Don't Be Deceived by Chris Whitcomb - HTML preview

Chapter 10

The Church till the second coming of Jesus.

 

This period is the current time we life in and should therefore be the most important one of all the periods in which Satan will be deceiving the elect, or trying to deceive them if it will be possible.

If one look at all the current “last days messages” on Tube, TV and on the radio as well as the messages been preached in churches, all of them have the message in it that we are living in the last days. A message I heard ever since boyhood. I can recall every time I saw the sun turning red at sunset or when there was a sun or moon eclipse, I thought this is the end of the world. Today the second coming of Jesus is also mentioned as ‘the end of the world’ which is not Biblical correct.

There are so many different things that people refer to around the second coming and what the order of these things will be, that it sometimes helps Satan in his deceiving process. One of these things or activities is the rapture. There are three different views namely the pre-tribulation rapture, the mid-tribulation, and the post tribulation rapture. First, there is no mention of any rapture in the Bible. Only the coming of the Son of man or the return of Jesus as King of Kings.

There are a few scriptures in the Bible used by preachers of the rapture to prove their views on a rapture, instead of the second coming of Christ. They mainly used 1 Thessalonians 4:13 to17 as their reference. My Bible used as a heading of that scripture “The coming of the Lord”. And that is what we should be calling this wonderful day.

The very first thing which people is deceived by is written in verse 14 “even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him”.

The problem here is what should we understand with the concept of bringing with him. In the discussion around what happens when a person dies, we saw that, that person goes to rest. In paradise, or in the ground, or the dust of the earth and that the dead does not know anything. All who rest in Christ will only wake up at the second coming. In Revelations 14:13 it says “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.

Who would come with the Lord according to the scriptures?

Matthew 16:27 “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Farther with the angles; and he shall reward every man according to his works.”

 

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If man will only be rewarded after his works that followed him after Jesus came with the angels, why do so many Christians believe that they will be part of that second coming party. They who are dead must first be resurrected just to be rewarded.

People believe that when you die, you go to heaven instead that you go to rest or

sleep in Jesus like what is written here in verse 14. If they just keep on reading they will read in verse16 that the dead in Christ will rise first.

But Paul is very clear when he wrote to the Thessalonians in chapter 4:13-18

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”

This is very clear. The dead in Christ sleep. Even the people who don’t sleep in Christ. When Jesus comes again at the second coming, God will first resurrect the dead sleeping in Christ and the people who are then still alive will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the clouds. Not before, not after, only then. The other dead will only awake after the thousand years of piece. (Rev.20:5)

Let us investigate this argument or deception of Satan to see what the truth is. In Daniel 12:13, Daniel was asking about what is going on at the end and the Lord told him “But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest and stand in thy lot at the end of days. So, he did not go to heaven but was told to go and rest.

In 1 Corinthians 15 it is explained by Paul what will happen to the dead who will be resurrected at the second coming of Jesus. In verse 16 to 18 Paul said the following: “For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised; and is Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ perished. In verse 21 he said, “for since man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead, in verse 22 it says, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” Not is alive. In Ecclesiastes 9: 5 the following is said” For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.” Another very important miss deception is found in chapter 12:7 “then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. “God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” In Psalm 115:17 it says, ‘The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any who go down into silence.” It is also mentioned in Daniel 12:2 “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the 71

earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” In Genesis 6:3 God says the following: “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal, their days will be a hundred and twenty years”. In some translations the word mortal is replaced with flesh. Which word is the correct one. Considering the rest of the other scriptures around the topic, it should be very clear that when a person dies on earth, his body decays back to dust and God’s spirit returns to God, who gave it to man and man’s soul is resting in the earth, waiting for the resurrection of it at the return of Jesus at the second coming. The meaning of verse 14 of Daniel 12 is that the dead in Christ will be resurrected at the second coming of Jesus. Why call it the rapture? Use the name used in the Bible.

The meaning of this scripture is that at the second coming of Jesus, God will resurrect the dead in Christ from the grave and they will receive immortal bodies and then be caught up to meet Jesus in the air. The same will happen to the people who are still alive and remain so until the coming of the Lord. Those people still alive, will not precede those who have already died. The Lord himself shall descend from the heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

(Note it does not say where we will be with the Lord. People assume in heaven, but

the Bible does not say where we will be. We will have to find where we will be with the Lord for ever.)

