Summary of Bible references on the Rapture
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Revelation 12:15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth behind the woman water as a river, that he might make her be one carried away by a river.
It has just occurred to me that a lot of meteors hitting the oceans would kick up a tremendous amount of steam. This is what caused the forty days and nights of rain during Noah's flood. To cause the water to come out as a river indicates the rain is in the mountains. As air rises it cools and as it is forced over mountains it will rise, cool and you will get precipitation. The Yangtze comes out of the Himalayas, the Mississippi comes out of the Rockies, etc. China, India, Europe and the US, will all see massive floods.
It has just occurred to me that a lot of meteors hitting the oceans would kick up a tremendous amount of steam. This is what caused the forty days and nights of rain during Noah's flood. To cause the water to come out as a river indicates the rain is in the mountains. As air rises it cools and as it is forced over mountains it will rise, cool and you will get precipitation. The Yangtze comes out of the Himalayas, the Mississippi comes out of the Rockies, etc. China, India, Europe and the US, will all see massive floods.
1John 4:19-21 How we identify the Antichrist
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
This is the basic principle for how we know the antichrist and the spirit of the antichrist. What was it that Antiochus, Titus, and Hitler all had in common? They did not love their brothers and sisters. They elevated their words above the words of God. They reject the Lord’s word to love others even as He has loved us. On the contrary, instead of being willing to die for others they were all very willing to have others die for them.
So then how do we know “The Antichrist”? We can see that there have been many antichrists, many who have chipped away at the recognition of Jesus Christ as Lord and savior. Many who have elevated their words and their commands over His. Titus was an example of the antichrist just as Judas was a type of the false prophet. Titus used cunning deceit to destroy Jerusalem. He told the Jews that if they wanted to celebrate Passover they could, then when they entered Jerusalem he locked the gates and kept them locked in there until they all starved to death. Daniel 8:23 “In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise. This is what the Hunter Biden “laptop from hell” reveals. It is evidence that Biden for many years was completely wicked, that John Kerry and Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama were also complicit. They could not have accomplished this without the help of Adam Schiff, some in the FBI, and NSA, and some of the judges. The major news outlets like CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC as well as the NY Times and Washington Post are also complicit. Of course Twitter, Facebook and Youtube are working with them as well as google. In other words those who are selling out this country, the rebels, also translated as “the transgressors” have become completely wicked. At this time a “fierce-looking king”, “a master of intrigue” will arise. Fierce looking king can also be translated as impudent. Gill says it refers to “impudent brazen faced man, who had no shame nor fear in him; regarded neither God nor man” Impudent means “not showing due respect for another person”, rude. Brazen means bold and without shame. The very first thing you will notice in the antichrist is that he is rude, does not show the proper respect for other people, and is shameless. The second thing is that he is a master of intrigue, he understands dark sentences, riddles. He is well versed in wicked politics and can penetrate into the secrets of others. In my own opinion based on my observation we are seeing “wicked politics” by the Democrats and their allies. 24 He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people. I agree with Benson’s commentary that this refers to two groups of people: the mighty, and the common man. 25 He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. Regardless of who it is they are egotistical and narcissistic. Without any doubt we are seeing deceit prospering at this moment. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power. Wow, many think that Biden’s victory was so that this entire deep state of the mighty could feel secure.
Revelation 3:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
There are similarities between this person who was resuscitated and Jesus who was resurrected. With Jesus we say “who is like unto our God” and with this one they say “who is like unto this beast”. Causing the whole world to “wonder after him” implies a form of worship.
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
This is the basic principle for how we know the antichrist and the spirit of the antichrist. What was it that Antiochus, Titus, and Hitler all had in common? They did not love their brothers and sisters. They elevated their words above the words of God. They reject the Lord’s word to love others even as He has loved us. On the contrary, instead of being willing to die for others they were all very willing to have others die for them.
