A Hidden Lair

In The Grey, starring Liam Neeson (Carnahan, 2012), one of the characters who is fighting for survival against the elements and against a pack of ravenous wolves says something to the effect that within a certain distance of their den, (maybe a mile or half a mile—I forget), that wolves will not use the same path twice.

I am not sure if this is factually true, or even if it is possible for a foraging animal to come and go very often without ever using the same path more than once.

Still, the idea is pertinent for anyone who has a possible bug-out camp in mind. It is only as good as it is able to remain hidden. Beating a path to it detracts from its value as a potential hiding spot.

Henry David Thoreau in writing of his experience on Walden Pond says this: “I had not lived there a week before my feet wore a path from my door to the pond-side; and though it is five or six years since I trod it, it is still quite distinct. It is true, I fear that others may have fallen into it, and so helped to keep it open.”

(Photo Credit: Michael Lorenzo; Courtesy of FreeImages.Com)

What Age?

Age of Culpability—

I don’t know what the cut-off age will be when it comes to the mark of the beast—4, 5, 6?

But even the Devil has his limits. The soul of a toddler or an infant is incapable of knowing what he is doing to bow in worship to a man and take the mark. People in comas may likewise find refuge in the eye of the storm that will sweep world society over the edge. Unless people willfully choose to do those things, and unless they are of sufficient age to even understand the choice, the mark cannot justifiably apply to them.

The spiritual fate of this generation has always been about choice, and that will not change when it comes to Satan’s greatest theft of souls in human history. If a soul is not knowingly and willingly able to choose of their own free will to bow in worship to a man and then take his mark, then they cannot be subject to it the way that others are.

The souls of the young innocents are apt to be given Divine mercy and protection around the end of the great tribulation. Whether or not they become like angels or they are adopted into the foundational members of humanity in the Millennial era, I cannot say, but I believe wholeheartedly they shall escape the sorts of punishment that belongs to the marked around the time of the Lord’s coming.

For discussion’s sake, let’s say the youngest children are to become a part of the human family. A good number of them will be orphans because their parents will take the mark and will consequently meet their rapid demise.

That means a good number of the adult survivors will suddenly find themselves with the opportunity to become a foster parent(s). Perhaps some of them would have had enough wisdom to foresee the coming trouble and would have postponed having their own children in the years just prior to the great tribulation. Their patience finds reward in the chance to jumpstart a new family in an era of great peace and great prosperity, not to mention great nurturing.

For that reason, I would include some sort of childcare book(s) in the Post-Apocalypse Time Capsule.

Has anyone read that Dr. Spock book? Other ideas pertinent to being a new parent or foster parent?

The Age of Aquariums—

An issue that has been gathering steam lately is this idea that whales should not be kept in captivity. I guess if I was a whale I would agree, unless I used my great big whale brain to understand that my chance of surviving plague 2 is zero if I am free in the oceans when that time comes, (Revelation 16:3); then I would consider an aquarium my best chance of surviving plague 2. And surviving that would soon mean a chance to be set free after the Lord comes and he heals the oceans, not to mention healing the planet and the remnant of humanity, who will make up the nations during the Millennial reign.

That remnant might need to be content without aquariums, seeing that all surviving aquatic life should probably be set free where it can be fruitful and multiply in their natural surroundings. Survivors will have to be content with books, documentaries, and films about sea life; or, they could go out in a boat and visit them, or they could go scuba diving or travelling in a submersible to do the same. The future’s aquariums will not be about the sea life coming to the people but about the people going to the sea life.

While it may be wise to emulate a future society that is better than our present one, sometimes it might make more sense to wait and be content with one’s present conditions, no matter how much less than ideal they may seem. What could seem restraining or confining today could just be a means of preservation.

I would include the following in the Post Apocalypse Time Capsule: a collection of books and films on sea life and also about underwater exploration. Maybe the old Jaques Cousteau shows would suffice. Perhaps some of the newer stuff.

Now taking suggestions.

An Age of Freedom—

There is perhaps no other group of living creatures more clearly in need of Divine assistance around the end of the great tribulation as those creatures entrapped within zoos and other wildlife and livestock enclosures. It is bad enough that they will have to depend upon the marked for their food, medicine, and general well-being through those days, but throw in the devastation of the seventh plague and their vulnerability to suffering increases exponentially.

Fortunately, the Lord is coming back with many angels, (around the time of Armageddon, relative to the sixth plague), and I see no reason some of those angels cannot go forth into places all around the world where living creatures will be in need of divine assistance.

I do not know anybody who would believe the Lord would let innocent animals suffer unnecessarily once he is on the scene. And considering how much mercy and divine protection he may allow his servants to render to these encaged animals, how much more mercy and divine protection he must be ready to send on unmarked survivors, both young and old, both living in the wild and living in society with exemptions from taking the mark.

How Long is the Great Tribulation?

Think of someone you know, an acquaintance or family member, who is not a believer and who frankly is not likely to become one, (except by some miracle beyond your ability to comprehend). Think of that person’s name and their face. I have someone in mind named Mike, so I will use Mike to fill in the blanks for this example.

Now imagine that the world is experiencing a new peace. A new Jewish temple has been under construction and an altar has recently been dedicated where they have begun making sacrifices on a daily basis according to Jewish traditions.

Now, you don’t have to try hard to imagine a loud outcry being made in some circles around the world concerning the sacrifice and burning of animals. But what is done about it depends on what theory you are apt to follow. We will place Mike (or your acquaintance) into a couple of scenarios, and you decide which one is more realistic.

