Twins!

As reported in www.irna.ir
Iran is now "one step away" from nuclear success and [Ahmadinejad] advised "our malevolent enemies to adopt a friendly attitude towards the determined Iranian nation."
"They should know that having friendly ties with the noble Iranian nation would be to their benefit, otherwise they would face disgrace and defeat."

That second line sounds to me like a threat. I was watching Glenn Beck's special last night on CNN (I think it was called "Extremists Exposed"). I find Glenn to be a bit of a loud mouth, not exceptionally bright (i.e. he keeps calling Ahmadinejad: Ahmadeemajob), but I do have to give Glenn credit for his assessment of “the extremists”. Of course by extremists he's really talking about Islamofascists. I know we're all dangerously politically correct in North America, but let's face facts and be honest with ourselves for at least one second: the extremist threat is coming directly from within Islam.

If you've been following the subject matter of this blog at all, you'll know that I believe the Leopard-Bear-Lion (LBL) beast in Revelation 13:2 is the revival of the Leopard, Bear, and Lion beasts of Daniel 7. The LBL beast in Revelation 13 shows up as a combined beast because Islam is the glue that holds it together. I also believe that the combined beast in Revelation 13 will, in combination with Satan and the False Prophet, call the world to battle in the final Day of the Lord (aka Armageddon).

Here’s a quote to think about:
13Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon (Satan), out of the mouth of the beast (Lion-Bear-Leopard beast) and out of the mouth of the false prophet (Mohammed). 14They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty. [Revelation 16:13-14, comments added in parenthesis]

If you're unfamiliar with what happens on "the great day of God Almighty", I recommend you get really familiar with it quickly. See Zechariah 12 and 14; Joel 3; Ezekiel 38 and 39, etc. I believe the Day of the Lord is closer than most think, or I should say "most don't think". I believe I'm not flying out on some wild tangent by saying most people are asleep to the warnings of biblical prophesy. People, inside and outside of the church, are generally so busy doing things that have NO ETERNAL SIGNIFICANCE, that they can't be bothered to read what they must consider “irrelevant Old Testament prophesy".

God said to Daniel that his prophesy will remain sealed up until the time of the end. Guess what? With the re-establishment of Israel on May 14, 1948, and with the end of Gentile rule over Jerusalem in 1967 - WE ARE LIVING IN THE END. The "time of the Gentiles” is over, therefore prophesy given to Daniel can only be properly understood now – post 1967.

This must sound pretty “flaky” to many of you, but in my opinion, the best interpretation of prophesy in the Old Testament and in Revelation comes from Ellis Skolfield [www.ellisskolfield.com]. As described by Skolfield in his free online book The False Prophet, he was frustrated by the lack of support for the traditional end time theory consisting of: Daniel’s 70th week; with Anti-Christ in the middle; a re-build, third temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem; and a 7-year peace treaty that goes very badly in the last 3.5 years.

Like Skolfield, I too was getting frustrated by what this traditional theory offered up as biblical support. I’ve read the traditional books (eg. John Walvoord) that specify, in 15-step chronological detail , what will happen in the end - with the first step being the rapture. What? How can the rapture be step number 1 of 15 when 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 states:

51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

These verses refer to the transformation that Christians will undergo at the last trumpet. Traditionalists say this transformation will happen at the rapture. But how can the rapture be the next event then if 1 Corinthians 15:52 says our transformation will occur at the last trumpet of Revelation?! To me, the traditional theory has gone off track with the imminent rapture prediction. I don’t believe that we will be transformed into our eternal bodies until the seventh trumpet sounds. To think otherwise contradicts 1 Corinthians 15!

In light of what the world has seen transpire since the end of Gentile rule over Jerusalem in 1967, it looks a lot more like the European Union is not the final kingdom that will war against Christians and the re-gathered Israelites before Christ’s second coming. It looks more likely that Islam and Muslims will be (are) warring against the followers of Jesus Christ and Jehovah God.

Ahmadinejad, Iran’s president, is almost on a daily basis threatening the very existence of Israel, who just happens to be the apple of God’s eye. God is not going to let Israel be destroyed, now that he has re-gathered Jacob’s children from the four corners of the earth – that’s for certain (Jeremiah 31:35-37).

The traditional “next stop: the rapture” theory is widely accepted as gospel truth. It is considered established Christian doctrine by many, and many think that to diverge from it is to blaspheme God. But when a theory, which has been built up on shaky assumptions, is starting to fail, it is important to go back to the bible (back to the drawing board, so to speak) and look for a better explanation. We are commanded by Jesus to watch for his second coming. Rest assured, most will continue to watch through the lens of the traditional theory, and consequently most will be unprepared and surprised by Christ’s physical reappearance:

So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. [Matthew 24:44]

Does this verse support a 15-step chronologically ordered end times theory?