Sequence of Signs Preceding the Coming of Christ

The Temple Mount in Jerusalem

In order to know the signs that will happen before the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, we should consult the synoptic gospels, where it is recorded what He Himself prophesied would happen. This is a study that shows what Jesus said would be the signs of the end times.

It's important to note that the context for these signs was that the Lord had predicted the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. In response to that, His disciples asked specifically, “When will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”  The following signs given by the Lord were a direct answer to that question:

Deception
The first thing He warned about was deception.

Matthew 24	Mark 13	Luke 21
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.	5 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you.	8a He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived.

False Christs
The next thing He warned about was False Christs, which is the next sign to occur in sequence.

Matthew 24	Mark 13	Luke 21
5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.	6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many.	8b For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.

Also see my article called The Rise of Antichrists. 

Wars and Rumors of Wars, famines, pestilence, earthquakes, fearful events and great signs from heaven
The next sign the Lord told us would occur was a period when there would be wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilence, earthquakes, fearful events and great signs from heaven, which is the next sign to occur in sequence.

Matthew 24	Mark 13	Luke 21
6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.	7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.	9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”10 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

Persecution of witnesses, who will bear testimony for Jesus
The next sign the Lord told us would occur was a period when there would be Persecution of witnesses, who will bear testimony for Jesus, which is the next sign to occur in sequence.

Matthew 24	Mark 13	Luke 21
9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.	9 “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.	12 “But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13 And so you will bear testimony to me. 14 But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

Also see Persecuted or Popular?

Apostasy, love of most growing cold, betrayal, hatred, and false prophets; preaching the gospel of the kingdom
The next sign the Lord told us would occur was a period when there would be apostasy, or falling away from the faith, the love of most growing cold; there will be betrayal, hatred, and false prophets. Meanwhile, there will be the true witnesses preaching the gospel of the kingdom, which is the next sign to occur in sequence.

Matthew 24	Mark 13	Luke 21
10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.	12 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 13 Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.	16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 Everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 Stand firm, and you will win life.

Under these conditions (i.e., persecution, apostasy, cold love prevalent even among believers, betrayal, hatred, and false prophets) will this gospel of the kingdom be preached in the whole world just before the end comes -- not under peaceful conditions, in which the righteous are dominating the world or reigning on seven mountains!

Jerusalem surrounded by armies, nearness of desolation, abomination of desolation, time of punishment
The next sign the Lord told us would occur was a period when there would be Jerusalem surrounded by armies, the nearness of its desolation, the abomination of desolation in the temple, and the time of punishment on Israel, which is the next sign to occur in sequence.

Matthew 24	Mark 13	Luke 21
15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak.	14 “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out. 16 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak.	20 “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22 For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written.

Close up view

In Matthew and Mark, Jesus gave a close up view of what will occur in the holy place in Jerusalem. It is the abomination in the temple that causes desolation to Jerusalem and the rest of Judea, which we now call Israel. By combining the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew and Mark, we have him saying essentially, “When you see standing where it does not belong (i.e., in the holy place) ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel...” (Also see Daniel 9:27; 12:11).

As the apostle Paul said, "Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God." (2Th 2:3-4). 

Wide-angle view
And in Luke Jesus gave the wider view of the bigger picture regionally when this sign occurs, which is armies surrounding Jerusalem. Luke recorded Him saying, “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.”  So this is about the desolation of Jerusalem (see Jeremiah 30:7), and the sign occurs in that city. Therefore, the holy place where the abomination does not belong is in the temple there. In Luke, we have Jesus giving the wider view of the bigger picture regionally when this sign occurs, which is armies surrounding Jerusalem. (Also compare Zechariah 12:3 and 14:2-5).

Dreadful time of Great Tribulation
The next sign the Lord told us would occur is the onset of a dreadful time of distress, known as the Great Tribulation, which is the next sign to occur in sequence.

Matthew 24	Mark 13	Luke 21
19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.	17 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 18 Pray that this will not take place in winter, 19 because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again.	23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

Jesus was speaking to His disciples and took care to have us pray that our flight would not take place on the Sabbath. This applies to the Jews and Christians living in Jerusalem at this time. When they see the abomination that causes desolation, standing in the holy place, and Jerusalem surrounded by armies, they will need to flee to the mountains immediately. There will be no time to spare, not even to go inside the house to grab their coat to keep warm at night in the mountains. There may only be a matter of minutes to escape Jerusalem before it is destroyed, and it will probably not be more than an hour, so every minute will count!

I want to call attention to the fact that Jesus cared about the Sabbath. He did not want them fleeing on that day, since their flight would deny them the opportunity to rest and worship. But also in Jerusalem on the Sabbath, all stores and shops are closed, and all public transportation and taxis are shut down. So the only way to flee the city may be on foot or bicycle. 

He made a special note of how dreadful it would be for pregnant women and nursing mothers. If a woman is pregnant, she has special needs and if she is in the advanced stages of her pregnancy she may be impeded from walking fast or running under duress. She may need frequent stops, which would slow down her escape. If a woman is nursing one or more babies, they will be crying loudly and their needs will need to be met, including nursing and diaper changes. Those will add further complication to the flight from Jerusalem, since they are difficult to do while on the run, especially if the babies clothes become wet or soiled and there are not clean dry clothes or diapers on hand to change them into. And if this occurs in winter, it would present a particularly dreadful hardship for anyone fleeing to the mountains, due to the cold temperatures, but especially to these mothers Jesus spoke of.

He spoke to His disciples about the onset of the Great Tribulation as something that would occur before His coming. The sign that occurs right before this onset is the abomination that causes the desolation in Jerusalem, and the armies surrounding Jerusalem that will bring that desolation to her. Those combined events will be the trigger that set off the avalanche of disastrous events to occur next, including this flight from Jerusalem and the onset of the Great Tribulation -- "great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again."  This will be the beginning of the period known as Jacob's Trouble (Jeremiah 30:7), which Jesus called the time of punishment (Lk 21:22), when God brings punishment upon the Jewish people, and eventually restores them according to the prophecy of Jeremiah in his thirtieth chapter.

False messiahs and false prophets performing great signs and wonders to deceive
The next sign the Lord told us would occur was a period when there would be false messiahs and false prophets performing great signs and wonders to deceive, which is the next sign to occur in sequence.

