End Time Prophecy

by Garner Ted Armstrong

Jesus Christ commanded His followers to WATCH conditions in the world, and to use the stimulus of the nearness of major prophetic events to PRAY continuously, so as to be worthy to ESCAPE all the horrible things of which He warned, and to stand before the Son of Man at His coming (Luke 21:36).
 

Why should a minister (servant) of Jesus Christ WATCH world news, or even concern himself with happenings among the nations? Such a question is like asking WHY would an heir to a throne want to know anything about the country he would soon govern! WHY would a president-elect need to be briefed by the various intelligence agencies; study the entire panorama of events in the country?
 

Millions think of “religion” only in terms of an afterlife; and have no conception whatsoever of the vast responsibility Jesus Christ lays on His servants. He said to His disciples, “Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.
 

“And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;
 

“That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:28-30). Christ is to inherit the earthly throne of David! The archangel said to Mary, “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
 

“And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
 

“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
 

“And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:30-33). Was this a “religious” statement? No, it was a prediction that Christ would eventually RULE THIS WORLD as King of kings!
 

Prophecy is history, written in advance. Those who refuse to WATCH world conditions will be those who are “caught unawares” at the time of the Tribulation. Paul said, “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
 

“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
 

“For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
 

“But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
 

“Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
 

“Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-6).
 

The most important prophecies in the Bible are those of Christ Himself. His famous “Olivet Prophecy” (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21) gives a step-by-step series of events which He said would lead directly to the Great Tribulation, the Heavenly Signs, and the Day of the Lord.
 

It is only through applying Christ’s Olivet Prophecy to such major prophecies as the Book of Revelation and the Book of Daniel that one can understand the sequence of events.
 

The prophecies of the Bible center FIRST on Jerusalem and Palestine! All other events in the world are viewed as if from the perspective of Jerusalem, and the impending return of Christ.
 

Here are the MAJOR developments for which we should be watching:
 

(1) The forming of a BEAST power, consisting of 10 kings (rulers, leaders), which will move “like a whirlwind” into Palestine, and set up the “Abomination of Desolation”  (Matthew 24:15; Daniel 11:40-45). For decades now, I have proclaimed that warning; saying to millions even during the very worst days of the “cold war” that Russia was NOT the “Beast”; that GERMANY would be reunited (this has happened); that an end-time revival of the old “Holy Roman Empire” would occur, in which such nations of Europe as Eastern Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania would coalesce into a United Europe (this is under way even now).

(2) The building of a TEMPLE in Jerusalem, or perhaps a temporary structure, such as a pavilion over a symbolic cornerstone, thus setting the stage for the desecration of this new holiest of places to the Jews by the “Abomination of Desolation.” Concerted efforts are under way, and have been for many years, to accomplish the building of the Third Temple. 

(3) The decline and collapse of the British Empire.
 

(4) A global economic collapse, setting the stage for the overthrow of moderate governments and the rise of new dictatorships and autocracies, including absolute monarchies. Japan may well turn to the Emperor, as she did prior to World War II, and once again become a major military threat.
 

(5) The disintegration of the United States economically, socially, and eventually militarily, laying our country open to major attacks from many quarters.
 

(6) A major WAR in the Mideast, in which large numbers of Jewish citizens are killed, probably by attacks from both terrorists and Arab neighbors, utilizing chemical and biological weapons, and possibly nuclear weapons. It will likely be a massive loss of life which will result in the nation of Israel destroying the Al Aksa Mosque and the “Dome of the Rock” in Jerusalem, and building a Jewish Temple as a symbol of the nation trying to turn to God.

(7) Another round of WORLD WAR, probably including many REGIONAL wars, such as China against Taiwan, the two Koreas fighting, Japan taking a hand in both the Mideast and Asia, and the United States dragged unwillingly into many conflicts.

