“I will utterly
consume all things
from off the land,
saith the LORD. I
will consume man and
beast; I will
consume the fowls of
the heaven, and the
fishes of the sea,
and the stumbling
blocks with the
wicked: and I will
cut off man from off
the land, saith the
LORD” (Zephaniah
1:2-3)
This is part two of
follow-up to my last
article: “Warning:
Tribulation Straight
Ahead.”
Man is on a downhill
slide into God
unleashing His wrath
upon this earth. If
you wish to get a
sense of the dread
and the gloom of
this time in this
planet’s near
history, read all of
Zephaniah chapter
one. God has warned
that His patience
will run out and
will judge this
earth and every
air-breathing
creature on this
earth when it will
be a day of darkness
with no light at
all. Only with fear
and dread gripping
all who have
rebelled against God
will consume
mankind. God is a
longsuffering and
patient God not
willing that any
should perish (2
Peter 3:9-10.)
This will be a time
of unspeakable
horror, as God
stretches out His
hand on all who
dwell on the earth.
When you start to
read this first
chapter of
Zephaniah, it first
appears that God is
talking about Judah,
or Israel, because
He mentions them by
name, but as you
read on, you
understand and get a
firm conviction that
He is using Judah as
an example of the
end time populations
inhabiting planet
Earth. As you read,
you get a sense of
utter destruction of
the people that God
is pouring out His
wrath upon. Very few
will survive, as God
will wipe the
surface of the earth
clean. (Zephaniah
1:7-14)
Zephaniah is
speaking of, what I
believe is called
the Great
Tribulation that
John also wrote of
in Revelation. We
have been leading up
this time of God’s
wrath for a long
time. It started, in
earnest, in this
last century. But
let us look at
another time that
was parallel to what
we have been
experiencing and
running into head
long for the last
100 years.
EGYPT IN FAMINE AND
WANT
The time was in the
days of Egypt when
famine came upon the
land and shown in a
dream that Pharaoh
had that there would
be famine in Egypt,
which was revealed
to Joseph by
interpretation. You
can read the account
in Genesis chapter
47 that speaks of
another time that
may sound familiar
when it is us, not
Egyptians that are
in want but it is
the USA.
Now we know that the
Egyptians were an
advanced
civilization with
property rights and
great wealth amongst
the people, but when
the crops failed,
the people came to
the only source of
being able to stay
alive, and that was
the government. In
buying the only food
source available,
the monetary supply
quickly dried up and
the government
possessed all the
money and the people
had none. The
monetary system
collapsed because of
repeated crop
failures. The next
year since there was
no money, the people
came to Joseph who
was the head of the
government right
under Pharaoh and
the people sought
more food, but of
course, had no
money. What
happened?
The people owned
property, horses,
cattle, and all
manner of livestock
but they traded it
entirely to the
government so they
could live one more
year. As the famine
continued and they
had traded all their
livestock and means
of production to the
government, they
gave up their means
of livelihood for
corn and wheat to
make bread. As the
famine continued,
they came again to
buy food.
What was the end of
the time of famine
in the land of
Egypt? Note that it
is a time of “seven”
years. Sound like
anything that we
speak of that’s
coming?
Coincidence,
you say? I think God
does not do anything
by coincidence. Note
that as the famine
progressed, the
people became
servants of the
state. They were
reduced to paying
tribute to the state
for the privilege of
growing crops on the
land they sold to
the state.
HOW DOES THIS APPLY
TO US?
How does this lesson
speak to us, and
what we are fast
approaching? Before
this famine the
people of Egypt were
considered a fairly
free people. In the
early 20th century,
another famine was
upon the people of
earth and was called
the Great
Depression. Now I am
not comparing the
famine in Egypt with
the Great
Depression, but it
shows a comparison
of how the people
gave up their
individual freedoms
to be able to eat.
There are four major
comparisons that are
striking in relation
to our modern times.
