead, will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, to receive a reward (reign with Christ during the millennial kingdom) or suffer punishment (a further disciplining during the millennium), before the actual, physical return of Christ to the Earth after the sounding of the seventh trumpet. THE LATE‑OVERCOMERS Unlike the rapture of the majority of the believers, the rapture of the first fruits (the living overcomers) will occur before the Tribulation. If you miss out on this and still want to be an overcomer, there is a "short‑cut" of sorts possible. And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: ... And there was given them to each one a white robe; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet a little time, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, who should be killed even as they were, should have fulfilled their course. (Rev. 6:9, 11) And it was given unto him to give breath to it, even to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as should not worship the image of the beast should be killed. (Rev 13:15) And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and the voice which I heard was as the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sing as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders: and no man could learn the song save the hundred and forty and four thousand, even they that had been purchased out of the earth. (Rev. 14:1‑3) And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that come off victorious from the beast and from his image, and from the number of his name, standing by the sea of glass, having harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb…(Rev. 15:2-3) And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw that souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Rev. 20:4) When the Antichrist sets up his image in the temple at Jerusalem, you can go there, refuse to worship him, and be beheaded on the spot. If you do that, you also will reign with Christ during the millennial kingdom. Here is the steadfastness of the saints, they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. (Rev. 14:12) Who are those who keep the commandments of God? The Jews. Who are those who have the faith of Jesus? The Christians. The Antichrist will persecute both the Christians and the Jews when he rises to power. Also among the Late‑Overcomers will be the Jews who refuse to worship the image of the beast. Imagine his surprise when, after death, such a Jew (who is still awaiting a promised Messiah) is set on a throne by Christ to co‑reign with Him for a thousand years! But there is a catch to all this: as in everything else, self-effort is not of real value in regards to spiritual matters. The description of the Antichrist's persecution of God's people implied by the original language is that of making war on them by wearing them out, and not necessarily immediately putting them to death. If you go to Jerusalem with the intention of martyrdom but without the express leading of the Lord in your spirit to do so, most likely instead of being allowed to be a martyr, you will be thrown into prison and tortured. Everything is a matter of the Lord's will, not our self‑effort. SUMMARY OF THE RAPTURE: Shortly before the Tribulation begins, the overcomers will be raptured to the throne of God in heaven. The dead overcomers (the man‑child) will be resurrected and raptured first, followed shortly by the living overcomers (the first‑fruits). The large majority of living believers will pass through most of the Tribulation and be raptured as the general harvest not to heaven but to the clouds. Toward the very end of the Tribulation and shortly before the literal physical return of the Lord to the Earth, the dead non‑overcomers, immediately followed by the living non‑overcomers still left on the earth, will be raptured to the clouds also. All of the believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, to receive a reward or suffer discipline. Those who need further disciplining to mature will be cast into outer darkness for the duration of the millennial kingdom. Those who receive a reward will return with the Lord to fight at Armageddon and reign with Him during the millennial kingdom, which will be a thousand‑year wedding feast. You cannot lose your salvation/regeneration. ALL born-again (believers) WILL be the New Jerusalem for eternity future.

THE ANTICHRIST And the dragon waxed wroth with the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, that keep the commandments of God, and hold the testimony of Jesus: (Rev. 12:17) How does the dragon (Satan) make war on the rest of the seed of the woman? Through whom does he act? and he (the dragon) stood upon the sand of the sea, And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads names of blasphemy. (Rev. 13:1) as that the day of the Lord is just at hand; let no man beguile you in any wise: for it will not be except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition... And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to naught by the manifestation of his coming; even he, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (2 Thess. 2:2‑3, 8‑10) Little children, it is a late hour: and as ye heard that antichrist cometh, even now have there arisen many antichrists ... (1 John 2:18) Before Christ returns physically to the Earth, there will arise a counterfeit Christ, the Antichrist (called byGod the beast),through whom Satan will exercise his power. And the beast, which I saw, was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his power, and his throne and great authority. (Rev 13:21) What is the significance of these animal characteristics of the beast seen by John, summed up in the power and nature of the Antichrist? And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first one was like a lion ... These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, that shall arise out of the earth. (Dan. 7:3‑4, 17) The characteristics of these four beasts seen by Daniel will be summoned up in toto in the Antichrist. Who are these kings, and the characteristics of their rule. but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and he hath made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these: ... Thou, 0 king, sawest, and, behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the aspect thereof was terrible. As for this image, its head, was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass, its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay, (Dan. 2:28, 31‑331 As we shall see below, the four parts of this image also symbolize these four beasts, with the first beast equal to the head of the image and the successive beasts equal to the other three parts of the image in their order from the head. The first was like a lion ... (Dan. 7:4) This is the dream; and we. will tell the interpretation thereof before the king, Thou (Nebuchadnezzar), 0 King; art king of kings, unto whom the God of heaven hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory; and where so ever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens hath he given into thy hand, and hath made thee to rule over them all; thou art the head of gold. (Dan. 2:36‑38) And the beast which I saw was like ... his mouth as the mouth of a lion ... (Rev. 13.2) The first beast seen by Daniel was like a lion, which was the literal symbol of the revived Babylonian empire ruled by Nebuchadnezzar, the head of gold. The lion symbolized the characteristics of the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar: absolute rule and power exercised in a regal manner. The Antichrist will also have this characteristic in his ruling. And, behold, another beast, a second, like to a bear; and it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh (Dan. 7:5) its breast and its arms of silver ... And after thee [Nebuchadnezzar] shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee ... (Dan. 2:32, 39) Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem ... Peres; thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.... In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom ... (Dan. 5:2, 28, 30‑31) And the beast I saw was like ... and his feet were as the feet of a bear ... (Rev 13:2) The next kingdom to rise after the Babylonian Empire was the Media‑Persian empire, which was literally symbolized by the bear. The breast and two arms of the image also represent the Media‑Persian Empire. The bear symbolized the characteristics of the Media‑Persian empire: overwhelming strength, which devoured all that came in its path. The Antichrist will also have this characteristic in his rule. After this I beheld, and, lo, another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. (Dan. 7:6) ... its belly and its thighs of brass... and another third kingdom of brass which shall bear rule over all the earth. (Dan. 2:32, 39) And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him. And now I will show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and when he is waxed strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not according to his posterity, nor according to his dominion wherewith he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides these. (Dan. 11:1‑4) And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard ... (Rev. 13:2) The third kingdom to arise was the Macedonian kingdom under Alexander the Great, which was literally symbolized by the leopard. The belly and thighs of the image also represent the Macedonian empire. Alexander died suddenly and his kingdom was not given to his posterity but was divided among his four generals and rapidly lost its former power. The leopard symbolized the characteristics of the Macedonian empire under Alexander the Great: swift and cruel domination of those whom it conquered. The Antichrist will also have this characteristic in his ruling. As these kingdoms succeeded one another, the gulf between their rulers and God widened. Thus, the gold of Nebuchadnezzar (who feared God and somewhat attempted to obey Him) changed progressively into more common metals (to silver, then brass, then iron), which, while they are less valuable, are at the same time progressively more powerful in the world's eyes. Thus it is that fourth kingdom had nothing of God in it but was more powerful than the three preceding kingdoms. After this I saw in the night visions, and, behold, a fourth beast, terrible and powerful, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. (Dan. 7:7) Its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay, (Dan. 2:33) And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, for as much as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that crusheth all these, shall it break in pieces and crush. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toe, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so a kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly brittle. And whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cleave to one another, even as iron doth not mingle with clay. (Dan. 2:40‑43) The fourth kingdom, more powerful than the three before it, was the Roman Empire‑which in its latter years became divided into the Western and Eastern Roman empires (the two legs). As we shall see, the ten toes of the image correspond to the ten horns of the beast in Revelation. The Antichrist will rise to power over a revived Roman empire consisting of ten countries, which were part of the old Roman Empire. The ten toes and horns symbolize, respectfully, the ten countries and ten kings who will rule them under the Antichrist. And the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet; but they receive authority us kings, with the beast, (in) one hour. (Rev. 17:12) ... and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another horn. a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.... and concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three fell, even that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake great things, whose look was more stout than its fellows.... And as for the horns, out of this kingdom shall the kings arise: and another shall arise after them, and he shall be diverse from the former, and he shall put down three king. (Dan. 7:7‑‑8, 20,24) I beheld, and the same horn [the little one) made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; ... And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and he shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time. (Dan. 7:21, 25) And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressions are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power, and he shall corrupt wonderfully, and shall prosper and do his pleasure; and he shall destroy the mighty ones and the holy people. And through his policy he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and in their security shall he destroy many: he shall also stand up against the prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. (Dan. 8:23‑25) And it (the little horn) waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground, and trampled upon them. Yea, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the host; and it took away from him the continual burnt‑offering, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And a host was given to it against the continual burnt‑offering through transgression; and it cast down truth to the ground, and it did its pleasure and prospered. (Dan. 8:10‑12) And in his place shall stand up a contemptible person, to whom they had not given the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in time of security, and shall obtain the kingdom by flatteries ... And forces shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, even the fortress, and shall take away the continual burnt‑offering, and they shall set up the abomination that maketh desolate. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he pervert by flatteries; but the people that know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. And they that are wise among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil, many days.... And some that are wise shall fall, to refine them, and to purify, and to make them white, even to the time of the end; because it is yet for the time appointed. And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of good; and he shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for that which is determined shall be done. (Dan. 11:21, 31‑33, 35‑36) The Antichrist will rise to power over ten countries that were part of the old Roman Empire. The Antichrist, with the ten kings under him, will rise to power very sud­denly. Probably seven of these countries will willingly submit to his rule, but the other three will have to be subdued by him. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and there was given to him authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. (Rev. 13:7) Although the Antichrist is given authority over every nation (the authority that Satan now has and gives to him), it does not say that he rules over every nation. The Antichrist will only rule actually over those ten countries and several others around the Mediterranean that he will gain power over either militarily or politically. Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah, the prince, shall be seven weeks, and three score and two weeks; it shall be built again, with street and moat, even in troublous times. And after the threescore and two weeks shall the anointed one be cut off, and shall have nothing; and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined. And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate. (Dan. 9:24‑27) If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. (John 11:48) Sixty‑nine of the seventy weeks is already past; the last week is the last seven years of human government before the physical return of Christ. There is an indefinite gap of time between the first sixty‑nine weeks and the last week of the seventy weeks. Why? Because the start of the last week depends on the bride having made herself ready, an exercise of free will, and cannot thus be an exactly predestined date. We shall see later what the firm covenant at the beginning of the week means. In the middle of the last week of years, the Antichrist comes to power and rules for three and a half years, the last half of the last week. The two sets of verses above together prove that the countries that the Antichrist will rule over were a part of the Old Roman Empire. Titus foreshadowed the Antichrist as the prince who shall come; and the people who destroyed Jerusalem were the Roman armies in 70 A.D. Satan expressed his authority through the old Roman Empire, which severely persecuted the early Christians. When the Antichrist comes to power, Satan will give him his full power and authority to express him in persecuting God's people and worshiping Satan through the worship of the Antichrist. In all these years since the end of the Roman Empire, what has served Satan as his expression and provided him with worshipers? None other than the Roman Catholic Church! There are two women at the end of this age who claim to have a relationship with Christ. One woman is the pure, holy, spotless, and without wrinkles bride of Christ. Nothing indicates her size; only her purity and singleness of heart are portrayed The other woman is a great harlot with many daughters. She claims Christ but is in reality married to the satanic world system. She is depicted as great, powerful, world‑wide, rich, and full of fornication and idolatry. At the time of the uploading of this book (2000), the most accurate estimates are that the priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church has an HIV‑AIDS infection rate somewhere between 8 and 11 times that of the general population. This is pure, and this is holy? Again, which of these two women is the accurate depiction of the Roman Catholic Church? But the judgment shall be set, and they shall take away his dominion to consume and to destroy it unto the end. (Dan. 7:26) I beheld at that time because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake; I beheld even till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed, and it was given to be burned with fire. (Dan. 7:11) ... But he will be broken without human agency. (Dan. 8:25 NASB) And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had the mark of the beast and them that worshiped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone: (Rev. 19:20) Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without human hands, which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them in pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and become like the chaff of the summer threshing‑floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth, (Dan. 2:34‑35) If ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious: unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious. (1 Pet. 2:3‑4) ... and the rock was Christ. (I Cor. 10:4) and in the days of those king shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. (Dan. 2:44) And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. (Dan. 7:27) The Antichrist will be the ultimate and final expression of human government without any allegiance to God. He will lead and use the material and psychical powers at his disposal in direct defiance of the physical return of Christ, at Armageddon. Christ will totally annihilate this opposition, thus removing in one stroke the major obstacle to His rule on the Earth. How very obliging of the Antichrist to concentrate the opposition in one place. Once again we see that Satan inevitably furthers God's purposes. Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast which was diverse from all of them, exceedingly terrible, whose teeth were of iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet; (Dan. 7:19) What will be the ancestry of the Antichrist and why will he be such a different type of person from those before him? Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no beast could stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself. And as I was considering, behold, a he‑goat came from the west over the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: the he‑goat had a notable horn between his eyes.... And I saw him come close to the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him; but he cast him down to the ground, and trampled upon him; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. And the he‑goat magnified himself exceedingly: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four notable horns toward the four winds of heaven.... The ram which thou sawest, that had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough he‑goat is the king of Greece: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. And as for that which was broken, in the place whereof four stood up, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not with his power. (Dan. 8:3‑5, 7‑8, 20‑22) And now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and when he is waxed strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realms of Greece. And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will ... And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not according to his posterity, nor according to his dominion wherewith he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides these. (Dan. 11:2‑4) And the he‑goat magnified himself exceedingly: and when he was strong the great horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four notable horns toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceedingly great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land. (Dan. 8:8‑9) When Alexander the Great died, his kingdom was divided among his four generals. The Antichrist's physical ancestry (the little horn) will be out of one of those four kingdoms. The only one of the four kingdoms from which he could wax great toward the other three in this way‑toward the south (Egypt), toward the east (Asia Minor), and toward the glorious land (Israel)‑ is the part that was Macedonia and Greece. The Antichrist will either himself be a Greek or at least will be of Grecian ancestry Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was diverse from all of them ...((Dan. 7:19) Why is the Antichrist going to be so different from all of the other dictators before him? and there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and there was given to him authority to do his works during forty and two months. And he opened his mouth for blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, even them that dwell in the heaven. (Rev. 13:6‑6) How art thou fallen from heaven, 0 day‑star, son of the morning! ... And thou saidst in thy heart ... I will make myself like the Most High. (Isa. 14:12‑14) he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God. (2 Thess. 2:4) And upon a set day Herod arrayed himself in royal apparel. And sat on the throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people shouted, saying, The voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave to God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. (Acts 12:21‑23) Satan's sin was pride, in that he desired to make himself as God. When Satan tempts men, God's creation, to declare themselves to be god, it is utter, direct blasphemy against God. Who else in history declared themselves to be gods? And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness: and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy having seven heads and ten horns.... And the angel said unto me, wherefore didst thou wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns.... Here is the mind that hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth: and they are seven kings (Caesars) the five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come and when he cometh, he must continue a little while. (Rev. 17:3, 7, 9‑10) Who are these seven Caesars (the original Greek word translated as the English word kings)? Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar ... (Luke 3:1) Which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. (Acts 11:28 KJV) At the time John wrote the book of Revelation, Domitian, the sixth Caesar, was in power. Before the reign of Domitian, there had reigned five Caesars who had died unnatural deaths (are fallen) through murder or suicide. The first four of these (in chronological order) were Julius Caesar, Tiberius Caesar, Caligula, and Claudius Caesar. Physically, the Antichrist will rise to power suddenly as the seventh Caesar over a revived Roman Empire. I saw one of his heads as though it had been smitten unto death; and his death‑stroke was healed: and the whole earth wondered after the beast; ... And he maketh the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose death stroke was healed.... that they should make an image to the beast who hath the stroke of the sword and lived. (Rev. 13:3, 12, 14) The Antichrist, shortly after coming to power as the seventh Caesar, will die physically from a fatal wound. The Antichrist is the one of the seven heads of the beast that is wounded fatally‑ this will not necessarily be a head wound‑ Scripture does not specify where he is wounded, only that it is a fatal wound inflicted with a sword stroke. This possibly will, but may not necessarily, be a literal sword stroke. It is much likelier that this is merely the symbolic means used to indicate a violent death. The body of the Antichrist (probably after about three days) will then be brought back to life by Satan as a counterfeit of the resurrection of Christ. How does Satan do this? The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, they whose name hath not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall come. (Rev. 17:8) In speaking of the Antichrist physically (as the seventh Caesar), John says that he is not yet come: the Antichrist has not yet appeared and we will not know for sure who he is until his body is brought back to life. Yet in this verse here, John says that at the time that he wrote this, the Antichrist had already been on the earth but was not on the earth then, and would come out of the abyss when he appears again on the earth. This seems to be a contradiction with Rev. 17:10, where John says that He is not yet come. What is the reality here? What is under the abyss? Hades, where the souls of dead people are imprisoned until the day of their judgment. When the body of the Antichrist is brought back to life, it will be brought to life not with the soul that was in it before the infliction of the fatal wound but with the soul of someone who had already lived on the earth and died before John wrote the book of Revelation. Whose soul will this be? And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goeth into perdition. (Rev 17:11) The Antichrist will arise physically as the seventh Caesar, die of a fatal wound, and be brought back to life (reanimated) as the eighth Caesar. As the eighth Caesar, he will have the body of the seventh and the soul of one of the first five Caesars who suffered unnatural deaths. Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding let him count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man: and his number is Six hundred and sixty and six. (Rev. 13:18) At the time that John wrote Revelation, Domitian was in power‑ John could not come right out and name the actual name of the Caesar whose soul would reanimate the Antichrist's body, if he did he would have been put to death immediately. So John signified the name of that Caesar with a number, the number 666. In the original language of the New Testament, Greek, every letter of the alphabet has a specific number associated with it. To say that the Antichrist's number is six hundred and sixty‑six is to say that the numbers corresponding to the letters of the Greek name of that Caesar add up to 666. Which one of the five Caesar's names is this true for? The second epistle unto Timotheus, ordained the first bishop of the church of the Ephesians, was written from Rome, when Paul was brought before Nero the second time. (Superscription to 2 Timothy, KJV) The fifth Caesar (before Domitian) to die an unnatural death, and the only one of the five for whom the numbers corresponding to his name in Greek add up to 666, is none other than Nero. Nero is the Caesar who initiated the persecution of the Christians by the Roman Empire, throwing them to the lions and burning them as torches. Among the biological Caesars following Tiberius, inbreeding and incest were common. Caligula and Agrippina are among the better (or worse) examples. The inbred Caligula considered each of his three sisters, at one time or another, as his legal wife, Agrippina being one. Tile insane Calligula was succeeded by Claudius, whose wife was Messalina. The inbred Agrippina was simultaneously Messalina's aunt and niece. Agrippina proceeded to poison her second husband, Crispus, frame Messalina, marry the Emperor Claudius, and poison Claudius. In marrying Claudius, she became the successor of her dead aunt‑niece. In one of her previous marriages, she bore Nero, who went on to other accomplishments, few of which are praiseworthy. 296 The 19th century also has a famous example.... The responsible party was Herr Heidler who ... proceeded to divorce his first wife, and marry his niece. From this second union came a series of miscarriages,as well as one son and one daughter.The son's name was Adolph Heidler (Hitler).... . In comparing the inbred Hitler and the inbred Caligula or Nero, it is of interest to note that they each possessed great egos, strong wills, a flair for oratory, a love of parades, and interest in arts and a liking for the macabre. Consider Hitler's attitude toward the Jews, so similar to Nero's attitude toward the early Christians. 