Scenario 1: One day, a prominent leader in Europe suffers a wound, a seemingly deadly wound from which he rises up, and the world is astonished. That man goes to the temple, forces a stop to the daily sacrifice and then sits in the temple claiming to be God. Mike decides—along with most of the world—that they need to bow in worship to this man and then take his mark as a pledge of loyalty. Mike also decides it is okay to have me and you and millions upon millions of other believers beheaded because we will not bow and take the mark. 3.5 years of great tribulation ensues.

Scenario 2: An international governing body tests the limits of its authority by interfering with Israel’s religious rights. They force a stop to the daily sacrifice, in order to appease the outcries being made against animal sacrifice. This is the foreshadowing of a global religious persecution. It turns out this international governing body has some powerful voice(s), and they take this opportunity to begin laying out a propaganda campaign with the intention to diminish the Christian and Jewish faiths.

Mike watches from a relatively safe distance as religious persecution develops and continues for a space of forty-two months. He sees that those who stand up to defy the international governing body suffer losses. Nobody seems to have the power to stand up against it. Mike along with much of the world is learning from their place of supposed security that it is pointless to defy or resist this new authority.

During the forty-two months of religious persecution Mike also watches two men prophecy from the temple area, and the afflictions that they send on the world makes Mike hate our beliefs that much more. His hatred towards us grows in part because of what the two men do and in part because we are apparently too weak to resist the attacks of our foe. Mike despises weakness.

Now after the two men have finished their testimony, a prominent world leader, the only one capable of killing them—many others had tried and failed—a prominent world leader must go to where they are in a crowded public place in order to kill them. He succeeds in killing them, and the world rejoices very much. But, the leader was made vulnerable by exposing himself, and he himself suffers a deadly wound around that time or soon thereafter. When he is miraculously healed of that wound, the world has that much more reason to rejoice in his power and ability.

Upon his miraculous recovery, they lift him up and carry him to the temple where he proclaims to be God, and many bow in spontaneous worship. His image is broadcast all over the world where others from all nations bow in worship. It instantly becomes a trend that is seen worthy of enforced compliance, enforced with dire consequences. Those who bow may receive a mark and continue to conduct business in the world. Those who do not bow are deemed unworthy to remain citizens of the world.

By the time this choice comes the adherents of the Christian and Jewish faiths will have been thoroughly worn out and marginalized, so putting them away once and for all seems less significant to Mike than it would have been under other circumstances.

Mike realizes only too late that the cost of bowing in worship to the man and the taking of his mark are extremely severe. Within a matter of weeks, after the unfolding of most of the seven plagues, he is ready for it all to end; he and every other person with the mark would rather die than go on living. Fortunately, the forces capable of destroying all life on earth will be distracted from following through on that, (around the time of Armageddon). First they will see a Divine distraction, and then they will face destruction. In part their destruction comes from plague 7, but ultimately their destruction is made complete with a flaming fire coming from the Lord himself.

The Millennial reign ensues.

So, is that person you are thinking of more likely to bow in worship to a man and kill us according to scenario number one or scenario number two?

Why on earth would anybody want to believe that the great tribulation, the worst time ever in human history, could last three and a half years? Unless you can believe that it will be that long without the slightest shadow of a doubt, then I would think that any chance for it to last a lesser time would be something worthy of consideration. If you would be open-minded to the possibility that the shadow of doubt exists, you only need to read more of what I write on the subject to find it.

Deconstructing Revelation

Ever watch those shows on the Food Channel? Some of the chefs in competition use this style they call “deconstructed,” especially when they get in a tight spot and don’t have time to assemble everything in a traditional manner. A deconstructed lasagna would have pasta on one section of the plate, the tomato sauce and meat mixture on another, and maybe the cheese on yet another. Okay, it does not sound like how most of us would want to eat lasagna, but the point is that all the ingredients that are supposed to be there actually are there.

Now, imagine the book of Revelation in a deconstructed fashion: it’s not exactly how most people would care to partake; even though all the parts would be there, we expect verse two to follow verse one and Chapter Two to follow Chapter One, and so on. Where that expectation could become a problem is in a situation—such as a heavenly vision that transcends our own grasp of time and space—it could become a problem in a situation like John’s authorship of Revelation.

There are things in Chapter Eight that happen after things in Chapter Sixteen. There are things in Chapter Eleven squeezed into a setting that does not exactly explain its timing or its relationship to other events, and it could actually lead to a significant misunderstanding. There is an item scattered about in multiple places that would make one wonder how many times a certain woman could be destroyed. These are just some of the main examples. Why are most people afraid to look at the book in a way that breaks it down into its most basic elements and then re-assemble it in a new way?

We can ‘deconstruct’ Revelation without running the risk of adding to or taking away from the contents or ‘ingredients’ that are in there. Maybe the food analogy is a bit tough to swallow. Perhaps it would further a critical analysis of Revelation to look at John’s role as author in another light. (I think most people are reticent to give prophetic scriptures a critical analysis for fear of overdoing it; I suggest there may be as much danger of underdoing it.)

Movies are a very popular form of story-telling. It is also a very big business that employs many people, as we can witness by watching the credits roll at the end of the show.

What some people may not know is that film producers do not conform to any rigid order in the filming of the scenes. It is not uncommon for the first scenes to be filmed last, and the last scenes filmed first. Each movie will have its own logistical considerations. The cameramen do not worry about how hard the people in the editing room will have to work to assemble all the scenes in the proper order as will be seen on the big screen opening night. The cameraman simply uses the tools in hand to record what can be seen and heard in front of his camera’s lens.

