Does Bible prophecy teach an Islamic Antichrist - Prophecy in the News - Apr 2012

Inside This Issue
An Islamic Antichrist? ....................... 3
In the last few years, a number ofWliters have advanced the
theory that the Antichrist will come from the ranks ofIslam,
perhaps as the vaunted ImamMahdi. Whatdoes theBible say?
Rapture & Resurrection ................. ...... 8
Humanity is under a death sentence! But our Lord has
promised release from humanity's long debt ofsin. Believe
in Jesus and you will be resurrected to etemal life. The
promised resurrection is also the rapture, the archetypes of
which are seen seven times in Scripture!
Ask Gary! ................................ 16
Our readers and viewers often send us their Bible
questions. As space allows, Gary answers a couple of
the most representative ones. Send him your questions!
The Greatness of the Rapture .................... 17
Bob Ulrich has one more reason to "keep looking
up." Bob's father, AI, went home to be with the Lord
on February 26th, 2012, falling just short of his 80th
birthday. AI's home-going gave Bob motivation to review
a new book from Greek Professor, David Olander, The
Greatness ofthe Rapture, a book that uses the original
Greek language to clear up all the confusion.
The Human Brain: Home ofthe Soul, Part 2 .... .... 34
lR. Church's classic Eschatology 101 study series
continues as we bring you his thoughts about the
function of the brain, from a biblical perspecti e. In
Part 2, he searches ancient Jewish sources to see what
they had to say. To say the least, you'll be surprised.
2 Prophecy in the News - April 2012

www.prophecyinthenews.com
----------------------------------- byGaryStearrnan ------------------------------------
Something amazing has happened in the
last three decades. The Palestinian cause in
the Middle East has widened out into a full-
scale Islamic revolution. The rapid expansion
of Islamic power has directed new specula-
tion about the events that will unfold during
the Tribulation. Specifically, many are now
suggesting that the Antichrist will arise out of
the Islamic world.
Persuasive books and other publications
are now making the case for this develop-
ment. The Islamic Antichrist, by Joel Rich-
ardson and God's War on Terror, by the for-
mer Muslim Walid Shoebat have both linked
Mystery Babylon with latter-day Islam. Cer-
tainly, Islam has an "Antichrist Spirit." But
can it really be true that
the Antichrist will mise
from the Islamic cul-
ture?
Really, the question
boils down to this: Will
he arise from Islam so-
ciety, or as the Bible
has been interpreted for
centuries, does he come
from the West? There
are at least two strong arguments in favor of
his Western origin. First, the power of Islam
is broken in a war at the beginning of the
Tribulation. Second, the Bible gives the ge-
nealogy of the Antichrist that strongly points
to his Graeco-Roman origin.
Let's begin by briefly reviewing recent
Mideast history, then compare these events
with Scripture.
After years of ineffectual struggle, the
current Arab uprising first gained real mo-
mentum in Tunis when, in January, 201I,
longtime President Ben Ali was overthrown,
leading to new elections for the beleaguered
and impoverished people. Their success,
followed by the ensuing Libyan revolt, her-
alded what the Western press came to call
"The Arab Spring." When the radicals saw
their propaganda successfully taking hold,
they were spurred on to new revolts in Egypt
and Syria.
Out of these' developments, we witnessed
the coalescing ofa new power, as the Islamic
Brotherhood declared itself the reigning
Arab leadersillp. Libya's MOal11lTIar Khadaf-
fi was hunted down and killed. Egypt's three-
decade dictator Hosni Mubarak was deposed
and put on trial for crimes against the people.
Currently, the Brotherhood is exploiting
a growing regional volatility of their own
making, to create a new international power.
Their professed objective is the realization of
an obsessive dream - the establishment of a
grand international caliphate. The last such
centralized Islan1ic rule came to an end with
the downfall of the Ottoman Empire around
the time of World War One. It was then re-
placed by the Republic ofTurkey.
Since that time, many Arabs have ex-
pressed their dream that a new caliphate
would rise, bringing the Mideast to a golden
age of strength and wealth. It threatens to
expand beyond any national boundary, real-
izing the long-held goal ofan Islamic caliph-
ate that will cover the region from the British
Isles to India's western border and southward
into Afiica.
Recent History
Following the 1973 Yom Kippur war, the
Egyptians reluctantly forged a peace treaty
with Israel. It came into effect in 1979 and
was commonly referred to as the Carter-
Sadat Treaty. It demilitarized the Sinai Pen-
ninsula and lasted for thirty years, until 20 II ,
with the end ofthe Mubarak era.
From its beginning, this peace treaty was
routinely mocked by other Arab states, and
particularly by Vasser Arafat, who said it
would never last. Arafat founded the Pales-
tinian Liberation Organization (PLO) with
the idea of undoing everything Israel had
done since fornling their nation in 1948.
Ironically, the present Arab uprising can
be dated back to 1983, when Arafat was
forced to move PLO headquarters to Tunisia,
following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
Before that, he had established AI Fatah, and
its military arm, Al Assifa, which grew to
become the central authority of the Islamic
resistance.
By 1988 Arafat, in a major tactical change,
had given up his terrorist cause and freely
spoke of Israel's right to exist. A 1993 agree-
ment with the PLO expressed Israel's legiti-
mate presence alongside a self-ruling Pales-
tinian Jericho and Gaza Strip. The wily old
founder ofAI Fatah was then made president
of the Palestinian Authority (PA). In 1995
and 1996, another agreement brought self-
rule in all Arab cities on the West Bank ofthe
Jordan River.
A more-or-Iess lasting peace in the region
ensued until September of 2000, when Ara-
fat's forces were accused ofattacking Israelis
once again. He died in 2004, leaving a PLO
divided between Fatah and the Islamic Broth-
erhood's Palestinian terrorist arm, Hamas.
For the last decade there has been a steadily
deteriorating relationship between the PA
and Israel. Ironically, when Arafat died, the
process of Israel's unilateral disengagement
April 2012 - Prophecy in the News 3

from Gaza was begun, to be completed in
September, 2005. Always eager for peace,
the Israelis had given up Gaza to Hamas as a
gesture of good will. But it wasn't long until
internecine strife between Hamas and Fatah
erupted into street fighti ng. The struggle for
the "liberation" ofGaza rages to this day.
But Israel's olive branch resulted only in
greater hostility. It played right into the hands
of Hamas, which has never concealed the
fact that it's prime desire is to see Israel an-
nihilated. Its continual firing of rockets into
Israel provided the background music for the
arming of Hezbollah in Lebanon. It fueled
the passions of the Iranians, who continually
call for the death ofthe "little Satan" (lsrael)
and the "great Satan" (the USA).
It encouraged the Islamic Brotherhood,
spurring them onward toward the great revo-
lution that will bring the grand caliphate and
their mahdi (messiah figure), who will con-
vert the world to Islam. They now believe
he is on the verge of appearing, but they dis-
agree on how he will take control.
Who Will Lead?
The two major factions of Islam - Sunnis
and Shiites - disagree on how their mahdi
will rule. The Sunnis believe tbat the caliph
who will someday head their government,
should be elected by Islamic governmental
representatives.
On the other hand, Shiite Muslims be-
lieve that the caliph will be chosen by Allah
from among the direct offspring ofMoham-
med. The most radical Shiites, called the
Twelvers, believe that the supernatural be-
ing, a messianic figure they call the Imam
Mahdi, will personally come to present him-
self as leader, arising from a subterranean
hiding place, where he has resided for the
past few centuries.
Muslim leaders are quite vocal about his
coming. Their outspoken bravado seems to
have persuaded some in the West that his ar-
rival will fulfill the biblical qualifications for
the Antichrist.
Many Christians have begun to say that
it is this mysterious figure, regardless of his
method ofarrival, who will rise to power, ful-
filling the Bible's description ofthe one who
comes to deceive the Jews into believing that
he is their true Messiah:
"Let no man deceive you by any means:
for that day shall not come, except there
come afalling awayfirst, and that man ofsin
·be revealed, the son ofperdition; Who op-
poseth and exalteth himselfabove all that is
called God, or that is worshipped,' so that he
as God sitJeth in the temple ofGod, shewing
himselfthat he is God" (II Thess. 2:3,4).
The sense that Islam is becoming stronger
and more unified ... that its vaunted period of
rule has arrived, has caused many to assume
that they will realize their goal. Certainly, Is-
lamic leaders ofthe Middle East believe this.
But it also seems that their beliefis beguming
to convince Western society ... and even
Christians!
Islam to be Destroyed
And this, in spite of the fact that Bible
prophecy specifically calls for an unprece-
dented destruction ofIslam in a coming great
war. This war will begin in the Mideast and
spread to the entire world. In breathtaking
fashion, Israel will rise to victory as the war
comes to an end. What then? Will the Jews
accept an Islamic ruler from among the rag-
tag survivors ofthe great war? That would be
very doubtful, indeed. Remember, Scripture
says that they will accept him as their long-
awaited Messiah ... but a Moslem?
This thought requires perspective: We
must never forget that it is the recent pub-
licity about the Twelvers' belief in the com-
ing Imam Mahdi that has most likely set in
motion the speculation about an Islamic
Antichrist.
This assumes that Islam will rise to a victo-
rious position in the region. From the strictly
secular point ofview, there is now the grow-
ing impression that the Islamic juggemaut
has reached the point of global prominence.
It is infiltratin Europe and the Americas. It
regularly boasts that it will control the world
in a generation. But the Bible says othelwise.
The Coming War
For example, many have begun to point to
Psalm 83 as a prophecy ofIsrael's latter-day
enemies. Eleven tribes ofthe Middle East are
shown just as we see them today. This col-
lection of enemies is a composite of all who
have ever opposed Israel:
''They have said, Come, and let us cut
them off.li-om being a nation; that the name
ofIsrael may be no more in remembrance.
For they have consulted together with one
consent: they are confederate against thee:
The tabernacles ofEdam, and the Ishmael-
ites; ofMoab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal,
and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines
with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assur also is
joined with them: they have holpen the chil-
dren ofLot. Selah " (Psalm 83:4-8).
And what happens to these Islamic off-
spring of all evil? They are summarily
wiped out:
"0 my God, make them like a wheel; as the
stubble before the wind. As thefire burneth a
wood, andas theflame setteth the mountains
on fire; So persecute them with thy tempest,
and make them afraid with Ihy storm. Fill
theirfaces with shame; that [heymayseek thy
name, 0 LORD" (psalm 83:13-16).
This Psalm constitutes a propbecy, stating
botb the goal of Israel's enemies and their
final fate. Tbese are the peoples that comprise
today's Islamic Brotherbood defeated in the
fires ofwar.