297 The Antichrist will make Hitler look like a weak leader‑ Hitler was but a type foreshadowing the Antichrist. His true ancestry will be hidden‑ even before he becomes a public figure‑ at or before his birth. And they worshipped the dragon, because he gave his authority unto tile beast and they worshipped the beast, saying, who is like unto the beast and who is able to war with him? (Rev. 13:4) So when that last great master‑piece of the Adversary shall appear, the Anti‑Christ, whose coming, as Paul tells us, is after the working of Satan (2 Thess. ii.9), and to whom the Dragon shall give his power, and his throne, and great authority (Rv. xiii.2), it is but reasonable to suppose that he will be possessed and energized by the Devil) in person. And thus he will be a compound being, partly human, partly superhuman; at once the king of Tyre and the anointed Cherub that covereth; a travesty by Satan of the incarnation of our Lord. 298 Who indeed is like the beast? No one before or after will be like him. The Antichrist will embody all of the desirable natural human attributes. He will be highly intelligent, tremendously charismatic, and probably very handsome physically. He will have the body of one man and the soul of another, and the spirit in him will be Satan himself. In this way, Satan, a spiritual being, will be able to fully express himself in physical form on the earth but with none of the consequent limitations of power necessitated by taking on a physical existence, as occurred with the fallen angels in Genesis Chapter Six. It is at the time of sounding of the fifth trumpet (seventh seal) that Satan, having been just cast out of heaven and given the key to the pit of the abyss, descends to the pit (Sheol and Tartarus) and releases not only the imprisoned demonic beings but also the soul of Nero. Therefore, it will be at that time that the Antichrist's body is reanimated. Since the Antichrist will be an intentional counterfeit by Satan of Christ, we should expect many more major similarities between the events of his life and those of the life of Christ. A great earthquake occurred at the time of the death of Christ. For this reason, I am certain that the Antichrist will suffer his physical death at the time of the great earthquake of the sixth seal and also that there will elapse three days (as with Christ) between this earthquake and the fifth trumpet of the seventh seal (when the Antichrist's body is reanimated), as a further counterfeit detail of Christ's death and Resurrection. ... And he maketh all the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose death‑stroke was healed.... saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who hath the stroke of the sword and lived. (Rev. 13:12, 14) And he had power to give life to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. (Rev. 13:15 Intl. Greek) Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not ... (Ps. 115:4‑5) . The Antichrist will have an image of himself in the temple at Jerusalem and require people to worship it. This image will be the first talking idol in the world and will be identical in outward appearance to the body of the Antichrist. It will also express his wishes verbal indicating that it will also be capable of making decisions. Most likely this image of a beast will be the world's first android, but it is not clear that it will have mobility. And he causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there should be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead; and that no man should be able to buy or to sell, save he that hath the mark, even the name of the beast or the number of his name. (Rev. 13:16‑17) Under the Antichrist, people will not be able to buy or sell unless they have either the name of Nero or the number 666 on their forehead (probably the men) or on their hand (probably the women). If you do not have such a mark, you will be imprisoned until either you agree to accept his mark or until you are killed. How will the Antichrist be able to so thoroughly control the economy in Europe. Credit cards with built‑in micro processing chips will soon be tested in Europe. Retailers, bankers, and institutions like hospitals and libraries are interested in the plastic, wallet‑sized cards, which could be used to store personal records and instantly transfer money in and out of bank accounts. 299

Many authors have written books involving the interpretation of prophecy, primarily on the books of Daniel and Revelation. Few of the popular authors in this field have exhibited more than a small amount of spiritual insight, with the result that the fruits of their labor are equally capable of attainment by an unbeliever who, of course, would be incapable of any true spiritual enlightenment. Also, the popular authors tend to interpret only those portions of Scripture that would appeal to their reading audience and to avoid portions that might be offensive and thus endanger the appeal of their books. So Christ also having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation. (Heb. 9:28) But of that day and hour knows no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. (Matt. 24:36) Anyone who sets a precise date for the ending of this age- regardless of source or reasoning- is wrong! Now from the fig tree learn her parable Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished. (Matt. 24:32‑34) It has been realized by students of the Bible for more than two hundred years that the parable of the fig tree meant that Israel would become a nation again. Israel became a nation again on May 14, 1948. It is clear from the correlation between these verses that the great earthquake of the sixth seal occurs shortly before the last three and a half years <the great Tribulation> of this age. Although this earthquake will be of supernatural magnitude, unlike the subsequent calamities of the great Tribulation, it will have natural causes. Can we thus determine approximately when this earthquake is likeliest to occur? And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars; ...for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. (Luke 21:25-26) Notice that Luke 21:25‑26 is a description of outward signs also occurring at this time. What are the only signs in the sun that are visible to the naked eye? Sunspots! The word translated as 'stars' in Luke 21:25 may equally be in reference to the planets. Is there a connection between the cause of this great earthquake and these other, simultaneously occurring outward signs? According to Wood, the next two sunspot cycles will peak in 1982 & 1993...307 Now, to the surprise of many scientists, there has come evidence that the alignments of the planets can, for sound scientific reasons, affect the behavior of the earth. But one of these occasions‑ an alignment of the planets which occurs only once every 179 years‑ is due in 1982309 The most likely time for the triggering of the earthquake is the time midway between the spring and fall of 1982. Thus, the focal point of likeliest time is midnight August 4-5, Israeli time, midway between spring and fall. The next appearance of Halley's comet will be in 1986 ... it will appear brightest in February of 1986 . . 318 Almost certainly this was the star that the Wise‑men followed, and it was the tail of Halley's comet that was used by God to point their way. The alignment of the planets converges with a sunspot peak only once every 1,969 years. In this situation, we have the precise concurrence of a series of events that is unique, with a single event (Israel) that is likewise unique, all of which was prophesied nineteen centuries ago. Mathematically, there is no chance whatsoever that these events are merely coincidental. ...as modern chronologers have demonstrated, that the date of the Christian era, or of the birth of Christ Himself, was moved FOUR YEARS from the true time. ...but there seems to be no doubt of the fact, that the birth of the Lord Jesus was made full four years later than the truth. 314 What is the significance of the six days of the restoration and the seventh day of rest spoken of in Genesis, chapters 1 and 2? Deduction based on various statements in the Bible; however, place the date of creation only a few thousand years in the past. The precise date usually found in the headings of the King James Bible is 4004 B.C., this date having been worked out by the Irish theologian James Ussher (1581‑1656). 319 ...with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. (2 Peter 3:8) This date of 4004 B.C. is a date indicated by the Scriptures. As we have seen previously, Christ was actually born in the year that we record as 4 B.C. Thus, it was four of the Lord's days (exactly 4,000 of our years) from the indicated date of "creation" to the birth of Christ. Using the same reckoning, the time of the Lord's return (which will be at the beginning of the seventh day, the millennium) should be the year 1996. If He has not returned by this time, then He has tarried because the bride still hasn’t made herself ready. I think that the following conclusions are both accurate and appropriate: 1. Before midnight Israeli time August 4‑5, 1982 the last 3 1/2 years before the physical return of Christ (the Great Tribulation) could not begin. Now it can begin anytime. 2. We still see through a glass darkly what the 3 1/2 years before (the first half of the last week of years) the Great Tribulation will transpire as. 3. In His mercy, the Lord has tarried. He probably should have been back no later than 1996.

What can we deduce logically with regards to how life in general, and man in particular have gotten here? Remember that man has free will and that entails certain ramifications necessary to prevent undue influence of that free will. If the six days of restoration were literal, then evidence of man would suddenly appear in the fossil record starting in 4004 B.C. Any supernatural creation per se would leave unmistakable evidence of its occurrence, thus interfering with free will. We should expect that God used a "natural," progressive means of forming man. If the Bible is the Word of God, then science cannot help but sub­stantiate its validity- there should be no actual conflict between the two. Such a means implies a process, unlike that of Genesis 1:1. Is this process, illustrated in the account of the six days, an evolutionary one? Perhaps the tale of the Garden of Eden is not mythological in origin; perhaps it is an allegorical rendition of an actual occurrence, a natural, evolutionary phenomenon.145 The biblical authors had of course no formalized notion of evolution. Unmistakably, however, their description is, in its way, an essentially evolutionary development. 146 And Jehovah God formed man of the dust (Hebrew: clay) of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath (spirit) of life; and man became a living soul. (Gen. 2:7) 2 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781641407922&ref=nb_sb_noss Fox 12/1 What I am leading up to is this: man the physical creature evolved, and at a certain point in his evolution he was given a spirit directly by and from God with which he could express God and have the likeness of God. Adam was the first man as we his descendants are, being the first creature to reach the stage of evolution at which God gave him a spirit. This also seems confirmed by the thought of other Scripture (l Cor. 15:45, 47): ... “The first man Adam became a living soul.... The first man is of the earth, earthy:”... What evolved characteristic was reached in man that differentiated him from the other creatures? Both man and all other creatures have souls‑ what difference is there between man's soul and the souls of animals? Only man has a free will. Animals must choose either according to rational thought processes (mind) or according to instinct (emotions). Free will is inevitably associated with intelligence. To do something willful, after all, you ‑have to understand the existence of alternatives and choices among them, and these are attributes of intelligence. 153 The attainment of free will is dependent on the attainment of a certain level of intelligence. Intelligence requires not only a minimum gross brain size but also a low brain‑to‑body ratio and a high level of "adaptive capacity" neurons. Only Homo sapiens (modern man) meets all three of these requirements. It is, therefore, highly probable that with mankind the intellectual faculties have been mainly and gradually perfected through natural selection.167 The evolution of intelligence was a consequence of the process of natural selection. Can we thus bring this process under the scrutiny of the physical sciences? 3 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781641407922&ref=nb_sb_noss Fox 12/3 It was by the process of natural selection, acting on the trait of increasing cranial capacity (and complexity) produced by genetic mutation, that man evolved with an increasing mental ability leading to intelligence sufficient to have a free will. Eventually, a mutation occurred that would, when expressed, reach the point at which man's intellectual powers gave him a free will. This recessive mutation was spreading itself through the pre-Adamic population as a heterozygote, that is, it was paired with a dominant gene of the pre-­mutation variety. The selective advantage of the mutation ensured such a spreading. Inevitably, two individuals with such heterozygous genes mated and produced the first offspring with both genes being of the recessive mutant variety. When this offspring reached maturity, he was the first one of his species whose intelligence was of a degree sufficient for him to have a free will. This offspring was Adam; and he then received a spirit with which, by the exercise of his free will, he could choose to receive God Himself into this new part of him and thus express God. It was at this point in his evolution that man became a conscious being. But this incurs a problem: Adam was unique. If Adam mated with others of the pre‑Adamic population, there would be a fifty percent chance that his offspring would be heterozygous and consequently would not have free will, while having a spirit. Thus all of Adam's immediate offspring must be homozygous for this trait, for him to truly be the "first man" of the Adamic race of man. Therefore, Adam must have a mate who is also homozygous for the same genetic trait. But Adam alone was homozygous for this trait. How did God solve this problem? 4 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781641407922&ref=nb_sb_noss The sex chromosomes are named, by convention, the X‑chromosome and the Y­-chromosome. Normal human males have 1 X‑chromosome and 1 Y‑chromosome; normal females have 2 X‑chromosomes. 178 And Jehovah God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helpmeet for him.... And Jehovah God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which Jehovah God had taken from the man, builded he into a woman and brought her unto the man. And the man said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. (Gen. 2:18, 21‑23) It is possible to clone a woman from a man. However, it is not possible to clone a man from a woman. God cloned Eve from Adam so that the required trait would be retained by Adam's offspring. The sixty‑four dollar question: Who was Cain's wife? It is clear from the order of these verses that Cain's wife was not a member of his immediate family (which would be a direct violation of the Mosaic laws against incest) ‑ something that would necessarily be the case if Adam and Eve were the literal, abracadabra style of first man and woman. Who, then, was she? Cain's wife was one of the offspring of Adam's heterozygous contemporaries! Adam and Eve were the first man and woman as we their descendants today are: with free will and a human spirit. A Message for the Human Race Firstly, God formed the physical body of man from the dust (specifically clay) of the ground. Throughout the Scriptures, the physical body of man is likened to clay, not just the vague dust of the ground, so that we should expect clay to have played an important part in the evolutionary process that culminated in man. What does the scientific record say? The evolution of life presents a similar problem, and may have followed the same kind of sequence, beginning with the existence of a suitable crystal, probably a very small one, relatively insoluble in water. A colloidal mineral would be ideal, and none is in fact more common, or better suited to the needs of a primitive gene, or more appropriate in a biblical sense, than clay.149 Scientific evidence and Scripture concur! A Message for the Human Race And the name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. (Gen. 2:14 NASB) Probably some lines of ... man died out, but it seems likely that a line in the Middle East went on directly to us, Homo sapiens. 162 Again, scientific evidence and Scripture concur! What is the significance of God breathing into a single man the breath (Hebrew‑spirit) of life and the consequent result of that man then becoming a living soul? God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24 NASB) In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath (spirit) of mankind? (Job 12:10) But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty giveth them understanding. (Job 32:8) According to the scriptures, all living things have a soul, but only man has a spirit.

