Search this site

This website concerns a very different pre-trib rapture view, one which is largely made possible by a different understanding of the Seven Sealed Book, spoken of in The Revelation. This website concerns God's coming judgment upon this world and a preceding event that is far bigger than anything that has happened since Jesus came the first time—His return for the rapture of the Church. Closely connected with this, it also concerns the Seven Year Tribulation Period and a pre -tribulation or "pre -trib" rapture view that is very different from the common pre-trib view and the other popular views (mid-trib, post-trib, and pre-wrath). It is a view that is largely made evident by a different understanding of the Seven Sealed Book or Scroll spoken of in Revelation 5:1, an understanding that I believe will be seen to be a major key to unlocking the mysteries of The Revelation and other last days' prophecies. For those new to this site or just starting to delve into their own study of the last days, there are some helpful directions further below. Unlike most websites, this work is the complete text of a book, so I would recommend reading it as such (especially what is found in THE KEYS ) so that everything will be understood in context. As to my background, I grew up with the common pre-trib view and quite naturally accepted it. While the title of my work would indicate that I no longer agree with the whole of that view, I still embrace the bottom-line of it that Jesus can come for the rapture of the Church at any moment. Now, I just come to this conclusion by some different understandings. When young, I never questioned the view I was hearing and probably never would have if it had not been for some of the mixed signals I received from the scholars who championed it. One of those mixed signals relates to the things Jesus warned His disciples of in the opening of His Olivet Discourse (e.g., Matt. 24:4-11). As a pre-teen, I remember listening intently to preachers speak of how the "wars and rumors of wars" and "earthquakes in divers places" and other things that He spoke of had been being fulfilled and were being fulfilled even in our day. In my mind, it easily seemed to be so. But, in time, I discovered that the prevailing "scholarly" position of the pre-trib view is that what Jesus here warned of did not even pertain to us of the Church Age, but to future Jews who would go through the Seven Year Tribulation Period. I have remained unable to grasp that there has not been any true fulfillment of these things and won't be until sometime yet future . Cons ider my Appendix #4 . Another of the mixed signals that I received related to something else Jesus spoke of in His Olivet Discourse about one being "taken" and the other being "left" (e.g., Matt. 24:40-41). This is easily the first thing I remember hearing preachers in my past point out about the rapture. In my thinking, what they would say always aligned perfectly with what Jesus said. But, again, I found that the prevailing "scholarly" position was that this is not what Jesus was talking about at all, and further, that He did not even speak about the rapture in His Olivet Discourse. I beg your pardon if this seems a little too "country," but I'm here reminded of something else I grew up with, a saying that goes like this: "That dog just won't hunt for me." An understanding of Jesus' discourse that will hold up is the particular focus of my PROPOSITION K . Later, as I began to have more questions than answers, I found myself studying Scripture much closer and discovering things that I never saw brought out in any of the popular views. In the end, I came to the conclusions that now make up this website. As I pointed out earlier, one of these conclusions is the bottom-line of the common pre-trib view. Whatever one's first impressions may be of my work, it aligns with the pre-trib position (even the "scholarly" one!) that Jesus can return for the rapture of His Church at any moment—even before the reader finishes this sentence. I would now like to invite you to prayerfully consider a few of the things that I just alluded to that have not been brought out in any of the popular views. I trust that by these the need will be seen to take yet another look at what God has seen fit to reveal to us in His Word about what lies ahead. First of all, by way of a question that has long intrigued many, have you ever wondered where the United States fits in Bible prophecy? Relating to a prophecy in Revelation 8:6-13, which hardly receives due attention (see PROPOSITION 3 ) , did you know that there is support here that the Americas will not be in the picture of the Seven Year Tribulation Period? It is needful to realize that this seven year period is actually Daniel's 70th Week, the last week of years in Daniel's Seventy Weeks' prophecy (Dan. 9:24-27). If you are familiar with this prophecy ( click here if not ) , you will know that what is in the Americas was not in the picture of the fulfilling of the first 69 weeks, as what is in our Western Hemisphere had not in that time been discovered. This dovetails with a fact has often been put forth concerning Christ's Church, as it too was not in the picture of the first 69 weeks. That such an early first-century setting could once again come into being for the fulfillment of the final week is certainly a huge and captivating thought, is it not? Though huge, it should not be overly surprising to find that God is going to effect something comparable to a WORLD STAGE RESET prior to the fulfilling of Daniel's 70th Week. In tune with the foregoing, such a reset would bring the world's focus to bear upon Israel and the lands of the Bible days—ONCE AGAIN—AS THE CASE WAS FOR THE FIRST 69 WEEKS. O n a different note, but relating to what I have just been drawing attention to, have you ever wondered how that "every eye" (Rev. 1:7) on the face of the earth will be able to simultaneously see Christ at His Second Coming or Second Advent? Hint: It has nothing to do with His being seen in this manner by modern technology, televisions, or cell phones. SPOILER ALERT! See SPECIAL OBSERVATION near the bottom of PROPOSITION 6 . Changing directions, let me call your attention to that event Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24:29-31, which begins, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall..." Have you ever given much thought to the similarities between what Jesus here said and what John saw with the opening of the 6th Seal (Rev. 6:12-7:17)? Luke's parallel account of what Jesus said even reads like a paraphrase of that event (cp. Lk. 21:25-27 with Rev. 6:12-17). Question: Just what is it that the people see with the opening of the 6th Seal that causes them to exclaim to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb " (Rev. 6:16)? Interestingly, what Jesus spoke of in the aforementioned Matthew 24:29-31 reference supports that what they are seeing is the appearance of "THE SIGN of the Son of man in heaven." Because He says here that He will be seen "with power and great glory" (vs. 30), all have interpreted this to be of His Second Advent, but is it? Suffice it for now to say that whether it be on the order of a glimpse for a "sign " appearance or at the time of His Second Advent, the NEXT TIME Jesus is seen, He will be seen "with power and great glory"! Looking again at Matthew 24:29-31, what about Jesus' use of that word "after" in His opening, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days..."? This is something that all who defend the post-trib view have seized upon, which is quite understandable, especially if the tribulation that Jesus is here speaking of is that of Daniel's 70th Week. But is it? If it wasn't for what we find in The Revelation, especially relating to the 6th Seal, I might never have had this question. BUT, WE HAVE THE REVELATION! Moreover, relating to the prior seals and how they connect with other things of which Jesus spoke, the testimony of history supports something quite different than what is usually put forth. Changing directions one more time, let me call your attention to Revelation 11:2-3, where we find the first mentioning in the New Testament of two 3-1/2 year timeframes. By these timeframes and the context, we know that what John begins to write of at this time connects with that seven year period of Daniel's 70th Week. I can almost hear someone ask, "Is there any such evidence as to where in The Revelation this week of years will actually begin?" It could certainly be supposed that this would be indicated by something showing that the Antichrist has confirmed his infamous seven year covenant with Israel that he is prophesied to make (Dan. 9:27). But, is there any evidence of this to be found? I submit that there is, right before our very eyes. In Revelation 11:1, the verse just before t he mentioning of those timeframes that I just pointed out, John is instructed thus: "Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein." Question: Just because "worship" is going on at this time in "the temple of God," does this mean that it is God who is being worshiped? My mind goes to that "man of sin" and "son of perdition" Paul spoke of in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Of this man, he wrote the following: "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God " (2 Thess. 2:4). Has something been being missed here? Yes, and more than this. Curiously, what I have put forth above has not been factored into the common pre-trib view, nor the other prevalent views. The consequences of such oversights can easily be the misinterpreting of many scriptures, especially by those who try to defend the common pre-trib view. What's more, I suspect that this has often resulted in this view being rejected in favor of one of the other views. Yet, Scripture consistently supports that "bottom-line" of the common pre-trib view that Jesus may come for His Church at any time. The goal of my work is the setting forth of understandings that will truly align with what has been revealed to us in Scripture about the last days and the rapture. These understandings make for a rapture view that is different from the common views, a view that I believe to be so solid and compelling that the common views will have to be rethought or abandoned. Where to from here? My encouragement would be for the reader to be obedient to God's counsel in what I embrace as my life Scripture (Pro. 3:5-6) and to be sensitive to the "Spirit of Truth" concerning "all truth " and especially of the "things to come" (Jn.16:13). FOR NEW VISITORS Because most who discover this website will do so as the result of a search concerning its subject matter, I have worded it in a way that supposes that the reader will be somewhat familiar with the subject. However, I have not forgotten about those less familiar or those who probably would have never known about this site if they had not known me. If this is you, please study the page I have entitled, TO THOSE WHO KNOW ME . For those who become curious concerning how and when this differing view came to be, consider my original BOOK PREFACE and BOOK INTRODUCTION . Anything h ighlighted in red is a link, and all of these (like the navigation links) are internal to this site. Click on the link or touch it if you have a touch screen, and the link will open. Depending on the device and other technological issues (ugh!), I have sometimes seen navigation delays, so please be patient! Since I again made mention of my book, I would like to reinforce that it (and much more) is what now makes up this website. Because of this and misgivings about merchandising, I have chosen to make hardcopies of my book no longer available. There are also no solicitations or advertisements connected with this site, nor will there ever be. I have been much delighted to live in a time when I can provide my life's work freely to anyone who may be helped by it. In my heart and mind, this website belongs to God, and as long as He enables me, I will ever be at work seeking to make it more what He would have it to be, all for the cause of Christ and His Kingdom purposes. For those who may have never had an interest in rapture views, it is hoped that my work will still be found to be rewarding, for it is about more than a view, it is a Bible study. It must be realized that a correct understanding of what the Bible teaches about the timing of the rapture (relative to other things/not date setting) is essential to correctly understanding much of what it teaches about other aspects of the last days. Moreover, the importance of being ready for the rapture exceeds (by far!) anything else of importance relating to this present world, as it could happen at this very moment. I have divided the main elements of my different view into 36 propositions or key truths that bear upon the timing of the rapture. These propositions are the headings for 36 of the main chapters in this website and are shown in THE KEYS sections of the menu. A survey of the list of these propositions (A-Z and 1-10 ) wi ll give you a bird's-eye view of my understandings. A study of the chapters will be like getting a bug's-eye view of them. Finally, if you find some of what I've spoken of in this introduction to be difficult to grasp in your first visit (or second or third!), don't give up or be too hard on yourself. Everything is explained more fully in the chapters, so go easy on yourself, at least for now! In the menu, you will also find other helps, often expressed from different angles. Personally, I would recommend starting with PROPOSITION A , which is like the true beginning. I hope you will proceed prayerfully in your quest for the truth and that what you find here will be of help to you in better understanding what God has revealed to us about these last days in which we live. bACK tO top the keys part i INTRODUCTION

