It Could Happen Tomorrow

Why is it that when they cry peace and safety, that is a warning? Welcome to Understanding the Times Radio with Jan Markell, brought to you by Olive Tree Ministries, radio for the remnant. Today, Jan features a long-time favorite on air, Dr. Ron Rhodes. We are carrying his book, Forty Days Through Revelation.

First, they consider the prophetic fulfillment tied to the Abraham Accords, the recent peace efforts in the Mid-East. It is later than you think. And I'm so glad you could join me for today's programming. I have a special guest.

I'm going to bring him on in just a matter of seconds here. We're going to be talking about a number of current topics. A lot of you have been asking questions about the recent so-called deal of the century and the Abraham Accords. In other words, peace deals in the Middle East, brokered heavily by America.

They involve Israel, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, quite frankly, as many as five, six, or seven additional nations may sign on here in the coming weeks or months. Hopefully, if time allows, and not sure it will, but if it does, I want to spend a few minutes looking at the prophetic angle as it concerns all of this. But I also want to get to Dr. Ron Rhodes and his book that's not new. We've brought it back because it's so relevant now, Forty Days Through Revelation, uncovering the mystery of the end times. If time allows, that's what we're going to get to probably in part two of our programming. Can we see shades of revelation happening now?

What about the lawlessness that we've got going on, not just in America, but around the world? Can we see shades of the Antichrist rising? How about the false prophet?

Who might the two witnesses be? Dr. Ron Rhodes, and you've heard him on this program numerous times, heads reasoning from the Scriptures ministry. Ron, welcome back to the program. Thank you, Jan. It's always good to spend some time with you.

Thank you so much. Prolific author that you are, but right now, I'm not actually quoting a book of yours. Right now, I'm quoting you from a couple of paragraphs you sent me recently, happening by email.

Let me just quote because it ties into where I planned on going for our interview today. And you said to me, the stage is now being set for the Ezekiel invasion. You say, I've long said that there is a good possibility that the Ezekiel invasion may take place prior to the beginning of the tribulation period, perhaps as much as three and a half years prior. And then you say, as you know, a precondition of this invasion is that Israel must be living in peace and security. You're taking that from Ezekiel 38.

Anybody who's watched the various ceremonies from deal of the century and much more recently now, the Abraham Accords, we all heard peace and security, peace and safety tossed out a half a dozen or more times. And I'm sure that got your attention too. It did get my attention. The thing of it is, when you look at Ezekiel, we see such a wonderful pattern unfolding. And I say wonderful only in the sense that it shows God's sovereign control over human history. As you know, Ezekiel prophesied that Israel would be reborn as a nation. That happened in 1948. Then Ezekiel prophesied that Jewish people from all over the world would stream back to Israel.

That's been happening ever since 1948. And it's never happened before in biblical history, but it's happening now. And then Ezekiel said that there would arise a mighty coalition that would invade Israel. That includes Russia, and Iran, and Turkey, Sudan, Libya, and a number of other Muslim nations.

But the precondition is peace and security for Israel. So as soon as these peace accords were signed, that's one of the first things I wrote you about and said, you know, this seems to be opening up the door for the possibility of the Ezekiel invasion. I believe, Jan, that the Ezekiel invasion will actually open up the door for other prophecies to be fulfilled.

Can I tell you about some of them? Yes. And let me just throw this out for you to please include in your discussion, because we've got Isaiah 17, and that's the obliteration of Damascus. And I would think those two events could happen close to one another.

Well, they could. In terms of the Ezekiel invasion and other prophetic events, I think that once this invasion takes place and God destroys the invading Muslim armies, at that point, it will be much easier for the Jewish people to rebuild their temple. After all, God will have destroyed these Muslim invaders and Muslim resistance will be non-existent. And that doesn't mean God is going to destroy all the Muslims, but the Muslim armies will be taken out.

And that means that the Muslim resistance will be just much less, and it will be much easier to rebuild the temple at that point. I also believe that once God destroys these invaders, it will be much easier for the Antichrist to rise to global power. The backdrop to my comment, Jan, is that the Muslims have long wanted to establish a global caliphate. They want Islam to control the world.

They want Sharia law to control the entire planet. But with the Muslim armies being destroyed at the Ezekiel invasion, the Antichrist can now step onto center stage during the tribulation period and quickly rise to world dominion without resistance. Finally, there is the rise of the false religion of the end times during the tribulation period. Keep in mind that Christians have already been raptured before the tribulation period. Well, now the Muslim armies will have been destroyed prior to the tribulation period, if indeed the Ezekiel invasion takes place then. And that means that the two primary groups who would have resisted the emergence of a false religion are now taken out of the way.

So everything starts to become very easy. It almost like greases the skids for the emergence of all these other prophecies and the fulfillment of these other prophecies. If it doesn't take place before the tribulation period, Jan, then I would say that it takes place at the very beginning of the tribulation. Either way, I think it happens early on.

Like I said, when I saw these peace accords being fined, it's like finally, wow, this seems to be opening up the door for this to happen all the sooner. And that's where it starts to get exciting for me personally as a Christian, because I also believe that the rapture takes place before that Ezekiel invasion. Okay, Ron, but I think you have the Ezekiel invasion of Israel sort of any day, because of the fact that the Jews will be burning weapons for seven years. Am I right?

Well, that's right. We know from Scripture that once God destroys the invaders, Israel will take those weapons and burn them for seven years. One of the reasons for that is that combustible things will be at a minimum in the tribulation. I say that because due to wars and the outbreak of different battles and wars around the world, we read about how the grass and the trees will be burned up during the tribulation period, and they're going to want to have anything they can that can burn.