The next thing the devil is deceiving the elect with, is by when the return of Jesus will take place. The answer to this question is very easy to answer and it is found in Matthew 24:36 “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” In another scripture it is said that not even Jesus knows when the second coming will be.

The proclaimers of the pre-tribulation or mid- tribulation viewpoints, uses versus 40

and 41 of Matthew 24 to indicate that this will be the sign of their rapture viewpoints. What they miss is that it will also be the same as described in the Bible about the second coming of Jesus in many places in the Bible. These references of how the second coming will take place are mentioned in the following scriptures:

1. Acts 1: 9 to 11, where the two men told them that the same Jesus who they

saw been taken away from them in a cloud, will one day return in like

manner to them.

2. Mark 13:24 to 27. But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be

darkened, and the moon shall not give her light anymore and the stars of

heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken, then

they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power.

 

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3. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 to 17.” The Lord himself shall descend from the heaven

with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

4. Matt. 26:64 “Jesus saith unto him, thou hast said: nevertheless, I say unto you,

Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven“

5. Malachi 3:2. “But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand

when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap;”

In 4 of the five scriptures, it clearly states that Jesus will come in or with clouds

and with the sound of trumpets and with great noise and power. No where is

there any mentioned that it will be like some people described and make movies

about an aeroplane in the air and suddenly there are no pilots anymore. It might

be like that at the second coming, but the Bible explains in Matthew 24:29 that

the sun be darkened, and the moon will not give light and the stars will fall from

heaven and then will the Sign of the coming of the Son of man will appear.

Knowing the rules applicable to air flight control, it is very doubtful that any

aeroplanes will be allowed to take off when these things is happening on earth.

This will happen before the coming of the Son of man who will appear in the air.

The pre-tribulation viewpoint say that the church will be taken away before the

tribulation and the mid-tribulation viewpoint before the great tribulation. Jesus

gave the order of how things will happen in the end in Matthew 24. Summarised

Jesus told his disciples. This is what will happen:

1. Jesus warned them don’t be deceived. He knew the devil will deceive many.

2. Many will come and claim they are the Christ. Don’t believe them.

3. There will be wars, and rumours of wars, don’t be troubled.

4. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against Kingdom and there will be

famines. And pestilence, and earthquakes. This is the beginning of the birth pains.

5. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you: and ye shall be

hated of all nations for my name’s sake. Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Some Bibles call this period the tribulation.

6. Then the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a

witness unto all nations;(including Israel) and then the end come. This is possibly the time the two witnesses or two olive trees will prophesy for 41 months. The same time what the period of nr 5 and 6 will be going on. The

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first weeks of the Prophet Daniels 7 weeks. Note that the time that the two

witnesses are 1230 days. That divided by 30 days per month is 41 weeks.

Jesus said in Mathhew 24 that those day will be shortened for the elect’s sake.

7. The Abomination of desolation shall be revealed. This is the time also

referred to as the troubles of Jacob. Then the people living in Judea

(Jerusalem and close area) must flee to the mountains. Why? Because this

is the beginning of the Great tribulation as Jesus mentioned in Matthew

24:21. The Anti-Christ will imitate everything Jesus or the Messiah

would be doing. He will rule from the temple in Jerusalem. In Matthews

24: 21 we read” 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. The believers in the pre and mid

tribulation raptures claim that luckily, they will not be here during that time

because they would be raptured into heaven. On what scripture do they claim

this? Many say because God will not let his church to go through the troubled

time that lay ahead. They then refer to the wrath of God on the people of the

earth, planned by God for later time. The great tribulation is the

persecution of the church and children of God by the antichrist and

false prophet inspired by Satan himself.

Let’s look at what the meaning of the word “elect” is as used in the Bible: The

word elect refers to:

 The members of the body of Christ. The Christian church.  God choosing a particular person or group of people to a particular

task or relationship; especially eternal life.

 The elect of God is those whom God has predestined to salvation.

They are called the elect because that word denotes “determining beforehand; ordaining; deciding ahead of time”. Those whose names are written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the earth.

