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(1) What is The Great Tribulation
One of the biggest false doctrines today is that the entire Great Tribulation is the Wrath of God. It is not the Wrath of God! The Wrath of God will be poured out in increments during most of it, then will be poured out fully at the end; but most of the events during the GT are NOT the Wrath of God.
The word “tribulation” in Greek is thlipsis and “primarily means a pressing, pressure, anything which burdens the spirit” (VED). The KJV most often translates it affliction or tribulation, but other translations also use distress, misery, suffering, sorrow, or trouble. A good indication of its meaning is how it is used in the New Testament:
Religion . . . is . . . to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction. (James 1:27)
The word is used with the same meaning in several verses, but an especially illuminating one says, “when affliction or persecution rises for the word’s sake, immediately they fall away.” (Mark 4:17). This verse tells us that tribulation and persecution are not the same. This word does not typically refer to persecution, but to the trials and difficulties anyone could face in this life. Jesus also said, “In the world you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Every single day of this life, many people go through great tribulation. What could be worse than losing your family in a house fire along with everything you own? Or losing everything you own in a flood. It happens to many people as a regular part of this life. People suffer from tornadoes, car wrecks, crime, and illness. They may become paralyzed in a sporting accident or their child is murdered– all of these things are great tribulation!
Do you think an Antichrist could be worse than Hitler, who burned and gassed millions of Jews and Christians? Thousands of prisoners of war were tortured and starved. Then Stalin and Lenin murdered tens of millions. Or what about the Cambodian holocaust in the 1970s and 80s? What about the millions who died from starvation in Ethiopia in the 1980s including Christians; where was the Rapture for all these people? Could anything be worse than these things? Nothing could be worse for those people.
The only thing that will make the GT the greatest tribulation in the history of the world is that billions of people throughout the planet will be experiencing famine, natural disasters, distress, and warfare. God has never promised Christians that they will be totally protected from tribulation (thlipsis); in fact, he said we WILL have tribulation. No one has ever seen flood waters standing up around a Christian’s house. It floods on the just and the unjust.
The Christians who think that God has special blessings for them, to make them prosperous and successful, will suffer the most during the GT; because they will do nothing to prepare for the coming hardships, and they are expecting God to give them a great life now.
What about the beast of Rev. 13? The beast will murder millions of Christians, the same as ISIS did, but that is persecution, not tribulation. In the same way that the Bible does not say Christians are above tribulation, it does not say we will be protected from all persecution. Christians are not new to persecution. What makes the Christians in America think they are above persecution? Many millions of Christians have died and are still dying for their faith in Christ. The GT will include persecution against Christians, but that is not the reason Revelation calls this period the Great Trib., it is because of the huge amount of overall suffering, especially natural disasters.
(2) Time of Testing
According to a statement Jesus made, some Christians will not have to suffer much during the tribulation. Jesus said:
“Because you have kept My word of patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation which shall come upon the entire world, to test those who dwell on the earth.” (Rev. 3:10)
The NIV and ESV say, “the hour of trial.” The ISV says, “hour of testing.” The Greek for “trial” is (peirasmos) (3986), and means, “Trial, temptation, a putting to the test . . . for the purpose of proving someone, never for the purpose of causing him to fall” (CWD). This calls the GT a time of testing. This is the same Greek word found in 2 Peter 2:9, “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from [ek] trial [peirasmos] and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the Day of Judgment.”
This passage is, without a doubt, connected to the end-times. The CBLR, says:
First of all, it should be noted that the verse should be viewed from an end-time perspective, for Jesus immediately says, “Behold I come quickly.” Obviously, the temptation or trial in view is not personal distress or a local persecution. It belongs to the eschatological time of temptation “which shall come upon all the world.”
Such an early theological writer as Dr. Edwin Hatch says in his “Essay on Biblical Greek” that 3:10 has an “evident reference to the tribulations which are prophesied later on in the book” (p.73). Most exegetes agree that it refers to what is called the Great Tribulation. This must mean that Philadelphia and the other churches are representative of the whole Church in this age. (Harris, page 65)
Those who support the Pre-trib Rapture believe Rev. 3:10 refers to being taken out of the world before the tribulation begins, because the Greek for “from” means “out of.” But according to Robert Van Kampen in The Rapture Question Answered, the Greek ek (1537) does not mean “out of” in the sense of being outside of a circle, but “out of the midst of” which means that it comes out from inside of a circle. The Complete Word Study Dictionary says:
If something is in something else, then the separation from it is expressed with ek, out of, while if it is near it, on it, with it, then apo [(575)] is used.
