By Pete Rose
Well, doomsday, "the end of the world", has come and gone
and we're still here. The world didn't explode, the rapture didn't
happen, the poles didn't shift, nothing out of the ordinary happened,
and everything pretty much continues as it did before all the hoopla
came about. We gullible humans are so quick to seize onto any little
rumor or sensation and blow it up out of all proportion, like a balloon.
Well, the balloon has popped and we're back right where we were before
it all started.
But there is a time of calamity coming which the Lord
Jesus described as being like nothing that had ever been before and will
never be again in its severity [Matthew
24:4-12]. "Birth pangs" doesn't apply just to the pre-tribulation
period, it continues all the way through the tribulation. The terrible
earthquakes and tsunamis in the Pacific, hurricane Katrina and super
storm Sandy, and the general increase in other calamities this new
century so far are all just gathering storm clouds compared to what is
coming. The tribulation starts off almost gently with the appearance of
the antichrist and his supposed solution to all the earth's problems [Revelation
6:2]. Sometime shortly before this comes the rapture, and this will
doubtless create the perfect "crisis" the antichrist needs to make his
grand debut.
This antichrist, the devil Satan in the flesh, will
confirm a peace treaty with Israel for seven years, the temple will be
rebuilt, possibly before this time, and the Jewish ritual sacrifices
resumed [Daniel 9:27]. But
all will not be hunky-dory during this time. God begins pouring out his
wrath with wars, famines, earthquakes, asteroids crashing into the
earth, and great meteor showers during this time. At the mid point of
the seven years the antichrist will break his treaty with Israel, stop
the sacrifices, set up his image (the abomination of desolation) in the
temple, require a mark of allegiance (666) upon all without which no one
will be able to buy or sell, and turn into a tyrant who will make
Antiochus Epiphanes look like a saint by comparison [Matthew
24:15-22, Revelation
13:11-18].
Meantime the plagues continue to ramp up. More, and more
severe earthquakes. Malignant sores which afflict all who take the mark
of the beast. Demonic hybrid scorpion locusts, with stings so severe men
will want to die but will be unable to [Revelation
9:1-11]. The skies
darkened, likely by volcanic eruptions, to where the sun is not visible
for a third of the day and the stars likewise by night and the moon
turns as red as blood [Revelation
6:12, Joel 2:31]. Angels
loosed from the river Euphrates to kill a third of mankind [Revelation
16:13-14]. God's two witnesses who have the power to bring all
manner of calamities and disasters on mankind at will, and who kill by
breathing fire on anyone who tries to harm them [Revelation
11:3-6]. Great Babylon is destroyed in a day [Revelation
18]. A third of the trees
and all green grass are burnt up, waters are poisoned and many die, a
third of ships at sea are destroyed and a third of all sea creatures die
as the judgments of God ramp up. The seas and the rivers and streams
turned to blood, and all mankind on the sea dies. The sun scorching men
with great heat, so great they blaspheme, followed by darkness so
intense they gnaw their tongues for the pain. Demonic spirits loosed to
gather all men to the valley of Megiddo for battle. Angels bound in the
Euphrates loosed to make way for an army of 200 million from the east to
join the battle. A terrible worldwide earthquake flattening whole
cities, great hailstones of a talent (70-100 pounds) weight falling from
the sky and men blaspheming God for the severity of the plagues [Revelation
16].
Meantime in heaven the
saints will be enjoying the marriage supper of the Lamb, the church
(ekklesia) being the bride of Christ, and preparations for Jesus' return
to earth [Revelation
19:7-9].
With all the armies of the world gathered together to
battle one another in the battle of Armageddon, Jesus suddenly appears
in the sky with all His saints riding on white horses and clothed in
fine white linen. Without even raising a physical sword, by the words of
His mouth Jesus slays all of these armies right where they stand, the
blood flows to the depth of a horse's bridle for the distance of some
200 miles, and the birds feast on their remains [Revelation
19:11-20]. Jesus lands
with his feet on the Mount of Olives and it splits in two leaving a
great valley in its midst [Zechariah
14:1-5]. The beast and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of
fire and the devil, Satan is imprisoned in the abyss for a thousand
years [Revelation
19:20-20:4]. Those who remain alive on earth He will judge as sheep
and goats, the sheep those who have shown their faith by their actions,
the goats who have shown their lack thereof by their actions. The sheep
(the righteous) will be ushered into the kingdom to repopulate the
earth, the goats (the unrighteous) will be delivered into everlasting
fire reserved for the devil and his angels. [Matthew
25:31-46]
This is the real, and final, doomsday, but it is not the
end of the world. The world goes on for another thousand years with
Jesus as King. Only those who have shown their faith in Jesus will be
allowed into it. It will be a thousand years of peace and prosperity
such as this world has never known from its beginning to now. We the
saints will be ruling with Jesus, while the Jews and others who have
survived the tribulation and received Jesus as their Messiah, will enjoy
the thousand years of peace we have never seen to date [Revelation
20:4,Isaiah 11:6-9].
Which way will you go? Will you go with Jesus in the
rapture to be married to Him and live for all eternity with Him, or will
you be left behind to go through the great tribulation, likely lose your
life and your soul and spend eternity in the flames of hell?
The decision is yours. I can't make it for you, nor can
anyone else but you. I can't make you decide for Jesus any more than I
can lead a horse to water and make him drink.
It's your call.
Email: wvhillbilly737@suddenlink.net
