Revelation Day of the Lord version 43 of 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
The Day of the Lord An Exposition of Several Scriptures We are Living In! © Earl R. Click Jr. The purpose of this eschatological teaching is to identify a present hour Holy Spirit illuminated scripture. (Namely 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.) We are grateful for the Spirit of Revelation who teaches so well and our hope and confidence is that He has inspired much of this brief commentary and will enable others to receive and properly assimilate it. We will also share some personal thoughts and observations and will attempt to properly collate all this with various world views and conditions that exist now in January 2006. The goal being to clearly demonstrate that they support what the Lord spoke to me in January 2005 and then further defined in and thru out the same year. Perhaps the best and simplest way to start is in June of ought five I had an intense dream and awoke in the Lord’s presence. The motel room I was staying in for two nights while ministering at my Dad's memorial service in Florence Alabama was filled with the fear and dread of the Living God. As I lay there in perfect stillness scared to allow even my thought life an opportunity to chatter and distract me the Lord clearly said these words. (They were the heart of the message I was to give to a Pastor I greatly respect) “Tell Eddie that the ‘Day” has come! This word ‘Day’ which He spoke to me had such a clear understanding embedded in it that He was speaking of The Day of the Lord. I have never once wavered as to what I heard, what it meant and who it came from. A brief bit of wise counsel: As end of the age Christians we need to receive this truth: That it is by no accident or happenstance that He has chosen each of us to be alive, alert and active in this crucial hour of human history. Of course I am assuming this describes you and that you are truly born again, spiritually watchful and serving the Lord. In order to optimize our effectiveness as Christians we need to be willing to change or toss out some of our own eschatological understanding when it no longer is seen to align with what heaven has revealed! The prime example of this principle in recent church history may very well be the doctrine of cessationism. Where did it come from? How has it remained? And why do people continue to prefer it over the truth? To those who know the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a personal reality this doctrine's persistence is a tribute to the stubbornness and frailty of the human heart. Needless to say we take no challenges to core beliefs such as the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, his death, burial, resurrection and other such foundational doctrines. However the current doctrines of the second coming are still being restored, corrected and or revealed by heaven (see Daniel chapter 12:4,9) and we must maintain confidence with humility as God chooses the methods, ministers, times and seasons to release unto us that ‘kairos’ understanding! Consider this: In order to be a bona-fide teachable heart one must be able to receive revelation from the Lord then carefully check it against scripture all the while being prepared to bend to heavens revelatory word. We enjoy much of Mike Bickle’s teaching on the end of the age. His teaching of two separate ‘Day of the Lord’s’ in scripture has helped me considerably. Where I disagree is in the beginning and the end of the first DOL, what he refers to as “The Broad Day of the Lord.” Without spending time to share his teaching on this may we just say: I love the terminology and think it may facilitate our understanding what is being said here by sharing my own personal and evolving definition. The Broad Day of the Lord is the period of time that precedes and then encompasses the Narrow Day of the Lord, which is a much shorter season, perhaps even an actual 24 hour period of time. It is more akin to a season then a day. (To be honest I need to ponder what specific events will take place in and bring to a close the Narrow Day of the Lord.) In my opinion it would be more accurate to define the Broad and Narrow DOL’s as both ending at the same time. We should, for the sake of clarity properly define and use other terminology to identify the events that occur after the close of this age. This would make a practical and relevant Bible study, identifying the specific events that close this age and open the next millennium. The Broad DOL will be used by God to impel as many people as possible into the Kingdom before the fullness of God's wrath and destruction overtakes the inhabitants of the earth. This divine principal is clearly seen in Isaiah 26:9! "At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments The inhabitants learn righteousness." It, the Broad Day of the Lord, strange as it may sound to some who have not meditated on this matter and gained the first rudimentary revelations of Gods passion for humanity really is a manifestation of the mercy of God. I do not know the length of this "BDOL" period of time, there are several possibilities. One example could be the judgments of Egypt that Moses decreed. These occurred subsequently to God's chosen people suffering under a 'Beast' kingdom! I do not think it is poor exegesis to consider this as a DOL/anti-Christ foreshadowing. I do have a sense that this final "DOL" season of tribulation will be going on for at least another 20-30 years. It will be ever increasing and expanding as the heart of God dilates fully to receive the fullness of harvest and release the fullness of wrath. This period of time would also appear to be the ideal place that the Lord could demonstrate His great kindness by manifesting the hint that he will delay His return for a short season. Revelation 10:6 “and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there will be delay no longer,[1]” That there will be delay no longer is a sure sign that there has been delay just as Jesus spoke of in the parable of Matthew 25:3-5; “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.