So then how do we know “The Antichrist”? We can see that there have been many antichrists, many who have chipped away at the recognition of Jesus Christ as Lord and savior. Many who have elevated their words and their commands over His. Titus was an example of the antichrist just as Judas was a type of the false prophet. Titus used cunning deceit to destroy Jerusalem. He told the Jews that if they wanted to celebrate Passover they could, then when they entered Jerusalem he locked the gates and kept them locked in there until they all starved to death. Daniel 8:23 “In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise. This is what the Hunter Biden “laptop from hell” reveals. It is evidence that Biden for many years was completely wicked, that John Kerry and Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama were also complicit. They could not have accomplished this without the help of Adam Schiff, some in the FBI, and NSA, and some of the judges. The major news outlets like CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC as well as the NY Times and Washington Post are also complicit. Of course Twitter, Facebook and Youtube are working with them as well as google. In other words those who are selling out this country, the rebels, also translated as “the transgressors” have become completely wicked. At this time a “fierce-looking king”, “a master of intrigue” will arise. Fierce looking king can also be translated as impudent. Gill says it refers to “impudent brazen faced man, who had no shame nor fear in him; regarded neither God nor man” Impudent means “not showing due respect for another person”, rude. Brazen means bold and without shame. The very first thing you will notice in the antichrist is that he is rude, does not show the proper respect for other people, and is shameless. The second thing is that he is a master of intrigue, he understands dark sentences, riddles. He is well versed in wicked politics and can penetrate into the secrets of others. In my own opinion based on my observation we are seeing “wicked politics” by the Democrats and their allies. 24 He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people. I agree with Benson’s commentary that this refers to two groups of people: the mighty, and the common man. 25 He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. Regardless of who it is they are egotistical and narcissistic. Without any doubt we are seeing deceit prospering at this moment. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power. Wow, many think that Biden’s victory was so that this entire deep state of the mighty could feel secure.
Revelation 3:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
There are similarities between this person who was resuscitated and Jesus who was resurrected. With Jesus we say “who is like unto our God” and with this one they say “who is like unto this beast”. Causing the whole world to “wonder after him” implies a form of worship.
The Last Chance
There are many who do not believe the rapture will take place this year or that the Great tribulation will begin this year. That is OK, they can be forgiven for that. But during the Great tribulation they will see many wonders and miracles by the great revival among the Christians who are left behind. At that point they will still refuse to believe and instead will decapitate the believers to shut them up. That will be the final straw for their judgement.
There are many who do not believe the rapture will take place this year or that the Great tribulation will begin this year. That is OK, they can be forgiven for that. But during the Great tribulation they will see many wonders and miracles by the great revival among the Christians who are left behind. At that point they will still refuse to believe and instead will decapitate the believers to shut them up. That will be the final straw for their judgement.
He makes a case for the Seven year tribulation beginning feast of Trumpets 2022
In many ways this is quite reasonable. If we have this cataclysmic event September 23/24 then it is thought we will have a 2 week blackout of all telecommunications. That takes you to the Feast of Trumpets in October (unless the Torah Calendar is correct in which case this is all happening during the last year of this Shemitah cycle).
Either way you don't have time for a huge Gog and Magog army to assemble against Israel. This is something you would want the whole earth to see. You want them to see that Damascus is destroyed and you want them watching on the 24hr news channels to see that God He is God.
You would then want the dust to settle before Antichrist makes the covenant for 7 years with Israel.
So then we can definitely see that all that could happen in one year, but in one day? That seems absurd.
This doesn't change that much, but it does make all the numbers, dates, years, cycles a big jumbled confused mess.
Everything is still a very confusing mess. I would point out that the only way he is able to do this is to move the Fig Tree prophecy to begin a few years later.
At this point I still feel we have a jigsaw puzzle with a whole bunch of pieces that have still not been put together yet. I suspect the Rapture will be a big help, the Gog Magog war will bring it closer into focus, and when the Antichrist makes that treaty no one will be confused anymore.
In many ways this is quite reasonable. If we have this cataclysmic event September 23/24 then it is thought we will have a 2 week blackout of all telecommunications. That takes you to the Feast of Trumpets in October (unless the Torah Calendar is correct in which case this is all happening during the last year of this Shemitah cycle).
Either way you don't have time for a huge Gog and Magog army to assemble against Israel. This is something you would want the whole earth to see. You want them to see that Damascus is destroyed and you want them watching on the 24hr news channels to see that God He is God.
You would then want the dust to settle before Antichrist makes the covenant for 7 years with Israel.
So then we can definitely see that all that could happen in one year, but in one day? That seems absurd.
This doesn't change that much, but it does make all the numbers, dates, years, cycles a big jumbled confused mess.