This means the Christians who are referenced in Rev. 3:10 are delivered while yet in the GT. The same word, ek, is found in Rev. 7:14, “These are those who came out of great tribulation.” These clearly go through the GT, therefore, those in Rev. 3:10 don’t have to be Raptured to also be “out of” the GT. The wording suggests the meaning, which is that they will make it safely through the GT without losing their lives, or suffering a lot. It does not mean that nothing at all negative will happen to them.
Finally, an important word in the above verse that Pre-trib proponents skip over is “keep,” which is (tereo) (5083), and means to keep a close watch over, or guard. So, “keep you from” means Jesus will “keep” or protect the righteous during the GT, and see them all the way through it. God protected the Israelites from the effects of the ten plagues of Egypt; therefore, in like manner he will protect those Christians.
As Jesus has told us, the GT is a time of testing for the world, during which it will be revealed whether a society is built using wood and straw (worthless beliefs that result in sin and an unjust society), or whether it is built using stones and metal (right beliefs and laws resulting in proper lives and a just, moral society) (1 Cor. 3:12). This also applies to churches and individuals; God will test all things in this world. William Barclay states:
God is the great saviour, the great deliverer of his people. And the deliverance which he gives is not the deliverance of escape but the deliverance of conquest. It is not a deliverance which saves a man from trouble but one which brings him triumphantly through trouble. It does not make life easy, but it makes life great. It is not part of the Christian hope to look for a life in which a man is saved from all trouble and distress; the Christian hope is that a man in Christ can endure any kind of trouble and distress, and remain erect all through them, and come out to glory on the other side. (The Revelation of John, Vol. 2, Revised Edition, page 27)
That is a powerful truth. How can we have a great victory over our enemies if we are removed from the greatest battle, before the GT? There is another passage that is very curious; Jesus gave a parable of seed falling on different types of ground:
“Now the parable means this: The seed is the word of God. . . . Those on the rock are the ones who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root, for they believe for a while, then in the time of temptation fall away. ” (Luke 8:11, 13)
The NIV and ESV say, “time of testing.” Either Jesus was saying that every person who believes the Gospel will be put through a time of testing, or he was referring to the Great Tribulation. It most likely refers to the GT. So, this passage tells us that some people who now believe the Gospel will turn away from God during the hardships of the GT. They will fail the test. Jesus spoke more on this subject:
“Then they will hand you over to be persecuted. . . . 10 Then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will rise and will deceive many. 12 Because iniquity will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:9-13)
The literal translation says, “And then many will be offended, . . . And many false prophets will be raised, and will cause many to err” (LIT). The word “offended” (4624) means, “a trap, stumbling block. To cause to stumble and fall . . . to offend, vex, particularly to scandalize” (CWD). This tells us that many Christians will have cause to turn away from Christianity during the GT, and become bitter at churches, and preachers, and God. But what could possibly cause that?
Christians today are being promised that they will be removed to heaven before any hardship comes upon the world; others are told the events of Revelation were fulfilled in 70 A.D. Some are being told that God has nothing but wonderful things planned for them. So, when they suffer during the GT they will know that they were taught lies, and they will leave their churches and follow after others who will lead them away from the essentials of the Gospel, “will cause many to err.” The word “err” means to “go astray.”
The Pre-tribulation Rapture doctrine is causing millions of Christians to be spiritually and psychologically unprepared for the GT. Christians will suffer in ways they do not need to suffer and should not suffer; but pushers of the doctrine do everything in their power to silence opposition. Corrie Ten Boom, a survivor of a Nazis prison camp, said:
I have been in countries where the saints are already suffering terrible persecution. In China the Christians [were] told, “Don’t worry, before the tribulation comes, you will be translated–Raptured.” Then came the terrible persecution. Millions of Christians were tortured to death. Later I heard a Bishop from China say, sadly, “We have failed. We should have made the people strong for persecution rather than telling them Jesus would come first.” (Tramp for the Lord, 1974)
Even though the whole GT is a time of great distress, the greatest distress of all will be the final few weeks after the second Rapture. The time of testing will be very hard, “But he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Mat. 24:13). Bible teacher, Derek Prince said, “the Greek is more precise: ‘He who has endured to the end will be saved’” (Prophetic Destinies, p. 82). Therefore, the word “saved” here refers to being alive and well at the end of the GT; it does not mean you will not suffer anything during the GT.