[2]
Tarrying is undoubtedly only going to occur for the sake of an increased harvest. That the Lord longs for his bride is beyond dispute. I think a good case could be made that his tarrying and the length of it may be directly connected to the fervency of God's people's praying for the lost. That He is orchestrating right now the greatest prayer movement ever seen on earth is undisputable.
a. PART 2 This is the time known as the birth pangs, and my position is that right now the first seal has already been opened and the rest will continue to be opened over a time span the precise length being known only by heaven. The Lord may chose to bring more knowledge of this thru His servants, messengers or His friends. I feel the Lord's intent is for us to know the season in which we are living so it would be wise to keep an ear close to the ground. The first seal being opened has revealed that the white horse rider is the Mahdi. According to one Islamic source” The Arabic term "mahdi" is best translated with "divinely guided one." One must remember that 'Mahdi' is a title and not a name, who he may specifically be is unknown to me but that will be apparent soon enough. Many in Islam believe he is a descendant of Mohammad who has been kept in a state they refer to as occultation for 1400 years. Another of Islam's ‘accepted prophecies’ is that the Mahdi will appear on a white horse. I have heard that Saddam H. and M. Khaddafi among others both kept stables of white horses in case they were chosen to be the Mahdi. Some also believe he is located in the desert in a cave. Recall the Lord Jesus’ prophetic words, "Behold if they say I am in the wilderness do no go there, if they say I am in a chamber..." This satanically empowered deceiver is Islam's prophesied deliverer who we will recognize as the one spoken of by Paul as the man of lawlessness, by John as the anti-Christ, by Daniel as the little horn, and called by various prophets some 20 plus different names. What we can learn as we study the Holy Bible and compare it with various Islamic beliefs and writings is the cunning of Satan as his master plan to lead many into the lake of fire begins to unfold. He has taken the understanding he has gained of various prophetic decrees God has given concerning the end of the age and twisted them creating his own version of what will take place. He then releases his lies mixed in with God's Word, calls it truth and then forces it upon as many as he can with whatever force is necessary. He is a liar, a thief and a murderer from the beginning and these are his ways. The first seal is the primary initiator of the Broad Day of the Lord. Remember that he (the anti-Christ) was loosed first in heaven, he did not choose the time of his disclosure Adonai did. It was the Lord who placed this viewpoint in my heart maybe 6 years ago thru a dream. Since then I have found nothing in scripture that demands that the seals of Revelation chapter 6 need to be opened inside of Daniels 70th week. A 'week' in Hebraic culture is a term akin to 'decade' in ours. It represents 7 years of time just as a decade represents ten years. The seven year period' of time is precisely divided into two parts each being three and one half years in duration. The first half is referred to as 'The Tribulation Period' and the second as 'The Great Tribulation period. This whole line of reasoning concerning the seals of Revelation chapter 6 being opened inside of Daniels 70th week appears to be more of an inference rooted in manmade teachings then it does a clearly stated biblically supportable doctrine. As a matter of fact plain common sense would suggest a much longer period of time for the opening of the seven seals of Revelation. That is an awful lot we are expecting to occur in such a brief time span! (The reason I made this prior statement... I do have a sense that it will be going on for at least another 20-30 years although it may be half of that, less then that however would be unlikely.) At the opening of just the first seal these events need occur. The anti-Christ appears on a white horse who is then givin a crown. The white horse is a type revealing Satan's plan to bring in a false messiah figure. The crown poses an interesting question: Is this a religious, political or combination of the above ordination? He also receives a bow. A reference to a weapon of war. (A bow fires arrows, arrows being perhaps a picture of rockets which in turn have the potential to carry nuclear devices!) Then he must go forth conquering and to conquer. Now that suggests creating at least some type of minimal logistics base for some army whether it be small, aka a terrorist group, large as in a national invading force or technoligically advanced as Iran's missile/nuclear potential is! Then one must assume that he, the Mahdi, experiences a modicum of success, 'conquering' is not loser terminology. In extreme optimism that speaks of at least a minimum of a few months time frame alone. Let us now ask the obvious; what nation is there that could produce this man known in scripture as the Assyrian? In order to properly fit into much of current eschatology this nation or three nation coalition must be capable of providing anti-Christ the assets he needs to