After the Rapture: What Happened?

The hour is late. Don't be left behind. Don't be left behind.

Don't be left behind. The hour of the church takes place. People are going to be left behind, and they chose to not put their faith in Jesus Christ during the church age, and as a result they're going to endure the greatest time of trial the earth has ever known, will ever know. The Bible is Daniel's 70th week or the tribulation. But it is not too late for any of those left behind, and that is the emphasis of this programming today.

God is the God of second chances and third chances and fourth chances, and your loved one can still find salvation during that tribulation period. And we're going to talk about that and some related things. And joining me is a pastor who's written a book about this.

We'll say more about all of this as we move into the programming. He's Dr. Douglas Stauffer, and he's author of the book, which I have read cover to cover, Tribulation Salvation, Jesus Still Saves. Doug Stauffer, welcome back to the program. It's great to be on here with you, Jan, and I really appreciate your stand for the truth. It's disappeared a little bit in our churches, probably not a little, it's disappeared a lot in our churches, and we can even reference that as we move in here.

Doug, you write in layman's terms, I think. I want you to tell my audience, what do you think life on earth is going to be like, let's say moments after the rapture, let's then move that to a week to a month after the rapture? The one thing we know for sure is that the moment the rapture happens, all believers are gone. Everybody that is sealed with the Spirit of God has now disappeared, and those left on the earth have no guidance whatsoever from individuals. There'll be the two witnesses later on, the 144,000, the angel is going to fly.

Yes, we need to clarify that, that there are instruments of salvation during the tribulation, 144,000, two witnesses, yes, go ahead. But there won't be any believers here. If there was a church on the corner that preached salvation by grace, and the believers believe that, that pastor, that church is going to be empty, that truth is going to be gone, that light is going to be missing, and it's going to be some great darkness, there's going to be fear everywhere, there's going to be people that are spinning what has happened to all of these pesky believers, really, is how they'll be looked at. I mean, there's going to be panic, there's going to be confusion. Some folks left behind are going to know what happened. Others are going to be completely clueless.

I'd just like to play a quick clip here. Prophecy Update has done such a wonderful job. They've made a film after the rapture. You can find it on YouTube, folks, Prophecy Update after the rapture, just a short little one-minute clip, and then let's come back and talk about it. The first few minutes after the rapture will be a shock to all, and confusion, disaster, and chaos will ensue and be in control. After the initial shock of the rapture wears off and realization sinks in as to what has just happened, literally millions of people from all over the world who had previously heard the gospel but refused to accept God's gift of salvation at that time will likely fall to their knees and ask forgiveness and ask Jesus to be their Savior. More people are likely to be saved immediately after the rapture than at any other previous time in history. Millions will realize that they should not have procrastinated and that they should have accepted Christ into their hearts when they had the chance, but they let pride and a love for this world get in the way. Millions will likely realize that they're crazy Christian friends, that they were always talking about the rapture.

They weren't so crazy after all. Social media will be all abuzz like never before, frantically texting and tweeting, are you there and where are you? Hashtag rapture. Thousands of videos will be uploaded instantly going viral showing clips of people that suddenly vanished. Surveillance videos from all across the globe will be posted showing the instant disappearance of millions. Every bulletin board, telephone pole, and streetlight pole will be covered with flyers asking, have you seen this person? Again, folks, you can find that one hour video after the rapture produced by Prophecy Update on YouTube.

It's outstanding and it will make you think. Doug Stauffer, listen, many suggest that some of our churches could even be full after the rapture. And I think you would agree with that in that we are sort of in the stage of Laodicea right now.

And we are. Yes, there will be churches that will continue because they haven't been preaching the truth during the church age. They haven't been teaching about Jesus Christ and his means and method of forgiveness, trusting in him. And because of that, they're not leaving at the rapture.

They will continue. I'm glad I'm not going to be sitting in one of them. It would be interesting to hear their various explanations from the pulpit to a congregation still sitting there pretty full. And the rapture has taken place a day before, even a month before. I'd kind of like to be there, but I certainly don't want to be there.

No, you don't. And there's an interesting spin that I can give you that I've heard before from Ephesians 1 13. It says, And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of the truth, the gospel, your salvation, when you believed you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit. There may be people that will use that verse to encourage people. That's Ephesians 1 13 to take the mark because it says that they are marked. I've seen that verse for many years and have warned people that, look, after the churches are gone, the true believing churches, what's going to happen? Well, there's going to be mass chaos and verses like this might be used to further deceive people. And you write this in your book. The book I'm referring to, folks, is called Tribulation Salvation. And we'll get to the point of the book Salvation in the Tribulation here in a minute because you write, Immediately following the rapture, there will be people searching for truth through every possible means. Books, Internet, videos. They may even search a Bible. How do you advise people who are trying to prepare things for loved ones who feel they will be left behind? Let me just quickly throw in there, folks. We carry the little left behind rapture kit thumb drive that you can plug into the computer and it's got pages and pages of books, a Bible, etc. Go to our online store for that.

