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"For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved" (2 Thessalonians 2:7-11). Are Satan, fallen angels, and demons real and active in the world today? A 2015 Barna study suggested more than half of self-described Christians in America do not believe that Satan, fallen angels, and demons are real, personal beings. This brand of Christianity might be better described as Western Christianity which has been heavily influenced by a Western or Naturalistic Worldview which tends to deny much when it comes to the reality of the supernatural world. Such a belief is entirely contrary to the biblical revelation and worldview. In both the Old and New Testaments, the clear teaching of scripture is these evil, malevolent beings exist and spiritual warfare is real and sometimes dangerous. Furthermore, I believe the Bible predicts what can only be described as an increase in demonic activity and deception in the last days leading up to and including the final seven years of human history prior to the Return of Jesus and the establishment of His Millennial Kingdom.
A biblical worldview teaches there is a material and immaterial world. To put it another way, there is a seen and an unseen realm--a physical and non physical reality. Although the Bible tells us some things about the unseen realm much of its reality is a mystery to us. Although we are introduced to spiritual or unseen realities in the Old Testament much of what we know today comes straight out of the New Testament--Satan and other fallen angels, as well as, demons are real, personal beings. Demons, also known as unclean spirits, harass, oppress, infest, and sometimes possess people (please note, I do not believe demons can possess true Christian). Furthermore, these malevolent spirits are, along with the good angels and even believers, involved in a cosmic spiritual battle most of which occurs in the unseen realm but often spills over into our physical reality. Consider, for example, Daniel 10:12-13, "Then he said to me, 'Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the king of Persia." The Prophet Daniel prayed for understanding but the answer did not come for twenty-one days. This three week delay was due to a fallen angel who opposed the messenger Gabriel--a good angel who stands in the presence of God--in spiritual warfare. This account tells us Satan engages in spiritual warfare in an attempt to thwart the will of God and to influence people and nations against God and His people. The New Testament affirms this reality. Paul writes, "Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against he rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:11-12). Peter writes, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). The Bible further predicts an increase in demonic activity in the last days. Much of the focus is on the deceptive nature of this activity. Jesus warned several times in Matthew 24 alone to be careful so as not to be deceived. "And Jesus answered and said to them, 'See to it that no one misleads you'" (Matt. 24:4). "Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or 'There He is,' do not believe him. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect" (Matt. 24:23-24). Even the Apostle Paul predicted the coming of the Antichrist would be, "in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders" (2 Thess. 2:9). Finally, John seems to predict the return of those fallen angels who sinned in Genesis 6 by going after strange flesh with ultimately produced the Nephilim--that race of giants which ultimately led God to bring a flood upon the earth to destroy all flesh save for eight souls carried safely on the ark which Noah and his sons built. John writes, "Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key to the bottomless pit was given to him. He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened from the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power... And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment to f a scorpion when it stings a man. And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them... They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon" (Revelation 9:1-6, 11). A biblical worldview, then, calls for a sound theology of and understanding about the existence of Satan, fallen angels, and demons. It further calls for the same in relation to the reality of spiritual warfare. We do not fight this battle like the armies of the world would fight. "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). The weapons of our warfare are further described for us in detail in Ephesians 6:10-20. Paul calls these weapons, "the full armor of God." This armor includes (1) the belt or girdle of truth, (2) the breastplate of righteousness, (3) the gospel sandals of peace, (4) the shield of faith, (5) the helmet of salvation, (6) the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, and (7) a consistent lifestyle of prayer and petition. The idea of putting on this armor, according to John MacArthur, "Conveys the idea of permanence, indicating that armor should be the Christian's sustained, life-long attire." Three different times in this passage we are admonished to stand firm. Again, MacArthur notes, "Christians [are] to take a firm position in the spiritual battle against Satan and his minions. Whether confronting Satan's efforts to distrust God, forsaking obedience, producing doctrinal confusion and falsehood, hindering service go God, bringing division, serving God in the flesh, living hypocritically, being worldly, or in any other way rejecting biblical obedience, this armor is our defense." Spiritual warfare is real. Satan, fallen angels, and demons are real. I believe the Bible is clear we will witness an increase in demonic activity leading up to the start of Daniel's 70th Week and continuing throughout that time. We may even begin to witness visible spillover from the unseen realm as this last days spiritual warfare heats up. I would include so called UFO and alien activity in this vein, as well as, outright demonic attacks upon the church in general and individual Christians (and families) in particular. I am already experiencing such attacks in my own life and family. I know other watchmen who are also experiencing increasingly difficult spiritual attacks. We must pray for one another. We must clothe ourselves with the full armor of God and pray earnestly for one another. Pray that God would protect all of us--especially our children--from all spiritual dangers. Pray that the church would wake up to the reality of the unseen realm and the spiritual battles raging around and among us. It's time to get serious about these things. Jesus is coming soon for His church. I believe Satan and his minions are fully aware of this and realize their time is short, so they are pulling out all the stops. They are doing everything possible in order to thwart the will of God and take as many as they can to hell with them. The answer to that is simple, yet profound--pray for protection and proclaim the gospel! Oh, and make sure the demons know you by name (see Acts 19:11-20).