First, as it was in
the times of Egypt
and their famine,
Americans were
basically farming
communities with
many family farms
that were the
breadbasket of the
world. As time of
want and hunger
spread in both
cultures, people
were moved from the
farm into urban
areas out of
necessity and
looking for a better
life, because as it
was in the days of
Egypt, Americans
found themselves
unable to pay their
mortgages due to
crop failures of the
dust bowl era and
lost the family
farm. They were
forced to move to
the cities.
As an example, the
federal bureaucracy
grew in that time
probably about as
fast as Egypt’s did
in Joseph’s day. At
the same time,
Americans witnessed
a major abridgement
of their freedoms,
one of which
continues unabated
to this day. Just as
in Joseph's day,
when the Egyptians
volunteered to sell
their livestock,
lands, and lives to
the government,
Americans of the
Depression Era
seemed to ask for
increased government
involvement in and
control of their
lives. They voted
for Franklin
Roosevelt, as he
would say it, “Again
and again and again
and again.” Today,
the Constitution
with its Bill of
Rights counts for
little more than a
piece of
memorabilia. Even
today, the
unconstitutional law
of inheritance tax
forces families to
give up the family
farm that has been
in their family for
generations.
Another example, as
it was in Egypt’s
day, American had
lost the ability to
own gold by the
edict of Franklin
Roosevelt and forced
to use paper and now
plastic that has
done nothing but
drive up the huge
credit bubble that
threatens to destroy
our economy to the
tune of a 16.5
trillion dollar
deficit and growing.
In Roosevelt’s day,
as it was in
Egyptian history,
the government was
the law.
If you read FDR’s
second inaugural
address, it will
give you pause of
what FDR was
threatening Congress
with. In so many
words Roosevelt
said: Do it my way,
support my programs
by federalizing and
socializing the
American economy, or
I will make myself
dictator. Congress
obviously got the
message, as
executive orders
came fast and
furious that has not
abated even to this
very day. America is
headed for
tribulation and it
has started in the
economy. What will
tip the scales to
allow the government
to own all who are
called citizens of
this land as it was
in the days of
Ancient Egypt?
Answer: Maybe
another socialist in
the White House?
The Bible passage in
Zephaniah, mirrors
what John wrote in
Revelation to the
horror that will be
experienced during
this time of wrath
and men’s wickedness
(Revelation 6:2-6)
What will cause war
and following after
the beast power? The
answer is famine,
pestilence, and
environmental
disasters that will
begin killing 2/3 of
mankind on earth. As
it was in the day of
famine and want in
Egypt, this world
will be in want and
men will die of
starvation. Men will
die and their
numbers will be so
great, that animals
will eat their flesh
in the streets.
Revelation
6.8: “And I looked,
and behold a pale
horse: and his name
that sat on him was
Death, and Hell
followed with him.
And power was given
unto them over the
fourth part of the
earth, to kill with
sword, and with
hunger, and with
death, and with the
beasts of the
earth.”
Mixed with war and
famine, God’s wrath
will be poured out
on unrepentant
mankind making it
impossible for
anyone to live under
such circumstances.
Revelation 6.15-17:
“And the kings of
the earth, and the
great men, and the
rich men, and the
chief captains, and
the mighty men, and
every bondman, and
every free man, hid
themselves in the
dens and in the
rocks of the
mountains;
And said to the
mountains and rocks,
Fall on us, and hide
us from the face of
him that sitteth on
the throne, and from
the wrath of the
Lamb:
For the great day of
his wrath is come;
and who shall be
able to stand?”
It will be the time
of Great
Tribulation, as God
has had enough of
man’s rebellion. He
will cleanse this
earth with divine
retribution. He will
wipe the earth clean
of sin, by fire.
Zephaniah 1.17-18:
“And I will bring
distress upon men,
that they shall walk
like blind men,
because they have
sinned against the
LORD: and their
blood shall be
poured out as dust,
and their flesh as
the dung.
