2012 and the End of the Age - D Parkes

Vision 2012

2012 and the End of the Age
By Daniel Parkes
February 2, 2011

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Starting in 1997, and for the 10 years that followed, a man, whose first and second names literally mean, "The Judge Is Ready," received three distinct revelations, indicating that the "end of the game" would occur in the year 2012. As in the Bible, at NO time did the Lord ever use the word "rapture" to describe this event. Yet, everything that is described is consistent with this great event, which will signal a time of great joy (for some) and great tribulation (for others).

As you read, you will find out exactly what the Lord revealed. Could it be that the events described within refer to the rapture which will occur in the year 2012? If so, why would the Lord even reveal it? For the Bible says that no man knows the day or the hour (Matthew 24:36). However, no day or hour was ever revealed, but a span of time lasting less than a year was! The answer is that, while the precise day and hour is a secret, the season should not be a secret to God's people! How do we know? Because in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 17, and Luke 21, Jesus gave a rather long list of things that we should watch out for, to indicate that the end of the age (not of the world) was near. The "new age" to come is NOT one that crowns OURSELVES as "gods" but one which crowns JESUS AS LORD AND KING OVER ALL MANKIND. One of the signs that Jesus gave to indicate that the end was near was that Jerusalem would be surrounded by armies! And it's coming, as we see the world erupt!

The event that is described in this document will occur in 2012, but well before the day that everyone is advertizing (Dec. 21, 2012). Yes, the world will be caught totally off-guard. For those who simply don't care, and do not think that obeying God is important, the Bible says that "none of the wicked will understand." (Daniel 12:10b) Hopefully, you are not in that group! For why would you be caught off-guard, during a time which should be cause for rejoicing and celebration which will culminate with the literal, physical, return of Jesus Christ? It is He who the Bible says will rule over the world from Jerusalem! We are commanded to be ready! (Luke 12:40)

For those who long to see Jesus return, the season of this event is not meant to be kept a secret. Everyone is invited to take part in this glorious event, which will result in those who believe receiving new, glorified, bodies, and being united with their Savior, Jesus Christ, as they literally ascend to meet Jesus in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17). It is this event that is sometimes called the "rapture" (though the word "rapture" is never used in the Bible, yet it comes from the Latin for the words, "caught up". The event, therefore, is found in Scripture, though not specifically named as such). This is arguably one of the most glorious events to ever occur! For those who don't believe, however, it will be a time of great tribulation, as they remain on earth to deal with events that Jesus describes as being the worst ever! (Matthew 24:21) Why would a loving God NOT make it known that this event was just around the corner, so that He can help you and others to be READY for that day?

What do YOU think the events described within are about? Read it for yourself, and make your own decision!

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The Giant Stadium

On November 26, 1997, I had a dream, and in the dream I saw a huge stadium which was filled with 100 to 200 thousand people (those exact numbers were made known to me, but as you can see, they denote a range). The people in the stadium were jubilant. There was flag-waving and joy. This was a victory celebration. All these people were cheering for none other than Jesus Christ Himself. You might compare the liveliness and activity to the "Super Bowl", except it was holy, and the focus was 100% on Jesus.

I was then given a view of the center of the stadium where you would normally expect the players to be playing on the field. In the center, there were people seated in chairs who were deep in prayer. Their heads were bowed and they made no sound at all as they prayed from the quietness of their hearts. This group represents all those who are committed followers of Christ, prior to the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who are continually in prayer before God's throne.

Among the many people that were gathered together for prayer in the center region, I noticed that I was one of them. At the time I had this dream, I was 35 years old. But in the dream, I was approximately 50 (this was presented to me as an approximate number only, not an exact number). In the dream, I also noticed that I had a notably "chiseled" face - as though someone had sculpted it. The entire face had chisel marks all over it.