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The Antichrist and What We Know:  Who is the Antichrist? "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" (1 John 2:18). The Bible describes an enigmatic character who will rise to power in the last seven years of human history just prior to the return of Jesus to this earth to set up His Millennial Kingdom. This character has been called by many names, all taken from Scripture, but he is popularly known as the Antichrist. John teaches us that many antichrists or false teachers will come on the scene during the time between Jesus' first and second comings, but there will be one final world ruler empowered by Satan who will set out to replace and oppose the true Christ. He will be the ultimate personification of what it means to be against Christ. It will be Satan's attempt to mimic the Holy Trinity with the Antichrist being his expression of the Son. In this case, however, it will be an unholy trinity and a deceptively evil son. The Bible does not reveal the identity of the Antichrist and it appears to discourage Christians from trying to figure out his identity. He will be revealed only after the church has been removed from the world. His revealing will signal the start of the final seven year period known by several names--the Tribulation Period, the Great Tribulation, the Time of Jacob's Trouble, and Daniel's Seventieth Week, to name a few. His identity not withstanding, the Bible does reveal several characteristics of this final world ruler. The list below is not exhaustive but will give you an idea of what the Bible teaches about this final world ruler.
Regardless of his worldly success, the Bible teaches he, his armies, and those who worship him will be defeated at Jesus' Second Coming. "And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was seized, an with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh" (Revelation 19:19-21). The Antichrist and His Rise to Power:  The Beast Rising from the Sea The Bible describes the Antichrist's rise to power. To understand his rise to power it is necessary to consider the context of the Bible's predictions. The best place to start is the prophecies of the Old Testament Book of Daniel. This book was written to encourage the exiled Jews by revealing God's program for them from the time of their Babylonian exile all the way to the end of Gentile power and rule in the world and the establishment of God's kingdom ruled by Messiah in both its millennial and eternal phases. Throughout the entire book the sovereignty of God over the affairs of men is easily discerned. Furthermore, history has authenticated the accuracy of Daniel's prophecy in great detail. Given the accuracy of Daniel's prophecy we can conclude that the historic Roman Empire was not its final form. There is more to come! Six world empires have existed in the history of Israel and a seventh empire is on the near horizon. Daniel's prophecy is only concerned with the last five simply because by the time the prophecy is given, the first two--Egypt and Assyria--had largely passed from the scene. The last five include Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the Millennial Kingdom and Daniel has something to say about each one but it is Rome with which we are most concerned. Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece have all fallen to history. Although Roman dominion collapsed in A.D. 476, it has continued in a divided status. Daniel 2:40-43 and 7:7 predict a revival of the Roman Empire in the last days. The final form is predicted to be both strong and fatally flawed. It has been suggested by some that the prophecy of Daniel 2 is from man's perspective while the prophecy of Daniel 7 is from God's perspective. Daniel writes, "Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces" (Daniel 2:40). Later he writes, "After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns" (Daniel 7:7). The prophecy of Daniel 2:40 describes Rome initially whereas the prophecy of Daniel 7:7 describes Rome in its end-time revived or final form. Daniel 2:41-43 provide further insight into the final form of the empire. "In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay. As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery" (Daniel 2:41-43). The number ten is prominent in both Daniel's and John's prophecy--ten toes (Dan. 2), ten horns (Dan. 7), and ten horns and ten diadems or crowns (Rev. 13). Revelation 13 provides additional insight into the location of the empire in question although it does not provide much detail on how it will come into being and how it will transform into the worldwide global government the Bible says will devour and crush and trample down the whole world (Dan. 7). John writes, "Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems and on his heads were blasphemous names" (Revelation 13:1). Much can be said about the sea in this verse but suffice it to say it likely represents the area of the Mediterranean Sea--Rome, or what is today known as Western Europe and perhaps Northern Africa. Additionally, it should be noted these nations as an empire, touch Israel. Consider this in light of Daniel 9:26, "... and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary." Many prophecy teachers, myself included, believe the Antichrist will arise from somewhere within the European Union (EU) or a morphed form of it. Furthermore, this morphed form will ultimately devour the whole world under the leadership of the antichrist. It remains to be seen how this will unfold. Will the EU eventually become ten nations? Will ten kings arise from within the current 27 countries of the EU? Will the EU give rise to ten world regions from which the ten kings will arise and ultimately give their power to the Antichrist (Rev. 17:13)? Finally, how much of the world stage has to be set before the Tribulation begins? Time will tell and the closer we get to these things being fulfilled the sharper our focus will become. At some point in the near future, however, the church will be removed to heaven by way of the Rapture. Regardless of the final form the Roman Empire takes the Bible is clear he will arise from among the then kings although he, himself, will not be one of the ten kings. In his rise to power the Antichrist will subdue three of the ten kings. "While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it" (Daniel 7:8). The Bible seems to indicate the Antichrist will arise from obscurity. In other words, it's really a waste of time today to try and figure out