Everything is still a very confusing mess. I would point out that the only way he is able to do this is to move the Fig Tree prophecy to begin a few years later.
At this point I still feel we have a jigsaw puzzle with a whole bunch of pieces that have still not been put together yet. I suspect the Rapture will be a big help, the Gog Magog war will bring it closer into focus, and when the Antichrist makes that treaty no one will be confused anymore.
So what have these recent posts shown us. First, we can look at the twenty years since 9/11 as a period of warning and judgement. Our war with Afghanistan has clearly been judged a massive failure of epic proportions. What is the war of Gog and Magog all about? They bring all their weapons and equipment to Israel which keeps them after their destruction. Well the same thing happened when we left Afghanistan. They kept all our weapons and infrastructure. We have also seen that rather than be humbled by what happened they were arrogant saying they would "build back better" which ironically is Biden's campaign slogan. So we know that judgement is determined on the US. The calendars are a little confusing, should we use the Hebrew one or the world's calendar? Either way right around 9/11 we can expect this judgment.
So then what was the warning on 9/11. Our economy will collapse like those towers and like the tower of Babel. At the same time we'll see these fallen angels falling to Earth, just like those people who jumped off the tower. The US will be struck by fireballs from the sky. Not only so but the fire at the World Trade Center burned longer and hotter than any other building fire, it burned for over a month. We had 3,000 killed and that was just a warning, a shot across the bow, prophecies say that this will be greater than other slaughters in human history. Maybe 30 million will be killed? Who knows, it will be horrific.
At the time of 9/11 "the smoke of her burning went up". It was a great pillar of smoke. Again, a warning to the Great Babylon, the whore that sits on 7 hills (continents). We can expect massive fires and smoke nationwide.
Also the phones were down for a few hours and planes were grounded for a few days. So again, we can expect all kinds of confusion and catastrophes like that with a telecommunications blackout and major disruption to travel.
If the fallen angels are coming down at this time then the rapture would have to take place before hand.
This is the seventh year of this Shemita which began with a very large drop in the stock market. This should be the completion of the total collapse of the US stock market. Revelation 18 desribes it as a large mill stone being tossed into the ocean and then sinking to the bottom.
The people falling out of the Twin towers is also reminiscent of Jezebel being tossed out of her tower. It could be during this year that Trump returns to office and tosses out all those in the deep state that are part of this "Whore of Babylon".
We can certainly imagine that for all this to take place it would be months.
We still need the massive floods described in Revelation 12 as a river. I suspect that this meteor shower will send a tremendous amount of steam up into the atmosphere which will come back down as rain, particularly in the mountains like the Himalayas and the Rockies. This in turn will result in massive flooding particularly for China and the Mississippi river basin, and everything that has recently been burned. I think this knocks China off the world stage as their domestic problems will overwhelm them like a flood. I think it also acts as a one two punch to the US.
Now if all this happens in the Fall you can certainly imagine Russia forming an alliance to plunder Israel and take over the Middle East. I think it is interesting that all the Islamic nations mentioned in that alliance are not in the Middle East. Perhaps we are looking at a rift in the Islamic nations. If this dominates the Spring and Summer of 2022 we could see the Lord defeat this army in the summer and then the Antichrist sign the peace treaty by the Feast of Trumpets, 2022.
So then what was the warning on 9/11. Our economy will collapse like those towers and like the tower of Babel. At the same time we'll see these fallen angels falling to Earth, just like those people who jumped off the tower. The US will be struck by fireballs from the sky. Not only so but the fire at the World Trade Center burned longer and hotter than any other building fire, it burned for over a month. We had 3,000 killed and that was just a warning, a shot across the bow, prophecies say that this will be greater than other slaughters in human history. Maybe 30 million will be killed? Who knows, it will be horrific.
At the time of 9/11 "the smoke of her burning went up". It was a great pillar of smoke. Again, a warning to the Great Babylon, the whore that sits on 7 hills (continents). We can expect massive fires and smoke nationwide.
Also the phones were down for a few hours and planes were grounded for a few days. So again, we can expect all kinds of confusion and catastrophes like that with a telecommunications blackout and major disruption to travel.
If the fallen angels are coming down at this time then the rapture would have to take place before hand.
This is the seventh year of this Shemita which began with a very large drop in the stock market. This should be the completion of the total collapse of the US stock market. Revelation 18 desribes it as a large mill stone being tossed into the ocean and then sinking to the bottom.
