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THE RAPTURE – PART 3

January 3, 2009

PREVIOUS FIVE BLOGS

Any Way You Want to Slice It!

THE RAPTURE – PART 2

NO HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR JIHAD KIDS!

THE RAPTURE – PART 1

Intense Gaza Battle Ready to End 2008!

http://www.tribulation period.

com/

UNVEILING THE MYSTERY OF THE PRE-MILLENNIAL RAPTURE

The 1st Resurrection, Catching Out of the Saved, or the Rapture – Part 3

Please read my previous BLOGs (THE RAPTURE – PARTS 1 & 2) prior to reading the following BLOG.

HISTORICAL RAPTURE TEACHINGS

As a young man I developed an interest in certain historical eras of time, especially the period of time associated with the castles of ancient England. In December of 1961, after I had traveled for some three years from north to south and east to west across England, the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society published my lengthy discourse on “Forecasting Rain Stratus in the Midlands of England.” During those three years I examined most of the ancient castle earthworks found standing after the rampage of Cromwell across England.

England is the land of very old books and the meticulous maintenance of these books is carried out rigorously at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. So if you really want to know for sure when a particular Biblical interpretation first came into print, these two institutions should be the place to begin your research.

From my earliest days I had an avid interest in all publications that interpreted Biblical passages concerning the second coming of Christ.

When I first began lecturing in churches, seminaries, universities, and colleges in 1978, I had no idea that my travels would take me to more than 700 of these institutions, and that I would be in the immediate vicinity of most of the major colleges and universities in the U.S. The vast majority of our institutions of higher learning began as small institutions under the control of a church or churches. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, most of them individually broke away from their sponsoring churches to become the independent centers of higher secular learning today. The majority of books in colleges and universities in early years were religious books, but after they lost the influence of the sponsoring churches they gradually became more and more secular in their teaching and accredited degrees, so they had to decide what to do with their very large volume of religious books. Some were sold, some thrown away, and some placed in specially created archives. I know I am a sixth generation Missionary Baptist because of the material I collected from just such an archive in Kalamazoo College in Michigan. Its archives documented that Henry McElmurry, of whom I am a direct descendant, was the missionary-pastor of three of our early churches in southeastern Missouri from 1834 to 1839. Some of the books in the archives of these colleges are so old and fragile, that they have a designated person to open the pages for you to prevent the book being damaged.

So why have I labored on so long about old books. I wanted to know when various teachings were published concerning when the Lord would come, particularly in reference to what is called the tribulation period, a period of time that ends with the battle of Armageddon. So, as I traveled, I went to these archives and searched for this information. All of the old books I examined were quite definite that the tribulation period would close with the battle of Armageddon. But the time of the beginning of the tribulation, how long it was to last once it started, and when the first resurrection occurred in reference to it, was quite another matter. The first resurrection, which has taken on the popular title “the rapture,” has been one of the most vigorously debated theological subjects in the Word of God for some 215 years. So, because it still is, I intend to present as accurate a documented history as I am able from my research. I will attempt to show when several beliefs concerning this much debated subject first appeared on the scene in published books.

When Johannes Gutenberg invented the first process of printing from separately cast metal types, used for moveable type, the era of book publishing was soon to begin. By 1450 he had a press in Germany financed by Johann Fust.

In 1455 Fust had the first printed Bible in history well under way.

Slowly the publishing of books by press immerged. Many of the first books published were interpretative expositions of Biblical scriptures, and among those were expositions of scriptures about the first resurrection. After the 1611 KJV was published, expositions on Christ’s second coming started appearing in books based on the interpretation of passages found in it.

The first printed work that taught a rapture (first resurrection) before the blowing of the seventh trumpet in the book of Revelation was published in 1788. The teaching appeared in a book written by a well-known Baptist preacher of the eighteenth century, Morgan Edwards. It was titled “Two Academic Exercises on Subjects Bearing the Following Titles: Millennial and Last Novelties.” The book was published by Dodson and Lang, Second Street between Market and Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In my archive search to discover the first printings of various positions held on the time of Christ’s com ing,

in relation to the end of the tribulation period, I had only found two published positions prior to the War of 1812. The vast majority of all the publications put Christ’s coming at the very end of the tribulation period, and a definite minority placed it at the blowing of the seventh trumpet, just before God’s wrath is poured out on the earth in seven vials. However, Morgan, for the first time in history since books began to be published, taught that a rapture of the saved would occur 3 and ½ years before the end of the tribulation period. There is no record of any printed book historically published prior to 1788, as far as I have been able to discover, that taught a rapture prior to the last 3 and ½ years before the final battle of Armageddon in the tribulation period.

I don’t say that such a book or books do not exist, but if they do, they are a drop in an ocean of books.

