It is nearly three and a half years since the Vanishment. After work Jill Steiner is back at her apartment and calls her Mom:
"Mom, I have learned that the Midpoint of the Tribulation will be the full reveal of the Antichrist. Until this point he has pretended to be interested in solving the problems of the world, but instead he has engaged in continuous war just to gain power. The Antichrist started by consolidating ten nations into his Revived Roman Empire, and then took over many more nations. Now that he is the most powerful leader on earth, Satan will use him to try to consolidate all the nations of the earth under a one-world system where Satan will be the real leader. Satan will exert maximum influence over this evil leader and use him to set up a satanic worldwide religious system, and the False Prophet will assist in the task of establishing the Antichrist as a false god. Then they will impose this satanic religious system on the entire world."
Mom: "You have it right, dear. In my Bible study group we have been studying the dragon and the Antichrist. This is the point when the Antichrist becomes "fully one" with the dragon Satan, as Revelation 13 says:"
Revelation 13:1 “The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.”
"Our study group has been reading the book "The Future Times" and it says about this Midpoint time period:
"Having been thrown out of Heaven, the dragon Satan is now confined to earth and is desperate since he is running out of time and knows it. Satan is seen standing “on the shore of the sea”. The “sea” refers to the gentile nations as opposed to “the land” which is Israel. The sea is in turmoil due to the Rapture having occurred. Satan chooses a man called here “a beast coming out of the sea” from among the gentile nations who will be his proxy and do his will. Satan empowers his human counterpart to seize a massive amount of power, and his ultimate goal is to eliminate the Jews. This man is often called just “the Antichrist”, but because of the way John presents him we will call this man the Antichrist, who is a gentile, from a Western nation since he will take over as King of the West. Daniel’s prophesies about him is that he “came up among them”, meaning among the western nations (Daniel 7:8). Satan will empower him personally through demon possession and Satan will also personally possess him at times, something extremely rare. This man will be set up by Satan as an idol to be worshiped in the new religion of the Tribulation, a secular religion which worships a man instead of God or a presumed god. While a religion is generally the worship of a deity, during the Tribulation this worldwide religion will be the worship of a man empowered by Satan, and therefore the worship of Satan himself. This godless religion will be focused on the things which mankind in unbelief seek to do apart from God, and would likely include humanism, internationalism, environmentalism, and socialism, all attempting to solve the world’s problems apart from the true God of the universe. This satanic religion will be a combination of false humanistic ideology and a degeneration into the depths of hatred and wanton barbarity. Satan will empower and use this man along with a godless religion to seek to implement a fake millennium of his own, thinking he can somehow thwart God’s plan for a Millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Satan has read the book of Revelation, but he wants to re-write the ending. He chooses a man and gives him great power – the power he offered to Jesus Christ during the three temptations, but Jesus refused to accept it from him. (Matthew 4:1-11) But during the Tribulation Satan will find his true soul mate, and this man will embrace the satanic plan and readily accept the power Satan offers. The world will suffer immeasurably as a result."
Jill adds: "I have been reading what the Apostle Paul said:"
2 Thessalonians 2:3 “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day [Second Advent] will not come until the rebellion [Tribulation] occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction [Antichrist]. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple [Abomination of Desolation], proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 6 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back [Holy Spirit] will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming [Second Advent]. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.”
Jill continues: "I have also read that together the two Beasts set up their worldwide false religion based on worshiping the Antichrist, which in reality is worshiping Satan. The False Prophet will also be demon possessed and will perform amazing acts of false miracles using satanic power. Matthew 24:24 refers to the Antichrist and False Prophet working together: “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”
"The world is falling into the trap and accepting the lies of this false religion instead of accepting the grace of God through Jesus Christ the true Savior. This is why the judgments during the Tribulation will be so intensely destructive and deadly. God is gracious for a time, but He will not be mocked by this false religion for long."
Jill's Mom interjects: "Jill, you have come so far. I am proud of you. The leader in Israel is just a puppet of the Antichrist, and has become the False Prophet for a new secular religion based on making the Antichrist a human god with statues of himself which are idols to be worshiped. It is all so sickening. Revelation 13:15 says: “The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads.”
Jill: "I need to get an expert on my show tomorrow to interview about this issue. Watch my show. Bye Mom."
Mom: "I always watch your show. Along with a billion other people, you know. Bye."
Jill wondered what her Mom meant by "a billion people." Jill thought she had a couple million viewers.
The next day Jill is at her LANX news studio and has invited Professor Heathrow, Professor of Biblical Ancient Civilization Studies at the University of Southern California, to explain what the Bible says is about to happen at the Midpoint of the Tribulation.
