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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Weinland, Ronald.

When the Countdown Ends

ISBN: 978-0-578-60397-1 (softcover)

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

THE WAR THAT ENDS ALL WAR

Chapter 2

TRUTH AND SCRIPTURAL PROOF

Chapter 3

WWIII WAS FORETOLD BY GOD

Chapter 4

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE EU

Chapter 5

THE SEVEN TRUMPETS OF REVELATION

Chapter 6

FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE

Chapter 7

A NEW ERA FOR MANKIND

Chapter 8

GOD’S HOLY DAYS REVEAL WHAT IS TRUE

Chapter 9

THE PROPHETIC COUNTDOWN COMPLETED

Chapter 1

THE WAR THAT ENDS ALL WAR

Throughout the centuries, wars have come and gone. But over the past century, war has become increasingly devastating due to the rapid development of technology. Toward the end of WWII, the world was sobered when the first two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan. It only took two of these new bombs to kill nearly 200,000 people.

Those two bombs were actually very small compared to what mankind has developed since. Nuclear weapons have now been made that are nearly 4,000 times more powerful. That is very difficult to grasp, let alone to imagine the destructive capacity they contain.

The first two atomic bombs sent up a mushroom cloud, each to about 25,000 feet (over 4.7 miles) or 7,600 meters. In 1961, the Russians set off the Tsar Bomba (RDS-220) that sent up a mushroom cloud over 37 miles high or 60 kilometers and sent shockwaves around the globe nearly three times over. Such power is nearly unimaginable.

The flash of that detonation was seen some 620 miles away (1,000 km). An uninhabited village 34 miles (55 km) away from ground zero was leveled, and buildings were damaged as far away as 100 miles (160 km). Such a device could nearly level the city of Los Angeles or New York City.

Back in August 1945, when those two bombs exploded in Japan, the world entered a new age. It was the beginning of an age that revealed what God long ago declared would eventually come to pass. It involves much prophecy that God foretold would happen at the end of the first age of mankind—not the end of mankind, but the end of one age and the dawning of a new one.

What has mankind done with the weapons it has developed? Inevitably, they are used! Doesn’t this warrant consideration of the distinct probability that massive thermonuclear weapons are going to be used sooner or later? If you could know how soon that might be, wouldn’t you want to know? Wouldn’t you also want to know what you might be able to do for yourself and loved ones to be better prepared and protected?

This book is being written for that very purpose—to help as many as possible who will accept help. To accept such help means that one will have to openly and honestly evaluate what is written and not prejudge it harshly or rashly.

Three books have been written previous to this one, the first in 2005, and all have had the same motive: to inform, warn, and to exert every effort to try to help people become more fully prepared for what is coming.

A couple years after that first book, it was learned that there are actual timelines and prophetic segments of time that one can observe in order to zero in on specific events that are leading up to WWIII. Although it will be covered in detail later in this book, there is a prophetic countdown to WWIII that began on December 17, 1994.

Several prophetic segments of time have already been completed that fit perfectly into this countdown where important prophetic events have already been fulfilled. We are nearing the last possible segments of time that can fit into that countdown.

These prophetic segments and actual dates in which they fall can be calculated. Although we do not know which specific segment is the last one that leads directly into WWIII, God has nevertheless given us the ability to know these specific markers in time for when this can take place. It is by this means that we have the ability to keep watch for when this last timeline of the countdown can begin so that we can be properly prepared.

Now, since that time, even far greater understanding and clarity has been learned about that countdown, including prophetic events that can be identified along with the actions of key nations, all of which are increasingly becoming fulfilled. As you read about these times, events, acting participants and nations, you may experience a measure of fear.

A balanced and realistic attitude that includes a decent measure of fear can serve to motivate one into proper action that can and will save the lives of many.

What is coming is truly horrifying and has a level of destructiveness that is hard for the mind to comprehend. Ignoring it does not keep it from happening and does not make it go away. Facing it and adjusting one’s life accordingly is the beginning for wisely preparing oneself for what is right now on our doorstep.

Whenever the name “God” is used, people tend to have many different kinds of reactions. Most are not positive. Therefore, making that earlier statement about what God said so long ago introduces a reality that contains much dilemma.

The first instance of dilemma emerges because of the difficult choices that have to be made of how to try to best reach out to people, how to plead, how to help, how not to offend and yet state what is true as clearly, boldly, and succinctly as possible. Much of this dilemma comes because of knowing that there are vastly varying religious beliefs that people hold to and then there are others which have no belief at all.

Great effort will need to go into trying to explain matters truthfully, yet striving not to offend. When it comes to religious beliefs people hold dear, it can often be taken offensively to others when something different is stated as being true. So it might be good to simply say that in all that will be written, no one is being condemned or judged for what they believe.

No one is perfect in life. We all have some things in our life that we believe to be true, and then find in time that they are not. Life is actually improved and made better when we can find those things that are not true, so then we can correct them and thereby become more knowledgeable and often wiser. Yet so often such changes can also be difficult and humbling to address.

So how can the greatest number of people be reached and then helped with what is soon going to unfold right before them? How can anyone deal with the knowledge of a potential reality that brings about the destruction of over 1/3 of all life on earth?

The next instance for much dilemma concerns the reader. This is because many of the things stated in this book will cause nearly every individual to have to make a choice of whether to openly consider what is stated or to simply stop reading at all. There will be choices about whether to objectively consider what one has always been taught and thought to be true, and then comparing that with evidence of things easily proven to actually be true.

Why Speak of God?

Covering a subject that seeks to substantiate the validity of that which leads to the potential eradication of nearly two-thirds of all life on earth is a daunting task. It is disconcerting and disturbing.

Again, how can one plead with others to at least try to objectively and honestly consider what is being presented? How can someone be encouraged to pause and give some consideration to statements that at first may sound shocking, far out, or even repulsive? The plea in this case is to please just give a little time to hear the full story and the proof that is presented.

Ever since mankind has been on earth, people have wrestled with the thought of whether God exists. For those who have actually believed in the existence of God, God is portrayed in a great variety of ways, with vastly differing ideas and religious beliefs. Division and wars over such ideas have very often led to great destruction, massive butchery and killing, oppression, and great evil perpetuated upon others.

This has been going on for several thousand years. Actually, it has been going on for exactly just how long God states it has, as God states he has given 6,000 years as a witness of what mankind will do. The very reason God is being mentioned at the very beginning of this book is because of what is now coming to pass—God has foretold it all. It is only God who knows the end from the beginning. That is because only God can reveal how He has been working with mankind from the beginning of creation and how He will accomplish His purpose by completing what He began. If a person will not consider such truth, then in many ways there really is no reason to continue reading. One’s mind is already made up—it is set. Then such a person will only be able to know what will come to pass when it actually happens, and then it really will be too late to prepare.

In so many ways, humans are only as infants! Our minds cannot grasp the universe that surrounds us. It is easier for far too many to believe everything just began with a big bang and then in time—a very long time—life simply began to evolve. We tend to be so narrow-minded and blind to things that should be obvious. We like to consider ourselves as “knowing creatures—intelligent.” In this age of mankind, people tend to take great pride in the advancement of technology and our grasp of science. But we still tend to be as infants, and very often, even as fools.

Those who embrace a big bang and/or evolution of life over vast periods of time fail to use true science in their conclusions. Instead, we are expected to simply just jump ahead in acceptance of such ridiculous unscientific ideas. A big bang… by what laws did a bang occur?

Where did the matter come from for which such a big bang could create such a vast universe? As advancement in technology grows, so does our knowledge of the size of the universe. The reason for that has to do with the ability to “see” farther into this universe—a universe which no one has yet been able to “see” its end.

In all that mankind has learned over the past many decades, how could such order and laws just suddenly come into existence in such a universe? Mathematics is absolute. Laws are absolute. They do not evolve and they do not suddenly burst onto the scene.

Yes, we are like infants and not great at all. Only in the past hundred years or so has mankind really begun to grasp the greater depths of math and science. Only in this period has technology finally burst upon the world scene—technology that has revolutionized the world. Are the minds of humans that much greater now than they were a few hundred years ago, or a few thousand years ago?

Again, we tend to be so narrow-minded, short sighted, and prideful. That which has been discovered—unlocked—in math and science has always been there. We just could not “see” it! We are not better, nor more advanced than those who have gone before us.

So what has changed? Why are we so far ahead of those who throughout time have remained in what we might today consider as the “dark ages” of mankind?

Typically, instead of looking at the remote possibility that God may have had a hand in all this, people would rather teach about and laud over great inventors of the past.

Consider one such person, Isaac Newton. It is stated of him from one source that “Newton united the heavens and the Earth with his laws. Thanks to him, scientists believed they had a chance of unlocking the universe’s secrets.”

Now is a good time to stop and “think.” Newton had laws? He helped lead the way to unlocking the universe’s secrets? Really? Certainly, it is understood that this was not saying these laws were his, but those he came to understand—laws that have always been there from the beginning.

It is easier for mere humans to focus on “our” achievements, knowledge, ideas, and intellect, rather than focusing upon the One who makes knowledge, achievement, and intellect possible. It is easier to heap praise upon those who discover laws that are already in motion, rather than upon the One who set those laws in motion in the first place.

The ability to conceive of such a mind as God’s is next to impossible for humans. It is much easier to skip all that, ignore that, and just jump past it all and focus instead on our own great achievements and those who have led the way in accomplishing them.

And most of all, human nature does not want to fully accept thinking that includes truth about God—especially that He is the Creator of everything. If that were acknowledged, then much more would have to be faced and addressed that goes deep into the human mind—that which human nature does not want revealed. It is about ourselves and our base nature. Mankind really does not want such an absolute authority in its life—authority that tells one “how” to live the life it has been given.

The mind by nature does not want an authority that tells it how to live in order to have the greatest happiness, fullness, abundance, and prosperity possible. Instead, we tend to want to decide such things for ourselves. Then we should ask, “How are we doing?”

Yes, we are as infants and even less when compared to a Creator God. Our minds cannot grasp that which is beyond physical life and physical laws. So why pretend we do? Yet, knowledge and understanding of that which is spiritual actually works to make one truly free!

The TRUTH is that God has a plan for His creation of mankind. That plan is now at the end of God’s first phase in His very purpose for the creation of human life. God is now more fully revealing what that plan is all about because the time has now come to complete it—to fulfill it. For the previous 6,000 years, such understanding has been withheld from mankind, just as other knowledge has been withheld.

Advancements in mathematics, the sciences, and technology had been withheld from mankind. In truth, over the millennia such knowledge has not been given until this time at the end of this age of mankind’s self-rule on earth. Mankind of itself did not suddenly just gain the ability to understand mathematics and science as it has—God gave it! God has in His own time and power communicated to mankind such knowledge and revelation (discovery) that has not been previously known.

God does not rely and depend upon a physical plane or realm in which to function, but He did create it. God exists in a realm far beyond that which is physical and that is why mankind cannot understand such a thing until God reveals it. God communicates through and exists in a spirit realm. God does not need to communicate through the use of physical law in a physical realm, but in a spirit one in which He can communicate and reveal things—anything—directly to a human mind—to the thought and thinking of the human mind.

It is God who gave Isaac Newton the discovery and knowledge he came to know. It is God who gave Albert Einstein the insight he had. This is true with all great advancement in mathematics and the sciences. The TRUTH is that God did not give this knowledge and understanding to mankind sooner due to His overall plan and purpose for the first 6,000 years of human life.

The reason for that is because if God had done so, we would have destroyed ourselves millennia ago. God’s purpose has been to give mankind 6,000 years of self-rule before He fully intervenes in their affairs and then leads them into a new and highly prosperous age—for all the peoples of the world to benefit.

Mankind is at the doorstep that is leading to total self-destruction—the complete annihilation of all life. The greater the technology, the more destruction we are bringing to the very planet on which we live.

Candidly, if there is no God, life on earth is doomed. But humans tend to be filled with excessive pride and most will choose to believe that we can yet solve our own problems through our own intellect. The truth is that thermonuclear war is coming and there are enough nuclear weapons in the hands of many nations to destroy all life several times over. That is the truth!

TRUTH!

There is a rather infamous but fairly well-known quote that sums up much about the attitude of people when it comes to the subject of “truth.”

On the day Christ was put to death, scripture quotes what he stated to Pilate and then Pilate’s response. It goes like this: Pilate asked if he was a king and Christ responded by saying, “That is the purpose for which I was born and the reason I have come into the world, so that I could bear witness of the [that] truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice” (John 18:37).

Then Pilate’s response was that which is typical of human nature as he responded by saying, “What is truth?” (John 18:38). Then he walked away. He did not want Christ’s answer.

The world is very much like that today when it comes to the subject of “truth,” especially when it comes to religion. People tend to want their own truth. Herein is the problem that has existed for 6,000 years of human history. If God exists, then it should be easy to agree with what Christ stated, “God’s word is truth.” But there are literally thousands of varying interpretations, ideas, teachings, and beliefs as to what that truth is.

If God exists, then there can only be one truth that comes from God. That shouldn’t be a hard concept to acknowledge. The reason for stressing the consideration of whether or not God exists is because if someone does not believe that, then there really is no purpose in discussing the distinct possibility that God has been increasingly unveiling a clear roadmap to the end of this age and a quickly approaching WWIII.

The truth is that over the past few centuries God has been giving mankind more advanced knowledge in a very measured manner. This has been in order to bring us to this very time, to the level of technological development that we now see. God has meticulously orchestrated this so that technology could grow to its current state in a very timely manner.

If mankind would have used such knowledge for the betterment of all, the world would be much different. But God knows what we will do when given such vast resources, knowledge, and understanding. We will misuse them. We have only made the world a far more polluted and dangerous place in which to live. This is primarily due to individual greed, corporate greed, and even national greed.

At the end of our 6,000-year span of history, God is revealing just how incapable we are of governing ourselves. We are by nature selfish and that nature resists God and His truth. God declares that the carnal mind is at enmity against Him. It states that this mind is not subject to His laws and neither indeed can be.

Something has to change! That is where we find ourselves in time. God is going to bring about great change and in doing so He first reveals to us how horrifyingly destructive our nature truly is. Once we can begin to face the reality of that truth on such a massive worldwide scale, then a new era for mankind can begin to be established.

God is allowing mankind to “see” itself on a level never before possible. Inevitably, mankind misuses the power it has been given. Even if nuclear war did not become a reality soon, eventually we would still destroy life on earth. But the proliferation and inevitable misuse of nuclear power is simply going to speed up the process.

God declares that in our time now, once this last war commences, that one-third of all life will be destroyed before He will begin to step in to stop it. Yet even then, it is recorded that most of mankind will still not want God’s intervention, so even more destruction will follow. This book will cover those details far more fully and reveal the kind of participation different nations will have.

What is soon to happen will become the greatest lesson for all earth’s history. It will be the hardest to learn, but it is only in this manner that wars can be brought to an end. WWIII will be the war to end all wars.

Mankind has made meager efforts through the League of Nations and the United Nations to end wars. How has that gone? Therein is much of the lesson to be learned. Mankind cannot give the world peace. Only God can, and thankfully He will. But first, there will be catastrophic destruction on a level that the human mind cannot really conceive.

What is truth? This book is set in the premise that what is being revealed here about a prophesied WWIII and its outcome is based on truth—truth given by God. In order to show what is true, that which is false must also be made clear, because this has everything to do with why God is now allowing such judgment to come upon His creation.

Again, what is truth? God declares that overall, mankind is deceived. Mankind does not grasp that it is deceived, but that is the reality of human life. Human nature believes it is right. It cannot easily acknowledge it may be wrong, or that it is deceived.

So who is correct when it comes to truth? Does the truth come from Buddhism or Hinduism? Is it from Islam or Judaism? Is it from Catholicism or perhaps traditional Christianity? This truly needs to be seen for what it is.

If you are Muslim, do you believe the Jews are correct? If you are Hindu, do you believe Buddhism is true? If you are Catholic, do you believe that Judaism, Islam, or traditional Christianity is correct? The answer should be right in front of your eyes. No one believes other religion to be true and correct or they would choose it.

In focusing on this subject of “truth,” let’s look more closely at traditional Christianity. But where should we start? This will not be easy for many, yet in statements that are going to be made, there is sound proof of what is false and what is true that will follow.

That which will be covered here, and even more so in the chapter to follow, is not given with any purpose to condemn or offend. It is given to hopefully enlighten. People cannot help that most of the truths covered in this book have never been taught to them. Once a person clearly sees things that are true, then it is easier to deal with what is false. It will also work to help people better prepare for what is just ahead of us in a final world war.

Where did most of the major doctrines of belief come from that traditional Christianity has adopted? If one really wants to know the truth of this, then one only has to do a very little amount of research on the Internet. Do your own search by typing in the origin of Easter, Sunday worship, Christmas, and the doctrine of the Trinity. After all, these are the very foundational beliefs of most in traditional Christianity.

You can come to see for yourself how Sunday worship in traditional Christianity began. It was changed from the seventh day of the week (Saturday, the Sabbath) to Sunday on the first day of the week. This can now be somewhat confusing to some, because a few decades ago many countries began to change the days of the week, where Monday became listed as the first day of the week, thus making Sunday to then be on the seventh day, as though it was the original Sabbath day. All these things are not difficult to find in history.

This book is not going to quote all the historical sources that prove these matters about what is true and what is not. It is far better for one, if they want to be honest with themselves, to do a small amount of research on their own. It is very easy to do.

If someone rejects what is true upon being challenged like this, then that will be their choice anyway and there is no point in trying to dissuade them. They will believe what they want regardless of what can be proven. As it was stated earlier, “People tend to want their own truth.”

Here is where an individual’s own choices become exceedingly important. One of the most difficult things in life for a person to deal with in a mature fashion and then come to grips with is that each of us must “learn to own our own choices.”

The truth is that traditional Christianity did not even exist until the first phases of it began to become organized throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. They cannot trace the origins of their beliefs to the teaching of the original apostles. But one can trace the origins of traditional Christianity back to its roots, which is in the Catholic Church.

If all the churches who have their roots in the Catholic Church are honest, shouldn’t they address why they have accepted most of her major doctrines as true and fundamentally foundational to all their own most basic doctrines? So what is true? Who is correct? What changes have made any one of them truer than the other? And if changes were necessary, then what was false that needed changing?

False Ideas Perpetuated for Centuries

Often times people find it hard to believe that over centuries of time false ideas can be perpetuated, transformed, and then assimilated into society. The reality is that false ideas have often been accepted into religion as the norm and even as the truth.

From the Bible, there is a unique story of just such a thing that is contained in the Book of Numbers. The story is about Moses leading the children of Israel through the wilderness. On this journey that lasted for 40 years, the Israelites often grumbled and complained along the way. On one such occasion, they had become discouraged because of the way Moses was leading them, so they began speaking out against Moses and God.

There was no water in the land for which to raise crops and they had become tired of the manna God was supplying them. So God sent out venomous snakes among them. Because many people began to die, they then began to acknowledge their disobedience to God and asked that the snakes be taken away.

“Then the Eternal said to Moses, ‘Make a poisonous serpent and set it on a pole, and when anyone who is bitten shall look upon it, they shall live.’ So Moses made a bronze serpent and put it on a pole, and whenever a serpent bit someone and they then looked upon the serpent of bronze they lived” (Numbers 21:8-9).

An incredible incident involving this same bronze serpent came back into historical importance in an account that happened over 700 years later. This occasion occurred at a time when the nation of Judah had strayed far away from obedience to God as they were worshipping in a manner that was forbidden. Hezekiah, a young king who sought to be faithful to God and turn Judah back to God, began to have the temple cleansed and the places and objects of false worship destroyed. Here is that account:

“He [Hezekiah] did what was right in the sight of the Eternal, just as his forefather David had done. He removed the high places and broke the images, and cut down the wooden image [the Asherah—a Canaanite goddess], and broke in pieces the bronze serpent Moses had made, for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and he called it Nehushtan [just a piece of brass]” (2 Kings 18:3-4).

The children of Israel began to look upon this pole as a kind of religious symbol of worship, as they even burned incense to it because they came to look upon it as a symbol of healing power, so Hezekiah destroyed it.

That symbol of healing did not go away because the Israelites perpetuated it as a source of power for healing. Just because Hezekiah destroyed it, that did not stop them from worshipping before other symbols resembling it when they desired to be healed of something. Today in hospitals and on ambulances you often see this same symbol of healing even though it is not worshipped. The symbol for healing has continued now for over three thousand years.

It is in a similar fashion that many other things have come into religion and worship that God neither gave nor intended, and much of it from the worship of other deities. People are simply unaware of these things that have crept in over the centuries.

It will be covered more later, but it would be good to consider here the origin (etymology) of the word Easter. The Old English “eastre” is of Germanic origin and related to the German “Ostern” and “east.” Some do recognize this word, religious practice (customs), and connection with the word “Eastre” which is the name of a goddess of fertility and spring. Actually, this word is connected with the practice and symbols in the worship of the same goddess in numerous nationalities and languages. The word containing the direction of the east was all centered around the importance to agrarian societies of the sun and its importance in agriculture.

It was during the spring equinox that many different nationalities of people held a festival and they named it after their goddess of fertility that was associated with the power of the sun to produce life. This is where the importance and practice at that occasion of the year began with a sunrise service—that of looking to the east as the sun would rise.

This goddess was worshipped by numerous nationalities of people through time. She was believed to be the consort—the counterpart to Baal. Throughout time and cultures some changes have occurred among different nationalities of people. She has been referred to in scripture as the “queen of heaven.” She has taken a form of worship under the names of Isis, Ishtar, and Astarte.

Although some become upset by this, the truth is that the very name “Easter” has strong association and symbolism in the practices of the worship of this false deity. The name does not come out of scripture. But it does indeed come from these false forms of worship associated with deities of sun worship and fertility.

So the practice of sunrise service on a Sunday morning around the time of the spring equinox does not come out of scripture. The use of rabbits and egg gathering are associated with practices going back a few thousand years ago. Though many different religious groups try to dismiss such things as untrue, nevertheless, this is true!

Sunday and Sunrise Worship

For many it is going to be difficult to “face” the reality of certain truths that people have simply never known, and these truths bear great reason as to why the end of an age of mankind has come and this world is now going to be changed—changed by God! This has everything to do with why God is going to allow mankind to destroy 1/3 of all life before He will intervene to stop it.

God is now bringing mankind to the time when the world is going to have to face “truth” of what is true concerning Him and what is false. Mankind is not going to be allowed to continue living by its own standards, ideas, religious beliefs, various forms of government and ways of life. The ways of mankind do not produce freedom or peace—only God’s way can.

So here is one of the greatest corrections that need to be made. Christ was not resurrected on a Sunday morning and that can be easily proven. Christ wasn’t even resurrected on the first day of the week (Sunday). But so many who are so deeply immersed in the false idea that it was a Sunday morning just don’t want to face it. It is far easier to simply dismiss it as farcical so that they do not have to address something so very uncomfortable to them.

The proof is going to be given later in this book, along with many other truths not known to those in traditional Christianity and the Catholic faith.

It will later be proven beyond any doubt about the truth that Christ was resurrected at the end of the daytime portion of the Sabbath—the seventh day of the week—just before the first day of the week (Sunday) was to begin at sundown. During the time of Christ, and throughout most of the age of mankind, a new day was always recognized as beginning at sundown. It did not begin at midnight as it is today.

Yes, it is true; Christ was not resurrected on Sunday morning and not even on that day of the week. In addition, he did not die on what many call “good Friday.” He died earlier in the week. Again, this is going to be clearly and easily proven from scripture itself. So how is it people could be kept in such darkness, confusion, and untruth for centuries? Well, that is what each person must face and then decide for themselves what they will then do and believe.

When that which is false is exposed and that which is true is revealed then one must choose what they will continue to believe. Is it possible that human nature can easily choose to believe whatever it wants in spite of what is true and easily proven?

Christianity Became Divided

Before going any further, it would be good to simply stop and test oneself as to whether a person can be honest with themselves. Can one objectively address beliefs long held as true that are then exposed as false? That isn’t easy to do.

God declares that His word is the truth and that it is His truth that can make one free. People don’t seem to grasp that by acceptance of that which is not true—that which is false—that they are actually held back in a kind of captivity. Being deceived and holding to things that are not true is a form of “spiritual captivity” which literally works against the human mind. If one works to free themselves of error, of deception, of things that are not true, then they can begin to experience what is genuinely true, and they will then be able to begin experiencing true freedom and peace on a level not possible before.

That kind of freedom is a spiritual matter of the mind, which liberates and strengthens in ways few ever experience in life. Most do not grasp that the functioning of the human mind is not a physical element or process, but it is literally a spiritual element. This is why mankind can only deal with the physical elements and state of the human mind. They cannot see or measure that which is of a spirit essence in the mind.

When discussing Christianity, we need to go back to the beginning. The truth is that God’s Church—the original Christianity—began in 31 AD on the annual Holy Day of Pentecost. That Pentecost followed the beginning of a new Holy Day season after Christ had been put to death on the annual observance of the day of Passover. God declares that Christ died as the Passover for all mankind, and he died on the annual day of that observance.

After Christ’s death and resurrection, the disciples did not come together to observe Easter, and there is no account of them ever doing so for decades to follow.

Fifty days after the resurrection of Christ, the disciples were gathered in Jerusalem to observe the commanded annual Holy Day of Pentecost. Scripture clearly reveals that their continued practice was to observe God’s laws, which included the observance of the annual Holy Days outlined in Leviticus 23. They never kept Christmas, and they never observed Easter.

As Christianity began to slowly grow and move into other regions of the Roman Empire, it received great resistance from others in the world, especially from government, just as Christ’s words were resisted and rejected by the majority, and he was sentenced to death by the government. That has never changed much throughout the centuries.

Following Christ’s death and the beginning of God’s Church that followed, in time other ideas about Christ and his teaching began to creep into the Roman dominated world. There were priests and teachers of other deities who liked and adopted the stories about God and His Son. They mixed these with many of their own beliefs. These new stories and history were better than those which they had been using to sway and influence people through their own ideas and beliefs of their deities.

Indeed, the ancient Romans were noted for the great number of deities they honored and they attributed their success as a world power to the collective piety (pietas) through their efforts of keeping good relations with the gods. The Romans conquered many nations and used the practice of assimilating many of those conquered people’s religious beliefs and practices along with their own. This is simply a matter of written history.

Ancient Roman religion was centered more upon knowledge of the correct practice of prayer and ritual rather than upon faith in what was believed. When God’s Church began after Pentecost in 31 AD and the teaching of Christianity began to spread, the priests and teachers of the deities of the Roman world found it easy to assimilate those practices and teachings about God and Christ into their own. This practice and movement proved so successful that they too adopted the name “Christian” to identify themselves.

By 325 AD, this movement among these priests of the Roman Empire, who were calling themselves Christian, had grown in such influence and power that the Emperor Constantine himself stepped in to consolidate the teachings of this new kind of Christianity. History records that he did this because there were divisive influences among these widely scattered priests of the Roman Empire. He set out to unify them and create a new state religion.

Constantine wanted to bring the priests into agreement with a newly established and unified set of beliefs. Not only that, but he also set out to eradicate and outlaw a sect of Christianity, which to most Romans was too closely associated with Judaism. Jews had long been hated within the Roman world. They were even used as slaves to build the great Colosseum in Rome.

The Roman Emperor Constantine called for a conference in which all matters about Christendom were to become established and united within the Roman Empire. He called together what became known as the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD and he also participated in its decision-making process.

It is here that the Nicene Creed became established, which is a statement of belief that included the creation of the Trinity doctrine. In historical accounts it is recorded that much of Constantine’s motivation for bringing the primary leaders of Roman priests together was because of the divisive teaching of one of these Roman priests named Arius. In the view of Constantine and the larger group of Roman priests, Arius was holding too closely with the teachings of those Jews who were going throughout the Roman Empire teaching about Christ.

There was great dispute among the Roman priests about the nature of Christ. Arius taught that he, the son of God, was created and his life only came into existence after his birth from Mary his mother. The vastly more popular group, who had the ear and agreement of Constantine, believed that Christ was also God and had eternally existed.

These matters can easily be looked up and read on the Internet. To make a long story short, the Trinity became established as one of many doctrines at that time, which then became established as one of the primary teachings of this new Roman Church. Constantine was creating the official religion for all the Roman Empire.

Arius became labeled as a heretic and was exiled. Although he did agree with many of the other teachings of those priests who had gathered in Nicaea, he would not change his stance in his belief that Christ did not exist before being born of his mother Mary. His divisive stand with those priests of Rome did spur them to consolidate their belief in a Trinity doctrine and the belief of Christ’s eternal existence. This controversy set the way for a different church, one other than the original Church, to emerge on the world scene, which greatly grew due to it being backed and supported by the Roman government of that time. Then nearly 1,100 years later, other churches calling themselves Christian broke away from the government of that Roman Church and became the foundation for Protestant churches.

Not only did the doctrine of the Trinity become established at that time in 325 AD, but Easter was also officially adopted. Because the springtime observance of Easter was in direct opposition to the teaching about the annual springtime observance of Passover, Passover became outlawed in the Roman Empire.

Even the observance of the weekly Sabbath on the 7th day of the week became outlawed. This new Roman Christianity used the story of Easter as their authority for changing the seventh day observance of the Sabbath to the first day of the week—Sunday. This change was justified, not by scripture, but by them, by teaching that Christ was resurrected on a Sunday morning, which he was not! When they came to the tomb of Christ on that Sunday morning following his death, the angel declared that he had already risen. But it did not say he rose Sunday morning.

Furthermore, the Catholic Encyclopedia acknowledges that there is no authoritative scripture giving authority to change the 7th day Sabbath to the 1st day of the week on Sunday, rather they declare that it is by the authority that they claim was given to the Catholic Church and its Popes. Therefore, they are basically stating that all Protestant churches have no authority in scripture for observing the 1st day of the week on Sunday as their Sabbath, but instead, they have accepted the authority of the Catholic Church for doing so.

Although persecuted over the centuries, the original Church of 31 AD has continued to this day in the annual observance of Passover, despite it being outlawed very early by the Roman Empire. It is clear that Christ himself instituted the new ceremony for the observance of Passover in the Book of John, chapter 13. The apostle, Paul, also taught and commanded the Church to observe that same ceremony in its observance of Passover (1 Cor. 11:23-28 & 1 Cor. 5:1-8).

So which is true? Is Passover or Easter to be observed by those calling themselves after the name of Christ? These are decisions one must make as to what they choose to believe and what they choose to disbelieve.

The world is so very confused as to who God really is and what God truly says. The purpose for pointing out these misconceptions and false stories about God and Christ have everything to do with whether one can begin to recognize and believe the warning of this book in order to properly prepare for a third world war.

Two Opposing Teachings About Christ

Due to its support by the dominant world power of that time, the Roman Church that Emperor Constantine established over the Roman Empire quickly grew in great popularity, power, and size. It continued its growth in popularity, influence, and power over the centuries that followed and became recognized as “Christianity,” while God’s own Church became oppressed and suppressed and seen only as a dangerous sect.

Before covering prophecy that is focused upon this current time in all of human history, the following chapter is going to cover a more in-depth look at specific stories that are simply untrue about God and Christ. This is not being done to condemn or attack anyone for what they believe. It is being done to illuminate what is true, and to potentially free people from what is not true.

So the truth is, the Christianity that began in 31 AD is not the same “Christianity” that developed and grew large in the Roman Empire and the world after 325 AD.

The ability to honestly face and address vast differences in two opposing teachings about Christianity can begin by simply looking back at childhood. At some point, children raised in traditional Christianity learn in time that they have not been told the truth about some very basic things. They learn that there is no Easter bunny and they face the truth that there is no such thing as Santa Claus who lives in the North Pole and takes presents to children all over the world on the same night. That is a view largely promoted within the United States and adopted by many throughout the world. But there are similar associations with the observance of Christmas that include some different customs and names for Santa Claus. The story of Santa Claus originated from the British figure Father Christmas, and the Dutch Sinterklaas. In other places in the world he is also known as St. Nick or St. Nicholas.

The next logical step should be to ask where Christmas actually came from in the first place. It isn’t out of scripture—none of it. Most teachers within traditional Christianity have now come to recognize and acknowledge that Christ was not born anywhere around December 25th—and not in winter at all. The historical account in scripture reveals that he was born in the early fall. It has actually only been within the past few decades that teachers of traditional Christianity have finally begun to admit this truth.

Another account taught concerning Christmas is that there was a star shining down over the little village of Bethlehem that directed the way to where Christ was born. That too is a fable and also contrary to astronomy. In truth, a star in scripture is often simply used when speaking of a spirit created angelic being. It was indeed an angel that showed the way to where Christ was born.

Again, it is easy today to find such information by an easy search on the Internet.

The ideas about Christ’s birth and this period near the time of the winter solstice were assimilated together into a religious observance by the Church of Rome in the 12th century. At that time a festival already existed that had been primarily established by another Roman emperor named Aurelian. Sol Invictus (“Unconquered Sun”) was the official sun god of the later Roman Empire and a patron of soldiers.

On the 25th of December of AD 274, Aurelian made it an official deity alongside the other traditional Roman deities. The reason Christmas became recognized by the Roman Church is recorded in the annotation to a manuscript of a work by a 12th century bishop Jacob Bar-Salibi. It is recorded:

“It was a custom of the Pagans to celebrate on the same 25 December the birthday of the Sun, at which they kindled lights in token of festivity. In these solemnities and revelries the Christians also took part. Accordingly when the doctors of the Church perceived that the Christians had a leaning to this festival, they took counsel and resolved that the true Nativity should be solemnized on that day.”

Christmas is the creation of that Roman Catholic Church. Christmas is the combination of two words. They are “Christ” and “mass” which is the central liturgical ritual of the Catholic Church. The overwhelming majority of those in traditional Christianity hold to this teaching and practice of the observance of Christmas, but this has never been recognized by God’s Church and those calling themselves Christian who have their doctrine and lineage from that early Church of 31 AD.

Some will ask, what is the harm in observing such a thing if Santa Claus is a fable and Christmas really isn’t the time of Christ’s birth? It doesn’t matter if one does not care what God has to say about such practices and customs. But if one does care, then wouldn’t you want to know the truth about what God says about it?

The True Messiah

In this final section of this chapter, many of the differences in two vastly opposing beliefs of Christianity are going to be stated. The following chapter will go into absolute scriptural proof of what is recorded about what is true.

The truth is that these two views are vastly different and oppose one another. Only one can be true and the other false, or both are false. But both cannot be true!

That which has been assimilated into society by the masses over centuries is easy to accept—even as true. Actually, human nature tends to gravitate to such conformity. But going against such established norms and exposing what is false is exceedingly hard and often harshly resisted. Accepting what is true and living by it is near to impossible.

That is why WWIII is soon to become a reality. Few in the world have ever known or heard the truth of God’s purpose in creating human life. Few have ever known that God has a preset plan for human life and how He is systematically accomplishing that plan and purpose.

The reality is that God has clearly established cyclical periods of time for mankind. God gave the seven-day week to mankind wherein the seventh day was to be a reminder that He is our Creator and the Creator of all things. God gave the seven-day week as a prophetic type in His purpose of a 7,000-year plan for the creation of all mankind.

Few have ever understood or known the purpose for God revealing to the prophets throughout time about a Messiah He would send to mankind. The word Messiah and Christ mean exactly the same thing—“the anointed One.” But anointed for what?

The Israelites and Jewish nation up to the time of Christ knew that this meant God would send a king to reign in His Kingdom, but they did not know what all that really meant. Even the disciples struggled with what Christ was telling them about himself. They believed he was the prophesied Messiah and that God was going to establish him as that king and thereby free them from the Roman occupation of that time.

Even as Christ was coming into Jerusalem on the last week of his physical life, thousands of people cried out to him and praised him as the Messiah, the son (descendant) of David, whom God was sending to be the King of His Kingdom on earth.

It was stated many times to the disciples by Christ that he had not at that time come to fulfill the role of the Messiah, but that of the Passover. They could not understand the spiritual meaning of his words until they received of God’s spirit after his death. That was on the day of Pentecost in 31 AD when God’s Church became established. It was at that time, as recorded in the Book of Acts, that they then knew he was indeed the King of God’s Kingdom that would in time reign on earth, but that he had first come to fulfill the meaning and purpose revealed in the annual observance of Passover.

Christ came first as the Lamb of God to be the Passover of all mankind. But he is coming again as the one the disciples were looking for in their time. He is about to return as he comes a second time to fulfill the role of the Lion of God who will reign over all nations of the earth as the King of all kings in God’s Kingdom.

The Kingdom of God is not in heaven. It is a Kingdom that will reign over subjects and those subjects are those who will live on into a new era of mankind that follows this last war—WWIII.

Just as the seven-day week was established by God, so is the period of the 7,000 years it prophetically symbolizes. God gave the first six days of the week to mankind to focus on their own work, but God established the seventh day—the weekly Sabbath—as a time mankind was to focus upon His work, His instruction, and His truth.

So in like manner, that symbolism is prophetically revealed in the 7,000 years God has established for mankind. We are nearing the end of 6,000 years. Mankind has been allowed to live “their own ways” for that period of time. But in the next 1,000 years, mankind will learn to live God’s ways as they come under His government that will rule all nations of the world during that time.

Once that 1,000-year reign begins—the Millennium of Christ’s reign over the nations—only one government will rule. God will not allow any government of mankind to exist ever again. There will be no dictators, no politics and no political parties, no voting, no government of mankind ever again. That is what the “good news” of God’s truth is all about.

Some of the Book of Revelation will be quoted later, but the final chapters reveal that second coming of the Messiah as the King of kings. He is the one who is the Passover and Christ of mankind. He is the literal Son of God, whose Father is the One Eternal Almighty God. He is the one who came into existence once born into physical life from his mother Mary.

God reveals Christ as being the first of the firstfruits of His creation of mankind. It is also revealed that the rest of the firstfruits of God, in the first phase of His creation to offer mankind everlasting spirit life, will be resurrected at the time of Christ’s coming. A government that will reign over the earth in the 1,000 years to come has been in the process of being prepared for the past 6,000 years—from the beginning—from the first who was Abel, a son of Adam and Eve.

Since that time God has been working at preparing others who would come and reign with His Son when he returns. The Book of Revelation reveals that this new, world-ruling government will consist of 144,000 who are resurrected to spirit life at the time of Christ’s coming. This government will consist of many who are mentioned throughout scripture, like Moses, Joshua, Deborah, David, the prophets and apostles, and so many more.

Truth and Falsehood

What has just been mentioned in part about the time of the millennial reign of Christ is that which God’s true Church has taught for nearly 2,000 years now. It is the good news as given from that first Church, when true Christianity first became established in 31 AD.

God’s Church has never consisted of perfect humans, but it has been filled with Christians who have always worked to acknowledge and rid themselves of error and falsehood when those things have come to light, and to then embrace all truth as God has revealed it.

Again, all of what has been covered to this point is central to why the world has now come, at the end of 6,000 years, to a time for God’s judgment that is soon to be executed throughout the world. He is going to allow mankind to come to the brink of extinction and then He will intervene and put a stop to such madness and insanity. Even after God stops WWIII, it is revealed that He will then begin to unleash destruction upon those who will not surrender to His Son’s coming, and He will then destroy those who are bent on continuing to destroy the earth. Prophecy reveals that this alone can potentially be well beyond a billion people.

This is no small thing because vast numbers will resist Christ’s coming and his reign. For 6,000 years, God’s Son and those with whom God has worked with have been hated, imprisoned, beaten, mocked, ridiculed, scorned, and even killed. God’s truth has been resisted and hated. We are now fast approaching the time that God is going to change all that.

So which is true and which is false? As mentioned earlier, only one can be true, and if neither is true, then they are both false. There can only be one truth and truth is of God.

The Christians of 31 AD are known by very specific doctrine. This group calling themselves Christian all call themselves after whose Church it is, just as Christ said it should be—the Church of God. It belongs to no other name or system. Others who call themselves Christians, following what became established after 325 AD, are also known by very specific doctrines. And those calling themselves Christian who formed into different groups hundreds of years following the establishment of the Church of Rome in 325 AD, even if only accepting a few of her teachings, are of that same “Christian” following.

Although listed below, the following chapter will clearly speak of truth that has recorded proof (scriptural proof) of the doctrine of the original Christians beginning in 31AD.

A List of Differences

Easily recognized differences between both groups calling themselves Christian are listed below. These are listed by first giving what was believed by the Church of 31 AD and then by stating what was “NOT” believed by it.

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• Observed the weekly seventh day Sabbath (following Friday, the 6th day, and preceding Sunday, the 1st day of the week) as the day commanded for worship, NOT Sunday on the 1st day of the week.

• Observed Passover, NOT Easter.

• Believed Christ was in the grave (heart of the earth) for exactly three days and three nights, NOT for a day and a half (late Friday to Sunday morning).

• Believed Christ was resurrected to life again at the end of the weekly Sabbath, NOT on Sunday morning.

• Believed in taking of the symbols of Passover annually on that day, NOT a Communion that can be observed weekly.

• Observed the annual Holy Days of God, NOT annual holidays like Easter and Christmas.

• Taught that after death there is the need for a resurrection to future life, NOT of anyone having an immortal soul where one instantly goes to a heaven or hell upon death.

• Believed in a final eternal judgment for some, which means “remaining dead” for all time as part of such judgment—never to be resurrected, NOT of being tormented or tortured in hell for the remainder of time.

• Believed there is only One Eternal Almighty God (Yahweh Elohim) who has eternal self-existing life inherent in Himself, NOT that God is a Trinity, which teaches there are three distinct gods in the godhead who also function as one god.

• Believed Christ was affixed to a pole before his death, NOT on a cross.

• Knew that the name of Christ was commanded to be Joshua, NOT that the name of Christ is Jesus.

• Believed that Joshua the Christ has only existed since born of his physical mother Mary, NOT that he has eternally existed as God the Father has.

Chapter 2

TRUTH AND SCRIPTURAL PROOF

The previous chapter revealed that there are two vastly opposing teachings, both calling themselves Christian. This should obviously lead to the question of what is true. If God’s word is indeed truth, then who agrees with what God has preserved for us in scripture—in His word?

If one cannot believe what is written proof—written hundreds and even thousands of years ago, then one cannot realistically “see” the truth of present-day events becoming fulfilled that God has prophesied so very long ago. This book will show how very specific nations described in those prophecies are today doing exactly what God said they would be. Those present-day nations have already been acting out those things that are setting the stage for final end-time prophesied events to become fulfilled. The world stage is set for these events to begin at any time. These nations have now completed all that is necessary in order for the entire world to be thrust into its last war.

This chapter will cover proof that does reveal what is true. This question about what is true has everything to do with this specific time in human history in which we now find ourselves. This has everything to do with whether or not it is true that we are about to enter the worst times of all human history—a final worldwide war.

Before those matters about specific nations, events, and the overall outcome is covered, it is important to first see what God has actually shown to be true that the very large majority of the world has been in darkness to seeing—to which the world has been deceived.

PASSOVER VS. EASTER

Perhaps one of the greatest deceptions and distortions of scripture by the world of traditional Christianity has been over this subject of Passover versus Easter.

Most people are fully unaware that there ever was a controversy over these two observances. As it was already covered, that controversy came to a head in 325 AD at the Council of Nicaea. This was the council that the Roman Emperor Constantine called and presided over. As previously explained, it was here that the Passover, which was commanded by God in Old Testament scriptures to observe, became outlawed in the Roman Empire.

It was in this Council of Nicaea that the creation for the observance of Easter as the day of observance for Christ’s resurrection began. It was here that Easter was newly adopted as the focal point of a new state religion. It was here that Easter officially became the replacement of Passover within the Roman Empire and it was also here that Passover then became outlawed.

For hundreds of years, up to the time of Christ, the nation of Judah observed the annual commanded assembly of Passover in the springtime, which was on the 14th day of their first month (known as Abib, or Nissan) of a new year. Christ and his disciples kept this observance on the last day of his physical life on earth.

This observance first began when the children of Israel were enslaved in Egypt and God had chosen a very specific time in which to free them from that captivity. As chapters that follow will show, God fulfills prophetic events in a very meticulous, exacting, and precise manner. It states on this occasion that God was fulfilling this event in just such a manner.

“And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all these hosts of the Eternal went out from the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:41).

Christ and his disciples kept the observance in the same manner as that first time in Egypt. A lamb was killed, roasted, and then eaten. The symbolism was about Christ himself who would come into the world to fulfill the first great phase of God’s plan for the salvation of mankind. Christ came as the Lamb of God to fulfill the role of Passover—to have his blood spilled upon the earth as he was killed to fulfill his role as the true Passover of all mankind.

It would be good at this juncture to point out some very basic truths that traditional Christianity have twisted and deceived people into believing. What is stated is actually very clear and revealing. After the original disciples had been chosen to be apostles sent to the Israelites, Christ chose another apostle whose primary work would be to take God’s truth to foreigners. Here is what this apostle, Paul, wrote:

“Thoroughly clean out the old leaven [yeast] so that you may be a new lump of dough, even as you are already unleavened [homes were unleavened—yeast and leavened breaded products removed]. For even Christ our Passover is killed for us. Therefore let us keep the Feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).

Those in traditional Christianity have little grasp of what Paul is saying here because they have never been taught about it by their preachers and teachers. Instead, with verses like these, teachers use the false premise that God’s law was done away with through Christ, and that obedience to observe the 7th day Sabbath (that which follows the 6th day, Friday) was no longer required after the time of Christ’s death and resurrection.

These verses and those preceding and following them were written over 20 years after the death of Christ. These clearly reveal that the Church still observed the commandment to observe the Passover and that which immediately followed it, which is called the Feast of Unleavened Bread that lasted for seven days after the Passover day.

Paul even emphasized the importance of keeping the commanded annual Holy Days that immediately follow the Passover day. At that time, he also spoke of not only the importance of its observance, but also told of its spiritual intent and meaning. Again, he stated, “Therefore let us keep the Feast.”

These verses that were quoted help to show the meaning in the fulfillment of the observance of these days. God uses the symbolism of leaven (yeast used in bread) as a reflection of what sin does in a person’s life. Leaven is likened to sin that puffs one up in pride. The Days (or Feast) of Unleavened Bread is a time where God commanded that all leaven (yeast) and leavened products are to be put out of people’s homes, and that everyone is to eat unleavened bread during this period. This enforces the teaching that people are to get rid of the leaven (sin) in their lives, just as they also put leaven out of their homes and then eat only unleavened bread during those seven days.

Leavening is reflective of sin and pride, and being unleavened is symbolic of obedience. God’s people are to live in obedience to His laws (ways) in “sincerity and truth” as Paul wrote.

It also clearly states here that Christ fulfilled the purpose for which he came the first time in human life—to fulfill the role of Passover in God’s plan. He was the Lamb of God who did not resist his perverse prosecution and subsequent death, but he submitted as a lamb to what was done to him. In doing so and dying in such a manner by having his blood spilled to the earth, resulting in his death, he became the Passover for all mankind.

Many believe that Christ died because of being nailed to the pole, but that isn’t why he died. He died because a soldier had run a spear into his side while he was hanging there, therefore spilling his blood to the earth. This becomes very important later when another matter concerning this account is brought to light.

The following account that will be quoted is about Christ’s death. But before this, it would be good to keep in mind the order of events. Throughout most of mankind’s history, a day would begin at sundown, starting with the night, followed by the next daytime portion once the sun would rise again. Then at sundown on that particular daytime portion, a new day would begin. So Passover began at sundown on the 14th of the first month (Nisan) as it continued into and through the nighttime. The daylight portion of Passover followed once the sun rose. Then at sundown on that day, the first annual Holy Day for that new year began. It was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread—which Paul wrote that we should keep.

Keeping this timing in mind, it is important to note that Christ observed the Passover with his disciples beginning with eating the roasted lamb during the nighttime portion of the Passover, which preceded the daytime portion of the Passover day when he was put to death.

Before reading these verses, one needs to understand that the Jewish people spoke of a “preparation day” as a time to make ready for a weekly Sabbath or an annual Sabbath (Holy Day) observance. A preparation day for a weekly Sabbath was the last day of the week in which one might make any necessary preparations for the observance of the Sabbath to follow. So the Jewish people have always recognized Friday (the 6th day of the week) as one of those preparation days because it is the preparation day for the 7th day weekly Sabbath.

The day before any annual Sabbath (Holy Day) is also recognized as a “preparation day.” Although the Passover, which is a commanded assembly, is not an annual Holy Day, it is a preparation day. The Passover is a preparation day because the following day is an annual Sabbath as recorded in Leviticus 23—the first Day of Unleavened Bread.

“Therefore, because it was the preparation [preparation day for an annual Sabbath] and the Jews did not want the bodies to remain on the cross pole (Gk. stauros) on the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was an high day [annual Sabbath], they asked Pilate that their legs might be broken [to speed up their death] so that their bodies could be carried away [so that they not remain there during the Sabbath]. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then the other who had been nailed to poles with him. But when they came to Joshua they saw that he was already dead, so they did not break his legs. Because one of the soldiers had pierced [had earlier pierced] his side with a spear and immediately blood and water came out [it was then that he had died]” (John 19:31-34).

Christ was pierced with a spear because he had to fulfill the symbolism of the Passover lamb’s blood spilling out on the earth and then dying.

So Christ did not die in the late afternoon as the other two did. Instead, he died right after being pierced in the side with a spear, and that was in mid-afternoon.

“Now from the sixth hour [12 noon] until the ninth hour [3 pm] there was darkness over all the land. At about the ninth hour [3 pm] Joshua cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ That is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?’ Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, ‘This man is calling for his God Yahweh [mistranslated as the name Elijah]’” (Matthew 27:45-47).

It needs to be explained in this part of the story that translators have interpreted words used in this account to be the name of the prophet Elijah, but that is sheer nonsense! Christ was not calling out to some prophet who lived and died several hundred years before, but instead he was calling out to his Father who was Yahweh Elohim—the Eternal God. The word “Elijah” means “my God is Yahweh,” and those are the words that Christ used as he was calling out to “his God Yahweh.”

“Immediately one of them [a soldier] ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to him to drink. The rest said, ‘Leave him alone and let us see if his God Yahweh will come to save him.’ Then Joshua cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit [he died]” (Matthew 27:48-50).

Indeed, Christ died mid-afternoon during the Passover day. After having the spear run through his side by a soldier (Jn. 19:34) and his blood spilling out on the earth, he cried out to God his Father and then yielded up his spirit in death. He fulfilled the role of the Passover Lamb who died for the sins of all mankind. The annual observance has very great meaning in God’s plan of salvation.

