New Title for My Book

In the last update, I discussed why I was recommending to my publisher that the title of my book contain “2012” in it. This week I heard from a team of people at the publishing company who recommended this title: Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock; and I have decided to go with it.

The 2012 Phenomenon

Since my book will play off of the 2012 phenomenon, it would be good for us to understand what is so special about 2012 in the minds of many right now.

By the way, "2012" has six times more Google searches than any other prophecy term; and it will only increase as we get closer to 2012. In November of this year, a major motion picture will be released, starring John Cusack, on this phenomenon, entitled, "2012". The trailer of the movie shows a Tibetan Buddhist monk in a monastery on the peak of a mountain, ringing a warning bell. In the background you can see an immense tidal wave washing over the Himalayas and eventually it reaches the monastery and destroys it. The trailer sends the message that not even the prayers of monks can turn back the tide and even their remote mountain retreat isn't safe.

The significance of 2012 stems from the Maya calendar which seems to predict the end of the world as we know it on December 21, 2012. The Mayans believed that the Sun travels in an orbit through the galaxy just like the planets of our solar system travel in an orbit around the Sun. They calculated that it requires 25,625 of our years for the Sun to complete one circle, called a galactic day. The Mayans divided this day into 5 cycles of 5125 years each. According to their calendar the current cycle, which is the 5th, will end on the day we know as Dec. 21, 2012, the winter solstice.

The Mayan Calendar does not necessarily predict the world will end on that day, as some think, but they did believe that the Sun, having reached the exact center of the galaxy, would receive and emit a powerful surge of light from this alignment and would reverse its polarity. This would cause a great cosmic event on Earth and result in the end of life as we know it.

Here is how a video at http://www.polereversal.com/ tells it:

Never before in history has one date, one moment in time been so significant to so many cultures, so many religions, so many scientists, so many governments, and to so many people all around the world.

In the coming years we will begin to see a dramatic increase in Drought, Floods, Hurricanes, Tsunamis, Earthquakes, Volcanic Eruptions, Global Warming, Famine, Human Disease, Disregard for Human Life, Wars, and Rumors of Wars, Increased Terrorist Attacks, Increased Nuclear Threat, The Emergence of the Anti Christ.

DECEMBER 21, 2012

The ancient Mayan foretold of Earth’s Final Day.

The Hopi Indians see a great purification of earth.

Nostradamus speaks of a devastating asteroid.

The Chinese “I Ching” predicts the end of history.

The prophecies of St. Malachy predicts only one more Pope.

Edgar Cayce predicts the return of Atlantis.

Albert Einstein warns of polar shift.

NASA confirms intense solar storms are coming.

Earth will complete its 26,000 year wobble.

Our sun will align with the plane of the Milky Way.

Will we experience a renewed Enlightenment or a New Beginning?....

Or will we be witness to ……….THE END

The Sad State of the Church Today

In my book, I discuss that one reason Jesus will take the Church (consisting of all living upon the earth who have believed Jesus for eternal life) out of this world via the rapture is because the Church has arrived at such a sad state that it has become ineffective at reaching the world for Christ. A clear illustration of this sad state is presented in the article entitled, “ ‘Evangelical Christians’ Now Thanking Allah,” located at http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=107816. It details that a group of “Emergent Christians,” led by a well-known Christian author and influential pastor, Brian McLaren, has announced it will observe the Muslim holy month, along with Muslims. (The Emergent Church is one of the fastest growing sects of Christianity which has as its focus living Christianity in the postmodern world. But, unfortunately, theology is not all that important to this group. Ramadan is the month that Muslims thank Allah, their god, for revealing the Quran to Muhammad, their prophet.) On McLaren's personal blog, he recently announced his intentions: “We, as Christians, humbly seek to join Muslims in this observance of Ramadan as a God-honoring expression of peace, fellowship, and neighborliness.” McLaren says he is seeking through the practice of this Islamic ritual to promote “the common good, together with people of other faith traditions”. This sounds more like new age philosophy than Biblical Christianity.