Dr. Thomas Chalmers, a Presbyterian minister of the Church of Scotland, and the man who first introduced what is known as the “Gap Theory,” had an assistant named Edward Irving. In 1827 Reverend Irving began to teach that Christ would first come for His saints, and then after a period of tribulation, He would come to destroy antichrist and to reign. In 1830 in Port Glasgow, Scotland, a 15-year-old young lady, named Margaret MacDonald, announced that she had received a prophetic vision from God concerning the coming of Christ. Her revelation may be found in a book by Robert Norton entitled “The Restoration of Apostles and Prophets” in the Catholic Apostolic Church, (London, 1861). In his book he declared that from her vision it could be seen that Christians would be taken out before the time of tribulation.

J.N. Darby, a leader among the early Plymouth Brethren, was known to have visited her during the time Margaret was having her visions. The teaching of a 7-year tribulation period came after these visions. The idea of the tribulation period consisting of two 3 and ½ year periods was put in print after John Darby began preaching the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Theory. Prior to that time you will find no publication was ever printed that showed two boxes joined together to form a 7 year period, with the first box representing a period of 3 and ½ years of peace, and the second box representing a period of 3 and ½ years of tribulation. The 7-year theory was developed by proponents of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Theory. It was developed by letting the “he” in Daniel 9:27 refer to the antichrist rather than Christ. Before 1788 they taught that the “he” of Daniel 9:27 was Christ or Antiochus Epiphanes, but in view of the new revelation in 1788, it eventually became necessary to justify it, and by 1832 a series of new Scripture combinations began to appear, and they were used to teach what came to be known as the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Position. It was the grand joining of the “70th Week of Daniel” prophecy with the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Theory that finally launched today’s popular teaching under a wind filled sail.

J.N. Darby taught that the rapture occurs before the last 7 years of the prophecy of 490 years found in Daniel 9:24-27. In Volume 3, page 424, of Darby’s letters, he wrote: “Let it be remembered now that we have no date for the rapture of the church – that the dates BEGIN with a week of Daniel 9, and half a week when the sacrifice is made to cease. But this does not affect the general testimony of Matthew 24, which may begin the week, and be carried on among the Gentiles during the great tribulation at Jerusalem.”

J.N. Darby visited America seven times between 1862 and 1877. Cyrus I. Scofield, minister of a Congregational church, became a student of all the writings of J.N. Darby, and then forever popularized his Pre-Tribulation Rapture position by placing it in the Scofield Reference Bible notes of his 1909 publication. Most of the Bible teachers of Scofield’s day did not accept his new found position, but it was so appealing to religious groups that it spread across the country like wildfire as an exciting new revelation, which taught God’s children would never go into the tribulation period. By the time I was saved in 1944, you were often considered a heretic if you believed anything other than a rapture 7 years prior to the end of the tribulation period.

When I wrote my last two books, Tribulation Triad and Birth Pangs from the Bottomless Pit in the late seventies, I was what was known as a “Mid-Tribber.” In the early eighties I changed my position on when the first resurrection occurs in relation to the end of the tribulation period. Could the Mid-Tribulation Rapture Position be correct

? Yes, if God chose to wait some 1788 years after Christ’s birth before letting it first appear in a printed book expos

ition of Biblical scriptures by a man named Morgan Edwards. Could the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Position be correct? Yes, if God chose to wait some 1830 years after the birth of His Son before letting it first appear in a printed form. To my knowledge, there was never a published printed book prior to 1788, which explained the scriptures found in the Bible about the rapture by advocating a Pre or Mid Tribulation Rapture.

I have read the letters of the early church fathers to see if any such teaching was clearly spelled out in context in their writings on a Pre-Tribulation rapture. And, in so doing, I have searched hoping to find such a reference, but have not found a reference in context that justified such a position with sufficient clarity to be certain.

I did find two that may advocate such a position, but the only thing I can be sure of is that they are more likely to simply refer to the rapture as being pre-millennial, not specifically pre-tribulation. The references were by Irenaeus and Hippolytus, written on scrolls in about 180 AD.

There was also a document reported by advocates of the pre-tribulation rapture position as being genuine and written by Ephraem the Syria in 373 AD. However, the document is classified by the antiquity experts as being Pseudo-Ephraem (Pseudo means false). It was titled “On the last times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World.” But the problem with it is threefold: We can’t be sure that Ephraem wrote it, or if the copier made it up himself, or WHEN he copied or wrote it. I do at least know it was written before 1890, because German Professor Caspari wrote a German commentary on the Latin manuscript in 1890, and he was one of the few who thought it was written by Ephraem.

Begin Quote from “Historical Perspective on Pretribulationism” by Ed Tarkowski

In Search Of The Origins Of The Pretrib Doctrine:

Part 2: Psuedo-Ephraem Depicts A Posttrib, Not Pretrib, Rapture

“For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins” (Pseudo-Ephraem).