So why did that newly established Roman Church during the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD outlaw the observance of Passover and establish a new observance called Easter? Easter is found nowhere in scripture, although a few have taken Hebrew and Greek words which clearly mean Passover and have falsely translated them as Easter. For hundreds of years, many teachers and preachers who call themselves Christian have been trying to altogether erase any truth and understanding about Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

DEATH ON A POLE OR ON A CROSS?

This question might seem absurd to many, but it needs to be asked because people have never been told the truth about this either. The Passover of all mankind did not die on a cross. There are two plain truths regarding this.

The first and simplest of all concerns the actual word that is quoted and then translated as “cross.” Although many so-called scholars like to argue and debate this since they have very much to protect, the truth is that they are not being honest with how the actual word that is mistranslated as cross is used throughout other historic literature and documents of that time.

As it was just shown in the previous quotation from John 19, the word that is translated as “cross” in scripture is not from a Greek or Aramaic word for “cross.” It is a word that means “a pole, stake, or beam of wood.” However, translators have taken the Greek word “stauros” and mistranslated it to mean a cross. But there is no such translation or usage of that word in ancient Greek literature that gives credibility to such a farcical interpretation.

There are words in ancient Greek that could have been used to identify or describe a cross, but this word stauros is most definitely not one of them! But once again, many will simply choose to believe what they want as being true.

The Purpose of Breaking Legs

There is irrefutable proof that goes far beyond any debate over the translation or mistranslation of words. The greatest proof as to whether Christ died on a cross or on a pole is in the very story just quoted about the account of the two who had been sentenced to death together with Christ.

One needs to understand this story for what is actually being told. Again, the teachers of Judaism of that time did not want the bodies of these three to remain on poles during the time of the High Day, their first annual Sabbath of the year—the 1st Day of Unleavened Bread. It was now coming toward the late afternoon of that Passover day and they wanted the bodies taken down and carried away before sunset and the start of that Holy Day that was going to begin at sundown. They believed this was work that should not be done on their annual Sabbath.

However, when the soldiers went to break the legs of all three so that death would quickly follow, they found Christ was already dead because earlier a soldier had run a spear through his side. There is a question here that is begging to be asked. How would breaking the legs of anyone hanging on a cross suddenly result in death?

It is really quite simple and easy to understand. Grasping the truth of the clear answer to this reveals an undeniable truth.

There is one reason and one reason alone that soldiers were sent to break the legs of all three who were hanging there. If they had been on a cross, breaking their legs would not have resulted in the quick death that the Jewish leaders wanted. However, it does apply when nailed to a pole, and that is the truth of what actually happened.

When a person was sentenced to death and it was to be done on a pole, the practice was to nail both of the person’s hands (or wrists) overlapping each other just like the feet. The feet were overlapped with one over the other and a single nail driven through at the bottom part of a pole. The hands (or wrists) were also overlapped with one over the other and a single nail driven through them at the top, again, just as with the feet.

In such a position, as soon as the legs are broken, a person can no longer push themselves upward in order to breathe. The very reason for breaking legs is so that a person would then quickly suffocate, as they could no longer breathe.

Prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah revealed that none of his bones would ever be broken. In addition, in order to fulfill the symbolism in the killing of a Passover lamb, his blood had to be spilled to the earth as the cause of his death. God was not going to allow His Son’s legs to be broken, nor allow him to suffocate as the cause of his death because such symbolisms would not match that of how the Passover lambs were killed.

If these three had been on a cross, there would have been no purpose in having their legs broken because they would still have been able to breathe. Breathing would become more strained, but they could still breathe for many more hours, and the Jews wanted them to die right away.

When arms are stretched straight above the body, the weight of the rest of the body pulling downward from such a position will begin to choke off a person’s ability to breathe. This is simply a physical reality.

Also, why would anyone go to far greater trouble to build a cross type structure to stretch out the arms when it is so easy to simply overlap the hands in the same manner as the feet were when nailed at the bottom of the pole?

Many historical accounts of such death sentences on a pole have gone through many transformations over the centuries. Even the practice itself took on various forms where the actual use of a cross type of structure in executions was at times performed. In such executions using a cross, people lingered for longer periods before they died. This was far more cruel than being executed upon a pole because people were left to die after a longer period of suffering with the addition of a greater hunger, thirst, and bare exposure to the elements. The very purpose for using a cross was to cause greater suffering, and this method often included various forms of torture that were used on the one affixed to a cross.

In the practice of using a pole and nailing a single spike through both wrists (or the palms) overlapping each other, the arms are stretched straight above the individual, and in such a position a person would have to push themselves up with their feet in order to keep breathing. Even without hastening death by breaking a person’s legs, this practice would naturally lead to a quicker death than being nailed to a cross.

So again, a person affixed to a cross would live longer and suffer much longer. A person affixed to a pole would die more quickly. Because of the additional effort it took to continue pushing oneself upward in order to breathe, a person would become weak more quickly, unable to continue pushing themselves up, and then die. Being nailed to a cross rather than a pole was far more sadistic and cruel as it prolonged one’s life because breathing was not encumbered in the same manner as being affixed on a pole. Regardless, both were cruel methods to be used in execution.

Yet even here, another question should be asked. If the technology had been around at the time and Christ had been killed with a rifle, would people be wearing the likeness of one around their neck in order to symbolize their Christian belief?

There are reasons the Church of Rome after 325 AD promoted the idea that their Christ had died on a cross rather than a pole. They are the ones who changed the narrative of the story. Much of their reason for doing so had to do with their customs connected with the belief in other deities and their use of crosses, and also because of a vision or dream that Constantine claimed he had.

Stories vary as to what exactly happened, whether Constantine had a vision or a dream or both, but the gist was that Constantine said he had a vision of a symbol or a sign in the sky. Then it is stated he had a dream the following night, before a great battle, where Christ told him he was to use the sign that he saw to conquer. The words he supposedly either heard or saw in the sky were, “In this sign, you will conquer” or in another translation, “By this, conquer!” Constantine then commanded his soldiers to use this symbol on their shields. The battle they fought the next day led to a great victory for his army, which led them to believe that God was on their side.

This story of Christ’s death being on a cross gained popularity over time, as this symbol from Constantine’s vision was later depicted in different ways in stories and in paintings. The “cross” became the norm for that which was used as the symbol for Christ’s death and eventually became the accepted narrative as the device on which Christ was nailed to and died upon.

However, what is recorded in history about what Constantine saw wasn’t a cross like Christ was to have died upon; it was more like that which formed the shape of an X over a P. It was called the Chi-Rho symbol because it consisted of the two Greek letters X and P. This was further popularized because these two Greek letters are the first two letters in the Greek word for Christos (Christ).

If you want to see this symbol that was used by Constantine, you can find it under its name — the Labarum of Constantine.

Even in this, the truth is that among the commandments God gave to Israel, one of those commandments states that there is to be no use of idols or any kind of image as symbols for religious worship. But people like to use all kinds of images for the symbols of their belief and worship. The cross, images of Christ and Christ on a cross, images of a mother with a child, and so many others are symbols used in traditional Christianity today.

So what is true in such matters and what is false? How is it possible that over centuries people have come to practice and believe things that are nearly opposite of what God clearly says in His word?

It is as if the clearest of statements made in scripture are just simply ignored or viewed as irrelevant to obedience concerning how we should live. It is like the simple example of what Christ said regarding teachers of religion. Christ clearly stated how they should never be addressed by others. The principle and instruction are not difficult to understand.

“But don’t be called Rabbi, for one is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your Father, for one is your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 23:8-9).

The principle should be clear. No one should use or be called by any religious title that belongs to Christ or God. Yet many religious leaders and teachers use the title of Rabbi, Reverend, Father, Holy Father, Pope, Pastor, Bishop, etc. The use of words like these and others as religious titles or greetings are clearly against the principle and instruction given by Christ.

Although, it should also be understood that some words used in a religious context concerning a religious leader’s job or duty should not be confused with religious titles. Such things should be simple and easy for anyone to understand, but so often they are not. Other scriptures show the balance and how it is perfectly acceptable to have job descriptions of a pastor, teacher, minister, elder, etc., but they are never to be used as a title.

CHRIST’S RESURRECTION NOT ON A SUNDAY MORNING

One of the clearest and most incontrovertible proofs covered in this chapter concerning misconceptions, error, and falsehood concerning Christ is in the truth that Christ was not resurrected on a Sunday morning.

One True Sign

Christ made some very dogmatic statements about his identity. He also stated that there would be only one sign given as proof as to who the Messiah truly was.

“Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, ‘Master, we want to see a sign from you.’ But he answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth’” (Matthew 12:38-40).

Christ clearly stated that only one sign would be given to prove who he was—one sign that would identify the Messiah. That sign was that the Christ would be in the heart of the earth—the tomb—for exactly three days and three nights.

The manner in which this statement is made in Greek and even more so in Aramaic establishes there would be a total period in the heart of the earth of three full days and three full nights. The fact that it states this period of time would be the same as that of Jonah being in the belly of the great fish is even more specific. The Hebrew language in which this account was recorded makes it clear that the time for these three days and three nights is an exact measurement of time that is equivalent to 72 hours.

Traditional Christianity has a very hard time with this statement of Christ, and they try to excuse and support how they came up with their own timing. They work to change the very definitions of a day and a night, and even the actual year of Christ’s death. They do all this for great reason. They have much to protect in their narrative of a late Friday afternoon burial and a sunrise resurrection on Sunday morning.

Indeed, the teaching of traditional Christianity is that the Passover that year was on a Friday (which is wasn’t), and that their Jesus died in the late afternoon of that Friday. Then they go on to teach that he was resurrected on a Sunday morning. No one can squeeze three days and three nights out of this, although they do attempt to do just that. They actually claim this is what happened and that this is what fulfilled Christ’s own words about three days and three nights.

Looking at this, it would mean he died late afternoon on Friday and was placed in the tomb just before the weekly Sabbath began at sundown. In order to have a Sunday morning resurrection, that would mean he was in the tomb for only Friday night and Saturday night—two nights.

Then traditional Christianity gets very creative when they say he was in the tomb for three days (daylight periods of time). They explain that since he was placed in the tomb while there was still a little daylight remaining on Friday that this constituted the first day. He then would have been in the tomb all during the weekly Sabbath—day two. Since they claim he was resurrected early Sunday morning at sunrise, then that very small daylight portion on that Sunday morning constitutes day three.

When added all together, however, this timing is hardly three days and three nights. Even if they were right about those three daylight portions being able to be counted as three days, they still miss out on one complete night. Thus, by Christ’s own words, this would disprove that he was the actual Messiah. Yet it is this method of timing from late afternoon Friday to Sunday morning that traditional Christianity claims was fulfilled by “their” Jesus.

The truth about the actual timing of Christ’s resurrection is not difficult to understand, but it does require true knowledge of what actually happened in the timing of events that led to Christ’s death and then his resurrection. It is an incredible revelation and awesomely inspiring reality when one comes to see what actually happened.

The teaching about Jesus being the Christ is a story of him being in the heart of the earth for only half the time that Joshua the Christ is actually recorded as being there. When adding the actual time that scholars and teachers of traditional Christianity say that Jesus was in the heart of the earth, it is really only about half the time that is revealed in scripture as actually occurring.

Those who look to the one named Joshua as the Christ teach that after his death he was in the heart of the earth—in the tomb—for a complete period of time that was exactly three full days and three full nights.

In covering the actual timing of all this, remember that a new day always began at sundown. Each day was counted from sundown to sundown, not from midnight to midnight.

It is because of this method for telling time from one day to another that the Jews wanted all three who had been sentenced to die to have their legs broken. Then, after a quick death, the bodies could be removed and carried away before sundown on Passover. This is because at sundown on Passover their annual Sabbath observance would begin and no work was allowed during the time of the Sabbath.

But there is much more involved here and it takes a little time to have the exact timing explained and revealed in an orderly and clear manner.

The annual observance of Passover can fall on different days of the week from one year to another. In the year of Christ’s death of 31 AD, Passover fell on the 4th day of the week. By our recognition of time today, that means Passover began at a sundown on a Tuesday and lasted through that nighttime portion of Tuesday and on through the daylight portion of Wednesday. That full period of time was recognized as being the 4th day of the week, and in 31 AD that was the time of the annual Passover observance.

It was on that Tuesday evening that Christ kept what many refer to as his “last supper.” It was indeed a meal and it was his last one, but it was far more than simply a final supper. It was the Passover meal where a lamb had been killed, then roasted, and eaten by those who observed Passover at that time. This was the manner for observing the Passover that was first kept when the children of Israel were enslaved in Egypt.

After hundreds of years of observing it in this manner by killing, roasting, and then eating the Passover meal on the evening of Passover, Christ had come to now fulfill the greater meaning contained in that day. He came to die as the Passover Lamb for all mankind, through whom all sins could be forgiven.

This Passover observance with his disciples was the last to be observed in this manner. Christ and his disciples kept it as commanded, but after that Passover meal, he instituted the new manner in which it was to be observed. No longer was a lamb to be killed and eaten in that annual observance, but now God’s people were to keep it in the new way that Christ revealed on that final night of his life.

It was an observance that contained meaning in the drinking of a small portion of wine and eating a small portion of unleavened bread. Traditional Christianity has misapplied this annual observance and has changed it to have different meaning and timing of observance that they call Communion.

However, the taking of a small portion of wine and unleavened bread are about Christ’s death in our stead. The wine is symbolic of the blood he spilled for us as the true sacrifice for sin. Such a sacrifice could only be made by one who lived a life free of sin—one worthy of being the sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin. Taking the small portion of unleavened bread in such a ceremony is symbolic of Christ “being without sin—being unleavened” in his life.

One can easily see for themselves how a couple of decades later that the apostle, Paul, reminded the Church of how to keep this annual observance. He stated it was to be in the same manner Christ first revealed it should be observed.

“For I have received of the Lord that which I have also delivered to you, that the Lord Joshua on the same night [Passover night] in which he was betrayed took bread [unleavened bread], and after he had given thanks he broke it and said, ‘Take and eat of it [a broken piece] for this is my body which is broken for you. Do this for a remembrance of me [a remembrance at every annual Passover].’ After the same manner he also took a cup [of wine] after dinner [Luke 22:17-20] and said, ‘This cup is the new testament in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it [on every Passover], in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming [announcing] the Lord’s death until he comes. Therefore, whoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord’” (1 Corinthians 11:23-27).

The Actual Timing of Christ’s Death

All recognize that Christ died on the Passover day, but all are not in agreement with when the Passover actually occurred in the year of Christ’s death. It takes a little while to go through all the scriptures that speak of this, but it is very worthwhile and awesomely revealing to go through a good part of that story flow.

Traditional Christianity teaches that Passover was on the 6th day of the week that year. The reason for this is that they failed to recognize that one of the Sabbath days being spoken of in the timing of Christ’s death was not a weekly Sabbath. They have misunderstood this for centuries because they do not know or understand the timing of Passover in relation to the annual Holy Days that followed. They have not understood the observances of the Holy Days of the Jewish people over hundreds of years, ever since the time of Moses. These are all listed in order in the Book of Leviticus, chapter 23.

As it has already been mentioned, the day that follows the annual observance of Passover is an annual Sabbath—and annual Holy Day (High Day), the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In addition, they have not understood the Jewish tradition of recognizing days that precede a Sabbath as being a “preparation day” for getting ready for a Sabbath.

Those who began translating scripture from Greek and Aramaic into Latin in the 380s AD did not grasp these simple observances of the Jews, or they simply did not care. The Church of Rome determined to have scripture translated into a single work that would be for their use, so they commissioned that scripture be translated into Latin and this work became known as the Latin Vulgate.

Translations into other languages that followed many centuries later once the printing press was invented resulted in even greater confusion and mistranslation of scripture.

So when these early translators wrote about this story of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection they were confused and did not accurately interpret or understand what actually had occurred. They read about a preparation day and automatically believed that this was about the 6th day of the week—what we recognize as being Friday. But that was not the case. The complete story makes this very clear.

“Therefore, because it was the preparation [preparation day for a Sabbath] and the Jews did not want the bodies to remain on the pole (Gk. stauros) on the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was an high day [an annual Sabbath, an annual Holy Day], they asked Pilate that their legs might be broken so that their bodies could be carried away [so that they not remain there during the Sabbath]” (John 19:31).

Understanding this helps to reveal the exact day of the week that Passover fell upon and when Christ was actually resurrected. As it will come to be shown, this annual High Day, the annual observance of the 1st Day of Unleavened Bread, which always follows the Passover day, was on the 5th day of the week, and today what we would call Thursday.

So at sundown on the Passover day on the 4th day of the week (on Wednesday), the annual Sabbath—the annual High Day of the 1st Day of Unleavened Bread began. The Jews wanted all three to be taken down from the poles and carried away before that annual Sabbath was to begin. Then the story that follows is about how Christ’s body was taken away and placed in a tomb.

“Then notice the man named Joseph who was a council member. He was a decent and upright man, and although a member of the council, he had not consented with their decision and deed [of the others of the council]. He was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, who himself also waited for the Kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and pleaded for the body of Joshua. He took it down and wrapped it in linen and laid it in a sepulcher [tomb] that had been cut in stone, wherein no one had ever been laid. That was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was drawing near [about to begin]” (Luke 23:50-54).

Again, one needs to understand Old Testament law and the Jewish observance of a Sabbath. No work was to be done on any Sabbath day, so the day preceding every Sabbath was a preparation day in which to complete the normal work of the week and to make oneself ready for the proper observance of a Sabbath when no work was to be done. That is why the story that follows is so important to understand. The story continues.

“The women also, who came with him [Christ] from Galilee [to Jerusalem] followed after [after Joseph of Arimathaea to the tomb], and they saw the sepulcher [tomb] and how the body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments, and they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment” (Luke 23:55-56).

This juncture of the story becomes important because of what these women did. In the verses just quoted it says that they went to prepare spices and ointments. Afterward, they would take these spices and ointments and place them with Christ’s body.

These women didn’t have the foreknowledge that Christ was going to be put to death and die in the afternoon of the Passover, so they obviously wouldn’t have these spices and ointments prepared in advance. Therefore, they had to wait until there was time to buy and prepare them.

By the time Christ died and was then taken to the tomb, the Passover day was at an end and they certainly had no time then to buy any spices, let alone prepare them. They couldn’t buy them after Passover because that next day was an annual Holy Day, and no spices could be purchased or prepared on a Sabbath.

It states that they rested on the Sabbath, and that should be easy to understand. They could not do that work on that Sabbath that followed the Passover. The body of Christ had been placed in the tomb just before sunset on that Passover day. Christ was barely in the tomb once that annual Sabbath began. So the women could not work on that annual Sabbath, and therefore, they rested as commanded.

When did they prepare the spices? It wasn’t on the annual Holy Day that followed the Passover, but they were able to prepare them on the following day. That following day was the 6th day of the week (Friday). They worked on that day, which was the weekly preparation day for the weekly Sabbath. Yet they also had to do something else first before they actually began to prepare those spices and ointments in the customary fashion for a burial. A single and simple scripture is recorded in Mark’s account that makes this clear.

“When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, went to purchase spices so that they might come and anoint him [Christ’s body]” (Mark 16:1).

What is being shown here is that the women had to first purchase the spices before they could prepare them. So they purchased and prepared them on the following day—the 6th day of the week. They could not buy or prepare these on a Sabbath day.

If traditional Christianity interpreted this account directly as it is stated, due to their not understanding the timing of the Jewish holy days, they would have looked upon this as being about the weekly Sabbath. However, in doing this they missed the obvious because if this were the case then the women would not have been able to buy the spices until Sunday. But that version doesn’t fit as it is clear they had these purchased and prepared by the time they came to the tomb on Sunday morning.

It took them all day to both buy these spices and ointments and then do the work of preparing them. The account that follows reveals that they did not have time to do all this (on Friday) and to also take it to the tomb that same day in order to complete the work of placing Christ’s body in a proper burial, as his body had been hastily placed in the tomb at the close of Passover. The next verse simply goes on to tell the rest of the sequence of events.

“And very early in the morning, on the first day of the week (Sunday), they came to the tomb when the sun had risen” (Mark 16:2).

These two verses in Mark simply tell a story of how the women had to wait until after the annual Sabbath to purchase and prepare spices for Christ’s burial. They did the work on the 6th day of the week (Friday). Then once the work on that preparation day ended, they rested again—this time on the weekly Sabbath. Since the weekly Sabbath isn’t over until sundown on that 7th day of the week, they did not take the spices to the tomb because darkness was now setting in. So then on the morning of the first day of the week, on that Sunday morning, they came to the tomb to anoint Christ’s body.

If one has a good understanding of observing the Sabbaths and preparation days, this story fits together quite clearly and simply. The women could not buy or prepare spices on a Sabbath, so they did so on the first day possible. That was on the 6th day of the week (Friday).

It took them a long time to do that work, but once the weekly Sabbath (Saturday) was drawing near they had run out of the time required to go to the tomb to finish the work of properly preparing Christ’s body in his burial. If they could have purchased and prepared the necessary spices and ointments, and then taken them to the tomb on that preparation day (Friday), they would have done so. Instead, they had to wait and rest through the time of the weekly Sabbath.

The weekly Sabbath would end after the daylight portion of the 7th day and then the 1st day of the week would begin at sundown, but nightfall would also quickly follow. So they had to wait until morning to take the spices and ointments to the tomb.

As a person reads all these stories that are written from the different vantage points of all four who recorded their witness of these events, this entire story becomes even clearer. It is so important to include and compare the witness of the disciples who knew and saw these events. That includes the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, as they wrote much about the life and death of Christ.

The Sunday After Christ’s Resurrection

Another area of misunderstanding and misinterpretation regarding the annual Sabbath and weekly Sabbath that followed this Passover is in Matthew’s account.

“In the end of [or “After”] the Sabbath [Gk. plural—“Sabbaths”], as it began to dawn toward [into] the first of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the sepulcher” (Matthew 28:1).

This account of Matthew actually states that there were “Sabbaths” that had come to an end before Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James came to the tomb on Sunday morning. Most have mistranslated this with the Sabbath being made singular, but in the Greek it is plural. There had been two Sabbaths directly following the Passover of Christ’s death and burial. It is simply stating here that there had been two Sabbaths that had passed before the two Marys came to the tomb at the dawning of the daytime portion of that first day of the week.

It is clear then that there were two Sabbaths contained in this period of time and we have also seen the period of time spoken of where they had purchased and prepared these spices. Clearly, traditional Christianity does not account for these two Sabbaths or even the preparation day between them.

The truth of such a matter can be exceedingly exciting, inspiring, and illuminating to finally come to see. But such a truth, when having believed for a lifetime in a Friday crucifixion and Sunday morning resurrection, is not so easy to face and then address in one’s life. That is not the fault nor condemnation of any who have been deceived by others. However, it is the fault of those who mistranslated scripture and of those who since then have come to know the truth but have refused to teach it.

This matter in the timing of Christ’s resurrection is also clouded in confusion and darkened by the teaching and tradition surrounding the observance of Easter. The idea of a sunrise service because Christ was purported to have risen at that moment in time is not at all factual.

“The first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher, and saw the stone taken away from the sepulcher” (John 20:1).

There were others following right behind them and it states the sun was just beginning to rise, but Mary Magdalene and Mary (the mother of James) arrived while it was still dark and the sun had not yet risen. Although much of this has been translated in very awkward ways, the story is consistent and clear: both Marys arrived first, while it was yet dark, and the rest then began arriving with the spices just as the sun was beginning to rise. The message is the same; Christ had risen. He had already been resurrected before they ever arrived. He wasn’t resurrected at that moment when the sun was about to rise, nor at the moment when it did rise. He already had been resurrected earlier!

“Now after the Sabbath, as the first of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb” (Matthew 28:1).

After the Sabbath, the first day of the week begins at sundown on the 7th day of the week. It then becomes dark, so the dawning of the first day of the week is in the morning when the rays of the sun begin to lighten the sky.

Next is the account of how the great stone had been rolled away from the opening of the sepulcher by an angel. It records that the women had concern of how they were going to get that stone moved so that they could properly anoint the body with their spices, but when they arrived it had already been removed and Christ was not there—he had already been resurrected earlier.

“Very early in the morning the first of the week, they came to the sepulcher at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves [had earlier stated their concerns], ‘Who will roll away the stone from the opening of the sepulcher?’ But when they looked, they saw that the stone was [was already] rolled away, for it was very great” (Mark 16:2-5).

The way the stone had been rolled away before they had arrived is described in that same account of Matthew 28. Starting with verse one again:

“Now after the Sabbath, as the first of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was [had earlier been] a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord [had] descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the opening, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became as dead. Now the angel answering said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Joshua who was nailed to the pole. He is not here, for he rose, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord was lying’” (Matthew 28:1-6).

This account of those who were first exposed to the truth that Christ had already been resurrected is stated in translations many different ways. No matter how it is written, the fact is that when they came to the tomb, he was not there, for indeed he had already been resurrected. No scripture says that he rose or had risen at the moment of sunrise or anywhere around that timing. But that is the narrative of Easter and its teaching.

There is no need to cover all the scriptures that surround this story, as they all speak of the same thing. Christ was no longer in the tomb. He had been resurrected earlier. But is there any way to know how much earlier? Yes!

It is good to be reminded what Luke had to say about this account.

“Now upon the first of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others [came] with them. Then they found the stone had been rolled away from the sepulcher, and they entered in, and did not find the body of the Lord Joshua. It came to pass, as they were very perplexed about all this, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments [two angels]. As they were afraid, and bowed their faces down to the earth, they [the angels] said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he spoke to you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, “The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be hung on a pole, and the third day rise again.”’ And they remembered his words” (Luke 24:1-8).

Once again, we are brought back to this issue of what Christ had to say about the only sign that would be given of who the true Messiah was. He would be in the heart of the earth—in the tomb—for three days and three nights. Then on the third day he would be resurrected—at the exact end of that third day.

The timing is that just before sundown on Passover day, just before the annual Holy Day was to begin, Joseph of Arimathaea placed Christ in the tomb. That was right before sunset on that 4th day of the week, which was at the end of the Passover day. Then the annual Holy Day of the 1st Day of Unleavened Bread began—an annual Sabbath. This day was the 5th day of the week.

This means that the time from just before sunset on the 4th day of the week and up to sunset of the 5th day of the week (of which the vast majority of that day was that annual Sabbath) would constitute the first day of Christ being in the tomb.

Then just before that first day in the tomb was coming to an end, at the end of that annual Sabbath just before sunset, day two would begin and then end just before sunset of that 6th day of the week, which is known as the preparation day for the weekly Sabbath (a Friday as we would see it).

Then the third day of Christ being in the tomb was from just before sunset on that preparation day and the beginning of the weekly Sabbath. That third day in the tomb ran through that night of the weekly Sabbath and into its daytime portion of the Sabbath all the way up to just before sundown when that third day and that weekly Sabbath would come to an end.

To fulfill what Christ stated about the Messiah being in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights, he had to be resurrected toward the very end of that weekly Sabbath. It would have been just a little while before sunset on that Sabbath when a new day was about to begin. That new day after sunset on the weekly Sabbath was the first day of the week—Sunday. The first day of the week (Sunday) always began after sunset on the weekly seventh day Sabbath.

To fulfill the sign of who the Christ truly was, he had to be resurrected exactly three days and three nights later—three full days of time after being placed in the tomb. That period ended toward the end of the weekly Sabbath. The Christ—the true Messiah—had to be resurrected at the end of the weekly Sabbath day in order to prove who he was. He was not resurrected during any moment of the first day of the week. He was not resurrected on Sunday.

GOD THE FATHER NAMED HIS SON JOSHUA

“Now the birth of Joshua the Christ was as follows: After his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the holy spirit. Then Joseph her husband desiring to do the right thing by not having her become a public example was mindful to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the holy spirit. She will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Joshua [the Eternal’s Salvation], for he will save his people from their sins.’ So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,’ [Isaiah 7:14] which is translated, ‘God with us.’ Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her until she had brought forth her firstborn son. And he called his name Joshua” (Matthew 1:18-25).

Before being born of Mary, God instructed that the name to be given to His Son was Joshua, not Jesus, as it is in English translations. As the Father of Christ, the name He gave His only begotten Son was far more important than any name He had ever given to anyone.

God named Adam, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Israel, and others, as well as inspiring the names of more. However, the name “Joshua” was to carry the greatest meaning of all names in His great plan of salvation for mankind.

There are many arguments and debates about how Christ’s name, Joshua, was changed into Jesus in English translations. The first credited English translation was from the work done by William Tyndale (1494-1536) and he used the spelling of Iesus for Christ’s name.

By the late 1500s, some had begun to use a new English spelling and pronunciation of Jesus. In 1604, a translation was sponsored by James I, which is called the King James Version (KJV). The name used by translators for Christ was Jesus, and that name became the standard for all English translations from that time forward.

Since Christ has been referred to by that name for several centuries, many do not see this as a problem. Yet the very reason this is being addressed is to illustrate how ingenuous the process has been to adopt the name of Jesus in English scripture instead of the name Joshua. It is also important to see how God’s word has been mishandled and improperly translated.

The arguments for how Christ’s name has been changed in sound and spelling over the centuries from one language to another, resulting in the name morphing into “Jesus” in English, have been very complex. Most begin with the story of how in the 3rd century BCE, Ptolemy II, the Greek king over Egypt, commissioned the translation of Hebrew scriptures into the Greek language (Koine Greek or ancient Greek) which became known as the Greek Septuagint.

It is because of this first translation of Hebrew into Greek that the argument generally begins with how the name Joshua was translated, which then progresses into how the name was later translated from Greek into Latin. The reasoning then leads to why such a change was made centuries later to the English name of Jesus. This is what today’s reference books state as the history of the etymology of the name Jesus. However, the different sounding names all trace back to the same name of Joshua in the Old Testament, the one who replaced Moses after his death and led the children of Israel out of the wilderness into the promised land.

When the name was first translated from Hebrew into Greek, there was no name or word in Greek that carried the same meaning as Joshua, so a transliteration of the name was given. A transliteration is the process of transferring a word from the alphabet of one language to another with the purpose of having a similar sounding word.

Scholars and teachers of different religions argue as to what is true or false in this early period of translations and transliterations from one language to another. However, such arguments are somewhat futile because there is really no way to give definitive proof one way or the other. Over the centuries there are constant transformations in languages as sounds, the use of letters, and spelling experience much change.

Such changes in any single language from one region to another are common. This should be obvious by the simple differences in English that have occurred between the United States and the United Kingdom.

Just in the timespan from when the Tyndale Bible was written in the 1500s to when the KJV was written in the early 1600s there were many changes in the English language. It would be good to give some examples of that from both versions.

Heb. 3:1

(Tyndale) Wherfore holy brethren partakers of the celestiall callinge cosyder the embasseatour and hye prest of oure profession Christ Iesus

(KJV) Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

Heb. 4:8-9

(Tyndale) For if Iosue had geven them rest then wolde he not afterwarde have spoke of another daye. There remayneth therfore yet a rest to ye people of God.

(KJV) For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

These examples speak for themselves. Such changes in words, spelling, and sounds over the centuries are common. These specific examples have been given to stress another issue that will be covered later that concerns a matter that goes beyond a simple mistake or ignorance.

In most translations of scripture, prejudice and/or doctrinal beliefs of individuals or groups has led to them inserting their own interpretations for different words in a language. There are many examples of this throughout translations from one language to another. To illustrate this, it would be good to consider a blatant and obvious example of this.

Acts 12:4

(KJV) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

(NKJV) So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.

There is nowhere in scripture where the holiday of Easter is mentioned in the original Hebrew or Greek scriptures. Although this word from Greek was translated in all other areas of the KJV correctly as “Passover” (from the Greek word “pascha”), here it wasn’t. The translators should have been consistent in order to produce a genuine and true translation. When the New King James Version (NKJV) was written, this obvious error had to be corrected because there had been too many published studies that had corrected this false translation.

When the KJV adopted the use of the name Jesus for the Son of God, they did so in great error. They did not adhere to what God had commanded His Son’s name should mean. The name was to carry the same meaning as that of Joshua in the Old Testament. This might not seem important to people, but it should be because it is important to God, who is his Father.

Throughout scripture it is clear that when God gives a name, that name carries great meaning. Often, the name also reveals some aspect of God’s plan and purpose for mankind. The name Joshua in Hebrew (Yehoshua) is a compound word. The first portion is from the name of Yahweh (the Eternal) which is “yah.” The last part is from the verb “yasha” that means “to deliver” or “salvation.” The name Joshua is clearly recognized by scholars and teachers to have the meaning of “the Eternal’s salvation.”

In his physical life, the Messiah first came as the Passover Lamb of God—indeed “the Eternal’s salvation” offered to mankind.

“The next day John saw Joshua coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

The name Jesus in itself carries no meaning! Yet after all the lengthy arguments that so many go through in order to justify the use of that name, scholars and religious teachers alike will acknowledge that the etymology of the name comes from the Hebrew name of Joshua. So why not use that name, especially when an English name was already in use that more clearly represented the Joshua of the Old Testament?

Joshua is the name that English translators should have used. The reasons why they do not, and will not, are steeped in religious corruption and lies that began to work their way into what has become traditional Christianity.

The choice to use a transliteration for words in any language does not generally present a problem. However, when this is done in Bible translations and is about the very word of God, then it can become a huge problem. In this case, if the transliteration is consistent, then it might be fine. But in the English language, translators were not consistent, nor truthful with handling the word of God.

If a specific name is used to identify Joshua in the Old Testament, then to use a different word for the same name in the New Testament should raise questions. What would be the purpose or motive? Why not be consistent? After all, scholars and teachers acknowledge that is the etymology of the name. They know it is from the Hebrew name Yehoshua.

If those who translated into English had adopted the same name in both the Old Testament and the New Testament that clearly had the meaning of “the Eternal’s salvation,” then that would have been a genuine attempt to truthfully handle the word of God. However, the opposite is true as they went to great lengths to keep them separate.

The vast majority of those in traditional Christianity today have no idea that the name Jesus in the New Testament goes back to the same name as Joshua. Again, we come back to asking why two different names are used. There obviously has been a lot of effort by many translators and teachers to keep these names different. Why?

The reason for using the previous bible quotes from the Tyndale and KJV bibles was not only to point out the evolution of a language with all its constant changes, but to also point out some very questionable practices here.

The Tyndale version of Hebrews 3:1 is quoted as, “Wherfore holy brethren partakers of the celestiall callinge cosyder the embasseatour and hye prest of oure profession Christ Iesus.”

But notice how he translated a scripture in the New Testament that is referring to the Joshua of the Old Testament who led the children of Israel into the promised land: “For if Iosue had geven them rest then wolde he not afterwarde have spoke of another daye” (Heb. 4:8).

In the New Testament, Tyndale uses Iesus or a form of it to refer to Christ. But when he is clearly quoting from the Old Testament that refers to Joshua, he uses Iosue, although in the Old Testament he uses Iosua. If he was translating from the Greek language this could be the result of a change in Greek writing from the time of Koine Greek to the use of more modern Greek that followed. That is not a problem, because it is clear he is speaking of the same name—the same person. All scholars agree that these versions are about the same name, so why did he use a different name to distinguish Iesus from Iosue?

This corruption of the scriptures is much worse in the KJV translation that followed a few decades later from the time of Tyndale.

“For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day” (Heb. 4:8).

The quote from the KJV is about Joshua (in the Old Testament) as Tyndale clearly recognized. For whatever reason or motive, the translators of the KJV refused to use the name Joshua in the New Testament. Although the KJV incorrectly used the name Jesus in scriptures in the New Testament when the scripture was actually about “Joshua from the Old Testament,” translations since that time have corrected this. Those versions that correctly use the name Joshua include the ASV, NIV, NLT, NKJV, and RSV.

If the scholars of these other more modern versions recognize that the name for Joshua should be the same in the Old Testament and the New Testament, why didn’t they use the same name for Christ? After all, they all recognize—or at least should recognize—that Christ’s name traces directly back to the Old Testament name of Joshua.

God’s Church believes that just as numerous Christian doctrines were changed after the formation of the Catholic religion began in 325 AD, that it also began to stress a different sound for the name of Joshua that has become even more corrupted over time. The Catholic Church in their translation for the Latin Vulgate, and all other translations from within traditional Christianity, could have made a valid translation or used a consistent transliteration into other languages that carried the same meaning as Joshua (Yehoshua) in Hebrew.

Indeed, after nearly 2,000 years, God is about to send His Son as the Messiah—the Christ—to first save mankind from self-annihilation, and then to establish the government of the Kingdom of God over all nations. The last great error to be removed from God’s Church in order that it be made fully ready for Christ’s coming is the correction of his very name. The name “Jesus” Christ represents all that began to be taught in error in a church calling itself Christian after AD 325. The name “Jesus” represents the teaching of that church in such doctrines as the Trinity, Easter, Sunday worship, Christmas, and much more that is in error and contrary to God’s Word.

The one whose feet will soon be standing once again upon the Mt. of Olives, after nearly 2,000 years, is Joshua the Christ—the true Messiah sent from God to save mankind.

OTHER TEACHINGS THAT NEED TO BE CORRECTED

There are other doctrines (teachings) that have been perpetuated by traditional Christianity that are untue such as the trinity, hell, the immortality of the soul, etcetera, which will all be covered in the following chapters. But at this juncture in the book it is important to begin to understand how false teachings have kept people in darkness concerning catastrophic end-time events that are about to come on this earth, especially in that of a prophesied final world war—WWIII.

Chapter 3

WWIII WAS FORETOLD BY GOD

This is truly a very scary story, especially because it is about our time right now. It is the kind of cataclysmic destruction and magnitude this war will have that is truly terrifying. God clearly states that there has never been a time like this in all human history, and thankfully, there never will be again.

We are at the end of a plan that God set in motion right at 6,000 years ago when He first created and put mankind on this earth. Overall, God has been “hands-off” concerning the affairs of mankind in order to let mankind experience its “own ways” and what those ways produce.

This past 6,000 years has not been about God trying to save mankind as so many in traditional Christianity teach and seem to think. Instead, God has just been allowing mankind to go its own way and then at the end of that span of time, He will intervene to stop this endless cycle of mankind’s suffering, wars, and failures. But in order to learn what we must, God is going to allow mankind to take itself up to the very brink of extinction in a nuclear war.

As it has already been stated, God has withheld greater knowledge of mathematics, physics, chemistry, etcetera, until this latter part of His 6,000-year plan. If it had been given sooner, WWIII and mankind facing its own annihilation would have happened far before now.

But God’s purpose has been to give us that span of time of self-rule so that we could learn lessons that can be seen and understood in no other way. One of the greatest lessons to learn is that mankind cannot successfully govern itself. Every small and great nation and every empire and kingdom has risen and fallen. That will again take place, here at the end. Our ways and governments just do not work, and all eventually end.

Today, people do not really believe their nations or governments will end. But they are about to do just that! The world has never known all-out thermonuclear war, nor experienced its affects. It is exceedingly ugly, it is horrifying, and it is fearful.

God foretold the rise and fall of peoples, nations, and kingdoms. Many that have fallen centuries ago have migrated to other parts of the world and have risen up under different names. God reveals how to identify them today. God foretold the actions, movement, and future prophetic role of these nations and kingdoms throughout time, and especially for us in this end-time as well.

God has orchestrated “time” for the emergence of great inventions and the revelation and growth in the sciences and technology so that the world would grow to be at its current state, exactly as it is now. Within that period of time for such revelation, especially over the past hundred years, mankind has always used such advancement in the forefront for military might and conquest—war! Because of the development of nuclear weapons, it is absolute that mankind will use that technology in one last war.

God knows the nature of man. He created it. In doing so, He gave mankind free moral agency—the power of free choice. God knew what kind of choices mankind would make over these past 6,000 years. The kind of nature that develops from physical human beings that are given such free moral agency of free choice is one that is absolute. Being created in such a manner as we have been automatically creates and produces the way of self-interest first—one’s own ways placed first above others. That is true whether it be individually, as a family, as a community, or as a nation of people.

That selfish nature works to His far greater purpose in the very reason God created us. It is exciting and inspiring what God has planned that is now not too distant from us. But before we come to that new age that God will bring to mankind, there will yet be one more catastrophic war. It is that war and the catastrophic events that go with it that will help mankind come to finally face the destructiveness of “its own ways.” Such nature, unless it changes, will inevitably destroy itself.

When God Began to Reveal THIS Was the End-Time

As mentioned, God’s Church began in 31 AD and has continued from that time. However, it has hardly been known by the world, as it has not been God’s purpose that it should be. Yet where it has been known, it has been persecuted, hated, and maligned since that time. Due to that, and because this has always been part of God’s plan and purpose, His Church has remained small throughout the centuries. Such reasons will become clearer as more about the Church continues to be addressed in the following chapters.

By 1930, it had come to a point that God’s Church had been so oppressed by the world around it over the previous four centuries that it had begun to lose truth that God had given it from the beginning. In the 1930s, God raised up an end-time apostle to His Church, Herbert W. Armstrong, in order to begin the process of restoring truth to it again and to begin preparing it for the time of the second coming of His Son. It has also been since that time that God has been progressively accelerating mankind’s technological developments.

Toward the end of WWII, God was beginning to show His apostle, Herbert W. Armstrong, that WWII fit exactly into prophetic end-time events and that there would be one more great war to follow—the last war on earth—WWIII. It was shown to him that the world, at that time, had entered the “end-times” spoken of in scripture. It was also during this time that the prophecies in Daniel and the Book of Revelation began to be revealed to him.

As soon as WWII was over, Herbert Armstrong began to warn that WWIII was coming. God had revealed very specific prophecies to him that led to knowing the very countries that would be at the forefront of final end-time events.

He explained fully that there would be a great nuclear war and also proclaimed what God declared about the result of that war. God said that it would be of such magnitude, power, and destruction that mankind would annihilate itself if He did not intervene to stop it. That is mankind’s only true hope—that God intervene in this world’s affairs and stop mankind from such an unimaginable atrocity.

At that time, he also explained in greater detail how Europe, with Germany at its helm, would rise up in a union of nations that would have a common currency, common government, and a final military union that would consist of exactly 10 European nations. At the end of WWII, to mention that Germany was going to rise again and be the principle nation to lead a unified Europe was a very unpopular concept of that time.

Nevertheless, in March 1957, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg signed the Treaty of Rome to establish the European Economic Community (EEC), also known as the Common Market. This eventually transformed into the development of the European Union of today.

Many people mocked these end-time prophesied events that Herbert W. Armstrong said would come to pass, and although he did see Europe come together in a cooperative governmental structure, it wasn’t until 13 years after his death that Europe introduced the currency of the euro to the world in 1999. Now, 28 nations belong as member states of the European Union, and in 2018 Europe entered into a unified military agreement among 10 nations.

All three of the major events concerning the formation of a united Europe came to pass exactly as God’s apostle said they would. The fulfillment of these three events in the creation of a united Europe reveals that the next great prophetic event to follow is WWIII. The final events of this end-time are closing in quickly! This book will continue to identify those events in order to help people be far better informed and better prepared for what follows.

The Book of Revelation

There is no point in going into a vast coverage of history or Biblical prophecies. Instead, an overview of these things will be covered that is designed to help clarify and somewhat simplify these matters that would otherwise take much study and lengthy explanations. Even so, one can come to recognize end-time events that the world is blind to seeing.

The last book of the Bible is the Book of Revelation. It is the book that reveals the last phases of God’s plan for His creation of mankind. It reveals the close of 6,000 years of human history that end in major catastrophic end-time events that will culminate in a nuclear WWIII. It reveals that it is at that very time, after nearly one-third of all life on earth is destroyed by mankind, that God intervenes to stop that nuclear war, and then leads mankind into a new age of worldwide prosperity and peace for the next 1,000 years.

Most of the Book of Revelation is written about the end-time, which is the time we are experiencing right now. Many of these end-time events have already occurred over the past thirty years, but the world is fully unaware of them. It has been God’s purpose to start revealing these things now that have already been taking place and then to reveal the far greater catastrophic events that are about to begin.

These final end-time events are revealed through prophetic symbolism contained in the description of the Seven Seals of Revelation, the Seven Trumpets, the Seven Thunders, and the Seven Last Plagues. Many who have done extensive studies into these matters have come to believe that we are nearing the time that these things are going to take place on the earth. Yet the truth is, much of it has already happened and we are nearing the end of these prophetic times and almost to the time when WWIII will begin.

Some of this will be described later, but as of now it is important to know that all Seven Seals of the Book of Revelation have already been opened. The First Seal was opened on December 17th of 1994.

People do not understand these revelations. There are many from among those who believe we are approaching the end-time who believe the Seals of Revelation are nearing the time they are going to be opened. But they do not realize these things have already been taking place and much has already been fulfilled. That is why even most of those who believe we are about to enter the end-time will be caught off guard and fully unprepared for what is about to happen next, just as the rest of the world.

Not only was the First Seal of Revelation opened in December 1994, all the rest of the Seals have already been opened as well. The Sixth Seal was opened on the day of the First Thunder of Revelation. It is a day that almost everyone on earth is familiar with, but they do not know what it prophetically portends.

September 11, 2001 was a day that thundered so loudly that the very mention of it is recognized all over this world. Mention that day anywhere on earth and people know what happened. However, people do not yet recognize the real meaning behind why this day is so vastly important. Indeed, it is when the Sixth Seal of Revelation was opened and the First Thunder began to sound, and this carries great prophetic meaning.

What happened in New York, Washington D.C. and a field in Pennsylvania is not what is most important about this day. The greater reality for this day is its Biblical significance. The events of this day are prophetic. The prophetic symbolism these events portend is the very thing that will lead to their actual fulfillment. Their fulfillment is revealed in the sounding of the first four trumpets of Revelation that have already sounded, but the actual destruction they announced is being held back from happening. People need to know what that means.

The destruction that will result from the sounding of these first four trumpets, once God allows it to begin, is about the demise of the United States. Most people would think that such a thing is not possible, but neither would they have believed beforehand that such a thing as 9/11 could happen in the United States.

The symbolism in the events of 9/11 are a prophetic prelude of what is to follow once the destruction from the sounding (announcement) from those first four trumpets is allowed to begin happening. From the vantage point of all the nations of the world, there could be no greater symbolism of the height of the greatness in wealth, might, and stature of the United States than that of the World Trade Center towers.

To better understand some of this symbolism, let’s consider some of the history about these towers:

The World Trade Center towers were best known for its iconic 110-story Twin Towers. The towers survived a bombing on February 26, 1993, but because of the attack on September 11, 2001, all of the original buildings in the complex were destroyed. Towers One and Two collapsed, and the others (numbers 3, 4, 5, & 6) were damaged beyond repair and later demolished. Building Seven collapsed in the late afternoon on the day of the attacks.

The towers were initially conceived as a complex dedicated to companies and organizations directly involved in “world trade,” but they at first failed to attract the anticipated clientele. During the WTC’s early years various governmental organizations became key tenants, yet it was not until the 1980s that the city’s perilous financial state eased, after which an increasing number of private companies—mostly financial firms tied to Wall Street—became tenants.

The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center also served as an icon to the greatness of a nation. Even as the name indicates, they were established upon the ideal of a center for world trade, which the United States has fulfilled for several decades now. The towers were symbolic of the stature of Wall Street itself. The destruction of all seven towers of the World Trade Center, as the destruction of an icon, should not escape Biblical students concerning such symbolism and the use of the number seven, which represents that which is complete.

As a result of that terrorist attack, all seven buildings were destroyed. This indeed portends the prophetic collapse of the United States, which is prophesied to occur from the destruction the first four trumpets have already announced.

The plane that struck the Pentagon in Washington D.C. on the same day should not escape us either. Prophetically, not even the military might of the most powerful nation on earth can escape the judgment of God and what He is going to allow to occur.

It will yet be covered why these first four trumpets that have already sounded reveal the demise of the United States. But one must first begin to understand why Europe plays such an important role in end-time prophecy.

Europe and WWIII

So how did Herbert W. Armstrong come to foretell with such accuracy how Europe would rise to become a great power in the end-time just before the last war—WWIII? How did he know they would form a governing body that would create a European Union of nations, agree on a common currency, and then form a military alliance among exactly ten European nations? It is because he was given to see how history in Europe has fit perfectly into very specific prophetic events spoken of by prophets of God who wrote about them ages ago.

Although there is much history and prophecy involved in this, it suffices it to say that those ten nations that have come together in a European Union are about a prophesied seventh and final European revival that leads to this final world war. An overview of some history and some prophecy will help illustrate what has led to the understanding for the emergence of a European Union and its connection to WWIII.

There are two primary books of the Bible that give a great deal of information concerning the rise and fall of very specific nations and kingdoms as well as a prophetic chronology of events that surround their rise and fall.

God gave the prophet Daniel some of the most detailed prophecies about these kingdoms from his time then and all the way up to the end-time. Then over 600 years later, God gave the apostle, John, more detailed prophecy that built upon what was given to Daniel. That which was given to John focuses far more fully upon specific nations and events in the end-time, just prior to Christ’s return.

Daniel 2 is an incredible prophecy that covers the long span of time of those kingdoms that would exist right up to the time when the last one would fall. It also reveals in a powerful manner what so many in traditional Christianity have never come to grasp about God’s Kingdom. Many teach that the Kingdom of God is something in the hearts of mankind upon conversion and yet others believe it is in heaven. There are numerous concepts and teachings, but a literal Kingdom existing on earth where Christ will reign is most certainly not one of them.

One of the greatest kingdoms that rose early in the world was that of Egypt from which God eventually freed the Israelites from slavery. After the destruction of Egypt’s army and Pharaoh himself, Egypt did not continue as a great world kingdom. Several hundred years after the Israelites were freed and had become a nation of people, they soon divided into two separate nations of Israel and Judah. After another few hundred years, both nations were conquered and each taken into captivity.

Israel was taken captive first by the Assyrians, and later Judah was taken captive into Babylon.

It was at this time, when Judah was in Babylon, that God raised up Daniel as a prophet. Soon after this captivity, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had a dream and he wanted to know what it meant. The dream had been given to him from God and God revealed the dream and its meaning to Daniel. It is interesting what he first told the king.

“Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said, ‘The secret which the king has demanded cannot be declared to the king by the wise men, astrologers, magicians, or the soothsayers. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to king Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these…’” (Daniel 2:27-28).

