HOW PROPHESY HAS BEEN PERCEIVED AND PREACHED. For the passed 70 years (Because I am 80) there has been much preaching about end time prophesy. Many have preached various prophesied events applying them as signs of the coming end times. Among those signs were -- the establishment of the nation of Israel in 1948 -- the 10 nation European union -- the middle east oil crisis -- the Soviet Union / bear from the north -- the anti-christ / #666 -- the anti-christ is alive today / probably living somewhere in Europe -- the 4 blood moons -- signing of peace treaty between Israel and their enemies -- the building of the 3rd temple, etc. The above mentioned events and others have been portrayed as establishing or setting in progress events that would signal the end time -- the return of Jesus Christ -- the rapture of the church -- the tribulation -- the millennial, etc. Some of these are, by reason of time and circumstance, no longer relevant. For example -- until 1988 it was preached that a Biblical life span was 40 years, thus the Lord would return by 1988. Well -- it has now been 73 years since 1948 and we are still here and Jesus has not returned. Then in 2016 it was broadly proclaimed that the 4 blood moons in sequence would set the stage for the anti-christ to be reveled -- establish a peace treaty with Israel and the 7 year tribulation would begin. IT DID NOT HAPPEN. There were in 2020 peace treaties being signed between Israel and several of the Arab nations -- BUT TRUMP IS NOT THE ANTI-CHRIST . MISSED AGAIN. There is one other event on the horizon -- that is the building of the 3rd temple and the re-establishment of the Jewish sacrificial system. We need to ask ourselves -- ?? -- what does the Orthodox Jewish sacrifice have to do with the return of the Messiah Jesus Christ ?? -- NOT MUCH. Those who are preparing to build the 3rd temple are very anti-Jesus Christ. They are looking for a messiah, but not Jesus Christ whom they have rejected. Many preachers / Bible teachers (myself included) with good intentions tried to present the Word of God the best way possible, but time and circumstances have proven some of these events irrelevant. If there were no other explanation of God's time table we could say -- ok we will take it that way. But there is another explanation. The 'seals' are not descriptions of tribulation, but they seal the prophetic messages from the right hand of God. The seven year tribulation is divided equally between the 'trumpets, and the 'bowels' of God's wrath -- 3&1/2 years each, thus 7 years of tribulation. The 'seals' do not describe tribulation, but release the prophetic messages of the end time events. The 'seals' 1 - 5 tell us the 5 laws -- or 'judgments' by which God will judge all mankind at the Great White Throne Judgment. This is of great importance to understand. These laws / judgments are the messages from God,opened by Jesus Christ. They are further explained in the 5 judgments against the woman riding the beast in Rev. 17 - 18. These laws / judgments can be called the law of the heart, because every person who has lived having sound mind -- knows right from wrong. Many of mankind have lived their entire life and never heard of Jesus Christ nor seen or heard about the Bible. They will be judged according to the messages of the seals. Seal number 6 prophesies / explains in visionary form the final day of physical mankind on earth. While the rebellious against God are being destroyed on earth, the entire family of God is before the throne praising their God. (Revelation 7). The conclusion of this visionary picture is seen in Revelation 19: 11 - 21. SO - In regard to the coming end, Revelation 8 - seal 7 - tells us very plainly that the tribulation will begin only after 'all' who are going to be saved are saved. It tells us that when the 'prayers of all the saints' have been heard before the throne of God the tribulation will begin as described beginning in verse 6. Remember -- the Angels in heaven sing when one sinner repents -- 'silence' in heaven for 1/2 hour means that no one has been saved in 1/2 hour -- ITS OVER. The doors of heaven are closed as Jesus explains in Matthew 25. God does not give us a DAY - DATE - time, but a circumstance time. After the 7 year tribulation begins, we are given a pretty good time line, but the time line does not begin until the family of God is complete. The time of the prayers of 'all the saints' --- before the throne' (Rev. 8: 3) will be known ONLY to God, then the tribulation will begin. In order to understand this a person needs to start at Revelation 1: 1 -- ask for the Holy Spirit's help -- and study one verse at a time. It is not easy, but it is well worth your time -- you will be blessed if you seek understanding. Please reference web-site www.spmint.com a study of Revelation Everything I learned came through the Holy Spirit with much prayer, many tears. IT IS GOD'S WORD -- FROM GOD ---- He gave it free -- it is not for sale. |