Why the 7
Year Tribulation Didn't Begin
When Many
Said It Would, and
What This
Most Likely Means for Us
by Pastor
Paul J. Bern
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It's
been all over the propaganda-spewing TV, dish and cable networks on a
continuous basis ever since Donald Trump took office. Allegations of
Russian collusion to allegedly hack the 2016 presidential election,
accusations of incompetence on Trump's part, not to mention allegedly
crooked or unethical business dealings and even being “nothing
short of treasonous”, as CIA senior official John Brennan said
recently. The thing I'm seeing about president Trump is what numerous
others are overlooking, or probably ignoring in some of those cases.
When he met Kim Jung Un at Singapore, some predicted it would lead to
world war 3. No such thing has happened, at least not so far. When
Trump met Russian president Putin at Helsinki, Finland, the peaceful
and pragmatic outcome of their meeting enraged the military and
intelligence communities and deeply offended the US
military-industrial complex. So now everybody knows that there are
some at the Pentagon and the CIA who consider making peace with
Russia, and by extension North Korea and China, “treasonous”! It
presents an existential threat to their livelihoods – waging war
and mass killing!
So now
let's juxtapose president Trump's peaceful overtures to communist
countries with Biblical prophecy. Haven't you noticed, over the past
few years, things getting a little hotter, a little heavier? Now, add
to that the rate at which events are increasing, just like the pains
of a woman in labor. Haven’t we all heard or read that somewhere
before? 1st Thessalonians 5 verse 3 says, “While people are
saying, 'Peace and safety', sudden destruction will come upon them,
as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape”.
Are you among those who believe we have years left before the
return of Christ? Or, are you watching the events escalate with
anticipation, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that the hour for
His return is getting closer than ever?
But
wait! Before anyone starts quoting scripture to me regarding “no
one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven…”
(Matt. 24: 36), let me say that I don't believe there is day or hour
recorded here or even mentioned. The keys are the number ‘seven’,
the Shemitah, and the Four Blood Moons, the last two of which have
already occurred without incident. So all of those “predictions”
were wrong. Remember what Jesus said about false prophets like that.
“By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes
from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?” (Matt. 7: 17) All we
have to do is examine Biblical End Times Prophecy (sometimes called
'eschatology') and you will understand why all of the prophets are
wrong, just like president Trump's haters are wrong for calling him
“treasonous”.
Here
are some examples of God's numerology. As you can see from these
first examples, the number seven figures very prominently in God's
kingdom all throughout the Bible. Leviticus
25: 8-13 says, “Count off seven groups of seven years, or
forty-nine years. During that time there will be seven years of rest
for the land. On the Day of Cleansing, you must blow the horn of a
male sheep; this will be on the tenth day of the seventh month. You
must blow the horn through the whole country. Make the fiftieth year
a special year, and announce freedom for all the people living in
your country. This time will be called Jubilee. You will each go back
to your own property, each to your own family and family group. The
fiftieth year will be a special time for you to celebrate. Don’t
plant seeds, or harvest the crops that grow by themselves, or gather
grapes from the vines that are not trimmed. That year is Jubilee; it
will be a holy time for you. You may eat only the crops that come
from the field. In the year of Jubilee you each must go back to your
own property.” (Leviticus
25:3-4) says, “Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and
six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit
thereof; But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the
land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor
prune thy vineyard”.
As you
will now see from the verses below, God always makes allowance and
provision for those who obey all His commandments. I offer two quotes
as examples: Leviticus 25: 20-22; “And if ye shall say, What
shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather
in our increase: Then I will command my blessing upon you in the
sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. And ye
shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth
year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store”. And,
Deuteronomy 15: 1-2 says, “At the end of every seven
years thou shalt make a release. And this is the manner of the
release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbor shall
release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbor, or of his brother;
because it is called the Lord’s release”.
