Awaken Bible Prophecy Update 10-26-22: Intertwined Destinies of Israel & Iran

The Middle East remains a cauldron of prophetic activity as we head into the last months of this year.  Israel continues to face hatred and conflict from many sides, while Iran propagates much of the hostility directed at its Jewish neighbor.  It has been said – rightly so – that Israel is the nation to watch for the final days countdown, since it is the Holy Land that God claims as His own.  Israel is the timepiece – literally God’s prophetic clock – that provides us with the milestones for determining when Christ will return.  If we want to know how close we are to doomsday midnight for the end of the world, we keep our eyes on Israel.  Likewise, if we want to understand how the final conflicts will impact Israel and propel the world into the Tribulation, we should watch Iran.  The two nations are inextricably linked from now to at least the initial stages of the Tribulation, and astoundingly, they will also be connected in the very latter days.

 

 

Transcript:

The Middle East remains a cauldron of prophetic activity as we head into the last months of this year.  Israel continues to face hatred and conflict from many sides, while Iran propagates much of the hostility directed at its Jewish neighbor.  It has been said – rightly so – that Israel is the nation to watch for the final days countdown, since it is the Holy Land that God claims as His own.  Israel is the timepiece – literally God’s prophetic clock – that provides us with the milestones for determining when Christ will return.  If we want to know how close we are to doomsday midnight for the end of the world, we keep our eyes on Israel.  Likewise, if we want to understand how the final conflicts will impact Israel and propel the world into the Tribulation, we should watch Iran.  The two nations are inextricably linked from now to at least the initial stages of the Tribulation, and astoundingly, they will also be connected in the very latter days.

 

This dynamic of these two very different countries with their opposing religions of Judaism for Israel and Islam for Iran is fuel to the fires of war that will soon erupt in their neighborhood of the Middle East.  Some of us believe that in addition to the definitively foretold Ezekiel’s War that a Psalm 83 War is a necessity as a prelude to that larger encounter.  Today I want to review why I believe Psalm 83 is a necessary war before Gog-Magog, and how it sets the stage for the elimination of Islam, yet also for the rise of Iran as a nation favored by God.

 

As some of you may know from having watched my previous Awaken Bible Prophecy Updates, what I like to do is provide context and effectively a step-by-step approach to my reasoning and conclusions.  Am I always right?  Of course not.  However, the fact of the matter is that not a single one of us who teaches Bible Prophecy will be correct in every detail.  God – being God – inevitably has surprises up His sleeve.  Also, just because a certain narrative has been the norm for many years doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily the way things will actually turn out.  It just may be that a contrarian approach to the thinking that “we’ve always done it this way” may provide a better explanation for how end times events will turn out.  I suggest that you keep an open mind on Bible Prophecy.  If any of us is too dogmatic, we may end up in the doghouse.  The pre-Tribulation Rapture is the exception to this.  The glorious appearing of Jesus Christ for His church is a sure thing.  The only issue is how long we have to wait until that imminent and marvelous Day.

 

We’ll explore these matters shortly, but first we’ll pray and read from God’s Word.

 

<PRAY>

Scripture

 

Jeremiah 49:34-39

34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.

35 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might. 36 And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of Elam shall not come. 37 I will terrify Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, declares the Lord. I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, 38 and I will set my throne in Elam and destroy their king and officials, declares the Lord.

39 “But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the Lord.”

Isaiah 19:23-24

23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

24 In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth,

 

 

Intertwined Destinies of Israel & Iran

 

