THE FIVE MOST IMPORTANT EMBLEMS OF OUR TIME

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M A G A Z I N E“WRITE IT DOWN. MAKE IT PLAIN, SO THAT OTHERS CAN READ IT AND RUN WITH IT” HAB 2:2

ISSUE THREE FEB 2011

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CONTENTS

• Do we believe the bible?

• The Middle East takes its turn in preparing for the Return of Christ

• Babylon

• The Beast

• The King of the South

•The False Prophet

• Gog And Magog

• Armageddon

• An Interesting Observation

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Artwork: Michael Storey European Council images: The Council of the European Union

Brought to you bywww.readandrun.co.uk

© Michael Storey

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A message from the publisherWithin the marbled enclaves of political power the wheels of destiny are relentlessly turning, inching towards the world’s day of destiny. Man can have his own thoughts but ultimately it is God that will have the last say. Very little passes in day-to-day life that does not have some part in a much larger picture. The corridors of power may give an impression that we are the masters of our own destiny, but look into the bible with a sharper perspective and it is clear that mankind has very little say in its own fate. ‘The nations are as dust on the scales’

Political uprisings and upheavals seem to be the order of the day. There is one more ultimate governmental transfer to take place. We pray for it regularly: “Thy will be done, Thy Kingdom come”. Many do not realise that this is a literal kingdom they are asking for involving the return of Christ as its new King. A great number of scriptures proclaim this as a fact and yet it is still a misunderstood subject.

A number of events in recent years have taken us a lot closer to The Day of the Lord when, at the end, all worldly governments will cease and Christ assumes total leadership.

The precipice that the world’s economy teeters on is one factor.The establishment of the position for a ‘President of the EU’ was another.

Today, we see the fi nal chess piece of the ‘End Time’ of worldly governments being moved into position.The rapidly changing Middle East situation has everybody agreeing the world is not the same place anymore. Out of all the jockeying for position within the Arab world will emerge a new leader who will provide direction for them. We will then have the King of the South. The fi nal piece needed to complete the cast of players for the Day of the Lord will be in place

In this issue we take note of what the bible has to say on where this is leading, how it all comes together.

Michael StoreyRead & Run

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Only ONE of them remains in waiting.It is forming NOW!

These five emblems represent the five participants necessary for the

Day of the Lord to begin.

THE KING OF THE SOUTHTHE BEASTBABYLON

The Coat of Arms of EgyptThe European Council LogoThe Dollar Represents International Finance and Trade

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Only ONE of them remains in waiting.It is forming NOW!

These five emblems represent the five participants necessary for the

Day of the Lord to begin.

THE KING OF THE SOUTH GOG AND MAGOGTHE FALSE

PROPHETThe Emblem of ChinaThe Holysee ArmsThe Coat of Arms of Egypt

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Do we believe the bible?

This is the first barrier we need to cross. This ‘barrier’ is amply demonstrated by

Peter on the road to Emmaus and needed to be dealt with by Christ. (See our first issue that shows it was Peter who was the second disciple).We are no different. Peter fell into the trap of believing only that which was plausible from his own perspective. When Christ said that He would die, Peter could not possible conceive how this was possible. He had clearly come to the conclusion, which Christ confirmed, that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God. How could God die? It was not possible. Peter had been preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God alongside of Christ for years. Nowhere in that teaching had there been a mention of Christ dying. What had been taught was that the kingdom would last forever, it would never end and that Christ was to be its King. At the end of three and a half years of Christ explaining the ‘everlasting’ gospel, neither the disciples nor any one else had any idea that Christ was going to die. Whatever the bible said, Peter ignored it. Whatever Christ said in the days leading up to His death, Peter heard what he wanted to hear and no more.

And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. 16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. 17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? 18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? 19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him,

Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: 20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. 21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. 22 Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; 23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. 24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. 25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?

”

“O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spokenChrist made His point. Whatever our own ideas may be we would be very foolish, and the Greek means ‘plain stupid’, to not believe what the prophets had written. That is the big lesson we can take from the ‘road to Emmaus’.

