A note to the reader:
Before reading Chapter Five, I want to caution the reader that the years given for mid- tribulation and post-tribulation events in this chapter are based upon a 1997 rapture that was first given to this prophet. As we all are aware, the 1997 rapture was delayed and has not yet happened. These years are now incorrect just as any events expected by the children of Israel in the wilderness were delayed because of their unbelief. (Heb. 4: 1-6 “...and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief.”) (The promise of the rapture before the 69th jubile year to the church was removed for the same reason: unbelief!) The writer was given further revelation by the Holy Spirit that this 1997 fulfillment of the 69th jubile year and the subsequent blowing of the “last trump” was delayed or has “tarried” as written by Habakkuk in chapter two, verse three “...though it tarry, wait for it…”
As I have noted on several pertinent pages in the previous chapters, the events have since been updated by revelation from the Holy Spirit in Stephen Benton’s subsequent work, “God’s Secret...The Last Trump.” After having laid the foundation of the prerequisites for the rapture to occur, this later work will give the day of the rapture to occur in the year 2017 and the reasons why.
CHAPTER FIVE
A PREVIEW OF THINGS TO COME AFTER THE RAPTURE
GOD'S RECLAMATION OF ISRAEL
In this chapter I will highlight some of the major events that will occur after the Rapture during the period called Daniel's 70th week, the last seven years before the 1,000 year reign of Christ begins.
I mentioned earlier that God told one of the prophets, Hosea, to take a whore for a wife and have children by her. She had a son named Loammi whose name means "not my people." God then spoke another prophecy to Hosea.
"Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land:" Hos.1: 10&11
When God separated himself from Israel, he did it when they were in their own land. When he reclaims the nation as his own people, it will be done when they are in their own land. That is one of the reasons why the rebirth of Israel as a nation in 1948 was so significant. The regathering of Israel will begin with the sounding of the last trump for the Church in 1997 and will mushroom during the Jubile year of 1998. That year will mark the greatest return of Jews to Israel of any time in its history because it will be the final fulfillment of the law of return.*
*as stated previously, the reason for the delay of these events is revealed in Pastor’s subsequent work: “The Last Trump: God’s Secret” to be posted after the final chapter of this book is posted.
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Note Ezekiel's words on the matter:
"Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will take of the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand." Eze.37:19
Even though Israel has a homeland, there are more Israelites living outside the land of Israel than there are within the land. But in the last days God will cause the house of Israel and the house of Judah to become one nation again.
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THE LAST DAYS
Genesis chapter 49 gives an account of Israel (Jacob) blessing his sons just prior to his death. Before he blessed them he prophesied when the blessings would take effect.
"And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days." Gen: 49:1
The blessings and prophecies made to his sons were not fulfilled during their days. Any apparent fulfillment during the days of their lives was minimal. The true fulfillment of Jacob's blessing/prophecy would not be until the last days. Because that is the case it is important that we know when the last days began. A simple answer lies in the book of Joel.
Joel recorded God's promise to pour out his Spirit upon all flesh. Did he? According to Peter God did. On the day of Pentecost in A.D. 31 the Holy Ghost directed Peter to speak to the crowd using the words of Joel's prophecy:
"But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, that I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:" Acts 2:16-18
When God anointed Peter to preach Joel's words, God defined the time as "the last days." A quick glance at all of Joel's writings will show that they were not completely
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fulfilled on the day of Pentecost; in fact, only a small portion was fulfilled. Yet what was fulfilled was enough to let us know that the last days had definitely arrived.
Those who are saved during the Tribulation period will not experience the privilege of gathering together as a body of believers in a public place the way the Church does today. God will speak to those believers individually and directly by way of dreams and visions. That mode of communication is not a new method of God's. In Numbers 12:6 God told Miriam and Aaron that he would make himself known to the secondary prophets by way of dreams and visions. That is exactly how he will communicate with believers who receive his Spirit during the seven years of Tribulation following the Rapture.
(Just for the record I should point out here that God has no need to resort to revealing his will with dreams and visions in cases where his written word has already addressed
the matter.)
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- THE POURING OUT OF GOD'S SPIRIT
The Pentecost experience in A.D. 31 was God's preview of what would happen on a much larger scale during the seven year Tribulation. On that day God poured his Spirit out on 120 people (Acts 1:15). On that day, "...they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." Acts 2:41
God cannot and must not be boxed in to conform to a specific pattern of performance. That is one of the chief errors made by most religious denominations. If they
have seen God perform a particular work one way, they then expect him to duplicate the exact method every time he performs the same work. A surface study of God will reveal that he is not a God of repetition unless he is operating under the ordinances of the law. Still, there are times when God allows himself to be very predictable.
