Summary of Bible references on the Rapture

Contrast the Jewish calendar with the Gregorian calendar. In our calendar the reaping would begin at the end of May or early June, halfway through the year and go until the end of October, the tenth month of the year. Our big ingathering feast where we appear together to give thanks to God is at the end of the 11th month, and then one of our two holiest days is right at the end of the 12th month. The calendar we are using, the Gregorian calendar knows it will come to an end when Jesus is born (the man child is caught up to heaven) but for the Jewish calendar that is not the end, that is simply the end of the beginning.

A number of very interesting verses. For example at Shavuot you need to bring new grain, go out into the field and pick it for your offering. You also need to present two loaves of bread, freshly baked. In Matthew 24 the Lord said two men would be in the field, one taken the other left. Two women would be grinding at the mill one taken the other left. In other words what do Christians do? We abide in the word, we pick little grains of wheat from the word, we grind that into bread for food. But some Christians will be left and some will be taken.

A nice focus on Shavuot in Exodus 19 and explains how they calculate that the Trumpets blew on the 6th day of Sivan.

Exodus 19:9a And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever.

This event was so extraordinary that those who witnessed it would never doubt Moses again. Moses is a type of Jesus, he said that a prophet like him would come after him. This is one of the reasons we associate this event with the rapture.

Wow, wow, wow! We might finally have a date for Shavuot! Now he says clearly that no one has been able to figure out precisely the date from the account in Moses. However, he also says that May 15th, 1948 when Israel became a nation in one day fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah that this was Shavuot according to the Old Testament regulation of both the new moon and abib.

So then, it turns out that May 15th was exactly the 1st quarter of the moon.

This prophecy seems to also refer to the rapture of the man child.

I will summarize this.

Here are 10 of the 50 reasons.

1. One accord in one place. All with one accord in one place. The rapture will be the next time the worldwide church will be in one place in one accord.





2. A divine appointment for transformation. We were sealed with the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption. Our rapture is the day of redemption of our body.





3. Peter’s inspired speech — He spoke to those in the upper room and quoted Joel referring to what will happen in the final days.





4. Shavuot signifies a change in dispensation, it instituted the age of the law, then it instituted the age of grace while ending the age of the law. In the same way the rapture will end the age of grace and kick off the millennial kingdom.





5. When the law was given 3,000 died, when the Holy Spirit was given 3,000 were saved. We see the same thing at the rapture, some people will be raptured, others will be judged with fire.





6. Prior to Pentecost the church was awaiting the arrival of the Holy Spirit, likewise we are now awaiting the coming of the Lord Jesus.





7. Pentecost they gathered in the upper room. During the rapture we will be caught up to “the upper room”.





8. The trumpet of God was sounded by God at Mt. Sinai the next time will be the rapture.





9. Two weddings. Mt. Sinai signified a wedding between God and His people and the rapture will also be for a wedding. On Pentecost we had the “promise of the Spirit” this is like the engagement ceremony when they get betrothed. The groom will have a wedding contract, then he goes and prepares a place for the Bride and then comes back and gets the bride and takes her to himself.





10. Taken out of Egypt during Firstfruits commemoration. The first fruits are harvested and cooked into two leavened loaves with new leaven (new practices, new customs). When we bring these loaves before the Lord we are to remember where we have been brought out from.

10 more reasons

1. Was Pentecost fulfilled by Jesus? Shavuot is an appointed feast where we meet with the Lord. Yes we received the Holy Spirit on that day but did we meet with the Lord. I would argue that Shavuot is both the engagement ceremony where we received the promise of the Spirit unto the promised redemption and in the future it will be the rapture where we are caught up to the upper room when the Lord comes to get His bride.





2. Enoch is a type of the rapture. He was taken when he was 365 years old. He preceded Abraham so he was a Gentile and being taken when he was 365 is a very clear reference to the Gentile calendar. He was taken prior to the judgement (Noah’s flood). In typology he supports the teaching of a pre tribulation rapture.





