Signs of The End Times – Part 2
No Longer a Prophetic Future
Jewish Lords' Witness
Introduction
Some nine years ago (yes that long ago!) I wrote a paper on the signs of the end-times (ref. End Times). That was based on the single (albeit large!) sign of the rejection of Christianity by the nations of the West. Now, nearly a decade on from then, I find myself surrounded by global events that paint a picture of catastrophe for the human race, the Coronavirus pandemic being a new and key topic. These strongly suggest to me that we are now very much nearer to the end of this system. Let us have a look at the various circumstances, that were predicted by scripture, for the end times and which have, arguably, manifested themselves at the time of my writing this paper.
How Close to the End?
I am sure that my esteemed reader will be asking ‘why are we still in this system some nine years after my previous paper?’. Well scriptural time is measured from God’s perspective not mankind’s, so it is arguable that nine years on earth is no more than a few moments to our Lord:
8 But let not this one thing be hidden [from] you, beloved, that one day with [the] Lord [is] "as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." [Psa. 90:4]
9 The Lord of the promise is not slow, as some deem slowness, but is long-suffering toward us, not having purposed any to perish, but all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3 GLT)
Consequently, as per my paper on Patience, we are called upon to exercise that very quality in awaiting the return of our saviour. Bear in mind that James wrote his letter in the first century AD; two days ago in God’s reckoning:
7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. (James 5 KJV)
Similarly with the Book of Revelation:
3 Blessed [is] the [one] reading, and those hearing the Words of this prophecy, and keeping the things having been written; for the time [is] near. (Revelation 1 GLT)
The following verse caused me some amusement as it reminded me of a comment my brother in Christ, Frank, made on a recent conference call when we were discussing our then current prediction of the fire signs, ‘Well, we are closer to the end in our predictions than we were when we first started predicting the fire sign chronology’:
11 And this, knowing the season, that already it is time for you to awake out of sleep: for now is salvation nearer to us than when we [first] believed. (Romans 13 ASV)
Most bible translations would have us believe that it is not for mankind to know when the end of this system will come. So am I on a fool’s errand in trying to understand how close we are to the end of the end-times, given that some of the end-times prophesies appear to have already occurred decades ago? Well if I am, then so is the Fourth True Christian Church. For our repost to that accusation, I refer the reader to ‘Understanding [237] Matthew 24, Mark 13: Concerning that day and hour, nobody knows’. To precis the main point in this understanding, we should look at a couple of translations of one of the key verses:
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. (Matthew 24 KJV)
36 'And concerning that day and the hour no one hath known -- not even the messengers of the heavens -- except my Father only; (Matthew 24 YLT)
The key point here is the tense of the Greek word for ‘knowing’. The KJV is more typical in its translation in the present tense whereas Young’s Literal Translation is unusual (but more correct) in its translation in the past tense. This latter meaning tells us that the time of the end was only known by The Father at the time the Gospels were written but does not proscribe that time being known in later generations. Also, I ask myself, why is there so much detailed symbolic prophecy on the end-times contained in scripture if someone is not meant to accurately predict the signs and timeframe from it? This is the basis of the Lords’ Witnesses continually striving to calculate that date from the scriptures and is partly why I decided to write this paper at this time.
The Key Signs
So, as is our want, let us continue by looking at some of what the Good Book tells us to expect for the end-times. Interestingly, there is much on this subject contained outside of the Book of Revelation. Two key scriptures for me, at this present time, are in the Gospels:
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these [are] the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew 24 KJV)
9 And when ye shall hear of wars and tumults, be not terrified: for these things must needs come to pass first; but the end is not immediately.
10 Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom;
11 and there shall be great earthquakes, and in divers places famines and pestilences; and there shall be terrors and great signs from heaven. (Luke 21 ASV)
So what are we looking at here: wars, tumults, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, terrors, heavenly signs and all on a global scale. Some will say, indeed my Brother in Christ Alan included, that we have been here before. Prior to the Coronavirus hitting the world, we had the Spanish Flu last century. Indeed, it could be strongly argued that, in those years we had the Great War (1914-18), followed by the Spanish Flu (1918-20), followed by the Great Depression (1929-39), followed by the Second World War (1939-45). Somehow the world survived that lot over a period of some three decades. I have to say that I am very glad that I was not alive in those trying times, but what is to come?
The Watchtower certainly made a big point in identifying the year of 1914 as the beginning of the end-times (ref. https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1954881) but the following JW Support website would seem to invalidate all the end-times scenarios from 1914 to the present day. If the data in this latter website is correct, then the Great Tribulation would have to be many times worse than anything the human race has experienced in its history, thereby making the current circumstances relatively benign thus far: https://jw.support/are-we-in-the-last-days/ . So, before making further progress on this end-times paper, I owe it to the publishers of that website as well as to myself and my readers, to review the voracity of the statements made therein:
Plagues: They are correct in their assessment of historical plagues. As a key example, the bubonic plague was many times worse in mortality rate than the Spanish Flu (ref. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_epidemics). Similarly, the deaths from Covid-19 would have to be many times worse than at the time of writing this paper to demonstrate its place as the end-times pestilence.
Famines: From what I can make out, famines have existed in one part of the world or another ever since records of humanity have been kept both prior to and subsequent to 1914. I would have to concede that mortality rates do not seem to be higher in more recent times although I would challenge the comments that recent farming techniques etc. have made serious famines less prevalent in modern times. I see no evidence for that: ref. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_famines. Consequently, the Great Tribulation would have to bring the death toll from famine into the hundreds of millions. This would be at a level which has never been recorded previously up to the time of my writing this paper.
Wars: Once again in looking through the annals of history we find there have been many bloodthirsty conflicts throughout the whole of the human occupation of our world. However, I would have to say that the period from 1914 through to 1945 has certainly been one of the most bloody by far with arguably nearly 200 million deaths from the various conflagrations during that period (ref. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_by_death_toll). Again, if the Great Tribulation is to fulfil its ‘promise’ to be even worse, then we must be looking at a billion or more lost souls through war. Since this time around it will be ‘cut short’, I can see no alternative scenario than a nuclear conflict which would, inevitably, bring about many of the other ills we are promised.
Earthquakes: I would have to support the website view of this. Given that I am sure that historic record-keeping was not as thorough as more recent records, I see no evidence that earthquake frequency and severity have increased to any measurable extent over time (ref. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_earthquakes). Again, perhaps we are looking at a nuclear conflagration setting off large scale movements of tectonic plates?
Famine is graphically illustrated in ways that we could never have imagined before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Apparently the food bank network ‘Feeding America’ reports a 70 per cent increase in people visiting its 200 nationwide food banks since the crisis began, with 40 per cent of those first-time visitors. And, earlier this month, the New York Times ran a story entitled ‘Minivans at the food pantry.’ – families who had made six-figure salaries, owned luxury cars and sent their children to private schools pre-pandemic, are suddenly finding themselves without an income, and turning to food banks to put a meal on the table. New York City estimates that up to a quarter of its 8 million residents may now be going hungry." (ref. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/03/us/food-pantries-hunger-us.html)
The famine that is now coming is entirely self-inflicted by our genocidal governments who are destroying our economies and our distribution means under the pretext of protecting us from a new form of pneumonia. More on this point later! It would appear that total lockdowns are counter-productive. They may result in short term reductions in infection rates but suffer from bounce back which, at the time of writing, we are now suffering from. A more balanced approach to dealing with the virus would seem to be most appropriate and would not require an aggresive lockdown regimen. Check out The Great Barrington Declaration for the strongest of medical evidence supporting this approach. There is certainly a strongly negative reaction to this position from the establishment bodies of most country governments (with the notable exception of the current US Republican Government under Trump prior to the election), medical journals and big Tech (You Tube would you believe?). This all seems to amount to a high-powered cartel with some vested interest in scaring and controlling the masses of humanity. Check out these web-pages plus some of the later sections in this paper; scary stuff: https://www.anhinternational.org/news/showdown-great-barrington-declaration-v-john-snow-memorandum/; https://www.anhinternational.org/news/the-great-reset-or-the-great-divide/.