At other times Christ verified all of the Old Testament. Unless we do believe what it says, we are left with no foundation for our faith.As we launch into understanding world events about to happen in the light of what is happening, our first reaction to some very plain scriptures is to put them aside in the ‘too hard’ basket.That is precisely what we cannot afford to do.

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THE MIDDLE EAST TAKES ITS TURNIN PREPARING FOR THE RETURN OF CHRISTBabylon, representing the world’s largest

economy was the fi rst major slot to be fi lled in preparation for the return of Christ. Second was the formation of a vehicle to power for the Beast to occupy. The chair for the President Of The European Council provides this.

Gog and Magog, the Asian 200 million strong army from ‘North and East’ of the Euphrates is well and truly capable of being brought into existence. The offi ce of the False Prophet has ‘always’ been there and only takes one ballot to begin functioning.

The only piece missing was the King of the South. Scripture dictates the need for an Arab leader unifying the Middle East. Once he is visible all requirements for the Day of the Lord to begin are present.

What we are witnessing in the Middle East now will result in a fi gurehead rising to fi ll the need to unite the region.

Over the following pages we will run through the fi ve component parts that are all that

is necessary for God’s plan to move forward.

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BABYLONScripture paints a clear picture of Babylon.

Add all the ingredients together and there is no ‘mystery’ about Babylon. It is the world’s most powerful nation. It is the world’s richest nation. That much is clear. When does it fall? Much information is given to us in Rev 18 and Jer 50 -51.

Babylon - and the World -Trading PeacefullyRevelation 18 relates enough information to inform us the world is still very much ‘normal’ until the very sudden change in circumstances. Food is plentiful. Music concerts and weddings are taking place. World trade is flourishing with all the typical day-to-day goods necessary. Compare this situation to any time during the overall day of the Lord right from the second seal through to the very end when Christ physically returns. There is no food. The world is at war (‘peace is taken from the earth’) resulting in a quarter of the world’s population dying from war, disease and starvation. Later all shipping is destroyed. Much later the followers of the Beast are gnawing their hands in pain wishing they could die (rather than repent).From this we can deduce beyond doubt that the timing for the fall of Babylon must be almost the very first event of the day of the Lord while life is still normal. Once the Day of the Lord begins, nothing is remotely normal again. Add some more detail from Jeremiah 50 and 51. Babylon ‘sins against her God’. The people that are admonished to come out of Babylon before her fall are God’s people. God’s people are in Babylon. Babylon is a Christian nation. Or should be, more to the point and the real reason for her (temporary) dismissal into national defeat and captivity by Christ’s decree.Babylon is not the beast power. In Rev 18 the

worlds traders selling nutmeg and face lotions ask ‘how are we able to trade, now that the world’s biggest consumer is gone?’Babylon is the western consumer society based on the dollar. When the United States financial system collapses all trading mechanisms for the entire world will collapse also. All international banking, all stock markets, all international trade will evaporate over night. This is the principle reason for ‘peace being taken from the earth’. The means to provide even the basics for survival is stripped away. Desperation sets in and war takes over.

The Dollar’s Demise

How close is America to a financial collapse? Realistically it is way past the normal

boundaries of propping itself up. If it were a regular business, it would have been declared bankrupt long go. By default the world does not want it to collapse. The world shuts its eyes to the reality simply because there is no alternative to the dollar at this moment in time. The dollar is being artificially floated.

Many financial organisations warn of the

BABYLON

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potential dangers of the reality of the situation. The Wall Street Journal, at the forefront of fiscal journalism itself plainly reveals the stark possibilities.Part of its responsibilities to the public are to present the alternatives to a rosy future of never ending profits and gain to be had by all.The principal pundit of the contrary view from WSJ is Paul b. Farrell. This is what he has to say the week this edition of R & R magazine is being written.