It's a wonderful little tool, about an inch and a half long. Anyway, Doug, you write, Immediately following the rapture, there will be people searching for truth through every possible means. Books, Internet, videos, etc. We need to provide some things to leave behind. Right. And that's one of the reasons why I wrote this book, Tribulation Salvation. The key will still be the same, and that is trusting in Jesus Christ.

There's going to be great deception, deception like you've never seen before. The key is Revelation 12-11, and they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives under the death. So they're saved by the blood, by the word of their testimony, and that testimony is Jesus Christ. So that's how a person will be saved even after the rapture of the church. And then there's the wonderful verse, Revelation 7-9. After this, I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count from every nation, tribe, people and language standing before the throne and before the lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. This would indicate almost a literal revival in the tribulation.

Would I be right? That very well could be because in verse 14 it says, These are they which came out of great tribulation and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. It goes back to that verse I mentioned. It's the blood and there's a great multitude, and we know where they came from, and they're in heaven. So there are going to be many that are saved.

That's the hope. The problem is the great deception that's going to be taking place at that time. I want to get there in just a minute, but let's talk about actually how they get saved.

And we've already referenced it as we open the program. Folks, if you just join me, you're listening to Understanding the Times Radio. I have on the line Dr. Douglas Stauffer. You can learn more at his website, BibleDoug.com, BibleDoug.com, and he's offering, if you buy one book and it's called Tribulation Salvation, you'll get another one free. So you can give it to a pastor, to a friend, and it's all about how you get saved after the church is gone during the tribulation or Daniel 70th week. But let's talk for a minute, Doug Stauffer, the 144,000 Jewish witnesses, then the two witnesses. Of course, then there's the angel who's proclaiming the gospel. And these folks, they're kind of on their own. I don't know that we know how long these people are going to be ministering, but they're going to be saving multitudes.

And they are. I would refer back to Acts chapter 2, when Peter's preaching, he talks about the last days, the sun darkened, the moon in the blood, and then he says in verse 21 of Acts 2, And it came to pass that whosoever shall call in the name of the Lord shall be saved. So again, in that context shows that the key will be calling upon the name of the Lord.

It all revolves again around the blood of Jesus Christ. Those witnesses will be there. The deception is going to be great, which we will talk about, but I want to keep emphasizing that because here's what the Bible says about the last days of the church, that men will wax worse and worse.

And of course, we have perilous times, mentally lovers their own selves. It's going to be a rough time going into the rapture. The rapture happens, all believers are gone, but there is hope. And that's what we want to leave people with.

I agree with you. There needs to be information out there that you're providing that will help people. Once all believers are gone, then there needs to be information out there for them. I think I'd just like to play a clip here of Dr. Mark Hitchcock, because he is discussing first comes the tribulation and then the great tribulation. This is also known as Daniel's 70th week. The tribulation period, the book Blood Moon's Rising. The tribulation period, as you understand it, is a seven-year period according to biblical truth. You see it divided, and most do see it divided into two segments. Is the first half different than the second half?

It is. One of the things I always like to point out, too, is a lot of people think the rapture starts the seven-year tribulation. The seven-year tribulation starts, Daniel 9.27 tells us, when the Antichrist makes a treaty with Israel. So, you know, the rapture could happen today, and the tribulation could start next week, next month, maybe a year or two from then.

There could be a gap of time that'll allow for some further preparation. At some point in time, this Antichrist figure is going to come on the scene and make a treaty, the Bible says, with Israel. And that's going to trigger this seven-year period of time. But it's divided in Daniel 9.27 into two halves.

There's a first half and a second half to it. The first half of that period of time, Israel's going to enjoy peace. And I think at the beginning of the tribulation, there's going to be a time of worldwide peace. It says in Thessalonians, while men are saying peace and safety, then sudden destruction is going to come on them. So, the world is going to finally get its desire of having some peace and prosperity. But at the midpoint of that tribulation period, there's going to be some events that happen that trigger the Antichrist and is going to take the world over. And so, that second half of the tribulation period, that last three and a half years, he's going to dominate the world and rule the world, and it's going to be a reign of terror that's going to come, really, when he's on the earth. So, the first half is going to be Antichrist forming the coalition, or made the coalition with other nations around the world, and a peace treaty is signed with Israel. So, there's peace, and we've got the global currency going on with the Mark of the Beast, and so there's prosperity.

And then we'll move into the second half. Is there any tip point? Is it the signing of the peace treaty? How far along is it, maybe three and three and a half years after the signing of the peace treaty, that that begins to take, you'll see the peace, and there's some kumbaya in the world.

And then there's a tip point. In the last half, is Antichrist basically breaking the deal? He does, yeah. It says at the midpoint of that covenant, that seven year period, he breaks the treaty with Israel.

I call it one of the greatest double crosses of all time. Then what he's going to do, you know, the mask is going to come off at that point in time, and he's going to begin to persecute the Jewish people, because obviously God has made promises to them. Satan wants to get rid of them, and wipe them out. But he's going to dominate the world at that point in time. So, this world is going to end with this great apostasy, the Bible calls it, a great falling away, when this one man is going to be worshipped as God. Dr. Douglas Stauffer, how long do you think the gap might be between the rapture and the start of the tribulation?