Matthew 24	Mark 13	Luke 21
22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time. 26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.	20 “If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. 21 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23 So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.	[No record of this sign in Luke's gospel]

When the people are saying ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ and ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ could it be a reference to ‘the abomination that causes desolation, standing in the holy place? Perhaps, but not necessarily. It certainly speaks of false messiahs and false prophets performing great signs and wonders to deceive many. Many people will be drawn to these people like a spectacle. Crowds of people, who love to feed on that which is sickly or dead, will gather around the bodies of these false messiahs and false prophets. For wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

Some of these false christs and false prophets will literally appear or materialize out of thin air in various locations, as one of the wonders they perform to deceive many. There will be these strange people from another place that will appear on earth very soon. Some of them could even come down in a UFO. But in reality, they are demons that will come to deceive people. There will probably be videos of this online and emails with the links to those videos of such men appearing. This will be a temptation even for believers, which we will need to resist.

Signs in the sun, moon and stars, nations in anguish, tsunamis, terror, heavenly bodies shaken
The next sign the Lord told us would occur was a period when there would be signs in the sun, moon and stars, nations in anguish, tsunamis, terror, the sun will be darkened, the stars fall from the sky, heavenly bodies shaken, which is the next series of signs to occur in sequence.

Matthew 24	Mark 13	Luke 21
29 “Immediately after the distress of those days “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’	24 “But in those days, following that distress, “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25 the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’	25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.

Also see Darkened Skies in the Last Days.

Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and glory
The next event the Lord told us would occur is the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and glory.

Matthew 24	Mark 13	Luke 21
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth[c] will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.[d] 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.	26 “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.	27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Everyone on earth will see this event, even those who are not ready for it. Those who are not ready will mourn (Zech 12:10). But the angels will gather the elect from across the earth and from across the heavens for those who are in flight, and they will be gathered together in the sky to meet the Lord.

The apostle Paul wrote: "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words." (1Th 4:14-18)

Also see my article, The Son of Man. 

One Generation to See it All
Our Lord said that the generation which sees these things begin will not pass away until they have all been completed. He said, "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away." (Mat 24:34-35). People, we are that generation which the Lord spoke of.

Putting it All Together
Our Lord Jesus compared these events to birth pains of a woman in labor. Labor pains begin at a low intensity and built to a very high intensity to the point where they become unbearable, until finally the woman gives birth to the man child. The labor pains begin at regular intervals that are spaced far apart in frequency, but as time goes on the tempo builds and becomes faster, as the pains occur more frequently intervals.

That is how we can expect these events to occur. At first they will be spaced far apart at regular intervals, but then they will happen more and more frequently, until eventually they are happening so close together that there is no time to catch your breath between a particular sign and the one that follows it. And when a particular sign occurs, it continues until the end.

The signs Jesus predicted were: deception, false christs, wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilence, earthquakes, fearful events and great signs from heaven, persecution of witnesses, who will bear testimony for Jesus, apostasy, love of most growing cold, betrayal, hatred, and false prophets, the righteous preaching the gospel of the kingdom, Jerusalem surrounded by armies, nearness of desolation, the abomination that causes desolation, flight from Jerusalem, destruction of Jerusalem, the time of punishment, the dreadful time of distress, the onset of the Great Tribulation, false messiahs and false prophets performing great signs and wonders to deceive, signs in the sun, moon and stars, nations in anguish, tsunamis, terror, heavenly bodies shaken. Only after all of these signs will Son of Man be seen coming in a cloud with power and glory with all His holy angels with Him to gather the elect to Himself. That is when the rapture will occur. As Jesus said, "be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time."

With regard to the saints going through the entire Great Tribulation, I do not believe that will happen, unless you are a saint who is not ready for the rapture. I believe that the saints will see the onset of the Great Tribulation, in which the abomination that causes desolation occurs and Jerusalem is destroyed. We will see the days of darkness when the sun and moon do not give their light, and other things happening during that period as I have already mentioned. However, let us not forget that Jesus said, if those days had not been cut short, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.

The final events that Jesus said would be signs to occur before his coming will happen at greater and greater frequency, so that the ones that occur after the abomination of desolation may happen within a very short time. This would mean that the saints only go through a very brief period of the Great Tribulation. So for the sake of the elect, whose robes are pure white and spotless, without any wrinkle, the Lord will shorten those days by coming to gather them to Himself in the rapture. Those who are not ready will be left behind to go through the 3.5 year Great Tribulation. And believe me, you don't want to go through that!

That's why we need to pray to escape all these things. "But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man." (Luk 21:36). It may not be possible to escape the part leading up to the Great Tribulation, unless someone is put to death for their faith in Christ, but once the Great Tribulation begins, I believe there will be an escape for the righteous, by way of the rapture.

These are the definite signs that Scripture says will happen before the Lord returns, and we see them taking place all around us. It’s time to wake up, repent, and live a life of daily repentance. We need to produce the fruit of repentance, walking in love and in the light, and serving the Lord. We need to watch and pray, always being ready for Jesus’ return. Then that day will not overtake us like a thief in the night. The one who stands firm to the end will be saved. Stand firm, and you will win life.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Temple Mount photo from Wikipedia in the public domain.

Author's note: You must take responsibility for your own actions. Nobody knows the day or the hour, and in no way am I date setting. This is only to provide you with information, so that you can make your own decisions, for which you will be accountable to God.

If you enjoyed this post, please see the sequel article called Synching Up the Seven Seals with the Gospels. You may also like the following articles in this blog as well as other posts in this blog available through the Signs of the Times Directory.

The Seven Seals Being Opened in Real Time
The 311 Moment
Are you Rapture Ready?
The Day of Our Lord’s Wedding is at Hand
Rapture Revelation to Ayodelle Sawyerr
Rapture Revelation to Angelica Zambrano
The Timing of the Rapture
The Son of Man  

You may access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

The Rise of Antichrists

José Luis de Jesús Miranda

One sign of the times is the rise of antichrists.  From this we know it is the last hour.

Many people, even nonbelievers are familiar with the term antichrist.  But various people may have different ideas of what that means.  According to Matthew Henry, an English Puritan pastor who lived in the late seventeenth century and wrote a commentary on the Bible that is still popular today: “It is a mysterious portion of providence that antichrists should be permitted; but, when they have come, it is good and safe that the disciples should be informed of them; ministers should be watchmen to the house of Israel.” So what does the word of God say?  How does the Bible define an antichrist, and is there only one?  Let’s see.