The Wall Street JournalFeb. 22, 2011, 12:01 a.m. EST

Market Crash 2011: It will hit by ChristmasBy Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch

Politicians lie. Bankers lie. Yes, they’re liars. But they’re not bad, it’s in their genes, inherited. Their brains are wired that way, warn scientists. Like addicts, they can’t help themselves. They want to sell stuff, get rich.We want to believe they’re telling us the truth. Silly, huh? Both trapped in this eternal “dance of death” controlled by programs hidden deep in our brains, telling us what to do, telling us to ignore facts to the contrary — till it’s too late, till a new crisis crushes all of us…

Go back a few years: The subprime credit meltdown was widely predicted years in advance. For example, back in 2007, the IMF’s Chief Economist, Raghuram Rajan, “delivered a stark warning to the world’s top bankers: Financial markets were headed for doom. They laughed it off,” said the Toronto Star. Both Alan Greenspan and Larry Summers were there.In April 2007, Jeremy Grantham, whose firm manages $107 billion, also warned investors: “The First Truly Global Bubble: From Indian

antiquities to modern Chinese art; from land in Panama to Mayfair; from forestry, infrastructure, and the junkiest bonds to mundane blue chips; it’s bubble time. … Everyone, everywhere is reinforcing one another. … Bursting of the bubble will be across all countries and all assets … no similar global event has occurred before.”We knew a crash was coming, Wall Street laughed.Call it denial, or lying, or just a brain defect, late that summer as the meltdown spread like wildfire, shutting down the economy, our manipulative Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, a former Goldman Sachs CEO, told Fortune “this is far and away the strongest global economy I’ve seen in my business lifetime.” And Fed boss Bernanke was telling us the subprime crisis was “contained.” Alan Greenspan agreed.

In many articles Paul Farrell has warned a future financial collapse is inevitable and will be catastrophic. Life will not be the same.

How different it will be the journalists cannot imagine. Not unless they read their bibles.I do not know of any organisations or nations that are not at least thinking in terms of very far reaching changes at some point in time – that do not involve the dollar. Governments openly discuss a future not based on the dollar. The timing is the only question.

Fifteen scriptures warn: ‘No Signs’There are at least fifteen New Testament scriptures that state we will not know when these events will take place. These verses state the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; that is, completely unexpected. This clearly indicates the events that precipitate the Day of the Lord will occur much sooner rather than later. Before anyone is aware of impending catastrophe. The emphasis that is placed on the surprise nature of the onset of

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the Day of the Lord clearly spells out the non existence of any obvious ‘sign’ that many are relying on. These would include the mark of the Beast, a temple being built in Jerusalem, Islamic takeovers, Germany rising to take over the world, false religious leaders amassing great followings. A one world society is clearly not on the cards either before the Day of the Lord starts or afterwards. The world is at each other’s throats, not united.

For detailed articles with all scriptures explained see our website, in particular the Babylon section.

http://www.readandrun.co.uk/pages/Babylon.html

The Fall of Babylon marks

The Onset Of The Day Of The

Lord

The Central European Bank

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THE BEAST

THE BEASTWhen Babylon Falls, What Will The Consequences Be?

A total collapse of the dollar also means suspension of the entire world’s dollar

traded commodities being available. Nations are faced with bare shelves to feed and clothe their people. Stock markets and International banking are stripped of the means to function. All this in turn immediately puts every currency under the microscope. Under the circumstances, until a degree of certainty can be assured no nation would trust the status of any other nation’s currency.

No wonder the world’s traders in Revelation lament:

“And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more”

A World Wide Skirmish For SurvivalWithout the means to buy food or any other necessity the world becomes increasingly desperate.

And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword…. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. Rev 6:3

When Babylon collapses, the bible makes it clear – it collapses. Without any funds to wage a war, it is defenceless. Jeremiah chapters fifty-one and two state Babylon gives up without a fight. America and its closest ally, the once ‘Great’ Britain are removed, for now, from the pages of history.The only world power blocks left in existence are mainland Europe, the Middle East and the Eurasian block.

The Rise Of The Beast.At the risk of being repetitive, one of the most emphasised facets of scripture in the New Testament is the warning that nothing will pre-empt the Day of the Lord. It all starts from scratch. The beast will not even be in existence when the ‘end time’ starts. However, once the wheels are in motion, once the world sees the financial black hole the collapse of the United States has created, then there are only hours and minutes in which there may be a window of opportunity to resolve a survival strategy.