Here's the problem. If the Ezekiel invasion takes place right at the beginning of the tribulation period, how is it possible that the Jews could burn those weapons for the entire duration of those seven years? I say that because at the midpoint of the tribulation, when the Antichrist moves into Jerusalem and sets up his headquarters there, claims to be God, and Jesus tells those Jewish people, get out of town right now. Don't even go into your house and grab your belongings. Get out now, because it's a life and death matter.

If you try to go get your belongings, you might die. So how would it be possible for them to grab all those weapons that they would want to burn for the rest of the three and a half years? To me, it might make good sense to say that the Ezekiel invasion happens maybe three and a half years before the tribulation, and that means that the Jewish people would actually be done burning those weapons by the midpoint of the tribulation. You're listening to Understanding the Times Radio. Jan Markell have on the line Dr. Ron Rhodes, and we're carrying one of his books, 40 Days Through Revelation, Uncovering the Mystery of the End Times.

I want to play a real quick clip. This happens to be Dr. Rhodes on the John Ankerberg program talking about the Gog and Magog invasion. Ankerberg You mentioned the Ezekiel 38 passage. There's questions from people in our audience about what is the Ezekiel 38 war, and what is this thing in the millennial kingdom, the war of Gog and Magog there? What are we talking about?

Rhodes I'll take the first part. The Ezekiel invasion involves an invasion in which there's going to be a northern coalition, a northern military coalition made up of Rosh, which I believe is Russia. And there's going to be a number of Muslim nations that join in with this, including Turkey and Iran and Sudan and Libya, and some of the area around the Black and Caspian seas, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, and some of those Stan nations. They're going to join together into a massive invasion into Israel. Now, if you consider the small, teeny piece of real estate that is Israel versus the massive amount of Arab real estate, you'll quickly see that Israel stands no chance of surviving that.

But what this text of Scripture tells us is that God Himself will be the defender of Israel, and He'll destroy the invaders in several ways. For example, He's going to cause a massive earthquake that does a great deal of damage. He's going to cause friendly fire, where they start shooting each other. It may be that the Russians and the Muslims start fighting each other, for example, suspecting double-cross.

There's going to be like a plague that breaks out. Just a variety of things like that happen that decimates this invading force. For that reason, I think it's safe to say that the Muslim forces will be decimated. That doesn't mean there won't be any more Muslims. There will be some Muslims left, but the invading forces will be completely destroyed.

That may relate to the easy rebuilding of the Jewish temple. It may relate to the easy emergence of the one-world religion, because both Christians and Muslims would stand against that. And if Christians have been raptured, and Muslims have been destroyed, well, they're out of the way now, you see.

That's kind of the way that I see it. Ron, a lot of things jumped out at me at that little clip, but the thing that jumped out the most is basically Israel stands no chance in this battle except for God. That is so true, but I don't think people have the concept of Gog Magog, Ezekiel 38-39, war as being so drastic that she stands no chance unless God intervenes. Keep in mind also, Jan, that Israel stands alone.

True. I would love to be able to read in the biblical text that the United States- We intervene, but we don't. We don't. Israel stands completely alone, and I often refer to God's deliverance of Israel as deliverance part two. You'll remember that earlier, God delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage, and that was a mighty deliverance. Israel's going to be attacked by this massive northern coalition, and we are going to witness deliverance part two. Now, you might remember that when God delivered Israel from the Egyptians, God said on a number of occasions that you may know that I am the Lord God, and there is no one like me in all the earth.

Guess what? God is going to say the exact same thing when he delivers Israel from this massive northern coalition. God is going to say that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. Imagine the Muslim invaders rushing toward Israel, shouting out, Allah Akbar, glory to Allah.

They're shouting that as they rush toward Israel to destroy it. God himself destroys these invaders, and then God says that you may know that I am Yahweh, and that there is no one like me in all the earth. God gives a mighty demonstration of his power, and that is no doubt one of the reasons, among a number of reasons, why there will be people who actually become believers in the Lord during the tribulation period.

I want to go back a little bit to the more recent Abraham Accords, and for that matter, we can throw in the so-called yield of the century that took place last January, but the Abraham Accords here much more recently. Do they possibly relate to 1 Thessalonians 5? There we see, and for you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, and while they are saying there is peace and security, sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape. And you said to me in some correspondence we had, Ron Rhodes, that the sudden destruction, it's probably the tribulation, and people will be basking in the glow of peace and safety, and then the tribulation period suddenly begins, and this makes total sense.

It makes a lot of sense to me. The reference to the day of the Lord in that passage, I believe, refers to the tribulation period and beyond. It includes all the way through the millennium, for example, but it begins with the tribulation period, and so as people are basking in the glow of that peace and security, all of a sudden everything goes haywire. One of the things I like to emphasize to people, and this is something that is under-emphasized in prophecy today, is the suddenness of the unfolding of prophetic events.

And we can talk about that. Suddenly countless people have died, the virus, suddenly our economy was made to reel, suddenly resources vanished, the rapture of the church will be sudden in the twinkling of an eye, but go ahead, talk to me about it. Yeah, it's such a short time span. It seems like that everything went wrong in the United States. I mean, it seems like six months ago everything was going pretty well.

And look at us today. It's almost like we've entered a surreal version of reality, like a parallel universe that's just really bad. We've gone from civil order to civil chaos. We've gone from honoring the law to utter lawlessness. We've transitioned from recognizing the need for government to complete anarchy in certain parts of the country.

We've transitioned from viewing police as much-needed restraints against criminals to the absolute delusion that we can live without police. And look how fast that happened. It happened suddenly. And that's just the way that prophecy is too. First Thessalonians 5-3 says, while people are saying peace and safety, sudden destruction will come upon them. And then in Revelation 1, verse 1, it talks about the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the things that must soon take place.

