What’s Next?, Who’s Next?, and Why!
God’s Timeclock for the Immediate Future
Dr. Roger G. Ford, Ph.D., P.E.
March 2018
Introduction
When we, as 21st Century Christians, wonder about our future, we should all focus on the simple realization that our future is with Jesus, wherever He is – in Heaven after the Rapture, in His Millennial Kingdom, or in the new Heaven and the new Earth for eternity. That’s what really matters.
But, we are creatures of this Earth, created by God as temporal beings limited by time and space even though we are truly immortal spiritually, every single one of us, believer or unbeliever! Yep, true! It’s not that we are destined to live forever. We all are to exist forever by definition, God-ordained for every human ever conceived from Adam to the last human ever born in the future. It’s really a matter of where our eternal existence will be! Either with Jesus, or in a place of eternal darkness, eternal punishment, eternal separation from God and everyone else. That is what makes being a follower of Christ, making Him our Lord and Savior, the logical, the wonderful, the only choice for our eternal dwelling place.
But, again, we are beings of time and space, unlike God, and our thoughts often turn to questions such as what’s next in the overall scheme of things. If our focus is on current events alone, and our myopic view is only on our immediate surroundings, then things seem to be getting better by the day. Paychecks have and will continue to increase because of lower taxes, higher wages, and increased perceptions of economic health for our lives, especially in Texas. If our focus is on the status of the world in relation to all that is going on currently, then our outlook is not good at all. Countries like Iran, North Korea, Syria, Afghanistan, Russia, China, and others can and do for many create a sense of uneasiness and fear for what might be coming soon. The probability of future war, or at least serious conflict involving many nations including the U.S. is high at present.
However, if our focus, as Christians, is on God and His Word, then we have a much different feeling about the future. In fact, the Word of God gives us great insights into what is to come in the very near future, and not many years into the future, perhaps even this year. The future is full of many things from a biblical perspective, most of them bad. But, the Christian will not be affected by the bad things once the Rapture occurs. And what could those insights really be? All one has to do is read, study, and absorb the Bible, both Old and New Covenants (should be ‘covenants’ and not ‘testaments’ because a testament is a temporary thing whereas a covenant is forever if it is with God) to gain understanding and insight. So, what comes next biblically?
What’s Next
As a student of Bible Prophecy, one learns that there is much to come in God’s Plan for mankind. The theme of the entire Bible, both Old and New Covenants, is the reconciliation of mankind back to a full, rewarding, and personal relationship with the Creator God. When Adam sinned, he destroyed that close relationship with God because he introduced a barrier between God and man – sin. Sin is Selfish-In-Nature (SIN) which is a condition every person ever born has at their core, except One – Jesus – who did not have an earthly father to pass along the sin nature. Jesus Christ negated the penalty of sin, took the entire amount of sin that mankind ever did or would do on Himself, died after living a sinless life and shed His precious blood to cover and pay for all of mankind’s sins, then conquered death itself by being resurrected from the dead to life everlasting as the first example of what all of mankind can do.
We can, and some do, accept what Jesus did on the cross, the result of which is salvation and eternal life (Romans 10:9&10). But, what of the 90% of the rest of mankind that do not accept Jesus as Lord and Savior? They all get the chance to accept Christ, for certain, because God is not a respecter of persons and allows all to make the choice. Just how, we do not know, so don’t even try to figure that one out. Just trust that God works that out somehow because He knows the hearts of everyone.
God chose a people from which He would bring the Messiah to the world to save them and restore a relationship with. Those chosen people are the Jews. Yes, Jesus was and is still a Jew! Does that make you wonder why the Jewish people are discriminated against? Why antisemitism is so prevalent today? Simply because those that reject Christ as Lord and Savior do not like Jesus’ nation, even many biblically illiterate Christians fall into that trap because they “blame” the Jews for crucifying Jesus! But God never has and never will give up on His chosen people. Genesis 12:3 says, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Is this a blessing forever? Genesis 17:7 says, “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.” Just to make sure that the New Covenant supports the Old, Luke 1:55 says, “as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.” God’s promises, His covenants, are forever. So, what about the future for those Jews left behind after the Rapture?
