Bible Prophecy

THE GENERATION

OF

ARMAGEDDON

As A Cosmic Black Hole Sucks All Light Into Darkness

"But as the days of Noah were,
so also will the coming
of the Son of Man be ..."
(Matthew 24:37)

The Rise of Violence, Lawlessness, and Immorality

God has spent a lot of time and effort describing and warning of a single generation which would one day rise to see the terrible realities and consequences of ignoring and rejecting God's Word and His many warnings in prophecy.  We are told these prophecies are His way of preparing Mankind for the grave danger which now lies ahead, while also offering us a way "to ESCAPE all these things which will come to pass."

Much information is given in the Bible concerning the character, morals, and attitudes of the generation which will lead the world down into the terrors of the coming Apocalypse and Armageddon.

In the following prophecy, Jesus Christ warns the generation of the Apocalypse will be just like the generation living in the days of Noah, which God utterly destroyed with the Flood.

We will find there are TWO aspects to this prophecy which are important to learn and to understand ...

First:

The Generation of Armageddon will be morally corrupt and filled with violence

Jesus warns ...

"But as the days of Noah were,
so also will the coming
of the Son of Man be ..."
(Matthew 24:37)

To help us understand this part of the prophecy, God DESCRIBES the generation of Noah ...

"The Earth was (morally) CORRUPT before God,
(the Bible uses the word “corrupt” like smelly, rotting meat)
And the Earth was filled with VIOLENCE.
So God looked upon the Earth,
and indeed it was corrupt;
for all flesh had corrupted their way on the Earth.
And God said to Noah,
‘The end of all flesh has come before Me,
for the Earth is filled with violence through them;
and behold, I will destroy them
with the Earth.’"
(Genesis 6:11-13)

So, our first prophetic clue is the Generation of Armageddon will be filled with violence and immorality.

Second:

Most of the generation will not realize the Apocalypse is near, and will not be prepared

"But as the days of Noah were,
so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
For as in the days before the flood,
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage,
UNTIL the day that Noah entered the Ark,
and did NOT know until the Flood came
and took them all away,
so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Then two men will be in the field:
One will be taken and the other left.  (The escape ... The coming "Rapture")
Two women will be grinding at the mill:
One will be taken and the other left. (Lovingly removed ... before the Apocalypse)
WATCH therefore!
For you do not know what hour
your Lord is coming.
But know this,
that if the master of the house
had known what hour the thief would come,
he would have watched and not allowed
his house to be broken into.
Therefore you also be ready,
for the Son of Man is coming at an hour
you do not expect."   (Bible Prophecies tell us what to look for and then tells us to "Watch!")
(Matthew 24:37-44)   (We are told those eagerly waiting in faith will "escape" the Apocalypse.)

Some valuable insight ...

Just before bringing disaster upon Israel with a catastrophic judgment, God gave his prophets (and us) some valuable insight into determining when a generation has crossed His line of moral corruption.

God reveals to Jeremiah ...

"They were not at all ashamed,
they did not even know how to BLUSH"
(Jeremiah 6:15 & Jeremiah 8:12)

How many people do you know today over the age of 12 who still know how to blush?

The character of a generation is not only revealed or reflected by the news reports of global violence and immorality which we read about daily, but, it is also revealed by what entertains a generation.  Simply look at the movies, television shows, video games, and internet sites to see what now entertains this generation today.

God also warns there will come a time just before the catastrophic judgment when a generation will no longer receive Godly warnings from the pulpits, and most of the people will be blindly unaware of the grave danger which now lies ahead.

God reveals to Amos ...

"Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD,
That I will send a FAMINE on the land,
NOT a famine of bread,
NOR a thirst for water,
But of HEARING the words of the LORD."
(Amos 8:11)

It is somewhat analogous to a tidal wave.  When we see the water rapidly receding from the shore we know it's the sign a massive tidal wave which will destroy and devastate everything in its path is rapidly approaching.  In our scenario, the water represents the teaching (and hearing) of the Word of God, the shore represents our churches and synagogues, and the devastating Tidal Wave represents the coming Apocalypse ... the fierce and terrible "Day of the Lord."