The people falling out of the Twin towers is also reminiscent of Jezebel being tossed out of her tower. It could be during this year that Trump returns to office and tosses out all those in the deep state that are part of this "Whore of Babylon".
We can certainly imagine that for all this to take place it would be months.
We still need the massive floods described in Revelation 12 as a river. I suspect that this meteor shower will send a tremendous amount of steam up into the atmosphere which will come back down as rain, particularly in the mountains like the Himalayas and the Rockies. This in turn will result in massive flooding particularly for China and the Mississippi river basin, and everything that has recently been burned. I think this knocks China off the world stage as their domestic problems will overwhelm them like a flood. I think it also acts as a one two punch to the US.
Now if all this happens in the Fall you can certainly imagine Russia forming an alliance to plunder Israel and take over the Middle East. I think it is interesting that all the Islamic nations mentioned in that alliance are not in the Middle East. Perhaps we are looking at a rift in the Islamic nations. If this dominates the Spring and Summer of 2022 we could see the Lord defeat this army in the summer and then the Antichrist sign the peace treaty by the Feast of Trumpets, 2022.
8 Thus did Jehovah shew unto me; and behold, a basket of summer-fruit. 2 And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer-fruit. And Jehovah said unto me, The end is come upon my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more.
The Hebrew word for summer fruit is a homophone for "apocalyptic end".
The Hebrew word for summer fruit is a homophone for "apocalyptic end".
Once again the Atheists bite the dust
The following are favorite verses of the Atheists to try and discredit the Bible.
Isaiah 38:8 behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees which hath gone down with the sun on the dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned on the dial ten degrees, by which it had gone down.
Joshua 10:12 Then spoke Joshua to Jehovah in the day when Jehovah gave up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand still upon Gibeon; And thou, moon, in the valley of Ajalon! 13 And the sun stood still, and the moon remained where it was, until the nation had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? And the sun remained standing in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a full day.
This is seemingly impossible, and yet we now know that this "planet X" which is 5x the mass of Earth could stop the Earth in its rotation and even cause it to move backwards.
They used to cling to the story of Noah being proof that the Bible was mythology until that story has all been fully confirmed scientifically.
They used to also cling to the story of Moses crossing the Red Sea until we found all the chariots in the bottom of the Red Sea and we found a special tomb for all of Pharaoh's firstborn.
Well the same is true of the rapture.
The day will come when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.
The following are favorite verses of the Atheists to try and discredit the Bible.
Isaiah 38:8 behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees which hath gone down with the sun on the dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned on the dial ten degrees, by which it had gone down.
Joshua 10:12 Then spoke Joshua to Jehovah in the day when Jehovah gave up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand still upon Gibeon; And thou, moon, in the valley of Ajalon! 13 And the sun stood still, and the moon remained where it was, until the nation had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? And the sun remained standing in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a full day.
This is seemingly impossible, and yet we now know that this "planet X" which is 5x the mass of Earth could stop the Earth in its rotation and even cause it to move backwards.
They used to cling to the story of Noah being proof that the Bible was mythology until that story has all been fully confirmed scientifically.
They used to also cling to the story of Moses crossing the Red Sea until we found all the chariots in the bottom of the Red Sea and we found a special tomb for all of Pharaoh's firstborn.
Well the same is true of the rapture.
The day will come when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.
Zephaniah 1 -- Rapture: the Lord's bidden guests to the sacrifice He has prepared
1 The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. 2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord.
This is the judgement that has been declared for the Day of the Lord. This is the purpose of the Great Tribulation, to “utterly consume all things from off the land”.
3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked: and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord.
This will be a major extinction event. We know that much of this extinction is due to man himself, he is the problem. So God is going to take the same strategy that evil men used with “the stumbling blocks of the wicked”. For example we tried to exterminate the Buffalo since the Indians depended on them. In the same way we have tried to come up with sensible laws that would protect the rainforest from being burned down to feed cows, or keeping fowls locked up in cruel sheds or overfishing of the ocean. Wicked men have ignored and violated these laws. Not because they aren’t necessary, but because if everyone else keeps the laws they can get rich while everyone else pays the price to keep the world from disaster. So guess what happens when those who are paying the price to keep the world from disaster are taken away in the rapture? It will be like a mad man driving a car without brakes.