God used this dream to reveal through Daniel all the major kingdoms of the world that would lead up to the latter day, up to the very end-time of God’s plan and purpose for allowing mankind to have self-rule, until it was time for His Son to then take control and rule over the nations. The following verses explain that passage of time as Daniel began by telling the king what he saw.

“You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you, and its form was awesome. This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its stomach and hips of bronze, its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed into dust, and it became like chaff from the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away so that no trace of them could be found. Then the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:31-35).

As a condensed explanation, as one moves from the top of the statue to the bottom, one is moving through time until the end-time when the toes are reached. The first part of the image of gold was about the Chaldean-Babylonian Empire of which Nebuchadnezzar was king in that present kingdom of Babylon. This was followed by the portion made of silver which represented the Medo-Persian Empire and after that, the bronze, being the Greco-Macedonian Empire that followed.

The interpretation of the dream began with the description of the statue’s head of gold being the present kingdom of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar, and it went on about the rise and fall of major kingdoms (empires) through time. It ended with the fourth portion of the statue, which was uniquely described as being legs of iron with feet of both iron and clay. This represented the last great kingdom that would go through several revivals in Europe.

A statue with feet of iron and clay is not a good mixture for supporting such a large figure. Yet the legs of iron and the feet of iron mixed with clay describes so very well the struggle that has gone on for hundreds of years in Europe. Much of its pertinent history carried the identity of the Roman Empire, and later, the Holy Roman Empire. Its history fits succinctly into prophecy that describes it in several places of scripture.

But before going more fully into the portion of a European struggle described as being of iron and clay, it is important to note what was stated at the end of what Daniel was telling the king. It states that there was a stone that was made without hands that struck the image in the feet of iron and clay, which resulted in the statute disintegrating into dust so that the wind blew it away. The stone being made without hands is a description showing that it was not manmade.

It is later in the verses of this same chapter that Daniel goes on to tell the interpretation for what the meaning of these things represented.

“In the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure” (Daniel 2:44-45).

Although this is translated rather awkwardly by most, it still reveals much, as other prophecies also do, making it clear about what God’s overall plan is for mankind. God has allowed 6,000 years of self-rule, and these verses reveal an end to the kingdoms (empires) of mankind’s rule. It is simply saying in these verses that “in the days of” or “in the time of” these rulers, there will come a time at the end when these kingdoms and all their forms of governing will come to an end.

Mankind’s self-rule is coming to an end and once that happens, the rule of mankind over the nations of the earth will no longer exist, as the rule of mankind will not be left to “other people” ever again. That is because the stone made without hands is about the stone that was “rejected by the builders” (Ps. 118:22). This is about the builders of mankind’s governments and the stone is about Christ— the Messiah whom God is sending to rule over the nations. It will no longer be left in the hands of mankind.

After the governments and rule of mankind are brought to an end by the coming of the Messiah, God will establish a kingdom on earth—a kingdom that will rule over the nations of the earth—His Kingdom. After 6,000 years of self-rule, God is going to establish the Kingdom of God to reign on the earth and Joshua the Christ is its King of all kings. God declares that His Kingdom will stand forever, whereas the kingdoms of mankind have all failed and have had to come to an end.

Legs of Iron

Through this statue, God highlighted the rise and fall of four major prophetic empires that would exist from the time of Daniel forward. God used this as a means to prophetically establish an end to mankind’s self-rule where no government of mankind will ever rule autonomously again. Instead, God’s Kingdom—God’s government—will rule over all nations of the world.

Although Daniel wrote much about these events and even much timing contained in them, the primary focus of it all was that in time—in God’s time—His government would become established over the nations. It would happen at a time that is spoken of as the end of an age or in the latter times—the time in which mankind’s self-rule is brought to an end.

Even Daniel wanted to know more about what he had been given to record, but God told him that what had been given was not about his time.

“And He said [God said to Daniel], Go your way Daniel, for these words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end” (Daniel 12:9).

God let Daniel know that not only was he not to be given more understanding about what he had been given to record, but that those prophetic things he had been given were “sealed” and not to be opened (to understanding and revelation) until the time of the end—the present age we are in now. Even that which God gave to the apostle, John, to record in the Book of Revelation, that adds so much more about a final kingdom that will exist at the end-time, wasn’t to actually be revealed until that age—that very end-time. That IS our time NOW!

The last part of the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was about legs of iron and feet of both iron and clay. This is about Europe and its reign as an empire that God foretold was to fulfill a major role in prophetic events that would finally lead to the end-time.

Although other regions of the world from time to time would rise up in power and become engaged in great wars, God revealed it would be Europe that would have a long history highlighted by prominent periods of revival as a powerful empire. These revivals were led by strong leaders who would rise up in great power, especially in waging war, in order to solidify and strengthen the empire.

This prophecy about Europe and its recurring restorations to prominence and power as an empire is also closely coupled prophetically with false religion and its impact on mankind that would lead all the way up to the second coming of Christ. It was right after 62 years from when this empire came on the world scene that it gave its authority to have Joshua the Christ nailed to a pole and killed. It is Christ who will come a second time to bring an end to the rule of that empire.

There is a term that one can look up for themselves that has much to do with the beliefs and formation of Europe. It is Europa. The name comes from Greek mythology. It was the name of a Phoenician princess that was abducted by Zeus who had taken on the form of a white bull and then carried Europa to Crete. It is from this name that the continent of Europe received its name, and it actually has much to do with the eventual establishment of religious ideas in that region of the world.

As an aside, it is interesting to note that when the euro was established as the new currency of the European Union, each country had symbols placed on the one-euro coin. The symbol that was printed on the coin for Greece was a woman riding a bull—the symbol for Europa, and much more. This symbol becomes very important later in the Book of Revelation.

The Roman Empire on the continent of Europe has been the longest enduring kingdom of those God recorded prophetically in scripture. It was depicted in the last part of the statue of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream as being the two legs of iron and feet of both iron and clay. The empire is recognized as having a strong dominance over much of that region of the world from around 31 BC. This supremacy continued up to 476 AD at which time the empire experienced a great fall that is described in Revelation as a “deadly wound.”

Revelation also speaks of a time the empire would be healed and that healing began taking place under the reign of Justinian who worked to regain areas that had been lost in the western portion of the empire, especially in the area of Italy. He also worked to restore greater strength and influence of the Catholic Church within the empire.

The legs of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue are about the Roman Empire. But in the Book of Revelation God begins to give more description of this final period and the prophetic influence of this empire in Europe all the way up to the time of Christ’s coming. As the following verses are covered, a brief explanation of the prophetic significance and meaning will be given.

“Then I stood on the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name” (Revelation 13:1).

The apostle, John, was recording what he saw in his prophetic visions that God had given him to record. The sand of the sea is prophetically symbolic of the masses of people over whom this beast would have power. The seven heads are about seven distinct periods of time when this beast would exercise its greater power (as the head) over those whom it would govern. Although it isn’t as clear in these verses, but will be later, the ten horns and crowns are about what is on the seventh and last head.

“Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And the whole world marveled and followed the beast” (Rev. 13:2-3).

The dragon is Satan whom God says has had the ability to exercise great sway over mankind and nations of the world. It is shown that this dragon has had powerful influence to deceive this empire and to sway its people and leaders in his ways and to lead them into war. This led to these leaders being able to exercise greater power and control on those over whom they reigned.

The whole world being spoken of is not about the entire earth, but that whole area of the world where this empire exerted power. The people, especially in this part of the world, followed the dragon—they followed his ways (lies) that led away from God. They accepted Satan’s counterfeits and thereby practiced ways that blasphemed God and His ways (His truths).

Although it can be a difficult thing for people to come to address and acknowledge the truth of the matter, there is a real spirit being called Satan who dwells on this earth and who exercises great power over human life in exceedingly deceitful and lying ways. His power to influence comes from the result of God giving mankind the power of free choice—free moral agency. Mankind can choose its “own ways” and what it decides it will believe. Sadly, our nature tends to gravitate to our own selfish interests and we tend to choose “our own ways” rather than God’s.

Our nature tends to gravitate toward choosing evolution rather than a Creator. Our nature tends to gravitate toward choosing what the majority have come to embrace, even in religious beliefs, rather than what God commands. Our nature tends to gravitate to the celebration of a holiday called Christmas: the giving and receiving of presents, decorating with bright lights, gathering at special family meals, exercising a pseudo kind of enjoyment of endlessly playing holiday music, and much more tradition and sensationalism that goes along with this holiday.

Our nature tends to gravitate toward special holidays that over time we have enhanced, elaborated upon, and adorned, rather than magnify and rejoice in God’s Holy Days. We are quick to embrace the decorating and hiding of eggs and having children hunt for them. We enjoy giving presents through the narrative of a fat man riding a sleigh led by reindeer, even in tropical areas. We tend to do these things in the guise of fables, rather than honor God in spirit and truth.

Our nature tends to gravitate toward doing what “we like” and what “we want,” and therein is the open door for Satan to lead us farther away from God. He is a powerful master of deception and lies, and our nature tends more toward supporting and living lies than in obeying God. That is simply a reality of what is true. This is being said to express what is true and actual in life and not to judge, hurt, or offend anyone.

“So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?’ And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven” (Revelation 13:4-6).

These verses are describing seven revivals of powerful rule in Europe—power that has always been associated with war.

For a long period of time, the rule of this Roman Empire in Europe has been closely linked to a church that became exceedingly influential and powerful, and it often exercised strong power and influence over the rulers themselves.

These verses actually tell of a specific period of time that this church exerted some of its greatest influence over the empire and even its leaders. It is stated it was for a prophetic forty-two months. In such prophetic accounts, the days for that actual period of time are fulfilled in years. This was a prophetic period of 1260 years. It is believed by God’s Church that this prophetic period began when Justinian gained control of Italy at the end of the Gothic War in 554 AD and then ended with the fall of Napoleon.

The statue of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel depicted the European empire as legs of iron with feet and toes of both iron and clay. The description of this empire concerns prophetic events that are about monumental periods in European history that are highlighted by influential leaders and times of war and conquest. These prophecies about this empire began in 31 BC and continue up to the time of Christ’s coming.

Although the prophecies in Daniel give an overview of this empire, Revelation gives a more detailed description, and especially of the influence that Satan has had upon it.

In Revelation 13, Justinian’s rule as emperor of the Roman Empire is represented by the first head of this beast. It is pictured as the head that had been wounded but then healed. It was a revival, the first revival after it had previously fallen.

After Justinian, the empire waned, but finally experienced its second revival (the second head of the beast) under the Frankish Kingdom of Charlemagne beginning in 774. Then in 800 AD, Charlemagne was also crowned by the Pope to be emperor. Each time the empire would begin to wane once again, another revival would eventually follow.

A third revival occurred under Otto the Great who was also crowned by the Pope in 962. This prophetic empire then went through a long period before it came to its fourth revival in 1520, whereupon Charles V was crowned emperor by the Pope.

This church in Rome grew in such power and authority over the empire that only the popes could declare who the emperors of Europe should be. There were periods when this church became so great that the power and ruling authority was more in the hands of popes than in the hands of the emperors. However, that kind of power over these revivals began to wane and it came to an end by the time of the fifth revival.

It was when the fifth revival occurred in 1804 that Pope Pius VII agreed to go to Paris to officiate at Napoleon’s coronation to be emperor. However, it is recorded that at the last moment Napoleon grabbed the crown and placed it on his own head. This reflected the very thing that was now taking place—the popes and the church were losing power and influence that they had enjoyed up to that time. This marked the end of such coronations for the emperors of Europe.

The Feet of Iron and Clay

From this time forward, Europe struggled for an identity among several of its rising national powers. The church from Rome was no longer able to exercise the kind of power over these rising nations of Europe as it had experienced for centuries before. This now brings us to a volatile time for Europe when there was a powerful surge forward in technology and invention.

Although they had grown in power and influence, the individual nations of Europe were not cohesive at all. They were largely divided. Hence, the description of the feet of iron mingled with clay is a good one.

The movement toward a sixth revival of a European Empire depicted by the feet of clay and iron (not the toes) occurred with the outbreak of WWI. That war involved an alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire (the Central Powers). It was the first war to so broadly involve other nations around the world. It was fought against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan, and the United States. These were known as the Allied Powers.

After thousands of years, those involved in this war were the first to experience the use of vastly superior weaponry in a rapidly growing period of scientific knowledge, invention, and technology unlike all the millennia’s before.

This war brought about great social upheaval as millions of women entered the workforce to support men who had gone to war and also replaced those who never came back. The war itself resulted in the death of some 9 million soldiers and 10 million civilians. In addition, this war helped to spread the world’s first pandemic—the Spanish flu of 1918, which killed an estimated 30 to 50 million people.

This first world war was only the beginning for the sixth revival of the prophetic European Empire, as it only set the stage for a far more massive resurgence under Hitler. This resurgence and attempt to conquer all of Europe reveals the mind that was actually behind it, as with all the revivals of the last prophetic European Empire. As Satan was not able to work through a great church to influence revivals in Europe as he had before, now he simply worked directly through one man as he exerted powerful spirit influence upon the mind and thinking of Hitler.

Hitler was determined to establish a Third Reich. The translation of the German word “Reich” is “Empire or Kingdom.” This reveals the desire and affinity he had to again raise up the old Roman Empire in Europe, but under the German name and German leadership.

The “Third Reich” became the most popular term to describe this historical period, although it was Hitler’s desire that it be known as “Großdeutsches Reich” (Greater German Reich). Another term he used was “Tausendjähriges Reich” (Thousand-Year Reich).

Hitler wanted to transform Berlin, to make it the capital of a Greater German “World Empire”—one greater than the Roman Empire. He declared at a rally in Nuremberg that “…in the next thousand years there will be no other revolution in Germany.”

Even in this, Satan was seeking to mock God’s truth, as there is only one Millennium, which is the 1,000-year reign of Joshua the Christ—the Messiah. The very thing that God said He will establish at Christ’s coming is a Millennial reign of His Kingdom on earth. It is in God’s Kingdom that there will be no more revolution—no more wars.

Satan has resisted and fought against God from the beginning of the creation of mankind. He wasted no time in leading the first two created people, Adam and Eve, into sin and rebellion against God. He even tried to have Joshua killed as a young child, and he has worked against God’s prophets and apostles over the past 6,000 years, primarily by having them imprisoned and/or killed. He is also responsible for leading a devastating attack against God’s own Church in this end-time that resulted in the Apostasy prophesied by the apostle, Paul.

But there is one last revival of a prophetic European Empire that has already been underway for several decades now. Actually, it is already near the time of its end when it will play a major role in the timing of WWIII. The world is asleep and does not even grasp the significance in the reality of the European Union in prophetic end-time events.

However, Herbert W. Armstrong did know about those things and he worked to warn the world about what was coming. He explained how 10 nations united in a European union would serve as one of the last great prophetic events to be fulfilled before the beginning of catastrophic tribulation and a third world war. So much of this is what is revealed in the meaning of the last head and ten horns of Revelation 13, and reflected by the ten toes of iron and clay in the very last portion of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue.

There could be no better description of a prophetic European Empire through the past two thousand years than the statue that has the legs of iron and the feet of both iron and clay. Today, the European Union exists as a unity of European nations with strength in numbers and economic potential. It also has the potential for exerting powerful military action upon any area of the world if it were to so choose. Yet, like clay, it struggles mightily to be a cohesive governing body and to have better unity among the member nations.

Although the initial nations among the ten may yet vary before they fulfill that major prophetic role that includes their involvement in WWIII, there will be ten in total, nevertheless, who agree at a moment in time to do the unthinkable.

From among the 28 nations in the EU, ten have entered into a joint European Intervention Initiative, and not only that, they have also begun the process of distancing themselves from the dominance of the United States and NATO.

Just last year, French President Macron unknowingly made a rather ominous statement that few could possibly understand because it fits precisely in a prophetic narrative. He stated, “We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia, and even the United States.” This is far more ominous than anyone can imagine, as this last and seventh revival of a European empire will be at the forefront of an eventual confrontation with all three of those nations Macron mentioned.

Prophecy reveals that this last revival of a military union of ten European nations will become engaged in nuclear war with both China and Russia. However, before that occurs, they will also become engaged in a shocking conflict with the United States.

It is in another chapter of Revelation that these ten nations are spoken of more fully, and far more openly. What they will eventually do is the very thing that hastens the coming of the Messiah. It is because of what God gave Herbert Armstrong to understand in these prophecies, well before his death 34 years ago, that he clearly saw the European Union for what it has become today.

There are great reasons why there has been an ever-growing desire over the past many years among many Europeans for the revival of an old Europe into a single United States of Europe. They are fulfilling what was so long ago prophesied about a seventh and final revival of a prophetic European Empire. That seventh revival began to take its initial shape back in the 1950s and now its form is nearly complete.

Now, not only do Europeans have the beginning structure of a unified army, but they have established the means for self-determination of their own military operations apart from any influence and control from NATO. They have great power at their fingertips if they choose to use it. The United Kingdom and France have a large stockpile of nuclear weapons in Europe and NATO has positioned a very large number of nuclear weapons throughout Europe. The day is soon coming that these are going to be used!

The Power That Has Deceived the World

It is in Revelation 17 that God becomes very clear and incisive concerning the prophetic significance of the seven revivals of a European Empire. In those verses its significance takes on a religious context. It is something that will prove to be one of the most difficult for those in traditional Christianity to face and address.

That which is now going to be covered in the next chapter is not given to offend or hurt anyone, but some offense and hurt will come. That cannot be helped. These things are given to simply tell what is true in order to enlighten or give knowledge and understanding so that people can make better educated choices in their life.

Facing what will be stated is the only thing that can truly help anyone to begin to properly prepare themselves for what is now just ahead. Whether one addresses such things now while there is yet time to more adequately prepare, or whether it is later, it will still have to be addressed. There really is no choice about that.

At this point, people still have time to freely choose and make better judgments regarding such things. However, if these things are not freely addressed now while there is still time to do so, then once these final end-time events are released upon the earth every person will be forced to address all of this anyway. However, by that time it will be too late to prepare oneself and their loved ones.

In time, everyone will have to face these truths. It can be now, or it can be at a time when they begin to experience the destruction in a third world war, or it will have to be faced at a future time, in a future resurrection to life. Regardless, God reveals that everyone at some point in time will have to face what He states is true.

Chapter 4

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE EU

As it was stated in the last chapter, the seventh and last prophesied revival of the European empire began to form in the 1950s and is now nearing its completion. Sadly, the world is totally blind to all this and it does not see literal end-time events that are now taking place right before our eyes, which have been prophesied for a few thousand years now.

For almost 70 years, God’s Church has been telling the truth, to any who will listen, about that seventh revival. That unification started to come together in earnest 63 years ago and has grown into the European Union of today. But now, it is about to fall!

The reason this chapter is being focused upon in this manner is for the hope that Europeans will respond more positively than others have. Above all people, Europeans should be able to grasp the significance, truth, and importance of what is being revealed in this chapter about their history and their present state.

Herbert W. Armstrong

Once again, it is important to know what God gave Herbert W. Armstrong at the end of WWII concerning the coming of a third world war. He was given the understanding that there would be one last revival of a final European empire and also that the United States would collapse before that last war reached its zenith.

The purpose for stating what was just given about the hope that Europeans might respond more positively to this warning is because the United States never has, although it has been given the longest and most thorough warning of all. If the U.S. had responded differently, much suffering and cataclysmic destruction would be able to be averted. But that never happened!

The truth about these end-time events has permeated the United States for decades and people have not seemed to care. Herbert Armstrong began warning of these final end-time events directly after WWII. That warning went out with great power to the United States, but the people and their leaders did not show much concern about it. They did not listen.

Herbert Armstrong pleaded, reasoned, and exerted much effort and resources to warn about end-time events that were coming. This warning went out to a nation of people where large numbers openly profess their belief in God and His Son the Christ. Although Herbert Armstrong revealed a vast amount of scriptural proof of what he said and of the warning he was giving, the nation never acknowledged him or his warnings.

The reason he so vigorously warned the U.S. is because he was given to not only understand that a seventh and last prophetic revival within Europe was underway, but he was also given to see that part of the fulfillment of that revival meant the total collapse and end of the United States. He knew that the first nation to fall in this final end-time was the U.S. That collapse will take place even before a full-fledged all-out thermonuclear war occurs that will result in the destruction of nearly 1/3 of all life on earth.

It is at this time now, while there is still a little time left, that God is granting Europe and many other nations of the world a final opportunity to address what Herbert Armstrong gave warning about.

God’s Church never grew to become large as other religious groups in the world and most have never even known of God’s Church, neither have many known of Herbert Armstrong. Yet it is God who sent him to this world to tell it what was soon going to come to pass in a final world war. Even though his message was sent out as powerfully as it was, it was not accepted by the one nation it was most directed toward at that time.

Within the United States, Herbert Armstrong was looked down upon, maligned, falsely and maliciously lied about, hated and even persecuted by his own government. Even after more than three decades since his death there is still much hatred and lies reflected in those things written about him. It is not at all unlike what happened to Christ who was also deeply hated by others because of the message he was sent to give mankind.

Before his death, Herbert Armstrong was responsible for publishing millions of books, booklets, and magazines that contained much information about the end-time and the coming Kingdom of God. The Plain Truth magazine alone was being published in seven languages with a monthly circulation of over 8.2 million copies. By comparison, the well-known and highly circulated Time magazine of that time only had a circulation of 5.9 million.

His weekly “World Tomorrow” television program and radio broadcasts blanketed the United States and large portions of the rest of the world. This was far more than any other religious organization had ever done.

It is interesting to see how others in the world recognized there was something unique and meaningful in what he was saying. He was treated far differently in other nations than how he was in the United States.

His recognition from people in other areas of the world primarily began when he received a very unique award from King Leopold III of Belgium. It was a watch made from a cannonball taken from a battlefield in World War I by Leopold’s father, King Albert I.  King Albert had the cannonball cast into four watch cases with the desire that they would be presented to the four individuals that he felt had made the most significant contribution to world peace. King Albert never found anyone he felt worthy to receive the fourth watch, and so, he passed it on to his son, who was moved to give it to Mr. Armstrong in 1970.

From that time forward, recognition of Herbert Armstrong from other world leaders grew and he became known to many as an “ambassador without portfolio for world peace.” He carried his message to Prince Mikasa and a number of the members of the Japanese Diet. Emperor Hirohito conferred upon Herbert Armstrong the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Second Class—one of the highest decorations that can be presented to a non-Japanese. During a period that covered two decades, seven successive Japanese Prime Ministers counted Mr. Armstrong as a personal friend and counselor. Some members of the Japanese Diet even referred to themselves as being his Japanese sons. Although these leaders showed great admiration for Mr. Armstrong, none of them acted upon the end-time warning or the message of the coming Kingdom of God.

Mr. Armstrong was endeared in friendship with King Hussein of Jordan, King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit of Thailand, and Prime Ministers of Israel, including Golda Meir and Menachem Begin. Others who counted him as a personal friend were Egyptian President, Anwar Sadat; Jomo Kenyatta, Founder and first President of Kenya; Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia; Mayor Teddy Kollek of Jerusalem; and longtime friend, Nagendra Singh, who was a Justice at the World Court in The Hague, Netherlands.

Herbert Armstrong also had personal meetings with leaders like Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom; Juan Carlos, the King of Spain; Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak; and Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. Yet again, of all of these world leaders, none acted upon the message he carried.

President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines decorated Mr. Armstrong with the Presidential Merit Medal “for his moral presence and compelling influence in moving people toward the creation of a just and peaceful world order.” He received the decoration of “Commander of Our Most Nobel Order of the Crown of Thailand.” Once again, neither of these leaders nor their people acted upon the message he carried.

Other leaders with whom Mr. Armstrong met included President Allende of Chile; President Suharto of Indonesia; South Vietnam’s president, Nguyen van Thieu; and he was invited to Romania by President Nicolae Ceausescu.

Mr. Armstrong also met with Deng Xiaoping of the People’s Republic of China and was the first recognized Christian leader to officially visit leaders inside China, yet this went unreported in the world. In this unprecedented visit, he addressed officials from 76 nations in the People’s Great Hall in Beijing. He spoke concerning the way to real peace and why humanity fails to achieve it. No other religious leader has ever been invited to such an event in China, yet the world knew nothing of this.

Herbert Armstrong received numerous other honors and visited many other world leaders, but it went fully unnoticed by the western world to whom God had primarily sent Mr. Armstrong to proclaim His message.

Again, it needs to be noted here that a very specific nation, to whom he had been sent, did not acknowledge or receive him. It was the United States of America, who is the beginning focal point of cataclysmic prophetic events that unfold during the final period of the end-time. That point in time may actually only be months away now, and not years.

As the world was approaching the end-time, God fulfilled a promise He had made a few thousand years earlier that was to make this specific people the wealthiest and most powerful nation the world has ever known. It was a promise God made to Joseph, the son of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel.

The Final Ten Nations of Europe

The previous chapter stated that it is in Revelation 17 where God is very clear and incisive concerning the prophetic importance of the seventh and last revival. It is in chapter 17 that the story about the revivals takes on a strong religious context. It also begins to reveal the origin for that religious context. This will indeed prove to be one of the most difficult things for those in traditional Christianity to face and address.

Revelation 13 described a different beast than the one that is going to be focused upon next. The description of that beast in chapter 13 served as a kind of bridge to reveal more understanding between what was prophesied in the Book of Daniel about Europe and what God was going to reveal and magnify from the Book of Revelation some 2,500 years later—in the end-time.

The meaning contained in the description of this next beast in Revelation 17 helps to reveal far more about the deeper history of the seven revivals and the kind of power that has always worked to bring each revival to life—to war.

It is in these chapters that Herbert Armstrong was given to understand so clearly what would come to pass in the European Union of today.

“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, ‘Come and I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.’ So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, and having seven heads and ten horns” (Revelation 17:1-3).

What is being described here is what is depicted in the very name of Europe. The name of Europe is derived from Europa, who in Greek mythology was a Phoenician princess that was carried captive to Crete on the back of a bull, which Zeus had manifested himself as being. This history of Europe runs deep—far deeper than people have ever known. Understanding all this has everything to do with understanding what God is revealing in this chapter.

It is this depiction of a woman on a beast that God has used to describe the connection between rulership and false religious beliefs within the prophetic European empire and its revivals through time. The influence of many deities runs deep in the beginning formation of the rise of the Roman Empire—the beginning of a prophetic empire—a European empire that would continue up to the very end-time and the last war on earth.

A heading in Wikipedia entitled “List of Roman Deities” actually captures in the very first paragraph what a person needs to grasp concerning the foundational formation of the Roman Empire from the beginning.

“The Roman deities most familiar today are those the Romans identified with Greek counterparts, integrating Greek myths, iconography, and sometimes religious practices into Roman culture, including Latin literature, Roman art, and religious life as it was experienced throughout the Empire.”

If you recall the example of the snake on a pole and how that has been passed down for several thousand years, then it would be good to understand that what happened from the beginning of the Roman Empire has happened on a far, far greater scale within Europe. The practice of the early Romans was to adopt the deities and religious practices within the different regions of the Empire and mix them. These things went through many transformations and gradually changed over hundreds of years as these things eventually morphed into what became known as “Christianity in the Roman Empire.”

That is why today a person can come to recognize and identify the actual beginning for the kinds of mysterious teachings and beliefs that have no connection and no origin to any scriptural truth, doctrine, or teaching from the Bible. Instead, the ideas, origins, and teaching of things like Easter, Christmas, trinitarian symbolisms, symbolisms contained in crosses, sun and Sunday sunrise worship, mother with child worship, rabbit and egg fertility symbolism, and much, much more have morphed into the current teaching and practices of over 2 billion people on earth. The origin of these ideas used in the creation of this new Roman religion came from religious ideas and practices from those who believed in the ancient deities.

God has much to say about the false teachings and practices from the belief in other deities. Since mankind has ignored God and has further polluted His truth with fables and false religious practices, He is now bringing the world into judgment for doing so. It is during this time of judgment that He will bring an end to mankind’s self-rule and religions as He establishes His Kingdom to rule over all nations on earth.

Full of the Names of Blasphemy

Going through the history from the time the Roman Empire began and seeing the transformation of religious ideas can help a person better face the actual truth of what has morphed into what we see today in “traditional Christianity.” The birth of traditional Christianity has its roots in the very custom of mixing widely varying beliefs.

The Romans incorporated a custom of blending religious beliefs and mingling other peoples’ gods with their own. After conquering a nation, they were accepting of others’ beliefs because it made it easier for them to merge different groups of people together to unite their expanding empire. This practice not only mixed beliefs from the Greeks, Celts, and Germanic people, but also beliefs from Judaism and those who held to true Christian beliefs and teachings in the empire.

These widely varying beliefs also included the belief in many deities. It is for this reason that God described this beast in Revelation 17 the way he did. His description of this beast is similar to that of the mythical god Zeus who disguised himself as a bull carrying the princess Europa on his back to Crete. Crete is the largest and most populated island of Greece and it has a deep history in being the center of Europe’s first advanced civilization, the Minoans, from 2700 to 1420 BC.

So when it states, “I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy,” then one needs to understand the purpose for such a statement. The name for Europe coming from this mythological story epitomizes the very process that created a “false Christianity.” The custom within the Roman Empire of mixing mythology, religious beliefs and practices, and concepts relating to many different gods was used in much of what formed a false Christianity.

Since this practice was so deeply incorporated into the creation of traditional Christianity, it is prophetically described as being full of names of blasphemy. Blasphemy is a matter of assuming the right to change or act against what God has given as true and right in regard to how one is to properly worship Him.

That which is described in this chapter as “a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy” is exactly what was described in Revelation 13.

“Then I stood on the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name” (Revelation 13:1).

“So they worshiped the dragon [referring to Satan] who gave authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?’ And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven” (Revelation 13:4-6).

As shown through these verses, the formation of false Christianity is filled with blasphemy. Some of that has been addressed already as in the example of how God began to be called a Trinity. It has also been covered how the very name of Joshua was corrupted by using the name Jesus instead. Although it is difficult to fully prove after so many hundreds of years, there are some who give a pretty good argument to the belief that the name Jesus actually has its roots in the name of Zeus.

Although this description of “names of blasphemy” is given, it is about more than just literal names. It also includes those things that were described in mythology as being used in various practices of worship. Even art and sculpture used in worship in mythology have been mixed into worship in false Christianity. These too fit the description of carrying the “names of blasphemy.”

Indeed, there are a very large number of things that fit this description that have become incorporated into false Christianity. Although much of this has been mentioned, some bear repeating.

God’s Sabbath day on the seventh day of the week was changed to a weekly worship on the first day of the week which is a day named after the sun—Sunday. The formal ceremony of baptism where an adult chooses to repent of their sins and is then immersed in water has been blasphemed. It has been changed to a ceremony of christening by sprinkling water on the head of a child and calling it baptism.

There is a considerable amount of artwork with symbols and objects that has originated from the practice and teaching about false gods and false doctrines from these false deities. Much of this has been adopted and used in the exact same representations in false Christianity. The artwork involving these false gods often depicts scenes from heaven and hell. The symbols of crosses and other religious objects like a mother and child statue were used to worship false gods centuries before Christ was born of his mother Mary. All of these things have been mingled into false Christianity.

As it has also been covered, the religious titles pertaining to God that Christ commanded should never be used by religious teachers have been attached to the names of thousands of people who have called themselves ministers of God.

It is also good to be reminded of all of the blasphemous things done by Constantine, who called together and presided over the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD and helped create a new state religion that called itself “Christianity.”

God commanded that Passover was to be observed yearly by His people for all time. Yet in that annual observance of partaking of the symbolism contained in eating a small portion of unleavened bread and drinking a small portion of wine, they changed the partaking of these symbols to a ceremony called Communion that can be observed weekly.

Part of the very definition of blasphemous is about “that which is sacrilegious against God or sacred things, and is simply a lack of showing respect to God.”

Calling the name of God’s Son by some other name than what He instructed it should be is blasphemous. Calling God a Trinity is blasphemous. God clearly reveals that He alone has had eternal existence inherent in Himself and that no other God has eternally existed. Even before His own Son was born from a physical woman, God made this clear.

“I am the LORD [Heb.- Yahweh, meaning the Eternal], and there is no other; There is no God [Heb. – Elohim] besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, that they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me. I am the LORD [Yahweh, the Eternal], and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:5-6).

“For this is the word of the LORD [Yahweh, the Eternal], who created the heavens, who is God [Elohim], who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited: ‘I am the LORD [Yahweh, the Eternal], and there is no other’” (Isaiah 45:18).

God explains here and in many other areas of scripture that He alone has eternal existence. But a church rose up in the Roman Empire that stated God is a Trinity. That is the definition of blasphemy.

The Council of Nicaea established the observance of Easter after outlawing the observance of Passover. The Roman Empire accepted a religious observance called Easter, which has its origin in the goddess of many ancient cultures.

The Christianity of the Roman Empire taught a false timing for Christ’s death, a false timing of his resurrection, Sunday morning worship, Christ’s supposed death on a cross, the distortion of his name, the use of his name in an observance of his birthday—a birthday that did not occur in winter, and so much more. Do such things fit the definition of being blasphemous?

Even the leaders of this church and those who have come out of her have blasphemed God’s name by usurping the title of Father, Reverend, Pope, and more. Her religious leaders have taken to themselves the right to absolve people of their sins, of which only God Almighty can do. It is through the sacrifice of His Son as the Passover who spilled his blood to the earth for that very purpose—so mankind, through Christ, can become forgiven of sins.

The question in all this should actually be, “What is true and what is false?” Only that which is false can blaspheme God and His name. It is the misuse of His name and of His true words that are given throughout scripture. By definition, to twist, distort, and mistranslate what God has spoken is a matter of blasphemy.

The Woman on the Beast

So who is this woman who rides on the beast in Revelation 17? Each reader has covered enough already in order to give a truthful answer to this. It is good to read it again and then continue, in order to learn much more about this seventh revival that is right now being fulfilled.

“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, ‘Come and I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.’ So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, and having seven heads and ten horns” (Revelation 17:1-3).

The woman who is likened to Europa symbolizes the religion that became established in the Roman Empire. Prophetically, a woman pictures a church. God’s own Church is referred to as a woman—and is even described as “the mother of us all.” God has intended that His people be nourished and fed by the Church. The description of this woman is not about God’s Church but about one that is responsible for feeding (nourishing) in a blasphemous manner—making others drunk on what she gives them.

“The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls, and having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. On her forehead a name was written: Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth. I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Joshua. When I saw her, I marveled in great astonishment. But the angel said to me, ‘Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns’” (Rev. 17:4-7).

When the meaning of the representation of a “woman” is understood here, it is quite easy to see what God is describing by such prophetic symbolism. The woman as a church is described as being clothed in bright and costly colors and pictured as having great wealth and making a display of it. She is a church and she stands out to all who see her. In Europe, she stands out as the center of cities in order to be seen by all, as much sacrifice and wealth went into such constructions.

The woman is depicted as having a golden cup which carries unique symbolism that also has actual use that reflects its teachings and use of the word of God—to blaspheme. God’s people are commanded to drink a small portion of wine once a year on the night of Passover. As this was covered earlier, this is symbolic of the blood of Christ that was spilled for us in order for our sins to be forgiven, and to reflect that he fulfilled the meaning of Passover and died as our Passover Lamb. Those taking of this small portion of wine on the annual observance of Passover do not do so from a golden cup or chalice.

But the teaching of that great church of the Roman Empire is that it can be done weekly in what is called Communion during the second most important part of its worship service. That service is referred to as mass and specifically during this second portion of mass is the Liturgy of the Eucharist. In the eucharistic prayer, this church “commemorates Jesus Christ and his redeeming work, especially his sacrifice for the sake of all humankind through his crucifixion.”

So what is true and what is false? Is it the observance of a Communion service in a ceremony referred to as the Liturgy of the Eucharist or is it Passover that is observed only once a year? Do such things matter to God? The truth is that such an altered observance from what God and Joshua the Christ commanded is an abomination to God. God refers to changing what He has commanded, especially in the practice of customs from the worship of manmade deities, as a form of adultery and spiritual fornication, because it reflects unfaithfulness to God and His true word.

So this woman is referred to as a harlot—one who practices adultery—or who is simply casual in her approach to sexual relationships with others (the mixing of religions with God’s word). When looking at this on a spiritual plane in what a relationship with God should be, one faithful in spirit and in truth, then this has much deeper meaning.

This woman is described as “the harlot” who rides the beast and also the mother of harlots. In other words, many other harlots came out of her. The truth of that should be obvious as well for anyone who is willing to face the truth of it. Many churches did come out of that great church that became established in 325 AD as the state religion of the Roman Empire. Her daughters took with them most of her false doctrines.

She is referred to as “Mystery Babylon” because her teachings (words) are like a mystery because they claim their validity comes from God, yet they do not agree with God’s words. Babylon is a good description because the word is derived from the word “babel” meaning “confusion,” and is defined as something that is unclear or confusing due to the result of mixing many voices together. This church actually states that their most important teaching which is about the Trinity is not from scripture, but it is a “mystery given to the church, as something that cannot be truly comprehended.”

This reference of Babylon is given for two reasons. The first concerns what began to happen shortly after the flood in Noah’s day when false religion once again began to spring up in different cities, one of which was Babel. Those living in that city had determined to build a tower that would reach up into the heavens. This pursuit was mingled with false religious ideas. The ruins from that tower still exist today in the area of Iraq. Corruption and pride were accelerating at such a fast pace in the minds of those living there that God had to intervene in order to once again slow down the process of further corruption.

At this point in time after the flood, all people spoke the same language. The means by which God was going to slow mankind in their evil pursuit was to confound the people with different languages. This is the origin for the basis of differing languages today. God changed a portion of the spirit in their mind in an instant so they had understanding and ability to speak another language. When God did this, different groups could no longer understand each other, and they were only able to understand those who were given the ability to speak the same language as themselves.

It would be like everyone speaking English one day, and then all of a sudden, certain groups could only speak French, others Japanese, while yet others spoke only Russian, and so they would divide into groups. It may be hard to imagine such a thing happening, but that is exactly what occurred. For a person who spoke a single language on one day and a completely different one on another, it was as if they had always known the new language they were now speaking and had no memory or understanding of their previous one.

The name of the city became known as Babel. The term Babylon, which became one of the first prophetic world ruling empires, carries that same meaning. It was that first prophetic kingdom depicted by the head of gold in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue.

Babel and Babylon both mean “confusion.” That term has become synonymous with the way of religion and governments of this world. They are man-made systems that only create confusion, turmoil, division, and wars. These are all opposite to the way of God that produces unity, soundness of mind, and true peace.

An even deeper understanding can be derived from the use of the expression “Mystery Babylon” since that is where the formation of false religion actually began. After the flood, it was in the city of Babel that false religious ideas and practices began to form. These evolved into the worship of different false deities that stemmed from the same ideas when there was still one language spoken by all in Babylon.

After people became divided and then separated into different regions with those of the same language, the names of these deities varied because of those different languages. Each culture then began to develop a little differently in religious beliefs and practices. That is true with the worship of the sun gods, and of the moon and planets, as well as gods of fertility.

The histories of the worship of Tammuz, Ishtar, Astarte, Diana, Zeus, Artemis, Ra, Aton, Apollo, and so many others all have their roots in Babylon. It is from what began in the city of Babel that the evolution of false religion began and then finally worked many of its practices and ideas into what later became organized in 325 AD that called itself Christianity. That was the birth of false Christianity, and that is why it is indeed referred to as “Mystery Babylon.”

These verses also state that it is this woman, this church, that has been drunk on the blood of the saints. The word “saints” is simply a term used by the apostles to describe members of God’s Church who were faithful to living God’s way of life. Saints are not what that church has pictured them to be.

That church has been responsible for persecuting and killing many of God’s people through time. After all, it was the Roman government that created this church and it was that government that convicted the Son of God, Joshua the Christ, to death by nailing him to a pole. It was also that same government that beheaded John the Baptist.

It is even believed through writings and traditions passed down that all of the early apostles were imprisoned, some several times, and that all but one was eventually killed at the behest of the Roman government. It states that Herod killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. Records reveal that John, who was imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos, was likely the only one not killed by the Roman government.

Paul, the apostle to the gentile world, was beaten, stoned, imprisoned, and then kept under house arrest in Rome for an extended period of time before he was eventually killed. Candidly, ever since that time, people have continued in great hatred of the message that God’s apostles and teachers have brought, and as a result, many other leaders of God’s Church have been imprisoned and/or killed.

Satan and the Bottomless Pit

After John described the woman riding on the beast, the angel went on to explain that he would tell him the mystery of the woman and the beast that carries her which has seven heads and ten horns.

“The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is” (Revelation 17:8).

It would take much time to show where all the meaning in these things is revealed and explained. Some of that will come out later, but for now it is best once again to simply give the explanation of what is written.

As we continue through the story, it will become evident that the beast symbolizes Satan. He is the one being described as being responsible for supporting and carrying the woman—of giving strength and power to this church. He is behind all the consecutive revivals of the prophetic European empire. Indeed, Satan is described as a beast—one like a great dragon and the other being a scarlet colored beast that has seven heads—the seven revivals of the European empire that would occur over a span of time just over 1,450 years from the time of the first which happened under Justinian.

That which is written about the beast that will ascend out of the bottomless pit is partially in the form of a riddle. It has already been mentioned that this beast carries the woman—this Roman church. It is the beast that gives the woman even greater power and prominence. This beast is Satan and the term “beast” also describes much of the role of the nations with whom he specifically works to carry and lift up that church to greater power and prominence during each revival.

These revivals are for the purpose of war. That church was always involved in one way or another in those revivals that covered that first 1260 years up to the time of the fall of Napoleon, which was also the time that marked the beginning in the progressive decline of the power and influence of the Catholic Church over the European empire.

Most of that involvement of the church in those revivals and wars during that period was behind the scenes and in secret. Nevertheless, this has much to do with this description of the beast that supports that church because he is the actual power behind it—Satan and the demonic spirit world.

Satan is the one in scripture who is referred to as being restrained in a “bottomless pit” and who then ascends out of it for a short period of time. The timing of these references that use the form of a riddle is very specific.

This “bottomless pit” is first referred to in events that result from the blowing of the Fifth Trumpet. In that specific account, smoke symbolically begins to ascend out of the pit at a time when a spiritual phase of the Fifth Trumpet was being fulfilled (Rev. 9:1-3). That phase was fulfilled and was about persecution that Satan was allowed to exert upon God’s Church. That period is now past.

However, the physical phase is yet to be fulfilled. When Satan is fully released again he is pictured as ascending out of the pit, which simply means out from his restraints in order to influence and move ten nations of Europe into one last great war—an all-out thermonuclear war—WWIII.

God has allowed Satan to influence the different revivals of the European empire. When one revival has come to an end, then that is when God has restrained Satan once again from exerting such power and influence for war until it is God’s time to allow him to do so again. The time when Satan will be allowed to fully ascend out of that pit, which is to be released from his restraint this next and final time, is when it is God’s time to allow those ten nations of Europe to be brought together for the purpose of war. When those nations are able to fully unite as a single power, without the drag of the rest of the current European Union, it will be the time that leads into a full scale WWIII.

It is so very important to try to grasp the significance of what is being said in the next paragraph.

If God did not control the timing of all this and release Satan when He does, these nations would still come to war. This is especially true in this end-time. The nations of the world are headed toward WWIII no matter what, just as a result of people and nations becoming so corrupt in their thinking. If God did not intervene in exactly the way He does (and will), that war would last much longer and bring far greater agony and suffering from the long-lasting, hideous upheaval in the world. So not only is God going to intervene to stop mankind from destroying itself, He is also shortening the time that would otherwise multiply the intensity and length of mankind’s suffering.

The “bottomless pit” is simply a physical description derived from two words. One has the meaning of an “abyss” (translated as bottomless) and the other word “pit” is often used to describe a cistern (literally, “a place prepared for holding water”).

It is rather difficult to describe things that exist in a spirit realm by the use of physical explanations or examples. This place is simply a specially prepared spirit state that restrains Satan’s ability to exert his full spirit power. It is a condition or state that holds back much of his power, primarily the power to lead people into war. It is simply something that God does not allow him to do until a specific moment in time. Again, such things can be difficult to understand, but they are all timed to serve God’s greater purpose in how to most effectively help deliver mankind.

This restraint from God prevents him from using his full powers that have not yet been completely taken from him. However, even when restrained by this spirit abyss, he is still able to broadcast in strong spirit attitude and influence upon mankind. There is a time coming at the very end of this age just before the Kingdom of God becomes established over the nations in the Millennium that Satan will be sealed in complete restraint so that he will have NO ability to use any powers upon mankind throughout that 1,000 years.

The timing of Satan ascending out of the bottomless pit from this condition of spirit restraint is toward the very end of this last and seventh revival that began to form back in the 1950s. It is this last revival that is represented by the ten horns. This will be spoken of again a few verses later. It will be over these ten horns (ten nations) that Satan is able to exercise his greatest power to influence and move those leaders to agree to go to war. However, even though Satan can work to try and influence and lead these rulers to do his bidding, the decision to heed such influence is still in their own hands.

The Beast that Was and Is Not

This verse in Revelation 17 about the beast, Satan, that “was, and is not” does read like a riddle. The only way to comprehend this is to understand that for all these revivals, God does not restrain the full powers of Satan.

The beast “was” can refer to any time Satan was active during one of the revivals in Europe when he was not being restrained by the spirit abyss. However, this section of scripture is referring to a very specific time period. It is referring to the last time that he was unrestrained and when he was at work with Germany and Italy through the power of influence that he used directly upon Hitler and Mussolini.

Once WWII was brought to an end, Satan was restrained again, and it is in that current restraint that he “is not” exercising his full power because he is restrained by the spirit abyss, as has been for close to 75 years now.

Even when in spirit restraint Satan has always been able to exercise his influence and powers to broadcast his spirit attitude in order to manipulate and deceive people, but he has not been allowed to always use his greater powers of influence to destroy as the Destroyer in war. Satan has many names that describe his evil actions and another one of those mentioned in scripture is Apollyon, which means “the Destroyer.” This verse goes on to foretell what will follow after this period ends: “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition” (Rev. 17:8).

Satan is now described as ascending out of the spirit abyss, his place of restraint. This is the time that he is behind the influence that speeds up the inevitability of an all-out WWIII. After that is completed then it states that he then goes on until he finally comes to his time of “perdition.” This word “perdition” is one that has a wide variety of use and can mean “waste, destruction, to perish, to die.” This has a dual purpose, as it is used here, because once Satan is released, he will quickly move people and nations into a full-scale nuclear WWIII. His actions lead to great destruction, waste, and death of hundreds of millions. However, this is also the last time Satan will be allowed to stir up a war that causes massive destruction, although he will still try one more time.

Europe will respond to Satan in the way he wants them to, and they will become engaged in great nuclear war with others, but to the degree they do so is a matter of their own choosing.

WWIII truly is the war that will end all war. God will never allow another war once He brings an end to mankind’s self-rule on earth. Once God intervenes and brings WWIII to a close, He will establish a peace that will reign on earth for the next 1,000 years of mankind. God will not allow war ever again. This is actually part of the true “good news” (gospel) of the Kingdom of God because it is about the very establishment of peace and God’s rule on earth.

As Satan stirs up one last great war that causes massive destruction and death, he will also be pressing forward toward his own destruction and death. Once he has engaged in one last war, he himself will be headed straight toward his own perdition, although that will come much later.

Now, “the Beast that Was, and Is Not, and Yet Is”

The last part of this same verse is still written as a riddle, but it is different from what was stated in the first part of the verse. Notice:

“The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is” (Revelation 17:8).

One must first understand who those people are whose names have already been written in the book of life. This is not a matter of predestination like some doctrines teach. As it has been mentioned earlier and will yet be covered more fully, those who are written in this book of life are those whom God has worked with at different times throughout the past 6,000 years who will come with Christ to rule on earth. They are those who have been called to that purpose since the foundation of the world when mankind was first placed on earth.

They are the ones who will be resurrected to spirit life at Christ’s coming, who are composed of spirit essence, but able to manifest themselves in physical form just as Christ did after his resurrection. God’s plan from the beginning, “before the foundation of the world,” was that there would be 144,000 that will return with Christ at his coming. They are those whom God has “chosen” over a period of 6,000 years to be part of the first resurrection to spirit life at Christ’s coming—the ones written in the book of life to this point in time. Many of these are named in scripture, but many more have not been.

The others spoken of here, “whose names have not yet been written in the book of life,” are those who live during that millennial period under the rule of God’s Kingdom. They live during the time when they will know (see) what Satan has done for 6,000 years against God and mankind. They will marvel and they will know that this being and the demonic world are no longer able to be in the presence of mankind to deceive and hurt.

All who live during the Millennium will know that Satan was the beast that “was,” and now “is not,” because he is no longer around mankind. They will also understand (see) that he still exists—he “yet is.” The people living during that 1,000 years know and believe the truth that is already recorded in scripture that this being will be completely removed from mankind and released only for a short time once the Millennium is over.

So indeed, this verse is very prophetic about the beast—about Satan. It is about the 7th and last revival, then it focuses on the time that follows it when Satan is finally placed in the bottomless pit (spirit abyss) and a seal placed completely over it for 1,000 years, beginning right after Christ returns. This is covered in Revelation 20:1-3.

Revelation Given to Herbert Armstrong

As these verses continue to unfold, they give an overview of things that will follow. This chapter continues to describe the order of events in a kind of “outline format” that lead up to a final countdown to WWIII and of Christ’s coming.

“Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits” (Rev. 17:9).

This wisdom is about what can come to mankind from the very mind of God, as it is the word (logos) of God. God is the one who gives such wisdom because it does not come out of human understanding or intellect. Only God can give “this wisdom” to another. Here, God was giving Herbert Armstrong this wisdom with understanding of these verses that applied to the end-time.

Herbert Armstrong had been given to understand that God uses mountains to prophetically speak of larger nations or kingdoms. In this verse, it was clearly revealing that the woman, the Catholic Church, was “on” each of these beasts during their revivals. But this woman, after the fifth revival under Napoleon, no longer had that kind of power and sway it had enjoyed and exerted since the time of Justinian. Nevertheless, its presence and influence through those periods of time is still what has molded Europe into being what it is today.

“There are seven kings, five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet, and when it comes, it must continue a short time [a little season]” (Rev. 17:10).