3. 50 = Jubilee. A year of redemption. The rapture is the redemption of our Body.





4. 50 = Fullness. What is the “fullness of the Gentiles”? We are adding Gentiles to the church right up until the “fullness has come”. This is also related to the rapture.





5. Shavuot is the time when in heaven the fruit of the trees is judged. What is this? It is like going to a state fair where people judge the best flowers, the best fruit. This is just like graduation where we award people for the things they did while at school. It is like the Bema seat judgement. Again pointing to the Rapture.





6. 24 animals were sacrificed. Lev 23 and Deut 16 give the instructions for this festival. Their is a contradiction in these two instructions. However, if you combine these two portions there are 24 animals sacrificed. There are 24 courses of service for the Temple and there are 24 elders seated in heaven. During a graduation ceremony it is customary to have a number of different awards, not just Valedictorian but also awards for different content areas like Science, Math, English, as well as citizenship, government, civics, etc. Once again this would point to the Bema seat judgement to take place at this time.





7. Gathering in Summer — He that gathers in summer is a wise son, but he that sleeps during harvest brings shame. In the same way we get this concept that some will be wise and some foolish when the Lord returns.





8. Two mountains — Hebrews 12 — Comparison of Mount Sinai with Mount Zion. This is contrasting the Jews heading to Sinai for the age of the law whereas we are heading to Zion for the age of Grace. This chapter compares what happened on Mt. Sinai with what will happen for us on Mt. Zion. The rapture is where the church of the firstborn is gathered to Mt. Zion.





9. Paul Tarrys till Pentecost. 1Cor 16:7 — I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost. If Paul is a picture of the Lord’s heavenly ministry, he will tarry at Ephesus because there is a great opportunity to spread the gospel until Pentecost.





10. Paul planning for Pentecost — Acts 20 — this is a picture of the church age, where we are preaching the gospel right up until midnight and if you die in the Lord (fall asleep) you will be raised at the end of this age with the rapture.

10 more reasons

1. On Shavuot the High Priest (Jesus) holds up the two loaves (Jews and Gentiles) and waves them before the Father. That did not happen on Pentecost but the rapture will be the fulfillment.





2. Wheat harvest — Shavuot is the wheat harvest feast. You have to have new grain that is used to make the loaves. One way to distinguish between wheat and tares is that during the harvest the stalks of wheat will be bowed due to the weight of the fruit whereas the Tares will be standing straight. The wheat is bowed in worship, the tares are proud and arrogant. We are told that the harvest festival is at the rapture.





3. Harvest is a picture of resurrection, especially the wheat harvest. Those who died in Christ will be the firsts to meet the Lord in the heavens.





4. Shavuot is the feast without a date. The Lord’s crucifixion definitely had a specific date and the Great White throne judgement definitely has a date, but the rapture does not. There are some who are raptured prior to the tribulation, some in the middle of the tribulation and some at the end of the tribulation. This is just like graduation. Some people will complete the requirements early, some on time, and some after 5 years and still others will get a GED later than that.





5. Season of anticipation — The counting of the omer promotes a season of waiting just as any farmer would have a season of anticipation watching their crops grow. For the believer, the church, we have the same anticipating hope.





6. Ruth took place on Shavuot. It is a beautiful picture of Christ taking a gentile bride, the church. Naomi signifying Israel is destitute and her inheritance is restored through this marriage. Just like rapture.





7. Ruth took place at a time when “everyone does that which is right in their own eyes”.





8. It is thought that King David was born and died on Shavuot.





9. Enoch is a picture of the church and was taken on Shavuot.





10. Genesis depicts three raptures: Enoch (before judgement), Noah (preserved during judgement) and Lot (rescued by the skin of his teeth).