Jesus warns ...

"When you SEE these things,
know that it is NEAR - -
at the DOOR!!"
(Mark 13:29)

Most people can't see because they don't know (and have never been taught) what to look for.  Unfortunately, (and just as the Bible predicted), most of our churches and synagogues today either ignore, reject, or (for their lack of knowledge) simply avoid God's prophetic word, even though Bible Prophecy represents around 30% of the Bible!

Jesus warned of the religious leaders in His day who ignored all of the prophetic signs of His first coming ...

"They are blind leaders of the blind.
And if the blind leads the blind,
both will fall into a ditch.”
(Matthew 15:14)

How many churches (or synagogues) can you find today who ever teach any of the many prophetic signs we are told to diligently "watch" for concerning His return?

Later, God gave Peter (and us) some valuable insight into identifying the generation which will face the final catastrophic judgment upon the Earth.

God reveals to Peter ...

"Knowing this first:
That SCOFFERS will come in the last days,  (Many of these will go to church every Sunday)
walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘
Where is the promise of His coming?
For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue on
as they were from the beginning of creation.’"
(2 Peter 3:3-4)    (God warns many will "scoff" at prophecies of Christ's Return)

So, our second prophetic clue is the Generation of Armageddon will be ignorant of the Bible Prophecies, and will not believe (or will even mock or ridicule) those who do take God's warnings seriously.

The Bible lists even more character traits

which will mark the Generation of Armageddon

"But know this,
that in the last days
perilous times will come,
For men will be  (Men = Mankind ... both men and women)
Lovers of themselves,
Lovers of money,
Boasters,
Proud, (‘Nobody is going to tell me what to do ... not even God!'  )
Blasphemers, (mocking and joking about God and Jesus)
Disobedient to parents, (will not respect any authority)
Unthankful,
Unholy,
Unloving,
Unforgiving,
Slanderers,
Without Self-Control,
Violent (brutal),
Despisers of good,
Traitors,  (Watch the news and sporting events)
Headstrong,
Arrogant (haughty),
Lovers of Pleasure ('feeding the desires of the 'flesh' and 'eyes')
rather than lovers of God, (loving pleasure and possessions more than God)
having a FORM of godliness
(professing a belief ... maybe even going to church or synagogue)
but denying its power ... "
(God's power to help, heal, save, or destroy all of His Creation)
(2 Timothy 3:1-5)

Unfortunately, most of those born after 1967 will have a very difficult time realizing these character traits aren't normal, or that there ever was any difference in how people generally acted, spoke, and behaved.  While those born in the 1950's or before can see and realize what a stark difference there is now in the generation alive today compared to those which came before.  Yet, it was mainly those born between 1948 and 1960 who were powerfully seduced, led, and then swept into the darkness of this "new morality," which quickly changed the way churches (and synagogues) began to teach and follow God's Word.

Third:

The Generation of Armageddon will be marked by 'Lawlessness'

"Now as He (Jesus) sat on the Mount of Olives,
the disciples came to Him privately, saying,
"Tell us, when will these things be?
And what will be the sign of Your coming,
and of the end of the Age?"
And Jesus answered and said to them: ...
"And because LAWLESSNESS will abound,
the love of many  (for Jesus Christ and the Word of God)
will grow cold.
But he who endures (in faith) to the end
shall be saved  (into the Kingdom of Heaven).
And this Gospel ("good news") of the Kingdom
will be preached in all the world
as a witness to all the nations,
and THEN the end will come."  (The coming Apocalypse)
(Matthew 24:3-4...12-14)