The Central European Bank

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The Means Of Survival

Europe has a separate currency. It has a constitution, which loosely binds itself in

a cocoon.Most importantly it has a seat, recently convened that allows for a single voice to direct affairs.

In times of emergency action and not dithering is of the essence. Recent activities in the Mid East/Mediterranean show that a ‘million’ people may be moving from northern Africa across to mainland Europe. These kind of demographics will be dwarfed in future events. The new leader of Europe will need to be not only chosen but also have a gargantuan plan in operation within days if Europe is to survive intact. His powers will need to be sweeping. His ideas breathtaking. His authority unquestioned. Never has their been such an emergency that needed to be addressed so quickly.

Martial law needs to be instituted. The State structure simplifi ed; Ten States will do. The borders have to be shut (or billions will come in). A foolproof system of identifi cation needs to be in place. A ‘mark’ will do the trick; it will control the rationing of jobs and food as well.

One Religion While we are at it, for the sake of continuity, only one religion will be allowed. That religion will be the traditional faith of Europe headed by its traditional leader.

The New HeroFor the people will this be going too far too fast? Hail the new hero, he saved us! His appearance to most is ‘as an angel of light’.These scenarios answer all of the questions we should have been asking in the past. How

is it that with all the information written in black and white for two thousand years, the beast gets away with it? Why was there not a revolution when it came time to split Europe into ten nations and arbitrarily appoint un-chosen leaders over them? What about one universal religion?

Everything is a matter of degrees and in this case the ends more than justify the means when it comes down to sheer survival. No one will complain about having a ‘mark’ if it means the difference between food on the table and starving.

Now you may understand why an offi ce for President of Europe needed to be in place. Time will be of the essence when necessary, the technical structures needed to be in place in advance.

Next, with America in no position to assist Israel how do the Arab people react to the

new world state of disorder?

Middle Ages: ‘Tapestry of the Apocalypse’

THE KING OF THESOUTH

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THE KING OF THE SOUTH

Universally recognised as representing the Arab peoples in the bible, much has

been said about an Arab spiritual leader that causes mayhem within the West and pursues a vigorous cause for the Islamic faith.

None of that comes from the bible. In fact God continually castigates His own people, lukewarm Christians for not looking in their own mirror.There is no threat whatsoever from the Islamic people to the world discussed in the bible in relation to the Day of the Lord.There is severe criticism for the callous treatment they dispense toward a helpless Israel during the ‘End Time’, for which they pay a heavy price.However, in the end this is what God says of the Arabic people.

And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and

the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it. 22 And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them. 23 In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. 24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: 25 Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance. Isa 19:21 The time setting is ‘in that day’ and in conjunction with the context ‘yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it’ and ‘Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people’ we can see that eventually the Arabic people are sharing in the full blessings of God.

Compare that to what God says about the Christian nations in Europe that follow the beast.

And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: Rev 14:9

Timing: A Key To UnderstandingTiming is the key to a good understanding of the king of the South.The very first event of the Day of the Lord is

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its start. What does mark the beginning?How would you know you are in the Day of the Lord? All the relevant verses say one day is normal, the next it is not. What marks that change?

While we are on ‘all the relevant verses’ there is a collection that has a common denominator. ‘First, the Gospel of the Kingdom of God shall be preached to the world’. In Rev 14:6 an angel has the task of warning the whole world, ‘all the earth, every kindred and nation and tongue’ that ‘the hour of His judgement is come’. Throughout the bible God always gives a warning before He acts. This event, a warning to ‘all flesh’ (Joel 2) is the formal start to the Day of the Lord. Nothing more will happen for nearly six months. The sudden and totally unexpected fall of Babylon is next. The world rapidly tries to adjust to this situation but it is too drastic to simply take in its stride. In Hosea 5:5 we have a far-reaching statement. To understand the background, who it is that is being referred to, some extra study will be needed. We have many articles on the Read and Run website explaining the scriptures concerning nations (plural) of Israel promised by God to be in existence in the ‘End Time’.

