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So what does this talk of prophecy all mean to you? If it is reasonably true (and current events certainly do seem to be lining up with much end-times prophecy), then you should assess what it means to you. If these are the end-times, then Israel is being prepared by God to return to being God’s ministry people after 2000 years of being sidelined for their unbelief re their Messiah (Christ) when He walked this earth. Daniel 9:24-27 makes it clear that there is a 7-year ministry period yet remaining to Israel (one week of years) before Armageddon and the return of Christ their Messiah as their King, to rule over them for 1000 years. That remaining 7-year ministry of Israel has not yet begun, for while the Church still remains here on earth, salvation cannot, will not, return to Israel. Romans 11:25-27 tells us that when the Church (the time of the Gentiles) is fulfilled (completed), the Deliverer (or Saviour) will return to Israel and all Israel will now be saved (during that final 7-year period of Israel’s ministry before their Messiah returns at Armageddon). Currently salvation is through the Church, but one day soon the Church will be completed (fulfilled) and they will be snatched away in an event called the Rapture (which means “the snatching away”). The trumpet call will go out to the Church here on earth (1 Corinthians 15:51-53) and the Church (of those who genuinely believe in Christ as Saviour) will be called home. It is likely that only those who are snatched away will actually be aware of this calling to come home.

Then salvation will return to Israel. Right now salvation is through the Church but when the Church is snatched away, then salvation may only be found through Israel’s ministry. If you are not of Israel, then you are a Gentile, and once the Gentile Church has been called home in the Rapture, then there will be very little opportunity to be saved unless you are associated with Israel and its ministry. Effectively, if you are not of Israel, then once the Church is Raptured home to heaven, then you are unlikely to be saved from that time on. The Bible says “behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2) It is still now acceptable for those of non-Israel nations to be saved, but if these are the end-times, then the door may shut for you once the Church has been taken home to heaven.

After the Church has departed earth then salvation returns to being through Israel’s ministry. For just 7 more years all of Israel who will call upon the name of the Lord will be delivered (saved) (Joel 2:32). And then when satan builds his antichrist forces to oppose Jerusalem at Armageddon, Christ the Messiah will return to defeat all Israel’s enemies, and will then bring judgement upon all those of the nations who would not support Israel during this final 7-year period. During this final 7-year period (often called the Tribulation), those of Israel will be required worship the antichrist (when he sits in the Temple to be worshipped by them) or they will be executed. God enables much of Israel to run to safety (Revelation 12:14-17) with those not able to escape being hunted down and slaughtered. Jesus said (in Matthew 24:15-21) that when Israel saw the abomination that Daniel spoke of (see Daniel 9:27), at the mid-point of the Tribulation, they were to escape as quickly as possible or else. If you are not yet saved through trust in Jesus Christ then do it now for time is short, very short!

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We might look at world leaders today and wonder just how did they ever get to be elected? So many seem to be incompetent or evil, or even both incompetent and evil. Godlessness (aka political correctness in most cases) seems to be a prerequisite to getting votes in many nations.

In Australia we have a federal government that seems unable to tell the truth. Everyone seems to know this, and yet there are still so many who seem to find this acceptable. Our Australian government is openly supportive of the Gazan terrorists in spite of its rhetoric that it is not anti-Israel. Yet there is online video allegedly showing our PM speaking into a megaphone at an anti-Israel rally in Sydney in 2000. “Albanese faced questions over footage showing him at a Palestine rally in 2000. In the clip, Albanese is heard accusing Israel of using tanks and missiles against ‘children throwing rocks’.” (dailymail.co.uk 26/12/25)

Most UN member states appear to prefer the terrorists rather than support Israel. If the terrorists murder, pillage, rape civilians, then it is claimed as a legitimate act of resistance against Israel whom they prefer to describe as genocidal. Many might think that if these are the end-times, then surely Israel would be favoured to win support from others. However, it is the end-times that actually require the world in general to be in conflict with Israel. It is the conflict that will cause world title, now held by satan, to be returned to God and His people.

The final 7-year period often called the Tribulation will be an effort to either get Israel to worship the antichrist or, failing that, to utterly destroy that which refuses to worship the antichrist. All people will have to choose this day whom they will serve: God and His people Israel, or satan’s world which hates God and His people Israel. Our leaders in these end-times, despite their evil, are part of God’s plan to regain title to the world and His people Israel. They will be like pharaoh: drawn into conflict with God’s people in order for God to win title through His people. In the Bible, Egypt symbolizes the world and pharaoh symbolizes worldly leaders in the world. God used the conflict between pharaoh and Moses to win title to His people Israel to set them free from satan’s Egypt. It was necessary for pharaoh to be used to oppose Moses, and thus pharaoh had to be an evil servant of satan. The title to Israel could only be won via such conflict. There is no real victory without a battle!

Today it is necessary for the world leaders in general, like pharaoh, to stand in opposition to Israel so that these world leaders may eventually concede victory to God and His people. It is necessary that world leaders generally be servants of satan in order that God may, through conflict, win title to Israel and to the world. And it is necessary for God to reclaim title to His people Israel and His world before handing it to Christ the Messiah for His millennial reign of peace and prosperity following Armageddon. During that millennium, satan and his evil angels (demons) will not be permitted any access to any title on earth. Satan will be locked away until the end of the millennium, after which he will be set free for a season to gather one last force against God’s people. God will send fire from heaven and destroy them, and satan’s rule will be ended forever (Revelation 20: 1-10).

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It must be noted carefully that the God of the Bible (and of His Church, and of His people Israel) is not the God of any other religion that claims his name as their God. In particular, the God of Islam is not the God of the Bible. Regardless of what people claim, the god Allah is not the God of the Bible. They are 2 separate and distinct beings. If we look at the words and writings of both Islam and Christianity/Judaism, it is clear that the Gods of each religion have teachings that oppose each other. Christianity’s God is a God of love, one who died in the place of sinful man so that man could escape the righteous judgement for his sin. There is no similar record of such teachings in Islam. Instead, Islam is a religion of works, where one must work to obtain the pleasure of his God. Those muslims who die allegedly for their faith are proclaimed martyrs which appears to be the ultimate work to please their God. While the Christian is required to love his enemies and do good to those who persecute him, the muslim is rather to defend his beliefs by physically opposing those who would dare to oppose them. And the Christian cannot attain to heaven by works; it is by faith in God who has died for them in their place. On the other hand, for muslims, there does not appear to be any salvation through belief in the substitutionary death of their God in their place; there is no Christ/God figure who paid for their sins in full.

The ultimate definition of any God can be seen by looking at those who serve him. Christians are to be ambassadors for Christ who is God (2 Corinthians 5:20); they must show to the world the attributes of the one whom they serve. Thus they must show love, justice, care to those around them, and it should not make any difference if those around them hate them – they are commanded to show love by doing good to even those who hate them! Any Christian who does not demonstrate Christ-like attributes to others is not a good Christian, or may not even be a genuine Christian! Fightings among Christians is declared the sinful consequences of our sinful nature.
James 4:1 – From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 

However, Islam does appear to strongly encourage defending of their faith via physical violence, rather than meekly accept hurt from others without returning the violence. The best definition of a person’s God is to see how that person behaves. A good servant of any God will try to behave as much like their God as possible, to imitate their God. There’s a saying “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”; imitating your God is definitely a form of worship.
1 John 2:6 – He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. That is, if we claim to be the servant of God, we should live our lives as our God (Christ) lived His. Effectively this must be true. And likewise true for servants of Gods of other religions. Your behaviour demonstrates the type of God you serve.
that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. (1 Timothy 1:16)
Thus, if two people who claim to serve a God walk completely different lives from each other, then it is reasonable to assume that they serve two different Gods. Clearly muslims worship a different God to the God of the Bible.

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Joel gives us an interesting biblical aspect of these end-times. He uses the term “day of the Lord” 5 times in just 3 chapters (Joel 1:15; 2:1; 2:11; 2:31; 3:14). The term always applies to times when God overrules man’s dominion in order to establish His sovereign will. It often refers to the end-times (which we may be in the early stages of now). In Genesis 1:26 God gave man dominion over the earth and everything in it. This effectively shut satan out of any direct control of the earth, requiring satan to have to work through the control of mankind in order to gain a de facto dominion (but not the real thing!). Likewise, God has permitted man some freedom of will necessary for effective dominion, and has chosen to generally not overrule man. God does at times overrule man’s dominion. When He does so, it’s often what insurance companies would call an “act of God”! God overruled man by sending Noah’s flood to cut their dominion short. But in general God does stay out of man’s dominion decisions (which often simply prove man’s stupidity!). Satan has to work through mankind to have a de facto dominion on earth, and God works through His people (today being the Church, soon to be replaced by Israel once more).

While Joel almost 3000 years ago was initially writing about the events of his day (locust plagues, famine, etc), it is clear that he was actually painting a picture of what it would be like in the last days of this earth including Armageddon and after. His use of the “day of the Lord” indicates that in the end-times God will overrule man’s decision-making dominion on earth in order to establish His will that will ultimately lead to the redemption and everlasting righteousness of His people Israel. The locusts of Joel’s day represented God’s judgement on His people; God called them “His army”, and the people were unable to stop them or even turn them aside at all. They would oppress God’s people until they repented of their sins and turned back to God. Then and only then would the locusts be turned aside and destroyed.

Today those in positions of authority are there by God will, as also for every person who will play a part in the end-times. Satan no longer will have the de facto dominion he has enjoyed for so long. His faithful servants are largely controlled instead by God. Joel pictures them as no longer under satan’s control; they are effectively God’s army of judgement, for His people, and also for the whole world itself. In the end-times God will not lose control; instead He will vastly increase His control over world affairs. Egypt’s pharaoh in the days of Moses was set up in place in order to fight the battle with Moses which pharaoh was made to lose in order for God to take back title to His people Israel. “Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.” (Romans 9:17) Pharoah (satan’s servant) would be made to oppose God until pharaoh had lost; God wouldn’t let pharaoh turn away from his evil; He hardened pharaoh’s heart; and Israel was set free. Likewise in the end-times God will cause satan and his servants to continue in the conflict until God has won the victory: that is, He takes back title of ownership of His people Israel. Satan’s servants are fighting in this battle and will do so until they are defeated, and satan and his servants cannot prevent God winning this victory, and satan and his servants losing!

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Israel, of course, when facing total destruction from their enemies (as listed in Ezekiel 38), would quickly agree to a mutual defence treaty if it were seen as absolutely the only option that might save their nation from annihilation. After all, Israel’s current reliance upon US to assist them is not from a religious point of view, but from a desperate need for survival. Israel is a tiny country compared with most of its neighbours, with more limited resources than most, too. Their population is quite mixed, from Druze, Bedouin (an Arab population around 21%), with only 78% identifying as Jews, many of whom do not actively believe Judaism. In all there are less than 10 million citizens of Israel. And yet, with comparatively huge populations in other middle-east countries, Israel still manages to have a higher life-style than most others. Their defence forces are more effective than in any of the surrounding countries, and it is believed that they have sufficient nuclear warheads to destroy most of the lands around them.

However, in spite of this, huge enemy numbers will one day overwhelm them, in an invasion prophesied in Ezekiel 38. Joel may have referred to this when he wrote “Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.” (Joel 3:9-10) Note that this is a call to those non-Jewish nations who might be too scared to commit themselves to battle against a foe who might cause immense injury to them. But they will one day think that they have the huge numbers necessary to overwhelm Israel and they (the weak ones) will consider themselves strong enough to oppose Israel. “Let those weak ones declare that because of their huge superiority of numbers they are able to defeat the small nation of Israel!” Like all bullies, they are only willing to take on a much smaller country when they have hugely superior numbers.

This invasion will be only the start of what would have to be called World War 3 (and the war to end all wars!). Once the antichrist signs that mutual defence treaty with Israel, the final 7 years to Armageddon begins the count-down. The invasion will be short-lived, for Ezekiel goes on (Ch.38 and into Ch.39) to declare that God will wreak vengeance upon these invading armies and utterly destroy them, using the antichrist and his forces to set up that final seven-year period of Israel before their Messiah returns. As part of his treaty with Israel, it seems that antichrist will rebuild their temple for their sacrifices according to the Law; this also has to assume that the temple mount will be cleared of other buildings in preparation for the new temple. If other buildings such as the mosque and its compound are in the way, then they will be destroyed, probably in the fighting leading up to or during or following the invasion of Israel. Israel will have initially made a pact with satan’s antichrist in order to survive; pure necessity will drive this decision. But prophecy is clear: God will be in charge of all events and nothing will occur without God’s approval. Even when things look darkest in coming years, God will never have left His sovereign throne; He will always rule. Every shocking event will lead to God’s final absolute victory at Armageddon.

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Why would Europe be declaring war on the armies that invade Israel? In recent years most of Europe has been opposed (often obsessively so) to Israel’s efforts to defend itself against the terrorist rabbles that are working hard to destroy Israel. Yet prophecy says that it will be a European who makes a covenant with Israel for one week (that is, the final seven years before Armageddon).

“the people of the prince (or ruler, leader) that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:” (Daniel 9:26-27) There is a future ruler who will come from the people who would destroy Jerusalem and the temple. This destruction occurred in 70 AD and it was the Roman empire that did it. Therefore the coming ruler will be from the Roman empire, or effectively from that which represents a continuation of that empire today, that is, Europe today. This ruler will sign a covenant (most likely a mutual defence treaty) with “many” which here can only signify Israel (because the context of this passage is certainly Israel). Therefore it will be Europe and not USA that comes to the aid of Israel when they are invaded by a huge army from nations around them (including Iran, Turkey, Russia, Libya and Ethiopia).

Currently Europe is waking up to the threat of Russia facing them. Russia has been pushing the boundaries of civil respect with Europe for some time now, with it now being likely that they will invade the Baltic states and Finland in eastern Europe in next year or two, due to all belonging to NATO and having common borders with Russia. Poland is also being threatened with drone incursions into Polish airspace. With USA threatening withdrawal from NATO, Europe is currently scrambling to build defences quickly to oppose the threat of a Russian invasion which many believe could happen within the next 3 years, and that Russia could use nuclear weapons (something it has threatened a few times in recent years). In particular, Germany is rapidly expanding its armed forces, aiming to become the most powerful fighting force in Europe by 2029. Germany has also established a military presence in Lithuania. The Baltic states, Finland, Denmark and Sweden are also boosting defence spending and preparation.

Until recently, Europe has relied heavily upon US support for NATO defences. If USA pulls out of NATO (as threatened by Trump), then Europe may not be sufficiently prepared to defend against Russia. However, currently many European countries are beginning to increase readiness. Also, if Russia joins with Iran and others to invade Israel, then Europe may find it easier to defeat Russia, especially with an element of surprise. It is possible that Europe, expecting a serious threat from Russia, decides on a pre-emptive strike while Russia is involved with invading Israel.

However, ultimately, a European antichrist will lead European forces against Israel’s enemies because that’s what the Bible has prophesied. Most likely the invaders of Israel would not be expecting an attack by Europe, especially if it came without warning, noting that they would be expecting to destroy Israel, and not expecting their own sudden destruction.

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Would Russia really get involved in a war against Israel? Note that in around 1972 Russia’s KGB initiated a covert campaign (Operation SIG) designed to incite hatred against Israel and USA particularly within the Islamic world. It involved extensive propaganda efforts and the use of Arab groups as proxies to carry out attacks and spread disinformation (note Iran!). Russia today claims to have good relations with Israel yet Russia strongly condemns Israel’s actions in Gaza, and also in 2025 made a significant strategic partnership agreement with Iran. Iran has provided Russia with weaponry especially drones for use in Ukraine, and Russia appears to have been supplying Iran with both munitions, and GPS data for their missiles. When Israel threatened to attack Iran’s major power plants, Russia warned Israel that they were off limits. Ultimately, prophecy itself aligns Russia with Iran (Persia). When Iran moves to attack and invade Israel (and they will), Russia will be one of those whom God draws with hooks in their jaws to join in the invasion.

Would Turkey actually join Iran in declaring war against Israel? Interestingly, Times of Israel reported on 25/06/2026 that Trump suggested this could be so. ““He was a prime candidate to go into the war with Iran — maybe on the Iran side, because he’s not a big fan of Israel,” Trump claimed.” Trump appeared to be offering Turkey the carrot of getting F-35 fighter planes. “Trump was also asked Wednesday whether he was preparing a major “gift bag” of weapons sales for Turkey ahead of an upcoming NATO summit there, including F-35 stealth fighters and dozens of jet engines. “I think so, look… I’m going to probably do something that’s going to make him very happy,” Trump said.” Turkey has also made it clear that it supports Israel’s terrorist enemies, especially in Gaza. Turkey has also become a significant location for hamas’s leadership, especially after some members were expelled from other countries like Qatar. 

If Iran were to invade Israel, it would need to have Israel’s defence systems neutralised. While Iran could have nuclear weapons soon, Russia could more easily target and neutralise Israel’s main defences, especially by using their alleged nuclear warheads on hypersonic ballistic missiles. (Iran has previously claimed (in 2024) that they know where all Israel’s nuclear compounds are located and have the capability to destroy them.)

Libya (listed in Ezekiel 38 as a nation that would be drawn into an invasion of Israel) is an ally of Russia. Russia began moving its military and naval resources there after Israel targeted many weapons sites in Syria following the Syrian government coup in December 2024. And Ethiopia (another enemy listed in Ezekiel 38) is currently trying to establish a seaport on the Red Sea, citing historical rights and economic necessity. This quest has raised concerns about potential regional conflicts with neighboring countries. The stage is set for a massive invasion of Israel especially after an expected USA pull-out of much of its forces in the middle-east.

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If Iran (probably with allies, particularly Russia and Turkey) declares war on Israel, then the end is indeed very near indeed, for this is what prophecy says will happen. God will put hooks in their jaws and draw them into battle against Israel (Ezekiel 38:4-5). When this occurs, if you haven’t already done so, get right with God by calling upon His name to be saved (Romans 10:13), for time then is very short. A seven-year period of extreme conflict upon the whole earth is immanent, culminating with Armageddon (which will literally mark the end of the world as we know it today).

Israel’s enemies as listed in Ezekiel 38 will come against the land of Israel. There will be a great shaking (which could indicate nuclear warfare) in Israel; mountains will be levelled and “every wall shall fall to the ground”. (Ezekiel 38:18-20) This does appear to demonstrate use of exceptionally powerful bombs, probably nuclear. Iran has been working hard to get nuclear weapons developed, but even if they don’t, Russia does have a huge arsenal of powerful weapons including nuclear warheads that can be carried on hypersonic missiles that Israel’s defences may struggle to block. In any case, it appears that Israel will be invaded by a huge multi-national army In Ezekiel 38:21-23 God brings savage justice to this invading army. “I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.” (Vss 22-23) Prophecy in Ezekiel 39:1-6 says that this huge invading army will be totally defeated. All the people in the invading army will fall upon the mountains of Israel, and upon the open field. God will send a fire upon their nations and they will know that God is the Lord.
Ezekiel 39:7 – So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. 

So how does Israel end up wiping out a huge army that they were unable to prevent from invading? Prophecy in Daniel 9:26-27 tells us that  a leader will come from the nation that destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 70AD. He will make a covenant with Israel for seven years (“one week”). It was the Roman empire that destroyed Jerusalem in 70AD and therefore this leader will be from that same empire. known as the revived Roman empire (understood to be Europe today). This leader is the antichrist of that final seven-year tribulation period, and he will lead a European army against the invading armies in Israel, wiping them out, probably with nuclear weaponry, completely destroying them Prophecy suggests that not one will return home again. Prophecy also suggests that their home nations will also be savaged by the antichrist’s weaponry. Israel’s enemies might win the first round by invading Israel, but their victory will be very short-lived indeed. And while the antichrist is never named as such in the Bible, he will be a ruthless dictator who will seek to rule the world in that final seven years before Armageddon. He will be dominated by satan who will seek to rule the world through his servant, the antichrist, promising world peace and prosperity, but will be destroyed by Christ at Armageddon.