To the upper right, "tucked inside the game," as it were, in an unseen realm, yet another game was being played out at the same time as the prayer meeting was occurring. This game was an invisible game, and it represents clearly the spiritual battle which is occurring today as a result of the prayers of those who are "on the field" - those who are committed followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, who are continually in prayer before God's throne.

Then, I heard the voice of one of the coaches of that invisible game say, in a very clear voice, "Fourteen more points until we win the game!"

This, then, was the entire dream.

First installment

This dream was an awesome dream that left me bewildered for many years. It turned out it was just the first installment in what would be a series of dreams of which the others will be mentioned shortly. In fact, I would not receive the second dream for at least another 10 years. So I had more than 10 years to think about it. The first thing I thought about was the fact that, in the dream, I was about 50 years old, but, in real life, I was 35 years old (plus about 5 months, if you are counting months). That's roughly a 14 year difference, plus or minus a few months.

When that becomes clear, it then also becomes quite clear, I believe, that the 14 points that I heard one of the coaches mention is really a reference to 14 years. This would mean that when the coach was saying, "Fourteen more points until we win the game!" the real message was, fourteen more years until the game would be won.

Now the dream occurred on November 26, 1997. If you add precisely 14 years to that, you come to November 26, 2011. But should we be adding precisely 14 years? This is a very important question. To give me the confidence necessary to fully answer that question, the Lord did some rather amazing things in my life. I will leave it as an exercise for the reader to read, "All things are possible" (a series) at http://www.fcet.org/pub/1001, "Prophetic Dreams" at http://www.fcet.org/pub/770, and "The Gentle Wall of Fire" at http://www.godspeaks.ca/pub/14. If you carefully read through this information, you will see how accurate the Lord was in revealing to me very specific numerical information, and that should really help you to better appreciate what I am going to tell you in the rest of this article.

Approximate Numbers

When the Bible mentions "years", it often uses approximate numbers. For example, "all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years" (Genesis 5:5b). This does not mean exactly nine hundred and thirty years, but nine hundred and thirty years up to a possible nine hundred and thirty-one years less a day. Using this method, if we apply this principle to the 14 years that God showed me in the dream, then dating that from November 26, 1997 when I had the dream, you get anywhere from November 26, 2011 to November 25, 2012 as being the range denoted by 14 years later.

You could also calculate it another way, using the scientific law of rounding.This method would leave you with a date range of May 26, 2011 to May 26, 2012 as being 14 years later. Either way you spell it, 14 years from the date I had the dream ends at the latest on November 25, 2012 if you use the approximate method, and on May 26, 2012 if you use the scientific law of rounding. My preference is to believe the Lord was using the scientific law of rounding, because He has used that method in my dreams before (see references quoted earlier and in particular "All things are possible" at http://www.fcet.org/pub/1001). However, all things being said, He may have possibly been using the approximate method and so allowance should be made for this.

Ten Years Later

A dream or revelation may not make complete sense until other forms of revelation come along that give us insight (John 1:18). In some cases, another person is needed to help us interpret the dream (Genesis 40:9). Sometimes it's a matter of studying the Scriptures (Matthew 22:29). In other cases, prayer is needed (Proverbs 2:3-6). Sometimes time is required (John 12:16, Daniel 12:9). In my case, the meaning of the dream was concealed from me for about 10 years (Proverbs 25:2). Then, seemingly out of the blue one day, the Lord gave me another dream, something I will describe as being "part two" in what would become a "three part series."

The Great Harvest of Souls

On March 15, 2008, I had a dream and, in the dream, there were two men, as well as myself. The first man was a compassionate, loving, man. I believe it's correct to say that he represents the Lord Jesus Christ. There are several good reasons to believe this. First, I had a relationship with this man, because I hugged him and Christians are those who have a relationship with Jesus Christ (John 1:12, John 15:15). We also had a very profound, mutual, understanding of a specific, long awaited, prophetic event that was to soon take place. Specifically, the event was that there was a great harvest of souls about to be harvested.