And where else do we see tbem men-
tioned? Tbe propbet Zechariah speaks of the
precise situation we find today:
"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of
trembling unto all the people round about,
when they shall be in the siege both against
Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that
day will 1 make Jerusalem a burdensome
stone for all people: all that burden them-
selves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all
the people ofthe earth be gathered together
against it. In that day, saith the LORD, 1 will
smite every horse with astonishment, and his
rider with madness: and I will open mine
eyes upon the house ofJudah, and will smite
every horse of the people with blindness.
And the governors ofJudah shall say in their
heart, The inhabitants ofJerusalem shall be
my strength in the LORD ofhosts their God.
In that day will I make the governors ofJu-
dah like an hearth offire among the wood,
and like a torch offire in a sheaf and they
shall devour all the people round about, on
the right hand andon the left: andJerusalem
shall be inhabited again in her own place,
even in Jerusalem" (Zech. 12:2-6).
Gog's Hapless Invasion
To make the point once more, we have
only to look at Ezekiel 38 and 39, in which
an alliance ofRussia, Persia, Ethiopia, Libya,
Turkey, Eastern Europe and others combine
to invade Israel. This is the great northern in-
vasion ofGog ofthe land of Magog, dragged
into the fray by the very zealots of the Is-
lamic Brotherhood who are today crying for
Israel's blood."And1will turn thee back, and
put hooks into thyjaws, and I will bring thee
forth ... .. (Ezekiel 38:4).
And what happens to Gog and these
mighty warriors? Observe:
"And I will smite thy bow out of thy left
hand, and will cause thine arrows tofall out
of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the
mountains ofIsrael, thou, and all thy bands,
and the people that is with thee: 1 will give
thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort,
and to the beasts ofthefield to be devoured.
Thou shaltfall upon the openfield:for I have
spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. And I will
send afire on Magog, and among them that
dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall
know that I am the LORD" (Ezekiel 39:3-6).
They are utterly destroyed in a crushing

defeat that dwarfs anything ever seen in past
wars. Here, we see that the fires of war blow
back on Magog and the "isles" (the conti-
nents), showing that though it started in the
Mideast it spreads to the entire world. The
cleanup from this war stretches over a seven-
year period:
"Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith
the Lord GOD; this is the day whereofi have
spoken. And they that dwell in the cities ofis-
rael shall go forth, and shall set on fire and
burn the weapons, both the shields and the
bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the
handstaves, and the spears, and they shall
burn them withfire seven years: So that they
shall take no wood out of the field, neither
cut down any out oftheforests; for they shall
burn the weapons with fire: and they shall
spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those
that robbedthem, saith the Lord GOD. Andit
shall come to pass in that day, that I will give
unto Gog a place there ofgraves in israel,
the valley ofthepassengers on the east ofthe
sea: and it shall stop the noses ofthe passen-
gers: and there shall they bury Gog and all
his multitude: and they shall call it The valley
ofHamon-gog" (Ezekiel 39:8-1I).
Many writers have already pointed out
that Israel will bury the invaders' bodies in
the territory ofMoab and Atmllon, east ofthe
Dead Sea. It takes them seven years to ac-
complish this feat, ruling out the possibility
that the war takes place during the Tribula-
tion, since Israel will be fleeing for her life
during the second halfofthe Tribulation. The
initial attack must take place» r ahead ofthe
seven-year period.
And where is the Imam Mahdi during this
legendary rout'? Has he emerged from the
Twelvers' subterranean well-shaft? If so, he
witnessed only defeat. Is he elected to power
by the sheikhs? Ifso, he has no land to rule.
Following this amazing victory, Israel
will rise to power, led by a savior-figure
who falsely claims to be their Messiah. And
he will provide proof, standing up in a new
temple and declaring himselfto be a god. But
certainly, he won't be Islamic. At this time,
when the smoke ofbattle still hangs heavy in
the air, with millions of Moslems lying dead
on the battlefield, would he claim to be the
great Mahdi? No, he would certainly claim to
be the Jew's Messiah. Furthermore, he con-
firms a covenant with Israel's leaders, insur-
ing temple sacrifices and offerings, a promise
which he soon rescinds:
"And after threescore and two weeks shall
Messiah be cut off, but not for himself and
the people ofthe prince that shall come shall
destroy the city and the sanctumy; and the
endthereofshall be with af/ood, andunto the
end of the war desolations are determined.
Andhe shall confirm the covenant with many
for one week: and in the midst ofthe week he
shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to
cease, andfor the overspreading ofabomina-
tions he shall make it desolate, even until the
consummation, and that determined shall be
poured upon the desolate" (Daniel 9:26,27).
It is the signing of this false covenant
that marks the precise beginning of the
Tribulation.
Furthermore, Daniel gives us Antichrist's
genealogy, saying that this "prince" (the An-
tichrist) will be descended from the Flavian
Dynasty of Vespasian and Titus. They are,
after all, as Daniel puts it, "thepeople ... who
destroy the city and the sanctumy. "
Who were the Flavians? They were the
Roman dictators who waged wars against
the Jews during the close ofthe first century.
Furthennore, they are well known to have in-
termarried with members ofthe Herodian dy-
nasty. This intertwining began about 36 BC,
when Caesar Augustus thrust the Edomite
Herod the Great upon the Jews, inSUlting
them by giving him the offensive title, "King
ofthe Jews."
Additionally, the Flavian bloodline in-
cluded the Greek Seleucids, descending from
Antiochus TV Ephiphanes, himself. In 167
BC, this evil character had captured the Jew-
ish temple and placed a statue of himself in
the Holy ofHolies, dressed as Zeus. He is the
foremost type ofthe Antichrist.
These three bloodlines ... Herodian, Se-
leucid and Roman ... converge in the Flavian
dynasty. In the second century AD and fol-
lowing, the descendants of these royals be-
came the leaders ofthe Holy Roman Empire.
J.R. Church's two books, Guardians ofthe
Grail and Bloodline ofthe Antichrist are both
dedicated to documenting this clearcut, sin-
gular truth.
Both ofthese titles by J.R. Church can be ordered on page 24
Indeed, the entire eleventh chapter of Dan-
iel is dedicated to tracing the Antichrist's
descent from Alexander the Great, through
the Greek Seleucids and Antiochus IV Epi-
phanes, all the way down to the royal house
ofRome and finally, Antichrist himself.
This will be the man who will pull the
war-tom world together from the ashes ofthe
coming Mideast war. Islam will be crushed
in that war. But the global financial system
will survive. Its merchant bankers, in league
with the esoteric gods ofthe marketplace will
rule the world.
The Jews would never accept an Islamic
Mahdi who had allowed the destruction of
his own people, then tumed to offer himself
as their savior! •
; April 2012 - Prophecy in the News 5

The Sevenfold Biblical Model!
A death sentence has overshadowed
evelY generation since Adam. Because of
his sin, men have been driven by the desire
to achieve the eternal life once promised
to them, then lost. For six thousand years,
each generation has hied to push this bad
news into the background, substituting a
variety of religious activities to gloss over
the depressing truth. But the central message
of Scripture is that the eternal life lost in the
Garden of Eden can be regained through
faith in the finished work ofJesus Christ.
Of course, the central feature of
Christianity is Christ's personal resurrection
- the greatest event in hwnan history -
restoring the lost hope of eternal life to all
mankind. Those who believe in Him are
promised a resurrection similar to His own.
In Titus 2: 13, Paul refers to it as the "blessed
hope," which is commonly regarded as an
expression describing the rapture of the
church. In this wonderful event, we will be
caught up and taken to heaven before the
Earth is judged in the "day of the Lord's
wrath " (Zephaniah 1:18).
Actually, tins singular moment will be far
more than simply meeting the Lord in the air.
by Gary Stearman - - - - - -- - - - -- - -------=-
In point of fact, it is the general resurrection
ofthe body ofChrist! Thus, it is important to
picture the rapture in the proper way. It is not
simply an escape from the rigors of planet
Earth. Its purpose is to allow mankind to
paliicipate in the long-term plan ofrestoring
God's broken creation, long lost to sin.
Perhaps surprisingly, the biblical view of
the rapture shows that there is nothing at
all new or novel about the concept of being
caught up to heaven. It has already happened
several times, and will happen again. As we
shall see, Scripture shows at least seven of
these events.
As we have often said, when Paul refers
to the rapture, he is referring to an all-
encompassing paradigm change. The world,
which has proceeded for a few thousand years
on a relatively even keel, will suddenly be
propelled into a rapid succession ofmassive
geological, meteorological, political, and
spiritual changes, designed to restore the
Kingdom to Israel, and environmental purity
to planet earth.
The fervent belief in environmental
stability, often called unifornntarianism, is
the religion of our day. It is centered upon
the belief that for millions of years, things
have slowly progressed along a predictable
pathway. It is popularly believed that this
condition will prevail, allowing the cosmos
to continue its evolution at the same slow rate
that it has always exhibited, until hwnanity
arrives at perfection. Its single unifYing
conviction is that man can progressively
improve himself, and establish a utopia.
But in one, future, e1ectJifYing moment,
this beliefwill be dashed to pieces, as a rapid
change of scene sweeps across every inch of
land and sea.
In the very first instant of this change, we
- the body of Cluist - will be taken from this
earth, and withthe saintsoftheages,resurrected
into glOly to enjoy the Lord's presence and to
participate in the massive restoration event that
the Bible calls, "The Day ofthe Lord." It will
bling not one, but a series of catash"Ophes to
mankind and the world.
Scripture is emphatic that the entire
judgment process will be initiated following
the rapture. From this perspective, the
process ofcatching-away cannot occur at any
time during or after the catastrophes of the
Tribulation. In point of fact, it must happen

before the Tribulation - perhaps significantly
in advance of the "Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse." Since the antichrist rides forth
on one of these horses, his identity will not
be revealed to the church on Earth.
Scripture clearly reveals that the
Tribulation is not initiated by the rapture; its
beginning is marked at the precise moment
jn which "the prince that shall come"
(Daniel 9:26) confirms a seven-year treaty
with the leaders oflsrael:
"And he shall confirm the covenant with
many for one week: and in the midst ofthe
week he shall cause the sacrifice and the
oblation to cease, andfor the overspreading
of abominations he shall make it desolate,
even until the consummation, and that
determined shall be poured upon the
desolate" (Daniel 9:27).
As predicted from ages past by the
prophets of God, the Tribulation will be an
enormous cleansing process, directed by our
Lord. Scripture clearly reveals its purposes:
First, it will destroy the world system of
commerce and idolatry, seen in twofold form
in the book of Revelation. As commercial
and religious Babylon, it will meet its
final end. The Gentile grip on political and
financial power will come to an end, as Israel
rises to receive the Kingdom ofthe Messiah.