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It must be noted that, no matter what it looks like today, the yet-future Armageddon will establish Israel forever with all her enemies defeated. But all wars must start somewhere. For Israel, this final phase of her struggle for existence began in 1917 with the Balfour Declaration that set aside a large portion of Palestine for Israel’s future use. This portion was then whittled down until only a small amount existed by 1948 when Israel took possession of the meagre portion yet allowed her. Because satan hates God and therefore God’s people Israel with a vengeance, satan caused his followers to violently oppose Israel’s possession of that land (which was still only a small part of the land given to her via the Abrahamic covenant around 4000 years ago). If Israel had followed the religion of most of Palestine, she would not have been opposed so vehemently. After all, it had little to do with the land taken (small as it was to begin with). But, because Israel was not of their religion, she was hated and had to be destroyed. Even though God sidelined Israel for rejecting their Messiah 2000 years ago, He never cast them away (Romans 11:1-8; 20). God’s promise in Daniel 9:24 is that they will certainly one day be redeemed and granted everlasting righteousness. One day, when the gentile Church is taken away (in the Rapture) Israel will then return to being God’s ministry people once again (Romans 11:25-27). They will return to serving the one true God as His people. And this is why they are hated by others in the land around them: because they belong to the God of the Bible and one day will worship Him as His people forever (Ezekiel 37:21-28).

The book of Joel in the Bible, though seemingly written about God’s judgement upon the sin of Judah 3000 years ago, is actually a picture of the tribulation conflicts of the end-times leading up to Armageddon (as noted in Joel Ch.3). In Joel 3:4 he writes about what appears to start the conflicts, or rather, the peoples who will lead the first attacks upon Israel; they are named as Tyre, Sidon, and all the coasts of Palestine (or today we would say southern Lebanon and Gaza). It was terrorists from Gaza and southern Lebanon who initiated the attacks on 7th Oct 2023 (hezbollah was involved in the planning and preparations for Oct 7th and commenced firing rocket barrages into Israel on Oct 8th in support of Gaza). The Bible also prophesies against Gaza and the land of the Philistines (where Palestine is actually the land of the ancient Philistines). Gaza will be forsaken; no inhabitants will remain; those coastlands will be for the use of Israel (Zephaniah 2:4-7). Tyre (the old city as it was in ancient times) also is condemned to be levelled (Ezekiel Ch.26). It is clear that those who mess around with God’s people (even before Israel has repented of her sin and returned to Him) will be in serious trouble. Zechariah 2:8 warns that “he that toucheth you (Israel) toucheth the apple of his eye (or the centre of His attention)”. It is a serious warning to leave God’s people Israel alone.

After Gaza and Southern Lebanon commence attacks on Israel, a group of nations (including Russia, Turkey, Persia [Iran], Libya and Ethiopia) will combine to invade Israel (Ezekiel 38), not because they want to but because God makes them do so.

Everyone resembles the God he worships

You can tell what a person’s God is like by observing the person himself.

There is only one true God of the Bible. God has said that he is God and that there is no God other than him. I [am] the Lord, and [there is] none else, [there is] no God beside me (Isaiah 45:5) There can not be two true gods in this world because there is only one. true God.  Therefore, if you do not worship the true God of the Bible, then you are worshipping a false god.

Some false gods are merely lumps of wood, tin, silver or gold that cannot answer nor save them from trouble for they are merely inanimate carvings or mouldings.
Isaiah 45:20 – ….. they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god [that] cannot save.
Isaiah 46:6-7, 9 – ⁶They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, [and] hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship. ⁷They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, [one] shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble. …. ⁹…. for I [am] God, and [there is] none else; [I am] God, and [there is] none like me
You might as well be praying to a lump of rock, the sun or maybe the crescent moon for they cannot do anything at all for you. But note that worshipping even inanimate false gods is ultimately serving satan and his demons.

But some false gods are beings who were created by the true God against whom they rebelled, and the name of those false gods are of the many names of satan and his demons. While satan and his demons do have powers to do things to and for the people of earth, their authority is limited by their creator, the true God who will one day confine them to an “everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels“. (Matthew 25:41) And those who serve them are destined for that same everlasting fire, unless they repent and call upon the name of the Lord, the true God, to be saved (Romans 10:13).

All who worship any “god”, either the true God or any false god, will be ambassadors for that “god”. They will walk and talk and behave like their “god” whom they worship. In particular, Christians are admonished to be ambassadors for the one they worship. Paul told the Christians at Corinth that they (God’s people, currently the Church but soon to be Israel again) were ambassadors for Christ. He wrote “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20) That means we are to demonstrate to others the one we worship.

It is very true that we will show forth the praises of the one we worship, particularly in living our lives in imitation of that one.
1 Peter 2:9-10 – ⁹But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: ¹⁰Which in time past [were] not a people, but [are] now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

There are many false gods in the world but only one true God. And every one will demonstrate what their “god’ is like by the behaviour they portray to others around them. So whether you worship the one true God of the Bible, or instead one of the countless false gods, you will imitate the behaviour and attributes of the “god’ you serve.

Everyone serves a “god” of some sort, whether it be your house, car, success in your job, riches in the bank, or the god of a false religion (one that denies the authority of the one true God of the Bible). Everyone worships someone or something. That which is most important in your life is your “god”, your “religion”. For many, the most important thing in their lives is themselves!

Many serve a religion that claims to worship a “god”. This includes those religions that do not specifically lay claim to a “god”; they will still worship a mode of living that is basically their religion and their “god”.
This includes all world religions other than the worship of the one true God of the Bible.

The “god” that you worship will inevitably influence your mode of living, your behaviour. If you worship a musician or actor, you may seek to dress like that person, or wear the same hair style etc. You may put up posters depicting that person. You may also walk and talk like that person and you may like what they like and disapprove of the things they disprove of. In short, you will to some extent represent the style and behaviour of the one you seek to emulate. By your observed behaviour, others around you may gain some idea of the character of the one you “worship”.

In particular, if you worship a “god’ of a religion, you will seek to emulate that “god”. This must include obedience to the teachings of that “god’ or religion.
By your observed behaviour, others around you may gain some idea of the character of the “god” of your religion. You are an ambassador for that “god” you worship.

If you hate all others except those of your religion, then the “god” of that religion whom you worship likewise hates all others except those who worship him. If you seek to destroy all others except those who live according to your beliefs, then your “god” does likewise. If your religion is a religion of hate and intolerance, then you will act accordingly and be a person of hate and intolerance. A religion that wants a monopoly of worship for its “god” alone lacks love for all others. There is no freedom of choice; you worship that “god’ or be destroyed. You cannot love anyone outside your beliefs because your “god” won’t permit it; he hates all others, and so should you!

So, you can always tell what a person’s “god” is like by observing that person. Everyone who worships a “god” will define their “god” by their behaviour, the way they live. The God of the Bible portrays himself as the one true God and there is none other. Therefore, to worship the God of the Bible you must act according to his nature. God is love; therefore so should we be portraying this love. God is just; therefore we should be portraying this justice to others. God loves all people and forgives and saves to the uttermost all those who call upon his name to be saved. God commands us to love our enemies; Jesus displayed this on the cross when he prayed to forgive them for they know not what they do. God commands us to forgive others who repent just as He forgave His people when they repented.

God is love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control (the fruit of the Spirit as per Galatians 5:22-23). This must be abundantly evident in the lives of the followers of the God of the Bible. If his alleged followers do not evidence this in their lives, then one can logically draw the conclusion that some people might claim to worship him, but by their behaviour they do not worship him.
Isaiah 29:13 – Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near [me] with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.

There is only one widespread religion that actually worships the God of the Bible: genuine Christians who have called upon the name of the Lord to be saved (Romans 10:13). The Old Testament law also specified a religion that enjoined Israel to worship the God of the Bible, but as yet most who claim to be Israel today are not actually worshipping him. Although they may claim to worship him, they do not generally worship him at the moment. However, one day (probably very soon), when the Church is taken home (the Rapture), Israel will return to being God’s people once again. The end times are either already here or close at hand. The war that involves Russia and islamic nations around Israel (Ezekiel 38) does seem just around the corner. In the end times, Israel has just 7 years remaining on God’s timeline before their Messiah returns to save them at the battle of Armageddon. Soon Ezekiel’s prophecy will happen (Ezekiel 37:27 – My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.) Israel will also once more worship the one true God of the Bible.

There are many religions that claim to worship the God of the Bible but by both their statements and behaviour they prove otherwise. Only those who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, for the Christian (Romans 10:13) and Israel (Joel 2:32). Many claim that their “god’ will give them paradise (or other equivalent terms) yet unless it is promised by the God of the Bible, then such a paradise will be more like hell! And if they do not act like the God of the Bible, then they certainly cannot be worshipping him.

Many false gods are worshipped allegedly in the name of the God of the Bible, but if they do not truly worship him, then they are worshipping a lie of satan.
Matthew 7:21-23 – ²¹Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? ²³And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Many false religions will make claims that are self-serving for those who worship their “god”. For example, the mormons originally taught that polygamy was essential for salvation, and even today still teach that a woman can only be assured of salvation if she is married to a man who holds a “priesthood”. This was apparently a self-serving rule of men who desired to have multiple wives. So they made their “god’ ordain it!
Matthew 15:9 – But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
However, the God of the Bible never taught this; thus to do so is to twist and distort the image of the God of the Bible.

The islamic religion also worships a “god” other than the God of the Bible. Their “god” allegedly promises paradise with 70 virgins (houris) to all who are allegedly martyred for their “faith”.  However, once they get to “paradise”, it’s too late to change if they happen to get it wrong. Certainly, though, the God of the Bible never anywhere promises to grant such a “paradise” to anyone who maims and kills others in the name of their religion, allegedly because the “infidels” (the unfaithful) will not believe in it. If hell is such an evil place, why should anyone delight in sending others there?

Even so-called Christian religions that use their self-serving rules to gain an advantage over others who may believe differently are at fault here. To torture people (often to death) for the crime of not believing everything the catholic church said (as happened in the inquisitions) is not portraying the God of the Bible. And Calvin, who claimed to be reforming the catholic church from such heresy, murdered Anabaptists for the crime of being baptised again as believers. Clearly his “god” also was not the God of the Bible. To murder and pillage in the name of God is to deny that they have any part to play in worshipping the true God of the Bible.

If you hate outsiders, then it’s because your “god” hates outsiders. If you seek to kill outsiders for not believing as you do, then it’s because your “god” seeks to kill all others who do not believe in him. What you are is a reflection of the “god” you worship. And, if it is not the God of the Bible, then it will be those false “gods”, satan and his demons, that you truly worship. You are effectively the image of your “god”.

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The coming antichrist

While Israel will be victorious to the end (in spite of the greatest tribulation they will ever experience), the biggest enemy of Israel in these coming end-times will be the antichrist (although he is never actually referred to as the antichrist in all of the book of Revelation). The antichrist will be satan’s man in Israel’s final 7-year period before Christ their Messiah returns to save His people Israel at Armageddon. Effectively, the antichrist will be the embodiment of satan, who is the ruler of all that is evil in this world.

Jesus said of satan (the devil) that “He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44) While God’s every word is truth, all lies are the work of satan.

A passage in 2 Thessalonians gives us a clear understanding of who he really is.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4; 7-12 – ³Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; ⁴Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. ….
⁷For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way. ⁸And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: ⁹[Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, ¹⁰And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: ¹²That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

He will be satan’s man; 2 Thessalonians 2:9 declares the antichrist to be “him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.” In that same passage he is called the “man of sin“, “the son of perdition“, the “Wicked“, the one who “opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.“

Satan has always desired to be as God. Note Isaiah 14:12-15 – ¹²How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! ¹³For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: ¹⁴I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. ¹⁵Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Satan (= “Lucifer” here) wished to “be like the most High“. He challenged God and lost. Since then satan has tried to control what he considers his kingdom on earth: its people. 1 John 5:19 says that “the whole world lieth in wickedness” or, more correctly, “the whole world lies in the wicked one” or “under the power of the wicked one” (where “the whole world” here represents all the inhabitants of earth). The people of this world are its citizens while God’s people are no longer citizens of this world but of heaven.
Satan already has the worship of much of the world, but that’s just not enough to satisfy him. He desires the worship of all the world, and in the end-times tribulation period he will, through his servant “the beast” (= the antichrist), demand that all worship him or be executed.
Revelation 13:15 – And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

In particular satan (through his antichrist, the beast) desires to be worshipped by God’s people, Israel. He desired to be as God (“like the most High“) and to him that means being declared God by Israel. He would then be their god and they would be his people. This is the rationale behind him wanting to sit in the temple of God such that he would be seen as their God.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 – ³Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; ⁴Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

During the tribulation the antichrist will seat himself in the temple as the one to be worshipped, demanding that Israel worship him as their god. This will occur at the midpoint of Israel’s final 7-year period, the tribulation. Jesus alluded to this when He said, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place …” (Matthew 24:15) Daniel spoke of it in Daniel 12:11 – And from the time [that] the daily [sacrifice] shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, [there shall be] a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
Daniel 9:27 says “And he (the antichrist) shall confirm the covenant with many (the nation of Israel) for one week (Israel’s final 7-year period): and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease (the daily sacrifice will be taken away), and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate (the antichrist will sit in the temple to be worshipped), even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.“

Jesus said that when they saw this “abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place“, they were to urgently flee for their very lives, not even wasting any time to get supplies or clothing etc. Note that in Daniel 9:27 this will occur “in the midst of the week“, that is, in the middle of that 7-year period.
Matthew 24:15-21 – ¹⁵When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) ¹⁶Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: ¹⁷Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: ¹⁸Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. ¹⁹And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! ²⁰But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: ²¹For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

The following from Revelation 12 refers to that flight.
Revelation 12:6, 14 – ⁶And the woman (Israel) fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days.
¹⁴And to the woman (Israel) were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
God causes Israel to be assisted to flee from the antichrist abomination in the temple, protecting and caring for her for that 2^nd half of the tribulation period while the antichrist sits in the temple to be worshipped. This is really ironic in that all satan’s antichrist wants here is to be worshipped by God’s people but when he sets himself up in the temple to be worshipped, Israel up and disappears! It’s certain that God will do everything to avoid His people, Israel, worshipping satan.

Not only does Israel disappear while the antichrist is in the temple, God’s two witnesses (suggested by many to be Elijah and Moses) cause heaps of trouble in Jerusalem at this time. The antichrist cannot get rid of them in a hurry, either.
Revelation 11:3-6 – ³And I will give [power] unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. ⁴These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. ⁵And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. ⁶These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

Finally, after 3½ years, the antichrist manages to have them killed. They lie in the streets of Jerusalem for 3½ days with the world throwing thanksgiving parties celebrating their deaths. Then, in view of everyone, the two dead witnesses come back to life and rise to heaven.
Revelation 11:7-12 – ⁷And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. ⁸And their dead bodies [shall lie] in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. ⁹And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. ¹⁰And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. ¹¹And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. ¹²And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

After this, there’s the build-up to Armageddon. Israel has somehow returned to Jerusalem and the antichrist gathers his armies to attack Jerusalem. Instead of destroying the city with a huge weapons-barrage of some sort, the antichrist commences taking Jerusalem bit by bit. He clearly doesn’t wish to destroy the city too badly for it will still be his intention to sit in the temple and force Israel to worship him. He manages to capture half of the city, taking half of the population captive.  
Zechariah 14:2 – For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

But then, just when the antichrist would be thinking that he’s finally going to get Israel worshipping him as their god, Christ the Messiah returns and destroys the antichrist’s armies.
Zechariah 14:3, 12 – ³Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
¹²And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
(It does sound like the symptoms of nuclear warfare!)

Revelation 19:19-21 – ¹⁹And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. ²⁰And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. ²¹And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which [sword] proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

But where does the antichrist come from? In fact, Daniel 9:26-27 gives us some of the answer.
and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof [shall be] with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week (Daniel 9:26b-27a)
The people who would destroy the city and sanctuary were the Romans who destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in 70 AD. The antichrist is “the prince that shall come” and he will be from that people, the Romans. The Roman empire was in power during Jesus’ day, and Daniel prophesies (in Daniel 2:40-43) the Roman empire and then a ten-nation revived Roman empire in latter days (represented by the toes of the huge image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream). Therefore the antichrist is likely to come from a revived Roman empire (today most likely represented by Europe).

Revelation 13:1 (And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.) describes the antichrist (the beast) as having 7 heads and 10 horns with 10 crowns, referring to the ten nations that put him into power (Revelation 17:12-13). Also see Daniel 7:7-8 & 19-21 which also refer to this antichrist/beast.

Daniel 9:27 (And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week) does mention one more important fact about the antichrist. The antichrist will make a defence pact with Israel at the beginning of this 7-year tribulation period. It will come as a result of Israel being attacked by a confederation of muslim nations plus Russia from the north (Ezekiel 38). God will cause this huge army to attack Israel (“And I will … put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army – Ezekiel 38:4). This will draw the antichrist (probably a European leader) to Israel to effectively save them, and to be seen as a type of saviour to them. This is what brings the antichrist into part-controlling Israel. We could be heading into that war of Ezekiel 38 right now.

The one thing that the antichrist desires above all is to be worshipped as god by God’s people Israel. And this is the one thing God completely denies him having. If the antichrist cannot be worshipped by Israel, then he will destroy them, but God denies him this also; Israel will be victorious at the end, and they will be God’s people and He will be their God!

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God’s people Israel and their end-times victory

In the Bible, end-times refers to those days when God will draw His people Israel back to Himself, causing them to be redeemed according to His promise to them in Daniel 9:24 – Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. That 70 weeks represented a year for each day; thus 490 years yet remained on their timeline until their eventual redemption. Effectively Israel was promised everlasting righteousness as God’s people after a period of 490 years. This was to be counted from the date of an order given to rebuild Jerusalem (including the temple).

Daniel 9:25-26a (²⁵Know therefore and understand, [that] from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. ²⁶And after threescore and two weeks (following that initial 7 weeks) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:) sets out a period of 7 weeks of years plus 62 weeks of years, making 69 weeks of years (= 483 years) before their Messiah (Jesus Christ) is cut off (= cut down). This occurred when Jesus was put to death on the cross for the sins of the world. This left but 1 week of years (7 years) to bring in the everlasting righteousness of Israel.

But. after that 69 weeks of years (= 483 years), Israel (via the Jews) rejected their Messiah. (John 1:11 – He came unto his own, and his own received him not.) Consequently most of Israel was blinded from the truth and separated from God’s will for some time, not cast away but sidelined. God has never cast away His people for ever! Their final 7 years before their everlasting righteousness was effectively put on hold; they were sidelined (but not thrown away as some today try to teach).
Romans 11:1-2a – ¹I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, [of] the tribe of Benjamin. ²God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.

Israel continued to seek after a God whom they considered to be their special property, but most were blinded such that they just couldn’t see that they were blinded.
Romans 11:7-8 – ⁷What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded ⁸(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

A remnant of Israel would continue to seek and find God through repentance …..
Romans 11:5 – Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
… according to God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:12-13 – ¹²Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. ¹³And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
But most of Israel would be spiritually blinded, shut off from God until He chose to seek them once more; this would mark the beginning of the end-times.

On 14^th May 1948 Israel returned to a part of her ancient lands; this was an act of God to commence the countdown to their becoming once again His people and He would be their God (according to Ezekiel 37:24-28). In fact, Ezekiel 37 talks about the valley of dead bones becoming a living whole house of Israel once again. This is happening in our time; Israel will not ever be sidelined again; no enemy will ever be able to destroy Israel again.

However, the refusal of Israel to accept their Messiah 2000 years ago opened the way for the Gentile Church to take over the tasks and promises given to Israel; this would continue until the Church age was completed according to Romans 11:25 (For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.) But now that time is very near. When the Church age is fulfilled (“when the fulness of the Gentiles be come in“), then Israel will be brought back onto her timeline to complete that final week of years. A Saviour, the Deliverer, their Messiah, will return to Zion (Israel) …..
Romans 11:25-27 – ²⁵For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. ²⁶And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: ²⁷For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
…. and all the remnant of Israel would be saved according to Joel 3:31-32 – ³¹The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. ³²And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

This is still mostly in the future. Certainly Israel has already returned to some of her ancient lands, and right now it does appear that the war of Ezekiel 38 is approaching fast, that war which will usher in that final 7-year period.