accomplish all this inside of a 3.5 or perhaps 7 year period? Surely there are few nations that could do this in a few months time. Russia, Iran, Turkey could probably fill this role out, as could the USA. However I am certain that the USA will not be the Mahdi' power base or a part of it. Presently we are the hammer of God bringing about His wrath upon rebel nations but how long that continues I know not. But I digress more then I intended. Of course we realize that these victories will be accomplished with supernatural assistance but even Hitler's demonically empowered regime had a start up time of perhaps 12 years before 1933, 7 years till 1939, and less then 6 years until Germany's total defeat. I think it safe to assume that as Hitler built his inner circle for years prior to his election to Chancellor so will the Mahdi build a coalition in obscurity prior to his coming out of the closet. Then we have the second seal which may be describing the time period when the white horse rider becomes a world wide force. Allow me grace to share something I am pondering. I freely admit I am on hypothetical ground here but this in no way negates my confidence that 'the false prophet' shall appear, that he shall masquerade as the real Jesus, that he will be known as 'Isa son of Mary', this being the Koran's terminology for Jesus Son of God and that this false Jesus shall deceive many! If I may once again briefly digress, many are the times I have heard the term 'unholy trinity.' This generally identifies Satan as the false father, anti-Christ as a false Jesus and the false prophet as a false Holy Spirit. I believe this interpretation is error. Consider this, Satan invests his power into the Mahdi who is the false father figure, Isa son of Mary is the false prophet and the many rampaging demonic spirits would be a counterfeit of Holy Spirit. This I believe is closer to the truth. Islam believes that one day the rocks will cry out that 'a Jew is hiding behind me come and kill him.' The sad truth is that something akin to this may happen but it will be via the voices of the demonic hordes that are now totally insane with fear knowing they will soon become immersed in a lake of fire forever. Here is one hypothetical way we could look at the second seal. Assuming that the great sword in Revelation 6:4 speaks of more Islamic deception and that the rider does something so unnerving that it causes men to kill one another this may be the appearance of the last and greatest of the false prophets Jesus warned us of. Of course this second seal may be speaking of an entirely different matter but I am convinced that Satan's game plan has something akin to this coming down the pike whether sooner or later! Perhaps then this is the moment that Isa the son of Mary, "the" false Christ makes his appearance. Islam teaches that he will kneel behind and point to the Mahdi telling the world that this one is Allah's true messenger. 'Follow him' will undoubtedly be his lying message! These words and the affirmation of the Mahdi as Allah's messenger accompanied with false miracles, signs and wonders will be the moment some true but gullible believers will stumble. At this point many who have dwelt far too long in the valley of decision will also be deceived because they did not receive and love the truth! Remember the opening of these 7 seals is not just to produce a series of rapid fire events that will terrify the earth but are events that the Lord has designed to use in a redemptive manner. He is going to make it an issue that one chose’s this day whom thou shalt believe! And that one will be your God. Why is there a need for end-time forerunners? Here is a partial answer.
The human heart will need a bit of time to properly assimilate all this global activity and will need someone around to warn and explain it all to them!
PART 3 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 says, 'Let no one in anyway deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as Being God. Here we have 2 conditions needed before one could scripturally say that the DOL has come. (And I infer this as meaning the Broad DOL) First an apostasy, second the MOLaR (Man of Lawlessness Revelation.) Questions: Part 1
A. What will be the nature of this apostasy?
B. Will it be observable to all?
C. Will it be seen only by the spiritually mature?
D. Or will it be first revealed to those whom God alerts by His Spirit that it has come?
My position is 'D' and aligns well with the prophet Amos words as we find in the scripture. 'Surely the Lord God does nothing without first revealing His secrets to His servants the prophet's.' Notice it is not just to the ‘prophet’s’ but to the prophet’s who are still His servants! (This is a truth the church better reaquire;, and not just inregards to prophets but every minister.)
We believe that God will first release the awareness of heavens view of the apostasy’s beginning point to those who have an ear to hear what the Spirit of God is saying to the churches. Furthermore those who hear and understand will be only those who are not locked into an erroneous paradigm, one which hinders them from being teachable or has them fear-bound into a religious system that controls their loyalties, dogma and or paycheck.