Second, Israel will be forced to abandon
its ages-long self-lighteousness. Finally,
national Israel will be brought to the
realization that they have sinned and can be
redeemed only through faith in the Lord. The
prophet Ezekiel writes of their moment of
truth during the Tribulation:
"And I will bringyou into the wilderness of
thepeople, andthere willIplead withyouface
toface. Like as I pleaded with yourfathers in
the wilderness ofthe land ofEgypt, so will I
plead with you, saith the Lord GOD. And I
will cause you to pass under the rod, and I
will bring you into the bond ofthe covenant:
And I will purge out Fom among you the
rebels, and them that transgress against me: I
will bring themforth out ofthe country where
they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the
land ofIsrael: andye shall know that I am the
LORD" (Ezekiel 20:35-38).
Third, the 144 thousand Israelites, sealed
trom among the twelve tribes, will lead
a world-shaking global revival, bringing
millions to salvation during the first half of
the Tribulation. As far as planet earth and its
rule is concemed, Israel is at the center.
The body ofChrist will not experience the
cataclysms that accompany this period. It is
to be spared from judgment. Some find this
aspect of grace detestable, characterizing
it as an escapist church fleeing the scene
to let the rest of the world suffer. But true
Christians never wish God's wrath upon
the unsaved. They have been taught to love
even those that curse them, and to share the
Gospel at every opportunity.
As Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, "For
God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to
obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ"
(I Thessalonians 5:9).
The Lord's words to the faithful
Philadelphian church reinforce this thought:
"Because thou hast kept the word of my
patience, I also will keep thee./i-om the hour
o!temptation, which shall come upon all the
world, to tly them that dwell upon the earth "
(Revelation 3: 10).
Actually, the rapture is nothing new at all.
It has happened before, and its typology is
well established in SClipture. Including the
rapture that Christians are now expecting,
It IS described in Scripture seven times,
which is known as the biblical number of
completion.
First: The Rapture of Enoch
At the beginning of the Bible, mankind
is created within a perfect environment.
What followed, forever cancels the bogus
argument that when you place a human
in such surroundings, he will respond by
growing toward peace and perfection. In the
very presence of God, in a perfect climate,
and with abundance on every hand, man
was unable to resist temptation. The "Old
Serpent" tempted the first couple, and they
fell. Their son Cain, the firstbom, murdered
his brother Abel.
April 2012 - Prophecy in the News 9

From that point, Scripture divides
mankind into two genetic lineages. Cain
became the father of the ungodly. Adam's
third son Seth, became a replacement for
Abel. So, Seth fathered the Godly:
"And Adam knew his wifo again; and she
bare a son, and called his name Seth: For
God, said she, hath appointed me anotherseed
instead ofAbel, whom Cain slew. And to Seth,
to him also there was born a son; andhe called
his name Enos: then began men to call upon
the name (J!the LORD" (Genesis 4:25,26).
Ancient Jewish commentary has long
held that in the days of Enos, idolatry began
in earnest. Some Jewish translations reflect
this idea.
A good example of this is found in the
Stone Chumash, where the verse reads "Then
to call in the Name of Hashem [the Lord]
became profaned." Its editors cOtronent,
"The generation of Enosh introduced
idolatry, which was to become the blight
of humanity for thousands of years. By
ascribing God-like qualities to man and
lifeless objects, they created the abominable
situation in which to call in the ame of
Hashem became profaned (Rashi)" (p. 23).
They cite the Hebrew language of verse
26, where the preposition may be translated
"in," rather than "on" or "upon." In this case,
the verse would read, "Men began to call in
the name ofthe Lord."
"Ramban1 (Hi, Avodas Kochavim I: 1-2)
explains how the grievous misconception
of idol worship began and developed. Very
briefly, he says that it began when people felt
that they should honor the heavenly bodies
as God's emissaries to the world, just as it
is proper to honor the ministers of a ruler.
Eventually, this trend spread and became
more and more corrupted, until worshipers
forgot about God and assumed that all powers
were vested in whatever representation they
chose to worship" (p. 23).
Whatever the case, idolatry began to
grow, and was fully developed by the sixth
generation after Seth, when Enoch was bom
into a world that had adopted various forms
of idol worship. If we are to believe ancient
reports, the heavenly bodies were only a
small part of the false worship that had so
quickly been adopted by the antediluvean
culture. The Bible described Enoch's birth in
the following context:
"AndJared lived an hundred ixty and two
years, and he begat Enoch: And Jared lived
after he begat Enoch eight hundred years,
and begat sons and daughters: And all the
days ofJared were nine hundred sixty and
two years: and he died. And Enoch lived
sixty andfive years, and begat Methuselah:
And Enoch walked with God after he begat
Methuselah three hundred years, and begat
www.prophecyintheneW5.com
sons anddaughters: Andall the days ojEnoch
were three hundred sixty andfive years: And
Enoch walked with God: and he was not;for
God took him" (Genesis 5: 18-24).
Enoch has long been thought ofas perhaps
the most Godly man (other than Christ) ever
to walk upon the face of the earth. This fact
is made most remarkable in the face of his
environment. He Iived in a world ofopen sin,
among demonic forces.
Idolatry begins with a fonnal appeal to
false gods. But it quickly rises to the level
of welcoming those gods into the culture.
Finally, it becomes enslaved to depraved
practices, which will placate them. Once the
false gods obtain a toehold by pretending to
be servants of man, they quickly gain power
and become his despotic oppressors.
According to various extra-biblical
sources, Enoch's world was dominated by
fallen angels, who intermarried with human
women to produce monstrous offspring.
Flavius Josephus attributes the corruption of
the early world and the flood ofNoah to their
evil activities.
The Book ofEnoch gives details about the
timing oftheir activities:
"And it came to pass when the children
of man had multiplied that in those days
were bom unto them beautiful and comely
daughters. And the angels, the children of
the heaven, saw and lusted -after them, and
said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us
wives from among the children of men and
beget us children.' And Semjaza, who was
their leader, said unto them; 'I fear ye will
not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone
shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.'
And they all answered him and said: 'Let
us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves
by mutual imprecations not to abandon this
plan but to do this thing.' Then sware they
all together and bOlmd themselves by mutual
imprecations upon it. And they were in all
two hundred; who descended in the days of
Jared on the summit ofMount Hermon, and
they called it Mount Hermon, because they
had swom and bound themselves by mutual
imprecations upon it." (Enoch 6: 1-6).
The deliberate sin of these angels was so
great, that it imperiled all humanity. Among
believers, it is common knowledge that
the Lord looked down upon His corrupted
creation and decided to destroy it. Only Noah
and his family were considered pure enough
to bring the Messianic line ofSeth across the
flood, to begin anew after the waters receded.
Into this tumult, or more importantly, at
its very beginning, in the days of his father
Jared, Enoch had been bom into a world
facing judgment. He thus serves as the
perfect type of the righteous man, caught up
into heaven before the horrors ofa declining
world were fully developed.
It was a time of doctrinal corruption,
as well as physical insult. It must be
remembered that the evil ones taught
men things that were held to be forbidden
knowledge. Jude, in fact, uses the example
ofthe fallen angels to illustrate the evil effect
of false teachers: "And the angels which
kept not their first estate, but left their own
habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting
chains under darkness unto the judgment of
the great day" (Jude 6).
Peter's second epistle, written a few years
earlier, probably provided the basis for
Jude's comment: "For ifGod spared not the
angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell,
and delivered them into chains ofdarkness, to
be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the
old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a
preacher ofrighteousness, bringing in theflood
upon the worldofthe ungodly" (2 Peter 2:4,5).
The sin of these heavenly intruders was
so great that God placed them into a special
place of confinement - as we would say
today, solitary confinement with maximum
security.
It seems that God took Enoch to spare
him from the coming judgment. His name,
pronounced Chanokh in Hebrew, means
"initiated," or "dedicated," the same word
root as Chanukkah, the festival ofdedication.
Being set apart as an example of a man of
great faith - complete dedication - Enoch
was a living example ofthe word.
A papyrus manuscript of the Book of
Enoch, in ancient Greek, which has
survived down to our modem day

Jones Dictionary qfOld Testament Names
says this about him: "He was so eminent a
man of faith that he walked with God, and
with his spilitual eye saw eternal realities,
God and heaven; and after a sojourn of 365
years in a deceitful and deceiving world, God
took him. TIle Jewsconsider hinlas the inventor
ofletters, and assert that a book of visions and
_prophecies, written by him, was preserved by
Noah in the ark. Hence the Arabians call him
... Eldris, i.e. the learned.That he was a prophet
is most certain from the book of Jude, and a
book [quoted above] has been lately discovered
bearing his name" (p. liS).
This observation is supported by the
simple fact that Jude's epistle quotes
the Book of Enoch directly and without
embellishment:
"And Enoch also, the seventhfrom Adam,
prophesied ofthese, saying, Behold, the Lord
cometh with ten thousands ofhis saints, to
execute judgment upon all, and to convince
all that are ungodly among them ofall their
ungodly deeds which they have ungodly
committed, and of all their hard speeches
which ungodly sinners have spoken against
him " (Jude 14, IS).
Writing about 5,300 years ago, Enoch
looked toward the day ofthe Lord'sjudgment
... just as do we. Here, Joel quotes his words,
envisioning the future arrival of the Messiah
as seen in Revelation 19, coming with the
armies of heaven ... the Second Coming.
God took Enoch to heaven prior to the
judgments of his own era, just as we will
be taken out before the future judgment
mentioned in Enoch's own prophecy.
Second: Moses' Rapture
Moses, Israel's great prophet and deliverer,
presided over the Bible's next great period of
sin and idolatry. Tn a surprising way, he is
also an example ofrapture.
He entered into the Egyptian culture,
with its hundreds of gods, goddesses, magic
amulets and powerful occult priesthood. By
the grace of God, Moses, a Hebrew, became
the most gifted member of the house of
Pharaoh.
He lived to be a hundred and twenty years
of age, and his life was divided into thirds,
each lasting forty years. First, he was a
political and military leader in Egypt. During
the next period, he lived in the deserts of
Midian, as a shepherd. At the age of eighty,
he was sent before Pharaoh to deliver his
people. Forty difficult years followed, as he
struggled to establish a spiritual Israel.
Egypt is a type of the world system,
which, because of sin, is rooted in a structure
of idolatry. In a way, the world that Moses
confronted, closely resembled Enoch's debased
society. The Lord positioned both men in the
world during critical times in history.
And like Enoch, Moses' last days on earth
were hjghly unusual. Exodus 34 describes
his death, following his blessing ofthe tribes.