The 5th and 6th trumpets will complete the stage of the Bible lands for Daniel's 70th Week to begin... The preparations for Daniel's 70th Week will become complete during the 6th Trumpet period. bACK tO TOP PART 11 HOME next KEY PROPOSITION 6 In accord with what we have considered to this point, while the time of the last days' Day of the Lord judgment will commence the same day that the rapture occurs, Daniel's 70th Week will not commence until everything is readied and the Antichrist confirms his prophesied seven year covenant with Israel (Dan. 9:27). From another angle, if the rapture were to occur today, it is not necessary (according to Scripture) that the Antichrist confirm his covenant with Israel tomorrow. Nor is this likely, for with all that will happen on the day of the rapture, some amount of time would seem to be necessary for things to stabilize somewhat upon the earth and to fully prepare the world's stage (especially as it relates to the lands of the Bible days) for Daniel's 70th Week to formally begin. Just such an amount of time is spoken of in The Revelation. First of all, in his account of the 5th Trumpet and first "woe" (Rev. 9:1-12), John speaks of a five month period of time (vss. 5 and 10). According to the chronology of The Revelation and what he writes concerning when this woe will be "past" (vs. 12), these five months will occur prior to the sounding of the 6th Trumpet (vs. 13) and also prior to the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week, of which nothing is shown until chapter 11. Whereas the locusts he describes (9:3-10) will torment people for these five months, the earth itself will have this time to stabilize somewhat from the preceding cataclysms. Also, it's not hard to envision such a time frame facilitating the rise of the Antichrist to power. While he may not hit the world's stage in all his dark glory on the day after the rapture, those left behind will begin to see his rise to power, and within as little as a matter of months, his infamous covenant with Israel will be ratified. Next, in his account of the 6th Trumpet and second "woe" (Rev. 9:13-21), John speaks of four angels "which are bound in the great river Euphrates" being loosed. He says of these angels that they were prepared "for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men" (vs. 15). Just how this time frame may or may not overlap into the first 3-1/2 years of Daniel's 70th Week we do not know for sure, but it is certainly of some relevance. Further, whatever kind of war it is that now takes place, it results in an unprecedented slaughter. Unlike "the fourth part of the earth " spoken of in Revelation 6:8—which is a geographical statement—John records plainly that "the third part of men " will be killed at this time (Rev. 9:15, 18). Concerning the Euphrates, this river is like a line or a barrier between Israel and eastern Asia. Actually, it is supposed to be Israel's eastern border (Deut. 11:24 and Josh. 1:1-4). Isn't it amazing how the little country of Israel continues to exist on the same continent with such huge and hostile countries as those that lie on the other side of the Euphrates from it? Is there some connection between this and the four angels that evidently are presently "bound" there (Rev. 9:14)? Whatever the case, the populations of the nations east of this river easily represent one-third of the world's population. China and India alone are populated by this many people. And notice verse 20 of this 6th Trumpet passage. There is no land upon the face of the earth whose people are more known for their worship of "idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood" than that of the Far East. With the population of the Far West already out of the picture, if the population of the Far East is now also taken out of the picture, the focus would be brought to bear upon ISRAEL, the Middle East, Northern Africa, Asia Minor, and Europe—once again—AS IN THE BIBLE DAYS. As spoken of earlier, this would be like a WORLD STAGE RESET, all for the purpose of the final fulfilling of Daniel's 70th Week. SPECIAL OBSERVATION: If the population of the earth is systematically reduced to the point that the only remaining inhabitants during the time of Daniel's 70th Week live in the lands of the Bible days, this takes the mystery away from how "every eye" (Rev. 1:7) shall simultaneously see Christ at His Second Advent (I must give the credit for being the first one to make this observation to my brother-in-law and former pastor, Bro. Vic Hill. The Lord was certainly in our midst during our discussion about all of this that day!). Just as the sun at noontime in my home state of Kentucky is very visible to every eye in our hemisphere, so will THE SON be very visible to every eye in the lands of the Bible days when He returns to Israel at the time of His Second Advent! Finally, if what John has seen to this point in The Revelation is for the purpose of resetting the world's stage for Daniel's 70th Week, there is nothing more appropriate that he could now be shown than what he sees next. What this is is the subject of my next proposition.

A possible sequence of events relating to the rapture, based upon the Bible, but from the perspective of my different pre-trib rapture view... THE SEQUENCE OF LAST DAYS' EVENTS (A Bible based possibility, e specially relating to the timing of the rapture) I have focused on The Revelation being both in chronological order ( PROPOSITION B ) and a grid into which all end-time prophecies will fit and find their order ( PROPOSITION C ) . When the sequence of last days' events is considered from this perspective, things come together in an interesting and validating way. A ll in the Church should be curious concerning this sequence as it pertains to the timing of the rapture. For generations, an intense interest has revolved around this timing relative to Daniel's 70th Week. The following possibility shows a timeline based upon The Revelation (up to the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week ), other last days' prophecies, history, and factors relating to the geography of the earth. For easier readability, the first narrative is presented without references. Below it, the same narrative is repeated with references and/or the propositions where they can be found. NARRATIVE WITHOUT REFERENCES Th e Revelation was given by God to reveal unto Christ's servants things that were going to come to pass. For all prophecies that take time to be fulfilled, there is the time when they will begin to be fulfilled . In accord with the way this is spoken of in both the opening and closing chapters of The Revelation, it should not surprise us to find evidences that some of what it reveals began to take place in that day—and we do. The first thing John writes of that could have begun to happen in that day has to do with the unsealing of a mysterious book, sealed with seven seals. John first sees this book during a ceremony in Heaven that he is enabled to attend, where God is holding it in His right hand while sitting on His throne. The importance of such a book should give us pause. Selah. The occasion of this ceremony was the conferring of the charge of the Seven Sealed Book to "The Lamb," which is Jesus Christ. As The Revelation is the last book of the Bible and concerns the end, even more so is this the case with the Seven Sealed Book. The time of the end is the time of God's coming judgment upon this world. It is referred to in the Bible as "the Day of the Lord " and vari ations of this phrase. A very fitting title for the Seven Sealed Book would be THE DAY OF THE LORD - or simply - THE END . After the ceremony and Jesus' taking possession of the book, John's attention is brought to bear upon His opening of its seals. With the opening of each one, he beholds things that were to happen . Quite naturally, those of the early churches could have rightly gathered that at least one of the seals—perhaps more —perhaps all —could be opened at any time. Just as naturally, the opening of the seals and what is then seen to happen could have rightly been expected to precede the unfolding of the book and whatever was contained therein. There is both biblical and historical support that The Lamb opened the first four seals not long after The Revelation was given, perhaps just after John's death. When these are opened, activities relating to the realm of evil are revealed, activities that have impacted history and the Church ever since . As the case was with Job and as it has been since the beginning, Satan would have no liberties to do what he does unless granted some by Almighty God for His ultimate plans and purposes. The four horsemen of the first four seals are like Satan's henchmen in his schemes to bring about the tribulations, persecutions, and martyrdom of which Jesus warned His disciples in the opening part of His Olivet Discourse. In the face of all that the Church has experienced, its continued existence unto this day has been remarkable. As Jesus assured Peter and the rest of His disciples, "the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." This has been ensured by the times of God's intervention and the "fourth part" geographical limitation on the martyrdom that the pale horse rider has been able to inflict . A s the time of God's last days' judgment draws ever nearer, so will the time of the opening of the 5th Seal, which reveals the cry of all the Church Age martyrs for justice. There is solid support that The Lamb has now opened this seal as well . While it is evident that the 6th Seal has n ot yet been opened, The Lamb may open it at any moment. The convergence of the many related prophetic puzzle pieces supports that the RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH will happen at this time. This will be barely preceded by the resurrection of the bodies of the saints who have gone on before. The Church Age will end on this day that the 6th Seal is opened . Uns urprisingly, there will be a great earthquake that will happen simultaneously with the resurrection and the rapture. Concurrent with this, the sun will be darkened, the moon will appear blood red, and there will be a massive meteor shower . All of this will be accompanied by a phenomenon that will occur with the sky, unlike anything that has ever been witnessed . AT THIS SAME MOMENT, the unsaved in Israel's hemisphere will see "the face of Him that sitteth on the throne" and "The Lamb." This will be "THE SIGN of the Son of man in heaven" that Jesus spoke about in His Olivet Discourse in answer to the disciples' question, "what shall be the sign of Thy coming." This heralding sign of His later Second Advent will be like a flash of reality that is gone "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." While the saved will be gone as well, all