The book of Revelation describes a great end time harvest of souls which will be gathered in during the Great Tribulation period. In the book of Revelation we read of the 144,000 of Jewish descent as well as "a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues" (Revelation 7:4-8,9). Revelation 14 further talks about this harvest, and in Revelation 14:14-16 the harvest is reaped by Jesus Christ Himself. (There is also an another harvest mentioned in Revelation 14:17-20, which is an unrighteous one. This is not mentioned in this dream.) One of the things that was very clear about this man was that he had been looking forward to this harvest for a very long time. He was a man of confidence and authority who did not speak a word nor did he need to speak a word. Though he did not speak a word, I knew what was on His heart and He knew what was on my heart, as well. Thus, we were able to communicate, even without words. Because of this imagery, it is clear to me that the man represented could only be the Lord Jesus ChristHimself.

There was also another man (the second man referred to above). He was a man that I was aware of as being a minister of the gospel but one whom I would have personally considered to have been an extremely unlikely candidate for someone whom the Lord would really trust with a word of major significance. This man was called by God to carry forth a prophetic word about a specific event. I was amazed that the Lord would choose such a man. He seemed like the laughing stock or the brunt of jokes. Since the compassionate man did not waver in the slightest with regards to the call that had been placed on this other man, I resigned myself to accepting that God had indeed called this man to give forth this prophetic word and that the word that the man gave could be trusted.

The dream was positioned from the vantage point of the future. In the dream, the man with the prophetic word had come by "4 days ago" - which can be interpreted as "4 years ago" according to prophetic literature (e.g. Daniel 9:24-27). The event was now going to take place. What's more, in the dream, a previous word had been given regarding this same event. This was then the second word about this same event.

Interpretation of the Second Dream

Like an alarm that had been set by it's owner to ring at precisely a certain time, this dream instantly became a signal to me that the Lord was confirming to me that the first dream was still on schedule and that everything would work out precisely as He has indicated more than 10 years earlier. From the standpoint of this second dream, the event would take place in four years. This dream was given on March 15, 2008. If you apply the law of rounding, once again you arrive at a date that is roughly the same as "end of the game" date that you arrive at from the first dream. It brings you to around 2012. You will recall that in the case of the first dream, which I had on November 26, 1997, that if you add 14 years to that, you arrive at roughly the same date (since the numbers are rounded, it's impossible to know the "day or the hour", rather, it denotes a range).

I immediately began thinking about the 100 to 200 thousand that the Lord had shown me in that first dream, and realized, that it must be a reference to the 144,000 from the book of Revelation. This 144,000 is a very specific end time group recorded in Revelation 7 and 14. They are specifically related to the end time harvest. In fact, they are the first of this end time harvest - the Scriptures call them "first fruits" of that harvest (Revelation 14:4). From these come a multitude of others "which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues" who pledge allegiance to Jesus Christ (Revelation 7:9). It would make sense, then, that the 144,000 would represent the end time harvest which the Lord was looking forward to.

The first and second dreams, though they were more than 10 years apart, fit like a glove and were compliments of one another. The "end of the game" represents the "end of the age" - that is, the end of the church age, which Jesus describes in Matthew 28:20b, in which He said, "lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age". This is the same "end of the age" that is described in Matthew 24:3, in which the disciples ask Jesus, "what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" This is all about the second coming of Christ. In the same way, this dream is also about events relating to the second coming of Christ. Some of the signs that Jesus gives in a parallel passage are "great earthquakes" and "the roaring of the sea and the waves" (Luke 21:11,25). Remember the great Tsunami of 2004? How terrible it was. And again, the recent earthquake in Haiti. These are all signs of His soon return.

The 100 to 200 thousand were not focused on the prayer meeting happening in the center of the stadium. Instead, they were 100% focused on Jesus. However, the imagery presented is a prayer meeting that "fuels the game." This is in accordance with the word of God that indicates that it is the prayers of the saints that God uses to bring about radical prophetic end time events. So the best thing a Christian can do right now is to pray. "The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints" (Revelation 5:8b). "And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel's hand. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake." (Revelation 8:4-5) This passage teaches us that as Christians pray, divine judgments follow.