He ascended Mount ebo, where he viewed
the Promised Land:
''And Moses went up .from the plains of
Moab unto the mountain qf Nebo, to the top
of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And
the LORD shewed him all the land ofGilead,
unto Dan, And all Naphtali, and the land of
Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of
Judah, unto the utmost sea, And the south,
and the plain ofthe valley ofJericho, the city
qf palm trees, unto 2oQ/: And the LORD said
unto him, This is the land which I sware unto
Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying,
I will give it unto thy seed: [ have caused thee
to see it with thine ryes, but thou shalt not go
over thither "(Deuteronomy 34:1-4).
"So Moses the servant ofthe LORD died
there in the land ofMoab, according to the
word of the LORD. And he buried him in
a valley in the land of Moab, over against
Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his
sepulchre unto this day. And Moses was an
hundred and twenty years old when he died:
his rye was not dim, nor his natural force
abated. And the children of Israel wept for
Moses in the plains ofMoab thirty days: so
the days ofweeping and mourningfor Moses
were ended " (Deuteronomy 34:5-8).
Regarding Moses' death, it must first be
observed that he did not die of "old age," or
of "natural causes." Apparently, even at the
grand old age ofa hundred and twenty years,
he was as strong and healthy as a young man.
Additionally, Jehovah, the Lord, personally
took charge of Moses' burial. The words of
Deuteronomy make it abundantly clear that
there was no human witness to the event.
Looking southwest, from the sum,........"'· ....-
Jordan; site ofan ancient monastery and chun:h.
Dead Sea is visible below, with the land ofca_ fInII)
Here, we are given not only the place from
which Moses depmted the Earth, but also,
a restatement of the Abrahamic covenant.
From the description in these verses, it seems
obvious that Moses was blessed with a divine
vision ofthe covenant Land. From the top of
Mt. Nebo, the Lord showed him the territory
promised to Abraham and the twelve tribes
ofIsrael. There can be no mjstake about the
extent ofthe Lord's promise.
Having witnessed the Land with his own
eyes, Moses died. However, the nature ofhis
death is quite amazing:
The place of his burial was never known.
But how did Moses actually die? When
an ordinary person dies, his body qujckly
dissolves into water (which evaporates) and
a variety of mineral components. Given
time, these disperse into dust, the stuff from
which Adam was made in the first place. The
average body is quite worthless; mining its
material wealth would produce only a few
pennies' worth ofusable chemicals. Only the
soul and spirit are ofworth; they live on to be
judged by the Lord.
This was not the case with Moses. His
April 2012 - Prophecy in Ihe News 11

body was considered to be extremely
valuable. Perhaps its value was far greater
than anything we on Earth can possibly
imagine. ScriptW'e goes out of its way to
make sW'e that we know this. An incident
recorded in the epistle of Jude gives us
certainty about it.
As he writes, detailing the natW'e of
false teachers, he notes their tendency to
disrespect spilitual authority. To illustrate
this point, Jude recalls an occurrence that
accompanied Moses' burial. Jude brings
forward the historical point that the devil had,
at one point, attempted to make the case that
Moses' body belonged to him. An argmnent
ensued, with the archangel Michael making
an appeal to the Lord, rather than directly
criticizing the person ofthe devil:
"Likewise also thesefilthy dreamers defile
the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil
ofdignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when
contending with the devil he disputed about
the body ofMoses, durst not bring against
him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord
rebuke thee. But these speak evil of those
things which they know not: but what they
know naturally, as brute beasts, in those
things they corrupt themselves " (Jude 8-10).
The truth of the matter is plain: The
protocols of heaven command a degree of
respect, even for the fallen Satan! Until the
final judgment, the Old Serpent has retained
some sort of sovereignty over this planet.
The fact that he desired the body of Moses
makes it clear that he believed he had a legal
claim. There are many lessons taught by this
encounter. But for our current study, the main
thing to observe is that Satan considered the
body ofMoses to be quite valuable!
As already stated, an ordinary dead
body is worthless. But Moses' body had
great worth; he was not "dead" in the usual
sense of the word. Was he in some form of
su pended animation, pending his latter-
day reappearance? A brief passage from the
history of Flavius Josephus reveals what the
Jews actually thought about Moses' "death:"
•. ow as soon as they were come to the
mountain called Abarim [Nebo], (which is
a very high mountain, situate over against
Jericho, and one that affords, to such as are .
upon it, a prospect of the greatest part of
the excellent land of Canaan,) he dismissed
the senate; and as he was going to embrace
Eleazar and Joshua, and was still discoursing
with them, a cloud stood over him on the
udden, and he disappeared in a certain
valley, although he wrote in the holy books
that he died, which was done out offear, lest
they should ventW'e to say that, because of
his extraordinary virtue, he went to God"
(Antiquities, IV viii. 48).
Here, we have an apparent eyewitness
'2 Prophecy in the News - April 2012
account that shows Moses being lifted up
into a cloud, the very same idea expressed by
Paul in the New Testament, as he describes
the rapture of the church! Did he leave his
body behind, to be interred by the Lord in
a place which no man knew? Or did his
body rise to heaven, where it lay in a place
designated by the Lord? Was it in that place
that Satan attempted to take it?
This side of eternity, we can never know
the answers to these questions. But we can
say with certainty that Moses' death was out
of the ordinary. Perhaps he was taken alive
to heaven ... or maybe he was in a state of
suspended animation.
To add to this thought, Moses later
appeared to Jesus, Peter, James and John on
the Mount ofthe Transfiguration:
"And after six days Jesus taketh Peter,
James, and John his brother, and bringeth
them up into an high mountain apart, And
was transfigured before them: and his
face did shine as the sun, and his raiment
was white as the light. And, behold, there
appeared unto them Moses andElias talking
with him" (Matthew 17: 1-3).
In this divine moment, Moses appeared
with Elijab who, as we shall see, had
certainly been taken to heaven alive. The
strong suggestion is that somehow, Moses
transcended the ordinary concept of death.
Whether or not it is true that he was taken
in a cloud, as mentioned by Josephus, is
irrelevant. He didn't die in the ordinary
sense. He was caught up, taken by the Lord,
Himself, for a special purpose.
Third:Elijah's Rapture
This brings us to the third, and quite clear,
historical raptW'e of an important biblical
personality. In a way similar to the lives of
Enoch and Moses, the Lord brought Elijah
into the center of a vortex of moral and
spiritual depravity. In the ninth centW'y,
B.C., he arrived on the scene without notice;
suddenly he was there, in the presence of
Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel, priestess
of Baal. Israel had fallen into utter idolatry.
ow, Elijah the prophet had come to declare
judgment:
"And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of
the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab,
As the LORD God ofIsrael liveth, before
whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor
rain these years, but according to my word"
(1 Kings 17:1).
Having pronounced what tW'ned out to
be a three-and-a-half year drought, Elijah
followed the Lord's instructions and fled for
his life. Later, toward the end ofthe drought,
he returned to challenge the prophets of
Baal. In the well-known story, he.arranged
a public demonstraton, laying out a sacrifice
to the Lord, who found it acceptable. The
prophets ofBaal, whose god remained silent,
were slain. Again, Elijah fled for his life.
Upon his return, he found Elisha. Soon
after that, he prophesied that both Ahab and
Jezebel would die in disgrace, which, of
coW'se, happened.
Sadly, Ahab's son, Ahaziah came to power
with the same leanings as his father. He
served Baal until he, too died, as prophesied
by Elijah. Shortly thereafter, the Lord
decided that it was time for Elijah to be
called home. But his work was to be carried
on by Elisha. One day, the two ofthem were
walking by the Jordan River, near Jericho:
"And it came to pass, as they still went on,
and talked, that, behold, there appeared a
chariot offire, and horses offire, andparted
them both asunder; and Elijah went up by
a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw
it, and he cried, My father; my father, the
chariot ofIsrael, and the horsemen thereof
And he saw him no more: and he took hold of
his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
He took up also the mantle of Elijah that
foll ji'om him, and went back, and stood by
the bank ofJordan; And he took the mantle
ofElijah that foil ji'om him, and smote the
waters, and said, Where is the LORD God
ofElijah? and when he also had smitten the
waters, they parted hither and thither: and
Elisha went over " (2 Kings 2: 11-14).
In one dramatic moment, Elijah was gone,
taken by a whirlwind that had the appearance
ofhorses and a chariot. He had been raptured;
if you will, taken in a cloudlike vehicle to
heaven. We are reminded of Paul's words, as

he describes certain "clouds" that will take
the raptured ones to heaven:
"For the Lord himselfshaLl descendfrom
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump ofGod: and
the dead in Christ shall rise.first: Then we
which are alive and remain shall be caught
up together with them in the clouds, to meet
the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be
with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4: 16,17).
Certainly, these are no ordinary fluffy
cumulus clouds; they are almost certainly
vehicles of some sort.
Fourth:Jesus' Resurrection and Rapture
The high point ofhistory is the resurrection
ofJesus Christ. In the pelfect fulfillment ofa
pattern which we have observed in the lives
ofEnoch, Moses and Elijah, Jesus came to a
debased world that was dedicated to idolatry.
The Graeco-Roman system of worship was
nothing more than an adaptation ofthe same
ancient Babylonian system that lifted up
Baal and Ishtar. In the culture of the first
century, the Babylonian Mystery religion
and the cult ofthe Caesars thrived.
Corruption characterized Israel, too. The
Idurnean (Edornite) dynasty of pretenders
to Israel's throne were close conspirators
with their Roman overlords. The pliests
and scribes of the Temple had developed a
debased system of legalities based on Jewish
Law. Under their tyrannical rule, ordinary
Israelites were subjected to a soul-withering
despotism. Jesus came upon this scene,
precisely as prophesied by Daniel and other
Old Testament propbets.
He offered Himselfas the legitinlate King
of Israel and was rejected. He turned away
from their false worship and began to teach
about a new way ofredemption, offering the
Word, Bread, Water and vital, sinless Blood
ofthe new birth.
Then he arose, in what might be called
the grandest rapture of all time. We do not
usually think of it as such, but really it is. As
Paul said:
"But now is Christ risen ji'Om the dead,
and become thejirstfruits ofthem that slept.
For since by man came death, by man came
also the resurrection ofthe dead. For as in
Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be
made alive. But eve,y man in his own Older:
Christ thejirsifruits; afterward they that are
Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end,
when he shall have delivered up the kingdom
to God, even the Father; when he shall have
put down all ntle and all authority and
power" (l Corinthians 15:20-24).
Those who are Christ's at His coming
are his members - the body of Christ - the
church.
Paul presents Jesus as the first of a type.
He is the model of that which will happen
to all who believe in Him, at the rapture.