CHAPTER ONE THE AXIOM I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say . . . Seek me in chaos. --(Isaiah 5:19 D.S.V.) There are two possible schools of thought pertaining to the evaluation of the #Universe that we live in. One school of thought is embodied in the philosophy known as Solipsism. This philosophy expounds that all external reality is relative to the perception of the individual, or, in other words, all reality is subjective and cannot be described by objective analysis. As an example, Solipsism is the belief that everything that individuals perceive is a projection of the thoughts of their mind. Taken to its fullest implications, Solipsism means that if you think strongly that an object that you perceive does not really exist, then you will cease to perceive it and it will thus disappear. Conversely, if you think strongly enough that an object does exist, then you will perceive it and it will thus exist. Understandably, the ardent adherents of this school of thought soon lost what sanity they had. When we lead from ignorance, we can come to no conclusions. When we say, “Anything can happen, and anything can be, because we know so little that we have no right to say ‘This is’ or ‘This isn’t,’” then all reasoning comes to a halt right there. We can eliminate nothing; we can assert nothing. All we can do is put words and thoughts together on the basis of intuition or faith or revelation and, unfortunately, no two people seem to share the same intuition or faith or revelation. What we must do is place rules and set limits, however arbitrary these may seem to be. We then discover what we can say within these rules and limits. The scientific view of the Universe is such as to admit only those phenomena that can, in one way or another, be observed in a fashion accessible to all, and to admit those generalizations (which we call laws of nature) that can be induced from those observations.1 Most importantly, Einstein presumed that all the laws of nature must be entirely equivalent in all conceivable systems of reference, differing only by uniform velocities. Without an ether, reasoned Einstein, there is no real physical basis for absolute spatial positions or orientations; all, therefore, must be relative to the observer. At the same time, all observers must see the many laws of nature in an identical way.2 Science deals only with phenomena that can be reproduced; observations that, under certain fixed conditions, can be made by anybody of normal intelligence; observations upon which reasonable men can agree.3 In opposition to Solipsism is the school of thought that objective interpretation of the universe we live in is possible. Since the validity of Solipsism would mean that it would be impossible to make logical sense out of what we are aware of, we will assume that Solipsism is invalid. Bearing this in mind, I propose the following axiom, which we may call the Axiom of Interdependency: If a “#spiritual #universe” exists, there likewise must also exist laws or principles common to both such a “spiritual universe” and to the physical universe, in order for us to be able to perceive any manifestation of such a “spiritual universe.” Notice that this axiom in no way assumes the existence of a spiritual universe. The reason why seeking objective proof of the existence of a spiritual universe is futile will be dealt with in later chapters. What this axiom does say is that if a spiritual universe exists that does not have laws or principles in common with our physical universe, then we cannot be aware of it and thus it would be of no concern to us. However, if a spiritual universe exists such that we are aware of some of its manifestations, then it will have laws or principles in common with our physical universe. Thus, for any postulated assertion of a spiritual reality, there should be corresponding evidence of that reality reflected in our physical universe. Conversely, it should be possible to formulate a framework of characteristics of the physical universe that will indicate the nature of the corresponding spiritual reality. Practically speaking, this axiom means that it is possible to construct a #logical theory encompassing virtually every field of science that will explain the purpose behind everything known to man. Chapter Two AN EXTRAPOLATION “... before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” (Isaiah 43:10) There are two, and only two, explanations for the means whereby #life now exists on this planet. First, there is the explanation that life on earth was divinely created. Regardless of the great variety of legends depicting such an occurrence, all such legends have in common two things: Life was originated by some supernatural means, and some divine being or beings employed this means. Since, obviously, there is no way that the above explanation of the origin of life can be subjected to any scientific analysis, it would be profitless to discuss its merits (at this point). Therefore, let us examine the other explanation for the origin of life and see what conclusions may be derived from such an analysis. The other means I am referring to is, of course, the theory of #evolution. By evolution, I mean the process or processes whereby life as we now know it has come about from an originally inorganic universe through purely mechanistic actions in conformity with the laws of the physical universe. Keeping these parameters in mind, let us now see what relevant conclusions may be derived: Evolution is the climbing of a ladder from simple to complex by steps, each of which Is stable in itself. …That is what has brought life by slow steps but constantly up a ladder of increasing complexity- which is the central progress and problem in evolution. 27 Given the vastness of the universe and the consequent profusion of life, what must the ultimate consummation of the process of evolution be? It is my contention that the inevitable and ultimate result of evolution is this: that somewhere, sooner or later, an entity would be evolved through either natural or artificial means which would no longer be subject to time. What are the implications of such a conclusion? Such an entity would in all practicality be: 1. #Omnipotent and 2. #Omniscient and 3. #Omnipresent. Such an entity would, by definition, be God. By no means am I intending to speculate about the origin of God. Such speculation is vain at best and blasphemous at worst. My intention is to show that no matter what method that you employ to explain the existence of life; the inevitable implication is the existence and reality of God. Summary of Chapter Two: “The fool has said in his heart; there is no God.” (Psalm 12:1)

truthseekersasciencespiritual.blogspot.com/ B. The Rapture They cried with a loud voice, "0 Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before thou wilt judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth?" Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their follow servants and their brethren should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. (Rev. 6:10‑11 RSV) The day will come when God, who is patient and long‑suffering for our sakes, will respond to these prayers of His martyred saints and wrap things up. What will be involved in such a wrap‑up? I saw in the night visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that till the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion in an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Dan. 7:13‑14) until the ancient of days came, and judgement was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.... But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. (Dan. 7:22,18) There are two distinct aspects to the kingdom, depicted here: The first aspect is when "one like unto a son of man" (Christ) receives the kingdom from the "ancient of days" (God). The second aspect is when Christ bequeaths and jointly shares His kingdom with His chosen ones, the saints of the Most High. What is the significance of these two different aspects? And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God cometh, he answered them and said, the kingdom of God cometh not with observation: (Luke 17:20). On the one hand, the Lord says that the kingdom of God comes without observation, yet in several other places he relates specific outward signs of the coming of the kingdom. Why is this so? Neither shall they say, Lo, here! Or, there! For lo, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:21) And madest them (to be) unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon the earth. (Rev. 6:10) And Jesus answered and spake again in parables unto them, Saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a certain king, who made a marriage feast for his son, (Matt. 22:1‑2) But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. (Matt. 24:36) looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God. . . (2 Pet. 3:12) to whom God was pleased to make known this mystery ... which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: (Col. 1:27) ... may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, even Christ: (Eph. 4:15) Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. (James 5:7 NASB) you are God's field ... (1 Cor. 3:9 NASB) The hidden aspect of the kingdom that comes without observation is this: God the Father is preparing a bride for His Son composed out of people he has chosen from before the foundation of the world. These people are constituted a kingdom unto Christ by letting Christ rule in them. This denying of the self to let Christ rule in them is dependent on the exercise by them of their free will; thus the day of God is not a set date- its coming can be hastened by greater numbers of believers allowing Christ to mature in them and by their letting Him mature in them faster. (See Appendix. XII.) Not all who are called will be chosen; not all believers will pay the price in this life to let Christ rule in them and thus constitute them a kingdom to Him. This hidden kingdom, which will be the bride to Christ, is a present from one person of the Triune God (the Father) to another person of the Triune God (Christ the Son). What good is a present if the exact time of this giving is not a surprise? This is why not even Christ knows the day and hour when this kingdom will be given to Him. Only the Father knows. The day and hour depends on a sufficient maturity of Christ in an adequate number of believers, sufficient enough to adequately express Christ as His bride and reign with Him during the time of the second aspect of the kingdom. What is the second, open aspect of the kingdom? Look at yourselves, that ye lose not the things which we have wrought, but that ye receive a full reward. (2 John 8) For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matt. 22:14) ... called saints ... (Rom 1:7) And now I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you the inheritance among all them that are sanctified. (Acts 20:32) And if children, then heirs; heir of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him. (Rom 8:17) The co‑reigning with Christ during the millennial kingdom, which is a 1,000‑year wedding feast, is a reward to those believers who go on to be overcomers- ­those who allow Christ to overcome their self‑life and thus transform their souls into His image. All believers will be the new Jerusalem (the wife of Christ) in eternity, but only the overcomers will be the bride of Christ during the millennium. when he shall come to be glorified in his saints ... (2 Thess. 1:10). And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Tim. 3:16 Intl. Greek) For yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. When they are saying, Peace and safety, then suddenly destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child: and they shall in no wise escape. (1 Thess. 5:2‑3) To those overcoming believers who are daily living the kingdom life in their spiritual walk, the rapture will just be a change of location and a fuller enjoyment of what they are experiencing. To both the world and the believers who are not walking in spirit and ready, the rapture will come unexpectedly‑ as a thief in the night. And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her hand a crown of twelve stars, and she was with child; and she crieth out, travailing in birth, and in pain to be delivered. (Rev. 12:1‑2) This sign is a type of all the believers, both Old Testament and New Testament believers, who are always spoken of corporately with respect to God in female types. The woman herself is the universal church: all born‑again believers of all New Testament time. This aspect of the rapture is a hidden one, as the coming of the Lord as a thief in the night is compared also to a woman in travail in (1 Thess. 5:2‑3) above‑ this is the woman in travail spoken of by the apostle in that verse. Also, the beginning of travail spoken of in (Mark 13:7‑8) refers to the start of the church age, not to the end times. What is this child that she is travailing in birth to deliver? and he made us (to be) a kingdom, (to be) priests unto God and his Father; to him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Rev. 1:6) and he that overcometh, and he that keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to shivers; as I also have received of my Father: (Rev. 2:26‑27) And she was delivered of a son, a man-child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne. (Rev. 12:5) The man‑child brought forth by this woman will be the resurrection of the overcoming believers throughout history, who are no longer physically alive. These are the stronger ones of God's people who led victorious spiritual lives while alive on the earth. Because they are the stronger part of God's people (the woman), they are referred to as a man‑child: they are a part of the woman yet they are also distinct from the rest of her. This woman, the universal church, has been pregnant since the church age began and has been travailing to give birth since then. The birth-rapture of the man‑child will occur shortly before the tribulation begins. From all this we may surely infer that, although Satan is a rebel, he has not yet been deprived either of his title or his power. He is till the great High One on high, who divides the world into different provinces according to its nationalities, appointing a powerful angel, assisted by countless subordinates, as viceroy over each kingdom to direct its energies and bend them to his will. 295 And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom, become our God's and the authority is become his Christ's: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their (soul) lives even unto death. (Rev. 12:10)­ When the man‑child is caught up to God, there is no longer any use, excuse or room for Satan and his fallen angels in heaven; the faithful angels under Michael are ordered by the overcomers to cast them out of heaven. This will be the fulfillment of the coming of the kingdom in its hidden aspect. And I heard the number of them that were sealed, a hundred and forty and four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel. (Rev. 7:4) And she was delivered of a son, a man‑child, who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne.... And they overcame him (Satan) ... (Rev. 12:6, 11) To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God. (Rev., 2:7) such a one caught up even to the third heaven ... (2 Cor. 12:21) And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.... These were purchased from among men, to be the first‑fruits unto God and unto the Lamb. (Rev. 14:1,4) and to bring the first fruits of our ground, and the first-fruits of all fruit of all manner of trees, year by year, unto the house of Jehovah: (Neh. 10:35). But watch ye at every season, making supplication that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. (Luke 21:36) Because thou (Philadelpha, the church off brotherly love) hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. (Rev. 3:10 KJV) The 144,000 sealed of the children of Israel are faithful Jews who will pass through the Tribulation on the earth; they are sealed for protection from the supernatural afflictions of that time. These will repent shortly before the Lord's physical return (covered later in Subsection G.) and are probably a literal number. The 144,000 on the heavenly Mount Zion, however, is a symbolic number signifying the maturity and completion of these believers and is probably not a literal number‑ since such maturity is not predestined and depends on the exercise of free will. Enoch, who was translated alive to heaven by God because he was well pleasing to God, was an Old Testament type of the rapture of these first‑fruits. This symbolical number of redeemed are the living overcomers raptured as first‑fruits to God, and (like the man‑child) are raptured not to the clouds, as will be the majority of living believers at the general harvest in Revelation 14:14‑16, but to heaven. This occurs shortly after or simultaneously with the rapture of the man‑child and also precedes the Tribulation. Likewise even as it came to pass in the days of Lot; they ate, they drunk, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all: after the same manner shall it be in the day that the Son of man is revealed. (Luke 17:28‑30) And as were the days of Noah so shall be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man (Matt. 24:37‑39) …but He that taketh refuge in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain. (Isa. 57:13) And they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able to stand? (Rev. 6:16‑17) As we shall see, the coming of the Lord (and the rapture) starts at the beginning of the three‑and‑a‑half‑year Tribulation and ends with the physical return of Christ at the end of the Tribulation. The beginning of the coming of Christ (and the rapture) will occur without much specific prior warning and will catch the world by surprise. These events will alarm the world, and everyone will begin to realize what is happening. Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. (Isa. 55:6 NASB) We are now in the age of grace, with repentance and forgiveness of sins available to all men. The age of grace ends with the coming of the kingdom age and the coming of Christ. But the kingdom comes (in one aspect) three and a half years before Christ returns physically; and Christ begins to return three and a half years before His physical return to the Earth. According to all Scriptural implications (as we shall see) and the ramifications of free will, the age of grace may end at or shortly after the beginning of the Tribulation: repentance and forgiveness of sins, with regeneration, may not be available during the Tribulation (and certainly not afterwards). And when he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they were looking steadfastly into heaven as he went, behold, two man stood by them in white apparel; who also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven. (Acts 1:9‑11) And the stars shall be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send forth the angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. (Mark 13:26‑27) And I saw, and behold, a white cloud; and on the cloud I saw one sitting like unto a son of man, having on his head a golden crown. And in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the temple, crying with a great voice to him that sat on the cloud, Send forth thy sickle, and reap: for the hour to reap is come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped. (Rev. 14:14‑16) Then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:17) Christ will return in the same way that He left: Sometime after the rapture of the man child and first‑fruits, He will leave His throne and come to the atmosphere of the Earth, hidden in the clouds. The living believers who are left will then be caught up to the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. The Judgement‑Seat of Christ will be set up in the clouds during this time (this is what the “one like unto a son of man”, Christ, will be sitting on), and it is then that the Lord will decide whether each believer will receive the reward of the millennial kingdom or suffer punishment (a further disciplining needed to bring them to maturity) during that time. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn. (Matt. 13:30) As we have seen, the return of Christ will occur over a three and a half year period and will be of two aspects: firstly, in a hidden way as a thief in the night to steal away His most precious ones (the man‑child and the first‑fruits) and, secondly, at His actual visible return from the clouds. Thus are these and other apparently contradictory verses reconciled, being illustrations of the two differing aspects of the same process. And he shall send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matt 24:31) And the seven angels that had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. (Rev. 8:6) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump (et) of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:15‑17) The rapture of the large majority of the living believers left on the earth after the rapture of the first‑fruits will occur towards the end of the Tribulation, almost certainly in the last three months. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump (et): for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Cor. 16:5 1‑52) And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed goat voices in heaven, and they said, the kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign forever and ever. (Rev. 11:15) And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. (Dan. 7:27) At the sounding of the last (the seventh) trumpet, all the remaining believers still on the earth will be raptured to the clouds, preceded by the dead in Christ who were not overcomers during their lifetimes and thus were not part of the man‑child. In this way all believers, living and dead, will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, to receive a reward (reign with Christ during the millennial kingdom) or suffer punishment (a further disciplining during the millennium), before the actual, physical return of Christ to the Earth after the sounding of the seventh trumpet. THE LATE‑OVERCOMERS Unlike the rapture of the majority of the believers, the rapture of the first fruits (the living overcomers) will occur before the Tribulation. If you miss out on this and still want to be an overcomer, there is a "short‑cut" of sorts possible. And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: ... And there was given them to each one a white robe; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet a little time, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, who should be killed even as they were, should have fulfilled their course. (Rev. 6:9, 11) And it was given unto him to give breath to it, even to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as should not worship the image of the beast should be killed. (Rev 13:15) And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and the voice which I heard was as the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sing as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders: and no man could learn the song save the hundred and forty and four thousand, even they that had been purchased out of the earth. (Rev. 14:1‑3) And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that come off victorious from the beast and from his image, and from the number of his name, standing by the sea of glass, having harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb…(Rev. 15:2-3) And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw that souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Rev. 20:4) When the Antichrist sets up his image in the temple at Jerusalem, you can go there, refuse to worship him, and be beheaded on the spot. If you do that, you also will reign with Christ during the millennial kingdom. Here is the steadfastness of the saints, they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. (Rev. 14:12) Who are those who keep the commandments of God? The Jews. Who are those who have the faith of Jesus? The Christians. The Antichrist will persecute both the Christians and the Jews when he rises to power. Also among the Late‑Overcomers will be the Jews who refuse to worship the image of the beast. Imagine his surprise when, after death, such a Jew (who is still awaiting a promised Messiah) is set on a throne by Christ to co‑reign with Him for a thousand years! But there is a catch to all this: as in everything else, self-effort is not of real value in regards to spiritual matters. The description of the Antichrist's persecution of God's people implied by the original language is that of making war on them by wearing them out, and not necessarily immediately putting them to death. If you go to Jerusalem with the intention of martyrdom but without the express leading of the Lord in your spirit to do so, most likely instead of being allowed to be a martyr, you will be thrown into prison and tortured. Everything is a matter of the Lord's will, not our self‑effort. SUMMARY OF THE RAPTURE: Shortly before the Tribulation begins, the overcomers will be raptured to the throne of God in heaven. The dead overcomers (the man‑child) will be resurrected and raptured first, followed shortly by the living overcomers (the first‑fruits). The large majority of living believers will pass through most of the Tribulation and be raptured as the general harvest not to heaven but to the clouds. Toward the very end of the Tribulation and shortly before the literal physical return of the Lord to the Earth, the dead non‑overcomers, immediately followed by the living non‑overcomers still left on the earth, will be raptured to the clouds also. All of the believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, to receive a reward or suffer discipline. Those who need further disciplining to mature will be cast into outer darkness for the duration of the millennial kingdom. Those who receive a reward will return with the Lord to fight at Armageddon and reign with Him during the millennial kingdom, which will be a thousand‑year wedding feast. You cannot lose your salvation/regeneration. ALL born-again (believers) WILL be the New Jerusalem for eternity future.

What can we deduce logically with regards to how life in general, and man in particular have gotten here? Remember that man has free will and that entails certain ramifications necessary to prevent undue influence of that free will. If the six days of restoration were literal, then evidence of man would suddenly appear in the fossil record starting in 4004 B.C. Any supernatural creation per se would leave unmistakable evidence of its occurrence, thus interfering with free will. We should expect that God used a "natural," progressive means of forming man. If the Bible is the Word of God, then science cannot help but sub­stantiate its validity- there should be no actual conflict between the two. Such a means implies a process, unlike that of Genesis 1:1. Is this process, illustrated in the account of the six days, an evolutionary one? Perhaps the tale of the Garden of Eden is not mythological in origin; perhaps it is an allegorical rendition of an actual occurrence, a natural, evolutionary phenomenon.145 The biblical authors had of course no formalized notion of evolution. Unmistakably, however, their description is, in its way, an essentially evolutionary development. 146 And Jehovah God formed man of the dust (Hebrew: clay) of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath (spirit) of life; and man became a living soul. (Gen. 2:7)

Read 'Earth's Earliest Ages' by G H Pember- Explains traditional misunderstanding regarding creation: mainly the difference between Genesis 1:1-2, and the 6 day account.

amazon.com/s?k=9781641407922&ref=nb_sb_noss youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=rVEJNRDsIL0 truthseekersasciencespiritual.blogspot.com/ What can we deduce logically with regards to how life in general, and man in particular have gotten here? Remember that man has free will and that entails certain ramifications necessary to prevent undue influence of that free will. If the six days of restoration were literal, then evidence of man would suddenly appear in the fossil record starting in 4004 B.C. Any supernatural creation per se would leave unmistakable evidence of its occurrence, thus interfering with free will. We should expect that God used a "natural," progressive means of forming man. If the Bible is the Word of God, then science cannot help but sub­stantiate its validity- there should be no actual conflict between the two. Such a means implies a process, unlike that of Genesis 1:1. Is this process, illustrated in the account of the six days, an evolutionary one? Perhaps the tale of the Garden of Eden is not mythological in origin; perhaps it is an allegorical rendition of an actual occurrence, a natural, evolutionary phenomenon.145 The biblical authors had of course no formalized notion of evolution. Unmistakably, however, their description is, in its way, an essentially evolutionary development. 146 And Jehovah God formed man of the dust (Hebrew: clay) of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath (spirit) of life; and man became a living soul. (Gen. 2:7) What I am leading up to is this: man the physical creature evolved, and at a certain point in his evolution he was given a spirit directly by and from God with which he could express God and have the likeness of God. Adam was the first man as we his descendants are, being the first creature to reach the stage of evolution at which God gave him a spirit. This also seems confirmed by the thought of other Scripture (l Cor. 15:45, 47): ... “The first man Adam became a living soul.... The first man is of the earth, earthy:”... What evolved characteristic was reached in man that differentiated him from the other creatures? Both man and all other creatures have souls‑ what difference is there between man's soul and the souls of animals? Only man has a free will. Animals must choose either according to rational thought processes (mind) or according to instinct (emotions). Free will is inevitably associated with intelligence. To do something willful, after all, you ‑have to understand the existence of alternatives and choices among them, and these are attributes of intelligence. 153 The attainment of free will is dependent on the attainment of a certain level of intelligence. Intelligence requires not only a minimum gross brain size but also a low brain‑to‑body ratio and a high level of "adaptive capacity" neurons. Only Homo sapiens (modern man) meets all three of these requirements. It is, therefore, highly probable that with mankind the intellectual faculties have been mainly and gradually perfected through natural selection.167 The evolution of intelligence was a consequence of the process of natural selection. Can we thus bring this process under the scrutiny of the physical sciences? It was by the process of natural selection, acting on the trait of increasing cranial capacity (and complexity) produced by genetic mutation, that man evolved with an increasing mental ability leading to intelligence sufficient to have a free will. Eventually, a mutation occurred that would, when expressed, reach the point at which man's intellectual powers gave him a free will. This recessive mutation was spreading itself through the pre-Adamic population as a heterozygote, that is, it was paired with a dominant gene of the pre-­mutation variety. The selective advantage of the mutation ensured such a spreading. Inevitably, two individuals with such heterozygous genes mated and produced the first offspring with both genes being of the recessive mutant variety. When this offspring reached maturity, he was the first one of his species whose intelligence was of a degree sufficient for him to have a free will. This offspring was Adam; and he then received a spirit with which, by the exercise of his free will, he could choose to receive God Himself into this new part of him and thus express God. It was at this point in his evolution that man became a conscious being. But this incurs a problem: Adam was unique. If Adam mated with others of the pre‑Adamic population, there would be a fifty percent chance that his offspring would be heterozygous and consequently would not have free will, while having a spirit. Thus all of Adam's immediate offspring must be homozygous for this trait, for him to truly be the "first man" of the Adamic race of man. Therefore, Adam must have a mate who is also homozygous for the same genetic trait. But Adam alone was homozygous for this trait. How did God solve this problem? The sex chromosomes are named, by convention, the X‑chromosome and the Y­-chromosome. Normal human males have 1 X‑chromosome and 1 Y‑chromosome; normal females have 2 X‑chromosomes. 178 And Jehovah God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helpmeet for him.... And Jehovah God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which Jehovah God had taken from the man, builded he into a woman and brought her unto the man. And the man said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. (Gen. 2:18, 21‑23) It is possible to clone a woman from a man. However, it is not possible to clone a man from a woman. God cloned Eve from Adam so that the required trait would be retained by Adam's offspring. The sixty‑four dollar question: Who was Cain's wife? It is clear from the order of these verses that Cain's wife was not a member of his immediate family (which would be a direct violation of the Mosaic laws against incest) ‑ something that would necessarily be the case if Adam and Eve were the literal, abracadabra style of first man and woman. Who, then, was she? Cain's wife was one of the offspring of Adam's heterozygous contemporaries! Adam and Eve were the first man and woman as we their descendants today are: with free will and a human spirit. Firstly, God formed the physical body of man from the dust (specifically clay) of the ground. Throughout the Scriptures, the physical body of man is likened to clay, not just the vague dust of the ground, so that we should expect clay to have played an important part in the evolutionary process that culminated in man. What does the scientific record say? The evolution of life presents a similar problem, and may have followed the same kind of sequence, beginning with the existence of a suitable crystal, probably a very small one, relatively insoluble in water. A colloidal mineral would be ideal, and none is in fact more common, or better suited to the needs of a primitive gene, or more appropriate in a biblical sense, than clay.149 Scientific evidence and Scripture concur!

youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=rVEJNRDsIL0 amazon.com/s?k=9781641407922&ref=nb_sb_noss The Rapture, comprehensively explained January 18, 2020 The Rapture They cried with a loud voice, "0 Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before thou wilt judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth?" Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their follow servants and their brethren should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. (Rev. 6:10‑11 RSV) The day will come when God, who is patient and long‑suffering for our sakes, will respond to these prayers of His martyred saints and wrap things up. What will be involved in such a wrap‑up? I saw in the night visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that till the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion in an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Dan. 7:13‑14) until the ancient of days came, and judgement was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.... But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. (Dan. 7:22,18) There are two distinct aspects to the kingdom, depicted here: The first aspect is when "one like unto a son of man" (Christ) receives the kingdom from the "ancient of days" (God). The second aspect is when Christ bequeaths and jointly shares His kingdom with His chosen ones, the saints of the Most High. What is the significance of these two different aspects? And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God cometh, he answered them and said, the kingdom of God cometh not with observation: (Luke 17:20). On the one hand, the Lord says that the kingdom of God comes without observation, yet in several other places he relates specific outward signs of the coming of the kingdom. Why is this so? Neither shall they say, Lo, here! Or, there! For lo, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:21) And madest them (to be) unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon the earth. (Rev. 6:10) And Jesus answered and spake again in parables unto them, Saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a certain king, who made a marriage feast for his son, (Matt. 22:1‑2) But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. (Matt. 24:36) looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God. . . (2 Pet. 3:12) to whom God was pleased to make known this mystery ... which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: (Col. 1:27) ... may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, even Christ: (Eph. 4:15) Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. (James 5:7 NASB) you are God's field ... (1 Cor. 3:9 NASB) The hidden aspect of the kingdom that comes without observation is this: God the Father is preparing a bride for His Son composed out of people he has chosen from before the foundation of the world. These people are constituted a kingdom unto Christ by letting Christ rule in them. This denying of the self to let Christ rule in them is dependent on the exercise by them of their free will; thus the day of God is not a set date- its coming can be hastened by greater numbers of believers allowing Christ to mature in them and by their letting Him mature in them faster. (See Appendix. XII.) Not all who are called will be chosen; not all believers will pay the price in this life to let Christ rule in them and thus constitute them a kingdom to Him. This hidden kingdom, which will be the bride to Christ, is a present from one person of the Triune God (the Father) to another person of the Triune God (Christ the Son). What good is a present if the exact time of this giving is not a surprise? This is why not even Christ knows the day and hour when this kingdom will be given to Him. Only the Father knows. The day and hour depends on a sufficient maturity of Christ in an adequate number of believers, sufficient enough to adequately express Christ as His bride and reign with Him during the time of the second aspect of the kingdom. What is the second, open aspect of the kingdom? Look at yourselves, that ye lose not the things which we have wrought, but that ye receive a full reward. (2 John 8) For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matt. 22:14) ... called saints ... (Rom 1:7) And now I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you the inheritance among all them that are sanctified. (Acts 20:32) And if children, then heirs; heir of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him. (Rom 8:17) The co‑reigning with Christ during the millennial kingdom, which is a 1,000‑year wedding feast, is a reward to those believers who go on to be overcomers- ­those who allow Christ to overcome their self‑life and thus transform their souls into His image. All believers will be the new Jerusalem (the wife of Christ) in eternity, but only the overcomers will be the bride of Christ during the millennium. when he shall come to be glorified in his saints ... (2 Thess. 1:10). And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Tim. 3:16 Intl. Greek) For yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. When they are saying, Peace and safety, then suddenly destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child: and they shall in no wise escape. (1 Thess. 5:2‑3) To those overcoming believers who are daily living the kingdom life in their spiritual walk, the rapture will just be a change of location and a fuller enjoyment of what they are experiencing. To both the world and the believers who are not walking in spirit and ready, the rapture will come unexpectedly‑ as a thief in the night. And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her hand a crown of twelve stars, and she was with child; and she crieth out, travailing in birth, and in pain to be delivered. (Rev. 12:1‑2) This sign is a type of all the believers, both Old Testament and New Testament believers, who are always spoken of corporately with respect to God in female types. The woman herself is the universal church: all born‑again believers of all New Testament time. This aspect of the rapture is a hidden one, as the coming of the Lord as a thief in the night is compared also to a woman in travail in (1 Thess. 5:2‑3) above‑ this is the woman in travail spoken of by the apostle in that verse. Also, the beginning of travail spoken of in (Mark 13:7‑8) refers to the start of the church age, not to the end times. What is this child that she is travailing in birth to deliver? and he made us (to be) a kingdom, (to be) priests unto God and his Father; to him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Rev. 1:6) and he that overcometh, and he that keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to shivers; as I also have received of my Father: (Rev. 2:26‑27) And she was delivered of a son, a man-child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne. (Rev. 12:5) The man‑child brought forth by this woman will be the resurrection of the overcoming believers throughout history, who are no longer physically alive. These are the stronger ones of God's people who led victorious spiritual lives while alive on the earth. Because they are the stronger part of God's people (the woman), they are referred to as a man‑child: they are a part of the woman yet they are also distinct from the rest of her. This woman, the universal church, has been pregnant since the church age began and has been travailing to give birth since then. The birth-rapture of the man‑child will occur shortly before the tribulation begins. From all this we may surely infer that, although Satan is a rebel, he has not yet been deprived either of his title or his power. He is till the great High One on high, who divides the world into different provinces according to its nationalities, appointing a powerful angel, assisted by countless subordinates, as viceroy over each kingdom to direct its energies and bend them to his will. 295 And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom, become our God's and the authority is become his Christ's: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their (soul) lives even unto death. (Rev. 12:10)­ When the man‑child is caught up to God, there is no longer any use, excuse or room for Satan and his fallen angels in heaven; the faithful angels under Michael are ordered by the overcomers to cast them out of heaven. This will be the fulfillment of the coming of the kingdom in its hidden aspect. And I heard the number of them that were sealed, a hundred and forty and four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel. (Rev. 7:4) And she was delivered of a son, a man‑child, who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne.... And they overcame him (Satan) ... (Rev. 12:6, 11) To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God. (Rev., 2:7) such a one caught up even to the third heaven ... (2 Cor. 12:21) And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.... These were purchased from among men, to be the first‑fruits unto God and unto the Lamb. (Rev. 14:1,4) and to bring the first fruits of our ground, and the first-fruits of all fruit of all manner of trees, year by year, unto the house of Jehovah: (Neh. 10:35). But watch ye at every season, making supplication that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. (Luke 21:36) Because thou (Philadelpha, the church off brotherly love) hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. (Rev. 3:10 KJV) The 144,000 sealed of the children of Israel are faithful Jews who will pass through the Tribulation on the earth; they are sealed for protection from the supernatural afflictions of that time. These will repent shortly before the Lord's physical return (covered later in Subsection G.) and are probably a literal number. The 144,000 on the heavenly Mount Zion, however, is a symbolic number signifying the maturity and completion of these believers and is probably not a literal number‑ since such maturity is not predestined and depends on the exercise of free will. Enoch, who was translated alive to heaven by God because he was well pleasing to God, was an Old Testament type of the rapture of these first‑fruits. This symbolical number of redeemed are the living overcomers raptured as first‑fruits to God, and (like the man‑child) are raptured not to the clouds, as will be the majority of living believers at the general harvest in Revelation 14:14‑16, but to heaven. This occurs shortly after or simultaneously with the rapture of the man‑child and also precedes the Tribulation. Likewise even as it came to pass in the days of Lot; they ate, they drunk, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all: after the same manner shall it be in the day that the Son of man is revealed. (Luke 17:28‑30) And as were the days of Noah so shall be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man (Matt. 24:37‑39) …but He that taketh refuge in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain. (Isa. 57:13) And they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able to stand? (Rev. 6:16‑17) As we shall see, the coming of the Lord (and the rapture) starts at the beginning of the three‑and‑a‑half‑year Tribulation and ends with the physical return of Christ at the end of the Tribulation. The beginning of the coming of Christ (and the rapture) will occur without much specific prior warning and will catch the world by surprise. These events will alarm the world, and everyone will begin to realize what is happening. Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. (Isa. 55:6 NASB) We are now in the age of grace, with repentance and forgiveness of sins available to all men. The age of grace ends with the coming of the kingdom age and the coming of Christ. But the kingdom comes (in one aspect) three and a half years before Christ returns physically; and Christ begins to return three and a half years before His physical return to the Earth. According to all Scriptural implications (as we shall see) and the ramifications of free will, the age of grace may end at or shortly after the beginning of the Tribulation: repentance and forgiveness of sins, with regeneration, may not be available during the Tribulation (and certainly not afterwards). And when he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they were looking steadfastly into heaven as he went, behold, two man stood by them in white apparel; who also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven. (Acts 1:9‑11) And the stars shall be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send forth the angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. (Mark 13:26‑27) And I saw, and behold, a white cloud; and on the cloud I saw one sitting like unto a son of man, having on his head a golden crown. And in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the temple, crying with a great voice to him that sat on the cloud, Send forth thy sickle, and reap: for the hour to reap is come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped. (Rev. 14:14‑16) Then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:17) Christ will return in the same way that He left: Sometime after the rapture of the man child and first‑fruits, He will leave His throne and come to the atmosphere of the Earth, hidden in the clouds. The living believers who are left will then be caught up to the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. The Judgement‑Seat of Christ will be set up in the clouds during this time (this is what the “one like unto a son of man”, Christ, will be sitting on), and it is then that the Lord will decide whether each believer will receive the reward of the millennial kingdom or suffer punishment (a further disciplining needed to bring them to maturity) during that time. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn. (Matt. 13:30) As we have seen, the return of Christ will occur over a three and a half year period and will be of two aspects: firstly, in a hidden way as a thief in the night to steal away His most precious ones (the man‑child and the first‑fruits) and, secondly, at His actual visible return from the clouds. Thus are these and other apparently contradictory verses reconciled, being illustrations of the two differing aspects of the same process. And he shall send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matt 24:31) And the seven angels that had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. (Rev. 8:6) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump (et) of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:15‑17) The rapture of the large majority of the living believers left on the earth after the rapture of the first‑fruits will occur towards the end of the Tribulation, almost certainly in the last three months. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump (et): for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Cor. 16:5 1‑52) And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed goat voices in heaven, and they said, the kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign forever and ever. (Rev. 11:15) And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. (Dan. 7:27) At the sounding of the last (the seventh) trumpet, all the remaining believers still on the earth will be raptured to the clouds, preceded by the dead in Christ who were not overcomers during their lifetimes and thus were not part of the man‑child. In this way all believers, living and dead, will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, to receive a reward (reign with Christ during the millennial kingdom) or suffer punishment (a further disciplining during the millennium), before the actual, physical return of Christ to the Earth after the sounding of the seventh trumpet. THE LATE‑OVERCOMERS Unlike the rapture of the majority of the believers, the rapture of the first fruits (the living overcomers) will occur before the Tribulation. If you miss out on this and still want to be an overcomer, there is a "short‑cut" of sorts possible. And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: ... And there was given them to each one a white robe; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet a little time, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, who should be killed even as they were, should have fulfilled their course. (Rev. 6:9, 11) And it was given unto him to give breath to it, even to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as should not worship the image of the beast should be killed. (Rev 13:15) And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and the voice which I heard was as the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sing as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders: and no man could learn the song save the hundred and forty and four thousand, even they that had been purchased out of the earth. (Rev. 14:1‑3) And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that come off victorious from the beast and from his image, and from the number of his name, standing by the sea of glass, having harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb…(Rev. 15:2-3) And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw that souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Rev. 20:4) When the Antichrist sets up his image in the temple at Jerusalem, you can go there, refuse to worship him, and be beheaded on the spot. If you do that, you also will reign with Christ during the millennial kingdom. Here is the steadfastness of the saints, they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. (Rev. 14:12) Who are those who keep the commandments of God? The Jews. Who are those who have the faith of Jesus? The Christians. The Antichrist will persecute both the Christians and the Jews when he rises to power. Also among the Late‑Overcomers will be the Jews who refuse to worship the image of the beast. Imagine his surprise when, after death, such a Jew (who is still awaiting a promised Messiah) is set on a throne by Christ to co‑reign with Him for a thousand years! But there is a catch to all this: as in everything else, self-effort is not of real value in regards to spiritual matters. The description of the Antichrist's persecution of God's people implied by the original language is that of making war on them by wearing them out, and not necessarily immediately putting them to death. If you go to Jerusalem with the intention of martyrdom but without the express leading of the Lord in your spirit to do so, most likely instead of being allowed to be a martyr, you will be thrown into prison and tortured. Everything is a matter of the Lord's will, not our self‑effort. SUMMARY OF THE RAPTURE: Shortly before the Tribulation begins, the overcomers will be raptured to the throne of God in heaven. The dead overcomers (the man‑child) will be resurrected and raptured first, followed shortly by the living overcomers (the first‑fruits). The large majority of living believers will pass through most of the Tribulation and be raptured as the general harvest not to heaven but to the clouds. Toward the very end of the Tribulation and shortly before the literal physical return of the Lord to the Earth, the dead non‑overcomers, immediately followed by the living non‑overcomers still left on the earth, will be raptured to the clouds also. All of the believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, to receive a reward or suffer discipline. Those who need further disciplining to mature will be cast into outer darkness for the duration of the millennial kingdom. Those who receive a reward will return with the Lord to fight at Armageddon and reign with Him during the millennial kingdom, which will be a thousand‑year wedding feast. You cannot lose your salvation/regeneration. ALL born-again (believers) WILL be the New Jerusalem for eternity future.