Joel talks a lot about the end times. To begin with, God will return them from where they have been scattered around the world; He will “bring again their captivity” which means that God will restore them back from their captivity. The captivity here could mean restoration back to their lands, but the context does strongly suggest that it includes being restored from their captivity to sin.
Joel 3:1-4 – ¹For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, ²I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and [for] my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. ³And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. ⁴Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly [and] speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;
All the nations who oppose Israel’s return to their land and instead desire the destruction of their people, all those who demand pay-back against God and His people, will instead have their demanded recompense paid back to them (Israel’s enemies); it will be upon their own heads. In particular, “Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine” will receive what they have demanded for Israel. Today we can see how relevant this really is!

Over many centuries they have taken from Israel to give to the temples of their gods, and sought to destroy Israel as a nation. They have persecuted and dispossessed God’s people Israel in order that they might steal their lands. But God will raise His people Israel from where they have been banished (Israel became a sovereign state in 1948) and will use Israel to pay back those who have persecuted them over the centuries. Because Tyre, Sidon and the coasts of Palestine have destroyed God’s people Israel and dispossessed them of their lands, behold, God will now do the same to them as Israel’s oppressors. They will receive what they have given to God’s people. Because they have dispossessed and enslaved God’s people Israel, God will sell their sons and daughters into the hands of God’s people, and Israel in turn shall remove them far away from their lands, “for the Lord hath spoken [it].“
Joel 3:5-8 – ⁵Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things: ⁶The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border. ⁷Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head: ⁸And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the Lord hath spoken [it].

Not only will God pay back Israel’s enemies in kind for what they have given to Israel, He demands that they gather all their allegedly mighty men to prepare for war against God who will defend His people Israel.
Joel 3:9-11 – ⁹Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: ¹⁰Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I [am] strong. ¹¹Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord.
The start of this appears to be a taunt made to those barely-ordinary men of war who think they are champions in battle because perhaps they are so great in number. Let those who are weak (and ordinary) boast of their mighty acts of war; let them beat their chests and proclaim themselves to be the heroes who will win this battle. Barnes Commentary says: So universal shall be the rage of Israel’s foes for invading her, that even the weak among them will fancy themselves strong enough to join the invading forces. Age and infirmity were ordinarily made valid excuses for exemption from service, but so mad shall be the fury of the world against God’s people, that even the feeble will not desire to be exempted.
It does remind one of their “so courageous, such mighty” cowards who do not dare go into battle without the protection of women and children gathered around them! All may feel brave when they are with a lot of other like-minded people or surrounded by women and children!

thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord – This seems to be praying that God would cause His mighty ones (gibbowr) to come down (from heaven) to fight in this battle. Revelation 19:19 (And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.) says that the armies of earth will gather to fight Christ the Messiah and his army (which may be assumed to be angels).
Also note that angels are used to gather people for judgment: Matthew 13:41-43 – ⁴¹The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; ⁴²And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Psalm 2:4 – He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. God will mock Israel’s enemies for their futility.

This next passage from Joel 3 does appear to jump forward to that greatest of battles opposing Israel: Armageddon. At the end of that final 7-year period of Israel’s timeline, the nations of the world will gather a huge army to oppose Jerusalem itself. Christ the Messiah returns to slaughter Israel’s enemies and then sets up His thousand-year reign over the whole earth.
Joel 3:12-15 – ¹²Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. ¹³Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness [is] great. ¹⁴Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord [is] near in the valley of decision. ¹⁵The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.

Judgment comes to all those who oppose God’s people. The sickle cuts down all the enemy armies; it pictures all the dead being placed into a huge wine vat and crushed so that the blood runs freely at a depth of about 1.2 metres for a distance of around 300km.
Revelation 14:16-20 – ¹⁶And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. ¹⁷And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. ¹⁸And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. ¹⁹And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the great winepress of the wrath of God. ²⁰And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand [and] six hundred furlongs.

And, at the end of this final 7-year period of Israel’s timeline, Israel will be the victorious nation who goes into the thousand-year reign of Christ their Messiah. All those of other nations who are yet alive after Armageddon will go every year to worship Christ the King, the Lord of hosts.
Zechariah 14:16 – And it shall come to pass, [that] every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Those who choose to not worship Christ the King at Jerusalem each year will be punished with drought.
Zechariah 14:17 – And it shall be, [that] whoso will not come up of [all] the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

Jesus the King will rule forever and there will be no end of His kingdom, ever.
Luke 1:32-33 – ³²He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: ³³And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

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Ezekiel’s tribulation and Armageddon timeline

Ezekiel has a lot to say when it comes to the end-times of this world as we know it. If Ezekiel’s prophesied war of Chs 38 & 39 occurs, then the world as we know it may have little more than 7 years to run before Armageddon heralds the second coming of Christ the Messiah to rule the earth. And the tribulation of the 7 years leading up to Armageddon will be more extreme than any period in history before it. That 7 years will have disasters aplenty – judgments from God – that will wipe out huge numbers of mankind, plus destroy much of the world as we know it today.

7 years remains on Israel’s prophetical timeline before her everlasting righteousness

Firstly, Daniel 9:24-27 says that there would be 490 years (70 weeks of years) after which Israel would be brought to everlasting righteousness.
Daniel 9:24 – Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
According to Daniel 9:26, 483 of these years would go by before Christ their Messiah was cut off (crucified), with the final 7-year period then being held off (because of their unbelief in their Messiah) until the times of the Gentiles (the Gentile Church) should be fulfilled, and then the Deliverer would come into Zion and all Israel would be saved. (The Gentiles here means the Christian church.)
Romans 11:25-27 – ²⁵For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. ²⁶And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: ²⁷For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
The final 7 years would be triggered by a covenant between the antichrist and Israel as per Daniel 9:27a – And he (the antichrist) shall confirm the covenant with many (Israel) for one week. (This is the final week of years remaining on Israel’s timeline.) The antichrist will be very evil, controlled by satan; he will seek to take control of the whole world, but will be defeated by Christ at the battle of Armageddon at the end of this final 7-year period – Revelation 16:16; 19:11-21)

Note that it is futile to claim (as some do) that the Jewish year was only 360 days and therefore should be counted differently to our years, because the Jews have always added extra days and months into their years as necessary to keep the seasons in the right months. Effectively the Jewish years were exactly the same length as our years. See the Addendum at the end for further details.

The remnant of Israel will be redeemed by the end of that 7-year period

During this final 7 years before Armageddon, Israel will be back on centre-stage as God’s people once more. In order for this to happen, the Gentile church will be snatched away from this earth in an event known as the Rapture. (They will literally disappear from the face of this earth.) God will unleash on this world such tribulation as the world has never known before, nor ever will know (Matthew 24:21). By the end of this 7-year tribulation period, the remnant of Israel who call upon the name of the Lord will be called and redeemed (Joel 2:31-32), and the world will be drawn into the battle of Armageddon where Christ their Messiah (whom they now recognise) will fight for them, utterly destroying the antichrist and his huge army.

The Christian Church and the remnant of Israel will be saved, but many others will die

For those not of Israel and who do not get taken with the Church in the Rapture, most will not survive past the end of that 7-year tribulation period. And only the remnant (a part only) of Israel will be redeemed. In particular, if the end-times are coming upon us now, then those who currently oppose Israel must be aware that while the remnant of Israel will be saved, those opposed to Israel will not survive this great time of trouble brought by the God of Israel upon the world. And the Christian church will have gone to be with Christ before this 7-year tribulation period commences.

Ezekiel’s prophecy in Chs 36-39 does point to the end-times being close at hand.

Firstly, Israel must come back as a nation (Ezekiel 36)

In 1948, Israel established itself as a sovereign nation after approximately 1878 years of being scattered among the nations of the world. Ezekiel 36 says that God will gather Israel again; they will be His people and He will be their God.
Ezekiel 36:8-11; 24-28 – ⁸But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. ⁹For, behold, I [am] for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: ¹⁰And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, [even] all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded: ¹¹And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better [unto you] than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I [am] the Lord. …..
²⁴For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.²⁵Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.²⁶A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. ²⁷And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do [them]. ²⁸And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

For those who claim that Israel is dead and buried and in the past without any future, these words from God surely prove their lie. Israel has come back as a nation and will continue to be a nation established by God. A saved remnant of this same Israel will rule with Christ during His millennial rule, after the battle of Armageddon.

It is the whole house of Israel, not just a part, that will be victors in the end

And it will be all Israel (that means all 12 tribes) that wins in the end. Israel has been resurrected (brought back to life as a nation) by God in order to bring them to everlasting righteousness (Daniel 9:24). Israel will be there at the end, and no nation today will be able to prevent God’s prophecy from happening just as He said it would. In Ezekiel 37:1-10 we read of a valley full of dry bones being brought back to life again, a picture of the whole house of Israel being brought back as a nation.
Then God explains to Ezekiel what this valley of bones represents.
Ezekiel 37:11-14 – ¹¹Then he (God) said unto me (Ezekiel), Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. ¹²Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³And ye shall know that I [am] the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, ¹⁴And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken [it], and performed [it], saith the Lord.

Some say that this has already happened when Judah returned from their captivity at Babylon many years before Christ. However, note Ezekiel 37:11: “these bones are the whole house of Israel”. Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin returned from their captivity, and it says that it is all Israel here, not just Judah and Benjamin. (The 10 northern tribes did not come back to their land after their captivity.) Therefore this must be referring to a time when all Israel returns as a 12-tribe nation. This has not happened yet.

When does this prophecy of Israel’s return happen?

This picture of the valley of dead bones may refer to Israel taking possession of their land in 1948, or it may refer to the events leading directly into that final 7-year period. But at some point in time, God will take charge of Israel’s destiny and lead them to redemption (including through the great tribulation period of 7 years which ends at Armageddon). I personally consider that God has been establishing Israel, preparing them for their eventual redemption, from May 1948 when Israel was established as a nation again.

What about the 12 tribes of Israel? Who are they exactly?

Even today most people of Israel are not fully aware of their tribal background. Note that 12 tribes are listed at the start of the Tribulation in Revelation 7:4-8. Also note that in most lists in the Old Testament, Levi is not one of the tribes listed separately, yet in Revelation, the priestly tribe of Levi has been restored to that list of 12 tribes, taking the place of Dan who is assumed by many to be an apostate tribe rejected by God. The priestly tribe is no longer required, with Jesus replacing the Levitical priesthood as per Hebrews 7:11.

The valley of dry bones will become one nation under God

Ezekiel 37:21-23 – ²¹And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: ²²And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: ²³Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.

When King Solomon died, the 12 tribes broke up into the 10 northern tribes (called Israel) and the 2 southern tribes (Judah, which included Benjamin). Judah and Benjamin returned from Babylon to the land around Jerusalem (which is known as God’s holy city).
They have never been one nation of 12 tribes since the death of Solomon. This passage defines all 12 tribes coming together as one nation. All those dead bones becoming living people again was not referring to individual people but instead the one single nation of Israel who would be God’s people, and He would be their (national) God. Therefore this event has not occurred yet; one day still in the future all 12 tribes of Israel will be united as one.

And Christ the Son of David will be their sovereign Messiah for ever

Ezekiel 37:24-28 – ²⁴And David my servant [shall be] king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. ²⁵And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, [even] they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David [shall be] their prince for ever. ²⁶Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. ²⁷My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ²⁸And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

There will be wars and strife leading up to and during this tribulation of 7 years duration

Ezekiel not only foretells the return of the whole house of Israel as God’s people one day, but also says that after they come back as a nation (which happened in 1948), they will face extreme strife and warfare. In particular, this passage in Ezekiel leads into what has to be seen as the war that triggers Israel’s covenant with the antichrist and therefore starts that 7-year countdown to Armageddon.
Ezekiel 38 mentions quite a few nations whom God will put hooks into their jaws (Ezekiel 38:4) to draw them into this battle; it appears that these nations will have no choice but to face battle with an Israel whom their God will be fighting for.

Armageddon will follow 7 years after this battle of Ezekiel 38

This war will mark the beginning of Israel’s final 7-year period, 7 years before their Messiah returns to defeat their enemies at Armageddon. This war is not Armageddon; however, once this war commences, there will be no turning back from Armageddon maybe little more than 7 years later! The only question right now is whether or not we are currently approaching this war of Ezekiel 38. If we are, then all of us might face our Maker sooner than we planned for. The war of Ezekiel 38 will trigger the antichrist’s covenant with Israel, and the clock will commence ticking toward the destruction of Armageddon 7 years later.

Who are the nations mentioned in this army that will attack Israel?

There is uncertainty over who many of these names actually refer to, but in general it does strongly appear to refer to nations to the north of Israel, especially north and east of modern-day Ukraine and nations to the east and south-east of the Black Sea, plus many of today’s Arab nations. It could also include Ukraine itself, but this does not appear likely, unless Russia were to take control of Ukraine, something it has tried to do for some time now..
It does appear to include the Moscow area of Russia, and the nations to the east of Ukraine and the Black Sea, plus many of the islamic nations such as Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, and many of the nations in the north of Africa (most of which are also islamic nations). In fact, apart from Russia (and perhaps some other northern nations), this huge army that attacks Israel will be largely muslim by belief. This army would most likely include Palestinian peoples, many of whom are currently involved in, or in support of, warfare against Israel.

The list of nations comes from the north down, plus some from Africa

While many of the nations in Ezekiel’s list are not easy to define, it is clear that in general, it will involve many nations to the north and east of Israel, plus another group from northern Africa. Most of these nations are already opposed to Israel.

Ezekiel 38:1-2 – ¹And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, ²Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
Gog – It is suggested that Gog is the nation which derives from Magog. Others say Gog was Gyges (a king of Lydia – Turkey)
Magog – Often associated with Lydia which today is Turkey. Josephus, though, says that they were the Scythians on the north of the Black Sea (they took up the area of Ukraine and much of the lend to its east). The name of one of the sons of Japheth.
The word “chief” is “ro’sh” which some say means Russia but cannot be proven. However, Meschech does appear possible to refer to the area around Moscow in Russia.
Meshech – Originally said by some to be Meskheti (a province of Georgia which is just south of Russia, on the east side of the Black Sea (or in that general area). Later opinions say it is Moscow. There was a son of Japheth named Meshech, and some Russian tradition claims that Moscow was founded by King Mosokh son of Japheth (that is, Meshech) which was named after him and his wife, Kva. (Moscow is properly known as Moskva.)
Tubal – Also the name of a son of Japheth. Said to be Tabal, an Anatolian state also associated with the area of modern-day Turkey.  They were said to be the neighbours of the Mushki (of Meshech).

Ezekiel 38:3-4 – ³And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I [am] against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: ⁴And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts [of armour, even] a great company [with] bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
It won’t be left up to these armies from the north to decide if they want to come, because God will give them no choice.

Ezekiel 38:5 – ⁵Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
Persia – Iran
Ethiopia and Libya – Some say that this is Egypt and surrounding countries, but Ethiopia here is Cush. Cush was the oldest son of Ham, and Mizraim (= Egypt) was his brother. Libya would be much the same as Libya today. Cush may also include the land of Yemen. Egypt isn’t specifically mentioned but other biblical references strongly suggest that Egypt will be included in this huge largely-islamic army.

Ezekiel 38:6 – ⁶Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: [and] many people with thee.
Gomer – The name of Japtheth’s oldest son. Said to be the Cimmerians of southern Russia, to the east of the Black Sea. Josephus placed Gomer and the “Gomerites” in Anatolian Galatia. Anatolia is mostly the same as Turkey today and Galatia is in this area. (Galatia was an area of Anatolia settled by the Gauls of Europe, thus the name Galatia.)
Togarmah – A descendant of Japheth, he was associated with Anatolia; his descendants may include Armenians and Georgians.
Note Genesis 10:2-3 – ²The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. ³And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.

Ezekiel 38:7 – ⁷Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
This appears to be spoken to all these armies gathering together against Israel: Be ready, be prepared (all you nations and peoples) for the time when God draws you into battle against Israel.

Israel will be attacked by Palestine and southern Lebanon

Joel 3 (which deals with the tribulation, leading up to Armageddon) commences with a condemnation of the coasts of Palestine plus Tyre and Sidon (southern Lebanon today). God prophesies that the “payback” that Israel’s enemies demand of her will end up being “payback” for her enemies (upon their own heads!).
Joel 3:4 – Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly [and] speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;

Other nations will see Israel’s riches as spoils of war

Israel has been gathered out of the nations (probably referring to 1948) and has gathered much goods and possessions, which the enemy will see as spoils of war. (Ezekiel 38:11-12)

Ezekiel 38:13 – Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
Sheba and Dedan of Arabia, and Tarshish possibly a Phoenician port in Spain and associated with the Phoenicians, are all trading nations. These are merchant nations seeking to take a share of the spoils. Like vultures they will seek profit from the misery of others.

This mighty army will seek to destroy Israel with superior numbers

Israel may consider that she can protect herself safely because of her superior weaponry and tactics. But this mighty army will attack in such huge numbers that they will cover the land. (“as a cloud to cover the land” Ezekiel 38:16) in order to overwhelm Israel’s perceived superiority. And God says that this is all according to His plan which He spoke to the prophets, and that the other nations will know that this is the hand of God (Ezekiel 38:14-17). It is clear that many of Israel will die when the enemy attacks, but this mighty army from the north will cause great fury with God who will oppose them in demonstration of His sovereignty so that many nations will see the hand of God and know that He is indeed God. (Ezekiel 38:18-23)
Psalm 2:4 – He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

It is when Israel is attacked by this huge army that will draw the antichrist with his forces (most likely from Europe) to make a covenant to protect Israel – see below.

Today Israel has limited time before Iran produces nuclear weapons that would shift the balance of power away from Israel.

This army attacks and 5 out of every 6 of them will die
(alternatively it could mean that the whole army is drawn to total extermination)

Ezekiel 39:1-2 – ¹Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I [am] against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: ²And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
This army that attacks Israel from the north will be huge but only one sixth of this army will ever return to their land again. 83.3% will die on the mountains of Israel. This will literally be a slaughter!
Some commentaries say that it actually reads “I will turn you around and lead you on.” The term used is shawshaw. It is only used once in the OT and could be based on the number six (= shishshah), or it could be based on being led or drawn into a situation (note that shabah = to be led captive). However, we do read further down that there will be so many corpses that they will take 7 months to bury them all (Ezekiel 39:11-16). This huge army that attacks Israel will be slaughtered.

Also note Ezekiel 39:3-4 – ³And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. ⁴Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that [is] with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and [to] the beasts of the field to be devoured. This does indeed suggest that all in that army that attacks Israel shall be killed on the mountains of Israel.
Ezekiel 39:5 – Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord God.⁶And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I [am] the Lord.
There will be corpses everywhere!

Israel will burn the weapons left by the enemy for 7 years

Israel will be burning the weapons of the enemy for 7 years (Ezekiel 39:9-10). This is significant because the culmination of this battle appears to be the trigger that sets this final 7 years counting down toward the end (at Armageddon). It is uncertain how they will burn modern weapons, but possibly this is symbolic of the utter defeat of the enemy, or symbolic of the destruction of all the enemy’s weaponry.

It could involve nuclear or similar weaponry

Ezekiel 39:6 – And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles (or coastal regions): and they shall know that I [am] the Lord.

This does seem to suggest that God causes fire to be sent upon the countries from where these armies came. This may explain Damascus (capital of Syria) being turned into a heap of ruins as prophesied (Isaiah 17:1). It hasn’t happened yet, and it does suggest atomic warfare.

The heathen will know that God is the God of Israel and they are His people

Ezekiel 39:7 – So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not [let them] pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I [am] the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.
God has prophesied this and it will happen in order to prove that God is sovereign and that Israel is still His people. Therefore God is saying to take note, all you heathen!

God will purify Israel by subjecting them to extreme affliction

This final 7-year period (yet in the future) will be the greatest tribulation that they will ever face, purifying them in the fire so to speak. Israel being purified in the furnace of affliction to be acceptable to holy God.
Zechariah 13:9 – And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It [is] my people: and they shall say, The Lord [is] my God.
Isaiah 48:10 – Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
Psalm 66:10-12 – ¹⁰For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. ¹¹Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. ¹²Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy [place].