The Greek word for soon there carries the idea of rapid or quickly. When you start to see some of the things in Revelation take place, it's going to all happen very, very fast. The rapture is going to be sudden. Nobody's going to expect it. And the scripture says that in the blink of an eye, the rapture of the church is going to happen. I am warning people about this because a lot of people are assuming they've got plenty of time to deal with things on this earth.

You may not. You don't know how long you're going to live. We don't even know how long America is going to exist.

I mean, the way things are going right now. And you've got to keep in mind that what we're witnessing in county after county across the United States, it's like a cancer. And if a cancer is allowed to grow, it spreads. And it keeps on spreading until you excise it.

Eventually it kills everything. Now here's something else to think about, Jan. When the rapture of the church happens, things are going to get geometrically worse. You see, the Holy Spirit restrains evil.

That's one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit, according to the book of Genesis. But also the church restrains evil. And once the church is gone, once the restrainer, known as the Holy Spirit, is removed from the scene, all this stuff is going to have no restraint. And you talk about anarchy. There's going to be massive anarchy. But that opens the door for a strong man to come in. And that strong man's waiting in the wings. And we know him to be the Antichrist.

And he will suddenly impose a global government. To me, what we're witnessing today is stage setting. What we're going to witness during the tribulation period. There is a covenant that's going to be signed. It's the covenant of Daniel 9, 27. And that's the covenant the Antichrist actually signs with Israel. I think we need to clarify, Ron, that these Abraham Accords, the deal of a century, maybe there's going to be another peace deal come along here in the coming weeks and months.

My understanding is many other Arab nations are going to be signing on to these peace deals. That these deals, they're not the covenant of Daniel 9, 27. That is with the Antichrist. It says in Daniel 8, of the Antichrist, by peace he shall destroy many.

And that's the Antichrist during the tribulation. I think one question would be, so how does that apply to today? And do we therefore view all peace treaties as diabolical? There are some good things that are coming from these peace deals, at least as it concerns Israel and trade and being able to fly into these other nations, et cetera. But these Arab nations in the Mideast are making peace with Israel. I believe for one reason and one reason alone, it's not because they suddenly have a fondness for the Jews. It's because they're terrified of Iran.

This is simply an anti-Iranian coalition banding together because Iran's going to have the bomb here any day. But Ron, we need to clarify that what we're seeing is not Daniel 9, 27. Probably has nothing to do with Daniel 9, 27 unless it's a precursor. I don't know about that.

Could be. You're right. And certainly we all pray for the peace of Jerusalem. So when we see any movement towards peace, I mean, that's a good thing.

And we should all want that. I hate the idea that people kill each other. And I hate the idea that countries launch attacks against other countries. And anything that stops that from happening, even if just for a while, is a good thing.

Certainly we're in favor of any kind of a peace accord that can stop the violence for a while. But you're right. This is not the covenant that's prophesied in Daniel 9, 27.

And I say that for several reasons. First of all, it will be the Roman Antichrist who signs the covenant in Daniel 9, 27. We know he will be Roman because Daniel 9, 26 affirms that he will be of the people that destroyed Jerusalem and its temple.

That's the Roman Empire. And so the Antichrist who will head up the revived Roman Empire will be the one who signs this ultimate covenant that is referenced in Daniel 9, 27. And I think personally, to say that an American president fulfills this prophecy would basically involve reading newspapers into prophetic scripture. We don't want to do that.

We do want to pay attention to what's going on in the world. But what we want to do is to learn what prophecy says, and then watch for legitimate correlations in the world. If in fact, this is not the covenant of Daniel 9, 27, how might it relate to the present peace accords? How might the Daniel 9, 27 covenant relate to the Abraham Accords? There's any number of possibilities. It could be setting the stage for this ultimate covenant in the future.

But another possibility is this. What if the Abraham Accords primarily deal with some of the softer Arab nations that are not so hateful of Israel, whereas the other nations like Iran, as an example, hold their line against Israel? They are hardliners. They've always expressed a hatred for Israel. They signed a long-term military agreement with Russia for 25 years. They give a half a billion dollars a year to Russia to build up their forces. They've made no hiding the fact that they want to attain nuclear weapons. So this would be an example of an Arab nation that will resist the Abraham Accords.

This is one scenario. One scenario is that while the Abraham Accords deal with certain nations that are softer, maybe the Antichrist's covenant becomes necessary because the hardliners are still around threatening Israel. And I personally believe, Jan, that when it makes reference in Daniel 9, 27 to the Antichrist's strong covenant, that it will be a covenant backed by the military might of the Roman Empire. The Antichrist may stipulate to people, if you attack Israel, any of you hardliners, if any of you attack Israel, you will suffer the might of the revived Roman Empire.

So it's a strong covenant that is enforced by the military might of the Roman Empire. The reason why that might be necessary is simply because there's still going to be anti-Israel terrorists. Look at what some of the Palestinian terrorists are saying today. They're saying that this peace accord is nonsense. They want Israel to be destroyed. They don't want to have two states next to each other. They want Israel back. They want to push Israel into the sea and they want the entire land. Ron, if I could just interject here just momentarily, because I don't want to break your flow of conversation with all the consternation about so-called two-state solution on the horizon. I don't see that happening this side of the tribulation.

I just don't because of what you've just said. Israel does not have a peace partner over there. It's not going to happen.

No, it's not. And anything that we do right now, I think, is kind of a band-aid fix. But it's one thing to say that some of these nations are signing a peace agreement like Bahrain, for example. But when you're talking about Iran and other nations like that, you're talking about something entirely different. I know I've read the newspaper saying that Iran is going to come to the table, but just look at the recent headlines between the United States and Iran. Not going to happen.

