WHAT IS GOING ON?

God told Daniel in chapter 12, verse four “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Daniel responded in verse eight, “And I heard, but I understood not. Then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?” God told him in verse nine, “…Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.”

In Revelation 22:10 John is told, “Seal not the sayings (words) of the prophecy of this book; for the time is at hand.”

From the time Daniel wrote his book, to John writing the book of Revelation, was about 650 years (+/-). From the writing of Revelation to today is about 1,915 years (+/-), and from the time of Daniel to today is about 2,560 years (+/-).

So, about 2,560 years ago God told Daniel the words were sealed (from understanding) until the time of the end. He told John about 1,915 years ago to not seal the words (from understanding) because the time of the end is at hand. These two books of God go hand in hand. Daniel was sealed, but now is opened up, revealed and expanded upon in Revelation. The book of Revelation is all about “revealing”. The word “revelation” says as much.

One of the greatest signs, in my view, that we are so close to Christ’s return is that the words relating to end-time prophecy are no longer sealed. Understanding is there if we look for it with the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Jesus is revealing Himself. Revelation 1:1-2 says, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant, John, who bore record (witness) of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.” But you may say, “Did not Jesus reveal Himself in the gospels?” Yes He did, but He revealed Himself in the gospels as the Suffering Servant and the Sacrificial Lamb. In the book of Revelation, He reveals Himself as the Lion of Judah, and the King of Kings.

Scripture tells us in Luke 4:18-19 that Jesus stood in the synagogue at Nazareth one day and read from the book of Isaiah the following words, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Then He closed the book, handed it to the minister, and sat down. The passage He was reading came from Isaiah 61:1-2. When turning to this passage, it immediately comes to notice that He stopped in mid-sentence without finishing the remainder of verse two. The remainder of verse two says, “and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;” Verse three goes on to say, “To appoint unto those who mourn in Zion, (Jerusalem) to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” It is now clear that the portion He read in the synagogue at Nazareth was applicable to His earthly ministry (His first coming). He stopped at that point, because the remainder of verse two and then verse three will not take place until after He removes His Church. He knew that … and now we know. It has been revealed to us.

It appears that dark clouds of judgment are about to roll across this earth. One can almost hear the thunder and see the approaching lightning of the coming storm. That storm is the Tribulation period, the seven remaining years promised to Israel. Jesus will remove His church prior to these events, and that could happen at any time. I would not dare attempt to define “any time”, since none of us know but God. However, Jesus said in Luke 21:28 “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” The events He was referring to occur during the Tribulation period, but it seems even now, for those who are paying attention, that something is about to happen. Something this world has never experienced is rising up, like a hibernating bear, waking up from a long winter. It rises, stretches, preparing to exit the cave that it has inhabited all winter. The predator is hungry. It approaches the cave entrance to go out into the world and devour its prey.

Think about this. Jesus gives no signs for the great “snatching away”, the Rapture, but they are freely and abundantly provided for the Tribulation period. Many of these Tribulation signs are either set in place or still forming, and from that it appears the edge of its shadows are beginning to envelop us. His statement in Luke 21:28 is to those who are left behind after the Rapture and who will be living through that period of hell on earth called the Tribulation. The church will not see these signs in full force, but you do not have to look very hard to see preparations being made for their occurrences.

Even more shocking is the rapidity of the events that we the Church are allowed to witness pre-Rapture. Forty years ago not much was known, said, or understood about end-time events. That is a totally different story today. As the world’s knowledge increases exponentially, so has our insight, provided by God to those things that are coming upon this world, been enlightened exponentially.

Currently, we seem to be living in a lull just before the storm hits. Yet we move about as if everything is status quo, ignoring the signs our Lord has laid out before us. Jesus said to the seven churches in Revelation, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” How many are actually listening? Are you listening? Are you watching?

Peter said in 1 Peter 4:7, “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” Jesus said in Revelation 3:3, “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”

I have no idea when Jesus will remove His Church from this earth and then usher in the Tribulation period. None of us do, but He has told us to be ready and watch. Lost soul, when the Rapture does occur, will you be airlifted into the arms of Jesus Christ, or left standing in a numb stupor, wondering what happened? Oh child of God, when He calls you upward, what will you be doing at that precise second? Think long and hard about that last question. It is loaded.

The stage is being set for the final act. Sitting in the audience, we can hear the sounds of preparation behind the curtains. Are they about to open?

Grant Phillips

grantphillips@windstream.net