There was only one period of time, lasting only a few years, that this specific verse could be read and have the specific meaning that applied to that very period—to that exact moment in time. Its meaning was revealed to Herbert Armstrong during this time when it was being fulfilled.

God was showing Mr. Armstrong that there was one more revival of the old Roman Empire (though not bearing that name) that was to be fulfilled before Joshua the Christ would return. In these prophecies he had come to see that there would be seven revivals in all.

At a point toward the end of WWII, God revealed this specific verse to him that was prophetic for that exact time in which he was currently living. He knew there would be seven revivals and that there would be one primary ruler over each of those revivals. Napoleon has already been mentioned as being over the fifth revival, and at the time this verse was being revealed to Herbert Armstrong, Hitler was over the sixth.

From this verse, he came to see that, yes, there would be seven kings (a primary ruler over each revival), five had already fallen, and the sixth one was currently ruling in this Second World War. So of the seven kings, five had already reigned and fallen and one was currently reigning—Hitler, and the other—the seventh and final one— “was not yet.”

It states that the one that comes—the seventh one—“must continue a short time.” That seventh revival—WWIII—will be much shorter in duration than all the others before it, but because of modern weaponry, much more devastation will occur than all the previous six put together.

The language of these revivals is first and foremost about destruction and war. So even though the movement of a revival may begin long before the war it portends, the primary meaning of these revivals is all about war. Thankfully, it states that the duration of it will continue a short time (lasting only for a little season). This is stressed because it is about nuclear war that can destroy the whole earth in a very short time, but God isn’t going to allow it to last very long, and once it reaches a specific stage, He will step in to stop it.

The next verse is still speaking in the form of a riddle, as it goes back and describes the beast–Satan.

“The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and yet is of the seven, and goes into perdition” (Rev. 17:11).

As a result of understanding what has been given to this point, it becomes more obvious what this verse is now saying. The one that goes into perdition is Satan. Satan is the beast who gives power to each revival. He is known as the beast power, working during the time of the revivals for the purpose of war. Satan is the beast that “was, and is not” that was spoken of previous to this.

So Satan is “of the seven” because he is the power over each revival, and because he is “of” each of the seven, and over all of them, he is also counted as the eighth.

Ten Nations Unite as One

“And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet, but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power, and strength to the beast” (Rev. 17:12-13).

The ten horns are described as ten kings receiving their power together as “one kingdom” in this seventh revival.

At the time this happens, there will be ten countries which come to a quick agreement to use nuclear weapons. They will only be fully united in this for a very short time, as division and differences quickly emerge. Shortly before this event, Satan will already have ascended from the bottomless pit (the spirit abyss—from his powers being restrained). He will quickly maneuver events in such a manner that these ten nations will believe that they must unite quickly, as one, in order to survive what they see happening in the world.

It states that they receive power as kings one hour with the beast. It is not a strongly knit kingdom that is revived once they unite together. After being united, they cannot undo what they have done, although they will wish they could. Once everything has been set in motion and a further expanded world war ensues, it cannot simply be “turned off.”

The Book of Daniel describes this last revival in a little different fashion, but gives more insight to some of its inherent weaknesses. A partial review is needed of some of what was earlier covered in Chapter 3 about Daniel’s prophecy and there are also more details of his prophecy that will be covered.

As a reminder, God gave Daniel the ability to interpret a dream of Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel was able to tell Nebuchadnezzar what the king had seen in his dream, and he then told him what it was about. He had seen a statue that was made up of different metals from head to toe. The first was the head of gold. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that this head was about him and the great kingdom over which he was now ruling, the Babylonian Empire.

Daniel went on to tell him about three more great kingdoms that would follow and lead up to the end of mankind’s age of self-rule, when God would intervene and establish His own kingdom on earth. The second kingdom described was the Medo-Persian Empire, then the third, which was the Greco-Macedonian Empire. The fourth was the Roman Empire or the empires of Europe.

The last kingdom was represented by the legs made of iron and with feet and toes that were both of iron and clay.

“The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, in as much as iron crushes into pieces and subdues all, and as iron that breaks all these, it shall crush in pieces and break [about war]. Whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided, but there shall be in it the strength of iron, forasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with wet clay, and as toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly fragile. In the days of these kings [ten toes and ten kings, the last revival and last part of the statue] shall the God of heaven set up a Kingdom, which shall never be destroyed, and the Kingdom shall not be left to other people [not ruled by mankind, but by Christ and the 144,000], but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever” (Daniel 2:40-42, 44).

In this prophecy given to Daniel, hundreds of years before God revealed the things contained in the Book of Revelation to John, God prophesied what would happen in the rise and fall of major kingdoms until Christ’s return in the Kingdom of God. Daniel’s prophecies also lead up to God revealing things that foretell the exact timing of Christ’s first coming, as well as much about the timing for Christ’s second coming.

These verses in Daniel reveal that the Roman Empire would be strong like iron until the end when the feet and ten toes are described as a mixture of both iron and clay. This is an accurate description of something that God was revealing about this last part of the statue of the old Roman Empire (a European empire) that would come together for a short time at the very end. On one hand, it would have great strength, and on the other, it would be very fragile. It would not be held together very well, much like one can see of the European Union today. It is great in combined strength, and yet it is fragile in unity.

These ten kings of Revelation 17 are described as receiving their power for one hour together with the beast. Satan, of course, is the beast that has brought these kings together as one for the purpose of nuclear war, and when he does so, they unite and “give their power and strength to the beast”—to Satan.

As it has already been shown, ten of the twenty-eight nations of the European Union have entered into a military agreement. This could still change as to who the specific final ten nations will be, but it will most certainly be ten.

The one hour mentioned here is definitely a prophetic time and is likely speaking of an actual period of 60 days, as God has revealed similar prophetic timing to mean. But as of now, it is not absolutely certain that it represents that actual timing. Nevertheless, it is clear that the world stage is already set for that final war.

What Comes Next?

This chapter has covered how Herbert Armstrong, toward the end of WWII, came to understand that Europe would soon rise again in its seventh and last revival. He explained how this union of nations would have a government established within it, that it would develop a common currency, and that ten nations would unify in a military union that would engage in a final nuclear war.

He also added to all this that the ten-nation union would be spearheaded by Germany. When he stated all of this at the end of WWII, that indeed seemed ludicrous to many, and it was also unthinkable that Germany would rise and take the lead over such a union. It was inconceivable, but that is exactly what has been happening.

This was unthinkable simply because Europeans harbored a repulsiveness toward Germany over the atrocities they had committed. It was also unthinkable because German industry was basically destroyed due to the bombing of their cities. It would seem preposterous for Germany to again rise out of the ashes and then have such prominence and power to take the lead in a united Europe.

But it wasn’t long, and by 1957 a drive to unite Europe was well underway with the establishment of the European Economic Community. So indeed, Europe did begin to rise again soon after WWII. Over seventy years have passed since WWII and the stage in Europe is now set for WWIII since the last of those things predicted by Herbert Armstrong has now come to pass—a unified military in a European union of nations.

So what comes next? You will know with absolute certainty that the final segment of a prophesied timeline that leads into horrifying cataclysmic end-time events is beginning once you see what is prophesied to happen next. It is about the demise of the United States. Everyone will be fully aware of these disastrous events as they unfold. The whole world will see it, but they will not know what it means or what will follow. But God has foretold it all for us. We can watch and be very prepared.

Before a full-fledged nuclear war between the nations of the world begins, this will happen first. It will include the use of nuclear weapons, but it is not yet an all-out nuclear war.

What happens to the United States first is just the beginning of final end-time cataclysmic events. All the major cataclysmic events that are about to be unleashed upon the world are all revealed through the prophecies of the Book of Revelation. Just as much was revealed to Herbert Armstrong about the last revival of a European empire that has now been set in place, the events that lead to the demise of the United States are also revealed. These will now happen next!

Chapter 5

THE SEVEN TRUMPETS OF REVELATION

Ever since God first placed mankind upon this earth, He has been sending various people into the world who would faithfully live by and tell His ways and truths to others. This included apostles and prophets who were given additional truth and understanding they were to declare. This has been continuing for right at 6,000 years. From the beginning until now, God has been progressively revealing more and more about His plan and purpose for human existence. It is an incredible story and one that the overwhelmingly vast majority of mankind has never heard.

It wasn’t until nearly 4,000 years after God created the first man, Adam, that He sent His Son, Joshua the Christ, to begin giving revelation of spiritual matters that had not been known before. Christ also began revealing much more about God’s plan and purpose for the very creation of mankind.

As the time drew closer to the end of his three-and-a-half-year ministry, many Jewish people, including his own disciples, thought that he had come to be their Messiah and would set up the Kingdom of God on earth at that time. They actually believed he would remove the oppressive Roman rule that was over them and establish his reign instead. Although they could not grasp what he told them, he clearly revealed to them that his reign would be at a later time.

Christ spoke of the end-time and of events that would lead up to his second coming as the prophesied Messiah—the one anointed to be King. None of them grasped that he had come to die as the Passover Lamb. Even soon after his death and ascension they were still anticipating his return to earth (during their time) to become established as the Messiah over the nations.

A few decades later, the Church was still looking for Christ to return, so he began to reveal to them that his return was not imminent, and yet they had no concept of the amount of time that would actually pass before he would return—nearly 2,000 years later. Christ revealed to the apostle, Paul, that there were some very specific events that had to first be fulfilled before he could return a second time.

The main event Paul spoke of actually happened on the 17th of December in 1994. What Paul described is so significant to the completion of 6,000 years of mankind’s self-rule that it is revealed to be the most important prophetic marker ever for counting the time to the establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth. This was to be the actual sign to God’s Church that Joshua’s return was now imminent. That date was the day that the First Seal of Revelation was opened and the actual countdown to WWIII began.

The Seals of Revelation

Nearly 90 percent of all prophecy in the Bible is about the end-time. Yet even though so much end-time prophecy has been recorded, the understanding and actual revelation of those things have remained hidden, closed, and sealed until the time for their unveiling and fulfillment. We are now living in that time!

It was covered earlier how God gave prophecies about the rise and fall of nations and kingdoms to Daniel. The last of those prophecies had to do with the revelation of a European empire that would rise and fall many times within a period of just over 2,000 years. The last prophesied revival would be the time for unsealing and revealing final end-time events to the world, although most will not listen to the warning of these revelations.

God had shown the prophet Daniel these prophecies that were about the rise and fall of prophetic world kingdoms and of prophetic timing that would lead to the second coming of the Messiah. At the end, Daniel wanted to understand more about what he had received. God simply told him that what he had been given was not for his time and that these prophecies were to be closed up and sealed until the end-time.

The Book of Revelation is primarily about final end-time events that are written about in much greater detail than what had been given to Daniel. However, it has been nearly 1900 years since those prophecies were given to John, the last of the original apostles. He was given these revelations to record while he was imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos by the Roman government.

Although John recorded what he was given, he did not understand it. That is because it was not the end-time, and just as it was for Daniel, all that John wrote was not for his time. These things had also been closed and sealed. It was nearly 1850 years before God began to reveal a small portion of its meaning to Herbert Armstrong. Then, it wasn’t until 1994 that God began accelerating a progressive unveiling of all that pertains to this end-time.

Revelation goes through a story in the beginning about how no one was found worthy to open the Seals and to reveal their meaning. Then it is revealed that Joshua the Christ, the Passover of mankind, was worthy to do so. This part of the story is given in order to explain more fully about how God would reveal the meaning of the Seals and that it was Christ who would open them.

Whatever truths and revelations that are given to Christ from God is what Joshua then gives to the Church, over which he is the head. It is through God’s current end-time Church that these things are being revealed. It is the same Church of God to which God called Herbert Armstrong to be an apostle—the same Church that began in 31 AD.

So what are the Seals of Revelation? They are end-time revelations of events with very specific timing that lead up to WWIII and the end of this current age of mankind when the Kingdom of God is then established to rule the earth. Ever since the Seals were first given to John to record, they have been closed up to any understanding, and sealed with that intent, until the proper time came for these events to begin to come to pass.

Reading the Book of Revelation can be very confusing to people because it is divided into so many areas of revelation that are described as Seven Seals, Seven Thunders, Seven Trumpets, Three Woes, and Seven Last Plagues. Then, when focusing upon any one of these items, it can begin to seem overwhelming. It is for this reason, and because of the focus of this book, that the Seals are covered in the manner that they are. As one moves forward it may seem difficult in the beginning, but it will all begin to fit into place.

The focus of this chapter primarily concerns the Seventh Seal, which is about the fulfillment of the events of the Seven Trumpets. It should be sobering for all to learn that all Seven Seals have already been opened by Joshua the Christ. That is just how close the world is to the start of WWIII. The meaning of all Seven Seals has been revealed to God’s Church.

Although the Seventh Seal has been opened and the Seven Trumpets have blown, the events of those Trumpets have not yet begun to be fulfilled.

As previously stated, the First Seal of Revelation was opened on December 17, 1994. Although this will be covered thoroughly in later chapters, it is good to understand here that the first four Seals are about events that happened to God’s Church—prophetic events that would be the sign that signaled the beginning of a very specific countdown in this current end-time.

Those who profess to know the meaning of these first four Seals, which are often referred to as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, do not understand them at all. That is the very reason that many who have a surface knowledge about things written in the Book of Revelation are going to be so caught off-guard once the complete demise of the United States begins, which happens in the events of the first four Trumpets of the Seventh Seal. They will be completely shocked when WWIII breaks out because they currently believe that war is yet far off. They have believed that the first four Seals are about events in the world that in time lead into WWIII. They do not know that these events have already happened and are about the Church and not about the world.

Ever since that event of the First Seal spoken of by Paul came to pass in December 1994, Christ has been revealing much, much more about other events that have also become fulfilled.

Because of so many things Christ had been revealing so quickly to His Church about prophecy for this end-time, and due to so many of these events falling so perfectly into very specific prophetic timelines, the Church believed that the actual date for his coming was being revealed. However, that was not the case.

So mistakes have been made about setting dates regarding the actual year for Christ’s coming. Now the Church, and specifically its leadership, has matured and learned from such mistakes and has actually come to understand much more as a result of this experience.

The Church now simply gives prophetic markers of time that have been revealed for this end-time so that people can then choose to stay alert, on guard, and closely watch these timelines as they unfold. In this manner, people can be far more fully prepared for the catastrophic events when they do happen.

Outline of End-Time Events

An outline of the various divisions of Revelation can serve to help a person better understand a structure that exists in the fulfillment of prophetic end-time events. Not all of these areas need to be focused upon in this book. However, those that are the most pertinent to understanding the major events of this end-time will be covered.

Seven Seals: Opened by Joshua the Christ

1st – 5th Seals opened: Events about God’s Church

6th Seal opened: About Seven Thunders to be fulfilled

1st Thunder was 9/11

All Thunders continue up to the 7th Trumpet

7th Seal opened: Seven Trumpets to be fulfilled

1st – 4th Trumpet: U.S.A. collapses

5th Trumpet: 1st Woe—EU’s use of nuclear weapons

6th Trumpet: 2nd Woe—Third of mankind destroyed

7th Trumpet: Begins with Christ becoming King

Ends with the 3rd Woe

First in this outline are the Seven Seals. Joshua the Christ was revealed as the one who would open each Seal. Over the past several years, as he has opened every one of these, he has been revealing their meaning to His Church.

These have gone unrecognized by the world, and even unrecognized by the largest portion of the Church that became scattered after the Apostasy, and that is because the first five Seals are about God’s Church. That Apostasy, and events of these Seals, are important to understand and are covered in Chapter 6. It is because of these events and their timing that one can know of the actual countdown to WWIII.

Then the Sixth Seal was opened, but Christ did not reveal that event until some time later once the Seven Thunders were revealed. These Seven Thunders were given to the apostle John, but God told him not to record them because they were not to be revealed until the end-time.

These Thunders are not pertinent to the subject matter of this book which is about the countdown to WWIII. These are recorded in a previous book entitled 2008 – God’s Final Witness that can be found on the Church website (www.cog-pkg.org/publications/).

Only the First Thunder is important in the context of the flow of these Seals because the day the Sixth Seal was opened was on the 11th of September 2001. This event was the revelation of the First Thunder, which is about the beginning “terror of war” for this end-time. This Thunder has sounded many times since, but people are deaf to it because they do not recognize it.

After the Sixth Seal is the opening of the Seventh Seal. This Seal is then divided into seven specific segments of time (the Seven Trumpets) that are about major cataclysmic end-time events that begin to unfold. These are events that the whole world will experience, and if they know what is written here, they will know exactly what is taking place and what will happen next.

The first four Trumpets (of the Seventh Seal) are about the demise of the United States. All of the Trumpets and their meaning are the subject of this chapter, and all will be explained.

The Fifth Trumpet begins to be fulfilled when the ten nations of Europe agree to engage in war—the last war. This is called the First Woe and there are two more to follow. The first two Woes describe massive destruction that will destroy over 1/3 of all life on earth.

Then, once the sound or announcement of the Seventh Trumpet begins to be fulfilled, Christ will become established as the King of kings in the Kingdom of God. When this event takes place, God will bring an end to WWIII.

God is very ordered and precise in how He fulfills His Word. Prophecies are fulfilled in a very exacting manner. Even the use of the prophetic number of seven that defines “completeness” reveals how God brings an end to mankind’s self-rule and then establishes the rule of His Kingdom. It is after 6,000 years of mankind’s self-rule followed by the reign of Joshua the Christ for the next 1,000 years that a complete 7,000-year plan for mankind is revealed. This is then followed by what is known as the Last Great Day (and also the Great White Throne Judgment) which covers a span of time that goes 100 years beyond the Millennium.

The Seals began to be opened in 1994. We are now at a time when the Seventh Seal has already been opened. There are no more Seals to be opened, and this in itself cries out loudly of how close WWIII actually is. It is closing in fast!

Seventh Seal Opened

The Seventh Seal was opened on the 14th of November 2008. This was then followed by the blowing of the Seven Trumpets on the 14th of December 2008, but the events of the physical tribulation they announced have not yet begun. These are currently being held back and the reason they are is an incredible story.

There is great knowledge and understanding that can be gleaned from knowing what that specific work is that is holding back the events of the first four Trumpets. The completion of that work is what determines when the worst and most fearful of final catastrophic end-time events can begin. These events that are being held back from happening are those that will result in the complete crippling of the wealthiest and most powerful single nation the world has ever known—the United States. Then shortly following this will be a full-scale nuclear WWIII.

Notice what is stated about the angels who blew the first four Trumpets.

“After these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God, and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, ‘Do not hurt the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.’ Then I heard the number of those who were sealed. A hundred and forty-four thousand were sealed…” (Revelation 7:1-4).

As covered earlier, from within this complete period of the past 6,000 years, God has been calling and working with those whom He has given opportunity to become trained and fashioned by Him. The purpose for God doing this is to prepare future rulers for His Kingdom when it is established at the beginning of the Millennium. Later in Revelation, these are shown to be the very ones who are resurrected to reign with Joshua the Christ at his second coming.

These individuals are described as maturing to a point in their life where they themselves become sealed by God to be among that count of the 144,000 who come with Christ. There will be more stated about this, but it needs to be understood here that until this work is completed by God and the remaining ones who are to be added to this count become sealed, the major catastrophic end-time events cannot begin. There are still a few who need to be sealed so the count of all 144,000 can be completed.

This is a sealing accomplished on a spiritual plane within the very minds of those with whom God is transforming, molding, and fashioning who are to be placed in very specific areas of His government. The timing of one’s sealing can only be known and completed by God. The preparation and completion of such a task is not something that is exact as a process. The reason is because God has given to all people a mind that has free moral agency—free choice.

A mind that can become sealed is only accomplished as a person chooses to accept what God reveals to it. If a person continues to accept what God reveals and also strives to live by what is true, then after a long period of time that mind can then become changed—transformed—to a point that God can say, as He did to Abraham, “Now I know you.”

The 144,000 who are resurrected to spirit life to reign with Christ have gone through that long and trying process to where they are “set”—transformed—in faithfulness to the will, purpose, and way of God. That way is the way of peace, sound thinking, prosperity, and fullness of life. It is not some pious or fake way that some in religion have often become accustomed to falsely exhibiting and portraying.

Indeed, God has been working to prepare 144,000 to be in His Kingdom to govern with Christ. When each person is sealed is something only known by God because He is the one who performs the work. It is for this reason that no one can know the exact date or hour of Christ’s coming.

But know this! The fact that we are at this juncture when the catastrophic events of the first four Trumpets are being held back should be sobering. It should not be hard to grasp that these will not be held back much longer before that work of sealing the few remaining for the 144,000 is complete and these first four events are unleashed. The fact that all Seven Seals have already been opened and only great devastation remains to be unleashed at a moment’s notice speaks volumes. We are at the end of the end-time.

FIRST FOUR TRUMPETS: Revelation About the Crippling of the U.S.

The first four Trumpets of the Seventh Seal are about the demise of the United States of America. She has been the greatest single nation in the end-time, and the events of these four Trumpets are structured to end her world dominance, influence, and power. She is the first of all nations to be humbled by God because she has been given the most by Him and has been given the greatest opportunity to listen but has not. This humbling process that will be poured out upon the United States will be very strong against her.

The impact of these four Trumpets will also be felt by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and they will suffer mightily; however, the extent of their suffering fully depends upon how each country responds to God once the impact from the First Trumpet becomes realized. If they do not listen as the full force of each Trumpet begins to be unleashed, then they will only multiply their own suffering.

Although the sounding of the Seven Trumpets took place on the 14th of December 2008, it was later revealed that the catastrophic events announced from the first four Trumpets were being held back because the sealing of the 144,000 was not complete. Once that is finished, then the beginning of the demise of the United States will start. It is something that will immediately be recognized by the whole world—far, far more so than the events of 9/11.

Once these events start to happen, this will be the actual beginning of WWIII, and the greatest exchange of nuclear weapons in an all-out nuclear war will begin shortly after this.

Revelation 7 reveals what is most important in God’s plan that must first be completed before He will allow the events of the Trumpets to begin their destruction. God’s government must be fully in place and ready before the governments of the world can be brought to an end.

Revelation 8 shows in very prophetic language the events that will lead to the fall of the United States as the first nation to be brought down. This unfolds once the events begin that result from what is announced in the sounding of the First Trumpet.

“The first angel sounded, and hail and fire followed mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth, and a third part of trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up” (Revelation 8:7).

Although it will be explained in Chapter 6, the first four Seals of Revelation were about individual events that rapidly followed in sequence and then culminated in the fulfillment of the fourth. The first three continued to play out and their destructive power simply continued to grow. Their combined destruction multiplied in what is described in the fourth.

In like manner, that is the same kind of process being described by these first four Trumpets of the Seventh Seal.

This First Trumpet begins with what John could only describe as “great fire being cast to the earth.” It is then mixed with much blood. This is about modern weaponry that can appear as bright fire coming out of the sky engulfing life in its path. It not only kills humans and animals in its immediate path, but it also reaches far beyond, causing massive destruction on all forms of vegetation.

It needs to be understood that this does not say this happens across the entirety of the nation, but for where it happens, this is what follows.

It does not reveal where this attack comes from and prophecy does not specifically declare who is behind this, but it will happen. It will happen to the most powerful nation the world has ever known.

What is described next in the Second Trumpet is not something that happens much later down the road. By the prophetic language used, it tends to reflect that this may be something that can happen simultaneously. John’s description of what he saw is something that happens in port cities.

“Then the second angel sounded, and something that looked like a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea, and the third of the sea became like blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed” (Revelation 8:8-9).

How do you think a person living nearly 2,000 years ago would describe a vision of catastrophic events that used the most powerful weapons in this modern age? If one is describing such a thing occurring in a port city today, would it perhaps be like seeing a mountain on fire that was cast into the sea?

This is about destruction in certain major port cities in the U.S., a result from what finally happens because of the sounding of the Second Trumpet. Many ships will be destroyed and this carries a dual fulfillment. One is a destructive strike against global commerce. The other is a massive strike against a powerful naval force.

It states that this fire killed a third part of all the life that was in and on the sea and the water then became like blood. Then there was something else given to see about the event from the sounding of the Third Trumpet.

“The third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from the sky, burning like a torch, and it fell upon a third of the rivers, and upon the springs of water. The name of the star is called Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it was made bitter” (Revelation 8:10-11).

In each case, John is describing as best as he can what these events looked like as he saw them. His description of a star was describing something that appeared as a bright light falling from the sky that had flames like a torch.

In the specific areas of the country in which this occurs, it destroys life in rivers and spreads a deadly contamination in a third of all water in that region. The description of these events is simply a continuing accumulation of an overall condition of destruction being multiplied. Each Trumpet focuses upon specific destruction, yet they are all connected to the same overall event as the Fourth Trumpet reveals more fully.

“Then the fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. So the sun did not shine for a third of the day, and likewise the night. Then I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, ‘Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth because of the trumpet blasts from the three angels who are yet to sound!’” (Revelation 8:12-13).

The Fourth Trumpet blast is a culmination of the effects from the first three Trumpet blasts which includes even more destruction to follow. The destruction that results from the events of the first three Trumpets is about that level of destruction that will occur in the specific regions where these weapons are used.

Specifically, within the region of the United States, the Fourth Trumpet reveals that the normal amount of sunshine will be reduced by one-third. Weather conditions will be horribly altered as one-third of the sun’s light will no longer be able to warm the surface of the land. Normal growing cycles will not be sustained by the sun as in the past.

This reduction of sunlight will also begin to affect other nations around the world who will also be impacted in their regions by the effects of what happens in the United States. The destruction that takes place from all four Trumpets will result in the beginning of famine in many nations of the world. Many depend upon what is produced in the United States. The worldwide effects from the Fourth Trumpet blast will eventually result in widespread death—into the tens of millions.

From the description of these events from the first four Trumpets, it is possible that some of these effects could be the result of using a nuclear EMP (electromagnetic pulse) weapon. With all the devastation caused by nuclear weapons in a few major cities, including certain port cities, the addition of an EMP attack would prove to be crippling for a time.

Scientists have tried to calculate the kind of effect an exploding nuclear EMP device over the central part of the U.S. could have. Since such a weapon exploding high in the atmosphere over a region has never been used, the known effects are not absolute, but they would be absolutely devastating in the light of such widespread modern technology being used within the U.S.

If three or more such weapons were to be strategically used, it could cripple an entire nation in ways that people cannot begin to imagine. Such an attack could literally cause motorized vehicles to cease functioning and lose control, which would be devastating on highways. It can also cause airplanes to fall from the sky.

Detonating an EMP weapon could also destroy most electronics and most electronically controlled devices. Such a thing alone could totally cripple a nation overnight, as well as cause massive death on a scale that is unimaginable. Consider the complete temporary crippling of the military, communications, hospitals, emergency responders, power grids, gas transmission, manufacturing, businesses, gasoline services, food and product movement, financial centers, water supplies, waste management, other electric supply, etcetera. The word “temporary” does not mean this would be something that would only last a few weeks, but the overall crippling effect could last for many months.

This does not even account for the kind of destruction that can come from just a few cities being struck directly by nuclear weapons. People do not even begin to truly grasp just how vulnerable the world is to the kind of destruction that can come upon it or any nation in a moment’s notice.

The ability to coordinate such a strike is not a difficult thing in this age of hypersonic missiles, submarines used for launching missiles close to major cities so that there is no time for a response, or even the use of nuclear weapons in satellites which can circle above any nation and then be used in an EMP strike at any moment.

Regardless of the exact way and timing in which these events occur, the result of the first four Trumpets will be that the United States will be crippled by a small nuclear first strike.

More Destruction Upon the U.S. After Being Crippled

The crippling of the United States will lead to a great power vacuum in the world; nations will race to fill the void. Many areas of the world that have been held at bay by the influence of the United States and her closest allies will now be determined to accomplish their own will on others. Just consider the nations that have had long-lasting border and territorial disputes, as well as nations who have religious and political disputes which have never been resolved. Now they are no longer held back!

Due to the decline in morality and the increase in arrogance and dishonesty, the United States has become more evil over the past seven years and God has recently revealed that it will now suffer far worse than what would have been prophetically fulfilled upon her if the timing for this to happen had taken place in 2012.

The corruption and lack of soundness within the mind of many leaders and much of the general populace has grown so fast that NOW the destruction and death that comes upon her will be much more severe. The divisiveness, hatred, false news, malicious slandering of others, perversion of thinking, excessive greed, and overall spirit has become so corrupted that more destruction is now going to be allowed to come upon her in the events of the first four Trumpets.

Pride has mushroomed mightily during these past seven years, and her refusal to listen to God has become more fully set against Him. Yet after this massive destruction does begin, she can always change and begin to listen and thereby suffer far less from the effects of the trumpet blasts that follow, because there is much more suffering to follow. The crippling of the U.S. is only the beginning, as much greater catastrophic destruction is prophesied to follow.

In the Book of Revelation, God reveals that He has two witnesses in the end-time who will work side by side to deliver and magnify His warnings to nations, beginning with the United States first. Once the events that these four Trumpets announced are finished, then the extent of further suffering and death is fully dependent upon how people begin to respond.

God has placed the main hope of the United States squarely in the hands of His two witnesses who alone are given power to help deliver them. The extent of further destruction inflicted upon her depends solely on the degree to which she will humble herself and listen to God’s two witnesses.

If she will not listen, God reveals that more catastrophic events from natural disasters and plagues can have just as massive an impact as the first four Trumpets did. These actually have the ability to become far more destructive than the nuclear weapons that will have already been used against her. It all depends on her response toward God and those whom He has sent to her. The fate of the people of the United States rests fully in their own hands and whether they can be humbled quickly, or not, once all this begins.

Remember as you read about these end-time events that are going to soon begin happening around the world that this is a time of great transition for this world. It is a time when God is allowing mankind to begin the inevitable process of destroying itself. All these prophesied events are about what must happen in order for the kind of change that must take place, for His Kingdom to become established at the coming of His Son to reign. This can be difficult to grasp, but it will become much clearer.

God is allowing mankind to come face to face with experiencing the distinct possibility of self-annihilation. It is in this experience that mankind can be moved toward a change in its very nature. God knows to what level of degree this experience must become in order to bring a complete end to mankind’s self-rule and for mankind to then turn to acceptance and support, willingly and desirously so, to His rule that will be established.

The United States of America is the first country to be impacted on such a massive scale of destruction by end-time events. The first five Trumpets are focused squarely upon her. Again, prophetically so, that is because she is the one nation in all the world that has received from God the greatest wealth and power of any single nation on earth through all time, and yet the one that has resisted God the most. She has not listened to God when, above all other nations, she has had the greatest opportunity to have done so over the past 70 years.

The United States’ government and its people would not acknowledge Herbert Armstrong as God’s apostle nor would they listen to his warnings, but instead tried to take control of and destroy the Church in the late 1970s—the Church over which Mr. Armstrong was God’s apostle. She also tried to destroy God’s Church again in 2012. God has not taken this direct affront to Him lightly.

However, at any time, the United States and/or her people can begin to humble themselves and begin to listen, if they so choose. This is what God prophesied so very long ago. Above all other nations, the U.S. has been given great opportunity to hear God’s warning for this end-time. Most certainly, God will humble the United States. It is pride that has led the U.S. up to the brink of a massive economic collapse—one that has been working to produce a complete global collapse. This is the very thing that is at the forefront for the trigger of the first four Trumpet blasts.

Prophecy reveals that in addition to the devastation from the first four Trumpets, the United States will begin to experience the power of plagues and devastation from the prophesied Thunders that will escalate against her unless or until she begins to listen to God. This process is largely determined by God’s two end-time witnesses.

The more the United States holds to her pride, the more she will suffer until she is humbled. This is a matter of God’s judgment and what He has determined concerning how the U.S. should be humbled.

This is in similar fashion to God humbling Pharaoh in the time of Moses. God humbled Egypt in order to deliver Israel out from under her, but it was at great cost to Egypt and to all her people due to their pride. Most every bit of Egypt’s agriculture was totally destroyed, most of its livestock became destroyed, and finally, even all the firstborn of Egypt died. Lastly, Pharaoh and his military were destroyed in the Red Sea. Pride is a great evil, and it is a stubborn foe to sound reason.

FIFTH TRUMPET: The First Woe!

Although the devastation that follows the first four Trumpet blasts results in unimaginable destruction, along with the death of hundreds of thousands of people and potentially much more, the last verse of Revelation 8 gives a warning of far worse events that will quickly follow. Once nuclear weapons are used against any major nation, it is certain that a far greater nuclear war will follow.

“Then I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, ‘Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth because of the trumpet blasts from the three angels who are yet to sound!’” (Revelation 8:13).

The expression of “woe” refers to dire consequences that will be far, far more destructive in the world. There are three “woes,” which refer to what will follow in events that were announced from the last three Trumpets. These woes are about the execution of God’s judgment upon mankind for their refusal to listen to Him.

Next, the events announced by the Fifth Trumpet will begin and the First Woe will be fulfilled. This Trumpet is expressed in such terms in order to stress the kind of destruction that will begin to take place on earth. This is many times greater than the destruction that will come upon the United States as a result of the events of the first four Trumpets. This will result in the beginning of an all-out thermonuclear war—a full-scale WWIII. In reality, that war began when the U.S. was first attacked, but what happened then is very small compared to what happens there next.

The events recorded about this Fifth Trumpet can be difficult to understand because some of the events mentioned are about God’s Church, and these have already happened. However, the rest of those events that are yet to be fulfilled in this Trumpet are about when Satan is fully released from his spiritual restraint that was spoken of earlier. It is when he is able to use his full power to lead the world into a massive nuclear war. This is the time in which he will move the ten nations of the European Union to use nuclear weapons in a manner that is currently unimaginable and rather unbelievable.

Although it was given to Herbert Armstrong back in the 1950s that 10 nations in Europe would rise and use nuclear weapons in a third world war, it has not been fully seen how all this can come together—until now.

As it is easy to get bogged down in all that is revealed in the related prophecies that pertain to what happens during this Fifth Trumpet, it will simply be explained what these verses are prophesying. It is about this last revival in Europe of the old prophetic European empire. The primary role of the last revival is to fulfill precise prophetic timing that powerfully escalates into an all-out nuclear confrontation between nations.

God is intervening even now to help prevent an apocalyptic war that mankind would inevitably enter into anyway—a war that would destroy all life on earth if He did not intervene. God must intervene directly at a specific moment in time to end WWIII. However, before that occasion, He will intervene periodically in the timing of some world events and work through certain end-time events in order to help bring about a change in the very attitude and nature of mankind, away from evil and toward what is good.

In order to begin this overall process, God will allow ten nations in Europe to arise at a very specific moment in time, which will bring this final war to a scale and momentum where God will need to intervene to save mankind from itself and its own annihilation. God’s timing for his intervention is revealed to be at a point when the magnitude of this war has come to the level of destroying 1/3 of all life on earth—rather than all of it, which is what mankind would do if He didn’t intervene as He does.

Remember, it is not God who brings mankind to war. Mankind of itself always wars and it is only a matter of time before mankind will enter into a third world war—an all-out nuclear war. If God did not intervene as He will do, mankind would indeed annihilate itself. God knows what is best for mankind and He has chosen this moment in human development to help mankind come to see itself realistically. God knows what it will take for mankind to be humbled and the precise amount of self-inflicted suffering it will have to experience in order to finally turn to Him.

“Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven to the earth, and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit [place of spirit restraint]. And he opened the bottomless pit, and there arose smoke out of the pit like the smoke from a great furnace, and the sun and the sky were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. Out of the smoke there came locusts upon the earth, and they were given power like scorpions of the earth have power” (Revelation 9:1-3).

God reveals that He will once again release Satan from a spirit restraint that He has kept upon him since the end of WWII. He has been restrained from using all his power—that greater power that leads to great destruction and war. He is the Destroyer, but he has not always been able to use that power. Instead, he has had a spirit restraint put upon him for much of human history.

The locusts are about vast armies, and the description of scorpions is about the power they possess to strike quickly when they attack. Armies have never possessed the kind of power as they do today because of modern technology—especially that of nuclear weapons.

It was described earlier concerning the Fourth Trumpet how the U.S. will experience the effect of nuclear weapons that will lead to 1/3 of the light of the sun no longer being able to reach the surface of the earth in the areas these weapons are used. A large reduction of light being able to reach the earth’s surface will affect much of the U.S., but to a lesser degree, it will also have an impact on other areas of the world.

In the instance of this Fifth Trumpet it reveals a further darkening in the atmosphere and of the sun, but this time in large regions of the world. This alone is going to wreak great havoc and destruction on the earth that can easily lead to death in hundreds of thousands. This is due to the vast destruction of agriculture and famine that follows. It is also due to plunging temperatures that result in extreme cold in many regions.

The prophetic fulfillment for these 10 nations of Europe is met when they come into agreement to use the nuclear arsenal over which they have control. Although these nations are weakly aligned (the toes mixed with clay), they have great strength of power (the iron of the toes) that they can wield.

We are very near the time for the fulfillment of these verses. It needs to be understood that the exact 10 nations may not yet be set. Although 10 have signed a military alliance, one or more could still opt-out, but when this event finally comes to pass there will be exactly 10 nations in Europe who come to this final agreement and fulfill this prophecy.

There are really only a few scenarios that possibly fit into the unfolding of these prophetic events that are described in this Fifth Trumpet. God has not revealed the specific thinking and all the actions of every nation involved, but most of the major nations that will be involved are known. Regardless of all who are involved and how they are involved, the scope of destruction will be exceedingly great, and it is certain.

Who Does Europe Strike?

So the real question becomes, “Who will the 10 nations of Europe agree to use nuclear weapons against?”

At this point, when Europe feels pressured into using nuclear weapons, the world is in a state of profound shock and horror. For any who remember the kind of shock many around the world felt on 9/11, this is many, many times greater. This time, the United States will have been attacked with nuclear weapons and fully crippled. It cannot adequately respond to what happened during the events of those first four Trumpets.

Prophecy has not been revealed that would show who it is that initially attacks the U.S. It can be some rogue or proxy nation, or some larger nation that carries out such an attack disguised as a rogue nation. But it is apparent that it is not done directly by any large nation.

Nevertheless, after the destruction from the events of the first four Trumpets, the world will be at a point of waiting to see if the U.S. is able to respond in a limited but lethal manner. Although it is not revealed if a meager strike by the U.S. is carried out against whoever is responsible for the attack, it is made clear that the next great event is what this Fifth Trumpet reveals.

Prophecies speak strongly of Europe actually striking the United States in a very powerful attack at this time. But why and how could such a thing happen? It is unthinkable that they would do so. It is truly unimaginable, and so much so, that most will not believe this possible until it actually happens.

The prophecy of the Fifth Trumpet primarily involves 10 nations in Europe who will act against the United States, yet the reasons for such action have not been fully revealed. There really are only a very few scenarios that can possibly fit where these 10 nations make a decision to use their arsenal of nuclear weapons—which they are going to do!

It is revealed that as a result of the events of this Fifth Trumpet that there will ultimately be destruction and loss of life in the United States of up to one-third of all plants, animals, and human life. Depending upon the kind of response that the people in the U.S. have toward God after these nuclear weapons are used against them, this will determine the level of destruction they will ultimately experience.

As a result of the events of the first four Trumpets, the United States is struck a horrific crippling blow to its infrastructure that temporarily renders it incapable of adequately responding to whomever this attack came from. As mentioned, it could possibly come from a rogue nation that uses just a few nuclear weapons, including one or more of these in an EMP strike. This would create massive infrastructure nightmares in communication, transportation, commerce, and in many other areas as well, including great loss of life.

Such a limited nuclear attack does not fulfill other prophecies that concern one-third of the nation being destroyed, but the event of the Fifth Trumpet does fulfill this. However, a limited attack can fulfill prophecy concerning the first four Trumpets where one-third of plant, animal, and human life is destroyed in the specific areas of detonation.

If a quick and totally unexpected event occurred in which the aggressor might not even be immediately known, then there would indeed be great panic among the nations of the world as to what happens next. The question would likely involve wanting to know how long it might take for the U.S. to be able to respond and against whom, or it could also be a matter that the U.S. does respond and uses nuclear weapons against the aggressor, and then Europe would be forced to decide what is in their best interest.

If those in Europe believed that China or Russia, or both, had any connection whatsoever in what took place in such a strike against the U.S., then that indeed could lead to Europe deciding on a very hard choice that they might feel forced to make. However, prophecy does not indicate the involvement of China and Russia until the Sixth Trumpet.

On the other hand, if the U.S. had initially been attacked by a nation who has a close relationship with either China or Russia, then Europe would be highly concerned with how China and Russia might ultimately respond to them.

In any scenario, the question will become one regarding the consequences from the U.S. eventually engaging in a full-scale nuclear attack against Russia and China, as soon as they are able to do so. In such a scenario, it might well become the thinking of these 10 European nations that if the U.S. were to do such a thing, then Russia and China would likely feel compelled to react quickly to preempt such a possibility. It would then be rightly perceived that Russia and China would also attack these European nations since they could be seen as likely allies of the U.S., especially because of NATO headquarters being in Europe.

If a nation or group of nations clearly see that they are going to be drug into a nuclear war, what are their options? If you truly believe you will have nuclear weapons going off in your own cities because of such a scenario, is it possible you would consider preempting such a thing first by finishing the job of taking out the greatest military power the world has ever known while there is still a window to do so?

So could it be seen that it would be better to strike the United States in order to preempt an attack from Russia and China, and could such an act be seen as potentially helping to stop an all-out nuclear war on earth?

A choice such as this would be an easier conclusion since it would appear to be the one that could produce the best outcome. Such a choice could avert an attack in the use of nuclear weapons upon their own soil. It would help restrict the major threat of radiation by confining it to that part of the world—on the American continent—that is separated from the European continent by some nearly 5,000 miles. This would be seen as a better option than having massive physical destruction and very large amounts of radiation settling throughout their own countries in Europe, not to mention the potential massive loss of life within their own continent.

Is it possible that such an unthinkable scenario becomes the reality among the 10 nations of this last revival of that prophetic European empire? There are other prophecies about this last revival which give this scenario a distinct and clear possibility for coming to pass.

Regardless of any scenario, the reality is that it is revealed in the Fifth Trumpet that 10 nations in Europe will use part of their nuclear arsenal to further prevent the U.S. from recovering from the attack that was made against it. However, this attack is far more devastating than the first, which will not simply cripple but render it incapable of any recovery for decades to come.

The Ugliness of War

The major world powers in this end-time will inevitably become deeply involved in the massive destruction that will take place on this earth. There are specific nations who will cause the greatest amount of destruction and death due to their arsenal of weapons. These are named in the Bible (by their Old Testament identities of that time period), but even those who are not specifically identified will all be part of this final world war. Some nations simply play a greater role than others.

All who possess nuclear weapons will use them, except possibly the United States. This is a war that stirs great fear among the nations of the world. It is a kind of fear the world has never known to such depths. It grows into a fear that sees the distinct possibility of self-annihilation. Mankind has never faced such a likelihood, but this great war must come to this level of fear and destruction before mankind will begin to see itself realistically and thereby begin to abhor the ugliness of its own selfish human nature.

As horrible as this sounds, this will actually be the very thing that will begin to help mankind. God reveals that these events taking place will be what it takes to bring mankind to a spirit of humility and of a true desire for change in its own nature.

It is a horrifying thing for God to see His own creation kill and destroy as mankind has done for nearly 6,000 years now. Throughout this time, God has continuously told mankind what would bring about true prosperity and peace. However, mankind has consistently refused God’s instruction. Instead, mankind has chosen to live the way that produces unhappiness, suffering, war and destruction of life, even to the extent of affecting children and the innocent.

In this final war, God cannot intervene sooner to save the lives of so many innocent ones in the world or mankind would never learn what it must. Through its self-imposed suffering, mankind must learn from these lessons in order to obtain peace by finally embracing God’s way of life. God has provided in His plan a merciful second physical life in His world for all who have suffered and died under the selfish nature of mankind. Sadly, mankind simply has to learn the hard way. God isn’t responsible for killing people, mankind is, and God is letting people make mistakes to learn from them, just like a parent often has to do with a child.

Through the hideousness and horror of such a massive nuclear war, people will begin to finally want to change their ways and the corrupt ways of this world. They will begin to see what God has placed before them and they will want to embrace it—real peace for all time.

Once this war has been ended by God’s intervention, people will actually begin to cooperate as it had never before been possible. They will eagerly support a new age for mankind where war is seen for what it is. This will be the beginning of a change in the very nature of mankind that could come about through no other means.

God is going to intervene and begin to show mankind the way to real peace—and now at a time when they will actually want to hear what He says. War is no longer going to be glamorized within nations. Joining some part of the military will no longer be promoted or advertised as being heroic or patriotic. There will be no military anywhere on earth.

Fighting in war will not be something that children grow up learning by playing with the kinds of toys that are manufactured for the purpose of pretending to kill people or fighting in a war. Video games will no longer promote war, leading children to think of war or to think of killing and destroying others. Books and movies will no longer romanticize war or the killing of others who are seen as enemies.

People will have learned the true ugliness of war. Nations will learn to cooperate in all areas of life, and that will be enhanced by the fact that there will be only one world government—God’s own government. People will no longer have the need to create some form of “United Nations.” The idea of this has been fruitless in itself and peace has been impossible to achieve because the governments of mankind have been prejudiced, self-centered, divisive and arrogant in thinking.

This final war—WWIII—is indeed the war that will end all wars.

SIXTH TRUMPET: The Second Woe!

By the time the effects of the Fifth Trumpet have ended, massive destruction will still have taken place across the United States. The level of destruction from the events of this Trumpet destroy a third of the U.S., which also means the death of one hundred million people and potentially much more.

Finally, the time of the Fifth Trumpet comes to an end, as John wrote, “One Woe is past, and behold, there are two more Woes coming after this” (Rev. 9:12). That first Woe was only the beginning for wide-spread destruction and a far greater loss of life.

“Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar, which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.’ The four angels were released, who had been prepared for the hour, and day, and month, and year, to kill a third of mankind. I heard the number of the horsemen to be two hundred million” (Revelation 9:13-16).

This Second Woe is about the destruction to come from the announcement of the Sixth Trumpet. This Trumpet refers to a massive army that quickly comes together, primarily from an alliance of Russia and China, who escalate the world war that has already begun. But this number also includes many other nations who quickly work to enlarge their military might. All do so because the whole world then becomes drawn into this final war—and they all know this is all-out war that has come to them!

There is not much to be said about this Sixth Trumpet because this prophecy means exactly what it says. This great “Woe” upon mankind will result in one-third of all mankind being destroyed. This alone will account for the death of over 2.5 billion people! This is unimaginable, but it is soon going to happen.

God is allowing mankind to come to this level of destruction and death. It has been by mankind’s own choices that this has come to pass. However, even at this point in time, there will yet be massive arsenals of nuclear weapons that can still be used by nations upon one another. The level of destruction at this stage will be caused by the use of only a small portion of that arsenal. It is at this point that if God does not intervene, mankind would annihilate itself. But God intervenes to stop the madness.

Still, the Unimaginable

It is also at this very time, with the level of destruction that has occurred and massive worldwide death, that God reveals how most of mankind still thinks.

Pride runs very deep in human nature. Even after everything that has happened to this point, the majority of mankind will still continue to resist God and will not listen to why these things are happening. By the end of the period covering the first six Trumpets, a few billion people will have died.

Although the vast majority still will not listen to God by this time, there will be several million around the world who have been conquered that will begin to cry out to God and will begin to listen to Him. Still, the overwhelmingly vast majority will refuse to consider God or to listen to Him.

This is what is being spoken of in the verses which follow the description of that army that numbers two hundred million:

“But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, still would not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood, which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk. Neither would they repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts” (Revelation 9:20-21).

This expression about the rest of mankind does not mean every person, but that which encompasses and reflects the spirit and attitude of the vast majority. There are those few million who have been conquered to this point and many of them have begun to repent and listen to God. They are crying out to God for His intervention and deliverance.

Although the destruction is unimaginably massive by this point, as just at a third of everything has been destroyed, most of the great nations who still have much power in their control are filled with hideous pride and believe they can still survive, come out on top in all this, and reestablish themselves great again. They still believe in their own ability to win this war and to solve all the problems caused by it. The last thing on their mind would be to look to God or repent of “their own ways.”

Unless humbled, man will not listen to God. So, that is exactly what God will do—He will humble the resisting powers that remain. If He doesn’t, they will blindly and stubbornly destroy themselves and all life on earth. The haughtiness and pride of mankind runs exceedingly deep.

The Great Transition in Time

This nuclear war cannot continue or extinction will follow. It cannot last for years, but only for a short time, and only God can stop it.

The beginning of fulfillment for the Seventh Trumpet is when God intervenes to stop WWIII and end the nuclear war that has destroyed so much of the earth and well over one-third of all life on it.

Up to this point in time it is good to note that God has revealed the meaning of the first six Trumpets, and most of what comes to pass. As it has been covered, there are those things that are written prophetically about these Trumpets that are absolute and will come to pass exactly as written and revealed. It has also been stated what has not yet been fully revealed about some specific details.

The world has been given more than enough to know and to understand what is about to come upon it in the form of this final war. It does not need every specific detail. Most of the finer details will not be clear until they actually happen. The problem at this time is that the world does not want to hear these things, nevertheless, they will experience them.

Then it comes time for the Seventh Trumpet. This will be touched upon only a little here, because the events and greater meaning contained in this Trumpet will be covered in chapter 7.

“The second woe is past, and behold, the third woe is coming quickly. Then the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have now become the kingdoms of our Lord, even of His Christ, and He shall reign from now and forever more’” (Revelation 11:14-15).

This is the announcement that man’s reign over the past 6,000 years is finally being brought to an end, and now, God will intervene and begin His reign on earth in His Kingdom, with Joshua the Christ at its head. It is here that Christ finally becomes the King of kings over all the earth.

“Then the twenty four elders, who sat before God on their thrones, fell on their faces and worshipped God, saying, ‘We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who is, and was, and is yet to come, because you have taken to yourself your great power, and will now reign’” (Rev. 11:16-17).

God has always been in control of His creation, but He chose to allow mankind to rule itself for 6,000 years. This has always been part of God’s plan in order for mankind to learn that only God’s way of life produces good, lasting, and true results. The witness of man’s ways over the past 6,000 years has proven to be disastrous.

God magnifies the importance of this transition between the end of the Sixth Trumpet and the beginning of the Seventh Trumpet. He does so by interjecting two important prophecies before the events of the last Trumpet begin.