And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them. 6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them. 7 They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.

In this Hosea verse we have three national identities. One of them is Judah; that nation is easy to identify, it is modern geographic Israel. Who are the nations of Israel and Ephraim? These refer to the ‘House of Joseph’ principally the United States and Britain. Together with Judah they all ‘fall’ within one month of each other. Frighteningly fast, but that is the hallmark of the Day of the Lord.

America goes down first. What prompts its final capitulation is not spelled out. From the reaction of the world’s traders in Rev 18 they are completely surprised and shocked at what happened, however, they are not alarmed at the prospect of war. All they can think of is ‘business as usual’.

An ‘Act Of God’?That indicates an ‘act of God’. A major natural disaster. What ever the cause, it is terminal. The UK follows suit and with no protection from any ally Israel is completely at the mercy of its neighbours which is not forthcoming. They take advantage of the situation and attack from all directions. Virtually all of Israel as defined in the bible is defeated and taken into captivity for the rest of the duration of the Day of the Lord. Christ will eventually see to their fortunes being restored but not before full spiritual capitulation and repentance on a national scale. This will apply to every nation on earth… if they wish to survive.

Yes, the Arab nations as a whole are guilty of attacking the nation of Judah. They

are now in control of Jerusalem, the former occupants sold off into the modern equivalent of slavery. During this period in captivity along with Britain and the USA, some hard thinking will eventually bring them to the conclusion they should have obeyed God in the first place. In Jeremiah 50:4 we see the end result. Better late than never.

In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. 5 They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.

The really good news is that many other nations, including the Arabs will join them.

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‘The King Of The South Shall Push At Him’

So where does the ‘push against the King of the North’ fi t into the picture?

The beast comes into existence as a result of the fall of Babylon. At that same time the Middle Eastern nations attack and defeat Israel. The Beast in Europe declares that only one religion will be tolerated with no provision for Muslims. In fact all Muslims must convert to the state religion or they will not be able to receive food and provision. A virtual death sentence.

At some point in time the Beast aided by the False Prophet will start to call himself God. Now we have good reason in fact commendable reason for the King of the South to rise up against the beast. Good on them.The good intentions are very short lived, further than that they are disastrous since it is now the turn of the Arabs to suffer a major defeat. The Beast and False Prophet expand their European territory to include the Middle East. Jerusalem is their new headquarters.

That is the end of the record of the descendants of Ishmael. The next we hear of them they have wholeheartedly accepted Christ.

The bible tells us the Arabic people will enjoy a peacefull future together with Israel

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They too do not waste the time they have for reflection. It will be another three and a half years before Christ’s decisive final action at Armageddon that will resolve all the issues once and for all.

None of this takes place in a vacuum. Such blatant expansionist moves from the Beast does not escape the only remaining world power’s attention. Asia cannot stand idly by and mounts an offensive with 200 million troops at its disposal.

And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. 41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. 44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. 45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. Dan 11:40

THE FALSE PROPHETWhen declaring who is and who is not ‘false’ as in acting on behalf of Satan, great care and sensitivity needs to be exercised.It only takes a few scriptures to determine that all is not quite what it seems on the surface.

For many centuries opponents have pilloried the Catholic Church as evil. Wars have been fought in the name of Christianity. This is a complete oxymoron for a start. No Christian can even ‘hate’ another Christian let alone fight, kill or torture each other.

Who Is A True Christian?Who is to define who is and who is not a true Christian? That is Christ’s prerogative made clear in the early chapters of Revelation. To those who genuinely are in the Church, Christ places strict conditions of acceptance that reduce the approval and ‘pass rate’ to very narrow statistics. ‘To him that overcomes’ with a long list of conditions is followed by

THE FALSE PROPHET

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inference to those that don’t overcome that thy will be ‘spewed out’ of Christ’s mouth. Those are tough words and not very encouraging considering we all know we fail from time to time. ‘Do not judge’ is one piece of advice given.

What are the scriptures that show some of the twists and turns that take place during the Day of the Lord?