his identity. He likely hasn't even come onto the political scene at this point in history but when he does he will likely begin a slow rise to prominence before finally blasting onto the world scene and assuming total control. "As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings" (Daniel 7:24). His assumption of total control will likely occur at the midpoint of the Tribulation Period. The first half of the Tribulation Period will likely witness his rise to total world dominance. To summarize, the Antichrist's rise to power out of obscurity and from among the ten kings. It is wise, therefore, to forego any needless speculation on the possible identity of the Antichrist. I believe what we are witnessing right now is a world moving and aligning with the prophetic scenario revealed in the Bible. Rome is slowly coming back into world prominence through the EU. Ultimately, we should expect ten kings (leaders) to arise either from within the EU itself or from ten world regions led by the EU. Time will tell exactly how all these things will work out. It is also important to remember the church will be removed prior to the Antichrist coming on the scene (2 Thess. 2:7). Although he'll present himself as a man of peace the Bible is clear he will ultimately prove to be the exact opposite. He will make war with the saints (Rev. 13:7), he will demand worship (Rev. 13:8), and he will have complete and total economic control over all nations and peoples (Rev. 13:16-17). But the question still remains, how might he rise to power? The Antichrist and His Rise to Power ~ A Possible Scenario:  A Rebuilt Temple Next to the Dome of the Rock (Artist Rendering) We know from Scripture the Antichrist will only come on the scene at some point after the ten kings have risen to power. There is much debate as to who the ten kings might be--political leaders, oligarchs, big tech, alien (demonic) hybrids, to name a few. The purpose of our present speculation assumes the ten kings, whoever they might be, have risen to power. Despite our speculation, the Bible is clear--these ten kings have one purpose and one purpose only. "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. These have one purpose and they give their power and authority to the beast" (Revelation 17:12-13). The question in my own mind is how do things get to the point the ten kings are willing to give their authority to the Antichrist? As I consider that question I am also reminded three of the ten or less than enthusiastic about giving up their authority but give it up they will--"While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it" (Daniel 7:8). One scenario for how things get to the point the ten kings arise to power and are willing to give their authority to the eleventh king is worldwide instability brought about by a combination of economic chaos and military conflict possibly including one or more nuclear exchanges. The former is coming into clearer focus with current events related to economic instability, the attack on the US dollar, and talk of Central Bank Digital Currencies. The latter is certainly not out of the realm of possibility considering the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine and Russia's Vladimir Putin threatening nuclear action. If the aforementioned wasn't enough, we also have China saber-rattling about Taiwan and aligning themselves with Russia in the present Russia-Ukrainian conflict. A combination of these events, especially the latter with a nuclear exchange, could certainly set up a scenario for the ten kings to rise to power. Ultimately, I believe, the ten kings will not fully give their authority to the Antichrist until near the midpoint of the Tribulation Period. This assumption makes perfect sense to me given the prophecy in Daniel 7:8, "... three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it." This scenario appears unlikely near the beginning of the Tribulation Period when the Antichrist is on a peace mission. The aforementioned scenario, particular military conflict leading to a nuclear exchange or at least the possibility of one, would likely require an envoy who's mission would likely be that of negotiation on behalf of world leaders (in this case, the ten kings) to try and bring peace and stability to the world. Assuming this envoy is successful, it just might be he is then dispatched to do what no man has, to date, been able to do--solve the Israeli-Palestinian problem. To add more amazement to this scenario, suppose this individual, in his role as envoy is able to not only bring both sides to the table in an agreement for peace and prosperity but is also able to negotiate an end to the status quo on the Temple Mount complex thus opening the door for many Jews to realize their dream of a third temple on the site of the previous two. "And he will make a firm covenant with the man for one week" (Daniel 9:27). "Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard on of the four living creatures saying with a voice of thunder, 'Come.' I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer" (Revelation 6:1-2). The long awaited period known as Daniel's 70th Week will have begun. Over the course of the next three and one half years, this peace envoy will continue to rise to power. The Bible predicts a short lived peace followed by wars, famines, death, and a host of other ills. But in all this Israel seemingly continues to enjoy peace but by the midpoint of the Tribulation Period he will have solidified his power and become the worst dictator the world has ever known. He will turn on the Jews and seek to destroy them. His time, however, will be brief. "You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth" (Daniel 2:34-35).   "Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will all be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). The Rapture of the Church. It is Christianity's most preposterous belief. The very idea that a Savior from the sky is coming to get a particular group of people, that dead bodies will be raised back to life, and those alive at that moment will be changed into a new body suitable for heaven before being snatch away from this earth seems more like the work of science fiction than unadulterated biblical truth. But this is exactly what the Bible teaches. Jesus promised His followers that he would return for them at some future time (see John 14:1-3). The Apostle Paul described this still future event when he wrote, "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" (1 Thessalonians4:15-17).