Of course John had to use ink and parchment to record what he saw and heard, but the idea is the same. He had a job to do, which did not include sorting out the different scenes of his vision into an order that would make perfect sense in a day and time when those events would become more pertinent.

I do not necessarily want to discourage folks from studying the Apocalypse or the other things relating to the book of Revelation, nor do I want those who do study it to approach it in such a rigid fashion that they cannot think of it in these terms: like a food dish in need of deconstruction because we may be getting into a tight spot; or like the various scenes of a movie that have not been put into the proper order just yet.

I am not saying we should literally do this and re-write the book in another fashion. It is beautiful the way it is. I am saying that while reading it would help to keep an open mind, and to come at it with a greater purpose than to increase knowledge.

I save a lot of time by not dwelling on those aspects of the book that do not lend themselves clearly to foresight. Many of the things written in there will come to pass before we even realize they are happening; there are things in Revelation that we just won’t know their meaning until after they are done with. For example, the rider on the white horse; I don’t care that some people believe the rider is the Antichrist. It does not matter, because even if they are right about it, there is absolutely nothing that can be done with that knowledge to help myself or others prepare for his ride on a white horse, whatever that might mean.

Foresight, as valuable as it may be, will never be 20/20. With one hundred and one interpretations floating around for every scene, chances are good not everybody will be proved right. I hope we can learn that when it comes to events that will effect millions, even billions of souls, we should have as much desire, if not more, to be wrong. Better than the desire to be either right or wrong is just the desire to be ready for whatever may come, and to help others be ready. And in that respect, it helps to consider every possible scenario that we, humanity, may face; and if that does not encourage more open-mindedness, I do not know what would.

Day of the Lord: A Strategic Perspective, Part 3

(This is Part 3 in a series.)

Part 1 in “Day of the Lord: A Strategic Perspective”
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I do not write these things for anything we might do to prepare for the end of this world. I do it to further explain how certain events at the beginning and end of the Millennial era are so similar that most are not able to disambiguate them, which could prevent some from preparing for the time of great trouble that comes before the Millennial era. With a resurrection and a fiery destruction occurring just before the Millennial reign, and another resurrection and fiery destruction occurring not long after, it is easy to misunderstand what sorts of troubles go where and for how long and against whom. To adequately prepare for the great tribulation, which I do wish to work on, we need to understand the timing and duration of the troubles that do belong on this side of the Millennial kingdom, which are more than enough without adding the troubles that belong after it.

The nature of man cannot change, but the nurture of man can and will change dramatically. What we can look forward to regarding life for survivors in the early years of the Millennial kingdom will greatly help us overlook our current and prospective struggles between now and then. Having something to look forward to, having a goal or a milestone of achievement can do more for one’s survival than all the knowledge, tools, and survival skills under the sun.

The longer we continue muddling up the events that occur around the time of the Millennial era, because there are so many events occurring in a relatively short amount of time, the more distracted we become from focusing on the wonderful years that belong to humanity under the nurturing leadership of Christ. I wonder what sort of accomplishments might be possible when humanity is not beset by the deadly sins for the entire space of a thousand years. If focusing on those years requires a more active use of the imagination, then I must reiterate a certain quote by Albert Einstein, basically saying that “Imagination is more important than knowledge…”

A careful examination of the typical discourse on the subject of the last days will not reveal to you much real understanding, so much as it will resemble an academic debate where the contestants seem to think they are competing for a prize. What we know or think we know about events yet to come pales in comparison to what we can do to help others endure and survive the great tribulation. The call to ‘understand’ certain prophetic scriptures (Matthew 24:15), is not so that one could become a member of a last-days debate club, so much as it is a call to combine in a joint venture with the Lord (Psalm 127:1 and Isaiah 41:20), in the establishment of a place of security, (Proverbs 24:3,4), first for Israel and then for potential survivors in places all around the world.

It was said by one of the disciples that the world itself could not contain the books that should be written about Jesus’ life and ministry. With that being the case, then I think we would be able to take a little poetic license and begin trying to imagine and gain a head start writing the books that pertain to the positive impact that his presence will have on humanity during the 1,000 year reign.

In the following outline for what might be called the drama of The Last Day, there are many aspects which we could pursue and combine to develop an in-depth discussion. Most of these are covered ad nauseum, to the point that the waters are muddied and the pastures are trodden down. Where there exists pristine grassland practically untouched by foot of man would align with the aspects mentioned above, in essence the blessed life that belongs to men, women, and children in the glorious time that transcends the troubles that we typically dwell upon around the time of the end.

Summary of the Dramatic Elements in The Last Day

Backstory–

Around the time of Armageddon, the nations had become suicidal. They wanted to destroy themselves and all living things. Life had become too depressing, too painful, and too dark for general society, by which is meant the society of those who had chosen to bow in worship to a man and then take his mark in their right hand or forehead.

The cost of not bowing was death. A portion of humanity remained alive and retained their integrity by attempting to survive off-grid in the deserts and wild places of the earth. It wasn’t easy, but some did it.

The power to destroy all living things had fallen into the hands of a doomed society. The leaders of that society controlled the weapons capable of destroying the planet several times over. But there was one thing capable of distracting them from unleashing those weapons:  to see the Son of Man returning in the clouds of heaven.

Their fear of his wrath suddenly overcame their newfound hatred of life, and they became a bit too freaked out to follow through on their suicidal tendencies. What portion of these people survived the great earthquake and great hail of plague seven, which followed close on the heels of his arrival, they were burned alive by a fiery destruction that proceeded forth from the Lord. Both the living and the dead were turned to ash, thus sparing the remnant of humanity the burden of burying so many bodies.