First, God interjects information about what He calls the Seven Thunders, and it is at this time that they will cease to sound. The Seven Thunders began sounding when the Sixth Seal was opened on 9/11. It is also at this point of transition between the end of the Sixth Trumpet and the beginning of the Seventh that God declares that the “mystery of God” will begin to be revealed until it is fully finished. God is addressing these things in this manner in order to stress the significance of what is stated about this transition.

“Now when the seven thunders sounded, I was about to write, but then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Seal up the things which the seven thunders sounded, and do not write them.’ The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land then raised up his hand toward heaven and gave oath in Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be time no longer [Gk.- “any further”]. But in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished [Gk.- “shall or should be completed, fulfilled, accomplished”], as He declared to His servants the prophets” (Revelation 10:4-7).

Seven Thunders of the Sixth Seal are spoken of which God would not let John record. They were to be revealed in the end-time. God’s Church believes those Thunders have been revealed and they are covered in other literature of the Church of God – PKG (Preparing for the Kingdom of God). However, the reality is that these cannot at all be seen as true by the world until after they have all come to pass and the Thunders have ended.

The reason for mentioning these Thunders at this interval in the revelation of all this is because since the time these Thunders began, they have been continuing through time and they will ultimately lead to this transition (just before the Seventh Trumpet) for their complete fulfillment. In a short period of time that leads up to the events of the Seventh Trumpet beginning is when the last two Thunders will have their greatest impact and final fulfillment.

Second, God interjects the prophecy about the “mystery of God” that is to be finished. The process of this “mystery” becoming fulfilled will prove to be one of the most dramatic times of all human history. So what is stated about the moment the events of the Seventh Trumpet begin to be fulfilled?

It states that there is a “mystery of God” that will be finished, which means it will be completed and fulfilled. What mystery is it that has never been understood by mankind that the prophets of God have declared from the beginning? It has already been covered what that mystery is all about. It is called a mystery because mankind hasn’t grasped what it is even though it has been spoken of for thousands of years.

The world has only partially grasped that a Messiah was to come. Even the disciples did not grasp what all this meant until after Christ had been resurrected and they had received of the holy spirit beginning on the Pentecost of 31 AD. That mystery has been about the rule—the reign—of the Messiah in the Kingdom of God, in which he will rule over all the nations of the world.

There is a moment in time when that becomes a reality! There is a moment in time when this event is clearly revealed for all the world to see. There is a moment in time when God intervenes to bring an end to mankind’s self-rule and establishes His Kingdom to reign instead. There is a moment in time that God sends the “Stone that the builders rejected” which will crush the power of all nations and end their self-rule, including this last war that they will be engaged in. They will not be able to resist what God does next.

The mystery of God spoken of here has much more meaning and is covered more fully in chapter 7. The mystery includes those who are resurrected to spirit life and what that truly means. It is about those who come to govern along with Christ. The mystery is about that government and its greater purpose for leading billions of others to be able to receive that same spirit life that they have been given. There is much to be fulfilled—much to be accomplished and completed in God’s plan that mankind has never known. Hence, it has been a mystery for nearly 6,000 years.

But in addition to what the Seven Thunders of the Sixth Seal are about, there is one other thing revealed between the events of the Sixth Trumpet and the beginning of the fulfillment of the Seventh Trumpet. It is about God’s two end-time witnesses. God’s Church believes it knows who those two witnesses are and some of the work that they do. Their revelation to the world is in God’s hands and in God’s timing. All that they are to fulfill and how they do so is not fully known—not even to God’s own Church.

Indeed, the very beginning of the events of the Seventh Trumpet of the Seventh Seal mark a very distinct moment in time. It is being revealed as the most meaningful and significant moment of all human history. It has generally been believed that at the end of the fulfillment of this Seventh Trumpet, Christ would return to establish the Kingdom of God over the nations of the earth. But that is not the case—that is not true. Instead, his return is only the beginning for the fulfillment of the Seventh Trumpet.

Chapter 6

FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE

When did the countdown to WWIII begin? Understanding the true meaning of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is what actually answers that question.

The very reason why people are kept blind to what God reveals about the timeline that leads to mankind’s final war is because of how so many have twisted and distorted the true meaning of what the Four Horsemen are all about.

The meaning of the word “apocalypse” has changed over the centuries. That is primarily due to confusion that was created by traditional Christianity over their many interpretations of what is written in John’s Book of Revelation. The word “apocalypse” first appeared in both Greek and Latin. The Greek word “apokalyptein” was used by John in his writing of the book, as that word carried the definition “to uncover, disclose, and reveal.”

It was nearly 300 years later when the Catholic Church commissioned the Bible to be translated into Latin that the word “apocalypsis,” then meaning “revelation,” began to be used.

Much later, during the period of Middle English, this word carried the meaning of “insight or vision” and even of “hallucination.”

Then, in the mid-1800s, writings about the meaning of things written in the Book of Revelation began to give credibility to this word apocalypse as bearing prophetic meaning of cataclysmic events and belief of an imminent end of the present world.

Over the past few decades, traditional Christianity has gone way off base and highly exaggerated how it uses such terminology. They have created interpretations or ideas that now carry a definition of a complete final destruction of the world, the end of the world, of great catastrophic tribulation on earth before WWIII begins, of theories about a final Armageddon (the last and completely destructive battle of mankind), and other nonsensical interpretations.

It is because of such flawed interpretations as these that the first four Seals of Revelation have taken on some of these distorted definitions when speaking of the four different horsemen that are described in these Seals.

The first four Seals of Revelation that are depicted by four different horsemen are not at all about a modern-day apocalypse. These apocalyptic ideas about an end to this world are false. The very expression and teachings associated with the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” are sheer nonsense!

The truth is that the first four Seals are about events that have already happened to God’s Church—prophetic events that would be the very sign that signaled the beginning of a specific countdown in this current end-time. While many are waiting for these Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to be revealed, they do not know that the events they declare have already taken place.

In order to grasp what these first four Seals are really about, it is necessary to know a little bit about God’s Church that exists today—a Church the world does not know. It is important to know what God has been doing through that Church in these end times.

Warning the World

For nearly 70 years now, God’s Church has been striving to warn people that we are in the end-time that is prophesied throughout the Bible. That warning is about one more world war—a nuclear war. It is about the prophecy that Europe will once again play a major role in great war. These warnings from God’s Church began right after WWII had come to an end.

As people heard such warnings at that time, many thought it was simply foolish to believe that a group of European nations would unite together to engage in a third world war, with Germany being the most important participant. Such talk seemed preposterous and ludicrous. As a result, people did not take it seriously. Afterall, Germany had just tried to take over the continent, with the motto “Deutschland über alles” – Germany over all.

Even now, after major prophetic events have come to pass in Europe that Herbert Armstrong explained would occur, people still have not taken seriously the warnings about this end-time. It bears repeating that of all the things that Herbert Armstrong foretold, the only event that came to pass in his lifetime was the formation of a European Union. However, that was only the beginning event of those prophecies that were to come to pass.

It wasn’t until thirteen years after his death that much of Europe also united under a common currency, just as he said they would. Then, in 2018, an agreement forming a military union of exactly ten nations came together, again, just as he said they would.

For over a decade now, God’s Church has heightened end-time warnings, and people still will not listen. It is simply the nature of mankind to ridicule and dismiss what God’s Church has been proclaiming ever since it began in 31 AD. As a result, end-time events have remained hidden.

It is difficult for the human mind to believe that there is any authoritative source that can know what God’s will and purpose actually is for mankind. It is difficult for anyone to believe that God’s true Church has remained small throughout the centuries while other organizations claiming to be Christian have grown large. Human nature tends to believe that the larger a church organization is, the more likely God is working through them.

It is even far more difficult for the human mind to believe how it could be possible that millions of people have been deceived about traditional Christianity. Yet that is what has happened over the centuries.

This book has laid out proof to show what is true and what is false concerning many teachings and doctrines about God and Christ. For any who have read this book completely through, there are serious choices that have to be made as to what one will embrace as true and what will be rejected as false. Such choices are very personal, but each person’s answer to this will have very much to do with whether they will be able to go before God and seek His help and protection once a thermonuclear war does begin.

So, when it is all said and done, who will really listen to God? For this end-time, God’s message is that if you will listen to Him, He will listen to you.

The reality is that most will not listen to what has been written here until after WWIII begins. Sadly, God has revealed that it will take a massive amount of worldwide destruction and death before most people will begin to genuinely listen to Him.

Because of this nature that exists in mankind, it might seem rather futile to write a book like this since God has revealed what mankind’s reactions have been toward Him throughout time and what those reactions are to this day. But it’s not futile. The reason for this is because once this world is plunged into this final war, God has revealed that people will begin to listen to Him.

So God’s Church will continue to warn about this final war that is rapidly approaching. As people begin to actually experience catastrophic events that begin to unfold, more will begin to see what is true. Slowly but surely, God reveals that people will begin to turn to Him and will seek His help to escape what is happening. They will want to know what is true.

However, there will be some who will choose to begin listening and begin making changes sooner, as they embrace what is true. Much of what is written here is to help such people to be better equipped and prepared to face what is about to happen to this world and to also hold on to a true hope of what will soon follow once Christ begins to intervene.

The reason this book is entitled When the Countdown Ends is to stress the importance of the fact that time is very rapidly running out before this world erupts into a third world war. There isn’t much time left for people to prepare themselves adequately for what is about to happen. The sooner a person can begin to come to grips with such a reality, the more they can be better prepared physically, mentally, and spiritually.

This chapter reveals what this specific end-time countdown is all about. For some, the more they can see this, the more they will be motivated to respond quickly and make changes in their life that will help to save lives.

Long ago, soon after God had led the children of Israel out of captivity in Egypt, He revealed to them His way of life and then He told them, “I have set before you life and death. Choose life!” God was showing the importance of making right choices and His desire that they do so.

Right now, more than ever, it is one of those times once again. It is a time to choose life, or not. The end of the countdown for this end-time is almost upon us. When that happens, a thermonuclear war will begin. Hopefully, the explanation of all that is involved in this countdown will work to help stir people to choose life and to turn to God in great sincerity and truth.

Learning to Listen

Mankind simply does not comprehend an almighty, eternally existing God who is the creator of all things. The physical mind just cannot grasp such a thing. Instead, the mind is limited by physical reasoning. There are no physical laws that can prove to mankind that there is a God with limitless power that has no beginning or origin. We can’t comprehend that. Yet the evidence of a Creator is everywhere around us on this earth and in that which is beyond.

The physical mind cannot begin to truly grasp the magnitude and complexity of what God has created. Even with all of the growth in science and technology over the past few decades, we are only at a stage of infancy in learning about the universe. The greatness, power, and purpose of God is so very far beyond human understanding. Only when God reveals more can we begin to understand more.

Over the millennia, God’s people have given warnings and proclamations about what He has revealed to them. Those things God has revealed have established a powerful witness of what mankind is actually like. By nature, mankind simply chooses not to believe what God reveals as true, not even when He tells us what our nature is like.

“For the carnal mind [the natural human mind] is hostile to God and is not subject to the law [the ways] of God, and neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:7).

There are many who simply do not believe what God says about our human nature and how it resists Him, His ways and laws. Either this is true, or it is not. Understanding our nature is one of the first great steps to learning how to become free from the captivity of our selfish nature.

There is great purpose to why God created human life to be physical and not of a spirit creation like He did in the angelic realm. Mankind was made of a physical creation for the very purpose of experiencing selfish human nature. That nature can begin to be seen soon after a child is born. One can witness the development of that nature and how we want our own way. Our nature is toward self first—selfish. Foolishly, we resist such true knowledge about ourselves.

“But the natural man does not receive the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

God reveals that His way—His truth—is resisted by our very nature and so much so that we tend to see such actual truth as something foolish.

Just consider what mankind considers as foolish and what it has otherwise embraced as true and sound.

To those in traditional Christianity, the beliefs that seem true and sound are the fables of Christmas and Easter, the acceptance that Christ was only in the tomb for a day and a half, the idea that those who live an evil life are tortured for eternity in hell, that God is like a kind of spiritual “three musketeers” that have formed a Trinity, and that physical humans have an immortal soul.

Yet what is true from God that is seen as foolish is that there is only one Almighty Eternal God, that Christ was in the tomb for exactly three days and three nights as he said he would be, that mankind is to observe God’s Sabbaths and not their own holidays or Sunday as the day of worship, that mankind does not have an immortal soul but will be resurrected to life again by God and that only He has life inherent in Himself, that Christ’s life only began once he was born into human life, etcetera.

So even what is written in this book will seem foolish to most. Only God can bring a person to a point where they can begin to listen and to see what He says is true. That is exactly where we are in time—in this end-time, where God is now going to begin the process of bringing mankind into an ability to start listening and then seeing what He says – that which is actually true.

A child can be worked with so that they can begin to better handle their own selfish nature. They begin to learn that everything they want is not always good for them. They begin to learn that “yes” is not always the answer they get for what they want. As a child grows, they begin to learn how to navigate through life with the reality that they cannot always have their way.

Although mankind works with that selfish nature, it never goes away. It is ever before us. It is in this experience of human life that God desires to show us a far, far better way—His way. That process requires change that can only be accomplished with His help because that help is spiritual and only that which is spiritual can reveal what is true. Then and only then can real peace, genuine happiness, and real fullness in life begin to be truly experienced.

We have come to the end of 6,000 years where we are now advancing in technological developments and scientific understanding. This has all been a part of God’s plan. It has been part of His specific timing when this kind of knowledge would be given to mankind.

It is now time for the next great phase in God’s plan. He has brought us to this time where mankind will now be able to take an incredible step forward in developing a far greater maturity in our existence—in life.

That next step can only be accomplished by what God is going to allow mankind to come face to face with in order to learn about its true selfish and destructive nature. Due to mankind’s selfish nature, the earth is slowly being destroyed. That process is speeding up more and more as technology grows.

God has been holding back the ultimate misuse of technology—the use of thermonuclear weapons in war. We are almost at that moment in time when God is going to allow this final phase of end-time events to begin. This is all necessary in order to bring mankind to a state of humility so that a far more mature and sound-minded humanity can emerge.

Before mankind will really begin to truly listen to God, He has revealed that it must first come to a time of being greatly humbled. This is only possible as the world begins to experience the fact that it cannot solve its own problems and that self-annihilation is a clear reality. It is through this excruciating experience for mankind, as its spirit begins to change from one of pride to humility, that God will begin to literally manifest what He has been revealing through His prophets and apostles for thousands of years.

After 6,000 years, God is going to finally manifest Himself to mankind in a manner that is most remarkable and at a time that will most benefit all His creation. God is going to reveal the first of His Family that He has worked to create over the past 6,000 years—the 144,000 who return with Christ.

When Christ was resurrected it was to spiritual life in a spirit composed body. Several hours after he was resurrected, he began to manifest himself in a physical human body that appeared exactly as it was before he was put to death. For 40 days after his resurrection, he worked face to face with the disciples and taught them more about all that had happened and its purpose.

Those who are resurrected into spirit life are able to manifest themselves to people in the same likeness as in their former physical life. This is how it will be for the 144,000 who are resurrected to come with Christ at his return.

People will be able to see them and come to know them because they will be among mankind throughout the earth as priests and rulers in God’s Kingdom. Those who read this may well have the experience of seeing these priests and rulers in that new age and even have the opportunity to meet with and converse with them.

God’s Family and God’s Church

Before explaining about the countdown and how it began, it would be better to first stress what happens at the end of that countdown. It is important to understand what God is planning once the countdown ends so that one can better appreciate the truth about God’s Church.

Just before the countdown ends, the world will be engaged in a nuclear WWIII. It needs to be repeated that if God does not intervene to stop that war, the reality is that mankind will annihilate itself. This is what mankind must come face to face with seeing.

It is right after this countdown ends that God will begin to manifest His very Family to mankind. It is His Family that will establish His government throughout the earth.

God’s purpose from the very beginning of all creation was to create His own Family—Elohim. That has always been His purpose, just as it still is His primary focus. In all the spirit realm and physical universe, the pinnacle of God’s creative ability and power is in the creation of His Family.

Although the spirit realm and the physical universe were created millions or even perhaps billions of years ago, God’s creation of His Family has only been in the making for the past 6,000 years. It is the most difficult part of all His creation. Previously, before God started to work on creating His Family, the things He worked at creating in the spirit realm and physical universe just simply came into being as a result of His power. The spirit realm and physical universe did not resist God’s will when they were made.

However, the process for creating Elohim is not that simple. It started with God creating physical human beings that are given a mind capable of making their own free choices, but also possessing a selfish human nature that starts at birth. God then begins the process of working with these human beings that have the natural tendency to resist Him. People by nature will choose the way of selfishness, but at some point in a person’s life, God will begin to work with them and reveal the right way of life to live—His way—the way of “give” instead of “get.”

It is then that a person must decide if they want to live God’s way or continue living the way that they always have. Until God calls someone and begins to offer His ways to them, they have no way to fully see their own true nature or the need to choose a different way until He reveals that to them.

Then, only those who willingly choose to live that right way of life and become part of God’s Church will be given the opportunity to become a part of God’s Family. One must freely and willingly choose for themselves if they want to become part of God’s true Church.

God’s effort to work with selfish human beings to help them see their ugly human nature and then to give them the opportunity to change and transform their mind is what makes this “creation” of His Family so complex. Yet there is no other way to create His own Family except through this process.

The first stage of that process begins with human life. The next stage for that creation begins when God starts working directly with an individual within His Church on a spiritual plane in order to mold and fashion a new and maturing mind within them—one that can later be born into His spirit Family.

Again, over the past 6,000 years, God has been working to create the first of His Family in an exact number of 144,000 who will be resurrected to come with Christ when he returns to establish God’s government over the nations. In the following 1,000 years, billions more will have that same opportunity to choose God’s way of life, become part of God’s Church, and then work to become part of God’s spirit Family.

Then, finally, in the 100-years that follow the Millennium, the vastness of all humanity who have lived and died will be resurrected to physical life once again, and then at that time, they too will be offered the same thing—to choose God’s Family or not.

Hopefully, this will help give a sense of appreciation and understanding of why God’s focus is so very much upon the Church in this end-time, for it is within the Church over the past 2,000 years that God has been calling larger numbers of people and offering them the first opportunity to be in His Family. It is throughout this period of time that most have been called into the Church to be among the 144,000 who come with Christ.

It Is About the Church

The importance of God completing the count of all 144,000 who will come with Christ should help give far better understanding as to why God’s focus is first and foremost upon His Church. In order for His Family to reign, achieving the complete count of the 144,000 takes precedence above all other matters at this time. There are still a few who are being prepared to become a part of that 144,000. Once that is complete, then WWIII will begin.

God and Christ are working to spiritually mold and fashion the mind and character of those who are being worked with to become part of His Family. At a certain stage of development in spiritual maturity, God determines when a person has reached that point where they can then become part of that Family—the God Family. The completion of this process in an individual’s life is referred to as becoming “sealed” by God.

It has been explained how the events of the first four Trumpets are about the beginning of WWIII, and that those events concern what happens to the United States at that time. God reveals that there is one great work of His that must first be completed before those four angels of the first four Trumpets can allow those events to commence.

“After these things I saw four angels [with the first four Trumpets] standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree [speaking of the destruction that is being held back]. Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.’ Then I heard the number of those who were sealed being one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed of all the tribes [bearing their names] of Israel” (Rev. 7:1-4).

At this time right now, most all of the 144,000 have been sealed, and most of those are dead and will be resurrected at Christ’s coming. However, God shows that there will be those who are still alive at the time Christ returns who will never experience death. Those few will simply be changed in an instant from mortal to immortal as they are also resurrected to spirit life at Christ’s coming. Those individuals are currently in God’s Church, and there are still a few that are yet to be sealed.

So all that remains to be fulfilled before the start of WWIII is about the Church and the complete sealing of the final few that will be a part of the 144,000. Once fulfilled, the angels holding back the events that allow WWIII to begin will no longer do so.

Timing Is Known by What Happens to God’s Church

God’s Church is so important to His plan that He has recorded much prophecy about it. There are some in the world who believe that we are nearing an end-time and that prophetic events mentioned in Revelation are going to come to pass. However, they do not grasp timing associated with most of those prophecies because many are about God’s Church.

As these people read the Book of Revelation, they tend to think they have a basic grasp of what it is saying, but the major areas they misinterpret or misapply to past historical events are the very things that keep them in blindness as to just how close the end-time really is. Because of that, many are not focused on current events because they believe that these major end-time events will not happen until many years into the future.

Most of the prophecies in the Book of Revelation are about God’s Church. Understanding those prophecies actually serve to better pinpoint the timing of end-time events.

From the very beginning of Revelation, God begins to reveal the importance of His Church by forewarning it of what would come to pass within the Church over the following 1900 years. After these prophecies were revealed to John, he then wrote the book of Revelation in the mid-90s AD while he was in prison on the Isle of Patmos. That means he would have been in his 90s when he wrote it.

One of the first prophecies that God gave to him concerning the Church is something few seem to understand regarding the different eras of the Church that would follow one another down through time and right up to the end-time—to the last era.

The first era spoken of was Ephesus, which was the era of the first apostles who are written about in New Testament scriptures. Through time the Church then went through a very difficult history of opposition from others, including opposition from those who were falsely claiming to be Christian. In the beginning of the fifth era, Sardis, the invention of the printing press gave rise to many Protestant churches. This growing addition of church organizations beyond that of the Catholic Church, which was the dominant religion for hundreds of years before, led to great oppression against God’s own Church.

As a result of such opposition against God’s Church over several hundred years, the Church became weaker until it was of such a condition that God declared it was dead—spiritually. It was at this juncture that God raised up an apostle, Herbert Armstrong, who was given the ability to begin restoring truth to the Church and to reveal to it that it was entering the end-times. That era, in which Herbert Armstrong was to fulfill the commission that was given to him by God, was known as the Philadelphia Era.

Knowing these events and the history of God’s true Church helps to pinpoint prophesied end-time events as they have been unfolding. It is important to know about these eras because the last era that was prophesied was the era that would lead up to the start of the literal final countdown to WWIII and Christ’s coming. It was this last era, the Era of Laodicea, that thrust the world into end-time events. This final era began as soon as Herbert Armstrong died in January 1986.

The world has not known or recognized God’s Church, and as it has been stated, the world did not recognize God’s apostle whom He raised up to do a great work that would lead up to the beginning of this end-time. Herbert Armstrong’s commission was to go into all the world with the good news (gospel) of the coming Kingdom of God. That is the very “work” Joshua the Christ spoke of that would take place at the end-time.

“This gospel [good news] of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).

Indeed, once Herbert Armstrong died, the last era of the Church began. That last era led up to the fulfillment of events of some of the most important prophecies ever that were about the beginning of the countdown to Christ’s second coming. These prophecies concerned the beginning of major end-time events that happened to God’s own Church. These are revealed in the opening of the first four Seals of Revelation.

As it was stated before in the beginning of this chapter, these first four Seals are often referred to as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Many believe they understand what these prophetic horsemen are all about, but none of them do. There are a plethora of thoughts and ideas that range wildly in interpretation from one another. Some few do grasp that the First Seal is about false religion, but they do not grasp that this was about a prophetic event that marked the very beginning for the final countdown.

Because of the various interpretations of what the Four Horsemen mean, and the misunderstanding that it is about great cataclysmic tribulation on the earth, many are not able to be sobered by the truth that this war is nearly upon us. They don’t see that tribulation yet and they don’t understand that it is about God’s Church. So the reality of that final world war seems a long way off to them. They do not see prophetic events coming to pass and are going to be so caught off-guard once the complete demise of the United States begins, which happens in the events of the first four Trumpets of the Seventh Seal.

This book is striving to make it clear that many prophesied events leading up to this last war have already been fulfilled, especially those events Herbert Armstrong began predicting shortly after WWII. We are already deep into the countdown for this final end-time. The truth is that all Seven Seals of Revelation have already been opened, although the events of the first Four Trumpets of the Seventh Seal are at this very time being held back until the final sealing of the 144,000 is completed.

As it has been stated several times, the world has not known God’s true Church, yet that is where God’s primary focus and work has been. God has made it clear that the events of WWIII cannot begin until certain things have been completed that concern His Church. That is how important God’s Church is to the fulfillment of end-time events and the end of this age of mankind! Understanding all this will help one to more easily grasp what the First Seal of Revelation was about and that when that event happened in God’s Church an actual countdown to Christ’s return began.

Just as God foretold in the Book of Daniel that there was a countdown from a specific moment in history to Christ’s first coming, known as the Seventy Weeks Prophecy, there is also a specific countdown to his second coming.

God is exceedingly precise and exacting in detail when it comes to fulfilling prophetic timelines. Scripture records many such accounts. One account has already been covered concerning the knowledge that God gave Christ about the exact time of three complete days and nights that he, Joshua, would be in the tomb. Christ said to his disciples that this would be the only sign he would give that he was the true Messiah.

Through the prophet Daniel, God foretold the exact timing when the Messiah would first come to fulfill a work on earth. This Seventy Weeks Prophecy (shown on the chart in the appendix at the end of the book) also foretold when he would die. God has revealed that in this specific prophecy each “prophetic day” is equal to a literal year. This prophecy begins with a specific segment in time.

“Therefore know and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until the Messiah the Prince [when he would begin his work, his ministry], there shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks. The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troubled times” (Daniel 9:25).

Most of Jerusalem and the temple had been destroyed when Judah was conquered and taken captive into Babylon. God used the example of this physical destruction and the timing for the command to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and the temple as the means for the countdown to Christ’s first coming. This also served as a prophetic type for the spiritual fulfillment of a countdown that would lead up to Christ’s second coming. Indeed, from the prophets of old and throughout the New Testament, there have been prophecies given concerning Christ’s first and second coming and the timing regarding the countdown for each.

The first period mentioned is “seven weeks,” which is 49 days. Those 49 prophetic days are equal to 49 literal years. In 457 B.C., Artaxerxes issued the decree for the rebuilding of Jerusalem that took place through the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. It took 49 years to reconstruct the streets and walls, which fulfilled this first seven weeks prophecy (49 years) that concluded in 408 B.C.

The next period mentioned was “sixty-two weeks.” Multiplying this number by seven days in a week is equal to an additional 434 prophetic days or 434 literal years. Adding 434 years, beginning from 408 B.C., brings us to 27 A.D. (adding a 1 since there is no year 0). Joshua the Christ began his ministry in 27 A.D. and was killed 3 ½ years later on Passover 31 A.D. That 3 ½ years is what the next two verses in Daniel are all about.

“And after sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off [killed], but not for himself [he was going to die for all mankind as their Passover]. Then he [Messiah] shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week [3 ½ days] shall cause the sacrifice and the offerings to cease...” (Daniel 9:26-27).

The prophets of old, religious leaders, and the disciples themselves did not know that the Messiah would first come to die as the world’s Passover, nor could they grasp that by doing so he would cause the physical “sacrifice and the offerings to cease,” meaning his death would fulfill and do away with the laws pertaining to the sacrificial system. When scriptures speak of laws being done away with, especially in the Book of Hebrews, this is not about the 10 Commandments, but it is about the law of sacrifices, the sacrificial system and laws pertaining to it, which symbolized that which was to come.

This prophecy concerning Christ’s first coming in which he would fulfill a ministry lasting for 3 ½ years and then be “cut-off” (put to death) is easily understood; however, this prophecy also contains meaning concerning the events at the end-time as well, although not all of it has been completely revealed.

This count for Christ’s first coming was incredibly detailed and precise. God has also given prophecy that is exact in the count that is leading up to Christ’s second coming. The complete measure of that count has not yet been given to God’s Church, but it has been revealed that this count is rapidly nearing its end. God has given precise segments of prophetic timing to watch for and to keep alert to that are for the purpose of helping us be prepared for the events that will finally lead to the conclusion of this current countdown.

Prophetic Timing for Christ’s Second Coming

During the Church era of Philadelphia, God gave to his apostle, Herbert Armstrong, a very specific prophetic key concerning the first four Seals of Revelation. He understood that the Olivet prophecies were the key to understanding these four Seals, but he did not see that these were not about physical end-time events.

The Olivet prophecies are referring to prophecies Christ gave to his disciples when on the Mount of Olives on the last night of his life on the Passover of 31 AD.

Although this key was given to Herbert Armstrong, God did not reveal the full meaning of those prophecies to him, and neither was he given the ability to use that “key” because it was not yet time for the Seals to be opened. So Herbert Armstrong was limited to seeing these Seals in only a physical fulfillment. He was not given to see that it was a prophetic matter concerning the very Church of God, so instead, he mistakenly believed the First Seal was about the physical “religious” world of traditional Christianity.

Matthew 24 and the other accounts of the Olivet prophecy parallel this account of the Seals found in Revelation 6. Even within the Church, it wasn’t until after the First Seal was opened that these first four Seals were able to be seen in a different light, as something other than being physically fulfilled. So it is no wonder that even within the world these things have been viewed as having a physical fulfillment about great physical tribulation on the earth.

As mentioned, these first four Seals are often referred to as the time of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse because they have been viewed as being “apocalyptic” in their physical, destructive power over the earth. Apocalyptic destruction will come on this world once the events of the first four Trumpets of the Seventh Seal begin, but these earlier Seals are about the powerful destruction that occurred in the very Church of God. They were of an apocalyptic nature spiritually.

The following verses describe the disciples walking with Joshua around the Temple as he began to prophesy about God’s Church at the end-time. Then the conversation moved to questions and answers concerning that time.

“Then Joshua went out and departed from the temple and his disciples went with him to view the buildings of the temple. Then Joshua said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you that there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:1-2).

Those things that Joshua began to describe to his disciples are understood by most people to be purely physical. That was a very common response to the teachings of Joshua the Christ, and it is the normal human reaction because mankind, by nature, deals with the “physical” that surrounds it because it can’t see or understand the spiritual. The spiritual aspect cannot be seen or measured.

The Book of John is filled with such examples. In that book, in chapter 3, Joshua spoke to Nicodemus, a great leader of the Jews. He could not understand what Joshua was talking about when he spoke of a need to be “born again” of spirit. Nicodemus asked how one could be born again once he is old. He knew he could not enter again into his mother’s womb and be born a second time.

Even traditional Christianity embraces a wrong interpretation of this. They believe that being born again is some kind of “spiritual experience” while still in this physical body. But Joshua was explaining a literal change that has to take place in human life. That change is part of God’s purpose for mankind. Mankind has the opportunity to be born of spirit essence into the Family of God as an eternal living, spirit being.

John 4 records the account of a Samaritan woman who met Joshua at a well. He explained to her that she could drink from the water in that well, but she would become thirsty again. He then said he had living water to give, and if a person drank of it they would never again thirst. She asked for that water so she would never have to return to the well to draw water for drinking. She didn’t understand that he wasn’t speaking of physical water, but of being able to “drink in” of the “spiritual water” of the Word of God.

Then, in John 6, Joshua spoke of some of the future symbolism for the observance of Passover, which Paul later explained in 1 Corinthians 11:23. Joshua told his disciples they would have to eat of his flesh and drink of his blood. In John 6:66 it is recorded that many of his disciples (not the twelve) quit following him after that because they were abhorred by what he had said. The Jewish people have always accepted the laws of clean and unclean foods. They knew that eating human flesh and drinking blood was a flagrant and obvious breaking of God’s law.

But Joshua was not speaking of a literal physical interpretation. He was beginning to lead his disciples to understanding what would later be given about the future observance of the Passover. In that future ceremony, drinking a small amount of wine would serve as a reminder of his spilled blood, and the eating of a piece of unleavened bread would symbolize his flesh—his physical life, sacrificed for the sins of mankind, as the Passover.

The Book of John continues with more stories that were interpreted on a physical plane but were intended to be interpreted spiritually. This is the same case as with the story of Joshua the Christ talking to his disciples concerning the stones of the temple being cast down. This was not intended for a physical interpretation, but a spiritual one. Although the physical temple was destroyed by the Romans during the first Church era of Ephesus, Christ was not referring to that event. This prophecy was about the Church at a future time—the end-time.

The stones of the temple are spiritual. They are about God’s own Church.

“Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God [a spiritual temple], and you are being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Joshua the Christ himself being the chief corner stone, in whom the whole building is being fitly framed together and growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for an habitation of God through the spirit” (Ephesians 2:19-22).

Paul explained here that those whom God has called into His Church are described as being part of a spiritual temple—a holy temple in the Lord. The apostle Peter explained this in a similar fashion.

“To whom coming, as unto a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, you also as lively stones are being built up as a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Joshua the Christ” (1 Peter 2:4-5).

Members of the Church of God are being described as being like “living stones” (spiritual) that are being built into a spiritual house. That spiritual house is the temple of God.

In this Olivet prophecy, as Christ explained that the stones of the temple would be cast down, he was speaking of a future time for the Church. He was speaking similarly when he told the Jews, “destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” On that occasion, he was speaking of himself, and he was foretelling his death and resurrection that would follow after being dead and in the tomb for three days and three nights.

After Christ told the disciples that there would not be one stone left upon the other in the temple, they then wanted to know more about what he was telling them.

“As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when shall these things be and what shall the sign of your coming be, and of the end of the world [Gk.—age]?’” (Matthew 24:3).

Do you see the context of this prophecy? It not only involves the Church, but here it makes clear the timing for when these things would occur. The disciples asked Joshua about the timing of events surrounding the stones of the temple being cast down. By their very question, it is clear that they knew he was speaking of the time for his coming (in his Kingdom) and the end of the age. This prophecy is about those things that would happen to the Church at the end-time, just prior to the return of Joshua the Christ to establish his Kingdom.

As future accounts reveal, the disciples wanted to know when the Kingdom of God would become established, but they had no idea it would not be in their lifetime. Instead, they believed it would be soon. At this point, they still did not understand some of the things he had been telling them about the fact that he was going to be killed. This same account is worded a little differently in the Book of Mark.

“Tell us, when shall these things be and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?” (Mark 13:4).

Joshua was telling his disciples about the timing for when he would actually come as King of kings in the Kingdom of God, and the very sign that would lead up to that time. The sign He would give would involve the Church—events and signs that would occur in the Church of God—not signs that would occur in the world, even as the following verse should clearly show.

“This gospel [good news] of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).

In these accounts, Christ began to reveal more to them that would become fulfilled in God’s Church over time. Then he began to narrow in on the events that would lead directly into the end-time. It is here that he revealed a specific event. The fulfillment of this event was actually at a juncture in time that was previously explained as being when the commission God had given to his apostle, Herbert Armstrong, began to be fulfilled. It was accomplished by the massive work he did in spreading the gospel through publications, radio, and television worldwide.

It was after Herbert Armstrong’s death that the last Church era called Laodicea then came on the scene. More is stated in this Olivet prophecy of the very sign of Christ’s coming and it came to pass just as he said it would. The disciples had asked what that sign would be, and he answered exactly what that was—when the end-time countdown would begin—the sign of his coming.

“Therefore, when you shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee into the mountains” (Matthew 24:15-16).

Christ was speaking of a physical fulfillment that was known as the “abomination of desolation” that occurred in 168 BC when Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrated the temple by erecting a statue of Zeus in the temple and having a pig offered before it upon the alter.

The account in Daniel had a dual prophetic fulfillment. The first fulfillment was a physical one in 168 BC, but Christ was explaining that there would be a spiritual fulfillment as well. That spiritual fulfillment would come about when an abomination of desolation would occur in God’s Church—in the spiritual temple.

This event would be so devastating to God’s own people (referred to here as Judea—about spiritual Judah—the Church) that they were warned to flee into the mountains. This will be explained more fully, but it is about a time in which the Church would be scattered. In prophecy, “mountains” are used to symbolize governments. It is about a time of scattering of God’s own Church when even the organized government of the Church (within the ministry) would itself become scattered.

There are many groups who look at these prophecies concerning the sign of Christ’s coming and they believe that this abomination of desolation will involve something that happens in Jerusalem in the temple mount area. Some believe that these verses can begin to become fulfilled if construction of a new temple becomes desecrated soon after, even if it is only with a few stones being delivered and erected in that location. Some believe that this could even become fulfilled if only an alter is placed in that location so that a pig could once again be offered upon it. Such ideas are ludicrous and far-fetched to be considered realistic possibilities.

The Olivet prophecy is indeed the key to understanding that the first four Seals of Revelation are about God’s own Church and what would happen once a “spiritual” abomination of desolation would occur within the Church—the true spiritual temple of God. The fulfillment of these Seals are not about physical tribulation that would come upon the world, but of spiritual tribulation that would come upon God’s Church.

So how could something like an abomination of desolation occur in God’s own Church? Understanding what happened during the era of Laodicea will make that clear.

The Apostasy and Abomination of Desolation

For many years after the Church first began in 31 AD, God’s people, including His apostles, were looking for when Christ would return to establish the Kingdom of God. They did not know that Christ would not return until over 1900 years later.

Nearly 20 years after the Church began, Christ gave Paul prophecy concerning more about what the sign of his coming would involve.

“Now we ask you brethren concerning the coming of our Lord Joshua the Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that you not be soon shaken in understanding or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as coming from us, as though the day of Christ is at hand. Let no one deceive you in any way, for that day will not come unless the falling away (Gk.— apostasy) come first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition” (2 Thes. 2:1-3).

The context of Paul’s prophecy is very clear since he specifically referred to the timing of its fulfillment four distinct times. Notice the phrases: 1) “the coming of our Lord Joshua the Christ” 2) “our gathering together unto him” [the gathering of the Church—the 144,000—at the coming of Christ] 3) “as though the day of Christ is at hand” and 4) “for that day will not come unless.” This prophecy given through Paul makes it clear that what he is going to tell them concerns what all of them want to know. When is Christ returning?

Paul is explaining to the Church that very specific events must first occur within the Church before the end-time comes—before the coming of Joshua the Christ can occur—before the Kingdom of God is established (the time for “our gathering together unto him”).

This warning to the Church is the same one that Joshua the Christ gave in the Olivet Prophecy concerning the time for his coming and the fulfillment of end-time events.

“Then Joshua answered and said to them, ‘Take heed that no one deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and shall deceive many’” (Matthew 24:4-5).

Again, this is about the Church and not about the world. The world has always been deceived from what is true about God because it has not been His purpose to reveal His will and purpose to it. God only revealed His purpose to a few up to the time of Christ and then after that, only to the Church.

This verse is not speaking about the world becoming deceived because it always has been. The only ones who can become deceived are those to whom God has given His truth. This warning was given to God’s Church that they not lose that truth by becoming deceived.

Christ was giving a clear warning that part of the sign of his coming would entail many who would come along and try to deceive the Church. Who can come to the Church in the name of Joshua the Christ? Only the ministry! Joshua said many would come in his name and try to deceive many in the Church.

Before Joshua was killed upon a pole, many of those following him already believed that he was the Messiah (the Christ) sent from God to take over the reins of government from the Romans. Before he died, they wanted to know when he was going to do this. Even after his death and resurrection, they still wanted to know.

After Paul sent this prophecy about an apostasy to the Church, then the questions followed. How could an apostasy or a falling away from the truth happen in God’s Church? How could any of God’s people become so deceived that it would be possible for an event of such magnitude such as an “apostasy” to occur within God’s own Church? Paul continues in this prophecy by giving an outline of the kind of events that would occur in order to fulfill this.

Paul stated that the first thing that would take place before Christ would return was an apostasy. This word from the Greek, apostasia, is translated in several different ways. Some examples of that include: a falling away, a Great Apostasy, a rebellion, a revolt. All of these are accurate definitions for the meaning of that Greek word.

Secondly, he stated that the “man of sin,” the “son of perdition,” must be revealed. There is only one other person who has ever been referred to previously in scripture as “the son of perdition.” It was Judas Iscariot. He was one of the original twelve disciples and the one who betrayed Joshua the Christ for thirty pieces of silver.

The first apostasy ever recorded concerned the angelic realm when the archangel Lucifer betrayed God and led a third of the angels in rebellion against Him. That archangel then became known as Satan. He was indeed the first son of perdition, as angels are referred to as the sons of God in the angelic realm, for He created them. Satan was also the first son of sin—the very first in all God’s creation to sin—the author and originator of sin.

So what Paul’s prophecy records is an incredibly heinous thing that a single person would be guilty of doing within God’s own Church. Paul states more about what this man of sin would do.

“Let no one deceive you in any way, for that day will not come unless the falling away (Gk.— apostasy) come first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing [‘showing’ in the Greek means ‘to show forth, expose, reveal’] himself that he is God” (2 Thes. 2:3-4).

Knowing that this prophecy is about God’s Church, it becomes apparent that there would arise an individual who would have such prominence that he would be able to exercise much sway over others in the Church. The warning given was to be on guard against any such person who might try to deceive the Church—to lead them away from the truth God had revealed to them.

It says of this man that he would exalt himself above God. This is exactly what Satan did within the angelic realm. It is about the power and influence he wanted to have over the angels. He believed his ideas and ways were better than God’s, so he went about to work against God’s ways and to establish his own.

It states that this man of sin would oppose God. Again, this is what Satan did in the angelic realm. He opposed God and His ways. His very name means “adversary” which means he was against God and worked against God’s plan and purpose. In a similar manner, the man of sin, the son of perdition, would rise up in God’s Church and he would betray God and Christ. He would become an adversary—he would act against God and against Christ.

This prophecy of Paul became well known in the Church, as they knew this event would first have to come to pass before the time for the coming of Christ would be revealed. They knew that a person would rise up within the leadership of the Church and would begin to work against God’s Church—against God and Christ.

The apostle John later wrote in reference to this man of sin as he called him the Antichrist. He used the example of this man of sin to teach the Church that although they had heard that a prophetic Antichrist should come (referring to Paul’s writings about the man of sin—the son of perdition), he went on to warn that many antichrists were already active in the environs of God’s Church. They knew the Antichrist was yet to come. By the time of John who wrote these things several decades after Paul’s warning of the Antichrist, there had already been individuals and ministers within the Church who had risen up and turned against Christ (became anti-Christ), but they were not the Antichrist.

With the description of the “man of sin” and the “son of perdition,” this individual would clearly be one who would betray God and His Son Joshua. His sin and betrayal would be so heinous that it is described as him “showing” or “setting forth” himself to be as God. Such an expression means he was one who had the ability to have powerful influence to raise up (as in idolatry) his own ways and teachings above what God had given to the Church.

This is exactly what eventually came to pass during the last Church era—Laodicea. The prophecy about an apostasy that would eventually come to pass in the Church would be the event that would signal the countdown to the coming of Christ—that his return was now imminent.

In that final era of the Church, the betrayal by the son of perdition who turned against God and Christ was the cause of “the Apostasy” that did occur in God’s Church. His actions became the spiritual fulfillment of the “Abomination of Desolation” spoken of by Christ in the Olivet prophecy. The original abomination was about massive destruction and desecration of the physical temple of God by Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 168 BC. The second abomination was about massive destruction and desecration of the spiritual temple—the Church of God—once the Apostasy occurred.

The Emergence of the Man of Sin

God raised up Herbert Armstrong as his apostle during the Church era of Philadelphia. His commission was to fulfill what Christ said would occur just before the end-time would come. That commission was to proclaim the gospel into all the world. This was done through the massive publication of booklets as well as the distribution of millions of copies of books. Over eight million monthly copies of the magazine, The Plain Truth, were printed in several languages and sent throughout the world. That work included an unprecedented worldwide coverage of both radio and television in his program called The World Tomorrow.

As Herbert Armstrong entered his 80s, his health was waning and carnal human nature was beginning to work its way into some of the ministry at the headquarters of the Church. There were ministers who were being lifted up with self-importance while experiencing the power and authority of being over various operations and congregations of the Church. They started seeing Herbert Armstrong as frail and began to look at who might replace him. This included several evangelists and even his own son, Garner Ted Armstrong.

In the mid to late 70s a wrong spirit began to work its way into the lives of far too many ministers who were beginning to maneuver and work for position, power, recognition, and doctrinal change within the Church. This marked the beginning of the rise in what Christ gave strong prophetic warning concerning the ministry in the end-times. He said that “many will come in my name and deceive many.” This could only be something that could happen in God’s Church and it had to come from the ministry, as they are the only ones who can come in the authority of Christ’s name. This was not about deception that would happen in the world to those who were already deceived.

Some of these ministers, including evangelists, had to be removed from their positions and separated from the Church because they were already turning against truths that God and Christ had delivered to Herbert Armstrong. This was the emergence of many antichrists, but not yet of the Antichrist. It was during this period that there were a few thousand people who followed some of these ministers out of God’s Church during these times of trouble and turmoil.

Over the last decade of his life, Herbert Armstrong had to deal with many battles that were beginning to emerge within the Church, which were mostly originating within the ministry. Not only were these battles coming from within the ministry, but the worst were from those directly under him in authority. They were the ones who over the years had become ordained as evangelists, most of whom were students of his in classes he personally taught when Ambassador College (a college of the Church) was first established.

An undercurrent struggle for power began within the Church as it was becoming more apparent that Herbert Armstrong was likely to die before Christ’s return and that someone would be moved into his place as the one who would then lead God’s Church. It is almost unimaginable that such a thing could happen within God’s very own Church. This reveals the spiritual condition that many were beginning to drift into within the Church—a Laodicean spirit.

It had come to the point that Herbert Armstrong did not feel he could fully entrust the Church to any of these long-ordained evangelists, let alone to entrust them with some of the most important positions within the organization of the Church. At one point, he even reached out and brought a pastor to the Church in Pasadena, California, where the organization of the Worldwide Church of God was headquartered. This man, Leroy Neff, was the pastor of the Church in Houston, Texas. He had proven himself to be a man who was a faithful minister and could be trusted, and so Herbert Armstrong made him the Treasurer of the Church, as he felt he could not give this job to any of the evangelists.

Even when Herbert Armstrong came to the point of believing he was nearing death, he did not believe he could pass along his responsibilities to any of the evangelists, who were of the highest rank within the administration of the Church under him. Instead, he gave it to a man who had been serving for a long time as an elder in the local congregation.

In the late ‘70s, Herbert Armstrong took notice of this man’s service, who then became ordained to an evangelist and was brought into the administration of the Church. That evangelist was Joseph Tkach, Sr., and Herbert Armstrong placed him over all the ministry of the Church worldwide, as he did not believe he could entrust it to any of the other longtime evangelists.

Within the headquarters itself, God was allowing Satan to stir up distrust, suspicion, jealousy, lust for power, and even doctrinal division. The Church was becoming weaker spiritually and heading into what would become the Laodicean Era, as people were becoming lifted up in pride, and trusting in self more than trusting in God. The Church was becoming ripe for an apostasy. Nothing like this had happened in its nearly 1,950-year history.

Joseph Tkach, Sr. was the primary person conversing with Herbert Armstrong toward the end of his life when he was confined in his home because of ill health. As his health deteriorated, more of the administration of the Church was being taken over by Joseph Tkach. It was told to the Church that when Herbert Armstrong believed his death was imminent, he transferred all responsibility of leadership to Joseph Tkach, Sr.

Finally, the time for a complete transition from one Church era to another came in January 1986 when Herbert Armstrong died. At the time of his death, the Philadelphia Era came to a close and the Laodicea Era began—the last prophetic era.

Joseph Tkach, Sr. was now in the role of leadership over God’s Church. In the beginning, he seemed supportive of Herbert Armstrong’s past leadership and teaching. It seemed as though he was doing things in faithfulness in upholding the truths God had delivered to the Church through Herbert Armstrong.

By the end of the 1980s and into the first couple of years of the 1990s, that began to change. Administrative changes began to be made that seemed somewhat innocent in the beginning, but they were not.

Over the early years of his leadership, slowly but surely, Joseph Tkach, Sr. was elevating himself and his importance within the organization of the Church by surrounding himself with many of those younger in the ministry, and at the same time, trying to diminish the role of others who had carried greater responsibilities during Herbert Armstrong’s ministry.

The Church began to take on a new air and attitude because of those Joseph Tkach, Sr. had placed in positions of leadership, including his own son. It was an air of self-importance, of spiritual arrogance and pride, of being spiritually “rich and increased with goods.” This was coupled with an already weakened condition within the Church of spiritual lukewarmness and complacency that Christ had forewarned would come to pass in the last era of the Church—Laodicea. The mixture of all these components was disastrous for the Church.

Paul’s prophecy of an apostasy stated that the man of sin, the son of perdition, would “sit in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” This portion of Paul’s prophecy is very telling. This temple of God being spoken of is not the old physical temple in Jerusalem that was destroyed. Many who try to explain these verses do so in great error as they try to connect this event with that physical temple. But in other writings Paul is very clear when he speaks of the temple because he does so in the context of it being the spiritual temple of God—the Church.

The word “sits” reveals even more about an individual who would be in the temple—the Church. This is not a physical matter of someone sitting around in a building, but it is a spiritual matter involving the spiritual temple—God’s Church.

No one could be in this temple of God unless they are part of the Church of God. Yet there is much more to this description. This is in the context of someone in authority who is set in the Church, bearing authority. This word in such a context in Greek actually means “to cause to set” as in “to set, appoint, or to confer a kingdom unto one.”

A couple of examples from scripture are quoted below:

“To him who overcomes will I grant to sit with me on my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father on His throne” (Rev. 3:21).

“Joshua said to them, ‘Truly I say to you, that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of His glory, you also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel’” (Mat. 19:28).

Toward the end of his life, Herbert Armstrong stated that it had never been made clear to him who should lead the Church if he should die, but as stated before, he ultimately transferred all responsibility of leadership within the Church to Joseph Tkach, Sr. Only one man in the end-time became appointed—set—to have great authority in the Church of God, yet he was never an apostle of God.

The manifestation of the betrayal by the son of perdition became the cause of the Apostasy in God’s Church. His actions became the spiritual fulfillment of the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Christ in the Olivet prophecy.

The Actual Event: The Apostasy

Joseph Tkach Sr. began to place young, inexperienced men into important positions of administration within the operations of the Church. These were not long-time ministers, but mostly newer ones. This large, new group of ministers were being merged together and were in unity with one another and had a mindset that was opposed to the past.

This group became a secretive kind of brotherhood that was determined to see the Church become more “mainstream” like the churches of traditional Christianity. These men disliked Herbert Armstrong and his teachings and began to work on turning the entire Church in a different direction. Much of their “behind the scenes” activities did not become fully known until 1995.

However, beginning in 1992, there were many in the older leadership of the Church who were becoming aware of massive changes to doctrine that were being planned and were going to be introduced to the Church. These individuals did not do anything to warn the Church or ministry of this conspiracy in the headquarters of the Church. They did not make a stand against what was taking place.