Basic Characteristics of Antichrist
The most obvious place to begin is with the epistles of the apostle John, who spoke about antichrists.

Many antichrists had already appeared during the first century, yet the antichrist is coming: "Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour."  (1Jo 2:18)

The antichrist is a liar who denies that Jesus is the Christ: "Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son."  (1Jo 2:22)

Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is the spirit of the antichrist: "And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world."  (1Jo 4:3)

Those who do not acknowledge that Jesus Christ came in the flesh are antichrists: "For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist."  (2Jo 1:7)

So from John’s epistles, we learn the following:
·    Many antichrists have already appeared, yet the antichrist is coming
·    The antichrist is a liar who denies that Jesus is the Christ
·    Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is the spirit of the antichrist
·    Those who do not acknowledge that Jesus Christ came in the flesh are antichrists

Composite Sketch of Antichrist
For further definition of the characteristics of an antichrist, you can read Daniel and Revelation, as well as Paul’s second epistle to the Thessalonians.  In those passages, we find the following composite description of the final antichrist that John referred to, who will be a global ruler:

·    He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship,
·    He will exalt and magnify himself above every god
·    He will oppose the Prince of Princes, Jesus Christ.
·    He takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
·    He will be a boastful narcissist who behaves with overweening pride and will claim equality with Jesus Christ, the Commander of the host
·    He will speak monstrous things against the God of gods
·    He will be insultingly contemptuous in his speech and conduct
·    His coming will happen according to satanic activity
·    He will perform false signs and wonders
·    He will have no regard for truth, and will fling it to the ground as worthless rubbish.  This means he will say whatever he wants in order to benefit himself in any given situation and he will easily deceive people. Deceit will succeed under his leadership, so people in mass will fall for his lies.
·    He will deceive the masses
·    He will wield power over people through deception
·    He will use smooth words, eloquence, and flattery
·    He will speak like a dragon
·    He will exercise global authority 
·    He will have anyone who refuses to worship the image executed.
·    Demonic power will be given to him from Satan
·    Since he operates in the presence of the first beast, we know he will rule for 3.5 yrs concurrently with the first beast, which represents the final worldly empire/kingdom and its ruler.
·    He will turn people to godlessness
·    He will encourage people to act wickedly toward God’s covenant people
·    He will use his power to destroy mighty men and God’s holy people
·    He will do as he pleases
·    He will do whatever he wants and get away with it.
·    He will prosper in his endeavors.
·    He will prosper until the indignation (wrath of God) is finished
·    His beginnings will be insignificant
·    He will grow to be exceedingly great in power
·    While his power will be mighty, it will not be his own power, but from another source than himself
·    He will be overbearing
·    He will exert influence over Israel/Palestine (the Beautiful Land)
·    He will exert influence in the East and have ambitions there.
·    He may even have influence among the Saudi’s and Egypt
·    He will eventually commit a transgression concerning the temple sacrifices.  This will occur on a regular basis, causing horror and causing the holy place to be trampled. 
·    These things will occur throughout this period: A change will be made to the regular sacrifice, a transgression that causes horror will occur, so as to allow both the holy place (the sanctuary) and the host (God’s people) to be trampled. 
·    The transgression that causes horror is when he will take his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 
·    In the end, he will be taken down, but not by a human being.

So the Lord ensured that those who read His Word would have an excellent description of the final antichrist ruler, so God’s people could easily identify him, and so that His people would not be deceived.  We know what his character is like and when he is revealed publicly, it will be clear to us.  However, since we know there are many antichrists, one does not need to exhibit all of these characteristics found in Scripture in order to be an antichrist.

As for the rise of the final antichrist dictator, it is my opinion that he will be recognized by the elect, and then the rapture will occur soon afterward, according to 2 Thessalonians 2. In fact, I believe the Lord has clearly revealed him to the Church (Please see my article on The Antichrist).  I believe in a pre-Tribulation rapture, as I have explained in my articles, The Timing of the Rapture and Sequence of Signs Preceding the Coming of Christ.

Other Ways to Identify an Antichrist
John in his epistles gave some examples of antichrist traits, but he did not say those are the only ways one can be an antichrist. There are other ways we can identify an antichrist as well.

Our Lord spoke of these many antichrists that mislead many when he said, "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many.” (Mat 24:5).  He also said, "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” (Mat 24:24).  Anyone who calls evil good and good evil or who calls darkness light and light darkness is antichrist. It doesn’t matter if these people perform great signs and wonders or have amazing visions and revelations.  As we saw in the expanded list of antichrist characteristics above, demonic power can be given to them from satan to perform false signs and wonders, so don’t be deceived.  Such antichrists deceive the masses, wield power over people through deception, and thus they speak like a dragon.  They use smooth words, eloquence, and flattery. They have no regard for truth, and fling it to the ground as worthless rubbish.

As we saw in that expanded list of characteristics I developed, an antichrist is also anyone who turns people to godlessness.  This may even be a Christian, who tells their brother or sister “It is not a sin,” when it is a sin. As long as the Christian also says “It is not a sin” when it is sin, they make themselves defenders of the devil.   And the devil will make sure he finds a way to prove it is not sin. Matthew Henry in his commentary on the temptation of Christ says, “For those are our worst enemies, that entice us to sin, and are satan's agents, are doing his work, and carrying on his designs.”  

For example, the Lord told brother Olugbenga Oladejo with respect to His Warning for Married Christian Couples that any pastor who says masturbation is not a sin is a false prophet and an antichrist, and is not working for the Lord.  I believe the same applies to any pastor who claims that homosexuality is not a sin, such as pope Francis.  He is a false prophet and an antichrist (see Pope Frances Supports Homosexuality).

As it is written in the epistle of James: "You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (Jas 4:4).  Any minister who becomes a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

It’s also written in the prophet Isaiah: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isa 5:20)

And the apostle Peter warned us of false teachers when he wrote: "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep...They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children; forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;" (2Pe 2:1-3,13b-15)

And in his epistle, Jude wrote: "Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever." (Jud 1:11-13)

The International Conference of the Kingdom of Darkness
As I wrote in my article about James Agboola's Revelation of Heaven and Hell, the Lord revealed to him some things about the kingdom of darkness.