The Rapture
The Rapture? Yes, that which is the very next thing to occur in the biblical timeframe and sequence of End Time events! Those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, have humbled themselves and repented of all their sins, asked for forgiveness for those sins from the one Who died in their place, will be taken away to be with Jesus before He brings His Wrath on the Earth! Many questions arise at this point. Why would God bring His Wrath to the Earth? The answer lies in that love God has for the Jewish people. Isaiah tells us in chapters 40 through 43 that God loves the Jewish people with an everlasting love despite all their idolatrous and disobedient ways. Then Jeremiah tells us in Jeremiah 30:7, “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.” What day is that? The Tribulation of Daniel chapter 9 and Revelation chapters 6 through 19. The purpose of the Tribulation is to “wake up” the Jews, and also the Gentiles, to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. How does God do this? Through tremendous wrath and destruction and death over a period of seven years. Apparently, it takes extreme measures to get most peoples’ attention to the important things in life. I think we all would agree to that. But, to realize that this life is very temporary, we are all immortal beings, and eternity is a long, long time, we need a stern, brutal, deathly wake-up call. God’s Wrath supplies that call in the “Last Days” or the “End Times” or the “Tribulation”, and those “Last Days” are looming large today!
The next question is whether we, as Christians, have to go through the Tribulation or part of it before the Rapture can occur. Since we have already “awakened” to Jesus as Lord and Savior, we do not have to experience God’s Wrath in the Tribulation because of the Rapture. John 14:1-3 says, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” Jesus said this to His disciples just prior to His crucifixion to assure them that those that have died in Jesus and those who are alive in Jesus will be taken away to Jesus before the Tribulation. That is the Rapture right there in the book of John!
How do we know we, true Christians, will not see tribulation in the form of the Wrath of God in the End Times? Ephesians 5:8 says, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light”, and 1 Thessalonians 5:5 says, “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” Zephaniah 17:14 & 15 says, “The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.” But 1 Thessalonians 5:4-5 testifies, “But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.”
And then, since we are not children of the darkness but children of light, God’s Wrath is NOT for us but for those who do not know Christ as Lord and Savior. We have already come alive in Christ and in no need for the Wrath of God! As a result, 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up (“harpazo” which means the Rapture) together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”, and 1 Corinthians 15:50-53, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
Since the Rapture is a “sign-less” event, meaning there is no precursor, no warning of its arrival, we are to be sober (diligent) and watchful, ever expecting it to happen. But, there are many prophecies that have not yet happened that could only happen after the Rapture leading into the Tribulation. We take those prophecies that answer the “who” questions next.
Who’s Next?
If the Rapture is a “sign-less” event, and we are not children of darkness that deserve the Wrath of God since we believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and all of the prophecies left to come to pass deal with the End Times, the Tribulation, the End of Days, then who is next on the Wrath of God schedule? It is reasonable and demonstrable that all End Times prophecies have to do with Israel since the end of this “Age of Grace” that we live in today will cease when the Tribulation ends with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ as Lord of lords and King of kings. We learn from the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ (a singular “Revelation”, not “revelationS”) that there is to be an Antichrist, a “king of the world” over the Revived Roman Empire based in Europe, who will dominate and rule all countries on the Earth. Try to look at this truth from today’s perspective. What challenges the mind is the realization that no one man today has even a small chance of ruling over all the countries of the world with Islam dominating over 50 of the approximately 196 countries (over 25%), present in over half of the countries of the world, and comprising 24% of the world’s population. Islam would never bow to a king or submit to a dictator unless he were a Muslim, and the Antichrist will definitely NOT be a Muslim. The Antichrist is a self-proclaimed deity in and of himself, deluded and obsessed, of course, but not a Muslim. The False Prophet’s main job is to get the world to worship the beast or the Antichrist, so being a Muslim would be impossible. Something or several somethings must happen before an ego-maniacal antichrist can rise to power. What are these things? The Bible points to four specific events that I believe occur after the Rapture but before the start of the Tribulation, that will set up the world for the Antichrist’s rule, what I call “In-Between” prophecies.
