The Revived Roman Empire is commonly associated with the fourth beast of Daniel chapter 7. This beast is described as “terrifying and frightening and very powerful” (Daniel 7:7). This ten-horned beast is a prophetic picture of the Roman Empire (Daniel 7:19–24), but, as Daniel watches, a little horn rises from the beast, with “eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully” (Daniel 7:20). This final horn is the Antichrist, who will somehow be connected with the Roman Empire.
The former Roman Empire was an area that stretched from West North Africa to parts of the Middle East. Therefore, he could be from North Africa, Turkey, or from the Middle East. A commonly-held view by many Christians is that “the Assyrian” is a designation, by the ancient prophets, of the Antichrist.
As such, they believe that this future man of lawlessness or sin (2 Thessalonians 2:3), necessarily must emerge from somewhere in the region in or around present-day Syria.
Almost all pre-millennial students of prophecy agree that the “King” of (Isaiah 30:33) is the Antichrist, and yet in the two verses thatprecede, this “King” is identified with “the Assyrian.”
Considering that Muslims are expecting their Messiah, Mahdi., could he be the Assyrian, the Antichrist?What do Muslims expect of their Mahdi?
The Mahdi will be a messianic figure, he will be a descendant of Muhammad, he will be an unparalleled, unequaled leader, he will come out of a crisis of turmoil, he will take control of the world, he will establish a new world order, he will destroy all who resist him, he will invade many nations, he will make a seven-year peace treaty with the Jews he will conquer Israel and Massacre the Jews. He will establish Islamic world headquarters in Jerusalem. He will rule for seven years establishing Islam as the only religion. He will come on a white horse with supernatural power. He will be loved by all people on earth. If that sounds familiar that is a precise description of the biblical Antichrist absolutely step by step by step by step. The Bible’s Antichrist is Islam’s Mahdi.
At the UN, World leaders on Sunday, October 6th, adopted the Pact for the Future, a landmark declaration pledging concrete actions towards a safer, more peaceful, sustainable, and inclusive world for tomorrow’s generations.
The Pact’s five broad focus areas include sustainable development; international peace and security; science and technology; youth and future generations and transforming global governance.
This has become an urgent pivot, as multilateral financial institutions and even the United Nations itself have come up short on seeking solutions to 21st-century problems, the pact lays out.
By endorsing the Pact, UN Member States pledged, among other things, to:
Turbocharge the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on climate change, two landmark 2015 agreements that have seen halting progress and missed milestones
Listen to young people and include them in decision-making, at the national and global levels
Build stronger partnerships with civil society, the private sector, local and regional authorities, and more
Redouble efforts to build and sustain peaceful, inclusive, and just societies and address the root causes of conflicts.
Protect all civilians in armed conflict.
Accelerate the implementation of our commitments on women, peace, and security
Global Digital Compact
The Global Digital Compact marks the first truly worldwide agreement on the international regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) and is founded on the idea that technology should benefit everyone.
It outlines commitments to ensure that digital technologies contribute to sustainable development and human rights while addressing risks like digital divides, cybersecurity, and misuse of technology.
The Compact aims to bridge the digital divide and ensure AI technologies are used responsibly, fostering global cooperation on both AI capabilities and security threats. Governments are also obligated to form an impartial worldwide Scientific Panel on AI and start an international conversation about AI governance inside the UN.
Declaration on Future Generations
The Declaration on Future Generations focuses on securing the well-being of future generations, also highlighting the need to include their interests in decision-making processes.
It also underlines the importance of protecting the environment, promoting intergenerational equity, and ensuring that long-term consequences of today’s actions are considered.
The Bible declares that at the end of this age before Jesus returns to Earth there will be a one-world government with a demonically empowered leader, the Antichrist (the Beast from the sea), and his False Prophet (the Beast from the earth), ruling the nations. What we see unfolding at the UN is a move towards governments giving up their sovereignty to a one world power. The following Scripture from Revelation reveals what the Antichrist will do.
“Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people,and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the Beast, it deceives those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also, it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.” Revelation 13:11-17
The Bible declares that at the end of this age when Jesus defeats the Antichrist and the nations that come against Him. Israel will finally fulfill its destiny of being God’s nation with Jesus ruling the nations from a new Jerusalem. We are told four times in Revelation that Jesus and the glorified Saints rule with a rod of iron. Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom is a transition period. The world has had 6,000 years of Satan ruling the world. It will now have 1,000 years with Jesus’ rule. Whilst Satan is bound in the Abyss, the curse has not been lifted from the Cosmos so people are still being born and people still die. We know that not all people will submit to Jesus because at the end of the thousand years, Satan is released and he is still able to raise an army whose number is like the sand of the sea to come against Jesus and the Saints. He and his army are quickly disposed of and God finally destroys this world. The second resurrection and Jesus White Throne’s judgment follow. After which, John sees a new Heaven and a new Earth where only the righteous dwell.
How many churches are teaching that next on God’s agenda for this world is Jesus and the Saints ruling on this fallen world for 1000 years.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” Revelation 21:1-3
I have set up the website http://www.millennialkingdom.net for the purpose of preparing the church to rule and reign with Jesus in a fallen world.
Thousands of young people packed the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany for the Fire Festival to praise, worship, and hear the Word of God.
An international evangelist says, that “revival in Germany” is breaking out as hundreds of people are getting “saved, delivered, healed, and baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
“After a short preaching of the ABC of The Gospel hundreds upon hundreds of young people came at the altar to give their lives to Jesus,” shared international evangelist Jean-Luc Trachsel. “Truly it’s harvest time in Europe like here in Stuttgart, Germany.” The Fire Festival kicked off on October 2 and ended on October 5 with a “Jesus March” through Stuttgart. Europe Shall Be Saved partnered with Holy Spirit Night for the event to reach Germany with the Gospel “through young revivalists who will influence the different spheres of society for the Kingdom of God.” Trachsel, the founder of Jean-Luc Trachsel Ministries said, “I’ve seen with my own eyes thousands of people getting saved and today it’s water baptisms in a glorious and joyful atmosphere,” he added.
The six-day event is just the latest example of what is taking place by the Spirit of God in the nation. Night of Hope is another movement taking the Gospel message to the streets of Hamburg, Bremen, Munchen, and many other German cities. Their outdoor crusades are marked by prayer, salvations, and testimonies of healing. “We are thankful to see what God is doing here in Germany,” the group shared on Instagram. Attendees were recently encouraged to “leave old things behind” and embrace their new life in Jesus Christ. “Only Jesus can truly set you free! He is our saviour, king, and deliverer,” they wrote. Evangelist David Rotärmel is behind Night of Hope through his evangelistic ministry, Reviving The World, which is on a mission to “see entire cities revived and shaken by the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” “There is an urgency being imprinted on our hearts by the Holy Spirit – NOW is the time to put our hands to the Plow and spread the Gospel like wildfire throughout the nations to every people, tribe, and tongue,” reads a statement on their website.
Much of Europe has abandoned the Christian faith, embraced secularism, and returned to its pagan roots. According to a Pew Research survey, the number of European Christians has been expected to drop by about 100 million, falling from 553 million in 2010 to 454 million in 2050. Meanwhile, Europe’s Muslim population is expected to increase by 63% in that time frame. Trachsel previously told CBN News he is seeing the decline firsthand in Switzerland where only three to five percent of the seven million people are born-again Christians. “I feel the time is coming where here in Europe, maybe the real Christians will have to be underground,” he said.
Despite those negative trends, massive revival gatherings have been happening this year throughout the continent including a move of God that is reaching Germany as well as France, the Netherlands, Hungary and Italy. The “harvest in Europe is truly ripe,” Trachsel recently shared.
“Holy Spirit Night” is another Europe-wide movement characterized “by praise, prayer, proclamation and the freedom to let the Holy Spirit work,” according to its website. It is currently taking place in 15 countries and 35 different cities including Germany, Ukraine, Belarus, and Austria. Trachsel is urging Europeans to continue to believe for God to move mightily in their countries and is applauding those who are forging ahead on a mission to increase the number of souls for God’s kingdom. “The main reason Jesus came on earth is to save those who are lost,” he shared. “Truly it’s harvest time in Europe.”
On the Feast of Trumpets, Jonathan Cahn opens up the different realms of end-time prophecy and matches it up with the stories and headlines of the day. Learn about the significance of Rosh Ha Shannah and the special celebration that includes the blowing of the shofar.