10 more

1. Later in Acts Paul is sailing on and has a deadline, he wants to be in Jerusalem by Pentecost. By itself this would seem to be irrelevant, and in the context of 50 other convergences it does seem significant, however if you could find similar passages talking about Passover, Trumpets and Yom Kippur then you could argue it was simply a coincidence. Otherwise it seems significant enough to become part of the New Testament, not simply a gospel account or an account of God’s move, but part of the covenant that we have with God.





2. Firstfruits and feast of weeks are connected. The day the Lord was raised from the dead the priest offers a wave offering of barley, on Feast of weeks another wave offering is presented of two loaves of bread. These wave offerings have to do with the resurrection. Paul said that we partake of the one bread and as a result we become one loaf. He said every time we keep the Lord’s table we show forth (count) His death until He comes. It is as though the 50 days of grace refer to us partaking of the Lord’s table and every day that we do partake we count off another day.





3. Paul is a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. So just as Peter had the gospel to the circumcision and Paul had the gospel to the uncircumcision we see the two loaves that will be offered up to God during the Rapture.





4. On the third day we think of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Also, on the third day the Lord went to the wedding of Cana. Also, in Mt. Sinai it says “on the third day” Moses ascended the mountain.





5. Fig tree and summer. The parable of the fig tree, you know that summer is nigh when you see the fig tree put forth its leaves. We often liken the summertime to the Tribulation period, so pre tribulation would be Shavuot which is late spring early summer.





6. To celebrate Shavuot the Jews will read and study the Torah for that night and they call this “decorating the bride”. They know it commemorates the marriage between God and His people.





7. A great harvest season, with wheat being one of the largest crops harvested by the Israelites. It has to be stored in granaries. This harvesting of the wheat is likened to the rapture by the Lord Jesus.





8. The goodman has perished. There is none upright among them. This is from Micah, a word of woe, a word of regret of despair. Comparison of all the fruit is gone to all the good men are gone. This word “perished” means to cause to vanish. It is a reference to the rapture. Those who are raptured will be those who were most closely allied to Israel, when the church is raptured the Israelites will lament that their are no good men left.





9. This is the only offering where you offer up leavened loaves. Leaven does not indicate sin, rather it indicates the customs and practices. At Pentecost in Acts what happened, we had new customs and practices. At Mt. Sinai what happened we had new customs and practices. When the age of the law began we had “new leaven”, when the age of grace began we had “new leaven”. Likewise at the rapture we will have new leaven, new customs and practices, because we will have the Millenial kingdom reign where the entire world will be ruled by Jesus Christ.





10. They explain it away. In Acts it says those who observed this tried to explain it away as everyone being drunk. The same thing will happen after the rapture, they will have the “great delusion” to try and explain it away.

When I started this blog one motivating reason was that I felt a discussion of the rapture was dominated by people who try to predict the day even though we are told we don't know the day. It seemed idiotic to me. In my experience the Lord tells us what we need to know and directs us away from what we don't need to waste our time with. To focus on trying to discern the timing seemed a little rebellious. I say "a little" because Paul says we are not ignorant of times or seasons, so to discern the generation, or significant prophesies that point to the coming of the day of the Lord, or to see the day approaching, or even to talk about the season in which the Lord would come does seem appropriate. As we come to Shavuot, the one feast that has no date, I feel this is precisely what I suspected. If you liken Shavuot to a harvest then it doesn't make sense to ask what day it will be. You have to watch, and you have to count. These crops grow according to a set pattern that you can follow. What is really important is the 50 days of growing, or the seven stages of growth being completed. Those are the key things the farmer should know. If you are talking about a wedding it is idiotic to talk about the day of the wedding when getting to know the bride and bridegroom seems to be by far the most important thing. If you were courting a bride it would be very off putting if she were far more interested in what day the wedding would be rather than getting to know you. If you compare this to a graduation ceremony for high school or college then again, the date of the graduation is really trivial. It doesn't matter if you know the date or not, if you haven't completed your course work and passed your tests who cares, you won't graduate. This also indicates that there is a goal to the Christian life. You need to partake of Jesus Christ and to be transformed. You can do it in your lifetime, but if you are lazy or foolish you can do it during an intense 3 1/2 year study during the tribulation.