The 144,000 in the book of Revelation are representative of what could be called a period of transition that leads this world from the current age (that is, the age of the Gentiles, or the church age) to the next age (the time when Jesus Christ will rule and reign on the earth for a 1000 years). They are "caught in the middle" between these two ages, and so rightfully represent the transition between the two ages. On a timeline, they fit exactly in the middle of the Great Tribulation period, which occurs immediately after the rapture and before the return of Jesus Christ. The prayer meeting is happening in the center of the stadium and defines what the"game" is. This "game" (that is, the prayer meeting being held by today's Christians) will end in 2012. It will end because all the Christians who are alive at that time will be removed from the earth. It must end for this very reason. The rapture will cause it to suddenly cease.

This dream perfectly describes the rapture and those who are later saved through the Great Tribulation, because the next ones in Scripture to receive salvation immediately following the rapture are indeed the 144,000. To press the point home that these 144,000 are the first Christians to appear following the rapture, the Bible calls them "first fruits" - they are the first of the harvest (Revelation 14:4). The words "first fruits" are used because the rapture has occurred just prior to this so there are no Christians on earth prior to their becoming Christians. They are also "first fruits" because they are the first of many who will follow. The 144,000, plus a group "which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues," form the great harvest which will occur during the Great Tribulation period (Revelation 7:9).

In Revelation 14:15, an angel says to Jesus, "Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe". Revelation 14:16 says, "Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped." Notice that it's Jesus who does the reaping. This harvest is unto Him. They are His harvest. They are not unto unrighteousness or equal to the unrighteous harvest mentioned in Revelation 14:17-20, as some falsely teach. The harvest represented by the "100 to 200 thousand" in the first dream (a reference to the 144,000 from the book of Revelation) are the "first fruits" of the righteous harvest. It is same harvest represented by the second dream. Thus the first dream and the second dream are beautifully intertwined.

The Lord is telling me when these end time events will occur. If my understanding is correct, and I believe I'm on solid ground here, then He has revealed to me that the rapture will indeed occur in the year 2012. I'm to tell people so that lives will be saved as a result. The year itself is of very minor significance from the standpoint of a believer's need to live righteously. We should always be doing that. However, I'm to tell people so that when it does happen, non-Christians will know that they were informed ahead of time, and they will then repent and believe the gospel, no matter what any man may say happened - it was the rapture, and Jesus Christ is pressing in to claim His harvest, make no mistake about it. For this reason, this document should be put into the hands of every non-Christian, so that they can properly understand what has happened to all of the Christians and so that they will not be deceived about these things when that time does come, shortly. There is also a need to translate this document into multiple languages. Please visit www.vision2012.ca if you are willing to do that, and look for the translation link.

Yet another dream would follow, in just 10 days. The Lord was about to turn up the volume a bit, because this next dream would be perfectly audible.

The Year 2012

On March 25, 2008, just ten days after the Lord gave me the second dream, telling me that the prophetic event scheduled for 4 more years was on schedule, the Lord gave me yet another dream - a very short "snap-shot" in time of a conversation that I was having with the Lord. This was a very short but profound dream. It also left me perplexed for about 5 months.

In the dream, I said to the Lord, "Eight or ten, Lord?" Then the Lord said to me, "Not eight or ten, but twelve!" This was the entire dream and the dream was perfectly audible. This dream was really not a visual dream at all, but rather an audible communication. 1 Kings 3:5-15 records a similar encounter in which King Solomon spoke to God (back and forth) which occurred, as well, in a dream. After this, we read, "Then Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream" (1 Kings 3:15a). So God does speak directly in dreams sometimes. This last of the three dreams was much more direct than the other two; but there was still some figuring out to do.

