Days

Mankind will witness the earth’s crust shift with such force that the stars will appear to come crashing down, as the earth moves under their feet.  This same violent movement will cause those in daylight to see the sky race over their heads. The terrifying force of this action will move every mountain and island, causing them to shift from their place, collapse, or disappear – and around the world the sirens warning of tsunami will begin to wail. 

Following this great earthquake, we now see hail and fire, mingled with blood red rain.  A third of all trees burn while the entirety of green grass is consumed.  Then comes the terrifying moment when a “great mountain burning with fire” crashes into the sea, and a third of the ocean turns blood red and kills a third of all ocean life; this is followed by a third of rivers and waters becoming toxic, and a third of the world then becomes engulfed in darkness (Revelation 8:8).

While imprisoned on the Island of Patmos, the Apostle John was shown this terrible future in a series of visions described in the Book of Revelation. The devastating consequences of these cataclysmic earth change events are hard to even imagine…but these are still just the beginning of John’s visions, as he describes ever-worsening trumpet, woe, and bowl judgements.

As these events unfold, the Prophet Isaiah sees a future time when mankind becomes a rarity upon the earth:

Isaiah 13:12:  I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold,
A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.

In his visions of the Day of the Lord, Isaiah sees “every man’s heart will melt” (Isaiah 13:7), and that God “will shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of her place” (Isaiah 13:13).  He then sees this terrible moment, when the earth is split open and totters on its axis like a drunkard:

Isaiah 24:19-20:   The earth is violently broken,
The earth is split open,
The earth is shaken exceedingly.
The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard,
And shall totter like a hut;
Its transgression shall be heavy upon it,
And it will fall, and not rise again.

And then finally the Apostle John tells us that one last earthquake will occur; one that will be unprecedented in the history of the world: “…and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth” (Revelation 16:18).  When this final terrible earthquake judgement occurs, we are told that it will be so powerful that there will no longer be any mountains or islands: “Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found” (Revelation 16:20).  Like the destruction wrought by the fountains of the deep erupting in Noah’s day, the earth will shake with such violence that the entire world will face utter devastation. 

We are closer to these events then people realize. 

We should no longer be thinking in terms of many decades and future generations before these events occur.  We should be thinking in terms of this current generation and the years that are now on the horizon.   The prophetic events and signs that are occurring are happening at a breathtaking pace.

In the years leading up to the Day of the Lord, there will be a period of wars and rumors of wars, famine, plagues, earthquakes, false prophets, the rise of a terrible world leader, and a time of tribulation that will see the church hated by all nations because of Jesus’ name (Matthew 24).  We know that the church has not been appointed to suffer the wrath of God and look to the rapture as the event that will re-unite us with Christ.  To many, the rapture is the next event in the Biblical timeline and as such can happen at any moment.  After the rapture the church will safely observe this future dark and terrible era from our vantage point in heaven, to then return with Christ to reign with him in victory. 

But as the days continue to grow darker, there is another possibility that many are beginning to consider – that the church will face either part–or all–of the coming tribulation as it makes a final last day’s stand for Christ.   There is a significant disagreement within Christianity as to both the timing of the rapture and what marks the actual start of the wrath of God in the Book of Revelation.  This then leaves us questioning whether today’s church should be awaiting evacuation…or instead be preparing for a fast-approaching future of persecution and martyrdom.

As the body of Christ present in the world, we tend to identify ourselves with the faithful believers described in the letter to the church of Philadelphia in Revelation 3 – who God promises to keep from the hour of trial which is coming to the whole world.  But is this really who we are today as believers? The last letter to the churches in The Book of Revelation is to Laodicea – which is known as the lukewarm church.  God said that He will spit this church out of His mouth.  If this is the last church that God lists prior to the events of the tribulation period — is this a coincidence?  We see the unsaved all around us who do not see the signs of Christ’s impending return, and we see others who live as holiday believers and have yet to fully indwell the Gospel message.  We can easily see the lukewarm in so many others…but the question to ask is are we ourselves lukewarm? Should we assume that we are represented by the faithful brides described in the Parable of the Ten Virgins – or are we of the group that Jesus states He does not know?

Today it appears very possible that we have entered a time of shaking the purpose of which may very well be to awaken us from our slumber, as well as to provide—perhaps even for the final time—an opportunity to reach those outside the church who may have eyes that are willing to see.

In the pandemic years that began in the fall of 2019, we began to see a rapid set of events that appeared to mark an intensifying of God’s judgement.  Since the attacks of September 11^th 2001, many in the church have attempted to sound the alarm regarding the course of the nation.  Now with the events surrounding Covid-19 it appears that we are in the midst of renewed warnings.  But the entry to this time may extend back to 2017, when an eclipse swept across the continental United States.  It is noteworthy that another eclipse is coming in 2024 – one that will once again sweep across America.  Between these events is a seven-year period, with the Covid-19 pandemic years set squarely in the middle. 

Before we take an in-depth look at this time, let us first examine the End Time Clock.

Next – Chapter 3: The End Time Clock Starts