I do not believe in reinventing the wheel (though I sometimes do) [said with a smile], but I can find no better documentation that refutes the idea of pretrib rapture in the above quote from Pseudo-Ephraem than that which is written at Pseudo-Pseudo-Ephraem: Grant Jeffrey II, the Sequel!

By Tim Warner. At first appearance the above quote appears to emphatically point to support a Pretribulation rapture by Pseudo-Ephraem, which was written sometime around 373 AD. However, the date itself is speculative and scholars are unsure of when this document was written, dating it anywhere from 374 and 627 AD. There is a lot of unsureness of the document and its author, making it a poor measure of truth concerning the second coming of Christ. Warner states,

The quotation Jeffrey referred to is from a document called “Pseudo-Ephraem.” The prefix “pseudo—” means “false” or “falsely ascribed to—.” Scholars doubt this document is genuinely from the hand of Ephraem of Syria, or that it was written in the fourth century. It was most likely written much later by an anonymous author, who falsely ascribed it to Ephraem the Syrian. So, when Jeffrey wrote “I believe Ephraem the Syrian’s A.D. 373 manuscript, On the Last Times, the Antichrist and the End of the World…”, he has already mis-represented his evidence, and demonstrated the same kind of “spin” that is evident in his other claims. This sermon was neither written by Ephraem the Syrian nor was it written in A.D. 373! And Jeffrey knows this! Ephraem’s genuine writings, contained in the Post-Nicene Fathers collection, display no hint of pre-tribulationism. Here is the allegedly pre-trib statement that Jeffrey provides from Pseudo-Ephraem (see above quote).”

End Quote from “Historical Perspective on Pretribulationism” by Ed Tarkowski

If you think I didn’t want to find such a reference, you are quite wrong.

Failure to agree with the Pre-Tribulation position only gains you great unpopularity with most of the brethren and, being carnal in the flesh, and desiring their acceptance, I certainly hoped to find such a position issued prior to 1788, but found none of which I could honestly state: Yes! This teaches a Pre-Tribulation rapture. Could I be wrong in the position I hold? Certainly! And I will continue to search for the prophetic truth on this subject. I have not changed what I was taught as a youth concerning doctrines on salvation, baptism, the local church, and its two ordinances, but I have changed my mind about the position of the Lord’s coming in reference to the battle of Armageddon and, quite frankly, will change my mind again if I find a better case than the one you find in these BLOGS on the rapture. Any man who is not willing to change his position on the time of Christ’s coming, in relation to the end of the tribulation period, makes it a doctrinal position. There is only one real doctrine concerning Christ’s coming – HE IS COMING. When he comes, in relation to the events stated as occurring in the tribulation period, is a matter of opinion, not a matter of doctrine.

So how do all these different positions affect me? They don’t! In our work we have “first of the weekers,” middle of the weekers,” “last of the weekers,” “seventh trumpers,” “split rapturers,” “triple rapturers,” and “progressive rapturers.” It would be ridiculous for me to make what my brethren believe about the rapture a test of fellowship. The doctrine of Christ’s coming is that He is coming. If you don’t believe that you are a heretic, and I don’t want your fellowship. I have a very simple Biblical principle that I follow to be ready when he does come. I know I will be taken because I am saved. So I daily attempt to be faithful to Him in one of His new testament churches, in order that I will be prepared to stand before His judgment seat whenever He comes.

I do not believe we have a full week of seven years left to fulfill in Daniel’s 70 weeks of 490 years (See 10 Part BLOG series on Daniel’s Prophecy of 70 Weeks). I am persuaded Christ is coming on the blowing of the 7th trumpet in Revelation 10:7, 11:15, and 11:18, but I live my life like it could be today. I am “watching” daily for that time, whenever it is. I have been told that one cannot do such a thing. Well, just hide and watch me! If it does occur 7 years before the battle of Armageddon, then I will be caught “watching” for His coming.

The material contained in this particular BLOG has been taken from many old books I have perused in the U.S. and overseas during my many years of travel, and a portion of it came from the research of John L. Bray, a Baptist Minister who was born in 1921 in Macon, Georgia, and was ordained as pastor of a Baptist church in Jacksonville, Florida at the age of 18. He was educated at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, John B. Stetson University in Deland, Florida, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky and, if he is still living, would be some 87 years in age. By 1990 he had spent 30 years as a pastor of Southern Baptist Churches, and completed 21 years as a full time evangelist. I am indebted to him for the extractions I took from his writings in compiling this update, as well as to others from which some material was quoted.

Ishmael’s wild ass Hamas!

Any way you want to slice It,

It is now all or nothing in Gaza,

If Israel wants to stop all Rockets,

It must Wipe Out Hamas in the Strip,

Hamas wild ass won’t stop other Asses,

As most head asses do in a band of Asses,

Israel doesn’t want to do what excerpt Asks,

But unless it

does the rocket attacks won’t End,

And For International Reasons I Doubt Israel Will!