The Didache (also known as The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) speaks about the Great Tribulation:
5 Then all created mankind shall come to the fire of testing, and many shall be offended and perish; but they that endure in their faith shall be saved by the Curse Himself. 6 And then shall the signs of the truth appear; first a sign of a rift in the heaven, then a sign of a voice of a trumpet, and thirdly a resurrection of the dead; 7 yet not of all, but as it was said: The Lord shall come and all His saints with Him. 8 Then shall the world see the Lord coming upon the clouds of heaven. (16:5-8) (revised J.B. Lightfoot translation)
Notice that this short prophecy has many of the elements that have already been mentioned in this book: The GT is called a “fire of testing,” which will cause many people to be offended at God, because they are suffering and will turn away from Christianity. But those who “endure” will be saved. And it shows that this time of testing will happen right before the return of Christ, because it has the trumpet call and the resurrection taking place at the end of the time of testing, not before it begins. This refers to the second and main Rapture.
It is strange that theologians have developed an opposite doctrine, that God does not test people, and that the Rapture will take place before the GT. God said, “I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not” (Exodus 16:4b). It is really amazing how deceived people can become because they do not like or do not want to believe the truth!
Finally, the last paragraph of Lactanius quoted earlier, also tells us about the time of testing:
Of the worshippers of God also, two parts will perish; and the third part, which shall have been proved, will remain. (The Divine Institutes, Book VII, chapter 16)
In order to be “proved” we must first be tested. Those who pass the test will survive to enter the Kingdom Age.
(3) Seventh Seal: Seven Trumpets
Revelation 8 describes the major events of the GT. There will certainly be many more events than those mentioned here; these are just the really big ones which can be easily recognized. I believe we are told about these particular events because when they happen, we can clearly see and understand where we are on the list of events. “Okay, this is the 3rd Trumpet, so there are still these other Trumpets that will happen.” (Except for the 1st one; it is the only one that will be difficult to know when it happens.)
When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
3 Another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it onto the earth. And there were noises, thundering, lightning, and an earthquake.
6 Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them. (8:1-6)
Though it is impossible to say for certain, I believe all the evidence indicates that the 7th Seal is already open. We are not told anywhere in Revelation about a length of time that will encompass all the end-time events. Will likely take 10 years, perhaps more, for all 7 Trumpets and 7 Bowls of Wrath to take place.
We are not told how much time there is between the 1st and 2nd Trumpets, or between the 2nd and 3rd Trumpets, but I believe it will only be weeks or months, but could be more.
(4) First Trumpet: Natural Disasters
Then the second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea became blood, 9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. (Rev. 8:8-9)
For many years, I believed that this represents a volcanic mountain. I stated that if this trumpet event represents a volcano, it will likely be the one on the island of La Palma that erupted in 2021, because it has already slid several feet during an eruption in 1949. Several earthquakes occurred on the mountain, creating a fracture about 2.5 kilometers long. The western section slid down approximately one meter. So, it is highly likely that this section of the volcano will slide into the ocean at some point in the future, creating a huge tsunami.
Perhaps the main reason I believed it was a volcano is because the next Trumpet clearly describes a star that falls and uses the word “aster,” from which we get our English word, “asteroid.” But since it did not use that word here, I reasoned that it must not be an asteroid but a burning mountain, which is a volcano.
Then one night in September 2023, I was lying in bed listening to Christian music while waiting to fall asleep and was thinking about the above two Trumpet events when it suddenly hit me (excuse the pun). The reason it does not say “aster” for the 2nd Trumpet object, but calls it “something like a mountain,” is because it is telling us how large this object will be. This means that it is also an asteroid, a very large one!
But it will not, by itself, be a planet killer because: (1) There is no indication of that effect anywhere in the biblical prophecies or here in Revelation; (2) Scientists now believe that there was not just one asteroid that impacted and wiped out the dinosaurs, but several, because they found other impact sites that were in line with the primary one in Yucatan. So they suspect a really large one broke apart and hit, bam, bam, bam. And they have even added many volcanic eruptions caused by those impacts to the cause of the great die-off.
Why does it say the ocean is turned into blood? This does not refer to literal blood; it is symbolism. The Cousteau Almanac calls the oceans “the planetary blood system.” Blood in the Bible represents life, and the shedding of blood represents loss of life, “For the life of a creature is in the blood” (Lev. 17:11). Zondervan’s Pictorial Encyc. of the Bible says:
Because of its fundamental importance for individual existence, blood was frequently used as a synonym for life itself . . . blood indicates life given up in death, not life set free. (Vol. 1, p. 626-627)
When the ocean is turned into blood, it will lose its life-giving ability. Debris and sediment in the water cut off the oxygen available in the water and literally suffocate the fish. In addition to the sediment, ships with oil and other chemicals will be swamped by the waves, and when the waves hit coastal areas, sewage and other toxic debris will be washed into the water. These things and more will cause 1/3rd of the ocean to lose its ability to sustain sea life.
