Month: June 2017

The message of the events that lead to the seconding coming of Jesus Christ, the tribulation, is often perceived as a message of doom. I think the sadness produced by the thought of persecution is a major factor for the popularity of rapture theology. At the end of his ministry, the Apostle John sought to strengthen the Church with the writing of his Gospel. In the Gospel of John chapter sixteen Jesus tells that His prophecy of tribulation for the Church was given so that his followers would be strengthened and not be lost. But Christ did not give the Church prophecy only, He sent the Holy Spirit to reveal Truth and abide with us.

The daily news is filled with headlines that strobe like a beacon of the approaching return of Christ. How exactly it happens is a matter of supposition on the part of theologians but that it is happening is without doubt. This is a time to strengthen our bond with the Holy Spirit and prepare spiritually for our future challenges. Commit time for prayer and reading the Bible daily. We are sojourners on this earth so be assured that, because Jesus died and rose again, there is a reward waiting for you in heaven (1Peter 2:11-12).

May God bless you in your study of His word.

A thirty-something recently asked me what I thought was likely to happen in the near future. There was concern about feeding an exploding population, climate changes that will someday render the earth uninhabitable, and the increasing possibility of war, even the unthinkable, nuclear war. Theologians, especially those looking for the rapture of the church, know that all of these concerns exist just prior to the return of Christ. What is telling about this conversation is that the secular world is recognizing that the extinction of humankind is possible. An extinction not caused by some uncontrollable astronomical event but one preventable by changes in life style.

Jesus foretold that humankind would destroy itself if He does not return and cut short the desolation that will occur (Matthew 24:21-22). Jesus also told the apostles that the run up to His return was meant to be a time of witnessing by the saints, a witness to what is truly happening and that Jesus Christ is the only hope of humankind surviving the tribulation (Luke 21:12-14). The truth is that the collective nature of humankind is not one to sacrifice for the greater good. We cannot get 100 U.S. senators to agree on vital changes to preserve our Republic never mind seven billion people to do without in order to preserve our planet. It will take a miracle.

That is the wonder of the book of Daniel. It is truly miraculous that God foretold of the world conditions and how they develop at the end of humankind’s rule of the earth some 2600 years ago. It isn’t a message of if it will happen but when. Not one of how to prevent it but how to overcome it. Jesus was clear, we would recognize the season and should determine to side with God, even unto death if necessary (Matthew 24:32-34; Luke 21:10-19).

We are likely years away from the rising of the last beast of Daniel seven and the conflict that leaves unthinkable desolation on the earth. From this chaos will rise the antichrist to set himself up to be worshiped as a god. In the last battle, the battle of Armageddon, humankind would destroy itself if not for the intervention of Christ’s return. Many who do not believe in Jesus will survive the desolation but many more will perish. We cannot know which will be the case for us personally. We do know there will be immense pressure to give up our belief and trust in Jesus as the Christ. So let us both encourage one another and witness to the lost with the words of Hebrews 3:12-15.
“But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called today, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said, Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

May God bless you in your study of His word.

If you are a proponent of the “Western model” of Christian eschatology then you would finish the title sentence with the word Rome, All Roads Lead To Rome. But the book of Daniel tells a different story of the end times. A story of war between the land of Javan, inadvertently interpreted as Greece in the Septuagint, and Persia. This war leads to the rise of the antichrist (Daniel eight and Daniel eleven). If you read the Revelation Rosetta Stone blog you know that Turkey occupies the land of Javan and Iran occupies the land of Persia today. For the Revelation Rosetta Stone model All Roads Lead To Babylon, the Babylon of Daniel Two but that’s another part of the story. If the prophecies of Daniel are for our generation then the current conflict over Qatar holds a clue about the nature of a future war between Turkey and Iran.

