End Times

Dallas Sniper: “The End Is Coming” – Is This Violence an End Time Sign?

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DallasPoliceShooting

The headline today is another tragic US shooting, this time of police officers and 5 dead. To make it even more disturbing, among the shooter’s last words were, “the end is coming.”

Needless to say I’ve had a few people ask me about this, wondering if this is an end time sign and if this shooter’s words were significant or prophetic.

To help address that common concern, I am sending out this article to remind everyone:

1. As disturbing as all these shootings are, violence or wars is not an end time sign according to Jesus (Mt 24:6).
2. Jesus added that these things “must come” but “see you are not alarmed by them” (Mt 24:6).

Let’s try to remember Jesus words and follow his advice when we see violence or wars.

But Jesus did not stop there with false signs. He also gave two real signs that kick off the end which, unlike wars and violence, are unprecedented and therefore easy to identify when they come. Nothing like them has happened before.

Read on to understand better the two false signs and two real signs of the end that Jesus described…

Netanyahu Address of Congress – End Time Sign?

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The “blood moons” hype lives on, and, of course, metamorphoses as it goes…bringing Prime Minister Netanyahu now into the story.

I would not be paying any attention to it except, invented prophecy theories like this worry people. As such and as always, several have asked me about a WND article quoting the “blood moon man” himself, Mark Biltz.

Review of the Blood Moon History

First, let’s review. Since Biltz invented the “four blood moon” prophecy theory, it has changed in meaning over time.

  1. Originally in 2008 Mark postulated that the return of Jesus would be seven years later at the conclusion of the tetrad in September, 2015. Soon after, it became obvious that the final seven years had not begun and Mark removed his theory from his site (although it’s on video).
  2. In 2013 others including John Hagee began to revisit the theory with the new idea it could spell trouble for Israel based on cherry-picking a few of the hundreds of scores of past tetrads in history. Biltz supported this reinterpretation.

“Judgment On America?”

Bilt’z new spin on it is reported in WND. He says now we have to watch out for a judgment on America because of Israel.

Biltz is focused on Netanyahu’s speech at the US Congress on the topic of a US nuclear deal with Iran. He sees significance to its timing as follows:

  • “two weeks after a solar eclipse” (!)
  • “a day before the Fast of Esther” (!)
  • “two days before Purim” (!!)
  • “a month before a blood moon” (!!!)

It seems Biltz is worried that Netanyahu might be rejected from speaking before Congress on that date or badly received by Obama. If support for Israel is withdrawn in this way (when Israel is “facing a second Holocaust”) Biltz fears America will be judged. He cites Joel 3:2 for this.

And the Scriptural Support?

When pastors or authors float “prophecy alerts” like this, it’s always important to look to see what they’re basing it on. Is it a prophecy right there in the text of Scripture? Or is it only a Scripture-based story full of speculation and a lot of the expert’s trusted opinion (because they are a known author or pastor)?

Nearly all theories that catch people’s imagine and spread are of the latter type, and that’s the case with this one, too.

Notice there is no Scriptural proof for his theory except Joel 3:2. The majority of the story is made up of speculation based on an event related to Israel being (only) near various Jewish holy times.

Let’s Invent Reasons Arbitrarily, Shall We?

But who says “the day before the Fast of Esther” is significant? Shouldn’t the day of something be the significant date? Jesus was slain as the lamb of God on the very day of Passover, not the day before. The pouring of the spirit came on the actual day of Pentecost, not two days before. It’s quite arbitrary or what I call “widened goal posts.”

Likewise why are solar or lunar eclipses before or after the speech important? Lots of things happen before or after eclipses since eclipses are incredibly common (thousands . Who says these are different? Where is the authority to back up that statement?

As for Joel 3:2, it is taken out of context. That chapter is speaking specifically of a future judgment on all nations together for the couple things listed. It does not say the judgment is happening now or related to eclipses! The context of Joel 3 is millennial; Armageddon at the earliest. It has nothing to do with today.

As for a speech happening near lunar eclipses, there is nothing significant to that, either. There are from 2 to 4 lunar eclipses per year. Eclipses happen. All the time. Every year. They don’t communicate anything. How could they? They are too common and predictable.