I believe it could be three and a half years. If you look at the Ezekiel 38 and 39 war, they're going to be burning bodies for seven years. That's what the Bible says. Well, it could be that you have a three and a half year gap after the rapture of the church, before really the signing of the treaty, because of that seven year period that ends at that midpoint that Mark was talking about. That's also when Satan is cast out of heaven in Revelation chapter 12, and the abomination of desolation takes place. So all of those features are right there at that midpoint, and three and a half year gap after the rapture, before that peace treaty, would make sense. And I think they mentioned that it could be as long as that time. Right, but on the other hand, and since we don't know, it could be three and a half days too, or three and a half hours. It's supposition by all of us that we're trying to fit all the scripture together, and the only way for that to work is to assume certain things.

But again, those are assumptions. Who are the overcomers? We read this in Revelation, and again, folks, we are talking about people coming to faith during Daniel's 70th week or the tribulation.

Millions, your loved one that you fear could be left behind, could very well come to faith during the tribulation because of the vast outpouring of the gospel during the tribulation. But Doug, who are the overcomers? That verse, Revelation 12, 11, they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony. So the overcomers are those that become the brethren, the fellow servants, the elect. Those are the overcomers.

They're synonymous words. I mean, the person that is part of the brethren or the fellow servants are the overcomers. They overcome by trusting in Jesus Christ, calling upon him, and then God is going to supernaturally protect them, something that's pretty magnificent.

That's what gives them their eternal security. And then what does the term mean, endure to the end? Endure to the end has been mistaught. It's from Matthew 24 13. It says, But he that shall endure the end, the same shall be saved. That's talking about somebody that endures or makes it through the full seven years and goes in the millennium with a natural body.

All right. Let's talk for a few minutes here about the deception that's going to be going on at the time, that being during the tribulation. Deception abounds in this time period.

Is that because the restrainer is gone? We read of delusion, we read of strong delusion, but for that matter, we're seeing incredibly strong delusion right now in the church age. Obviously, it's going to be on overdrive during the Daniel 70th week or the tribulation. What is this deception all about? The deception is that the Antichrist is true, that he's the real God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. That's the part of the delusion, which I believe is what happens at the midpoint. When Satan is cast out of heaven, it says God shall send a strong delusion. So when Satan is cast out of heaven at the midpoint, what greater strong delusion do you have than the fact that Satan is now limited to earth? See, before that, he's the accuser of the brethren. He can walk to and fro like in Job. He presented himself before God.

Well, he's not going to be able to do that. He knows when he's cast out of heaven, he has a short time and he's going to do everything he can to deceive the world. But we should clarify that both you and I were strong believers in a pre-tribulation rapture. The church goes through none of the things we're talking about here.

That is true. There's no way when you see the focus is again upon the nation of Israel after the rapture. The woman, according to Revelation 12, is defined as Israel. That's the focus of God and that's Matthew 24, the Olivet Discourse, all that.

It's Israel, Israel, Israel. The church is gone. The church can't be here at that time because we're to be looking for that blessed hope, not for the Antichrist.

Right. But I'm doing this segment because there are wonderful believers listening to this program, following this ministry and yours who are going to leave loved ones behind. And they are very, very grieved by that. And then, Doug, there's those that teach that there is no second chance during the tribulation. I guess I reject that. I'm not quite sure where that comes from.

I know it's something to do with the strong delusion that people are going to buy into. And Scripture is clear that there's a revival during the tribulation. Well, it comes from Second Thessalonians chapter two.

Yes, it does. They use that verse. And listen, I was taught that too, that it says, With all deceivals of unrighteousness and them that perish because they receive not the love of the truth, they might be saved. But again, that's during the tribulation. That's not somebody that necessarily rejected the truth before the rapture.

And now they're a zombie walking around for the full seven years. Then it says in the next verse, For this cause God shall send them strong delusion. Again, I believe that Satan being cast out, he is the delusion, the physical delusion. He is the deceiver. And there's nothing greater deception than for Satan to be on this earth knowing that his goal is to destroy everything that's important to God. And God's people are important to him.

So he can't get them, but he can deceive the rest of the world. Well, there are more and more that I'm hearing talking about what I'm talking about here and would take issue with us. Suggesting if you reject the gospel now, you will be blinded during the tribulation. We're just clarifying that you don't buy into that.

I don't either. By the way, talking to Dr. Douglas Stauffer. And he carries a wonderful book called Tribulation Salvation where he lays all of this out. How people are going to get saved during that tribulation time. So if you are so concerned about someone that may not be leaving when the church is leaving.

We did a program here once. When will they be leaving? Be leaving. And they may not go with us. They can get saved during the tribulation time.

Doug Stauffer, there are some who say that you can take the mark of the beast and still get saved. Is that possible? I can't imagine that's possible.

No, that is not possible. Revelation chapter 14 says that they all might be damned that take the mark. Once they take the mark, worship the beast, they are condemned. And there's nothing that can reverse that. The good thing is once they've trusted in Christ, called upon him, they are supernaturally protected from the deception that causes people to take the mark.