 Scriptures to refer to for this are John 6:40-44; Romans 8:28-30,

Ephesians 1: 4- and Revelation 13:8

Conformation for this understanding was found in Ephesians 1:8-9 “wherein

he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known

unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath

purposed in himself.

We see that God shortens this Great Tribulation period, because of the

elect’s suffering during this period brought on the children of God, by

Satan’s two helpers in the form of the antichrist and the false prophet. Satan

make the people to believe, (and he is very successful in the process), that

the things which will happen during this time is God’s wrath on the earth. 74

God’s wrath will only happen after the second coming of Christ. This is the reason why believers in the pre- and mid-tribulation raptures, believe that this is not how God will treat His elect and therefore the church will not be on earth during this time. They use the fact that the church is not mentioned in Revelation after chapter 4. Many people who read the book of Revelations, don’t properly read chapter 1. In this introductory chapter, Jesus reveals to John a prophecy of what Jesus said must shortly come to pass. Jesus also said blessed is he that read, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand, or time is short. The book of Revelation is all about what is going to happen at the end of time of our current life on our current world. John then wrote to the seven churches which were in Asia. He wrote it as if what was prophesied after the first 4 chapters, was meant to be applicable to those 7 churches. If that was true, then all of what are written in chapters 5 to 22 should have happened already. Did it? Surely not. Then why did Jesus give this prophecy to John at all. Maybe Jesus knew that the churches of the last days will be like those 7 old churches and Jesus gave John the 7 letters of warning to be read by the churches of the last days before his return. To read and take note of what Jesus knew the latter-day churches will be like. If you read some of the letters, you can very clearly see similarities between almost all churches of today with that of the 7 old churches.

In Revelations 1:18 to 19 the Jesus said to John “I am he that live, and was

dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and I have the keys of hell and death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.” What John saw on the isle of Patmos was meant for the churches that then was and to the churches that will be there hereafter. The churches of today until Jesus returns. So, the rest of Revelations was in fact written for today’s churches, his elect, and will be applicable till the second coming of Jesus.

To a certain degree, the believers in the rapture are correct. God will not

allow his elect to go through His wrath on the earth. They are just deceived by the devil by when God’s wrath will take place. The wrath of God will only take place when the seven trumpet blowing angels will blow their trumpets as in. God’s wrath will only take place after the second coming of Jesus. as is written in Revelations 8. To put an end to all the confusion, listen to what Jesus told his disciples:

Jesus said in Matthews 24: 9 -13 that during the first 42 months of the tribulation they shall deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. He also said that the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations. This is also confirmed in Revelation 11 from verse 3. “And I will give power

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unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and

threescore days. They are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks

standing before the God of the earth.”

Then again, time for deception by the devil. He kicks in and people start

making assumptions who those two “men” will be instead of trying to find out

in the Bible who those two witnesses are who Jesus referred to.

Without going into arguments about who or what the two witnesses are, or not,

let us consider the facts in a logic way with scripture as our guide.

In almost all cases when the Bible refers to a tree, it is referring to a kingdom

or nation or a large grouping of people. Like in Ezekiel 17 about the Eagle and

the Cedar tree when God took the kingdom from Judah and planted it on the

house of Israel. The 10 tribes. The top crown of the tree is the king itself and

his branches, are his children. A tender branch is a girl. The rest of the tree is

the subordinance of the kingdom.

It is most likely that the olive trees should also be referring to a nation, or two

nations. In Revelation 11 :7, the beast that will ascend out of the bottomless

pit shall make war against them and overcome them and kill them. Normally a

person just kills one or two people, you don’t make war against only two

people but maybe two nations or two groupings of people. The Bible say that

the two witnesses will be witnessing to the whole world. In the same chapter,

verse 9 it says that the dead bodies of the two witnesses will be seen by the

worlds people and their children and by all tribes and languages and will

refuse them burial. It is not very likely that the whole world will see and

refuse the two men burial. But more likely that they will do that to Christians

killed all over the world, like Jesus told his disciples that the whole world will

hate you. Here again, when scripture does not suite some translator’s

doctrines, they change the words “make war against them” to “kill them” to

suite their doctrines.