James was shown that the devil actually holds conferences with his demons, as well as false prophets, who are so called “pastors” that are getting powers from the kingdom of darkness. He also has different departments in his kingdom, including the musical department that he has sent to go to the world.  The devil is furious.  He is seriously angry and annoyed, because he knows that his time is so short. He has no time, so he is putting great pressure on his demons to capture souls to hell.  They have no time to rest. He has ordered his demons to step up their efforts. He has ordered them to follow the Christians bumper to bumper.  He has determined to increase their power.

As a result, the demons are possessing the Church, taking over the youth activities, giving them new systems, new fashions, and making them to go out of the way of God.  They have possessed the gospel musicians of the earth, so that their music is no longer having meaning in the spiritual realms. They have possessed their gospel music so that it becomes worldly music. The people now think they are singing gospel music, but it is worldly. The demons are giving them some tunes, some pieces, some dancing steps which are not of God, which are of the demons. These will be sung inside the congregations. At the end of the day this music is taking them out of the will of God.

The devil has charged the so-called pastors. He gave them power to work wonders and miracles. He gave them various power in various ways with conditions. They can preach anything they like in their church. They can do any program they like in their church, but they must not talk about salvation. They must not talk about heaven. They must not say anything about the rapture. They can do altar calls, call people forward, pray for them, bless them, and let them go. But they cannot go into details about the Kingdom of God or the salvation of their souls.

There is actually something known as the drum of covenants with fire under it.  It keeps burning twenty-four hours. Devils are constantly bringing blood from the four corners of the earth into that drum that is on the fire. Whatsoever blood enters into that drum is from the blood of covenants. And from that drum the demons fetch blood and give to manufacturers, those who manufacturer jewelry, perfumes, and other worldly things that people put on their bodies.  The oil they are spraying on their body -- the oil they are spraying as perfumes -- it’s taking away the glory of God in them. And the spirit of lust begins to dominate them. They will not have time for God again.  They won’t have time to read the Bible.

The demons have possessed all these material things that people love – all these worldly things. Therefore, it has come to the time in this world that even if you buy ordinary Vaseline, you need to sanctify it. You don’t know what, where, or who manufactured it. Maybe it’s a demon.  Sanctify everything you get from the marketplace.

The devil does not believe that there is anybody he cannot catch. He still believes that there is nobody he will not get.  He is providing interesting and very good programs on the TV twenty-four hours, so that these will occupy people’s time, and so that they’ll have no time to read the Bible, they’ll have no time to go to church activities.

The devil knows that when God destroyed the earth with a flood, it pained Him to his heart, because He had destroyed His own handiwork. Therefore, the devil intends to pack at least, not less than ninety-five percent of God’s people to hell, with the end goal of causing pain in God’s heart. If he cannot get all, if he can succeed to pack ninety-five percent of God’s creation to hell, that it is still going to pain God in His heart, that God will weep. And his happiness is to see tears in the face of God. If the demons even think there is the slightest chance they might lose someone, they have orders to cut them off and kill them, rather than wait until they get beyond the gate.

So Christians, we must be careful. We must watch the type of church we go to, the type of pastor or minister of God we follow. Ones they are not preaching the true Word of God, once any pastor is not preaching repentance, is not preaching the kingdom of God, is not preaching salvation, the salvation of your soul, you must watch.  Christians, we have to be extra careful. We have to mind what we wear, what we use. Whatever we buy in the market at this time, we pray over it even if it is clothes, we sanctify it and we cover it in the Blood of Jesus. And the protections of God will continue to be upon us in Jesus’ Name. (please see the full testimony in his own words at James Agboola's Revelation of Heaven and Hell).

Actual Example of an Antichrist
There have been and still are too many antichrists to possibly list them all here.  But one example is José Luis de Jesús Miranda (April 22, 1946 - August 8, 2013), pictured above.  According to Wikipedia, Miranda "was the leader of the Creciendo en Gracia [Growing in Grace] sect, based in Miami, Florida. He claimed to be both the returned phase of Jesus Christ and the Antichrist...He claimed to have two million followers in 30 countries by 2008."

Miranda gained international notoriety by declaring himself to be Jesus Christ in 2004, then later claiming to be the Antichrist, after which he tattooed his arm with the symbol ''666'' (see his interviews with CNN and CBS). During a packed worship service at the church, Miranda removed his coat and revealed the tattoo on his forearm. He taught that there was no such thing as sin, that prayer is a waste of time, and the elect are free to do whatever they want, because there is no condemnation. He taught that there is no hell and no more devil, because the devil has been destroyed. He lived a very sinful life, spent money extravagantly and used church funds to maintain his lifestyle, paying personal expenses with donations to his tax-exempt church. His slogan was "Salvo siempre salvo," or "Saved always saved," which he abbreviated by the letters "SSS" (i.e., "once saved always saved," or "eternal security"). 

The Wikipedia article goes on to say, "Followers showed their support by getting '666' tattoos on their bodies. One of Miranda's followers in Havana, Cuba tattooed the symbol on her three year old son. A YouTube video of the mother holding the child as he was tattooed was widely circulated in January 2013. '666', [Miranda] said, is not a sign of the Devil (he preaches that the Devil was destroyed) but instead is the number of the Antichrist and that the number is 'a number of wisdom and it displays who is really following the truthful words of Jesus Christ.'"  In the photo above from Wikipedia that I've used in this article, Miranda is shown with the number 666 on his vest, which he falsely taught is not necessarily an evil symbol, but rather a Christian one (see The Mark of the Beast - 666).  He ultimately died of cirrhosis of the liver on August 8, 2013.

In summary, he was the leader of "Growing in Grace," where grace was assumed as a license to sin.  He taught, "once saved always saved" and led many souls to hell. Now that he has died, he has surely discovered for himself that the fiery torment of hell he once denied is indeed real.

Let them Alone
If you have come to realize that the spiritual leaders you are following are actually antichrists, then you should stop following them. As Jesus said of the Pharisees, "Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." (Mat 15:14). The Greek for for "let them alone" is "aphiēmi," meaning "forsake, lay aside, leave, let alone, let be, let go, put away." The Lord instructed his disciples to leave the Pharisees alone, since they were blind guides.

