The Final Countdown

At the midpoint of the Tribulation the Antichrist will claim to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:4; Daniel 11:36; Revelation 13:5-6), and with the help of the False Prophet unsaved people will believe him (Revelation 13:12-17). The Antichrist will then make it his mission to kill the Jews and Christians who are on earth during that time (Daniel 7:21, 25; Revelation 13:7, 12;13, 20:4; Matthew 24:9; Mark 13:9, 12-13; Luke 21:12-17; John 16:2).

Amazingly, people will turn in their own family members for being Christians and hand them over to be killed (Mark 13:9-13). With that in mind I am going to occasionally post some headlines showing that the natural love between family members is eroding quickly in our culture. It will be no surprise that millions of believers are given over to the executioner by “loved” ones.

• Woman left newborn in portable toilet
• Woman charged with poisoning daughter with methadone
• Parents selling children to Taliban to become suicide bombers
• Stillborn baby flushed down toilet
• Mother slits throats of her three children
• Three accused of letting rats chew toes off Ohio infant
• Louisiana baby with rodent bites bleeds to death
• Father confesses to strangling 3-year-old daughter to death
• Two children shot by siblings in separate attacks
• Woman beheads, dismembers her newborn
• Dad kills daughter, self
• Toddler found alive in trash can
• Dad threw girl off cliff to avoid child support
• School children wearing diapers after parents “too busy to potty train”
• Mom in Minnesota starves disabled daughter to death
• Jerusalem mother starves, deliberately injures son
• Father stabs teenage daughter to death
• Dad beats, strangles 7 year-old son to death while fiancee watches
• Oklahoma kids found locked in bedroom, covered in feces and blood

I do not believe there is anything special about today’s solar eclipse in Asia, in and of itself. However, it is just one in a line of rapid eclipses that will take place over the next few years and that has many prophecy students buzzing, so I think the topic should be briefly touched upon.

Jesus spoke of “signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars” (Luke 21:25), and while there will be heavenly signs pointing to His return (these strings of eclipses could be one), most of the dramatic signs involving the sun will happen during and immediately after the Tribulation. Consider these verses:

(Jesus speaking) But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken (Mark 13:24-25)

And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD (Joel 2:30-31; Acts 2:19-20)

I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair (Revelation 6:12)

In other space news, an object roughly 50-100 miles in diameter slammed in Jupiter yesterday, leaving a mark that is larger than Earth. The exponential destructive capabilities of flying space objects, such as comets,  is worth keeping in mind as many prophetic descriptions, such as those found in Revelation 8, could describe the effects of such strikes on the earth.

These three headlines caught my attention because they provide a perfect picture of where the world is headed:

1. Gold sold like chocolate from vending machines
2. UN: World hunger reaches 1 billion
3. Brazil finds new strain of swine flu

During the Tribulation, gold will become so worthless that men will toss it into the trash bin (Ezekiel 7:19; James 5:1-4). It gets so bad that a whole days wages only buys one meal (Revelation 6:6). This will coincide with great famine that will kill 2 billion people (Revelation 6:8). This starvation will partly be caused by diseases that come from animals, such as the swine flu, Avian flu, AIDS, and Ebola (Revelation 6:8). It isn’t happening now, but it will happen soon!

In perhaps the greatest sign we’ve seen in years that proves the Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will announced Sunday that he is open to a sovereign Palestine. This is a dramatic shift in policy for Israel, and removes the greatest barrier to the signing of a peace contract in the Middle East, an event that marks the beginning of the Tribulation (Daniel 9:27).

We have pointed out many times that seemingly the whole world is calling for a two-state solution. Even Netanyahu’s own Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, has recently endorsed a Palestinian state. President Barack Obama has been heavily involved in pressuring Israel to yield to the idea of a sovereign Palestine. The US holds a lot of sway over Israel (esepcially concerning Iran), even to the point where King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia said Obama should “impose a solution” to the Mideast conflict. Obama’s Mideast envoy, George Mitchell, says the US wants to see a ‘Palestinian state as soon as possible.’

(I will have much, much more to say about Barack Obama’s involvement in the peace process after Netanyahu’s speech early next week.)

The Tribulation begins when a world leader negotiates a seven year peace contract between Israel and the nations of the Middle East (Daniel 9:27). As we’ve said all along, this brokered peace deal will involve a Palestinian state (Joel 3:2, Zechariah 14:2).  This will be a temporary peace because the Jews and Palestinians will both want complete control over Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:2-3).

Much more information on this topic to come next week.

I don’t think this is going to happen, but the biblical coincidence is fascinating. The WHO said Thursday that one-third of the world may catch the swine flu, an interesting figure by Tribulation measure. As the Tribulation unfolds in Revelation, most judgments have an affect in thirds. For example, in Revelation 8:7-12, we see a succession of “thirds” as part of the opening of the seventh seal: a third of trees are burned; a third of the sea becomes blood; a third of all sea creatures die; a third of ships are destroyed; a third of water becomes polluted and bitter; and finally in verse 12, a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.

This theme continues throughout the book, such as with a third of mankind being killed (Revelation 9:15, 18), and a third of all angels becoming demons (Revelation 12:4). Alas, the one spot where it is not one-third, but instead one-forth, is when the pale horse of Revelation 6:8 kills a quarter of the earth’s population, including by diseases that come from animals, such as AIDS, avian flu, or the current swine flu scare. Perhaps it will be something like the flesh-eating bug that recently killed a Mediterranean tourist.

It is just a coincidence and likely an overblown scare, but given the rest of the headlines from the world, something similar will be true soon enough.