The World’s Conversion

“Either-Or”

What alternatives are foreseen in the future of our nuclear world?

Moral regeneration or Armageddon.

Note – The word Armageddon appears once in the Greek New Testament. The word comes from Hebrew har megiddo, meaning “Mountain of Megiddo.” Megiddo was the location of many decisive battles in ancient times. The town Megiddo is approximately 25 miles (40 km) west of the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee (or Lake Tiberius to the Romans) in the Kishon River area.

According to Christian interpretations, the Messiah, the “Lamb,” will return to Earth and defeat the Antichrist, the “dragon,” in the battle of Armageddon. Then Satan will be put back into the spirit world or Abyss for 1,000 years, known as the millennial age. After being released from the Abyss, Satan will gather Gog and Magog from the four corners of the Earth. Then, Satan and all his demons and the wicked from the beginning of man to the present day will encamp surrounding the Holy City or New Jerusalem as it comes down from Heaven to Earth to sit on the Mt. of Olives that will flatten out completely. The New Jerusalem will take up the entire space of the Holy Land, about 1,200 miles in every direction. As Satan and his evil throng attempt to take the New Jerusalem, Jesus stands up and says “Peace Be Still” and the Lord opens up the heavens for everyone to view the opening of the seventh seal, the total revelation of all that Jesus Christ is. The wicked, Satan and his demons outside the city together with all the righteous now standing inside the New Jerusalem watch a panoramic view of the fall of mankind, the Flood, Jesus crucifixion on Calvary and the suffering He went through to save mankind and the Holy Spirit’s work of bringing the gospel truth to every soul that they could make an informed decision to follow Christ. The wicked will plainly see why they are lost and standing outside the New Jerusalem in their old, weak and mortal bodies, while they gaze upon the righteous standing on the walls of the New Jerusalem with beautiful immortal bodies like Christ who gave them eternal life. What a sight that will be. Then Jesus will pass His eternal judgment on the wicked and Satan as they try to take the city one last time Jesus will send fire and brimstone falling from the Heavens and devour the father of lies and the rest of the wicked to be annihilated in this lake of fire until it totally burns out. 

What did Jesus say the conditions preceding His coming would be?

“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also it will be in the days of the Son of Man.”

Luke 17:26. (See also verses 27-30, and Matthew 24:37-39.) ‘The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.” Genesis 6: 5, 11.     

Note – Men everywhere recognize the prevailing wickedness of our times. Currently in the United States alone we have over 2 million individuals incarcerated in prisons. What does this say about our nation regarding the amount of sex, drugs, murder, rape, robbery and other violent crimes not mentioned in this list? Selfishness and greed has taken over the world and our civilization today is repeating the sins of the days of Noah on a much larger scale, its beyond the imagination and this why the Lord is going to steep into the affairs of mankind with His seven trumpet judgments and the last seven plagues during the Great Tribulation in the next few years. Current Earth time 01-27-2010. Watch and be ready for the Lord because He will come when you least expect Him. 

According to the parable of the wheat and the tares, how long are the good and bad to remain together?

“The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.  Matthew 13:38, 30.          

Note – Thus it is plain that the wicked (the tares) live with the righteous (the wheat) till the end of the world or during the Great Tribulation. Only during this time will there be a four-step process that will be preached by the 144,000 servant prophets to the world to try and save as many souls for Christ and that they would have eternal life with Christ forever.

Step One – The Law of God Proclaimed:  When the censer is cast down, the 144,000 will go to work. The Holy Spirit will empower them to preach the law of God as a witness to all nations. (Matthew 24:14)  A witness does not have to be human being. Consider the example: “After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end, he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord: ‘Take this Book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord you God. There it [the Words of God] will remain as a witness against you.’” (Deuteronomy 31:24-26, italics and insertion mine)

God’s law operates like a plumb line. God’s law defines the truth and in so doing, it destroys lies and deceptions. Nothing is more wonderful than the light of the truth to those who love truth. During the Great Tribulation, God’s Word will be given unusual power to cut people ‘to the heart.” Remember Peter and the disciples on the day of Pentecost? “[Peter said] ‘Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.’ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do [to escape God’s wrath]? Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 2:36-38, italics and insertions mine)

The overwhelming devastation of the first four trumpets will subdue religious prejudice for a short time. God’s manifold wrath will open the minds and hearts of a religiously diverse world so every person, regardless of language, culture, or religious background can thoughtfully and intelligently consider His law that the 144,000 will proclaim. People will hear the testimony of Jesus 9the words of Jesus) coming out of the mouths of the 144,000 and the honest in heart will be “cut to the heart.” 

Step Two – Holy Spirit Discomfort: God’s law makes no sense without the enlightenment of His Spirit! ”The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)

God’s law will be proclaimed throughout the world with Holy Spirit power. The distinction between truth and error, good and evil, will be made so plain that young people will even be able to understand the difference. Conviction will fall upon the honest in heart and painful decisions will be required. The social consequences for following Jesus will be severe. (John 16:1-3) The Holy Spirit will sufficiently “pressure” each person to choose the right and refuse the wrong. (See Joshua 24:15 and Hebrews 3:7-19.) Socially and culturally speaking, the situation will be difficult.