I thought about this occurrence on and off for quite a while - for about 5 months, in fact. It was such a short dream, but was obviously very significant. In the past 25 years, the Lord has spoken to me in this manner only on two other occasions, and each time has been very significant. These types of dreams were not like the other types of dreams. These types of dreams were like a tearing of the veil with God breaking through in no uncertain terms and directly communicating with me. It left me with no choice but to (proverbially) sit up and take notice.

I thought to myself, "Why did the Lord tell me, "Not eight or ten?" What would the significance of that be? Then, it suddenly hit me. The year I had the dream was two thousand and eight. "Eight, ten, and twelve" were simply the short form for "2008, 2010, and 2012." When that hit me, it all of a sudden made perfect sense. This was now the third dream that the Lord gave me concerning this as-of-yet future prophesied event. This time, apparently the Lord was telling me, straight out, that the year of the prophesied event was 2012. But again, as with the first two cases, some degree of faith was required in order to receive it. The Bible says that "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).

This dream, alone, would not make much sense to me. But this dream in conjunction with the other two dreams makes a lot of sense to me! I would also like to say that this revelation solidifies for me the exact year of what appears to certainly be the rapture. It does not in any way give me a "day or hour", but it does narrow down the year to 2012 and not 2011. You will recall that formerly, the Lord told me that the "end of the game" would occur in 14 years from November 26, 1997. He also told me it would occur 4 years from March 15, 2008. Using the laws of rounding, this gives us a date range which could land either in 2011 or 2012. This third revelation clarifies for me that the event will take place in 2012 and not 2011. It is an important piece of information.

The days are getting warmer

As if this revelation was not enough, I then received more revelation still. On August 30, 2008, the Lord spoke to me clearly as I was waking up. It was not a dream but words that were spoken directly to me. The words were not audible yet I knew exactly what the Lord was saying. He said to me, "The reason that the days are getting warmer is because the Lord is coming back soon." I wrote about this in my article, "He is coming back soon" available at http://www.fcet.org/pub/1027, so I will not write too much more about it here except to say that the return of the Lord is very soon. While everyone is yelling "Global warming!" Christians should be yelling at the top of their lungs, "Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God!" (Isaiah 40:3b)

Why did I have a chiseled face in the first dream?

I know already that the man with the chiseled face was me because that was revealed in the dream. But why was my face chiseled? In various parts of the Bible, God is described as the Potter, or Builder, and we are the clay or His workmanship (Isaiah 29:16, Romans 9:21, Ephesians 2:10). He is fashioning each of us as He desires. Romans 8:29 tells us that one of God's chief aims is to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ.

This part of the dream points to the "author and perfecter of faith", the Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 12:2). It is a testimony to the fact that God Himself gave the dream because it is consistent with what the word of God teaches. For example, if this dream was from a diabolical or fleshly origin, then you would not expect it to have this type of imagery, which clearly points to a Creator who is fashioning each of us as He sees fit.

The testimony of the 2014-2015 eclipses

Everything the Lord had shown me was just beginning to (seriously) "gel" around September of 2008. It led me to do a lot of serious studies in the word of God, the Bible. In particular, I studied many end-time passages including, but not limited to, Isaiah, Daniel 7-9, Ezekiel 37-39, Joel 2-3, Zechariah 11-14, Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 17, Luke 21, 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Thessalonians 4-5, 2 Thessalonians 2, Revelation 7, Revelation 14 (and many more in the book of Revelation), and others.

One night, as I was writing some software, I decided to search "Tangle.com" (formerly GodTube.com) and listen to something relating to the end times. I came up with a video that talked about the eclipses. I had never considered the eclipses before. However, Joel 2:31 talks about eclipses in conjunction with the return of the Lord. It says, "The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes." This perfectly describes both solar and lunar eclipses and is an indication that we should be paying particular attention to eclipse activity in relationship to the return of the Lord. In particular, in only two instances in almost the last 500 years, have some very specialized eclipse activity taken place, and both of these occurred at very specific times in relation to Israel's history as a nation. The first "eclipse event" (spanning 4 eclipses over the course of two years) happened just after Israel became a nation in 1948. The next "eclipse event" (again spanning 4 eclipses over the course of two years) happened at the same time as Israel won the six day war in 1967. These eclipses were very special. They landed precisely on specific Jewish festival dates - four in a row, back to back, each time! This should set off major alarm bells, particularly since the word of God tells us to pay attention to the eclipses (Joel 2:31 is just one of numerous passages on the importance of the eclipses).