Enoch, Moses and Elijah, as great as they
were, only foreshadowed the ultimate work
ofChlist.
When He comes for the church, we shall
be caught up in a resurrection that will
closely resemble His own. As the Apostle
John put it so elegantly, "Beloved, now
are we the sons ofGod, and it doth not yet
appear what we shall be: but we know that,
when he shall appew; we shall be like him;
for we shaLl see him as he is " (l Jolm 3:2).
As the fourth of seven raptures, Jesus
fulfilled another type: He is the middle,
or elevated Servant Lamp of the Temple
Menorah's seven lights! Across the span
of redemptive history, He stands above, a
ministering Spirit to a lost world. This is
exactly the way he is pictured by John in the
book of Revelation:
"And in the midst ofthe seven candlesticks
one like unto the Son ofman, clothed with a
garment down to the joot, and girt about the
paps with a golden girdle." (Revelation 1:13).
Fifth: Rapture of the Old Testament Saints
The righteous of the Old Testament era
had patiently awaited the coming of their
King. Now, He had come and He had risen.
Afier His resurrection, a miraculous sign
appeared, a foreshadowing of things to
come:
"And, behold, the veil of the temple was
rent in twainji-om the top to the bottom; and
the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And
the graves were opened; and many bodies
of the saints which slept arose, And came
out ofthe graves afier his resurrection, and
went into the holy city, and appeared unto
many "(Matthew 27:51-53).
This brief mention of the Old Testament
saints calls to mind the Jewish concept of
Abraham's bosom, that place in sheol where
the righteous awaited the arrival and finished
work of the Messiah. Though there is much
mystery about the precise disposition of this
place, an account given by Jesus, shows
the reality of the undelworld, (O.T. sheol)
and the place where Abraham waited. A
righteous beggar and an unrighteous rich
man died. Both went to a place ofwaiting:
"And it came to pass, that the beggar
died, and was carried by the angels into
Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died,
and was buried; And in hell he lift up his
eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham
a[ar off, and Lazarus in his bosom " (Luke
16:22-23).
Here, "hell" is the New Testament way of
April 20J2 - Prophecy in the News 13

describing "sheo!." The question arises: What
happened to those who waited in Abraham's
bosom at the resurrection ofChrist?
The Scriptmal answer is that they
went with Christ to heaven. Many have
commented upon this fact. Beginning with
Paul's account in Ephesians, they have
concluded that Abraham and the righteous
became a literal demonstration and exhibit
to the citizens of heaven:
"But unto every one ofus is given grace
according to the measure ofthegift of Christ.
Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up
on high, he led captivity captive, and gave
gifts unto men. Now that he ascended, what
is it but that he also descendedfirst into the
lower parts ofthe earth? He that descended
is the same also that ascended up jar above
all heavens, that he might fill all things."
(Ephesians 4:7-10).
Paul quotes a psalm of David, which
prophesied that the Messiah would ascend
to heaven with those faithful who, along
with Abraham, had awaited His coming.
From the cross, Jesus arose through the
visible heavens, arriving at Heaven, itself,
where He presented Himself as High Priest.
He ascended through the territory of Satan,
to God's throne, where He presented the
faithful before God.
This observation is affirmed in Colossians,
where Paul, using slightly different language,
tells us that Jesus led these faithful to heaven
in a triumphal parade:
"Blotting out the handwriting of
ordinances that was against us, which was
contrary to us, and took it out of the way,
nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled
principalities and powers, he made a shew
ofthem openly, triumphing over them in it"
(Colossians 2: 14,15).
Can the ascent ofthe Old Testament sai11ts
rightfully be called a rapture? Certainly, yes,
since they were led in a triumphal parade
to heaven. Their experience was the very
essence of being "caught up," in the same
way that the dead in Christ shall one day rise,
"... in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye"
( Corinthians 15:52).
Sixth: Rapture of the Church
With the five preceding examples to draw
upon, the chmch awaits its own rapture.
Each ofthese events lends its own depth and
dimension to the most grand and complete
event of its type in the history of the world,
when the chmch is caught up. With history
as om witness, it is easy to believe that the
prorni e ofthe rapture is perfectly within the
realm of possibility. Once we know where
to look, the phenomenon is repeated In
Scripture over and over again.
14 Prophecy in Ihe News - April 2012
Taking them as a composite picture, we
recall that each of the preceding rapture
experiences took place dming a crucialperiod
ofsin and idolatry. Without going into detaiJ,
most agree that we are living through another
such era at the present time. Just as in the days
of Enoch, Moses, Elijah, Jesus and the Old
Testament saints,judgment is coming:
"Foryourselves knowpeifixtly that the day
ofthe Lord so cometh as a thiefin the night.
For when they shall say, Peace and safoty;
then sudden destruction cometh upon them,
as travail upon a woman with child; and they
shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in
darkness, that that day shouldovertakeyou as
a thief" (1 Thessalonians 5:2-4).
The antediluvean world, Egypt, Israel
and Judah, all suffered judgment. After
the next rapture - that of the chmch - the
whole world will be judged. Entire books are
devoted to this idea, so we need not go into
further detail. But there is one more stop on
our biblical tom.
Seventh: Rapture of the Two Witnesses
During the Tribulation, the two witnesses
rise to world prominence. We believe them to
be two men who had previously experienced
raptme. That is, God personally took them
both to heaven.
power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the
days oftheir prophecy: and have power over
waters to turn them to blood, and to smite
the earth with all plagues, as often as they
will" (Revelation 11 :4-6).
Moses turned the waters of Egypt to
blood and Elijah withheld the rain from
Israel for three and a halfyears .. . which just
happens to be the length of the first half of
the Tribulation. Each of them stands up to
proclaim the Lord under horrible conditions
of idolatry and depravity. They reprise the
roles that they played earlier, this time in a
larger and more dramatic way:
"And after three days and an half the
Spirit oflifefrom God entered into them, and
they stood upon theirfeet; and greatfearfoil
upon them which saw them. And they heard
a great voicejium heaven saying unto them,
Come up hithel~ And they ascended up to
heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld
them " (Revelation 11:11, 12).
What a rapture! And notice once again,
that it is accompanied by a "cloud." As we
have said before, this is no ordinary cloud.
One day, we'll see such clouds with om own
eyes. In fact, Jesus told the high priest about
them during His trial:
"But Jesus held his peace. And the high
priest answered and said unto him, J adjure
thee by the living God, that thou tell us
.---------~-,~~~--~
In their intertwined lives, we have
seen prototypes of the great raptme and
resurrection of the church. Though there is
much discussion concerning their identities,
we believe them to be Moses and Elijah.
We come to this conclusion simply
because they are both shown doing exactly
what they did dming their Old Testament
rninistries:
'These are the two olive trees, and the
two candlesticks standing before the God of
the earth. And ifany man will hurt them,fire
proceedeth out oftheir mouth, and devoureth
their enemies: and ifany man will hurt them,
he must in this manner be killed. These have
whether thou be the Christ, the Son of
God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said:
nevertheless [ say unto you, Hereafter shall
ye see the Son of man sitting on the right
hand ofpower, and coming in the clouds of
heaven " (Matthew 26:63,64).
And there we have it, seven key events,
past and future. The rapture outlines history.
Seven times, like the spiritual branches ofthe
Menorah, it brings light to the dark world. Its
center light, rising like a beacon, is Christ.
Seven times, the Bible describes the
experience of resmrection ... of raptlU"e.
Soon, those clouds will come again, this
time for us! •

Scott J. writes ...
"Gary ... Can you explain 2nd Thes-
salonians 2 for me? If the Holy Spirit
is the restrainer, then the Bible would
be contradicting itself, and that is not
possible. This passage also sounds like
the Second Coming, but it's too far
into the Tribulation for us to still be
here if [we're] Pretribulation believ-
ers. I am confused as to the gathering
of us to be with Christ, and the Day
of the Lord being in the same Scrip-
ture, so close together. - Scott J."
Dear Scott,
You are one of several people who
have lately asked this question, which
revolves around the function of the
Holy Spirit during the Church Age.
The Spirit of the Lord was given to
the church at Pentecost, as told in Acts
chapter 2. This represents a finite point
in human history - the beginning ofthe
Church Age. Another finite point lies
ahead of us - the end of the Church
Age at the moment of the general res-
urrection of the church at the rapture.
Everyone genuinely saved by faith in
the redeeming grace and shed blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ will take part in
this event. It is generally agreed that the
Holy Spirit is acting to restrain the ad-
vancement of the Antichrist's govern-
ment during this finite period of time,
and you seem to agree with this idea.
But in your assessment, you forget
that there is a time gap of several years
between the removal of the church at
the rapture and the Antichrist's final
rise to power. Your question then as-
Ask Gary!
~~~ in the Kews
Okla.':toma City, OK 73153
~ Answers from Gary Stearman
sumes that the Holy Spirit's restraint of
the Antichrist will extend all the way
into the middle ofthe Tribulation, when
he stands up to declare himselfa god:
"Who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as Godsitteth in
the temple o/God, shewing himselfthat
he is God" (II Thessalonians 2:4).
This event, which Jesus called, "the
abomination ofdesolation," takes place
at the midpoint of the Tribulation. The
restraining force of the church is lifted
before the Tribulation, then several
years later, the Antichrist rises to his
full power. •
Chad L. writes ...
Dear Gary, I am finding that the in-
forn1ation you talk about is quite unlike
anything I have ever heard. But there
also seems to be a theme. No one ever
gets to hear this sort of stuff in church,
and I feel that is why I quit going to
mine. This information needs to be
talked about by all Christians whether
they are scared or not. The end is com-
ing and hardly anyone will be prepared.
I feel blessed to have come across your
ministry in ways 1couldn't imagine last
year. Anyway, my question is, what
... would you classify your ministry?
Is there a word or separate classifica-
tion for it? It's definitely not "normal."
Dear Chad,
It is perhaps the saddest commentary
on our times that the teaching of Bible
prophecy is not "normal." Actually,
such teaching has largely been aban-
doned, because in most circles, it is
considered too controversial. But from
the beginning of the Bible to its end,
one finds a marvelous prophetic layout,
giving mankind free and open access
to God's plan. It views the future as al-
ready developed in the mind of God.
Our ministry is based upon the Bible
as the full and complete expression of
God's will and purpose, completely re-
liable in its every thought and word. We
believe that it lays out history - past,
present and future - as a series of dis-
pensations, each of which is a progres-
sive step in God's long-term plan for
man. The present dispensation is the
Church Age, or Age of Grace, which
will end in the rapture and resurrec-
tion of the saints. A few years after our
d.eparture, God will judge the world in
a seven-year period called the Tribula-
tion, which will culminate in Christ's
Second Coming with His saints, to set'
up and administer a thousand-year dis-
pensation called the Kingdom Age.