the unsaved will be left behind. They will no doubt be momentarily blinded by the brightness of what they just witnessed as they scramble for their lives. ALSO IN THIS SAME MOMENT, 144,000 Or thodox Jews from "all the tribes" will see the Lamb and realize that it is Jesus—their Messiah indeed—whom their nation rejected and crucified some 2000 years ago. These w ill be "the firstfruits" of the later harvest. Upon believing, these will be sealed, but left to bear witness to The Lamb . MEANWHILE, on the United States' side of the earth, the unsaved will be perplexed at the sudden vanishing of so many, some who were family and friends . The unsaved throughout the world will be gripped by their deep inherent fear that the time of God's judgment has come. ON THIS SAME DAY , the 7th Seal will be opened as well, readying the covers of the Seven Sealed Book to unfold . In perfect harmony with what the Seven Sealed Book is all about, the time of God's judgment will have come indeed—THE GREAT AND THE TERRIBLE DAY OF THE LORD. While t here will be a s udden calm of sorts—like in the eye of a hurricane—within "about the space of half an hour," there will be a second wave of destruction. Eleven times John writes that a "third part" will be destroyed or affected at this time. Various evidences support that this particular destruction will be to one side of the earth, the side opposite that of the Bible lands . Interestingly, the land area on the Americas' side of the earth (which includes half of Antarctica) equals an exact third part of the eart h. This is a geographical reality that holds true now as it did then . That the Americas will be removed from the final last days' picture is in intriguing harmony with Scripture. Just as the Americas—and the United States —had no role in the fulfilling of the first 69 weeks of Daniel's 70 Weeks' prophecy, it fits the prophetic pattern that they will also be absent from the picture of the final week . The destruction of this third part will commence with another meteor shower that is like a fiery bombardment. A "great mountain burning with fire" (perhaps a mountain range, like the Rockies or the Andes) will be "cast" into the ocean, conceivably the result of a sudden and immense internal pressure buildup within the earth under one of the continents. Like a tumbling domino display, this will be followed by the largest asteroid impact ever, again, on the Americas' side of the earth. The damage done will be beyond recovering from. It will be a fatal blow to the lands of the Western Hemisphere. Any remnant of survivors won't make it for long, a matter of days or weeks at the most. The extent of smoke, vapor, and dust in the atmosphere will cause the days and nights to be much darker the world over. WHAT A DAY . Meanwhile, o n Israel's side of the earth, it may be realized that something catastrophic has happened in the Western Hemisphere—just not what. Whereas everything will already be darkened, things will become darker still. The pandemonium and time of suffering will be unlike anything that has ever occurred. For "five months," while the earth itself will begin to stabilize somewhat, all else will be in a critical state. Hopelessness will abound. West and southern Africa, the west coasts of Europe, and the east coasts of Asia will have become flooded ruins as a result of enormous tsunamis. All of Australia will undoubtedly be swept away. As if providentially spared, Israel and the lands of the old Roman Empire that were far enough inland to endure will be the only lands where any kind of lasting refuge is conceivable. A s a result of all the devastation and flooding on the eastern and southern coasts of Asia, the survivors—millions of them—will begin migrating westward. Relating to this migration, an event will take place in the area of the Euphrates River that will result in the death of a third part of the world's remaining population. The situation upon the earth will be like a quantum leap backwards. While things will be like on a wobbly teeter every day, a semblance of times reminiscent of the Bible days—like a WORLD STAGE RESET —will emerge . There will be many Jews talking about the prophecies of the "little book open," which is DANIEL, and it will a ll be making more sense now, like never before . Notably, a leader will have been on the rise, a real s tandout, like a godsend. He will command the world's attention with his charisma and intrigue. The Israelites will even begin to say that he is their long-prophesied Messiah—all but two prophets of note and the 144,000. They will be saying something else. This leader will even establish a seven year covenant with the Jews and spearhead the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem . When finished, they will worship him there. Again, all but the two prophets and the 144,000. And, and... NARRATIVE WITH REFERENCES Th e Revelation was given by God to reveal unto Christ's servants things that were going to come to pass. For all prophecies that take time to be fulfilled, there is the time when they will begin to be fulfilled ( PROPOSITION A ) . In accord with the way this is spoken of in both the opening and closing chapters of The Revelation (Rev. 1:1, 3, & 19 with 22:6, & 10), it should not surprise us to find evidences that some of what it reveals began to take place in that day—and we do. The first thing John writes of that could have begun to happen in that day has to do with the unsealing of a mysterious book, sealed with seven seals. John first sees this book during a ceremony in Heaven that he is enabled to attend, where God is holding it in His right hand while sitting on His throne (Rev. 5:1). The importance of such a book should give us pause. Selah. The occasion of this ceremony was the conferring of the charge of the Seven Sealed Book to "The Lamb," which is Jesus Christ. As The Revelation is the last book of the Bible and concerns the end, even more so is this the case with the Seven Sealed Book. The time of the end is the time of God's coming judgment upon this world. It is referred to in the Bible as "the Day of the Lord " (e.g., Joel 3:14; 2 Pet. 3:10) and variations of this phrase (e.g., Isa. 61:2; Rev. 6:17). A very fitting title for the Seven Sealed Book would be THE DAY OF THE LORD - or simply - THE END ( PROPOSITION H ) . After the ceremony and Jesus' taking possession of the book, John's attention is brought to bear upon His opening of its seals. With the opening of each one, he beholds things that were to happen (Rev. 6:1-8:1ff) . Quite naturally, those of the early churches could have rightly gathered that at least one of the seals—perhaps more —perhaps all —could be opened at any time. Just as naturally, the opening of the seals and what is then seen to happen could have rightly been expected to precede the unfolding of the book and whatever was contained therein. There is both biblical and historical support that The Lamb opened the first four seals not long after The Revelation was given, perhaps just after John's death. When these are opened, activities relating to the realm of evil are revealed, activities that have impacted history and the Church ever since ( PROPOSITION L , M , N , O , and P ) . As the case was with Job and as it has been since the beginning, Satan would have no liberties to do what he does unless granted some by Almighty God for His ultimate plans and purposes. The four horsemen of the first four seals are like Satan's henchmen in his schemes to bring about the tribulations, persecutions, and martyrdom of which Jesus warned His disciples in the opening part of His Olivet Discourse (e.g., Matt. 24:4-11). In the face of all that the Church has experienced, its continued existence unto this day has been remarkable. As Jesus assured Peter and the rest of His disciples, "the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). This has been ensured by the times of God's intervention and the "fourth part" (Rev. 6:8) geographical limitation on the martyrdom that the pale horse rider has been able to inflict ( PROPOSITION Q ) . A s the time of God's last days' judgment draws ever nearer, so will the time of the opening of the 5th Seal, which reveals the cry of all the Church Age martyrs for justice. There is solid support that The Lamb has now opened this seal as well ( PROPOSITION R ) . While it is evident that the 6th Seal has n ot yet been opened, The Lamb may open it at any moment. The convergence of the many related prophetic puzzle pieces (e.g., Joel 2:31/Acts 2:20; Matt. 24:29-31; Mk. 13:24-27; Lk. 21:25-28; 1 Thess. 4:16-5:3) supports that the RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH will happen at this time. This will be barely preceded by the resurrection of the bodies of the saints who have gone on before (1 Cor. 15:51-52). The Church Age will end on this day that the 6th Seal is opened ( PROPOSITION S ) . Uns urprisingly, there will be a great earthquake (Rev. 6:12) that will happen simultaneously with the resurrection and the rapture. Concurrent with this, the sun will be darkened, the moon will appear blood red, and there will be a massive meteor shower . All of this will be accompanied by a phenomenon that will occur with the sky, unlike anything that has ever been witnessed (Rev. 6:14) . AT THIS SAME MOMENT, the unsaved in Israel's hemisphere will see "the face of Him that sitteth on the throne" and "The Lamb" (Rev. 6:15-17). This will be "THE SIGN of the Son of man in heaven" that Jesus spoke about in His Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24:30) in answer to the disciples' question, "what shall be the sign of Thy coming" (Matt. 24:3). This heralding sign of His later Second Advent ( PROPOSITION T ) will be like a flash of reality that is gone "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." While the saved will be gone as well, all the unsaved will be left behind (Matt. 24:40-44; Lk. 17:34-36). They will no doubt be momentarily blinded by the brightness of what they just witnessed as they scramble for their lives. ALSO IN THIS SAME MOMENT, 144,000 Or thodox Jews from "all the tribes" (Rev. 7:4; Matt. 24:30) will see the Lamb and realize that it is Jesus—their Messiah indeed—whom their nation rejected and crucified some 2000 years ago. These w ill be "the firstfruits" (Rev. 14:1-4) of the later harvest. Upon believing, these will be sealed, but left to bear witness to The Lamb ( PROPOSITION X ) . MEANWHILE, on the United States' side of the earth, the unsaved will be perplexed at the sudden vanishing of so many, some who were family and friends . The unsaved throughout the world will be gripped by their deep inherent fear that the time of God's judgment has come. ON THIS SAME DAY , the 7th Seal will be opened as well, readying the covers of the Seven Sealed Book to unfold ( PROPOSITION 1 ) . In perfect harmony with what the Seven Sealed Book is all about, the time of God's judgment will have come indeed—THE GREAT AND THE TERRIBLE DAY OF THE LORD (Joel 2:31/Acts 2:20/Rev. 6:17). While t here will be a s udden calm of sorts—like in the eye of a hurricane—within "about the space of half an hour" (Rev. 8:1), there will be a second wave of destruction. Eleven times John writes that a "third part" will be destroyed or affected at this time (Rev. 8:6-12). Various evidences support that this particular destruction will be to one side of the earth, the side opposite that of the Bible lands ( PROPOSITION 2 and 3 ) . Interestingly, the land area on the Americas' side of the earth (which includes half of Antarctica) equals an exact third part of the eart h. This is a geographical reality that holds true now as it did then (PROPOSITION 4 ) . That the Americas will be removed from the final last days' picture is in intriguing harmony with Scripture. Just as the Americas—and the United States —had no role in the fulfilling of the first 69 weeks of Daniel's 70 Weeks' prophecy (Dan. 9:24-27), it fits the prophetic pattern that they will also be absent from the picture of the final week . The destruction of this third part will commence with another meteor shower that is like a fiery bombardment (Rev. 8:7). A "great mountain burning with fire" (perhaps a mountain range, like the Rockies or the Andes) will be "cast" into the ocean (Rev. 8:8), conceivably the result of a sudden and immense internal pressure buildup within the