Did you ever he ar of

a wild ass in a maternity Ward

?

Excerpt 2 indicates the Human Variety Will hide in One!

Excerpt 3 tells the latest status of the conflict inside Gaza!

January 2, 2008

PREVIOUS FIVE BLOGS

THE RAPTURE – PART 2

NO HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR JIHAD KIDS!

THE RAPTURE – PART 1

Intense Gaza Battle Ready to End 2008!

DANIEL’S PROPHECY of 70 WEEKS – Part 10

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Genesis 16:12 – And he (Ishmael) will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

Jamison, Faussett, and Brown Commentary: “and he will be a wild man” — literally, “a wild ass man,” expressing how the wildness of Ishmael and his descendants resembles that of the wild ass. “His hand will be against every man” –descriptive of the rude, turbulent, and plundering character

of the Arabs. “Dwell in the presence of all his brethren”–dwell, that is, pitch tents; and the meaning is that they maintain their independence in spite of all attempts to extirpate or subdue them

I would say that is an excellent description of the descendents of Ishmael we still find around in Gaza at the end of the Age of the Gentiles.

Begin Excerpt 1 from YNet News

Decision time is here

Unless both sides agree on truce, Israel will proceed to pulverize Gaza Strip

Eitan Haber

Up until a few years ago, many politicians, military officials, journalists, and announcers enjoyed using the term “the sand in the hourglass is running out” in order to emphasize that time is running out ahead of a political, diplomatic, or military decision.

Today, we can say that “every Qassam and Grad rocket fired from Gaza quickly brings forward the takeover of the entire Strip, from one end to the other.”

In fact, the formula the way it was taking shape Wednesday is as follows: Unless the sides agree on a lull, and should Hamas continue to fire rockets and missiles, IDF radio networks will be replete with “charge ahead” orders. And the tanks will indeed charge ahead.

We can sum it up as follows: “It’s all or nothing.” Or in other words, “all” means taking over the entire Strip. Not just some streets or neighborhoods. Everything. And “nothing” means no Qassams and no Grads. Nothing.

Israeli citizens have been pampered with quick and rapid IDF victories in the past. If we had the same mentality we do today, we would go crazy during the War of Independence, which lasted more than a year, and certainly during the Yom Kippur War, which lasted more than 20 days.

Israelis are unwilling to accept the fact that a terror group like Hamas cannot be run over within two days. Before the current operation, “defense sources” (that is, Ehud Barak’s new name) said that the objectives will be limited and that the goal is to merely “deliver a harsh blow” without even saying that there will be no Qassams after it, yet the fact is that such declarations are unacceptable in the view of Israelis.

Now, the decision is in the hands of Mr. Mashaal, Mr. Haniyeh, and their associates.

They can choose another lull, or a bloody confrontation that may hurt the IDF, but will see them pulverized.

The Gaza Strip will be set on fire.

So now, either we shall see a lull, or the IDF and State of Israel will embark on a long road, replete with victims, in order to hit Hamas time and again. Qassams and Grads may continue to land in our territory in the meanwhile, yet at the end of the bloody battle, whoever is left of Hamas’ commanders will stand up and declare, just like Nasrallah declared at the end of the Second Lebanon War: “If we knew Israel would respond that way, we wouldn’t have done it.”

Begin Excerpt 2 from YNet News

According to YNET, (http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3647934,00.html) the head of Israeli’s intelligence reported today that Hamas terrorists are hiding in hospitals and maternity wards, wearing the clothes of doctors and nurses. They are moving rocket launchers into crowded residential neighborhoods, and thus their success in shooting over 45 rockets into Israeli towns this morning alone.

The difficulty of rooting out terrorists who hide behind newborn babies and cancer patients is hard for a civilized country like Israel to deal with. Israel allowed 100 truckloads of medical supplies and basic food items to enter Gaza yesterday, along with five new ambulances donated by Turkey. This morning, the Gazans requested that Israeli hospitals take in two small children injured in the hostilities. Israel allowed them in, even as Ham

as continued to bomb.

Mr. Olmert and Ms. Livni have reportedly overruled our Defense Minister’s desire to cave in and give a 48 hour respite for “humanitarian” purposes.

In what war did you ever hear of such a proposal? Where were the humanitarian requests for “respites” from Hamas rockets on our population centers from France in the last six years?

Ehud Barak, our former wishy-washy noodle of a Prime Minister, who was practically begging to sign the country away to Arafat, has a nickname in Israel.

He’s known as Ehud “Barach” meaning “to run away.” He ran away in Lebanon, leading to the last Lebanese War, and now he is getting to run away from Gaza.