To confirm that the two witnesses are most likely two groupings of people, let

us read what is written in Revelation 7:9

“After this I beheld, and, lo , a great multitude, which no man could number,

of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the

throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their

hands; “continuing in verse 13 one of the elders asked who these are and

where did they come from. When John did not know the elder answered in

verse 14 “these are they which came out of the great tribulation, and have

washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Again, people who are deceived will immediately say that this refers to the

Jews because the Bible talks about Jacob’s trouble. They will also say that

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because in verse 4 to 8 the Bible is talking about the 144 000 sealed servants. This is what is referred to in this scripture. They are so wrong. The 144 000 are all men, no woman will be saved. Only 12 000 of the 144 000 are Jews from the tribe of Juda. The rest is from the rest of the tribes of Israel. (Note that the tribe of Dan is not mentioned as one of the tribes). The multitude was so large that no man could count them. Currently the whole nation of Israel living in the land is around 9,812 million of which 7, 208 million are called Jews, 2,05 million Arabs and 0,554 non-Jew non-Arab living in Israel These figures stem from the 2023 senses when they were counted. So, they can be counted. The great multitude are from all nations; Israel is only one nation. From all kindreds and people and tongues. There are 195 different countries in the world who are speaking more than 7 000 languages, there are 476 million indigenous people in the world in more than 5 000 distinct groupings. No wonder that nobody could count that multitude. If people will remember what Jesus told his disciples in Matthews 24 and verse 14 “and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; including to the nation of Israel; then shall the end come. What is the kingdom that should be preached, including to the Nation of Israel? There are many claims that this spreading of the gospel has already happened. Is this true? Let us investigate the nation of Israel to see if this is true or not.

As mentioned above, the total amount of people who live in Israel during the 2023 senses was 9,812 million of which 7,208 called themselves “Jews”, 2,08 million of them are Arabs and 554 000 are non -Jew: non-Arab. Worldwide it is estimated that the people who claimed to be Jews are 15,7 million.6,3 million claim to be living in the US, 7,208 living in Israel leaving 2,192 million to be living in the rest of the world.

The religious affiliation of the Israeli population is as follows:

 Jewish religion 73.6%

 Muslim 18,1%

 Christian 1,9%

 Druze 1.6%

 Non-believers 4.8%

The question is, is the Kingdom of God preached in all the world and especially in Israel? It does not look like it. Next question is, what is the kingdom of God that should be preached to all the world? What is the kingdom of God?

The preaching of the kingdom should teach the ideas of the kingdom, how the Old

Testament laid the foundation for the coming King, how the New Testament proclaims the fulfilled Kingdom in Christ, and how the church presently lives as a sign of God’s effective and actual rule on earth. This fact of God ruling over the earth

 

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is something very much hidden by the great deceiver. In my research, I discovered the following scripture in the Bible. This came as a very big surprise to me.

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In 1 Corinthians 15: 22 to 28. (NIV). “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be

made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the first fruits; then when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he has put everything under his feet.

(He has conquered. The rider on the white house Rev 6:2) Satan tells people

that this is the anti-Christ. The anti- Christ will not conquer, nor will he sit on a white horse with a crown on his head with a bow in his hand ;The anti-Christ will only deceive, kill and destroy.)

Now when it says that everything has been put under him, this does not include God

himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

God’s plan after what happened in the garden of Eden, was to use his Son, Jesus to overcome the rule of Satan on the earth and let his Son play the leading role of the saviour of the restored world after the Luciferian flood. Remember God destroyed the first earth over which Satan ruled. Michel the Arch angel made war against him and threw Satan to the ground in front of kings, but Satan was not killed with the rest of the pre-Adamic world. God’s final plan for the destruction of Satan and his angels was kept a secret in His plan. Let’s call it “the Game”.

The first scene of the game played between God and Satan was when God created

Adam and Eve. God told them they should not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, if they do, they will surely die. Satan told them they will not surely die. So, they choose Satan’s side and will now die and not life for ever. That is why God send them away to protect them from also eating from the tree of life. Satan won the first round of the game. God played his next contingency plan or trump card. John 1:1 to 5. “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” God was going to use his Son to triumph over Satan and take possession of the Kingdom and hand it back to his Father. Satan knew that God’s plan must include Jesus as part of his plan. This is why for the rest of the history of Israel; Satan was trying to end anything which he thought could be part of God’s plan to try and stop or interfere in it.

 

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Where are we in the last days?