Daniel 11:36 points out that some big changes take place within the traditional Church. Speaking of the Beast (the King of the North and the Beast are one and the same), ‘at the appointed time, the time of the end’ (previous verse) he arrives at the position where he declares that he is God.

And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. 37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. 38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. 39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

If we couple this verse with what we read in Revelation 17:15 we see that the beast and his associate the False Prophet and ten leaders turn on the traditional Church and destroy it.

The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast,

these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

The result must be a completely new religion nothing to do with the Catholic Church. The European State attacks and is at war with the followers of the Catholic Church. If you are ‘at war’ with someone you have a severe disagreement with them. The Catholic Church does not/will not follow the beast; i.e. take its ‘mark’ that involves allegiance to the new religion.

Lets clarify the situation. The vast majority of all religions be they Lutheran, Baptist, Catholic and even Muslim will unhesitatingly take the mark of the Beast. They do not eat without it. The words ‘all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him’ is a clear indication the vast majority do.

However, there are exceptions to every rule, from every Church and it is to these exceptions that Christ directs His words, ‘Behold I come quickly, hold that fast which you have, that no man takes your crown’.

The Catholic Church and its leader the Pope will be instrumental in the rise to power of the Beast at the beginning. He will not be able to galvanise the people to the universal action he desires without them. The Beast taps into their assistance to get himself started. However, the political leader, the Beast, the spiritual leader the Pope of the time and the ten kings appointed under them are a law unto themselves once the Day of the Lord is underway.

By following them, the ‘Dragon’, Satan is by default being worshipped. Satan is the real leader orchestrating all the events behind the scenes.

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GOG AND MAGOGGog and Magog loosely define the populations of impotance not already covered. In the world wide confluence of ‘End Time’ events we have accounted for the Western powers; Britain the USA and Europe. The Middle East is also covered. Who is left? Russia and Asia are a vast territory with a truly vast population. These alone are capable in raising the army of 200 million that comes from the North and East of Jerusalem. They are Gog and Magog.

But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. Dan 11:44

Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. 16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. 17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. 18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. Rev 9:14

The Last WarWe have come to the latter time frame of the Day of the Lord. Already during the seven year period, one quarter of the worlds population will have died from war, disease and starvation in the first half. Now towards the end only two world powers are left and it will be a bitter

fight to the end. Only one nation can truly rule the roost, this war will be the war to end all wars. So the theory goes. Behind the scenes the invisible third party is ensuring it will be neither of these two parties that ‘win’. Satan only has himself in mind.

Satan’s PlanSatan’s plan had been to wipe mankind off the face of the planet from the word go. That is why we have a history of warfare in the first place. Satan has been raising the stakes of weaponry to the stage where he could get man to wipe himself out. This time they will do it and Satan will have come out the eventual winner.

God’s PlanThat is subject of course to an even Higher Authority. God has had a plan for mankind since before the world was created. Christ had already made the decision to personally pay for our transgressions before Adam was sculpted from clay. That plan is not going to be changed now, especially since man from this point on will be able to look back and see

GOG AND MAGOG

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the total folly of his ways.The world is as good as wiped out during this last battle; a full one third of mankind that is left is killed. The rest would be in short order except Christ finally steps in.

And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. Matt 24:22

The ‘elect’ in this case are the nations God has made promises to – impossible to break – that need a little help to keep going. The nations of Israel (plural) and Judah have been subjected to captivity for almost seven years. They need to be brought out of their imprisonment before they expire.

Christ Steps In

With the sudden intervention of Christ appearing all fighting stops. Instead of

confronting each other all eyes will now be on ChristGog and Magog have served their purpose, now it is time for the final chapter of this world, as we have known it.

One more event is to unfold before mankind takes a deep breath to absorb a brand new day.

ARMAGEDDON

The entire world has been caught up in theDay of the Lord. It has been orchestrated

for one reason. Choice. We can do it our way or we can do it God’s way. There are no shades of in-between.If we choose to serve God, then we can be with Him forever. We can become eternal beings.That is one choice. The other, that is any other way leads to ‘death’, which is the absence of eternal life.