Things are not good right now, and I don't think things are going to get good. And I think that there's the real possibility. Let's not forget Russia and Russia's role in all of this. Russia has already worked with Muslim nations against Israel.

A lot of people don't think about this, but the precedent has already been set. Back in 1973, when some Muslim Arab nations attacked Israel, who was it that was providing the weaponry? Who was it that was providing the intelligence? It was the Russians working in conjunction with Muslim nations against Israel.

That's just one example I could give you. There's others I could give you, but the fact of the matter is, is that all of this is setting the stage for Russia to work with Iran and other like-minded Muslim nations in launching this attack against Israel. My point is, no matter what happens today with the peace accord, this invasion is coming.

I'm not going to set a date. The scripture tells us not to set dates, but scripture does tell us that this invasion will, in fact, take place one day. And it seems to me that what we're witnessing on the geopolitical scene today in the Middle East is that the stage is being set for that invasion.

And I say that primarily because Russia, right now, is making alliances with Iran and a number of other major Muslim nations. Yes, Turkey. Yeah, Turkey.

Just think about that, man. It used to be that Turkey was so pro-West. Remember when the coup d'état was launched against President Erdogan in Turkey?

Who was it that saved his skin? It was Vladimir Putin. Vladimir Putin told them one hour ahead of the attempted coup d'état to get out of the palace, and the next morning President Erdogan of Turkey went on national television and called Vladimir Putin his new best friend. And I think that kind of mentality is going to continue. Russia is making big-time headways over in the Middle East. Well, I want to bring out another prophetic angle, and we're still dealing with Ezekiel 38-39.

We may move on from that in part two of our programming, folks. We're trying to look at the prophecy angle as it concerns Abraham Accords, Deal of the Century, Daniel 9-27, et cetera, even though we don't see a real correlation between these accords and Daniel 9-27. But Ezekiel 38-13, Sheba and Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say, have you come to take plunder?

Have you gathered your army to take booty to carry away silver and gold, livestock and goods to take the great plunder? So I just want to identify who these might be. The passage probably refers to Saudi Arabia, Sheba and Dedan. Under the banner of Dedan, the Saudis are assembled alongside Sheba. These are probably Gulf states.

Then we hear of Tarshish, the United Kingdom, probably in the young lions, which would be offshoots such as America, perhaps Canada. The only reason I'm bringing this up, Ron, is here we have Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states are protesting the Russian invasion of Israel, or Gog may Gog, because there's other nations involved here, as we've already said. We've got Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states protesting. That never would have happened five years ago or 10 years ago.

It looks like it could happen now at this point. We don't see any great power to the West protesting, such as America, because we'll have blended into probably Europe for government by that time. But we've got the Gulf states protesting.

RON HARRIS That's right. And it gets back to what I said earlier. I believe that God is shaping the Middle East for the future. Now, Iran, they've got their eyes intent on becoming the superpower of the Middle East, and they've got the money to do it, Jan.

They're hurting financially because of the policy of the United States and withholding goods, and they've tried to make this a global thing. As you know from just recent news, that's about to stop with a lot of the world. But the United States is still taking a strong stand in terms of Iran. But the fact is, God is shaping the Middle East for what the future holds. And I believe that Iran is probably the major player, along with Russia, in terms of this invasion that will take place into Israel.

Now, here's something to keep in mind, Jan, because I always make this point when I do prophecy conferences. Modern Iran is ancient Persia, right? When you look at ancient Persia, the borders of Persia extend much further to the West and much further to the East than modern Iran. It's my personal belief, therefore, that when it talks about Iran as being the partner of Russia in this invasion, that that also includes the Muslim territories to the East and the West of Iran, as presently we see Iran on the map. I believe that the other nations that join in are going to be smaller, weaker nations. For example, the Stan nations that I've made reference to, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan and so forth, all the nations around the Black and the Caspian Seas, they will join in.

If Turkey joins in, which is very clear because there's a number of names used in the ZQ38 to refer to Turkey, so Turkey is going to be another major player. But these are the nations that are going to be primarily involved in the Ezekiel invasion, despite the fact that there are certain other nations that have signed, for example, the Abraham Accords. So there is division in the Middle East right now. Like I said, God is shaping the Middle East for what is yet to come. Maybe we haven't arrived there just yet as to what the Middle East is going to look like during the tribulation period, but what we see unfolding today is setting the stage for all of it.

I can't help but just be excited by the reality that if we see all this taking place with the Middle East, that the rapture of the church is that much nearer. Ron, what I want to ask you about, and I've got to take my midpoint break here, but what I want to ask you about as soon as I get back is there's also division in the church about what we've talked about here. And I don't think that needs to be the case, but I'd like to talk about that for a few minutes. Folks, I'm coming back in just a moment or two. Don't go away. I'm going to return with Dr. Ron Rhodes. And we'll also talk a little bit here as time allows about his book, which we carry in our store 40 days through Revelation, uncovering the mystery of the end times.

Back in just a moment. Some people say we are in apocalyptic times. If so, isn't it time you started to understand God's plan for the end of the age? We are carrying Dr. Ron Rhodes' book 40 days through Revelation, uncovering the mystery of the end times. The Bible says blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. That being the book of Revelation, no one puts things into easier terms to understand than Dr. Ron Rhodes. If you have been confused or intimidated by the book of Revelation, you will love this easy to understand and practical presentation of its empowering truths.

The Bible is clear about the things to come, and Ron Rhodes is one gifted communicator of this vital information. Find the book in our online store at OliveTreeViews.org. That's OliveTreeViews.org. Or call us Central Time at 763-559-4444. It will also be in our year-end print magazine.