With the announcement of Christ’s arrival, being the sounding of a trumpet or the voice of an archangel, those who had been beheaded for their faith because they would not bow in worship to the man, they were resurrected to meet Him in the air. Immediately following that resurrection, those survivors who had believed in Jesus before his return and were looking for it, they too were raised up to receive immortality.

That basically left only one group of people left on earth: they were the survivors who did not believe in the identity of the Messiah before seeing Him with their own eyes. Owing to their lack of faith they did not receive immortality; however, they did receive mercy and a certain level of divine protection from plague seven because they knew better than to bow in worship to a man and knew better than to take his mark. Despite the temptations to return to society and partake of the creature comforts that went along with compliance, they chose to keep their spiritual integrity, and for that reason they earned the right and the privilege of becoming the founding members of humanity in the generation of the Millennial era.

To live a prosperous life during a time of tremendous peace on earth and goodwill towards men, the only expectation that the Lord placed upon these survivors was that they would come to Jerusalem once a year to celebrate the feast of tabernacles, in honor of the Lord for sparing them in their ordeal of surviving in the wilderness through the great tribulation.

In the earlier years they wholeheartedly worked together to rebuild the infrastructures necessary to make this annual pilgrimage to the Holy land. Plague seven had done tremendous damage but the amount of resources they had to work with was practically limitless, the only limits to their progress being their own imaginations.

The years passed and they prospered and grew mighty in strength and numbers, always at peace with their fellow men and always doing what was in the interest of others as much as for themselves. Life in the Millennial era was incredibly nurturing.

Conflict–

Then the 1,000^th feast came and something changed. It was a great feast all in all, but it was such a milestone and such an incredible gathering that anything afterwards would seem anti-climactic. Plus, the Devil who had been in chains for the entire 1000 years and was unable to directly tempt the nations during that time, he now had access to sneak into that ever present shadow in men’s hearts and tempt them to question the one rule that guaranteed their prosperity.

Rising Action–

As the serpent tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden to eat of the forbidden fruit, so he tempted some nation(s) to refuse to go any more to the feast of tabernacles. The cost of not going was drought, and drought became the curse that led to strife and contention, which would lead the nations into discord and ruin yet again.

Climax–

When that strife and discord reached a fevered pitch, the seven trumpets began to sound, giving the members of humanity repeated opportunities to repent and return to the Lord. For the most part they did not.

Falling Action–

And by the time it came to the last three trumpets, things had become very desperate for the mortals. The divide between mortals and immortals grew vast, quite a difference from the gloriously wonderful thousand years when there had been so much comingling between the two camps.

Resolution–

With the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the final trumpet, the last day arrives and the souls of all who had passed from the beginning of time are raised up to Judgment, the righteous to eternal life and the wicked to condemnation. The heavens and the earth, along with all elements in this universe are consumed by flame, making way for a new heaven and a new earth.

The End—

The points on this timeline are representative of just some of the prophetic events to unfold around the time of the end.

Standing where we are on the linear timeline, it is somewhat difficult to keep some of these points from overlapping, and it is especially difficult to see which may come before the Millennial kingdom and which may come later. It all happens around the time of the end, so the tendency is to lump them together.

There are relatively few scriptures to describe life in the Millennial era, so it is easy for us to overlook the importance and the value of that. It is time to change how we look at the time of the end.

Just One Expectation

“And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.”            –Zechariah 14:16

Like the one expectation upon Adam and Eve in the garden, to stay away from the tree of knowledge, there is really only one expectation upon the men and women who make up the human family in the Millennial reign: to go to Jerusalem once a year to honor Him at the feast of tabernacles.

The Timing of the First Feast

Immediately? First anniversary of his return? According to the season when the Feast of Tabernacles has traditionally been held? I suspect the latter, but that does not mean much. Things can change. The original Feast of Tabernacles was meant to honor the Lord for sparing Israel in her exodus from Egypt. In the Millennial era it will be to honor the Lord for sparing humanity through the great tribulation.

Transportation Issues

All roads will lead to Jerusalem. Rebuilding transportation grids will be the primary unifying objective between all survivors. Despite the obvious challenges that come with a collapse of basic infrastructures, people will pull together and make a new transportation infrastructure that will make the annual pilgrimage a relatively simple matter.

Despite the obstacles at the beginning they will make it to the first feast, one way or another.

Owing to difficulties in overcoming certain challenges that will be in place, owing to the uncommonly destructive force of plague 7, I suspect that when the time comes for the first feast, Divine transportation may be a real necessity. Angels and immortal servants of the Lord can basically “teleport” themselves and others from point A to point B.

After the first feast, people will have a choice to work from Jerusalem and begin rebuilding roads and bridges, automobiles and ships to get back home. Either that or they ask for a transport back home where they can then begin repairing the way to get back to Jerusalem for the next feast.

The Cost of Not Going to the Feast

“And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.”     –Zechariah 14:17-19

Granted some could choose to ignore this one expectation, but I have a feeling that won’t be an issue in the early years of the Millennial era. Whatever doubts they may have had about the identity of the Messiah before the end of the great tribulation, seeing Him return in the clouds of heaven with his angels will make believers out of them; and they will desire nothing more earnestly than to go see Him and to honor Him.

I don’t think the temptation to disrespect the feast will become an issue until after the 1000^th feast and the Devil is released for one last season.

When the Serpent is set loose, he may or may not choose to make Egypt the place where people first bite into the forbidden fruit of neglecting the feast. Other nations will follow suit regardless, and thus drought would become the beginning of the end for the nations.