The purpose for this article is not to defend the doctrine of the Pre-Trib Rapture of the Church. I'll save that for a future article. In this musing I want to consider how the world might go about explaining the disappearance of millions of people worldwide. Some explanation will most certainly be offered and I suspect Satan will, in a very direct but deceptive way, join in on the explanation. If millions of people have disappeared and you are reading this article in your search to figure out what has happened, please don't let anyone deceive you. The explanation the world will offer you will not be true. And the deceptive intervention from those who might seem other worldly will be just as false, no matter how 'miraculously convincing' their explanation appears. The Rapture of the Church will occur at some future time just prior to the Return of Christ to this earth. This earth-shaking event will occur at seven or more years before Jesus' Second Coming. Since nearly every prophetic trend pointing to the soon start of that seven year period the Bible calls the Tribulation is accelerating and converging, we can only conclude the Tribulation is near. This can only mean the Rapture is close at hand. No one knows the day or the hour of the Rapture but the season of the Rapture is undoubtedly upon us. When it occurs the world will naturally be thrown into utter chaos. This will be in addition to whatever chaos is already occurring due to the ever increasing, accelerating and converging trends that are already in play. Those left behind will be looking for answers. Below are some of the possible answers you can expect and the one I believe will be at the top of the list of answers and will be convincingly offered to a world in chaos. There may certainly be additional possibilities not noted below. My list isn't meant to be exhaustive, only thought provoking. Some possible explanations (in no particular order)... 1. It wasn't the Rapture, because we're still here -- Many of those left behind will have heard about the Rapture from Christian loved ones and friends. They will immediately conclude it was the Rapture. But, among those left behind will be some pretty prominent "Christian" religious leaders and even pastors. They will opine the disappearances could not possibly be the Rapture because, after all, they are still here. 2. Secret military technology -- Kind of far fetched in my opinion but I can see world leaders suggesting secret military technology by a hostile adversary as the culprit behind the disappearances. 3. Quantum leap in the human evolutionary process -- I wouldn't be surprised if many, if not all of the New Age practitioners and gurus suggest this idiotic idea as the reason for all the disappearances. They may say something along the lines of the 'vibrations' of all those who disappeared were out of harmony with the rest (those left behind) and who will be leaping forward in the evolutionary process. Another twist could be that those who disappeared are the ones who have made a quantum leap in the human evolutionary process and those left behind will need to fall in line if they have any hope of catching up with their evolved loved ones. 4. UFO's, UAE's, aliens, and the alien mother ship -- Although I am listing this explanation last, I believe it will be at the top of the list of explanations for the disappearances. I believe world leaders will not only offer this as the explanation but they will be assisted by the appearance of UFO's and aliens which will be nothing more than demons masquerading as our alien brothers or maybe even our creators. They will 'arrive' via so called UFO's that will, for the first time, be clear and easily observable by those left behind. It will be one of the greatest deceptions pulled off by Satan--the father of lies. In fact, this may very well be the grand delusion God sends upon an unbelieving world or at least a part of it. The Apostle Paul writes, "For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness" (2 Thessalonians 2:11). God will use Satan and eventually the Antichrist as His instruments of judgment. Let's consider option 4 a little further. Hollywood, for example, has produced numerous movies in recent years about visitors from outer space. I'm convinced some of Hollywood's movie producers are getting their scripts from unseen sources. Could it be that Satan is using a mostly godless Hollywood to prepare the masses? Even more convincing than Hollywood is news reports of government confirmation of UFO's (or what the government refers to now as UAE's -- Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon) that began to trickle out a few years ago and is now reported with regularity. Here are a few news reports that have capture my attention and indicate to me the Tribulation Period is soon to start which can only mean the Rapture is close at hand. 1. I've seen the saucers: Obama weighs in as US interest in UFOs rises. This CBS 60 Minutes report appeared on May 20, 2021. "Obama was asked about the issue of UFOs during an interview on Tuesday, the former president confirming 'footage and records' of unidentified objects exist... What is true, and I'm actually being serious here, is that there's footage and records of objects in the skies, that we don't know exactly what they are, we can't explain how they moved, their trajectory,' Obama told CBS." https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/20/ufo-obama-cbs-60-minutes-america-alienswww.