Jesus warns many who call themselves Christians will practice Lawlessness

"NOT everyone
who says to Me (Jesus), 'Lord, Lord,'
shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
(These people consider themselves Christians)
MANY  ('most' or 'majority' who call themselves Christian)
will say to Me in that Day (of Judgment)
'Lord, Lord, have we not taught (prophesied)
in Your Name,
cast out demons in Your Name,
and done many wonders in Your Name?
(They may have been very busy in church)
And then (at the Judgment)
I (Jesus) will declare to them
'I never knew you,  (through love, faith, prayer, and obedience)
DEPART from Me  (out of Heaven)
you who practice Lawlessness.'"   (Willful disobedience against God's Law)
(Matthew 7:21-23)

ANOTHER prophetic warning against 'Lawlessness' ...

"The Son of Man  (Jesus ... see Daniel 7:13-14)
will send out His angels,
and they will gather out of His Kingdom
All things that offend,
and those who practice Lawlessness,
and will cast them into the furnace of fire.
There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
(Matthew 13:41-42)

'Lawlessness' IS a major prophetic sign

One objective here is to simply provide a mechanism to help people test to see if Bible Prophecies are now being fulfilled (or preparing to be fulfilled) in this generation.  As we read above, the Bible warns "Lawlessness will abound."  Lawlessness refers to large segments of a generation denying, ignoring, or rejecting God's Law as found in the Bible.  We will also see it even applies to those who just "approve of those" who do such things.

So, our third prophetic clue is the Generation of Armageddon will abound with Lawlessness.

Keeping this in mind, there are three rising social issues that are worth looking into and considering from a Biblical perspective.  Could any (or all) of these three current social issues qualify as prophetic "Lawlessness?"

What DOES the Bible say about Homosexuality, Abortion, and Lying (Deceiving)?

The question here is not whether a person agrees or disagrees with God's Law, it is simply to help determine what the Bible actually says about these things.

Each reader needs to objectively decide on their own whether these current social issues which we have seen rise to prominence so quickly in this generation would qualify as "Lawlessness" from both a Biblical and Prophetic perspective.

HOMOSEXUALITY:

What DOES the Bible (God's Law) say about Homosexuality?

"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman.
It is an abomination."
(Leviticus 18:22)

"If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman,
both of them have committed an abomination.
They shall surely be put to death.
Their blood shall be upon them."
(Leviticus 20:13)

“A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man,
nor shall a man put on a woman's garment,
for all who do so are an abomination to the LORD your God."
(Deuteronomy 22:5)

"Do you not know that the unrighteous
will NOT inherit the Kingdom of God"
Do not be deceived.
Neither fornicators, (any sex outside of marriage)
nor adulterers,
nor homosexuals,
nor sodomites,
nor thieves, ...
will inherit the Kingdom of God.
And such were some of you.  (We are all sinners)
But you were washed
(by the innocent blood of Jesus which He shed for all our sins)
But you were sanctified
(sanctified means "set apart")
But you were justified
(justified means "just as if your sins had never happened")
in the Name of the Lord Jesus
and by the Spirit of our God."
(1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

In the following passage we find the Bible goes on to warn that God's Law also applies to those who simply "Approve of" these things ...

"For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men . . .
For even their women exchanged the natural use
for what is against nature (lesbianism).
Likewise also the men,
leaving the natural use of the woman,
burning in their lust for one another,
men with men committing what is shameful (homosexuality) . . .
that those who practice these things are worthy of death (Hell),
And not only those who do the same
but also those who approve of those who practice them!"
(Romans 1:18, 26, 27, 32)

(Other offenses were also included which are not listed here.)

In the verse above, we are given a prophetic warning to all those who simply "approve of" these things. We will find in a later chapter this also applies to churches and church leaders as well when we review those Bible prophecies which warn that many churches will “fall away” from God's Word and “will depart from the faith" and "will no longer endure sound doctrine" around the time of the Apocalypse and Armageddon.

Bible Prophecy ALSO warns that Sodom and Gomorrah were given as "examples" and warnings for a future generation ...