I watched Tucker Carlson tonight and it is clear there is great concern about this emphasis on everyone getting the vaccine, and on countries mandating a "vaccine passport" that you cannot buy or sell without it and that this will create two classes of people. There are obvious parallels to the "mark of the beast" so we should be clear on what the "mark of the beast" is.

For example, consider Hitler. He may not be "the antichrist" but he certainly was "a antichrist". He had a "mark", the swastika. It was a religious symbol and it marked people out as supporting him. Likewise he forced the Jews to also wear a mark that marked them out for the ghettos and then the camps and ultimately the gas chambers. I think that these marks give us a very clear view, not of "the mark of the beast" but more generally of "a mark of the beast" how it is used and why.

There are other examples, I was driving to work today and saw a symbol representing the free masons on the back of a car. This is a secret society that has secret handshakes and secret signs to tip people off as to who is their members. In the same way the mark of the beast will identify you as belonging to the beast the same way the swastika, or a special symbol, or handshake, etc.

We don't need to fear secret societies, the reason they are secret is because if they told people the truth about who they are and what they want the majority of people would be repulsed. The church is out in the open, we walk in the light, we are children of the light. But while we have been in the light there have been those others who are of the night creeping around in the dark. At some point the church and those who are in the light will come head to head with the Antichrist and those of the night. They will be arrogant, proud, and whereas there are not many of us who are rich or powerful, they will be primarily the rich and powerful. But their achilles heel is that they must lie, as soon as everyone knows who they are and what they are about they will despise them and flee from them.

These people have a fleshly wisdom of this world. The problem is that their wisdom is based on all the common people doing all the work for them while they run everything. Once those common people are removed from the equation (the rapture) their entire system collapses. Think about Egypt with Pharaoh. Sure, the plagues were a short term problem that got progressively worse and worse. Still it wasn't until you got to the death of the firstborn that Pharaoh thrust them out and even then he changed his mind in just a few days. As bad as the damage was from those plagues as long as they had the slave labor of the Israelites they could get through it and it would be the slaves who suffered the worst of it. But the death of the firstborn of both man and beast would have been a devastating plague. Think of the horror in a single night every single household would have several deaths. These are crippling losses. Not only so they loaned silver and gold to the Israelites probably thinking they would get it back with interest, so that is the collapse of their banking system as well. Then they lost their army. Finally, they lost all their slave labor. The Exodus was catastrophic to the Superpower of the day, they never recovered.

Watch

Revelation 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

I think we need to look at this verse again. The warning is that if you are not watching he will come as a thief. How does a thief come? You wake up and realize “I’ve been robbed” or you return home and realize “I’ve been robbed”. You were clueless at the time about what was going on. So then what does it mean to watch? I saw a video recently selling these doorbell cameras how a woman at work saw someone stealing her packages. She didn’t know the day or the hour, but she was watching and as a result she wasn’t caught unawares.

Luke 2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

This is a good example of “watching”. They were keeping watch over the sheep, making sure no wolves got to the sheep. You don’t know the hour or the day that the heavenly host is going to show up to announce Christ’s birth, but because you are watching you find out and are not caught unawares.

Matthew 24: 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

Acts 20:29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. 31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

We are not simply watching for the Lord’s return, we are watching to protect the flock, we are watching for wolves creeping in. Think about this, why do wolves have to creep in? Without the element of surprise they have very little chance of success. Today we see many who have arisen speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them. It isn’t working, in fact what we really see is the Lord’s sheep know His voice and they are running from these wolves. But what happens after the first rapture, then with the strongest taken the odds tilt a little in favor of the wolves. They will require the mark of the beast or else get beheaded. 144,000 will choose to have their heads chopped off. But after that the odds tilt even more in favor of the wolves. Then there will still be those who refuse, wandering and destitute. The point is that right now we far outnumber the wolves and good shepherds should have no problem fighting off the wolves.

