Imminent!

My friend Chris sent me an email with a link to an interview between an author and a CBS Mornings host. The title of the book being discussed was Imminent: The Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs.

The word “imminent” naturally piqued my friend’s tendency to link the urgency integral to that word’s meaning to the same word’s urgency as related to the Rapture. And he knew it would garner my interest, too.

The Rapture is an imminent event; that is, it can happen at any moment without warning. Our purpose here is to urge our audience, if saved by belief in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross at Calvary, to be “Rapture ready” by being in God’s will when that great event occurs. We urge our readers who aren’t yet saved to accept Christ now, this moment. Jesus is the only Way to be transported into the clouds of Glory and onward into Heaven. All others will be, as the title of the series by my friends Dr. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins puts it: Left Behind.

The Rapture, of course, is that moment (in the “twinkling of an eye”) when millions will vanish from the earth when Jesus calls them (1 Thessalonians 4:16—18). I say “is” that moment rather than “will be” that moment because that calling is as good as already done in God’s omniscient, omnipresent view of things. Nothing can change that scheduled time when Jesus shouts, “Come up here!” as He did in calling John into Heaven to witness things to come following the Church Age (Revelation 4:1).

And, again, that calling is imminent. That is, the Rapture can take place at any moment. There is no sign or signal that is to precede that great event.

If one is to be Rapture ready, one must be so at all times. There will be no time to get ready. The time is now—right this moment—to be prepared, in the salvation sense, for that (twinkling-of-an-eye) instant when Jesus calls.

And that is the gloriously wonderful thing about the matter of the imminent Rapture. If you have accepted Christ, you will go to Him when He calls. No believer—no child of God—will be left behind to suffer the judgment and wrath that will, following that call, begin to descend upon the world of left-behind earth dwellers.

I take it that the author’s book, Imminent: The Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs, involves the belief that UFOs, or as they are called now by the government, UAP (unidentified aerial phenomena), are threatening us. According to the brief interview I heard, I presume the book warns that visitors from other worlds are on the verge of invading our planet.

In that regard, I think all we have to do is to glance around our society, culture, and every other aspect of the human condition to know that indeed there is an invasion from another world: the interlopers from the other dimension Paul described:

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).

Bible prophecy scholars like the late Chuck Missler undertook in-depth studies on these interlopers from the dark dimension. Writers and speakers like L. A. Marzulli continue to present great research about this end-times invasion. I, myself, have delved into fictional accounts of the matters involving UFOs—for example, with my novel The Rapture Dialogues.

I’ve written many times that I, as do others from the pre-Trib view of prophecy, believe the imminent invasion feared to come from other worlds (as even our government now expresses) will be part of the big lie Antichrist will foist upon those who are left behind. The people of the earth have endured many decades of being prepped/inculcated by the nefarious powers that be for that coming invasion, the time when the false prophet of Revelation 13 will call fire down from the skies.

Seeing this big lie taking shape, so far as it involves that coming supposed invasion from space, and discerning these times that look more and more like the Tribulation era to come, it is truly time to expect the greatest imminent event of history this side of the Second Advent.

Again, here is Paul’s heads-up on that occurrence:

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).

As always, for those who read this and don’t know Jesus for the salvation of your soul, you don’t want to be left behind when that invasion from Satan’s forces assaults the planet during the seven years of Tribulation (Daniel’s seventieth week). Here is how to make sure you go instantly to Jesus Christ when He calls all believers to Himself in the Rapture:

“That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

—Terry

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Unaware

If I were to select one word that sums up most people today, it would be “unaware.” Despite the myriad of signs that tell us that the start of the Tribulation period is long overdue, few people are paying attention. Most believers pursue their aspirations with little or no understanding of the times in which they live.

Is this not yet another sign that we live in the last days? I believe it is.

“For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:38-39, emphasis added).

The words “they were unaware” in the English Standard Version are literally “they did not know” in the original. Because the people in Noah’s day didn’t believe his warnings about God’s impending judgment, it was as if they didn’t know about it until it started raining. Some versions of the Bible translate the words as “they did not understand.”

During the lengthy time required to build the ark, it seems likely that word of such a spectacle would’ve spread to most people living at that time. They saw so many things that were out of the ordinary with the building of a huge ark and the boarding of the animals on it, yet they remained oblivious to the coming flood until it started to rain.