Over the following two years, there were individuals who were conspiring as to how they could lead the Church away from the truth God had given it through Herbert Armstrong. They tried to diminish the memory of Herbert Armstrong and eventually there was a movement to destroy his books and literature that were still in large supply at the headquarters of the Church. They had begun to make plans to change literature that would reflect major doctrinal changes that would bring the Church into closer agreement doctrinally with the churches of mainstream traditional Christianity. Joseph Tkach, Sr. and his son, Joseph Tkach, Jr. were heading this conspiracy to change the doctrines of God’s true Church and to lead the Church into a false Christianity.

Although this secretive group of ministers who were plotting to overthrow God’s Church had planned to prepare literature to launch these changes, they were caught off-guard when their plans were exposed too early by Joseph Tkach, Sr. when he made a sudden change to a sermon he was going to give in Atlanta, Georgia. In this visit to the Atlanta area congregations of the Church, Joseph Tkach was confronted with problems and rumors that were emerging over these changes. He had to make a choice and he felt he needed to address it during that visit.

Although it did not become known until later, he had prepared to deliver a completely different sermon from the actual one he ended up giving in Atlanta. Some things were coming to a head quicker than this conspiring group had planned and Joseph Tkach felt forced into giving a completely different sermon on that day of December 17, 1994.

In that sermon, which was later sent out to all the churches worldwide, Joseph Tkach, Sr. began to inform God’s Church that every major doctrine was being changed. In addition to Atlanta, he also gave two more sermons on this same subject in two additional locations on the consecutive weekly Sabbaths that followed. All three sermons contained much of the same overall message of these major changes in doctrine.

That sermon in Atlanta declared that the 7th day Sabbath was a matter of personal choice as to when it could be observed. It could be observed on the seventh day of the week (Saturday) as all were accustomed to, or on the following day, the first day of the week (Sunday), like traditional Christianity does. It was no longer to be seen as a commandment required by God.

In addition, God’s annual Holy Days were being treated in the same manner, as the Church was being told that they were not really commanded to keep them, but that much of the Church would continue doing so, but more as a matter of tradition and not of commandment. Also, Christmas and Easter were not forbidden as in the past. There were numerous other changes being mentioned, even down to saying that the laws of God concerning what was unclean for mankind to eat were not valid.

Needless to say, that sermon was the manifestation of a great apostasy! Here was a man who was seen as sitting in authority over God’s Church on earth who had now put himself in the place of God, as he set out to change the very laws of God.

That which Paul stated about the man of sin, the son of perdition, had then come to pass: “Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing [revealing] himself that he is God” (2 Thes. 2:4). God does not change His way and truth, but Joseph Tkach, Sr. believed he could.

Never in the history of mankind has there been a religious institution that has experienced someone rising up within its own ranks who at a single moment in time went about changing every major teaching and doctrine of that organization. Yet, God’s own Church did experience exactly that, just as God foretold would come to pass in the end-time.

The Seals Began to be Opened

There are some in the world who are waiting for the time of the opening of the First Seal of Revelation so that they will then be able to know that Christ is coming. There are those who believe that when the First Seal is opened that Christ’s coming will then be three and a half years after that tribulation begins. However, such people will be fully caught off-guard, because the first four Seals are not about physical tribulation in the world, but about spiritual tribulation that has already occurred in God’s Church.

The First Seal was opened on the 17th of December in 1994, when Joseph Tkach, Sr. gave that sermon in Atlanta, Georgia. This was the beginning of the Apostasy. It was the beginning of great tribulation within God’s own Church. It was the beginning of a prophetic count to the actual second coming of Joshua the Christ.

“I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and then I heard as it were the noise of thunder as one of the four living creatures said, ‘Come and see.’ Then behold, I saw a white horse and he who sat on it had a bow, and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering, and to conquer” (Revelation 6:1-2).

This is about the one who was set in authority (given a crown to rule) in the temple of God. This prophetic picture is about one who used his power to wage war to conquer and overthrow God’s Church—to desecrate and destroy God’s Church—to commit the “abomination of desolation” in the temple of God.

Then, the next three seals that were opened were simply the result—the affect—of the first.

“Then another horse went out that was red, and it was given to him who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another, as a great sword was given to him” (Rev. 6:4).

Once Joseph Tkach gave his desecrating sermon in Atlanta, the floodgates were opened to free-flowing doctrinal perversion and widespread private interpretation of God’s Word through human reasoning and demonic influence. Peace was taken from the earth in every area where God’s Church was.

The growing unrest that was building over the previous decade with the doctrinal battles and fighting amongst brethren and ministers who were increasingly yielding to distortion of doctrine was now unleashed upon the Church in a massive onslaught, almost overnight. Ministers and brethren began to choose different sides and fight over doctrinal differences.

The opening of this Second Seal followed instantly behind the first. Nearly three-quarters of the ministry yielded to this new doctrinal format. They turned towards this newly embraced false way; they turned away from the truth. Many ministers fully adopted the new teachings of Joseph Tkach, while others adopted only portions of them. Nevertheless, a broad movement toward false doctrine in a false Christianity was thrust upon the Church.

This emergence of so many false ministers led to a quicker dissemination of false doctrine and teaching. Those ministers were no longer wielding the sword of God’s word, in spirit and in truth, but a false sword that served to take truth from brethren and destroy spiritual lives.

As the peace of God was taken from their midst through this process, brethren entered into the greatest time of spiritual warfare the Church had ever experienced since it began on Pentecost in 31 A.D. Multiple thousands of brethren began to lose their spiritual lives as people began to kill one another spiritually. The sword of false ministers was false doctrine, and with that came great devastation and spiritual murder.

“When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘Come and see.’ I looked, and behold there was a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of balances in his hand. Then I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, ‘A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny, and see that you do not hurt the oil and the wine’” (Revelation 6:5-6).

These two verses are well understood by most who read them as pertaining to famine. The Church has always understood that this was about a time of famine that would come upon the world at the end-time, but it was only seen as a time of physical famine. Such a time will indeed come upon all the world physically, but these verses are about the Church and spiritual famine that followed this Apostasy.

These actually fulfilled an Old Testament prophecy that was to occur in the end-time. “Behold the days come, says the Lord Eternal, when I will send a famine in the land—not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Eternal” (Amos 8:11).

As false ministers and false doctrine grew in power, brethren became weak and fell victim to a growing spiritual famine. The truth of God—the Word of God that brethren needed to eat and digest in order to be fed spiritually was becoming very scarce. A time of great spiritual famine did indeed come upon God’s people.

The result of the Apostasy created widespread destruction and desecration in God’s Temple. The destruction that followed parallels a prophecy in Ezekiel 5 about this very thing, as it describes how the effects of the devastation were divided into three specific segments.

As soon as the Apostasy occurred, right at one-third of the Church turned away from all the truth they had been given. They went back to embracing the false Christianity that God had delivered them from when He first opened their minds to see and understand His truth.

Over the next few months another third of the Church simply gave up in despair and had complete loss of faith. They abandoned everything. They had no understanding of how or why this could possibly have happened to a Church that was God’s. They had no answers and no hope—nothing left for which to fight.

There was a final third that tried to hold onto some form of what they had believed when God had first opened their minds to understand the truth. By the time of the Apostasy, the Church had grown very weak spiritually just as it had been forewarned concerning the last era of Laodicea. It was prophesied to become a church that was spiritually lukewarm and that would begin to drift into a spiritual sleep rather than being alert and watchful as Christ said it should be.

God stated that because of such a weak spiritual state that He would spew it out of his mouth, meaning that it would be fully separated from Him—from receiving His favor and holy spirit. That is exactly what happened to a very weakened spiritual body. God additionally stated that in the very end-time He would only deliver a small remnant of His people from the Church He was going to allow to become scattered.

This final third of the Church became scattered because great confusion had struck the Church due to the Apostasy. Many of these wanted to hold onto doctrines and truths they had received from God when they were first called. Different splinter organizations began rising up as they began trying to rebuild what had existed in the past. Confusion was multiplied as weakened scattered members had to decide with what organizations they might affiliate. There were vast disagreements between the various groups concerning matters of church structure, leadership, and doctrine.

There was no single group that stood out clearly as being a definitive continuation of God’s Church—of where God was working. Within only months, over 600 separate organizations formed and each one carried the underlying belief that they were the rightful ones through whom the true Church of God would continue.

This last era of the Church was prophesied to be an era that was lukewarm in spirit, while at the same time being lifted up with pride, self-reliance, and self-righteousness of belief in “being right” above that of others. That attitude carried on into these many organizations—each believing that they were right.

However, God makes it clear that His Church is one body—one Church—that is united in truth, belief, and spirit. Only God can reveal what is true. Through that truth He reveals where His Church has continued on as the small remnant of that very large scattered body of the former physical organization of the Worldwide Church of God.

Chapter 7

A NEW ERA FOR MANKIND

This book has been focusing upon events that concern a countdown to WWIII and the second coming of Christ. The last chapter explained when and how that countdown began. It also described how mankind is about to enter a great transition in time into a new era. God is about to lead mankind into a heightened and far more mature stature of existence.

The focus of this chapter is about that new era for mankind that God is about to establish once He sends Christ and the 144,000 to end WWIII and to then establish His government—His ruling Kingdom on earth. This transition is going to be awesomely enhanced by the manifestation of God’s Family who will dwell among mankind for the next 1,000 years.

This marks the beginning of a new era of great change. It is a good, inspiring, and exciting change that will begin to bring true peace and equitable prosperity to mankind that is beyond imagination. It will alter the course of the world forever.

This new era that will be ushered in will be a time of healing for mankind and healing for the earth itself. It is then that the earth will begin to become renewed and cleansed from all that mankind has so polluted and destroyed. God reveals that even the deserts will begin to be productive. Mankind will begin to reverse what it started thousands of years ago that has caused the creation and expansion of so many deserts and uninhabitable areas on earth.

God’s Oath to Mankind

It is good to see how this juncture in time is described in scripture. It is in the context of the Seven Thunders ending, which is also when the countdown comes to an end.

“Now when the seven thunders sounded, I was about to write, but then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Seal up the things which the seven thunders sounded, and do not write them.’ The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land then raised up his hand toward heaven and gave oath in Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, and declared that, ‘There should be time no longer [Gk.- no further]’” (Revelation 10:4-6).

Previously, it was told how the First Thunder began when the Sixth Seal of Revelation was opened on the 11th of September in 2001. (This book does not address all Seven Thunders, as they are covered in a previous book entitled, 2008—God’s Final Witness.) From that time, events from all Seven Thunders have been sounding. The events of all those Thunders continue sounding right up to this very moment in time being spoken of here when there “should be time no longer.”

What does this mean? It states here that an angel declared an oath that is “in God.” In other words, it is an oath from God, but declared by an angel, and is about this specific moment in time when God will begin to manifest His Family to the world. Daniel also wrote about this oath in a similar manner.

“Then as I looked, I, Daniel, saw two others standing. One here at the edge of this riverbank and the other on that edge of the riverbank, and he said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, ‘How long to the end of these wonders?’ Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and gave oath by Him who lives forever, that, ‘after a time, times, and a half, and at the completion of the scattering of the power of the holy people, all these shall be finished [to bring to a complete end]’” (Dan. 12:5-7).

As the context in both Daniel and Revelation shows, this is about the time when God intervenes in the affairs of mankind and begins to fulfill His plan and purpose for His Kingdom to reign on earth. It is when God puts an end to the time of mankind’s self-rule that has continued for 6,000 years. This marks the time for mankind’s rule to go “no further.” It will no longer continue.

God has promised mankind that there will come a prophetic time when He will bring a completion to one era of time and introduce a new one. That which is being spoken of here is that very moment when one period will be completed and it will no longer continue. It is at that time God will usher in a new age—a new and final era for mankind.

The matter of this oath and what God promised is then connected to what is revealed in the next verse.

“But in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should [now] be finished [Gk.- ‘shall be completed, fulfilled, accomplished’], as He declared to His servants the prophets” (Revelation 10:7).

The Mystery of God

This is a reference to numerous prophecies that have told about this time and of what follows. It is at the moment that the very first event announced by this Seventh Trumpet begins to take place that this verse begins to be fulfilled. It is not something that is completed at that very moment, but something that only begins until that work is finished.

This event is first and foremost referred to as a “mystery.” That is because mankind has refused to hear or accept it. Although God has sent His prophets into the world to declare this message, it has consistently been resisted and refused. So for 6,000 years God has let this remain a mystery—hidden from mankind. However, God has revealed it to those whom He has chosen to work with and who have then responded with the desire to truly obey and listen to Him.

Yet in all of this, God determined that as this moment in time was drawing near, He would begin revealing the truth about His plan far more fully and clearly to the world. Mankind will finally learn why they were born and the reason for their very existence. Even then, however, most will still not listen until many of the catastrophic end-time events actually begin.

God established a time period for when this mystery—His plan and purpose for mankind—would be accomplished. That plan for His Family will be completed and fulfilled during this final era for mankind.

God’s apostle, Herbert W. Armstrong, wrote a book entitled Mystery of the Ages (www.biblical-truth.com/books/), which is about much of this plan that God will bring to pass and its purpose. It was when he was writing this book that God began to show much more about the end-time and how close we were to entering it.

Although Herbert Armstrong wrote that book back in 1985, only a few thousand people began to understand it. God only started revealing that mystery—His plan—to a few. That book was written to tell about what God was soon going to begin revealing to the whole world, that which has been withheld from it until this end-time, just before His Kingdom is established.

As a result of what is written in this book and the current news reports about escalating tensions between nations, hopefully, it is becoming clear that we are rapidly approaching a great world war. Through Herbert Armstrong, God was proclaiming His plan and purpose for mankind and revealing that the world was then entering into a prophesied end-time. But the world has still continued on in ignorance.

Especially since 9/11, God has been revealing much more about this end-time to His Church, and now at a very accelerated rate. Yet people have still refused to listen. It will sadly take the kind of catastrophic events spoken of in Revelation to finally begin awakening people so that they will begin to listen to what God has been telling us now for nearly 6,000 years.

An End to Deception and Lies

Again, it is so important that people understand why their nature still resists and refuses God. The truth is that human nature simply resists the fact that God created us and that we should live exactly the way He says we should. We have been given the freedom to make our own decisions in life, and with such freedom, in most cases, mankind will choose to live how it judges to be best. Human nature simply resists such authority. Instead, it is easier for it to stubbornly embrace false doctrines and teachings that dilute, weaken, and debase the authority of an Almighty God.

Confusion exists for mankind concerning God and His reason for creating us. This is because people have been willingly deceived into believing false truths that contradict what God has revealed through His prophets and apostles. So God’s truth remains hidden—it remains a mystery.

As an example, one such teaching that causes people such confusion is the belief that at the moment of death people either go to heaven or to hell. But as part of this subject was covered earlier, that isn’t true at all. This teaching becomes even more entangled in fable as it is used to perpetuate the lie that people have an immortal soul.

Some believe that loved ones die and go to heaven whereupon they watch over and help to protect them. Some think they go to heaven to look upon the face of God forever or to live in a kind of paradise doing those things that they loved to do in their leisure time, like fishing or playing golf for eternity.

Heaven is sometimes pictured as a place of banqueting, a place of expressing great laughter, happiness, and joy of life. Some believe that people become like angels and perhaps even have wings. Overall, there are just a lot of ideas and questions that are mixed in confusion and doubt.

The truth is that Christians have not been going to heaven after death to be there with Christ. Christ is coming here! People don’t have to wait much longer to know the truth of such matters because we are almost to that moment in time when God is going to begin revealing His Kingdom to mankind, not just in understanding, but also in seeing and experiencing it firsthand.

This false doctrine of going to heaven or hell has much to do with why the Messiah coming to earth to reign does not make sense to people. Because of this false doctrine, they have not been able to grasp the simple truth that after death all must instead be resurrected to life again at a time that God has already planned and purposed.

Because of such false teachings, people have been kept blind to what is true. To see and then grasp what is true requires that what is false must first be exposed. Once exposed, a person is confronted with making choices as to how they will address what they have come to see. Will the truth be embraced, and false teachings rejected? As individuals read this book, that is the decision before them—it is a question that only they can answer.

When the first event of this Seventh Trumpet comes to pass, which is about Christ’s coming, God will then begin to use His great power to expose and bring to an end all the lies and deceptions that have kept His plan and purpose hidden for nearly 6,000 years now. When the current countdown ends, God’s Kingdom and the purpose for His creation will no longer continue as a mystery to mankind. Again, it is because people will then be able to begin seeing it and experiencing it.

Mankind’s New Era

When this first event of the Seventh Trumpet takes place, when Christ and the 144,000 are made manifest to mankind, this is when the “mystery of God” will begin to be removed.

“The Second Woe is past [an end to the events of the Sixth Trumpet], and look, the Third Woe is coming quickly. Then the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have now become the kingdoms of our Lord, even of His Christ, and He shall reign from now and forevermore’” (Revelation 11:14-15).

This is the good news spoken of for thousands of years that God will now begin to bring to pass. This “good news” is what is translated in the New Testament as the “gospel.” Joshua the Christ said much about that good news, however, the world did not understand it, as it was yet neither the time to fully reveal it nor to begin fulfilling it.

That which will take place at this moment in time is about the beginning of the work that lies ahead. This is the first event to become established in order for God’s plan to be accomplished because it is the foundation that enables this entire plan of God to be fulfilled.

To summarize this last Trumpet in its simplest form, the Seventh Trumpet reveals the fulfillment of God’s plan and purpose for mankind that will take 1,100 years to be completed.

So when it states that the Second Woe is past and the Third Woe is coming quickly, it is showing that before the events of the Third Woe begin, which will not happen until over 1,100 years later, there is something else that happens first. It clearly states that this marks a very specific moment in time. It is when the kingdoms (the nations) of this world are no longer under the rule of mankind. This is the first event of the Seventh Trumpet when the nations of the world become the nations of Christ—under his rule.

Although this new era for mankind will continue through the Millennium and on into the following 100 years, it is important to know what is recorded about how this new era begins.

Once the events that were earlier announced by the Seventh Trumpet begin, the next verse describes how angels in heaven respond to what happens at that time.

“Then the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, ‘We give thanks to You, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and who is coming, because You have taken to Yourself Your great power and reigned’” (Revelation 11:16-17).

By God sending His Son to reign in His Kingdom over the nations of the world, He is taking to Himself that which He has not done over the previous 6,000 years. Before, God allowed mankind to exercise its own kind of rule in order for it to learn the ultimate lesson—that mankind cannot rule itself. So at this moment in time, God takes control of that which is His anyway and sends His own Son to rule over His Kingdom.

It is only in this way that a new era for mankind can begin. It is the only way that peace can be assured for the next 1,100 years. It is the only means by which mankind can begin experiencing an advanced level of maturity, the opportunity for equitable prosperity, and the exercise of the right use of highly advanced technology far beyond what is even known today.

A True Government FOR the People

The kind of government that God is giving to mankind is one that is righteous: void of corruption, bribery, injustice, politics, partiality, preferential treatment, and all such things that have embodied the governments of mankind.

Revelation 11 tells of God’s Kingdom coming to this earth. The following verses go into even more detail, describing what this event entails. This is the story of what unfolds when the events of the Seventh Trumpet begin to bring an end to mankind’s self-rule and then establish God’s rule.

“Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb [Christ] was standing on Mount Zion, and with him were one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads [not literally, but metaphorically, which is about them being in Elohim]. Then I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps as they sang about these new things in a song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders. None were able to know that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from mankind, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb” (Revelation 14:1-4).

These 144,000 are described as being redeemed from among mankind over the previous 6,000 years and of not being defiled by false churches (“loose women”) because they are virgins spiritually. They have been faithful to God, Christ, and God’s Church. These are further described in scripture as being the firstfruits of God’s plan of salvation, with Joshua the Christ described as being the first of the firstfruits.

This is about the first phase of God’s plan for His government to become established. It is about those who will be the first to become part of what is described in the Old Testament as Elohim—the God Family.

Next, the story picks up once again as those 24 elders and other angelic beings who are in heaven are rejoicing over the fact that God has taken to Himself rule over the nations of the earth as He begins to establish His Kingdom.

“The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, ‘Amen! Hallelujah!’ Then a voice came from the throne, saying, ‘Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!’ Then I heard what this was about in the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thundering, saying, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.’ To her it was granted to be clothed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints” (Revelation 19:4-8).

While Revelation 11 described God’s rule being established through the reign of Christ, these verses in chapter 19 add more to reveal what this means. It now shows that there are 144,000 that are symbolically referred to as those who have made themselves ready for the marriage of the Lamb. They are the ones who are resurrected at this time and will be coming with Christ making up the Kingdom of God that will then begin to reign on earth.

This is the first phase in God’s plan for His Family because these are the first to enter that Family. Again, this is only the beginning event of the Seventh Trumpet. It then goes on to show what they will do first, once this government becomes established. Those who come with Christ are described as an army coming with him to engage in war. This is actually about the very means by which God is going to bring an end to WWIII. Those nations that are fully engaged in war at this time are going to be stopped by Christ and his army.

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war [Gk. – wages war]. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head many crowns [figuratively—now ruling over all nations]. He had a name written that no one knew except himself, and he was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God [who is Joshua the Christ]. The armies [the 144,000] in heaven [the heaven of the atmosphere above the earth (in the sky)], clothed in fine linen, white and pure, followed him on white horses. Now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should strike the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God, and he has on a robe and on his thigh a name written: King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:11-16).

The wrath of God being spoken of is not what most believe it to be. This is actually speaking of an “execution of judgment” that comes from God. It is that which God has deemed just and right. It is about those who come in God’s righteousness to execute judgment by waging war against those who are warring on this earth. If Christ and his army did not intervene to stop it then the earth would be completely destroyed. This righteous execution of judgment that is waged by Christ and the 144,000 is the war that will end all wars for all time.

Christ is coming back this second time as the Lion of God. He is not coming as he did the first time as the Lamb of God who humbled himself and did not resist when he was beaten and then killed in order to become the Passover for all mankind. This time, he is coming as the Lion of God—as a great King, and he will begin his reign by destroying those who will not cease from destroying God’s creation.

Notice something else that was added to what was being said by the angels when they were first thanking God for now taking to Himself His power to begin reigning over the nations of the world.

“Then the twenty-four elders [highly placed angelic beings] who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, ‘We give thanks to You, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and who is coming, because You have taken to Yourself Your great power and reigned. Even as the nations were angry, and your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged and that You should give reward unto Your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and those who fear your name, small and great [a revelation of the judgment for 144,000 who have now become resurrected to rule with Christ,] and that You should destroy those who are destroying the earth’” (Revelation 11:16-18).

The first thing that God will do after He retakes the full reign of His own creation is to stop this world war. Christ and 144,000 will do just that. They will use great power, such power never experienced by mankind, to begin destroying those who are destroying the earth.

This reign of Christ and the 144,000 is spoken of further, and even the length of that reign is defined. It also describes what is done to Satan at this time.

“Then I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, who is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should no more deceive the nations, until the thousand years should be fulfilled, and after that he must be let loose a little while. Then I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them [to the 144,000 who reign with Christ], and I saw the lives of those who had been cut-off for the witness of Joshua [cut-off from the world], and for the word of God, those who had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark in their foreheads, or in their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection” (Revelation 20:1-5).

First, it addresses how Satan will be put back into a spirit restraint. This is a restraint that he has been in several times before as it was earlier described concerning the different revivals of the European empire. However, something new is now added. It makes it clear that he is not only put back into that spirit restraint, but that this time, a seal is being set upon him so that he has no power whatsoever to deceive the nations while in this final restraint.

Before this, Satan was only restrained from having power to be able to bring nations to war, but he was still able to deceive people. When this event takes place, he won’t have any power.

The final restraint is for 1,000 years so that he cannot interfere in any way with what God will work to accomplish when the Kingdom of God is reigning. The Millennium will be a far superior time for humanity just in the fact alone that Satan and the demons cannot work to deceive and stir mankind to evil as has been taking place for the past 6,000 years.

It also reveals in these verses that the 144,000 had been cut-off from the world (many translations say “beheaded,” but that is incorrect). They had been cut-off, or separated, to live God’s way of life and to become fashioned and prepared to become part of God’s future government in order to then reign with Christ for 1,000 years and beyond.

These are described as not having the beast’s mark (Satan’s mark) in their foreheads. It is not a literal mark, but it is metaphorically speaking of what distinguishes a person and identifies (or marks) the thinking of a person (as coming from the mind in the form of one’s thinking or belief). These expressions of what marks the forehead and hand are symbolic concerning God’s Sabbaths. These people are those who lived by the truth of God by keeping the correct Sabbath day on the seventh day of the week—Saturday, and not the false one that the Beast power promoted on the first day of the week—Sunday.

Scripture reveals that the first identifying sign of those who seek to obey God is their proper observance of His weekly and annual Sabbaths. So this is a matter of the belief of God’s Sabbaths that is in their mind—in their thinking.

The mark on the hand is about the same thing—God’s Sabbaths. This mark on the hand is not literal either, but again, it is metaphorically speaking of those whose actions (their work) follow their thinking about their observance of God’s Sabbaths. What they do with their hands symbolizes their work. They work on six days of the week, but on the Sabbath they will not engage in any kind of customary work that should be done on those first six days of the week and they rest from that work as God commands.

Resurrections Beyond That of the 144,000

There is another vital element about the revelation of God’s plan that will become complete during this period of Christ’s reign for the next 1,100 years.

That last verse refers back to those 144,000 who will come with Christ and reign with him for 1,000 years and it states that those who come with Christ are of the first resurrection. It is not referring to when Christ, the Son of God, was resurrected first nearly 2,000 years earlier. This resurrection spoken of in these verses is the first great resurrection from among mankind. God has revealed that following this there will be other resurrections at different times during the completion of His plan.

As stated earlier, upon death people do not immediately go to a heaven or hell. They remain dead until God resurrects them. This is a great truth that is part of the mystery of God that will be revealed to all throughout the following 1,100 years.

Traditional Christianity would have people believe that upon death people go immediately to heaven or hell because they believe that people have an immortal soul, which is not true. Only God Almighty has immortality inherent in Himself.

The truth is, that once a person dies, they remain dead and the physical body decays, and in time, they will eventually turn into dust. One place in scripture where the truth of this matter is revealed concerns king David who reigned over Israel. He proved to be a great king and was faithful to God. He wrote many Psalms and many of those were prophetic. He was a king over Israel, but God also called him a prophet.

On the Day of Pentecost, when God raised up His Church in 31 AD, Peter made some rather pointed statements to the Jews. He had quoted some of the prophecies that David had written about the Messiah and how those things had now become fulfilled in Joshua the Christ.

The Jews of that time had strayed far from the teaching God had delivered to them through Moses long before. Many of them did not understand what David wrote because they thought certain verses in Psalms were about David himself, but they were not. One statement is very telling for those who hold to the concept that upon death the faithful go to heaven. If this were true, then most certainly David, one whom God said was “after His own heart,” would be there.

“Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you about the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on His throne; he [David], foreseeing this before, spoke concerning the resurrection of Christ, that his soul [life] was not left in hell [Gk.— “hades” meaning the grave], nor did his flesh see corruption. This Joshua, God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:29-32).

It is stating at the end of these verses that Christ’s body would not see corruption (decay), and it did not since he was only in the tomb for three days and three nights. It is making it clear here that these verses being quoted from the Psalms were about Christ who would be resurrected before his body would decay. Peter also made it clear that this was not about David because his body did see corruption (decay), and Peter clearly stated that his body was buried and in the tomb to that day, many hundreds of years later. David did not go to heaven, but instead will be one of those resurrected at Christ’s coming and will reign with him.

Since traditional Christianity does not believe in a resurrection, they steer clear of the verses from Revelation 20. How could they possibly make sense of them when it contradicts their own beliefs?

But those verses also address another incredible subject that is never spoken of—a subject that is actually exceedingly encouraging concerning God’s plan and purpose for all who have died and remain dead. It is part of the true gospel—the good news!

The verses of Revelation 20 speak of the time for the Millennium (1,000 years) when the 144,000 reign with Christ over the nations of this earth. Then after mentioning all those resurrected to reign for that 1,000 years, it states: “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.”

Who are the rest of the dead?

The “rest of the dead” should be self-explanatory. They are the people who have lived and died throughout the past 6,000 years who were not part of the first resurrection of the 144,000.

For now, all that have lived and died have returned to the dust of the earth just as God said would happen (Eccl. 3:20), but there comes a time in God’s plan when these people will have the opportunity to be resurrected to life once again. Going on in this verse, it shows when they will be resurrected. It states that they will “not live again until the 1,000 years are finished.” Notice what is added next in those verses of Revelation 20.

“But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection, because on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (Rev. 20:5-6).

After stating that the rest of the dead did not live again until after the Millennium, it then refers back to the 144,000 who were resurrected to come with Christ. It says that they are blessed who are part of this first resurrection “because on such the second death has no power” over them. That is because they are not given a second physical life and are instead created as spirit beings in the God Family. They can never die.

Establishing the Final 100 Years

There is an incredibly great event that takes place just before the resurrection to a second physical life for “the rest of the dead.” Before those who have lived and died over the first 6,000 years are resurrected to a second physical life, another resurrection to spirit life in the Family of God takes place first.

Just before this final 100 years begins, there is a resurrection that takes place that is similar to the first one of the 144,000, but this time, it is much, much larger. This is a resurrection for those who have lived and died during the Millennium and have had the opportunity to learn God’s way of life. Those who have made the choice to faithfully live His way will now be resurrected into spirit life—into the Family of God as spirit beings just like the 144,000 had been.

God has great purpose for this resurrection to take place at this time, rather than at the end of the 100 years. It is for the purpose of the massive job that lies ahead in the governing, teaching, and aiding of all the billions who are about to be resurrected to a second physical life.

After this second great resurrection into the God Family, the final hundred years begins—the final years of mankind’s existence. God refers to this period as the Last Great Day. It is the time when billions will be resurrected to a second physical life. This time period is also known as the Great White Throne Judgment. This descriptive title is used to identify this period as a time of final judgment upon mankind.

“Then I saw a great white throne and He who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away [Gk. – escaped or fled away from] and no place was found for them as I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books being opened. Also another book was opened, which is of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books” (Rev. 20:11-12).

This is about the resurrection of billions to a second physical life. It is a time when these billions will now come into a period of judgment for how they choose to live their second physical life. In their first life, they did not know the truths of God. It was not His purpose to reveal His truth to them at that time. During this time, the only ones to whom He revealed His truth were the ones that were prepared to become part of His government—part of the 144,000.

All these will be resurrected to physical life once again in order to be taught what is true from God. This will be their time to choose how they want to live—by the ways of God or by their own ways as they had lived before. Babies and children will be resurrected whole and complete—healthy and without handicaps of any kind. People who died of old age will be resurrected to whole and healthy bodies as well—in bodies that are not of old age, but middle-aged.

In this resurrection, it needs to be understood that God has given the first 7,000 years for the reproduction and growth of mankind. After the 7,000 years has ended, which is when the Millennium comes to an end, there will be no more reproduction. When this final 100 years is established, and there is a great resurrection to physical life once again, God will have removed from mankind the ability to reproduce human life. Women will not have the ability to become pregnant and no children will be born during this time.

God makes it clear that when He calls someone and then gives them the ability to see His truth, then at that time they begin to come under judgment. It is during that period that they must, according to their own will, choose between God’s way or the way of self (the way of the world, Satan, and/or others). When all are resurrected to a second physical life, they are able to now come to know God’s truth. It is then that they will have to begin to choose between God’s way or their own way.

John’s description of a great white throne is symbolic of a time of judgment before God. It states that the heaven and earth had fled away or escaped. It is showing that until this moment, this mass of people had not come under the judgment of God but had, in a manner, escaped it during their first life. They will be resurrected in a much better world where the potential for choosing God’s way of life is now much easier to do. They will now live in a world where Satan and the demonic world are no longer present, and in a world where deception, lies, and false religions no longer exist.

It is in this final age of mankind that people will begin to experience righteous government and justice. During the previous 1,000 years, the Kingdom of God will have reigned over the earth and the world will have changed in ways that are difficult to imagine at this time. Science and technology will take a massive leap forward. These things will all work together in such a manner as to increase productivity and prosperity in human life, far, far beyond what one is able to imagine.

It is in this resurrection to physical life again that God’s judgment finally comes upon all the rest of humanity. All in this great resurrection are given life in a new world that is governed and taught by God’s Son and all those who are now in the Family of God. It is showing in these verses that all people through time, the small and great of their time, are now resurrected before God to receive His truth through His word that is clearly opened (the books being opened) to their understanding.

In addition, it refers to another book being opened to them—the Book of Life. They will have the opportunity to have their names (their life) added to those who are in the Family of God and living into everlasting life. These too must go through a process of choosing whether to live by the Word of God in how they live their life. Will they work to live by God’s way or not?

The following verse is a summary of the last 100 years of mankind. It begins with describing a great resurrection of all who have died. Notice what is stated about the judgement after these 100 years are completed.

“The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and the grave [some use the actual Greek word ‘hades,’ and others use ‘hell’] delivered up the dead who were in it. Everyone was judged according to their works. Then death and the grave were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:13-15).

The grave is spoken of because it symbolically pictures how most bodies are dealt with upon death. The word “grave” has been commonly mistranslated as “hell.” The concept of a place of punishment called hell is simply one of so many false teachings of traditional Christianity.

Then upon being given a second life and the ability to know God’s truth, people are then judged according to their free choices and the works in their life that reflect those choices.

Finally, the end comes when those who have chosen to live God’s way are judged to be received into His Family in everlasting life. However, those who chose to live other than God’s way are judged to receive a second death—death for all time.

A Second Death

How is the second death taught in traditional Christianity? It is clearly in scripture, but ministers and teachers steer clear of saying anything about it because it conflicts mightily with what they believe. They cannot begin to grasp how anyone could die twice because that would mean that they have to live twice.

Although many will have chosen to live God’s way of life during that 100 years, there will be those who just do not want to live that kind of life and will instead choose to live how they did in their first life, which is the way of self—the way of selfishness—the way of the world. God has allotted 100 years during this time period for people to make a choice as to which way of life they want to live.

Those who choose their own ways—the ways of their previous life—are free to do so, but they will not be given life beyond that 100-year period of the Great White Throne Judgment. Instead, their judgment will be one of eternal death. Eternal death is another area of great misconception and misunderstanding in traditional Christianity because they believe such expressions of judgment to be about “eternal punishment—of being punished forever.”

God’s way is not one of having any be tortured or punished for eternity for not choosing His way of life. It is just an “eternal judgment” of eternal death—never to be resurrected to life ever again. God is not vindictive or cruel as so many have made Him out to be. He does not want to see people live in torture and torment for everlasting life for not obeying Him. That would indeed be a sick mind to place such a punishment on anyone. Thankfully, God is nothing like that! He is not the type of God that traditional Christianity has portrayed Him to be by their perverted teaching of hell and hell fire.

For those who do not choose to live God’s way of life by the end of that 100 years, they are not tormented for everlasting life. Instead, they are simply sentenced to an eternal judgment of death—a second death—never to have life again. This end of life does include fire which destroys life. It is a judgment of fire that occurs quickly without torment. It is a fiery judgment that is eternal because it results in death for all time—never to be resurrected to life again.

The world of traditional Christianity came up with a concept of being punished by fire for all eternity in a hell fire for not obeying God. But the judgment of eternal fire is not something that lasts forever. It is simply a fire that brings an end to life because of God’s judgment to end that life forever.

The Choice of Life

The period of the Last Great Day is all about the choices people will make during that final 100 years. It is a time to choose life, or not. It would seem a simple choice, but it will not be so.

Things are much different in the lives of mankind during that final 100 years. This second chance for physical life takes place in a world that is vastly different from the world they encountered previously. What remains the same, however, is the same human nature that molded them into what they became in their first life.

Obviously, babies and children who are resurrected to a second life will not have the experiences of sin-filled choices that teens and adults have had. But for those who are older and who were more fully set in their own ways upon death, many things that they have previously lived have not been in agreement with God’s way of life. Those ways are not easy to change. Even after God has provided so much to those resurrected to a second physical life, there will be vast numbers who will simply choose not to change. They will still want their old ways and not God’s.

Such people will still prefer to live a way that produces drama, including such things as unfaithfulness in marriage, theft, corruption, politics, drunkenness, drug addiction, sexual perversion, unrestrained reveling, hatred and jealousy of others, self-recognition above others, lust of power and wealth, and all other ways that are produced by the choice of living by selfish human nature—by what self wants.

Although billions will be resurrected to a second physical life, not all will want to change. All will not want the way of God that is shown to them at that time. Instead, they will resist that way. Many will simply conform because of the kind of society that is being governed by the Kingdom of God reigning over the nations, but they will not agree with it and will not want it.

Only those who actually choose and want God’s way of life will be able to make the kind of changes in their life that are required in order to grow to a spiritual level that God will receive them into His Family. God does not owe anything to anyone. He has already given us everything that we have. If it comes down to a person simply choosing that they want their own way of life and not God’s, then that is their choice. God’s way cannot and will not be forced upon anyone. His way must be freely chosen.

So, at the end of that 100 years, it will be clear to God who those are that will become part of His Family into everlasting life. It will also be clear who those are that have chosen their own ways and not God’s.

By that time there will be billions who will have chosen to live God’s way of life. They will have chosen life. They will have taken hold of the opportunity God placed before them to become part of His Family in everlasting spirit life.

However, there will potentially be billions who will not have accepted God and His way by the end of that 100 years. Instead, they will have chosen their own ways just as the archangel Lucifer did vast millennia before.

It was Lucifer who first rebelled against God and then became known as Satan the Devil, as well as the Beast and False Prophet. He led a third of the angelic realm with him in his way of selfishness and pride in order to get more of what he wanted in wealth and power for himself. Those who rebelled with him became known as demons, and they too have opposed and fought against God ever since their rebellion.

If such a great number of spirit created angelic beings could make such a choice over a vast period of time and turn away from what God had offered them, it should not be difficult to understand how great numbers of carnal, selfish human beings will do the same thing over a short period of time.

God’s Plan Nears Completion

After the last 100 years of mankind has come to an end, there is a space of time that follows which God has not yet shown the exact duration, but it is short. It is a time for the final judgment of God to be administered to mankind. This will conclude the Great White Throne Judgment of God.

The exact sequence of all the events that follow has not yet been shown by God, but He has clearly given what will come of all who have chosen His way of life and those who have rejected it.

It is an incredible story how all this transpires and concludes the age of mankind. God has shown how he concludes this age and the process whereby He administers final judgment to all who have refused Him through time.

In Revelation 20, when Satan has a seal set upon him, it is stated that he should be confined there “until the thousand years should be fulfilled, and after that he must be let loose a little while” (verse 3). It does not specify the exact moment he is released after the 1,000 years is completed, but in other verses, the context shows that it cannot be until the end of the 100 years that follow the Millennium. Then it goes on to show what happens when he is released.

“Then when the thousand years have ended, Satan shall be let loose out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for battle, and their number is as the sand of the sea” (Revelation 20:7-8).

Satan must be released from his confinement one last time in order to help bring a completion to God’s plan for all mankind and an end to mankind’s existence. Satan will fulfill what he is best at accomplishing, by the way of deception and destruction, just as one of his names signifies: The Destroyer.

Satan has always served to help speed the process of bringing nations to war. Throughout history, nations over time have always built up to war. War between nations has always been inevitable, an absolute. It is the way of mankind. But as part of God’s plan, the destructive nature of that being has often worked to bring the certainty of eventual war between peoples and nations to a quicker conclusion so that the amount of suffering and evil that would otherwise come from longer wars could be lessened.

With mankind, wars are the inevitable result of selfish human nature. They are certain to come to pass because of the inability of mankind to live the way that produces peace—the way that can only come from living God’s way of life when being governed by God’s Kingdom. During the Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment periods, mankind will have the opportunity to learn the way of peace. God will not allow conditions to come to a point where anyone will have the ability to engage in war. The rule of God’s government will ensure peace between nations.

However, once Satan is released, all his effort will be used once again to lead mankind to engage in great war—a war that will be stopped before it ever begins.

Satan is easily able to influence those who have now lived twice and have not chosen God’s way of life. Those who choose to live in a different manner than what God has revealed as true and right are living in sin. That is the definition of sin—to live against what God has shown is right.

As Satan is released to go out into all the world, the expressions of “Gog and Magog” are used as prophetic symbolisms for the masses and kinds of people who have refused God’s way of life. It is further described that the number of these people are as the sand of the sea. Considering the population of mankind throughout its thousands of years of history, the number of those who actually refuse God and His way of life will be several billion.

One cannot fully grasp the thinking of an unsound mind. It is difficult to grasp what Satan is doing except to know that his hatred for God’s plan and his hatred for mankind is so deep that he simply wants to cause and see as much destruction of God’s creation as possible.

Although Satan has consistently fought against God and tried to destroy all that he can, he has never remotely come close to thwarting anything that God has purposed, but still, he tries. Just the same, in this final period at the end of 100 years, he will still work to unite as much of mankind as possible to fight against God’s Family, even though there is no way they can possibly succeed. Satan must, in some manner, deceive billions into believing they can succeed. God has simply not revealed how such a thing can transpire, but it is recorded what they will attempt to do.

“They went up over the breadth of the earth and surrounded the stronghold of the saints, even the beloved city, and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them” (Rev. 20:9).

This verse shows how these vast numbers of people who are led by Satan will come up against God’s people with the purpose of warring against them. God’s people are referred to in many different ways prophetically and here it states that they comprise the beloved city. It is not the actual physical city of Jerusalem, but the spiritual one of God’s people.

It then shows that God stops Satan and those who have followed him from starting a war. Even though their purpose will be to war, God will not allow a war to start, but will simply destroy Satan and that army.

There are verses that describe seven angels that have seven vials (of seven plagues) that are to be poured out upon mankind. It is shown that one of these seven angels is present during this time period at the end of the 100 years. Although these seven plagues that are to be poured out upon mankind are not yet understood, it is shown by this that this is the Third Woe spoken of that is to take place during the fulfillment of the Seventh Trumpet. Remember, it takes just over 1,100 years for the events of the Seventh Trumpet to become completely fulfilled.

The events of the Seventh Trumpet begin with Christ’s coming, establishing God’s Kingdom at the beginning of the Millennium. Then, just after 1,100 years, these events of the Third Woe are fulfilled by those seven angels pouring out their vials upon the earth.

This is the final Woe upon mankind. It brings an end to the existence of mankind. It is powerful and it is swift. It brings an end to Satan’s feeble attempts to fight against what is God’s.

Indeed, God’s plan includes the ultimate destruction of Satan, which must be accomplished in order for God’s plan for mankind to be fulfilled. This is addressed in the very next verse.

“Then the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone wherein this beast and false prophet shall be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10).

During this current time period, in the countdown leading up to WWIII, God has revealed to His Church that Satan is actually going to be destroyed—his life will be brought to an end. Although this is spoken of in prophecy, it had not been fully understood until this end-time. This has been part of a mystery unknown to the world and to God’s Church until God revealed it. It is still not known by the world, but it is known by the Church.

Many have believed that since God created Lucifer as an archangel, a spirit creation, that he therefore had eternal life. But that is not true. He was a created being. Only God has immortal self-sustaining life inherent in Himself for all eternity. The angels do not have such self-sustaining life in themselves and were simply created as spirit beings. Physical life or spirit life, which God has created, can also be taken away or ended by God.

It is that knowledge that torments Satan about his future fate. This being has existed as a false teacher (false prophet) and he has always lied about God and God’s purpose for His creation. Satan is the one who has deceived mankind with all his false teachings that led to a false Christianity with all its false doctrines.

So indeed, Satan is “the” false prophet and also the beast. That beast is the one who raised up the prophesied revivals of the European empire. His power as the beast and his deception as the false prophet will carry over into the Great White Throne period of that final 100 years. This is because a vast number of people lived their first life when Satan had great influence, and they will still have those memories of that time when they are resurrected to a second life. Many of them preferred the life of that deception they had embraced back then, and therefore, they still do not want the truth that God has placed before them.

The reality is, many will still choose the way of Babylon, the false beliefs and practices, the deceitful practices of past governments, and all the false ways of life people lived before. They prefer that life above God’s. Those false ways are symbolized in the expressions that identify Satan’s work of both a beast and the false prophet. Those ways can only be fully destroyed when those who have embraced those ways are fully destroyed.

Before this, those false ways will begin to be destroyed through the work that takes place during the Millennium, although they will be brought right back to the forefront when all the people who had practiced them all their life are then resurrected to a second physical life. Many choose to reject that former life and receive what God has revealed, but many will not.

In the verse above, it states that Satan “shall be tormented.” He is tormented with the knowledge of his demise. The expression translated as being tormented forever and ever does not mean into everlasting time but is used in the Greek language as a span of time that continues as long as specific conditions last. If the end to an age comes to pass, then so do the conditions that surround it.

Once Satan is thrown into the kind of fire that God is describing (not something that is physical), then that age of his existence comes to an end, but until then he is constantly tormented by the knowledge of what is yet to come.

God’s Plan Fulfilled

At some point during these final events that have just been addressed, all who have chosen and faithfully lived God’s way of life are changed—resurrected—to spirit life in God’s Family Elohim.

This is a time that marks the complete fulfillment of God’s plan and purpose for having created mankind. Then, the spiritual Family of God is complete. God explains this time in many different ways.

“I also saw a new heaven and a new earth because the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no more sea” (Rev. 21:1).

In this verse, John is explaining how a great change has now taken place on earth and nothing is as it was before. Everything was being made new and different.

The expression about there being “no more sea” is not literal concerning the seas and oceans of the world. It is a prophetic symbolism for the fact that there is no more “sea” of humanity as has existed over the previous 7,100 years. The age of mankind and God’s purpose for the creation of mankind has now been accomplished—it is complete—the mystery of God is fulfilled and there is no more human life.

“Then I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven [the heaven above the earth—the sky] from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I also heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them. God will even wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away’” (Rev. 21:2-4).

Those who are resurrected are now added to what is described as the new Jerusalem, which is a spiritual dwelling together of God’s people who have entered into His Family. These verses show that since they are now delivered from death, sorrow, pain, and tears that existed in their physical lives, they will no longer experience such things since they are born into a spirit creation—composed of spirit. Then a great declaration follows once these have all been delivered from among mankind to be in the God Family.

“Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Look, I make all things new.’ He also said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’ Then He said to me, ‘It has been done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to him who is thirsty of the fountain of the water of life freely’” (Rev. 21:5-6).

It is at the time when the purpose of the Great White Throne period is accomplished and all existence of mankind has ended, by either receiving of a second death or of being resurrected into everlasting spirit life, that God declares He has now made “all things new” and that “it has been done!” The mystery of God—His plan and purpose for the creation of mankind—has been fully revealed and completed. The events of the Seventh Trumpet have ended.

After God has declared what He will fulfill, He continues on with a final warning to mankind.

“Those who overcome shall inherit all things, and I will be their God and they shall be my children. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.’ There came unto me one of the seven angels who have the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues and he spoke with me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the bride of the Lamb—the wife.’ Then he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, holy Jerusalem, descending out of the sky from God” (Rev. 21:7-10).

Toward the end of all His written word, God has once again stressed the importance of choices that people are free to make, and that with wrong choices there are consequences. There are those at the end of the final 100-year period of mankind’s existence who will experience a second death, and then there are those who will become God’s children into everlasting life.

Chapter 8

GOD’S HOLY DAYS REVEAL WHAT IS TRUE

Passover night of the day Christ would be put to death, he said to his Father in one of his prayers, “Your word is truth.” God is the source of all that is true, and this book has set out to illuminate truths that He has revealed through His Church.

One’s ability to survive what is coming and to influence others so that they too might survive is dependent on how they properly prepare for what God reveals is about to happen. God seeks to help those who will listen to Him and to deliver them into a new age—into the Millennium itself.

The best way to prepare is to honestly and genuinely face and address what has been stated throughout this book. To ignore what has been exposed as false is a personal choice, but one that will involve consequences. God truly desires to give favor and help to those who will turn to Him. We are His creation. Our existence is because of His love and purpose for us.

If we make the choice to rid our lives of those things that are false and we embrace what is true from God, then He will bless us and intervene to help us through what is about to come upon all who live on this earth. The greatest way in which one can turn to God is to embrace the truth that God reveals about His plan and purpose that is contained in the Holy Days that He has given mankind to observe. The Holy Days actually reveal God.

Receiving God’s favor and help can only come as the result of a person truthfully acknowledging the false practices and teachings of false-Christianity. This also clearly means that a person must also choose to reject any other false teachings from different religions or beliefs that are perceived as spiritual.

The Reason for Religious Confusion

As this book has shown, there are many conflicting ideas about God and what His purpose is for the creation of human life. People are confused and often conflicted as to what really happens at death and what happens afterward. If there is life after death, then what kind of life is it?

Long ago, God gave mankind specific days that they were to observe and set aside for holy use and purpose. These days actually reveal what His purpose and plan is for giving life to mankind and what lies beyond death. Learning what these days are about leads to great understanding of God Himself and why He created physical, temporarily existing human life.

The reason most of humanity does not know or understand God and His plan and purpose for its existence is because it does not know about the observance of these days, and therefore, it cannot learn what these days reveal. That is the very reason God commanded mankind to keep and observe these days in the way He has shown so that it can come to truly know Him and His love for His creation.

Instead, mankind’s nature is one of resisting God, and one of changing the truth about God to be something that is more palatable to a basic selfish nature that seeks to please self in whatever way it chooses to live life. Mankind does not want someone telling it how life should be lived, so it has worked to make religion and ideas about God easier for such pride-filled nature to accept.

It seems contrary to sound thinking that mankind would resist and reject God’s instruction about how life should be lived. After all, He created us and He knows what will produce healthy relationships and peace, as well as happy and productive lives. Even a parent can see how one’s own child can resist them as they work to teach them what they believe is best for them. God’s wisdom and love is infinitely far beyond any human parent and He knows absolutely what is best for us, yet He is resisted by His children.

The place to begin for developing a true and meaningful relationship with God is in a person’s obedience to the observance of His Sabbaths. The overview of God’s plan is contained in the weekly Sabbath. Then, even more detail and specifics about that plan are contained in the annual Sabbaths that God also commanded to be observed in the manner He has shown.