Israel & Iran

Interestingly, a Wall Street Journal online article (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203863204574348533106427974.html?mod=rss_opinion_main#) reports that Iran intends to introduce a U.N. resolution, backed by one hundred other countries, that bans attacks against nuclear facilities. This article suggests that Iran understands that Israel is the only possible country that may attempt to stop their nuclear ambitions. According to the article, Iran also understands that the West (including the U.S.) lacks the will to do anything about their ambitions. The article states: “The irony is that the weaker the West and U.N. appear, the more probable an Israeli attack becomes.”

This is what I have been saying. The only hope to stop Iran’s race toward nuclear capability is an attack by Israel. It has to happen, and Israel understands that it would need to occur within the next several months. (In addition, it will need to be accomplished before Russia delivers its air defense system to Iran before the end of this year [see http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2009/me_israel0677_08_26.asp]. Also, see this article by the Las Angeles Times at http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-zenko30-2009aug30,0,7428703.story, which convincingly argues that Israel has Iran in its sites and will attack soon.) Two other notable quotes in this same article are: 1) “The reality that Western leaders don't want to admit is that preventing Iran from getting the bomb is an Israeli national imperative, not a mere policy choice”; and 2) “U.S. and Israeli military officials we've spoken to are confident an Israeli strike could deal a significant blow to Iran's programs, even if some elements would survive. The longer Israel waits, however, the more steps Iran can take to protect its installations.”

By the way, you might want to take a look at this German article (which, fortunately, is in English) at http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,646481,00.html. It compares the world’s appeasement of Iran with what occurred when the world sought to appease Hitler. The article presents Ahmadenijad as every bit as dangerous as (or more so than) Hitler.

An article this week at http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/totten/82001 shows that Bashir Assad of Syria has no intentions of making peace with Israel. According to the article it is because he cannot; for if he attempts to do so, he will not survive politically. But keep in mind that Assad’s regime is being propped up by Iran. If Israel attacks Iran with the force it will need to do so in order to cripple Iran’s nuclear ambitions, not only will the current Iranian regime most likely be overthrown by the pro-Western Iranians, but so will the Assad regime. (This scenario will also do significant damage to the terrorist groups Hezbollah and Hamas which the current Iranian regime feeds financially and militarily. All of this—in connection with a serious focus on a Middle East peace treaty between Israel and ten other nations—will set up the world to believe it has achieved peace and security, as per 1 Thessalonians 5:3.) In that case, the Assad regime will likely be replaced with a leader who is much more amenable to endorsing peace with Israel. If so, then George Mitchell will likely be correct when he predicted that Syria will be a co-signer of the peace treaty with Israel. (It seems that according to the book of Daniel, five of the ten co-signers of the treaty with Israel will be from the Eastern part of the old Roman Empire. Syria would fit that bill. In addition, Syria is part of the old Assyrian Empire—and the king of the North will be Assyrian—and it is part of the region which the last “king of the North” in Daniel 11 [the one who is a forerunner of the future king of the North]. That said, Syria will likely be a co-signer of the treaty with Israel with possibly Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Lebanon [where Hezbollah currently exhibits much power].)

Questions

I could cover much more in the news this week, but I want to stop here to answer some questions I received this week. The questions are below with my answers in bold.

Q: Do you think Gen. 26:26-30 is a good indication of what the basis for the 10 nations and especially the King of the North will make the treaties they do with Israel?  Surely the King of the North [the man who will conquer the Middle East by the mid-point of the tribulation period and who will become the world ruler at the mid-point] will know the history of the three-day war, etc… and (probably will have seen Israel take Iran out) and not want to risk them doing the same to him.

A: This is a very good question.

Though I don't think that either the ten nations or the king of the North will grasp that the Lord is with Israel, I do believe you're right that they will respect the power and the will of Israel--particularly as a result of Israel's attack on Iran. The Middle East (particularly the Arab nations) respects power (and that is about all it respects), so I believe that the only thing that will bring five Arab nations to the peace table with Israel will be Israel's display of power, which is another argument for predicting Israel's attack on Iran. I also believe the king of the North will respect that display of power which is what will move him to make a secret treaty with the leaders of Israel (Isaiah 28:15).