 

We don’t really know. Only God knows when the last day will arrive. Ever since I was a child everybody was telling us we are in the last days. If we think about God’s understanding of time of one day is like 1000 years and 1000 years like one day, makes this understanding of the last days even more difficult. Jesus told us that we must watch and pray so not to be caught by surprise. What is important to know is that we are going to wait for the coming of our Lord and saviour with our total human being. One thing that many of us don’t understand, is what we as humans are actually comprising of. Most people will say we are mind, body and soul. But is that true? When God made Adam, God made a body for Adam from the dust of the earth and then blew His Spirit into Adam. The Bible then says Adam became a living soul. Is a soul the combination of God’s Spirit and a body made of the soil of the earth? We also read in the Bible, that when man dies, his spirit goes back to God and the body returns to dust. We also read, that Adam was good because of God’s spirit in him, but he was lonely. Then God made Eve from Adams rib bone and covered it with flesh. Eve was not made from the dust of the earth but from Adams flesh and maybe from some other flesh from something else as well. God planted two trees in the middle of the Eden and did not tell Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of life, but only not to eat from the tree of good and evil. It was therefore God’s intention that they should eat from the tree of life and life for ever. After they have eaten from the wrong tree, God prevented them to also eat from the tree of life, and life for ever.

I think after they have eaten from the tree of good and evil, and now know good and evil, the goodness of God’s spirit was now replaced with a choice between good and evil. We as humans, operate in an environment with our bodies carrying all our senses like eyes, ears, nose, tongue, heart, brains, nerves, limbs, intestines and everything that makes up our body. In the environments we live in, we experience the good and the bad in our environments using our senses. The senses sent signals to our brains who must now decide is this good or evil. The brain then after analysis, sends signals to our body who reacts on whether the brain told us if it is good or evil. The way our brains make decisions on good or bad, is influence by our deepest spiritual status. Who controls our brains? Is it God or is Satan in control there. I want to call this aria, our Spirit. Which spirit controls our lives? The Holy Spirit or an evil spirit. I like to call the whole decision-making system the soul. This is mainly the brains and its distribution system like the nerves system and the blood circulation systems. I would also like to call the soul, the battlefield between good and evil.

We as God’s chosen children, but also the rest of the people who are not God’s people, will go through the last days with our bodies and our deepest spiritual selection. We as Christians are instructed by the Word of God, how we must be ready for the coming of our saviour. We also know that for our bodies to survive the

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waiting time, we will have to eat, drink and live in a safe environment, be healthy, take care of our loved ones and be happy. Satan also knew that, and that is why he and his followers will use our bodily needs to try and change our deepest spirits to reject God by forcing us to take the mark of the beast. If we do take the mark of the beast, it will allow us to buy and sell so that we would be able to keep our livelihoods to survive. Is this not what Jesus meant with the ten virgins and their oil? Is food and drink not the items that keep our bodies alive and if our bodies stay alive, we can let our lights shine by spreading the good news? I am just asking

The traditional interpretation of this parable is that this is the spiritual way we must be prepared for the coming of the Lord. Jesus told this parable after he answered his disciples after their question when the end will be. Jesus clearly told them that it will be at the end of the ages and gave them the signs that his return will be near. Most interpreters of this parable claims that the oil symbolizes the readiness, and the Holy Spirit highlights the need for our continuous and genuine relationship with God. They also claim that we must therefore know or make sure that you are full of the Holy Spirit. Question. How do we measure “that we are full of the Holy Spirit?” Many will claim “by the fruits we bare? How do you measure the success of fruit bearing. When does you know this is now good enough to be regarded as having enough oil? Some people will refer to Romans 8:9 to 13 as an answer. Yet we still live in our bodies till we die or until Jesus comes. The fruits of the Spirit are as follows:

 Joy

 Peace

 Patience

 Kindness

 Goodness

 Faithfulness

 Gentleness and

 Self-control.

How do we measure which of this is good enough to be full of oil? I was thinking about this many times and one day the following different understanding of this parable came to me.