We can only hope Israeli voters run away from him in the upcoming elections.

Begin Excerpt 3 from DEBKAfile

Day 7 of Gaza operation: High police alert across Israel, Ashkelon takes brunt of rockets

DEBKAfile Special Report

January 2, 2009, 2:40 PM (GMT+02:00)

Israeli police placed 12,000 officers on high alert across the country – concentrated mainly in Jerusalem and the North – Friday, Jan 2, Day 7 of the Gaza operation.

Military contingents on the West Bank have been beefed up after 60 warnings were received. They are braced for Hamas attempts to stir up violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank and for clashes between Friday prayers worshippers and police around the mosques. Admission al Aqsa mosque on Temple Mount restricted to men over 50 and women.

Ashkelon, 17km north of Gaza took the brunt of Palestinian attacks. Of the 7 Grad Katyushas striking the port city, two were direct hits slightly injuring

two people. The air force hit the Gaza launchers. Several missiles and rockets exploded at Netivot, Shear Hanegev and Negev fields.

Israel sees Friday as a test for the US-trained Palestinian security forces handed responsibility for security in several West Bank towns including Nablus, Ramallah and Hebron. An Israeli source said that to establish their credibility they may need to exercise force to quell mob outbreaks. O therwise,

the violence will spread and ignite the entire West Bank, in which case Israel troops would have to be called in. To be on the safe side, the IDF ordered the West Bank sealed Thursday midnight.

A heavy Egyptian ring of security forces has been drawn around the Gaza border with orders to open fire on Palestinians escaping to Sinai from Israeli attacks. Mounting tension in the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected Israeli ground incursion has driven thousands of northerners to head south toward the Egyptian border.

Early Friday, after wiping out Hamas command centers and bases and 80 percent of their weapons tunnels in six days, the Israeli air force bombed the homes of 20 high-profile leaders and officers. An Israeli military source said: “After Nizar Ariyan was killed in an air strike Thursday night, every Ezz e-Din al Qassam brigade and battalion commander knows he stands to lose his family home.”

The panic in Hamas ranks has spread to the Palestinian street.

Friday, Israel bombed another Gaza mosque used as a weapons depot. Egypt asked Israel to refrain from targeting mosques – even if they are weapons stores – so as not to inflame world Muslims.

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THE RAPTURE – PART 2

January 2, 2009

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

UNVEILING THE MYSTERY OF THE PRE-MILLENNIAL RAPTURE

The 1st Resurrection, Catching Out of the Saved, or the Rapture – Part 2

Please read my previous BLOG (THE RAPTURE – PART 1) prior to reading the following BLOG.

The Seals, Trumpets, and Vials

THE OPENING OF THE FIFTH SEAL

Fifth Seal Souls Anxious to Return to Reign

Revelation 6:9-11 – And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: [10] And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? [11] And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

These are the martyred souls of the saints of the ages, and they are very anxious for the mystery of the rapture to be fulfilled, when all their brethren on the earth will be in heaven for Christ’s judgment seat, knowing that after they are judged, they will return to reign with them and with Christ for 1000 years on this present earth. The white robes are the rew ard

for a willingness to die for the word of God and the testimony of Christ they gave from it. It is very important to note when the fifth seal is opened their fellow servants and brethren are still on the earth. Their brethren still on earth will remain there up to

the time of their martyrdom before or at the sounding of the seventh trumpet.

Then both groups will be in heaven after the sounding of the seventh trumpet.

White robes are part of the eternal outer garment

of the saved that were faithful. The souls under the altar were faithful unto death.

There will be many saved men and women who will be faithful unto death in the tribulation period. Some will be faithful, but will not be required to give their lives.

They will also wear the outer robe as a garment forever, but the unfaithful saved will not wear the outer garment in heaven.

The “little season” they are told to wait in rest is the time left before their fellow servants and brethren come up to join them when the seventh trumpet sounds, after which God will perform their request to “judge and avenge our blood on them (the lost) that dwell on the earth.” Some saved in heaven will not receive a robe because of unfaithfulness.

Revelation 16:15 – Behold, I come as a thief.

Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

“Naked” did not mean completely uncovered to John. It meant to be covered by the inner garment without an outer garment.

All the saved will go out on the seventh trumpet, both faithful and unfaithful, and all will be judged in heaven for rewards following it.

Revelation 11:15,18 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. [18] And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

Chapter 12 in Revelation is a parenthetical chapter, and the remnant in the midst of the woman Israel, being the remnant of her Son Jesus Christ, will have his testimony and keep his commandments in the Negev. The woman Israel will flee into the Negev wilderness 1260 days prior to Armageddon with her Seed’s remnant in the midst of her, and the Seed’s remnant, the 144,000, will be taken up when the seventh trumpet sounds. The two men who are the witnesses of God will be among the 144,000, but will be caught up immediately before the blowing of the seventh trumpet. They will be among those who “should be killed as they were” in seal five, Revelation 6:11.