earth under one of the continents. Like a tumbling domino display, this will be followed by the largest asteroid impact ever, again, on the Americas' side of the earth. The damage done will be beyond recovering from. It will be a fatal blow to the lands of the Western Hemisphere. Any remnant of survivors won't make it for long, a matter of days or weeks at the most (Rev. 8:10-11). The extent of smoke, vapor, and dust in the atmosphere will cause the days and nights to be much darker the world over (Rev. 8:12). WHAT A DAY ( PROPOSITION 5 ) . Meanwhile, o n Israel's side of the earth, it may be realized that something catastrophic has happened in the Western Hemisphere—just not what. Whereas everything will already be darkened, things will become darker still (Rev. 9:2). The pandemonium and time of suffering will be unlike anything that has ever occurred. For "five months" (Rev. 9:5, 10), while the earth itself will begin to stabilize somewhat, all else will be in a critical state. Hopelessness will abound. West and southern Africa, the west coasts of Europe, and the east coasts of Asia will have become flooded ruins as a result of enormous tsunamis. All of Australia will undoubtedly be swept away. As if providentially spared, Israel and the lands of the old Roman Empire that were far enough inland to endure will be the only lands where any kind of lasting refuge is conceivable. A s a result of all the devastation and flooding on the eastern and southern coasts of Asia, the survivors—millions of them—will begin migrating westward. Relating to this migration, an event will take place in the area of the Euphrates River (Rev. 9:14) that will result in the death of a third part of the world's remaining population (Rev. 9:15-18). The situation upon the earth will be like a quantum leap backwards. While things will be like on a wobbly teeter every day, a semblance of times reminiscent of the Bible days—like a WORLD STAGE RESET —will emerge ( PROPOSITION 6 ) . There will be many Jews talking about the prophecies of the "little book open," which is DANIEL (Rev. 10:2; Dan. 12:4, 8-10), and it will a ll be making more sense now, like never before ( PROPOSITION 7 ) . Notably, a leader will have been on the rise, a real s tandout, like a godsend. He will command the world's attention with his charisma and intrigue. The Israelites will even begin to say that he is their long-prophesied Messiah—all but two prophets of note (Rev. 11:3) and the 144,000. They will be saying something else. This leader will even establish a seven year covenant with the Jews and spearhead the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem ( PROPOSITION 8 ) . When finished, they will worship him there (Rev. 11:1; 2 Thess. 2:3-4; Matt. 24:15). Again, all but the two prophets (Rev. 11:7) and the 144,000. And, and... bACK tO TOP next

The first four trumpets will effect the destruction of the "third part" of the earth not in Israel's hemisphere... The first four trumpets will effect the destruction of the lands that are not in Israel's hemisphere. bACK tO TOP PART II HOME next KEY PROPOSITION 3 As the first four trumpets are sounded, one-third of the earth suffers devastation by what appears to stem from an extensive meteor bombardment, followed by the impact of a couple of much more massive objects. John likens one of these to "a great mountain burning with fire" and refers to the other as "a great star from heaven." Here is his account of this from Revelation 8: 7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the THIRD PART of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. 8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the THIRD PART of the sea became blood; 9 And the THIRD PART of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the THIRD PART of the ships were destroyed. 10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the THIRD PART of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; 11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the THIRD PART of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. 12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the THIRD PART of the sun was smitten, and the THIRD PART of the moon, and the THIRD PART of the stars; so as the THIRD PART of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a THIRD PART of it, and the night likewise. What John is here describing results in the devastation of a "third part" of the earth's land and water masses and the diminishing of day and nighttime light by as much. With such a large percentage of destruction, I have wondered if what he describes as being "a great mountain" (vs. 8) could be a mountain range, such as the Rockies or the Andes. Also, the casting into the sea (or ocean) of a great mountain large enough to wreck havoc on a scale of what he here describes would be devastating for the continent as well. Try to imagine a mountain range being cast into one of the oceans and what this would mean for the area from which it came. When I think of the great mountain that John speaks of and the possibility of this relating to the Rocky mountain range (just as an example), it is conceivable that what he is describing could be the result of an immense pressure buildup under the continent. With so much of the United States' nuclear arsenal being located in that vicinity, I have wondered if this is the case because of Divine orchestration. Also, for the great star (or asteroid) impact of verse 10 to adversely affect one-third of the earth's rivers and drinkable water sources would involve the disturbing of an enormous amount of land mass or masses. What John is describing clearly bespeaks an unimaginable amount of destruction. In my late twenties, when studying John's account of this, I (like everyone else at that time) only envisioned cataclysms occurring all around the earth, resulting in a cumulative destruction of one-third of it, and this may be what he is describing. But, one day it occurred to me that there is another equally as valid possibility. What if he is describing a cataclysm occurring TO ONE SIDE OF THE EARTH, resulting in a concentrated destruction of one-third of it? The thing of a great mountain being hurled into the sea would certainly fit a concentrated destruction and an asteroid impact even more so. The possibility and implications of such a concentrated destruction has engaged my thinking ever since. In the previous proposition I mentioned that the land area we normally consider to be in Israel's hemisphere represents two-thirds of the land area of the earth. But, what about the rest of the earth's land area, or the other one-third? If this happens to be the "third part" destroyed with the sounding of the first four trumpets, it concerns us what this "third part" is. This is the subject of my next proposition. NOTES : Concerning what John wrote about "hail and fire mingled with blood " (Rev. 8:7), we find no similar phenomena happening in the Bible days where that something "mingled with blood" was observed to fall from the sky. But, in our day, there is an average of well over a gallon of blood in every adult flying in a plane. Jet airliners carrying 300-500 passengers are common. Easy internet searches reveal that there are some 7,500-15,000 planes in the sky at any given time. Images of maps depicting these over the United States show them to be so numerous that they look like grains of sand that have been poured all over the map. Explosions and/or collisions of these would result in tons of debris raining down, "mingled with blood." Another modern day possibility lending to what John saw has to do with all the satellites that are presently in orbit around the earth. Also an easy internet search, images depicting these resemble grains of sand as well, sprinkled in abundance all around the earth. It's not hard to imagine what the result would be of something happening that would disturb the orbits of these satellites, causing them to re-enter the atmosphere. With many meteors (which look like falling stars) being as small as a pea, there's no telling what a large number of satellites would look like on their re-entry. Things seem ripe in our day for something to happen that would exactly fit what John tried to describe. I am reminded of what he wrote concerning what he beheld when the 6th Seal was opened: "And the stars (meteors, satellites?) of heaven (the sky) fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind" (Rev. 6:13).

The time elapsing for everything from the 6th Seal through the 4th Trumpet can be one day... The time elapsing for everything from the 6th Seal through the 4th Trumpet can be one day. bACK tO TOP PART 11 HOME next KEY PROPOSITION 5 Relating to the sounding of the first four trumpets (Rev. 8:6-13), once the angels begin their sounding of these, the Bible gives no timeframes relating to how long of an interval there will be between them. Coupled with what we have seen concerning the 6th and 7th Seals (e.g., PROPOSITION 1 ), there is solid support that everything from the opening of the 6th Seal through the sounding of the first four trumpets can (and evidently will) happen in the course of a single day. This would include everything that John saw from Revelation 6:12 through 8:13. In keeping with all the evidences that we have been and are considering, the day that the rapture occurs, things could progress as far as the point just prior to the sounding of the 5th Trumpet before that day is done. If this is indeed what the case is to be, what we have found so far indicates that the day t he rapture occurs, there will be an earth-wide cataclysm (6th Seal/Rev. 6:12-14) followed very closely by a greater hemisphere-specific cataclysm (first four trumpets/Rev. 8:7-12). As we have seen, the end result of the latter will be the sudden bringing of the world's focus to bear upon the lands of the Bible days, once again, for the final fulfilling of Daniel's 70th Week. To better understand how all of this can happen in the course of one day and what it can mean, try to imagine the following hypothetical (but Biblically based ) example: On a Monday morning at about 1:28 a.m. Central Standard Time (remember, this is hypothetical, to illustrate a point!), Christ opens the 6th Seal, whereupon He comes as unexpectedly as a thief for the gathering of the Church. Concurrent with this, a cataclysm of proportions barely conceivable takes the whole world by surprise. From a United States' perspective, there is a great earthquake, the moon suddenly appears blood red, meteors shower down like figs from a wind shaken tree, and something really weird happens to the sky, kind of like a scroll when it is rolled together. The extent of the world's distress is hardly imaginable ( Rev. 6:12-17/THE 6TH SEAL). Beginning just a couple of minutes later, at around 1:30 a.m. there is a lull, kind of like the eye of a hurricane. This lasts about 30 minutes (THE 7TH SEAL is removed/the covers of the Seven Sealed Book can now unfold/Rev. 8:1) . At 2:00 a.m., "hail and fire mingled with blood " (the result of meteors colliding with jet airliners full of people?) begins to shower down upon the Americas. So extensive are the resultant forest fires that all of the trees in our hemisphere (which would represent 1/3 of the trees worldwide) are burnt. Together with what happened an hour or two earlier—after the 6th Seal was opened—grass is literally scorched the world over (THE 1ST TRUMPET /Rev. 8:7). At about 4:30 a.m., "a great mountain burning with fire" (a mountain range like the Rockies or Andes, being hurled by an extreme pressure buildup within the earth?) plunges into the ocean ( the Eastern Pacific?) , causing it to become bloody to an extent representing one-third of the earth's oceans. Death and destruction equaling a third of what is in the oceans worldwide occurs (THE 2ND TRUMPET / Rev. 8:8-9). Not long after this, "a great star" (a killer asteroid?) impacts the United States' side of the earth. Every river and underground water source in our hemisphere (which would represent 1/3 of the drinkable water sources worldwide) becomes deadly toxic, stemming from the hit of this "star," which is called "Wormwood" (THE 3RD TRUMPET /Rev. 8:10-11). Later, as the day should be dawning on the United States' side of the earth, everything remains darkened. It's as if the sun has been covered with