Sign up online. Although the church is absent from the terrible time of Jacob's trouble, the seven-year tribulation, God does not beat up His bride. Jan and Dr. Ron Rhodes discussed that in part two of today's programming.

Here is Jan Markell and Ron Rhodes. I don't have to tell you that this has been about the strangest year we've ever had. Just about every way you can imagine, we have been reminded that life is uncertain. In fact, if you go back over these last days, not just this year, but these last two or three years, you stop to think about it for a moment. It's not that we've just had one thing cross the stage, but that many things have crossed the stage all at the same time.

We barely get over one thing and something else happens. Never have there been such stressful headlines. I've had more people say to me in recent days, I've given up on the news.

I don't even watch it anymore. It's too discouraging, too depressing, and it seems as if those who give us the news are absolutely committed never to give us any good news, even if there is good news. Serious people are asking everywhere you go, if these things are happening today, what will be the future for my children and my grandchildren? Well, there's only one reliable source of information about the future, only one that has an astounding record of accuracy, and that's the Bible. If you want to know about the future, there's only one place you can go and find any good information.

Don't read the futurists. Read the prophets. The Bible is filled with information to help us navigate the uncertain course that is before us. But there are many people today who, strangely enough, even in our good evangelical churches, have decided that Bible prophecy is irrelevant, that it shouldn't be taught. I've had more than one preacher say, I never touch prophecy because it has nothing to do with the day-to-day lives of my people. And when they say that, I am reminded that they haven't read any prophecy because almost every passage that tells us about the return of the Lord Jesus has, within the major context of that prophecy, an admonition given to us so that we know what to do. Pastor David, Jeremiah, absolutely accurate there. 2020 has turned out to be just about the strangest year in my memory.

The most momentous, every other day something shocking happens. We're talking about some of those things here on Understanding the Times radio today. My guest is Dr. Ron Rhodes.

I'm quoting Dr. Rhodes right now. He says, finally, you already well know that I have often taught about the convergence factor. If only one prophecy were coming to pass, that would be significant. If two or three were coming to pass, that would be even more significant. But presently, we are witnessing multiple end-time prophecies either coming to pass or the stage being set for their fulfillment. Then he says, even the recent coronavirus is rushing the world towards globalism.

We talked about that in the first part of the program. And the economic damage done by the virus is moving the world ever closer to a one-world monetary system. Meanwhile, with all the violence and riots, Paul's prophetic words ring true as we witness throngs of people who are lovers of self, abusive, disobedient, heartless, unappeasable, without self-control, brutal, not loving, good, treacherous, and reckless. And delusion has permeated the thinking of many in defunding the police.

Well, that's the case in my hometown, folks, Minneapolis. We're not the same city we were a year ago, not just because of the violence, but because of the strong end-time delusion. Why don't you sign up for my print and e-newsletter, where we talk about all of these issues. If you want to learn more about Dr. Ron Rhodes, find him at his website.

That would be RonRhodes.org. It is Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministry. Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministry.

And Ron, I said going out of part one in my program that I wanted to just reference, coming back here, that we have division in the church because people are seeing what we're talking about so differently. In other words, we've got some who take these peace efforts so seriously, and I think a little bit unrealistically, that they're painting Donald Trump as the Antichrist, Antichrist-esque. Personally, my own opinion is I don't really have great fear of Donald Trump. I fear one of his advisors, and that would be Jared Kushner, because Jared Kushner is a hardcore liberal, and that bothers me that he doesn't see things from the conservative viewpoint whatsoever in anything, but that this has caused some division in the church because there are those who would agree that Donald Trump is aligning with evil, be it with a vaccine, and that's not our topic today. He's aligning somehow with Antichrist's efforts in the Middle East, peace efforts. It's caused division in the church, which I find real tragic.

Could you speak into this? Obviously, in the church, you've got some anti-Trump people and some pro-Trump people. Everybody has to engage in their own actions based upon their conscience, look at what's going on in the world, and make a determination as to where they come down. But I guess the one thing that is bothersome to me as a Christian is how hurtful some of the words are that Christians are using against those who disagree with them. We're witnessing Christians saying some horrible things against other Christians in the midst of all of this, and I think that that's probably one of the things that I would protest against. In fact, I was just having a quiet devotional time reading through something that J.C. Royal said, he said, I must enter my protest against the sneering, taunting, contemptuous language which has been frequently used of ways among Christians. To say the least, such language is unseemly and only defeats its own end. A cause which is defended by such language is deservedly suspicious. Truth needs no such weapons. If we cannot agree with men, we need not speak of their views with discourtesy and contempt.

Well, I think he said it just right. Any cause that has to be defended by using that kind of attack language, that raises suspicion right there, because if you're really in the truth, you don't need to talk that kind of language. Truth is truth. Everybody does have to act according to their own conscience, but you know, Jesus did say people would know Christians by their love. Right. And when we engage in attacks against each other, we are buying into the tactics of the enemy who is trying to portray Christians as hypocrites and as people who are not walking the walk. They might talk the talk, but they don't walk the walk. So I think it's a rebuke on the church.

So, yes, vote according to your conscience, but at the same time, let's be respectful and kind to one another. And instead of just cursing the darkness, why not try to light a candle in the midst of the darkness? Thank you. Well, I appreciate that, Dr. Ron Rhodes.