What happens when the trumpets are blown in Revelation? Judgements happen. The trumpet and Bowl judgements are escalating in severity. During those judgements, people have the opportunity to repent and accept Jesus as their Saviour and Lord. There are seven Trumpet and seven Bowl judgements. I will give the Scriptures covering the first Trumpet and first Bowl judgements. You do not want to be on Earth during that time. Christians are raptured to heaven before the wrath of God is poured out with the Trumpet and Bowl judgements.
“And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.” Revelation 8:6-7
“And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his bowl upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast (Antichrist), and upon them which worshipped his image.” Revelation 16:1-2
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
True peace must be rooted in something lasting. Only our omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, God will do. Combining these in order, the words translate to “all-powerful, all-knowing, and “all-present” or “present everywhere”
The peace of God is found in the decisive victory of a monumental conflict. The alienation of humanity from God by the product of our willful rebellion against His authority put us clearly on the wrong side of an unequal equation. We became God’s enemies, and any peace we could offer fell solidly into the counterfeit category. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, we were without hope and God in His world. But by the blood of Jesus Christ, God preemptively made the offer of peace to his hopeless enemy:
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near”Ephesians 2:13–17
We can be at peace only when we are reconciled to God through Christ. In Him, our anxieties are alleviated, and our hostility is put to death. Nothing can disrupt that kind of peace. Wars and rumors of wars will still rage, but the person who walks by the Spirit will walk amid the storm to a voice that cries, “Peace! Be Still!”
God has given us detailed information on the fast-approaching end of this era for Earth. It is a time of intense tribulation for Christians so only those in Christ will have peace and be able to be used by God to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to all the world.
“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:6-14
You need to be Living Eternal Now – Ready for Jesus Return. Available as an ebook or paperback on Amazon.
The following verse from Revelation should be a wake-up call for all Christians. John is given this revelation about the final 3 1/2 years before Jesus returns to Earth for the battle of Armageddon. The Antichrist is allowed by God to exercise authority over the Earth and to wage war against the Saints.
“If anyone has an ear, let him hear: If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.” Revelation 13:9-10
Surely, for nonbelievers, these prophetic Scriptures prove the Bible is the inspired word of God. Who would follow a God who allows his enemy to slay His followers? Only born-again believers who have received the Holy Spirit can understand and obey this instruction to endure even unto death.
“And the beast (Antichrist) was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Also, it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on theearth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.” Revelation 13:5-8d
THE GOOD NEWS: The following words are written to the church of Philadelphia, the sixth church, the church that is raptured by God at the end of the sixth year before He pours out His wrath upon an unrepentant world with the Trumpet and Bowl judgements.
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name… Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.” Revelation 3:10-11
This word given to the church of Philadelphia is so different from the word given to the church of Laodicea, the seventh church, which is left behind to face the Trumpet and Bowl judgements.
“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” Revelation 3:14-17
The good news for these people left behind to face the wrath of God is they still have a chance to repent and be saved.
“I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” Revelation 3:18-19
Each of the seven seals and each of the seven churches reveals what transpires on Earth during the final seven years before Jesus returns to Earth. It is at the sixth seal and the sixth year, when the celestial signs appear in the sky and we are told the great day of God’s wrath has come.
“Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
It is the sixth church, the church of Philadelphia that is raptured at the end of the sixth year.
It is immediately after the sixth seal that the four angels are told not to pour out God’s wrath upon the Earth until the 144,000 Jews, servants of God are sealed on their foreheads. “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:” Revelation 7:3-4
Next John sees all those who were raptured standing before the throne of God the Father and Jesus.
“After this, I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Revelation 7:9-10
It is only after this scene, that the seventh seal is opened and the first of the seven trumpets is blown initiating the seven Trumpet judgements.
I am convinced that God is a trinity of three persons. There is no dispute about God the Father and God the Son as persons but there is certainly dispute about the Holy Spirit.