So it goes both ways. You have people that are deceived, they take the mark, they're damned. You have people that trust in the Lord protected from the deception and will never be damned because God's going to protect them from that deception and that delusion. But there are going to be many who survive the tribulation and they're going to go into the millennium. This is not in my notes, but it's always on my mind.

Let me ask you this. Those that go into the millennium who have survived the tribulation, will this just be Christians who have survived? People who have come to faith during the tribulation, faith only through Jesus Christ.

That's the only way you can do that. So those folks will go right into the millennial kingdom. What about pagans during the tribulation? And they never become believers, but they have survived the tribulation.

Where do they go? When Christ comes back at the end of the seven years, he's going to send his angels to gather the elect. That's all believers. We would call them Christians. Whether Jew or Gentile, they're Christians. They trusted Christ during that seven years, and they endured to the end.

They made it to the end of the seven years. He's going to send his angels to gather the elect. All those not gathered will be destroyed. Therefore, all unbelievers are destroyed at that time.

Now, here's what happens. The believers have eternal security, according to Matthew 25, 46. They go into the millennium with natural bodies. They repopulate the earth, but their children do not have that same eternal security like they do. They got saved. They trusted Christ.

He protected them from the deception. They're children of God. They're going into the millennium.

They're secure, but their offspring are not. They will repopulate the earth for the thousand-year millennium. Folks, again, you want more info, visit Doug Stauffer's website, BibleDoug.com. The book that we are basing our discussion on here for Understanding the Times Radio is the book Tribulation Salvation, Jesus Still Saves. Doug Stauffer, a lot of people, they read about the saints in Revelation.

You read about the church in the Tribulation or Daniel's 70th week. They conclude, well, see, you folks say that the church is all taken out, but here Revelation is filled with references to the saints and to the church. Why don't you clarify why we still believe in that pre-Trib rapture, that these are saints that come to faith in the Tribulation, they're not the saints of today's church?

Well, that's a great point there. And the reason that that is the case is because the saints are those that have been taken out at the rapture, meaning there's no saints left on earth at that point in time. All those that come to an understanding and a belief in Jesus Christ are now the saints that have gotten faith after the rapture. They're called the fellow servants, the brethren, the saints. They have to come to that understanding that Jesus Christ shed His blood for them.

They trust in Him. Matthew calls them the elect in Matthew 24, and that's in the Olivet Discourse. I did a debate and I put a chart up there, and where you'll see the church is in Revelation 1, 2, 3, up until chapter 4, verse 1, where you see a picture of the rapture, and then you see the church in Revelation 19, but you never see the church in chapters 5 through the beginning of 19. So where the church is, you'll see no wrath outside of those. Where you see the wrath in chapters 5 through 19, you don't see the church. And the church is not appointed unto wrath, so the church is gone. The saints that are here today, they're all taken up at the rapture, but they're still called saints as believers after the rapture.

I'm running a little low on time, but I want to ask you at least one more question. How then does God supernaturally protect those alive during Daniel's 70th week or the tribulation? It says that if they're drawn before the judgment seats from Mark 13, it says, and when they shall lead you and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate, but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour that speak ye, for it is not ye that speak but the Holy Ghost. In other words, God's going to supernaturally protect those saints in the tribulation, in Daniel's 70th week, who have trust in the Lord, and he's going to even give them the words to speak. They're not going to be tempted to sell their soul for a morsel of bread. They're not going to watch their loved ones be without hope, because as they trust in the Lord, the Lord is going to show him supernaturally powerful to protect them at that time. They cannot reject the Lord, because they will not be tempted to take the mark in order to buy, sell, or protect their loved ones. The point is, Doug Stauffer, get saved today. Don't put this decision off and then have to go through this terrible, terrible time the Bible calls Daniel's 70th week or the tribulation. And I think we should end on that note. Why don't you take it from there as far as the importance of coming to Christ today rather than waiting until they go through that terrible time?

Oh, no. I look out there today and it's so easy to hear the gospel and to trust Jesus Christ, your personal Savior, today compared to the moment after the rapture when there'll be people in a church that might have 90% of the people taken out, 10% of them left. They may just absolutely go crazy. It's the time to get saved. Because today is the day of salvation.

You've heard the gospel. Jesus Christ died for your sins. He was buried.

He rose again. Trust in Him. Believe in Him. He will save you today. And you don't have to worry about any of this stuff we've been talking about today.

And that's the point, I think, of this half hour. Terrible, terrible times are ahead for the unbeliever. For the believer, only glorious times are ahead even as we've just been through a terrible year here, 2020. Again, folks, you can learn more at Doug Stauffer's website, BibleDoug.com. You can see his books there. And I've based my conversation here on his newer book, which is Tribulation Salvation. You'll see other books there.

We carried one for at least a year. He's a great writer. I think he makes things easy to understand.

I hope you'll check it out at BibleDoug.com. Douglas Stauffer, we will stay in touch. Thank you for all you do. Thank you, Jan.