4 I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests; 5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham; 6 And them that are turned back from the Lord; and those that have not sought the Lord, nor enquired for him.
Here is the second issue that will be dealt with. People have forsaken God for idol worship. The great tribulation will cut that off. The NBA playoffs saw a 70% drop in ratings. Hollywood has had to stop the release of movies since the theaters were closed due to the Pandemic. The Oscars saw a huge drop in their ratings. Likewise with live shows like Broadway and TV shows like Saturday Night Live. Now, what do you think happens when things get real bad? Imagine a world with hyperinflation, over 20% unemployment, fires, floods, pandemic, riots, looting, and blackouts. Do you think they’ll say “let’s take a break from all this and go to an NFL game”? If the power goes out will anyone be watching the TV, or listening to the radio, or using the internet? The mainstream media surely represents many who have not sought the Lord nor enquired of Him.
7 Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is at hand: for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.
The day of the Lord refers to the Great tribulation. God has prepared all of these things, these idol worshippers, and all these who boast against the Lord, mocking Him, for His sacrifice. He also has bid his guests. What exactly is the rapture? All those who loved the Lord and Loved His appearing are bidden to attend the Lord’s coronation and wedding. There is a great feast, a great celebration. How do you feed such a great banquet? Well something or someone is going to have to pay, to be sacrificed. When those who love the Lord are raptured, those who aren’t will be left behind to be sacrificed.
8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.
Today we see corruption and want it to be punished. It will be on this day. When you see some of these people and the things they are wearing the only way to describe it is "strange apparel".
9 In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit.
We are seeing many protest “abuses of power” and “corruption”. But we are learning as we dig down deeper that this has been full of violence and deceit. Trump claimed that he would “drain the swamp”. Then for four years while president there was a never ending string of accusations against him and investigations to impeach him. Many of these claims have been completely unfounded, others have been shown to be fabricated by his political opponents. Then we had a story hit from a major media outlet that provided physical evidence that Biden’s son received millions of dollars from both Russian and Chinese sources as a way to buy influence with his father, the Vice President. This story was based on emails from Hunter Biden and these various sources. However Twitter and Facebook censored the stories. Their rationale was completely hypocritical in light of their history of running anti Trump stories. There can be no more illusion that these major media outlets censor and manipulate news stories based on their own biases. The country has been filled with deceit and this deceit has led to violence.
10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills. 11 Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.
We have not got to that day yet. That day will take place after the rapture, after He has bid his guests. But you can get an idea today. This is when the merchants of the world cry who will buy our stuff. This is the judgement that comes on the Great Babylon in one hour when the Earth goes through the meteor shower from the tail of the Dragon.
12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil.
No one properly considered the implications of the rapture. Instead they have stupid ideas about cars crashing and planes falling from the sky. The rapture will make a very clear distinction between those who are enjoying the Lord’s banquet feast and those who are paying for it. Instantly you will have those who are in heaven and those who are in hell. Not the “real” hell yet, simply a glimpse of how really horrible hell can be. There are many Christians who are "settled on their lees" who say the "Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil".
13 Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.
Again, we have just seen a glimpse of what is about to happen. Watch the fires in California. There was a vineyard burned down, the owner standing on the ashes said “everything they had built up over the years was gone”. There were houses burned up, again people saying everything they had built over the years was gone. Unless you repent and turn to the Lord this is what the Great Tribulation will be for you.
14 The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
Once again, we have seen a glimpse of this as well. We have seen coaches of NBA and NFL teams as well as players crying bitterly on the news.
15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. 17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. 18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
They will be treated as dust and dung. Take away the breath of the Lord and that is all that we are. All these people have tried to take away the breath of the Lord. So, fine, without the word of God you are nothing but dust and dung. The whole “circle of life” thing that you embrace. With what judgement you judge you shall be judged.
1 The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. 2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord.
This is the judgement that has been declared for the Day of the Lord. This is the purpose of the Great Tribulation, to “utterly consume all things from off the land”.
3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked: and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord.