Then there is the matter of this, Will our awareness of it (the apostasy) be in the earlier stages or when it is a more fully developed reality? I believe that the Lord will alert us to the apostasy after its onset at a time when we, the awakened ears of the churches, can agree that 1. We have heard from the Lord and 2. Thru observation verify that there is something definitely wrong. This will be prior to the apostasy becoming full blown which may yet be ten to twenty years down the road. We need to be alert lest we find ourselves making the same mistake seen in the aids epidemic’s early years. If I recall correctly it was ignored or played down as insignificant by many people thru out many levels of society in the beginning stages with the end result that many who should not have contracted the disease did and died needlessly.
It would appear obvious that biblical apostasy would entail a group, branch or sect of Christianity whose adherents have defected and are no longer saved or one whose leadership has approved the heresy of those who are trying to enter in thru another so called 'door.' Yeshua was very explicit here, "No man comes to the Father but by me." The recently deceased Pope John Paul the Second gave the approval of the Roman Catholic Church to Islam's adherents not refuting their error and allowing them to continue in the deception of thinking they're going to heaven and I have an actual picture of him kissing the Koran. An obvious signpost of biblical apostasy to those who believe the truth and have received it in their inward parts. Then we have such a lack of discernment that whole covens of perverse and homosexual men are being accepted into the priesthood and much of our denominational leadership is unable to discern either hidden heart motives, the Spirit's warning of their defection to darkness or that their hearts have never been regenerated whatever the case may be. But let us neither forget the many denominational theologians who have the audacity to deny the virgin birth, the veracity of the Holy Scripture etc. Ordination of openly out of the closet homosexuals is another obvious signpost, no more then that, it is not just a signpost it is out and out apostasy. We have so many real Christians falling into the most unimaginable sins, sins that even ten years ago would have been virtually unheard of. Not only do we find leadership in the body of Christ falling into these sins of the flesh but we have Pastors of huge churches falling for doctrines of demons and losing their way. Now what does that say about the discernment of the average North American Christian, sowing seed and money into apostate doctrines if not apostate ministers! The apostasy is occurring in many places and is even being commented on by the man in the street. As a matter of fact I was reviewing this very page on my PDA at work in the change trailer and the men I work with were talking about pedophile’s in the church and other ministers who had stumbled. Of course they were being used of Satan to mock and ridicule hoping to get me to stumble but I used the opportunity to teach them that the only difference between those among them who are addicted to pornography and an out of the closet flaming homosexual was time. Then I told them I could prove it with scripture. This brought a measure of sobriety back into the conversation of a few of them and I spoke of how men exchanged the glory of God for image and as they descended going from one level of perversion to a deeper level worse and more twisted God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts until men lay with men and women with women. If they continue in pornography long enough, providing the Lord allows it, they will eventually find themselves in bed with a member of their own sex! An ‘image’ is what started them on their journey into the deep things of Satan and an ‘image’ is what pornography is! Another example: How about our current bumper crop of backslidden and once on fire Christians who now take their pleasures in the world. If I was to tell you how many times the Lord has had me confront someone blaspheming His name and just talking in the most outrageously perverse ways and then to have them tell me that they are Christians who attend church most every Sunday, or share that they were once a deacon or on the ‘board' you could weep. One may feel justified in taking the stand that this prophesied apostasy Paul is warning us of must be so huge that it is a clear reference to what some term 'The Great Apostasy.' But I would ask; Are these signs I have mentioned not what the Thessalonican church would have called a great and visible apostasy? I say yes, they would have quickly called this number of concurrent events taking place in their midst the apostasy! Well enough said there.
More Questions Part 2: A. Who will the unveiling of the anti-Christ be to? B. How will the revelation come? This second question's part ‘A’ concerning the anti-Christ can only be directed towards an awakened church! Let me make this very clear, the man of lawlessness revelation can only be to the watching Christian community. It will come first by the Spirit of God! The world and the dead churches will not or cannot respond to this. Unbelief will blind them, the man pleasing voices of false prophet's crying 'Peace, Peace' will deafen them and the world's lusts will harden them!