Jill: Professor Heathrow, we are very near the Midpoint of the Tribulation. What can we expect to happen next?"
Professor Heathrow: "First, let us define the Midpoint. The Bible tells us that the Tribulation consists of two equal parts, each exactly 1260 days long. In the Bible, years do not match our current 365 day years, since the ancients measured years by the moon, not by the sun, so years in the Bible are 360 days long, not 365 days. So 3 1/2 years is 360 x 3.5 which is 1260 days. But days are days. The so-called "Vanishment" occurred 1255 days ago. That means we are 5 days from the exact Midpoint of the Tribulation. And it is a big event in the unfolding of the eschatology of the Tribulation."
Jill: "Professor, I appreciate that you are so intellectual, but what does it mean to most of my viewers?"
Professor Heathrow: "Quite right, of course. Well, it means things are about to get much, much worse. At the Midpoint the False Prophet leader of Israel will put the statue of the Antichrist, called the Abomination of Desolation idol, in the temple in Jerusalem. Then it will appear to speak. This use of ventriloquist demons will fool many as demon voices will come from the idol statue itself. The deification of the Antichrist by the False Prophet will continue to build, and the entire world will become ensnared by this false religion. True believers who refuse to worship the idol statue of the Antichrist will be persecuted, and many will be killed for holding firm to their faith. Strong economic incentives will be used as the False Prophet forces people everywhere to take the Mark of the Beast, and no one will be allowed to buy or sell anything without The Mark. So the incentive to comply and accept this religion will be very powerful. Even some believers will take The Mark, and the temptation will be very strong since the survival of the person’s family appears to be at stake, but those believers who accept it will suffer and even die for doing so. Believers must understand that their martyrdom is required to evangelize a hardened world, and also that they will be greatly rewarded for their martyrdom. This false religion is used by Satan to attempt to kill off believers, and many will become martyrs, but it will be because of God’s Plan to use them to evangelize the world, not because Satan desires it. This is why believers who are in Israel at the time the idol statue is erected in the temple must flee to the mountains and remain there under divine protection until the Tribulation is over, since they will be the bulk of the Jewish believers who live to go into the Millennium."
Professor Heathrow continues: "The idol is a sign to the believers in Israel to flee to the safety of the mountains east of the Jordan River. Matthew 24 foretold of the idol statue of the Antichrist during the Tribulation and the requirement for all believers in Israel to flee and not come out of hiding until Jesus returns and the Tribulation is over:
Matthew 24:15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”
"Then Jesus went on to discuss the Tribulation as the worst period of human history:
Matthew 24:21: “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.”
"And then Jesus talked about the False Prophet:
Matthew 24:24: “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.”
Professor Heathrow continues: "When the idol statue of the Antichrist is set up in the temple in Jerusalem all believers in Israel must flee immediately without any delay to the high desert area of current day Jordan. If they do not flee quickly, they will be killed. These Jewish believers will form the core group of those who will repopulate the earth during the 1000 year Millennial reign of Christ."
"In the meantime, the False Prophet has already devised a scheme for forcing all people everywhere to worship the Antichrist, and he is using economic incentives for this purpose."
Revelation 13:17 “so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.”
Jill: "Professor, the number 666 has become legendary as a satanic symbol. What does it mean?"
Professor Heathrow: "The Mark of the Antichrist is said to be 666, which is “the name of the beast” or “the number of its name”. The reason for the 666 is not clear yet, but it will become clear very soon to those who have true wisdom. This will be part of the economic arm-twisting by the Antichrist, and will be so powerful that only the truly faithful believers will be able to resist, and that at the peril of their own death, and also the death of their family members. We see God's warning to believers in Revelation 14:9-10: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury.” There will be many believers who are martyred during the Tribulation for refusal to take the Mark of the Beast. There will also be believers who die in disgrace because they take the Mark of the Beast in spite of having been warned not to do so. Therefore, taking the Mark may spare the believer from death from the Beast's henchmen, but it will not spare the believer from death during God's judgments which are meant to target unbelievers, but will also target those who take The Mark. That is the significance of 666."
Jill: "Then what comes next, after the Abomination of Desolation idol?"