The application of this for us today is clear. If your spiritual leaders are antichrists, then they are blind guides of the blind. In the end, they will fall into the pit of hell, and so will all who follow them. Therefore you need to let them alone, forsake them, leave them, escape from them, and put them away.

Putting it All Together
In conclusion, the three examples of antichrist characteristics that John gave in his epistles were: 1) The one who denies that Jesus is the Christ, who actually denies both the Father and the Son. 2) The one who does not confess Jesus, and 3) Those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh.

And in addition to the three examples that the apostle John gave, we know that any there are many other ways in Scripture to identify an antichrist.  One of them is any pastor who says masturbation is not a sin.  Do not listen to those pastors.  Like José Luis de Jesús Miranda, they are false prophets and antichrists, and there presence is a sign of the times.  By this we know it is the last hour.

Beware of any pastor who is not preaching the true Word of God, who is not preaching repentance, who is not preaching the kingdom of God, is not preaching salvation, who does not talk about heaven or the rapture. Be careful, brethren! Watch the type of church you go to, the type of pastor or minister you listen to. Avoid the antichrists, and God will help us in Jesus’ Name.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Photograph of Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, taken inside of the building of TV Azteca. Wikimedia Commons photo from Anonymous User. 

Author's note:  You must take responsibility for your own actions. Nobody knows the day or the hour, and in no way am I date setting. This is only to provide you with information, so that you can make your own decisions, for which you will be accountable to God.

I recommend reading The Antichrist, The Seven Seals Being Opened in Real Time, James Agboola Revelation of Heaven and Hell, Warning for Married Christian Couples, Godly Attire and Adornment -- Seven Divine Revelations, Eternal Security, and Carrying Your Cross or Cross Dressing? I also encourage you to read Pope Frances Supports Homosexuality, The 311 Moment, Exposing Heresy, Exposing the JMS Cult, The Mark of the Beast - 666, The Day of Our Lord’s Wedding is at Hand,  Rapture Revelation to Ayodelle Sawyerr, and Rapture Revelation to Angelica Zambrano. You may also visit our Signs of the Times Directory. You may access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Michael Shigaba's End Time Message for Mankind

A Christian brother I know in Nigeria, named Dr. Theophilus Ayodele, recently sent me a video testimony of a brother that belongs to his church, named brother Michael Shigaba.  Both brother Michael and Dr. Ayodele, who is a civilian medical doctor serving in the military hospital in Jos, Nigeria, belong to the same Apostolic Faith Church in Nigeria, although they attend different branch churches.

Brother Michael Shigaba

Brother Michael had an encounter with Jesus on Wednesday March 10, 2010. The Lord showed him the narrow road that leads to heaven, as well as the true, spiritual condition of his church's district headquarters, and the branch church he belongs to.  He was also given an end-time message for mankind about the imminent return of Christ. In front of the pearly gates of heaven, when the Lord told him he must return to the earth, as they turned and began to walk away, the Lord gave the angel who was with him the end-time message that brother Michael was to proclaim.

In his testimony, which I have published in my article, Michael Shigaba's Encounter with Jesus, he stated:

As we were coming [back to earth], Jesus now called the angel again. He said, "When you’re coming back, cover him with this end time message.” That is what I heard. I don’t know what He gave the angel. Immediately the angel collected it.  How we found ourself in my bedroom, I cannot tell. Myself and the angel again, back to my bedroom. I was surprised. Do you know what happened? The angel said, “Look, look at the bed.” I looked at the bed. I saw myself again, lying down. And myself standing with the angel! He said, “That is your body. That is your house. You know, you have a house. You are free to go out and you are free to come out. You went out. Now enter.”
I was afraid. I said, “No.”

He smiled. He said, “Enter! That is your body.”

I looked at myself.

“It’s okay. You don’t know what you’re going to do. Just lie down, very close.”

I went and I laid down very close to the body, and I became one. Then I started feeling the heat, the hotness of this world of sin. Then I know that yes, it’s just like you are in the AC. And after some time you went out, feel the hotness.

That was 5:00AM, Friday, from Wednesday. The angel now asked, “Where is your CGS?”

I said, “That is the place I kept.”

He said, “Do you know this is the time you use to pray for morning prayer?” And yes, when I was alone, I used to have my morning prayer, 5:30AM. But when I married, my wife said, “No, let’s start at 5:00AM.” And that is exactly the time I came back to this world of woe.

We opened. The angel opened. He said, “Let’s sing hymn number twenty.” We sang together with the angel. He now said, “Lie down.” I laid down, and he said, “The Master said I should cover you with this end-time message. So I’m going to cover you.”

He now brought white cloth and covered me. I was covered with that white cloth. Then after that, the angel left. I don’t know how the angel disappeared from that place. I don’t know. He left.

Overseer: Before you were covered, were you inside your body?

Michael: Yes, I was already inside. I’ve already entered inside my body. Before the angel now asked me, he said, “Where is the CGS?” He left. Then, after the angel left, I saw myself covered with white cloth. I was afraid! I have to shift that cloth beside my bed. It was then that I was able to use my handset and call one of our brothers to come and pray for me. In that text, I told him that I was inside my house since Wednesday. Let him come and pray for me.

When the brother came, it was around 6:00. The brother came. He said, “Ah! Bro Mike, what is the problem?” that since Tuesday has been trying my line till Wednesday. And some time if he tried, it rang. Before they would say, it switch off. And then, when they were there, the angel and Jesus, anytime my phone rang, the angel would just off the handset. He said, “This is no time for you to receive a call,” before we left.

Overseer: Now, when you came back, you were dressed in your natural clothing? What happened to the dress you are wearing?

Michael: When I came back, in fact, the only thing is the cloth that the angel used to cover me and my knickers. The dress that I put on, for the journey, is…that brother that I called, he is the one that picked that dress from the floor with my shoes.

Overseer: …what you were wearing before.

Michael: Yes! But when I came back, I just found myself covered with the cloth and my short knickers.

Then when the brother came, he said, “Ah! What is (inaudible) [around 46:13]?”

I said, “Yes, heaven visited me…the sickness is for our own good, it’s for our help, it’s for the glory of God.”

Overseer: What happened to your knee? Do you know when you started with that? You were sick, you had a bad headache, and you knocked your head. So when you came back, no more pain like that.