Ask yourself, How would they recognize the Man of Sin when so many are in bed with his ministers already? Then we must consider that a large part of the North American church is expecting an early out (aka pre-tribulation rapture) and thus see little or no need to be attuned to the times. To them it would be virtual heresy to believe that the Man of Sin could be revealed while the churches are still on earth. PART 4 To conclude, I believe that I have heard correctly these two things relevant to what I have shared here. First in January, 2005 that the anti-Christ is the Mahdi. Second in late June 2005 that the Day of the Lord has come. Furthermore by the Spirit of Revelation have seen that the apostasy and the man of lawlessness being revealed are not consecutive events but occur simultaneously although not in fullness at their beginnings. The apostasy has been on a curve as it reaches toward that moment of critical mass when its growth will be sudden, spectacular and outwardly visible to a majority of the living church. The revelation concerning the Mahdi is coming to many right now and soon a clear trumpet sound will emerge. Islam's destruction of the giant Buddha statues in the Afghanistan mountain cliffside prior to our invasion of that nation was a sign to me they fit the role of the people of this scripture. Let us look at what Paul was given by the Spirit as God reveals a prime characteristic to help properly identify the beast. He 'who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship' Having observed Islam's consistent intolerance even unto torture, beheading and crucifying those who refuse their demonic doctrine it is clear that no other religious system can compete with Islam as being pre-eminent in properly fulfilling the many scriptures that speak of this time. The mark of the beast is a spiritual reality with a spiritual mark now and will be an actual physical mark in the future. That alone is another intense teaching one which would shake many a true believer who sit wavering on the fence torn between two lovers one called faith and loyalty the other unbelief and compromise. It is a teaching that might help them chose wisely if someone had the courage to warn them. In the context of what we are teaching now may we just postulate this: conversion and or submission to Islam is eternal death for a mature Christian. Christ will deny them before His holy angels. Let us review some of Islam’s teachings concerning what they are expecting prior to judgment day. Here we will examine a typical Islamic document I got online. It will be in italics. I will address specific issues with my own comments in plain type and inside parentheses. (As a note I have not changed the author’s spelling or grammar.) WHAT IS MAHDISM?
The concepts of the final times and Mahdism may not be too familiar to many people, so it will be helpful to begin by defining them. According to Islam, the final times will be a period close to the Day of Judgment when the morality of the Qur’an spreads widely and people turn to live by it (The Holy Bible teaches that a religious force will arise at the end of the age. It will force people to convert and receive a mark, one we know as the mark of the beast! It will thru force and deception become a world wide religion.) People always dream of better things: a prettier view, better things to eat, a better life with no social problems, well-being, peace, plenty, beauty… The final times represents an age that contains all of these “better” concepts. They will be a holy age, when shortages are replaced by plenty and abundance, injustice by justice, immorality by morality, conflict by peace and security, and the Islamic morality that all believers have yearned for down the centuries comes to prevail. (The scripture teaches that false prophets will speak 'Peace, peace when there is no peace.’ Luke 17:28-30 also speak of men's hearts and what they count as valuable in this time. That a 7 year peace treaty [known as the 'covenant of death' in actual biblical language] will be made with Israel deceiving them with an unholy alliance that will be their worst nightmare halfway thru it.)
The hadiths of our Prophet (saas) contain detailed descriptions of that time and its salient features. A number of prominent Muslims who came after the Prophet (saas) have also made important statements regarding the final times. When we look at these accounts, we see that the final times will contain a number of important and consecutive events or processes.
(We now see a glimmer of Satan’s game plan as he works deception by using elements of the Living God's revelation speaking it as if his own. His intent being to solidify the weaker elements of Islam to 'keep the faith' as the real God begins to use great revival and temporal judgments to turn humanity to righteousness.) A Muslim author writes: In the first stage of the final times, a number of ideologies that deny the existence of Allah will give rise to great world degeneration. People will move away from the purpose behind their creation, and consequently suffer a great spiritual and moral collapse. There will be terrible disasters, wars and suffering, and people will seek an answer to the question “How can we be saved?” This period of the final times will also be one in which religion is corrupted. Islam will have been diverted from its true form by a number of superstitions incorporated into it. Some people, who cloak their hypocrisy and conservatism under a mask of piety, will try to spread these superstitions even wider and to prevent the understanding of the proper morality that lies at the heart of Islam. Philosophies that encourage atheism and irreligion on the one hand, and these conservative forces that try to destroy religion from the inside on the other will have pushed mankind in the direction of terrible darkness.