(8) EUROPE will respond with her newly-forming “rapid response force,” an all-European army outside of the confines of NATO. The prophecy of Daniel 11:40-45 shows the Beast power occupying many Arab countries, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

With an outline of global conditions as a guide, one is better prepared to WATCH certain new developments in the context of Matthew 24.

IF CHINA ATTACKS

TAIWAN, WILL THE

UNITED STATES BE DRAGGED INTO

A SHOOTING WAR

WITH CHINA?

The Chinese recently concluded their largest military exercises in history since World War II, very close to Taiwan. The exercises included the firing of surface to air, air to surface, and surface to surface missiles, amphibious landings on a large scale, and included land, sea, and air forces. The U.S. government, while concerned, preferred to play down the maneuvers, even though the President said he would do “anything necessary” to defend Taiwan. China has huge ICBMs in its nuclear arsenal, and it is known that at least eight of them are at this moment aimed at major U.S. cities. It is known that China has obtained, through illegal means, the technology for the guidance systems of their ICBMs from the U.S., both through spying, and, it is alleged, through an agreement with American business.  China has long been a nuclear power, and has satellites in space. Chinese technology has also aided the North Koreans in developing their “Nodong” intermediate range ballistic missiles. Korea, for its part, has decided to earn hard cash from Middle Eastern nations through sales of such missiles to the enemies of Israel.

To any thinking person, the massive Chinese military maneuvers near Taiwan represent a “dress rehearsal” for an attack.

“THEY DECLARE THEIR SIN AS SODOM.”

Shockingly, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly voted to remove the church ban on the ordination of homosexuals. Also of major contention was the assertion by significant numbers of the leaders in the denomination that the atonement for humanity’s sins by Christ was “just one of the methods” by which salvation may be obtained!
 

A debate raged, with about 20% of the leaders claiming that those who adhere to other religions, such as Buddhism, Confucianism, Islam, or Hinduism can also attain salvation through “various religions.”
 

Eventually, the group voted that Jesus was “uniquely Savior” by about an 80% margin.
 

Isaiah says of modern-day religious and political leaders, “The show of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves” (Isaiah 3:9).
 

To many in the liberal denominations, religion has become more of a superstition than a way of life! Paul scathingly indicts such modern Pharisees by saying, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
 

“For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
 

“Without natural affection [but with plenty of the “unnatural” kind!], trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
 

“Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
 

“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

    “For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:1-7).

WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS

You and I are living in the time prophesied by Jesus Christ who said, “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
 

“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars [The Balkans, Korea, Taiwan, the Middle East; any one of them could flare up into WAR at any time!] see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
 

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
 

“All these are the beginning of sorrows.
 

“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
 

“And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another [hundreds in God’s own church have done exactly that! Even today, many HATE one another!].
 

“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
 

“And because iniquity [sin, lawlessness!] shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
 

“But he that shall endure unto the end [either of his or her own life, or the end of society as we know it], the same shall be saved.
 

“And this gospel [GOOD NEWS!] of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:5-14).
 

The good news of Christ’s message is about the coming KINGDOM, not about chants, candles, steeples, “praise worship,” cathedrals, processions, confessional booths, holy water, frocks, “orders,” high mass, or debates about ordaining homosexuals! It is not about prayer wheels, joss sticks, Brahmin cattle, incense, or man’s “will worship”! Instead, it is about MAJOR WORLD HAPPENINGS WHICH AFFECT YOU, YOUR FAMILIES AND LOVED ONES!
 

Soon, much sooner than you think, Jesus Christ will return in the righteous WRATH OF GOD at the head of vast millions of angelic hosts (Revelation 19:11-20) to CONQUER this sin-sick, war-torn, Satan-deceived world!

He promises you and me, IF we truly are living lives of OVERCOMING our human natures through His Holy Spirit; overcoming the evil world around us, and overcoming the wiles of the devil, “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

“And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

“And I will give him the morning star” (Revelation 2:26-28).

May God inspire YOU to be a PART of His end-time work of witness and warning!