Of all those who claim to understand and explain Bible prophesy today, Bill Salhus stands as the most accurate, and I highly recommend you look his interviews up on YouTube.
Many people believe the current Israel-Hamas War is the lead-up to the Battle of Armageddon, as described in Ezekiel 38-39, but God’s prophesies are very specific, and it is always a mistake to make such an assumption. However, Psalms 83 does exactly match the description of those Muslim nations that surround and make war with Israel. The primary differences between Psalms 83 and Ezekiel 38-39 are these: In Ezekiel 38-39, Gog of Magog (Russia) and Iran, along with a number of other Muslim nations like Libya and Ethiopia, will attack Israel that at the time of the attack will have unwalled villages. In this current conflict, Libya and Ethiopia are not included in the Psalms 83 War, and Israel is currently walled. To paraphrase Johnny Cochran’s famous quote from the OJ Simpson trial, If the prophesy glove does not fit, we must acquit the Ezekiel 38-39 prophesy in this present case.
This current conflict does include nations like Syria, and we know from Isaiah 17 that Damascus is utterly (and instantly) destroyed as a city at some point. We know Syria’s leader, Assad, has used chemical weapons against his own people, so he still has those weapons. If Damascus is utterly destroyed in one moment, only a nuclear weapon can inflict the devastation of Damascus in such short order, compared to how much time and conventional weapons it would take to carpet bomb Damascus. What would it take for Israel to nuke Damascus? I believe Assad will attack Israel with poison gas, and Jews are particularly sensitive to gassing after the Holocaust of WWII. When Israel nukes Damascus in response to that chemical bomb attack, it will end the current conflict forthwith and result in a period of peace — very possibly a peace orchestrated by the Antichrist. As a result, Israel will exist for a time in peace, probably 3.5 years, which would be the beginning of the seven-year Tribulation. I believe that period of peace for Israel will cause them to take down the walls that currently exist.
So, what do we look for at this time? If I am correct, Israel will use a nuke to destroy Damascus, which will cause the other hostile warring nations to immediately stop their siege of Israel, fearing Israel will nuke them next. If I am right, an individual will come forward with a seven-year peace deal with Israel, and right then we will know that individual is the Antichrist! From that point, we can count seven years until the Battle of Armageddon in Ezekiel 38-39.
There is one mysterious statement in the Bible concerning the seven-year Great Tribulation, and that is God’s promise that he would “shorten those days” lest even the Elect (God’s most trusted followers) be deceived. Exactly how God will shorten those days is not explained, but Bible prophesy tells us the Antichrist will perform miracles, like calling down fire from the sky and others, which will appear so convincing that many (possibly even some of God’s Elect) will mistake Antichrist for the returned Jesus. I pity those who mistakenly worship Antichrist, because when the real Jesus returns at the end of the Battle of Armageddon, they are going to be so ashamed of their error they are going to wish the mountains would fall upon them. You do not want to be one of them.
The reason I am so adamantly opposed to the theory of a pre-Tribulation “Rapture” is because it is an act of deception by Satan, who will take the form of the Human Antichrist. Try to imagine this: You are an ardent believer in a pre-Tribulation Rapture. The Antichrist comes along and performs super-Human miracles before or during the time of the first 3.5 years of the seven-year Great Tribulation. It is the second half of the Great Tribulation, during which God’s followers suffer persecution. If you were a solid pre-Tribulation Rapture believer, but you have not been Raptured, the fact that you are still here is going to shake your faith in God’s Word because you were led to believe by man, and not God or Jesus, that you would escape the Great Tribulation via that Rapture lie. The Rapture, therefore, is part of the Great Deception spoken of by God’s prophets.
It would be different if Jesus had not specifically warned us about Rapture Theory! If you go to Luke chapter 21:8, Jesus plainly warns you not to be deceived! He further tells you to expect to be persecuted by Antichrist in Luke 21:12. How could that possibly happen to you if you have already been Raptured? It is a clear conflict with Rapture Theory, and God’s Word in Luke trumps anything man tries to deceive you with.
Do you realize Rapture Theory was never taught before the early 1,800s? Jesus’ Apostles did not teach it, although many deceived “pastors” will insist it is spelled-out in the Book of Thessalonians. It is not! We read where Jesus speaks about how two people will be present and one will be “taken”, right? Well, this is right after Jesus tells us that his return will occur as in the days of Noah. What happened during Noah’s time? Noah’s family was spared via the Ark, and the evildoers were the ones “taken” away. Get it? I rest my case. There are many claiming to be pastors of God’s Word on YouTube, and they sound like they know what they are talking about, but if I hear them mention The Rapture even once, I immediately know they are either deceived themselves or thy don’t want to lose their listeners by telling them what they want to hear instead of responsibly telling them what they need to hear. Who wouldn’t want to hear and believe they will escape the Antichrist’s Great Tribulation persecutions? That is why Rapture Theory is such an easy sell to fools, and I call them fools because they have chosen to be deceived by man instead of heeding Jesus’ own words. Thus, they are false teachers and false prophets for promoting Rapture Theory as God’s truth, and if they can’t even get that right, what else are they teaching falsely??
Avoid them, and never believe another thing they have to say. That goes for me as well. If I tell you something that is not consistent with God’s Word, then I am also a false teacher and a false prophet. To the very best of my ability, I have always told you the truth, backed by the Word of God and not that of some man telling you what you want to hear.
Carl F. Worden