Armageddon is the point in time where Christ has to draw a line. The plan of God must continue and mankind has had enough time and experience to make a choice. All those that have endured the seven years of the Day of the Lord must make a choice. The world will continue for a while with regular humans living day-to-day lives but not ordinary ‘days’ by any means. Christ will personally rule the world. It will be perfect in every sense. Who lives to see that day is now the question.

Right back in Deuteronomy Christ ‘reads the riot act’ to ‘the nations’ starting with Israel.A spectacular event will occur causing all the nations Israel were captive in to be released. A careful reading shows this book has a duality and is fully in the context of the ‘latter days’. The context of the continuous dialogue begins in chapter four and is not completed until chapter thirty.

When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; 31 (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them. Deut 4:30

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And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, 2 And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; 3 That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. 4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: 5 And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. 6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. Deut 30:1

As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: 34 And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. 35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. 36 Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD. 37 And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: Ezek 20:33

Christ Gathers The Nations

In the process, all nations are assembled for the final gathering.

I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. Joel 3:2

Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. 9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent. Zeph 3:8

For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many. Isa 66:15

A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD. Jer 25:31

When everyone is present Israel and all other nations are addressed. Remember the context is still in the ‘latter days’ from chapter four.

Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel, 11 Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water: 12 That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day:

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13 That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 14 Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; 15 But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day: Deut 29:10

What does Christ say?

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: 20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life Deut 30:19

This is the final moment of truth.

The battle of Armageddon will now commence but you could hardly call it a battle. Who can fight Christ?Those that are not willing to follow Christ are instantly dealt with.

And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. Zech 14:12

That’s it! No more people in the world that choose to go their own way. Everyone without exception from here on will follow and obey Christ. The world is still there, people are still there but it is a very different world.

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An interesting observationObviously those that fight against Christ

will not go forward into the next stage of the history of man. Christ returns with the previously resurrected Saints, including such notables as David, Abraham, Moses and all the bible stalwarts. The twelve disciples will have very senior positions, each as a king over one of the tribes/nations of Israel. Paul will be there, as will less known individuals such as Pudens, a Roman Senator and his wife Claudia. Will Solomon be there? Time will tell. To have thousands of years of history and experiences compressed into one generation is hard to imagine.

Of those alive in this day and age it is interesting to note who is eligible to continue through into the millennium that is the real start of the never ending Kingdom of God. To clear any confusion, the resurrection that took place during the seven years of tribulation was only a first resurrection. At the end of the thousand years there will be another and the bible is not exactly clear on how many more there may be. Rest assured everyone is accounted for. Christ does not want to ‘leave anyone behind’.

Former Arabs and Muslims have their place alongside Israel as we have seen (Isa 19:24). Jews obviously accept Christ. As we pointed out it does not make much difference which Church a person had been affiliated with. In fact even total (former) atheist will be in the physical kingdom since the survivors of Gog and Magog are clearly there for another thousand years until Satan is released.

Who will not be there? This is an important point. God and Magog were at war with

the Beast; obviously they did not worship the Beast or have anything to do with him. They

did not take the mark of the Beast. Nor did the Middle Eastern nations. They were at war with the Beast. America and the UK were scattered around the world as captives. They did not have anything to sell let alone the means buy. They did not take the mark or worship the Beast.The only people not to go through into the next chapter of the world are the followers of the Beast, and of course the Beast and False Prophet who are the only people recorded as being thrown into the lake of fire at that early stage. They knew better. They had committed the unpardonable sin. For them there is no second chance.

Christ warns so strongly about being deceived. The bible is written to Christians. It is instruction for them. The warnings are for them. It is the Christians in Europe that this warning is for. They are the only ones left that it could apply to. Being Christian or having access to knowledge that would allow them to know better is why the condemnation is so strong. Not only did they place themselves in a position where they could be deceived, they then ignored the mountain of evidence presented to them over the next seven years via the faithful Saints and the Two Witnesses.

Forewarned is forearmed.

What will man do during that thousand years Christ is here with us?

God has a purpose. In an upcoming issue that subject will be covered in detail.

READ & RUN

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