Why Genesis Doesn’t Say “Let the Moon Be For Signs”

But what about Genesis 1:14-15? Biltz claims it supports his approach to placing prophetic significance on the lunar eclipses or blood moons.

That passage in context says that the sun, moon and stars would “be signs for festivals, days, and years” and “to light the earth” (Gen 1:14 HCSB, NIV). They are not generic signals from God to man about warnings or other things pastors are imagining and writing about. The passage says nothing about God wanting us to look at the heavenly lights to receive communication from God.

Elsewhere the Bible condemns placing significance on the signs of the heavens as a practice of the heathen:

Jeremiah 10:2 – Thus says the LORD, “Do not learn the way of the heathen, And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens for the heathen are terrified by them…”

Besides, unless God is spelling out letters in Morse Code by making the Sun start blinking at us, it’s all completely subjective what message would be there. One person can say an eclipse means X and another one can say Y. Who’s right? Neither! Regularly scheduled eclipses are a result of the motion of the sun, moon and planets. They are not the hand of God tweeting to us in his own way.

Our Ever-Speculating “Watchmen”

When a famous Christian author of a prophecy book like Biltz says they see potential signals from God in current events, it gets attention. Christians assume these wise men have more than just their opinion to back up what they are saying–or they would not say it.

Some may be afraid of ignoring them. What if it really is a “warning from God” and they did not heed it?

The truth is that these men are offering only very creative and compelling speculation. They are not telling you what the Bible plainly says is a sign of the end to watch for. They are stringing a few verses together after taking them out of context and then weaving a story based on traditions current events.

To them, the theory is strong enough to warrant warning everyone to “watch out, “just in case.” I do not doubt their sincerity in this. They believe they see a pattern that is real and significant and not just a result of self-deception.

Unfortunately it is much like Jesus said, the blind leading the blind and both ending up in the ditch. If people who do not know Bible prophecy well are being lead by people who misinterpret prophecy and take verses out of context, the result is failure and confusion.

Nothing to Worry About

Consequently, these preemptive warnings never prove justified. Nothing specifically predicted ever happens. Take it from someone who has been watching predictions since the 1980’s. They always fail.

Nevertheless, collective amnesia sets in and everyone forgets about the prediction, because after all, it was only a warning, a possibility. The teacher was playing it safe and had good intentions.

People move on to the next warning…which will surely come and is sure to be right (this time).

If you want to jump off that merry-go-round, I recommend you understand the words of Jesus on what the real one and only “sign of the end” is which can now be understood.

Why Most Christians Will Choose to Let the Antichrist Behead Them

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A reader asked me a very good question about the beheading of saints in the Great Tribulation:

Tim,

I was just reading Rev. 20:4 where John describes faithful followers of Christ who were beheaded in part for not worshiping the beast or taking his mark.  Here’s my question:  If the faithful have been led to a safe place by the end-times Elijah, then who are all those that get beheaded for being faithful in the face of the Antichrist’s onslaught?

Derrel

Who is Left Behind For the Antichrist to Behead?

To see my answer to his question, read the following article I wrote on why faith is required to escape the end times.

Tim

Discussing End Time Prophecy With Children

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Many who contact me and get my book are naturally concerned about understanding and even mentally prepared for the end times events. Those who are parents like me often bring up the subject of how to share this topic with their children. Here’s an example of what one lady wrote me:

Can you please tell me how you discuss these things [end times] with your children?  I have a 15 y.o and he is difficult to talk to.

I thought perhaps that I should just pray and ask the Holy Spirit to give him revelation knowledge, understanding, wisdom, insight and discernment about the things to come and the things pertaining to God as he is moving away from the faith.

Here’s my answer:

Because I have been studying and talking about this topic everyday since my children were small, they have been used to it without me specifically discussing it with them. I don’t see any need to do so anyway. There is nothing children or teens (or anyone else) need to know or need to do about what’s coming. It tends to only make them anxious and wonder whether they will get a chance to finish school, have a career, get married, have kids. So I don’t recommend it.