Wise people will see that the world cannot long endure its present course and understand that the end is therefore approaching, and they will move away from all coastal areas. Tsunamis such as this in ancient history did little damage in a world that was sparsely inhabited. The death, destruction, and global chaos following such a tsunami today will be worse than WW2. This is still early in the GT and before the beast rises to power, as we will see.
The tsunami will have a significant impact on many sizable cities, as you can see from the map below. There are many more that are not on the map because they are less than 1 million in population. Therefore, the tsunami will be horrific.
To be clear, the tsunami will not only hit the USA, but all of North and South America, and to a lesser degree, Africa and Europe, because they are in the other direction. But it will also have smaller, yet damaging waves hit all coastal regions.
A minister named Efrain Rodriquez in Puerto Rico has been preaching for forty years that God is going to send a large asteroid to impact in the ocean near PR, which will bring great destruction to PR and send huge tsunami waves to the east coasts of North and South America. The 2nd Trumpet asteroid is, in fact, the one predicted by Efrain Rodriguez. But he believes it will happen before the Great Tribulation even begins! On that, he is very wrong.
It is clear that he believes in the Pre-Trib Rapture, which is why he cannot bring himself to accept that it takes place during the GT. He says that Jesus told him this is found in 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.
Well, many Bible commentaries, and myself, believe that the Hour of Trial is the Great Tribulation! At least it falls into the GT of Revelation, which is different from the GT of Matthew 24. Efrain said that after the asteroid:
- There will be a great revival, especially in the USA
- The Rapture takes place
- Then the Great Tribulation takes place.
But when you correctly understand end-time events, then things are more like this after the impact:
- A many layered revival takes place.
- But those who will go in the first Rapture have already been chosen. They were protected during this impact. Those saved in this revival will be in the second Rapture when Christ returns in the air to judge the world (see BK3).
- After the first Rapture, the 7 Bowls of Wrath begin taking place, which is the period known as The Day of The Lord. The second Rapture that happens right before the world is destroyed by fire from heaven (BK3).
So his overall understanding is almost right, but it becomes wrong because of his Pretribism. Here is some of his message:
God showed me a large rock, an Asteroid, entering the airspace of the town of Arecibo in Puerto Rico, and exiting Mayagüez, heading to the ocean. This will be at 2 a.m. This rock will be making impact in the sea between the island of Mona and Mayagüez. It will hit an active earthquake fault found in that area of the Caribbean, causing a very strong 12 point earthquake that has never been seen. . . .
The giant wave will greatly affect the Caribbean islands: Santo Domingo, Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba and all islands. There will be millions dead that night. The wave will be arriving in Miami at 5 a.m. and then will continue its course upwards sweeping the entire east coast of the United States, and onwards to the Gulf of Mexico and South America. . . .
The Lord will save first whomever loves Him. Then, our properties. . . . Throughout Latin America, about 30 million people will die. . . .
All nations are alerted and there are talks under the table to transport the presidents and governors to safe places. They do not say anything to the people, but the people who are with Jesus will receive notice. There is a Hedge of Angels around our homes if we are bound to Christ. Countless angels are already on Earth. The Lord knows that these events require a lot of protection for His people. There’s a people that requires safekeeping and they are Jesus’ People. Such is the commitment of Heaven toward them. God will keep our families if we are bound to Him. (www. heaven visit. com/ Efrain_ Rodriguez .php)
The people who are saved must be those who are sealed among the 144,000. Those who are not good Christians will be saved, he said, including even pastors. He says that the impact will cause political issues in America and a civil war, which makes sense because I believe it has already started, which I discuss in BK2.
