| New York
City has been attacked twice by Islam. Considering
that
more and more news sources are reporting that 'Al Qaida has nuclear
weapons inside the U.S.' – smuggled in from Central America up through
Mexico
with a large number of Islamic sleeper agents – I'm sure the next attack
on New
York will make the previous attacks pale in comparison. In the
Bible, the fall of 'Mystery Babylon the Great' (a city talked about in
great
detail in Revelation) sounds a lot like New York City. It gets destroyed
by
fire in 'one day and one hour', which is what would happen to present
day New
York City if / when a nuclear weapon is detonated. Revelation
17:15-18
- "...the waters you saw, where the prostitute [Mystery Babylon
the Great] was seated are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.
The 10
horns you saw, and the beast, will hate the prostitute. They will make
her
desolate and naked, devour her flesh, and burn her up with fire. For God
has
put it into their hearts to carry out His plan by having one purpose,
and to
give their kingdom to the beast until God's words are accomplished. And
the
woman you saw is the great city that has an empire over the kings of the
earth." In the
middle of describing the destruction that comes on this city, God says Revelation
18:4
- "...Come out of her my people, so that you will not share in her
sins, or receive any of her plagues. For her sins are piled up to heaven
and
God has remembered her crimes... She will be burned up with fire,
because the
Lord God who judges her is mighty." Come out
of her my people... Ok, in
Revelation 18:4 we just identified some kind of rapture, and it occurs
either
during or right before the attack on Mystery Babylon the Great. Is this
the first rapture, or the second rapture? Hold that
thought for a moment. Further
down we come to: Revelation
18:23
- "The light of a lamp will never shine in you again; and the voice
of a groom and bride will never be heard in you again." What do
we
gather from this? Well, at the time of Mystery Babylon the Great's
destruction,
men and women are still getting married. Ok, let's
go back to Matthew, and Jesus description of the pre-tribulation
rapture. Matthew
24:37
- "As the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will
be. For in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking,
marrying,
and giving in marriage..." When we
look at Revelation 18:23 and Matthew 24:37 side by side, the rapture
occurs
before the destruction of Mystery Babylon the Great. It might even
happen only minutes
before... On top of
that, if people are still getting married, this must be a pre-tribulation
rapture. If this
seems like a stretch, you might be in for a surprise –
The Anti-Christ
There are
those who believe Mystery Babylon the Great is a future Rome, the home
of the
Anti-Christ. It is described as the greatest city on Earth, and when the
apostle John wrote Revelation 2,000 years ago, Rome was the
greatest
city on Earth. That is
not true today. Rome is not the greatest city, and there is no reason to
believe that the Anti-Christ would want to make his home there. The
Anti-Christ, who is a world leader possessed by Satan, would most likely
control the world from his native homeland, where he originally begins
as a
king, dictator, or president. For
example, if either the President of Iran or Russian President Vladimir
Putin
becomes the Anti-Christ, do you think they would move their headquarters
to
Rome? Most likely--not. Now
regarding Revelation 18:4, why would God only 'rapture' people who live
in
Mystery Babylon the Great? Revelation
18:4
- "...Come out of her my people, so that you will not share in her
sins, or receive any of her plagues... She will be burned up with fire,
because
the Lord God who judges her is mighty." Are there
three raptures? A third rapture just for the people of Mystery Babylon
the
Great? Not
likely. Revelation
18:4
has some very serious connotations to it. 1) If
Mystery Babylon the Great is a future 'Rome' where the Anti-Christ rules
the
world from during the Tribulation, why are God's people said to be
living
there? Why would God tell his people to 'come out of her' prior to
destroying
the Anti-Christ's headquarters in 'Rome' by fire? Because I
believe that Mystery Babylon the Great is NOT a future 'Rome' where the
Anti-Christ rules the world from. In fact,
if you read Revelation closely, the Anti-Christ is referred to as 'the
beast';
the beast and the '10 horns' are the 'enemies' who destroy Mystery
Babylon the
Great. Essentially,
the
Anti-Christ attacks Mystery Babylon the Great and destroys it by fire. With that
in mind, considering all the descriptions given in Chapter 18 of
Revelation of
a 'mighty city' with an 'empire over the kings of the earth', I believe
that
Mystery Babylon the Great is actually present day New York City, and
that the
attack on Mystery Babylon the Great described in Revelation Chapters 17
and 18,
which comes suddenly and unexpectedly, is the same event that is also
mentioned
here: 1
Thessalonians 5:2 - "... The Day of the Lord will come just as a thief
in
the night. When they say "Peace and security," then sudden
destruction comes on them..." Well,
according to Revelation sudden destruction comes on Mystery Babylon the
Great
at a time this city appears to be living in "Peace and Security": Which
takes us back to the letter to the Philadelphia Church: Revelation
3:10
- "Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep
you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to
test those
who dwell on the earth." Verdict –
the 'hour of trial' most likely starts with the destruction of Mystery
Babylon
the Great – and the rapture occurs right before the 'hour of trial'. Revelation
14:6-9
puts the icing on the cake, so to speak, and provides solid evidence as
to when the first rapture will occur. Revelation
14:6-9
- "Then I saw another angel flying in mid heaven, having the
eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth – to every
nation,
tribe, language, and people. He spoke with a loud voice: "Fear God and
give Him glory, because the hour of His judgement [hour of trial] has
come.
Worship the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water." A
second angel followed, saying: "It has fallen, Babylon the Great has
fallen, who made all nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality,
which
brings wrath." So, as
soon as the first angel announces to the world that the hour of God's
judgement
has come, the second angel immediately announces that Babylon the Great
has
fallen. Please
read that again. If we
apply this to TODAY, and New York City is Mystery Babylon the Great in
Revelation – the only thing holding back the pre-tribulation rapture may
be a
nuclear attack by Islamic radicals. Let me
re-phrase that: The only thing
holding back a nuclear attack
by Islamic radicals may be the pre-tribulation rapture.