This Millennial Kingdom will, itself,
end in a conflict which will be resolved,
then a New Heavens and a New Earth
will be created, in absolute perfection.
Because we believe in the Dis-
pensational layout of history, we are
called "Dispensationalists." Because
we believe in a coming Tribulation
preceded by the rapture ofthe Church,
we are also called "Pretribulational."
And, because we also believe that
the thousand-year Kingdom Age lies
ahead, we are called "Premillennial."
Actually, we're simply believers
in and teachers of God's propheti.c
Word, the Bible, unaffiliated with any
specific church or denomination. All
of our financing comes from individ-
ual donations and book sales. Led by
the Spirit ofthe Lord, we try to under-
stand it in a forthright and systematic
manner. And we think we're pretty
normal. •

"The days ofour years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason ofstrength they be fourscore years,
yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and wefly away." - Psalm 90:10
THE GREATNESSRiERAPTURE- - - - - - - - - - - - - - Testimony and book review by Bob Ulrich - - - - - - - - - - - -
- On Sunday evening, February 26'
2012 my life changed forever. As r sat
in my recliner working on my comput-
er, [ got the phone call that every son or
daughter dr.eads. T knew instantly it was
my mom- her ring tone is a loud, emer-
gency warning sound that always startles
me to attention ! Normally she's just call-
ing to say hello or check on the grandkids,
but tonight was different. She was calling
to tell me that my dad had just had a heart
attack and was being rushed to the hospi-
tal, unconscious, in an ambulance. As my
heart sank to the floor and that helpless
feeling set in from 1,400 miles away, [ re-
treated to the bedroom to call some close
friends, asking them to pray.
When your dad approaches 80 and has
already had one quadruple bypass, you
know he's living on bor-
rowed time. The words
of Moses in the beauti-
fully crafted and com-
plex Psalm 90 ring in
my ears, "The days of
our years are threescore
years and ten; and if by
reason of strength they
be fourscore years, yet is their strength
labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off,
and wefly away. "
Less than an hour later I got the news
that my father had flown into the arms of
Jesus. I suspect that dad left this world in
less than 5 minutes and I have no doubt
he opened his eyes in paradise. No one
was better prepared to meet the Savior.
The last few days of his life were spent
"abounding in the work ofthe Lord." He
had just finished leading the men's prayer
breakfast he loved so much-one of the
highlights of his life was equipping men
for the Lord's service. Then it was off
to the "discipleship" program he'd orga-
nized in his local church, another burden
he had--equipping the saints. Eleven men
came out for the first session and he was
like a new father, beaming at the initial
turnout. What a great encourager!
Dad didn't waste time sitting around.
He hit the ground running almost 80 years
ago and never stopped moving. The prod-
uct of a broken home and an alcoholic
father, he accepted Jesus at the mission
in Brooklyn, Y where he met my mom.
They were happily married for over 60
years and enjoyed a wonderful life togeth-
er. Please remember my mom Dorothy in
your prayers. Losing a spouse is such a
hollow feeling-especially for faithful
Christians, longing to go together in the
rapture. My wife and rwere so happy we
made a surprise visit back to J last De-
cember to wish them a Happy Anniversa-
ry. That was the last time I would see my
dad on this Earth and the last time I would
feel his massive arms encircle me in a
bear hug words can't describe. Dad was
my best friend and I'm going to miss him.
BUT ... r can hear the words of King
David, speaking about his late son; "1 shall
go to him but he shall not return to me."
Dad and I will meet again. Very soon! I can
truly say that after 55 years, I now fully un-
derstand Paul's words in Phillipians, "the
peace that passeth all understanding."
The Pre-Day of rhe Lord Rapture
David Olander
As I prepared to leave for the 27-hour,
cross-country journey, we stopped at
Prophecy in the News. As I walked into
my office, there was a new book sitting
on my desk and it caught my attention.
The Greatness of the Rapture appeared
out of nowhere and became my traveling
companion for the long trip. David Olan-
der, Professor of Biblical Languages at
Tyndale Theological Seminary, has writ-
ten what rcan only describe as a "beauti-
ful book." I am convinced that the Lord
Himself sent it to me! By the time I got to
New Jersey I couldn't think of anything
else other than the fact that my dad was
with Jesus and that r would soon be join-
ing him! The bear hug will live to see an-
other day!
Never before have I read a book on
the Lord's return that explained things
so decisively. The author's knowledge of
Greek added so much to my understand-
ing of this great day-the first day in his-
tory when the bride of Christ is gathered
together-from Pentecost to the rapture.
In my mind r know how much I miss my
earthly father-just imagine how much
our Heavenly Father misses us?
Olander's treatment of 1 and 2 Thessa-
lonians makes this book special. So many
people want to twist Paul 's words to paint
a portrait of the church meeting the Anti-
christ and enduring the wrath of God. But
this author is having none of it. His treat-
ment of the Day of the Lord is clear and
concise and written in a way that makes
you realize that God's plan for the church
and the nation ofIsrael are clearly distinct
and different. The Day ofthe Lord-when
God pours out his wrath on an unbeliev-
ing world cannot happen until the bride
of Christ-the church-is safely tucked
away. Then and only then does God deal
with His Jewish brethren. Don't let the
naysayers discourage you with their seeds
of doubt. Remember, we're not appointed
unto wrath and this book proves it! The
knowledge lies in the Greek language!
Dad was a great example of our Hea,v-
enly Father. Loving, kind, patient, strong,
faithful, diligent, joyful, encouraging,
dedicated, and committed to his kids, my
mom and above all-the Lord. He left be-
hind a legacy that will last for eternity-
he touched the lives of so many people.
He understood what was really important.
He rarely ended a conversation without
using the words, "Lord willing." He knew
of the great uncertainty of life on Earth-
but he also understood the crystal-clear
certainty of eternal life through Jesus
Christ. I know where dad is and I know
WHO he's with- just one more reason to
keep looking up! •
Apri/20/2 - Prophecy in the News 17

While writing this series, I came across
a 1995 TIME magazine yearbook offering
an article entitled, "Glimpses afthe Mind."
Their editorial staff asked a series of
questions: "The mystery is deep, a set of
interrelated conundrums perhaps as old as
humanity: What, precisely, is the mind, the
elusive entity where intelligence, decision
making, perception, awareness and a sense
of self reside? Where is it located? How
does it work? Does it arise from purely
physical processes - pulses of electricity
zapping from brain cell to brain cell,
helped along their way by myriad complex
chemicals? Or is it something beyond the
merely physical - something ethereal that
might be close to the spiritual concept of
the soul?" Those questions were similar to
my own - questions that led me into this
study on the human brain in the first place.
That same day, I received Chuck
Missler's February 1999 newsletter that
included a similar article on the brain.
His research compares remarkably with
what we have learned during this study.
He wrote that the brain has been estimated
to be " ... composed of 1010
nerve cells,
each with 104
- 105
connecting fibers, thus
approaching 1015
separate connections."
To help us comprehend these astronomical
numbers, he said, "Try to imagine a 1015
by J. R. Church - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
equivalent: imagine a forest half the size
of the Unjted States - about I million
square miles. Assume there were 10,000
trees per square mile, each with 100,000
leaves on each tree. That's a bunch." His
premise is that the brain is a ". .. highly
organized network of uniquely adaptive
communication channels. Ifonly 1% ofthe
connections were specifically organized
pathways, it would still represent a greater
number of connections than the entire
communications network on the Planet
Earth."
Missler mentioned Wilder Penfield, a
Canadian neurosurgeon, who published
The Mystery af the Mind (I 920s), in
which he speculated that all memory
is recorded in the brain and stored in
specific locations. On the other hand, Karl
Pribram, a neurophysiologist at Stanford
University, in his book, Languages af the
Brain, found that removing parts of the
brain did not eradicate memories. He set
forth the theory that memories were not
localized at specific brain sites, but were
somehow distributed throughout the brain
as a whole. Missler writes, "When Pribram
discovered holography, he was ecstatic.
If it was possible for every portion of a
piece of holographic film to contain all the
information necessary to create a whole
image, then it seemed equally possible for
every part of the brain to contain all of the
information necessary to recall a whole .
memory."
He continues, "The holograpruc
paradigm also explains how the brain
can store so many memories in so little
space. The physicist, John von Neumann,
once calculated that over the course of
the average lifetime, the brain stores
something on the order of 2.8 x 1020
bits
of information ... that's J,000 bits for
every second in the entire history of the
universe!"
It is said that if a hologram were cut
into a thousand pieces, each piece would
contain a complete picture. This accounts
for the theory expressed above that the
brain stores every memory in a holographic
process. Pretty impressive possibilities!
Missler concludes, "the notion of the
mind is broader than simply the organ
we call the brain. There are aspects to
imagination, inspiration and creativity that
go far beyond the mechanisms for storage,
recall, and processing. Is there a 'holy of
holies' in our own being that doesn't lend
itself to x-rays, ultrasound or electron
microscopes? Is there a hyper-dimensional
transformer or transfer function that
connects us to another dimension beyond

those of our consciousness?"
This is precisely the theory we have
thus far explored. It appears that the
brain may be connected to a mysterious
source beyond this dimension. It may be
that memory is stored in that other world,
and that the brain processes, transfers and
retrieves that memory continually. For lack
of a better example, we have compared the
brain to a sophisticated computer, endowed
with a certain amount of random access
memory (RAM), but that memory may
also be stored in an off-premise storage
unit (in heaven) - similar to a main-frame
computer accessed by a modem hooked up
through a telephone line.
r envision such a process in which,
when we confess our sins, God erases the
stored memory of the event in question.
We are told that God will blot out our
transgressions: "I, even I, am he that
blotteth out thy transgressions for mine
own sake, and will not remember thy sins"
(Isaiah 43:25). However we cannot seem
to forget our sin that easily. Evil eems to
affect the brain in a far more permanent
way than pleasant memories. The TIME
article states:
"Physical trauma can distort memory,
presumably by destroying all or part ofone
of the memory-processing structures. But
other sorts of shock - strong emotion,
for example - can do the same. Post-
traumatic stress disorder is a good example
of the brain reacting to shock. 'It's been
an eye opener to me that individuals we
study who were traumatized 25 years ago
still show abnormal brain function,' says
Dennis Charney, head of psychiatry at a
VA hospital in Connecticut. 'Severe stress
can change the way your brain functions
biologically.,,,
The brain can actually be permanently
damaged by the evils in which men engage.