Many people have wrongly stated that Efrain prophesied that the impact will cause the earth to stop rotating for three days, but in fact, what he said was:
On a personal note, experts predict that such a colossal impact would cause the Earth’s rotation to cease for three days. Meaning the Earth would not rotate for three days, which in turn means that there would be three days of utter darkness on this side of the Earth. (Asteroid Impact Prophecy: The Lord Jesus’ Call Before The Rapture-Prophet Efrain Rodriguez, Youtube. channel: Un Llamado Y Amonestacion Del Senor)
This tells us that it is not an established fact that the earth will stop rotating for three days, but Efrain has been repeating the information as though it were part of his prophecy from God. Perhaps it will only be for a few hours; there is no way to know how long it will stop rotating because we do not know the exact weight and speed of the asteroid or the exact angle of impact. Plus, since it will impact into water, that will dampen the force of impact, so it may not stop rotating at all. Also, science has no models that can tell them the exact effects because we have never seen it happen. Earth likely stopped rotating from an impact when the sun stood still in Joshua 10:12-15, but we do not know any details about the impact.
And if you look at a map of where it is said to enter the atmosphere and then where it impacts, it is only about 50 miles apart. And since Earth rotates east to west on the map, it means it can be coming toward Earth at a 90-degree angle when it enters the atmosphere over Arecibo, and by the time it impacts, Earth has rotated enough for it to now be over the ocean by Mayagüez. In this case, it will not be hitting Earth at such an angle as to hinder its rotation much, if any. The asteroid would need to come in at a steep angle to hinder Earth’s rotation.
(6) Third Trumpet: Asteroid Impact
The third angel sounded, and a great star from heaven, burning like a torch, fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters. 11 The name of this star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter. (Rev. 8:10-11)
The Greek for “star” in the Gospels and here, is “aster” (792), and means “asteroid.” So this shows a smaller asteroid impact.
It is highly likely that this asteroid and the next one will impact within minutes of each other, because the 3rd Trumpet asteroid will likely have broken off of the larger one, either before it enters the atmosphere or when it enters. Since we know it impacts after the larger one, and impacts land, it means it will impact in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, or a Central American country. However, it could veer off far enough to land in South America or even the USA.
Wormwood is common in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and the United States. When the Israelites were wandering in the desert, they were given bitter water to drink as a punishment from God; the water was made bitter by wormwood. In Jeremiah, God threatened to give them wormwood to drink (Jer. 9:15; 23:15). William Barclay in his commentary on Revelation, says, “Worm-wood always stood for the bitterness of the judgment of God on the disobedient” (p. 44).
Since wormwood is used symbolically in the Bible to refer to the bitterness of God’s judgment, this asteroid will not literally be named Wormwood. The name of this asteroid signifies that it comes as God’s judgment upon those directly affected by the impact, but also the whole world, because it will have global effects.
However, it may also have more meaning. Since people will die from drinking the water, it may mean that the asteroid will impact a city. If the asteroid impacts a forest, there won’t be any chemicals ejected into the atmosphere to fall into the water, except the natural sulfur in the rock, but if it hits a city, it will vaporize tons of man-made products that contain chemicals that will enter the lakes and rivers. It could even destroy a chemical or nuclear power plant. At this writing, there are about 20,000 chemical plants worldwide, and according to www.statista.com, there are 436 nuclear power plants currently operating. So, hitting a modern city is probably what will cause the polluted water.
When the two towers of the World Trade Center in New York City fell, thick clouds of dust filled the air and covered everything for blocks, like ash from a volcano. All sorts of products, including plastics, floor cleaner, burned jet fuel, brake fluid, and gasoline in parked cars under the towers, as well as office equipment and furniture, were burned or crushed and mixed together. All this created a toxic soup that people breathed in and absorbed into their bodies. As a result, many of the people who worked to clean up the mess became sick, and many died. But this asteroid impact will create conditions worse than 9-11.
There was a stir back in 1986 when a nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, had a meltdown. Information spread that Chernobyl was Russian for “wormwood.” The name Chernobyl comes from chornobyl, which is mugwort, one of over 160 species of wormwood; though sometimes thought of as “common wormwood.” So, it is easy to see why Chernobyl was said to mean “wormwood,” (because it refers to mugwort, which is a type of wormwood). However, the word does not literally mean “wormwood,” but it is given that as a secondary meaning in Russian dictionaries. Since it has been more than 30 years since that happened, there can be no connection to Revelation.
Scientists have found several large impact craters on Earth, which is proof positive that Earth has been hit by asteroids in the past, and will be hit again. A 6-mile-wide asteroid is believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs. In the late 1990s, scientists discovered a chain of craters, named the Aorounga craters, in the central African country of Chad. “The Aorounga craters are only the second chain of large craters known on Earth,” said Adriana Ocampo, geologist with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, “and were apparently formed by the break-up of a large comet or asteroid prior to impact” (Hague, Final Frontier Magazine, p. 41).