sackcloth made of hair, no doubt the way things looked on the other side of the earth just a few hours earlier. All of the dust, vapor, and smoke is like a dense smog filling the atmosphere. The sun is not really seen till around 9:00 a.m. At about 4:00 p.m., what can still be seen of it disappears, like at sunset, only it is still high in the horizon. It is also much later, like 10:00 p.m., before the moon or any of the stars become visible again (THE 4TH TRUMPET /Rev. 8:12). WHAT A DAY . One reason the above was written was to show some possibilities—based upon Scripture—for what may take place on the day of the rapture. Another is that it illustrates how everything from the opening of the 6th Seal through the sounding of the first four trumpets can easily occur this same day. This possibility makes for a troubling concern brought to light by my different view. Let me explain. (For my reason for what's highlighted in blue, see ONE MORE THING ). Some who believe that the common pre-trib view is wrong suggest that it is also dangerous, in that the Church, if it thinks that it won't be going through any of Daniel's 70th Week, will be unprepared, if it does. Whatever the case, this would represent a temporal concern of a few years at most. However, if my different view is correct, a much more serious concern—an eternal one—would relate to the unsaved. For example, there seems to be a mentality with some that if a lot of people end up missing one day, it may be that the rapture has indeed occurred, and that those who find themselves left behind will still have a chance to be saved, as long as they don't succumb to taking the mark of the beast. But, the possibility of the United States (and what is in the rest of the Western Hemisphere) being destroyed on that day suggests that this chance will be minimal, if even existent, for those left behind over here. When I think of our nation and how that God has shed His grace on it, it would not surprise me if those left behind over here—those who have continued to reject God and His grace—will be immediately doomed. I think of Sodom and Gomorrah and how our nation is often compared to those wicked cities. On the day God judged those cities, the angels delivered Lot and his daughters, whereupon the cities were totally destroyed. This may be what is in store for our nation (and what is in our hemisphere) on the day of the rapture. Consider what Abraham beheld after God judged Sodom and Gomorrah. From Genesis chapter 19: 27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD: 28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. For that one who is unsaved (or unsure), if you have thought that there will still be a chance to be saved if you find yourself left behind one day, there is no assurance of this, especially if you are on the United States' side of the earth. As Paul told the Corinthians, "behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" ( 2 Cor. 6:2b). Moving beyond the day of the rapture and the first four trumpets, it is noteworthy that the word "woe" is used in reference to trumpets #5, #6, and #7. Of what significance might this be? The first announcement of these woes comes immediately after John's account of the 4th Trumpet, right before the sounding of the 5th Trumpet. From Revelation eight, we read these words: 13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, WOE, WOE, WOE, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, WHICH ARE YET TO SOUND! One significance of these woes may be this: One of these days the resurrection and the rapture of the Church is going to take place, concurrent with major havoc breaking loose upon this earth. All the days after that will be days of WOE upon the earth till Jesus comes again. Said a different way, if Jesus comes to steal away the Church on a Monday (as in our example), then Tuesday will be a day of WOE for those left behind, as will all the days thereafter, till He returns to reign. Said still a different way, between the events of Christ's Sign Appearance and His Second Advent, all the days will be days of WOE. It is not going to be a good thing to be left behind on the day of the rapture, whichever side of the earth one may be on at the time.

The "Sign" Return of Christ includes the rapture and will occur after the opening of the 6th Seal... The Sign Appearance of Christ includes the rapture and occurs after the opening of the 6th Seal. Let's recap some in view of the above chart. In accord with what I have put forth so far, Christ opened the first four seals as early as late in the first century, not long after John received The Revelation. This means that the particular liberties granted to Satan and exercised by the four horsemen for the post- Apostolic era of the Church (see Appendix #6 ) , have been forces to be reckoned with by the Church (and the world) since that time. Hence, the first four seals are shown to have been opened early in the Church Age. Like unto a major battle, many in our ranks have suffered and died as martyrs. With Christ's opening of the 5 th Seal , John receives a vision of the cry of these martyrs for justice. Because their question, "How long?" reflects that a significant period of time has transpired, and because they are assured that it will be yet "a little season" before their blood is avenged, this fits His opening of this seal nearer the end of the Church Age, closer to the time of the rapture. This means that He may have already opened it as well, and I submit that He has. The martyrs are informed that during this little season, more will be killed "as they were." This certainly fits the seven year period of Daniel's 70th Week ("a little season") and what will happen to the two witnesses, the 144,000, and those who refuse allegiance to the Antichrist. Though we do not know how much longer the Church Age will last, we know that it will end with the rapture, which is shown to occur after the opening of the 6th Seal. Therefore, as the rapture could happen today, so can Christ's opening of this seal. I can almost envision the Lord, upon opening this seal, coming for His Church. When He does, He will "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 together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air" (1 Thess. 4:16-17). This will take place "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" (1 Cor. 15:52), hence, part of the reason for my understanding that the appearance that He will make at this time will be on the order of a glimpse. As John beheld with the opening of the 6th Seal, the signs heralding the time of the last days' Day of the Lord judgment will be seen at this time (Rev. 6:12), in accord with Joel's prophecy. It reads thus: "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible Day of the LORD come" (Joel 2:31). These signs could be said to occur in the wake of the resurrection and the rapture of the Church. Note that this view is reinforced by Peter's appeal to this prophecy on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16-21, esp. vs. 20). It is amazing that Joel's prophecy gives defining marks of both the beginning and the ending of the Church Age—TO THE VERY DAY. For example, while the Church Age began on THE DAY of Pentecost, it will end on THE DAY that the Church is raptured, which is THE DAY that the 6th Seal will be opened, which is THE DAY that God's Day of the Lord judgment will begin. Talk about precision—Thank you Joel! Also, at this same time, the bottom is going to drop out of things in this world, to the tune of the rest of John's account of the 6th Seal (Rev. 6:13-17) and what will follow. Obviously, it is not until the 7th Seal is opened that the Seven Sealed Book can actually unfold. But, because of the absence of any mention of a time frame (and other evidences), this opening of the 7th Seal can also occur the same day that the Church is gathered to glory and the 144,000 Jews are sealed. After this last seal is opened, John writes, "there was silence in Heaven about the space of half an hour" (Rev. 8:1). Try to imagine the drama and suspense of this book being now ready to unfold. It easily fits that everything within the covers of the Seven Sealed Book pertains to the period of the last days' Day of the Lord judgment, hence, THE DAY OF THE LORD would be a fitting title for this book, as I have proposed ( PROPOSITION H ) . O n the same day as the rapture, when God's Day of the Lord judgment begins, John sees seven angels that are given seven trumpets and of what occurs after each trumpet is sounded. This will be a big focus of PART II. For now, what happens relating to the first five trumpets and some of the 6th Trumpet period connects with preparations for the fulfilling of Daniel's 70th Week. Important to note is that it is during the 6th Trumpet period (Rev. 9:13 thru 11:14) that we find the first numerical evidences in The Revelation (and all of the New Testament) pointing to this seven year period (Rev. 11:2-3). According to Revelation 11:3-14, the midpoint of this "week" of years will mark the close of the 6th Trumpet period (note the "is past" of vs. 14). Finally, the 7th Trumpet (Rev. 11:15-19) will herald that period that will result in COMPLETE CLOSURE FOR THIS WORLD ( PROPOSITION 10 ) . This period will take in the l ast half of Daniel's 70th Week and will continue through the Last Judgment, commonly referred to as the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15). The highlight of this period will be Christ's Second Advent, the Battle of Armageddon, and His Millennial Reign (Rev. 19:11-20:6). After the Last Judgment, time, as we now know it, will end, and eternity, as we will know it, will begin. From another angle, the last days' Day of the Lord judgment will bring to an end this world and time as we know it, after which, we will enter eternity. Revelation 21 begins John's account of that and what it holds for God's children. Let's read some of that together: 1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of Heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. bACK tO TOP PART I HOME next key PROPOSITION W The title of my work could easily and rightly be, THE SIXTH SEAL RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH . One reason I d id not choose this title was to avoid the possibility of my view being too quickly confused with other 6th Seal rapture views, from which it greatly differs. Another is the difficulty some may initially have of seeing a work so titled being able to represent a pr e- trib r apture view. Of course, this difficulty can arise because of what is so commonly believed about the seals, that being that they represent judgments of God that will take place during the time of Daniel's 70th Week. I hope that what I have shown so far has convinced the reader otherwise and of the need for this belief to be rethought. Moreover, I am hopeful that the title I have chosen—THE SEVEN SEALED BOOK and a diffe rent pre-trib rapture vi ew—will result in more openness (at least initially) to what I am trying to show. Though Scripture does not state explicitly that the rapture will occur after the opening of the 6th Seal, we can accept the possibility as so if the evidence and other related prophecies bear this out. It's like putting two and two together and coming up with four. It may be wondered why such math has not netted the same answer for others. As I have come to see it, a primary reason is that the equation used by others has been skewed by some of the long accepted misinterpretations that have been put forth by scholars, most especially of Matthew 24:29-31. The extent of our study of what Jesus here said has resulted in my referring to this as our focal passage (see propositions T , U , and V ). I can certainly see Satan delighting in a passage such as this being misinterpreted. On the matter of whether my own understanding of these verses is correct, in keeping with what I have said before, I merely enjoin the reader to prayerfully consider what I have tried to show and to come to his or her own conclusion. Moving forward, because of another commonly held pre-trib belief that Christ will be invisible at His return for the Church (please don't start throwing tomatoes at me yet!), perhaps the greatest obstacle for some in accepting that this will happen with the opening of the 6th Seal is His being seen at this time. If