Something we might glean from these verses is that at least one Egyptian man and one Egyptian woman will survive the great tribulation to be the founding members of that family and nation through the Millennial era. I take this opportunity to again make the point that the great tribulation cannot last 3.5 years as so many would suggest. Six-plus weeks is challenging enough for people to endure in the deserts of Egypt.

Another reason Egypt may get so much mention in this passage is just to drive home the point that this future take on the feast of tabernacles is not to be confused with the original. They may contain notable similarities, but the fact that Egypt would be invited shows a serious revision from the original.

Brainstorming for the PATC

The Post-Apocalypse Time Capsule could easily contain many things that pertain to an annual pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

It will take considerable effort in the first years to overcome the challenges that will exist along the nations’ roads, freeways, runways, and waterways because of the utterly devastating effects of the greatest global earthquake in recorded history and also the colossal hailstones that come with the 7^th plague.

Following is a rudimentary list of skills, knowledge, and items that would prove valuable to survivors in the first year(s) as they would need to travel:

• Bridge repair and construction
• Road repair and construction
• Airplane maintenance and flight
• Ship construction, maintenance, and navigation
• Storage and recycling of downed power lines
• Tree removal and best uses for seemingly endless supplies of fallen timber
• Preservation of available food sources along the route
• Communications–short-wave radio and other modes
• DVDs of “Top Gear, UK” (British Broadcasting Company). Not that they would need more motivation than going to Jerusalem, but watching episodes of this show will remind some guys what cars can do and it will motivate them just a tiny bit more to repair roads and airport runways, not to mention the huge need to find a McLaren safely preserved in a bunker somewhere.

As I am still in the design phase of the PATC, I would use the above list as an example of how the PATC can help us and help others endure the rough times that come between now and then. If we spend half as much time studying and enjoying these sorts of things as we would perseverating apocalyptic prophecies, then we are that much more ahead of the game.

The Day of the Lord: A Strategic Perspective, Part 2

(This is Part 2 of a series.)

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In part one on this topic, “The Day of the Lord: A Strategic Perspective,” I only placed five points around the area where the Millennial Kingdom meets our timeline. The fact is that there are so many things that culminate around this point in time that it is no wonder there is so much confusion and disagreement on the subject of the last days.

To begin the effort of dispelling some of that confusion, I think it might help to distinguish between the last days and the last day. Because this is a daunting task, it might help to use the analogy that the world is a stage.

Where the world stage differs from what we typically associate with a stage production, there is only one final curtain on the global production. From a biblical perspective we might say that the drama of ‘The Beginning of Sorrows’ transitions into ‘The Last Days’ and likewise ‘The Last Days’ must transition into ‘The Last Day.’ In other words, there is no curtain call upon the world stage between its major dramas, but the climax and resolution of one becomes the backstory for the next.

Now with the mention of the title of ‘The Last Day’ most will think in terms of the literal last day. Granted, the resolution or denouement of the drama of ‘The Last Day’ will bring down the curtain upon the world stage once and for all. But a drama is not all about the conclusion: it involves exposition or backstory, as already mentioned; it involves some sort of conflict; it involves a fair amount of rising action; and then comes the climax; then the falling action; and at last the end.

With these things in mind, we can broaden our horizons to see the drama of ‘The Last Day’ in terms that it would involve the beginning of the Millennial kingdom, not to mention the general flow of those 1000 years. 1000 years with the Lord can seem like a day. Because conflict is what we know and depend upon for our dramas, it is the conflict at the end of the 1000 years where the story of ‘The Last Day’ really gets going.

Instead of getting into a detailed synopsis of what occurs so far into the future, it serves more purpose right now to reiterate the circular nature of the Millennial reign, how the events near its beginning are so similar to events afterwards, that we most often fail to disambiguate those events, which leads to a great big pile up, and this creates a veritable grid-lock between those who have taken the time to pursue an active interest in studying the subject.

I don’t think we need to perpetually view the Day of the Lord in the big picture, so much as we need zoomed-in focus on the area where the Millennial kingdom meets our generally linear timeline. The reason this matters, in my opinion, is because we need to learn how to look forward to and understand the relationship the Millennial kingdom shares with humanity. We need to believe that good things are coming to humanity, especially to provide us an alternative focus that will help us and help others to endure when our surroundings will prove quite adverse.

While reticent to make use of another diagram for laying out the many points of interest that occur on our timeline before and after the Millennial reign, reticent because it would be hard to include them all and because they might distract us from looking for the good stuff, I guess I might briefly lay out a general flow of events in sentence form to provide a starting point for those who would like to begin sorting things out a little.

• A.  The great tribulation—climax of ‘The Last Days’ trouble. People bow in worship to a man and take his mark. Soon after this the seven plagues start to come to pass.
• B.  The blessing described in Daniel 12:12—the falling action of ‘The Last Days’ wherein the unmarked find the strength they need to go the distance, and the marked begin their death spiral.
• C.  Divine intervention, the return of Christ in the clouds, prevents the marked from initiating a planet-wide destruction of all living things around the time of Armageddon (relative to the 6^th plague). Great tribulation martyrs make up the first resurrection. Unmarked believers follow to meet Christ in the air.  Very soon afterwards fiery destruction rains down upon all the marked, and they literally become ashes under the feet of the remnant of humanity, those other unmarked survivors who know better than to take the mark, but who will not believe in who the Messiah is until they see Him with their own eyes.
• D.  The Millennial kingdom.
• E.  Satan is released from his thousand year confinement, and he deceives the nations, leading them down the wrong path yet again.
• F.  The seven trumpets afflict these rebellious nations.
• G.  With the seventh trumpet, time will cease to exist—the literal last day brings about the resurrection of the dead, the righteous and the unrighteous. Fiery destruction consumes heaven and earth, making way for a new heaven and a new earth.

