Rapture and End Times

Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook
or tie his tongue down with a rope?
Can you put a cord through his nose
or pierce his jaw with a hook?
Will he beg you for mercy
or speak softly to you?
Will he make a covenant with you
so that you can take him as a slave forever?
Can you play with him like a bird
or put him on a leash for your girls?
Will traders bargain for him
or divide him among the merchants?
Can you fill his hide with harpoons
or his head with fishing spears?

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Lay a hand on him.
You will remember the battle
and never repeat it!
Any hope of capturing him proves false.
Does a person not collapse at the very sight of him? (Job 41:1-9)

Our introduction to the Devil happens very early in the Holy Bible:

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made.  (Genesis 3:1)

But, isn’t the very idea of a serpent and the Devil a myth?

Interestingly, the Bible never portrays Satan as a humanoid with horns and pitchfork. This notion actually comes from Greek mythology, and this distortion helps the Devil.

The Lord detailed the features of the “Leviathan” (a sea serpent) to Job:

I cannot be silent about his limbs,
his power, and his graceful proportions.
Who can strip off his outer covering?
Who can penetrate his double layer of armor?
Who can open his jaws,
surrounded by those terrifying teeth?
His pride is in his rows of scales,
closely sealed together.
One scale is so close to another
that no air can pass between them.
They are joined to one another,
so closely connected they cannot be separated.

His snorting flashes with light,
while his eyes are like the rays of dawn.
Flaming torches shoot from his mouth;
fiery sparks fly out!
Smoke billows from his nostrils
as from a boiling pot or burning reeds.
His breath sets coals ablaze,
and flames pour out of his mouth.
Strength resides in his neck,
and dismay dances before him.
The folds of his flesh are joined together,
solid as metal and immovable.
His heart is as hard as a rock,
as hard as a lower millstone!

When Leviathan rises, the mighty are terrified;
they withdraw because of his thrashing.
The sword that reaches him will have no effect,
nor will a spear, dart, or arrow.
He regards iron as straw,
and bronze as rotten wood.
No arrow can make him flee;
slingstones become like stubble to him.
A club is regarded as stubble,
and he laughs at the sound of a javelin.

His undersides are jagged potsherds,
spreading the mud like a threshing sledge.
He makes the depths seethe like a cauldron;
he makes the sea like an ointment jar.
He leaves a shining wake behind him;
one would think the deep had gray hair!

He has no equal on earth—
a creature devoid of fear!
He surveys everything that is haughty;
he is king over all the proud beasts. (Job 41:12-34)

When Lucifer fell to Earth, he took the form of the most terrifying creature he could find.

Amazingly, the mythological sea serpent is a direct match for the Spinosaurus – the biggest of all the carnivorous dinosaurs, larger than Tyrannosaurus and Giganotosaurus.

Longer than an adult Tyrannosaurus rex, the 50-foot-long, seven-ton predator had a large sail on its back and an elongated snout that resembled the maw of a crocodile, bristling with conical teeth.

Spinosaurus: The Largest Carnivorous Dinosaur / Live Science, March 18, 2016

Recent fossil evidence shows Spinosaurus was the first dinosaur that was able to swim, and likely spent most of its life in the water, according to a study published September 2014 in the journal Science. “Spinosaurus had short hind limbs (like early whales and other animals that spent more and more time in the water), dense and compact bones (penguins show a similar bone profile in cross section), wide and flat claws and feet (possibly used in paddling), and a long and slender snout with conical teeth (perfect for catching fish),” said Nizar Ibrahim, a University of Chicago vertebrate paleontologist and lead author of the study.

In a 2005 study in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, researchers estimated Spinosaurus was 52 to 59 feet (16 to 18 m) long and weighed 7.7 to 9.9 tons (7 to 9 metric tons), based on extrapolations from skull measurements.

The Devil coming to Earth as a serpent is not a myth.

The Devil knew that the Lord was setting up humans to one day rule the Universe with Him, and so he targeted the first people by turning them against their God. He then released his followers to mate with Earth women and infect the human race with his offspring, the “weeds” that would look human. The Lord rounded up these fallen angels and has kept them in His cosmic prison, but the Devil and his remaining angels are still loose. Right at this moment, the Devil, his angels, and his human agents are planning to destroy all of the Christians – the Lord’s seed.

The history of the Devil and his angels, along with their final destiny, is best understood by looking at the big picture:

The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds

He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds among the wheat, and left. When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. The landowner’s slaves came to him and said, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’

“‘An enemy did this!’ he told them.

“‘So, do you want us to go and gather them up?’ the slaves asked him.

“‘No,’ he said. ‘When you gather up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I’ll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but store the wheat in my barn.’”

Jesus Interprets the Wheat and the Weeds

Then He dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached Him and said, “Explain the parable of the weeds in the field to us.”