Israel will be God’s people forever after this

In spite of their sin, God has covenanted to bring them back as a nation (after 70 weeks of years – note Daniel 9:24) and therefore it will certainly happen (Ezekiel 39:25-29).

Ezekiel 37:24-28 –  ²⁴And David my servant [shall be] king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. ²⁵And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, [even] they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David [shall be] their prince for ever. ²⁶Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. ²⁷My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ²⁸And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

The antichrist will lead a European army into battle to save Israel
The antichrist will lead a “ten-kingdom” army from the revived Roman empire. This revived empire will be largely based upon the nations ruled by the Roman empire of the past. See Revelation 17:9-14 (where the seven mountains refers to Rome which is known as the city of Seven Hills) and Daniel 2:40-44 (where the ten toes of clay and iron are the ten kingdoms that will serve the antichrist). The antichrist will be a ruler (or prince) of the same nation that destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD. “and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; …..  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week” (from Daniel 9:26-27). That is, the nation of the coming prince (the antichrist) will be that nation (the Romans) that destroyed the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (the Temple), and he (the antichrist) will make a covenant with Israel for one week (in the context of this passage this clearly means a week of years, or 7 years). The antichrist will arise from the old Roman Empire, therefore most likely from Europe, and will make a covenant with Israel for 7 years.
This covenant will most likely be made after the huge army attempts to wipe Israel out, and the ensuing massive death toll of that enemy army will probably be largely due to the antichrist coming to the aid of Israel.

Current world politics suggest that these end-times may be almost upon us

When we look at current world politics, we see that Russia is trying to take Ukraine, probably the port of Odessa on the Black Sea, which would make it easier to attack Israel. Its principal ally is Syria with Iran (Persia) providing a lot of weaponry, especially drones etc. All the nations listed in Ch.38 are strongly opposed to Israel, with many being islamic. Last year Turkey was staying neutral on the Ukraine situation, but this year a warning has gone out, especially in Israel, strongly advising tourists to avoid Turkey due to militancy. And currently Turkey is strongly opposed to Israel. The current Israel/Palestine unrest has increased dramatically since October 7th last year and even now some extremist Israeli politicians are calling for Israel to use atomic warfare to wipe out Gaza. The current Israeli govt is refusing to use such extreme measures, although this might change if Iran were to look like gaining nuclear weapons. Syria and Iran also play a large part in assisting with opposing Israel, and Iraq is likely to join them. Is it possible that Israel might try to hit Syria’s capital, Damascus (Isaiah 17:1) with a bomb, in retaliation for terrorist acts, especially if Syria is seen to be behind a massive terrorist action maybe in the near future? Ezekiel 38-39 might be happening soon, if not already! It wouldn’t take much for Iran to come into the action, with Russia and her northern allies joining in, noting that Russia already works closely with both Syria and Iran.

And God will draw them by their jaws (Ezekiel 38:4), indicating that when the time comes they will be drawn to their defeat whether they like it or not.

News reports today are suggesting that if Israel were to provoke Gaza (or the Arab world in general) more severely than she has already, it might draw islamic fighters from other nations around the world, drawing them in to a holy war (as many of Israel’s enemies  see it). Note – as of August 1 2024 the assassination by Israel of 2 major terrorist leaders now threatens to escalate into a major war in the Middle East. Is Israel attempting to trigger a war before Iran manages to get nuclear weaponry? For, it is certain that Iran is currently striving to produce such, and possibly Israel considers it better to fight a war before Iran gains nuclear weapons.

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If you have any questions or comments about this information, please feel free to say it or give advice, by using the Contact page. Genuine comments may be recorded on the Comments page. However, I may choose to reply to reasonable comments via email.

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Addendum

The Anderson timeline calculations are grossly incorrect!

Anderson calculated that if we assume the old Jewish calendar year to be 360 days (and not the solar calendar year of 365.25 days), then he could adjust the number of days to determine the exact day (as long as he had exact starting and completion points). He decided on a certain date of the commandment in 445 BC, then, by assuming 32 AD as the year of the crucifixion, claimed the date of Palm Sunday to be April 6^th 32 AD. Then by certain mathematical manipulations, he then claimed to have established the exact number of days involved, and then claimed that they ended exactly upon the date of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem in 32 AD.

But he made two gross errors of judgment here.

Firstly, he assumed that Jesus was born at zero years (effectively meaning that 1 AD was His first year). But the Herod who ordered the death of boys up to 2 years old in Bethlehem, died in 4 BC, according to historical records. Thus Jesus could not have been born after 4 BC. This would put Anderson’s calculations out by at least 3 years.

Secondly, his assumption of 360 days per Jewish year failed to take into account that the Jews in the Old Testament regularly added a month to their year when their seasons began going out of time with the calendar (noting that the Passover, a spring festival, typically commenced on the first full moon after the northern vernal equinox). So, every 5 or 6 years they would add an extra month of 30 days, making those years 390 days instead of the 360 days. Effectively, their Jewish years in the long term were no different in length to our solar year calendars.

Even today the Jewish calendar works on 6 x 29-day months plus 6 x 30-day months, a total of 354 days in their year. “The solution is to periodically insert an extra (thirty-day) month into a year, creating a thirteen-month year. Such a year is called a shanah meuberet (“pregnant year”) in Hebrew; in English we call it a leap year, and it makes up all the lunar calendar’s lost days. It happens about once every three years.” (https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/526875/jewish/The-Jewish-Calendar-Year.htm)

So we may correctly assume that 483 Jewish calendar years were the same as (equivalent to) 483 of our solar years of 365.25 days each today.

Four-point calvinists believe in a universal salvation for all mankind

Yes, that’s right! Calvinists who believe that Jesus died for the sins of all mankind without exception actually believe in a universal salvation for all mankind, because:
(a) Four-point calvinists do not believe in limited atonement; they believe that Jesus died for all mankind without exception.
and (b) calvinism teaches that no-one whose sins have been paid for will ever be sent to hell to pay for their sins.
Therefore (c) if the atonement is for all mankind, then no-one will ever go to calvinist hell; they will all go to calvinist heaven.

Limited atonement is impossible to defend biblically
You see, of the five points of calvinism (commonly referred to as TULIP), limited atonement (“L”) is the most difficult to swallow. Full 5-point calvinism teaches that Jesus only died for the sins of those whom their God has chosen for heaven; the calvinist Jesus didn’t die for any others at all. However, the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus died for all the sins of all mankind without exception (1 John 2:1-2). It is therefore impossible for calvinists to biblically defend their heresy of limited atonement for the elect only.

Many calvinists reject limited atonement
Because the Bible clearly teaches full atonement for the sins of all mankind without exception (1 John 2:1-2), many calvinists, sick of trying to defend their non-biblical “limited atonement” belief, accept the biblically correct “full atonement for all sins”. They thus reject the calvinist limited atonement (while continuing to accept the other 4 points (T, U, I, P). Consequently they declare themselves to be “Four-point calvinists”.

No-one ever goes to hell to pay for their sins
MacArthur (that false teacher so beloved by calvinists) says: “If Jesus actually paid in full the penalty for your sins, you’re not going to go to hell, that would be double jeopardy.” But MacArthur is so wrong here! No-one at all ever goes to hell to pay for their sins. You go because you refused the free pardon for sin offered by God by not calling upon the name of the Lord to be saved (Romans 10:13).

It is impossible to pay for even one sin in hell, ever
Just think it through carefully! If you could pay for even one single sin in hell, then, given enough time, you could pay for every one of your sins. There’s no time limit; you will have eternity to pay for those sins. But there is no escape from hell, no matter how many works you achieve to pay for any number of sins. Your sins are not infinite, but your time in hell is indeed infinite. Not one person will ever pay for even one single sin in hell, ever. 

No escape from hell even if you did pay for your sins
Even if it were possible to pay for your sins in hell (you do have eternity to do so!), you could never escape from hell and go to heaven. What then would be the point of paying for your sins in hell? Hell is a place of torment, not redemption. Redemption is what you seek in this life, not the next!

No amount of works will ever permit you to escape hell
Romans 4:4-5 makes it very clear that you go to hell because you decided to trust in your works to get you off the charge of sin. It is those who trust in Christ for their righteousness who will be admitted to heaven, none other at all.

You must choose in this life to trust in your works, or in Christ, for salvation
Romans 4:4-5 gives mankind his two options in this life for his eternal future:
(a) to trust in your own works (and be found in debt before God as Judge – Vs 4). You will go to hell.
or (b) to believe on him that justifies the ungodly (and your faith will be accounted as your righteousness – Vs 5) You will be admitted to heaven.

The catholic purgatory permitted payment for sins
Keep in mind that Calvin never left the catholic church. He taught that the catholic baptism (and no other) was necessary for salvation, and that salvation could only be found within the walls of the Mother Church (which he defined as the catholic church). He wished to see reform in the catholic church, thus the term “Reformation”. Catholicism teaches that those of the church who die with unforgiven sins will enter purgatory before being permitted to enter heaven. Those outside the catholic church would all be sent straight to hell for eternity with no option at all for purgatory.
Purgatory (from a word meaning to cleanse or purge) was where you paid for those sins yet unpaid for, a purification process; and only the pure could enter heaven.

Calvinism has its own purgatory
Calvinism redefines purgatory as a place (the calvinist hell) where the non-elect go to pay for their sins. It’s like purgatory and hell combined. You go there to pay for your sins, yet also exist there in torment for eternity.
It is clear that calvinism has drawn much of their false teaching from the catholic church, and no wonder, for both Calvin and the catholic church built much of their teachings upon Augustine’s writings.
However, the catholic purgatory never has and never will exist. It is not in the Bible anywhere; instead it is an invention used to control the members of their church.

MacArthur says that full atonement in calvinism means universal salvation
That “hero of the faith” MacArthur says: “If you believe that Jesus paid in full the penalty for all the sins of all the people who ever lived, then you have to be a universalist.” Of course, he vehemently teaches that the atonement is limited. His reasoning is that the atonement could not have been for everyone or else we’d all go to heaven. Therefore, he says, there must be a hell for those who still need to pay for their own sins. “So the Bible promises there is a hell. The only way to avoid it is to not die in your sins. And to not die in your sins, you have to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you don’t, you’re going to pay the penalty of eternal destruction. That proves that the atonement is limited. It does not apply universally. God did not intend to save everyone. He is God. He could have intended to save everyone. He could have saved everyone. He would have if that had been His intention. The atonement is limited. Now we all have to accept that or be universalists.”
For MacArthur, an atonement for all mankind without exception would result in all mankind going to heaven and not one soul lost in hell.

Five-point calvinism teaches that Jesus only died for the sins of their God’s elect
Therefore, if Jesus died for the sins of all mankind without exception, then all mankind without exception are on the calvinist God’s list of his elect. Again MacArthur says: “Is the death of Christ a work that potentially saves willing sinners or is it a work that actually provides salvation for unwilling sinners who by God’s sovereign grace will be made willing?” MacArthur then teaches that it is an actual salvation for all whom Jesus died for, saying: “Jesus’ death then is to be understood as a full satisfaction to God’s holy justice on behalf of all whom God will save.”

Therefore four-point calvinists must believe in universal salvation
They reason correctly that Jesus must have died for all sin of all mankind exactly as the Bible teaches. But in calvinist teaching, this would mean that no-one would go to hell, and therefore everyone would go to heaven. In fact, a four-point calvinist must believe that no-one actually goes to hell, and that all mankind ultimately goes to heaven.

A challenge to calvinists
If you consider my statements here to be biblically and logically incorrect, then are you brave enough to be willing to challenge me concerning my argument re four-point calvinists? Or, if you are not able to challenge my reasoning here, then do you accept the charge that four-point calvinists must accept the doctrine of universal salvation for all mankind?

(All quotes from MacArthur are from “The doctrine of actual atonement”, Pt 1)

Addendum: Some extra points to consider for those less than five-point calvinists.

(a) If Jesus died for all mankind without exception (1 John 2:1-2), then why does the calvinist God choose only a few of them for heaven. What is the point of paying for the sins of all mankind if most of them cannot ever benefit from such payment? It is clear that calvinism must rely upon those of the elect being exactly the same group who have had their sins paid for. Why would Jesus need to die for anyone who wasn’t chosen to go to heaven (as one of the calvinist God’s unconditional elect)? Why pay for anyone’s sins if they have been foreordained by the calvinist God to go to hell to pay for their sins there? Why give all mankind a free ticket to calvinist heaven while at the same time sending most of them to hell to pay for those “free” tickets?

There is no logical nor scriptural answer to these questions.

A doctrine of full atonement for all mankind would destroy the heresy of a calvinist elect unconditionally chosen by their God. And because full atonement is biblically correct, then doesn’t this therefore destroy calvinism? Truly, all it takes to demonstrate that calvinism is a doctrine of devils is to reveal the heresy of limited atonement. Take away limited atonement and calvinism falls like a house of cards!

(b) The biblical truth is that Jesus died for the sins of all mankind without exception to make all mankind potentially saveable, and that to be actually saved one must call upon the name of the Lord to be saved, as per Romans 10:13. The free will of mankind to choose this day whom he will serve is what determines who actually goes to heaven and therefore who goes to hell. Those who do not choose to call upon the name of the Lord to be saved are condemned already until they do so call (John 3:18). It is your free will in this life that will determine your destination in the next.

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If you have any questions or comments about this information, please feel free to say it or give advice, by using the Contact page. Genuine comments may be recorded on the Comments page. However, I may choose to reply to reasonable comments via email.

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The pre-tribulation rapture enables Israel to fulfil her 70 weeks timeline

With this document I will demonstrate that the only logical time for the rapture is at the start of a seven-year tribulation, in order to remove the Church so that Israel can return to its timeline (according to Daniel 9:24-27) completed. The passage in Daniel is very important but must be consistently lined up with all other references to the same event.

1/. A period of seven years still remains on Israel’s timeline.

Daniel 9:24-27 – ²⁴Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. ²⁵Know therefore and understand, [that] from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. ²⁶And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof [shall be] with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. ²⁷And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
(For further study on the prophecies of Daniel 9:24-27, please go to Special Report on Daniel 9:24-27.)

This passage is critical to our understanding of the end-times timeline. It is clear that Daniel meant each day to represent a year. The command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem was given to Ezra in the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes (465 BC to 425 BC) – also known as Longimanus because his right hand was said to be longer than his left.
Ezra 7:11-13 – ¹¹Now this [is] the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, [even] a scribe of the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of his statutes to Israel. ¹²Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect [peace], and at such a time. ¹³I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and [of] his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.

This places the command around 458-457 BC. 69 times 7 years = 483 years takes us to around 27 AD, with the crucifixion (assuming Jesus was 33 years old) generally around 28-30 AD. So we can assume that Daniel’s prophecy means the time of Jesus the Messiah on earth after 49 weeks of years. Note that the uncertainty of the absolute date of that command, means that to arrive within one to three years of Jesus’ crucifixion has to be fairly conclusive! (And it is possible that the 483 years ended on Jesus’ baptism and His anointing to be their Messiah, as is noted by some. This viewpoint is certainly worth considering.) Thus Daniel’s prophecy leaves us just one week of years remaining of Israel’s timeline. (History notes that the Herod who ordered the deaths of boys in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16-18)  died in 4 BC, and the order by Augustus Caesar to tax the whole world (Luke 2:1) was given in 8 BC. This order may have taken up to 2-3 years to be carried out. Thus Jesus was probably born around 5 BC at the latest.)

The whole 70 weeks was to finish the transgression of Israel and to bring in everlasting righteousness. This hasn’t happened yet, nor will it until after Jesus returns to reign as King at Jerusalem for a thousand years (the Millennium). Thus, sometime between Jesus’ ministry on earth and the second coming is a seven year period (the last week of years) yet to run on Israel’s timeline. It is logical to assume that this will be the last seven years before their Messiah returns. Clearly it hasn’t happened yet! But one day yet in the future they will look upon Jesus as their Messiah.
Zechariah 12:10 – And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his] only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn.

The seven year period appears to be reinforced by Ezekiel in what appears to be the war that triggers Israel returning to God as His people.
Ezekiel 39:1-10 – ¹Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I [am] against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshechand Tubal: ²And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: ³And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. ⁴Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that [is] with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and [to] the beasts of the field to be devoured.  ⁵Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord God. ⁶And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I [am] the Lord. ⁷So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not [let them] pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I [am] the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. ⁸Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this [is] the day whereof I have spoken. ⁹And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:  ¹⁰So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down [any] out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God.

We also have a number of times mentioned which correspond to around three and a half years, or in two cases with extra added on.
“a time, times and a half” = 3½ years (Eg Daniel 12:7)
“a time and times and the dividing of time” = 3½ years (Eg Daniel 7:25)
“a thousand, two hundred and ninety days” = 3½ years plus 30 days (Eg Daniel 12:11)
“thousand three hundred and five and thirty days” = 3½ years plus 75 days (Eg Daniel 12:12).

Also note “forty {and} two months” = 3½ years (Revelation 11:2)
“a thousand two hundred {and} threescore days” 1260 days = 3½ years (Revelation 12:6).

It is generally accepted that the tribulation will last either for 3½ years or 7 years, depending on whether you determine the timespans to be concurrent or consecutive. On this basis, some determine the rapture to be either 3½ or 7 years before the second coming. Some consider the tribulation period to be 7 years with only the second half being a time of great suffering. However, a reasonably literal interpretation of the Bible has to assume a 7 year period left of Israel’s timeline between Jesus’ ministry on earth and the second coming. Therefore, because Israel has a 7-year period yet to go before the return of their Messiah, then the rapture must be 7 years before the 2nd coming. And, because the Church took the place of God’s people when Israel was put aside (read Romans 11), then the Church has likewise to be sidelined or removed in order for Israel to resume her position as God’s chosen nation for that remaining 7-year period.

2/. A complete unbroken 7 year period is indicated by Daniel.

Daniel 9:27a – And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation (offering) to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate,
overspreading – out of 108 usages in KJV, 74 are “wing” and 14 are “skirt”. It has the idea here of a thorough or complete spreading of abominations over all.

“he” in Daniel 9:27 is “the prince that shall come” in Daniel 9:26.
Daniel 9:26 – And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof {shall be} with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
In 70 AD the people of Rome destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the temple, and it shall be the prince of this same people (that is, the Romans) who will then confirm the covenant with Israel for that final week of years.

The idea appears to be that this prince (the antichrist) will make full use of abominations, causing them to serve his purposes to make the temple (or the city of Jerusalem) desolate. Daniel states that this prince of Rome, the antichrist, will set up abominations in the midst of his covenanted week with Israel, clearly using the offense to attempt to take greater control of Jerusalem and the temple in particular.

The abomination mentioned by Daniel is in the midst of the week of years. This verse says that he (the antichrist) will make a covenant or agreement with many (including Israel) for a week, apparently to reinstate the sacrifices in the temple. Note that the daily sacrifice is taken away when the abomination of desolation is set up (in the temple, in the middle of that covenant week).
Daniel 12:11 – And from the time [that] the daily [sacrifice] shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, [there shall be] a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

This 1290 days (Daniel 12:11) includes the 1260 days Israel is protected in the wilderness (Revelation 12:6).
Revelation 12:6 – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days. (= 1260 days or 3½ years). Also in Revelation 12:14 it is recorded as “a time, and times, and half a time” (= 3½ years).That is, after the abomination in the midst of the week, a period of 3½ years follows until the lead-up to Armageddon and the second coming. This therefore has to also assume a corresponding period of 3½ years before the abomination.

The extra 30 days (of Daniel 12:11) appears to be the time taken for the 7 bowls of wrath of God leading up to Armageddon (Revelation 16). This is the culmination of the tribulation. It is likely that Israel, after being protected by God in the wilderness for 1260 days (3½ years) is brought back to Jerusalem to face the build-up to the battle of Armageddon, a time period of probably only 30 days. Thus the 1260 + 30 = 1290 days.