The meaning of keeping your light shining is spreading the Word of God to the lost world. We can only do it if we are alive. Once we are dead we can’t. Our lights will be out. Is that not what Jesus meant by the WISE virgins. Those who made provision to keep their bodies alive during the time of the great tribulation when you will not be able to buy or sell things which will keep you alive during that time. The time which God will shorten because of the WISE virgins. Another thing which made we wonder about this, is since when one must go and buy more of the Holy Spirit or the fruits of the Spirit at those who sell it. People sell food and water and all things that keep your

 

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bodies alive, not to let you go to the sellers of the Spirit to buy enough Spirit to be WISE. I am just asking questions.

Maybe we must understand the parable as follows. All ten maidens were virgins or Christians washed in the blood of the Lamb. All ten of them were waiting for the coming of the bridegroom. All ten of them got tired and fell asleep. Five of them were wise and five of them were not. The wise had extra oil with them to keep their lights ALIVE. Keep their lambs burning in the time they were all waiting on the bridegroom to come. The unwise did not take any extra oil with them while waiting. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all become drowsy and fell asleep. The Christians were all waiting for the return of Jesus, and all became drowsy and fell asleep. Some of them who fell asleep at least brought some extra oil (food to keep them alive. Others did not take extra oil. They did not put food away for what is coming) But then there was a call out, the bridegroom is on his way, get ready to meet him. The great tribulation started, and Christians are being killed by the Anti-Christ. The only way to be able to buy and sell is to take the mark of the beast. If you did not save up some food to keep your light burning until the bridegroom will arrive. Your light might be going out. You might be dying, Unless you take the mark of the beast to enable you to buy food and stuff to keep you alive. Else you will die. If you then refuse to take the mark of the beast you will die of hunger and thirst. But if you have saved some food and things you will require during that time, you will not need to go and buy food by taking the mark of the beast. We all know what the result is of taking the mark of the beast. That is why the bridegroom will tell you, go away I don’t know you with the mark of the beast in you.

 

Are we prepared to go through the Great Tribulation?

 

Many believers reason that God will not take his people through his wrath. They are

correct. God will not do that. The great tribulation is not the same as God’s wrath. The forces behind the great tribulation, is Satan, the false prophet, and the anti-Christ. In Matthew 24:9 to 13 Jesus clearly said that the elect will be delivered up to be afflicted, and that they would be killed and that they will be hated by all nations for his name’s sake. Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another, there will rise many false prophets, and many will be deceived. And because iniquity shall abound and the love of many shall wax cold. During that time, it is also possible that the two witnesses will operate with the two olive trees, to preach the gospel of the kingdom in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come. In Revelation 11 we read of something that will take place during this time. In verse 3 to 5 it says” And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth, (1230 days is 41 months of 30 days) These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man 81

will hurt them, fire proceeded out of their mouth, and devoured their enemies; and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. They will have the power to shut heaven, that it does not rain and turn water into blood and smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. When their testimony is finish, the beast that come from the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and overcome them, and kill them. (See the same captured in Revelations 13)

With reference to the power given to the two olive trees, we read in Revelation 8 of the seven angels with the seven trumpets. Note the similarity of the first few trumpets to what the powers of the olive trees are:

 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood,

and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up,

and all green grass was burnt up. Note not all just a third.

 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with

fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; and a

third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the

third part of the ships were destroyed,

 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning

as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the

third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters, and the name of the

star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood;

and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and

the third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars; so, as the third part of

them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night

likewise.

 And behold another angel flying through the midst of heaven saying with a

loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhibiters of the earth by reason of the other

voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

 The fifth angel opened the Abyss from which will come the locusts who will

punish the people who does not have the seal of God on their foreheads. This

is the first woe.

 The sixth angel will release the four angels who are bound at the great river

Euphrates who will kill a third of mankind by the three plagues of fire, smoke

and sulphur that came out of the mouths of the horses of the mounted troops

who were twice ten thousand times ten thousand. (2X 10 000X10 000=

200 000 000). Yet the people did not repent of the work of their hands; they

did not stop worshipping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and

wood-idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their

murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 24:29. This is when Jesus will return on the clouds. In Revelation 11:10 “And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over

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them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth”

What is written in verse 11 is something very important which is almost never picked up by the elite. Here is the answer to all the questions about when the rapture will take place. “And after three days and a half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them, 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. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted and gave glory to the God of heaven.