God
held his entire nation of Israel accountable to follow these and all
other laws and precepts which God has made, all of which is for our
benefit. Deuteronomy 31 verses 10-12
says regarding this, “And Moses commanded them, saying,
At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of
release, in the feast of tabernacles, When all Israel is come to
appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose,
thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather
the people together, men and women, and children, and thy stranger
that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may
learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of
this law”. Today in America we
have exactly the opposite – our children can't even pray in school,
not even to themselves, because it's illegal. Now you know why our
schools are being turned into shooting galleries.
God has
warned us in the past of what could happen to us all if we fail to
obey, or if we ignore, his commandments. There are numerous examples
throughout the Bible of this, and many more that predict this evil to
continue ever more as we get close to the end of all things as we
have known them. But more basic than that, does the Bible give
humankind any advance warning about what could actually occur if we
ignore God and do only as we please? I can cite several examples that
coincide with Biblical prophecy. It
is likely, for example, that these verses predict WW3:
Revelation
6 verse 8: “I looked, and there before me was a pale
horse. Its rider was named death, and Hades was following close
behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill
people by war, by starvation, by disease, and by the wild animals of
the earth”. Rev. 9, verses
13-16. “The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard
a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God.
It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, 'Release the four
angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates'. And the four
angels who had been kept for this very hour and day
and month and year were released to kill one third of
mankind. The number of their mounted troops was two hundred million.
I heard their number.”
There
is only one country in the world that can muster an army that huge,
and that would be Red China. At some point in the future, the Chinese
military will march, transport or fly over the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers in modern-day Iraq, presumably in a march to the Mediterranean
Sea and conquering large swaths of Asia and the Middle East. But
these events do not look likely for at least the near future. The
quote above from the Book of Revelation refers to the battle of
Armageddon, the last battle before Christ's return. But for now, it
appears that Donald Trump has done what no other US president has,
which is to make peace with Russia and on the Korean peninsula. In
effect, president Trump has bought the world some time to straighten
out its problems with militarism and economic inequality. Whether it
will be sufficient time or not remains to be seen.
The
Bible tells us quite plainly what the aftermath of WW3 is going to
be, and it will be devastating to say the least! For example, Acts 2:
20-21 says; “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and
the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord
comes: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the
name of the Lord shall be saved”. But
God commanded the prophet Daniel to explain absolutely nothing about
the details of these prophecies until the End Times arrive. Daniel
12:4 says, “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and
seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and
fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Well,
people, it looks to me like the End Times have arrived, and with a
vengeance.
The
prophet Amos says yet again in Amos 8:11, “Behold, the
days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land,
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the
words of the Lord”. And what, you are probably asking right
about now, is the greatest sin of humankind as the end of days
approaches? I can sum it up in one word: Greed! 1st Timothy 6:10
says, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which
while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows”. But,
there is a way out of all of this which is spelled out in 2nd
Chronicles 7: 14; “If my people, which are called by my
name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn
from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will
forgive their sin, and will heal their land”.
There
is still time to seek God's face, his mind and his will. But we are
running short of time. As I said at the beginning of this week's
message, the four blood moons forecast to occur in the Bible have
already happened. “No man knows the day or the hour, not even
the Son of Man, but only the Father who lives in heaven” (Mark
13: 32). Since this didn't happen back in September of 2015 as
“predicted”, then that means we have at least seven more years to
go before the beginning of the Tribulation. That works out to the
summer or fall of 2022. Then again, all this could be over with in a
week from now. So get ready, because “the hour of our redemption
is drawing near” (Luke 21: 28). Moreover, “the Son of Man
will arrive at a time when you do not expect him.” (Luke 12:
40) Never stop being thankful for the peace we currently enjoy with
Russia and North Korea. It could end within days of this writing.
Besides, I am put off by some things president Trump has done in the
past just like some of you. But we still should be praying for him
whether we agree with him or not. Let's not forget that the Bible
tells us to pray for our leaders. Until next week, then....
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