Psalm 83 War

  • Everyone who follows Bible Prophecy knows about a major upcoming conflict known alternately as either Ezekiel’s War or the War of Gog of Magog
  • Because of a reference in Revelation 20:8 about Gog-Magog concerning the nations gathered at the end of the Millennium by Satan to attempt one final attack in overthrowing God, there are some folks who believe this war won’t occur until then
  • There are major logistical problems with this idea and I reject it
  • Without concerning ourselves with all the issues placing this war at that point creates, here are simply a couple such problems:
    • If this war is in the final days of the Millennium, following which God creates a New Heaven and New Earth, when would the prophesied 7-month clean-up take place, or more problematic, the 7-year burning of war implements?
    • Doesn’t God’s fiery remaking of earth cleanse it and take care of these issues?
  • That said, I believe this war must occur much sooner
  • However, again, there are is also the question as to whether its placement is inside or outside the 7-year Tribulation period
  • Because I have adopted the Alternative View of the first five Seals proposed by Bill Salus, I suggest that it will occur outside the OFFICIAL 7-year Tribulation period
  • What do I mean by OFFICIAL?
  • Under Salus’ Alternative View, there is nothing textual in the Bible which definitively states that all of the Seal Judgments initiated by the Lamb when He opens the scroll occur after what most prophecy experts deem as the OFFICIAL beginning of the 7-years, namely when Antichrist confirms the covenant with Israel
  • Thus, if there’s no textual correlation in this respect, then some of these judgments could theoretically occur prior to that OFFICIAL 7-year beginning milestone
  • As a result, the Salus Alternative View states that perhaps the first 5 Seal Judgments happen sometime after the pre-Tribulation Rapture in the Gap Period and prior to the covenant confirmation with Israel and Antichrist
  • Such a revised timing actually significantly helps the overall Tribulation logistical timeline
  • I won’t get into the rest of that today, but to understand it better I recommend the book The Next Prophecies by Bill Salus
  • For our purposes right now, the impact of this timing is that once the Rapture occurs, then in the subsequent Gap Period, the first 5 Seals are opened
  • This means that in the Gap Period Antichrist is revealed, horrendous wars come upon the earth, famine follows, and death with the subsequent deliverance of many unsaved souls are given over to Hades
  • In the course of these events, many saints arise, i.e. those who become true believers in Jesus Christ upon realizing the terrible mistake they’ve made in not accepting Him as Lord and Savior prior to this time
  • This leads to extreme persecution – I believe by the Catholic Church – as it consolidates power and becomes the ecumenical Harlot One World Religion
  • From this persecution arising as a result of the 1st 4 Seal Judgments, we see the martyred 5th Seal Saints gathered around the throne of God
  • Interestingly, they cry out “How long?” – questioning the timeframe in which this type of martyrdom will occur
  • If they were killed within the OFFICIAL 7-year Tribulation period, they would know how long
  • But, they don’t
  • This could very well indicate that they’ve died with the Gap Period, which is of an indeterminant length
  • Having set that stage, I think that Ezekiel’s War could very well be an integral part of the 2nd Seal wars – sadly one of many during that period
  • However, before all this happens, I think there’s a very good probability that the Psalm 83 War occurs, maybe even before the Rapture
  • Thus, Psalm 83 could be a war that we see before Christ appears for us in the clouds and takes us to the Father’s house
  • If so, boy will we know that all things are at hand and the end is near!
  • The questions become:
    • Why is this war crucial to the developments that will happen in its aftermath?
    • In fact, why is Psalm 83 a necessary war in order to pave the way for Gog of Magog?
  • One of the major problems – among many – that I have by placing Ezekiel’s War next on the prophetic schedule is because of Israel’s enemies that directly surround her
  • Israel as a nation is bordered by Arab-Muslim nations that hate her
  • Israel, in fact, also has an extremely hostile contingent within its very borders
  • Ezekiel 38-39, which describe the Gog-Magog War, gives no indication whatsoever that any of Israel’s hostile neighbors on her very borders participate in that war
  • Looking at the geopolitical landscape of today I don’t think that Hezbollah to Israel’s north in Lebanon, nor Hamas residing in Gaza to the west, are going away any time soon unless something radical happens
  • Yet, textually, we simply don’t see these hostile entities joining in the Gog-Magog coalition, so what happens to them?
  • Surely, given their hatred and the strength of their opposition fueled by Iran, if they were still prominent when Gog-Magog comes about, wouldn’t Ezekiel have mentioned them in his list of nations attacking Israel?
  • But, he doesn’t
  • Actually, of all the coalition nations in Ezekiel’s War, NONE of them border Israel
  • Don’t you find that odd?
  • I do
  • That signifies to me that something must happen to these surrounding nations to take them out of the picture for when Ezekiel occurs
  • It bothers me that everybody who says the Gog-Magog War is next – no one seems to address the issue of Hezbollah and Hamas
  • It’s like they don’t exist and aren’t part of the many problems that face Israel today
  • I’d like to suggest that if other Bible prophecy teachers think Ezekiel’s War is next, then they should give us the big picture as to how Hezbollah and Hamas disappear from the equation
  • My response is that the Psalm 83 War is the answer
  • Many people have looked at this psalm over the years and concluded that it’s a done deal, already having been fulfilled at the time of Israel’s re-founding immediately following May 14, 1948, or perhaps in the subsequent conflicts of 1967 and/or 1973
  • But, if Psalm 83 may have had a multi-part fulfillment up to 1973, why is it ironclad that a final fulfillment of it today is impossible?
  • The same players noted in the psalm are still in the field today
  • Don’t Hezbollah and Hamas want to accomplish exactly what the same nations attacking Israel in the past also wanted?
  • And what is that?
  • Look at what Psalm 83:2-5 says in this respect:


For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
    those who hate you have raised their heads.
They lay crafty plans against your people;
    they consult together against your treasured ones.
They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
    let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
For they conspire with one accord;
    against you they make a covenant—

 

  • The charter of Hamas states that Israel as a nation must be obliterated
  • By the way – With that as their motivation, good luck on the two-state solution
  • The slogan Hamas chants is: “Palestine from the River to the Sea!”
  • In other words, the very territory God granted Israel from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea is exactly what Hamas wants and will stop at nothing to achieve
  • Again, this is just as Psalm 83:4 says:

 

They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
    let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”

 

  • Hamas receives significant financial aid and weapons support from Iran, and from some estimates has up to 15,000 imported and homemade weaponized projectiles
  • In the same vein, so does Hezbollah
  • Credible estimates put the number of rockets and missiles in Hezbollah’s arsenal at around 150,000
  • Both Hamas and Hezbollah are continually digging elaborate tunnels to burrow under the border to enter and attack Israel
  • Their hostility is unbounded and nothing would keep them from entering the greater Ezekiel’s War – unless they can’t
  • That’s the point
  • Psalm 83 spells out that Israel eventually destroys the alliance of nations on her borders that have sought to annihilate her
  • What is the impact of this?
  • Simply that when these two major enemies of Hamas and Hezbollah are defeated, along with the other hostiles that included forces from Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt – the real loser is Islam
  • All these Arab nations call on Allah to defeat the God of the Bible
  • I’m sure to their utter dismay, Allah proves himself totally weak and useless as Israel gains the victory
  • Such a defeat for Muslims would result in great shame and the realization that their god may not even be worthy of their reverence and worship
  • Likely many Muslims would defect from the faith
  • This would initiate the beginning of Islam’s downfall into irrelevance
  • In the aftermath of this war, Israel would also gain greater land mass just as any victor in war tends to do
  • She will extend her borders into Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan
  • This gain in territory could very well be the reason that Israel becomes a nation without walls, bars, and gates as noted by Ezekiel 38:11
  • Logistically, for Israel to think she can dismantle these protective mechanisms, at least two conditions must be met:
    1. Winning the Psalm 83 War must create a massive sense of self-confidence, even to the point where Israel no longer believes that Iran is a threat
    2. More than likely, Israeli leadership must be so deceived, and perhaps the people in Israel themselves, that they think they are invincible – in other words, they place their confidence in themselves rather than in God
  • I also think that this war must occur with these resulting conditions happening over some period of time prior to the Ezekiel conflict – maybe at least a couple years

 

 