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/20/ufo-obama-cbs-60-minutes-america-aliens 2. 'Something's coming': is America finally ready to take UFOs seriously? This article appeared on February 5, 2022. "Last year was a breakthrough time for UFOs, as a landmark government report prompted the possibility of extraterrestrial visitors to finally be taken seriously by everyone from senators, to a former president, to the Pentagon... In June, the Pentagon released a highly anticipated report on unexplained aerial phenomena (UAP), the now preferred nomenclature by some in the extraterrestrial community, which found ore than 140 instances of UAPs that could not be explained." https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/05/ufos-america-aliens-government-report 3. Hundreds more UFO sightings included in latest report. It's not just 2022 and preceding years. 2023 has seen its fair share of UFO and UAE reports. On January 12, 2023, CBS News reported, "The office tracking reports of UFOs has added nearly 400 additional sightings to its catalog over the last year, either because of new sightings or older sightings discovered in existing files, bringing the total number of UFO sightings to over 500." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hundreds-more-ufo-sightings-included-latest-report/ 4. Could aliens be investigating us? It's more likely than you think. "Aliens may be sending us very small 'dandelion see' probes to gather information, according to a news article appearing in the March 28, 2023 edition of The Jerusalem Post. "Pentagon officials wrote in a document released earlier this month that it is entirely possible that aliens are vising our solar system and releasing tiny probes to perform small-scale reconnaissance missions like the ones the National Aeronautics and Spaced Administration (NASA) conducts on other planets." https://www.jpost.com/omg/article-735664 Although UFO's and other worldly visitors have been described by humankind going back millennia, the real uptick in UFO activity seems to have begun in 1947 and has continued to what we have read about, heard about, and witnessed today. I find the 1947 date interesting as it is one year prior to the rebirth of Israel in sovereign fulfillment of Isaiah 66:8. The modern Zionist movement--a religious and political effort that brought thousands of Jews from around the world back to their ancient homeland in the Middle East and reestablished the nation can be traced back at least as far as 1894. By 1947, I believe it had become obvious to Satan that God was about to fulfill His promises made in an everlasting covenant to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (see Genesis 12, 13, and 15). Since Satan is probably well aware of the coming Tribulation Period and the Rapture of the church that precedes it, it's no wonder that he and his minions would ramp up their spiritually deceptive practices of misleading men and women to believe the foolishness of aliens from outer space arriving via flying saucers or something similar. I believe what we are seeing today is yet another prophetic trend that is accelerating and converging with other prophetic trends all pointing to the to the fact the Tribulation Period is coming upon an unsuspecting world. I am fairly convinced that when the Rapture occurs, Satan and Company will be ready to further deceive the masses with a deluding influence explaining away the sudden disappearance of millions of people worldwide. I believe the Rapture will occur any moment. It could very well be the catalyst that catapults the world into the final form of the ancient Roman Empire with its 10 kings who ultimately give their authority to the Antichrist. But I also believe it's possible it may not occur until sometime after the world morphs into 10 geopolitical regions and the 10 kings begin to rise to power. The disappearances followed by the arrival of humanity's 'ancient space brothers' arriving to 'set things right,' might be the perfect scenario to bring in the "man of lawlessness" (2 Thessalonians 2:3)--the Antichrist himself--who rises from among the 10 kings and to whom the 10 kings give all of their authority. Will things work out this way? I'll admit, I am doing a lot of speculating so I'm not dogmatic about it. As I mentioned in a previous article, as the fog continues to lift, things will come into sharper focus. We will see things more clearly. In other words, time will tell. Of course, we may not be around to see it as the Rapture may very well occur right now! |
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