It may help to remember that most people will know nothing about the end times. This is OK because God’s plan to save us does not depend on something other than that. Elijah will come, work miracles, speak with authority, get attention and share instructions no one else has. People of all walks and modes of belief or unbelief will not be able to miss that call to action when it comes and it will wake up even many skeptics and unbelievers. Many Christians who depend on pastors, religion, church structure, etc. may not respond in faith.

Therefore, instead of giving them the particulars about Bible prophecy, I think your best bet is to teach your children to look to God and his word directly now (Acts 17:11), instead of depending on others’ opinions about God for when the time comes to evaluate Elijah and what he says when he comes.

“Pray that your flight not be…on the Sabbath day”?

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A reader of my book asked me this very good question that many Christians wonder about when reading Matthew’s version of the Olivet Discourse:

IF the Sabbath is no long in effect (Acts 15) how do we file away this:
Matthew 24:20 – But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day:

Is this a Hint for Christians To Keep Sabbath?

Some Christians find Jesus’ mention of the Sabbath in this passage disturbing. It almost seems to be advising us to be careful to avoid trampling the Sabbath.  For Christians, the Sabbath is a command they associate with the lost legalistic Pharisees of Jesus’ day and the non-believing Orthodox Jews today. Therefore the statement is problematic for them.

On the other hand, Sabbath-keeping Christians often cite this verse as proof of their position that God expects all believers to rest on Sabbath today. “Why would Jesus tell us to pray to not have to leave on the Sabbath unless it was still a day of rest for all believers?” they ask.

Well, that’s an excellent question. They probably are not going to like hearing what the most likely answer is. Yet most Christians will be glad to see how this verse’s plain meaning is in harmony with the rest of the Bible. The exercise will illustrate how many of these verses are best resolved through attention to grammatical, historical and whole Bible context.

Here’s the problem with the common interpretation of this verse. Under the Old Covenant Torah, there was no prohibition against fleeing or even fighting for your life on Sabbath. The only requirement given in the Torah after Israel had entered the land was to rest from your occupational work. (When they were still in tents wandering for 40 years, they had the additional requirement of not even leaving their place; probably only to not be tempted to gather manna – Ex 16:29. See Dt 23:12-13). Therefore, the mention of the Sabbath day causing hardship has nothing to do with believers keeping Sabbath or Sabbath forbidding travel.

A More Probable and Congruent Meaning

To understand the statement, we have to understand what it meant to Jesus’ audience who he spoke it to. In Jesus’ day, their culture was to keep Sabbath. They did this not because it was required by the Old Covenant. They had broken that already. Plus, when it was in effect, prophets continually warned Israel and Judah to stop trampling on it. Yet, those prophets and their warnings ceased with the exile of Israel and Judah (similar to how the shekinah glory left the temple then in Ezekiel 10:18). Instead, they were keeping it as part of their cultural tradition and religion of Judaism that developed out of the Babylon exile. You are probably familiar with some of the many things Orthodox Judaism prohibits on Sabbath, such as ripping toilet paper, carrying money, or turning on a light switch.

They had such embellishments back in Jesus’ day, too, which in several Gospel incidents Jesus is seen in conflict with them on. Examples include the washing of hands, healing or gleaning of grain in fields left for the poor on Sabbath.

They even had a “Sabbath’s day journey” limit on travel (referenced in Acts 1:12 as a distance measurement). Therefore, when Jesus mentioned avoiding Sabbath in the context of the prescribed speedy flight, Jesus’ audience knew immediately what he was talking about. Travel on Sabbath was already problematic back then with the cultural restrictions.

Today in the land of Israel, buses don’t run on Sabbath due to these same traditions. Mostly only Arab-run taxis are available. Therefore, it’s just plain harder to travel in Israel from Friday sunset until Saturday sunset today just as it was back in Jesus’ day. At least in the religious area of Jerusalem, or Judea this was true when I visited. Interestingly, this is the specific area Jesus said we would be gathered to and needing to flee from in the end times (Lk 21:21).