Perhaps that is why the forbidden fruit was
referred to as the tree ofthe "knowledge of
good and evil." The very knowledge ofevil
can have a potentially deadly effect on the
processes used to assimilate knowledge in
the brain. TIME continues:
"Until a few years ago, unraveling
the relationship of mind and brain was
beyond the realm of observation and
experimentation. But science has finally
begun to catch up with philosophy. Using
sensitive electrodes inserted deep into the
gray matter of test animals, researchers
have watched vision as it percolates
inward from the eye's retina to the inner
brain. Powerful technologies such as
magnetic resonance imaging (MRT) and
Positron-Emission Tomography (PET)
have also provided a window on the
human brain, enabling scientists to watch
a thought taking place, see the red glow
of fear erupting from the structure known
as the amygdala, or note the telltale firing
of neurons as a long-buried memory is
reconstructed. 'What's so exciting,' says
Patricia Churchland, a professor at the
University of California at San Diego, 'is
that the philosophical questions raised by
the Greeks are coming within the province
of science.'
"In response to this enormous
opportunity - not just to clarify the
mysteries of consciousness but also to
understand and treat such devastating
mind malfunctions as Alzheimer's disease,
depression, drug addiction, schizophrenia
and traumatic brain damage - research
projects have multiplied dramatically."
Consulting the Rabbis
Scientific studies are trying to determine
whether we are purely a chemical entity
or if some ethereal spirit dwells within
the brain. And that brings me to a third
resource - the Zohar, an ancient Jewish
commentary. One of our readers had called
with a question about a quott: I had referred
to on our television program, so I picked up
one of the volumes of the Zohar, a Jewish
commentary on the Torah in order to look
for my resource. As I leafed through the
pages, my eyes fell upon the word nephesh.
Knowing that nephesh was the Hebrew
word for "soul," my interest was stirred. •
Jewish mystical Tree of Life chart from the Zohar.
Think of it. Within a month, I had
"accidentally" come across more resource
material on the human brain - home of
the soul! Was all ofthis mere coincidence?
Or was someone communicating with me
from beyond this dimension - the very
premise I had entertained in my previous
articles on this subject?
In this ancient writing, Jewish scholars
claimed that the soul contains a trinity of
entities that form a unity:
"Three names has the soul of man:
nephesh, ruah and neshamah. They are all
comprised one within the other, yet upon
death they have three distinct abodes:
"Nephesh (translated 'soul' in the KJV)
remains in the grave until the body is
decomposed and turned into dust, during
which time it flits about in this world,
seeking to mingle with the living and to
learn of their troubles; and in the hour of
need it intercedes for them.
"Ruah (translated 'spirit' in the KJV)
enters paradise and there dons a likeness
which is in the semblance ofthe body: that
likeness being, as it were, a garment with
which the spirit robes itself, so that it may
enjoy the delights of paradise.
"Neshamah (translated 'breath ' in the
KN) ascends at once to her place, the
region from whence she (note the feminine
nature ofthis entity) emanated, and for her
sake the light is kindled to shine above.
She never again descends to Earth. In her
is consummated the One Who combines
all sides, the upper and the lower. And as
long as she has not ascended to be united
with the Throne, the ruah (spirit) cannot
crown itself in paradise, nor can the
nephesh (soul) be at ease in its place; but
when she ascends all the others find rest."
I was aware of what the Bible teaches
about the soul and spirit, as taught through
the Hebrew terms nephesh (soul) and ruah
(spirit), but I was not familiar with the
term neshamah. However, upon further
research, I learned that it is the Hebrew
term used in the scripture where God
breathed into Adam's nostrils the "breath
of life." Neshamah is the term translated
"breath " in Genesis 2:7:
"And the LORD Godformed man ofthe
dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath oflife; and man became
a living soul" (Gen. 2:7).
The Hebrew for "breath of life"
is neshamah (breath) and chai (life).
Now let's see if we can get this straight.
According to early Jewish scholars, what
we call the soul is actually made up of
three entities. The nephesh appears to be
our human life-consciousness - similar
to the life-consciousness of an animal.
April 20J2 - Prophecy in Ihe News 35

According to the Bible, animals also
have a nephesh. But, as far as we can
determine, an animal does not have a
God-consciousness. That is where the
neshamah comes in. That is the part that
was breathed into us by God, Himself. The
ruah (pronounced ruach) is the spirit that
connects our neshamah to our nephesh.
At least that is the theory espoused by the
rabbis. They put it this way:
"The nephesh possesses in itself no light
and cannot out of its own being engender it,
and for this reason it is in close connection
and deeply eru11eshed with its body. The
ruah rides upon the nephesh, dominates
it, and enlightens it with supernal glory,
as much as it can bear; this nephesh is the
throne of its ruah. The neshamah produces
the ruah, rules over it, and sheds upon it
the light of life. The ruah depends entirely
upon the neshamah and is lit up by its light
and nourished by its celestial food, while the
nephesh is similarly dependent on the ruah."
Note the use of the term "light of life"
possessed by the neshamah. It is the same
terminology used of our Savior in the
opening chapter of John's Gospel:
"Tn him was life; and the life was the
light of men. And the light shineth in
darkness; and the darkness comprehended
it not. There was a man sent from God,
whose name was John. The same camefor
a witness, to bear witness ofthe Light, that
all men through him might believe. He was
not that Light, but was sent to bear witness
of that Light. That was the true Light,
which lighteth every man that cometh into
the world" (John 1:4-9).
Jesus possessed the light of the
neshamah. How curious! Using this
analogy, let us see if.we can figure out just
what happened to Adam when he sinned.
God had told him that if he sinned, he
would die. But we know that Adam did
not die physically on the day he partook of
the forbidden fruit. Christian theologians
have long believed that it was the spirit
of Adam that lost its fellowship with God
and needed to be regenerated. That makes
sense. It seems that the ruah was somehow
impaired, severing the connection between
the nephesh and the neshamah - between
Adam's life-consciousness and his God-
consciousness. Thus, the fellowship was
broken. God would no longer come down
to walk in the Garden and visit with Adam
in the cool of the day. Adam was driven
from the Garden. Paradise was lost.
We have only to observe a natural
lmsaved man to understand this concept.
The unsaved man has no comprehension
of God's marvelous work on his behalf.
As far as most men are concerned, there
36 Prophecy in (he News - April 2012
is no God. Oh, he may give an intellectual
explanation for the existence of some
"man upstairs," but he has no experience
to back up his statement. A man must be
regenerated by the Holy Spirit in order
to absolutely know in his soul that there
is a God caring for and watching over
him. This could be what the Bible calls
being "born again." Something has to be
"reborn" inside of us. That entity "reborn"
is what the rabbis call the ruah.
A side note: the rabbis - those who
do not believe in the triune Godhead
(trinity) - do believe in the trinity of the
human soul as three in one! This ancient
commentary does not take into account the
fact that Christ died and rose again. Their
belief concerning the soul is stuck back
in the days of the Old Testament, before
salvation became available. In describing
the nephesh (soul) of the dead, the rabbis
said that it stayed with the body until it
had decayed and the bones were parted.
This may be the reason why Jews, in Bible
days, buried their dead in caves rather
than underground. Recent excavations of
tombs in Jerusalem found that the bones
of the departed were separated and stored
in small coffins. Perhaps these bones
were removed from the funerary slab and
separated in an effort to free the soul for
its journey to reunite with its ruah and
neshamah.
According to the rabbis, the soul of the
dead can be contacted:
"Now when the children of men are
in sorrow or trouble, and repair to the
graves of the departed, then the nephesh
is awakened and it wanders forth and
rouses the ruah, which in turn rouses the
Patriarchs, and then the neshamah. Then
the Holy One, blessed be He, takes pity
on the world. This matter has already
been explained, although the doctrine of
the neshamah has been put in a somewhat
different form; but it all amounts to the
same, and what we have said is entirely
correct."
Perhaps this is why Jews congregate at
the tomb of Abraham to pray. Somehow,
they think Abraham might intercede.
The following commentary may explain
why various ancient cultures believed in
ghosts - departed spirits that appear to be
locked into this plane of existence:
''Now if the neshamah is hindered from
ascending to her rightful place, then the
ruah, when it reaches the door of paradise,
finds it barred, and it cannot enter and so
roams about urmoticed and forlorn; and as
for the nephesh, it wanders about the world
and beholds the body which was once its
home devoured by worms and suffering
the judgment of the grave, and it mourns.
Thus all suffer punishment, and so they
remain until the neshamah is able to attain
to her rightful sphere; for all three are one,
forming one whole, united in a mystical
bond, according to the prototype above,
in which nephesh, ruah and neshamah
constitute together one totality."
It is obvious from this ancient Jewish
teaching, that Judaism does not accept the
fact that Adam sinned and caused the fall
of the human race. They do not believe
that men are born with fallen natures. Jews
teach that every man is born with a clean
slate. Since man is not a sinner, he does
not need to be saved. In this theory, Jews
leave no 1'00111 for regeneration. They fail
to understand that God told Adam, "But of
the tree ofthe knowledge ofgood and evil,
thou shalt not eat ofit: for in the day that
thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die"
(Genesis 2: 17).
It is our conviction that the spirit ofAdam
could only be regenerated by the Holy Spirit
after the death and resurrection of Christ.
This revival or regeneration occurs at the
moment of conversion. This is why we are
encouraged to become soul winners. This
is why we are commanded to go into all
the world and preach the Gospel to every
creature. We believe that at the moment the
sinner repents of sin, prays for forgiveness
a'nd trusts in Jesus Christ, his spirit is
regenerated. The Holy Spirit endows that
human spirit with eternal life.
Christianity believes that man is a trinity
consisting of body, soul and spirit. The
rabbis, on the other hand, do not take into
account the body. They see a trinity in the
soul alone - consisting of soul, spirit and
the neshamah:
Similarly in man below, the three are one
- yet separate. The neshamah ascends
aloft to the fountain-head; the ruah enters
paradise: and the nephesh finds rest in the
grave. Thus there are three grades of the
soul distinct one from another, although
they form one bond and one mystery.
I am bothered by their assertion that the
soul stays with the body in the grave until
the flesh has turned to dust and the bones
are separated. Most conservative Christian
theologians teach that the soul of the saint
ascends into heaven and that the soul of
the sinner descends into hell.
In the final analysis, the rabbis believe
the three entities of the soul finally get
back together: "When that ruah ascends
to be crowned within its neshamah which
is above, the nephesh joins the ruah and
receives illumination from it, which
causes itself to shine, even as the moon
borrows light from the sun. And that ruah

then joins itself to the neshamah, and the
neshamah unites herself with the Infinite.