During the terrible chaos of the final times, Allah will use a servant having superior morality known as the Mahdi (the guide to the truth), to invite humanity back to the right path. The Mahdi's first task will be to wage a war of ideas within the Islamic world and to turn those Muslims who have moved away from Islam's true essence back to true belief and morality. (Here we have Islamic 'prophetic justification' for an in-house pogram. This is the anti-Christ's first appearance to many. Up to now he has worked behind the scenes, I believe hidden by choice as he builds his coalition among Islamic nations leadership. This pogram will eliminate the Islamic compromisers who have 'a voice' and cause many others to submit to the true face of Islam. What the media has been tricked into calling radical Islam will now be seen to be the actual teaching of the Koran. Some will only be convinced of this as they kneel and stretch forth their necks for execution.)
At this point, the Mahdi has three basic tasks: 1. Tearing down all philosophical systems that deny Allah's Existence and support atheism.
2. Fighting superstition by freeing Islam from the yoke of those hypocritical individuals who have corrupted it, and then revealing and implementing true Islamic morality based on the rules of the Qur'an.
3. Strengthening the entire Islamic world, both politically and socially, and then bringing about peace, security and well-being in addition to solving societal problems. (In the above we see the manner in which Satan will attempt to work his deception amongst the church! Remember there can be no compromise with the way to the Father. Paul the great apostle writes: 'Let no one in anyway deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first...' Beloved know first that Islam does not confess Jesus as coming in the flesh. Few are the false religions that deny that a prophet named Jesus walked on earth and they even admit that he did many miracles. But his deity and his appearance in the flesh after his resurrection is where they all succumb to the lie. John warned of this in his epistles. 2 John 7: For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. They do not understand that He is the Son of God and proclaim God, whom they believe is properly called Allah, has no son. They call Jesus (Isa in Arabic) 'son of Mary and a true prophet,' a fact which many false religions are quick to acknowledge. They quickly deny His deity however and thus reveal themselves as anti-Christ's servants.)
According to many hadiths, Prophet 'Isa (as) will return to Earth at the same time, and will call upon all Christians and Jews, in particular, to abandon their current superstitions and to live by the Qur'an. As the Christians harken to him, the Islamic and Christian worlds will come together in one faith, and the world will experience that period of great peace, security, happiness, and well-being known as the Golden Age. (Now many words of the Christ come to mind especially these verses.) Matthew 24:3-5; As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. Matthew 24:9-10; Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Matthew 10:22; You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. Matthew 10:32-33; Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. Luke 17:22-24; And He said to the disciples, The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.” They will say to you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go away, and do not run after them. For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day. Other excerpts from various Islamic web sites: 1. Looked at in this light, it can be seen that that there are many verses in the Qur'an that indicate the existence of a time when the morality of Islam will come to rule the world. (Recall the many Bible teachers who have taught of the one world government and the one world wide religion that is to come!) 2. The People of the Book who disbelieve and the associators would not be cut off until the Clear Sign came to them: a Messenger from Allah reciting purified texts containing upright precepts. (Surat al-Bayyina) (The obvious reference to a world wide persecution of the Jew and the Christian, one that will cause them to be cut off! Let your imagination develop that one out now that you have seen a bit of the heart of this satanic religion. Needles to say the New Agers, the homosexuals, the drug addicts and many others are in for a terrifying time.) 3. 'It is certain that one called the Mahdi from the People of the House will appear and rule the lands of Islam. Muslims will follow him, and He will govern them with justice and strengthen the religion. After that, the Anti-Christ will emerge, and the Messiah (the Prophet Jesus) and either kill the Anti-Christ or help the Mahdi to do so.' (I believe that close examination here reveals that the devil plans to conceal and continue the deception with further intrigues even after he suffers exposure. Could it be that he will use the poor teaching of some of Christianity's greatest father's who identified the Pope and the Roman Catholic hierarchy as the anti-Christ's false system. This would help understand why the city known as the 'city who sits on 7 hills’ is destroyed and may indeed be Rome as many have taught.) Some more Islamic beliefs: Imam Mahdi (AS) was born at Samarrah in the year 255 A.H. He is the last Imam (a.s.) and he is alive and in occultation. In another tradition, Imam Baqir related that God will open the east and the west for the twelfth Imam. He will put up the fight until there is no other religion than the religion of Muhammad. In his commentary on the verse that says: "He (God) will manifest it (Islam), even if the disbelievers are averse