"As Sodom and Gomorrah,
and the cities around them
in a similar manner to these,
(a total of 5 cities were destroyed)
having given themselves over to sexual immorality
and gone after strange flesh, (homosexuality)
are set forth as an EXAMPLE,
suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."
(Jude 1:7)

"And turning the cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes,
condemned them (Sodom and Gomorrah) to destruction,
making them an EXAMPLE
to those who afterward
would live ungodly ..."
(2 Peter 2:6)

Taken from both the Old and New Testaments, all the verses above relating to homosexuality are given because they represent a portion of God's Law as found in the Bible from both a Jewish and a Christian point of view.

The verses we have just read also reveal God's Law is not ambiguous concerning homosexuality.  If we do our homework, we will discover that Homosexuality is nothing new. At the time the Apostle Paul wrote the verses above homosexuality was rampant throughout the ancient Roman Empire. Roman Emperor Nero once married a man who was dressed as the bride, and on another occasion, Emperor Nero himself dressed as the bride as he married another man. However, the generation alive today is the first generation since the fall of the ancient Roman Empire to embrace, promote, and approve of homosexuality in such a decisive and overt manner.

Since the objective here is to provide the reader with a relevant and timely selection of Bible Prophecies in order to help test to see if we are getting close to the coming Apocalypse, it is up to each individual reader to determine for themselves whether or not these current social issues are prophetically significant.

ABORTION:

What DOES the Bible say about Abortion?

"Were your acts of harlotry
a small matter,
that you have slain
MY children,
(God sees these babies as His!)
and offered them up
to them (demons)
by causing them
to pass through the fire ..."
(Ezekiel 16:20-21)

“And you shall not
let any of your descendants
pass through the fire
to Molech.”
(Leviticus 18:21)

"By causing them (babies) to pass through the fire"... Back then, unwanted babies were "offered" to a false god Molech (a demon-god of lust and pleasure) by placing the baby onto the glowing red-hot arms of a small bronze statue which was placed in the fire.

God says a lot about this killing of unwanted babies (sometimes described as "passing sons and daughters through the fire" and "shedding innocent blood") in the Bible. As we discover in the verses above, God sees it and it causes Him to cry out in agony and in anger.

It is also important to note that from an historical perspective, the controversy surrounding "Abortion" goes back thousands of years.

We find this issue mentioned in the book of Psalms ...

"They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters
to the demons; (Molech)
they poured out innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed
to the idols of Canaan,
and the land
was polluted with blood.
Thus they became unclean
by their acts,
and played the whore in their deeds.
Then the anger of the LORD
was kindled against His people,
and He abhorred His heritage;
He gave them (Israel)
into the hand of the nations, (Assyria and Babylon)
so that those who hated them
ruled over them."
(Psalms 106:37-40)

Quotes from the ancient Christian Church fathers

In the following passages (including the years which they were written) which have been excerpted from Dr. Ken Johnson's book "The Ancient Church Fathers" (pp. 132-135) we discover the controversy surrounding abortion goes back thousands of years ...

Didache, AD 100
Chapter 2 - "You shall not murder a child by abortion, nor kill them when born."

Barnabas, AD 100
Epistle of Barnabas 19-12 - "You shall not murder a child by abortion, nor shall you kill it when it is born.

Tertullian, AD 200
Apology 9 - In our case, murder being once for all forbidden, we may not destroy even the fetus in the womb, while as yet the human being derives blood from other parts of the body for its sustenance. The hinder a birth is merely a speedier man-killing.

Nations 1.15 - Christians do not kill infants before or after birth.

Treatise of the Soul 1.25 - Heretics maintain that the soul is not conceived in the womb. They maintain that the soul is deposited much later, after conception. Christians teach abortion is murder.