Moving away from the specific points raised by the JW Support website, we should pay some attention to the locust swarm that is sweeping across Africa and Asia, no doubt as a further sign of mankind’s destruction of his habitat: https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/locust-swarms-enter-nepal-what-do-we-know/. Apart from representing one of the plagues of ancient Egypt, it is inevitably being followed by famine. You can see from the above article that plagues of locusts are, once again, nothing new. But we may be witnessing the birth of the perfect storm of human disease, locust plague, famine, climate change etc. all coming together, and that is before we figure in a nuclear conflict.
Another effect we are seeing are deserted city centres as illustrated by the example of Montreal: (ref. https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/deserted-city-centres-has-meant-a-rise-in-vandalism-and-thefts-1.4922073). As a further fulfilment of prophecy, the cities must become deserted according to Isaiah:
11 Then I said, Until when, O Lord? And He said, Until cities lie desolate without [one] living [in them], and the houses without man, and the land is laid waste, a desolation;
12 and [until] Jehovah has sent mankind far away, and the desolation in the midst of the land [is] great. (Isaiah 6 GLT)
The Nuclear Option?
Let us have a look at my ‘nuclear’ conclusions from the above observations. I would consider that there are two key differences between today’s world and that of the ‘Watchtower’ period from the start of the Great War to the end of the Second World War (1914-45). Those are mankind’s ability today to destroy both himself and the planet. Why nuclear? Well only a nuclear war could carry such devastation over the shortened period of time that is prophesied:
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. (Matthew 24 KJV)
The second chapter of the Book of Joel contains a number of end-times prophetic images that could certainly be put at the door of the aftermath of a nuclear war, a nuclear winter (ref. https://science.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-winter.htm). In verse 2 below, we see not only the signs of the nuclear winter but also the chosen ones who will escape it together with their future home, the cloud behind them and the silver lining ahead of them:
2 a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as the dawn spread out on the mountains, a great and a strong people. There has never been the like, nor shall there ever be again to the years of many generations;
3 a fire devours before it, and a flame burns behind it. The land [is] as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them [is] a desolate wilderness; yea, also there is no escape to them. (Joel 2 GLT)
Earthquakes and darkening skies are reiterated:
10 The earth shall quake before them, the heavens shall shake. The sun and moon shall grow dark, and the stars shall gather in their light. (Joel 2 GLT)
And, again, with the promise that the righteous ones will be saved from this fate:
31 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of Jehovah.
32 For it shall be, all who shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be saved. For salvation shall be in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, as Jehovah has said, and among the survivors whom Jehovah shall call. (Joel 2 GLT)
In addition, a nuclear war would certainly create the other signs of the end-times. The plague or pestilence, if not ultimately caused by the increased virulence or mutation of a later wave of Coronavirus, could arguably be the result of radiation poisoning. Clearly famine would also likely result from a nuclear war in the destruction and pollution of natural sources of drinking water and foodstuffs. Whilst it appears that nuclear blasts could cause high-intensity earthquakes by themselves, there are other man-made causes such as the building of dams, fracking and mining, all of which would likely contribute to an end-times increase in their severity and intensity (ref. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/10/human-induced-earthquakes-fracking-mining-video-spd/).
God also promises that those destroying the earth will get their just deserts, so once again a prediction that it is only when we are capable of destroying our planet through global warming, pollution of the land, seas and air as well as a result of nuclear fall-out that He will make His judgement:
18 And the nations were full of wrath; and Your wrath came, and the time of the judging of the dead, and to give the reward to Your slaves, to the prophets, and to the saints, and to the ones fearing Your name, to the small and to the great, and to destroy those destroying the earth. (Revelation 11 GLT)
There are certainly those detractors of the view that global warming is a man-made phenomenon and that what we are currently experiencing is just the natural cycle of climate change that the earth goes through every few millenia. However, from the evidence that I have seen, there is an enormous amount of geological measurements that have been taken from numerous sources that demonstrate, to my satisfaction, that mankind is, indeed, contributing to the current global warming part of the cycle. Looking at the evidence for global temperature change and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, there is no doubt that the current peak in these figures is more than double all the previous peaks measured over the last 800,000 years. The following website is a good source of this data: https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/are-humans-major-cause-global-warming. So who is to blame for that? Well, I think, we have all had some part to play in that. I, for my part, could be accused of driving an old (but beautiful!) gas-guzzling car. I mitigate that by driving a low mileage each year. Guilty as charged m'lud! But, as a citizen, do I really have any power to make any significant changes to the planet's pollution by mankind? The answer is clearly not, but there are those in power that are more interested in their personal and corporate profits and/or economic outlooks that do. I am sure we will all get a slap on the wrist, but those corporate and national leaders that could have made a difference but chose to look the other way, whilst making pathetic platitudes or denials on the topic will, no doubt, have to answer more severely for their inaction.
A graphic example of such destruction of the earth is depicted in the film ‘'Dark Waters' (ref. https://www.mirror.co.uk/film/dark-waters-true-story-how-21595353). The film focuses on how the chemical company DuPont manufactured Teflon in a West Virginia town, and in the process fouled the local drinking water with a PFAO (perfluorooctanoic acid) compound. Now whilst these compounds are used to make useful products such as Teflon, they have also gained notoreity for their links to cancer, liver and thyroid disease, increased cholesterol, and depressed fertility. They’ve been found in the blood of almost every American ever tested, and they contaminate the water in communities across the U.S. The real issue is that DuPont deliberately put profit before people’s health and ignored the health warnings. They covered up their abuse and pollution of the planet in the production of the end-product instead of responsibly managing the safe disposal of the waste products from their manufacturing process. Yes, you DuPont executives, your names are in the book but not the book of life!
God destroyed mankind Himself in Noah’s time:
11 And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 And God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupted. For all flesh had corrupted its way on the earth.
13 And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them. And behold, I will destroy them along with the earth. (Genesis 6 GLT)
Today we no longer need God’s ability to destroy all creation on earth, mankind has ‘grown up’ to be able to do that all by itself. I think the following scripture proves the argument:
6 Howl! For the day of Jehovah [is] at hand. It shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. (Isaiah 13 GLT)
6הילילו כי קרוב יום יהוה כשד משדי יבוא (Isaiah 13 WLC)
In the above verse from Isaiah, the Hebrew word for destruction is ‘שד’. The key to the full meaning here is in its prefix ‘כ’ which means ‘as’ or ‘like’. So, the destruction on the day of Jehovah will not be from Jehovah but will be like His destruction. Perhaps this is the ultimate lesson that God is teaching us and the angels. We can match God in destructive power, but we are severely lacking in our ability to create a loving, safe, healthy and beautiful environment as God can!
Jesus told the Pharisees that the only sign they would get would be the sign of Jonah:
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, Teacher, we desire to see a sign from You.