The gospel of Jesus always puts a person in a tough situation because the gospel demands total submission and loyalty to the law of God, and it goes without saying that out fallen human nature finds this difficult. When there is a price to pay for submission to God’s law, our faith in Christ is tested. Do you remember how Peter betrayed Christ outside Caiaphas’ home? (See Mark 14:53-15:1.) That embarrassing moment was a turning point in Peter’s life. Peter realized that Friday morning that there was a big difference between knowing Jesus and surrendering to Jesus. A few weeks later, peter was chosen as the primary speaker at Pentecost because he had openly betrayed Christ and repented. Jesus gave this converted disciple a chance to let his countrymen clearly know where he stood. I mention this matter because Peter knew firsthand the internal struggle between loyalty and cowardice. He wrote, “For the time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, ‘if it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?’” (1 Peter 4:17,18, italics mine)

Those who love God and His truth will eventually step out in faith and embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ. Once a person decides to take his stand to obey God’s Word, he will be given as much grace and strength as needed to face the trials and persecution that will follow. On the other hand, people who cannot make a decision to obey the gospel will capitulate. There is no strength to bear the consequences of persecution without first making a wholehearted decision to follow Christ. Cowards, faithless, and double-minded people will go along with the flow to avoid suffering, and their eternal loss will be mind-boggling. (Revelation 21:8) ‘…. ‘No eye hath seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him – but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.’ The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.”

(1 Corinthians 2:9,10)

For 1,260 days Jesus will watch and wait, patiently allowing each person to make up his own mind. The Holy Spirit will pound on every heart’s door. The third member of the Godhead will do everything short of violating human choice to get rebellious people to surrender to the plumb line of Truth – the law of God; unfortunately, many people will choose to rebel. Like the rich young ruler, they will conclude that the price for obedience is just too great. (John 3:19-21; Luke 18: 18-25; Revelation 13:8) Without the enabling power that comes from a determined decision to obey Christ at any price, the wicked will be right – the price for obedience is too great.

Step Three – Your Final Decision: During the judgment of the living, three forces will be working together. The Word of God will be heard by everyone. Then, the Holy Spirit will apply great pressure within every heart to obey God’s law, and last, persecution will force everyone to make a decision. At first, you might think that the Two Witnesses are pulling people toward the shores of salvation and persecution is driving them away, but it is not what you think!  Those who love God and His law will receive the testimony of the Holy Spirit. They will be willing to accept the persecution because they are committed to pleasing God at any cost. On the other hand, those who love their lives and possessions more than God will not be able to take the heat and accept the suffering that comes from their decision. Jesus said, “The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:25) ‘And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29)

There are always some people who will waver back and forth for a time, but increasing pressures from persecution will eventually force everyone into their final decision. Everyone living on Earth will either receive the mark of the beast or the seal of God. There is a simple reason for persecution of the saints: Salvation comes through faith in Christ. Therefore, the Great Tribulation will be a test of faith. Faith in God quickly separates people. Remember the twelve spies that Moses sent into the Promised Land? (Numbers 14) Faith is a scary thing to those who do not know God and the power of His Word. Faith in God separates sheep from goats. Our actions declare our faith. James agrees. He wrote, “… I will show you [and God] my faith by what I do.” (James 2:18, insertion mine) Jesus assured the church members at Philadelphia (an early Christians church that had suffered persecution for years), “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from [or during] the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.” (Revelation 3:10, italics and insertion mine)  

Step Four – The Seal and the Tattoo: Every person who surrenders to the law of God and the Holy Spirit will fall in line with the testimony of Jesus. After choosing to obey Jesus without regard for the consequences, each person will be given the strength and faith to pass any test which persecution might impose. The fires of persecution will refine and purify the faith of the saints. “…. I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” (Zechariah 13:9) After passing some fiery tests of faith, a dramatic miracle will happen. It is ironic that after losing everything he owns, each faithful person will then lose his carnal nature!

The sealing of the saints requires the testimony of the Two Witnesses. The law of God will serve as a plumb line. It will measure the actions of John Doe. Jesus will see what John did, in fact, submit to God’s law. John will demonstrate his love for Jesus and his neighbor. The Holy Spirit will testify that John’s faith was thoroughly tested and he loves God with all his heart, mind and soul, and his neighbor as himself. John gave everything he owned for the sake of the gospel! John was persecuted for worshiping Jesus on His Sabbath day. John actions clearly showed his love for God and man. The testimony of the Two Witnesses will establish the fact that John loves God and man. Jesus will announce His judgment: “Seal John Doe! Set him free from sin’s curse. Give him the wedding robe!” At that moment, John’s carnal nature will be removed and John will no longer have a propensity for sinning! John Doe will be like Adam before the fall. He will feel a joyful difference and if he’s in prison, he just might start singing at midnight.

(Acts 16:25)