Neither their silver
nor their gold shall
be able to deliver
them in the day of
the LORD's wrath;
but the whole land
shall be devoured by
the fire of his
jealousy: for he
shall make even a
speedy riddance of
all them that dwell
in the land.”
Zephaniah and John
the apostle seem to
agree that it will
be a most horrible
time to be a living,
breathing human
being on this earth.
It will be a day
like no other that
it will be a
challenge just to
stay alive. If it’s
not hunger, it’s
war. If it’s not
divine wrath, it’s
ravaging beast
stalking the weak
and the sick looking
for their own prey.
Men in their sin
will look for
anything to keep
them alive.
They will even give
their allegiance to
a man who heads a
one-world government
as earthly prince of
a confederation of
loosely held
regions. They will
be willing to take a
mark and worship one
they perceive will
keep them alive,
temporarily. Satan
will deceive all who
dwell upon the earth
to take a mark and
worship a symbol of
him self (the
Antichrist). He will
stand as a dragon
that promises to eat
them last. They will
survive─temporarily,
only to be destroyed
and become damned to
the devil’s hell.
Even with all this
calamity of divine
retribution, mankind
so unfortunate to be
alive on earth will
not repent of their
wickedness, but
curse the God of
heaven and not
realize, it is their
due for their
unrighteousness:
Revelation 9.20-21:
“And the rest of the
men which were not
killed by these
plagues yet repented
not of the works of
their hands, that
they should not
worship devils, and
idols of gold, and
silver, and brass,
and stone, and of
wood: which neither
can see, nor hear,
nor walk: Neither
repented they of
their murders, nor
of their sorceries,
nor of their
fornication, nor of
their thefts.”
God will send plague
after plague, much
like He sent
tribulation to the
children of Israel
to turn them from
their wickedness,
but those that
populate the earth
in the last days
will not turn from
their evil ways and
will be so foolish
to think they can do
battle with the God
of heaven. I
submitted in
previous articles,
that they may even
be led to believe
they are fighting
against an alien
invasion, through
the deceit of Satan,
his Antichrist and
False Prophet that
lie to the people
who have vested
their existence and
their worship of the
wrong “Christ,” this
false messiah.
In a final blow to
rebellion on this
earth, God the
Father will send His
Son to redeem what
He purchased 2000
years ago by
shedding His blood
on the cross and now
comes as a warrior
with great wrath to
cleanse His
creation:
Revelation 19.11-24:
“And I saw heaven
opened, and behold a
white horse; and he
that sat upon him
was called Faithful
and True, and in
righteousness he
doth judge and make
war.
His eyes were as a
flame of fire, and
on his head were
many crowns; and he
had a name written,
that no man knew,
but he himself.
And he was clothed
with a vesture
dipped in blood: and
his name is called
The Word of God.
And the armies which
were in heaven
followed him upon
white horses,
clothed in fine
linen, white and
clean.”
This is what a true
Christian has his
hope in. Jesus said
through John, that
we would return with
Him riding a white
horse, clothed in
fine linen, clean
and white. (Which
was explained to be
the sign of the
saints in previous
verses.) The “true
church” will not
suffer His wrath, as
that has never been
His nature to
subject His people
to His righteous
wrath, but to remove
them out of the way,
beyond receiving His
condemnation. Some
say that the church
will endure right
along with the evil
men of this age, but
is that so?
LET’S MAKE AN
ASSUMPTION AND ALLOW
A CONCLUSION
God has had a plan
for mankind to
separate the wheat
from the chaff, and
to burn the tares in
the fire of His
indignation. Let us
think of it like
this, to those who
believe that all of
mankind will endure
the tribulation, let
us make a hypothesis
and seek a
conclusion here. If
Jesus comes post
Tribulation and as
the above verses
speak of, He will
destroy rebellion
with the sword of
His mouth. Paul
speaks that at the
last trump that the
dead in Christ will
rise, and those
alive will be
caught-up to be with
the Lord and so will
be ever be with the
Lord.