Ezekiel’s War

  • The text of Ezekiel 38-39 certainly implies that Israel exists in a condition of peace and safety prior to the Gog-Magog War – or at least, she thinks she does
  • Israel is prosperous, dwells securely, and resides without fear – since she has dismantled the walls, bars, and gates that were previously in place against her hostile neighbors
  • The implication is that Israel no longer has the perceived threat of hostility by any of the nations that surround her
  • Somehow in the intervening years Iran has also ceased to be a threat in Israel’s estimation
  • We’ll talk about this shortly
  • Timing is everything, and our speculations are simply that
  • The passage I read earlier in Jeremiah 49 is clear that Iran will suffer a major catastrophe that comes from the Lord
  • Actually, this devastation will be done to only half of Iran
  • The nation we know as Iran today is comprised of two ancient nations: Elam and Persia
  • The portion of Iran containing Elam is in the southwestern portion of the nation
  • Whereas, that part of Iran containing Persia is basically everything else north and east
  • It is against Elam that the Jeremiah 49 prophesy speaks
  • From this prophecy, here are the key points:
    • God will break the bow of Elam, i.e. He will remove that which gives them strength (v 35)
    • God will bring the winds from the four corners of the world against Elam and scatter its inhabitants around the world (v36)
    • God will cause great terror and dismay to come upon the Elam because of what He does to the nation (v37)
    • Because of God’s wrath against Elam, He will bring terrible disaster upon it (v37)
    • God will send the sword after all His enemies in Elam, meaning He will cause them to suffer a major defeat
  • There are a couple more crucial declarations by God pertaining to Elam, but let’s hold those back for a moment
  • We can see that the Elam portion of Iran is in for tough times in the days ahead
  • What might cause this awful result?
  • It just so happens that the Bushehr nuclear plant is located in the region
  • We know that Iran has been working diligently to create nuclear bombs so as to eradicate Israel
  • This doesn’t go over so well with the Holy One of Israel
  • In fact, it activates the Genesis 12:3 curse:

 

 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

 

  • This is why Jeremiah 49 will come to pass
  • What does Jeremiah say will happen?
  • Something major will occur in Elam that breaks its power, scatters the people around the world, and brings much shame to the nation
  • What if Israel finally decides it must act against the hostile threats of Iran and bombs Bushehr just like she did against the Osiraq nuclear facility in Iraq in 1981?
  • Such a crushing blow could certainly cause these prophetic statements to come to fruition
  • Again, the timing is in question, but what if this strategic strike by Israel occurred around the same timeframe as the Psalm 83 War?
  • What if that destruction of Iran’s perceived might is one of the factors leading to the sense of peace and security that Israel feels following that war?
  • Remember, the destruction of Elam results in only a portion of Iran being neutralized
  • What remains is essentially Persia from times past
  • It might take the Iranian leadership a couple years to lick its wounds, but the hatred would continue and only increase
  • This could be why Iran ceases to be a threat in Israel’s collective mind leading to the thought that she has peace and security
  • Then – finally – Gog of Magog comes along and proposes the means to gain revenge
  • Russia, Turkey, and Iran, i.e. Persia according to Ezekiel 38:5, assemble their final coalition for the massive attack defined by Ezekiel
  • We all know what happens in this war
  • For some reason Israel is completely without recourse in defending herself
  • Maybe that sense of security has caused Israel to completely let down her guard
  • Very likely the leadership in Israel contributes to this situation
  • FYI Israel has a fifth round of elections on November 1 – next week
  • Will that outcome contribute in some way to this scenario?
  • I think it will, although how that happens is another matter completely
  • Regardless, Scripture tells us definitively that God is the victor against impossible odds, and He gets the glory for conquering Israel’s collective foes
  • A major outcome of Ezekiel’s War is the total elimination of Islam
  • Aside from Russia as the nation of Magog, all the contributing members of this attack on Israel are Islamic countries
  • Even Russia has a large contingent of Muslims within its borders
  • When the God of the Bible defeats these nations, He is also striking a death knell against Islam and its god Allah
  • Psalm 83 was bad enough to defeat Allah and show him without power or strength
  • Now Ezekiel’s War comes along, and that’s the final blow
  • Ultimately it is the elimination of Islam which allows for the rise of Catholicism as the syncretistic, ecumenical One World Religion
  • Previous followers of Allah will flee to Catholicism, or to true Christianity which will be in opposition to the Vatican, and in which many who become true believers in Christ will perish as martyrs
  • Now, let’s return to Jeremiah and how the remainder of that prophecy could play out in the aftermath of Ezekiel’s War
  • The remainder of Jeremiah 49’s key points are:
    • God will destroy the leadership of Iran, i.e. the Islamic mullahs and clerics who were behind the desire to destroy Israel by nuclear annihilation that would have come from the Bushehr plant in Elam
    • Not only does God remove the Islamic leadership, but He promises that He will set His throne in Iran, somewhere in the territory of Elam – in other words, God will restore this territory that was affected by the possible elimination of the nuclear facility there
    • To cap things off, God will also bring back the inhabitants of the land who were dispersed when all this chaos and destruction occurred
  • Many of us are aware of the remarkable movement toward Christianity in Iran
  • One ministry that has been making huge inroads is Iran Alive, which broadcasts Christian TV 24/7 via satellite
  • A large number of people in Iran hate Islam
  • Because of Islam’s dark hold over the nation, Iran has among the world’s largest percentage of alcoholism and drug usage; suicide is rampant in Iran
  • When Iranians hear the Gospel, an amazing transformation takes place, and they are turning to the Lord Jesus Christ in droves
  • It has been said as a result of this that Iran will likely become a Christian nation in this generation
  • We’ve been talking about a major contributing factor to this probability of a Christianized Iran that results from the prophecy of Jeremiah 49 and Ezekiel 38-39
  • But wait! There’s more!
  • Remember the second passage I read earlier from Isaiah 19:23-24?
  • Here it is again:

23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

24 In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth,

  • Interestingly, the prior verses of Isaiah 19 deal with Egypt and its downfall
  • Isaiah 19:16-22 very likely addresses Egypt in the Psalm 83 War, which is another reason why Israel gains land mass following that conflict – in fact, Israel gains five major cities in Egypt which then end up speaking Hebrew (v18)
  • And here’s what’s really neat . . .
  • In the Millennial Kingdom – the 1000 years of Christ’s reign on the earth, Isaiah tells us that the peoples in the Middle East, from Egypt to Assyria will literally have a major highway to Israel that enables them to travel to Jerusalem to worship the Lord
  • When we take an ancient map of Assyria and overlay it to a map of the nations of today, guess what nation is part of Assyria?
  • If you guessed Iran, you win the prize
  • In fact, it is primarily the region of Elam that was part of Assyria
  • As the title of this Prophecy Update states, the destinies of Israel and Iran are indeed intertwined
  • The Scriptures in Isaiah and Jeremiah confirm what Iran Alive and others are saying in conjunction with what’s happening on the ground concerning the transformation of Iran into a Christian nation
  • I think that’s pretty cool
  • It just shows how accurate God’s Word is and why we can take Bible prophecy to the bank
  • What does all this mean for us?
  • Several things
  • It demonstrates the accuracy of Scripture – that we can indeed depend on it
  • What God says will happen – will happen!
  • When God says that He will keep true believers in Jesus Christ from the wrath to come – that is, He will keep us from the time of trouble which will come upon the whole earth – we can take comfort in His promise
  • Our hope is a sure thing
  • Looking at these prophecies I’ve been discussing today, I believe we can also take comfort in the fact that all of them must happen very, very soon
  • I’ve stated elsewhere that I think the OFFICIAL beginning of the Tribulation will coincide with Agenda 2030 – which also happens to coincide with the next Jewish Shemitah cycle which likely also coincides with the Jewish Jubilee
  • If this is the case, then the events I discussed that will happen in the Gap Period – namely the opening of the first 5 Seals – must happen a few years prior to 2030
  • If that’s the case, then if a Psalm 83 War is a reality, it must also occur a couple years before Jesus as the Lamb opens those Seals
  • And, if that also is true, then the Rapture must be very near indeed – without setting dates – but surely in no more than two years
  • This is why Israel is God’s prophetic timepiece
  • The purpose of the Tribulation is:
    1. For the redemption of Israel
    2. For God’s wrath and judgment to come upon the unbelieving world
  • True believers in Jesus Christ have no part in that
  • When we see what’s going on in the world and particularly with Israel, we can know that our redemption as children of God is nigh
  • God has lit the prophetic fuse
  • The countdown is at hand
  • I think it’s likely that from this point forward there will be a rapid increase of world events one upon another cascading into a crescendo
  • It’ll be as though the Mission Impossible theme is playing out right before us
  • Hang on
  • I believe it’ll be quite a ride
  • And keep looking up – that Day is almost upon us!