Revelation 12:5,6,17 – And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. [6] And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. [17] And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 7:4 – And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

Revelation 11:3 – And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
Revelation 11:7-9 – And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

Revelation 11:12 – And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

Revelation 20:4 – And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

THE OPENING OF THE SIXTH SEAL

The Last 1260 Days of Tribulation Begins

Revelation 6:12-14 – And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; [13] And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. [14] And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

The sixth seal catastrophe begins with an earthquake, and marks the time antichrist attacks Israel, driving them into the Negev and leaving them there for the last 1260 days of the tribulation period. This earthquake is the first earthquake in the book of Revelation, and it opens 1260 days of tribulation before Armageddon.

The last earthquake in Revelation is the greatest of all, and it closes the tribulation period at Armageddon. There will be countless numbers of earthquakes of great intensity between these two, but these are the first and the last in the tribulation period, occurring on the sixth seal opening, and the empting of the seventh vial. They will a part of God’s judgment upon both the lost and the unfaithful saved during the seals and the trumpets, but those earthquakes occurring from the seventh trumpet to the last vial will be much greater in intensity because they are a part of God’s wrath on the earth.

Revelation 16:16-21 – And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. [17] And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. [18] And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. [19] And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. [20] And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. [21] And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

The fifth is about to be played out under the throne by the souls of the martyred saints found in Revelation 6:9-11. I would not be surprised at all if the sixth seal opens at some point in time between 2010 and 2015.

It will open, but WHEN is just OPINION on my part.

The sixth seal gives John a preview of what will happen when the seventh seal is opened and the seven trumpets begin to sound. I believe that the sixth seal contains a fore view of the events that will occur when the trumpets are blown and the vials are emptied.

The opening of the sixth seal sets the stage for the sounding of the first trumpet – and then remains unsealed up to the pouring out of the seventh vial.

When God showed John the events of the end times, he first showed him a generalized picture of what would be happening on earth and in heaven during the period that proceeds the tribulation period, in what Matthew and Mark called “the beginning of sorrows.” This picture was presented in the opening of the first four seals. The fifth seal is a heavenly scene of souls in heaven anxious for God to take action against those who spilled their blood, and for the rapture. When the sixth seal is opened, God gives John a preview of what the last 1260 days of the tribulation period will be like. But it is an overview, and the specifics are not revealed until the seventh seal is opened, all seven trumpets sound, and all seven vials have been emptied. The sixth seal is a broad outline of what God intends to do during the time span from the seventh seal, through the trumpets, and up to the last drop of the seventh vial. The trumpets and vials are the specific events within the broad outline of the sixth seal. The trumpets and vials are interlaced, and picture the same events. Each trumpet announces the beginning of an event, and its numerically corresponding vial closes it. The sound of the trumpet heralds the start of a phase, and when the last drop of the corresponding vial is poured out, the phase is finished. Trumpet number 1 is the judgment of God until it phases into Vial number 1, at which time it becomes the wrath of God. Trumpet number 2 shows the judgment of God until it phases into Vial number 2, at which time is becomes the wrath of God. This sequence is true through all seven trumpets and seven vials. The trumpets represent the judgment of God on both the saved and the lost.

The vials represent the wrath of God upon the lost. The sixth seal gives a preview of the trumpets and vials. It first previews the judgments of the phenomena which are going to be unleashed by the trumpets in Revelation 6:12-14, and then gives a preview of the wrath of God that will be unleashed by the vials in Revelation 6:15-17.

Revelation 6:12-17 – And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; [13] And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. [14] And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. [15] 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; [16] 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: [17] For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Verses 12 to 14 are God’s judgment. They basically tell what will be produced during the time of the trumpets. Verses 15 to 17 are God’s wrath. They basically picture what will be produced on mankind by the vials.

God’s wrath will come after the sounding of trumpet 7, when vial 1 of his wrath, which corresponded to trumpet 1, is poured out. Trumpet 7 sounds in Revelation 11:15.

Revelation 11:15 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

God’s “wrath is come” after the seventh trumpet sounds, while the saved are being judged in heaven after being taken up at its sounding, and are at Christ’s judgment seat for rewards for works done during their time in their physical bodies.

Revelation 11:18 – And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

I cannot send diagrams on my BLOGS, but I can by E-Mail.

So, If you will send me your E-mail address, I will send you diagrams of all this.

My E-mail address is:

tmcel@juno.com

PREVIOUS FIVE BLOGS

THE RAPTURE – PART 1

Intense Gaza Battle Ready to End 2008!

DANIEL’S PROPHECY of 70 WEEKS – Part 10

IGOR DOES MAKE YOU WONDER!