He's my guest for the hour. We're carrying one of his books, Forty Days to Revelation, Uncovering the Mystery of the End Times. Is there anything else you would like to say as it concerns efforts in the Middle East, as it concerns even the Trump administration coordinating, orchestrating these efforts in the Middle East before we move on from this topic, Ron? To me, I guess one thing that I would want to point out that's related to both what we've talked about already and the Revelation book, particularly Revelation 13, has to do with globalism and how the stage is being set for that. And what I'm talking about specifically, Jan, is that what we have witnessed in the last five or six months to me is setting the stage for globalism. You well know how globalists often like to use various kinds of crises to promote their agendas, almost like they're just waiting to prance upon any kind of an opportunity they may have to promote a globalist agenda. And just as the coronavirus broke out worldwide, all of a sudden we see people talking about how since this is a worldwide problem, we need a global solution. And this global solution really must come from and be enforced by a global leader. And you can kind of see how this is setting us up for the rise of the Antichrist, because I think that the Antichrist will be that global leader that will one day lead what you might call a socialist planet. What we've seen in 2020, if I was a fiction writer and I was trying to write a book on how all these things could come to pass in terms of a world government, I'm not sure I could come up with something as good and realistic as what we've seen unfold in 2020. And this has been a bizarre year, but with the coronavirus hitting more than 200 countries and bringing them to a standstill and affecting the global economy and affecting global health, everybody is screaming for global solutions. The one thing that I would urge is that people beware of the fact that scripture points to this rise of a global community. And more specifically, we see that in Revelation chapter 13.

Mills I was actually going to head there when we got into our discussion on Revelation, which we certainly can do now. Ron, I've done a number of programs here since March and April on the rush to the one world system and the fact that the globalists needed a crisis. Well, they got one in 2020 and they certainly took advantage of the crisis. I don't think we'll ever go back to what we once knew even a year ago. And it's because these globalists are stirring things up something terrible.

All around the world, like you say, 200 countries have been affected here just since January. I didn't think I'd live to see the day when the whole world before my eyes would be transformed as it has. It's partly the stirring up of the one worlders. Mills Well, that's right, I think that this is a time where Christians need to be discerning. This is not a time to turn away from biblical prophecy. It's always been amazing to me how few churches have focused on biblical prophecy, when in fact over one fourth of the Bible is prophetic in nature.

Churches have not been preaching the whole counsel of God. And there are people out there saying, well, we shouldn't study prophecy because there's just so many different views on it and we just can't be sure on it. But I think that there's one person who is overjoyed with this idea that we cannot be sure about biblical prophecy and that is Satan, the God of confusion, the liar from the beginning, the murderer from the beginning, the one who spreads deceit and the one who will continue to spread deceit in the person of the Antichrist during the tribulation period. And I can tell you that one of the reasons why the first century church was so on fire for the Lord was because of their strong prophetic hope.

You want to know one of the reasons why we've got a lot of Christians that are not on fire for the Lord? They have not the foggiest idea of what biblical prophecy teaches. And they even say that about the book of Revelation, especially. And I think that biblical prophecy is among the most important things we can learn as Christians, especially in these last days in which we live. Ron, you say this and kind of heading to your book here, 40 Days to Revelation, Uncovering the Mystery of the End Times.

You said God originally chose the Jews to be his witnesses. He will do so again during the tribulation. And of course, you're referring to the 144,000 Jewish evangelists of the tribulation. And you state that they will become believers similar to how Paul did on the road to Damascus.

They're going to represent 12 literal tribes of Israel. And I think when I study eschatology and particularly Revelation, but all of eschatology, I'm just overwhelmed by how Israel and Jewish-centric it is, not church-centric. Well, that's right, and don't forget what the Apostle Paul himself said in Romans 9-11. God is not finished with the Jews yet. What we have today is a bunch of people who are taking the scriptures, particularly related to the 144,000 mentioned in Revelation 7 and 14, and they say it's the church. This is replacement theology. Every reference you have in scripture to 12 tribes of Israel refers literally to 12 tribes of Israel.

There is not a single exception to that anywhere. God did call the Jewish people to be a witness to the rest of the nations in regard to who the Messiah is, and they obviously missed the boat on that. But these 144,000, they will become born again during the tribulation period, much like Paul did.

Paul himself referred to himself as one born at the wrong time. And I think that he was referring to these 144,000 Jewish witnesses. Supernaturally, these 144,000 with 12,000 from each tribe will become believers, and they will preach the gospel of the kingdom all over the earth. And we know from Revelation 7 that there will be a great multitude of people who become believers in the Lord. And we know from Revelation 6 that many of them will be martyrs.

We don't know the strength of that today. A lot of Christians, they never have to face martyrdom. But if you ever have to face martyrdom, you know that you're a true believer if you stand for the truth in the face of possible martyrdom. That's what's going to happen during the tribulation period. Many who respond to these 144,000 will, in fact, die at the hands of the Antichrist and the forces of New Babylon. To me, it's a wonderful testimony how God is not finished with the Jews yet.

It actually gets better, because at the end of the tribulation period, you've also got the Jewish remnant turning to Christ. God is a promise keeper. He's never gone back on his promises. And the promises that God made to Israel back in the Davidic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7 and the Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 12 and other passages, those are going to come absolutely to fulfillment. God is a promise keeper. I'm going to play a quick clip here.

It happens to be Dr. Ed Hindson. And I love the way he closes this clip, folks, by saying that Jesus Christ does not beat up his bride and then take her home to the marriage. We move to point number four in our outline, the process of judgment that has to follow in chapters 6 through 11. The opening of the seven seals and the sounding of the seven trumpets. Look at chapter 6, verse 1. I watched as the Lamb opened one of the seals. Circle the word Lamb. He's the one opening the seals, pronouncing the judgments. In verse 2, I saw a white horse and he that sat upon him had a bow.

I'd underline that. Not a sword. This is not Christ. This is the imposter, the antichrist. And he was given a crown. It's not the diadem of Christ.