If you've
been following the news, this actually is a very real threat looming
over
America right now. CHICAGO
TRIBUNE: Cheney: Nuclear attack on
U.S
cities 'very real' L.A.
TIMES: Bush orders contingency
plans for
nuclear attack on U.S. S.F.
CHRONICLE:
Time to make plans for
'day after'
nuclear blast And if
God
calls his people out of Mystery Babylon the Great at the moment of her
destruction, we just identified the general time for the first rapture. In
addition to that, the article in the San Francisco Chronicle (above)
informs us
that government is so sure an attack will occur, that they are making
plans for
the 'day after' a nuclear attack. Those
plans better include the rapture of a large number of Christians. Update:
8/2/2007 Does the
'hour of judgment' in Revelation 14:6-9 begin with a nuclear attack on
Mystery
Babylon the Great? Most
likely, Chapter 17 describes what sounds like a nuclear attack: Revelation
17:15-19
- "...the waters you saw, where the prostitute was seated are
peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. The 10 horns you saw, and
the
beast, will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked,
devour
her flesh, and burn her up with fire. For God has put it into their
hearts to
carry out His plan by having one purpose, and to give their kingdom to
the
beast until God's words are accomplished. And the woman you saw is the
great
city that has an empire over the kings of the earth." If this
is
New York City, the 10 horns and the beast who hate this city, may be
Islamic
radicals, as well as foreign nations in the Middle East and Latin
America that
are currently suspected to be helping them. What's
shocking is that the United States is currently under threat of
nuclear
attack by Islamic radicals; and New York City is most likely
their top
target. Coincidence?
Probably
not. Revelation
18:4
- "...Come out of her my people, so that you will not share in her
sins, or receive any of her plagues. For her sins are piled up to heaven
and
God has remembered her crimes... She will be burned up with fire,
because the
Lord God who judges her is mighty." Come
out of
her my people, so that you will not share in her sins, or receive any of
her
plagues...
Luke
17:25-28 - It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and
drinking,
buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom,
fire and
sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just
like
this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on
the
roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them.
Likewise,
no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot's wife!
Whoever
tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will
preserve
it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be
taken
and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will
be
taken and the other left. Matthew,
the first book of the New Testament, describes two different methods of
Jesus
coming for his followers. One is sudden and unexpected; the other is
witnessed
by the entire world, and commonly referred to by Christians as the Second
Coming
of Christ. Thief
in
the Night -
Matthew 24:39 - "So this is the way the coming of
the Son of Man will be: Then two men will be in the field: one will be
taken
and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken
and one
left. Therefore be alert, since you don't know what day your Lord is
coming.
But know this: If the homeowner had known what time the thief was
coming, he
would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into. This is
why you
also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do
not
expect." Power
and
Great Glory
- Matthew 24:29 - "Immediately after the tribulation
of those days; The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed it's
light;
the stars will fall from the sky, and the celestial powers will be
shaken. Then
the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the
peoples on
the earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the
clouds of
heaven with power and great glory. He will send out His angels with a
loud
trumpet, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one
end of
the sky to the other." It's
clear
from reading Matthew above, that there are two raptures – and
considering
current events, the first rapture may be a lot sooner than you think. Right
now it is very important that you become true to the Christian faith,
REPENT of
any sin still in your life, and become passionate about God's Greatest
Commandment for our lives (Matthew 22:37). Remember,
just because you're a Christian does not mean that God is pleased with
you. God
knows hearts and minds, and he knows every detail about you. He knows
where
your faith is. True
faith
begins with your accepting his gift of forgiveness of sins, for which
Jesus
Christ, his son, died on the cross. Now as a
believer in Christ, pray to God for sanctification (1 Thess. 5:23) by
his Holy
Spirit, so that you can escape sin, and be made holy and
righteous, in
the image of Christ. You must become purified by the renewing of your
mind. This
doesn't mean you become a religious freak that shaves his head and only
eats
organic cereal. This simply means that you embrace God's commandments to
love
God and neighbor; that you eliminate deceit, corruption, and sexual
immorality
from your life, and you pursue what is good and reject what is bad.
1
Peter
1:6-7 - In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you
may have
had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your
faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by
fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor
when Jesus
Christ is revealed. You must
read the Bible. Considering world events and that Revelation is
unfolding in
the world around us, I would put prayer and Bible study at the top of
your
daily list of priorities – and get yourself into a Fundamentalist
Christian church, that believes in a pre-tribulation rapture. You will
most likely hear sermons that encourage higher standards of Christian
living
and clear warnings of Hell as well as demands for full repentance of
sin. If
you don't believe God holds us to higher standards, then I suggest you
read Chapters
2 and 3 of Revelation. God is very clear on what he demands from us –
he
demands that we overcome sin. Fear God.
Love God. Obey his commandments. Embrace his Greatest Commandment. Last, you
must not want anything to do with this world, and instead look forward
to the
return of Jesus Christ, which Jesus told us himself to be on the alert
for, as
it can happen at any time. God
wants
you to look forward to the world he has promised us because it is
going
to put this world to shame. Jesus
tells us to watch for the signs, and if you're keeping watch, these
signs are
happening all around us. He says that as these signs begin to
happen,
'to lift up our heads because our redemption draws near'. 1. The rapture
of the Christian church
is the next thing that's going to happen. 2.
Followed by a catastrophic nuclear attack on
New York City, Phoenix, and possibly other major U.S. cities (the war of Gog and
Magog--Ezekiel 38 & 39). 3.
Followed by the unveiling of the Anti-Christ,
and the fall of the United States. Please
review the following videos:
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