Dr. Eugene Shoemaker has found several impact craters; one in Germany has a town built inside the earthen ring of the crater. There are over 160 recognized impact sites throughout the world, with more being identified. Among the largest are: Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, 140 KM (87 miles) in diameter; Vredefort, South Africa, 140 KM (87 miles); Manicouagan, Quebec, Canada, 100 KM (62 miles); Popigai, Russia, 100 KM.
The largest known impact site in the United States is about 18 miles wide in Manson, Iowa. Perhaps the most recognizable site is Meteor Crater in Arizona, which is a mile across and 600 feet deep. This evidence means that no rational person can argue against the likelihood of an asteroid impact; the facts are undeniable.
Though some scientists are taking the threat seriously, many still say the chances of an asteroid hitting Earth are very remote. They use terms and numbers like millions of years, and a million to one. They also boast that if an asteroid were headed toward Earth, scientists would be able to save the planet by nudging it and changing its course, but they are wrong because the Bible tells us that these two asteroids will impact.
Many asteroids now travel in wide-ranging and erratic paths through the solar system and cross paths with Earth on a regular basis. So, it would not take much of an orbital change to send an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. The gravitational pull from a comet passing through the solar system could easily change the course of any number of different asteroids when it passes them. Smart people know that it is just a matter of time until an asteroid impacts, and this is the time.
However, this asteroid will not be a global killer, but it will be large enough to destroy a small city somewhere in the world. Some asteroids are not spotted until the day before they zip pass. Therefore, it means that one could impact next week without advance warning, except that the tsunami must happen first. One known asteroid is called 2019 PDC and is due in 2027.
There is speculation that this 3rd Trumpet asteroid could be the one named Apophis that will pass so close to earth in 2029, that it will come closer than some of our satellites. Scientists claim it will not impact, but that is impossible to know because God could cause another rogue asteroid, unknown and unseen, to hit Apophis and nudge it just enough to cause it to impact. We will not know for sure until 2029.
However, NASA has said, that when Apophis arrives in 2029, if it passes through a precise point in space in the upper atmosphere above Earth; called a “key-hole,” that when it returns in 2036, it will impact. That seems to be too far off, but things do take longer than we normally believe they will. What goes through a “key-hole,” a key. We are told under the 5th Trumpet, that a star falls to earth and, “The star was given the key to the bottomless pit.” (This would make the Great Tribulation about 20 years long; which seems unlikely, but entirely possible.)
However, NASA no longer believes we have to wait until 2029 to find out if it will impact in 2036; the latest information is that Apophis will not go through the key hole, and therefore will not impact. But more importantly, no one at NASA ever said that Apophis might impact in 2029, yet that is the claim being made by some authors who just want to sell books.
Since we are not told how much time passes between the 2nd and 3rd Trumpets, if the 2nd Trumpet is a large mountain-sized asteroid, then the 3rd Trumpet asteroid could actually break off from it when it enters Earth’s atmosphere, which will mean that they impact within minutes of each other.
(7) Fourth Trumpet: Darkness
Efrain has been saying that there will be three days of darkness over North and South America since he believes Earth will stop rotating, but as we just saw, it will not likely happen. But what does it say about 4th Trumpet?
The fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day had no light, and likewise a third of the night. (Rev. 8:12)
There are many possible causes for the darkness, but the most obvious are the dark clouds that will result from the two asteroid impacts. The wording of this passage is cryptic; while the sun is shining on one part of the globe, the moon is shining on another.
This says one-third of the sun, moon, and stars will be darkened. Then it says there will be no daylight for 8 hours and no moonlight for 8 hours. So this is not three days of darkness anywhere, but it says there will be 8 hours of darkness.
Therefore, it likely says there will be a large dark cloud created by the two asteroid impacts, which will cause darkness for about eight hours total. This cloud will gradually thin out over the whole planet and lower temperatures, much like what happened during two massive volcanic eruptions in the 19th century; Krakatoa and Tambora.
In 1883, the large volcanic mountain on the island of Krakatoa in the Pacific Ocean exploded with a force of about 200 megatons of TNT. The explosion was heard 3,000 miles away, and ash from it fell on New York City. The dust cloud darkened the sky and spread around the globe, lowering global temperatures by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.2 degrees Celsius). The ash in the atmosphere caused spectacular red sunsets for several years afterwards.