Professor Heathrow: "The last half of the Tribulation will be a time of a total breakdown of society. People who are not believers will engage in a detachment from reality like never seen before. Freedom will be lost in exchange for the power and false sense of security from the State. There will be a worldwide false religion accepted en masse by people refusing to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior. Worshiping the true God will be a crime punishable by death. Good will be called evil and evil will be called good by the degenerate masses. The innocent will be judged as guilty by the State while criminals are declared to be heroes. Crime will be rampant as people prey on each other. Political power will replace individual liberty as all dissent will be repressed. Police agencies will be used to enforce political dictates as only those who take the Mark of the Beast can engage in economic activity, or buy or sell at all. Failure to have the Mark will be a crime. The Bible will be declared a hate book, and all who believe that it is God’s Word will be pursued as the enemy of the State. All that is Truth will be called false, and the lie from Satan will be deemed to be the truth. The world will be turned upside down. That is because Satan at his core is a liar who promotes only lies, and hates the Truth. And his main man on earth, the Antichrist, will be the same as his benefactor Satan, a liar from beginning to end, as the Apostle John said:
John 8:44 “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
Professor Heathrow continues: "But even in the face of all this evil, God does not give up offering salvation to the degenerate people of the earth. He will go to extreme lengths trying to get these people to change their minds and accept Christ as Savior."
Jill: "Thank you for that valuable insight, Professor." Jill turns toward the other camera: "And now for the rundown on the daily disasters which occurred during the past 24 hours..."
Later that evening, Jill Steiner is at home reading the book "The Future Times." She thinks to herself, "Well this writer has been right so far, I wonder what is coming during the next last half of the Tribulation, which is about to begin. Here we go. Revelation Chapter 7."
"God provides every chance for salvation for those who are willing to listen....then the most severe divine judgments begin during the last 3 ½ years of the Tribulation."
Revelation 7:1 “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.”
Jill thinks to herself: "I wonder what my Weatherman at the station will do when he sees this happen? No wind anywhere on the earth? Doesn't that also mean no rain?"
Jill continues to read: "As we saw previously, the first six Seals reveal disasters which include intense weather conditions on the earth. Scorching sun, wind, hail, tornadoes, hurricanes, lack of rain, too much rain, and so on will cause tremendous hardships. Both personal and economic disaster will be the norm during the Tribulation. God uses His elect angels to control the weather patterns of the earth, and these angels will be especially active during the Tribulation. There are four weather angels stationed in the north, south, east, and west portions of the globe, and during the Tribulation they will be given authority to cause great destruction on the earth."
Jill thinks to herself: It has been nearly 3 1/2 years since the Vanishment occurred. The Professor said we are only 5 days from the Midpoint. So the Bible says it is about to get far worse. Fantastic. Those who went up in the Rapture were the fortunate ones. She considers what she should have done differently with her life. Everyone just wanted to have a nice social life and make some money and get ahead. She realizes now that was all so shallow. If only she had become a believer early in life. But enough what-ifs, I am here for a purpose now.
She continues to read about the part Satan and his demons are playing in all of this:
"At the same time Jewish believers are fleeing Israel into the high desert country, Satan and all fallen angels are thrown out of Heaven. Upon seeing those Jewish believers fleeing, Satan and his demons attack them, trying to stop them from getting to their place of divine protection in the mountains east of Israel. This attack is described here as “the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent.” But the Jewish believers will be protected as the passage says “The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness.”
The time available for leaving will be short, and their escape will require supernatural divine protection referred to as the “wings of an eagle” to protect them on their trip out of Israel, as this phrase is regularly used for divine protection: Exodus 19:4 “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” Deuteronomy 32: 9-11 - “like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft.”
"Satan will try to prevent the Jewish believers from escaping Israel by “spewing water like a river” which refers to the demons thrown out of Heaven along with Satan pursuing the fleeing Jews like a torrent, and possibly also flooding the Jordan River valley which the Jews will be crossing, but that attack will fail as God counters it and protects the fleeing Jews. But any who delay their departure will be killed. Once the Jews cross into the country of Jordan, in a region generally east and southeast of the Dead Sea, they will be protected by God with supernatural hiding, angelic protection, and provisions during the remaining 3 ½ years of the Tribulation. Once again Satan will be frustrated in his attempts to gain some advantage. Now that these Jewish believers have escaped and are under a supernatural dome of divine protection, Satan's attempts to kill all Jews will have failed, so this part of his evil plan will have been foiled."
Revelation 12:13 “When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.”
Back in Jerusalem, Josh Simmons, the new leader of the 144,000 evangelists, has maintained the library accumulated by Shem Kolb, the previous leader who disappeared over a year ago. Josh thinks to himself how he wished Shem was still in charge. He was such a great leader, and always knew what to do. Josh is not so sure of himself. But he is talking with those who remain of his fellow 144,000 evangelists, and he reminds them of what is coming now that the Midpoint of the Tribulation is near. They will need to be prepared to act, and act quickly. He reminds the others who are gathered together what is about to happen, and what they must do in response to it.