DANIEL’S PROPHECY of 70 WEEKS – Part 9

CURRENT BLOG

Beast’s education isn’t Hid,

No happy new year Arab Bid,

Of terror Islam Itself Won’t Rid,

No Happy New Year for JIhad Kids,

Even Fatah’s part of Beast of the East,

Jihad raises children as Beasts of the East,

So with Arab offspring we cannot have Peace,

Till Jesus comes to kill the Beast war won’t Cease!

Revelation 19:11,19-21 – 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. [19] And I saw the beast, and

the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. [20] And t he beast was taken, and with him t

he false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. [21] And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

The two excerpts which follow give a general outline of what is happening across the Middle East among the multitude that has chosen to follow the way of Islamic Jihad, regarding the education of their children in the glory of martyrdom for the glory of Allah. This is not going away, it is growing. It is the very essence of the living spirit of antichrist, the willing sacrifice of children to the god of Islam, who is none other than Satan. They are not sacrificing them to false gods, then putting them in the walls of their mud d welli

ngs, as did their Canaanite forefathers, but now they get the children to sacrifice themselves directly and willingly to the god of all false gods, Satan himself. This is why there c an never be pe

ace in the Middle East until the beast and his false prophet are in a lake of fire and their father Satan is confined to the bottomless pit for a thousand years.

Revelation 20:1-3 – And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. [2] And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, [3] And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Until Satan is confined to the bottomless pit, he will continue to empower the beast of the east from his seat of authority in his spiritual kingdom located along the great Euphrates River, which flows along the borders of Syria and Iran.

Revelation 16:10-16 – And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, [11] And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

[12] And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. [13] And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. [14] For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. [15] Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. [16] And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

January 1, 2009

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Begin Excerpt from “The Beast”

U.S. Millions Incite Tomorrow’s Suicide Bombers

By Gerald Posner

Gerald Posner is the award-winning author of 10 best-selling books of investigative nonfiction ranging from political assassinations, to Nazi war criminals, to 9/11, to terrorism (www.posner.com). He has also written dozens of articles for national magazines and newspapers. He is a regular contributor to NBC, CNN, CBS, and MSNBC. Poser lives in Miami Beach with his wife, the suthor Trisha Posner.

Videos show that Fatah, the Palestinian Authority, supposedly committed to peace, uses aid from the U.S. and Europe to teach children that Israel is irredeemably evil and terrorism is heroic.

Incoming Secretary of State Hillary Clinton faces an alarming threat to any hope of a brokered Middle East peace. Some of the $40 million already committed to “moderate” Fatah president, Mahmoud Abbas, is feeding children a steady drumbeat of indoctrination to kill Israelis, with idealized images of virgins who await suicide bombers. Whistleblower has secured advanced copies of inflammatory videos collected from the West Bank by the private organization Palestinian Media Watch. They show what children in the schools are currently being taught in lessons and through T.V. shows. This brainwashing from “moderate” Fatah is little different from the propaganda put out by Hamas, which was condemned as a terrorist organization by the United States in 1995 and by the European Union in 2003.

In these videos, young children are taught to regard martyrdom in suicide bombing as a glorious aim.

The most upsetting 2008 clip might be that of uniformed elementary school children, enthusiastically reciting a poem for Palestinian Independence Day that ends: “I have let my land drink my blood, and I have loved the way of the shahada (martyrdom for Allah).”

Begin Excerpt 1 from U.S. News and World Report

Palestinians Training Kids to be Suicide Bombers

Teaching children murder and a warped, dangerous history

By Harold Evans

Posted December 19, 2008

Even when times are very bad, we take solace, irrespective of creed, in the hope symbolized by the Christmas story of birth and renewal. We indulge children and proclaim a season of peace and goodwill. Alas, this Christmas is darkened by a Bethlehem story that is not about peace, but about killing; not about how children may fufill their promise, but about how they should glory in their own extinction. There are no wise men on this horizon.

The Bethlehem that the New Testament tells us is the birthplace of Jesus is also the center of Palestinian culture and the headquarters of the Governorate of the Palestinian Authority. The Bush administration believed and hoped that the PA chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, cared enough about his people to make a decent peace with Israel, leading to a new, independent state of Palestine. Abbas has shattered those hopes.

Worse, he and his associates are ensuring that the next generation of Palestinians will be incapable of making peace. They will be paralyzed by the hate and fear that they have been taught in their schoolrooms and

by the national television controlled by the PA.

The extent of this corruption of children’s minds was vividly exposed last week by the investigative journalist Gerald Posner, who produced a Web documentary (hosted by thedailybeast.com) based on videos culled from television by Palestinian Media Watch. It is deeply shocking to observe children being programmed for terrorism through the exaltation of suicide bombers as heroes. “Martyrdom is bliss,” a child hostess says, referring to a 14-year-old suicide killer. The clips show incessant indoctrination that Islam wants the death of adults and children for Allah and will reward those who achieve Shahada, which Palestinian Media Watch equates with death for Allah. “I have let my land drink my blood, and I have loved the way of Shahada,” intones a young boy.