I really appreciate your stand. Goodbye now. Folks, don't go away. I'm coming back in just a couple minutes.

We'll be right back. 17 authors, including Jan Markell. We encourage you to tap into this new product found in our online store at OliveTreeViews.org. That's OliveTreeViews.org. Or call us Central Time at 763-559-4444.

That's 763-559-4444. It will also be featured in our print and e-newsletters. Sign up online so you can better understand our times and contend for the faith. So when God begins to move, he doesn't waste a moment, but he does take time to warn before he judges.

And he seems to be telling us that things are going to change for eternity suddenly via the rapture of the church. We are in unprecedented times. Jan Markell reflects back on 2020 in this segment of the program. As our year winds down, thank you for standing with Olive Tree Ministries. We are committed to bringing you the truth, even the inconvenient truth. Here is Jan Markell. Welcome back. Just a quick reminder that we're still on Facebook and Twitter, but we are transitioning a little bit more to Parler.

Why don't you head over to parler.com and look for Jan Markell, Olive Tree Ministries, if you'd like to be among the conversation. We remain on Instagram as well. When you write to us, would you always tell us how you listen to Understanding the Times radio? Maybe you're listening on one of our approximately 900 stations or your online listener on our website or YouTube or his channel or light source. Just tell us how you're hearing the programming.

Here's how I'd like to wind down today's program. I've been giving a lot of thought to the top Bible prophecy stories of 2020. I've written about them. You can sign up and get my print or e-newsletter. Do so at my website, OliveTreeViews.org, OliveTreeViews.org.

Sign up for the print magazines four times a year, e-newsletters a couple of times a month. And I've written about these happenings here in 2020. What an incredible year. And I want to thank you for your support, financial support, prayer support.

In the last year, we couldn't be doing anything without all of you standing with us. Here's just a short rundown, 10 points that I think were highlights. Some of you will say they're lowlights of 2020, things that happened that I think are astounding, that tie to the Bible.

I'll play a few sound bites along the way as well. They're not necessarily in any order, but I happen to pick as the number one issue of 2020 is the decline of America. Now, there really is no end time power in the Bible other than a revived Roman Empire from which the Antichrist is going to headquarter.

Prophecy watchers have always known America. We have to decline at some point. Doesn't mean what we're going through now is the decline, though it may be. This year, we have watched capitalism come under attack. We've watched socialism and globalism be heralded. We've seen the activity, I'll say more a little bit later, by the World Economic Forum about the reset. They'll say good riddance to capitalism during the reset.

We'll save that for later. So I think that is almost the number one happening in 2020 is this incredible decline of America. We're not going away, but our superpower status certainly can decline. And I am concerned. I don't think we're 100 percent convinced yet how the 2020 election is going to play out. But I am concerned that we have a potential Biden administration, among whom members of that administration are already hailing socialism and Marxism.

So that is not a very good sign. Number two would be the rise, the incredible rise this year of lawlessness, anarchy and the spirit of Antichrist. We have seen unbridled lawlessness.

And of course, Matthew 24 talks about that and parts of Revelation, although the context there would be the tribulation. So once again, we see tribulation events casting a long shadow on the church age. To be honest, in America, almost all hell has broken loose in 2020. The rule of law in the country has been disintegrating right before our eyes.

And at the root is the spirit of Antichrist. This is very concerning. And I think you should have everybody across the country deeply concerned because this could metastasize across the country. It's quite clear that city of Seattle elected officials are lacking the political will to enforce the rule of law. And this is the closest I've seen since being a 20 year professional public safety service of our country to becoming a lawless state. And when you have six now seven blocks of a city of Seattle owned geography now being occupied by some say are still armed people, especially at night.

Where do we go from here? And what happens to the reasonable community in Seattle, in particular, the business owners that surround that area or the residents? And we're already seeing reports come out of those residents saying they're not even allowed to have a vote or a say and they're feeling threatened. So this is a very deeply troubling situation in terms of public safety.

Oh, not just Seattle, but Minneapolis and Philadelphia, Kenosha, Wisconsin and Atlanta, Georgia, Chicago, Illinois, New York City. Lawlessness, lawlessness, all spurred on by the spirit of the Antichrist. Number three in my lineup of 10 top stories of 2020 and how they might tie to eschatology or the last days would be peace efforts in the Middle East.

We can debate the practicality of these events. Should America and Europe even be intruding on Israel with peace efforts? I don't know that that's the point of number three here, but the fact is peace efforts have been perpetrated in the Middle East and they are setting the stage for peace deals that someday will be proposed by the Antichrist.

I'm just saying they're setting the stage. They may not have anything to do with what the Antichrist will want to install, but they are setting the stage and the year is not over yet. We may see some more peace deals here in the next couple of weeks before the year actually does end. I am reminded of some haunting words out of Jeremiah 6 14 when they say peace, peace and there is no peace. Some other verses that indicate that peace is not necessarily leading to anything good, but I think that would be number three. Number four in my list, and we've spent time on this, on understanding the times radio here, and that is the increasing attacks on Christians, on Christianity, on churches.