Jesus taught about the “abomination” of Daniel 9:27 and 12:11 as a real event yet in the future in Matthew 24.
Matthew 24:15-22 – ¹⁵When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) ¹⁶Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: ¹⁷Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: ¹⁸Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. ¹⁹And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! ²⁰But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: ²¹For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. ²²And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

(Luke 21 also appears to be talking about the same event. However, though many aspects are similar, he is really writing about the lead-up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD.)

Some say that Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy is of Antiochus IV Epiphanes who, in 167 BC, desecrated the temple.
…..the worship of Yahweh and all of the Jewish rites were forbidden on pain of death. In the Temple an altar to Zeus Olympios was erected, and sacrifices were to be made at the feet of an idol in the image of the King. (Encyc. Britannica)
He also allegedly sacrificed a pig on the temple altar to punish the Jews. However, Jesus talked about the abomination as yet in the future. It is likely, though, that Antiochus IV Epiphanes was a first level of the prophecy, yet still just a figure of the main event in the future. This often happens in prophecy.

Another passage in Daniel (8:13-14) appears to mention the tribulation, yet makes it 2300 days, a bit short of the seven years. Some commentators also say this relates instead to Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Antiochus is probably a type of the tribulation to come, but 2300 days is too short; yet some say the original read 2500 days. It is clear, though, from the context, that the 2300 refers to 2300 morning and evening sacrifices, and therefore could only apply to Antiochus’ violation of the daily sacrifices and not to the coming end-times.
Daniel 8:13-14 – ¹³Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain [saint] which spake, How long [shall be] the vision [concerning] the daily[sacrifice], and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? ¹⁴And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

Likewise, Daniel 11:31, which appears to be about Antiochus who is but a type of the antichrist; there is so much prophecy that is on two levels though.Daniel 11:31 – And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily {sacrifice}, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.
Note also Daniel 7:25 – And he shall speak [great] words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. (Once again that 3½ years appears.)

3/. This final 7 year period is for Israel and not for the Church.

The Bible makes it clear that the Church has taken the place of a rejected Israel (Romans 11), being grafted as wild olive branches onto the natural rootstock of the olive tree representing Israel. However, it also makes it clear that Israel cannot be grafted back on again until the purpose for the Church to be on the olive tree is completed or fulfilled.

Romans 11:24-27 – ²⁴For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural [branches], be graffed into their own olive tree? ²⁵For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. ²⁶And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: ²⁷For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
“fulness“ – pleroma (that which fills or with which a thing is filled:-
(a) of those things which a ship is filled, freight and merchandise, sailors, oarsmen, soldiers
(b) completeness or fullness of time. That is, the full complement or manifest of people are on board when the ship sails. Thus, the full complement of the Church (the Gentiles) must be included on the manifest so that the ship can depart and Israel can then “see” again and be saved. This will happen seven years before the second coming of Jesus.

There are those (primarily from a more reformed or calvinistic persuasion) who do not accept that Israel comes back onto her own timeline for the last seven years. They prefer to teach that there are three main covenants, the covenants of redemption, works, and grace, and that these covenants have then been transferred to the Church (which either stands in Israel’s place, or even totally replaces Israel). The two covenants of works and of grace are those which apply to mankind. This is called covenant theology.

Historical Reformed systems of thought treat covenant theology not merely as a point of doctrine or as a central dogma, but as the structure by which the biblical text organizes itself. (Wikipedia)

….. the Covenant of Redemption, is the agreement within the Godhead that the Father would appoint his son Jesus to give up his life for mankind and that Jesus would do so (cf. Titus 1:1-3). ….. the Covenant of Works, was made in the Garden of Eden between God and Adam and promised life for obedience and death for disobedience. Adam disobeyed God and broke the covenant, and so the third covenant was made between God and all of mankind, who also fell with Adam according to Romans 5:12-21. …. (the) third covenant, the Covenant of Grace, promised eternal blessing for belief in Christ and obedience to God’s word. …. Covenant theology has roots in the writings of Augustine and John Calvin (Institutes of the Christian Religion 2:9-11). https://www.theopedia.com/covenant-theology
(Note that the origin of covenant theology is here accorded to Augustine and Calvin, the main instigators of the heretical calvinist theology.)

Covenant theology is also clearly outlined in Chapter 7 of the Westminster Confession (a declaration of calvinist or reformed beliefs).

In the covenant of grace, God freely offers to sinners (that is, those who fail to live up to the covenant of works) eternal life and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Covenant theology is often seen as Replacement theology; that is, the covenants remain in place, but the Church replaces Israel as the one with whom God makes the covenants. The covenant theology supporters say “Replacement theology” is an incorrect label and that there isn’t a sharp distinction between the Church and Israel.
The following is from a calvinist-oriented website: Some have accused Covenant Theology as teaching what is called “Replacement Theology” (i.e., the Church replaces Israel). This couldn’t be further from the truth. Unlike Dispensationalism, Covenant Theology does not see a sharp distinction between Israel and the Church. Israel constituted the people of the God in the OT, and the Church (which is made up of Jew and Gentile) constitutes the people of God in the NT; both just make up one people of God (Ephesians 2:11-20). The Church doesn’t replace Israel; the Church is Israel and Israel is the Church (Galatians 6:16). All people who exercise the same faith as Abraham are part of the covenant people of God (Galatians 3:25-29). https://www.gotquestions.org/covenant-theology.html

Thus, in covenant theology, Israel ceases to exist separately from the Church. That is, in prophetical passages concerning Israel, the Church has taken on the role of Israel, including all the actions and responsibilities. Some, though, teach that Israel has ceased as a people of God, and that the Church has completely replaced Israel; that is, every time Israel is mentioned after her rejection, it is really the Church that is involved. Extreme views of this are held by such as the British Israelites, although strict calvinists generally believe in this also. Others, though, including many calvinists, teach that Israel and the Church have merged such that both co-exist as “The Church”, with Israel losing sovereignty to The Church, especially in the end-times. However, most old-fashioned reform (calvinist) beliefs not only wipe Israel off the religious calendar completely; they also go further and remove the event that follows the tribulation, the millennium reign of Christ. Thus, they do not believe in a literal millennial reign of Jesus. This view is termed amillennialism. Presbyterian and other reform belief, such as Dutch Reform, fall into this category.

However, the above (largely reform) views have no place for a literal or real rapture. Where Israel is mentioned (for example, in Revelation), it really means the Church which has either merged with Israel or completely replaced Israel. Some believe the rapture is symbolic and that when the Messiah returns, He will redeem all His people, and others believe that the rapture occurs just before the second coming, such that Jesus comes with clouds (of believers, that is). Much of this is believed by reformed or calvinist people.

Therefore, we will dismiss a rapture at the end of the tribulation as non-scriptural. Such an event presupposes that Israel is no longer a separate entity from the Church. However, many fundamentalists still maintain that the rapture will be 3½ years before the end, that is, around the time when the abomination is set up. They look at passages such as Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 to support their views. However, they must assume that such passages are discussing more than just Israel (covenant theology may still be a problem in their thinking here) whereas it does seem clear that Jesus was talking about Israel in each case, noting the connection of the Matthew 24 and Mark 13 passages with Revelation 12 where Israel flees into the wilderness for 1260 days during the tribulation. Note too that Luke 21 is about something that occurs before the Great Dispersion which occurred after 70 AD.
Luke 21:24 – And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

Also note that where it discusses what appears to be the rapture in Matthew 24:37-42, it is a different section of that passage. For if Matthew 24:15-22 is talking about those people of God who must flee for their lives (it is clear that Israel is indicated here), then why flee if those people of God are also going to be snatched away (raptured) instead? Thus there are two separate events involving two separate groups of people here, (a) Israel which has to flee when they see the abomination, and (b) the Church which will be snatched away (raptured) 3½ years before this.
Matthew 24:37-42 – ³⁷But as the days of Noe (Noah) [were], so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. ³⁸For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe (Noah) entered into the ark, ³⁹And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. ⁴⁰Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. ⁴¹Two [women shall be] grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. ⁴²Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

Other things to note are that the Church isn’t mentioned playing any part in any tribulation after the letters to the seven churches are completed in Revelation Chapters 3 & 4. Only by making the Church part of Israel (or Israel part of the Church, or Israel replaced by the Church) can you make the Church logically be part of the tribulation of Revelation. A pre-tribulation rapture is consistently supported by teaching that demonstrates that the ministry of the church is fulfilled (relating to the full ship’s complement or manifest being on board before the ship sails, that is, “the fullness of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:25) before salvation can come back to Israel, and then “all Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11:26).

Another point to note is that, while many teach that the two witnesses in Jerusalem (Revelation 11:3-14) are present during the first half of the tribulation, also note carefully that the seven final vials (bowls) of wrath (= the last woe) follow immediately after those two witnesses ascend to heaven. This is more consistent with the two witnesses being present in the second half of the tribulation, ascending to heaven just before the final seven vials are poured out upon the earth (Revelation 16). These final seven vials probably span a period of only thirty days, culminating in the battle of Armageddon.

Revelation 11:3-14 – ³And I will give [power] unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days (1260 days = 3½ years), clothed in sackcloth. ⁴These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. ⁵And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. ⁶These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. ⁷And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. ⁸And their dead bodies [shall lie] in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. ⁹And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. ¹⁰And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. ¹¹And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. ¹²And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. ¹³And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. ¹⁴The second woe is past; [and], behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
(This third and last woe includes the seven vials of the wrath of God leading up to Armegeddon.)

Biblical consistency shows that the Church (which is collectively the temple of the Holy Spirit) as per Ephesians 2:22 (In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.) must be removed before the antichrist may be revealed.
2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 – ⁷ For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way. ⁸ And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

This following passage describes the rapture, yet it says little concerning the timeline, other than the already dead Christians will rise first.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 – ¹⁶For 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: ¹⁷Then 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.

It is also generally believed that the wedding feast of the Lamb will take place between the rapture and the second coming, although this is likely to be on a timeline independent of earth’s timeline! However, this is not clear yet, nor will be until it happens, apparently.

4/. Conclusion

So we know there is going to be a seven year period at the end; complete, though in two sections, yet consecutive (that is, one following the other). Revelation makes it clear this is to do with Israel with the sealing of 12,000 from each tribe in Revelation 7:4-8, and that the Church must “leave” before Israel can come back on stage. The only logical conclusion is that the Church must sail with its full complement on board (= fulfilled) before the final seven years commence (Romans 11:25-27). Consider the alternatives: the Church sits around doing nothing for 3½ to 7 years? The Church joins up with Israel? The Church is Israel? There is no tribulation period? There is no millennium? Most of Revelation (and other end-times prophecy is hypothetical or allegorical? Or perhaps the rapture is actually just before the seven year tribulation period commences, just as the Bible teaches!

We would have to re-write much of the Bible to prevent Israel from coming back for her final week of seven years on Daniel’s timeline! And why not also re-write the creation account to also be allegorical? And perhaps everything else? We have lost the desire to seek the truth for what it is, because we have disobeyed God’s command to test all things.

(For further study on the prophecies of Daniel 9:24-27, please go to A Special Report on Daniel 9:24-27.)

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“rainbowtoken.com” (the false cult of “The Church of Almighty God”)

Beware of the lies and deceptions of this satanic cult!
I was asked recently about what I knew about a secretive religious cult who run a website called www.rainbowtoken.com. So I did some research, and uncovered a large number of dangerous heresies of this secretive chinese cult. To keep this report short, I will focus on just some of their false teachings.

1/. They do not have a clear statement of beliefs
Their website does not have any clear statement of faith (a listing of what they believe) or doctrinal statement (their doctrines defined generally in point form). This alone is enough to set alarm bells ringing, for any site that refuses to say clearly what they believe always has something to hide. And they do have a lot to hide!

2/. They teach that the biblical gospel cannot save man
“And so, if you only understand the Bible, and understand nothing of the work God intends to do today, and if you believe in God but do not seek the work of the Holy Spirit, then you do not understand what it means to seek God. …. From the word of Almighty God we can see that the Bible is just a historical record of God’s past work and cannot save man.” (https://www.rainbowtoken.com/the-truths-in-the-bible.html)

3/. They teach that salvation is only through belonging to the Church of Philadelphia.
Only by belonging to their church may you be kept from God’s judgments.
“Nowadays, disasters are everywhere, and only by finding the church of Philadelphia will we be able to be raptured up before the throne of God before the great disasters arrive.” (https://www.rainbowtoken.com/church-of-philadelphia.html)

4/. Their God’s new name is “Almighty God”
The Bible says “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).
They say that no longer is Jesus the name of the Lord that we must call upon.
““My new name” clearly refers to the Lord having a new name when He returns, and since He has a new name, He cannot be called “Jesus” again—this is for certain. Therefore, that which the people of the church of Philadelphia pray to and call on will not be the name “Jesus,” but rather it will be God’s name in the new age. …. We can therefore be certain that the name “Almighty God” is indeed God’s new name” (https://www.rainbowtoken.com/church-of-philadelphia.html)

5/. Their cult is really called the Church of Almighty God
So their church is no longer the Church of Jesus Christ, but the Church of Almighty God!
“Actually, the church of Philadelphia has arisen already, and it is Eastern Lightning that everyone has heard about—it is The Church of Almighty God.” (https://www.rainbowtoken.com/church-of-philadelphia.html)

6/. The “Church of Almighty God” was started by Zhao Weishan in 1991
Zhao Weishan commenced this church in 1991, proclaiming that Christ had returned to earth in the form of a chinese woman, Yang Xiangbin.
“In 1986, Zhao was a member of a Christian house church, and in 1987 he was baptized into a branch of The Shouters which venerated their leader Witness Lee as “Lord Changshou”. Zhao rose to a leadership position within the group and, according to Chinese governmental sources, preached that he was himself the “Lord of Ability.”” (Wikipedia)

7/. Yang Xiangbin was the second coming of Jesus Christ
“In 1992, Yang’s revelations propagated by Zhao announced that Yang herself was more than a prophetic voice; in fact, she was the second coming of Jesus Christ on earth and the incarnated Almighty God. Since then, Yang was referred to as “he” rather than “she,” as she was in fact regarded as Jesus Christ.” (Wikipedia)
Yang is sometimes known as “Deng”. Reports strongly suggest that she is the lover of her alleged high priest, Zhao Weishan.

8/. Yang Xiangbin is worshipped as “Almighty God”
Yang Xiangbin is declared to be the Almighty God himself.
“Eastern Lightning holds that Jesus has returned as a Chinese woman, worshiped by the sect as Almighty God, hence its official name.” (Wikipedia)

9/. Yang Xiangbin’s words are considered the words of God Almighty
Her words are taught as the words of Almighty God himself. In the following she is named as “Almighty God”.
“With respect to this point, let us read a passage of Almighty God’s words, “I was once known as Jehovah. I was also called the Messiah, and people once called Me Jesus the Savior with love and esteem. Today, however, I am no longer the Jehovah or Jesus that people knew in times past; I am the God who has returned in the last days, the God who shall bring the age to an end.” (https://www.rainbowtoken.com/church-of-philadelphia.html)
Like most cults, her words have become the official word of their god, overruling the Bible itself.

10/. The Church of Almighty God is also known as Eastern Lightning
This is based upon Matthew 24:27 (For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.) Thus, if Yang is the returned Christ, then she must have come from the east, therefore her worshippers belong to Eastern Lightning.

11/. rainbowtoken.com also claims to be Eastern Lightning and the Church of Almighty God
“Only by finding the church of Philadelphia can we be raptured before the great disasters. So where exactly is the church of Philadelphia? Actually, the church of Philadelphia has arisen already, and it is Eastern Lightning that everyone has heard about—it is The Church of Almighty God.” (https://www.rainbowtoken.com/church-of-philadelphia.html)

12/. rainbowtoken.com is therefore the cult of “The Almighty God” church
So, even though they try hard to hide this fact, rainbowtoken.com is actually just another name for the Church of Almighty God which teaches that God has returned in the flesh in the form of a chinese woman who now speaks “God’s word” as the new revelation of “Almighty God”. Its teachings are (by its own admission) not biblical, but instead they have produced their own false bible with its false teachings.

The very fact that they do not broadcast the real truth of their false teachings up front (that they are, in fact, an unbiblical chinese cult worshipping a woman who claims to be God in the flesh) is deceptive indeed. Deception is not (and never should be) a trait of the genuine biblical Christian.

So Christians, beware having anything to do with this unbiblical cult. Do not soil your lives with this heresy. Their teachings are from satan their master and have nothing to do with the one true God of the Bible. Anyone who claims to have an extra-biblical revelation of God, or Jesus Christ, must immediately be declared a cult with false teachings.

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Calvinism teaches that good is evil, and evil is good!
According to Calvin’s hero and “mentor”, Augustine, evil is good and what is good is always evil. Therefore, Calvinists must believe that “bad” is simply “an evil good”, that evil is good and good is evil! In simple terms, this is Gnostic theology, where it is the obtaining of total knowledge (both good and evil) that saves you.
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil” Isaiah 5:20

Calvinists have to accept Augustine’s teachings or reject Calvin
Calvin placed Augustine on a pedestal above all other sources of teaching, writing that “all ancient theologians, with the exception of Augustine, are so confused, vacillating, and contradictory ….., that no certainty can be obtained from their writings.” (Institutes Bk 2; Ch.2; Section 4) To reject Augustine’s teachings would then to be reject Calvin’s teachings also.

Therefore Calvinists must accept Augustine’s Gnostic heresy
Therefore calvinists must believe, like Augustine, that evil and good are equivalent terms, that a balance must be always achieved between the two, must also believe in the Gnostic teaching: that salvation (transcendence) is to be found through perfect knowledge, both good and evil. To deny this would be to deny Augustine’s Gnostic teachings as heresy (and thus, by logical progression, to deny Calvin’s teachings also as heresy).

Gnosticism teaches that good cannot exist without evil
That is, one must know all things to become transcendent, all good and all evil; that it is impossible to know all good without also knowing all evil; that good cannot exist without a counter-balance of evil, and evil cannot exist independently of good. This is also the meaning behind the yin and yang teaching: that good and evil must exist in a balance between the two; and that some evil must exist in all good and some good must exist in all evil.
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil” Isaiah 5:20

Augustine taught that evil is good and good is evil
Augustine, whose teachings are the basis for Calvin’s teachings, said (in his “Enchiridion”) “that since every being, in so far as it is a being, is good, if we then say that a defective thing is bad, it would seem to mean that we are saying that what is evil is good, that only what is good is ever evil and that there is no evil apart from something good. ….. Now, if a man is something good because he is an entity, what then, is a bad man except an evil good? ….. if there were no good in what is evil, then the evil simply could not be, since it can have no mode in which to exist ….”
Can any calvinist please explain what Augustine is talking about?  How is it biblical? Is Augustine rational? And if Augustine is irrational, then so is Calvin.
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20)

If Augustine teaches false doctrine, then calvinism is likewise false doctrine
This dualism of good and evil appears to be based on Augustine’s Manichean Gnostic roots where salvation depended upon man obtaining ultimate knowledge, both good and evil. It relates to occult yin and yang beliefs which teach that a necessary balance must exist between good and evil. Can any calvinists give any support for Augustine’s irrational thinking here (sola scriptura!)? Doesn’t it simply prove that in a calvinist world, evil has to be seen as good or else evil cannot exist??
Just note Calvin’s support for this Gnostic good-evil teaching in his “The Eternal Predestination of God” where he tries to explain that what God wills for good, when a man does what God wills, it is then evil. For example, if God ordains that man should commit murder, then God’s will is good, but when man does it, man’s will is evil, even if he does what God ordained that he should do. He writes: “I have shown that He wills the same as the criminal and the wicked, but in a different way.“
He goes on to say: “Augustine has a useful admonition, that, for all their agreement here, there is a great difference between God and man. For God wills for good what men will for evil; and He does not will for good what men do not will for evil. So too, in their disagreement, men and God are not quite incongruous. For men will for good what God does not will for good; and they do not will for good what God does will for good.“

According to yin and yang, gnosticism is an eastern religious view of Christianity
yinyanghouse.com says that “Without generalizing too much, the gnostic views provide an almost eastern edge, so to speak, to our judeo-christian western philosophy.  ….. First and foremost is that, as a primarily Christian sect, Gnosticism can provide westerners an arguably more eastern view of their own traditions. …..”