False history. Children being t aught murder by rote is child

abuse, a mental deformation more damaging than physical injury. Equally disgusting is the demonization of Jew

s based on a phony history of the Holocaust. Remember the Holocaust, in which

the Nazis killed 6 million Jews? Well, take a look at the scene from a PA Fatah “educational video” in which children acting and singing about history recite: “They [Israel] are the ones who did the Holocaust, their knife cuts to the length and width of our flesh. They opened the ovens for us to bake human beings. … When an oven stops burning, they light 100 [more].” A body called the National Committee for Defense of Children from the Holocaust organized an exhibit, one feature of which, according to al-Ayyam, one of the largest Palestinian newspapers, is “an oven and inside it small [Palestinian] children are being burned. The picture speaks for itself.”

This endlessly fraudulent education has had devastating effects on the prospects for peace. The world may have been appalled this year when students studying in a Jerusalem library were shot to death by a Palestinian terrorist, but the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research reports that 84 percent of Palestinians approved.

Wars routinely produce competitive ecstasies of hate. Is Israel any better? The answer is yes. In the early days of the state, the historical narrative of a nation under siege did prejudice the teaching. There were omissions, bias, and distorted stereotypes of Arabs–but not outright incitements to murder. And all that was cleaned up in three successive periods of revision, according to a major study by Prof. Elie Podeh that tracked the evolution of enlightened education in an Israel impelled by democratic values. Israeli schoolbooks no longer seek to impose a single narrative. Podeh concludes: “In historical and national terms, the Palestinians are currently in the same position that Israel was in 50 years ago. If Palestinian textbooks must go through the long, exhausting process undergone by Israeli textbooks, the prospects of a genuine and lasting Israeli-Palestinian conciliation may lie far in the future.”

Incoming Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is well aware of the PA’s insidious lies. Last year, she called for them to stop: “These children deserve an education that instills a respect for life and peace instead of glorifying death and violence. It is disturbing to me as a mother, it is disturbing to me as a United States senator, because it basically, profoundly poisons the minds of these children.” Now, she is in a position to do more. She can tell Abbas that the U.S. government will no longer give millions of dollars to a Palestinian Authority that actively pollutes the minds of the innocents. And the Europeans should follow suit.

Begin Excerpt 2 from Middle East Media Review Institute (MEMRI)

January 1, 2008

Iranian TV Program Teaches Toddlers About Martyrdom

Following are excerpts from an Iranian children’s show which aired on Channel 1, Iranian TV on December 29, 2008.

TV host: “Tell me, children, you are all wearing kaffiyeh scarves. What are you trying to show? That you are friends of the Palestinian children, and that

you are all worried because of what is going on.

“What did the enemy do? It turned the oppressed children of Gaza into martyrs. It turned their families – their parents – into martyrs as well. These children were defenseless. They were so young that they didn’t know anybody but their parents.

“Except for strolling down the street and looking for a flower to smell, these children didn’t do anything. They didn’t understand what war is. They didn’t understand what murder, massacre, and crime are. They didn’t understand what evil is. But before they had time to grow up, they got a taste of the enemy’s evil.

[…]

“We all loathe those enemies. We all loathe them.

We are furious at them. We identify with the Palestinian children.

[…]

“Suppose we put ourselves in the position of the Palestinian children – why not? Kids, let’s put ourselves in the position of the Palestinian children – of the children of Gaza. What do you think we would do if we were in their position? Would we surrender, or would we fight back? You tell me…”

Children in unison: “Fight back.”

Child: “We would all get together so we could fight…”

TV host: “…the enemies and the bad people. That’s right, we would struggle against them and fight them. What do you say?”

Second child: “Our country… We must…”

TV host: “…defend it…”

Second child: “We will struggle until we win.”

TV host: “Well done.

[…]

“I am willing to sacrifice myself. I am willing to sacrifice my arms, my legs, and all my limbs, my family, and my property, in order to achieve my goals.

[…]

“Children, let’s pray for all the children of Palestine and Gaza.

Let’s pray, because you are pure at heart. You are innocent children. No matter where you live in the world, you children are very pure. You are as white as snow, and as clear as running water.

[…]

“Dear God, these are difficult times. These days are full of pain and suffering. These are unbearable times for the children of Palestine and Gaza. Dear God, give them more patience and endurance.”

Children in unison: “Amen.”

TV host: “Dear God, we ask you to resolve their problems.”

Children in unison: “Amen.”

TV host: “Increase their perseverance, their patience, and their abilities.”

Children in unison: “Amen.”

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