But then three and a half years into the day of the Lord (the seven-year tribulation period, the final seven years before the return of Christ to the earth), something will change for the king of the North. By then, he will be buoyed up his conquest of the Middle East and will be puffed up by the pride of his god (Satan; note 1 Tim. 3:6 to see that the devil's primary sin problem is pride). Combined with the motivation of doing something about God's two prophets who will have been preaching God's word from Jerusalem for three and a half years by this point (along with the results of their powerful ministry--outpouring of worldwide plagues and the conversion of 144,000 Jewish evangelists), he will move his military machine into Jerusalem.

Q: I understand the lukewarmness of the Church is wide spread...particularly in our country.... but aren’t we seeing a strong movement of a clear free grace teaching in our country.

A: I agree with your assessment of the reasons for the failure of the Church to effectively reach the world with the gospel. I really wish we were seeing a strong movement of free grace teaching; however, it is a very minute minority of the teaching in this country. In fact, within the last couple of years, I have been struck with how small this movement really is. As a result of Bob Bryant and Zane Hodges' clarification of the gospel at GES conferences, a number (maybe half?) of members of GES separated themselves from GES. It seems that with the clarification God revealed how small is the number of Bible teachers who truly hold to a clear, Biblical gospel.

Q: What do we need to do to MORE effectively reach the world with the gospel?

A: I believe the two greatest things we can do to promote free grace teaching consist of prayer; and support. We need to pray for God to open hearts of people to His gospel of grace, and we need to financially support those pastors, teachers, and missionaries who boldly promote the gospel of grace.

It seems that great "revivals" in church history have been born out of a grass roots movement. That is, they did not generally begin with well-known Christian leaders but with lay-level individuals who prayed, who open-heartedly sought God's word, and who boldly proclaimed Christ. These "revivals' always began with a small minority and spread from there. This could happen with the gospel of grace today--prior to the rapture of the Church. If so, then it could be a fulfillment of the principle of the "early and latter rain" (Deuteronomy 11:14; Jeremiah 5:24; Hosea 6:3; Joel 2:23; James 5:7), with the "early rain" beginning at Pentecost and the "latter rain" taking place shortly before the rapture takes place. However, it is more likely the "latter rain" will begin its fulfillment with God's two prophets in Jerusalem, bringing it back full circle--beginning and ending with Jerusalem as the starting point and the catalyst for the gospel that goes worldwide.

Yet, that said, in God's graciousness, we could see a number of people believe in Jesus alone for eternal life here in the U.S.--prior to the rapture. (I have seen an unprecedented number of my students at LeTourneau receive eternal life within the past year--and I have been teaching for LeTourneau for sixteen years.) It seems to me, due to what I see in 2 Thess. 2:9-12 that those from countries and areas where people had every opportunity to hear the gospel, but would not believe it, will not bear much fruit from the gospel in the tribulation period. And, unfortunately, that includes the U.S. So it could be that God will be gracious in the present time by "harvesting" a number of souls for the gospel in the present time from those areas which will seem barren in connection with the gospel in the tribulation period.

More Good News

Aside from the good news of deciding on a new title for my book (which will enable me to be more focused on promotional work for the book), I just received another endorsement. This is another good one from the president of Rocky Mountain Bible College and Seminary. I am waiting on one more significant endorsement before I send them on to the publisher.

Thank You & Prayer

Again, thank you for your support. Many of you have pre-purchased copies of my book, and I am very grateful for that. In addition, many of you have passed these emails on to others; and I hope you continue to do that. (Also, feel free to encourage people to email me so I can add them to the list of recipients of this email.)

And I am very, very grateful for your prayer!! Please continue to pray for the publishing process. (By the way, I just learned that the editing process will begin in three to four weeks.) Also, please pray that God will get a copy of the book into the hands of all who are open to His word and that He will use it to prepare them for the return of Christ.

I’m grateful for you!

Keep looking up!

John