We noted that when the law was given in 1492 B.C. that 3,000 souls died. On the day of Pentecost 3,000 souls were born. The spiritual birth of 3,000 believers was the result of the prophesying of the 120. That number averages out to 25 souls per prophet (3000 divided by 120).
In the last days God will completely fulfill Joel's prophecy through the prophesying of 144,000 Jews. Coincidentally, 144,000 just happens to be 120 x 120 x 10. Using the same formula (I loathe using that word concerning God) of a 25 soul conversion per prophet, I don't think it would be unreasonable to look for the conversion of 3,600,000 souls on the very day the 144,000 begin preaching. That number will increase during the Tribulation just as the 3,000 continued to increase after the day of Pentecost. The final conversion number will constitute the “remnant" of Israel as recorded in Joel 2:32. Many of those who will be saved during this time will be killed for their testimony of faith in Jesus their deliverer.
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THE TRIBULATION PERIOD
To call this period "the Tribulation" is scripturally inaccurate. It should be called
"the Tribulation, the Great." It is not just another period of bad times on the earth.
This is a special tribulation and the entire earth will reel under its effects. As bad as things might seem to be in various parts of the world, they are nothing in comparison to what they will be in the very near future. Israel itself will go through the darkest days of its entire history.
"...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 thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." Dan.12:1
The rebirth of Israel set the stage for the fulfillment of the balance of the Old Testament feast days. Before 1948 it was impossible to know the year of any of the
events described by Daniel and prophesied by John in Revelation. The year 1948 was the unveiling of the Father's secret mentioned by Jesus in Acts 1:7. Just as the Father did not announce the day when the Church would be born, he did not announce the date of the birth of the nation of Israel until it actually happened. But now that the date is known we can determine more precisely when some of the major events of the Tribulation will happen. More, , we can now pinpoint the beginning and end of the Tribulation period.
The year 1997 is the last Sabbath year in the 50 year cycle. The year 1998 marks the Jubile year. The year 1999 begins a new 50 year cycle and is the first year of the first set of seven years. The year 2005 will mark the Sabbath year. Daniel's 70th week covers the years 1999 through 2005.*
*we now know these years: 1999 - 2005 are no longer accurate due to God’s delay of the rapture. These will be updated and clarified in the upcoming book, “The Last Trump: God’s Secret”
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THE ANTICHRIST:
THE PRINCE THAT SHALL COME
Most of the prophecy surrounding the last seven year enters on "the prince that shall come" (Dan.9:26) and on the nation of Israel.
"...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 unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one
week; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the
consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." Dan 9:26 & 27
The prince that shall come is the Antichrist. He will come out of ancient Assyria
(lsa: 10:24; 14:25; 30:31; Micah 5:5.) In local wars, he will overthrow three kings (Dan. 7:20). Expect the commotion of these wars to erupt on the world scene shortly after the Church has been caught away.
"And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week..."
That one week is Daniel's 70th week. The covenant will be a covenant of peace. At the midway point of that week or after three and one-half years the Antichrist will break his peace agreement with Israel. The peace treaty itself will be inaugurated by Satan as a deceptive ploy to destroy Israel.
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This man and his allied armies will attempt to do what Yassir Arafat declared before signing a peace agreement with Israel: "obliterate Israel from off the face of the earth." The PLO-Israel peace agreement, like all of the others, will prove to be temporary. The Antichrist will almost succeed in his attempts to annihilate Israel. Hitler slaughtered over six million Jews, this man will greatly exceed that number.
Isaiah wrote that if God did not intercede on Israel's behalf that the nation would be as Sodom and Gomorrah. Only three people were spared from the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah so we can assume from Isaiah's statement that the number of those who will be saved from the Antichrist will be a very small percentage of the population of Israel.
The Antichrist will appear to be a man of peace posing as a religious politician. Because of that I am wary of movements such as the Christian Coalition because they are unknowingly building a platform for the Antichrist. A recent poll showed that professing Christians now make up 40% of the voting population in the United States. It is no wonder that politicians are courting the Church's constituency and including it in the democratic process. The Church is being deceived by believing that it is finally getting its due recognition in this world as it takes center stage in the political arena. Christian movements are now preoccupied with electing the next president of the United States.