A man by the name of Mark Biltz originally discovered this occurrence, so I do not take any credit for finding out about this information. However, to be sure, I did spend a few days writing some software so that the eclipse data, which can be found on NASA's website, could be crunched accurately, in correlation with the Hebrew calendar, and I can confirm that Mark Biltz's findings are indeed correct and should be paid very close attention to. I have created a detailed presentation which you can view at www.fcet.org, entitled, "He is coming back sooner than you may think", which I would encourage you to read. It is a compelling, detailed, compilation, of eclipses over hundreds of years, and how they correlate with the Biblical feasts. The next set of such similar occurrences, in which these specialized sets of eclipses will occur, is 2014 and 2015. This same occurrence will not occur after that for more than another 500 years. These eclipses do not give us a precise date on when certain events will occur, but it appears to me, based on a quote of Jesus in Matthew 24:29, that the Great Tribulation period must END PRIOR to the last of these four eclipses. In that verse He says, "But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken."

If the rapture occurs in 2012, as it will if my interpretation is correct regarding the dreams the Lord gave to me, then that fits in very nicely with a 3.5 year GREAT tribulation period. For those who want to find a 7 year tribulation period, you can if you want. On September 29, 2008, which was the first day of the new Jewish New Year, a new 7 year cycle began in the Jewish calendar, and a most significant event occurred which started our world in an apparently downward spiral (but which will surely lead to the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ). This was the day the stock market crashed. If you think it was just a coincidence that the stock market crashed on that day, and that it could not signify the start of a tribulation period, well, first of all, the word "tribulation" just means "trouble." Jesus says in John 16:33, "In the world you have tribulation". It is not unbiblical to say that a time of "tribulation" could have begun on that day. However, it is surely not the "GREAT tribulation," but is a time preceding it.

In regards to this stock market crash, there are too many "coincidences," in my opinion, to blindly ignore it. Carefully consider the following and decide whether or not this could all happen by "mere chance":

1. On that day, the stock market fell it's worst crash ever.

2. That day was the start of the New Jewish New Year.

3. That day was the start of a new seven-year cycle in the Jewish calendar (see Leviticus 25:1-7).

4. Ten days later, on October 9, 2008, the stock market experienced what would become its third worst crash ever. The day? Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, a most sacred day on the Jewish calendar.

5. Six days after that, on October 15, 2008, the stock market experienced its second worst crash ever. The day? Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, which is another very sacred day, and is the last of the seven festivals of the Lord.