He replied: “The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;the field is the world; and the good seed—these are the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,and the enemy who sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather from His kingdom everything that causes sin and those guilty of lawlessness.They will throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Anyone who has ears should listen! (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43)

The actual weed Jesus spoke of was the darnell, a ryegrass that in its early stages resembles wheat.  The sabotage, the sowing of the darnell, was not unheard of in the first century.  Roman law prohibited it.  While allowing darnell to grow with wheat may not be the preferred solution for a farmer, it is God’s solution to the problem of evil.

So, where did these “sons of the evil one” come from?

The Temptation and the Fall

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”

 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden.  But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”

 “No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman.  “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

 Then the Lord God said to the serpent:

Because you have done this,
you are cursed more than any livestock
and more than any wild animal.
You will move on your belly
and eat dust all the days of your life.
I will put hostility between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel. (Genesis 3:1-5, 14-15)

Note the reference to “your seed”…

Sons of God and Daughters of Men

When mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful, and they took any they chose as wives for themselves. And the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth both in those days and afterward, when the sons of God came to the daughters of mankind, who bore children to them. They were the powerful men of old, the famous men. (Genesis 6:1-4)

Watch what immediately happens when the “sons of God” have children:

Judgment Decreed

The Lord had to wipe out the Earth population because of the infection – Noah’s flood.

When the Lord saw that man’s wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time, the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.Then the Lord said, “I will wipe off from the face of the earth mankind, whom I created, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky—for I regret that I made them.” Noah, however, found favor in the sight of the Lord. (Genesis 6:5-8)

Note that the angels who mated with the daughters of men were already judged:

Now I want to remind you, though you know all these things: The Lord first saved a people out of Egypt and later destroyed those who did not believe; and He has kept, with eternal chains in darkness for the judgment of the great day, the angels who did not keep their own position but deserted their proper dwelling. (Jude 5-6)

For if God didn’t spare the angels who sinned but threw them down into hell and delivered them to be kept in chains of darkness until judgment… (2 Peter 2:4)

The Devil’s seed is spread throughout the world. The weeds look just like the wheat. From our human perspective, we can’t tell the difference. Only the Rapture and the End Times that follow will separate them:

The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in labor and agony as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: There was a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and 10 horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. His tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth he might devour her child. But she gave birth to a Son—a male who is going to shepherd all nations with an iron scepter—and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. The woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, to be fed there for 1,260 days.

The Dragon Thrown Out of Heaven

 Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, but he could not prevail, and there was no place for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him.

 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of His Messiah
have now come,
because the accuser of our brothers
has been thrown out:
the one who accuses them
before our God day and night.

How do we have victory over Leviathan?

They conquered him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not love their lives
in the face of death.

Therefore rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them!
Woe to the earth and the sea,
for the Devil has come down to you
with great fury,
because he knows he has a short time. (Revelation 12:1-12)

Right at this moment, the Devil, his angels, and his human agents are planning to destroy all of the Christians – the Lord’s seed. They are following a One World Plan that will make it impossible to survive as a Christian. The Plan has always been to “devour” the Christian offspring – through abortion, war, imprisonment, martyrdom, debt slavery, and any other method that will kill, steal or destroy.

In the very near future, a real version of Star Wars will rock the Universe. The Lord’s angels will round up the Devil and his angels, and cast them to the Earth. At the same time, the Rapture will remove all of the Lord’s true believers. This is symbolized by the child being caught up to God and His throne.

In the gap between now and the Rapture, what is a Christian to do to get the victory over the Devil and succeed in daily life? Our weapon is PRAYER.

“Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What man among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? (Matthew 7:7-10)

You can pray with power, using this guide:

Lord, I bring my requests before your throne, and…

I ask you, Father, in Jesus’ name:

Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. (John 16:23-24)

I ask, believing that I have received the answer to my request:

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.  (Mark 11:24)

I ask for things that please you:

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. (1 John 5:14-15)

I ask while obeying your commands:

And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. (1 John 3:22)

I ask that the Son may bring glory to the Father:

And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. (John 14:13-14)

I ask, while remaining in Jesus:

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (John 15:7)

I ask, because you care for me:

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.  (1 Peter 5:6-7)

I ask, because you will meet all my needs:

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.(Philippians 4:19)

I ask, while confessing and repenting of my sin:

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. (Psalm 66:18)

I ask, while forgiving all others who have sinned against me:

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. (Matthew 6:12)

I ask, while offering a sacrifice of praise:

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. (Hebrews 13:15)

God Loves You.
And He is the Father
you have been looking for all your life.
This is His love letter to you.

Be guaranteed salvation and a place in heaven today. Turn from your sins and turn to God, because the Kingdom of heaven is coming. You can accept the Lord’s plan for saving you, by praying like this:

Father God, I thank you that you sent your son Jesus Christ to come to earth and show us by his example how to live. I know that He was my Passover lamb – He suffered and took my rebellion and sin upon himself, and died and then rose again. I ask you Jesus to forgive my sins, help me to live for you and stop rebelling, and to be the Savior and Lord of my life. I invite you Holy Spirit to live in me and guide me away from sin and teach me the Word of God in the Bible. Amen!

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