The 1815 volcanic eruption on the island of Tambora, Indonesia, was three times greater than the eruption of Krakatoa. The Tambora eruption sent about 1.5 million metric tons of dirt into the atmosphere, darkening the sky and lowering global temperatures for more than a year. The following year was known as the year without a summer in Europe and North America. There were freezing temperatures even during August; the result was numerous crop failures. The price of a bushel of oats rose from 12¢ in 1815 to 92¢ in 1816. The 4th Trumpet could be worse than Tambora.
We are already having food supply issues because of floods, droughts, and the global elites who want to reduce the world population, so this could cause a major famine. Many regions of the world are already just one failed harvest away from starvation.
If the natural disasters of the first four Trumpets are not bad enough, there will likely be many more smaller local disasters. Revelation does not say that only these events will take place and no more, but these are the only ones that are large enough to justify being singled out for special mention here in the book of Revelation.
Therefore, there will certainly be many other disasters, as described by Lactantius and others. There will be volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts, floods, tsunamis, tornadoes, hail, plagues, civil unrest, wars, etc. Be warned and be ready. Christians who will be in the First Fruits Rapture are not promised protection from all disasters or all suffering, only the Trumpet disasters! Though it could include much more than just those four.
The events of the Trumpets are mentioned in Revelation so we can know where we are on the time-clock that is counting down to the rise of the beast and the start of World War 3, and ultimately the Wrath of God at the end of the age. The suffering caused by WW3 will include nuclear war with massive, prolonged power outages; disruption of shipping that will result in shortages of all kinds of products; and other typical wartime suffering.
(9) The Affect Upon the United States
This tsunami will pretty much wipe out Florida, and even the cities in the Gulf of Mexico will be hit with a slightly less powerful, yet devastating wave. It will be the greatest natural disaster in recorded history. Not only will millions of people die, but the wave will also destroy many businesses and warehouses full of groceries and manufactured goods. The wave will likely also cause the US dollar to collapse. Many churches will also be destroyed.
Even where many people survive, the many homes destroyed will never be rebuilt because it will take many years to rebuild millions of homes. Where are the survivors going to live until the homes are rebuilt? Some people will just move to another city or state and never return, but many people will need to live in FEMA camps.
The impact of the asteroids will cause an EMP, which is an electromagnetic pulse, which will knock out the electric grid and most electronics within a certain distance of the impact. How far out the EMP will extend depends on many factors, such as the density of the asteroid, whether it impacts water or rock, etc. Even the speed and angle of impact will affect the EMP. But it is safe to say there will be no more electricity within 300 miles, perhaps 500 or more. At least, the EMP will not be as strong with an asteroid as one produced by a nuclear bomb.
This means that, in addition to the destruction caused by the tsunami and the earthquake, which will be felt in North and South America, there will be great suffering caused by the lack of food, water, and civil unrest. It will be the greatest disaster since the Flood.
The first Sunday after the tsunami, the churches throughout the world will be filled with people, like they were after 9-11, but many preachers will not have an answer. They will tell the people, Don’t worry, this is not the Great Tribulation, it is just a natural disaster. While some churches will remain full, those preachers who are not able to adequately respond to the crisis with solid biblical truth could end up closing permanently.
The number one question will be, How could God allow this to happen? The answer, of course, is that this is the time of testing, and God wants to bring people to repentance before the Day of Judgment arrives. Another major cause is that God will use this to stop the Glob*l-De*pSt*te from taking full totalitarian control of the USA. It may also stop the takeover in the EU as well; I do not know if that will be the case, but it will be in the USA. The Glob*l-De*pSt*te will likely try to use the disaster as an excuse to take full control and will declare martial law, but the civil war will reverse their anticipated victory. (See BK2 for more details on the civil war.)
The next questions will be, Why did God allow many Christians to die or suffer total loss with the tsunami? And Where was the Rapture? Even some of the preachers who teach the Pre-tribulation Rapture have had dreams about coming disasters and persecution, and yet they continue to follow Pretribism. When this tsunami hits, people will know that it is the 2nd Trumpet, and they will know that they were not warned by the preachers.
We have already learned that God will seal and protect all those who are chosen to be in the First Fruits Rapture. Therefore, only Christians who are asleep or are lukewarm will suffer in this disaster, (as well as non-Christians). These questions and more will result in many people questioning their faith and their church. This will cause Christianity to suffer a major crisis. In other words, a great shaking will come to Christianity. It is all part of the testing that God is putting the world through.
But at the same time, because some churches will be full, a great revival will take place. There have been many prophecies, dreams, and visions over the past 60 years about a great shaking that is coming to Christianity, and also another Reformation, as well as a great revival, all of which could be one and the same and all triggered by this tsunami. (I say could be, because the shaking could be caused by something else; it is difficult to know all the details.)