According to Gnosticism, salvation comes from a knowledge of good and evil
yinyanghouse.com (quoting from The Gnostic Religion” by Hans Jonas) that salvation is found in the dualistic knowledge such as good and evil, life and death.
“…all of these currents have in some way to do with salvation… all of them exhibit an exceedingly transcendent conception of God and in connection with it an equally transcendent and other-worldly goal of salvation… they maintain a radial dualism of realms of being – God and the world, spirit and matter, soul and body, light and darkness, good and evil, life and death…”

It was the sin of Gnosticism that caused all mankind to be condemned
Gnosticism is the knowledge of good and evil, and as such is clearly defined as a sin against God. Adam was told that if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (= gnosticism) then he would die. This defines Gnosticism as the sin that would condemn Adam (and all his descendants) to eternal death.
Genesis 2:17 – But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

When Eve saw that the tree was to be desired to make her wise (with the knowledge of good and evil), she ate it. She also gave some to Adam who also ate it.
Genesis 3:6 – And when the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food, and that it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make [one] wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Adam and Eve could have lived forever without sin, but they chose to know good and evil, and therefore were now forbidden to eat any more of the tree of life.
Genesis 3:22 – And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

It was Gnosticism that required Christ to die for the sins of all mankind
For all have sinned according to Adam’s sin, and that same “All” have been justified freely” by Christ.
Romans 3:23-24 – ²³For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; ²⁴Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

All may be justified by faith in Christ:
Romans 3:25-26 – ²⁵Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; ²⁶To declare, [I say], at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

All, that is, who call by faith upon that name of the Lord to be saved
For whosoever (that is, everyone without exception) who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13).

All you calvinist and reformed believers, think very carefully indeed!
If calvinism is dependent upon Augustine’s teachings which were the Gnostic sin that condemned mankind through Adam’s sin, then calvinism is also that very same sin. Offload Augustine and his knowledge of good and evil, and your calvinism dies. Call upon the name of the Lord to be saved and you will live. Keep Augustine and you are condemned (as was Adam) for your sin of the knowledge of good and evil. When you stand before God in the judgment, will your knowledge of good and evil save you? No! Will Augustine or Calvin be your advocate to defend you before God? No! Will your religious leaders and teachers be able to save you from God’s wrath? No! You alone will stand before God and it is what you alone (not Augustine, Calvin or your church teachers) have done that will determine your eternal destiny. That is, have you called upon the name of the Lord to be saved, or have you been told that such a prayer opposes your God’s sovereignty? Check all things out for yourself; read the Bible for yourself; test all things; hold fast to that which is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21). And “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil” Isaiah 5:20

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How to be a good calvinist without being a Christian!

Calvinists blame others for ignorance and lack of understanding of their doctrine.

I often get told that I get calvinism wrong because I do not understand its theology. For example, from an email: “your argument there does not stack up because you have misunderstood the theology of Calvinisim (sic)”.

It is understanding, not lack of it, that proves calvinism wrong.

But such people are so wrong, because I understand calvinism very well indeed. In fact, I spent the first 19 years of my life being a good calvinist before I called upon the name of the Lord to be saved (as per Romans 10:13). I know exactly what it’s like to be an accredited elect person heading for an eternity in heaven, in spite of not actually being saved.

I grew up being told by my calvinist church that I was one of the elect.

You see, for the first 19 years of my life I thought I was saved, and everyone around me at my calvinist church declared the same. In fact, even for a while after I was saved, I still considered the calvinist Presbyterian church to be Christian.

Proper research led me to question and reject calvinism, especially its corrupt gospel.

It was only after I started to look seriously at their doctrine that I realised that their doctrine was faulty. By then I was attending churches where the doctrine was more acceptably biblical. But it was to be a long time before I was able to see that the calvinism I grew up with was not in any way compatible with biblical doctrine. It was when our reasonably biblical local churches were overtaken by calvinists that I was forced to assess whether or not calvinism was compatible with the Bible, and discovered that it was a non-Christian doctrine, especially its gospel.

I was brought up to be a good calvinist.

I was born into a good (calvinist) Presbyterian home with church-going parents who would never miss out on church attendance without very good reason. (The Presbyterian statement of faith is the very calvinist Westminster Confession.)

Many calvinist leaders were also freemasons.

My father was an elder. He was also a freemason, as were most Presbyterian elders that I have ever known. I knew that many of our local Presbyterian ministers were also freemasons, and that many of their churches exhibited freemasonry symbols carved into both wood and stone. (And if you think freemasonry is in any way Christian, then think again!)

Calvin taught that baptism purified us from all sin.

“We ought to consider that at whatever time we are baptised, we are washed and purified once for the whole of life.” (Institutes Bk 4, Ch.15, Section 3) Therefore good calvinists must be baptised (christened) as early as possible to establish their elect status. Calvin was proud of his catholic baptism.

I was baptised very young as befits a good calvinist elect.

I was christened at an early age (thus adopted into the church as one of the elect). Presbyterian doctrine assured me that I was now properly cleansed for acceptance before God.

All good calvinist Presbyterians must be confirmed in their elect status.

Presbyterian teachings require this baptismal “faith” to be confirmed at their Confirmation later on, at which time they are admitted into full membership of the church. This is similar to the catholic confirmation ceremony. (Calvin never actually left the catholic church. His intention was always to reform the catholic church, not commence a new church, thus the term “the Reformation”.)

My Confirmation certificate “proves” my elect status.

In my early teen years I did a series of lessons which led to the church confirming my status as one of the elect. In this respect calvinism is little different to the catholic church which baptises its infants into the church, requiring this to be confirmed later on in order to become members of the church.

Until I was 19, as one of the elect, I was guaranteed to go to heaven.

Therefore, up until I was 19 years old, I was declared “saved”, one of God’s chosen elect, heading for heaven, and all I’d had to do was to be born into a good calvinist Presbyterian household, be baptised and confirmed, and follow the church rules. To break one of their rules without good reason was to be declared non-elect.

Calvinist Presbyterian rules existed to maintain one’s elect status.

I had to attend church regularly and to take communion at least once each 3 months. This was required to maintain my elect status. Not attending church regularly would prompt the church to require that you give good reason for your non-attendance or else be struck off the membership roll (and effectively also off the list of elect, too). In particular, non-attendance at more than two communion services in a row would also require good reason or else lose your elect status.

Keeping these rules proved one’s perseverance.

This rule-keeping demonstrated your perseverance, without which you could never endure to the end and therefore you were not one of the elect and would not go to calvinist heaven! Good calvinist Presbyterians demonstrated their perseverance by their continued attendance especially at communion services. Not attending was interpreted as a falling away, and the elect could never fall away!

If you didn’t endure to the end, you were never saved in the first place.

The Presbyterian doctrine was based upon obedience to the rules. Disobedient people could not be elect and therefore obedience became the measure of your salvation.

Therefore obedience to rules becomes your salvation itself.

The calvinist Presbyterians with their adherence to the Westminster Confession teach a salvation based upon the works that you do. In all my younger years, I heard little or nothing of biblical salvation. It was through obedience to the rules that you were declared one of the elect. You had to be baptised as a child, be confirmed in that faith when a teen, and thereafter attend all required church meetings and fulfill all church requirements. Calling upon the name of the Lord was never one of those requirements.

How do I know all this?

I know all this because I grew up learning all about how to be a good calvinist (as a Presbyterian). I experienced calvinism; I was immersed in calvinism; but I was never saved until I was finally asked if I had called upon the name of the Lord to be saved (and this didn’t happen in any Presbyterian church!). It happened after I had left my family home to get an education elsewhere, and at the age of 19 I found salvation in Jesus Christ, something that I knew nothing about all the time I was growing up in the Presbyterian church.

So how can you be a good calvinist without being a Christian?

Easy, far too easy, in fact. I managed to be a good calvinist without being a Christian for 19 years, and never in those 19 years realised that this was in any way unbiblical. It is true that many calvinists have also called upon the name of the Lord and been saved, yet never realising that calvinism is a burden, not a blessing, on their salvation. They are still saved, in spite of being calvinist, not because they are calvinist, but because they have also called upon the name of the Lord to be saved.

But there are many, many calvinists out there who don’t actually realise that they are not saved, and will only find out when they stand before the judgment throne of God. They will be told that their names are not in the Lamb’s book of life because they never called upon His name to be saved! Where do you stand today, calvinist? Please do not wait until the judgment to find out if you are right or not!

By the way, have you ever wondered just what calvinists mean when they say they believe in the Doctrines of Grace? Take this link or scroll down further to discover the real truth behind this.

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If you have any questions or comments about this information, please feel free to say it or give advice, by using the Contact page. Genuine comments may be recorded on the Comments page. However, I may choose to reply to reasonable comments via email.

List of all my posts on this site.

If you wish to read other documents on the heresies of calvinism, please use this link.

Sermons and Messages

Calvinist heretics & heresies

Please feel free to comment  Comments and contact page
Reasonable comments and replies may be recorded on the Comments page.

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Here’s something extra to think about:

On a “christianforums.com” thread, I read the following from someone who declares himself to be a Presbyterian:

“How do you respond to the common criticism of Calvinism such as God being the author of evil?
I simply remind them that Calvin never taught that God is the author of evil.”
https://www.christianforums.com/threads/convince-me-to-become-calvinist.7987248/

But Calvin did teach that God was the author of evil, in fact, all evils.
He wrote that “if all things are done by the will of God, and men contrive nothing except by His will and ordination, then God is the author of all evils.”
(Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God – John Calvin)

I just wish that calvinists could be a bit more educated, enough to be able to actually know what their doctrine really teaches!

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The real truth about the doctrines of grace

Calvinists love to declare their beliefs as the doctrines of grace. But do you know why? You see, calvinists used to believe in the doctrine of puritanism, where if you fell off your spiritual horse and couldn’t get back on again, you were declared non-elect, not having persevered to the end. This is bad news for those calvinist pastors who desire mega-salaries from their mega-churches. It’s very bad for business to offload all those who aren’t able to persevere as good puritans. Dismissing the failures as non-elect removes money from the offering plate.

Enter new calvinism, where the emphasis is no longer on being good obedient puritans, but on being restored sinners. Now it is good to fall off your spiritual horse, because if you get up and in the running again, then you are said to have been restored by God’s grace. In fact, the only way for calvinists to experience God’s grace is to sin in order to confess your sin so that you can be restored to fellowship. That is, new calvinism requires that you fall off your horse regularly so that you then have the opportunity to demonstrate God’s grace in restoring you. Hence the name: the doctrines of grace.

New calvinism now encourages its elect to confess their sins regularly to one another. If you do not confess sin regularly (particularly to your friendly church biblical counsellor), then you may be harbouring sin, and therefore not the recipient of God’s grace, and thus at risk of being judged not one of the elect. Sounds a lot like the catholic confessional, doesn’t it? Then note carefully that Calvin never actually left the catholic church; he merely tried to reform it, thus the name “The Reformation”.

New Calvinism derived from Sonship Theology which many (even calvinists) declare to be a licence to sin. For example, from Covenant Presbyterian Church: “I heard of one preacher who said that as sons, we are free to sin. …. The freeness of our Father’s grace should never be turned, even slightly, into a license to sin. ….
Sonship Theology is an attempt to elevate grace.” (7^th Oct 2007)

Sonship theology teaches that there is no sin that any child of God can possibly commit that could ever prevent that elect person from entering heaven. That is, if you are one of the elect and commit a sin, then you will be the recipient of God’s grace in restoring you to fellowship. (Note that according to calvinism, God has foreordained your sin anyway!) The calvinist God will always show grace to his elect, no matter what sin they committed; to not be restored means a lack of God’s grace due to not being one of the elect. Only the elect of the calvinist God may have such a licence to sin!

So, “the doctrines of grace” can be re-worded as “a licence to sin”, as long as it translates to sufficient money in the offering plate to justify it.

The Westminster Confession – a scholarly critique

After some serious study of that belief statement much beloved and much quoted of calvinists – the Westminster Confession – I have concluded that it is quite contradictory and encourages confused thinking. This is to be expected, seeing as it is based upon those likewise contradictory and confused teachings of Calvin.

Calvinism teaches that sin and evil are perfect and therefore good.

In “Calvinism is madness itself”, I pointed out that calvinists are forced by their doctrines to believe that all things in this world must be perfect, including sin and evil.

Yet sin can only be by the free will of man

Calvinism teaches that man has no free will to choose to sin. Spurgeon (that preacher much-loved-and-quoted by calvinists) said: “It has already been proved beyond all controversy that free-will is nonsense.” (“Free will – a slave”) Yet, Spurgeon was unable to provide any scriptural evidence to support this.

Free-will proves calvinism to be a lie.

Calvinism stands or falls on whether or not such free will exists. In particular, calvinists strongly oppose any freedom of will to choose to obey or disobey God. They teach that God created a class of people who could never seek after God and could never be saved.

Man sins by his free will alone.

The issue of who created sin is a much-argued subject, even between calvinists. The Bible teaches that man chooses to sin (to disobey God’s will) of his own free will. This alone is biblical; any option that takes man’s free will from him when sinning is to make God a sinner against His own will. God cannot sin against His own will; he cannot disobey Himself, nor will He cause or incite someone to sin against His will. He doesn’t even permit sin – He can only permit the free will of others to choose to sin in disobedience to His will.

The Westminster Confession teaches that God cannot be responsible for sin.

The Westminster Confession says: “the sinfulness thereof proceedeth only from the creature, and not from God; who being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin.” (Ch.5 Part 4) This on its own is biblical.
It also says that “Every sin” is “a transgression of the righteous law of God”. (Ch.6 Part 6) That is, disobeying God’s will (as enshrined in His law) is sin. This, too, is biblical.

The Westminster Confession also teaches that God ordered sin for his own glory.

But this document also says “Our first parents, begin seduced by the subtlety and temptations of Satan, sinned in eating the forbidden fruit. This their sin God was pleased, according to his wise and holy counsel, to permit, having purposed to order it to his own glory.” (Ch.6 Part 1)
That is, God has not only permitted them to sin, but has ordered it for his glory. Note that Calvin clearly stated that “God is the author of all evils.“

The calvinist God orders sin for his glory while also condemning it?

How can God “purpose to order” sin “for his glory” if he is not “the author or approver of sin”?

God cannot ordain, decree, nor even permit sin.

God cannot ordain or decree sin, ever. It would be the equivalent of decreeing that He disobey Himself. Nor can God even permit man to sin, for permission itself assumes approval of such action. Thus permitting man to sin would require God to approve of disobedience against Himself. Holy God cannot do this. In Genesis 2:16 God gave Adam permission to eat of all the trees in the garden, but denied him that same permission to eat of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 2:17).

Sin is an act of disobeying God’s will.

Sin is defined as man disobeying God’s will. God is holy and cannot have anything to do with sin. Even the Westminster Confession admits this much: “Every sin” is “a transgression of the righteous law of God”. (Ch.6 Part 6)
Because God neither orders nor approves of sin (Ch.5 Part 4), it was impossible for Him to make Adam sin, or even to influence him in any way to cause him to sin. When Adam sinned, he was committing an act of disobedience by his will alone against God’s will. God told him to not eat the forbidden fruit; this was God’s law to Adam. Therefore, to eat of it was disobedience against God’s law and therefore sin. It could only be an act of Adam’s free will to choose to sin against God.

Everything God does must oppose sin.

It could never have been God’s will in any way that Adam should sin because then God would be inciting sin against Himself, and holy God cannot do that, ever. Adam’s sin was opposed to God’s will, and therefore an independent act of a will other than God’s holy will. God will at all times oppose disobedience against Himself. Everything God does must oppose sin (which is disobedience against Himself) or else He is no longer holy.

God did not create Adam with a sin nature.

Some calvinists, recognising that Adam has to have chosen to sin by his own free will, then say that it was Adam’s nature that caused him to sin. But this would require God to have created Adam with a sin nature that had to sin of necessity. And that would also require God to incite disobedience against Himself, thereby committing sin against His own will.

The calvinist “free-agency” makes man do only that which God has decreed that he do.

Others say that while Adam had no free will, he had a free agency to sin. But free agency merely says that while Adam was free to choose, he could only choose that option which God had already provided for him to choose, and no other. Effectively free agency is no freedom at all; free agency would still require God to provide the sinful option that Adam would be required to choose. And that would still make God a sinner against Himself.

The Westminster Confession says that man has liberty to choose between good and evil.

The Westminster Confession says: “God hath endued the will of man with that natural liberty, that is neither forced, nor by any absolute necessity of nature determined to good or evil.” (Ch.9 Part 1)

The Westminster Confession also says that God foreordained all things that will ever happen.

It also says: “God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass” (Ch.3 Part 1)

Therefore it teaches that man has free will to choose, yet only what God has foreordained that he choose.

Literally, therefore, God has given man free will to choose between good or evil, yet God has also ordained all things that will happen, including all good and evil. Thus, God has given man free will to choose whatever God has already ordained that he should choose. This is the classic definition of the calvinist “free agency”.

Salvation is a free gift offered to all mankind.

God has offered a free gift of salvation and eternal life to all mankind. To reject such a gift would be to disobey God whose will is that all mankind be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4). Calvinists say that man does not have the free will to make such a choice; that God has ordained from the beginning who will obey and who will not obey God’s will here. Those who do not obey will be sent to hell for eternity for their disobedience against God’s will. However, according to calvinism, their disobedience can only be the consequence of not being ordained to obey.

Calvinism makes God complicit in man’s sin.

This makes the calvinist God at the very least a co-sinner alongside those whom he will send to hell for their ordained disobedience. And, at worst, the calvinist God is the only wilful sinner in the universe! The true God cannot make anyone sin, nor will He ever set up circumstances that inevitably send people to hell without any option of being able to obey Him.

The Westminster Confession teaches that God has predestinated most of mankind to hell without man having any say at all.

The Westminster Confession says: “By the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life, and others foreordained to everlasting death.” (Ch.3 Part 3) Not only does this teach double predestination, but in Ch.3 Part 5 it states that this was decided “before the foundation of the world”.

The Westminster Confession teaches that the calvinist God randomly selects who will go to heaven.

Ch.3 Part 5 also states that God’s decision regarding predestination was “out of his free grace and love alone, without any foresight of faith or good works, or perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the creature, as conditions, or causes moving him thereunto”, that is, unconditional. It doesn’t matter who you are or how you behave, for every single person has just as much chance of being chosen as anyone else (or else a condition would exist). And, noting Westminster Confession Ch.10 Parts 3 & 4, even Hitler could have been one of the elect. Or Judas (oh, that’s right, according to the Bible, he was one of the elect!). Unconditional election equals random selection.

Therefore in calvinism eternal life or death rests upon a celestial lottery of all mankind.

But if the election is unconditional, then all mankind is in this celestial lottery, and theoretically everyone has an equal chance of being drawn. But no, it does appear that white Caucasians are far more likely to be chosen than any other racial group. Maybe the calvinist God stacked the draw, or rigged it somehow so that those people were favoured? But then it wouldn’t be unconditional! Or, perhaps, unreached nations could actually have the elect among them too, only they do not produce the works and therefore we aren’t counting them, but maybe we should? Note that Tim Keller (a co-founder of the new calvinist Gospel Coalition), believes (along with C S Lewis) that God may have a back door somewhere for such unreached peoples to access heaven. And maybe many of those who claim to be of the elect because of their good works may not actually be saved! ………

The Westminster Confession teaches God’s foreknowledge doesn’t really exist.

Note that God’s foreknowledge is discounted in the Westminster Confession Ch.3 Part 5 (“without any foresight of faith”) as a means of selecting his election. Calvinists hate foreknowledge to mean God’s perfect knowledge of the future because it demands the free will of man to choose salvation which would then be known by God according to His foreknowledge. Genuine foreknowledge demands future decisions to be foreknown!

Even Calvin taught that foreknowledge was irrelevant for God.

