Tonight is January
3, 2025, and I am consumed with thoughts about 4 things that
happened on New
Year's Eve.
First off, the US
Capitol was hit by lightning. One of the tools that God
uses to express
His displeasure is lightning and the US Capitol Building is
the seat of our
government. I deeply sense that God was expressing
His anger with
the way our government has been functioning and with our
government’s leaders.
The Second thing I
have been pondering on this long and lonely night is how
lightning struck the
Washington Monument. This is a monument to our founding
fathers and the
principles which they used to establish our great nation.The Washington
Monument honors and
memorializes George Washington in particular, who was the
first (official) president
of the United States. The memorial is 555 feet, 5.125 inches
tall, and was the tallest
building in the world when it was completed in 1884.
My third topic of
conjecture this evening concerns how and why lightning struck
the Empire State
Building in New York City on New Year's Eve.When the Empire State Building opened on May 1, 1931,
it was the world's
tallest building. It still remains a symbol of our
national
pride. I feel that God was definitely making a statement
when He struck
it with lightning.New
York City is not
only the home of the Empire State Building, but I also believe
New York City is
the city called Babylon in Revelation 18.I believe what we just witnessed was God’s warning to
get out now lest
we share in her sins and receive of her plagues (See verse 4
below).
1After these things I saw another angel
coming down from heaven, having
great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his
glory. 2And he
cried mightily with a loud voice,
saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has
become a dwelling
place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage
for every unclean
and hated bird! 3For all the nations have drunk of the
wine of the wrath of her
fornication, the kings of the earth have committed
fornication with her, and
the merchants of the earth have become rich through
the abundance of her
luxury.”
4And I heard another voice from heaven
saying, “Come out of her, my
people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of
her plagues. 5For her
sins have reached to heaven, and
God has remembered her iniquities. 6Render to her just as she
rendered to you, and repay her double
according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix
double for
her. 7In the measure that she glorified
herself and lived luxuriously, in
the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says
in her heart, ‘I
sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see
sorrow.’ 8Therefore her
plagues will come in one
day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly
burned with fire,
for strong is the Lord God who judges her.
9“The kings of the earth who committed
fornication and lived luxuriously
with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the
smoke of her
burning, 10standing at a distance for fear of her
torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas,
that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour
your judgment has
come.’
11“And the merchants of the earth will
weep and mourn over her, for no one
buys their merchandise anymore: 12merchandise of gold and silver, precious
stones and pearls, fine linen
and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood,
every kind of object
of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood,
bronze, iron, and
marble; 13and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil
and frankincense, wine and oil,
fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots,
and bodies and
souls of men. 14The fruit that your soul longed for has
gone from you, and all the
things which are rich and splendid have gone from you,
and you shall find
them no more at all. 15The merchants of these things, who
became rich by her, will stand at a
distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16and saying,
‘Alas, alas, that great city that
was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned
with gold and
precious stones and pearls! 17For in one hour such great
riches came to nothing.’ Every
shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as
trade on the sea,
stood at a distance 18and cried out when they saw the smoke of
her burning, saying,
‘What is like this great city?’
19“They threw dust on their heads and
cried out, weeping and wailing, and
saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had
ships on the sea
became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made
desolate.’Revelation
18: 1-19.NKJV.
My fourth topic of
contemplation this evening is how
lightning struck the One World Trade Center on New Year's
Eve. This was
the home of the Twin Towers, which fell on September 11,
2001. When they
opened in 1973, the Twin Towers were the tallest buildings
in the world.It
was a horrible disaster and happened as a
result, I believe, of God removing His hand of protection from
America (as
Johnathan Cahn has suggested in his books).One World Trade Center was built on the location where
the Twin Towers
fell.One World
Trade Center is now
the tallest building in the United
States, the
tallest building in
the Western
Hemisphere, and the seventh-tallest
in
the world.
One last thing,
all 4 of these lightning strikes happened on New Year's
Eve. In taking a
step back and carefully considering this, I cannot help but
feel that God is
telling us that 2025 is going to be the year when the
Tribulation starts.
I also firmly believe that the rapture will take place just
before the
Tribulation begins.The
rapture will be
sudden and will happen on a day when we least expect it.God will remove His
people immediately prior
to releasing His wrath, just as it was in the Days of Noah.
37 But
as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming
of the Son of Man
be. 38 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, 39 and did
not know until the
flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming
of the Son of Man
be.
Matthew 24: 37-39.NKJV.
Meanwhile, I am
reminded of how lightning struck the Vatican in Rome
twice. The first
time was on February 11, 2013, just hours after Pope Benedict
XVI announced he
was resigning his papal office. The second time was on
December 17, 2013,
which was just hours after Pope Benedict XVI officially
resigned as Pope.
Likewise, I do not think that God was very pleased by Pope
Benedict’s
abdication and I do not believe that God was at all pleased
with Benedict’s
replacement.
I am also reminded
of how God struck down the Tower of Babel, which remained
forever unfinished,
and confused the languages of all the nations when mankind
became too arrogant
towards God.When
construction began on
the Tower of Babel it was supposed to become the tallest
building in the
world.
And lastly, I am
reminded of the words of Amos 3:7:
Surely
the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless
He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.Amos 3:7.NKJV.