First, Isaiah 17:1, “The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.” Take a look at Damascus today through the internet photographs available. Most if not all of the city is a ruin now, but there is still a city there. The civil war in Syria, fomented and maintained by the maniacal ruler there, Bashar Hafez al-Assad, has continued to destroy and kill his own people with the help of Russia and Iran. Recent incursions into Israel from Syria through at least one Iranian-controlled drone strike has raised the specter of an Israeli-Syrian war which could easily result in the total destruction of Damascus and much more of Syria possibly through the use of tactical nuclear weaponry from Israel. Small nuclear devices create small radiation clouds that could be timed to pass relatively harmlessly over the Saudi Arabian desert. Watch then, believer, even though this could easily occur and probably will after the Rapture.
Second, the prophecy of Elam in Jeremiah 49:34-37, “This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah: This is what the LORD Almighty says: “See, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might. I will bring against Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven; I will scatter them to the four winds, and there will not be a nation where Elam’s exiles do not go. I will shatter Elam before their foes, before those who want to kill them; I will bring disaster on them, even my fierce anger,” declares the LORD. “I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them.” OK. Where is Elam? The Persian Gulf lies between Iran and Saudi Arabia. There are many oil reserves on both sides of the Persian Gulf, and Iran and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates all have a part in their retrieval. But, also, on the northwestern side of the Persian Gulf is Bushehr, the location of most of Iran’s nuclear laboratories, research facilities, and nuclear reactors. Iran is a nuclear weapon threat and the chief backer and financier of terrorism in the world, who also helps countries like North Korea and organizations like Hezbollah threaten the U.S. and Israel. The Jeremiah prophecy points to the possibility that Israel will be the agent God uses to accomplish the destruction of Elam. The disaster brought by God that seems to scatter Elam exiles like those running from the after effects of a nuclear blast? Probably a tactical nuclear device from Israel which would end Iran’s nuclear threat and make Iran even more dependent on Russia than they are today. We’ll see why with the third prophecy.
Third, Psalm 83 is a psalm of Asaph, a Levite and Temple choir director, a psalm of lament that describes Israel’s close-in enemies that seek her destruction. Verses 4 says, “They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.” Sounds a lot like today, doesn’t it? The countries in this coming war, that God will be prominently seen as the reason for their defeat in protection of His chosen people Israel, are Edom (Southern Jordan), Moab (southern Syria), Philistia (Gaza and Hamas), Ammon (Southern Syria), Gebal (Coastal Syria), Hagrites (Central Syria), Tyre (Lebanon and Hezbollah), Assyria (Northeastern Syria), Amalek (Eastern Egypt), and Ishmaelites (Western Saudi Arabia). All these enemies border Israel and they all will be destroyed by God so that the world will know that God’s promises to defend Israel are true and current, even though written about in the Old Covenant well over 3,000 years ago. Verses 13 – 18, “O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind. As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire; so persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm. Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O Lord. Let them be confounded and troubled forever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish: That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the Most High over all the earth.” The result of this war will be Israel gaining all of the land God promised them in the first place (Genesis 15:18 and Joshua 1:4) which results in “peace and safety” in Israel, a pre-requisite for the next prophecy.