this is an obstacle for the reader (which I could understand), I hope that before this thought is too quickly rejected that you will hear me out, as what I am going to show is much closer to what is commonly believed than it may at first be perceived. First of all, let's look again at that part of John's account that relates to this, from Revelation 6: 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, FALL ON US, AND HIDE US FROM THE FACE OF HIM THAT SITTETH ON THE THRONE, AND FROM THE WRATH OF THE LAMB: 17 FOR THE GREAT DAY OF HIS WRATH IS COME; AND WHO SHALL BE ABLE TO STAND? Having been raised under the tutelage of prevailing pre-trib rapture thought, the thing of people seeing Christ at this time has been an obstacle for me as well. It's not that Scripture plainly points in a different direction (to be clarified in the next proposition), but my upbringing did, and so much so, that I used to wonder if Christ is actually even being seen here. I mean, it's not too difficult to envision these people being caught so unawares by the magnitude of what is happening that they cannot contain their sudden fear that the Lord is responsible, nor their dread of the possibility of facing Him. We know that many have reacted similarly in the face of far less catastrophes! To be sure, this may well be the nature of the reaction of some who will be left behind, especially those on our side of the earth. However, something more literally in tune with the account and other scriptures is that Christ is indeed being seen here, but during a "sign" (Matt. 24:30) appearance that He will make in the sky over Israel. This would mean that the people left behind who do see or glimpse Him will be those who are in Israel's hemisphere. Understood this way, at the time of this event, no one left behind in our hemisphere will witness this appearance, which means that the experience for the unsaved over here will no doubt be as is so commonly imagined (like in the LEFT BEHIND book and movie s eries). But, what about the unsaved over there, on Israel's side of the earth? In my concept of what we find in Scripture, to whatever extent Jesus reveals Himself to those left behind in Israel's hemisphere, the sight will be like nothing they have ever seen. Trying to envision God, "the Majesty" (Heb. 1:3), on His throne, and the Lamb "in the midst of the throne" (Rev. 7:17), I wonder. Realizing that the Lamb is Jesus Christ and that He is "the image of the invisible God" (Col. 1:15), and that in Him "dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily " (Col. 2:9), I wonder. Wondering, I feel I can almost glimpse the brightness that they must be seeing and the form of a throne with Christ in the midst. I can almost see these people having to turn away from such glory—glory brighter than the sun and a whole lot closer! In my concept, they will only get a glimpse, AND THEN HE WILL BE GONE. In harmony with what Jesus Himself said concerning the appearance of "the sign of the Son of man in heaven" (Matt. 24:30), I see this to be just that: Of a sign appearance that He is going to make, which will include the gathering or rapture of the Church (Matt. 24:31). Our focus on this and its implications will continue into the following proposition. For now, whatever one believes, John's account of the 6th Seal certainly supports an appearance of Christ at this time. When it is understood that Christ will make an appearance after He opens the 6th Seal, how can we be certain whether this will be for the sign appearance I am drawing attention to and His gathering of the Church? While the complexity of prophecy can make for some difficulties in our comprehending, there is only one other option with this, and that makes things a lot easier. The only other option is that this is His return as the King of kings, and Lord of lords for the Battle of Armageddon (and everything that follows that), of which we have an undeniable account thirteen chapters later, beginning in Revelation 19:11. As a result of my findings, I have come to the conclusion that to believe Christ's appearance after the opening of the 6th Seal is the same as His return in Revelation 19 is a scripturally indefensible position. There are just too many evidences to the contrary, not to mention the fact that the 7th Seal would still be intact, along with everything that will happen after it is opened. So, this is where we are: If you look at The Revelation from the standpoint of my different view, you will see the following two events relating to Christ's future return. One, the event of a sign appearance that He will make with His opening of the 6th Seal, at which time the rapture will occur (Rev. 6:12-7:17/ Matt. 24:29-31), and two, the event of His Second Advent some seven years later, at which time the Battle of Armageddon will occur (Rev. 19:11-21/ Matt. 24:26-28). Also, as will be brought out more the further we continue, you will see Daniel's 70th Week take place in between. This makes for a solid pre- trib (or pre- Daniel's 70th Week) rapture view, and in a most basic sense, similar to the common view, except I show the first four seals (and the probability of the fifth) being already open and the rapture occurring at the time that the 6th Seal is opened. This would be a good place to consider my chart below (the first chart I ever did). It illustrates the big picture of the rapture view I am putting forth and how it relates to the Day of the Lord, the Seven Sealed Book, and eternity:

This is the prelude to PART II of my study on the Seven Sealed Book and a very different pre-trib rapture view... bACK tO TOP PART 11 HOME NEXT PRELUDE TO PART II We have come to the place in our study where the mysterious book with seven seals has but one seal remaining that has not been removed. When this seal is removed, the book can then open. In real time, Christ's Church (of which I hope the reader is a part) has just been raptured, caught up to glory, and is now safely in Heaven with the Lord and those who had gone on before, now in their resurrection bodies. And, there is all the host of Heaven, AND EVERYTHING IS—WOW! Meanwhile, back on the earth, EVERYTHING IS—OUT OF WHACK. The lost, who have just been left behind, are not realizing that the 6th Seal—spoken of in that book called The Holy Bible—was just opened. But, everything that just happened was in strict accord with what was written therein long ago, in its book of The Revelation, chapter six. What just happened was this: 12 ...and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. At the same instant of the great earthquake, high in the sky over Israel and only beheld in its hemisphere, there was a sudden great brightness, brighter than the sun, AND ONE IN THE MIDST, and the form of a throne (continuing now with the next verses)... 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, FALL ON US, AND HIDE US FROM THE FACE OF HIM THAT SITTETH ON THE THRONE, AND FROM THE WRATH OF THE LAMB: 17 FOR THE GREAT DAY OF HIS WRATH IS COME; AND WHO SHALL BE ABLE TO STAND? AND THEN HE WAS GONE AND MANY WITH HIM. Also, at this same time, but in the hemisphere of which the United States is a part, there is complete bewilderment concerning the sudden disappearance of so many, even some that were family and friends—JUST GONE— and in my thinking, like so commonly imagined and depicted. Continuing now with PART II, what follows represents the 1,2,3's of my view concerning what will take place after the time of the rapture. Let us delve even further now into this different pre-trib rapture view and see if it will continue to hold up under careful Bible scrutiny.

A review of the Seven Sealed Book and my very different pre-trib rapture view... bACK tO TOP PART 11 HOME NEXT A REVIEW As we have seen, the stated purpose of The Revelation, which was given to the Apostle John, was to show unto Christ's servants "things which must shortly come to pass." It was further stated, "for the time is at hand." This means that what John was shown was either about to take place or about to begin to take place. The first thing John saw, of which this could rightly be said, was Christ's opening of some seals on a mysterious seven sealed book or scroll. The first four of these seals reveal the activity of four horsemen that go forth on campaigns associated with deception, wars, poverty, and martyrdom, respectively. Moreover, these things parallel in sequence the first things Jesus warned His disciples of in a talk He had with them on Mount Olivet, commonly called "The Olivet Discourse." Hence, in harmony with the stated purpose of The Revelation and that of which Jesus spoke, first century Christians were under notice that the things they were being warned of were about to begin to take place—at least the first things. Was such the case? History bears much testimony to the affirmative. A perceived problem with the foregoing position concerns the 4th Seal and what is said about power being given to Death and Hell over "the fourth part of the earth" (Rev. 6:8). The common interpretation is that this denotes one-fourth of the population being killed, and history doesn't testify to this many people ever having been killed since Christ's time. But, the fourth part "of the earth" is actually a geographical statement, and when interpreted thus, the possibilities for what this seal depicts are radically changed. Applied even to our day, we know that there are many places upon the earth (arguably totaling 1/4 of it ) so hostile to Christians that, if they should go there, they may never come back. Moreover, this situation has characterized all of the Church Age. The correctness of this interpretation is made all the more apparent by what John sees after the opening of the 5th Seal—those martyred during the Church Age and the assurance they receive that their blood will at long last be avenged. Everything taken together, there is solid scriptural support and centuries of historical evidence for the understanding that the four horsemen have been riding since early in the era of the Church. From the perspective set forth in this study, they have left quite a trail. It must be borne in mind that Almighty God has from Adam's day granted to Satan certain liberties to ply his craft. He would have absolutely none otherwise. The horsemen of the first four seals merely represent the nature of the liberties he has been granted for the time since the giving of The Revelation. According to the wording of The Revelation, the Lamb (Jesus) would have begun to open some of the seals as early as the close of the first century (Rev. 1:1-3 and 4:1). Evidence supports that He opened the first four then and that Satan's henchmen have been riding ever since, insatiably bent on accomplishing their part in his sinister goals. It is to the credit of Satan's effectiveness to deceive and misdirect that their activity has not been tied to them. Hopefully, my angle of observation has made their hoofprints easier to discern. Through the lens of a worldwide perspective, it can be seen that they are even now very much on the move. It is Important to our understanding of The Revelation to realize how the other things Jesus spoke in His Olivet Discourse also relate to it. It should not surprise us that Jesus' Olivet discourse holds keys that help to unlock the mysteries of what we find in The Revelation and vice-versa. For example, it is clear that distinct phenomena occurring with the sun and the moon are going to accompany Christ's return, because we find concerning this in all three accounts of His discourse and in Revelation 6:12-17, which is John's account of the 6th Seal. But, John also gives an account of Christ's return much later, in Revelation 19, an account we all know to be of His Second Advent. Interestingly, in conjunction with all that happens at the time of the opening of the 6th Seal, Jesus said, "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven" (Matt. 24:30). Allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture, this supports that Christ will be making a sign appearance before the time of His Second Advent—an understanding that is extremely helpful. Matthew's account of this event also dovetails with the corresponding sections of Mark and Luke's accounts, which in turn, ties back in with the time of the opening of the 6th Seal. Under the heading, JESUS' OLIVET