truthseekersasciencespiritual.blogspot.com/ amazon.com/s?k=9781641407922&ref=nb_sb_noss Armageddon but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then is finished the mystery of God, according to the good tidings which he declared to his servants the prophets. [Rev. 10:7] The second Woe is past: behold, the third Woe cometh quickly. And the seventh angel sounded: and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, the kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign forever and ever. (Rev. 11:14-16) And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. (Dan. 2:44) And another angel came out from the temple, which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, he that hath power over fire; and he called with a great voice to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, send forth thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the wine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel put his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage of the earth, and cast it into the winepress, the great winepress, of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and there came out blood from the winepress, even unto the bridle of the horses, as far as a thousand and six hundred furlongs. (Rev. 14:17‑20) Who is this that cometh from Edom, with crimsoned garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine vat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the peoples there was no one with me yea, I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my wrath; and their lifeblood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.... And I will tread down the peoples in mine anger, and break them in pieces in my wrath and I will pour out their lifeblood on the earth. (Isa. 63:1‑4, 6) And now many nations are assembled against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye see our desire upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts of Jehovah, neither understand they his counsel; for he hath gathered them as the sheaves to the threshing floor. (Mic. 4:11‑12) After the sixth trumpet and shortly before the seventh, the Antichrist will gather the armies of the kingdoms of the earth (as then known at the time of the writing of Revelation) at the valley of Armageddon with the intention of using them to destroy the Israelites (surrounded in Jerusalem at that time) who have refused to worship him and to fight against and to try to prevent the physical return of the Lord to the Mount of Olives. What he actually winds up doing is conveniently concentrating in one location the organized resistance of the earth, which will be obliterated by the Lord upon his literal physical return at the time of the sounding of the seventh trumpet. How will the Antichrist accomplish this gathering? And at the time of the end shall the king of the south contend with him; and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind. With chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass through. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moah, and the chief of the children of Ammon. Lie shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries; and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; and he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to sweep away man. (Dan. 11:40‑44) Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: In that day when my people Israel dwelleth securely, shalt thou not know it? And thou come from thy place out of the uttermost parts of the north, thou, and many peoples with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company and a mighty army; and thou shalt come up against my people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land: it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring thee against my land, that the nations may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, 0 Gog, before their eyes.... And it shall come to pass in that day, when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah, that my wrath shall come up into my nostrils. (Ezek. 38:14‑16, 18) And thou, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, 0 Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal: and I will cause thee to come up from the uttermost parts of the north; and I will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: ... Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy hordes, and the peoples that are with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.... And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place of burial in Israel, the valley of them that pass through on the east of the sea; and it shall stop them that pass through: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude; and they shall call it the valley of Hamon‑Gog. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying them, that they may cleanse the land. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown in the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord Jehovah. (Ezek. 39:1‑2, 4, 11‑13) And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs: for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the inhabited earth, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. (Rev. 16:13‑14) And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the horns of the golden altar which is before God, one saying to the sixth angel that had the trumpet, Loose the four angels that are bound at the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, that had be prepared for the hour and day and month and year, that they should kill the third part of men. And the number of the armies of the horsemen was twice ten thousand times ten thousand: I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates as of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone: and the heads of the horses are as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceeded fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three plagues was the third part of men killed, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone, which proceeded out of their mouths. (Rev. 9:13‑18) `They have one mind, and they give their power and authority unto the beast. (Rev. 17:13) Whatever we do to mitigate or transform the exact nature of the disaster to come, come it will. I pretend no more prophetic insight than the next man, but I should be highly surprised if man's oldest and most terrible means of adaptation‑ the systematic killing of his kind‑ were not to continue to play its schismatically dominant role. 300 Over the next five years OPEC's petro powers will drain as much as $570 billion from the world's oil‑thirsty economies.... Result: a potentially smoldering powder keg of political unrest in the Third World. (Statement made in October, 1980) 301 Sometime about the last fourteen to eighteen months of the Tribulation, while the Antichrist is occupied with establishing his rule around the Mediterranean, China will make a grab for the oil fields of the Middle East‑ knowing that if she can hold them for a period of months she will win a conventional world war. China, who has had the capability of fielding a 200‑million‑man army for years and has access to the finest horses in the world in Mongolia, will use her manpower‑ since she has not the necessary technological strength to right Russia‑ to go to war against Russia in the Middle East to prevent Russia's triumph. The travel time of the Chinese army will be one year, one month, one week, and one day. But when both of these armies gather in the Middle East, the Antichrist, by means of the tremendous spiritual and soulical forces at his command, melds them into one army with his own to do his will. The second Woe is past: behold, the third Woe cometh quickly. And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign forever and ever.... And there was opened the temple of God that is in heaven; and there was seen in his temple the ark of his covenant; and there followed lightings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail. (Rev. 11: 14-15, 19) And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having seven plagues, which are the last, for in them is finished the wrath of God.... and there came out from the temple the seven angels that had the seven plagues, arrayed in linen, pure and bright, and girt about their breasts with golden girdles. And one of the four living creatures gave unto the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who liveth forever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and none was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels should be finished. (Rev. 15:1, 6‑8) And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go ye, and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth. And the first went, and poured out his bowl into the earth; and there came a noisome and grievous sore upon the men that had the mark of the beast, and that worshipped his image. And the second poured out his bowl into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living soul did, even the things that were in the sea. And the third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of the waters; and they became blood.... And the fourth pour out his bowl upon the sun; and it was given unto it to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat: and they blasphemed the name of God who hath the power over these plagues; and they repented not to give him glory. And the fifth poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom was darkened; and they gnawed their tongues for pain ... And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river, the river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might be made ready for the kings that come from the surmising ... And they gathered them together into a place which is called in Hebrew Armageddon. And the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air; and there came forth a great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying, It is done: and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail, every stone the weight of a talent, cometh down out of heaven upon men: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof is exceeding great. (Rev. 16:1‑4, 8‑10, 12, 16‑21) And with pestilence and with blood will I enter into judgement with him; and I will rain upon him, and upon his hordes, and upon the many peoples that are with him, an overflowing shower, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. And I will make myself known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am Jehovah. (Ezek. 38:22‑23) And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which reighneth over the kings of the earth. (Rev. 17:18) Therefore in one day shall her plagues come, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judged her. And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her, shall weep and wail over her, when they look upon the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! for in one hour is thy judgement come.... for in one hour is so great t riches made desolate. And every shipmaster, and every one that saileth any whither, and mariners, and as many as work the sea, stood afar off ... And a strong angel took up a stone as it were a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers and minstrels and flute players and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft, shall be found any more at all in thee; and the voice of a mill shall be heard no more at all in thee; and the light of a lamp shall shine no more at all on thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the princes of the earth; for with thy sorcery were all the nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth. (Rev. 18:8‑10, 17, 21‑24) About this time, in the last months(s) of the Tribulation, will occur the judgment of the material aspect of Babylon. There will be a great earthquake in which "the cities of the nations fell" and by which the city of Rome will be utterly destroyed and made desolate. This earthquake will thoroughly disrupt civilization, by means of which man has managed to provide for himself without having to depend on God. Because of this disruption, the nations (who will not know God inwardly during the millennial kingdom) will be totally dependent on God and thus come to know Him outwardly at Jerusalem. These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they also shall overcome that are with him, called and chosen and faithful. (Rev. 17:14) For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. (Zech. 14:2) And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. (Psalm 60:16) For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; (Ezek. 38:19) Then shall Jehovah go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be cleft in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of' the mountains shall reach unto Azel; yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah; and Jehovah my God shall come, all the holy ones with thee. (Zech. 14:3‑5) And I will set my glory among the nations; and all the nations shall see my judgement that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am Jehovah their God, from that day and forward (Ezek. 39:21‑22) And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time shall thy people be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. (Dan. 12:11) The Antichrist will attempt to destroy Israel, but the Lord will save those who repent and accept Him as their Deliverer, leading them into a place of safety out of the line of fire. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and there came out blood from the winepress, even unto the bridle of the horses, as far as a thousand six hundred furlongs (200 miles). (Rev. 14:20) And this shall be the plague wherewith Jehovah will smite all the people that have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their sockets, and their tongues shall consume away in their mouth. (Zech. 14:12) And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. And his eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; he hath a name written no one knoweth but he himself. And he is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies, which are in heaven, followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white, and pure. And out of his mouth proceeded a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty. And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, Come and be gathered together unto the great supper of God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bound, and small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that worshipped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone: and the rest were killed with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, even the sword which came forth out of his mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh. (Rev. 19:11‑21) After the Jews are safely out of danger, the Lord will wipe out in a split second the armies of the Antichrist. According to the description, there will be the use of tactical nuclear weapons by the Antichrist's armies; and their destruction by the Lord seems like a divine force with the effect of a neutron bomb. Where is Armageddon? It is a valley in Israel, approximately 200 miles long, running north to south. And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished after this he must be loosed for a little time. (Rev. 20:1‑3) And the seventh angel sounded; ... saying, we give thee thanks, 0 Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast; because thou hast taken thy great power, and didst reign. And the nations were wroth, and thy wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to thy servants the prophets and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, the small and the great; and to destroy them that destroy the earth. (Rev. 11:15, 17‑18) The last necessity to be taken care of will be the imprisonment of the troublemaker Satan for the thousand years (he still has one more useful purpose to perform). Once this is done, Christ will have removed all the obstacles and will have His kingdom on the earth! And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come…(Hag. 2:7 KJV) Do you realize that Christ is the desire of all nations? Despite the rebellious nature in man, deep within us all is a yearning for His government in righteousness. Deep within all of us, we know that human governments can be but a travesty of His justice, because of our fallen nature. Yet because of this rebelliousness, God will have to let human government expose its inadequacy in total failure, before He establishes His own. And now I say unto you, Refrain front these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will be overthrown: but if it is of God, ye will not be able to overthrow them; lest haply ye be found even to be fighting against God. (Acts 5:38‑39) At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy it; if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; if they do that which is evil in my sight, that they obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them. (Jer. 18:7-10) It is clearly indicated by prophecy that the United States is not directly involved in the battle of Armageddon. Why is this so, since the United States has a deployment of forces throughout the world. One possible reason is a decision by the leadership of the United States not to become involved in the battle of Armageddon. The choice is ours which possibility will become reality. It was predictable from prophecy that the U.S.S.R. would collapse, freeing America from N.A.T.O. troop obligations. It was also predictable that the 4th largest army in the world (Iraq under Saddam Hussein) would be removed from being in the path of the 200,000,000 horseman of the ‘kings from the rising of the sun’, who cross the Euphrates. It is my hope that the leadership of the United States will be enlightened enough that, when the Antichrist rises to power, they will withdraw all Americans from the countries under his control. I hope also that the immigration laws will be set aside for the persecuted Jews and Christians who flee the Antichrist, although no one with his mark should be admitted. What is needed in America is not a religion-instigated program of legislated morality: that is treating the symptoms and ignoring the disease. What is needed today is a turn away from empty materialism and even more so away from dead religion to love the living Christ.