I see a problem here
on the Post-Trib
hypothesis. If this
is so, the dead and
those alive are
changed into spirit
beings and join
Jesus Christ in the
air, and He destroys
all rebellion with
the sword of His
mouth? Who will be
those who enter into
the Kingdom of God
as mortals? See the
problem? Answer is
NONE! Those who
follow the
Antichrist will take
a mark and be
destroyed. Those who
follow Jesus Christ
will be changed in
the twinkling of an
eye. Population
left? Nobody is
left. In that period
of time, there is no
fence setting.
There will be no
excuses, no middle
ground, as you are
either for Jesus
Christ and His
salvation, or you
have succumbed to
the desire to live
another day on the
government dole, as
Egypt did, or as the
Depression Era
American citizens
did. You will do
anything to survive,
anything to live one
more day, even if
it’s to take a silly
old mark...who
cares, right? God
cares and it will
provide the ultimate
judgment into the
Lake of Fire, along
with the Beast and
False Prophet. You
see if you logically
approach this, then
a pre- Tribulation
return of Jesus
Christ is the only
logical explanation
of how God will
perform His will.
Any other hypothesis
of questions and
answers makes no
sense.
God, in His mercy,
has warned all who
will listen, that
His patience will
end and His wrath
will be for all who
are in rebellion. He
has given man 6000
years, give or take
a few years, to
govern him self and
look what a mess we
have made of that
freedom to do so.
There fast
approaches a Sabbath
rest of 1000 years
of Satan’s influence
upon this earth, and
the earth to return
to its former
pristine state as
was in the Garden of
Eden. A remnant are
said to enter the
Kingdom Age of the
rule of Jesus Christ
as mortal, but I
stress the word
remnant, because
Jesus Christ will
come as a Lion, and
a Warrior King and
will put down all
rebellion in blood.
In the short time we
have left, Jesus
offers Himself, as
the substitution of
having to endure His
righteous wrath. By
accepting the free
gift of salvation
through Jesus Christ
our Lord:
“We are not
appointed to wrath,
but to receive
salvation through
Jesus Christ, our
Lord” (2
Thessalonians 5:9).
To reject this free
gift of eternal life
will give God no
choice but to number
you with the
rebellious legions
that will be
destroyed at His
coming to reign and
rule for 1000 years
in the run-up to all
of eternity. Won’t
you accept His free
gift today?
If you hear His
voice, respond by
accepting His free
gift and confess
with your mouth,
that God has raised
Jesus from the dead
and made His name
above every name, to
the glory of the
Father. You time
grows short, as
Jesus promised:
Matthew 28.21-22:
“For then shall be
great tribulation,
such as was not
since the beginning
of the world to this
time, no, nor ever
shall be. And except
those days should be
shortened, there
should no flesh be
saved: but for the
elect's sake those
days shall be
shortened.”
When people ask
about who will be
saved the answer is,
many spiritually,
but very few
physically, as the
level of destruction
will surpass
anything that
mankind has ever
witnessed. God in
His wrath will
destroy every man,
beast, and fowl of
the air in divine
retribution to the
rebellion of His
Commandments and the
failure to believe
in the only payment
for their sins,
Jesus Christ, His
only begotten Son.
Only a few will
survive to enter
into the 1000-year
reign of Jesus
Christ as ruler of
this world and Satan
is chained for a
1000 years ending
his reign of
tempting man for a
Sabbath’s rest.
This is Pastor Mike
Taylor, wishing the
salvation of Jesus
Christ in your life.
If you need help of
any kind,
counseling, prayer,
or just a listening
ear, then drop me a
line to
realteam1999@sbcglobal.net,
or for more biblical
sermons visit me
online at
www.churchofgod-usa.org.
God bless you, till
we meet at Jesus
feet.