That's thanks heavily to COVID-19. Churches and Christianity, quite frankly, they became gross inconveniences. Churches were either shut down or marginalized starting in March. Christians in America, they've been harassed, they've been arrested just for wishing to practice their faith and meet for worship. For that matter, believers say in the Middle East and Africa have been killed for their faith by the thousands.

And Jesus said that a day was coming that we would be hated for his namesake, Matthew 10 22. Despite a safer at home order, this live stream video of a Tampa, Florida church service has ignited outrage and that pastor now arrested. As parishioners sit in their vehicles listening to Pastor Charles Hamilton, Greenville police surround the church parking lot.

Central Pastor Tony Spell has been formally charged by central police for violating the governor's stay at home order. Baltimore's interrupted service yesterday by police. The pastor says they didn't break any laws, but police say they aren't following the governor's order to keep gatherings to a minimum.

Their goal is to put on such onerous requirements that they're impossible for us to meet. Police posted this notice of public nuisance on the front doors of this church. Church choirs silenced. Singing has been banned at all church services in California. I received a call making it very clear that we as a church were in danger if we met that if we met again that the church was in danger that I personally was in danger and that we were being watched.

State and federal investigators have been called in to investigate a fire they believe was intentionally set at the first Pentecostal church. I am told that there was a message left which said, bet you stay home now, you hypocrites. Y'all need to shut that church down! America, this is a serious moment.

In just these few days, we're up to $52,000. Government, it must stop! I think that's the fourth most significant story of 2020 as it relates to what the Bible predicts. Increasing attacks on Christians, Christianity, churches, etc. Whoever thought we would see it in the Western world?

Certainly parts of the world experience far worse than this. They lose their lives in parts of the world, but the attack on the church. Number five, I think, would be the growing apostasy, the wolves among the flock. We have sound biblical preaching that, again, it's fading with a rise in the love of experience, emotions, and unsound doctrine. There's a love of the doctrine of demons in some of our churches, 1 Timothy 4.1. We have the continued surge of what's called the New Apostolic Reformation. We have the false teaching that's raging through our churches and seminaries now called critical race theory.

That's Marxist, by the way. And at the same time, the love for Bible prophecy has vanished from almost every pulpit, as well as has support for the nation of Israel. So number six on my list would be something we've all watched and we've watched with broken hearts, and that would be pre-tribulation birth pangs. Now, the worst of the birth pangs written about in the Bible are in the tribulation or Daniel's 70th week. But we see a foreshadowing of these horrors right now in the church age. And we've watched natural disasters and even the media, secular media, has called the natural disasters of 2020 unprecedented globally. The destruction is heart-wrenching to watch and the suffering, I'm sure, has been unspeakable. This will increase to such a level in the tribulation that what's happening now is going to be minuscule in comparison.

And that's what we talked about in the first half of the programming today with Doug Stauffer. But the stage it's being set at all the earth is groaning. But again, the groaning now compared to the groaning of the tribulation or Daniel's 70th week, you can't even compare it. Nonetheless, we've watched these pre-tribulation birth pangs and tough to watch. I call it heart-wrenching, heartbreaking to see them break out all across the globe.

Number seven, spend just an extra moment here, because I think it troubles all of us when we see the continued and the rapid decline of our culture. Everywhere evil is being called good. That's Isaiah 5-20.

Aberration is celebrated. In 2020, we saw Netflix honor pedophilia with their little Cuties feature and film. California passed some legislation that's quite pro-pedophilia, to be honest. Today's character of mankind is outlined in Romans 1, 2 Timothy 3, and it's all predicted for a final generation. Frankly, I think, and this remains under this category of the continued rapid decline of the culture, is that the Washington, D.C. swamp is getting murkier than ever before.

And if, in fact, we are now seeing the rise of a Biden administration, I am very, very concerned that this is going to lead to an intensification of this rapid decline of the culture. I'm the proud mom of two girls, 8 and 10. My youngest daughter is transgender. The Trump administration has attacked the rights of transgender people, banning them from military service, weakening nondiscrimination protections, and even removing the word transgender from some government websites. How will you, as president, reverse this dangerous and discriminatory agenda and ensure that the lives and rights of LGBTQ people are protected under U.S. law?

I will flat out just change the law, eliminate those executive orders, number one. You may recall, I'm the guy who said, I was raised by a man who, I remember I was being dropped off. My dad was a high school-educated, well-read man who was a really decent guy, and I was being dropped off to get an application in the center of our city, Wilmington, Delaware, the corporate capital of the world at the time. And these two men, I'm getting out to get an application to be a lifeguard in the African-American community because there was a big swimming pool complex. And these two men, well-dressed, leaned up and hugged one another and kissed one another. I'm getting out of the car at the light, and I turn to my dad. My dad looked at me and said, Joey, it's simple.

They love each other. The idea that an eight-year-old child or a ten-year-old child decides, you know, I decided I want to be transgender. That's what I think I'd like to be.