6. If you add seven years to this day, you arrive at the last of the four eclipses which will occur in 2014 and 2015. The date of this last eclipse is September 28, 2015. My understanding of Matthew 24:29 is that approximately by the time this last eclipse occurs, the great tribulation will be OVER. This tribulation period must have started BEFORE that time, therefore. A three-and-a-half year "GREAT tribulation" period beginning at the time of the rapture in 2012 is consistent with Revelation 11:2,3 which indicates the length of the Great Tribulation to be exactly 1260 days or three-and-a-half years (based on a 360-day year in the Jewish calendar). It may surprise you, but there is no mention of a 7-year tribulation period in the book of Revelation. However, if one wants to assume that Daniel 9:24-26 refers to a seven-year tribulation period, and if the "GREAT Tribulation" is to be completed by 2015, then one could state that the "tribulation period" (not "GREAT tribulation" period) began on September 29, 2008 - at the time of the stock market crash. In that case, one would have to essentially agree with the "mid-tribulation" theory espoused by Marv Rosenthal (formerly with the friends of Israel Gospel Ministry), and others. It will be a major sticking point with some Christians, however, who are determined that Christians will not be around during the tribulation period. True enough, we will not be here during the "GREAT tribulation" period (the time of God pouring out His wrath on the earth). However, biblically-speaking, Jesus did say in John 16:33, "In the world you have tribulation", so it is not unbiblical for Christians to go through "tribulation" (which we know has resulted in the death and martyrdom of many Christians). Wrath is reserved for post rapture. In this, the mid and pre-tribulationists agree. The "finicky little point" is whether or not the tribulation period lasts three-and-a-half years or seven years. The seven years is merely inferred from a passage in Daniel 9. The three-and-a-half years is explicitly stated in the book of Revelation. One could stick with a three-and-a-half year tribulation period beginning at the time of the rapture, and forget about the "pre-great-tribulation tribulation period" altogether, but the dates do seem to provide compelling evidence for Marv Rosenthal and the likes to be correct. It would mean we are in the tribulation period RIGHT NOW. Eschatology and presuppositions do prevent a person from embracing things like this, however. Note that the mid-tribulation theory distinguishes between Satan's wrath (Revelation 12:12) and God's wrath (Revelation 14:19) which seems to add to the argument that a "seven-year tribulation period" could easily be split in two, especially since the book of Revelation only mentions a three-and-a-half year period of time and not a seven-year period of time at all.

7. Finally, as if all this was not enough, the exact number of points the stock market crashed on that eventful day (September 29, 2008) was none other than what is commonly attributed as being "the Lord's number," namely 777. In fact, the stock market crashed by 777.7 points that day.

Prayer is the key

In the first dream, why are the 100 to 200 thousand jubilant? It is because of Jesus. They are cheering for Jesus. The imagery shows them to be in the "stands" of the same stadium that the prayer meeting is happening in, but their focus is not on the prayer meeting, but 100% on Jesus. According to Scripture, what is the mechanism by which Jesus is glorified and by which end time events are carried out? Revelation 8:4-5 says, "And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel's hand. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake."

In other words, end time events are carried out as a result of the prayers of God's people. In Revelation 5:6-10 we find out that there is a direct relationship between the prayers of God's people and the rule and reign of God's people on the earth. This means that your prayers right now are very important. If you are a Christian and you are reading this message, please pray about all of the events that you see occurring on the earth at this time. Your prayers will be used by God to bring about real change.

We are expected to know the season of Christ's return

On the one hand, the apostle Paul writes that the Lord will return like a "thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:2). On the other hand, he uses this exact same imagery (that of the thief) to indicate that we should not be taken by surprise, for we read, "you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief". (1 Thessalonians 5:4) How can this be? The answer, I believe, is that we are to exercise discernment.

Jesus warned, "Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?" (Matthew 16:3) The Lord expect us to be able to recognize and discern the approximate time frame of His second coming. Certainly, no man knows the day or the hour, but there is nothing forbidding us to know the season. And we are in that season, right now.

Business as Usual

One might get the impression that to "know" that we are living in the "end times," great catastrophes should be occurring. In some cases, this is quite true. For example, ask anyone who has had to endure the catastrophic tsunami of 2004. Or, ask anyone in Haiti, and they will tell you that it was a great catastrophe. But to others, life goes on and it almost seems like it will go on forever, and that there is no real need to worry about anything. Jesus warns us about this attitude, when He says, "And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all." (Luke 17:26-27) In other words, Jesus is saying that to many, the days just prior to the rapture, and the Great Tribulation period, will seem like "business as usual." They will go to work, purchase items, do their regular chores, do the grocery shopping, take their children to sporting events, go to school, and live life "as normal." This is the type of environment it will be for many people just prior to the rapture. For many today, it is indeed, "business as usual."

Other Items

1. Joel 3:2 mentions the dividing of the land of Israel as a reason for God's judgment of the nations. Did not God signify His great pleasure at the recapturing of East Jerusalem by displaying His special eclipses in the sky in 1967 and 1968? Surely, He did (see the presentation, "He is coming back sooner than you may think, at www.fcet.org). How then would God respond if those borders were reversed, as is now being suggested? The mere talk of this should be enough to alert Christians that we are close to God's wrath being poured out, based on this passage alone.

2. The condemnation issued by Iran towards Israel is a very telling sign that we are near the end. This is because Ezekiel 38 mentions Persia (Iran) (and Russia) coming up against Israel. We see this spirit manifesting right now. Day after day, Iran continues to manufacture weapons for the purpose of destroying Israel. What will be the outcome of all of this? A spirit of war is certainly brewing against Israel as predicted in the Bible.

3. Revelation 13 prophesies a one-world currency called "the mark of the beast". We know that it is a one-world currency because it is used to buy and sell and it is global because it affects all people. Recently, Russia and China have been calling for a new currency, in light of the world economy. It appears to me that the rapture itself may be the event that the world uses to justify "ushering in" this identification mark which will be required to "buy and sell."

What are others saying?

- Elwood McQuaid, executive editor of Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, writes: "Do I personally believe we are living in the last days? Yes, and I am convinced that we are deep into them." (Page 10, Israel My Glory magazine, March/April 2009)

- Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) and host of the 700 Club, has said, in the March 30, 2009 episode of The 700 Club, "The Bible talks about a time when there will be a global economy when people can't buy or sell without the mark of the beast, whatever that is. It does, for all the world, look like this crisis is setting the world up for the fulfillment of prophecy. It is unbelievable how these things - things that you didn't dream were possible a few years ago." (The 700 Club, March 30, 2009, 8:51 min - 9:13 min, http://www.cbn.com).

- David Wilkerson has released a statement which he describes as "An Urgent Message". He says he believes that an earth shattering calamity is about to happen. You can read the full message at http://davidwilkersontoday.blogspot.com/2009/03/urgent-message.html.

In Conclusion

There is a definite connection between the current prayers of the saints and the up-and-coming harvest of righteous souls. "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." (James 5:16b)

For those who do not yet know the Lord Jesus Christ, and have not yet committed their lives to Him, a day of reckoning is coming very soon. The Bible says that "Surely the Lord GOD does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7) I have done my best to present to you a balanced and fair picture. You need to now discern this and match everything up as best as possible.

I have also provided references which you may check out below. These provide a great deal more information, which I believe will help some to be even more certain about the things I am writing.

"As though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." (2 Corinthians 5:20b)

I can think of no better way to end this article than with the final words of the Bible: "Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." (Revelation 22: 20b-21)

References

The following are some references that you can check out which I believe will bless you and provide you with yet more confidence that we are living in the last days, just shortly before the time of the rapture and Christ's return.

1. Video Interview with Mark Biltz (courtesy Prophecy in the News)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VYjUZOw6y0&feature=related

2. Radio Interview with Mark Biltz (courtesy Sid Roth)
http://www.sidroth.org/site/News2?abbr=rad_&page=NewsArticle&id=8253

3. Video Interview with Mark Biltz (courtesy Sid Roth)
http://www.sidroth.org/site/News2?abbr=tv_&page=NewsArticle&id=8467

4. Video on the eclipses (courtesy Steve Hadley)
http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=1328e98be6f216e8a05a

5. He is Coming Back Sooner than You May Think (detailed eclipse data presentation)
http://www.fcet.org/pg/273

6. Mark of the Beast, Part 1 (article)
http://www.fcet.org/pub/1047

7. Mid Tribulation View (courtesy of Marv Rosenthal)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX61cSB5-ZY&feature=related

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references have been taken from the NASB (New American Standard Bible).

Current Revision: Rev 4.12. This document may be amended from time to time as is necessary. Please visit www.lifesanswer.com for the most up-to-date version.