Michael: Yes, no more pain. And when the angel was going, he said, “Do you know that Jesus has healed you?" before he left. But the leg is because of that while we were walking on that route, my leg became heavy, but the head, the pain disappeared. But these two legs I was not able to walk with it then. It was when the brother came and prayed over me that I was able to walk again. Then I now told the brother that I look at that cloth.

He said, “Ah! White cloth? How could?”

I said, “The angel covered—‘

He said, ‘Eh? He said a long journey; two days: a long journey.”

I said, “Yes.”

He said, “This cloth that you were—“ he was able to touch the cloth. He folded it with fear! And kept it somewhere. He prayed over me and then he was preparing to go to work. So he said when he comes back from work, he will hear better. Then he has called my single brother from the town to come down.

When the brother left, it was around 12:00PM that my brother came. When he entered, he said, “Ah! What is the problem? (inaudible [around 47:59]. …and before this now, we have been trying your line. It was no going.” He said it was (inaudible) that told him I am sick.

I said, “Yes, but Jesus has healed me already.” My mind still went to that cloth. I now told him that, “Check that cloth.”

He said, "Which cloth?” He looked at the wardrobe. He said, “Ah!” He was afraid. He said, “This cloth is not ordinary. Where did you get it?”

I said, “Yes, I traveled with Jesus.”

For him to touch that cloth, he was afraid. I said, “Just try to open it.” It was when he opened it that I noticed there is something—there is a writing there. Even myself, I didn’t know that there is a writing there.

He said, “This is blood?’ The brother started weeping. He said, “This is blood. How?”

I said, “No. Jesus said that is the end time message. Can you read it?” He read it. He said, “’Jesus is coming soon.’” He started weeping. He started weeping.  He said, “How do you –-We can—How do you?— You can touch it?” And when we were coming back, Jesus said, “When you go back, tell the head of the church!" That is what Jesus said. "Tell the head of the church.” That is what He said before we came back with the angel.

I now folded it inside black nylon and I tie it. On Sunday, I went to the church. I met the pastor. I speak everything. He said, "Ahh!" The man was afraid. He was weeping! He said, “Ok, what is there on Monday, by the grace of God? I am going to pray for you so that the Spirit of God will remind you so that you will not forget. You will go and meet the overseer. I am not the head. Go and meet with the overseer. And I am going to try to call him that you are coming.”

On that Monday, I go the overseer’s office. He was not on site. And on Wednesday, as I was going back, the devil said, “Ah! There is no need for you to go and meet your overseer. In fact, you will not even meet him. That you have already told the pastor, ‘What is the need of you to go and tell your overseer?’” I said, “Ah! This is the voice of the devil. Is it not the pastor that said I should go and tell the overseer? I entered the vehicle. There is a place called the [inaudible around 50:49]. After we passed that place, the front tire of that vehicle busted. I said, “Whether you like it or not (the devil), I am going to deliver that message.”

Overseer: Was there any other message that you were supposed to give to the head of the church?

Michael: [Shaking his head, “No."] That was just [my testimony of the experience].

Michael: So before I went to the overseer’s place, that Sunday that I met the pastor, when I came back with that cloth, that I was going to the overseer’s next day, which is Monday, the cloth came out from that nylon. I tied the nylon, but it came out on its own. In fact, it was that time that I was afraid to handle the cloth. It was then that I went and bought a new brown envelope. I kept it.

Overseer: You put it in a black nylon before, and it came out on its own? Now you have a brown envelope where you keep it and nothing. How did you get the brown envelope?

Michael: Yes, sir… (inaudible)…I bought it.

Overseer: And you put the cloth inside the brown envelope.

Michael: Yes. And it is then that the cloth has been there.

[At this point in the video, the cloth is held up by two people who are standing behind it to display it.]  

Watch Michael's Video Testimony.

The White Cloth with Its End Time Message

White cloth from heaven with end time message in blood

This is a photo of the cloth that the angel covered Michael with after he returned to his body. It is quite large, as two people appear to be standing behind it, holding it up for the photo. And you can clearly see written upon it the words, "JESUS IS COMING SOON."

Since the cloth and the message written on it came from the Lord, and the message is about the Lord Himself, the message must be written in none other than His own precious blood. Dr. Ayodelle advised me that the church obtained forensic lab testing on the blood that is on the cloth and the results determined that it is not normal blood.

In brother Michael's testimony, he said that when he returned to his body and showed the cloth to people, they were afraid to touch it.  They noted that it was no ordinary cloth and wondered where he got it.  They wept when they saw it and read the writing upon it.  This was true of the two brothers who came to Michael's home, as well as his pastor. 

The white cloth with the end time message

I looked at the photo of the cloth very carefully, zooming in to the highest level of magnification in my photo software, so that I could see individual pixels.  When I did so, I made the following observations:

1. The blood turned the cloth whiter along the edge of the written letters.  It is not visible to the naked eye unless you zoom in to a high magnification level with the photo software.

2. The words were written at the bottom right corner as if they were the final words on a page. The implication is that there is nothing else left to happen before the Lord's return.

3. The letters of the very last word ("Soon") were on the very bottom edge of the cloth, even to the point of being written on the final row of thread.  Again, it emphasized the finality of the time we are in right now, the lateness of the hour, and the nearness of His return.

The word "soon" showing whitening

4. The final stroke of the letter "N" in the last word ("soon") seemed to extend off the cloth!

Conclusion
I am personally convinced that this testimony is true, because it agrees with Scripture, there are witnesses, and we have the cloth to prove it, along with its urgent, end-time message written in human blood that is not normal.

Jesus is coming soon, and the church is late getting herself ready.  There is no time left to put off getting ready.  That is the most critical message from this entire testimony.

Repent and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Prepare to meet your God!

Credits: All the praise and glory goes to Jesus for giving brother Michael Shigaba this encounter and its message.  And I would like to thank my oldest daughter for the many days and hours she spent lovingly and painstakingly transcribing this entire testimony into writing, so that people all over the world can read it, who may not be able to understand brother Michael's English so clearly.  This written version also provides a means for others to translate it into other languages, so that the maximum number of people may be impacted by it.  I would like to thank my dear brother, Dr. Theophilus Ayodele, for informing me about this testimony and for mailing me a DVD copy of it all the way from Africa.

Author's note:  Please prayerfully listen to this brother's testimony, and use the Testimony Review Process adopted by this blog, as you decide for yourself whether the Lord has spoken to him.  For issues and concerns, each person must confirm with the Lord, whether something is valid or not.