Calendars Have Created Confusion

Before looking more closely at the command to keep the 7th day weekly Sabbath, it is first needful to understand how calendars around the world vary concerning the placement of the days of the week. This has caused much confusion when it comes to someone trying to understand when to observe God’s Sabbath.

Most people today don’t know that calendars in most nations have been altered to be different than what God has shown concerning how to keep a yearly record of time. There has been great effort throughout history to change the cycle of the Biblical 7th day Sabbath.

In recent history, nations have tried to standardize measurement systems throughout the world. Certainly, in this modern age of technology, manufacturing, and invention, it is good when standardization can be implemented, especially when focusing on worldwide commerce. Vast numbers of measuring systems have now been standardized. As an example, many nations have accepted the metric system, and yet some few still stubbornly refuse.

However, when it has come to the standardization for marking time, there has always been much confusion and disagreement. The United Nations in recent history has played a great part in all this. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) set out to standardize the calendar in a publication called ISO 8601:1988, and as stated in the title, it was published in 1988. In this system, the weekly cycle established that Sunday is the seventh day of the week and Monday is the first day of the week.

Even before this change was made in 1988, several countries in Europe had already done so. What many have failed to understand in partaking of such standardization is that there has actually been a conspiratorial purpose that was involved in making these changes. This change by many has been masqueraded as an effort to establish a work week where the first five days of the weekly cycle begin on Monday and end on Friday. Thus, the last two days of the weekly cycle are Saturday on the 6th day of the week, which would make Sunday the 7th day of the week.

Uniquely so, such a change gives all new generations the false assurance that when they read about God’s Sabbath being on the seventh day of the week, then Sunday seems perfectly appropriate. Nevertheless, that would be a wrong assumption.

The timing for the weekly Sabbath of God has never been lost in Judaism. Christ concurred with the Jews concerning the fact that the day they were observing as the seventh day of the week was indeed the weekly Sabbath God had commanded. Before, and ever since that time, the Jews have always known the correct day for the observance of the seventh day Sabbath.

Only a handful of nations today have a calendar that shows what is true, which corresponds to the true weekly cycle. On those calendars, Sunday is correctly listed as the first day of the week and Saturday is the seventh, which is the true time for the observance of God’s Sabbath.

However, calendars that begin the weekly cycle with Monday are incorrect as they list Sunday as the seventh day, and yet this is the calendar that the vast majority of nations use. Sunday is not the Biblical seventh day of the week. It is not God’s 7th day Sabbath.

Changing the cycle of the week is nothing new. Throughout the world it has been shuffled around many times over the centuries. However, whenever mankind engages in such practices, they work against what God established long ago. From the beginning of the counting of time on earth, God gave a basic weekly cycle of seven days within the months of each yearly cycle.

WEEKLY SABBATH

Our Creator

A true and right relationship with the One Eternal Self-Existing Almighty God can only begin as a person comes to the point that they will humble themselves before Him and observe the true weekly Sabbath that He commanded. No one can have a true relationship with God unless they observe and worship Him at the times that He has revealed they should. Anything else is disobedience and blasphemy against God.

God desires that His creation listen to Him and worship Him truthfully just as Christ said.

“But the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).

There is no other way to worship God. He requires it be done in truth. So as these verses show, there is a time coming when the world will begin to practice worshipping God in the truth. That will begin worldwide in the Millennium once Christ returns. Some few did begin such worship in Christ’s time and continued doing so within the Church once it became established in 31 AD.

God reveals the importance of the weekly Sabbath day and how it became established. It has everything to do with the very purpose for why He created mankind. The weekly Sabbath is to remind everyone of the very creation week in which mankind was created and that He is our Creator!

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the multitude in them. On the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it [set apart for holy use and purpose], because that on it He rested from all His work which He created and had done” (Genesis 2:1-3).

Although it is explained in much greater detail in the literature from God’s Church, many people think that this account of creation being spoken of in Genesis 1 and 2 is about the time when God created the earth and universe itself. That is simply not true. The earth was created at least hundreds of thousands of years, and perhaps even millions of years earlier. That should be easy to understand by scientific evidence itself.

Even living creatures and plant life existed on the earth after it was first created. There is an exceedingly vast amount of fossil evidence to this truth that exists all over this earth. However, people have not known that Satan at one time destroyed all life on earth after he had rebelled against God. The devastation he brought happened in an instant as he tried to destroy the earth itself.

Satan possessed the power to rip apart vast regions of the earth, shaking it off its normal orbit and rotation, as well as completely darkening the atmosphere itself. As a result of what happened so quickly within the atmosphere of the earth, temperatures dropped so low that plant life and animal life froze completely within an instant.

So when one begins to read about what God did during those first six days, it isn’t describing the earth being created at that time. It had not been completely destroyed, so it was already there. It had remained uninhabitable for tens of thousands of years, and perhaps hundreds of thousands.

The context of Genesis 1 and 2 is one of the earth already being here and of God remolding and refashioning it so that life could exist upon it once again. Then, on that sixth and last day of creating, God created temporarily existing human life comprised of physical matter. As God reveals throughout scripture, this is the beginning stage in the pinnacle of His creation.

“For in six days the Eternal made [to do, accomplish, perform—His work] the heaven, the earth, and the sea, all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and sanctified it” (Exodus 20:11).

The verses that precede this are God’s command that the weekly seventh day is to be observed as a Sabbath and kept holy—as the true holy day of the week. The first lesson that the weekly Sabbath day should teach us is what this verse states about God: He is the one who created life once again on the earth—He is our Creator. If one cannot grasp or believe that God created us, then why listen to anything He says; but if He is our Creator, then indeed we had better listen closely.

God Established Time

The weekly Sabbath is on the seventh day of the week, and it has been since the days of Adam and Eve. Just as the week was established in the creation week to be seven days, so was God’s plan for mankind set to encompass a period of 7,000 years.

The first six days were set aside for mankind to do his own work, but the seventh day was God’s time—the Sabbath. Mankind has also been allotted 6,000 years to live its own way, but like the seventh day Sabbath, the last 1,000 years belong to God and it is to be lived God’s way! It is God’s time!

Few believe the story about God delivering Noah into a new world. We live at a time when people find it even harder to believe that God is about to deliver mankind into a new world again, but this time where the Kingdom of God will rule all nations. Yet that time is exactly what is rapidly approaching! It will be the establishment of the Millennium—1,000 years of the Kingdom of God ruling over mankind.

It should be clear that God set apart the seventh day by personally sanctifying it. God didn’t do that for any other day of the week. The Biblical definition for being sanctified means to be set apart for holy use and purpose. God didn’t set apart the sixth day (Friday) or the first day (Sunday) for holy use and purpose. God’s purpose from the beginning was to set apart the seventh day for all time, as a weekly Sabbath for mankind. God established the cycles for time, and He told mankind how to observe those cycles.

“And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament [Heb.—expanse] of the heaven [atmosphere, sky] to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs [for the “marking” of time], and seasons [Heb.— appointed times], and for days, and years’” (Genesis 1:14).

The Hebrew word for “seasons” means “appointed times,” much like we speak today of appointments. Time is exact. God made the keeping of time a calculable factor of life. We can establish and set specific moments in time for any purpose we choose. From the very beginning of creation week, God established specific times that He personally set for mankind, which are to be appointments that we should keep with Him. The weekly Sabbath is one such appointment that never changes. Every seventh day mankind should keep this appointment with God! God even magnifies that point.

“The Eternal spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, The feasts [Heb.—“appointed times” and not the Hebrew word for “feasts”] of the Eternal, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations [Heb.—commanded assemblies], even these are My feasts [Heb.—appointed times]. Six days work shall be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, a holy convocation [Heb.—commanded assembly]. You shall do no work because it is the Sabbath of the Eternal in all your dwelling places. These are the feasts [appointed times] of the Eternal, even holy convocations [commanded assemblies], which you shall proclaim in their seasons [Heb.— appointed times]. In the fourteenth day of the first month at even [after sundown] is the Eternal’s Passover. On the fifteenth day [an annual Holy Day—annual Sabbath] of the same month is the Feast [this word in the Hebrew does mean “feast”] of Unleavened Bread unto the Eternal. Seven days you must eat unleavened bread’” (Leviticus 23:1-6).

Traditional Christianity has tried to do away with this command concerning the seventh-day Sabbath and the annual Sabbaths that are listed here. They find no fault with nine of the ten commandments, but they have tried to “do away with” the fourth commandment that says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). Either they have sought to do away with the command of the Sabbath or they say the weekly Sabbath is now Sunday, but God said that observing the seventh-day Sabbath is a perpetual covenant! (Exodus 31:15-17).

The Levitical system, with its laws regarding ceremonies and sacrifices, was changed through Joshua the Christ from what is commonly referred to as Old Testament times to New Testament times. Christ’s sacrifice did away with the necessity for observing animal sacrifices. It also did away with the need of this Levitical system that had a priesthood that served in the physical temple and officiated in the sacrificial system.

Christ now serves as High Priest in the spiritual temple of God and he fulfilled the sacrificial system, thus ending any need for it to continue. But Christ did not do away with the laws of God as many in traditional Christianity claim. He only did away with the laws pertaining to the Levitical system.

The law of God contained in the Ten Commandments has never been changed. The apostles and New Testament church observed the seventh-day Sabbath and annual Sabbaths. The apostle Paul, some thirty years after the death of Joshua the Christ, taught God’s people the importance of observing the Sabbath, Passover, and Holy Days.

“For He spoke in a certain place of the seventh day in this way, ‘And God did rest the seventh day from all His works’” (Hebrews 4:4).

Paul was explaining that Israel had refused to hear God’s instruction and that they were incapable of doing so because they lacked the faith that is made possible only by receiving God’s spirit. Paul was explaining that a specific day was set aside for people to hear God’s voice—His instruction.

“Again, He limits a certain day [God “designated” or “limited” a specific day—He sanctified the seventh day], saying through David, ‘Today,’ after such a long time; as it has been said, ‘Today if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts’” (Heb. 4:7).

Paul then got more specific as he explained even more about this to the Church. Traditional Christianity has not understood what Paul was teaching and they have even mistranslated this because they do not recognize the importance of this day that God commands to be kept, and they certainly do not grasp what it pictures.

“For if Joshua [the Old Testament Joshua who led the children of Israel into the promised land] had given them rest, then He [God] would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a Sabbath [not the word for “rest” as most translate this, but this is the Greek word “Sabbatismos,” which means Sabbath] for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest [into God’s weekly seventh-day Sabbath rest] has himself also ceased from his works [ceased from his own carnal ways by seeking to live God’s ways] as God did from His [when God rested on the seventh day from His work of creation]. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest [the rest of the Sabbath day], lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience” (Heb. 4:8-11).

Paul was explaining that Joshua (who led Israel after Moses’ death) was not able to give God’s people the kind of rest that the keeping of the Sabbath pictures or foreshadows. After Israel had been in the wilderness for forty years and then led into the physical promised land by Joshua, they were not delivered into the time of rest which the seventh day Sabbath actually pictures. Paul was explaining that God’s people had not yet entered into that rest that is pictured in the last 1,000 years (the Millennium) where God’s government will reign under the Messiah—the spiritual rest of the Millennium that Joshua the Christ will lead God’s people into.

Through observing God’s weekly Sabbath, one is able to learn what God is teaching through such observance, even as one is taught weekly about God’s plan and purpose. It is on the Sabbaths that God teaches His people and leads them into greater and continuing spiritual growth concerning His way of life.

The Sabbaths of God (weekly and annual) are an identification—a sign—of God’s people because only His people know them and keep them in spirit and in truth as He commands.

“Sanctify my Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, so that you may know that I am the Eternal your God” (Ezekiel 20:20).

One must begin to observe God’s commanded Sabbaths if one wants to truly come to know God.

The seventh day of each week is the day that people are to rest from their normal work routines because it is commanded that there is to be no customary work done on any Sabbath. This is also true with annual Sabbaths (High Days—Holy Days). No customary work is to be done on those days.

The weekly Sabbath and the annual Sabbaths are to be kept or set apart for holy use and purpose by those who observe them. That is what is meant when God said to sanctify His Sabbaths. Although the weekly Sabbath is always on the seventh day of the week, commanded annual observances can fall on different days of the week, except for one, which is Pentecost.

Sabbaths are set aside for people to focus more on God during those days. They are to come together with others in what God describes as holy convocations. This is time that is set aside for people to listen to what God’s ministers teach them during those occasions. It is then that family and friends can spend more time together with others who also have set aside these times to observe.

PASSOVER

The First Annual Observance

It has been shown how the weekly Sabbath foreshadows a basic outline of God’s 7,000-year plan for mankind. However, it is the annual commanded observances that fill in the details about that great plan and expounds upon it far more fully.

God gave mankind weekly “appointed times” and annual “appointed times” for us to keep with Him. The first annual observance is not an annual Sabbath, but it is to be observed first before any of the annual Holy Day Sabbaths. This appointed time that is commanded to be observed is Passover.

Passover is a commanded assembly that is observed after sunset at the beginning of the Passover day. It is not a Sabbath, and therefore, not a Holy Day or High Day, and work may be done on that day. It is unique in this regard as an annual observance.

God’s plan of salvation begins with this day. Without receiving the Passover, who is Joshua the Christ, one cannot enter into a relationship with God. Accepting Joshua as our Passover and then observing Passover annually, allows one to begin the process of salvation that will produce the blessings God wants for everyone. The annual Holy Days that follow reveal that plan of salvation, but one cannot be included in that plan until the Passover is first received. This is the reason the Passover is the first annual observance.

The proper timing for observing God’s Passover has been misunderstood, misrepresented, twisted, and deceitfully changed by many over the centuries. The right time for observing Passover has been attacked much like the timing of the weekly Sabbath has always been under attack.

It has been Satan’s desire to deceive mankind into believing anything other than the truth about God’s weekly Sabbath and the observance of Passover. The reason for this is that these observances are the basic foundation and the starting point for developing a true and right relationship with God.

It was the new church that falsely called themselves Christian in the Roman Empire under Constantine that changed the weekly Sabbath observance on Saturday to Sunday. They then outlawed Passover, and its observance was replaced by an annual holiday called Easter.

God’s Church has literature that gives a very exact and detailed accounting of the proper timing for Passover for any who might want to research this further. It can be found on the Publication page in an article entitled “The Timing of Passover” (www.cog-pkg.org).

The importance of the true timing for the observance of Passover is the primary means by which one can begin to know the true Messiah and to begin recognizing those things that are false. It is by this same means that you can identify false teachers, false religions, and any organization that condones false teachings. It should be noted that even Judaism, which should know better, observes Passover incorrectly by observing incorrect timing and teaching incorrect meaning and symbolism, which changed what God gave.

Leviticus 23 lists all of God’s appointed times. The annual observances begin with Passover.

“In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Eternal’s Passover” (Leviticus 23:5).

Many are familiar with the story of the exodus out of Egypt. It was at this time that God gave the Passover observance to the Israelites.

“The Eternal spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, ‘This month shall be unto you the beginning of months [it begins in the spring]. It shall be the first month of the year to you.’ Speak unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the household of their fathers, a lamb for a household… Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats” (Exodus 12:1-3, 5).

This lamb without blemish was symbolic of Joshua the Christ who was without sin. The apostle Peter explained this to the Church by saying:

“Forasmuch as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold from your vain conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without spot” (1 Pet. 1:18-19).

The account in Exodus continues by showing what would symbolize the shed blood of the Messiah until he came to fulfill it. The Israelites were to kill a lamb for their Passover observance. They were to let the blood of the lamb spill out upon the earth and on that first observance in Egypt they were to take some of the blood and put it on the side post and upper door posts of their homes. Christ’s blood would also be spilled on the earth because he would fulfill the symbolism of these lambs, as the true Lamb of God.

“They shall take of the blood and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it” (Exodus 12:7).

“For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Eternal. The blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are, and when I see the blood I will pass over you and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt” (Verses 12-13).

This pictures what Joshua the Christ would fulfill for mankind. He is our Passover and by His blood we can be saved from the penalty of sin, which is eternal death—a final judgment for all time.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Joshua the Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

The penalty for sins that are not forgiven is death—eternal judgment—eternal death from which one can never be resurrected to life again.

Joshua the Christ, the Son of God, the Lamb of God, was God’s Passover sacrifice given to mankind whereby we can be saved from death. The penalty of death passes over us. This is where we must begin in God’s plan of salvation. It begins with Joshua the Christ. All of us face the death penalty for our sins until we accept the sacrifice of Christ to remove them, as we repent of our sins. Only the blood of Christ, in our stead, can remove that penalty. This is God’s Passover sacrifice for us.

“Therefore, just as through one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all have sinned” (Romans 5:12).

We must be forgiven of our sins in order to enter into a relationship with God the Father. Only upon repentance and baptism can we begin the process of being delivered from the pull of our own selfish human nature and the power of Satan that holds man in darkness and deception. This is God’s plan of deliverance from spiritual Egypt.

“He [God] has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).

God’s Church observes this annual memorial in the very same way Christ did on Passover night with his disciples after he had his last supper with them. Nearly 20 years after the death of Christ, the apostle Paul gave instruction to God’s Church in Corinth regarding the importance of how to observe the annual Passover.

“For I have received from the Lord that which also I delivered unto you [how to observe Passover], that the Lord Joshua on the same night [the Passover night] in which he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘Take and eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me’ [each year at Passover time]. After the same manner also he took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you do show the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:23- 26).

In this instruction to the Church (the spiritual Israel of God), Joshua the Christ instituted the symbols for Passover on the same night the Passover lamb was killed, roasted and eaten. On the night of the fourteenth day of the first month the Israelites were to observe this annual occasion by killing the lamb and eating it. Now the Church of God is to partake annually of the symbols of eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Lamb of God. The flesh is symbolized by eating a piece of unleavened bread, and the blood is symbolized by drinking a small amount of wine.

As explained earlier, God gave man the means for dividing one day from another by beginning a new day at the very moment the sun sets on the previous day. The nighttime portion of the observance of Passover is at the beginning of that day. The activities that were to follow during the daylight portion of that same Passover day were also fulfilled in Joshua the Christ.

When Israel kept the Passover, the families were to kill and eat the lamb and this is described in scripture as “the sacrifice of the Eternal’s Passover.” Both the eating of the lamb by the Israelites on the night of the fourteenth, and later, the Church’s observance of partaking of the symbols of the bread and wine are symbolic of God giving His Son to be sacrificed for mankind. It also pictures the Messiah’s own agreement to give his life as that sacrifice. God the Father and Joshua the Christ willingly gave this sacrifice to mankind, and it was therefore truly “the sacrifice of the Eternal’s Passover.”

However, the actual time Christ died was in the mid-afternoon on the Passover day. This too fulfilled activities the Israelites were busy carrying out during that same period of time once they began observing Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread that followed. During the afternoon portion of Passover, the Israelites were preparing for the first day of the annual observance of the Feast of Unleavened Bread that would follow after sunset on Passover.

The actual killing of the sacrificial animals and their preparation for this feast to follow took place throughout the afternoon of Passover day. But the feasting and the actual offerings upon the altar could not begin until after sunset, once the Holy Day began.

Those animals that were killed during the afternoon of Passover, in preparation of the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, are referred to in scripture as the “Passover offerings.” So when scripture spoke of “killing the Passover,” it included those things symbolized by the “Eternal’s Passover” that was killed and eaten on the night of the fourteenth as well as the symbolism contained in the killing of those animals on the afternoon of the Passover that were to be feasted upon and offered up to God after sunset.

The entirety of Passover in both the night and daytime portions has great meaning in all the symbolism that Joshua the Christ actually fulfilled in his life and death.

THE ANNUAL SABBATHS—ANNUAL HOLY DAYS

THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD

Once we have received the Passover sacrifice of Joshua the Christ to pay the penalty for our sins, we can move forward in God’s plan for us. The next area of focus is the meaning of the observance of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

The first day and the seventh day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread are annual Sabbaths, annual Holy Days. The first annual Sabbath, which is the first day of Unleavened Bread, begins immediately after sunset on Passover day.

“On the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread unto the Eternal. You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. In the first day you shall have a holy convocation [like the weekly Sabbath, this day is also a “commanded assembly”]. You shall do no customary work [occupational or regular work] in it [it is a Sabbath day]. But you shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Eternal seven days. In the seventh day is a holy convocation [Heb.— “commanded assembly”], and you shall do no customary work in it” (Leviticus 23:6-8).

This entire “appointed time” is one week in length. During this week we are to eat unleavened bread. We are to have no leavening in our homes during this period and we are to refrain from eating baked products, such as breads and cakes that contain leavening agents.

The symbolism, in this observance, is that leaven “puffs up” just like one’s pride puffs up. Leaven is symbolic of sin. Leaven is symbolic of an “expression of pride” against the laws of God. We tend to live as we please rather than express God’s will in our lives. Eating unleavened bread symbolizes our desire to obey God and eat of His way of life, the spiritual unleavened bread of life.

This symbolism is also about Joshua the Christ who was without sin—unleavened. The Church pictures this on Passover night when unleavened bread is eaten as a symbol of Christ’s broken body. Joshua described much of this process in the Book of John.

With this fundamental understanding of the observance of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, consider how revealing the following scriptures truly are.

“They then said to him, ‘What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?’ Joshua answered and said unto them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe on him whom He has sent.’ Therefore they said to him, ‘What sign do you show then, that we may see, and believe you? What do you work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ Then Joshua said unto them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you that bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven, and gives life unto the world.’ Then they said to him, ‘Lord, evermore give us that bread.’ And Joshua said unto them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes on me shall never thirst. But I said to you, that you also have seen me, and do not believe. All whom the Father gives me shall come to me, and he who comes to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me’” (John 6:28-38).

“Then the Jews murmured at him because he said, ‘I am the bread which came down from heaven.’ So they said, ‘Is not this Joshua, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? Then how is it that he says, “I came down from heaven?”’ Joshua therefore answered and said to them, ‘Do not murmur among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:41-44).

“‘I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.’ The Jews therefore argued among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ Then Joshua said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, except you eat the flesh of the son of man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you’” (John 6:48-53).

Joshua the Christ explained that if someone did not receive the Passover (“eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood”) they could not have the life of God dwelling in them (“you have no life in you”) through the power of His spirit. They were yet in sin until this could be a reality in their life. One must first receive the Passover in order to come out of sin and live God’s way of life—become unleavened. Only those who become baptized by accepting Joshua as their Passover can themselves then observe the annual Passover.

After we are baptized and our sins are forgiven, we are to begin changing our lives. Contrary to the teaching of traditional Christianity, we are not to remain the way we are by simply accepting grace, but we are to change by becoming a new creature (Gk.– “creation”) in God (2 Cor. 5:17). We are not to continue living the same way we did before baptism; however, we will have that same nature in us which we will have to fight against all our lives.

Receiving the Passover, Joshua the Christ, into our lives at baptism is only the beginning of a life-long process of repentance and fight to conquer and overcome our nature. Observing Passover each year is the acknowledgment of our need to continually repent, come out of sin, and to draw closer in unity and oneness with God and His Son.

Paul corrected the Corinthians in a matter that involved two people in their midst who were flaunting their disobedience before the Church. The Church was preparing to observe the Passover season and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, so Paul used this occasion to show them their error.

“Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6)?

Paul was addressing their cavalier attitude toward their actions of willingly ignoring sin (their “boasting”). He explained that sin is like a very small amount of leaven (yeast) that can spread throughout dough to make it rise—become puffed up. The lesson was that if sin is not addressed it can quickly grow and spread throughout the Church.

“Therefore purge out [Gk.— cleanse thoroughly] the old leaven, that you may become a new lump, even as you are unleavened, for even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Cor. 5:7).

They were being instructed to get rid of the leaven—to get rid of the sin—so that they could become a new lump of bread—a new body—in order to live a new way of life by being renewed in God’s way through obedience.

They were not fully working to get rid of the sin in their lives. Humans will always find leaven (sin), but we are to get rid of it when it is revealed to us. This verse is also speaking of the fact that they were spiritually observing the Feast of Unleavened Bread and as part of that observance had removed physical leavening from their homes for this period of time— “as you are unleavened (physically).”

“Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven [sin], neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor. 5:8).

Traditional Christianity does not teach about these verses that were given long after Christ had died as our Passover, and how they reveal that we are to continue observing God’s command to keep the annual Holy Days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Paul explained how these days were to be kept in the spirit of what they teach and that our lives are to become unleavened—absent of sin—by living truthfully before God in true obedience to Him in His way of life.

Although those in traditional Christianity teach that the laws of the Old Testament are done away, it should be obvious that they are not. It should be obvious by such verses that the early Church of the New Testament kept the annual Feast of Unleavened Bread. Other scriptures also show how they observed the weekly seventh day Sabbath and other annual Holy Days as well.

Obedience to God in these matters was just a way of life for the Church. Different accounts throughout scripture reflect that truth. The New Testament is not written in the same way as the Old Testament when Israel was first given the law of God. The period of the New Testament is simply a witness of how the Church sought to live by the law of God that He had given them so long ago. It is not written to convince people of the validity of the law of God; that fact is simply taken for granted.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread teaches us that after baptism and forgiveness of sin through Christ we are to begin a journey out of spiritual Egypt—out of sin and the bondage it holds over our lives. We are to begin a process of change with a new way of living. When scripture speaks of being converted, it means we are to change from our old ways of carnal human nature to the new way of righteousness in God’s way of life. Baptism is only the beginning of the process of coming out of sin. It follows with a life-long and continual process of repentance in order to continue in the journey of coming out of sin.

Churches in this world fail to tell this truth. Instead, they teach that we are under grace by the sacrifice of Christ and that the law has been done away. They believe grace means being free from the law of God. But that is not the “grace” that is actually revealed throughout scripture.

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? [Paul is asking... if the law is done away through grace, then should we sin even more so that God’s grace might be even greater in our lives?] Certainly not! How shall we, who are dead to sin, live any longer in it? Do you not know that so many of us as were baptized [Gk.– “fully immersed in water”] into Joshua the Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life [by obedience to God’s way of life]. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: knowing this, that our old man [our previous life before baptism] is nailed to the pole with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed [Gk.– “done away with”], that we should no longer be slaves to sin” (Romans 6:1-6).

It isn’t the law of God that is done away, but it is the “old man of sin” that is to be done away. We are to come out of the watery grave of baptism and begin living a new life as a new creature (Gk.– “creation”) in God, just as Paul told the Ephesians “...that you put off concerning your former conduct the old self, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. But become renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Eph. 4:22-24).

Coming out of spiritual Egypt and becoming unleavened in our lives is a life-long battle. As Paul explained in Romans 7, there is a constant battle against the carnal human mind that is in us, but this phase of God’s plan shows us the beginning of a process of becoming free from bondage as we enter into a war of fighting against sin. We have to fight against our carnal human nature and strive to live by God’s true way of righteousness. It is through this process, this struggle, that holy righteous character can be developed within us.

Just as God commands us to put leavening out of our homes and to eat only unleavened bread during the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, He also tells us to put leavening (sin) out of our lives and eat only of the true unleavened bread of life which comes in and through Joshua the Christ.

PENTECOST

The next step in God’s plan of salvation is pictured by Pentecost (also known as the Feast of Firstfruits). This annual Holy Day has already been focused upon in this book because of what God revealed to His Church concerning the timing for the return of His Son as the King of kings. It was in 2008 that God revealed Joshua the Christ would return to this earth on the annual Holy Day of Pentecost and not on the Feast of Trumpets as it had been believed.

Pentecost in Greek means to “count fifty.” The date for keeping this appointed time with God can only be known if we understand and observe the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. God very specifically tells when to begin counting, from within a period of time inside the Feast of Unleavened Bread, so one can know when to convene before Him on this third annual Sabbath.

God’s plan proceeds forward in an orderly and continuous manner. Each consecutive Holy Day progressively reveals more about the process through which mankind is able to receive salvation and become part of His spiritual Family. Again, all of God’s annual Holy Day observances are listed and commanded in the Book of Leviticus.

“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap the harvest of it, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first of your harvest unto the priest.’ [Some incorrectly translate this word “first” as “firstfruits,” but that is incorrect. In Hebrew, it simply means the “first” or “beginning.”] ‘He shall wave the sheaf before the Eternal, to be accepted for you. On the day after the Sabbath [a weekly Sabbath] the priest shall wave it’” (Leviticus 23:10-11).

One cannot fully know when or how to observe Pentecost unless they understand God’s instruction given in these verses that showed the Israelites how they were to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As these verses continue, one should begin to grasp how God has tied together the importance for what is revealed in the meaning for observing Unleavened Bread with that of observing the Holy Day that follows, which is Pentecost.

The period of time being spoken of in these verses is the Passover season, specifically during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The smaller early harvest in Israel began in the springtime, but the larger fall harvest, which is also pictured symbolically in God’s plan of salvation, will be covered later in a different annual Sabbath.

In Israel, many spring crops are ready to be harvested before Passover. Israel was given very specific instructions regarding the ceremonies concerning this early harvest that they were to observe during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

“You shall eat no bread, or roasted grain, or green ears, until that very day when you have brought the offering unto your God. This shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings” (Lev. 23:14).

As part of this instruction, the Israelites were told to bring a sheaf of the first (of the beginning) of this harvest. It was to be used later in a ceremony that would take place during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Although harvesting could begin before this time, they could not eat any of the new harvest until this ceremony was observed. All the symbolisms contained in this entire process are awesomely revealing.

This sheaf was to be waved before God as an offering during this ceremony that was always held on the first day of the week (Sunday) during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The “Wave Sheaf Offering” was symbolic of Joshua the Christ. Christ was to be presented to God to be “accepted” for us, which fulfilled this symbolism when he was received of the Father after his resurrection.

We have already covered the fact that Joshua the Christ was resurrected from the dead at the end of the seventh-day Sabbath. However, Christ did not ascend to God until several hours later on the first day of the week on that following morning. Notice this story as Mary had come to the tomb in the early morning of the first day of the week during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Mary Magdalene wondered where Joshua’s body had been taken, as it was not in the tomb and she did not know that he already had been resurrected from the dead the previous evening.

“Now Mary stood outside at the tomb weeping, and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the tomb. She saw two angels in white sitting there, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Joshua had lain. They said to her, ‘Woman, why do you weep?’ She answered them, ‘Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ When she had said this, she turned around, and saw Joshua standing there, but did not know that it was Joshua. Then Joshua said to her, ‘Woman, why do you weep? Whom do you seek?’ She thought he was the gardener, and said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Joshua said unto her, ‘Mary.’ Then she turned herself and said to him, ‘rabboni,’ which is to say, teacher. Joshua said to her, ‘Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended unto my Father. Now go to my brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, even to my God, and your God’” (John 20:11-17).

Then the story flow that follows is contained in Matthew’s account where he is speaking of what happened next as Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James, were walking back to tell the disciples what Joshua had said to Mary. It is important to note the timing of this and the distinction that is made between this occasion and the previous one when Christ first told the women not to touch him.

“Now as they were on their way to tell his disciples, behold, Joshua met them, saying, ‘Greeting.’ Now they went and held fast to him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then Joshua said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. Go tell my brethren that they are to go into Galilee, and there they shall see me’” (Matthew 28:9-10).

So Mary Magdalene was the first on that Sunday morning, to whom Joshua the Christ appeared, and he spoke to her twice: once at the tomb, and then again as she was on her way back to tell the disciples what Christ had told her to say to them.

In the first account, it states that Christ told her not to touch him as he had not yet ascended to God. This was because he first had to fulfill the symbolism of the Wave Sheaf Offering that was always waved by the high priest on this morning of the first day of the week during the Days of Unleavened Bread. After his resurrection, Christ had to first be received and accepted by God as the Wave Sheaf Offering for mankind.

This was a quick ceremony performed by the high priest. It was also a quick fulfillment as Christ had just talked to Mary at the tomb telling her not to touch him, and then as the two Mary’s were going back to see the disciples, Joshua appeared to them again, and this time, he allowed them to touch him. He did so because he had now fulfilled the symbolism of the Wave Sheaf Offering.

Joshua the Christ perfectly fulfilled all of the symbolism contained in the Passover observance, and He perfectly fulfilled the symbolism of the Wave Sheaf Offering that was presented to God on the first day of the week during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Now we can continue with the instructions on how to count Pentecost, as it is given in Leviticus.

“You shall count unto you from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering until seven Sabbaths shall be complete. Even unto the day after the seventh Sabbath you shall count fifty days, and you shall offer a new meat offering unto the Eternal” (Leviticus 23:15-16).

The “sheaf of the wave offering” which represented Joshua the Christ, was a specific part of the ceremonies that were to be carried out during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Therefore, this first day of the week has to fall inside these days of observance to start the count of fifty days.

Again, God is very specific as to the timing of this annual Sabbath of Pentecost. This annual Holy Day was to be counted beginning from a specific day (the first day of the week) within the observance of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven weekly Sabbaths, from this day, was forty-nine days. Adding one more day, making it a total of fifty days, would bring us to another period of time on the first day of the week. Pentecost always falls on the first day of the week (Sunday on the Roman Calendar), but that day must always be counted from the first day of the week (Sunday) during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

The instruction for the observance of Pentecost then begins in Leviticus.

“From out of your dwellings you shall bring two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah [ancient Hebrew dry measurement, approximately equal to a bushel] that shall be of fine flour. These shall be baked with leaven [yeast]. These are the firstfruits unto the Eternal” (Leviticus 23:17).

“The priest shall wave the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the Eternal, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the Eternal for the priest” (vs. 20).

On this day of Pentecost, the Israelites were to observe this ceremony. The two loaves were symbolic of the firstfruits (the 144,000) of God’s plan. It is about those who will be firstfruits in the Kingdom of God.

God has a plan of salvation whereby mankind is offered the blessing of becoming a part of His Family—to live in the God Family for all eternity as spirit beings. This Holy Day pictures those whom God called early in His plan to become part of His Family first. As the early spring harvest is referred to in scripture as the “firstfruits of the land,” so are these, the firstfruits of God’s plan, to become part of His Family earlier than the majority of mankind. The much greater fall harvest of the land pictures salvation for the far larger remainder of mankind, which is represented in the last two annual Holy Days.

These firstfruits are symbolized in the ceremony of these two wave loaves. One wave loaf represented those who lived by faith in the coming of a Messiah through whom God would save mankind. It represents those who were faithful that lived through the time that led up to Christ’s first coming as the promised Messiah and our Passover.

The other loaf represents those who have lived faithfully in the acceptance of salvation through our Passover from the time of Christ (after his death) being received as the Wave Sheaf until his second coming.

It was instructed that two lambs be brought along with the wave loaves before God as each lamb represented Christ, a lamb for each of these two periods of time.

As the Wave Sheaf Offering picturing Joshua the Christ is waved to be accepted by God during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, so are the two wave loaves to be waved in an offering to be accepted by God on Pentecost. These firstfruits are pictured as being accepted by God and will become part of the God Family when they are given eternal life.

There is also symbolism in the fact that these wave loaves are mixed with leaven. Joshua the Christ is always pictured as “unleavened”—being without sin. But these, although accepted by God, are pictured as being leavened—having been mixed with sin. Christ never sinned and he is therefore pictured as being unleavened. All mankind has sinned, so they are pictured as being leavened.

These wave loaves picture the 144,000 that God has called and chosen out of all mankind in the first 6,000 years of man on earth. They are resurrected to eternal life as spirit beings in the God Family—in the Kingdom of God—when Joshua the Christ returns. God has revealed that the wave loaves are offered up on a Pentecost and this represents the 144,000 who return with Christ at his return.

Notice how these two loaves of the firstfruits are described in Revelation.

“And I looked, and, behold, a Lamb stood on the Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of great thunder, and I heard the voice of harpers with their harps. They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders, and no one could learn that song but the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. These are they who were not defiled with women; for they are virgins [speaking of that which is spiritual]. These are they who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb” (Rev. 14:1-4).

These firstfruits are redeemed from among mankind during the first 6,000 years. They were brought out of sin—forgiven of sin—cleansed before God through Joshua the Christ. This 144,000 referred to as “firstfruits” in Revelation 14:4 are the same ones spoken of that have been “redeemed to God” by the blood of Christ (Revelation 5:9) as well as those that “have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14).

Just as these two loaves are made from a very small amount of the grain from the “firstfruits of the land,” so are the 144,000 very small compared to all the billions of people that have lived during this same 6,000-year period of time.

As people come to better understand the plan of God revealed through His Sabbaths, they can begin to understand why so few are spoken of in the Old Testament as having a genuine relationship with God. The Old Testament period covers the first 4,000 years of man up to the time of Christ’s first coming as the Passover Lamb of God. This same understanding will also help one see why the Church is spoken of as His little flock over the past 2,000 years. The Church has never been a large organization on earth because God’s plan involves redeeming only 144,000 from this 6,000-year period of time.

The story flow of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost in Leviticus 23 is directly tied together. Both involve the early harvest referred to as “the firstfruits of the land.” Joshua the Christ is the first of the firstfruits of God’s harvest; the 144,000 are pictured as the rest of the “firstfruits of the land.”

There is much more to the meaning of Pentecost, but this has given a basic understanding of those who are called firstfruits.

The story of Pentecost is a powerful one. God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and took them through the wilderness to Mt. Sinai where, on the day of Pentecost, He gave them His law in the form of the Ten Commandments. However, the whole history of the Israelites is that they could not keep the law. Carnal human beings, of and by themselves, are incapable of keeping the righteousness of God’s law. Even to this day, the tribe of Israel known as Judah, generally referred to as the Jewish people, is the epitome of this story. The very best that man can do, on his own ability, is reflected in the life of the Jewish people. None of the other tribes of Israel held to the law of God like the tribe of Judah. All the others rebelled against God, long before Judah.

While man’s best example of adherence to God’s laws is found in the Jewish people, Christ found himself being attacked by these same people. This revealed that although they had an appearance of holding to the law of the God of the Old Testament, they did not understand Him, His ways, or even the law itself. If they had, then they would have recognized Joshua the Christ as the Messiah. In their blindness, the Jewish people refused the teaching and instruction that came to them from the Son of God.

The witness in their lives, and in the lives of all the Israelites, is that mankind, of and by himself, is incapable of living by the ways and laws of God. Pentecost reveals what is lacking in their lives—why they have not understood the teachings of the Old Testament—and why they did not recognize the Messiah when he came and spoke to them nearly 2,000 years ago.

The book of Acts reveals more about the importance of Pentecost in the plan of God. After Joshua the Christ died and was resurrected, he appeared to the disciples, which is the story in the opening of the book of Acts.

“In the former account I recorded [referring back to what he wrote in the Book of Luke], O Theophilus, of all that Joshua began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up [taken into heaven] because after this it would be through the holy spirit that instructions would be given to the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom also he showed himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God” (Acts 1:1-3).

The gospel—good news—that Joshua the Christ taught the disciples was about the Kingdom of God. Although Christ continued with the disciples for forty days after his resurrection, God’s purpose was that Christ remain with Him until it became time for him to return in the Kingdom of God as King of kings. Ten days after Christ was taken into the heavens, the disciples observed Pentecost, and from that day forward, the holy spirit is what would lead, guide, and instruct them, as Christ was no longer personally with them in their immediate presence.

“[Christ] Being assembled together with them, instructed them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father [referring to receiving the holy spirit], which, he said, ‘You have heard of me, for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the holy spirit not many days from now.’ When they therefore had come together, they asked of him, saying, ‘Lord, will you at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?’” (Acts1:4-6).

The disciples did not understand that Joshua the Christ came the first time to fulfill Passover and that it would be nearly 2,000 years before the Kingdom of God would be established on earth. They thought he might fulfill prophecy by bringing that Kingdom to them at that very time.

“He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has set to be in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the holy spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witness unto me both in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and into the uttermost part of the earth’” (Acts 1:7-8).

The coming of the Kingdom of God to this earth was not for their time, but it is for our time—now! It is only a very short time away because God has been revealing that all the Seals of Revelation have already been opened. The opening of the Seals has been a major marker for timing in final end-time events. Yes, the sobering reality is that the last Seal—the Seventh Seal—has already been opened and all that remains before WWIII begins is the release of the first four Trumpet events that will be manifest once nuclear weapons begin to be used.

Concerning the day of Pentecost, Joshua was making it very clear to the disciples that they were to stay in Jerusalem until they received the promise of God’s spirit. More of this account and the pouring out of God’s spirit upon the disciples can be read in Acts 2. Many people who witnessed this great event on the day of Pentecost became convicted of the words they heard from the disciples, so much so that they asked what they needed to do next.

“Then Peter said unto them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Joshua the Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the holy spirit” (Acts 2:38).

Although the law of God was given to the Israelites on the day of Pentecost, God revealed to mankind that His way of life cannot be lived through human effort alone, but mankind must also have the power of His holy spirit living in them. That is what was lacking in the children of Israel. It is still lacking in the lives of all who dwell on the earth except for those in the true Church of God whom the Father has called to understand His truth.

God’s word and way of life is a matter of the spirit, and one must receive that spirit in order to understand the true will of God. Otherwise, people are limited to their own human reasoning when reading God’s words and come up with their own ideas and beliefs about God and Joshua the Christ. That is why there are so many religions on this earth—all conflicting with one another in their teachings. There is only one true Church and one truth—one way of life that comes from God.

Again, mankind is not able to come out of sin on his own. He cannot obey God and come out of sin, as Unleavened bread pictures, unless God’s spirit dwells in him. It is only by acceptance of Joshua the Christ, as our Passover, that we can be forgiven of our sins. As the process of repentance and forgiveness takes place, God is there with the help of His spirit to make salvation possible.

The Book of Acts continues by showing that after baptism we receive the “laying on of hands” through God’s ministry, and if we have repented, then we are begotten of God’s spirit. It is the actual impregnation of the spirit of God that begets us. This is on a spiritual plane, but it is revealed by the “physical type” of human begettal. At the time a sperm cell impregnates the human egg, a life is begotten. It is not yet born into the world, but it grows in embryo until time for actual birth into the world.

This process, whereby humans are begotten of God’s spirit, is likened to the human process. After we are begotten of God’s spirit, we begin to grow—spiritually in embryo. As we continue in spiritual growth by conquering and overcoming the way of our selfish human nature, we continue to mature until the time we can be born into God’s Family—into the very Kingdom of God. Traditional Christianity does not understand what it actually means to be “born again.”

The expression “born again” is seen by most to mean a kind of “religious experience” leading to the acceptance of the one they call “Jesus” Christ. Though such people often do experience an emotional change accompanied by a life-changing focus, it is not what God reveals to be true.

Nicodemus, who was recognized as a great religious leader of his time, came to Joshua and asked him about the Kingdom of God. But Nicodemus could not understand what he heard. Joshua had told him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, except a person be born again, they cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Nicodemus could only think physically about what Christ said and asked him, “How can a person be born when they are old? Can they enter a second time into their mother’s womb and be born?” (Verse 4). Notice Joshua’s response:

“Joshua answered, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, except a person be born of water and of the spirit, they cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit’” (John 3:5-6).

Joshua made it very clear. He said that which is born physically can only be produced by something physical. In human life when a physical sperm cell impregnates a physical egg, a physical embryo is produced. It is all physical. The physical process of an embryo growing in a mother’s womb produces a child at birth.

God has given man a human spirit that makes us different from animals. It gives us individuality. We are not pre-programed to respond to nature as God made the animal kingdom. With this “spirit essence” in the human mind, we have the God-like capacity of thought, creativity, and memory. This ability makes us individually unique. We have freedom of choice; we are free moral agents.

God cannot create perfect righteous character in others; it can only be accomplished as a matter of free choice. Otherwise, we would have to be programmed to respond “robotically” in matters of morality to live perfectly in accordance with God’s law. But God wants us to choose on our own; we must choose between our own selfish ways or the ways of God. Again, the opportunity to choose comes in God’s own time. Before this time comes to mankind—before God is able to give this opportunity to people—the witness of mankind is that it will always reject God! So in God’s perfect timing He will give people the best opportunity possible to be able to receive Him and His way of life.

Paul shared this knowledge of the human mind with the Corinthians. Paul explained that those in the Church could understand the mysteries of God. These “mysteries” cannot be understood without God’s spirit and, therefore, His ways remain hidden—a mystery to mankind.

“But God has revealed them unto us by His spirit, for the spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the things of God knows no man, but the spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10-12).

Paul is clearly showing that without God’s holy spirit a person is unable to know the truths and ways of God because He must reveal them. Mankind can only understand those things that are on a physical plane and cannot understand things that are on a spiritual plane. That is why Nicodemus could not understand what Christ was saying. He was not being drawn by God’s holy spirit.

The spirit is the power of God. It is not a “being” as traditional Christianity teaches. The teaching of a trinity is false! There is no being called the Holy Spirit.

“Now we have not received [speaking to the Church], the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God so that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things we also speak, not in words which mankind’s wisdom teaches, but which the holy spirit teaches, by comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man [physical human being] does not receive the things of the spirit of God, because they are foolishness to him, and neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:13-14).

So mankind of itself is unable to know God and His ways unless He reveals them. This is the reason mankind has continually rejected God and His ways. The pride in selfish human reasoning rejects the truth of God. Instead, mankind has formulated its own religious ideas and concepts of God that are more to its liking. The witness of mankind over 6,000 years is that it rejects God. That is why there are people who will hate what is written in this book. They cannot get past their own pride! That is also the reason why this world must be humbled before Christ Joshua returns as King of kings.

If you are understanding these things, then there is only one way that is possible! God is giving you that opportunity and ability now. You are being drawn by God’s spirit. If that is the case, then the choice is yours. Will you accept what is true? Some will have to go through more humbling through experiencing catastrophic events that can work to turn a mind to looking to God for help and answers. The longer people reject God, the less likely they will be to receive His help and favor to live through those things that are coming.

God is going to begin to call the whole world! Yet most will not humble themselves to receive the Kingdom of God that is coming.

Let’s return to the story flow of Pentecost. The physical process for human birth can only produce that which is physical, and the same is true of spiritual birth. A human being must be begotten of God’s spirit. This is accomplished by the impregnation of God’s spirit with the “human spirit” God has given all mankind. After the baptism in water (baptism in the Greek means “immersion”), one comes up out of the water and is from that point forward to walk in newness of life. It is immediately after baptism that the “laying on of hands” is performed by the ministry and the impregnation of God’s holy spirit can beget us.

Once begotten of God’s holy spirit, one can begin to grow spiritually, but only “in embryo” within the Church. We live in a physical body that is impregnated with God’s holy spirit. We begin living a life of conquering the flesh—the pulls of human nature—thereby developing holy, righteous character. This process eventually allows us to be “born” into the Kingdom of God—the God Family—as spirit beings, fully “born of the spirit.”

Joshua the Christ explained to Nicodemus that, “that which is born of the flesh is flesh.” He was explaining that flesh (that which is physical) can only produce something that is flesh—physical. Human physical begettal leads only to human physical birth. But Christ went on to explain: “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Only when one is impregnated with the holy spirit of God can one, through time, be born into—enter—the Kingdom of God.

It is through this process that all of the firstfruits will enter the Kingdom of God. When Joshua the Christ returns, they will be resurrected into spirit life, as spirit beings, composed of spirit in God’s Family.

Pentecost pictures the “means” by which a person can understand and live God’s ways. Through spiritual maturity and time one can be changed from mortal to immortal—from physical to spiritual—born into God’s spiritual Family. Pentecost also pictures the firstfruits of God’s Family, those who will be resurrected first, out of all mankind, at the end of the first 6,000 years of mankind on earth. But all those who follow will also go through the same process of being drawn by and then begotten of God’s holy spirit which can lead to their being born into the very God Family.

FEAST OF TRUMPETS

As one moves forward from one annual Holy Day to the next, more continues to be revealed about God’s plan and purpose for mankind. Next, we come to the fourth annual Holy Day that occurs in the fall in the Northern Hemisphere. This day is known in Judaism as Rosh Hashanah, and although Judaism has lost the true meaning and purpose of God’s Holy Days, they do know the correct day for its observance.

The correct time for the Feast of Trumpets is generally listed on the Roman Calendar in September or early October.

“Then the Eternal spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, saying, “In the seventh month [of God’s calendar], in the first day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath, a memorial [a yearly observance] of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation”’” (Lev. 23:23-24).

The Feast of Trumpets primarily focuses on events that lead up to (and include) Christ’s coming to establish the Kingdom of God—His government on earth. Although there is meaning in Pentecost that foreshadows Christ’s actual return and the resurrected 144,000 that will return with him, the Feast of Trumpets also includes this event (within the 7th Trumpet) by announcing it and the events that follow. This last Trumpet also includes events that work to establish God’s government after Christ returns with the 144,000. These events tie in the meaning of Pentecost with the Feast of Tabernacles which pictures the establishment of the Millennium.

Some of the greatest meaning in the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets is the final heralding (trumpeting) that proclaims the coming of the King of kings who is to reign over mankind as the prophesied Messiah.

In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul talks about trumpets, and their meaning is also contained in the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets.

“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren [this is addressing the Church—those who are called to be among the 144,000], concerning those who have fallen asleep [speaking of those who were called and have died in the faith over the past 6,000 years], so that you do not sorrow, even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Joshua died and rose again, even so God also will bring [send] those who sleep in Joshua with him [God will resurrect them to return with Joshua when he comes]” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).

“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord [speaking of those still living who have been called to be firstfruits among the 144,000] in no way precede those who are asleep [dead in Christ]. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain [those few called to be firstfruits who are still alive in the Church at the time of Christ’s coming] shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17).

Paul described this same event to the Corinthian church.

“In a moment, in the blinking of the eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:52).

Paul explained this event of God’s plan that will take place when the last trumpet—the Seventh Trumpet—begins to be fulfilled. When this Trumpet event begins, the 144,000 will be resurrected. Those who are dead are resurrected first, then immediately following that, those who are yet alive, who are part of that count of the 144,000, are changed to spirit life and no longer physical.

Most all who have been sealed as the firstfruits—the 144,000—are dead, but they will be resurrected at this time to immortal life, once this last trumpet event becomes fulfilled. Those few firstfruits who are alive at this time will be changed in an instant from mortal physical life to immortal spirit beings to become part of the God Family—the Kingdom of God.

“The seventh angel sounded, and there came to pass great voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever’” (Revelation 11:15).