The great deception here is that a lot of people believe that the two olive trees and two candle sticks are two men. Some say Moses and Elijah, others say Elijah and Enoch. They all reason that two of them was with God on the mountain and others because two of them did not die but was taken to heaven alive. Other people say that the two witnesses is the old testament and the new testament. This may be closer to what the real meaning of the two witnesses might be. The question I ask is, do you make war against two men or against two nations represented by the two main parts or parts (testaments) of the Bible. The one item that the people thinking that the two witnesses will be men, must then also try to explain what the two lampstands are, or are these men also two lampstands. If we think back at what the function of a lampstand is, is to give of light and that the oil used in the lamps comes from the olive trees, then the meaning of the two olive trees and the two lampstands can be something totally different. Remember the parable of the ten virgins. Their lamps were there to give light. Spreading the word of God. In Zechariah 4:6 “Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying, this is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying,” Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” Zerubbabel is thought to have originally been a Babylonian Jew who returned to Jerusalem as head of a band of Jewish exiles and became governor of Judea under the Persians. Influenced by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. He rebuilt the temple. Zerubbabel means a stranger at Babylon, dispersion of confusion. In answering who the two olive trees are, the Lord said” These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.

The next question to be answered is “who are the two anointed ones?

In Jeremiah 11:16 to 17 the Lord said this to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah “The Lord called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult, he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken. For the Lord of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal. So, the nation of Israel is the one olive tree.

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In Romans 11, Paul is talking to the Gentiles as the apostle of the Gentiles “ For if the first fruits (Israel), be holy, so are the branches, And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakers of the root and fatness of the olive tree; boast not against thew branches, but if thou boast thou barest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, “The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in, Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou stands by faith, Be not high minded, but fear: for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.” Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise, thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in for God is able to graft them in again. for if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrarily to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so, all Israel shall be saved: as it is written,

There shall come out of Sion

The Deliverer,

And shall turn away ungodliness

From Jacobs:

For this is my covenant unto them,

When I shall take away their sins.

The second olive tree is therefore the wild olive tree (The Gentiles) who is grafted

upon the original olive tree (Israel).

Looking at all these options of who is the two witnesses, it is most likely the two olive trees mentioned here are God’s chosen people Israel and all the chosen people who forms part of the Church of God. They will be preaching His Word during the 1230 days which is only 41 months of the last 42.

If we remember that from the people currently living in Israel, only 1.9% is defined as been Christians. This includes all denominations like Catholics, Pentecostals, Seven Day Adventists, Jehovah Witnesses etc. This is only 136 952 people of 7 208 000. Also, there are 17 million people all over the world claiming to be Jews. This means that before the Israeli’s can become one of the olive trees, there should be something happening to turn them to believe in Jesus. This is what is written in Romans 11:26 above “There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer And shall turn away ungodliness from Jacobs: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: For the 84

gifts and calling of God are without repentance. For as ye in times past have not believed God yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways pasty finding out!

For whom hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever, Amen.

What will bring this turn around in the beliefs of Israel to believe in Jesus as their Messiah? It should be something miraculous! and it is. The answer is found in Ezekiel 39.

“Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord

GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Misheck and Tubal: and I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: and I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel.” It carries on, on how God will destroy Gog and also Magog the land he comes from. Then in verse 7 God said “So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name anymore: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken. And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, And they shall burn them with fire seven years.

The result of this battle of Gog and Magog is found in verse 22. “So, the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward. This is when Israel as a nation shall realise that Jesus is and previously was their promised messiah and they will start preaching the gospel with the help of the other olive tree the gentiles. What can also be true is that God may send the two men Enoch and Elijah as the two leaders of these two groups of his people.

What is going to happen during the Great Tribulation.

 

What will happen during the time of the great tribulation is captured in Revelations 13. It says that the world would wonder after the beast. And they will worship the dragon which gave power unto the beast, and they worshipped the beast saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months, And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and 85

tongues, and nations, and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain, from the foundation of the world. In verse 16 it says “And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

It is during this period that the two olive trees and two candle sticks will preach and will be able to bring plagues over the earth possible with the help of the first angels as described in Revelations 8 and 9. But at the end of the 1 230 days of their testimony when they have finished it, the beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. This is also the time when the great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, were killed for their believe in Jesus. Jesus also said in Matthew 24:22 that this time will be shortened for the sake of the elect. He also said that there will be a lot of false Christ’s and false prophets around, but we should not believe them. He also said in verse 28 “for wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together” Is this also with reference to what is going to happen in Revelation 19:17 to 21 “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.” Both scriptures refer to the same event. The second coming of Jesus on his white horse to conquer.