to it," The Imam said: "He will do it in such a way that there will be no one left except that he will have accepted the religion of Muhammad." There you have the Muslim agenda for your life! Isaiah 28:14-15: Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: Israel chooses to place their trust in a false hope as the Lord prophetically reveals 2600 years prior the astonishing fact that their leadership will be compromisers with Islam at the end of the age! This scripture speaks of those who will take the mark of the beast and will cry bitterly when the overwhelming scourge does not pass by. For the Lord has decreed decisive destruction for all the earth. Now I must mention several trends I see that could be places of vulnerability whereby we might stumble into error whether great or small. One is the human hearts tendency toward tribalism. If we are surrounded by like minded people who always affirm us whether we're right or wrong it is easy to become resistant towards an outsider or an outside revelation that either challenges us doctrinally or makes inroads upon our sphere of influence. Tribalism and empirism can work hand in hand together dismantling the Spirits opportunity to release fresh insights by turning voices into ‘echoes’ for the common good. An area of concern for me also is much of the teaching in regards to Babylon. It seems to defy wisdom to hold fast to the literalness of the Iraqi city of Babylon becoming the place of influence at the end of the age that scripture shows it will be. This has to be a spiritual or allegorical word picture. The impracticality of the amassing of wealth and people in this nowhere place is sure. It has virtually no significance to Islam, indeed it may even be a stench in the proverbial nostril to the more radical Islamic elements we see coming to the forefront. So what is the point? I think it may be allegorically speaking of this present world system and the world-wide corruption that is plainly evident at every level of society. Here is a quote from the New American Commentary concerning 2Thess.2:9; ' The perishing has rejected the true Messiah already. A deceptive, satanic messiah arises. The unbelievers’ decision to follow this one whose coming is according to the working of Satan, whose intent is to deceive, confirms their rejection of the truth and fully justifies their condemnation.' Another area of end time scripture interpretation that I believe is often a victim to error is Gods wrath. Wrath is a multi-faceted word in the bible. There is temporal wrath and eternal wrath. There is one wrath directed against Gods enemies and another against Gods people! There is measured wrath and there is the full cup of perfect wrath. The scripture that comes to mind that I think may be the basis for some theological error is found in 1 Thes.1:10; and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come. This is often used to lend credence to the church being gone when the Lord judges the world. However I think the author’s intent was in reference to eternal wrath and not temporal! Shalom and love, Earl R. Click Jr. ©2006 Some further thoughts I have added on recently. A. The prophet Daniel said in Daniel 7:25 that one would come who would intend to change the times and the laws:
‘He will speak 4449 out against 6655 the Most 5943 High 5943 and wear 1080 down 1080 the saints 6922 of the Highest 5946 One 5946 , and he will intend 5452 to make 8133 alterations 8133 in times 2166 and in law 1882 ; and they will be given 3052 into his hand 3028 for a time 5732 , times 5732 , and half 6387 a time 5732 .
[3]
Islam’s calendar starts in 622 AD, the time when Mohammed got ran out of Medina if I recall correctly. When Islam conquers a country they change the system of time, beginning at this date and force the subject nation to follow the Islamic calendar. They also change the government by the implementation of a new legal system called Sharia law. This is law by the Koran and by the interpretation of those who are the religious leaders. Here we are at the end of the age and we find only one religion that fits the bill so to speak of what numerous Holy Prophets have proclaimed and have written down in what the Lord has given us as His Holy Word. The saints being beheaded in Revelation for their faithful confession in the face of threat of death also points to a time when Islam will rule this world in the very near future. Islam does not tolerate any other religion; its convert, submit, or eventually you are killed in one way or another. They also have a tax they enforce upon ‘the people of the book’ as they refer to Jews and Christians. This tax must be paid before one can continue economically inside the domain of Islam. According to Sunni Sharia law I have found that another purpose of this punishment is to inflict humility upon the so called ‘infidels’ and also to demonstrate in the language they meaning Islam’s leadership, are most familiar with the language of pride, that their religion is superior. It is easy to see that this will be the vehicle thru which they will deceive many into denying their faith and embracing Islam. This is the mark of the beast, tax payment and confession of Islam. How exactly it will actually work out I do not know but I am convinced that this is the religious system that the scripture has been pointing to for so many years. It is no longer just something on the horizon but is real and is easily discerned.
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[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Re 10:6). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Mt 25:3). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Da 7:24). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.