18 Responses to “Awaken Bible Prophecy Update 10-26-22: Intertwined Destinies of Israel & Iran”

  1. Reply RobinL

    Ok Gary, I watched this twice and still will have to go back with your transcripts to get the full meaning of your studies. Such detail, it’s worthy of a deep dive.

    I totally agree that God has surprises in store, His prophecies are crystal clear in hindsight but sometimes cloudy looking forward. Hs thoughts are not our thoughts so we simply don’t understand what He tells us, at times.

    Toward the end of your post, I was afraid you were going to say the Rapture could occur anytime between now and 2030 and that would make me sad indeed. Hearing it’s within a 2 year window seems far more realistic and certainly more comforting, although ultimately we have to be prepared for whatever His plan might be; for certain, every day draws us one day closer.

    I am sick to death of the wickedness that is exploding around the world. And it sounds like our ‘surprise’ before November 8 may be a nuclear attack in Ukraine/Russia or even here. I expect that the Lord will punish our nation further for Biden’s support of the new Israel/Lebannon (Hezbollah) maritime agreement. We are no friend to Israel. Heck, even Israel isn’t a friend to Israel.

    Maranatha!

    • Reply Gary Ritter

      Robin,
      I thought of suggesting in the video that folks may need to watch twice and/or read the transcript because – I agree – there’s a lot there to take in. I wanted to make sure I emphasized, given all this stuff on the horizon, that – in my estimation – for us as believers time is very short. I wrote an article probably more than a year ago now that appeared on Rapture Ready that shared my belief that we were still going to hang around for a while because of God’s need to make the American church uncomfortable, i.e. get off the fence. There were people who were distressed at my saying that because – as you know – the belief has been that we should already have been Raptured. I wish.

      In our Bible study we’re going through Genesis and did Chapter 6 Tuesday night. I read from 1 Enoch the extrabiblical info (Chapters 6-11) that really emphasizes the violence and depravity on the antediluvian earth. It was exceptionally wicked then – believe it or not maybe worse than today with all the cannibalistic Nephilim running around and the hybrid creatures (half-man/ half-animal) they spawned in their insatiable lust. I’m sure hoping we don’t have to get to the point of seeing all that before God takes us out of here.

      On the other hand, I just watched Maria Zeee with Karen Kingston: https://www.redvoicemedia.com/2022/10/maria-zeee-uncensored-karen-kingston-people-now-connected-to-the-demonic-realm-through-covid-19-injections-nanotech. It’s incredible what this (as the PATENTS themselves describe) AI parasitic nanotechnology is envisioned to be incorporated into – literally EVERYTHING. Absolutely astounding, and maybe our equivalent to the Nephilim generation in Noah’s days. I don’t know, but it’s all going down and very bad awfully fast.

  2. Reply RobinL

    Thank you for the link to the Kingston video, I’ll watch that.

    As to the Days of Noah similarities, there is one thing that will keep us from being as wicked as they were then and that is the Restrainer. No matter how bad it is, it can’t quite equal the Days of Noah for that reason. The types of evil (we have ‘new, improved’ technological sins to add to the demonic realm) must exceed even the Days of Noah and Lot. And we have so many more people on earth today, our world surely must outweigh the volume and mass of wickedness that existed back then,

    The idea that we could say “we should have been Raptured by now” is pretty audacious isn’t it?! According to who?! Clearly not God; it is His Rapture and Jesus is our Lord and Bridegroom. No worthy bride would barge in on her bridegroom and demand he marry her “right now and btw, what is taking so long?!”