DISCOURSE AND THE SEVEN SEALED BOOK ( click here ) , note the 22+ prophecy parallels I have there listed, which occur in sequence and support the foregoing with what follows. These parallels cannot be lightly dismissed. Further support of the foregoing is the prophecy of Joel's, appealed to by Peter on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16-21). Not only does this prophecy concern God's pouring out of His Holy Spirit upon the Church, it also points to the Church Age, as it encompasses the time from its inauguration on the Day of Pentecost until its close, just before the beginning of the last days' Day of the Lord judgment. It is quite apparent that Joel's prophecy is precise concerning elements of the day of the beginning of the Church Age. Not so apparent is that it is equally as precise concerning elements of the day of its end. This is confirmed if what it says concerning the signs in the sun and the moon fits with the 6th Seal and with everything else that fits with the 6th Seal—and it does. Because the end of the Church Age is marked by the rapture, Joel's much overlooked prophecy holds perhaps the most important key to unmistakably recognizing the time of this event in The Revelation. Based on these things, the chronology of The Revelation, and much more, it can rightly be concluded that the rapture of the Church will occur just after Christ's opening of the 6th Seal and in conjunction with the sign appearance that He will make at that time. This has the rapture occurring just before the beginning of the last days' Day of the Lord judgment, or "the great day of His wrath," as spoken of in John's account of this seal (Rev. 6:17). After this, John writes of 144,000 Jews that will be sealed at this time and then beholds the just resurrected and raptured Church in Heaven, of which it is truthfully said, "These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Christ then opens the last seal of the Seven Sealed Book, which Scripture supports will be opened the same day as the 6th Seal. Helpful to contemplate is that this book could rightly be entitled, THE DAY OF THE LORD, as the time of the last days' Day of the Lord judgment is what it is all about. On the day that the Day of the Lord commences, things will immediately start coming together for the fulfilling of the final seven years of Daniel's Seventy Weeks' prophecy. This all means that the rapture will occur well before that time of tribulation, making this a solid pre-trib (or pre-Daniel's 70th Week) rapture view. Concerning Daniel's prophecy of 70 weeks, the fact that the Church was not a part of the fulfilling of the first 69 weeks of this prophecy strongly suggests that it will not be a part of the 70th Week. Similarly, what is in our Western Hemisphere was also not a part of the fulfilling of the first 69 weeks, and there is prophetic evidence that it too will not be a part of the 70th Week. This evidence occurs just after the opening of the 7th Seal with the sounding of the first four of seven trumpets and the resultant destruction of one-third of the earth (Rev. 8:7-12). As we have seen, if this destruction is concentrated (rather than cumulative) and concerns what is in our hemisphere, this would represent exactly one-third of the earth. This supports that what is in our hemisphere may be taken out of the picture at this time for the purpose of bringing the focus again to bear upon what is in Israel's hemisphere—as in the Bible days. Interestingly, this can scripturally occur the same day as the rapture. Said another way, on the day of the rapture, it looks like God is going to do something staggering to begin the resetting of the world's stage for the time of Daniel's 70th Week. In harmony with this, if all the remaining population of the earth during that time is in Israel's hemisphere, this takes all of the mystery away from how "every eye" will simultaneously behold Christ (in Person) at His Second Advent. If the first four trumpets of Revelation chapter eight result in the destruction of what is in our hemisphere, and trumpets number five and six of chapter nine result in the completion of the world's stage for Daniel's 70th Week, this fits that "little book open" in chapter 10 as being the little book of Daniel. This fit is made all the more apparent by what we discover in chapter 11, as everything John now begins to see relates to Daniel's 70th Week. This becomes especially evident when the worship occurring in verse one of this chapter is understood as being directed toward the Antichrist. This understanding is supported by Paul's prophecy concerning "that man of sin...the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God" ( 2 Thess. 2:3-4). Further reinforcing this interpretation are the next two verses (Rev. 11:2-3), which are clearly in reference to two 3-1/2 year periods of time, equaling the seven years of tribulation that make up Daniel's 70th Week. Finally, the sounding of the 7th Trumpet heralds the long anticipated period that will result in COMPLETE CLOSURE FOR THIS WORLD. It will include the last half of Daniel's 70th Week, Christ's Second Advent, the Battle of Armageddon, Christ's Millennial Reign, and the Last Judgment. After this, TIME WILL GIVE WAY TO ETERNITY and that Happily Ever After part for God and all of His saved, as revealed beginning in Revelation chapter 21.

The 2nd Seal reveals Satan's Church Age scheme to take away peace and bring about wars... The 2nd Seal reveals Satan's Church Age scheme to take away peace and bring about wars. bACK tO TOP PART I HOME next key PROPOSITION N Continuing with John's account of the opening of the seals, from Revelation 6: 3 And when He had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. There is certainly no difficulty seeing the correlation between what John here saw and what Jesus spoke of next in His Olivet Discourse. From Matthew's account, in chapter 24, consider: 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: Perhaps no other words that Jesus spoke concerning what the future held resonate with our generation more than these, that there would be "wars and rumours of wars." There is really no need to take the time to mention the wars that have occurred in the last hundred years, which the United States alone has been involved in, much less the rest of the world. And, what about all the wars that have occurred since John received The Revelation! Think about this: How long has Christ's Bride worked towards peaceful solutions to humanity's differences so that war might be averted, only to have so many of Her efforts rode roughshod over by something? Believing as I do that the rider on the red horse of the 2nd Seal has been the culprit here, I can almost envision this horseman busying himself to keep everything among peoples and nations in a stir, always endeavoring to keep the fires of war stoked. Isn't it amazing how much we would like to have peace in the world and yet how difficult and seemingly impossible it is to attain? Why is this s o? I submit that it is because of the power this rider has been given "to take peace from the earth" and his obsession with the exercising of this power. If the activity of the rider on this red horse has been behind all the wars that have occurred since the first century, the sword he has wielded has indeed been "great" (vs. 4). It might be asked, "If Satan has been granted such liberty, what is the Church to do?" My answer is this: Just because Satan has been granted certain powers does not mean that God has left us powerless! Paul instructed the Church to be "strong in the Lord, and in the power of HIS might " (Eph. 6:10). A sermon could be preached right here! It is not just the horseman of the 2nd Seal who has been given a great sword. The Bride has in Her arsenal "the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God " (Eph. 6:17)! So, though we are fighting "against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Eph. 6:12), we must not retreat. We must continue in our own campaign, in keeping with the song we sing, "Onward Christian Soldiers." And fellow soldiers, when it seems that you are in a place where you cannot advance, stand, "having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace " (Eph. 6:14-15). This is the only way to countervail for the peace that the horseman of the 2nd Seal is bent on taking away. Let's continue...

In Matthew 25, we have the only account of three parables that Jesus gave during His giving of His Olivet Discourse. Here is how to understand them in light of my different pre-trib rapture view.... APPENDIX #5 In Matthew 25, we have the only account of three parables that Jesus spoke at the time of His Olivet Discourse, parables which relate to the last days. These are commonly referred to as the Parable of the Ten Virgins, the Parable of the Talents, and the Parable of the Sheep and Goats. I would here like to focus on the basics of these parables, especially when considered from the perspective of my different pre-trib view. THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS In this parable, Jesus likens the workings of the Kingdom of Heaven (as this spiritual dimension of God overlaps our world) to a story of ten virgins that are going forth with their lamps to meet the bridegroom. Five are said to be wise and five are said to be foolish. The reason that five are said to be foolish has to do with their not having enough oil for their lamps, meaning, they were not as prepared as they thought they were to meet the bridegroom, who could come at any time. Since all are virgins, it could be supposed that they were morally upright. But, being morally upright does not make one prepared or saved. However, five were prepared and were able to go in with the bridegroom to the marriage, after which "the door was shut" (vs. 10). Later, the five foolish virgins arrive at the door, but are not allowed to enter. Rather, the bridegroom replies to them, "Verily I say unto you, I know you not" (vs. 12). With this, Jesus expresses the thrust of His parable with these words: "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh" (vs. 13). Whatever may be believed about the minute details of this parable, it cannot be allowed to nullify the main thrust, which Jesus expresses in verse 13. The main thrust is the importance of being at all times watchful and ready for His coming, especially in consideration of one's not knowing when this might be. This certainly bespeaks the imminency of Christ's return. In harmony with this, because Christ will initially return to make a sign appearance (Matt. 24:30/Rev. 6:15-16) and for the rapture (Matt. 24:31/1 Thess. 