The United Church of God is one church denomination that believes the Holy Spirit is something not someone. Their main arguments include the following:
If God were a Trinity, surely Paul, who was taught directly by the resurrected Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:11-12) and who wrote much of the theological underpinnings of the early Church, would have comprehended and taught this concept. Yet we find no such teaching in His writings (which I will dispute). Moreover, Paul’s standard greeting in his letter to the churches, as well as individuals to whom he wrote, consistently mentions “God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” And in each of his greetings, he never mentions the Holy Spirit! (The same can also be said of Peter in the salutations of both his epistles.) The same greeting, with only minor variations, appears in every epistle with Paul’s name. Notice how consistent he is in not including the Holy Spirit in his greetings: Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-2, 1 Timothy 1:2, 2 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:4, Philemon 1:3.
The Holy Spirit is always left out of these greetings—an unbelievable and inexplicable oversight if the Spirit were indeed a person or entity coequal with God the Father and Christ! Paul’s epistles record no attempt on his part to explain the Trinity or Holy Spirit as a divine person equal with God the Father and Jesus Christ. However, in 2 Corinthians 13:14, we have “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14
They would argue that in visions of God’s throne recorded in the Bible, although the Father and Christ are seen, the Holy Spirit as a third person is completely absent.
They also argue that Scripture reveals the Holy Spirit not as a person, but as something much different—the divine power through which God acts.
They also claim no theological or biblical justification for referring to the term “Holy Spirit” with masculine pronouns, even in Greek. The Greek word pneuma, translated “spirit” (but also translated “wind” and “breath” in the New Testament) is a grammatically neuter word. So, in the Greek language, pronouns equivalent to the English “it,” “its,” “itself,” “which” or “that” are properly used in referring to this word translated into English as “spirit.”
This information was extracted from the book: Is God a Trinity? United Church of God.
The Scriptures they have difficulty with are the following:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
Jesus told the disciples and therefore us that He must go so His Father could send the Holy Spirit to be our counsellor, teacher, comforter, and helper.
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” John 14:26
“When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.” Mark 13:11
It is difficult to understand how “a power” can be our counsellor, teacher, and comforter. Particularly when Paul tells us to make sure we do not grieve the Holy Spirit or quench His work in our lives. You cannot grieve a “power “or “something“.
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 28:19-20
“Do not quench the Spirit“ 1 Thessalonians 5:19
THE HOLY SPIRIT ACTS AS A PERSON:
•HE SPEAKS: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches” (Rev 2:7), “And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” Acts 13:2
•HE TEACHES: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you”John 14:26
•HE WITNESSES: “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of me” (John 15:26) “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God”Romans 8:16
•Directs your path (Prov. 3:4-5, Proverbs 143:10).
•Helps you and He lives within you forever (John 14:16).
•Guides you in all truth (John 14:17, 16:13a).
•Brings to your remembrance all things He said to you (John 14:26b).
•Tells you things to come (John 16:13).
•Reveals to you the deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:10).
•Freely gives you all things (1 Cor. 2:12).
•Offers you the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16).
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God..” Romans 8:16
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Romans 8:26
Paul also tells us that the Holy Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, kindness, and self-control. He is also the one who provides the gifts for ministry, all nine, as needed.
JESUS IS LORD,HE MUST ALWAYS BE CENTRE STAGE. THE HOLY SPIRIT ALWAYS REVEALS JESUS MORE FULLY. Where the Holy Spirit is in control, Jesus is proclaimed the Head – the Holy Spirit, His executive.
This video is the best conversation I’ve heard about Jonathan Cahn’s new book The Dragon’s Prophecy: Israel, the Dark Resurrection and the End of Days! The Bible is unfolding in exact alignment with end-times prophecies. Thank God for using Rabbi Cahn to inform the world. Even the recent invasion by Hamas is part of the Biblical end-times prophecies. We all must remember that God is in control. This spiritual war is unfolding exactly as prophesied. The Bible even names the nations that war against Israel.
Hamas invaded and killed over 2000 Israelis including women, babies, and children, and yet it has resulted in antisemitism the world over. This is unfathomable and for me demonstrates it has to be spiritually motivated. Fortunately, Jesus told us that persecution of Christians will also intensify in the last days: tribulation becomes great tribulation before Jesus returns to rapture the Saints. He also said:
“Let not your hearts be troubled: Believe in God, believe also in me… I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:2-3
Biblical prophecy reveals Jesus will rapture believers to heaven just before God pours out His wrath upon an unrepentant world with the Trumpet (Revelation 8) and Bowl (Revelation 16) judgements. You need to warn your unbelieving family and friends that they need to repent and get right with God otherwise they will face God’s wrath. Take them to Revelation 8 and 16.