The fourth “In-Between” prophecy, those prophecies probably occurring between the Rapture and the Start of the Tribulation taking three years or more, is the Ezekiel 38 and 39 war. This specifically documented war involves Israel’s enemies located further away than those defeated by God in the Psalm 83 war. Certain conditions for this devastating war are: “After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them” (Ezekiel 38:8); and, “Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates” (Ezekiel 38:10,11). Those of the invading armies will wait until the Psalm 83 war effects smooth out (maybe a few months to a year) and Israel is feeling safe from their close-in enemies because God defeated them and gave to Israel all of their land to dwell safely in. It is at this time, and after Israel has developed further natural resources such as shale oil in addition to the massive natural gas fields off their coast, that Russia (Gog and Magog) will come to “take a spoil” (“To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land” – Ezekiel 38:12). Russia (Gog and Magog) is aligned with other nations in this invasion of greed that God initiates.
Ezekiel 38:3-6 says, “And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.” These verses tell us that Gog is a prince or leader of Meshech (Moscow) and Tubal (Tobolsk) or Russia, and his alliances will be drawn by God as if hooks were in their jaws to Israel to face God’s Wrath. Russia’s alliances are all Muslim countries – Persia (Iran), Ethiopia (South of Egypt), Libya (Northern Africa), Gomer (Western Asia Minor – part of Turkey), and Togarmah (Eastern Asia Minor – part of Turkey).
And, what happens when this massive invasion takes place in the mountains of Israel? Ezekiel 38:21-23 says, “And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man’s sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.” God will preserve and protect His chosen people all by Himself. The world will know that God Himself has done this, not just Israel. All of Israel’s most dangerous enemies will be removed from this Earth no longer able to intimidate or attack Israel ever again.
Why?
Prophecy is always fascinating. Almost a third of the Bible was prophecy at some time, many prophecies having already come to pass proving the accuracy and infallibility of God’s Word. What is also fascinating is that God always has a purpose for letting us know the future, the timing of the events, and the “why” of the prophecies. God wants us to be wise, knowledgeable of His methods, and aware of His expectations, because our purpose in life is to glorify Him. It is not nor has it ever been about us. It is and has always been about God!
So, why God’s Wrath? Some say God is Love, and they are absolutely correct. But God is also Holy which is another way to say He is without sin, is intolerant of sin, and will judge sin whenever and wherever it occurs at His Will and Whim. Why? Because God is Holy, Sovereign, Omnipotent (all powerful), Omnipresent (everywhere), and Omniscient (all knowing). Also, God desires that all men come to Him for salvation from sin (1 Timothy 2:4, “This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”).
God is the preserver, defender, and provider for all His people, especially Israel. Does God want His chosen people to come to the Messiah, their Messiah, for salvation? Of course. The Bible is very clear on this point. So, what does God have to do to “wake up” the Jews to Christ, not to mention all of the selfish, self-reliant Gentiles in the world as well? First, tell them what is coming soon on all the Earth – God’s Wrath against all the ungodly. There are many verses in both the Old and New Covenants addressing this fact. God’s purpose is to show all of humanity that He is the only hope that anyone has to escape the eternal punishment reserved for those who reject God’s salvation through Jesus Christ. He is the only way to get sins forgiven, covered by His shed blood on the cross. His Lordship over mankind’s lives is the only way to please God through the gift of His Holy Spirit. There is no other way. (Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”)
First, let’s look at the “why” of the Rapture. Those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, committed themselves to serving Him and humbly putting self aside, will be raptured, those already passed from this life and those still alive caught up to be with Jesus. At that moment, all believers will receive a glorious new body like Jesus’ glorified body, immortal, powerful, beautiful. The reward of eternal life begins with being with the Creator God, Jesus Himself, and that life has no end, ever.
Now, the “why’s” of the four In-Between prophecies. Number one is the destruction of Damascus. The “why” for this is simply to show Israel’s enemies that judgment is coming from God and that judgment is just beginning.