Luke 12: 36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. 37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. 38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. 40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.

How many of us missed this? Luke is written to the firstfruits, the ones who are raptured before the tribulation. What wedding is the Lord returning from? The wedding we think of takes place after the rapture not before it. Therefore there is another wedding and certainly not the Lord’s wedding. If this is referring to the Lord’s wedding He isn’t going to come out late at night and serve the servants on his wedding night. So let’s consider some of the other weddings. There was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, the wine ran out, and it signifies that human life has ceased being a celebration of life. Imagine you are at a wedding and they stop serving wine and start serving water. “The party is over”. That depicts the end of this age. Think about a baby being born. As it grows in the womb it becomes clear that this is not sustainable. The baby is growing but the womb isn’t. At some point “the party is over”. This is when the Lord will come. There are many things we can watch, we can watch for wolves, we can watch for signs in the heavens, we can watch over the sheep, we can watch those who arise and speak perverse things, and we can watch for signs that “the party is over”.

Matthew 25:13 Watch therefore [the bridegroom and ten virgins], for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

This phrase that we know neither the day nor the hour has been applied to the Feast of Trumpets, but it isn’t the best analogy because in reality we can definitely know the day, at least we know it is the first day of the seventh month. Since we don’t know the exact time of the new moon we don’t know the exact hour and hence there is a little uncertainty to the day. But Shavuot is much better example of not knowing the day or the hour because we literally cannot tell from the Bible the day of Shavuot, much less what hour of day it is.

Mark 13: 28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: 29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. 30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. 31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. 32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. 33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. 34 For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. 35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: 36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

This shows us that there are many prophecies in the Bible which tell us that the day is approaching. We can know the season (summer is near), we can know the generation, we can know a lot of things that tell us the day is approaching. In the same way you don’t know the day or the hour a woman will give birth to a baby but there are a lot of things that you can know which will give you a very good idea that the day is approaching. Likewise with Shavuot, we can count 50 days, we can count seven complete Sabbaths.

Luke 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Matthew 26:40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?

Mark 14:37 And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?

Proverbs 8:34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.

1Thessalonians 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

The thought is that “the first shall be last and the last first” applies to the gospels. Matthew refers to those raptured last and Luke to those raptured first. In Luke the account is different. The disciples in Matthew and Mark could not watch for one hour, in Luke they sleep for sorrow.

Watch (part 2)

Psalm 37:32 The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.

Luke 20:20 And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.

We should not be naive. We are eagerly awaiting the coming of the Lord, there are others who are eagerly awaiting the coming of Antichrist. There are those who want Antichrist and they don’t care if billions of people die, to them the proper population for the earth is 500 million so 7 billion dying would be a good thing. We were told that the wheat and tares would grow together. You should not be surprised that there are satanic societies. Satan told the Lord that if He worshipped Satan he would give the Lord all these kingdoms. The Lord didn’t refute that. We are told that the world lies in the evil one. These evil ones have their eye on the church and they know the church is the only power that can stand against them.

Jeremiah 4:16 Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.

Isaiah 21:6 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.

Jeremiah 6:17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.

Revelation 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

Ezekiel 3:17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

We should not be discouraged if some ignore our warnings. Our job is to watch and to sound the alarm. What they do with that will determine how the Lord rewards or punishes them. However, if you don’t sound the alarm you will have no excuse and you will be held accountable.

Ezekiel 33:6-7 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.

Isaiah 52:8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.

This is the reward for being a watchman.

Isaiah 62:6 I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence,

Daniel 4:17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

We should not be surprised or discouraged if the basest of men are set over the nations.

Daniel 9:14 Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

If you want to pray for the US or for the leaders pray that they would obey the voice of the Lord.

1Corinthians 16:13 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.