Notice the context as well. Sabbath day is mentioned along with winter and pregnant and nursing women. What do they all have in common? Winter means cold and potentially bad weather that requires more clothing and preparation. It makes travel harder. Being pregnant or having small children means you must go slower or carry a child and stop to nurse him. This obviously makes emergency last minute travel much harder and slower. All these things, like the Sabbath day, present obstacles to fast, unencumbered  travel on short notice as will be required. This was the whole point of the context of the Abomination of Desolation warnings. If someone does not listen to the warning ahead of time about what it coming and instead waits until he sees the event happen before his eyes (“I’ll believe it when I see  it”), then he will need to move so fast that he cannot even stop for supplies (Mt 24:15-20). If time is of the essence, then Sabbath day travel friction is a concern.

Other reputable commentaries agree this is likely the meaning:

What Christian Commentaries Say

New American Commentary on Matthew:

This reference to the Sabbath is found only in Matthew’s account. It would be natural for Matthew to include it for his more Jewish audience, but he does not thereby imply, as is often alleged, that he envisions Christians still keeping the Jewish laws. G. N. Stanton (“ ‘Pray That Your Flight May Not Be in Winter or on a Sabbath’ [Matthew 24.20],” JSNT 37 [1989]: 17–30) surveys the various options for interpreting this verse and concludes that the best approach understands that fleeing on the Sabbath would have antagonized the Jews further and increased persecution of believers.

MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Matthew:

Although Palestinian winters are mild compared to those in many parts of the world, even slightly inclement weather could be a hindrance when the Antichrist begins his final aggression against God’s people. Therefore Jesus said, Pray that your fight may not be in the winter.

Those seeking to escape should also pray that they will not have to flee on the Sabbath, when legalistic Jews who are not fleeing might try to stone or otherwise impede those whom they believe to be profaning the Sabbath—just as their forefathers had sought to stone Jesus for breaking their Sabbath traditions.

Jesus’ point was that no possession would be worth the risk of retrieving and no hindrance could be considered small. Because of the imminent unmatched terror, single-minded, undeterred flight will be the only order of the day.

Abomination Happens on A Sabbath in the Winter

What Jesus is implying by his suggestion to pray about the timing of your flight is that those who make the mistake of waiting until the last minute will literally see the Abomination happen on a Sabbath day in the Winter.

That may sound like an outrageous leap, but we can already confirm the Winter season for the abomination using Daniel. Daniel tells us that the Abomination of Desolation happens 1290 days from the end of the Tribulation. We know the rapture happens on the Feast of Trumpets right after the Tribulation (Mt 24:39-31). The Feast of Trumpets is on Tishrei 1, or first day of the 7th month. If you go back 1290 days or 43 months from that you end up in the 12th month of Adar. That’s the Winter!

Was Jesus also telling us ahead of time that the Abomination of Desolation would happen on a future Sabbath day? I think so.

Those who pray and have the faith to flee before they see the Abomination will probably flee before Winter gets bad. They can pick a time that is not on a Sabbath day as well and have an easier time. But to do this will take faith since it means leaving when everything seems fine to the eye.

Conclusion

Whenever we read a cryptic passage like this, we have to resist the temptation to jump to the conclusion that fits in with our doctrinal view. We have to put our bias aside and put on our detective’s hat. The Bible requires clear thinking and careful research. If we start with what the passage would have meant to the person saying it and also to his audience, we have a much better chance of arriving at the correct answer.

Note: If you think that by writing this article it means I do not keep Sabbath or am against keeping Sabbath, then that conclusion would be just as shaky as the one this article argued against. =) This article is not making a statement for or against keeping Sabbath. The point is only to correct a common case of taking a verses out of its context, masking its true intended meaning.

For the record, according to Isaiah 58 the Sabbath is a delight and blessing to keep whether it is required or not. Committing to resting one day a week recharges your batteries, relieves stress, gives space to reflect on the important things in life, and reconnect with your family. Those who can use more blessings from God in their life might optionally try resting on Sabbath. =)

2012 Movie & Bible Prophecy: “Striking” Similarities Article

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I went out to see the 2012 movie last week and was so impressed (as a prophecy fan) that I had to write about it. I’ve crafted a new article on website to highlight some similarities between what the movie shows and Bible prophecy. Of course, the 2012 date is complete fiction but this does not stop the movie from having some real value to truth seekers. Check out the new article here on The 2012 Movie and Bible prophecy.

Post any feedback or comments below.