39 But answering, He said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
40 And even as "Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights," so shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. [Jon. 1:17]
41 Men, Ninevites, will stand up in the Judgment with this generation and will condemn it. For they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and, behold, a Greater-than-Jonah [is] here. (Matthew 12 GLT)
The sign of Jonah for that generation was to be the resurrection of Christ from the dead. The sign of Jonah for today’s generation is faith in the saving grace of Christ’s resurrection but it is also the willingness of mankind to follow the men of Nineveh and repent of their wicked ways. In Jonah’s day this stopped God’s destruction of Nineveh:
10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. And God was compassionate over the evil that He had spoken to do to them, and He did not do [it]. (Jonah 3 GLT)
Today, mankind must repent or he will destroy himself. I will let the reader determine the most likely outcome in these troubled times. In a similar vein, it is also worth recalling Abraham’s conversation with God about the then impending destruction of Sodom:
32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the ten's sake.
33 And Jehovah went his way, as soon as he had left off communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place. (Genesis 18 ASV)
Abraham ‘convinced’ God not to destroy the city for the sake of ten righteous men that might live there. I wonder if mankind would even think that way today. Another reader question!
Coronavirus
Whilst it is too early in the first wave of the Coronavirus pandemic to understand how it will progress, at the time of my writing this paper, there are a number of observations that one can make upon the varying behaviours of mankind in the light of the various lockdown regimes across the planet. While the front-line medical professionals are putting their very lives on the line to care for the sick, there are another group that clearly just cannot wait for the lockdown to end (or not) so that they can go back to partying and having fun once again. These ones are paying no regard for their own health or, more particularly, the health of others. Sound familiar?
37 And as [were] the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man.
38 For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,
39 and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man. (Matthew 24 ASV)
26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so also it will be in the days of the Son of Man.
27 They were eating, drinking, marrying, giving in marriage, until [the] day Noah went into the ark. And the flood came and destroyed all.
28 And likewise, as it was in the days of Lot, they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building;
29 but on [the] day Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from the heaven and destroyed all.
30 According to those things, it will be in the day the Son of Man is revealed. (Luke 17 GLT)
7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them, in like manner to these, committing fornication, and going away after other flesh, laid down an example before-times, undergoing vengeance of everlasting fire.
8 Likewise, indeed, also these dreaming [ones] even defile flesh, and despise rulership, and speak evil of glories. (Jude 1 GLT)
6 and covering the cities [of] Sodom and Gomorrah with ashes, [He] condemned [them] with an overthrow, setting an example to men intending to live ungodly.
7 And He delivered righteous Lot, who had been oppressed by the behavior of the lawless in lustfulness.
8 For that righteous one living among them day after day, in seeing and in hearing, [his] righteous soul [was] tormented with [their] lawless deeds.
9 [But the] Lord knows to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unjust for a day of judgment, being punished,
10 and most of all those going after flesh in [the] lust of defilement, and despising rulership, darers, self-pleasing; they do not tremble [at] glories, speaking evil; (2 Peter 2 GLT)
I personally see the current pandemic as part of the last judgement call on mankind. How each individual responds to the crisis will mark him or her out for salvation or not if their fate has not already been decided. Whilst I do not believe we are yet in the final stages of the world’s tribulation, I do see this as the early stages of God’s judgement upon mankind:
10 Because you kept the Word of My patience, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial which is going to come on all the habitable world in order to try those dwelling on the earth. (Revelation 3 GLT)
Why the early stages? Well, God’s true people have not yet been taken from the earth, as far as I can tell, so I do not think we are yet in the Great Tribulation:
17 Then we who remain alive will be caught up together with them in [the] clouds to a meeting with the Lord in [the] air. And so we will always be with [the] Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4 GLT)
1 But know this, that in [the] last days grievous times will be [upon us].
2 For men will be lovers of themselves, money-lovers, braggarts, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 without natural feeling, unyielding, slanderers, without self-control, savage, haters of good,
4 betrayers, reckless, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, (2 Timothy 3 GLT)
Any reasonable human being living today will recognise all the above traits in pretty much every item of international, national and local news from the established media as well as the more recent provision of so-called social media and, of course, one's own day-to-day experiences. John’s first letter puts it much more simply:
19 [And] we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. (1 John 5 KJV)
The Spanish flu spread so much as a result of the WW1 war effort and troop movements and a consequent general lack of full lockdown plus less medical knowledge than we have today. Coronavirus is much reduced in its prevalence and mortality rate thus far given improvements in all these conditions today. However, we do live in a more connected world and any easing in lockdown procedures and/or unfettered group demonstrations plus viral mutations may well increase the infection rate from where it is at the time of writing.
It is also worth mentioning the prospect of an on-coming Greater Depression which is something that I have always believed we were heading for. All it needed was some factor, such as the Coronavirus, to create the perfect storm alongside all the previous economic mismanagement we have seen over the decades. The global GDP has dropped more quickly than at any other time in recorded history, vastly increasing government debt, unemployment and the closure of vulnerable business sectors. There is little point in my waxing lyrical on the subject since the following web-page covers the topic far more knowledgeably than I could: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/29/ten-reasons-why-greater-depression-for-the-2020s-is-inevitable-covid. Anyway, the point is that the pattern of the previous ‘time of distress’ of the 20th century looks like being repeated but on a much more grand and destructive scale. All we are waiting for now is WW3!
Signs Already Seen
This following end-times scripture is a pivotal one for the LW Church. It signalled the demise of the Watchtower and the establishment of the Lords’ Witnesses to take its place as the fourth and last True Christian Church, FDS4:
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: (Matthew 24 KJV)
The above end-times prophecy is covered in http://www.truebiblecode.com/understanding247.html and I quote: ‘The UN accepted the Watchtower as an associated NGO on January 28th 1992. This was the transgression that causes desolation to them of Daniel 8, it leads to the placing of the disgusting thing that causes desolation of Daniel 12, which is the disgusting thing that causes desolation standing in a holy place of Matthew 24 and of Mark 13 in the greater meaning. When you catch sight of it flee to the mountains of the administrations of the LW congregations!’ Again, we see an end-times prophecy that has already been demonstrated in our times, still several decades from the actual end of this system of things.
However, there is also a positive message, in this scripture, for the Watchtower. I think it fair to say that the Watchtower, as the Third Faithful and Discreet Slave, is solely responsible for bringing God’s word to all the nations to which fact Wikipedia bears witness: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s_Witnesses_by_country. Again, I repeat, it is confirmed in scripture as a sign of the end-times:
14 And this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then will come the end. (Matthew 24 GLT)
We have also seen, over recent weeks and months, a spate of serious wild fires in various places across the globe from Australia to USA: https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-wildfires-san-francisco-bay-area-sky-orange-smoke-fire-weather-haze; https://scitechdaily.com/world-path-of-smoke-and-aerosols-from-australian-fires-animated-by-fleet-of-nasa-satellites/. The visible effects of these climate change warnings of darkening and reddening skies is also prophesied in scripture:
7 And when I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heavens, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light.
8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord Jehovah. (Ezekiel 32 ASV)
30 And I will give signs in the heavens and in the earth: blood, and fire, and columns of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of Jehovah. (Joel 2 GLT)
19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: (Acts 2 KJV)
One item that has caught my attention in recent weeks has been the UK Government’s ruling that LGBT studies should be taught as normal behaviour in junior schools: (ref. https://www.christian.org.uk/news/more-parents-rail-against-lgbt-issues-being-taught-in-primary-schools/). This is now UK law. Well if this is not a sign of the end-times, I do not know what is! Active LGBT behaviour is unconditionally outlawed in scripture by example of God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah but the UK government believes its law comes before God’s:
24 Because of this, God gave them up to impurity in the lusts of [their] hearts, their bodies to be dishonored among themselves,
25 who changed the truth of God into the lie, and worshiped and served the created thing more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 Because of this, God gave them up to dishonorable passions, for even their females changed the natural use to that contrary to nature.
27 And likewise, the males also forsaking the natural use of the female burned in their lust toward one another, males with males working out shamefulness, and receiving back within themselves the reward which was fitting for their error.
28 And even as they did not think fit to have God in [their] knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do the things not right, (Romans 1 GLT)
This sign is once again with us and being given ‘pride’ of place in our broken society. We are living in a modern-day Sodom which is due for early destruction, this time at the hands of the demons and mankind. God will not have to lift a finger!
Not Quite There Yet
In considering where we are in relation to the end-times, I am amusingly reminded of the time when my wife and I took our then very young children away for our summer holidays. We had packed the luggage and the kids in the boot and back seats of the car respectively. We duly then set off on our way, turned out of our cul-de-sac into a side road and then turning into the main road. At that point, the children sang out: ‘Are we there yet?’. My wife and I laughed, knowing that we had only just started out on our journey and that there was still a considerable mileage to go before we would reach our destination. In bible code terms I think the end-times is symbolically paralleled by this little (albeit uninspired) tale: The parents represent God who knows the destination and time to get there; our children represent God’s children, the faithful ones waiting (maybe not so patiently!) for the coming of the kingdom; the journey representing the time from this current moment to the manifestation of the Kingdom; the holiday representing our rest in God’s Kingdom. Amen.
Notwithstanding the current chronological predictions of the LWs ([101] The Master Chronology of God's people from Adam to Armageddon), I believe that we have some small way yet to go before we get to the prophesied Great Tribulation. For instance, we can certainly see signs of distress of nations given the pandemic and the various political and economic touchpoints in the world, plus the turbulence within the world’s peoples of populist campaigns and religious and racial tensions:
3 For a time will be when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own lusts, they will heap up to themselves teachers tickling the ear;
4 and [they] will turn away the ear from the truth and will be turned aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4 GLT)
However, I do not think we can currently see any of the literal signs in the heavens (except perhaps those due to the wild fires?) or of the sea just yet:
25 And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows; (Luke 21 ASV)
However, a greater meaning of ‘sea’ is ‘people’. I have to say that I have never known a time when the nations’ populations across the globe have had public dissent and demonstrations on such a scale and over such a wide number of issues. This is surely the ‘roaring of the sea’ that we should expect in the end-times. There seems to be no country or regime of any political colour anywhere in the world that is immune from this discord. Whilst not necessarily properly directed, it is a clear sign to me that mankind is screaming out for morally sustainable rulership, something that has been sadly lacking under Satan’s rule for the last 6,000 years.
Also, whilst one can certainly see the technological pieces being put in place for the registration of individuals and businesses to take the mark of the beast, I think we may be a little time off that becoming a globalised de facto implementation. It is not just a technological implementation but also a societal one. The world’s population generally will need to be put into a compliant state. What better way to gain such control over one’s subjects than by declaring a state of emergency and implementing effective martial law for the allegedly good purpose of protecting the population against coronavirus. We are seeing such control being exercised as I write (https://www.wired.co.uk/article/uk-lockdown):
16 And the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the freemen and the slaves, it causes that they give to them all a mark on their right hand, or on their foreheads,
17 even that not any could buy or sell, except the [one] having the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of its name. (Revelation 13 GLT)
Another pet theory doing the rounds might be the enforcement of the Covid-19 vaccination when it is 'alleged' by governments to be ready. Whilst I think that enforcement would be difficult, and certainly illegal in many regimes, the provision of some form of vaccine certification that enabled normal human business to be transacted is certainly one possibility. If this were to be provided by a mark on the hand or by some form of smartphone app certification plus the forehead temperature test this could be argued to follow the pattern for the mark described in the scriptures. So it could be effectively enforced under some new legislation. Some countries will find it easier than others to implement, depending on the relative freedoms that they enjoy. Mind you, even putting out the Covid-19 'Track and Trace' smartphone app in UK was fraught with technical problems, so I do not think this form of enforcement is just around the corner at the time of writing, although the LW President, believes this is much nearer than I currently think. Let us have a look at an earlier verse in Revelation 13:
1 And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten diadems, and on its heads names of blasphemy. (Revelation 13 GLT)
It is argued by the LWs (ref. http://www.truebiblecode.com/understanding151.html) that a greater meaning here predicts that only ten of the world’s largest and most technologically advanced nations (excluding the US I might add!) will impose the mark. This would certainly reduce the time period required for such a technological imposition.
One sign to look for would be when the earthly powers promise that 'peace and security' will prevail over the earth’s peoples. That promise will be dashed as soon as it is proclaimed. Unfortunately, it will be too late for those unprepared for the coming of the Lord:
2 For you yourselves know quite well that Jehovah's day is coming exactly as a thief in the night. (NWT)
2 For you yourselves know accurately that the day of [the] Lord, as a thief in [the] night, so it comes. (GLT)
2αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἀκριβῶς οἴδατε ὅτι ἡμέρα κυρίου ὡς κλέπτης ἐν νυκτὶ οὕτως ἔρχεται. (WHO)
3 Whenever it is that they are saying: Peace and security! then sudden destruction is to be instantly upon them just as the pang of distress upon a pregnant woman; and they will by no means escape. (1 Thessalonians 5 NWT)
3 For when they say, Peace and safety! Then suddenly destruction comes upon them, like the travail to the [one having babe] in womb, and not at all shall they escape. (1 Thessalonians 5 GLT)
3ὅταν λέγωσιν, Εἰρήνη καὶ ἀσφάλεια, τότε αἰφνίδιος αὐτοῖς ἐφίσταται ὄλεθρος ὥσπερ ἡ ὠδὶν τῇ ἐν γαστρὶ ἐχούσῃ, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐκφύγωσιν. (1 Thessalonians 5 WHO)
Shortly after writing the above paragraphs, the so-called Abraham Accords for a peace deal, brokered by US President Trump, between Israel, UAE and Bahrain were signed. I attach the text of the associated speech from the Bahrain Foreign Minister; it contains more than one reference to ‘peace and security’: https://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-bahrain-foreign-ministers-speech-at-abraham-accords-signing-ceremony/#gs.frcq5l
I provide two translations of the above scripture since most translations give the Greek word ‘ἀσφάλεια’ to mean ‘safety’. The NWT more correctly, in my opinion having looked at several concordances, translates it as ‘security’.
Now, whilst the scriptures suggest that it is the ‘dark forces’ which say ‘peace and security’ rather than those signing peace deals, there is little doubt now in my mind that this phrase will feature heavily in the days to come, perhaps voiced by the antichrist who is yet to be revealed (see later in this paper).
Given all the above, and notwithstanding the sophisticated LW efforts to date, let me try a little simplistic chronological decoding of my own. This is not intended to be a serious attempt at chronological interpretation but, hopefully, will demonstrate to the reader a potential approach to determining dates from scripture. Therefore it comes with absolutely no guarantee that I am correct, unless the Lord wishes me to be. Let us consider just a few verses from the Book of Revelation, each followed by my own symbolic and chronological commentary in blue:
12 Therefore rejoice, [ye] heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
[The first thing to note is that the chronology that follows is based on Satan already having been cast down to earth, the signs of which I think we have already discussed]
13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man [child].
[The woman symbolises the people/nation of Israel which brought forth Jesus Christ, the man. So, Satan is to persecute the present nation state of Israel and thereby the Jewish people.]
14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
[The two wings of a great eagle represents support for Israel from the US. Let us pinpoint that down to Donald Trump’s specific act in recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This occurred on December 6, 2017 (2017 Chislev 13). As far as LW knowledge of the chronological code goes, the phrase ‘a time, and times, and half a time’ represents a period of 3.5 years. So, the unequivocal support of the US for Israel, will protect the latter until June 4, 2021 (2021 Sivan 23). That would be the point in time around which Israel is then physically attacked by her enemies and would spark off the Great Tribulation which would include the second and third fire signs together with the revealing of the antichrist. It is worth mentioning at this point that one of my Brothers in Christ, Michael, had a dream in which the fire signs occurred in the month of August. Perhaps this is August 2021 which could well be supported by my proposed chronology?]
15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
[Once the US support for Israel had been declared, the United Nations General Assembly (aka the serpent under Satan’s control) voted 128–9 national votes to condemn the US action. I think that might well be symbolised by a flood of water from the serpent’s mouth, i.e. many verbal objections.]
16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
[None of the United States' NATO allies (aka the earth) opposed the resolution, with 25 of 29 voting in that direction thereby rendering the dragon’s flood ineffective.]
17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12 KJV)
[This last verse thereby confirming that an attack on Israel would be forthcoming.]
So, based on this crude chronology here we have a date in mid-2021 around which the Great Tribulation begins. Judging by the actions symbolised in the above verses, we can see that the dragon is still not yet strong enough to make his bid for total global power (at the time of writing – October 2020). This would match my own world view, as expressed previously, in that I do not think the dark forces are yet strong or organised enough to initiate the mark on a global scale. A date some nine months from the present time of writing sounds plausible to me as time enough for the demonic hordes to get their ducks lined up for a one world order. Apologies to the current official LW chronology which will certainly be correct at its appointed time and may well prove the above chronological approach invalid.
Anyway, I think that the chronology will not be proven until it is too late for anyone to do anything about their circumstances at that time, so the time for all of us is now. One wise Christian soul, whose end-times website I read in compiling this paper, said words to the effect that he tried to live his life as if judgement day was tomorrow but nonetheless planned his life for the long haul. That is my philosophy also, regardless of any chronological predictions:
4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness, that the Day should overtake you as a thief.
5 You are all sons of light and sons of day; we are not of night, nor of darkness.
6 So then, we should not sleep, as the rest also do, but we should watch and be sober. (1 Thessalonians 5 GLT)
34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and [so] that day come upon you unawares.
35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
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. (Luke 21 KJV)
Horns
Let us now take a look at the bible’s representation of the horns of the Books of Daniel and Revelation and see what they may mean for modern times, albeit times already past, to review the credibility of end-times bible prophecy. Whilst many others have provided their view of these prophecies, I believe I have a unique but wholly credible (but not necessarily correct!) take on them:
7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it [was] diverse from all the beasts that [were] before it; and it had ten horns.
8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn [were] eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. (Daniel 7 KJV)
So, what might the above passage from Daniel be referring to? If we consider that a horn might symbolise a nation state, could the ten horns of the fourth beast represent the G10 of nations? The G10 was established in 1962, when the governments of eight International Monetary Fund (IMF) members—Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States—and the central banks of two others, Germany and Sweden, agreed to make resources available to the IMF.
Then there was the little horn that came up among them: The G10 grew in 1964 by the association of the eleventh member, Switzerland, then not a member of the IMF, but the name of the group remained the same.
What are the three horns plucked up? In 1975, a summit hosted by France brought together representatives of six governments: France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1976, Canada, the next largest advanced economy after the first six, was invited to join the group and the group became the Group of Seven (G7). So, arguably, the three plucked horns were Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden which were part of the G10 but no longer featured in the G7.
If we look a little further into this symbolism, we find another interesting marker:
3 And I saw one of its heads, as having been slain to death, and its deadly wound was healed. And all the earth wondered after the beast. (Revelation 13 GLT)
What could this mean? It could be argued that the wounded head represents Japan’s destruction by two atomic bombs to bring about the end of the second world war in the Far East. Amazingly, with the setting up of Japan in the G7 and G10, no doubt with substantial US war reparations, Japan could now be argued as the US’ strongest ally in the region. Wonder indeed!
As we see, this concept of horns, and also heads, would seem to be reiterated several times in Revelation:
3 And another sign was seen in the heavens. And, behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns! And on his heads were seven diadems, (Revelation 12 GLT)
1 And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten diadems, and on its heads names of blasphemy. (Revelation 13 GLT)
3 And he carried me away into a desert, by [the] Spirit. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, filled with names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. (Revelation 17 GLT)
So, if this conjecture establishes anything, it demonstrates the prospective accuracy of symbolic biblical prophecy, albeit a little earlier than the current times. Let us now have a look at something that may be just a short while off into the future:
2 And I looked in the vision, and it happened when I looked that I [was] at Shushan, the palace, which [is] in the province of Elam. And in a vision I looked, and I was by the Ulai Canal.
3 Then I lifted up my eyes and looked. And behold! A ram was standing before the canal, [having two] horns. And the [two] horns [were] high, but one [was] higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. (Daniel 8 GLT)
20 The ram which thou sawest having [two] horns [are] the kings of Media and Persia.
21 And the rough goat [is] the king of Grecia: and the great horn that [is] between his eyes [is] the first king. (Daniel 8 KJV)
Now, Daniel 8 is decoded in all its glory at: http://www.truebiblecode.com/understanding157.html. As you will see from that, within each bible account there may be several threads with different meanings for different times. However, for the specific purposes of this paper, I would direct you to the End Times Fulfilment section of that web-page. Here the two horns are represented as the western powers of the US and UK. The goat is represented as Russia although I, personally, am not so sure it is not China. Anyway, no matter which, here is the prophesied threat of World War 3. Whilst we are not quite there yet, at the time of writing, there is little doubt that the tensions between the nations of the West and the East are rising substantially. This while they are all struggling with the health and financial issues arising from the Coronavirus pandemic as well as their own internal pressures of dissent. All the normal ingredients for world conflict.
As a final comment on this last scripture, it is germane that the literal prophetic meaning covers the ancient war between the Medes/Persians and the Greeks. In this respect, the Bible tells in clear language that a horn symbolically represents a nation. This illustrates the LW understanding that the whole bible is a symbolically coded text.
I should also point out that the ‘official’ LW greater meaning to the Book of Revelation is contained in the following link and is largely related to the machinations of the UN. As I stated above, from our knowledge of the bible code, there is every reason to believe that more than one greater meaning can be taken from the decoding of God’s Word: http://www.truebiblecode.com/understanding245.html.
On this basis, taking an entirely different tack and greater meaning, let us have a look a little further along in Daniel 7:
23 And He said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all kingdoms, and shall devour all the earth, and shall trample it down and crush it. (Daniel 7 GLT)
Now I have, for some time, believed that social media e.g. Facebook, has a major part to play in the demonic control of the masses. This is clearly the case today where Facebook alone has the reach of one-third of the world’s population at the time of writing. However, along with other commentators on this topic, it has proved next to impossible for me to tie social media into the end-times scenario as far as the scriptures are concerned. Consequently, I find the above verse to be singularly indicative of this possibility. What kingdom could be different from all kingdoms other than a commercial entity which is not a sovereign nation but has a global reach thereby transcending all such nations. Facebook, together with Google, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft certainly fit the profile and could be said to be devouring all the earth and trampling and crushing all of its inhabitants could they not?
Social media and the complementary use of smartphones are another form of addiction. If I had not been in the middle of writing this paper, it would have been added to my previous Addiction paper. As further evidence of this form of addiction check out this website: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/addictions/smartphone-addiction.htm Actually it gets worse since Facebook (and no doubt other social media platforms) were deliberately designed to be addictive: https://vocal.media/01/facebook-deliberately-addictive-no-kidding.
In consideration of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, one might not be truly criticised for thinking that the tribulations on the world populations from government policies around the world are significantly greater than those of the virus itself. The concept of a one world government (comprising ten sovereign nations) acting in concert with the demons may not be too much of a stretch from here:
12 And the ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive authority as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and their power and authority they shall give up to the beast. (Revelation 17 GLT)
And, very conveniently, this provides a natural link to my next section!
Demons
Mankind has not had a happy estate ever since Adam’s fall from grace at the hands of the arch-demon. Subsequently, demons have been in our midst from time to time throughout the last six thousand years. The end-times are prophesied to be heralded by the appearance of all the demons on the earth, after having been released from Tartarus and chucked out of heaven:
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom [is] as the sand of the sea. (Revelation 20 KJV)
3 And another sign was seen in the heavens. And, behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns! And on his heads were seven diadems,
4 and his tail drew the third [part] of the stars of the heaven, and he throws them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman being about to bear, so that when she bears he might devour her child. (Revelation 12 GLT)
7 And war occurred in Heaven, Michael and his angels making war against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels made war,
8 but they did not have strength, nor yet was place found for them in Heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, the old serpent being called devil, and, Satan; he deceiving the whole habitable world was cast out onto the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12 GLT)
The demons do not appear on earth again until after they have lost their war with Michael and his angels in Revelation 12:7. Check out the TBC website if you are interested in the chronology associated with these events: http://www.truebiblecode.com/understanding242.html and http://www.truebiblecode.com/understanding165.html. This latter understanding defines the 3½ year secular Kingdom ministry of the 3rd Holy Spirit which is running at the time of writing and is the judicial end of the world. During this ministry the demons are all down here again. This final century ministry is the secular counterpart to Jesus' first century sacred ministry. It is this second ministry that is showing up the world governments, corporate leaders and agents provocateurs as destructive, incompetent and unfit for rulership through their demonic possession or influence. But this will come to an end for good, thank the Lord:
31 Now is [the] judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world shall be cast out. (John 12 GLT)
This judgement upon Babylon also carries the greater meaning for today and further demonstrates that today’s rulers are looking out for themselves at the expense of those for whom they should be caring, their subjects:
5 Jehovah has broken the rod of the wicked, the staff of rulers,
6 who struck the peoples in wrath, a blow without turning away, ruling the nations in anger, [dealing out] persecution without restraint. (Isaiah 14 GLT)
Does the following passage remind you of any of today’s public figures? I have a few in mind; those portraying themselves in a positive light whilst they accuse others of their own false ways:
14 And did not Satan marvelously transform himself into an angel of light?
15 [It is] not a great thing, then, if also his ministers transform themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. (2 Corinthians 11 GLT)
Whilst the United States is not my country of origin, what we see happening to US politics and, to a (slightly) lesser extent to UK politics on the left at this time, is a massive case of lies and hypocrisy. The following diatribe on the ills of the Democrat party and their support of BLM pretty much identifies the US party of the left as the Demoncrat party: https://www.rt.com/op-ed/491889-anonymous-uc-berkeley-professor-blm/.
The above is a very eloquently written and accurate piece on the state of US politics and society in the wake of the BLM movement. It was written by a black academic I might add! The Democrat party seem to be taking the political lead on the movement as can be seen from their infamously and hypocritically taking the knee whilst conveniently ignoring that they were the party that represented the slave owners of yesteryear as we can see from the following link:
https://www.socialjusticesurvivalguide.com/2018/01/08/the-democratic-partys-history-slavery-jim-crow-kkk/.
Given my thoughts, in the previous section, relating to the possible scriptural symbolism of big tech, it would be interesting to determine if there were some connection, or even collusion, between that beast and the beast of leftist politics. Well, the demons seem to be making this hypothesis somewhat easier to demonstrate than I would previously have expected. It would seem that joint action between these two demonic forces is taking place centre stage for all to see who are looking for the signs. Rather than my waxing lyrical on the subject, I think the following selection of web-pages say all that needs to be said:https://nypost.com/2020/10/14/big-tech-in-the-tank-for-defending-biden-family-and-democrats-devine/; https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/business/joseph-vazquez/2020/10/15/facebook-and-twitter-contribute-over-90-dems. Going through the previous link, I am now seriously concerned that my readers may not find this webpage using Chrome. Please let me know via my Help Desk if you got here via Chrome; perhaps I am being a little paranoid? Although, as the famous Hollywood line goes: 'Just because you are paranoid does not mean that they are not out to get you!'. To be on the safe side, dear reader, I suggest you switch to Firefox with an unbiased and private search engine other than Google!
Without wishing to solely vilify some other nations' politics, I should also mention that the leadership of Britain’s Labour Party also made a show of taking the knee but still have not fixed the anti-Semitism that is rife within its ranks. I suspect that this rank hypocracy is likely due to the fact that anti-Semitism does not overly compromise its share of the vote!
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11822873/labour-leader-keir-starmer-takes-a-knee-george-floyd/;
https://www.jta.org/2020/08/25/global/john-mann-a-non-jewish-brexit-supporter-is-the-uks-loudest-critic-of-anti-semitism.
And when it comes to the political debate about lock-downs in the UK, check out this comment from the Chair of the influential UK Conservative Party 1922 Committee: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/greater-manchester-mp-joins-tory-19205958. I could not have put it these right-wing statements better myself!
Perhaps it is no accident that the goats will be to the left and the sheep to the right hand of Christ at the end? Whilst I think it is fair to say that, throughout the world's history since Marx left his mark (apologies for the several puns here!), the politics of the left has been no worse than those of the right since they have both been off-piste as far as God is concerned. Clearly, however, God is no supporter of leftist politics in their current and final state of being demon-possessed and now we can more fully appreciate the scripture:
31 But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory:
32 and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats;
33 and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: (Matthew 25 ASV)
41 Then He will also say to those on [His] left, Go away from Me, cursed ones, into the everlasting fire having been prepared for the Devil and his angels. (Matthew 25 GLT)
Moving on, I think one can safely argue that the demons will only be capable of possessing evil ones in these times, i.e. those ones not resisting them. Probably the most infamous possession of all was that of Judas Iscariot by Satan himself to betray Jesus to the Pharisees:
26 Jesus answered, It is he to whom I, having dipped the morsel, shall give [it]. And dipping the morsel, He gave [it] to Judas Iscariot, [son] of Simon.
27 And after the morsel, then Satan entered into that one. Then Jesus said to him, What you do, do quickly. (John 13 GLT)
I have my own pet theory that they will only be capable of possessing psychopaths who, no doubt, make up the vast majority of national, corporate and religious leadership worldwide. I believe that psychopaths were placed on this earth for that very purpose, otherwise why would God allow a potentially righteous individual to have a birth defect that would leave them without any empathy toward their fellow human beings? For more details on this topic check out my paper on Psychopathy.
And it is not only world and corporate leaders but the leadership of all false religions, with particular reference to the Roman Catholic and Jehovah’s Witnesses churches who, I think, God has saved up His greatest vengeance as misrepresenting Him on earth. Both these were the true churches of their day until their respective falls from grace. It looks like all the evil ones therein will be risking demonic possession if they are not capable of seeking out contrition for their evil ways:
1 But false prophets were also among the people, as also false teachers will be among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, and denying the Master who has bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. (2 Peter 2 GLT)
2 And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and is become a habitation of demons, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird.
3 For by the wine of the wrath of her fornication all the nations are fallen; and the kings of the earth committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth waxed rich by the power of her wantonness. (Revelation 18 ASV)
Whilst Revelation 2 and 3 refer literally to the false synagogue and the Jews therein, there is clearly a greater symbolic meaning aimed at all of today’s false churches and religious leaders:
9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and [I know] the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but [are] the synagogue of Satan. (Revelation 2 KJV)
9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. (Revelation 3 KJV)
1 But the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, cleaving to deceiving spirits and teachings of demons,
2 in lying speakers in hypocrisy, being seared in [their] own conscience, (1 Timothy 4 GLT)
However, those that remain faithful will have Christ’s protection from the demons:
7 Then be subject to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4 GLT)
18 We know that whosoever is begotten of God sinneth not; but he that was begotten of God keepeth himself, and the evil one toucheth him not. (1 John 5 ASV)
Now, we can assume that the demons know the scriptures, since Satan clearly did:
5 Then the Devil takes Him to the holy city, and he set Him on the wing of the temple.
6 And [he] said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it has been written: "He shall give His angels charge concerning You, and they shall bear You on [their] hands,lest You strike Your foot against a stone." [LXX-Psa. 90:11, 12; MT-Psa. 91:11, 12] (Matthew 4 GLT)
So, they must have a pretty good idea of their upcoming fate. So why have they not repented? I can only think that is because, like their human psychopathic counterparts, they are only interested in power, money and/or ribald behaviour. Their human brethren have no care as to what the impact of their actions have on their fellow beings or the planet. They just need their everyday fix regardless, just like any other junkie, living for the moment and a short-term future. They are disinterested in the long-term sustainability of their actions just so they can get one over on their fellow beings:
12 Because of this, be glad, the heavens and those tabernacling in them. Woe to the ones dwelling on the earth, and in the sea, because the devil came down to you having great anger, knowing that he has a little time! (Revelation 12 GLT)
3 And he hurled him into the abyss and shut [it] and sealed [it] over him, that he might not mislead the nations anymore until the 1,000 years were ended. After these things he must be let loose for a little while. (Revelation 20 NWT)
4 Certainly if God did not hold back from punishing the angels that sinned, but, by throwing them into Tartarus, delivered them to pits of dense darkness to be reserved for judgment; (2 Peter 2 NWT)
Jesus and the apostles spent much of their time expelling demons during His first century ministry. But the first will be last and the last first. So, the Saints shall be expelling demons at the end of Christianity just as they did at the start:
7 And going on, proclaim, saying, The kingdom of Heaven has drawn near.
8 Heal sick ones, cleanse lepers, raise dead ones, cast out demons. You freely received, freely give. (Matthew 10 GLT)
So, according to LW chronology, the demons were expelled down to earth to possess humans on 2016Chislev18 (Biblical Lunar Calendar) or 22nd November 2016 (Gregorian). Looking at world events for the month of December of 2016 (giving the demons a week or so to settle into their new ‘suits’!), it looks just like 'any other day in paradise' down here (according to Genesis – the band not the first Book of the Bible!), actually a little more peaceful than normal if anything: https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/2016/december. Frankly, I do not think it reasonable to expect a sudden change in world events to occur precisely from that point in time. That would be too obvious, to the mass of mankind, that the demons had landed and taken over key positions in world affairs. No, they would be much more surreptitious in their actions.
In this regard I think we can see that there are many sources of demon-possessed evil in the world: national governments, intelligence services, greedy corporations, tech corporations exercising mind-control over the world's population and false churches doing likewise. In fact this, unsurprisingly, comprises every enterprise known to man that would rule over the world's citizens either overtly or covertly. This to their own benefit of power or wealth at the expense of their citizens; sounds like a bespoke tailor-fit for the demons!
Before I close this section, let us have a look at another piece of demonic behaviour. The wearing of face masks to 'protect' us from the ravages of the Coronavirus is, arguably, one of the most overtly apocalyptic policies that many world governments are imposing upon their citizens. There is nothing scarier to me than walking around town seeing everybody wearing them; it is like taking part in an apocalyptic sci-fi movie. Again this is another form of mind-control and fear-forming rulership to get the world population into the right state of mind to accept the mark. A Danish study was carried out on the efficacy of face masks. This study was banned from publication by the leading health authorities. I wonder why? So, it would seem that we also have the world's health organisations and media also in on the act. 'Surprise, surprise' do I hear you say? Here are a couple of the commentaries on this particular subject: https://www.foxnews.com/media/alex-berenson-covid-mask-wearing-scientists-censored; https://www.theblaze.com/op-ed/horowitz-danish-newspaper-reveals-largest-study-masks-rejected.
In general terms I think it is fair to say that mankind is being prepared to be willing to take the mark of the beast. All our individual economic power and our very sanity is being tested and/or taken away by a comprehensive and globally co-ordinated series of 'undercover' government actions on the pretext of protecting the people. Well they ain't fooled me nor the writers of the following relevant websites: https://www.aier.org/article/government-policies-have-worsened-the-coronavirus-crisis/; https://www.forbes.com/sites/evangerstmann/2020/04/12/how-the-covid-19-crisis-is-threatening-freedom-and-democracy-across-the-globe/; https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/mental-health-impact-of-covid19-and-lockdownrelated-stressors-among-adults-in-the-uk/C1814A3228BCDBA5A9F697C231622628.
The dragon, the beast and the harlot all working against the loving rulership of Jesus Christ. I cannot wait for their long overdue downfall!
The Rapture
Now one clear sign to those left on the earth will the disappearance of 75% of the world’s population from the earth (Belief 2 - 75% Saved into Kingdom) via the rapture of all faithful or loving ones to the Kingdom Ark (http://www.truebiblecode.com/understanding199.html):
34 I say to you, In that night two will be on one bed; the one will be taken and the other will be left.
35 Two will be grinding together; one will be taken and the other will be left.
36 Two will be in the field, the one will be taken and the other will be left. (Luke 17 GLT)
17 Then we who remain alive will be caught up together with them in [the] clouds to a meeting with the Lord in [the] air. And so we will always be with [the] Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4 GLT)
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15 KJV)
This will only be apparent to those unrighteous ones left on the planet to worship the Beast and suffer the Great Tribulation for their trouble. We are clearly not at that point yet; I think we all just might have noticed one way or the other! Whilst I have looked at possible human vessel candidates for the Antichrist (see next section), it is apparent that such activity is no more than conjecture at this time since he will not be revealed with certainty until the Holy Spirit allows him to be released on the world. This they would not do while their faithful brethren were still on the planet and so must come after the rapture:
10 Because you kept the Word of My patience, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial which is going to come on all the habitable world in order to try those dwelling on the earth. (Revelation 3 GLT)
This is also confirmed upon Christ’s second coming which comes at the end of the Great Tribulation since He gathers His elect ones, at that time, from the heavens not the earth:
29 And immediately after the affliction of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give her light, and the stars will fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the heavens. And then all the tribes of the land will wail. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory. [Dan. 7:13]
31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of [the] heavens to their ends. (Matthew 24 GLT)
Clearly the Great Tribulation will be far worse than any previous global disasters that mankind has previously encountered but the chosen will be raptured before that time by having their days on the earth shortened:
1 And at that time, Michael shall stand up, the great ruler who stands for the sons of your people. And there shall be a time of distress, such as has not been from the being of a nation until that time. And at that time, your people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the Book. (Daniel 12 GLT)
19 for there will be affliction [in] those days, such as has not been the like from [the] beginning of creation which God created until now, and never [will] be.