It'd make my life a lot easier. Folks, we have dangerous days ahead if this is going to become the new norm because of a new administration. That's all I can say is America is already coming under judgment for some of our sins. But if the new norm is going to be this continued rapid decline of the culture, the celebration of aberration, we have even tougher days ahead. Moving on, point number eight of my ten top stories of 2020 that tie, I think, to the Bible and to the last days would be the rise of strong delusion. The Bible talks so strongly about how this is going to soar in the last days. So much arose in 2020, it's almost incalculable. What thinking person wants all police abolished, or thinks that America is a racist nation after we fought a civil war 150 years ago, or destroys a whole economy over a virus, or the youth of our nation think the Holocaust is a myth?

Second Thessalonians, too, suggest that such a delusion is sent in the last days because there's no love of the truth. And this will then cause people to fall for the lies of the Antichrist. I think we have seen this big time in the year 2020. Destroying property which can be replaced is not violence. Too many see the protests as the problem. Please show me where it says that protests are supposed to be polite and peaceful.

You're crushed by this. You can't believe it's happening to your country. But for the people you just saw, the real problem is that the rioting in some rare places is being stopped by police.

And their aim is to fix that. They would like to eliminate all law enforcement for good. Today, Democrats in Dallas took down the statue of a Texas Ranger from the terminal at Love Field that had stood in the airport for more than 50 years. But Texas Rangers are cops, and cops must be removed even when they're made of bronze. Meanwhile, the Lego toy company has seized marketing sets that contain plastic police officers. Apparently they're too dangerous for our children.

And so on. So much of this going on right now. If it all seems like yet another episode of the silly and fleeting hysteria that sometimes grips our culture out of nowhere, usually in lulls in the news cycle, you should know that it's not that.

This is entirely real. It is being pushed by serious people, and they are deadly serious about it. Last night, for example, Brian Fallon, who was the press secretary of the Hillary Clinton for President campaign in the last election cycle, tweeted, quote, defund the police. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib agrees.

Expect more members of Congress to agree soon. In some places, they're not talking, they're acting. Steve Fletcher represents the third ward in Minneapolis. He's on the city council there. By this week, his city had been completely scorched by riots. At least 66 businesses were utterly destroyed by fire. 300 more had been vandalized or looted.

Fletcher didn't even mention that. Instead, he attacked the city's police department for trying to contain the violence. Quote, several of us on the council are working on finding out what it would take to disband the Minneapolis Police Department, end quote. You'd think people in the city would be shocked by that, but at least on the city council, everyone else nodded their approval. In the ninth ward, Councilwoman Alondra Cano tweeted this yesterday, quote, the Minneapolis Police Department is not reformable. Change is coming. According to city councilman Fletcher, all nine members of the city council are now considering getting rid of the Minneapolis Police Department.

Hard to believe, but it's not just there. In the city of Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti looks out across the worst rioting in the nation's second largest city in a generation, in almost 30 years. His conclusion? We need far fewer police.

It could have been better if they hadn't been there. Garcetti has announced he's going to cut funding for law enforcement. Strong, strong delusion that is promised for a final generation because it's going to cause people to eventually fall for the lies of the Antichrist when they get in this delusional spirit, this delusional mindset. So I put that as number eight in the top 10 stories to reflect back on here in 2020 that I think tie to the Bible. Moving on here to point number nine, and this probably requires a program or two, and that would be, of course, the COVID-19. COVID 1984 is what I call it because that caused the surveillance state to absolutely go off the chart. This is going to lead to the preparation, the stage setting for the new world order. By that, I mean government intrusion took center stage here in 2020.

Contact tracing was introduced. People even had to register to go to church so they could be traced in case they came in contact with somebody with COVID 1984. And the goal lines for easing government restrictions and lockdowns and quarantines and even face masks kept changing throughout the year. Clearly, society is being prepped for the Antichrist.

Around the world, people are being turned into mind-numbed robots, and some are cowering in fear. And all of this is making them welcome the surveillance state. Somehow flattening the curve ended up flattening our civil liberties as well.

Virginia used the emergency as cover to ram through more anti-gun measures. Michigan and Kentucky, they cracked down on worshipers even when they were social distancing. And California, well, they're funneling money to illegal immigrants. But there's a new threat to our rights on the horizon, and it's being pushed by the second wealthiest man in the world. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and the Gates Foundation, well, they spend hundreds of millions of dollars on research projects around the world. They do a lot of good.

And now it's the largest active funder of the World Health Organization as well, despite the WHO's recent COVID failures and coziness with China. Now, according to Gates, the only way to responsibly end the shutdown to stay-at-home orders is for a pretty vast surveillance system to be put in place. Writing in the Washington Post, the United States can follow Germany's example, interview everyone who tests positive, and use a database to make sure someone follows up with all their contacts.

Well, of course, he insists this will all be voluntary. You choose whether you download the digital tools onto your cell phone. He notes that some people have proposed allowing phones to detect other phones that are near them by using Bluetooth and emitting sounds that humans can't hear.