This will be a major extinction event. We know that much of this extinction is due to man himself, he is the problem. So God is going to take the same strategy that evil men used with “the stumbling blocks of the wicked”. For example we tried to exterminate the Buffalo since the Indians depended on them. In the same way we have tried to come up with sensible laws that would protect the rainforest from being burned down to feed cows, or keeping fowls locked up in cruel sheds or overfishing of the ocean. Wicked men have ignored and violated these laws. Not because they aren’t necessary, but because if everyone else keeps the laws they can get rich while everyone else pays the price to keep the world from disaster. So guess what happens when those who are paying the price to keep the world from disaster are taken away in the rapture? It will be like a mad man driving a car without brakes.
4 I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests; 5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham; 6 And them that are turned back from the Lord; and those that have not sought the Lord, nor enquired for him.
Here is the second issue that will be dealt with. People have forsaken God for idol worship. The great tribulation will cut that off. The NBA playoffs saw a 70% drop in ratings. Hollywood has had to stop the release of movies since the theaters were closed due to the Pandemic. The Oscars saw a huge drop in their ratings. Likewise with live shows like Broadway and TV shows like Saturday Night Live. Now, what do you think happens when things get real bad? Imagine a world with hyperinflation, over 20% unemployment, fires, floods, pandemic, riots, looting, and blackouts. Do you think they’ll say “let’s take a break from all this and go to an NFL game”? If the power goes out will anyone be watching the TV, or listening to the radio, or using the internet? The mainstream media surely represents many who have not sought the Lord nor enquired of Him.
7 Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is at hand: for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.
The day of the Lord refers to the Great tribulation. God has prepared all of these things, these idol worshippers, and all these who boast against the Lord, mocking Him, for His sacrifice. He also has bid his guests. What exactly is the rapture? All those who loved the Lord and Loved His appearing are bidden to attend the Lord’s coronation and wedding. There is a great feast, a great celebration. How do you feed such a great banquet? Well something or someone is going to have to pay, to be sacrificed. When those who love the Lord are raptured, those who aren’t will be left behind to be sacrificed.
8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.
Today we see corruption and want it to be punished. It will be on this day. When you see some of these people and the things they are wearing the only way to describe it is "strange apparel".
9 In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit.
We are seeing many protest “abuses of power” and “corruption”. But we are learning as we dig down deeper that this has been full of violence and deceit. Trump claimed that he would “drain the swamp”. Then for four years while president there was a never ending string of accusations against him and investigations to impeach him. Many of these claims have been completely unfounded, others have been shown to be fabricated by his political opponents. Then we had a story hit from a major media outlet that provided physical evidence that Biden’s son received millions of dollars from both Russian and Chinese sources as a way to buy influence with his father, the Vice President. This story was based on emails from Hunter Biden and these various sources. However Twitter and Facebook censored the stories. Their rationale was completely hypocritical in light of their history of running anti Trump stories. There can be no more illusion that these major media outlets censor and manipulate news stories based on their own biases. The country has been filled with deceit and this deceit has led to violence.
10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills. 11 Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.
We have not got to that day yet. That day will take place after the rapture, after He has bid his guests. But you can get an idea today. This is when the merchants of the world cry who will buy our stuff. This is the judgement that comes on the Great Babylon in one hour when the Earth goes through the meteor shower from the tail of the Dragon.
12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil.
No one properly considered the implications of the rapture. Instead they have stupid ideas about cars crashing and planes falling from the sky. The rapture will make a very clear distinction between those who are enjoying the Lord’s banquet feast and those who are paying for it. Instantly you will have those who are in heaven and those who are in hell. Not the “real” hell yet, simply a glimpse of how really horrible hell can be. There are many Christians who are "settled on their lees" who say the "Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil".
13 Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.
Again, we have just seen a glimpse of what is about to happen. Watch the fires in California. There was a vineyard burned down, the owner standing on the ashes said “everything they had built up over the years was gone”. There were houses burned up, again people saying everything they had built over the years was gone. Unless you repent and turn to the Lord this is what the Great Tribulation will be for you.
14 The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
Once again, we have seen a glimpse of this as well. We have seen coaches of NBA and NFL teams as well as players crying bitterly on the news.
15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. 17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. 18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
They will be treated as dust and dung. Take away the breath of the Lord and that is all that we are. All these people have tried to take away the breath of the Lord. So, fine, without the word of God you are nothing but dust and dung. The whole “circle of life” thing that you embrace. With what judgement you judge you shall be judged.