    I heard a great message the other day that reminded us that Abraham and Sarah doubted God and His promise they would have their own son, and he would become a nation that would bless the whole world and be as numerous as the sands of the sea. They had to wait 25 years for that promise to be fulfilled, at a time when it seemed impossible for His promise to be kept. And as you know, through their impatience they caused lasting, global damage to humanity by trying to hurry God’s promise along. As improbable as it seemed to them, God kept His promise, according to His plan.

    The Rapture is analogous to Abraham and Sarah waiting for Isaac. As absurd as the Rapture seems to the world, it will happen. Satan knows it too, that’s why UFO activity is ramping up like never before. It is coming very soon. After all, what is another year or two in the scope of eternity?!

    Nevertheless, we are looking forward to His coming whenever He decides it’s time. Even today would be a good day!

    • Reply Gary Ritter

      Good points about the presence of the Restrainer and the bride. “Honey, I’m getting tired of wearing this wedding dress to bed every night. I can’t even wash it because you’re taking so long. Snap to it, buddy!”

  3. Reply Kim

    So many excellent points made in this article. I really appreciate the transcript since I learn better by reading and I can re read a sentence a few times to really absorb and understand it. I love how you break it down point by point too.

    I am continually perplexed by the doctrine of imminence concerning the Rapture though, it’s always bothered me. If there is a timeframe of events or stage setting for the Tribulation, then how is it possible the Rapture could happen at any moment? The Rapture would need to be in view prior to the stage setting so it could not have happened at any moment. It’s always said that nothing needs to happen before the rapture takes place but surely God has not chosen some random day that has no meaning. The fullness of the gentiles needs to be complete so it can’t happen at any moment if this needs to take place. Maybe God operating outside of time has something to do with it, but my pea brain struggles with this.

    • Reply Gary Ritter

      Somebody suggested a couple months ago that it would help her to follow the video and/or simply read by having the transcript, so I thought that was a good idea and have been adding it ever since. Glad it’s been beneficial to you.

      Regarding the imminency of the Rapture, we have to keep in mind God’s sovereignty. It’s His timeline, not ours, so any piecing together of the chronology is going to – by definition – be flawed, since we don’t have the mind of God. Paul thought Jesus could come back anytime in his day. At that point it certainly could have been possible since the NT wasn’t written to give people a sense of the chronology. Now that we’re this far along with the confluence of end times signs, we can see how things are shaping up, but like I said in the video, God is always going to surprise us. None of us is going to be right and piece it all together correctly. I think at some point we just have to accept that it’ll happen when God makes it happen.

      The fullness of the Gentiles is another very interesting piece of the puzzle. The general thinking is that it’s the number of Gentiles converted, i.e. the last one, but could it be similar to the “fullness of the Amorites” which was the fullness of their sin and depravity? There are always questions – LOL!

      • Reply Kim

        Oh, wow Gary, I have never heard that alternative stance concerning the fullness of the gentiles! That is very interesting and I will have to see what more I can find on that-thank you so much!

        • Reply Gary Ritter

          Frankly, me neither until I started thinking about it. Since nothing is new under the sun, I’m sure others have considered it before me. iy is an interesting twist on the subject, isn’t it?

  4. Reply Don

    I believe exactly as you do. Standby believers. This is right around the corner.

  5. Reply Rick H

    Wow the more I keep reading the more I’m convinced what I thought a year ago…that this decade will be the last for the church age…as for Agenda 2030 it seems Satan once again has walked right into fulfilling prophesy…too bad for him he does it a lot much to his dismay…I can’t wait to get out of here!

  6. Reply Rick H

    Wow after reading this I’m more convinced than ever what I thought a year ago…that this decade will be the last for the church age…as far as Agenda 2030 goes it’s another example of Satan’s agenda fulfilling prophesy much to his dismay…I can’t wait to get out of here.

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