All the firstfruits called over the past 6,000 years will be resurrected on the day of this last Trumpet event, the first event of the Seventh Trumpet of the Seventh Seal. Yet the actual time of Christ’s return with the 144,000 is what the Holy Day of Pentecost reveals. However, it is the announcement from all Seven Trumpets that leads up to this great fulfillment. The primary fulfillment in the meaning of the Feast of Trumpets is contained in the announcement from all Seven Trumpets.

God’s Holy Days focus on specific segments of His overall plan for mankind. These often overlap and are intertwined in meaning and purpose because these all work together through a complete process that concerns salvations that is spread over 7,100 years.

As the events of the six Trumpets were already explained in Chapter 5, there is no need to repeat them here. However, these Trumpet events that precede the Seventh Trumpet are all part of what makes the fulfillment of the beginning of the Seventh Trumpet possible.

The announcement of the Seventh Trumpet begins with the declaration that “the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever.” Once this portion contained in the meaning of Pentecost is fulfilled, with Christ returning with the 144,000, there is yet more that becomes fulfilled in the meaning of Trumpets that goes beyond this event which then establishes Christ as the King of kings.

As trumpets are used in the announcement of Christ coming as King, he does not become fully established as King over all the earth until he and the 144,000 take control of it. The first 6 trumpet announcements are used as alarms of war before Christ’s coming. The 7th Trumpet not only announces Christ’s return with the 144,000, but it also announces a war that will continue after that return. That war is for the purpose of firmly establishing the government of God’s Kingdom over the nations.

Although this was mentioned in Chapter 7, it would be good to quote the verses that speak of this event.

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war [Gk. – wages war]. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head many crowns [figuratively—now ruling over all nations]. He had a name written that no one knew except himself, and he was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God [who is Joshua the Christ]. The armies [the 144,000] in heaven [the heaven of the atmosphere above the earth (in the sky)], clothed in fine linen, white and pure, followed him on white horses. Now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should strike the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God, and he has on a robe and on his thigh a name written: King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:11-16).

So this final fulfillment that is pictured in the Trumpets that lead up to Christ’s coming continue to be fulfilled for a time after his return. That is for the purpose of establishing his reign in the Kingdom of God that will now rule over the earth. It has also been quoted earlier that at this time Christ and the 144,000 will begin to destroy those who are destroying the earth.

In this manner, the meaning of the Feast of Trumpets ties in the meaning of Pentecost through Trumpets in order to establish the Millennium, which is pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles.

The blowing of trumpets had great meaning to the Israelites after they had been freed from Egypt. As the Israelites moved through the wilderness for forty years, trumpets were used to signal instructions, especially for movement from one encampment to another. Trumpets were also used as a warning of alarm and war. It should be clear how the physical use of these trumpets by the Israelites bear meaning in the fulfillment of God’s plan and purpose contained in the meaning of the Feast of Trumpets.

THE DAY OF ATONEMENT

The fifth annual Sabbath is the Day of Atonement. Judaism calls this time Yom Kippur, and the correct day for its observance is generally recorded on the Roman Calendar by that same name.

“The Eternal spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation [commanded assembly] unto you, and you shall afflict your souls [accomplished by a total fast from food and drink], and offer an offering made by fire unto the Eternal. You shall do no work in that same day for it is a Day of Atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Eternal your God’” (Leviticus 23:26-28).

“‘You shall do no manner of work. This shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest [an annual Sabbath], and you shall afflict your souls in the ninth day of the month at even [beginning from sundown of the ninth day], from even unto even [observed until sundown of the next day], you shall keep your Sabbath’” (Leviticus 23:31-32).

This annual Sabbath pictures the entire process covered from Passover to the Feast of Trumpets. Much of that process will have been fulfilled when Christ returns and Satan has been removed from the presence of mankind.

This day pictures the atoning process—the process whereby mankind can be reconciled to God. The firstfruits of God, after Trumpets has been fulfilled, are now fully atoned—reconciled—to God. The entire process (revealed through Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and Trumpets) shows how the firstfruits were able to be born into God’s Family—becoming part of the Kingdom of God.

Although the complete process will have been accomplished in the firstfruits, billions remain who are yet to be atoned—reconciled—to God. Every human being must still go through the same process as those called in the first 6,000 years who are among the 144,000. The Day of Atonement pictures that entire process. Everyone must come into unity and oneness with God–to become at one with Him.

Being reconciled to God the Father by the blood of Joshua the Christ begins with Passover. We must repent, come out of spiritual Egypt (sin), be baptized, and receive the impregnation of God’s spirit.

As we grow spiritually and overcome our nature, God can begin to transform the very way we think and bring us into unity and harmony with His one true way of life. After someone has successfully gone through this entire process, they will be able to be made fully at one with God by a change from mortal to immortal, from physical to spiritual, into the Kingdom of God.

“I therefore implore you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, as your reasonable service. Do not become conformed to this world, but become transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).

The Kingdom of God is the Family of God. It will be composed of spirit beings who were once physical. They will be at one with God for all eternity.

The Fate of Satan and the Demonic Realm

Although this day pictures the entire process of reconciliation, of being fully atoned to God, it also pictures the fulfillment of another great event which pictures the primary influence of sin being completely removed from mankind.

When the Kingdom of God comes to this earth, everyone from that point forward will be offered the ability to enter into this process of atonement to God, as opposed to only a few who were offered this during the first 6,000 years. This time of a greater salvation for mankind will flourish in large part because of the fate of Satan and the demonic realm.

When God’s Kingdom comes mankind will have been delivered from its own destructive ways. Now, Joshua the Christ will rule over all the earth with the 144,000 that were resurrected at his return. The ways of God will govern the course of mankind. Justice will be swift. The knowledge of God will fill the earth. People will learn to live in peace and harmony with others.

During that time, there will be only one religion on earth. There will be only one government ruling the earth. Everyone will be given the opportunity to keep the seventh-day Sabbath and the annual Holy Days. Great harmony, peace, and genuine love will fill the lives of families, communities, and businesses—in all who choose to live God’s way.

False religions, politics, lobbyists, cumbersome and bureaucratic governments, corporate greed, drug smuggling, human trafficking, and so many other evils in today’s world will not be allowed to exist. The way of competitive greed will be replaced by the way of cooperation geared toward benefitting others and the planet.

But even with all the awesome improvements that will take place for mankind in that time, one great obstacle still stands in the way of total peace, harmony, and prosperity for mankind. That obstacle is Satan and his demons (the angels who rebelled with him). The Day of Atonement also pictures the removal of Satan and his demons from the presence of mankind.

Lucifer was one of the archangels of God. He and a third of the angelic realm were given the responsibility of caring for the earth. The government of God was administered through this great archangel. His story is one of pride and rebellion toward God. Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezekiel 28:12-17 give a general outline of this being, yet much more of the story is contained in fragmented areas throughout scripture.

God has not revealed the duration of timing for these various events. However, the evidence in our immediate solar system, as well as the earth itself, reveal a great deal when combined with the true accounts of scripture. Millions of years ago, God created the universe and our earth. But, again, God has not revealed the exact timing or the complete order of these events anywhere in scripture.

Before the creation of the physical universe and earth, God created the angelic realm. God is spirit and those beings He created are spirit. Nothing existed except the spirit world. The limited capacity of the human mind can only deal with the physical world around us, but our ability to grasp a spirit world is limited to physical concepts. God revealed that He did create a physical universe which included this earth. It is recorded that the angels rejoiced in God’s physical creation.

God revealed to the angelic realm portions of His plan to create His own Family through human beings. The Book of Hebrews reveals that the angelic realm—the angelic kingdom—was created to minister, in time, to those who would live physical lives and eventually be born into God’s very Family.

At some point in time Lucifer began to desire more for himself. He did not agree with God’s plans or the purpose for the physical creation. He rebelled against God, and nearly a third of the angelic realm eventually rebelled with him. As a result, a great angelic war was fought; it extended into the physical creation.

God declared that the original creation of earth was made perfect and beautiful. Life was on the earth, but it was not the life that would exist when man would eventually be created. The earth had early forms of life on the land, in the sky, and in the sea. Skeletal remains of many of these creatures can be seen in museums and are evident throughout the earth.

What happened? Scientists try to give their “intellectual” interpretations of these matters, but the simple reality is that everything was swiftly destroyed at the time of Lucifer’s rebellion. All life on earth was destroyed suddenly. That was hundreds of thousands of years ago. The story beginning in Genesis is speaking of mankind’s creation, along with appropriate plant and animal life to complement mankind. It is not the actual original creation of the earth itself—that happened so very long before mankind’s creation.

“In the beginning [There is no definite article in Hebrew. It should read, ‘in a beginning...’] God created the heaven and the earth. [In a beginning, God did create the earth and the entire universe over much time—millions upon millions of years ago. There was no evolution, but simply a vast amount of time in creation.] And the earth was [Heb.— “became”] without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:1-2).

In this account, the earth already existed. It had been initially created millions of years earlier. However, it had come to be in a state of waste and disorder. Darkness shrouded the entire earth. As it states, the power of God’s spirit began to move over the waters of the earth, as the waters already existed. Then, God began to work on the entire earth—to bring back life. The entire picture here was one of chaos, as God began to renew the face of the earth as described in Psalms. Yes, the earth is millions of years old, but mankind has only been here for nearly 6,000 years.

Due to God’s plan to create His own Family, Elohim, that would be much greater than that of the angelic realm, Satan began to turn against God. He loathed God’s plan to create beings that, with time, would become greater than him. Once he had turned a third of the angelic realm to his own jealous thinking, they were determined to destroy all life on earth. They did just that as the first creation of life was destroyed in an instant. God has not yet revealed to mankind how all this occurred, but only that it did.

When Satan’s rebellion took place, God changed Lucifer’s name to Satan, and those angels who followed him became known as demons. God confined them to this earth. Their presence and influence on mankind would serve as a part of God’s plan to reveal the destructiveness and evil of all that resists His righteous ways.

When Lucifer rebelled, the government of God on earth had ceased. It is now, in our time, that the government of God is going to once again be restored. Joshua the Christ will usher in the Kingdom of God—the government of God over the earth.

Yes, this Day of Atonement also pictures the removal of Satan and his demons from the presence of God and mankind. They will no longer be able to influence and deceive mankind, except for a very short time at the very end of the 1,100-year reign of the Kingdom of God. At that time, this Day of Atonement will have even more meaning when Satan and the demons are once again removed, and this time—for all time—for all eternity.

The Day of Atonement pictures a time when Satan and the demons will have no part in God’s future plans and purpose of continuing life. Instead, this annual Sabbath wonderfully pictures this world becoming fully atoned to God.

THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES

This period of time has great meaning, but we will only cover a condensed version of this Holy Day season. Leviticus 23 continues with the annual Holy Days and describes a final observance that lasts for eight days. The first seven days is called the Feast of Tabernacles with the first day being an annual Sabbath. This period of seven days is followed by an eighth-day observance, which is also an annual Sabbath, the last day in the revelation of the plan of God. It is called the Last Great Day.

This Feast of Tabernacles pictures the time when the Kingdom of God will come to rule mankind for 1,000 years. Much has already been said about the coming Messiah and his reign on the earth. This festive observance pictures the time that is about to be ushered in on this earth. It will come once Christ and the 144,000 intervene to stop WWIII.

As we have already covered, the weekly Sabbath pictures the last 1,000 years in the 7,000-year plan of God. The Feast of Tabernacles focuses mostly on this same period of time and pictures that final 1,000 years when the Kingdom of God will rule all nations. Since there has already been much written in this book about this period of the Millennium, there is no need here to repeat those things.

This seven-day Feast has also been referred to as the Feast of Booths in Old Testament observance because God had told the Israelites to build a kind of booth (open air hut) which was to be a small temporary structure that was made of branches, twigs, and leaves and/or palms. One was to sit inside this booth for a small portion of time each day of the Feast and to specifically remember and think upon how God had delivered them from captivity in Egypt and then led them into a prosperous promised land. They were to remember how the children of Israel dwelt in temporary dwellings (tabernacles) for 40 years as they journeyed through the wilderness until God brought them into the promised land.

The Feast was to be observed in this manner until the Church of God was formed in 31 AD. Just as Christ changed how the Passover was to be observed differently once the Church began, the way the Feast of Tabernacles was observed had also been changed. The Israelites were to focus in a physical sense upon how God had delivered them from Egypt and led them to a land that He gave to them.

However, for the Church, God revealed the manner in which the Feast of Tabernacles is to be observed that carries the spiritual meaning of what the Israelites had observed physically.

God’s plan and purpose through what is revealed in this Holy Day season is about how He is leading mankind into a kind of spiritual promised land or spiritual inheritance. As physical human beings, we are given temporary dwellings—our physical human bodies—to live out our physical lives. However, God’s purpose is to offer mankind, in His timing, the opportunity to be delivered from the bondage of selfish carnal human nature and the ways of mankind that are likened spiritually to being in spiritual captivity in Egypt.

Although mankind has only a temporary time for dwelling in a physical human body, God’s purpose is to lead it into age-lasting life in spirit bodies—no longer in temporary dwellings, but spirit dwellings forever in the God Family of Elohim.

As with the physical Israelites, mankind can be delivered out of the corruption and bondage of living in temporary dwellings as they move through the wilderness of a carnal life. With the help and power of God’s holy spirit, mankind can grow spiritually until a time that it can be delivered into a spiritual promised land—an incorruptible inheritance into the Kingdom of God as Elohim.

THE LAST GREAT DAY

An additional day (eighth day) following the Feast of Tabernacles is traditionally referred to in God’s Church by either of two names: the Last Great Day and the Great White Throne Judgment. It is the seventh and last of the annual Sabbaths of God. It is an exciting revelation in the plan of God. As the early spring harvest of firstfruits is pictured in Pentecost, so is the larger fall harvest pictured in the Feast of Tabernacles that focuses on the Millennium and the Last Great Day that concludes the final 100 years.

The Last Great Day pictures a time of great judgment that follows the 7,000-year portion of God’s plan. It is a judgment period that covers a span of 100 years. This is the time spoken of earlier in this book when there will be no more birth of human life. The process of human begettal and birth will come to an end after 7,000 years.

Since this final period of human existence in this last hundred years has been spoken of in detail in the latter portion of Chapter 7, it is not necessary to repeat those things here, but one needs to simply understand that this is what this seventh Holy Day is all about.

This is the time when billions will be resurrected to a second physical life. It is during this 100-year period that all who are given a second physical life to live will have the opportunity to choose and live God’s way of life. By such a choice, they can become part of the Family of God—the Kingdom of God—born as spirit beings, just as the 144,000 were.

Those who refuse will die a second time—a second death—never to receive life again. God’s judgment on those who do not want to be part of His Family is not eternal torment. It is a punishment that will last for all time. It is death—never to be resurrected to life again—an eternal punishment.

It is during this last 100 years that billions will be resurrected. Those who have lived and died, young and old alike, will be given life again in physical human bodies that are filled with vibrant health—whole and complete. It is then they can choose to become a part of God’s eternal Family. That is the story of the Last Great Day and the completed creation of Elohim!

Chapter 9

THE PROPHETIC COUNTDOWN COMPLETED

As the author of this book, this is the most challenging of anything I have ever written. Before looking into the countdown that is leading up to when Christ returns, I feel compelled to first explain why writing this book has been so difficult, as it bears greatly upon what this chapter covers.

As stated from the beginning in chapter 1, it has been extremely challenging for me to address what I believe I so clearly “see” about the eruption of a massive thermonuclear war that is closing in on this world. How can anyone best address such a thing, especially when it is a matter of something that is revealed by the great God who has created all life?

The task is even more daunting when you consider the divisions of religious beliefs that exist throughout the world. How can one go about showing people how they have been deceived by those beliefs without offending many? The reality is that it is not possible and that simply compounds the difficulty of such a task.

The entire purpose for writing this book has been to share knowledge of the truth about prophetic end-time events that are now nearing their final fulfillment.

Even as I am writing this, I’m somewhat sickened by watching the current level of fear and financial panic that has been gripping nation after nation due to the COVID-19 pandemic while knowing that this event is puny compared to what will soon follow.

Right now, the world may be finding it difficult to exercise social distancing, staying confined in homes, keeping groceries and other necessities stocked, keeping up with various bills, etcetera, but that is nothing compared to what will happen when a world war begins. Food and medical supplies will become far more scarce. However, in this coming war there will be shortages of electricity, water, gas, the use of the Internet, and many other things that are taken for granted at this time.

Sharing such knowledge carries pain, anguish, heartache, frustration, and so much more, yet I believe I am tasked with doing just that! The only encouragement I receive from this is the hope that God reveals concerning the kind of help and favor that some will receive directly from Him and His Son. That will be as a result of those who will listen, turn to Him, and then be able to be delivered into a new age—into the Millennium that will follow.

Throughout this book I have purposefully refrained from referring to myself, except only slightly in chapter 1 as a matter of explaining the dilemma and challenge in writing this book.

The Reason for Rewriting the Chapter

This chapter was already written when it was brought to my attention that it did not seem complete; it seemed that it might be lacking. The manner in which it had first been written led to concern that it might not contain enough explanation of where some of the material is spoken of in scripture. To simply say that certain things had been “revealed” also caused concern since a reader might not receive this as being a convincing argument to make, and they might feel the need for a more convincing argument or facts.

I deeply understand this concern, and because of that, it has become very clear how this final chapter is supposed to be addressed. Up to this point, I was still very determined not to speak of myself because this book is not about me. Then, I was reminded of why I am the one who has to write this and no one else.

The content of what follows concerning this countdown to WWIII and Christ’s coming cannot be properly written without including what I have been shown by God that I am to say. The bottom line is that I have been given a commission—a job to do—that is from God.

In this book, I have tried to steer clear from addressing this, and I was almost successful in doing what I wanted. To write about myself in the context of what I must say may sound a little strange and religiously fanatical to many in this world, but I cannot be concerned with that because I must be concerned with what is right before God.

Candidly, I cannot help but be reminded of the prophet Jonah who tried to escape having to tell Nineveh what God told him to say about their destruction. I am not Jonah, but what I am to inform others concerning the writing of this book is that I am a prophet of God and have been sent by Him to do this job. In addition, I am the last apostle for the Church of God in this final age of mankind.

I hate the fact that it has to take time and people having to experience the most destructive of end-time events before the reality of the events prove what I am saying. By that time, it will be too late to prepare. It would be so much better if the truth that God has revealed and given to me would speak for itself.

It has been the task of prophets through the ages to warn mankind of what will happen as a result of choosing to not listen to God. In those instances, the prophets would clearly identify the fact of who they were and that God had sent them with the messages they carried.

Only one great nation responded to the dire warnings of a prophet, and that was Assyria, whose capital was Nineveh. The king of Assyria listened to Jonah’s warning. As a result of their repentance, Nineveh’s destruction did not come. Incredibly so, it was only a few years later that God moved Assyria to conquer Israel and lead them captive.

So from this point forward, there will be things that I will state as a prophet and an apostle that have to do with those things that God has revealed to me to give. I am not as one of the prophets of old who were given prophecies that were given for the purpose of being recorded as scripture. Instead, I am one who has been given to interpret many of those prophecies that apply to this end-time about those things that are now going to come to pass.

This is perhaps best understood concerning the prophets Daniel and John who wrote much prophecy concerning this end-time, but they did not know how or when these prophecies would apply to world events. They did not understand what they had written. Daniel even enquired of God if he could be given more so that he could understand. God simply told him to shut up the book. Although God had revealed to Daniel what to write, He answered him by explaining that what he had written was not for his time, but it was for the end-time.

The Book of Revelation was written by John, and these prophesies were revealed to him by God while in prison on the Isle of Patmos. He had no idea what all those prophecies were about, but those things are now being revealed because this is that time for which most of it was written.

I cannot help if some do not find what is written as being authoritative or true, but it is. So when I speak of something being “revealed,” it will be up to the reader to decide whether they believe that is true or not. There is simply nothing that can be quoted from scripture that “proves” these things as true. The proof is contained in all that has been previously written that exposes those things that are false in traditional Christianity and what is true biblically.

The point being in all this is that it isn’t the individual who carries the message that is important, but the fact that what they say comes from God, that is important. However, how people respond to what God has to say has most often determined how any prophet has been received. That in turn has much to do with how God will respond to those who listen and to those who do not.

God is making it clear in this final age of mankind’s self-rule that He will listen to those who will listen to Him and who begin making changes in their lives based on what He has revealed.

The Beginning of the Countdown

When the Apostasy finally came to pass, the Church was unaware of what had actually taken place. The people did not see that this event was the prophesied Apostasy. They did not understand that what took place in the Church was the fulfillment of this prophecy and that this would serve as the sign to God’s Church that His Son would now return. No one knew. It wasn’t until several years later that God revealed that an actual countdown to Christ’s coming had begun on the day of that Apostasy.

Even though Joseph Tkach, Sr. showed his opposition and rebellion to God by delivering a sermon contrary to true doctrine, God had not yet revealed that Joseph Tkach, Sr. was the fulfillment of the “man of sin”— “the son of perdition.” The Church did not yet know that he had fulfilled this prophecy given by Paul which would serve as the revelation of Christ’s imminent coming. To this day, the overwhelming majority of the Church that became scattered is still blind to this truth.

Although some of this has been covered, there is more to Paul’s prophecy concerning this Apostasy that needs to be addressed. As one continues through this account in 2 Thessalonians, one should begin to clearly see why this unique event is so pivotal to end-time prophecy.

“Now you know what withholds [Gk.– “holds back, restrains, detains”] so that he [the man of sin] might be revealed [Gk.– “to make known, to disclose what before was unknown”] in his time. The mystery of iniquity is already at work, but for now it is only withheld [same Gk. word – “holds back, restrains, detains”] until he is taken out of the way. Then shall that wicked be revealed [Gk.– “made known, illuminated”], whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming” (2 Thes. 2:6-8).

This prophecy shows that the man of sin—that wicked one—would be revealed “whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” Most who were scattered after the Apostasy have not been able to understand this verse because they only see this as being fulfilled in a literal, physical way. They believe this prophecy can only be fulfilled at the time of the actual coming of Joshua the Christ on the very day the end-time comes to a close.

But it is this very verse that shows how God alone would reveal the identity of the man of sin and what this was to mean for the Church. Although most had neither “ears to hear nor eyes to see,” God did make it abundantly clear that He was the one who would reveal the man of sin. After Joseph Tkach, Sr. betrayed the trust given to him by giving that defiant sermon, the spiritual Temple of God became defiled. An abomination of unprecedented proportion had taken place within the Church.

Exactly 40 Sabbaths (to the day and hour, in his time zone) after Joseph Tkach, Sr. gave that sermon, he died. This was God’s own declaration. By God taking his life, He revealed that Joseph Tkach, Sr. was indeed the “son of perdition”— “the man of sin.” By this, God also revealed that the world had now entered a countdown for the end-time. This was finally the time, after nearly 6,000 years, for end-time prophecies to begin being fulfilled. That process began on the same day Joseph Tkach, Sr. gave his apostatizing sermon, but it was God who had to reveal it.

This prophetic fulfillment of God destroying the man of sin is the very event that declared—illuminated—the coming of Joshua the Christ to God’s own people. The time for his return had now come and was no longer being held back from view to the Church. The time had come; the countdown to Christ’s coming had arrived!

In scripture, the number 40 is used as a declaration from God of His judgment. Because of mankind’s rebellion in the days of Noah, God’s judgment was carried out through a flood that lasted for 40 days and nights. Another example of the use of 40 was when God allowed the children of Israel, because of their rebellion, to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.

The very man who had been set in authority in God’s Church, directly under Christ, declared that the seventh-day Sabbath was no longer a commandment for God’s people. Is it any wonder then that because of his rebellion, God gave a judgment upon Joseph Tkach, Sr. that would be accomplished in exactly 40 Sabbaths—to the hour—from the very Sabbath when he declared the Sabbath day itself was no longer relevant?

So the first thing God revealed to His Church concerning a countdown was the matter of the importance of the period of the 280 days (40 x 7) that revealed His judgment, where 40 is used for “judgment” and 7 is used to show God’s purpose being “complete.”

When Joseph Tkach, Sr. gave his sermon that polluted and desecrated God’s Temple—the Church of God— the prophesied “Abomination of Desolation” of the spiritual Temple of God became fulfilled. This prophecy of Paul concerning the Apostasy had begun. God revealed a very specific judgment that He had personally executed upon the man of sin, this son of perdition. Exactly 280 days later, God took his life.

Once the remnant Church became aware of the significance of this judgment upon this prophesied man of sin, the son of perdition, more understanding was given concerning important periods of time that fit into what the Church was experiencing.

Before continuing into more about the importance of specific prophetic periods and the numeric meaning that is used in biblical revelation, it would be good to know that God is very ordered and precise in how He fulfills His Word. Prophecies are fulfilled in a very exacting manner—especially numerically.

The use of the prophetic number 7 defines what God makes “complete” and reveals how God brings an end to mankind’s self-rule and the establishment of the rule of His Kingdom. It is after 6,000 years of self-rule and the beginning of the reign of Joshua the Christ for the next 1,000 years that a “complete” 7,000-year plan for mankind is revealed.

That 7,000 years is a prophetic fulfillment of what the weekly 7th day Sabbath foreshadows. The first six days are for mankind to do his own work, but the purpose of the Sabbath day is to rest from that work and focus instead on the work of God—God’s purpose, plan, and will for mankind. In like manner, the first six thousand years are for mankind to live its own ways, but during the following 1,000 years it is to focus upon God’s plan and purpose that is to be accomplished under the reign of His Kingdom.

These are simple examples that have just been explained. However, prophetic counts and numeric usage contained in prophetic revelations can become confusing. Not all have the same interest in mathematics and numerical systems, so there are some who will understandably not enjoy portions of this chapter. Nevertheless, these things reveal much about God and how exacting and perfect He is in all things.

End-time Prophetic Periods of 1260 Days

The Church has long understood that there are specific end-time periods associated with Christ’s coming that involve 1,260 days, but it has not understood how these fit into place or how they would be specifically fulfilled.

These prophetic end-time periods are spoken of in different ways, but they are all equivalent to 1,260 days. In Revelation, there is a description of 42 months, which is about a specific period in the countdown to Christ’s return.

Other places in scripture refer to a time, times, and half-a-time (3 1/2 years) that is also prophetically equivalent to exactly 1,260 days, where a “time” is defined as 360 days, “times (x 2)” is 720 days, and “half-a-time” is 180 days, which when added together is 1,260 days. That is 360 days according to God’s biblical calendar and not the 365 days of the Roman calendar.

It was after God had revealed His judgment (7 x 40) concerning the man of sin and that the end-time Apostasy had now taken place in His Church that He then began to reveal that a countdown to Christ’s return had begun. Yet in the midst of all this, the Church did not yet know when Christ’s return might be or how prophetic periods of time fit into that countdown.

The first prophetic end-time period that God eventually revealed to the Church concerned a prophecy in Revelation. It is about the aftermath of the scattering of the Church that followed the Apostasy.

“She [speaking prophetically of God’s Church] bore a male child [Christ] who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and her child was caught up to God and His throne [speaking of the resurrection of Joshua the Christ]. Then the woman [God’s Church] fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days” (Rev. 12:5-6).

This was the first of several such periods that God would reveal. It proved to be more than a coincidence that from the day of the Apostasy on the 17th of December 1994 to the Pentecost of 1998, 1,260 days had been fulfilled. That period of 1,260 days was especially meaningful to God’s Church because it has known that this specific count was a prophetic period that would occur in the end-time.

This is a specific prophecy that reveals God’s protection on a specific portion of the Church that became scattered throughout the world after the Apostasy (scattered in the wilderness). This remnant was protected from any onslaught of Satan until God could spiritually rejuvenate (by being fed by God) this scattered group until they could once again stand on their feet.

Several years after the Pentecost of 1998, God revealed that this was the day that the remnant of the scattered Church had been reestablished as the one true Church that God would work through until Christ returned. That Pentecost of 1998 not only marked the beginning for the remnant Church for the end-time, but it also marked the end of the last of seven eras of God’s Church—the Laodicean Era.

Although it had been revealed that 1,260 days had been fulfilled between the Apostasy and the establishment of the remnant Church, it had not yet been revealed that there would be several specific prophetic end-time periods of 1,260 days that would be completed before WWIII and Christ’s return.

2008: The Pivotal Prophetic Year for Christ’s Coming

As the Church began to draw closer to the year 2008, God began to reveal more about the fact that there were multiple prophetic end-time periods of 1260 days that fit into a countdown to Christ’s return. In 2006, God had revealed that the year 2008 would be a pivotal year concerning a final witness that He was going to give mankind.

As a result of that revelation, I authored a book entitled, 2008—God’s Final Witness, which addressed that witness (testimony of God).

Indeed, the year 2008 did prove to be a prophetically pivotal year for God’s small remnant Church. An important revelation that 2008 would be the year for the opening of the Seventh Seal led to my becoming aware of a countdown. There is much more to this story, but for now, only the highlights will be covered in order to show some of the method God has used for revealing the preciseness of His prophetic revelation in the count to His Son’s return.

Because God had revealed that 2008 was of prime importance for the fulfillment of the countdown to His Son’s return, the Church became focused upon a specific date for his return in 2012. That understanding later proved to be incomplete because the conclusion was based upon all that God had revealed to that point in time— “the present truth” that had been given. But there was much more that God would yet reveal.

The “present truth” (2 Peter 1:12) is an expression used by the apostle Peter, and bears the same meaning to this day. It is about the fact that over the past 6,000 years God has been progressively revealing truth to mankind. The greatest of that truth is now being given because God is preparing the world to begin receiving His Son and His ruling Kingdom at Christ’s coming. The “present truth” is that truth which has been given at any moment in time.

There would be numerous things that would happen in God’s Church during the year 2008, and there would be much that would happen to the global economy at that time, which in turn had a great deal to do with the beginning of God’s “final witness” to mankind, which is covered in 2008—God’s Final Witness.

Not only was it given that 2008 would be the year that the Seventh Seal of Revelation would be opened, but also a new truth was given to the Church that year: Christ would return on a Holy Day of Pentecost. It was because of this that the Church began to learn of specific segments of end-time prophetic periods that fit into this final end-time countdown.

Since it had been revealed so clearly that 2008 was such an important year prophetically and that Christ would return on a Holy Day of Pentecost, it was exciting to learn what was given next that concerned a prophecy in Daniel 12. It is about a specific end-time period of 1335 days which represents the complete sealing of the 144,000 who are to be resurrected and then to return with Christ.

To summarize all this as simply as possible, the Pentecost of 2012 was first thought to be the time Christ would return because of everything that was being so rapidly revealed to the Church through 2008. Since 2008 was such an important prophetic year and Pentecost had been revealed as the Holy Day Christ would return, I looked forward to a potential Pentecost that would have prophetic significance to the year 2008.

It did not take long to learn something that proved to be incredibly exciting. The only time that could be measured to a specific Pentecost from the year 2008 was the Pentecost of 2012. In counting back 1335 days from the Pentecost of 2012, it led to the 30th of September 2008. It was astounding to learn that this was the date for the Feast of Trumpets in 2008.

This now became incredibly inspiring for the vast majority of the Church, as this had awesome meaning that everyone understood. The Feast of Trumpets pictures the trumpeting of the announcement of the coming of the King of kings—the coming of the Messiah. That is the primary meaning of that Holy Day.

One of the primary things contained in the meaning of Pentecost is that it reveals the coming of Christ with the 144,000 to reign on earth. So God gave the Church the knowledge that the Trumpets of 2008 was the time for the announcement (a trumpeting) that a countdown was in progress that would lead to Christ’s return. This in turn led to understanding that the 1290 days spoken of in Daniel 12 occurred on November 14, 2008—which God then revealed was the date for the opening of the Seventh Seal of Revelation.

God’s Meticulous Timing and Work

The events surrounding the year 2008 have only been spoken of partially here, as there is much, much more to the entire story. Most of that story only has great significance to God’s Church, and candidly, it would be nearly impossible for others to glean any insightful or meaningful understanding at this time.

It is for these reasons that I have chosen to simply give a somewhat condensed overview of the most significant events that reveal the marvel of the prophetic countdown that is currently underway and nearly at an end.

It is important to understand that God indeed has given specific markers for this end-time countdown. One can watch for these markers in order to be best prepared for the final end-time events that are now fast approaching.

The first thing that God revealed to His Church in 2008 was that the Pentecost of 2012 was the first time given for when Christ could return. Although that did not happen, the prophetic timing from the Apostasy to Pentecost of 2012 carried deeply meaningful and profound prophetic detail that revealed the stunning meticulousness in which God is working.

Once all the prophetic counts and the timing of these are covered and are able to be seen, it will become far more exciting and even inspiring to grasp that which is highly impossible as a mathematical probability; yet God made it come to pass and fit together profoundly so.

Between when the Apostasy occurred up to the Pentecost of May 27, 2012, was an astonishing revelation of time because this period of time contained a total of 6,370 days.

When counting to the Pentecost of 2012, the 27th is not included in the count, as Christ’s return would have been at the very end of the 26th, just when the day of Pentecost would begin on the 27th.

Two Counts Equaling 6,370 Days

It is profound what God began to reveal to the Church about a countdown that had begun that would lead up to Christ’s return. Not only was it remarkable that the Church was given such a comprehensive count that equals exactly 6,370 days, but there were two separate simultaneous counts that equaled this same count!

The first count that amounted to 6,370 days is a specific multiple of three numbers that have highly significant prophetic meaning. God revealed those numbers as 7, 70, and 13. When these numbers are multiplied together, they equal 6,370 days.

Earlier, God’s judgment upon the man of sin was shown by revealing that he died 280 days after the Apostasy. This number is the multiple of the 7-day week times 40, where 40 is a number used prophetically that indicates judgment. The man of sin sought to change God’s Sabbath of the 7th day of the week, and God executed His judgment against him for doing so by ending his life exactly 7 x 40 days later (280 days), to the hour, from when he declared that it was no longer required to observe the Sabbath. The number 7 that was used here is the number that contains the prophetic meaning of being complete—completeness.

When used prophetically, the number 70 is one that has always been known to contain the meaning of Christ’s coming. This comes from that well-known prophecy of Daniel that is widely known as the 70 Weeks Prophecy. For this count following the Apostasy, it was not a matter of years, but of days. With 7 days in a week, times 70 (which is the number for Christ’s return), there are 490 days.

Then there is one more multiple in this total of 6,370 days and that is the number 13. This number has great significance and carries the meaning of apostasy and rebellion. This is even recognized in various reference books. It is also a number that is prophetically attached to Satan, who is the ultimate epitome of rebellion and apostasy. He is the origin of that spirit.

All of these dates and numbers carry great meaning for God’s Church because the Church understands that when Christ returns, he will bound Satan for a little more than a thousand years. Satan and the demonic world will not be allowed to be in the presence of mankind during the Millennium or during the final hundred years when all of “the rest” of mankind are resurrected to a second physical life.

So not only did this overall number (6,370) have great meaning concerning Christ’s 2nd coming (70), but it also reflected the meaning of Satan’s rule (13) over this earth coming to an end, with Christ being established to rule instead, which completes (7) God’s plan for the establishment of His Kingdom to rule on earth (7 x 70 x 13 = 6,370).

Then, in addition to that, what had happened in the Church through a prophesied rebellion of the man of sin, the son of perdition, in the Apostasy, had incredible meaning in the use of the number 13. Indeed, the meaning contained in this entire period of time from the Apostasy to the first potential date for Christ’s return proved incredibly inspiring to God’s Church.

These numbers continue to become more astounding and revealing the further we go into them. It is so very far beyond any possibility of coincidence or chance that it defies the imagination. The mathematical probability of these numbers occurring along with the dates associated with them continues to increase exponentially the more that is added. The numbers that have been used, which result in such totals, are in themselves astounding, but the fact that “exact meaning” is also contained in all of them, carries this into a realm of incredible mathematic improbability and is a powerful witness as to who the designer of it is.

A Second Count Equaling 6,370 Days

This total period of 6,370 days contains God’s indelible and undeniable handprint. However, God did not stop at simply giving a period of time that validated Christ’s coming by the use of a literal 70 weeks prophecy. God also revealed the importance of the 1,260-day time cycles that identify prophetic end-time periods. This period of time was mentioned earlier, showing how it is described in different ways (42 months; time, times, and half-a-time; and 3 1/2 years), yet it is always used in the context of specific end-time prophetic periods that last 1,260 days.

This second count becomes important because of what it reveals about mankind. It was in 2008 that God began giving a final witness of mankind that testifies about their “ways”—the way of mankind. It is important to note that this witness ended on the Pentecost of 2012.

The “ways” of mankind have produced great confusion, unhappiness, suffering, injustice, wars, and much perversion in life. That confusion created by mankind has permeated every facet of life and is reflected in the failure in government, religion, economic practice, society, and family life. And now, with modern technology, mankind will annihilate itself if God does not intervene to stop it. Mankind is incomplete and needs God and His ways if it is to survive.

The number 5 is about mankind, and this number is used to reveal an important aspect about mankind and its relationship to God. This number reveals the “ways of mankind” in contrast to the “ways” of God. The ways of mankind are opposite to that of God and these ways reveal the selfish nature that exists in mankind.

Although this use of the number 5 is not as clearly revealed as the numbers 7, 40, and 70, nevertheless, it was given to God’s Church long ago to understand its significance prophetically as being about mankind.

Mankind’s selfish nature is motivated by “the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Whereas, the ways of God are that of total unselfish and outgoing love toward others—which includes mercy, forgiveness, kindness, patience, peace, and love that is genuine, sacrificing, and always giving toward others.

In this second count that equals 6,370, the number 5 is used in relationship to these cycles of 1,260 days.

The use of the number 5 has great meaning here because it reveals the “way of mankind” that has led to God’s judgment on the earth due to the fact that mankind has not listened to Him and has now brought itself to the point of annihilation.

In this number of 6,370 days, there are 5 equivalent periods of 1,260 days (6,300 days), with 70 days remaining. That addition of 70 days clearly signifies Christ’s return. This was not a matter of chance, but of design, and signified God’s purpose—that mankind had been judged by a final witness that reveals how it has responded to God for right at 6,000 years now.

The First and Fifth Prophetic End-Time Periods

All these different counts and the dates on which they occurred have become a matter of awe to God’s Church, as these reveal patterns and order that could not be by chance, but only by design, which has been simply dumbfounding and deeply inspiring.

Then, in addition to what has been shown about those 5 end-time prophetic periods, God revealed that two had very important and specific significance. The first, which has already been referred to, was the period from the date of the Apostasy (December 17, 1994) to the Pentecost of 1998 (on the 30th of May).

Without going into great detail, there is a verse that applies specifically to this first prophetic end-time period. The event of the Apostasy was catastrophic upon God’s Church, and as a result, what remained of the Church became widely scattered. The Church was so weak and devastated when this occurred that God protected it for a period of time until the remnant could become established with the restructuring and strength it needed in order to continue on to Christ’s return.

“Then the woman [God’s Church] was given two wings of a great eagle [symbolism for protection], that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half-a-time, from the presence of the serpent [Satan]” (Revelation 12:14).

Satan had been allowed to attack God’s Church by powerfully influencing and instigating the Apostasy. Afterward, God gave the Church protection from Satan so that he could no longer attack it for a period of a time, times, and half-a-time. This has already been explained to be a period of 1260 prophetic days. This protection was given in order for God to work with a remnant of His former Church in order to help them grow in strength once more so that they would be able to be strong enough to stand against any future influence and attacks by Satan.

It was on the Pentecost of 1998 that God’s Church became reestablished as the remnant who would continue on until the coming of Joshua the Christ.

The second specific end-time prophetic period of 1,260 days that God revealed to be of great significance was the 5th period that was from the time when the Seven Trumpets of the Seventh Seal were blown (December 14, 2008) to May 27, 2012 (Pentecost), 1,260 days later.

God had already revealed to His Church that 2008 was the pivotal year concerning the countdown to His Son returning as King of kings. He also revealed it was the Feast of Trumpets of 2008 that announced Christ’s return with the 144,000. This in turn led to the revelation that the Seven Trumpets of Revelation were blown on December 14th of 2008. That 1260 days which followed and then led up to Pentecost of 2012 was also revealed to be the exact time of God’s final witness of mankind.

Although those Seven Trumpets were blown in December of 2008, the events they announced have been held back from beginning until all 144,000 have become sealed. It is because of this that new markers were set beyond 2012 for the timing of Christ’s return. This is because WWIII and Christ’s return cannot take place until all 144,000 have been sealed.

God has not revealed what significance or meaning there may be in the other three periods of 1,260 days that lie in between that first and fifth period, or even if there is any significant meaning in them other than the fact that they add great meaning for the total being 5 prophetic end-time periods.

FIRST COUNT to 2012:

With Two Prophetic Signs of Christ’s Coming

Apostasy up to Pentecost 2012

• December 17, 1994, up to May 27, 2012

• Total number of prophetic days = 6,370

1st Sign: 7 x 70 x 13 = 6,370

2nd Sign: 5 x 1,260 + 70 = 6,370

1st prophetic 1,260 days

• December 17, 1994 to May 30, 1998

2nd, 3rd, & 4th periods + 70 days

• May 31, 1998 to December 13, 2008

5th prophetic 1,260 days

• December 14, 2008, up to May 27, 2012

NUMBERS:

Prophetic Significance

5 = the ways of mankind

7 = that which God makes complete

13 = rebellion & apostasy / Satan

40 = God’s judgment

70 = the coming of Christ

1,260 days = a prophetic period marking the end-time

Two Additional Prophetic Periods

God gave five end-time prophetic periods that led up to the Pentecost of 2012, and since that time, He has revealed the significance in the addition of two more prophetic periods of 1260 days that led up to the Pentecost of 2019. Since that time, God has not revealed any other clear prophetic periods that may yet become fulfilled.

Before addressing the fact that no new periods have been revealed at this time, it is important to first look at what has been revealed by the two additional periods that led up to 2019. This will help to shed more light on exactly how far along in the countdown that we actually are.

The addition of this new period from the Pentecost of 2012 to the Pentecost of 2019 contains 2 more end-time prophetic periods within it. This has great meaning and significance to the complete countdown. From Pentecost on the 27th of May 2012 (counting that day) to Pentecost on the 9th of June 2019, there was a total of 2,570 days. This number contained an additional 50 days that remained beyond these two final prophetic periods (1,260 + 1,260 +50 = 2,570).

Again, the mathematical probability of this additional period with the addition of 50 days and the dates on which these have fallen is astronomical. These two prophetic end-time periods following the Pentecost of 2012 led up to April 21, 2019. This was a date within the annual observance of the Days of Unleavened Bread that follows Passover. It is incredibly inspiring to see that April 21, 2019, was the day that represents the fulfillment of the Wave Sheaf Offering, which is about Joshua the Christ being received by God as not only the Passover of all mankind, but now also as High Priest.

The Wave Sheaf pictured the time when Joshua the Christ fulfilled the meaning of being accepted as the first of the firstfruits of God’s great harvest—of those who are gleaned from the world to be in His Family—Elohim. Joshua the Christ died on Passover and was laid in the tomb just before sunset on the 4th day of the week (Wednesday) in 31 A.D. After sunset, the weekly observance of the Feast of Unleavened Bread began. Then, at the end of the 7th day (the weekly Sabbath) just before sunset, Joshua the Christ was resurrected from the dead after being in the tomb for exactly three nights and three days.

Christ was resurrected just before sundown on that weekly Sabbath. As soon as the sun went down, it became the 1st day of the week (Sunday). It wasn’t until the morning, Sunday morning, when the priests would offer up the annual wave sheaf, that Christ would then ascend to God. Christ being received by God the Father at that very moment in time was the spiritual fulfillment of the Wave Sheaf. Soon after that, on the same day, after he had ascended and been received by God, he returned to be with his disciples and others for the next forty days.

Not only is this time for the Wave Sheaf Offering about the beginning of God’s spiritual harvest, as it pictured Joshua the Christ being the first of the firstfruits, but that day is also the beginning of a specific count that God gave so that people would know when the Holy Day of Pentecost is to be observed. Pentecost literally means “count fifty.”

Pentecost is the day when the wave loaves were offered up before God and they picture the firstfruits (the 144,000) being offered up before Him to be received by Him in the same manner that the wave sheaf was offered up before God for the acceptance of Joshua the Christ.

Knowing the meaning of this extra 50-day count to Pentecost, along with the addition of two more prophetic periods of 1,260, proved to be awesomely inspiring to God’s Church.

Paul described Joshua the Christ as being the first of the firstfruits to be resurrected. In 1 Corinthians a description is given of the order for all the firstfruits of God to be resurrected—all those who would be first to be resurrected into God’s Family—Elohim. Christ is described as the first to be resurrected and then the rest would be resurrected later at his return.

“But everyone in their own order, Christ [of] the firstfruits, and afterward those [the rest, the 144,000 firstfruits] who are Christ’s at his coming” (1 Corinthians 15:23).

Christ is described clearly as being resurrected first and then the rest of those firstfruits are resurrected at his coming. But for that to be accomplished, the sealing of all 144,000 must take place first.

Chapter 14 in the Book of Revelation begins by mentioning the 144,000 who will be resurrected to be with Christ at his coming.

“These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among mankind [over 6,000 years], and are the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb” (Rev. 14:4).

Pentecost is the annual Holy Day that pictures the firstfruits of God—the 144,000—who are resurrected to spirit life in the first resurrection at Christ’s coming, and who will then return with him to the Mount of Olives on that day.

The first five periods (of 1,260 days) that preceded the Pentecost of 2012 had 70 days added that symbolized the coming of Christ. There are two more periods that have been added that now make seven complete periods of 1,260 days since the Apostasy. These two new periods that followed have 50 additional days, symbolizing the coming of the firstfruits (the 144,000) with Christ. These all contain very great meaning concerning Christ’s coming to reign in the Kingdom of God for the next 1,100 years.

These complete prophetic counts that led up to the Pentecost of 2019 actually picture God’s complete purpose being revealed in the counting that began when the Apostasy occurred in December 1994. For all practical purposes, this countdown has been prophetically fulfilled.

SECOND COUNT to 2019:

Pentecost 2012 to Pentecost 2019 (2,570 days)

• May 27, 2012 to June 9, 2019

6th & 7th prophetic 1,260 days

• May 27, 2012 to April 21, 2019

Final 50 days to Pentecost 2019

• 50 is the count from the Wave Sheaf Offering to Pentecost

• April 21, 2019 to June 9, 2019

The End of the Countdown?

Although God’s Church continues to look at the possibility of more prophetic markers to be fulfilled, God has not revealed any that have the kind of meaning that is contained in the period from the Apostasy up to the Pentecost of 2019. There may be events that have already begun after that Pentecost that are rapidly leading up to a third world war that have not yet been seen and have not yet been revealed.

However, what is clear is that there have been 7 complete end-time periods of 1,260 days that reveal a clear countdown to Christ’s coming. It would be wise to remember that the number 7 is used for completeness in God’s plan. At this point, it appears that the prophetic countdown to Christ’s coming is complete, and therefore, the prophetic countdown is over!

This should be exceedingly sobering to all because this coincides with what has already been fulfilled in the Book of Revelation.

God has clearly revealed to His Church that as soon as the sealing of the 144,000 is complete then the events of the first four Trumpets will be unleashed upon the United States. Everything to this point has been prophetically fulfilled as all Seven Seals of Revelation have been opened and the Seven Trumpets have already been announced. Those catastrophic events announced by those Trumpets will begin once the sealing of all the firstfruits is complete.

If one can begin to grasp how God gave John the Book of Revelation to write, of which the vast majority concerns the period of the countdown that began on the day of the Apostasy, then seeing what has already been fulfilled should be exceedingly sobering. The Seven Seals of Revelation have all been opened. The Seven Trumpets of that last Seal have all sounded and the events they have announced can begin at any moment.

This book is entitled When the Countdown Ends. It has been stated repeatedly that there is a countdown leading up to WWIII and Christ’s return. It is my strongest belief that the count of prophetic 1,260-day periods has been completed and that countdown has ended, which was on the Pentecost of 2019.

However, that does not mean that WWIII or Christ’s return had to happen on that day. It should be obvious that there is still a prophetic countdown that will one day be revealed that led right up to Christ’s coming. How is that? It is by the knowledge that Christ will return on a Pentecost, but God has not revealed on what Pentecost that will be. So God’s Church will continue to watch for any new prophetic markers and inform everyone of those as soon as they are revealed if there is time and ability to do so.

What God has revealed is that the end-time countdown that led up to its complete prophetic fulfillment on the Pentecost of 2019 has been accomplished. All of this cries out that WWIII is at our doorstep and there is not much time to prepare.

There are many who have mocked God’s Church for warning people to prepare physically for what is coming by having a stock of food and other needful items that can last for one to three months. This isn’t as funny or weird to those people as it once seemed to be. With a pandemic, now people can more clearly grasp the need for such a thing and that will become far more essential once a war begins. Even something such as storing water becomes far more important and/or the use of a gravity type water filtering system (the Big Berkey is one of the best).

The event of the COVID-19 pandemic is proving to be the catalyst that will push nations into the final events that are about to be unleashed on a very unsuspecting world. The impact of the economic crisis that is now looming all over the world cannot be swept under the rug as it was in 2008. Nations are quickly hurtling toward a day of reckoning and that is now pushing nations toward war.

The global economy is beginning to implode. This began to accelerate well before the pandemic as a result of tariff wars that have thrown many nations into economic frustration with one another and massive disarray in the reliability of their own economic posturing and future plans. These are the kinds of things that push nations into war.

Add to all this the escalating battle that has been taking place with just one commodity—oil. This one commodity alone has been the catalyst for wars over the past few decades. This is unhinging the very system the world economy has relied upon, and yet many nations hate this very system because of the petrodollar. Other nations are tied to the dollar and if the dollar falls, so does their national revenue. Therefore, many feel trapped with the need to support it.

Even today, as this is being written, it seemed insane that oil was about to drop below $10 a barrel, but then it just got worse as it lurched into negative territory. In the past, such a thing was unheard of, until now. This alone could easily lead to war. Add it all together and it’s easy to see that war is almost upon us! It is just a matter of when God will allow mankind to do what it is bent on doing anyway.

Time is not on our side any longer as everything is beginning to cry out that the world has arrived to the point of final prophetic events that are about to be unleashed in this last period of the end-time. That final period begins with WWIII and ends with the return of Christ. From this point forward, the world is somewhat living on borrowed time.

The time to act is now! The time to prepare, if these events have not already started by the time you read this, is right now! Remember, if you will listen to God, He will listen to you!

Table of Contents

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9