Many authors have written books involving the interpretation of prophecy, primarily on the books of Daniel and Revelation. The first thing that must be realized concerning this subject is that the prophetic symbology of Revelation cannot be correctly understood or interpreted by using the analytical ability of the mind. Few of the popular authors in this field have exhibited more than a small amount of spiritual insight, with the result that the fruits of their labor are equally capable of attainment by an unbeliever who, of course, would be incapable of any true spiritual enlightenment. Also, the popular authors tend to interpret only those portions of Scripture that would appeal to their reading audience and to avoid portions that might be offensive and thus endanger the appeal of their books. Finally, some authors have deliberately demanded acceptance by their readers of unjustified interpretations of specific verses, even telling their readers that a certain specific word should actually be a different specific word, as a necessity to support erroneous conclusions on their part. Such a demand by them is not interpretation; it is changing the words of the Bible. No verse of the Bible is subject to private interpretation, i.e., that of interpretation out of context, the Word of God is a whole entity. In this chapter, as in this entire book, what I have to say concerning Scripture and Scriptural matters should be evaluated with the whole Bible as a yardstick, for such is the true determination of accuracy. So Christ also having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation. (Heb. 9:28) But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. (Matt. 24:36) Anyone who sets a precise date for the ending of this age- regardless of source or reasoning- is wrong! Now from the fig tree learn her parable: when her branch is now become tender, and putteth forth its leaves, ye know that the summer is nigh; even so ye also, when ye see all these things, know ye that he is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished. (Matt. 24:32‑34) It has been realized by students of the Bible for more than two hundred years that the parable of the fig tree meant that Israel would become a nation again. Israel became a nation again on May 14, 1948. It is clear from the correlation between these verses that the great earthquake of the sixth seal occurs shortly before the last three and a half years <the great Tribulation> of this age. Although this earthquake will be of supernatural magnitude, unlike the subsequent calamities of the great Tribulation, it will have natural causes. Can we thus determine approximately when this earthquake is likeliest to occur? And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars; ...for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. (Luke 21:25-26) Notice that Luke 21:25‑26 is a description of outward signs also occurring at this time. What are the only signs in the sun that are visible to the naked eye? Sunspots! The word translated as 'stars' in Luke 21:25 may equally be in reference to the planets. Is there a connection between the cause of this great earthquake and these other, simultaneously occurring outward signs? According to Wood, the next two sunspot cycles will peak in 1982 & 1993...307 Now, to the surprise of many scientists, there has come evidence that the alignments of the planets can, for sound scientific reasons, affect the behavior of the earth. But one of these occasions‑ an alignment of the planets which occurs only once every 179 years‑ is due in 1982. ... 309 The most likely time for the triggering of the earthquake is the time midway between the spring and fall of 1982. Thus, the focal point of likeliest time is midnight August 4-5, Israeli time, midway between spring and fall. The next appearance of Halley's comet will be in 1986 ... it will appear brightest in February of 1986 . . 318 Almost certainly this was the star that the Wise‑men followed, and it was the tail of Halley's comet that was used by God to point their way. Coincidence or fulfillment of prophecy? The alignment of the planets converges with a sunspot peak only once every 1,969 years. Due to the mortality of short‑period comets, this will almost certainly be the only time that such a convergence is followed at the appropriate time by an appearance of Haley’s Comet. In this situation, we have the precise concurrence of a series of events that is unique, with a single event (Israel) that is likewise unique, all of which was prophesied nineteen centuries ago. Mathematically, there is no chance whatsoever that these events are merely coincidental. ...as modern chronologers have demonstrated, that the date of the Christian era, or of the birth of Christ Himself, was moved FOUR YEARS from the true time. ...but there seems to be no doubt of the fact, that the birth of the Lord Jesus was made full four years later than the truth. 314 What is the significance of the six days of the restoration and the seventh day of rest spoken of in Genesis, chapters 1 and 2? The thousand‑year (to us) period of the millennial kingdom will not only be the wedding day of Christ and His bride but will also be the (seventh) day of rest for God, ...the six days of the restoration must also correspond to the period of time from the forming of the spirit in man to the beginning of the millennial kingdom. Deduction based on various statements in the Bible; however, place the date of creation only a few thousand years in the past. The precise date usually found in the headings of the King James Bible is 4004 B.C., this date having been worked out by the Irish theologian James Ussher (1581‑1656). 319 ...with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. (2 Peter 3:8) This date of 4004 B.C. is a date indicated by the Scriptures. As we have seen previously, Christ was actually born in the year that we record as 4 B.C. Thus, it was four of the Lord's days (exactly 4,000 of our years) from the indicated date of "creation" to the birth of Christ. Using the same reckoning, the time of the Lord's return (which will be at the beginning of the seventh day, the millennium) should be the year 1996. If He has not returned by this time, then He has tarried because the bride still hasn’t made herself ready. I think that the following conclusions are both accurate and appropriate: 1. Before midnight Israeli time August 4‑5, 1982 the last 3 1/2 years before the physical return of Christ (the Great Tribulation) could not begin. Now it can begin anytime. 2. We still see through a glass darkly what the 3 1/2 years before (the first half of the last week of years) the Great Tribulation will transpire as. 3. In His mercy, the Lord has tarried. He probably should have been back no later than 1996.

Many authors have written books involving the interpretation of prophecy, primarily on the books of Daniel and Revelation. The first thing that must be realized concerning this subject is that the prophetic symbology of Revelation cannot be correctly understood or interpreted by using the analytical ability of the mind. Few of the popular authors in this field have exhibited more than a small amount of spiritual insight, with the result that the fruits of their labor are equally capable of attainment by an unbeliever who, of course, would be incapable of any true spiritual enlightenment. Also, the popular authors tend to interpret only those portions of Scripture that would appeal to their reading audience and to avoid portions that might be offensive and thus endanger the appeal of their books. Finally, some authors have deliberately demanded acceptance by their readers of unjustified interpretations of specific verses, even telling their readers that a certain specific word should actually be a different specific word, as a necessity to support erroneous conclusions on their part. Such a demand by them is not interpretation; it is changing the words of the Bible. No verse of the Bible is subject to private interpretation, i.e., that of interpretation out of context, the Word of God is a whole entity. In this chapter, as in this entire book, what I have to say concerning Scripture and Scriptural matters should be evaluated with the whole Bible as a yardstick, for such is the true determination of accuracy. So Christ also having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation. (Heb. 9:28) But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. (Matt. 24:36) Anyone who sets a precise date for the ending of this age- regardless of source or reasoning- is wrong! Now from the fig tree learn her parable: when her branch is now become tender, and putteth forth its leaves, ye know that the summer is nigh; even so ye also, when ye see all these things, know ye that he is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished. (Matt. 24:32‑34) It has been realized by students of the Bible for more than two hundred years that the parable of the fig tree meant that Israel would become a nation again. Israel became a nation again on May 14, 1948. It is clear from the correlation between these verses that the great earthquake of the sixth seal occurs shortly before the last three and a half years <the great Tribulation> of this age. Although this earthquake will be of supernatural magnitude, unlike the subsequent calamities of the great Tribulation, it will have natural causes. Can we thus determine approximately when this earthquake is likeliest to occur? And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars; ...for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. (Luke 21:25-26) Notice that Luke 21:25‑26 is a description of outward signs also occurring at this time. What are the only signs in the sun that are visible to the naked eye? Sunspots! The word translated as 'stars' in Luke 21:25 may equally be in reference to the planets. Is there a connection between the cause of this great earthquake and these other, simultaneously occurring outward signs? According to Wood, the next two sunspot cycles will peak in 1982 & 1993...307 Now, to the surprise of many scientists, there has come evidence that the alignments of the planets can, for sound scientific reasons, affect the behavior of the earth. But one of these occasions‑ an alignment of the planets which occurs only once every 179 years‑ is due in 1982. ... 309 The most likely time for the triggering of the earthquake is the time midway between the spring and fall of 1982. Thus, the focal point of likeliest time is midnight August 4-5, Israeli time, midway between spring and fall. The next appearance of Halley's comet will be in 1986 ... it will appear brightest in February of 1986 . . 318 Almost certainly this was the star that the Wise‑men followed, and it was the tail of Halley's comet that was used by God to point their way. Coincidence or fulfillment of prophecy? The alignment of the planets converges with a sunspot peak only once every 1,969 years. Due to the mortality of short‑period comets, this will almost certainly be the only time that such a convergence is followed at the appropriate time by an appearance of Haley’s Comet. In this situation, we have the precise concurrence of a series of events that is unique, with a single event (Israel) that is likewise unique, all of which was prophesied nineteen centuries ago. Mathematically, there is no chance whatsoever that these events are merely coincidental. ...as modern chronologers have demonstrated, that the date of the Christian era, or of the birth of Christ Himself, was moved FOUR YEARS from the true time. ...but there seems to be no doubt of the fact, that the birth of the Lord Jesus was made full four years later than the truth. 314 What is the significance of the six days of the restoration and the seventh day of rest spoken of in Genesis, chapters 1 and 2? The thousand‑year (to us) period of the millennial kingdom will not only be the wedding day of Christ and His bride but will also be the (seventh) day of rest for God, ...the six days of the restoration must also correspond to the period of time from the forming of the spirit in man to the beginning of the millennial kingdom. Deduction based on various statements in the Bible; however, place the date of creation only a few thousand years in the past. The precise date usually found in the headings of the King James Bible is 4004 B.C., this date having been worked out by the Irish theologian James Ussher (1581‑1656). 319 ...with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. (2 Peter 3:8) This date of 4004 B.C. is a date indicated by the Scriptures. As we have seen previously, Christ was actually born in the year that we record as 4 B.C. Thus, it was four of the Lord's days (exactly 4,000 of our years) from the indicated date of "creation" to the birth of Christ. Using the same reckoning, the time of the Lord's return (which will be at the beginning of the seventh day, the millennium) should be the year 1996. If He has not returned by this time, then He has tarried because the bride still hasn’t made herself ready. I think that the following conclusions are both accurate and appropriate: 1. Before midnight Israeli time August 4‑5, 1982 the last 3 1/2 years before the physical return of Christ (the Great Tribulation) could not begin. Now it can begin anytime. 2. We still see through a glass darkly what the 3 1/2 years before (the first half of the last week of years) the Great Tribulation will transpire as. 3. In His mercy, the Lord has tarried. He probably should have been back no later than 1996.