You must take responsibility for your own actions. Nobody knows the day or the hour, and in no way am I date setting. This is only to provide you with information, so that you can make your own decisions, for which you will be accountable to God.

I recommend reading the full version of Michael Shigaba's Encounter with Jesus.  I also encourage you to read The 311 Moment, The Day of Our Lord’s Wedding is at Hand,  Rapture Revelation to Ayodelle Sawyerr, and Rapture Revelation to Angelica Zambrano. You may also visit our Signs of the Times Directory. You may access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Word of Warning for America

On June 30, 2014, I received an email with the following prophecy given through Maurice Sklar on June 28, 2014.  In it the Lord speaks about the coming collapse of the dollar, the fall of America, the coming war in the Middle East, God's judgment upon Islam, and the rapture. To the Bride He says, "The heavenly shofar is in the hands of My Archangel Gabriel and about to be lifted to his mouth for the final BLAST that will call you home!"  To those backslidden and sinners, He also says, "Come out from Babylon, oh ye backsliders and sinners.  Leave the Laodicean false church and come out to Me in the wilderness and join My Bride." To America He says, "Prepare to meet Thy God in the wrath of My Holy fury and judgment!"  Here is the full prophetic message for your discernment:

Thus saith the LORD,

"Warn America of the coming collapse of the dollar.  When this happens, all that you have taken for granted in life will suddenly come to an end.  You have never known such devastation.  It will come suddenly and spring upon you, O haughty nation, in a moment.  What will you do when there is no more water, food, electricity, or fuel?!! Then you will cry to Me, and I will not hear you, until you humble yourselves in holy repentance.  There will be riots, looting, martial law, rape, chaos, torture, and murder, as well as imprisonment and disease, as all evil will descend upon you suddenly.  All because you refused to repent and turn back to me.

For more than 100 years I have come to you over and over, pleading with you by My Spirit and through My servants and prophets to repent of your sin and return to Me But now, your house is left unto you desolate, for you have passed the point of no return.  Oh, United States of America, PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD!

"Warn the world of the coming war in the Middle East!  For I am about to judge and destroy the anciant enemies of My people Israel.  I am the Holy One of Israel.  Now, Aha!  I will arise and judge the house of Esau and Edom.  I will not tolerate their hatred and savagery any longer.  As it is written, in Psalm 83, and many of My prophets have proclaimed in My Holy written Word, the set time has arrived.  It shall be held back no longer. I will destroy Islam and smash its pillars and all of its dominion.  It will stagger as a drunken man, as it drinks My cup of fury down to the dregs.  It will fall down and vomit up it's filth up before all of creation, then it shall fall into the pits of Hell and rise up no more.  You shall experience the fires of My wrath and the fullness of My cup of indignation.  You shall be forever humiliated before all of heaven, the earth, the nations, and all the demons of hell.  Ah! I will vent My everlasting vengeance upon you, and settle the accounts for all your sins and crimes in every generation against My people Israel and My holy land.  I am about to execute the vengeance of the eternal covenant I made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  As you have cursed My people, it shall be done to YOU!  Exactly as you cursed and spoke again Zion and Israel, that shall be visited back upon your heads!  After this comes to pass, you, Israel, all the nations, and indeed, all the earth shall know that I AM THE LORD, YHWH, the Most High God of Israel!

'How I weep for you, O America! How has the mighty nation of My grace fallen!  You will collapse and never regain your greatness ever again.  Yes, revival shall come after this, even a final awakening, and indeed, because of the covenant I made with the very first Americans, and the faithfulness of the saints that lived in previous generations - I will keep you from perishing completely from the earth.  A remnant will continue into the Millenium.  I will spare many, in My depth of mercies, but your prosperity, idolatry, ease, and pomp will descend with the lost into the depths of Hell.

You shall no longer be called the Greatest Nation.  The stench of your sins, and the blood of the innocents is crying out and is continually before My face.  I will bear your whoredoms no longer!  Your hours and days are numbered.  You have been weighed in the balances of the Watchers, and, even as the writing came on the wall by My Hand in the palace of Babylon, and interpreted by My prophet and servant, Daniel, you have been weighed in the balances and scales of the High Court of Heaven and are found wanting.  Prepare to meet Thy God in the wrath of My Holy fury and judgment!"

"Who shall rescue you now? Will your idols of pleasure, pride, perversion, power, and money?  They are your gods now.  Let them deliver you!  Who shall help you, O fallen queen of the last days' nations? I will not hear your cries until you repent before Me in wailing, sackcloth and ashes.  When your entire government falls on their faces in shame and cries out to Me with all their hearts, then, and only then, will I respond.  Woe, Woe, WOE to thee, O Most wretched of men!  How can you escape the damnation of Hell?"

"A message to the Bride, My Holy Overcomers:

"I have seen your tears, I have heard your groans. I have been suffering with you.  Satan has come against you with all of his malice and fury for the last ten years, as I have mercifully extended the times, so that the nations could have every possible opportunity to return back to Me during the final days of grace."

"Oh, America! How I have longed to spare you! But, you have hardened your hearts, stiffened your necks, spit in My face, shook your fists at Me, turned your backs to me, and ignored and despised my prophets that I have sent to you - begging and pleading with you to return to Me - that you may live and not die!  Your doom is meted out and sealed.  You shall surely drink from the cup of My wrath and reap what you have sown.  You have sown the wind and you shall reap the whirlwind."

"But, My Beloved Bride!  You are faithful to Me!  Still you watch and pray in this Midnight Hour.  Still you hold fast to My Name, My blood, and My Holy written Word!  All of heaven both weeps and rejoices with you as they watch you and your purity and steadfastedness.  I have kept you.  I have refined you as the finest gold in the furnace of affliction, and because you have suffered with Me, you shall sit on My throne and reign with Me forever and ever. Amen."

"I am shortening the days so that you, My Elect ones, will not perish in the final deception that is coming upon the earth."