Treatise of the Soul 1.26 - Among surgeons' tools there is a certain instrument that is formed with a nicely-adjusted flexible frame for first of all opening the uterus and then keeping it open. It also has a circular blade, by means of which the limbs within the womb are dissected with careful but unflinching care. Its last appendage is a blunted or covered hook, by which the entire fetus is extracted by a violent delivery. There is also a copper needle or spike, by which the actual death is brought about in their treacherous robbery of life. From its infanticide function, they give the name, "killer of the infant" – which infant, of course, had once been alive.

Hippolytus, AD 206

Against Heresies 9.7 - Women who were reputed believers began to resort to drugs for producing sterility. They also girded themselves around, so as to expel what was being conceived. For they did not wish to have a child by either a slave or by any common fellow – out of concern for their family and their excessive wealth. See what a great impiety the Lawless One has advanced. He teaches adultery and murder at the same time.

For our purposes, these early Church writings appear to support the position that Abortion would be considered against God's Law, and therefore could qualify as a prophetic form of "Lawlessness," which is a key and important component found in several of the Bible Prophecies we are studying and presenting for test.

As mentioned earlier, these Bible prophecy studies are written to help identify and present a significant sampling of Bible Prophecies in order to scientifically or mathematically (statistically) test to determine whether or not the generation alive today is (or could be) the prophetic generation which will enter into the dark terrors of the Apocalypse and Armadeddon.

It is up to each individual reader to objectively determine for themselves whether or not these issues, or any of the social or global issues presented in these studies, should or should not be considered prophetically significant.

LYING AND DECEIVING:

What DOES the Bible say about Lying and Deceiving?

The Bible warns "in the last days" (around the time of the coming Apocalypse) a generation of evil men and women would rise. We are told that lying, deceiving, and being deceived will characterize that generation (and its leaders) who will lead the world into the coming Apocalypse. To help clarify the terminologies, it should be noted that 'lying' and 'deceiving' are a little different. Deceiving is considered worse than lying because deceiving (deception) mixes some truth in with the lie, which makes it much more difficult to discern the lie.

The Bible is very adamant about us knowing this prophecy ...

"But KNOW this,
that in the last days
perilous times will come . . .
Evil men and impostors  (Men = Mankind ... both men and women)
will grow worse and worse,
DECEIVING (lying) and being deceived."
(2 Timothy 3:1, 13)

The Scriptures tell us God cannot lie and that He hates all lies.

God says truth is non-negotiable and is fundamental to His Law. In fact, the Bible tells us at least five times it is "impossible" for God to lie.

In the past, liars and perjurers were held accountable and dealt with harshly and severely. Today we see lying casually accepted in the news, in the movies, and on television. Lying is now being presented as funny and harmless. This generation is unique in its reaction to liars and perjurers. This nation even lifted up a recent President whose most notable characteristic was revealed by flagrantly staring into a TV camera and wagging his finger while blatantly lying to the whole nation. Even though later convicted for criminal perjury he is still a very popular leader.

Many in this generation today mock our nation's Rules of Law.  Many now also mock God's Law.  As noted, telling the truth is fundamental to God’s Law. In the Bible we find when a nation and its leaders defiantly mock, ignore, and turn their backs on God’s Law, the future of that nation and people is always very, very grim ...

Stark Warnings ...

"Knowing this:
that the Law is not made for a righteous person,
but for the Lawless and insubordinate,
for the ungodly and for sinners,
for the unholy and profane,
for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers,
for manslayers,
for sexually immoral (fornicators),
for homosexuals (sodomites),
for kidnappers,
for LIARS,
for perjurers,
and if there is any other thing
that is contrary to sound doctrine."
(1 Timothy 1:8-10)

"But the cowardly,
unbelieving,
abominable,
murders,
sexually immoral,
sorcerers ("pharmakeus"... includes both occult and drugs)
idolaters,
AND ALL LIARS
shall have their part
in the lake which burns
with fire and brimstone,
which is the second death." (Hell)
(Revelation 21:8)