4:16-17), it is to this event that I believe this parable must speak. Relating to the five foolish virgins, it is not difficult to imagine that the day the Church is raptured, there will be those who felt they were ready, who will suddenly be in a scramble, making their appeals skyward to be allowed to enter Heaven. There are other reasons to believe that this parable relates to the rapture, which should become more apparent in the course of this study. But presently, I would ask the reader to carefully consider the following... In verse 13 of this parable, Jesus essentially repeats what He had said just a few moments earlier in His discourse concerning the importance of being ready for His return (Matt. 24:42). At that time, He illustrated this with words concerning the days of Noah (Matt. 24:36-39). We know that in Noah's day, everyone was going about their normal activities without any regard for his message of pending judgment. But, before any sign that the flood was about to begin, God called Noah and his family to enter into the ark (Gen. 7:1-4ff). In Jesus' parable of the ten virgins, if He was reinforcing the importance of being prepared for His Second Advent (rather than His preceding sign appearance), this would be relative to a time after much of God's judgment had already begun. This would be tantamount to God's calling Noah and his family to enter into the ark after the flood waters were already upon the earth! We know that just prior to Christ's Second Advent, the seven angels will have begun to pour out the vials of God's wrath upon the earth (Rev. 16). This is not to mention everything else that will have taken place. Factoring all of this in, I submit that none will be going about any normal activity during that time. Also, because of the timelines that are given relating to Daniel's 70th Week, when it has begun, the day of Christ's Second Advent will be able to be calculated—and will be. This is evidenced in part by what John wrote in Revelation 19:19, "And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army." On the other hand, we know that presently, the unsaved (and many religious people) are indeed going about their normal activities, without any regard for the Church's message of pending judgment. But, at any time, the trumpet may sound! "Watch therefore..." THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS In this parable, Jesus likens the workings of the Kingdom of Heaven to that of a man who travels into a far country, who calls his servants unto him and imparts to them "his goods" (vs. 14). He divides his goods among them, imparting to one five portions, to another two, and to another one, after which he takes his journey. Then it is shown what each servant does with what is given to him and the reckoning that takes place upon their master's return. At the time of the reckoning we see that two of the servants have performed well and are praised and blessed accordingly. But, the last servant has done evil and is rebuked and punished. The thrust of this parable concerns what we do with what the Lord imparts to us and the importance of realizing that there is coming a day of reckoning for us, whether we be saved or lost. It is easy to discern that the "man travelling into a far country" would point to Christ. His "goods" or "talents" would represent substance of great worth, which I think of as being spiritual substance, which is of the greatest worth. I can also see the reckoning with the first two servants paralleling the Judgment Seat of Christ (1 Cor. 3:11-15, 2 Cor. 5:10), which (as is commonly believed) can happen in Heaven at some time after the rapture and will be for Christians. As is also commonly believed, this will be a judgment to determine rewards (Matt. 16:27, 2 Jn. 8, Rev. 22:12). But what about the last servant? As there are both true and false prophets, there are both good and evil servants, and this last servant is in the category of the latter. He is referred to by his master as being both "wicked and slothful" (vs. 26) and is consigned to be cast "into outer darkness" where "there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (vs. 30). This certainly has overtones of Hell (Matt. 13:42, 22:13, 24:51; 2 Pet. 2:17; Jude 6). Something further that may need to be reinforced concerning this parable and its relation to the rapture and the Judgment Seat of Christ is this: Because of all the destruction that will take place on the day of the rapture (which will become more clear in PART II ), we know that an untold multitude of unsaved people will lose their lives at that very time. Those who do die at that time will not be in the mix of the just raptured Christians, who will immediately be ushered into the presence of God, nor will they have part in the event of the Judgment Seat of Christ. Rather, they will be immediately separated to Hell, or Hades, which would parallel the case of the last servant in the parable and also the rich man of Luke 16:19-31. This would be pending that time further in their future (after Christ's Millennial Reign) when they will be judged at the Last Judgment (or Great White Throne Judgment), to be finally cast into the Lake of Fire or Gehenna (Rev. 20:11-15). THE PARABLE OF THE SHEEP AND GOATS In this parable, Jesus speaks about the fact and the time of His return to set up His Millennial Kingdom and of a judgment that will take place at that time. At this judgment, all the "nations" of people (or Gentiles) will be gathered before Him, and He will "separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats" (vs. 32). When all the sheep are to His right hand and all the goats are to His left, He will begin His decree. In real time, those to His right He blesses and grants the privilege of being a part of His Millennial Kingdom and tells them that this is because of the various ways they had cared for Him. They ask when it was that they had cared for Him so, and He explains that when they had cared for His brethren (the Jews and possibly any tribulation overcomers), they had cared for Him. Then He turns to those to His left and banishes them to everlasting fire, explaining that this is because of the various ways they had not cared for Him. When these ask when it was that they had not so cared for Him, He explains that when they had not cared for His brethren, they had not cared for Him. It is understandable how that some might conclude that this parable conveys that one's judgment is based upon works or how one treats others. But, genuine good will towards others springs from something deeper than such works and is merely reflective of what is within one's heart. And, no one can judge a heart like Jesus Christ! Also, it needs to be remembered that the first and great commandment does not concern how we love others—it concerns our love for God. But, as someone has rightly said, "When we love God the most, we can love others more." This is because God is love (1 Jn. 4:16). I would like to make it clear that I do not believe the judgment of this parable to be the Last Judgment (or Great White Throne Judgment) spoken of in Revelation 20:11-15. Rather, my position is that this judgment will occur soon after Christ's Second Advent, at the time of the beginning of His thousand year reign. This means that this judgment will occur just after the end of Daniel's 70th Week. We know that those during that time who by faith choose to die rather than take the mark of the beast will be saved as a result of being overcomers (compare Rev. 12:11, 15:2-4, and 20:4 with 1 Jn. 5:4-5). Who then are those who are alluded to as the sheep and goats? From evidences in Scripture concerning the seven year period of Daniel's 70th Week, I can see there being some who will be able to flee and survive for a time or some in remote areas who will be able to evade being found. No doubt, there will be those who will be able to help others who are fleeing and those who will help the Jews when they flee (e.g., Matt. 24:15-20ff, Lk. 21:20-24, and Rev. 12:14-17). Those who by faith help and minister to others who are fleeing (and especially the Jews) are the sheep of the parable. Those who care for none but themselves are the goats of the parable. These would not have even cared for Christ (Matt. 25:44-45). They, as the "wicked and slothful servant" in the previous parable, will likewise be separated to Hell (Hades) immediately, to be later cast into the Lake of Fire (Gehenna), as revealed in Revelation 20:11-15 (esp. vss. 13-14). Finally, from the perspective of my different view—and in a nutshell—this is how the parables of Matthew 25 relate to the last days: #1 — The first parable relates to the time of Christ's coming for the Church. #2 — The second parable relates to the time of the Judgment Seat of Christ. #3 — The third parable relates to the time of Christ's Millennial Reign. ( origin is PROPOSITION K ) bACK tO TOP next

Your edifices of higher learning and boasts of towering academics have resulted in many blunders... CONCERNING THE GOLIATH OF SCHOLARSHIP To those who feel that what I have put forth in this website better represents the truth of what God has revealed to us concerning the last days, it should not be surprising that the Goliath of scholarship will be in opposition to it. Interestingly, this giant is also in opposition to itself. In one of its fists, it is wielding a pre-trib spear with a good point, but an untrue shaft. In the other, it's gripping a worn out post-trib shield. And, on its breastplate of scholastics, there is everything in between. I've spent some time in its camp, but now there is a great valley between us. And now, I feel compelled to challenge this giant in the name of the Lord. I believe I have a little something for it. "Is there not a cause?" That being said... TO THE GOLIATH OF SCHOLARSHIP: Your edifices of higher learning and boasts of towering academics have resulted in many blunders. In that brook between us, as I've knelt down there, I've found a few things, smoothed in the Divine tumbler of humble devotion and prayer. You may disdain my stature, But I'm looking above us. With what's in my scrip * you have an appointed meeting. * (1 Sam. 17:40 KJV) bACK tO TOP NEXT

The Revelation is in chronological order, and chapters 11-20 overlap consistent with this order... The Revelation is in chronological order, and chapters 11-20 overlap consistent with this order. Beginning with chapter 11, there is a difference in the manner in which John records things. This difference seems to be closely related to what he writes concerning the 7th Trumpet in verses 15-19, for what he here records is like a concise overview of what will be taking place throughout the next several chapters. More precisely, the 7th Trumpet heralds a period that takes in everything John sees from the time of its sounding in chapter 11 until after the Last Judgment in chapter 20. In accord with the way the Bible's chapters are divided (which I attribute to the hand of God), it appears that after John is given the brief overview of this period, he uses an overlapping method of recording all of the details of it—without fail. While the order of this section is still chronological, portions of some events are revealed from different angles along the way, making for some overlaps of information, as could be expected. Because of this, it is not quite as simple to follow the order of this section, but there is still a definite pattern and progression of events. Recognizing this is an important key to understanding the chronology of The Revelation. Below is an illustration of the overlapping method in which chapters 11 through 20 are laid out: Further related to the preceding, near the end of my earlier mentioned Revelation outline you will find what I have entitled, DETAILS OF THE PERIOD HERALDED BY THE SEVENTH TRUMPET . A survey of the headlines and details given for each chapter covering this period will show that, aside from the mentioned overlaps of some information, the events recorded in this half of The Revelation are in strict chronological order as well—just like with the first half. The OVERLAPS references that I give for each chapter reveal the continuity of this section and also help to show that it indeed belongs to the period heralded by the 7th Trumpet, again, of which Revelation 11:15-19 is an overview. Finally, Revelation chapters 21-22 also continue chronologically, but as a whole, as illustrated below: These last two chapters of The Revelation reveal John's vision of God's Heaven and the conclusion to The Revelation, which marks the conclusion of The Bible as well. bACK tO TOP PART I HOME next key PROPOSITION B A very important consideration in the study of any end time view is the question of the order in which The Revelation was given to John. The position of the view herein set forth is that it was given in true chronological order, and one goal of this work has been the outlining and exposition of this order so that it can be more readily observed. Here is a link to my own outline of this order titled, (A CHRONOLOGICAL OUTLINE OF THE REVELATION ) . Before getting into some of the finer details, what John records in the first 10 chapters is in the strictest chronological order possible. It is not even within the realm of possibility for what is found in these chapters to be shown in a more chronological manner. One thing leads into another thing, which leads into another thing, and so forth throughout the first 10 chapters. No back and forth, no overlap, no repeating of anything, just chronological information laid out as simply as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Basically, there is the introduction, followed by the letters to the seven churches, followed by a vision of God and the Lamb, followed by the opening of the seals of the Seven Sealed Book, followed by the sounding of the first six (of seven) trumpets, followed by John's account of an angel he saw, who had in his hand "a little book open" (Rev. 10:2). Below is a simple illustration of how straightforward the first 10 chapters are laid out: