Chapter 4
Tribulation Produces
the Overcoming Church
By
As
we continue our journey looking for the “church in the last days”, we find it
nearly impossible to find overcomers or that “church
of brotherly love”. It is the contention of this book that the Lord will allow harsh conditions to develop which will separate the wheat from the chaff, the sheep who hear His voice from the goats that don't, the deceived from the "undeceived". Researchers tell us that the average person today receives more stimulation in a single day than a person received in a lifetime in the Middle Ages. Life is so
hectic. There is so much to do and so
little time to do it. The pressures of
life have never been greater. People are
working longer and harder hours than ever before but still falling behind.
Yet,
if we are in the “last days”, times are about to change. Our peaceful but hectic little world is about
to be turned upside down. Severe
economic and political conditions, along with persecution will shake Christians
out of their comfort zone. A
self-satisfied, comfortable Laodicean Christian, a
dead Protestant or compromised Catholic, may not be listening to that still
small voice, but shake up his world and some may turn to the Lord and repent.
Real
Christians will be shaken out of the dead institution as their world is turned
upside down and the things they have taken for granted blow up in their
face. All three gospels talk about a
time referred to as the “beginning of
sorrows”. We find in Matthew 24,
when asked “what will be the sign of your
coming”, Jesus responds:
"Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the
sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"
4And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one
deceives you. 5For many will come in My
name, saying, "I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. 6And you
will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all[a] these things must come to pass, but the end
is not yet. 7For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences,[b] and earthquakes in various places. 8All
these are the beginning of sorrows.
9"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. 10And then many will be offended,
will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11Then many
false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12And because
lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13But he
who endures to the end shall be saved. 14And this gospel of the
kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness
to all the nations, and then the end will come.
The
characteristics of the “end of the age” are: false Christs
deceiving many; wars, rumors of wars, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, being
delivered up and hated, etc. Famine and
pestilence are related to economic dislocation and Revelation 6:5-6 describes
the black horse of the apocalypse as a time of great economic disparity between
the rich and the poor. None of us knows
exactly how this will unfold, but in the next few pages I’m going to lay out a
scenario based on current trends. Let’s
hop into a time machine and take a look at newspaper headlines as events may
unfold in the future. These are based on
current trends and Bible prophecy.
Please don’t panic. These are not actual headlines. This is just a way for us to picture how
these events may unfold. I don’t claim
that this scenario is exact. So I have
invented “World News Network” (WNN) for this illustration. These are brief summaries of extended news
articles. Otherwise, it would be a thick
book….as you will see. Just use your
imagination to fill in the blanks.
World News Network – News Summaries
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September, 2005
- Economic Stagnation
Economy Stalling Consumer Buying, (Economic News)
New housing starts were off for the sixth straight month. House prices drop by 30 percent from May highs leaving many owners “upside down” – owing more than the equity they have in the house. They dropped even more precipitously in some markets, specifically the two coasts. Many recent home buyers were the least qualified, roped into interest only or Adjustable Rate Mortgage loans – the least able to pay more as the Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates at a “measured rate” – now 5.0 percent and rising as inflation increases to 11 percent.
Consumer spending is down. High energy costs continues to fuel inflation, leaving buyers with less margin and no more home equity to tap into. Wholesale prices are increasing at double digit rates. Manufacturing continue to fall in the face of weak demand.
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The Chinese finally decided to let the Yuan float against
the dollar, which Greenspan and others at the Fed considered to be long
overdue. The effect of a reevaluation of
the Yuan is a devaluation of the dollar and a forty percent increase in goods
imported from
In related money matters, the dollar continues to slide against the Euro and other European currencies.
These trends do not bode well for the dollar as foreign
markets become increasingly alarmed about
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October,
2005 –
The Iraqi government continues to be strongly divided and seems unable to govern. Shiite members of the cabinet block meaningful reform. Corruption is rife at all levels. Terrorists continue to be more disruptive than ever as casualties increase every week. Pressure mounts on the fledgling government and the American forces, as fresh terrorist forces arrive daily across the porous Syrian border. American efforts to stop the fresh incursions of reinforcements have so far failed.
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Heavy Debate Over
Patriot Act Renewal, (National News)
Critics of the administration policy in
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stock Market Continues Downward
Slide, (Economic News)
In the face of more bad news from Wall Street, the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P continue to slide. Earnings continue to be weak and job creation non-existent. Manufacturing continues to fall for the fourth straight year. With slowing housing, construction is down. Consumer spending is low so retail is down. Wall Street has been rattled by the bankruptcy of virtually all of the major airlines and the fact that three of them (United, American and Delta) have all been granted permission them permission to pass on the liability to The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation which is already overwhelmed with billions in unfunded liability. Analysts are worried that GM, Ford and other major corporations may follow suit with bankruptcy.
In the roaring 90’s, the government changed rules allowing corporations to invest their pension funds in the market instead of the traditionally safer investments of CDs and bonds. Seeing a ready form of cash, they invested a huge percentage of it in their own company and when stock prices dropped, there was no cash left. This “unfunded liability” was never counted on their books and now amounts to billions of dollars. Will these once powerful giants follow the airlines? Once powerful companies like GM which was reduced to “junk bond” status in May are now paying over 11 percent interest on their third of a trillion dollars in debt with an additional liability of $70 billion in pensions. Whether these behemoth corporations can dig their way out is doubtful to many analysts. Some say it is symbolic that the once largest corporation in the world – General Motors – a major manufacturer, has been replaced by WalMart, the symbol of American consumption (and Chinese manufacturing).
Analysts continue to worry that
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November 2005 Rumors of War, Terror Attacks! War!
Coup in
Hosni Mubarak
was escorted out of the country on Monday as Islamic radicals consolidated
their hold over Congress and the military.
For years Islamic radicals held the majority but were unable to press
their power because of Mubarak. The Egyptian President resigned in order to
avoid bloodshed and went to an undisclosed location. Meanwhile
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American Troops Mass on Syrian
Border, (World News)
American troops are reported to
be massing on the Syrian Border.
The
On a further note, terrorist
leader Amad el Dukar
promised to bring the battle to
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The Syrian Ambassador to the
United Nations objected to American troops on Syrian soil. At least 20,000 troops are poised at the
border to invade the terrorist staging areas in
Demonstrators marched on the White House to protest and were arrested.
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Terror Leaders Warn of Imminent Attack on US Soil, (World News)
Terror leaders warn of an
imminent attack on
Meanwhile,
On a higher level, the Arab
League is showing new signs of life since the Egyptian coup although
significant parts of the
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SIMULTANEOUS TERROR ATTACKS IN
At
The
The third attack in the
exclusive
Al Jazeera
radio carried a tape of a leader claiming to be Mohammad Abba, an al-Quaida leader, claimed responsibility for the attacks,
warning
The President has gone on
nationwide radio and television to urge Americans to remain calm and work with
authorities to limit losses and provide immediate relief for those in the
affected areas. Teams have been
dispatched from all over the country to the three cities coordinated by FEMA, the
Atomic Energy Commission and the Center for Disease Control in
The President has urged Congress
to end debate on
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
American forces poured across
the Syrian border this morning leveling terrorist staging facilities. Meanwhile, in a surprise move, Israeli troops
pour across the Syrian border attacking terrorist positions in the
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Israeli and American
Troops Move to
Israeli and American forces
moved on
Arab leaders called for special
meetings in
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tremendous Economic Fallout from
Terror Attacks (Economic News)
A week after the worst terror attacks in history, the price of oil shot up to $120 a barrel and seems to be still rising. The stock market was closed until yesterday as efforts continue to restore power and data. Analysts predict that within the next few weeks, the Dow will go to 3,500, the Nasdaq to 400 or lower with similar falls in the various S&P indices. This is a much greater blow than 9/11 and it will take years to recover.
Fortunately the main blast was
out in the water or it could have been much worse. The electromagnetic pulse destroyed power and
anything with a transistor in it, so nothing works – televisions, radios,
vehicles, etc. for a two mile radius. It
is spotty after that. Emergency crews
from outside the city came from as far away as
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Terror Attacks Prompt Congress to
Pass Patriot Act III (National News)
Congress passed the Patriot Act
provisions that were to end in December, plus many of the provisions that were
asked for but not passed in what had been dubbed Patriot Act II, plus added
legislation causing this one to be named Patriot Act III. One interesting feature is expansion of the
“Real ID” act which originally passed in May requiring uniform Driver’s
Licenses for all
The government assures us that the goal of the legislation is to protect American citizens and keep them safe. This will allow the Department of Homeland Security to track every legal resident and assure their safety – just like a personal “On Star” satellite system. After last the nuclear and biological attacks against three major cities, it is more critical than ever to track the flow of money and the location of law abiding citizens.
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December,
2005 – The Drums of War – Holocaust!
Christian Leaders Laud President’s
Efforts (National News)
Christian leaders praise the
President’s efforts after the terrible attacks and urge the President to wage
all out war against the godless Islamic terrorists. Said one leader, “call
it a holy war if you want. Let’s take
out
Army, Navy and Air Force Recruitment Centers are bursting at the seams with young people wanting to do whatever they can for the cause.
Churches were full on Sunday as
congregants prayed, cried and waved American flags in support of their fallen
citizens and beleaguered government.
Many clergy went so far as to say that
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The Arab World Unites (World News)
The battle for
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Preparation Continues (World and National News)
As the world quietly celebrates
Christmas, the Islamic and Christian worlds prepare for what appears to be a
final conflict. Christians quietly pray
for the country and its leaders as
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
War Begins (World and National News)
As the world waits, suddenly the
Israelis launch a preemptive strike at the presumed locations of
We don’t know the results but will report back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
War Ends! (World and National News)
Talk about the “Six Days War”,
this one was over in 72 hours!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January
2005 – Peace and Chaos
Treaty Signed (World and National News)
A treaty was signed today
between
Meanwhile, the
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christians Hail Signing of
Historic Treaty! (World and National
News)
On Sunday, Christian pastors and
priests across the nation heralded the victory in the
A few dissenters are heckled and
booed out of their churches but the vast majority celebrates the victory
wrought by that chosen nation, the
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Millions Out of Work! (Economic News)
The recent terrorist attacks
have paralyzed the economy as financial centers try and put things back
together. Markets have lost 70 percent
of their value. Home prices have lost
half their value and are still declining.
The American consumer engine has stopped. Businesses are laying
off workers. American consumers have no
more equity in their homes to live on and little credit left on their credit
cards. Real unemployment has soared to
25 percent at the same time government cuts entitlements to pay for the wars in
the
New housing construction has
ground to a halt as skeletons of partially framed houses wait for someone to
come along and complete them. All of
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
News from the
The world has begun cleaning up the mess as radioactive protected workers continue to bury the dead. In some areas as many as 5/6ths of the population died. They estimate it will take seven years just to clean up the mess.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
February –
April 2006 – Changes at Home
Millions of Homeless Entering
Peace and
Millions of jobless/homeless
American families are being processed into Government “Peace and
A few isolated so-called Christians protest these policies. Special camps have been set up for dissenters.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fear of More Terrorist Strikes! (National News)
Continued fear of more terrorist
strikes has led the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to take drastic
measures following the passage of Patriot Act III. Borders are essentially sealed for anyone who
wants to come in to or leave
The new “Youth Corp” is assisting the National Guard to man random checkpoints.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Congressman Arrested! (National News)
Congressman Ron Daul was arrested and carried off the House Floor after objecting that the military “Peace Keepers” were not keeping the peace at all but making war wherever they go. He also tried to object to Patriot Act III, DHS Youth Corp, check points, work camps, etc. His fellow congressmen booed him and officers carried him away. Congressman Daul has a long history of fighting for constitutional freedoms.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Economy Continues Downhill Slide! (National News)
Economists now realize that the pre-11/16 economy (the date of the triple terror attacks) is over. Consumer spending made up 70 percent of the economy. It has fallen so greatly that there is a snowball effect – less spending, more layoffs, less spending, more layoffs. Economists see no end in sight. The only jobs that remain are in Homeland Security and with American Peace Keeping forces around the world.
The ripple effect around the
world has led to business failures in
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christians Support President! (World
and National News)
Church leaders continue to support the Administration policies as the Federal Government begins to funnel health, education and welfare to the churches to dispense. Leaders feel that the Christian President has a destiny to lead the world into peace and freedom. Although churches have noticed some core members leaving, people are flocking to church like never before.
President Wilson said it well 90 years ago,” "I believe that God planted in us visions of liberty," he said, seeking the Democratic nomination in 1912, "that we are chosen and prominently chosen to show the way to the nations of the world how they shall walk in the path of liberty." Christians as a whole are hailing this as a major prophetic victory over the forces of evil!
A small group of “Christian”
dissidents are dropping out of “church”.
Some Christians are arrested as seditious and a threat to peace and
safety because they claim the Treaty with
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Analysis
This
is just a brief scenario of how quickly things could change. We are one or two incidents away from
meltdown and the end of life as we know it in
I
want to make a quick disclaimer for those alphabet agencies that may read this
and for those old enough to remember the comic strip “Terry and the Pirates.” He
predicted WWII exactly as it happened in the Pacific. If any of this were to happen, it’s because
we read the end of the Book. Other than
that, this is strictly FICTION.