New York – Summit of the Future, 22-23 September, 2024
Jacob Nordangård: UN Leaders Pact for the Future – A Pact with Who?
Jacob Nordangard’s lecture (video) uncovers the true intention behind this year’s United Nations Summit of the Future, which will result in the outcome document, Leaders Pact for the Future. The plan is to turn the pact recommendations into concrete measures and turbocharge the implementation of Agenda 2030. If the pact gets signed, it will result in a new automated global management system severely affecting our freedoms. Who will benefit from and ultimately lead the transformation?
The Bible, GOD’S WORD is largely prophecy and a large part of the prophecy is devoted to the end times before Jesus returns to fulfill the destiny of the nation God established for His purposes: ISRAEL. Jesus will usher in His Millennial Kingdom ruling and reigning over the nations from a magnificent new Jerusalem.
Amazingly, the Bible tells us that a one-world government is coming and we know who will lead it: the Antichrist with his False Prophet. We also know it will be a time of tribulation for Jews and Christians
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” Matthew 24: 9-12
Jesus told us in advance that intense persecution is coming but we can be confident that Jesus will be with us in the most trying circumstances just as He was with Stephen when he was being stoned to death.
“As Stephen was being stoned to death, he called out, “Lord Jesus, please welcome me!” He knelt down and shouted, “Lord, don’t blame them for what they have done.” Then he died.” Matthew 24:59-60
God gave Stephen a wonderful vision. What did he see?
“But Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked toward heaven, where he saw our glorious God and Jesus standing at his right side.Then Stephen said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right side of God!” Matthew 24:55-56
“The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.” Genesis 6:4
The Hebrew word Nephilim comes from the root naphal meaning to fall. Gesenius in his Hebrew Lexicon notes: “Those who used to interpret the passage in Genesis of the fall of the angels, were accustomed to render Nephilim fallers, rebels, apostates.” The Greek Septuagint (translated approximately 270 BC) translates the word as “the giants” (oi gigantes). This same word was used in classical Greek literature to refer to men or creatures that were half god and half man.
Jonathan M. Hall in his book Ethnic Identity in Greek Antiquity notes that gegenes in fact means “earth born”: “From the time of the Iliad, Erekhtheus was treated as a son of the earth, and Herodotus calls him gegenes (“earth-born”)” “gigantic” or “monstrous.” In Greek mythology the Giants (from gegenes) were the children of Heaven (Uranos ) and Earth (Gaea ) (though some would argue that their father was Tartaros (the hell pit). The giants of Greek mythology, or Gigantes (the earth-born) as they are called in the Greek tongue, were a class of oversized and ofttimes monstrous men who were closely related to the gods. Consider also Kekrôps, who according to Apollodorus (iii. 14. § 1, &c.) was the first king of Attica, was known as “a gêgenês, the upper part of whose body was human, while the lower was that of a dragon.”
If the translators of the Septuagint didn’t want us to think about demigods or men of enormous stature, they sure picked the wrong word! However, if by gegenes they understood hybrids between fallen angels (“the gods”) and women, then they chose the perfect word to describe these ungodly and unnatural creatures which parallels the biblical description of the sons of God (from the heavens) coming down to earth and fathering children. Considering the exposure those Alexandrian Jews must certainly have had to Greek literature and the numerous stories of giants; we would be completely ignoring their testimony if we were to understand the word as anything other than creatures who were hybrids of fallen angels and humans—who were also of colossal stature. In fact, in Greek mythology, these giants were sometimes thirty feet tall! If the translators had wanted to merely indicate that these men were the offspring of the godly line of Seth and the ungodly line of Cain, they should have chosen a different word.