Here I will reiterate what I wrote earlier concerning the popular idea that Jesus called the Church to the task of making the world a better place. He called his Church out of the world; not to change the world. During his trial before Pilate Jesus emphatically stated that his kingdom is not of this world:
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"Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence." John 18:36
Jesus could have implemented numerous changes in this world and he had the power to do so but he didn't. A world under Satan's control cannot be fixed. It cannot be changed or altered to a state of acceptability. That is why God will renovate the earth by fire. Eventually, Jesus will establish his kingdom on the earth but now his kingdom is above.
Satan is presently in the process of bringing Church and Government together in preparation for the day when "the great whore" Church will ride on the back of the Government "beast" during the Tribulation as foretold in Revelation chapter 17. For Satan to fully accomplish his goals he must merge religion and government and he must promote all-faith fellowship among churches regardless of their doctrinal differences. He has been subtly accomplishing both of those goals for the past three decades.
When Jesus indicted the Laodicean Church Age for being blind, he also said "...and knowest not..." (Rev.3:17) This Church age is oblivious to its condition. It has lost its ear to hear what the Spirit has to say and is now listening to and speaking everything that sounds "politically correct." Rather than rejoicing over the inroads it is making in this world, the Church's spiritual alarms should be sounding because Satan, the god of this world and the enemy of the Church, appears to be letting the Church go unchecked! Historically, that has never been Satan's method of dealing with the Church. Satan has always fought against and
killed members of the Church when they acted in accordance with the will of God. Satan must have a scenario for which the Church is given a part; and he does-----the day of the Antichrist
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---the peaceful, religious politician who will promote family, morality, and the well being of all.
"...and by peace he shall destroy many." Dan.8:25
The peace treaty should be in force by 1999.* In the middle of the week or after three and one-half years he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. That tells us two things: first, that Antichrist will break his peace treaty midway through the year 2002.** Second, the Temple in Jerusalem will be built because Antichrist will stop the Jews from offering sacrifices in the Temple. It is very likely that the Temple will be built and in use before the end of 1999.** The current peace treaty between Israel and the Arabs places Jerusalem and the Temple on the agenda for January of 1997.
The building of the Jewish Temple will be the greatest assurance to the Jews that the land of Israel is truly at peace. According to the scriptures, it is the much longed for peace that will be the undoing of Israel.
"For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." 1 Thes: 5:3
The Gentile believer should have an empathetic heart for the Jew because he is connected with the Jew through Abraham and Christ. The Gentiles were admonished by Paul not to boast against Israel because Israel was broken off that the Gentiles might be grafted in. (Rom.11: 19) Still we know that only a remnant of Israel will believe the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom while the rest of them will become the victims of God's judgement and of the Antichrist and his armies.
*This was the year the prophet concluded based on the 1997 rapture year. The updated revelation points to 2017.
**AC will break the treaty midway through the Tribulation period, now: 2021; (see updated year
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Both on television and in print we are constantly asked not to forget the terrible holocaust that happened over fifty years ago. The message is that we must never let it happen again. It is sad to say that Israel's greatest holocaust is yet future.
The 144,000 will begin prophesying during the first half of the seven years. Afterwards they will be caught up to heaven in the same fashion as those in the Church who were raptured earlier.
From passages in Revelation 6:9-11 and 7:9, it is evident that there will be a significant number of Gentiles who will be saved during the Tribulation although the Jewish converts will outnumber them. In Revelation 6:11 the group of martyrs in heaven are told to rest until "their fellow servants" (Gentiles) "and their brethren" (Jews), that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." Later, all of the Tribulation saints will appear in heaven as
"a great multitude that no man could number."
Those Israelites who are still alive "which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Rev.12:17) will find a hiding place in the wilderness. (Rev 12:14) Other prophecies let us know that their hiding place will be in the lands of Moab, Ammon, and Edom. (Dan.11 :41; Isa.16:4) Those nations do not exist as such today but their former territory lies adjacent to Israel to the east and southeast. The remnant will flee to those places and hide there for the last three and one half years. Israel will find friends in Jordan during the tribulation.