…… or to just state that discussion of foreknowledge (or prescience) is futile because God would already foreknow all things by reason of having appointed them from the beginning. (eg Calvin – “If God merely foresaw human events, and did not also arrange and dispose of them at his pleasure, there might be room for agitating the question, how far his foreknowledge amounts to necessity; but since he foresees the things which are to happen, simply because he has decreed that they are so to happen, it is vain (irrelevant) to debate about prescience, while it is clear that all events take place by his sovereign appointment.” – Institutes, Bk 3, Ch.23, Section 6) Yet the Bible says (in 1 Peter 1:2) that our election is by that “irrelevant” foreknowledge!

If God’s foreknowledge is true, then calvinism is heresy.

Therefore, prove foreknowledge to be God’s perfect knowledge of the future and you destroy calvinism’s “no-free-will”. If foreknowledge exists as such, then the free will of man to choose salvation must also exist.

Holy God will never have anything to do with sin.

God is holy, and can have nothing to do with sin at all, ever. All sin therefore is a free-will act against the will of holy God, an act that God condemns. If man has no free will to choose to obey or disobey, then the responsibility falls back upon God who must therefore be effectively making man’s choices for him. Either man has free will to choose to obey or disobey God, or God has made that choice for him. Whoever makes such a choice is responsible for the consequences of that choice. If man makes that choice to disobey, then he deserves God’s condemnation. If that choice were by God’s decree (as calvinism clearly teaches) then God has put himself into the awkward situation of putting himself on trial and being found guilty. God can neither ordain (decree) nor approve (permit) sin.

The Westminster Confession teaches that those without works can still be saved.

Please note that the Westminster Confession has a few more problems. Apparently there are those who live their lives without any outward evidences of salvation because of some alleged incapability who are also among the elect. This obviously would cover those calvinists who turn up to church when required but otherwise have no works to demonstrate their faith!
“Elect infants, dying in infancy, are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who worketh when, and where, and how he pleaseth. So also are all other elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word.” Ch.10 Part 3)

And others who show evidences of being called by the ministry of the Word are not actually saved.

“Others, not elected, although they may be called by the ministry of the Word, and may have some common operations of the Spirit, yet they never truly come to Christ, and therefore can not be saved: much less can men, not professing the Christian religion, be saved in any other way whatsoever, be they never so diligent to frame their lives according to the light of nature, and the law of that religion they do profess; and to assert and maintain that they may is without warrant of the Word of God.” (Ch.10 Part 4)

This rests upon Calvin’s doctrine of a temporary faith.

Of course, Calvin taught the same: that by “an inferior operation of the Spirit” … “by Christ himself a temporary faith, is ascribed to them.” (Institutes Bk 3, Ch 2, Section 11) Some who were chosen for hell from the beginning could be made to think they were saved, and would even have the works to demonstrate to others that they were saved, yet would be dropped from God’s grace before they died.

The Westminster Confession is irrational, contradictory and unbiblical.

People can be of the elect even though they have no supporting works, and others can be not of the elect even if they do have supporting works. Sounds like none of them can actually know if they are saved or not until they die and stand before God. In fact, according to the Westminster Confession no-one can really be sure what their God has chosen for them until they stand before him in the judgment. So, which Westminster Confession set of options do you choose? And what if you choose the wrong options? And stand before God one day and be told to depart from Him because you were never one of His!

Matthew 7:22-23 – ²²Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? ²³And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

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If you have any questions or comments about this information, please feel free to say it or give advice, by using the Contact page. Genuine comments may be recorded on the Comments page. However, I may choose to reply to reasonable comments via email.

List of all my posts on this site.

If you wish to read other documents on the heresies of calvinism, please use this link.

Sermons and Messages

Calvinist heretics & heresies

Please feel free to comment  Comments and contact page
Reasonable comments and replies may be recorded on the Comments page.

What qualifications does a calvinist need?

This post came about because calvinists who make comments on this website generally make wild accusations without presenting a shred of evidence to support their claims.
The latest one simply said, “You are clueless”. So, what was the point of his comment? Absolutely no point at all! With an abundance of such point-less comments from calvinists, I have now concluded that a lack of rational thinking must be a prerequisite for being a calvinist. So here’s a short-list of my observations after a few years of receiving calvinist comments.

Here’s some suggestions on what a calvinist should attach to his resume.

(Of course, many calvinist prospective pastors will refuse to acknowledge much of the following to any church which might use the Bible to select their pastor. These resume points below are only going to look right to a non-biblical calvinist church.)

1/. He must always be right.

He must have an unshakeable confidence in the rightness of his beliefs in the face of much logical opposition. He must know he is always right and therefore anyone who disagrees is always wrong. To admit that he could be wrong would be to accept that others who believe differently could be right. This is unacceptable to a calvinist, that someone else might actually be right!

2/. He must have an ability to believe what the Bible cannot teach.

Even if the Bible says that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, he must still stubbornly state that Jesus only died for a few that their God has chosen for heaven. Even when the Bible says we must choose whom we will serve, he must maintain that choosing never means to actually have a choice!

3/. He must be able to ignore anyone biblically challenging his beliefs.

Time after time I get calvinists quoting verses that “prove” their doctrines. Yet, when I point out questions the Bible raises against their interpretations, they will not reply, or else they will change the topic. A few have quoted John 15:16 to “prove” that God chooses us and we do not choose Him. But when I ask if they realise that Judas was one of those chosen there, they either do not reply or push on with a different set of “proof” verses.

4/. He must believe that the Bible doesn’t mean what it says.

For example, “all” often means “some”, “many” often means “all”, “the whole world” often means only Christians, and “does not” means “cannot”!

5/. He must believe that his God has divine schizophrenia (multiple personality disorder).

He must teach that God desires one thing (the salvation of all mankind) yet decrees something quite different (most of mankind goes to hell). You have to ask why Piper should want to defend his God against a charge of divine schizophrenia! He says: “Affirming the will of God to save all, while also affirming the unconditional election of some, implies that there are at least “two wills” in God, or two ways of willing. It implies that God decrees one state of affairs while also willing and teaching that a different state of affairs should come to pass.” Yet “his will to elect unconditionally those who will actually be saved is not a sign of divine schizophrenia”

6/. He must have a lack of ability to engage in meaningful and intelligent debate.

When others oppose his doctrines, the calvinist must stick to his guns and maintain that he is right because (a) he has been to an approved Bible college, or (b) he reads books by calvinists who teach the same “truths”, or (c) only calvinists are qualified to assess the deeper truths of the Bible, or (d) there are mysteries that God does not want us to know, or (e) you cannot be one of the elect! If you will not play his game by his rules, then he won’t talk to you again!

He must have a supply of names he can call biblical non-calvinists who dare to use the Bible to refute him. Because he cannot abide using the Bible alone for his debates (because he knows he would lose), he must have an arsenal of names and epithets to fire at his “enemy”. These include “clueless”, “non-elect”, “misrepresenting”, “rude”, slander”, “out of context”, “unbiblical”, “you are trying to twist things to fit your own agenda”, “you are teaching heresy”, “both your name and qualifications could very well be an issue with what I believe”, “unbecoming of a brother in Christ”, “very arrogant and hostile”, “lack discernment”. I have been declared the servant of satan, of the devil, evil, hateful, and worse. Yet not one of these people actually demonstrated why they said it. They declare me wrong yet are unable to say why.
The latest comment, by the way, accused me of tirades, yet all he could do was present a tirade of his own soap-box variety! Of course I won’t reply, nor will I print his heresies. Let him commence his own webpage and say what he wants on that. See lower down for my conclusions on his tirade!

7/. He must be unable to present logical debate when refuting said opposition.

In fact, he will usually refuse to engage in any serious debate with someone who knows the Bible well. Those who know the Bible well and quote it in support of their beliefs are considered to be not playing the game by the rules (their rules!). Mormon Joseph Smith had special glasses that only he could use to interpret the extra-biblical writings of the angel Moroni and therefore considered himself above human debate. Many calvinists have their own special set of such “glasses”. They claim that only calvinism categorises the Bible such that only calvinists may understand the deeper “truths” of the Bible. In fact, calvinism is an esoteric knowledge system where only those who are initiated may be permitted to know its deeper truths!

8/. He must declare non-calvinists to be theologically untaught.

He must be prepared to call out non-calvinists as theologically untaught with man-centred thinking, such as stated by calvinist Steven Lawson who said of those non-calvinist Christians that: “In my earlier years, the greatest challenges I faced were preaching the doctrines of grace to congregations that were theologically untaught. To say the least, it was difficult and demanding to try to establish God-centered truth and a biblical philosophy of ministry where there had previously been a stronghold of man-centered thinking concerning the work of God in salvation. Though it was obviously a painful process, the only way to meet such an obstacle was head-on, unashamedly preaching the full counsel of God.”

9/. He must be willing to teach that only calvinists are biblically correct.

He must declare that calvinists are the only evangelical, biblical, theologically correct Christians, such as calvinist Al Mohler states: “Where else are they going to go? If you’re a theological minded, deeply convictional young evangelical, if you’re committed to the gospel and want to see the nations rejoice in the name of Christ, if you want to see gospel built and structured committed churches, your theology is just going end up basically being Reformed, basically something like this new Calvinism, or you’re going to have to invent some label for what is basically going to be the same thing, there just are not options out there”

10/. He must be good at verbal gymnastics.

That is, he must be good at interpreting the Bible to mean the opposite to the clear straight-forward meaning. He must be persuasive, believable, even when telling lies. Like the false teachers of 2 Peter 2:3, he must use “feigned words” (verbal gymnastics) to mean the opposite of what he appears to be saying.

11/. He must be good at mentoring gullible Christians.

He must be able to choose the right people to mentor into the philosophy of calvinism. He has to be careful not to get into a debate with those who might show him up to be the charlatan that he is. Young, immature, naïve, gullible Christians are ideal for his purposes. When he joins a church, he’ll set his sights on such people in order to do the “I am biblical” boast in front of. He’ll talk very biblically-sounding talk, and walk a very biblically-acceptable behaviour, in order to convince these naïve Christians that he is a mature Christian who has all the answers. Of course, he’ll work on individuals or small groups only, in order to better ensure that he will not be opposed by one of those nasty biblical Christians who know their Bibles well.

12/. He’ll boast of the superiority of his God.

And, therefore, will boast of his own superiority in believing in a more sovereign, more gracious (though also more judgmental and less loving) calvinist God. He’ll claim to have experienced a higher view of God that clearly must make him a better Christian.

13/. He might even teach that only calvinists can be saved.

It does sound like those in many Pentecostal churches who boast of the superiority of their spiritual experience because they have spoken in tongues etc. And like such people who claim to be real Christians because they have spoken in tongues (I have met a few), there are calvinists who maintain that it is only calvinists who may be of the elect. Even if I say I have called upon the name of the Lord to be saved (Romans 10:13) calvinists have to say that unless God chose me, then I still cannot be saved.

14/. He must believe that God ordained or decreed sin.

Because the calvinist God makes all the decisions in his universe, then the calvinist must believe that his God is responsible for the existence of all sin. Many prominent calvinist “theologians” acknowledge that God created/decreed/ordained/authored sin. Even Calvin stated “But the objection is not yet resolved, that if all things are done by the will of God, and men contrive nothing except by His will and ordination, then God is the author of all evils.” (“Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God” P 179)

15/. He must believe that satan is an obedient servant of God.

Calvin said that “Satan cannot possibly do anything against the will and consent of God” (Institutes Ch.1, Bk.14, Section 17)

16/. He must believe that his God created most of mankind to go to hell.

Calvin said “By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death.” (Institutes Ch.3, Bk.21, Section 5) And because most of mankind will go to hell according to the Bible, then they were predestined to go to hell by the calvinist God.

17/. He must believe that God hates most people.

While God tells us to love our enemies, the calvinist God creates his enemies by predestinating them to hell for no other reason than he doesn’t love them enough to want them in heaven. The calvinist God hates most of the mankind he has created.

18/. He must believe that prayer is ineffectual.

If the calvinist God has foreordained all things from the beginning, then no amount of prayer can ever make any difference at all, because no-one can ever change what the calvinist God has willed should happen.

19/. He must believe that preaching the gospel is not to save people.

Calvinists will often say that they preach the gospel in obedience to God, for if God has already established from the beginning who will be saved (and no-one else), then no amount of evangelizing can ever change what God has predetermined.

Calvinist Bryan Liftin (professor of theology at the Moody Bible Institute) says “But then why evangelize anyone if God’s decree is already fixed? The mistake is thinking that we evangelize in order to save people. That is incorrect. …. The right reason to evangelize is to be obedient.“

20/. He must believe that the gospel is completely irrelevant.

He must believe that it is impossible for anyone to respond to the gospel until after he has been born again (they call it being regenerated). You cannot be saved until after you have been regenerated.

21/. He must believe that only those chosen from the beginning will go to heaven.

And he must believe that there is absolutely nothing that he or anyone else can do that can ever make any difference at all regarding who goes to heaven or hell. If you are not on the list for heaven from the beginning of creation, then you were always earmarked to go to hell.

22/. He must believe that it doesn’t even matter what you believe.

In calvinism it doesn’t matter how good or bad you are, because if you are one that God has chosen, you will go to heaven, and if you were not chosen, you will go to hell. This is the calvinist gospel in a nutshell.

23/. He must believe that God has a celestial lottery to choose his elect.

Calvinism teaches that God unconditionally chooses his elect to go to heaven. The rest he chooses to send to hell. An unconditional election means a statistically random selection. It is a celestial lottery that determines where you go when you die. Most of course will go to hell, unless you are one of those special ones whom he loves. And the calvinist God chooses whom he will love via his celestial (unconditional) lottery. Everyone has an equal chance of being drawn out of the barrel. Unfortunately, 99% or more will remain in that barrel. And those names that remain in the barrel will be sent to hell. No matter how good a life you live, if you were not chosen in that lottery, you will go to hell.

24/. He must believe in a temporary faith, an inferior operation of the Spirit.

There are those who appear to be of the elect yet fall away before the end. Calvin taught that these had been given a temporary faith, “an inferior operation of the Spirit”. Calvin also says that “Hence it is not strange, that by the Apostle a taste of heavenly gifts, and by Christ himself a temporary faith, is ascribed to them. Not that they truly perceive the power of spiritual grace and the sure light of faith; but the Lord, the better to convict them, and leave them without excuse, instills into their minds such a sense of his goodness as can be felt without the Spirit of adoption.”
(Institutes Bk.3, Ch.2, Section 11)

25/. He must believe that no-one can know if they are saved until they die.

Calvinists must believe that a proof of their election to heaven is that they will persevere until the end. If they do not persevere to the end, then they had a temporary faith only, and were never programmed to persevere to the end. Not one calvinist can ever be sure that he is one of the elect until he dies and stands before God in judgment. Only perseverance to the end proves your faith!

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Addendum
The tirade mentioned above claimed a belief in predestination. Keep in mind that if God has predestinated all mankind to either heaven or hell, then
(a) praying for anyone’s salvation cannot change where that person goes when they die
(b) evangelisation and mission work are a total waste of time
(c) even doing good works is of no benefit at all to you

Calvinism is madness itself

Calvinists are either mad, stupid or simply absolutely naïve!
(And if you disagree, please properly demonstrate why you consider me to be wrong. I have given reasons; so should you!)

You see, calvinists have to agree with the following two statements:
(a) God is perfect and everything He does is perfect.
(b) All things in this world happen according to God’s sovereign will and ordination alone.

Therefore calvinists must believe that:
(a) All things in this world must be perfect, including sin and evil.
(b) Not one imperfect act may exist in a world where the calvinist God rules.
Otherwise, if they declare sin to be evil in any way, then they must accept that their God is not perfect or that his will is not the only will in the universe.

Calvinist “expert” A W Pink attempted to deflect such accusations by declaring that “though God does not esteem evil to be good, yet He accounts it good that evil should be”. (“The Total Depravity of Man”).
However, Pink failed to address the real problem here: that, according to calvinists, sin must exist by God’s decree alone, and therefore must be good!

MacArthur says that “Ultimately, we must concede that sin is something God meant to happen. He planned for it, ordained it – or, in the words of the Westminster Confession, He decreed it.” (The Vanishing Conscience and Hard to Believe).
Logic demands that MacArthur also believe that if God decreed sin, then it must be perfect.

Calvin wrote: “But the objection is not yet resolved, that if all things are done by the will of God, and men contrive nothing except by His will and ordination, then God is the author of all evils.” (“Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God”)
And if everything that God does is perfect, then all evils must therefore be perfect and therefore good.

In fact, every calvinist is forced to believe that God created all sin to be perfect in a perfect world, or else accept that by God’s will and ordination he created imperfection. Some calvinists try to resolve this dilemma by stating that ultimately sin is a necessary part of God’s perfection and that he cannot exist as sovereign God without sin present.

The calvinist Gospel Coalition says: “it’s reasonable to infer that God’s primary purpose in allowing the fall was to showcase his glory both in the original creation and also in his powerful and merciful restoration of that creation from its rebellion and corruption. ….. A world with no fall and no salvation is altogether less God-glorifying than a world with a tragic fall but also a wondrous salvation.” (“Why did God allow the Fall?”)
So God’s glory could not be fully revealed without sin present?

Piper says: “In God’s ultimate plan, sin has a necessary place.” (“Does sin have a necessary place in God’s plan for the Universe”)
That is, Piper considers that God’s ultimate plan must include sin!)

But then Piper goes even further with a document he has presented on his “desiring God” website: “it isn’t just that God manages to turn the evil aspects of our world to good for those who love him; it is rather that he himself brings about these evil aspects for his glory.
This includes — as incredible and as unacceptable as it may currently seem — God’s having even brought about the Nazis’ brutality at Birkenau and Auschwitz as well as the terrible killings of Dennis Rader and even the sexual abuse of a young child:” (“All the Good That Is Ours in Christ: Seeing God’s Gracious Hand in the Hurts Others Do to Us”)
So the calvinist God causes pain, brutality and suffering for his glory? Does the calvinist God totally lack compassion for his creatures?

And then, Piper takes this sin-for-God’s-glory and quotes calvinist Jonathan Edwards whom he declares “to be the greatest religious thinker America has ever produced”.
He quotes this “greatest religious thinker” as saying: “Thus it is necessary, that God’s awful majesty, his authority and dreadful greatness, justice, and holiness, should be manifested. But this could not be, unless sin and punishment had been decreed; so that the shining forth of God’s glory would be very imperfect, both because these parts of divine glory would not shine forth as the others do, and also the glory of his goodness, love, and holiness would be faint without them; nay, they could scarcely shine forth at all. …..
So evil is necessary, in order to the highest happiness of the creature, and the completeness of that communication of God, for which he made the world; because the creature’s happiness consists in the knowledge of God, and the sense of his love. And if the knowledge of him be imperfect, the happiness of the creature must be proportionably imperfect.” (“Is God Less Glorious Because He Ordained That Evil Be?”)
What?! Man cannot properly know God without sin present? Man’s knowledge of God is incomplete without sin? And thus man’s happiness may only be fully fulfilled if sin exists? It sounds like calvinists are trying to justify their evil by declaring it to be somehow good!

You would have to be mad, stupid or naïve to believe in such ludicrous doctrine. If God is perfect and all things are done by his will alone, then calvinists have to believe that this world with everything in it is absolutely perfect! Even sin must be considered perfect. For, if sin is imperfect, it therefore defines their God as imperfect, and therefore not God at all. Their God is only as perfect as the world he has created by his will.
So, in order to protect the alleged godhood of their God, they are forced to declare sin to be perfect and good, a necessary requirement for their God’s glory. They can admit to nothing imperfect at all or else admit that wills other than God’s will may exist in opposition to the will of their God.

They are also forced to see sin as a necessary part of their God’s sovereignty. Calvinist “teacher” A W Pink said: “Plainly it was God’s will that sin should enter this world, otherwise it would not have entered, for nothing happens except what God has eternally decreed. Moreover, there was more than a simple permission, for God only permits things that fulfill his purpose.” (“The Sovereignty of God”)

Therefore, looking at my statement at the start:

Calvinists have to agree with the following two statements:
(a) God is perfect and everything He does is perfect.
(b) All things in this world happen according to God’s sovereign will and ordination alone.