Many
Christians believe
But
beyond all of the macro events that are taking place, there is the impact at
the personal level. Most Americans are
about two months away from financial disaster.
Christians are no better prepared than anyone else when it comes to debt
and savings. For the past several years,
Americans have been plunging deeper in debt and saving virtually nothing. The day the housing market begins to slide,
and consumers stop buying (which has already begun by the way), is the day the
economy starts slowing, tax revenues falls, the government prints more paper
money driving inflation to ever higher levels.
So
now we come to the question at hand.
What does a real Christian do?
They have several choices – the awful mixture of Catholicism, the dead
teachings of the
American/Israeli
Victory a Puzzle to Most Christians
Most
Christians will be caught up in the euphoria of the American/Israeli victory in
the
The
treaty will catch most Christians by surprise.
The idea of not being for this treaty will be counterintuitive to Christians who have been brought up with the
idea of supporting
The
last days are about deception. The part of the church that expects to
rapture won’t recognize the Treaty of Hell and Death even though the
dispensational scholars know full well that this treaty begins the count down
of the 70th week of Daniel.
Two things cloud Christian thinking: the doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture and the idea that American is not in propecy. To them,
The covenant theologians and "latter rain" crowd, as well as many of the premillenarians have a different view of the “end times.” They believe that
The two main streams of Christianity will be deceived for very different reasons. One is expecting to rapture and
the other to bring the
The
victory over Islam will be so popular, at least initially, that the American
leader that pulls it off will have complete support of the churches and
All
of these popular Christian teachings: dispensationalism
and the pre-tribulation rapture or “kingdom now” theologies, leaves Christians
open to deception. They will hail the very events as victories for Christ and the Church when the opposite is true. These are victories for the antichrist. This will
pit brother against brother. The
patriotic and religious fervor will lead to the alienation and persecution of
any Christian who doesn’t get on the band wagon. Churches take their politics very seriously
these days as a church in
Imagine
the anger and fear if another major 9/11 event were to occur? What is the dead church in
What
will non-deceived Christians do?
Certainly they will pray for
Where is
Brothers
and sisters, where is the church in
I’m not talking about some elite community of super-spiritual saints. I’m talking about the lame, the halt and the blind, the poor and the not so clever. I’m talking about those who are broken in spirit, not so confident in their abilities and opinions, about those who have no righteousness of their own but are just washed in the blood of the Lamb. I’m not talking about
the learned scholars but the simple saints with open hearts. I’m not talking about the self-sufficient,
spiritually powerful “lone ranger”, but the person who humbly realizes his need
for fellowship, the need to share and pray and have all things in common and
hold on to other saints for dear life.
I’m not talking about the person who is determined to survive in his
“get away” in the mountains with his stash of supplies and guns to ride out the
seven years to make it to the end. I’m
talking about the person who is willing to share everything he has with his
brothers and sisters in Christ and lay everything he has on the altar,
including his own life.
Unfortunately,
most Christians today are so caught up in survival – going to work, paying the
bills, keeping the grass cut and the flowers watered, watching their favorite
shows on TV, getting the kids to soccer practice, planning the next vacation,
retirement – that they have little time to develop a real relationship with the
Lord or other Christians. They see them
once or twice a week at church and that’s about it. They are running so fast, they just don’t
have the time to be still in the presence of the Lord.
Once God allows the shaking to begin, some Christians will wake up and see what’s happening. They will listen to
His voice and follow Him. I have no idea
what the Lord would have you do but as I look at the situation, one thing I do
know. I don’t want to go through this
alone. My prayer is that the Lord will bring us to other Christians of a like mind and let Him start to build us together into a testimony of love and oneness. We are told to "not forsake the assembling of ourselves together and so much the more as we see the day approaching... Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproacy." (Hebrews 10:25, 13:13)
The
institutional church is going to be going in the wrong direction. If you are in one now, ask the Lord to give
you friends you can share with. If you find a little group within your church, fine for a while. I think that in most cases, you will have to
leave or you will be asked to leave.
This is already happening to saints around the world and we hear from
them all the time. The question is, are you going to stay in an apostate institution or go outside the camp and find real fellowship?
One
of the very real problems in today’s Christianity is that we have no idea what