PROPHECY # 2




THE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS WILL EXPERIENCE A GREAT PERSECUTION, OR "TRIBULATION" BEFORE HIS RETURN

Matthew 24:21

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.


This Great Tribulation that Jesus speaks of here in Matthew 24 is one prophecy that is so often taken out of context. It is actually taught by some as being at some time in the future. But what about all the history books that record the Dark Ages with such unintentional prophetic accuracy? Are we to assume that this documented period in history is one that should be forgotten, or looked at lightly? Are we supposed to say that over 50 Million Christians slaughtered for their faith in Jesus as being a time in history that isn't recorded in God's Prophetic Word? Does not the book of Revelation speak of a period of persecution? (See my book, "The Second Window" for an in depth look at the truth about this.) Think about it for a moment... All the history books in every library on earth record a period of time with intense religious persecution.


Under the bloody maxims those persecutions were carried on, from the eleventh and twelfth centuries almost to the present day, which stand out on the page of history. After the signal of open martyrdom had been given in the canons of Orleans, there followed the extirpation of the Albigenses, under the form of a crusade, the establishment of the inquisition, the cruel attempts to extinguish the Waldenses, the martyrdoms of the Lollards, the cruel wars to exterminate the Bohemians, the burning of Huss and Jerome, and multitudes of other confessors, before the Reformation; and afterwards, the ferocious cruelties practised in the Netherlands, the martyrdoms of queen Mary's reign, the extinction, by fire and sword, of the reformation in Spain and Italy, by fraud and open persecution in Poland, the massacre of Bartholomew, the persecution of the Huguenots by the League,... and all the cruelties and perjuries connected with the revocation of the edict of Nantz [Nantes]. These are the more open and conspicuous facts which explain the prophecy, besides the slow and secret murders of the holy tribunal of the inquisition. -Rev. T. R. BIRKS, M.A., The Four Prophetic Empires, and the Kingdom of Messiah (1845 ed.) pp. 248, 249

The church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that has ever existed among mankind, will be questioned by no Protestant who has a compentant knowledge of history. The memorials, indeed, of many of her persecutions are now so scanty that it is impossible to form a complete conception of the multitudes of victims, and it is quite certain that no powers of imagination can adequately realize their sufferings. -W.E.H. LECKY, History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, (Reprint; New York: Braziller, 1955) Vol.2 pp. 40-45




The Dark Ages have been recorded in almost every history book available today, however, you may find that some of these books have altered or even omitted certain historical facts that can be easily researched in most local libraries. Think of it, 50 MILLION! That actually dwarfs Hitler's holocaust by comparison! Some historians today are even estimating the death toll at 150 MILLION! This period was indeed the most extensive attack to date ever on the true Christian church in the history of mankind. But still, some preachers will go so far as to say this day is yet to come. Don't let those preachers of error scare you into thinking it's better to be a sinner than a saint because of a precarious future ahead. Of course all Christians will become extremely un-popular soon, and they will experience a short time of trouble as well as the "...time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it." [Jeremiah 30:7] We have an Almighty and Loving Heavenly Father that will protect and keep us during the trouble Jeremiah speaks of. However, the wicked will be all alone when the "time of Jacob's trouble" is realized. They haven't learned how to trust and rely on the God of all creation for protection in this intense time. Yes there is indeed a time of spiritual as well as physical trouble coming to this planet, however, when the plagues begin to fall, it is entirely directed toward the wicked, NOT the Christian! The Bible states very plainly that the children of God will be spared the seven last plagues of Revelation. The Un-Believer is the one that has the wrath of God poured upon him, and this wrath is poured WITHOUT mercy!




Revelation 14:9,10

And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

50 Million Christians, maybe even 100 Million! And they were all killed because the apostate church thought they were doing God a favor by their terrorist methods of evangelizing! This brings to mind another prophecy that Jesus makes in the book of John about how the children of God will actually be persecuted by their very own religious leaders.



