Ok, back to the beginning. God creates the big bang, gives man authority over it, which he then hands off to someone else. God chases the whole lot of them out of town, but promises to set it right some day. Man subdues the world under the authority of the horde. That Rescuer God promised comes, kinda; The ultimate restoral of authority has been bought and paid for, but yet to be wholly enforced here upon our little exile island. And so we wait in limbo for the other shoe to drop, for the day when that authority IS brought to bear here and now to restore things back to what was intended.
There will have to be major changes… a world that has evolved contrary to God’s plan must be brought back on track. The horde’s worldly authorities must be rooted up and disposed of to make way for the restoration Messiah’s authority, and the planet cleansed to make way for His habitation. Jesus says it’ll be brutal, He tells His disciples that they will see a time of great trouble and trial on earth prior to His return. Other prophecies describe these things in more detail. Let’s look again at that list of things Jesus said was going to happen, and how these others embellish on it.
Jesus said there would be war. John, taken up into heaven to record the book of Revelation, saw a horseman who was given a sword with which to take peace from the earth[1]. A little later he sees a great star falling from heaven like a torch[2], and a great burning mountain cast into the sea. Ezekiel and Zechariah[3] tell of the aftermath of a great war, describing the victim’s flesh melting and their eyes burning, and the bodies lying in the field for 7 months while teams go out to bury them and clean the land.
There have always been wars, and as spiritual warfare in the end time intensifies we should expect a increase in physical conflicts, leading to an ultimate battle between the two. The burning mountain in the sea, the falling star from the sky are oft compared to nuclear events. Flesh melting, bodies left to decay, lands left desolate and needing decontamination… read descriptions of Nagasaki and Tokyo after their bombings, they read very much like Ezekiel and Zechariah.
Also of interest is Jesus’ usage of "rumors of war”, like they’re not really war, maybe more like great undeclared sporadic battles or military actions. Wars are traditionally fought between nations and peoples. But nowadays we fight battles between ideals and spirituals. It’s no longer countries we pursue, but mindsets. And that battle rages everywhere.
Jesus also said there’d be famine. John saw with the first three Trumpets the grass and trees of the earth being burnt up, the sea turning dead, the waters fatally poisoned[4]. He describes that burning mountain thrown in the sea; and hail, fire, and blood thrown to earth; and a star falling like a torch from heaven. Whatever they are these are events with major impacts upon the food chain. The shortage will be severe - John reports that it takes a day’s wages to buy a day’s worth of food[5] - if you can get it.
With the famine there will be pestilence according to Jesus. John describes plagues of locusts and that by plagues of fire, smoke, and brimstone 1/3rd of man’s numbers will die. John sees many killed by sword, hunger, death, and beasts[6]. Imagine planet wide events that burn the fields, contaminate the waters, and leave bodies exposed to the elements for the better part of a year. That’s a scenario custom made to ferment rot and disease over large areas – pestilence as some call it. The references to “beasts” are interesting, keep in mind that as food gets expensive and scarce not only will we have to compete with wild animals for food, people won’t be as willing to feed their pets and set them free instead. Image hungry packs of domesticated (read : unafraid of man) animals roaming the streets looking for food that isn’t there. They will fight us for it, and see us as it.
Jesus also spoke of earthquakes, and tells us the powers of the heavens are shaken. Earthquakes in the spiritual realm have to do with the giving over or taking of a stronghold. We see earthquakes involved when Jesus died, and again when He rose[7]. A earthquake occurs when Peter and John first preach Christ in Jerusalem[8], and again when Paul first brings the Word to Europe[9]. As spiritual warfare increases in the End Time we should expect an increase of earthquakes, both in number and intensity.
But other passages suggest something larger than a typical earthquake. There are prophecies of the sun and moon being darkened, mountains made low, waters being heaped upon the continents, islands disappearing, and even the stars blackened and removed from the sky[10]. These things only happen with major earth upheavals, an earthquake on a global scale if you will. They could describe a shift in the earth’s axis, an event which has happened a number of times in the past. As the earth’s crust cooled metal deposits formed at the poles, and this is what pulls on a compass. But magnetic north is no longer the same as true north, because at times in history earth’s axis has changed or wobbled.
Another possibility is a disruption in the earth’s rotation. In Joshua 10 God promised His people they’d win a great battle before the sun set. But as the day wore on they weren’t wining. Then God extended the length of the day and they won their battle. Think of what He would have to do to accomplish that. The sun would have to be rotated in sync with the earth, or the earth’s rotation would have to be temporarily stopped or slowed. Suppose we stop the earth from rotating. The inertial energy in the once moving continents would cause them to grind and clash into each other, and we could expect great floods as the momentum of the oceans carry them up onto the stopped land. Imaging carrying a platter with plates of food and water; as long as you’re moving smoothly it all stays relatively put. Come to an abrupt halt and everything crashes and spills, surging up over the sides and across the tray.
The descriptions of the star falling to earth could be that of a comet striking the earth, which could also cause the upheavals mentioned (it took care of the dinosaurs didn’t it?). In any case, catastrophic fire and volcanic activity would break loose, spewing megatons of sky blacking gasses and ash into the sky which would block out the sun and moon and stars.