20 And if [the] Lord had not shortened the days, not any flesh would be saved; but because of the elect whom He chose, He has shortened the days. (Mark 13 GLT)
The Antichrist(s)
Whilst several commentators have attempted to identify the lead antichrist, I think this is all somewhat unsupported by scripture. I believe that the scriptures are telling us that there will be no doubt as to the identity of the antichrist (or man of sin) at the time of revealing, so I do not think that any clues today have any weight at all and can be no more than mere speculation:
3 Do not let anyone deceive you in any way, because [that Day will not come] unless first comes the falling away, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
4 the [one] opposing and exalting himself over everything being called God, or object of worship, so as for him "to sit in the temple of God" as God, setting forth himself, that he is God. [Dan. 11:36; Eze. 28:2]
5 Do you not remember that I told you these things, I yet being with you?
6 And now you know the thing holding back, for him to be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of lawlessness already is working, only he [is] holding back now, until it comes out of the midst.
8 And then "the Lawless One" will be revealed, "whom" "the Lord" "will consume" "by the spirit of His mouth," and will bring to nought by the brightness of His presence. [Isa. 11:4]
9 [His] coming is according to the working of Satan in all power and [miraculous] signs and lying wonders,
10 and in all deceit of unrighteousness in those being lost, because they did not receive the love of the truth in order for them to be saved.
11 And because of this, God will send to them a working of error, for them to believe the lie,
12 that all may be judged, those not believing the truth, but who have delighted in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2 GLT)
33 And those who understand among [the] people will instruct many, yet they will stumble by the sword and by flame, by exile and spoil [for] days.
34 And when they shall stumble, they will be helped with a little help. But many will join them with hypocrisy.
35 And [many] of those who understand shall stumble, to refine and to purge them, and [to] make white to the time of [the] end. For [it is] yet for the appointed time.
36 And the king shall do according to his will. And he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god; [he] shall even speak marvelous things against the God of gods and shall prosper until the fury is completed. For that which is decreed shall be done.
37 He shall not regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women; yea, he will not come to any god. For he shall magnify himself above all. (Daniel 11 GLT)
2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thy heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art man, and not God, though thou didst set thy heart as the heart of God; -- (Ezekiel 28 ASV)
According to the current LW understandings the above passages refer to the First True Christian Church (TCC1) (http://www.truebiblecode.com/understanding170.html) and TCC3 (http://www.truebiblecode.com/understanding33.html) in terms of how their respective leaderships, the men of lawlessness, ignored God’s Word to progress their own interests with their church congregations. But I believe that it must also have a further end-times meaning that will be clearly visible to all those still alive on the earth leading into the Great Tribulation:
7 Because many deceivers went out into the world, those not confessing Jesus Christ to have come in [the] flesh, this is the deceiver and the antichrist. (2 John 1 GLT)
3 And every spirit which does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in [the] flesh is not from God; and this is the antichrist which you heard is coming, and now is already in the world. (1 John 4 GLT)
18 Little children, it is a last hour, and as you heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have risen up, from which you know that it is a last hour.
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they were of us, they would have remained with us; but [they left] so that it might be revealed that they all are not of us. (1 John 2 GLT)
Whilst we are not able to identify the man of lawlessness until we are a little nearer to the end there are some traits that may be recognisable. Firstly the ‘falling away’ of 2 Thessalonians 2:3 originally referred to those antichrists planted in the First True Christian Church by Satan who subsequently revealed themselves by leaving TCC1. The current LW understanding is that the lead antichrist was Satan and the other antichrists were his demonic sons planted in the Roman Catholic Church: http://www.truebiblecode.com/understanding28.html.
I believe the same pattern will be repeated in our time so today’s ‘falling away’ will once again be Satan’s sons, this time leaving the Watchtower en masse prior to, or coincident with, the revealing of the man of lawlessness. He may well turn out to be the lead demon amongst those falling away.
The man of sin will be lauding it over all objects of worship with magical signs. So, I think, he must become visible to all religions which, at that stage of events, will represent all forms of false worship and hypocrisy. I think they will deserve each other! I find the comment that he will not have ‘the desire of women’ interesting. Whilst several different meanings have been ascribed to this phrase I, personally, believe that he will profess himself to be a homosexual. This certainly would follow the pattern of Sodom and Gomorrah and will, no doubt, endear him to the practising LGBT community who will, presumably, be largely intact on the planet at that time.
Mind you, notwithstanding any of the above comments, how is this for starters? Pope Francis represents the Roman Catholic Church (the harlot) in speaking to the United Nations Assembly (the beast) in his own name and not that of Jesus Christ: https://veritas-vincit-international.org/2017/06/11/pope-to-u-n-assembly-i-come-in-my-own-name/. Surely he must be an antichrist if not the main man!
The Wrap
Whilst there is much uncertainty in my mind as to exactly where we are in the process towards Armageddon, I would like to think that God will eventually detail His plan to the understanding of the LWs in His time (perhaps our current chronology is actually correct at this time?):
7 For the Lord Jehovah will do nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. (Amos 3 GLT)
Even Daniel was told that this information was not for his ears except as a riddle that would not be unravelled until closer to those times. However, according to verse 4 below, our knowledge and communications will be greatly increased arguably to the state and times that we are currently in with all the significant technological advances, telecommunications and the internet available to all:
4 But you, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, to the end time. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
5 And I, Daniel, looked. And, behold! Another two stood there, the one on this [side], and one on that [side] of the river's edge.
6 And [one] said to the man clothed in linen, who [was] on the waters of the river, Until when [is] the end of the wonders?
7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, who [was] on the waters of the river, when he held up his right and his left [hand] to the heavens and swore by Him who lives forever, that it [ shall be] for a time, times, and a half. And when they have made an end of scattering the power of the holy people, all these [things] shall be finished.
8 And I heard, but I did not understand. And I said, O my lord, what [shall be] the end of these [things]?
9 And He said, Go, Daniel! For the words [are] closed up and sealed until the end time. (Daniel 12 GLT)
Perhaps the seals will not be broken on earth but in heaven for those raptured to witness? If that is the case, then I am not quite sure why this prophetic end-times symbolism is in the bible at all. It cannot be for the benefit of the faithful ones since they will not be on the earth, and those that are left behind probably do not read the bible anyway! Certainly the saved will be able to witness what is going on in the earth from the ark so they would be able to verify the accuracy of scripture but, since they will already be sealed as faithful ones, is this of any real consequence ? What am I missing? Maybe the LWs do (or will) have the correct chronology!
Anyway, what better way to round off this paper on the end-times than by singing you a lullaby taken from the JLW Songbook:
This is the track that provided the start-point for that paper, enjoy: R.E.M. - It’s the End of the World as We Know it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0GFRcFm-aY
Date of Publication: 5th November 2020
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