"I AM COMING FOR YOU!  I am at the door waiting for the Word from the Father, saying, COME!  The heavenly shofar is in the hands of My Archangel Gabriel and about to be lifted to his mouth for the final BLAST that will call you home!  Rejoice, My Beloved!  Look up, for your Redemption draweth nigh! I have prepared a place for you!  Soon I will meet you in the air and take you home!  My love burns for you, My Beloved!  All of heaven is rejoicing to receive you.  All is now prepared.  Hold fast that which you have, that no man take your crown!  Be ye holy as I am Holy!  Keep your hearts pure and keep your garments clean, that ye may be found worthy to escape these calamities that are soon to flood the earth, and to stand in triumph before Me!  I am the Son of Man.  I am the Son of God.  I am the Son of David.  And, I am the soon coming King of Glory!  I Am the Heavenly Bridegroom awaiting our Wedding and to feast together in joy and union with you."

"You are My predestined ones.  You are My elect.  You are My chosen ones.  I have called and chosen you from before the foundations of the earth.  You are the Crown of all My Desire!"

"AWAKE! AWAKE! AWAKE! HEAVENLY BRIDE!"

"Come out from Babylon, oh ye backsliders and sinners.  Leave the Laodicean false church and come out to Me in the wilderness and join My Bride.  Come outside the camp and bear the reproach of carrying the Anointing!  For My Bride has been cast out of the lukewarm, reprobate churches that refuse to let Me in."

"I am standing at the doors knocking still, but not for much longer!  I have come to you with this word now, pleading with you to repent and fully surrender to Me.  Forsake all others and FOLLOW ME!  Forsake the love of this world which will soon pass away.  Purify your hearts.  Be washed in My Blood and cleansed of every spot and wrinkle.  Be daily washed in the water of My Word, the Bible.  Pray and cry out to the Father to have mercy upon you and to spare you. Forsake your idols while there is still a sliver of time left, and run with all your might toward Me!  Come in to the Ark of Safety while there is still time!"

"The checkered flag is now being waved!  The final lap is HERE! The race is almost over, My dearly Beloved.  Win your race for Me and receive your eternal Prize!  Heaven is ready to receive you.  Soon You shall be Home with Me forever."

"No more crying! No more sorrows! No more pain!  No more death!"

"I am Yeshua the Messiah! I AM your All in All!"

"O Earth, Earth, Earth, Hear ye the Word of the LORD!"

As received and given by the Holy Spirit to Dr. Maurice Sklar on Saturday evening, June 28, 2014 at 10:27pm PST.

Blessings,

Maurice

Author's note: You must take responsibility for your own actions. Nobody knows the day or the hour, and in no way am I date setting. This is only to provide you with information, so that you can make your own decisions, for which you will be accountable to God.

If you enjoyed this post, you may also like The Day of Our Lord’s Wedding is at Hand, The Messiah Is Coming, The End Has Come, Peace, Safety, and the Thief in the Night, The 311 Moment, Grieve and Lament for the Church, Outline of Endtime Events, my daughter's poem, The Midnight Hour, and the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar.  You may also visit our Signs of the Times Directory, and access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Rapture Ranks Right Below Top Ten Teaching of Jesus

In my recent article on The Top Ten Things Jesus Taught, I showed statistical evidence from Scripture what our Lord talked about the most.  I want to encourage you to take a look at that, and compare it to the preaching you listen to, or to your own preaching if you do so.  Very few these days are emphasizing the things Jesus did.

But one of the things I mentioned was that right below these top ten topics, His Second Coming was a major topic, which ranked twelfth on the list! He spoke about it quite often, using various expressions like "the coming of the Son of man," "the Son of Man coming," "which day your Lord is coming," "that day and hour no one knows," "the Master of that slave will come on a day," "the Master of the house is coming," "He comes," "kingdom come," "coming on the clouds," "the day that the Son of Man is revealed," "the days of the Son of Man," "when the Son of Man comes," "will the Son of Man be in His day," "I will come," "I am coming," "until I come," "come on you suddenly," and specifically referred to the rapture saying, "one will be taken."  And when He spoke about it, He often said it would happen suddenly, unexpectedly, quickly, soon, and without delay.  He emphasized the need to be ready for it.  Yet so few today ever preach or teach about His soon return.  In fact, some preachers are teaching that their will be no rapture at all.

It makes you wonder whether these people read the Bible, or whether they are hearing the Word when they read it. By the way, "hearing" was the eleventh top thing Jesus spoke about! 

If you were to combine all the verses where Jesus spoke about His Second Coming with all the verses where He spoke about the end times, it would become one of the top ten topics.  He spoke about the end times in sixteen verses, using expressions like "end of the age," "tribulation," "great distress," "that hour which is about to come upon the whole world," "all these things that are about to take place," "days of vengeance," and "the times of the Gentiles."

In that article, I also stated: "Also in Revelation, only the words that Jesus spoke were counted in my exhaustive analysis.  These are primarily in the first three chapters and the last chapter.  However, technically the entire book of Revelation is “the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon take place.” (Rev 1:1a).  You see, the opening verse of that book says, "He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John" (Rev 1:1b).  So although the Lord sent His angel to communicate these words, they were His words, and it was all His revelation that God gave to Him.  That means all topics covered in Revelation were from Jesus, although they were not all spoken directly by Him.  There are many verses about...end times, the Great Tribulation, plagues, judgments, wrath, woes, the Lord Jesus Christ and His soon return, the harvest...and eternal judgment.  These would increase the total number of verses we would need to count for those topics in this analysis, and would help to further prove my point about their frequency.  However, none of these verses that are part of the revelation of Jesus Christ were counted, unless they were spoken by Jesus."

The Lord's return should be emphasized by every preacher and teacher of the Word.  Every disciple of Christ should emphasize it in their own life, in terms of being ready for it, and by way of warning others to be ready.  That includes your spouse and children, your parents, brothers, sisters, and other family members who will listen to you.  Tell your coworkers and those you meet.  He is coming very, very soon!

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note: You must take responsibility for your own actions. Nobody knows the day or the hour, and in no way am I date setting. This is only to provide you with information, so that you can make your own decisions, for which you will be accountable to God.

If you enjoyed this post, you may also like The Top Ten Things Jesus Taught and my daughter's poem, The Midnight Hour, and the articles listed below, as well as other posts in this blog available through the Signs of the Times Directory.  You may access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

The 311 Moment
Are you Rapture Ready?
The Day of Our Lord’s Wedding is at Hand
Rapture Revelation to Ayodelle Sawyerr
Rapture Revelation to Angelica Zambrano

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.