Just like in Noah’s day, most people today are unaware that things in the world will suddenly change in perhaps the near future. For decades, they have heard people like me point to the nearness of Jesus’ appearing. Even though they have heard the warnings, they aren’t knowledgeable of what lies ahead and are thus unaware of what’s coming.

Because we don’t know the precise timing of Jesus’ appearing, we can’t cease the normal activities of our lives and wait for Him. However, Jesus’ words concerning the days of Noah imply that we can do so with an awareness that He might dramatically intervene in our world at any moment. We may see the end of 2024 and perhaps even the end of 2025. On the other hand, we may not see the end of today, this week, this month, or the next.

Why do I believe it’s so close? It’s because the Lord continues to warn us of its nearness by allowing both believers and those outside of the faith to see small yet vivid glimpses of the cataclysmic events described in the book of Revelation.

Many pastors, however, ignore the vast number of signs pointing to the nearness of the events described in Revelation. Is it not unbelief that causes them to dismiss the book’s message as having no significance for believers today? It’s because they do not understand the times in which they live that so many in their churches remain unaware of what lies ahead.

The Lord’s design for His church was to live with an anticipation of His imminent return. Why else would He instruct His followers to be ready and watch for His return? (Matthew 24:44; 2513). The sense of Philippians 3:20 is that we “eagerly await” Jesus’ appearing. Immediately upon turning to the Lord, the new converts at Thessalonica began anticipating His coming (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).

An additional advantage of such an expectation is that an awareness of what the Bible says about our day calms our hearts and enables us to live with hope. We don’t have to run from the news of our day or pretend that things will get better with time. We know these are biblical times and Jesus is coming for us soon.

I’m surprised by how many Christians today remain unaware of the lateness of our day. They talk and plan as though nothing will interfere with either their near-term or long-term aspirations. The problem is not with the planning itself but with doing so without an understanding of the imminent dangers that threaten their livelihood.

For many, their unawareness extends beyond that of the nearing Rapture and includes that of the dangers knocking at our day. Globalists plot how to dramatically reduce the world’s population while dire economic conditions seem probable in the not-so-distant future. The threat of World War III has never been greater than it is now.

Life between now and the Rapture may become increasingly scary and perilous. Because so many around us are unaware of what’s coming, it’s essential that we remain focused on the prize ahead for us, continue to study Scripture, and be ready to give an answer to those who ask about our hope (1 Peter 3:15).

If there ever was a time to obey the Lord’s command to watch for His return, it’s now!

-Jonathan

Coincidence and Christ’s Coming

“There is no such word as ‘coincidence’ in God’s vocabulary.”

Hal Lindsey is the one I first heard say this. Perhaps others said it before him, but I’ll just give him credit for that truth. And truth it is. Nothing that happens occurs without God knowing. As a matter of fact, He knew about it—whatever it might be—since as far back as eternity goes. And this gives me great confidence that when the Lord Jesus says our redemption is drawing near when we see things He foretold begin to come to pass (Luke 21:28), we can be sure those things we see are not coincidences.

Jesus is the very Word of God (John 1:1). So the things His Word tells us we should look for to determine the nearness of His return to “redeem” or “rescue” God’s children can’t be mere coincidence. We know these are bona fide indicators that His return is on the very brink.

Jesus said great deception and deceivers would be on the scene as the time nears for Him to intervene in the wickedness of humankind. He said there would be great tumult within the seas of humanity, and there would be great ethnic turmoil. Things, He said, would be like they were in the days of Noah and of Lot in Sodom. He said there would be wars and rumors of wars.

Through the Apostle Paul, Jesus warned that the times would be perilous as the end of the age nears. People would be fierce. They would be without natural affection, meaning, I take it, that humankind would be going after “strange flesh,” as Jude described the greatly increased ungodliness. They would, like in Lot’s day, be engaging in homosexual activity and abortion, both of which are as far from “natural affection” as any society or culture can get.

Do we see great deception today? Just consider the way the American political process the deceivers, with the assistance of the mainstream news media, blatantly display this end-times characteristic.

Is there tremendous tumult among the peoples of Earth, with ethnic strife ramping up to the point that there are great rumors of war, and, in fact, major wars that threaten much wider conflict?