JESUS SAID IN... John 16:2

They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

To think that some religious leaders have actually been blinded so much that they think killing a person rather than preaching the Gospel to them is the method Jesus would have instructed they do. This is evidence of the power and ability of a diabolical enemy we have found ourselves engaging. Nevertheless, don't let that slow you down one bit. For the Word says... "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." [Philippians 4:13]




The next three prophecies are a bit on the extraordinary in manner. I honestly believe that this is no mistake. I believe Jesus planned it that way so that when the prophecy comes to be, it can in no way be mistaken for anything less than fulfillment.




I will not be a bit surprised if you never knew these next three prophecies were actually fulfilled. The enemy has been very busy keeping these facts hidden from the general public. This has been going on for many hundreds of years. Whenever an event occurs in history of Biblical proportions, the media of the day always seems to do a hush hush on it. They always seem to use the reason for playing it down to be that they want to prevent wide spread panic. I have recently noticed watching the TV news that many times a reporter will report an event that was actually prophesied in the Bible. But later the story will be absolutely impossible to find repeated on any other news cast. It's almost as if they realized their snafu of letting the prophecy confirmation air, and then decided to do a hush hush job on it to spare us the details. These next three prophecies are just like that. History does however record them in vivid detail, so be ready to see a prophecy of old come to light today. I have talked with many Christians about these prophecies, and with true honesty, I have to say that over 90% were amazed that they never knew of these particular facts!






PROPHECY # 3,4, & 5 ARE ALL FOUND IN MATTHEW 24:29







PROPHECY # 3

THE SUN WILL BE TURNED TO DARKNESS




Matthew 24:29

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:




Documented historical facts reveal...







Timothy Dwight, president of Yale, remembered that "a very general opinion prevailed, that the day of judgment was at hand. The [Connecticut] House of Representatives, being unable to transact business, adjourned," but the Council lighted candles, preferring, as a member said, "to be found at work if the judgment were approaching." (See JOHN W. BARBER, Connecticut Historical Collections [2d ed., 1836], p.403)

... If every luminous body in the universe had been shrouded in impenetrable shades, or struck out of existence, the darkness could not have been more complete. A sheet of white paper held within a few inches of the eyes was equally invisible with the blackest velvet." -SAMUEL TENNEY, Letter (1785) in Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, part 1, vol.1 (1792 ed.), pp.97,98




The remarkable Dark Day of May 19, 1780, is described by Samuel Williams of Harvard, The professor relates... "between the hours of ten and eleven a.m., and continued until the middle of the next night,... Candles were lighted up in houses; ... the birds having sung their evening songs, disappeared, and became silent;... the fowls retired to roost; ... the cocks were crowing all around, as at the break of day; ... objects could not be distinguished but at a very little distance; and everything bore the appearance and gloom of night." -Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences [through 1783], vol.1 pp. 234,235.)




How can anyone deny such documented testimonies? Did you notice who these testimonies were from? A YALE president... The Historical Society of Massachusetts... And a HARVARD professor! These are credible witness's! Over Sixteen and a half centuries earlier, the Lord Jesus said that after the tribulation period (1260 year, dark ages) ended, these signs would begin to appear! And as we always see with the prophecy of an Almighty Omnipotent God...




THE SIGNS OF HIS COMING DID INDEED BEGIN TO APPEAR




Some of you are probably a little shocked. Some of you may have always believed this day was still to arrive. Don't let that bother you though, you found out today, just as the Lord had planned for some of you. The enemy has been very cunning in his ability to hide the truth from many people for thousands of years. Today's time is no exception, as a matter of fact, today is more likely to be a conglomerate of confusing demonic lying attacks on the truth mainly because "...the devil is come down... having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. " [Revelation 12:12] So expect the worse people. Absolutely every aspect of battle, every scrap of lying wonders is being showered on mankind with such density that it boggles the mind.