There is a lot of conjecture right now about the mark of the beast and when this happens I think it is very important to focus on what we know.

The mark of the beast is tracking every single transaction that you make. You cannot buy or sell without this mark. Not only so but this mark is described by a number, 666. I think it is easy for us to see that this mark will be something like a credit card that is put onto your body in some way or another (I have heard of three different technologies that currently can be used to accomplish this). Now consider how powerful this would make the Beast. Governments derive their income and thus their power from tax revenue. The problem they have is with tracking that revenue (cash transactions and bartering can make it very difficult to tax). Being able to control every single transaction that takes place on this planet would be enormous power that we have never seen before.

Not only would such a thing be like the "all seeing eye" on the back of the dollar but this power can also be used to punish people they wish to punish. Not being allowed to buy or sell anywhere on the planet would be an incredible punishment. Who needs prisons, gulags, or reeducation camps?

In short the "mark of the beast" looks like "absolute power" which corrupts absolutely.

Hence the term "mark of the beast". It suggests that those who have gotten this mark have been "branded" like cattle and belong to the Antichrist. Describing their owner as a "beast" is also very suggestive that these are not dairy cows destined for a life of producing milk but rather the vast majority are destined for the slaughter house.

As bad as Stalin and Hitler were they are not "The antichrist". We can be sure that "the antichrist" will be significantly worse than them. As I understand it there are Satanist groups that see the ideal number of people for the Earth as 500 million. Apparently 7 billion people dying would actually be their solution to world population and climate change.

So why is this supremely evil power hungry person called "antichrist"? It occurred to me in sports there is always the effort to "play your own game". If you have two tennis players you can tell who is winning, not simply by the score, but by the way the points are being played. If one player prefers to serve and volley and yet he is being forced to play from the baseline it tells you they are being forced to play the other person's game. Likewise in basketball, if one team is a fast break team and yet the game is being played as a half court game then it tells you they are being forced to play the other person's game. Throughout history we have had Pharaoh's, emperor's, kings, dictators, etc. They all have been power hungry and yet none have been nearly so successful or enduring as Jesus. The entire world respects Jesus even if they don't respect Christians or Christianity. There are hundreds of millions of people who are far more obedient to Jesus than to any political leader. I believe that the "antichrist" is called that because Satan is forced to play Jesus' game. Consider the "Free Masons" the reason they are called "free" is because they say they are "free from sin". By that they mean that they can sin all they want and are free from guilt. In the end of the age we are not conformed to the world, rather Satan and his minions are forced to imitate and pretend to be conformed to the image of the Lord. It will be a lie, a delusion, but it is also one more proof that Jesus is winning this game.

Matthew 11:1-15 From the least to the greatest we are all the same

1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.

2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,

3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

This question is really two questions in one. The obvious question is if Jesus is the coming Messiah (which John has already testified that He is) and the unspoken question is if you are the Messiah, why am I in jail and why are these corrupt government leaders running around in their depravity.

4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:

5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

Jesus opened His ministry with this word from Isaiah: 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
This is from Isaiah 61 and is about how the Messiah will make a new covenant with us, He will recover us, repair us, and raise us up. The chapter references the saved being known among the Gentiles and concludes with “so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” This is an adjusting or correcting word, yes the Lord will judge but prior to that he will cause righteousness to spring forth.

7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.

9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.

10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

We need to read this chapter for ourselves, apply it to our situation today. The Lord is coming, many saints have been alerted to a variety of prophecies that have been fulfilled and as a result they are quite anxious. Some have even stumbled in their “predictions” though many are just trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. But we need to toughen up. We can’t be a reed that is shaken by every wind of doctrine. Nor can we be so soft and delicate that we fear being kicked out of the king’s houses. If you want to be a prophet you have to speak the word especially when the enemy will do everything in his power to keep you from speaking the word. Right now if you speak the truth they will ridicule, attack, factcheck and censor you. You need to stand, you need to do all to stand and having done all stand. They will also threaten to cancel you, kick you out of your job, etc. That is par for the course for a real prophet so give thanks to the Lord that you are now being reckoned with the real prophets. Now guess what, all this stuff that we read about in the Bible that is so hard to understand, all that stuff is about to happen to us today, even to the least in the kingdom of heaven. If you want to be a martyr you first have to have the mindset of a martyr which is that I will not be shaken by every wind of doctrine, or by insults or by threats.