Are things like they were in the days of Noah and of Lot? Is there ever-increasing violence, with homosexuality seemingly becoming the norm rather than aberrant?

Are there indicators today that, like Jude points out, this world is filled with ungodliness and incorrigible wickedness that is deserving of God’s judgment and wrath? How about, as a prime example, the slaughter of babies by the multi-millions in their mothers’ wombs?

Any believer filled with Holy Spirit discernment can testify that we see all these end-of-days’ characteristics and activities in every direction. But, to go deeper into where this generation stands on God’s prophetic timeline, let’s examine up close things taking place that cannot be mere coincidence in showing the nearness of Christ’s soon, sudden involvement in the evil affairs of fallen humankind.

In my thinking, the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump is an astonishing indicator of Heaven’s direct reach into this wicked time. That the candidate for the presidency was providentially protected is nothing short of miraculous. Yet the matter has been totally washed over by a lack of mainstream coverage. The prince of the power of the air turned all the right devices of control to influence his broadcasting minions to ignore what surely was one of the most overt acts of Deity in history.

Mainstream media, after twenty-four hours or so of semi-coverage, relegated the near assassination, the murder of another, and the near-fatal wounding of two others to being nothing more than coincidence.

But it was not coincidental. The intervention was on full display before the entire world. It was God making a statement. He is now showing His great right hand of omniscience and omnipotence at this late hour of the quickly fleeting Age of Grace.

Our God has reached down to make such statements before in recent times. These, too, have been treated as coincidence by mainstream media–and subsequently, they have deceived their mass audiences.

You might recall that one memorable event took place several years ago as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was voting to approve a “social statement on human sexuality” designed to open the way for congregations to be led by openly homosexual ministers and to make way for ELCA to perform same-sex marriages. A fierce storm described by many as a tornado unexpectedly ripped through downtown Minneapolis, where the ELCA convention was taking place. The storm damaged the convention center, along with the ELCA church across the street—even knocking over the church’s steeple in a bizarrely symbolic occurrence.

The tornado touched down near the outskirts of the city and made its track directly to the church, where it struck precisely at 2 p.m., the exact time the vote on the matters involved was to begin.

The Washington Post reported on the event in a joking way, calling it a coincidence and chiding mockingly those who attributed it to anything other.

Jesus said through the prophets that His return to intervene into the affairs of humankind would involve the nation Israel at the center of the turmoil that would be raging at the time. There is great turbulence at this moment in the Middle East. And Israel is at the center–not only of the troubles in the Middle East but of the entire world of diplomatic chaos.

Those diplomats are crying “peace and safety,” wanting to force Israel to bring to an end the ongoing conflict against Iran and its proxy terrorist entities.

Israel, because of the October 7, 2023, assault that killed 1,200 people, has directly attacked Iran, killing one of the top terrorist leaders in Tehran. Iran’s supreme leader has vowed to make Israel pay for the attack. This, the diplomatic sorts fear, could spark all-out war–even one that might go nuclear.

But just as everything pointed to this expanded war taking place, another “coincidence” has taken place. My friend Dr. Mark Hitchcock frames the incident:

The main story I would like to highlight surrounds the earthquake that took place recently in Syria [and Lebanon]. There’s an article in the Jerusalem Post about this fascinating development. The headline of the article says, “Heaven sent: Is Lebanon’s earthquake a testament to divine protection?”

Here is some intriguing information the article included:

Hezbollah’s underground ambitions may now lie buried, turned to ashes before they had any chance to harm us.

In our collective memory, Tisha B’Av has always been a solemn day, marked by the destruction of the First and Second Temples.

To provide further context, Tisha B’Av is a day of sorrow and reflection, which usually falls on our calendar in early August. It marks the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in 586 BC and the destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70. Those events happened on the same day. That’s not an accident—that’s divine providence. It was the hand of God showing the Jewish people that He was behind these destructions that took place because of their disobedience to Him.

The article continues:

This year, however, the day bore witness to what many of us view as a modern-day miracle—a testament to divine intervention that could not have come at a more crucial time.

Reports confirmed a 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck Syria and Lebanon, profoundly impacting the region. This was not just any seismic event; it may have served as an unanticipated yet divine act that thwarted a grave threat against the Jewish nation. (“Tectonic Shifts: Did God Use an Earthquake in the Middle East to Thwart an Attack on Israel?” “Marking The End Times,” August 18, 2024)

The collapse of those tunnels filled with munitions meant to be fired into Israel is profound proof of God’s hands-on control.