I have noticed something a bit obvious though. The enemy has a tendency to always show his hand. Take for example, the fact that so many people have trouble believing in Jesus. The devil has geared his attack directly upon faith in Jesus! How obvious is that, I ask? One can actually find the truth by merely looking at what threatens the devil! It's truly become that obvious, and rightly so, it's the end times and the devil knows his time is short. Certain aspects of his attack are being exposed mainly because so many have fallen for his lies that their hidden agendas are bound to slip up and become visible to all. I am not alone in this either, many have noticed that the enemy knows his time is extremely short. It is easily noticed by watching the way mankind has played the trends as well.




Let me explain... In the 50's we had greasers and Fonzie types as a method of sin exploration. In the 60's we had the beatniks. In the 70's we had the hippies. In the 80's it was the leisure suit clad Disco scene. But look at the 90's. Every single method of the past is back and is playing out all at the same time, including some more decadent trends. It's almost as if the enemy is saying... "I had them dying on a daily basis using these methods in the 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's, why not get them to recall the trends of the past in one last hoorah!" It's a fact people! Visit any big city and you will see people emulating trends of the 50's through the 90's all at the same time! These young people (and old alike) are seeking an answer to their inner self in places that are extremely deadly. The devil has convinced them that they have found themselves and need not look to the Bible for the answer. All because so many people refuse to open their God given Bibles!




PROPHECY # 4

THE MOON WILL BE TURNED TO THE APPEARANCE OF BLOOD




Matthew 24:29

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:




We see here that the prophecy states that the moon will not give her light, but I like looking to the book of Joel to further illustrate this prophecy. Joel actually explains why the moon will not give her light and shine in her normal brilliance.







Joel 2:31

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come.

We see why in the book of Joel that the moon will have trouble shining on that day. It will appear to look as if it's covered in blood. This isn't the only reason I went to this particular verse. The reference to the bloody appearance is an important aspect in this prophecy. The Lord knew man would see the moon and comment on its apparent shade of crimson!







The moon was at it's full, and had the appearance of blood. Stone's History of Massachusetts

"There was an appearance of midnight at noonday," and in the evening, although the moon was just past full, "perhaps it was never darker since the children of Israel left the house of bondage." In connection with this extraordinary phenomenon the moon was reported to appear red. (Letter signed "Viator" in the Independent Chronical [Boston], May 25, 1780, p.2; see also the Pennsylvania Evening Post [Philadelphia], June 6, 1780, p. 62)




By the way, not only was the moon full this day, but it was on the inner side of the planet. This means those cunning skeptics out there can't claim a lunar eclipse as the culprit for this prophetic event. Most everyone I know either owns, or knows someone that owns a computer. I suggest you check the lunar charts for the date May 19 1780 to verify this event. Almost every computer comes with a bevy of informational software tidbits when you buy them today. You are bound to have no trouble confirming this fact. PLUS... An eclipse can never last all day and all night. Unless of course the sun stopped dead in its tracks for 24 hours. (This can, and has happened by the way... See Joshua 10:12-14)




Is this not awesome? The prophecy states that the moon will not give her light, and then Joel confirms it by telling us it's because it appears as blood. Then many hundreds of years later we see it recorded as fact in the newspapers and media of the day that the moon had the appearance of blood on a dark and sunless day!







PROPHECY # 5

THE STARS SHALL FALL FROM HEAVEN




Matthew 24:29

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:




Documented Records reveal...







An eyewitness reported "This language of the prophet has always been received as metaphorical. Yesterday it was literally fulfilled,... as no man before yesterday had conceived to be possible that it should be fulfilled... Were I to hunt through nature for a simile, I could not find one so apt to illustrate the appearance of the heavens as that which St. John uses in the prophecy... They were what the world understands by the name of "Falling Stars" -Eyewitness account in the New York Journal of Commerce, vol.8, no.534, Saturday, Nov 16,1833 Edition.