I had several pages of these prophecies, dreams, and visions in previous editions of this book, but because the prophecies are merely supporting information and not essential to the understanding of the passage, I have moved them to my website, www.usbible prophecy.com.
However, I feel it is relevant and needed to add two: one that is my own and one that was recently given by Randy Kay. I am not one to have many prophetic dreams, so I am not 100% certain that this one is prophetic, but because it fits perfectly with this subject, which I was working on at the time, I suspect it is. I was not, however, thinking about the exact subject of the dream. In the dream, I was talking with someone on the phone who was a political insider, and he said he knows that the Democratic Party will select M. O. to be the presidential nominee, and the result will be the same as with Biden in 2020. So you know what will happen in the 2024 election. Now, with that knowledge, pay attention to this next prophetic word.
Randy Kay spoke with Jesus during a near-death experience and now has a ministry on Youtube where he interviews people who had a NDE, and has also given out a few prophetic words. In September 2023, he had a prophetic dream, and Jesus told him that something of great significance will happen on Dec. 25, 2024. I believe this event will be the above-mentioned asteroid impact that will break the chains of the GDS on the USA, but it will not totally kill it. It will open the way for the states and the citizens to rise and take back the country. Here is part of the word:
Many of my children have been bystanders to the defilements of their land, now I am calling my people to rise. For some it will be running for political office, and for some it will be a time of supporting those and their government who support me, . . . I’m calling my body to wake up. They can no longer be silent observers. . . . The hour is nigh, when your opportunities is will close, when either those who defy me will have their way because my children have surrendered to them, or my children will no longer accept the defilement of their land and will pray and act through their deeds so that my blessings will pour forth to them. . . . the clock is ticking. (467 Days to Either the Outpouring of Evil or Glory)
You can see in this that God wants us to take action. States will likely take this opportunity that God has given them to withdraw from the union and no longer recognize any authority from Washington, D.C., or the Pentagon. And citizens need to be involved to make sure that Christian values are upheld. The actions that we have been taking in the past have not stopped Satanic tyranny from taking over several states, and has not stopped it from putting a chokehold onto the entire country. If we do not rise up against it, it will continue to grow in power until it becomes fully tyrannical, as in George Orwell’s “1984.” That is its openly stated plan, and it must be stopped.
(10) Three Woes
Then I watched, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the other trumpet blasts of the three angels, who are yet to sound!” (Rev. 8:13)
Almost all modern translations, including the NIV, ESV, and RSV have “eagle” rather than “angel” as in the KJV and MEV. Adam Clarke’s commentary corrects the KJV:
Instead of αγγελου πετωμενου, an angel flying, almost every MS [manuscript of the Bible] and version of note has αετου πετωμενον, an eagle flying.
Clarke does not refer to the corrupted Westcott and Hort manuscript that is the basis of most modern Bibles, because Clarke lived and died before them. William Barclay’s commentary agrees with Clarke. The Crawford Codex, written in Aramaic, also says eagle.
This passage tells us that the three woes are events that take place within the next three Trumpet blasts; therefore, the eagle may refer to the United States warning the world. Since the United States will suffer a crippling hit from the tsunami, it makes sense that the U.S. will warn aggressive nations not to try to take advantage of the situation and attack the U.S. while we are thus wounded.
The tsunami of the 2nd Trumpet will sink 1/3rd of the world’s ships, thus weakening the USA and European militaries. The tsunamis will kill millions of people and create millions of hungry, homeless refugees in both North and South America, and perhaps even Europe and Africa. Add to this the effects of the asteroid impact of the 3rd Trumpet, and the dark clouds of the 4th Trumpet, these bring human suffering to its highest level short of nuclear war.
Despite the warning, the door of the Abyss is about to open, and the beast is going to rise to power since there will never be a better time to conquer Europe, the U.S.A., or the people next door. Therefore, it should be no surprise that the 5th Trumpet signals the rise of the beast, followed by the start of World War 3 (6th Trumpet).
It is after the 6th Trumpet that the many prophecies about the USA being invaded by Russia and China will be fulfilled. It is supposed to happen at a time when the US government has collapsed. Many people are now aware that the majority of the US federal government is located all around Washington, D.C., in Virginia and Maryland, which are just a few miles from the coast and will be wiped out by the tsunami.
Here I had another section with several pages of prophecies of future calamities, from ancient to modern, but they have been moved to my website.