We tend to get so caught up in the process of expounding upon and muddling up the points A-C and E-G that we tend to avoid a more focused look on Point D and all the glory that we might be able to imagine along with that. It was said that the world could not contain the books that should be written about Christ’s short lifetime back in the days of Herod and Pilate. How much more could be written of Him living and reigning from Jerusalem for a thousand years, I think we would be doing well to get a head start writing those books.

Einstein is known to have made the statement that “imagination is more important than knowledge…” And I would have to agree, especially where it would relate to a diminished focus on what we ‘know’ about the last days or the last day, and put more focus on developing our imaginations enough to explore life for humanity in the Millennial kingdom, (even if we expect to personally achieve a greater reward by that time).

In the process of getting the imaginative juices flowing, I have an idea called the Post-Apocalypse Time Capsule. Because this is largely subjective in nature, I do not know whether to expect little or much to come of it. Not knowing will not prevent me from making an effort, whether alone or with others. Of course I welcome input because there are a lot of folks out there with a much better grasp on the finer points of culture than myself.

Part 3 in “Day of the Lord: A Strategic Perspective”

The Day of the Lord: A Strategic Perspective

The Day of the Lord transcends our linear understanding of time.  Never mind for the moment what differences we might have with points A-D, or what events connect all the dots. Instead, let’s look at the similarities of points E and F with points H and I.

• A.  The opposite–the antithesis–of peace for Israel and the world.
• B.  Peace, lasting peace, and Middle East peace, sufficient enough that Jerusalem would have a new temple.
• C.  The daily sacrifice is removed from the Jewish temple.
• D.  The setting up of the abomination of desolation, trigger of the great tribulation.
• E.  Resurrection of those beheaded for their faith in the great tribulation, and rapture of believing survivors, who do not take mark of the beast.
• F.  Fiery destruction of all those with the mark of the beast. 
• G.  One final season when the Devil can lead the nations astray, (*note–this occurs after the Millennial reign is done).
• H.  The resurrection of the Last Day–the righteous to eternal life, the wicked to everlasting destruction. 
• I.  The fiery destruction of this heaven and this earth. 

The Day of the Lord begins and ends at what may appear to be a common point. Standing back a good distance, the points could almost be seen to converge as one. For those taking their rest, the time it would take for the Millennial reign to begin and end would hardly seem relevant. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow and on that account we are all better off to be ready for the Judgment, which could seem to come faster than anything else.

The Day of the Lord is a day of judgment and wrath. It is also a day of resurrection and rapture. In the sense that a thousand years with the Lord can seem like a day, the Day of the Lord is also a time of great glory that transcends our common perception of time; those who may live during the era of the Millennial kingdom will know a level of peace on earth and goodwill toward men that we can hardly begin to imagine.

For most of the men who contributed to the books of the Bible, their view of the Day of the Lord involves His glory, His readiness to give reward to those who trust in Him, and punishment to those who rebel. Only John, author of Revelation, gives us some indication that there are two resurrections, one on either side of the Millennial kingdom. That the Day of the Lord ends and begins on such similar notes makes it possible for so many authors to mention it without making the same distinctions that John does. While this does not detract one bit from the value of their insights, it does make it a bit more difficult for us to understand, especially if we overlook the differences; the closer we get to the beginning of the Millennial kingdom, the more important it becomes for us to understand them.

I think a lot of attention goes toward the aspect of wrath and how that might effect our lives. Basically, we want to avoid it, and people will understandably go to great lengths to convince themselves that they can and will. The main problem arises when we misconstrue how much wrath goes where and for how long. Where it concerns the transition into the Day of the Lord, however, I feel that we would benefit more by focusing on the aspect of His glory, which will be manifest in a great way during the 1,000 years when he reigns out of Jerusalem. If it is too much to focus on the entire 1,000 years we could still broaden the horizons of our imaginations with a deeper look into the first years of the Millennial reign.

When it comes to survival strategies, the power of positive thinking and the power of having something to look forward to cannot be overemphasized.

Part 2 in “Day of the Lord: A Strategic Perspective”
Part 3 in “Day of the Lord: A Strategic Perspective”

The Dark Realm of Eschatology

The realm of eschatology is a dark one. With so many disparate viewpoints claiming enlightenment on the subject, it just makes the darkness that much more apparent. Ironically, the greatest darkness of eschatology will threaten to come at a time of great peace for Israel and the world, a peace that must necessarily be of such quality that it would put away the darkness of the night of the Global War on Terrorism.

The world will be so fed up with the darkness spawned by the radical ideas of a major world religion, as we see with the Global War on Terrorism, that it will not long tolerate our dark brooding over apocalyptic prophecies that pertain to peace, and they will find our apocalyptic prophecies especially unwanted when the light of that peace at last arrives. By the time that the War on Terror is put into the history books, the world will be utterly fed up with the fruits of radical religious ideas. If and when we bombard them with the idea that their peace is “false” or that it is the time of the apocalypse, in the sense of either seven years of great tribulation or just three and a half years of the same, then we pretty much deserve every bit of fury that the inevitable storm of religious persecution will rain down on us.