"The morning of November 13th, 1833," says an eyewitness, a Yale astronomer, "was rendered memorable by an exhibition of the phenomenon called shooting stars, which was probably more extensive and magnificent than any similar one hitherto recorded... Probably no celestial phenomenon has ever occurred in this country since its first settlement, which was viewed with so much admiration and delight by one class of spectators, or with so much astonishment and fear by another class." -DENISON OLMSTED in The American Journal of Science and Arts, vol. 25 (1834), pp. 363, 364




"From the Gulf of Mexico to Halifax, until daylight with some difficulty put an end to the display, the sky was scored in every direction with shining tracks and illuminated with majestic fireballs. At Boston, the frequency of meteors was estimated to be about half that of flakes of snow in an average snowstorm... Traced backwards, their paths were invariably found to converge to a point in the constellation Leo." -AGNES M. CLEREKE, A Popular History of Astronomy (1885 ed.), pp. 369, 370.




Frederick Douglas, in reminiscing about his early days of slavery, says: "I witnessed this gorgeous spectacle, and was awe-struck. The air seemed filled with bright messengers from the sky... I was not without the suggestion at the moment that it might be the harbringer of the coming of the Son of Man; and in my then state of mind I was prepared to hail Him as my friend and deliverer. I had read that "the stars shall fall from heaven, and they were now falling." -Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1941 ed.), p.117.




The devil has again been very busy hiding these historical facts for very obvious reasons. Had I known of these prophetic events in my youth, I would have been searching the Scriptures a lot sooner than the ripe old age of 27! Did you notice this line from above? "which was viewed with so much admiration and delight by one class of spectators, or with so much astonishment and fear by another class" What an awesome preamble to that great and terrible day of our Lord. Some will embrace the day and proclaim with delight... "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us:..." [Isaiah 25:9] And still others will cry out to the mountains and rocks in fear... "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb" [Revelation 6:16]




There is one more prophecy that is in connection with the previous three...

http://www.remnantofgod.org/rapt2.htm#Staying

PROPHECY # 6

THERE MUST BE A GREAT EARTHQUAKE "BEFORE" THE SUN IS DARKENED AND THE MOON BECOMES AS BLOOD




Revelation 6:12

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;




Did you notice, Revelation 6:12 actually puts it in chronological order. It states that "there was a great earthquake" and then John writes "the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;"




A great earthquake? How great? Greater than San Franciso? Greater than Mexico City? And will it occur before The remarkable Dark Day of May 19, 1780? Well, 25 years BEFORE "the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;" There was an earthquake of the greatest magnitude ever recorded in history!







"The Lisbon Earthquake, which occurred on November 1, 1755, is the most notable earthquake in history." -Nelson's New Loose-leaf Encyclopedia (Book Productions Industries Inc.), art. "Earthquake."

Says Sir Charles Lyell, "A violent shock threw down the greater part of the city. In the course of about six minutes, 60,000 persons perished. The sea first retired and laid the bar dry; it then rolled in, rising 50 feet or more above its ordinary level... The area over which this convulsion extended is very remarkable." -Principles of Geology (11th ed., 1872), vol. 2, pp. 147, 148.




Encyclopedia Britannica (1945) estimates the deaths at a lower figure, but says the effects of the quake were felt from Scotland to Asia Minor and the distinctive feature of the Lisbon Earthquake was the agitation of inland lakes and streams far beyond the disturbed area -For instance, Italy, Switzerland, Great Britain, Sweden, and Norway felt the effects. (Articles "Lisbon" and "Earthquakes".)




This earthquake was so intense that it still fascinates Scientists of today. Some have even gone so far as to try and say a black hole hit Lisbon! Can you imagine? To go to such lengths as to try and disprove the Bible with such an outrageous claim as this. Anyone with an ounce of sense that has read even the slightest amount of data on the makeup of a black hole would know that this is impossible. The entire planet would be destroyed if a black hole even came near our orbit, let alone hit us!




YOU CANNOT DISPROVE THE INFALLIBLE WORD OF GOD!




http://www.remnantofgod.org/rapt2.htm#Staying