And if someone tested positive, their phone would send a message to other phones, and their owners could go get tested. Well, how this information would be stored, whether it would be stored, and to whom it would be accessible, I mean, it's anyone's guess. We don't know any of this yet. Well, in a perfect world, perhaps this would all work seamlessly, with no abuses and no misuse of our medical data. But there are profound questions involved here, including the damage that would be done to America if we really can't even open this up until an army, as they call it, of tracers and technology was put in place.

Is any of this even feasible? Now, one would think that given all the issues floating out there, that journalists would have at least a few questions, some curiosity about how any Gates approved tracing and digital tracking system, whatever you want to call it, how it would all be implemented. Well, not so much curiosity. If ramped up testing will be crucial for reopening our economy, so will something called contact tracing. Contact tracing is the good old fashioned detective work, long part of smart public health planning. It's absolutely critical to stopping new infections.

Well, the Ingram angle is asking some hard questions here. It all sounds fine on the surface. Remember, after 9-11, everything seemed fine. The Patriot Act, you know, new Homeland Security Department, you know, ramp up, surges, it all seemed perfectly reasonable. Years later, we found out some of that stuff wasn't. So in 1984, the surveillance state worsened with the preparation for the New World Order.

Incredible to even have been an observer of all of this happening here in 2020. That is my ninth point. And then number 10, and that would be, I believe, the longing for a savior. Because the world is in a meltdown mode. Millions of people are looking for one Superman to bring back peace and prosperity. I think he's probably waiting in the wings, and most have rejected Jesus Christ, but they will cheer, at least for a short season, for the Antichrist. So that's sort of my short list of prominent events in 2020, just top 10.

We could have top 20 or 30, but we don't have time. That have end time significance. You know, it could be seen as heartbreaking, but it heralds an imminent event happening that many believers have been longing for. And that is the returning of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, which could be even today. So keep your eye on the great reset of 2021. We will talk about it on this program in the new year. Recently, that World Economic Forum and its head Klaus Schwab said that they're working on implantable chips that can read our thoughts.

Now, if you think things will return to normal in 2021, think again when you hear people talking like that. Let me just close here, because I wrote something that I want to share with you, and I wrote it a few months ago now. And it's called Suddenly in the Twinkling of an Eye, and it's based off of First Thessalonians five, verses two and three. For you yourselves know that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. And while they are saying peace and safety, then sudden destruction will come upon them like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. First Thessalonians five, verses two and three.

And so I wrote this a couple of months ago, and we'll close with this. Last day's events happened quickly, even suddenly. The word quickly, which is the Greek word takos, is used eight times in Revelation.

Think of an automobile tachometer, which measures the working speed of an engine, typically in revolutions per minute, and it revs up. And we often see sudden destruction falling upon the wicked in the Bible. The unrepentant living during Noah's time experienced a sudden and catastrophic flood. They had 120 years to repent, as Noah preached to them, but they chose to ignore him, and judgment suddenly fell.

Genesis six. So what have you noticed here in 2020? Everything happened suddenly. For instance, one, our fairly ordinary world suddenly vanished.

Stores sold out suddenly. Fear gripped America and the world suddenly. People were ordered to suddenly totally change their lifestyles. People lost businesses of a lifetime suddenly. A U.S. president went from popular to the cause of it all suddenly. Reality became surreal suddenly. Cities turned into ghost towns suddenly. Mankind became lovers of self, treacherous and without self-control suddenly. Cries for global government transpired suddenly as only a one-world system could slow down the wreckage.

Moving on here, virtual became the new way of doing all things suddenly. The U.S. economy went from best ever to horrible suddenly. Church went from essential to irrelevant in the eyes of the world suddenly.

Hollywood suddenly stopped making sick movies as theaters suddenly closed. Order turned to chaos suddenly with racial tension. That tension suddenly turned to lawlessness, and lawlessness turned to anarchy suddenly.

The cry for police protection suddenly turned to abolish the police, and common sense simply turned suddenly into strong delusion. So is there a message in all of this? Something else is going to happen suddenly. It's the rapture of the church.

It will take place in a twinkling of an eye that is so fast it can hardly even be measured. So when God begins to move, He doesn't waste a moment. But He does take time to warn before He judges. And He seems to be telling us that things are going to change for eternity suddenly via the rapture of the church. So will things continue to be chaotic in our crazy times?

Probably. Let's remember Matthew 6 26, Jesus reminded His followers of His Father's care for the birds of the air. They do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. And yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not worth much more than they? So as we transition from this year into the next year, in a couple of weeks, if you are His, then you can say with the psalmist, surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Say just a quick programming note here. Because my media team and I, we really need a break. We will be playing best of programming the next two weeks. We have tried here in 2020 to hit all the issues of the day, the pandemic, the strife in the country and the world, the election, global events, apologetics. All this year we've tried to focus on the things that matter, but we're going to take a couple of weeks away from the microphone. Again, I want to thank you for your financial and your prayer support in 2020. What has God in store for us in 2021? Could He call His church home?

Indeed He could, perhaps even today. You can watch our programming in its video form on our website, OliveTreeViews.org, under radio. You can also watch it on our YouTube channel and on his channel, Christian Television. 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. If today's headlines overwhelm you, see them through the lens of the Bible, and know that everything is falling into place.