In Revelations 15 the seven last plagues of God’s wrath are described. In verse 2 we can clearly read that “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.” In Revelation 7:9-17 the portion of the great multitude of which no one could count, is captured. These are they which came out of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. It should also be very clear that this event took place after the great tribulation.

On the timeline explained to his disciples by Jesus he said that this period will be shortened, for the sake of the elect on earth during that time. He also told them that they will kill you for my name’s sake, same what happened to the great multitude people.. Surely when the time of the great tribulation will be shortened. Else there will be no elect left on earth to meet him in the clouds and also no reason for Jesus to send his angles to the four ends of the earth to gather his elect. (Matthews 24:31)

I am concerned about the believers who are taught to believe in the pre and mid tribulation rapture that they should not worry about going through the tribulation because the rapture will take them away before the great tribulation. They are told 86

that it is only the 15 million “Jews” that will go through the great tribulation. I thought Israel is God’s people and the story that the heathen is part of the new tribe of Israel. Many preachers only preach this when it serves their church doctrines. Why don’t they read Revelations 7 from verse 9 to see who will be going through the great tribulation. These people are also taught that the reason why the church will not be here during the tribulation is that God will not take his people through such punishment. They are totally deceived here for the following reasons:

 The great tribulation does not come from God but is driven by Satan and his

anti-Christ and false prophet and all the people who will follow him. The Bible clearly says in Revelation 13:8 “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life, of the Lamb slain, from the foundation of the world.”

 Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the

tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other “

 In Revelation 7:9 it clearly states that there is going to be a great multitude

who will go through the great tribulation. In Mark 13 :24 to 27 it also says in those days after that tribulation the sun will be darken and the Son of man will come in the clouds.

 In Revelation 6:9 to 11 we also read about the souls that were slain for the

word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord. Holy and true, dost thou do not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth. They were all given white robes, and they were told 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. Most likely them that will be killed during the great tribulation.

If we recall that the two olive trees and two lamb stands will testify for 41 months after the anti-Christ will revile himself in the temple. We can read this in Revelations 11. Firstly, this will be during the first part of Daniels seven weeks because we read about John who was given a rod to measure the temple of God, and the alter, and them that worship therein. But the court, which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. Then in verse 3 power God will give unto his two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. Who is the God of the earth. Our God is in 87

heaven, is this Satan? They will then be killed by the beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

God’s wrath follows after the millennium. Revelation 20: 7 says after the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: “In verse 9 it says “and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them”

 

What can we do to prepare our self’s and our loved ones from the time ahead.

 

I do understand that what I recorded in this writing might be strange and even upsetting to many people, but I just had to put what the Lord has revealed to me over years of understanding what I read in my Bible verses that what is preached in some churches. If I am wrong than let people contact me and explain why, but please don’t come with any reverences other than what is written in the Bible. Based scriptural facts, not based on what some religious writing is saying about a topic.

What I wrote in this writing took me a long time to figure out and understand, but whether there is going to be a different outcome or not, Prevention has always been better than cure. So, for this reason I am going and has already started preparing for those 42 maybe 41 months of the great tribulation weather I will go through it or not. What should anybody do to try to escape those troubled times.

 Make Psalm 91 your daily prayer.

 Ensure you have a safe place to house yourself and your family.

 Ensure you have a reliable safe supply of fresh water.

 Plant as many fruits baring trees and plants as possible.

 Ensure you have sufficient water and food for the trees and plants.

 Make a vegetables garden and ensure you store as much as possible seeds

to plant and replant seeds.

 Make compos heaps with leaves and plant rests.

 If possible start farming with chickens, ducks and other meat animals you

can keep.

 Store up on long lasting foods like rice, maise, corn, beans, lentils, etc. and

store in a dry save area away from mice, rats and ants.



 

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 Enhance natural foods like fishponds, wild birds, rabbits, game etc by

creating environments that will support them.

 

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