Josh starts out: "Several events will soon happen simultaneously at the exact Midpoint of the Tribulation. The first event is the installation of an idol statue of the Antichrist, called the Abomination of Desolation, in the Jewish temple here in Jerusalem. This triggers the second simultaneous event, since the idol statue is a sign for all Jewish believers in Israel to flee to the mountains where God has provided a place of divine refuge and protection. This creates a crisis on earth for Jewish believers, and timing is crucial. We must obey instantly or we will be killed by the forces of the Antichrist. We must follow instructions precisely, as Matthew 24 says:
Matthew 24:15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.”
Josh: "Watch and wait. The time is near. Be prepared to depart the instant you hear the news." Those who are gathered depart for their homes to prepare.
A few days later, on orders from President Antivon his statue is put inside the Temple in Jerusalem. When anyone approaches it, the statue appears to speak, and people are amazed by it. Rumors spread of this "miracle" and many come from far away to the Temple to worship the idol of President Antivon. The Prime Minister of Israel as the Prophet for the Antichrist spreads the word of the religion which focuses on worshiping both the idol and President Antivon. President Antivon and Prime Minister Garlock solidify the image of President Antivon as a god. The pilgrimage to the Temple to worship the statue of the Antichrist becomes an annual ritual for many faithful followers.
In Times Square New York a huge crowd has gathered at the news of the statue of President Antivon being put in the Temple in Jerusalem, and that it is speaking. A young man says to his friend "This man is a god! He cheated death, he has amassed enormous power, he is healing the earth from climate change, he has taken on those moralistic Christians and put them in their place, and now even his statue speaks. I was never religious or mystical, but this man has powers I have never seen. I say he is a god." Cheers go up among those listening.
His friend agrees "Right on all accounts, and I would add that the Harmonics of the Universe seem to be in alignment with him. There is something spiritual about how he senses the feelings of the Earth, and how he is connected with the entire cosmos miasma. He is certainly a spirit from another dimension. I believe!"
The Times Square crowd chants over and over: "Antivon is our god, Antivon is our god...."
Back at LANX News, Jill is in the studio reporting the daily disasters as news of the idol in the Temple reaches her. She stops mid-sentence and says: "The Abomination of Desolation idol has just been put into the Temple in Jerusalem. This is exactly what the Bible said would happen. Today is 1261 days since the Vanishment, the day which was prophesied for this to happen. All Jewish believers in Israel must immediately flee to the mountains east of the Jordan River."
In Israel, news of the idol statue being put into the Temple had already spread quickly. The signal for Jews to flee has been given. There are some Jewish believers who had not yet heard, but were watching Jill's internet news. They immediately get up, grab their packed bag, and run for their cars. The roads are clogged going east as believers flee to the mountains, headed for a place near Petra, Jordan and another location in far southern Jordan. As the believer Jews flee to the mountains, they are pursued by the Western Alliance forces, and also by an unusual occurrence in the skies.
As the Jewish believers are fleeing Israel and heading to the mountains of Jordan, a sudden fury overtakes them in the form of a thick swarm of unknown origin. One woman named Nena had to leave her car behind and is hurrying to keep up. She thinks she cannot make it across the Jordan River bridge. The swarm seems to be overtaking them. Nena says to one of her fellow travelers "I cannot make it, I am going to die here on this road." Just as she says those words a sudden sandstorm comes up from the East, and blows the swarm backward. Others shout encouragement to Nena, the last in the line of escapees. "Come on Nena, you can make it!" shouts one man. It is her cousin from North Jerusalem. He drops back to help her. "Save yourself" she says, I will not survive." But her cousin will not let her fall behind. "I will carry you myself if that is required, but hurry, we must get across the Jordan." Just then the swarm returns with a vengeance to strike the fleeing believers who have fallen behind. They are almost there...the river is just yards away. Suddenly the east wind blows the swarm back, allowing Nena and her fellow stragglers to reach the Jordan River, and cross to the other side. The swarm turns and heads back toward the west to take their revenge on an unprepared Jerusalem which is now empty of believers, except for a few who did not heed the warnings.
As the last of the fleeing believers reach the Jordan mountains sanctuary, they are greeted by those who have been in place and set up the camps. "You are safe now" says the camp leader at Petra. "Nothing can harm you here." Nena and the others settle in and get their living quarters assignments. As they do, they think of the horror in store for those who did not flee Jerusalem.
The believers go into hiding as directed by the Bible. They find provisions have been stored for them there by Christians who departed years ago, and by the 144,000 who brought the remnants of supplies left behind after the failed Russian invasion three years earlier. The remaining few of the 144,000 who survived the purges of the first half of the Tribulation look down across the Jordan River valley and say a prayer for those who will become new believers and will need to stay in Israel and fight the forces of the Antichrist. The 144,000 did their job evangelizing during the past several years, and now it is time for a new and very different form of evangelization. Two witnesses will soon appear in Jerusalem and shock the world.