"Thus is achieved harmony, peace and
union. This constitutes the attainment
of the rest and quietude of the nephesh,
concerning which it is written: 'But the
soul (nephesh) ofmy lord shall be bound
in the bundle oflife with (aleph-tahv) the
Lord thy God' (I Samuel 25:29); that is
to say, in the union symbolized by the
aleph-tahv (signifying the union of all
things). Blessed are the righteous who
fear their Lord in this world, for they
merit the threefold rest of saints in the
world to come."
Here is an interesting statement - the
rabbis believe the reunited soul is "bound
in the bundle of life with the aleph-tahv."
Though they do not recognize Jesus Christ
as Messiah, Jesus, Himself, claimed to be
the Aleph-Tahv, the Hebrew equivalent of
the Alpha and Omega. They are actually
saying that the soul that makes it to heaven
enjoys fellowship with the Messiah.
This excursion into the realm of Jewish
thinking about the soul still leave u
with the mystery of the human brain and
its connection with con ciou ne - the
sense of being in the here and now. The
TIME article drew this conclusion:
"Does this mean that science is on the
verge ofunderstanding consciousness? Not
necessarily. The notion that the human mind
can ever fully comprehend the human mind
could well be folly. It may be that scientists
will eventually have to acknowledge the
existence of something beyond their ken
- something that might be described as
the sou!."
Ghosts and Spirits
Reports abound throughout the centuries
about people seeing strange, dimly-lit wisps
of vapor-like images of people who have
died. Are these "ghosts" merely figments of
imagination? Or are they actually glimpses
across the dimensional plane where the spirits
ofthose people continue their existence? The
Bible tells us about Jesus casting demons out
of people. Is it possible that other intelligent
entities can actually enter into a person and
cause them mental or emotional problems? If
so, and I have no doubt as to its reality, then
those demonic spirits must exist in another
dimension rather than coming from another
galaxy or distant star system.
Out ofthe Body Experiences
Nature magazine, September 19, 2002,
reported that neuroscientist Olaf Blanke,
at the Geneva University Hospital, in
Switzerland, was able to bring about an
out-of-body experience through electrical
stimulation of the light angular gyrus in
the temporal lobe of a 43 year-old woman
suffering from severe epileptic seizures.
With the first mild stimulation, she felt she
was "sinking into the bed" or "faJling from
a height." With more intense stimulation, she
said she could "see myselflying ill bed, from
above, butI only see my legs and lowertrunk."
Another trial induced "an instantaneous
feeling oflightness and floating about six feet
above the bed, close to the ceiling."
For centuries, man's mysterious brain has
been capable of encountering other worldly
expeliences through prayer, meditation, or
the influence of drugs. Mystics have told of
having a "third eye" capable of clairvoyant
perception, seeing ghosts and reading
minds. But now, science has discovered
a breakthrough in the production of such
experiences. According to the first-century
Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, this
forbidden territory awaits the death of every
person. The righteous travel through a tunnel
of light to the gate ofthe nether world, where
angels escort them to Paradise. But the
wicked arrive at the gate, only to be dragged
away by demons into torment.
There are many stOlies about people
who have dropped into a dream-state, left
their bodies and traveled to other places.
Do you believe this is possible? If you deny
its possibility, then I would like for you to
consider a man named Paul, who tells ofsuch
an experience as he lay dying outside the city
walls ofLystra:
"It is not expedient for me doubtless to
glory. I will come to visions and revelations
of the Lord. 1 knew a man in Christ above
fourteen years ago, (whether in the body,
I cannot tell; or whether out of the body,
I cannot tell: God knoweth,) such an one
caught up to the third heaven. And 1 knew
such a man, (whether in the body, orout ofthe
body, I cannot tell: God knoweth,) How that
he was caught up into paradise, and heard
unspeakable words, which it is not lawfitlfor
a man to utter" (II Corinthians 12:1-4).
After being stoned and taken up for
dead, he revived and lived to tell about this
incredible adventure. Yes, there is another
world nearby, into which we can step when
our physical brains begin to shut down and
our bodies begin to die.
Near Death Experiences
There are hundreds of recorded
testimonies from people who have died, and
later been resuscitated. Many tell of leaving
their bodies, seeing the team of doctors
and nurses working over them, traveling
through a tunnel, and seeing a blight light
at the other end of it. There are too many
independent accounts of the same tunnel
and same light for it to be a mere figment
of the imagination. Nor could it simply be
a chemical reaction in the brain. Those who
have been there clain1 to have seen and taJked
with others who are there - Jesus, their
relatives, etc. Their conversations are too
similar, too dynamic, and too knowledgeable
to be the result of simple chemical changes
in the physical conditions of their brains.
Josephus'Description of Death and After
Perhaps the best extra-biblical account of
the other world that exists just beyond our
mental comprehension was given by the first-
century Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus.
It is quite similar to the descriptions of the
tunnel or heavenly hallway awaiting our
souls:
"There is one descent into this region,
at whose gate we believe there stands an
archangel with an host; which gate when
those pass through that are conducted down
by the angels appointed over souls; they do
not go the sanle way; but the just are guided
to the light hand, and are led with hymns,
sung by the angels appointed over that place
unto a region of light, in which the just have
dwelt from the beginning of the world; not
constrained by necessity, but ever enjoying
the prospect of the good things they see,
and rejoice in the expectation of those new
enjoyments, which will be peculiar to every
one of them, and esteeming those things
beyond what we have here; with whom
there is no place of toil, no burning heat, no
piercing cold, nor are any briers there; but the
countenance of the fathers and of the just,
which they see always smiles upon them,
while they wait for that rest and eternal new
life in heaven, which is to succeed this region.
This place we caJI the Bosom ofAbraham.
"But as to the unjust, they are dragged by
force to the left hand by the angels allotted
for punishment, no longer going with a good-
will, but as prisoners driven by violence; to
whom are sent the angels appointed over
them to reproach them and threaten them
with their tenible looks, and to thrust them
still downwards. Now those angels that
are set over these souls, drag them into the
neighborhood of hell itself; who, when they
are hard by it, continually hear the noise of it,
and do not stand clear ofthe hot vapor itself;
but when they have a nearer view of this
spectacle, as ofa tenible and exceeding great
prospect offire, they are struck with a fearful
expectation of a future judgment, and in
effect punished thereby; and not only so, but
where they see the place of the fathers and
April 20J2 - Prophecy in the News 37

of the just, ,even hereby are they punished;
for a chaos deep and large is fixed between
them; insomuch that a just man that hath
compassion upon them cannot be admitted,
nor can one that is unjust, if he were bold
enough to attempt it, pass over it.
"This is the discourse concerning Hades,
wherein the souls ofall men are confined Lmtil
a proper season, which God hath determined,
when he will make a resurrection of all men
from the dead, not procuring a transmigration
ofsouls from one body to another, but raising
again those very bodies, which you Greeks,
seeing to be dissolved, do not believe; but
learn not to disbelieve it; for while you
believe that the soul is created, and yet is made
immortal by God, according to the doctrine
ofPlato, and this in time, be not incredulous;
but believe that God is able, when he hath
raised to life that body which was made as
a compound of the same elements, to make
it immortal; for it must never be said of God,
that he is able to do some things, and tillable
to do others. We have therefore believed that
the body wilJ be raised again; for although it
be dissolved, it is not perished; for the Earth
receives its remains, and preserves them;
and while they are like seed and are mixed
among the more fruitful soil, they flourish
and what is sown is indeed sown bare grain;
but at the mighty sound of God the Creator,
it wilJ sprout up, and be raised in a clothed
and glorious condition, though not before
it has been dissolved, and mixed with the
Earth, So that we have not rashly believed
the resurrection of the body; for although
it be dissolved for a time on account of the
original transgression, it exists still, and is
cast into the Earth as into a potters furnace,
in order to be formed again, not in order to
rise again such as it was before, but in a state
of purity, and so as never to be destroyed any
more; and to everybody shall its own soul be
restored; and when it hath clothed itself with
that body, it will not be subject to misery,
but being itself pure, it will continue with its
pure body, and rejoice with it, with which it
having walked righteously now in this world,
and never having had it as a snare, it will
receive it again with great gladness; but as
for the unjust, they will receive their bodies
not changed, but with the same diseases
wherein they died, and such as they were in
their unbelief, the same shall they be when
they hall be faithfuIJy judged.
"For all men, the just as well as the unjust,
shall be brought before God the Word; for to
him hath the Father committed all judgment;
and he in order to fulfill the will of his Father
shall come asjudge, whom we call Christ. ...
" ... the just shall remember only their
righteous actions whereby they have attained
the heavenly kingdom, in which there is no
Flavius Josephus was aRoman historian
ofJewish ancestry who wrote extensively
on awide array oftopics. He lived from
the year 37 to around 100AD.
sleep, no sorrow, no corruption, no care,
no night, no day measured by time, no
sun chiven in his course along the circle of
heaven by necessity; and measuring out the
hounds and conversions of the seasons, for
the better illumination of the life of men;
no moon decreasing and increasing, or
introducing a variety of seasons, nor will she
then moisten the Earth; no burning sun, no
Bear turning round (the pole), no Orion to
rise, no wandering of innumerable stars. The
Earth will not then be difficult to be passed
over, nor will it be hard to find out the court
of Paradise, nor will there be any fearful
roaring of the sea, forbidding the passengers
to walk on it; even that will be made easily
passable to the just, though it will not be
void of moisture. Heaven will not then be
uninhabitable by men; and it will not be
impossible to discover the way of ascending
thither. The Earth wilJ not be uncultivated,
nor require too much labor of men, but will
bring forth its fruits of its own accord, and
will be well adorned with them."
There are two things of particular interest
predicted by Josephus. First, he said, "nor will
it be hard to find out the court ofParadise...."
In other words, we shall someday possess the
technology of trans-dimensional travel. We
will be able to slide to and from this plane
of existence into paradise, the dimension in
which angelic creatures live, and return.
Secondly, Josephus said, "Heaven will
not then be uninhabitable by men; and it
will not be impossible to discover the way
of ascending thither." We have already
begun to see man's first attempts beyond the
gravitational pull of planet Earth. We have
sent men to the moon and robots to Mars.
We are presently exploring the planets. But,
when the souls who have died, have been
resurrected with immortal bodies, and the
church has been translated, we wilJ all return
with Christ possessing the knowledge and
technology to travel across the universe!
In our modem age, with new discoveries
being made almost every day, perhaps it's
time we attempted to understand the concepts
of those ancient mysteries, which lie just
beyond our present comprehension.•

Does Bible prophecy teach an Islamic Antichrist - Prophecy in the News - Apr 2012

Does Bible prophecy teach an Islamic Antichrist - Prophecy in the News - Apr 2012

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