Therefore calvinists must believe that:
(a) All things in this world must be perfect, including sin and evil.
(b) Not one imperfect act may exist in a world where the calvinist God rules.
Otherwise, if they declare sin to be evil in any way, then they must accept that their God is not perfect or that his will is not the only will in the universe.

So calvinists, here’s the challenge. See if you can logically defend both the perfection and sovereignty of your God yet still declare sin to be an imperfection in God’s creation. Please do not declare this to be a mystery hidden in the secret counsels of your God. That is a straight-out cop-out that ignorant people use, and you know it. Don’t hide behind your ignorance. Open your Bible and see for yourself what God says (sola scriptura – the Bible alone). If the Bible doesn’t support your doctrine, then it is heresy. Do you have the integrity to admit the truth? Or will you hide behind your excuses and cop-outs that permit your conscience to feel OK as long as those Bible-believing Christians stop asking difficult questions that calvinism cannot answer sola scriptura?

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You might also wish to check out my other recent posts.

Why do calvinists believe lies?
What is it that makes calvinists think they have the truth when the Bible clearly demonstrates that they are actually believing lies? There has to be some big attraction that tempts them to want to believe, because it is certainly not biblical truth that leads to such lies. In fact, the attraction of calvinism appears to based upon a self-worth-building program. All those with low self-esteem should apply.

Calvinist Interpretations
Scenario No.1
A woman has 5 children. She tells them all to eat their food. Only one child eats his food; the other four do not eat their food.
Calvinist interpretation: “The woman makes one child eat his food and makes the other four not eat their food. Because she never intended to feed them all, she only provided food for the one that she made to eat. She didn’t provide any food for the other four because she never intended feeding them in the first place, even though she told them all to eat their food.”
MacArthur says, “God did not intend to save everyone. He is God. He could have intended to save everyone. He could have saved everyone. He would have if that had been His intention. The atonement is limited.” (The Doctrine of Actual Atonement, Part 1)
Thus the woman never intended to feed them all. She is boss. She could have intended to feed them all. She could have fed them all. She would have if that had been her intention. The feeding is limited.

Calvinist cop-outs
Those of you who oppose calvinism because of its non-biblical teachings may have noticed that the moment you try to use the Bible alone (sola scriptura) to discuss issues with a calvinist, he or she usually tries to avoid open and frank discussion. So I’m proposing some of the more common ways that calvinists use to avoid having to defend their heresies. After all, most calvinists know that they will lose any debate on calvinism using the Bible alone. And fear of losing drives them to avoid resorting to the truth of the Bible alone.

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Calvinists believe that “bad” is simply “an evil good”, that evil is good and good is evil! Augustine, whose teachings are the basis for Calvin’s teachings, said (in his “Enchiridion”) “that since every being, in so far as it is a being, is good, if we then say that a defective thing is bad, it would seem to mean that we are saying that what is evil is good, that only what is good is ever evil and that there is no evil apart from something good. ….. Now, if a man is something good because he is an entity, what then, is a bad man except an evil good? ….. if there were no good in what is evil, then the evil simply could not be, since it can have no mode in which to exist ….“
Can any calvinist please explain what Augustine is talking about?  How is it biblical? Is Augustine rational? This appears to be based on Augustine’s Manichean Gnostic roots where salvation depended upon man obtaining ultimate knowledge, both good and evil. It relates to occult Yin and Yang beliefs which teach that a necessary balance must exist between good and evil. Can any calvinists give any support for Augustine’s irrational thinking here (sola scriptura!)? Doesn’t it simply prove that in a calvinist world, evil has to be seen as good or else evil cannot exist??

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Calvinist interpretations

Scenario No.1
 A woman has 5 children. She tells them all to eat their food. Only one child eats his food; the other four do not eat their food.

Calvinist interpretation: “The woman makes one child eat his food and makes the other four not eat their food. Because she never intended to feed them all, she only provided food for the one that she made to eat. She didn’t provide any food for the other four because she never intended feeding them in the first place, even though she told them all to eat their food.”

MacArthur says, “God did not intend to save everyone. He is God. He could have intended to save everyone. He could have saved everyone. He would have if that had been His intention. The atonement is limited.” (The Doctrine of Actual Atonement, Part 1)

Thus the woman never intended to feed them all. She is boss. She could have intended to feed them all. She could have fed them all. She would have if that had been her intention. The feeding is limited.

Scenario No.2
A man is walking past a well into which three boys have fallen. The boys cannot reach the top of the well, and will drown if not rescued. It is impossible for anyone to get out without help from above.

Normal solution: A man who is passing by rushes over and realises that if he jumps in, he too will be trapped. The water level is a long way below the top and the man cannot reach any of the boys. He tells the boys to stretch up their hands so he can reach them in order to pull them out. All who reach up are then rescued, one by one.

Calvinist solution:
Either 1/. The man reaches down, selects one of the boys, and tells him to reach up and grab his hand. The man drags the boy out and delivers him safely to his parents. But what of the other two boys? He left them there to drown, regardless of whether or not they raised their hands. That man could have saved all three, but chose to save only one.
(Is he a saviour or murderer? Did he, by merely ignoring the other boys, effectively become the cause of their deaths? Of course, if that man had tried to save the other boys but they had refused to grab hold of his hand, then the responsibility for their deaths then falls upon those boys left in the well. The man remains saviour for that one boy who was rescued, but only if he also offered the same salvation to the other two. Even if they refused, the man remains saviour to the boy who was saved, and a potential saviour to the other two who could have been saved if only they had accepted it.)

Or 2/. The man refuses to even notice whether any actually want to be rescued. He randomly chooses one boy, and with a hook he lifts that boy out, telling him that he is special enough to be chosen to be wonderfully rescued. He leaves the other two boys to drown regardless of whether or not they wanted to be rescued; they were not special! He has decided, end of story! No-one else may change his mind, for he rules! He doesn’t care what anyone else thinks, either.

Calvinism teaches that Jesus only died for those whom God chose for salvation. Any who was not chosen for salvation can never go to heaven, even if he wants to, because his sins can never be forgiven by the calvinist Jesus who didn’t die for his sins.

MacArthur says, “God did not intend to save everyone. He is God. He could have intended to save everyone. He could have saved everyone. He would have if that had been His intention. The atonement is limited.” (The Doctrine of Actual Atonement, Part 1)
MacArthur also says (in that same document) that he would no longer feel special if Jesus died for all mankind without exception. “I don’t feel very special if you say to me, “Christ died for you, He loves you just like He died for the millions in hell.””
MacArthur’s god would follow calvinist solution 2/. above. He would force one to be rescued, and leave the other boys in the well, and walk away without pity.

God’s solution: Christ was not a calvinist! He died for all mankind without exception (1 John 2:2) in order to rescue any who would call upon His name to be saved. Not one person who cries out for help will ever be ignored and left to die! (Romans 10:13)

Scenario No.3
A person buys a supermarket with all its stock.

Calvinist application: He decides that he doesn’t want it all, so in spite of paying a price sufficient to buy all the stock, he chooses some of it and dumps the rest at the local rubbish tip. He paid enough to buy all the stock yet only chose to use some of it, thereby wasting the rest.
Calvinists often say that Jesus’ payment was of infinite value and certainly sufficient to be able to pay for all sins, yet God chose to make it efficient only for the few that he chose for salvation. But, isn’t it the height of absurdity to be able to pay for all yet refuse to do so simply because he didn’t want to? So, calvinists, if your God could have paid for all, then why didn’t he?

MacArthur says, “God did not intend to save everyone. He is God. He could have intended to save everyone. He could have saved everyone. He would have if that had been His intention. The atonement is limited.” (The Doctrine of Actual Atonement, Part 1)

God says: “³For this [is] good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; ⁴Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

Scenario No.4
A debtors’ prison is full of people who are unable to pay their debts. It was common in the past to send such people to prison until their debts were paid. Jesus even taught about this in Matthew 18:21-35. One particular debtors’ prison has 100 people locked away. They will remain there until their debts are cleared.

Calvinist solution:  A rich man has pity on them and pays an amount sufficient to be able to cover all their debts. But he decides to apply this payment to just one of the prisoners. His payment could have made it possible to set all the prisoners free but instead he chose only one to be set free. Even though his payment could have paid for the rest, he chose to leave them in prison.
Most calvinists preach that the atonement was infinite in value, sufficient for all, yet efficient for only the few who are chosen. They generally explain this by saying that while Jesus’ death was of sufficient value to be able to have paid for all sins of all mankind, yet it was only efficiently applied to the lives of the unconditionally elect of God.
The calvinist Jesus supposedly paid an infinite price on the cross, yet used it to only save those whom he had chosen to go to heaven. Even though he could have set others free (and even if they wanted to be set free), he decided that they would go to hell instead without any option at all for heaven.

And again MacArthur says, “God did not intend to save everyone. He is God. He could have intended to save everyone. He could have saved everyone. He would have if that had been His intention. The atonement is limited.” (The Doctrine of Actual Atonement, Part 1)

However, God says that He is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)
It is God’s intention that all should be saved; it is man himself who refuses God’s offer of a free pardon for all sin for all time. God desires that all should repent and be saved. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

Here’s an excellent comment from https://anticalvinistrant.blogspot.com/ regarding Scenario No.4 above. Please consider its logic very carefully.
“The only thing I would add to the Calvinist Interpretation to make it even more representative of Calvinism is that the rich guy who paid enough money to get all the prisoners out of prison but who only chose to free one man is also the very reason they are in prison to begin with.  Because in Calvinism, God causes us to be the way we are and to do the bad things we do which land us in prison in the first place, and then He “graciously” frees one person while letting the others face the penalty for “their” crimes (crimes they had no choice over, crimes they had to commit because He pre-ordained it for them).  That’s even worse than simply passing over the ones He chose not to free.  It’s sad that most Calvinists do not draw out their beliefs to the logical ends, to see what damage Calvinism does to the Gospel, God’s character, and Jesus’s amazing sacrifice for mankind.“
For more interesting and informative information about the dangers of calvinism, I strongly recommend https://anticalvinistrant.blogspot.com/.

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The Future of the Church and Israel
One day yet in the future today’s Church’s ministry will be completed in order for Israel to take back her position as God’s chosen nation. This will happen; the only question that remains is when.

Today’s challenges are unprecedented.
Today we are facing unprecedented challenges for the future. This year’s virus pandemic (2020) has caused predictions of world-wide financial doom and gloom. Many countries are facing bankruptcy with impossible debt to repay. The only way out appears to be to have a global financial reset to stabilise our world trade. Or so it seems to be if we take note of many leading economists. In fact, a global financial reset is in the process of being planned.

A global financial reset is planned for January 2021.
In January (26^th – 29^th) there will be a World Economic Forum held at Davos, Switzerland, where the global economy will be reshaped.
(Correction: “The Great Reset” will now be held later, for reasons yet unannounced, probably around June or July, 2021.)
“The Great Reset is a new initiative from the World Economic Forum and HRH the Prince of Wales to guide decision-makers on the path to a more resilient, sustainable world beyond coronavirus.”
“The economic fallout from COVID-19 dominates risk perceptions, but there is a unique opportunity to reshape the global economy.” (World Economic Forum)
‘ “The Great Reset” is a commitment to jointly and urgently build the foundations of our economic and social system for a more fair, sustainable and resilient future.’ (World Economic Forum)

The Bible prophesies total economic control in the future.
During what is referred to as the Great Tribulation, a global leader will legislate total control over all man’s financial dealings.
Revelation 13:16-17 – ¹⁶And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: ¹⁷And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
The Bible calls this global leader of Revelation 13:16-17 the “man of sin” and “the son of perdition” (2 Thessalonians 2:3) He is also known as the antichrist, a man under the control of satan. Revelation 13 calls him “the beast”, and “the mark” of Revelation 13:17 is known as “the mark ….. of the beast”.

Satan will try to use this evil global leader to gain total control of the earth.
During the final 7 years before Christ returns to take up His millennial reign on earth, satan will use this man to attempt to gain authority over the whole earth. Of course, satan will fail, because God will protect His people, Israel, from destruction by the antichrist (see Revelation 12) and God is sovereign over all His creation, including satan.

Much biblical prophecy remains unfulfilled, especially the end-times prophecy.
There is much biblical prophecy still unfulfilled. Most of this relates to what is commonly referred to as the Apocalypse, Armageddon, the second coming of Christ, and the millennial reign of Christ (that is, Christ the Messiah will return to earth to reign as King for 1,000 years). And, of course, the consequent judgment that will send all mankind to either heaven or hell: the great white throne judgment of Revelation 20:11-15.

Many (including calvinists) deny a literal end-times tribulation and millennial reign of Christ.
Many (mainly including those of calvinist or reformed beliefs) consider such end-times prophecy to have already been fulfilled in the past (the preterist view) or that such prophecies (including the millennial rule of Christ) are allegorical, and that there will be no literal thousand year (millennium) rule by Christ (the amilliennial view). These views also believe that if there is any end-times prophecy yet unfulfilled, then it is the Church, not Israel, that is involved. They believe that whenever Israel is mentioned (especially in prophecy), it is the Church that fulfills it. They teach that Israel has either been made a part of the Church or has completely ceased to exist in her own right. This is the general view of calvinism, that if God’s people go through any end-times tribulation, then it is the Church, not Israel, that is involved. But the Bible declares them to be wrong!

Israel is the nation central to end-times prophecy.
However, Israel is named as God’s people who are involved with the end-times tribulation leading up to Armageddon, as taught in Revelation Ch 7 through to Ch 19. This is also strongly supported by OT books such as Daniel and Zechariah.
God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham through his son, Isaac.
Genesis 17:19 – And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, [and] with his seed after him.
And an everlasting covenant will only be broken if God should lie, and God will not lie! It will last forever, just as God has promised!
Numbers 23:19 – God [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do [it]? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Daniel prophesied a timeline of 490 years for Israel’s everlasting righteousness.
Daniel 9:24 foretold of a 490-year (70 times 7 years) timeline for Israel that will culminate in her everlasting righteousness.
Daniel 9:24 – Seventy weeks (of years) are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
This is literally God’s mission statement for His chosen nation of Israel. It has never been revoked. One day Israel will return to being God’s chosen nation.
Ezekiel 37:25-28 – ²⁵And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, [even] they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David [shall be] their prince for ever. ²⁶Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. ²⁷My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ²⁸And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

There would be 483 years to the time of the crucifixion.
In Daniel 9:24-27 Daniel prophesied that “from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks” (Daniel 9:25) It is clear that a week represented 7 years; therefore 69 weeks of years is 483 calendar years and this appears to bring them to Christ’s time on earth. Note that the Jewish year was 360 days, not 365¼ days as is used today. Also, “after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off” (Daniel 9:26); this clearly refers to His crucifixion (although some might argue that it applied to His rejection by His people). We are not certain exactly which commandment went forth to commence the count-down, nor precisely when that commandment was issued. But all calculations considering all reasonable events brings the end of that 69 weeks to around 20 to 40 AD (many place it between 25 and 30 AD).

The future world leader would be of the Romans.
After the 69^th week, “the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary” (Daniel 9:26). We know that the generation of Jews who rejected Jesus also were to see Jerusalem and their temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. It was the Romans who destroyed “the city and the sanctuary” and therefore the prince who would come later would be of that same people: the Romans. This is likely to refer to a revived Roman Empire that rises from the ruins of the Roman Empire of Jesus’ day.

The following passage describes the 4^th kingdom (or empire) of Nebuchadnezzar’s vision of a man in Daniel 2. It refers to the Roman empire which will be strong as iron, yet will in future times break up into 10 separate kingdoms, after which God will set up the millennial reign of Christ the Messiah.
Daniel 2:40-44 – ⁴⁰And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all [things]: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. ⁴¹And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. ⁴²And [as] the toes of the feet [were] part of iron, and part of clay, [so] the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. ⁴³And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. ⁴⁴And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven 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 for ever.  

There will be 10 kingdoms which give their power to the antichrist.
These 10 kings (as per the 10 toes of the figure in Daniel 2) are ten kings who help put the antichrist into power.
Revelation 17:12 – And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

This future “Roman” prince will make a covenant with Israel for 7 years.
It is that same prince who will “confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease” (Daniel 9:27). This is that final, yet-to-happen 7-year period on Israel’s timeline. Israel has but 7 years left to run, after which God will bring in everlasting righteousness for them. That final week of years will commence with the antichrist making a covenant with Israel, probably to protect them in exchange for authority in Jerusalem, something satan has always desired.

The antichrist (indwelt by satan) demands all to worship him.
The antichrist (indwelt by satan) will demand allegiance from the world.
Revelation 13:4 – And they worshipped the dragon (satan) which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who [is] like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Those who refuse to worship the antichrist will be executed.
Revelation 13:15 – And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

In the middle of that final 7-year period the antichrist sets himself up to be worshipped in the temple at Jerusalem.
Satan has always desired to be as God, yet has always failed so far. This is his final effort to try to be as God, and he will fail then too.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 – ³Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; ⁴Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
In the middle of that final 7-year period satan (via his antichrist) will cause other temple sacrifices to cease so that he can take their place as the one worshipped.
“in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease” (Daniel 9:27)

Jesus warned Israel to flee for their lives when they saw this happen.
This event is yet in the future; note that it applies to Israel!
Matthew 24:15-16; 20-21 – ¹⁵When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) ¹⁶Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
²⁰But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: ²¹For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
The flight of Israel into the wilderness is also foretold in Revelation 12.

Finally Israel turns to God.
Israel turns back to God after the antichrist has spent 3½ years in Jerusalem seeking the worship of God’s people, Israel. After a massive earthquake in Jerusalem, “the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.” (Revelation 11:13)

Christ their Messiah returns to win the victory at Armageddon.
Revelation 19:19-21 – ¹⁹And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. ²⁰And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. ²¹And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which [sword] proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

Israel will recognise Jesus whom they crucified.
“and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him” (Zechariah 12:10).

Following this, Christ their Messiah sets up His 1,000 year reign.
Satan is bound for 1000 years and God’s people reign with Christ for 1000 years.
(Revelation 20:1-5)

The Church is currently taking the place of Israel.
Romans 11 talks of Israel being the natural olive branches on their olive tree. After rejecting Christ, they are pruned off their olive tree and wild olive branches (the Gentiles) are grafted on in their place. One day those wild olive branches (Gentiles) will be pruned off again (when their “fulness …. be come in” – Romans 11:25) and Israel may then be regrafted back onto their olive tree and so “all Israel shall be saved” – Romans 11:26. This event may be drawing very close indeed.

One day, before the end, Israel will resume her position as God’s people.
The following word “fulness” is a word which was used to demonstrate that all passengers and merchandise was on board a ship and therefore would then sail (depart).
Romans 11:25-27 – ²⁵For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. ²⁶And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: ²⁷For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Thus, when the Gentile Church is complete and all are on board (as “fulness” signifies), then Israel will come back onto centre stage as God’s chosen nation once more.

When the Gentile Church is fulfilled, they will depart.
When the Church has fulfilled her purpose on earth, and Israel has retaken her rightful place as God’s people, the Gentile Church will be taken away. We use the word “Rapture” which means the snatching away. God (assumed to be Christ) returns here to take home those who are His.
1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 – ¹⁴For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. ¹⁵For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.¹⁶For 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: ¹⁷Then 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. ¹⁸Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
The Rapture will happen (7 years before Christ the Messiah returns to reign) when the Gentile Church is fulfilled (its full manifest is on board) and Israel returns to complete her final 7-year period (as prophesied by Daniel) before being brought to everlasting righteousness by God as per Daniel 9:24. Nothing can ever deny Israel this wonderful privilege, for God Himself has promised it, even as early as Abraham.

This global financial reset may be the trigger which starts the final countdown to Armageddon!
All it will take for Israel’s final 7-year period to commence is for the world to slide inexorably toward a global new world order run by a man whom satan will choose for his special servant, the antichrist. If the proposed global reset makes significant steps toward the removal of national sovereignty of world nations, if the world is reshaped to become a more unified entity, then you may anticipate a probability that the final world events are rapidly approaching the time of Israel’s return to centre stage as God’s nation. If there is any effort to take significant control of our finances and sovereignty of our nations, then know that the end may well be very close indeed.

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