The Greek term is Stephanos, the wreath of the victor. And he went forth conquering to conquer. This isn't Jesus releasing himself. No, Jesus is releasing the judgments of the end times and the first judgment is the white horse, the antichrist. The second one in verse 4, the red horse of war to take peace from the earth that they might kill one another. And then in verse 5, he releases the black horse of devastation that follows the aftermath of war. And then in verse 8, he releases the pale horse of death and hell followed after him. You have the four horsemen of the apocalypse that are then released in this passage.

It's the big picture, the overview of what's coming in the book of Revelation. The antichrist is coming. War is coming. Devastation is coming.

Death is coming. And then the details follow after that. You get in Revelation the wide angle lens followed by the snapshots.

The big picture followed by the details. Then in verse 9, he opens the fifth seal to reveal the martyrs who were slain for the word of God during the time of tribulation. Those that have been left behind after the rapture who finally do come to faith in Christ but lose their lives. And then in verse 12, he opens the sixth seal and there's a great earthquake. The sun becomes black. The moon becomes like blood. The stars seem to be falling.

Why? Because of the earthquake. The planet is shaken by some dramatic event in which the air is polluted. The sun is black and the moon is blood red.

The stars seem to be moving because the planet is moving. What is all of this? It's the wrath of Christ against an unbelieving world. That's why the church is not here in these chapters because the church is not the object of the wrath of Christ. She's the object of the love of Christ. She may be the object of the wrath of the world, the wrath of Satan, the wrath of men, but not the wrath of Jesus. You don't have Jesus beating up the church in the tribulation period. Beat up the bride and then take her home to the marriage at the end of the book.

That doesn't make any kind of sense at all. No, he loved the church. He died for the church. He gave himself for the church and he's coming again for the church.

This message is a message of wrath for the unbelievers and they know it's the wrath of God and they still do not repent. You're listening to Understanding the Times Radio Jan Markell here. That was Dr. Ed Hindson, but I have on the phone for the hour, Dr. Ron Rhodes. We're carrying one of his books, 40 Days to Revelation, uncovering the mystery of the end times.

You can find it in my online store, find it in my various newsletters, give my office a call. Dr. Ron Rhodes, he made a reference there to the marriage supper of the lamb. Jesus doesn't beat up the bride, then take her home to the marriage.

Talk to him for a moment about the marriage supper of the lamb. What is it and when is it? That's a great question. Let me just say before I get there that a pre-tribulational rapture is the only thing that makes sense in terms of living in an encouraging way. You might remember from 1 Thessalonians 4 that the Apostle Paul talks about the rapture with the dead being caught off to meet Christ in the air and then those of us who are alive will be caught off to meet the Lord as well. And then Paul says, therefore, encourage one another with these words. Just think about it if post-tribulation is the most true.

I do all the time. I think it's crazy. Well, it is. I mean, just think you're going to have to go through the tribulation period and you'll probably be martyred, but if you happen to live, you're going to go through the seal judgments and the trumpet judgments and the bowl judgments and things are going to go from bad to worse.

Therefore, encourage each other with these words. Exactly. It doesn't make good sense. Let's just let scripture interpret scripture and accept the good news that we're going to be delivered from that period. Now, as for the marriage of the lamb, it's interesting to me how the marriage motif is used to refer not just to the rapture, but what lies beyond the rapture. We find that in Jewish weddings, first of all, there would be a betrothal that takes place and sometimes that betrothal might last a year or more. It would be an indeterminate time and the bride would not know how long it would last.

Why? Because the groom would go off to the father's house and build on a new wing, build a new room. And at some undetermined point, that groom would come back and fetch his wife.

Well, that's what's happened right now with the church. The Lord is the groom, Jesus is the groom, and he's now preparing a place for us in his father's house. And at some indeterminate time, which I think could be very soon, he's going to come again and take the bride back to his father's house. And then we see that in heaven, the church is rewarded and the church is given white garments that are beautiful, so the bride gets dressed. And then we're going to witness the marriage of the lamb. Now, the marriage itself, I think, takes place in heaven, but the marriage supper, I believe, takes place after the second coming before the Millennial Kingdom. Apparently, there's a 75-day period that exists between the end of the tribulation and the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom, and it's during that time frame where this wonderful celebration takes place. I cannot even begin to imagine how wonderful it's going to be. Finally, the bride and the groom celebrate this supper together. Jan, I can't wait for it to happen. Amen.

Let me try to hit a few more bullet point questions here. Two witnesses, Moses and Elijah, perhaps? Very possibly. A lot of people think it will be Moses and Elijah. After all, Moses and Elijah did appear together on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus, and that shows their centrality in the unfolding of God's plan. The miracles that are portrayed in Revelation 11 by the two prophets are very, very similar to those previously performed by Moses and Elijah in the Old Testament.

If you're going to think of the two most influential figures in Jewish history, can you think of anybody more important than Moses and Elijah? So it really might make good sense that they're on the scene during the tribulation period, which is the time of Jacob's trouble. God is dealing with the Jews again. It's the 70th week of Daniel.

The first 69 weeks dealt with Israel, and the 70th week will deal with Israel as well. It's always possible that God could bring about two brand new prophets. But just looking at what we know about Moses and Elijah, I think there's a real good possibility that these two mighty prophets could be back in full swing during the tribulation period. Do you feel that the false prophet could come out of, let's just say, the Vatican, to be blunt?

It's a possibility. Christians debate this back and forth as to how the Vatican relates to all of this. In terms of the false religion, I've always believed that the false religion is probably going to encompass and embrace all those who are left behind following the rapture. And that would include the Roman Catholic Church, which is liberal to the core, but would also include liberal Christians, and a lot of those very liberal denominations. And it would form kind of a super church.