[HR][/HR][1] Rev 6:11
[2] Rev 8:8-10
[3] Eze 38, 39 / Zech 14
[4] Rev 8
[5] Rev 6:6
[6] Rev 6:8
[7] Matt 27:51, 28:2
[8] Acts 4
[9] Acts 16
[10] Isaiah 12, 13,34,42, Amos 9, Joel 2, 3, Eze 38,47, Romans 8, and Rev 6 & 7 for starters
There will have to be major changes… a world that has evolved contrary to God’s plan must be brought back on track. The horde’s worldly authorities must be rooted up and disposed of to make way for the restoration Messiah’s authority, and the planet cleansed to make way for His habitation. Jesus says it’ll be brutal, He tells His disciples that they will see a time of great trouble and trial on earth prior to His return. Other prophecies describe these things in more detail. Let’s look again at that list of things Jesus said was going to happen, and how these others embellish on it.
Jesus said there would be war. John, taken up into heaven to record the book of Revelation, saw a horseman who was given a sword with which to take peace from the earth[1]. A little later he sees a great star falling from heaven like a torch[2], and a great burning mountain cast into the sea. Ezekiel and Zechariah[3] tell of the aftermath of a great war, describing the victim’s flesh melting and their eyes burning, and the bodies lying in the field for 7 months while teams go out to bury them and clean the land.
There have always been wars, and as spiritual warfare in the end time intensifies we should expect a increase in physical conflicts, leading to an ultimate battle between the two. The burning mountain in the sea, the falling star from the sky are oft compared to nuclear events. Flesh melting, bodies left to decay, lands left desolate and needing decontamination… read descriptions of Nagasaki and Tokyo after their bombings, they read very much like Ezekiel and Zechariah.
Also of interest is Jesus’ usage of "rumors of war”, like they’re not really war, maybe more like great undeclared sporadic battles or military actions. Wars are traditionally fought between nations and peoples. But nowadays we fight battles between ideals and spirituals. It’s no longer countries we pursue, but mindsets. And that battle rages everywhere.
Jesus also said there’d be famine. John saw with the first three Trumpets the grass and trees of the earth being burnt up, the sea turning dead, the waters fatally poisoned[4]. He describes that burning mountain thrown in the sea; and hail, fire, and blood thrown to earth; and a star falling like a torch from heaven. Whatever they are these are events with major impacts upon the food chain. The shortage will be severe - John reports that it takes a day’s wages to buy a day’s worth of food[5] - if you can get it.
With the famine there will be pestilence according to Jesus. John describes plagues of locusts and that by plagues of fire, smoke, and brimstone 1/3rd of man’s numbers will die. John sees many killed by sword, hunger, death, and beasts[6]. Imagine planet wide events that burn the fields, contaminate the waters, and leave bodies exposed to the elements for the better part of a year. That’s a scenario custom made to ferment rot and disease over large areas – pestilence as some call it. The references to “beasts” are interesting, keep in mind that as food gets expensive and scarce not only will we have to compete with wild animals for food, people won’t be as willing to feed their pets and set them free instead. Image hungry packs of domesticated (read : unafraid of man) animals roaming the streets looking for food that isn’t there. They will fight us for it, and see us as it.
Jesus also spoke of earthquakes, and tells us the powers of the heavens are shaken. Earthquakes in the spiritual realm have to do with the giving over or taking of a stronghold. We see earthquakes involved when Jesus died, and again when He rose[7]. A earthquake occurs when Peter and John first preach Christ in Jerusalem[8], and again when Paul first brings the Word to Europe[9]. As spiritual warfare increases in the End Time we should expect an increase of earthquakes, both in number and intensity.
But other passages suggest something larger than a typical earthquake. There are prophecies of the sun and moon being darkened, mountains made low, waters being heaped upon the continents, islands disappearing, and even the stars blackened and removed from the sky[10]. These things only happen with major earth upheavals, an earthquake on a global scale if you will. They could describe a shift in the earth’s axis, an event which has happened a number of times in the past. As the earth’s crust cooled metal deposits formed at the poles, and this is what pulls on a compass. But magnetic north is no longer the same as true north, because at times in history earth’s axis has changed or wobbled.
Another possibility is a disruption in the earth’s rotation. In Joshua 10 God promised His people they’d win a great battle before the sun set. But as the day wore on they weren’t wining. Then God extended the length of the day and they won their battle. Think of what He would have to do to accomplish that. The sun would have to be rotated in sync with the earth, or the earth’s rotation would have to be temporarily stopped or slowed. Suppose we stop the earth from rotating. The inertial energy in the once moving continents would cause them to grind and clash into each other, and we could expect great floods as the momentum of the oceans carry them up onto the stopped land. Imaging carrying a platter with plates of food and water; as long as you’re moving smoothly it all stays relatively put. Come to an abrupt halt and everything crashes and spills, surging up over the sides and across the tray.
The descriptions of the star falling to earth could be that of a comet striking the earth, which could also cause the upheavals mentioned (it took care of the dinosaurs didn’t it?). In any case, catastrophic fire and volcanic activity would break loose, spewing megatons of sky blacking gasses and ash into the sky which would block out the sun and moon and stars.
[HR][/HR][1] Rev 6:11
[2] Rev 8:8-10
[3] Eze 38, 39 / Zech 14
[4] Rev 8
[5] Rev 6:6
[6] Rev 6:8
[7] Matt 27:51, 28:2
[8] Acts 4
[9] Acts 16
[10] Isaiah 12, 13,34,42, Amos 9, Joel 2, 3, Eze 38,47, Romans 8, and Rev 6 & 7 for starters