12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

Read world history, we are free today because people took it by force. The people who took the kingdom of heaven were imperfect, just as King David was. Consider King David’s three biggest sins: adultery, having a man killed, and being responsible for a pandemic. By comparison Trump looks pretty good. So stop trying to think that some failure disqualifies you or someone else from seizing the kingdom. Confess, repent, and let’s take this.

13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

This was an answer to the question that was about to pop up. John asked a question about the Lord being the Messiah. The Lord reminded him of the prophecy in John 61 that is being fulfilled. Then human nature is such that we would attack John for asking such a question. But the Lord uses that to point out that from the least of us to the greatest we are all the same. We have doubts, we have failings, and that is not what distinguishes the greatest from the least. The difference between King David and the rest of us is Psalm 51, confession, repentance, and to then keep on going.

Matthew 11:16-30 Being a prophet is easy, the burden is light

16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation?

This perfectly leads into answering the inferred question. If you are the Messiah why am I still in jail and why are the corrupt leaders walking openly in their depravity?

It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,

17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.

19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

He begins by pointing out why John’s ministry paved the way for His ministry. The response to John showed the hypocrisy in their response to the Lord.

20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:

21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.

23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

Now we see his answer. Everything the Lord is doing is laying the groundwork to convict people of sin. The fact that people are not repenting will leave them without excuse and then the judgement will be worse than that of Sodom. He is agreeing with John that this judgement is coming, however it is crucial that righteousness spring forth first so that people have a fair chance to choose. Recently I was talking to someone about the current events and they said that Politicians always lie. I said “not always, but everyone hated that one President who didn’t lie”. This is important. Someone promises to be for the little guy, to stamp out human rights abuses, and to get rid of racism. Nothing wrong with you choosing that person, those are good reasons. But then when you learn that “the little guy” that gets billions and billions in the budget refers to chip makers. And that their concern for the little guy refers to finding the little guy who leaked the fact that billionaires are paying 1% in taxes and locking that little guy up. You learn that forgiving college debt was simply a bait and switch and that when Kamala said she would eliminate human rights abuses at the border she was joking. She has no interest in going to our border, instead she wants to go to Europe and rub elbows with world leaders. We need a contrast to see, and the Lord needs irrefutable evidence to convict.

25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

All of what preceded was simply preparing us to hear the full answer to John’s question. Just because some prophecy in Isaiah 61 is being fulfilled doesn’t mean you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah. You need a revelation.

26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.

27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

The world is filled with evil, with liars, deceivers, cheats, scam artists. Many if not all of us will be deceived and taken in at some point. But their mistake is that they will never be able to deceive the Father or the Son. The only ones who will get a true revelation of the Father are those that the Son chooses to give that revelation to and the only ones that will get a revelation of the Son are those that the Father chooses to reveal Him to. So then, in the end it will be the liars and the cheats who will be deceived. They were too smart for their own good.

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

It is a big job to sort through all these prophecies. But what is the point, the point of everything is to “come unto the Lord”. Everything points to Jesus. Stop worrying about being a big shot, if you are lowly and meek you have nothing to lose. If you have nothing to lose they can’t threaten to take anything away. Telling the truth is easy, it is cognitively light. What is hard is lying. Coming up with a lie is much harder than telling the truth and then having to remember all the lies, that is a heavy burden. Poor CNN every time they turn around another lie is exposed, they are mocked, ridiculed and continue to lose their ratings. Stop being too smart for your own good, come unto Jesus, learn from Him.