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THE ARMY FROM HEAVEN
Near the end of the last three and one-half years of the Tribulation Jesus and his army, of which the Church will be a part, will come down from heaven and fight
against Antichrist and his armies. Much attention has been given to the final battle in the plain of Megiddo, commonly called the battle of Armageddon. While that will be the last and greatest battle, it will not be the only battle fought during that period. Isaiah prophesied about the great captain of that heavenly army, Jesus Christ, in the 63rd chapter of his writings.
"Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak righteousness, mighty to save.
Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat?
I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood 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." Isa.63:1-4
When Jesus returns he will begin his actions where he stopped reading in Luke 4:19 during his first visit, "...and the day of vengeance of our God " This mighty warrior, Jesus Christ, is not coming from Armageddon but from Bozrah. He is covered with blood. He is not finished fighting yet because he speaks about what he will do. He is urgent in his mission because it is the ''year of his redeemed." The year 2005 will be the first Sabbath year after the 1998 Jubile year. In that year, the year of his redeemed, Christ will set his people free.
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THE TEN NATION CONFEDERACY
During the last seven years there will be a confederacy of nations prophesied as the "ten toed" kingdom. It gets its name from the image that Daniel saw in a vision (Dan.2: 40-44.) This will be the last kingdom to oppress Israel and its duration will be short-lived.
Many prophecy teachers are sure that the newly formed European Union (EU) is that confederacy. Although a few of the nations may qualify, some definitely do not. I believe that the EU is a diversionary tactic of Satan to misdirect prophecy students while he sets up the real confederacy elsewhere.
Passages in the17th and 18th chapters of Revelation are clear in promoting the rebuilt city of Babylon as headquarters for the ruler of the ten nations. I cannot perceive Babylon, a city in Iraq, being the capital of a European Union. Rather than focus on the EU as the potential fulfillment of prophecy, I think it would be wise to keep an eye on the major middle eastern nations that are a part of OPEC. Those nations have been enemies of Israel of long standing. Their great weakness is that they lack a strong leader and the Antichrist will provide that one missing ingredient.
We saw how those OPEC nations held the world at bay during the oil shortages of the 70's. Whether those shortages were real or imaginary, they created a world wide crisis. The nations that will make up the future alliance will be comprised of empires who have oppressed Israel in the past.
The error in locating this union of nations lies in the fact that because the ten toes are comprised of "iron and miry clay" and because those ten nations spring out of the old Roman empire, many have taught that the ten toes will come out of the territory once occupied by the Roman empire. If that were the case, the EU would be a sure candidate.
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But the scriptures say nothing about the iron representing the location of the next empire. They only tell us that this next empire to rule over Israel will have in it the strength of the iron.
In reality, this last kingdom to rule Israel will have the components of all of the preceding empires who once ruled over Israel, whether they be the metals of the image of Daniel chapter two or the characteristics of the beasts in chapter seven. Daniel's book gives the most information for determining the location of that confederacy as well as locating the nation Antichrist will come from.
In the eighth chapter of Daniel we have a description of a "he goat" with a "notable horn between his eyes." (Dan.8:5) That goat represents Alexander the Great, the king of the Grecian empire. In the vision the goat runs into a "ram that had two horns." (Dan.8:6) The two horns of the ram represent the kings of Media and Persia. The goat smote the ram and destroyed him. Later the goat's great horn was broken off and four horns grew up in its place. The breaking off of the great horn represented the death of Alexander and the four horns are four of his generals who divided the empire among themselves after Alexander's death. Two of those generals slide off the stage of history but the other two became prominent: Seleucid and Ptolemy.
The eleventh chapter of Daniel focuses on wars between those two generals. Seleucid ruled over the Syrian portion of the former Grecian empire and Ptolemy ruled over the Egyptian territory once held by Alexander. These rulers are referred to as the king of the north and the king of the south respectively. The king of the north ultimately triumphed over the king of the south.
Although Daniel's account is now history, it is also a prophecy of what is to come in the last seven years. From that information we can conclude that the dominant nation heading up the ten-toed kingdom will be Syria.
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Syria has been and is continuing to be a key player in the Middle East and represents the largest obstacle to overcome before Israel experiences complete peace. Syria also is not a part of the European Union. Look for the Ten Toes to consist of the Arab nations who have tormented Israel in the past. Because Babylon will play a key role in last days affairs it would not be unreasonable to expect the final conquering of Israel to consist of the nations occupying the territory once held by ancient Babylon. I would expect Israel's persecution to come directly from the Arab nations.
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