It is very difficult to stay calm and composed when you expect imminent trouble. When your outward surroundings would not seem to warrant apprehensive or anxious behavior, then the world will ostracize you that much faster if you exhibit those behaviors. In the first years of peace, lasting peace, and Middle East peace, (especially if that peace involves Israel’s rights and abilities to establish a new temple in Jerusalem), many who claim enlightenment on the subject of the last days will prove to be their own worst enemies.

We are looking at a widespread misunderstanding as to the timing and duration of the great tribulation. Convincing the advocates of the theories that expect either seven years or three and a half years of great tribulation to consider an alternative is a difficult thing.

With foresight of troubled times to come, whether accurate or not, there exists a very serious dilemma that most probably do not even consciously realize. It is basically this: that the desire to be right should be carefully balanced with the desire to be wrong.

Talk to those who believe in seven years of great tribulation—the Pre-Tribulation crowd. They have no apparent interest in being wrong, and they come across as rather unsympathetic to the “left behind” in my opinion. Their fear of what seven years of great tribulation would do to the world is lost to their justified reasoning in the righteousness of God’s judgments. Most of their ideas on their deliverance from trouble are based upon subjective reasoning buried in a plethora of Scriptural references and camouflaged in lines upon lines of what appear to be fundamental tenets of the Christian faith. Fortunately, they will get a chance to revise their theory once the peace has begun and they are still here, and they realize it is a real peace, and they realize that the Anti-Christ is not in the spotlight. Unfortunately, another theory, the Pre-Wrath, seems designed as if the perfect place for them to gravitate, like going from the frying pan and into the fire.

The impossibility of surviving three and a half years of great tribulation is hardly an issue for Pre-Wrath advocates. They are much more concerned with defending their stance and their interpretation of Scriptures. I am not sure which is harder to grasp, their motivation for pursuing and maintaining an interest in the subject, or their seeming indifference in what three and a half years of great tribulation would mean for those whom the Lord intends to preserve. Nothing matters to the Pre-Wrath advocate more than the timing of the abomination of desolation. They begin their narrative more or less with the climax of trouble, and for some odd reason they can boast a growing number of adherents, despite this premature climax after only three and a half years of peace.

That the Pre-Wrath does not place great value on the peace, and that they expect troubles in the great tribulation that do not belong there, (i.e. the seven trumpets), Pre-Tribbers will have no problem adopting the Pre-wrath theory, for it very much resembles their own version of the great tribulation, albeit with a couple of minor changes, namely that they will be around for some of it, and that it only lasts half as long, as if that would make it survivable.

The great tribulation will be a time when the world is ready to accept the wholesale martyrdom of any who will not bow in worship to a man and then take his mark. No matter what sort of miracle will occur to compel the world to worship a man and follow him, the world won’t be ready after three and a half years of real peace to kill all those who do not bow in worship. Keep in mind that they are to be convinced of the reality of peace for seven years, and with the great tribulation being a complete and permanent end to any peace of mind or soul they might have had, then it makes sense that the great tribulation does not come until the end of seven years of peace. And then it comes as an incredibly brief transition into something a whole lot better than anything we can yet imagine.

In Daniel 12:11 is the plausibility (for those who read Scriptures with an open mind), that there exists a 1,290 day pause between the removal of the daily sacrifice, (in the middle of the seven years of peace), and the setting up of the abomination of desolation. Never mind that this possibility is in black and white while the pause between the 69th and 70th weeks, (a pause that the Pre-Trib, Pre-Wrath, and other theories must depend upon), is not written in black and white. For the Pre-wrath advocate this point would be apples and oranges.

After an international governing force tests the limits of its authority by putting a stop to the daily sacrifice at the new Jewish temple, probably to grease the squeaky wheels of animal rights activism, they will soon find plenty of encouragement to begin a campaign meant to do away with the Christian and Jewish faiths altogether. That campaign will find ground in a strategic propaganda, which some believers will help unwittingly fuel to some degree.

It is said that a blasphemer will prevail against Christians and Jews for a period of forty-two months, and he will overcome and wear us out by the end of that time. From a place of relative peace and safety, the world will watch this powerful storm of religious persecution, and they will learn to fear the blasphemer and the group of men and spokesmen who surround him. Keep in mind that the chief blasphemer need not be revealed in order for others to speak for him and push his agenda. They will be in agreement with him and have no qualms about working with him. Only after we have been worn out, and only after the world has learned the folly of standing up in resistance to the organization—call it what you wish—will the world be ready for the great tribulation, as if it ever can be ready.

With the conclusion of seven years of peace, which coincides with the end of 42 months of a great religious persecution, the timing of the abomination of desolation becomes feasible; only then would the world be ready to bow in worship to a man and take his mark, and only then would they be ready to put under the guillotine all those who do not bow.

Pre-tribbers seem to have no problem with seven years of great tribulation. Pre-Wrath advocates insist it is three and a half years. I submit it will last for a length of time somewhat longer than six weeks, yet even this seems like a relatively long period of time for anybody to survive in the deserts and wild places of the earth. Many would see this six-plus week time-frame as entirely fictional, but that is only because they have not yet done a critical enough study of Revelation, a study that would for starters remove the seven trumpets from the great tribulation.

It would also indicate that they have no vested interest in helping a single soul endure the great tribulation: for if they did feel that they had a purpose to do so, they would desperately seek for weak links in their theories which would induce them to develop a survivable and realistic timeline.

All men are ensnared in evil times if it comes upon them suddenly and they are not expecting it. None of us, not even those who have studied the last days, can meet the apocalypse head on and not suffer in some degree from its effects. What matters is whether or not we have what it takes to escape the snares of evil times. Trusting in the Lord and waiting on Him are a couple of good ways. Accurate foresight is another way to be ahead of the trouble—accurate being the key word. With so many disparate theories out there, it goes without saying that most if not all are wrong in some considerable way. Of more importance than how we could improve our theories may be whether or not we even have a purpose to spend one more day focusing on the subject.

(This post revised on March 20, 2015.)

Proposal of Need for Underground Church in the West

I believe several very disparate last-days theories exist for the reason that our faith, the Christian faith, needs many soldiers who are willing to stand on the front lines of battle in a coming time of persecution.

The predominant theory or theories in mainstream Christianity are expecting the big trouble to come in a time or in manner(s) that I do not find realistic. I hold a relatively lonely theory that would encourage the establishment of an underground church movement in places where such a notion would seem a bit ridiculous in our current environment of great religious freedoms.

For our overall army to be as effective as possible in a time of global religious persecution we need reserve forces as much as we need soldiers on the front lines. Those reserves will not be well peopled by those who desire to stand on the front lines, but the best reserve forces will be those who seek shelter long before there is even a storm cloud of serious religious persecution on the horizon. To remain well sheltered, they will need to forego many things we get away with today, not the least of which being our tendency to dwell overmuch on last-days prophecies.

“He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap” [Ecclesiastes 11:4].

The active farmer or gardener cannot also be a professional meteorologist.

When we see peace for Israel and the world, which would include Israel’s right and ability to reconstruct a Jewish temple in Jerusalem, we will have a million and one meteorologists, (a high number of them quite mad with apocalypse fever), giving their forecasts. For those who see an accurate forecast, their voices will be lost for the most part, and they would do well to avoid the fray altogether. On that note, I can hardly explain what it is I am attempting to do here.

I submit that it is the madness of so many would be meteorologists that will provide additional fuel for the fire to feed the development of a global religious persecution. I can attest that people are screwing up their lives before the last days are even here. How much more then when certain things begin to come to pass.

For those front line warriors who would wisely count the cost of the coming persecution, know this: that the enemy is foretold to prevail, overcome, and wear us out for a period of forty-two months or three and a half years. To stand and fight is a noble and worthy cause for those who can endure. But for those who are less inclined to fight, there must be another option.

I realize that publicly promoting the idea of the establishment of an underground church would hardly make me a good member of that underground church, but I am open-minded to the idea that I might end up in a position someday to stand with the public Church. And if and when that time comes I will do my best to prove a worthy opponent to the beast; and until I must fight in a more direct manner, I trust I can be a worthy opponent through prayer and what some would call spiritual warfare.

We have been given foresights for a reason. As some have been purposed to one thing and others to another thing, how we use those foresights and perspectives will vary.

Some expect the great tribulation to come suddenly and almost out of nowhere after three and a half years of peace. I expect the great tribulation to come as an incredibly brief transition between the end of seven years of peace and the beginning of the Millennial kingdom.

What I do expect after three and a half years of peace is the rise of a storm targeting our faith and the Jewish faith. Meanwhile, the world at large will be able to watch that storm from a place of relative peace and safety. Thus, with the people of the world, peace is confirmed for seven years as foretold in Scripture.

Some take this foretold seven year peace to be “false” and that the “confirmation” must be written into whatever peace treaty is to be signed; however, I do not know why any world leader could ever be convinced to sign a peace treaty that is to last only seven years, for their intention has always been and always will be to create and establish a real and lasting peace.

And the simplest explanation of the prophecy of a covenant of peace being confirmed with many for seven years is this:  that the world leader(s) will succeed to convince many for the time span of seven years that the peace is in fact real; and then the people of the world will only realize too late that the final step to do away with our faiths–at the end of the seven years and the storm of persecution–the final step brings about the eternal end of their peace, both their peace of mind and peace of soul.

The great tribulation is the worst time in human history not because of any persecution or exile we might face or even what sort of supernatural plagues might occur, but it is the worst time ever because it will be Satan’s greatest theft of human souls ever.

I see not how the world leader(s) could convince many in the world that the peace is real if the second half of the foretold seven years is a time of great tribulation. Those who will continue to believe in a 3.5 year tribulation will be more apt to stand on the front lines than to be a part of the reserve forces. More power to them. Remember though, that the best gauge of power will not be measured by speeches made before the battle, so much as it will be in the actions exhibited during it.

The active promotion of the idea of 3.5 years of great tribulation will empower no one for endurance. It is a disheartening length of time for anyone to endure. Some justify this with the promise of a rapture, but I find most rapture theories to be disheartening as well, as my heart and my sympathies belong with those who must endure the bulk of the great tribulation.

When the nightly news is too discouraging, turn off the news. Pick up a hobby. Do something that helps you take your mind off the bad stuff. And if the believers around you are turning into basket cases, you may need to distance yourself from them.

And distancing yourself from a group of believers does not mean you are forsaking the assembly of believers. Our faith is not about going to church or coming to church, it is about being the church. Your faith can survive for a season in the closet, and it can survive in a small gathering with a few discreet individuals.

With my calling (a calling that also belongs to many others) being to ‘equip for emergency or flight, and prepare all those [the Lord] gives to [me],’ I have no reason to expect a 3.5 year great tribulation, as that would make my calling dead in the water.

To outspoken critics of this idea of an underground church movement, I would point out that those in reserve can turn around and join the battle anytime they deem necessary; in contrast, those who stand on the frontline without counting the cost are apt to abandon their faith altogether and even betray their fellow soldiers once the persecution does arise, thus ensuring the fulfillment of Paul’s prediction of a notable falling away before we can see the return of the Lord.