It's always a possibility that that could happen. The thing that I would mention to you is that this individual is going to be empowered to do some pretty incredible miracles. Nobody in the Roman Catholicism can do that, that I know of. But I believe that during the tribulation period, Satan is going to be empowered to cause these miracles from the false prophet. And the purpose, of course, is to get people around the world to worship the beast, the Antichrist, the first beast. The false prophet is the second beast or the lesser beast. But his goal is to fan into a flame the worship of people around the world of the Antichrist.

While it is a possibility that it could come from the Vatican, I think it could also just be an entirely new person that is empowered by the devil to do his work. There's going to be a real revival in the tribulation run. People are going to be coming to faith in the tribulation. Then who will be leading this great revival in the tribulation?

Well, I think there's a couple of things. I think first of all, there's going to be the 144,000 Jewish witnesses, and they're going to be supernaturally protected by God. They're going to have a seal of God so the Antichrist can't take them out. And they do their work, I believe, during the first half of the tribulation. Many, many people will believe because we know that by Revelation 7, there's a great multitude of believers. And as I mentioned previously, many of them will be martyred, according to Revelation 6. I also believe that there will be many, many people who become believers as a result of the two mighty prophets, perhaps even Moses and Elijah, referenced in Revelation 11. They will do incredible miracles, and those are purposeful miracles to validate the messenger. They validate what the prophets have to say to people. You might remember in the Old Testament, Chan, the whole reason why people in Old Testament times understood that certain judgments came from God is because God always had prophets on hand to interpret those judgments. Well, these two prophets who will be on hand during the tribulation period will make sure that everybody on the planet understands that these judgments are from God, coming from the very hand of Christ, and that they need to repent. And many people will, in fact, repent. But still further, Chan, we talked about the Ezekiel invasion, and after God destroys the Muslim and Russian invaders, God will Himself proclaim, there is none like Me in all the earth, and He is doing this so that none may have any confusion about that. I think many are going to believe when they witness that, because only the true God can destroy and judge that many people in an instant or very quickly, as we see with the Ezekiel invasion. And keep in mind, Chan, the Holy Spirit is still on the earth doing His work. I say that because a lot of people assume that because the Restrainer or the Holy Spirit is removed or withdrawn at the rapture, they assume that the Holy Spirit is no longer active. He will still be active on the earth in terms of bringing people to salvation, but He will, at the rapture, withhold His restraint to allow for the emergence of the Antichrist on the earth. We have talked about how late the hour is, Ron, and I'm actually down to a minute, but I don't want the time to get away without re-emphasizing how important it is for folks to get right with the Lord and to ask the Lord Jesus Christ to become their Lord and Savior.

If you would take a moment or two to do that, I'd appreciate it. The fact is, we're living in delusional times in which people think there are many ways to salvation. They think that all religions lead to God like spokes on a wheel, but it's not true. Jesus said that He is the only way into a relationship with the Father. A lot of people today assume that all people are going to heaven, but they're not.

Only those who trust in Christ for salvation are going to heaven, and that's the same thing that the people during the tribulation period will hear from the prophets and from the 144,000 Jewish witnesses. Salvation is solely in Jesus Christ. Now it all comes down to this, you are a sinner, and because of that sin there is a division between you and God. Jesus took your place on the cross, and He took the punishment that you deserve, and He holds out this gift to give you. It's the gift of salvation. But you must receive that gift by faith in Christ. You must take that gift into your hands, and if you do that, then you'll be saved. If you don't do it, you will not be saved.

So the choice is yours. And I can tell you this, that if you trust in Christ today, then I'm going to see you at the rapture. Jan, there's so many people discouraged today, and because of that discouragement, I'd like to share with them that a grand reversal is coming. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, but in the eternal state, a new heavens and a new earth awaits us. In the beginning, human beings succumb to Satan's temptations, but in the eternal state, Satan will be eternally quarantined. In the beginning, God pronounced a curse following man's fall into sin, but in the eternal state, there will be no more curse. In the beginning, paradise was lost, but in the eternal state, paradise will be gloriously restored for redeemed human beings. In the beginning, Adam and Eve were barred from the tree of life, but in the eternal state, redeemed humans will enjoy restoration to the tree of life. In the beginning, tears and death and mourning entered human existence, but in the eternal state, tears, death, and mourning will be forever absent from the redeemed.

In the beginning, a redeemer was promised, but in the eternal state, the victorious Redeemer reigns." And Jan, I can't wait. I can't wait either, Dr. Ron Rhodes. Learn more at ronroads.org. I need to exit the programming here, and I haven't used this closing for a couple of months, actually.

I'm going to use it today. When the time was right, the sea parted, the walls fell down, the sun stood still, the waves were calm, the stone was rolled away, the clouds were parted, and the Lord ascended. And when the time is right, the King of Kings will return. God is never early.

He's never late. He's always right on time, and His plan for you is good. I hope that encourages some of you today, because I'm hearing from you, and I'm hearing how discouraged you are. Please understand that He's always right on time, and His plan for you is good.

I want to thank you for listening, and we'll talk to you again next week. You might want to consider watching our program on our website, under Complete Archives, on our YouTube channel, or on his channel, Christian Television. You encourage us when you write us through our website, olivetreeviews.org. That's olivetreeviews.org. Call us Central Time at 763-559-4444. That's 763-559-4444. We get our mail when you write to Jan Markell and Olive Tree Ministries, Box 1452, Maple Grove, Minnesota, 55311.

That's Box 1452, Maple Grove, Minnesota, 55311. All gifts are tax-deductible. And we again remind you that God is in control. Nothing catches Him by surprise. You are engraved on the palms of His hands, and everything is falling into place.