I believe we will see God’s mighty hand of control continue to reach into our world of wickedness the nearer we come to the time when Jesus calls all believers to Himself in the Rapture.

I implore you to be part of that divine rescue and avoid the terrible judgment and wrath that will then befall all rebels left on Earth.

Here is how to go to the Lord when He calls all believers living and who have died:

“That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

—Terry

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The Restrainer :: By Jonathan Brentner

A few years ago, JD Farag used a rubber band as an illustration of the nearness of the Rapture. Just as one can only stretch it so far before it snaps, so world events could only continue so long before the chaos of the Tribulation period erupted across the earth.

At the time, it appeared as though the horses and riders of the apocalypse were about ready to ride across the earth spreading deceit, wars, famine, and much death in their wake (Revelation 6:1-8); things that happen after Jesus appears and takes us out of the world.

Today, we seem even closer to the chaos that will mark the start of the Day of the Lord, yet we remain earthbound. What’s going on? The Apostle Paul, in 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8, tells us that what we see today is the work of the Restrainer, the Holy Spirit, who is currently working through the Church to block the revealing of antichrist and restrain the lawlessness that will accompany his unveiling to the world.

“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.”

The many signs pointing to the onset of the seven-year Tribulation are unmistakable. However, the Restrainer is also at work delaying the events of Revelation 6 until we are safely with Jesus in Heaven and He opens the seals.

Our world is currently full of conflicts that have the potential to lead to a world war far more deadly than the ones of the past century. As Ukraine, with NATO expertise, equipment, and training, continues to strike deep into its territory, Russian leaders continue to warn that such actions will lead to a nuclear war, which would contribute to the enormous death toll that we read about in Revelation 6:7-8.

Kremlin Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently warned America that its participation in its war with Ukraine was “like small children playing with matches.” I believe that the hesitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin to respond with nuclear weapons comes from the Holy Spirit’s restraint rather than his benevolence.

A great many people, including me, expected a major war to occur in the Middle East weeks ago, but so far, the fighting hasn’t reached that level.

Author and Bible prophecy expert Joel C. Rosenberg addressed God’s restraint in the Middle East in a recent article: Has God supernaturally thwarted Iran & Hezbollah from launching apocalyptic missile attacks against Israel? Or is the attack still coming? Another writer, Mark Hitchcock, in a piece that appeared on the Harbinger’s Daily website, considered the possibility that God had used a recent earthquake in Syria to thwart an all-out attack on Israel.

Long ago, Ezekiel predicted that an alliance of nations would invade Israel in the end times (chapters 38-39). The players are aligned exactly as he prophesied, but the time has not yet come. In recent weeks, Putin has become increasingly vocal of the need for a two-state division of Israel, which perhaps speaks to his future involvement in the Gog-Magog war. I’m of the opinion that this invasion will happen soon after the Rapture, but it’s possible we might still be here when it happens.

Another place where the rubber band should’ve snapped long before now lies in the area of the economy and what John witnessed – the “black horse” and its rider (Revelation 6:5-6). How much longer can a nation that’s thirty-five trillion dollars in debt keep rewarding millions of illegal aliens with vast amounts of money that it must borrow? I’m convinced that the globalists are attempting to cause a catastrophic depression upon the U.S., one that will lead to economic devastation throughout the world.

According to what I learned while pursuing my MBA degree at the University of Iowa thirty-six years ago, the U.S. should already have arrived at a time of severe hyperinflation. The increases in the cost of living during the past few years have been substantial and quite painful for many families, but even so, they are relatively mild compared to what lies ahead for America.

For those of us who already belong to Christ, now is the time to be watching, knowing that His appearing to take us home is imminent. From our perspective, we are already living on borrowed time. The rubber band has been stretched beyond what we thought possible, and perhaps very soon, the “sudden destruction” of the Day of the Lord will fall upon those left behind after our departure.

As we wait, is it not encouraging to know that the seeming delay we see in world events is itself the fulfillment of prophecy? Apart from the Restrainer, how else can we explain the current lack of a leader who is able to make globalists’ dream of world dominance a reality?

-Jonathan