Targum Jonathan translates Genesis 6:4: “Schamchazai and Uzziel, who fell from heaven, were on the earth in those days.” Shamchazai and Uzziel were fallen angels that we saw in the Book of Enoch as the ones that took the daughters of men. Targum Jonathan specifically adds “who fell from heaven” to testify how they understood the word Nephilim. Targum Onkelos similarly translates the verse: “Giants were in the earth in those days; and also, when, after that the sons of the mighty had gone in unto the daughters of men” (Targum Onkelos, Genesis 6:4). The interpretation of this verse is very consistent in the ancient witnesses: Demons came down from their habitation and took wives and from their sexual union came a race of giants which were hybrids: half-man and half-demon.
If one should ask how there could be Nephilim afterward when they were all destroyed in the flood, the answer is simple: the fathers of the Nephilim were demons. While it appears that the demons that crossed the line when mingling with humans were thrown into the pit, other demons must have taken women and had Nephilim with them after the flood. As a result, we discover Nephilim in the land of Canaan when the children of Israel came to take possession of their Promised Land. Upon seeing the Nephilim, they lost faith that God could win the battle for them and so they were taken back to the wilderness where they wandered for another forty years. When they came back to the land forty years later, the Nephilim were still there but the children of God trusted God that He would empower them to destroy them all.
Nephilim = Anakim. “And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim)” (Numbers 13:33)
Anakim = The Emim.
Rephaim = Emim. “The Emim formerly lived there, a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim. Like the Anakim they are also counted as Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim. (Deuteronomy 2:10-11)
Rephaim = Zamzummim = Anakim. “It is also counted as a land of Rephaim. Rephaim formerly lived there—but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim— a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim (Deuteronomy 2:20-21a)
Og, King of Bashan = Rephaim. Og the king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim(Deuteronomy 3:11)
Bashan = Rephaim. “All that portion of Bashan is called the land of Rephaim “(Deuteronomy 3:13)
Sihon of the Amorites = Rephaim = Amorites. “For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites” (Numbers 21:26)
Og, King of Bashan = Rephaim = Amorites. His land and the land of Og, the king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who lived to the east beyond the Jordan (Deuteronomy 4:47). “What you did to the two kings of the Amorites […] Sihon and Og” (Joshua 2:10)
Goliath and his brothers = Aimnakim = Rephaim “At Gath, where there was a man of great stature, […] and he also was descended from the giants [Rephaim, LXX reads: from the giants,], (2 Samuel 21:20).
“Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite [Gath]. […] at Gath, […] he also was descended from the giants [Rephaim, LXX reads: giants, .[…] These were descended from the giants in Gatt (1 Chronicles 20:5-6, 8)
“In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim (Genesis 14:5)
“In the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim” (Joshua 17:15)
“For you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said” (Joshua 14:12)
“The name of Hebron formerly was Kirjath Arba (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim) (Joshua 14:15).
After the battle, which Abram led to rescue his nephew Lot, God showed up and promised to Abram that he would have a son and would inherit the land. He mentions something very interesting concerning the Amorites: “for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” (Genesis 15:16). Notice that the reason that his descendants will come back in the fourth generation is because of the iniquity of the Amorites, suggesting that the Amorites, who were Nephilim, were performing great wickedness in the meantime.
After Israel received the Law at Mount Sinai. Within a year, God led them up to the border of the Promised Land and God specifically mentioned that His Angel would go “before you and bring you into the Amorites […] and I will cut them off.” (Exodus 23:23)
We find that the Amorites were still in the land into the time of Judges from the passage “do not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell” (Judges 6:10).
The fact that God commanded the Israelites to destroy man, woman, and child becomes logical if we understand that (as the text says) all people in the land were not merely sons of Adam but were a mix between the sons of God (demons) and human women just like in the days of Noah.
“The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them” (Numbers 13:29-33)
The Nephilim are the reason why the children of Israel did not possess the land right after leaving Egypt. The presence of the Nephilim disheartened the spies who consequently gave a bad report despite God’s assurance that He would destroy the Amorites.
“Therefore, understand today that the LORD your God is He who goes over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and bring them [the gigantic inhabitants] down before you; so, you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the LORD has said to you.” Deuteronomy 9:3
“Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was as strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.” Amos 2:9
In the next post, we will look at ALIENS AND DEMONIC DECEPTION IN THE LAST DAYS
Much of the information in this post is extracted from Douglas Hamp’s book Corrupting the Image: Angels, Aliens, and the Antichrist.
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 