The Sunni Arab states boycotting Qatar are conservative governments, many being monarchies. Qatar is a progressive exception supporting a wave of governance that promotes democratic rule tempered by Islamic law, a form of governance with no room for Arab monarchies and Western values. Qatar supports Hamas and The Muslim Brotherhood because they govern by democratic elections within the framework of Shira Law, not that Qatar agrees with everything these terrorists groups do. It is easy to understand why Saudi Arabia et al would vehemently oppose such doctrine.

In steps Turkey and Iran into the fray. Turkey has recently established what it believes to be the best model for an Islamic state to rule a pluralist society with its new constitution. Turkey’s new constitution does not take effect until 2019 so it will be sometime before the reality of the Turkish model is apparent. Iran’s hybrid theocracy and democratic governance, on the other hand, has been in existence since 1979. Make no mistake, there is a serious effort between the Turkish and Iranian models to win the hearts and minds of the Muslim world. This is the ill wind that will lead the world to Daniel eight and Daniel eleven.

The losers in this conflict are the Saudis and their conservative backers. Again, if the prophecies of Daniel are for our generation then expect Iran to turn this Saudi induced crisis back on the Saudis. A likely spot to become hot is Bahrain with its Shiite majority being ruled by a Sunni minority monarchy.

Nothing is imminent between Turkey and Iran. There will be games of tug-of-war between the two until the fourth Supreme Leader takes his place in Iran (Daniel 11:2). We still have two Supreme Leaders to go. That is the sign that signals the beginning of the end.

May God bless you in your study of His Word.

While the world’s news eyes focus on the renewed effort by Washington to solidify a formal peace between Israel and Palestinians the real diplomatic coup of our times is in the making with hardly a notice in the Western press. Regardless of China’s public expression that their influence over North Korea is limited by international norms and respect for the sovereignty of other nations, the Chinese need peace on the Korean Peninsula to make their “One Belt One Road” initiative a reality. Mere days after the election of Moon Jae-in as President of South Korea, China has reached out to strengthen bilateral ties with the focus on creating the right conditions for a mutually beneficial relationship with the North. Perhaps coincidently, perhaps not, President Moon Jae-in will open public hearings on the legality of the THAAD anti-missile system deployed in South Korea, a system the Chinese oppose. China has left little doubt their peace initiative between the Koreas means without the United States. A series of articles in the Chinese press lays the cause of current tension between the North and the South at the feet of the United States. The articles hint that China doubts the United States has the national character to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula.

What makes the Korean Peninsula political environment and its impact on China so interesting to Christian eschatology is the association of China with the lion in Daniel chapter seven (See post Times – They Are A-Changin April 10, 2017 for more details). Daniel 7:4 tells that the lion has wings which are subsequently plucked off. It is made to stand like a man and is given the heart of a man. The winged lion is an excellent representation of China’s political stance in the world to date. China has relied on its reputation of self-defined restraint stemming from some mythical national respect for other nations sovereignty to soar above conflict, portraying itself as the adult in the room. But the wings are coming off and not by anybody’s doing but China’s.

The veneer of respect for other nations sovereignty is vanishing with the unilateral move to build artificial islands with military bases in contested areas of the South China Sea. An now this hands on bid to bring an understanding of peace to the Korean Peninsula. If “One Belt, One Road” is to be a reality then China must provide more than economic muscle, it must provide stability. The most unpredictable obstacle to China’s hegemony in the South China Sea and the Korean Peninsula, and therefore China’s influence to affect stability, is the Presidency of Donald Trump. China must standup and minimize the influence of the United States in Asia to protect its fledgling project called “One Belt, One Road”. If China is the lion of Daniel seven then look for China to thwart the influence of the United States and draw the nations affected by the renewed Silk Road under its control, much like a lion leads a pride.

The Book of Daniel reveals more about the events leading up to the Great Tribulation than any other book of the Bible. We are not to despair over the approach of the Great Tribulation signaled by the fulfillment of the prophecies of Daniel, rather we are to remember the words of Jesus about the end-times. When we see all these things coming together, look up for our redemption is drawing near (Luke 21:28).

May God bless you in your study of His word.