The number two “why” is the destruction and devastation of Elam. I would not be surprised if the first two of these In-Between prophecies happen at the same time because they almost certainly involve nuclear weapons. Since we have not seen a nuclear weapon utilized in a war since 1945, I believe that God has prevented them form being used until His people can be removed from the Earth. So, after the Rapture when God’s people are gone, nuclear weapons are going to be available for both God and man to use against the absurdities of our present day. Destruction of Elam’s (or Iran’s) nuclear capabilities will enrage Israel’s greatest enemy, Iran governed and led by Satan. Remember that Iran was part of Hitler’s “master race” lie in WWII where Jews were considered inferior due to evolution. That puts Israel back in the crosshairs.
Number three in the In-Between prophecies was the Psalm 83 war. The “why” of this significant war is to show the world that God always keeps His promises despite the Replacement Theology of the world today (Israel is no longer important, the Church has inherited all of God’s promises). God makes a promise to always love and protect Israel, and He will always keep that promise. The enemies close-in to Israel will be the first examples of this fact about God. Over the years, even over the centuries, ever since Israel was a nation going back to Joshua leading the Israelites into the Promised Land in about 1400 B.C., Israel has had to fight off the pagan nations, those opposed to the God of Israel, the Holy One of Israel, the One true God. But, this Psalm 83 war will show most of the world that God cares for Israel and will show it by defeating an overwhelming number of foes, very similar to the 1967 war, but this time totally successful by eliminating those opposed to God and Israel close in to Israel itself. The message is clear. God is for Israel, has always been, will always be. And, God blesses those who bless Israel and curses those who curse Israel.
Number four of the In-Between prophecies is the Ezekiel 38 and 39 war, the Gog Magog war. The purpose, the “why” of this war is actually given in the Scripture itself, King James version, which is the most accurate translation from the Hebrew original text. Ezekiel 39:1-7 says, “Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the Lord. So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.”
Did you see it? God says he will not only devastate the armies on the mountains of Israel and leave but a sixth, but also to those that dwell in the isles, meaning those elsewhere all over the world. And just who are those people? The militant Muslims that hate Israel. What this means is that Islam will not be a barrier for the Antichrist any longer. This Gog Magog war sets up world conditions for the Antichrist to rise to power, and he does that exact thing through a peace treaty involving Israel. Daniel 9:27 says, “Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week” which refers to the Antichrist being the starting gun for the Tribulation. But, contrary to popular belief, I think that the treaty, the covenant with Israel is not to protect Israel from the world, it is, instead, to assure the world that Israel and Israel’s God will stop devastating the world’s countries and peoples. This would be a true peace treaty that essentially leaves Israel alone, but allows the Antichrist to take control as leader of the world to repair and rebuild after the massive loss of property and life from the Gog Magog war. This enables the Tribulation to begin at the signing of this “peace” treaty.
Conclusion
What do we gain from this sort of thinking? One thing is the assurance that God is in control and we have nothing to fear. Another aspect of this knowledge is the realization that time is indeed short, and the time for leading as many to Christ is now! By knowing the “what’s next”, we can prepare our minds, hearts, and spirits to conform with God’s Will so that we will be assured of greater rewards in Heaven after the Rapture. By understanding the “who’s”, we can see a glimpse into God’s plan for the Jews and the rest of mankind at the end of the Age of Grace. It is comforting to know that the God of the Universe cares for each and every human being regardless of race or gender or socio-cultural-religious atmosphere they were raised under. All have the chance to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ prior to the end.
And last, as students of the Word of God, we can and should understand the “why’s” of all of the End Times events. God is not a monster or a vindictive enemy of man. God is indeed Love, but He expects to be honored and worshipped and praised because He is Creator, the very reason we have life in the first place. So, be grateful for your life, be eternally praising God for salvation, and be ready to share the hope that is in you, 1 Peter 3:15, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” Share Jesus with everyone. Be bold because time is short. But remember to always be grateful, kind, gentle, and loving in your manner of persuasion, because some will hear and receive, but some will not. Just give the Holy Spirit a chance to complete what you have stirred in the hearts you meet. God Bless.