On October 1, 2022

POSTSCRIPT ON GOING DARK IN A TIME OF TUMULT: BIRTH PANGS, TRIBULATION, AND THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION

SCRIPTURE. “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not (let the reader understand) then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter.

For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.” – MARK 13:14-21, NKJV

Selah.

QUOTATIONS

PIPPERT. “‘Whatever controls us is our lord.’ The person who seeks power is controlled by Power. The person who seeks acceptance is controlled by Acceptance. We do not control ourselves. We are controlled by the lord of our lives.”
― Rebecca Pippert, ‘Out of the Saltshaker and Into the World,’ 1999; edited

SANDE. “‘What are you really living for?’ It’s crucial to realize that you either glorify God, or you glorify something or someone else. You’re always making something look big. If you don’t glorify God when you’re involved in a conflict, you inevitably show that someone or something else rules your heart.” ― Ken Sande, ‘Resolving Everyday Conflict, 2015; edited

TOZER. “Any objection to the carryings on of our present ‘Golden-Calf Christianity’ is met with the triumphant reply, ‘But we are winning them!’ And winning them to what? To true discipleship? To cross-carrying? To self-denial? To separation from the world? To crucifixion of the flesh? To holy living? To nobility of character? To a despising of the world’s treasures? To hard self-discipline? To love for God? To total committal to Christ? Of course, the answer to all these questions is No.” ― A.W. Tozer, ‘Man: The Dwelling Place of God,’ 1966; edited

Selah.

FIRST THOUGHTS

Without necessarily being a systematic theologian or historian, almost all people would agree that ‘Man was built to worship something- or someone.’ Thus whenever we talk about the history of the human race, we must also address his need for some sort of religious system or philosophical framework to explain the overwhelming Reality all around him.

More often than not, this leads to ‘the Creation of Idols’ to represent some greater power or intelligence or deity, who is the Possessor of all knowledge of all things. Wikipedia says it this way.

“Idolatry is the worship of a cult image or ‘idol’ as though it were God. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam), Idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the Abrahamic God as if it were God. In these monotheistic religions, Idolatry has been considered as the ‘worship of false gods’ and is forbidden by texts such as the Ten Commandments. – EDITORS, “Idolatry,” Sep. 3, 2022; edited

IDOLS FOR DESTRUCTION. One of the most influential works that impacted my early thinking as a Christian professor was a book by this title from the desk of the late HERBERT SCHLOSSBERG, historian and senior analyst at the CIA.

In this exceptionally prescient analysis, Schlossberg outlines in exquisite detail certain ‘American Idols’ that promise to bring her to her knees if not effectively countered soon. Bear in mind this was published in 1983, nearly 40 years ago.

Schlossberg begins his Introduction in as hard hitting a manner as the rest of his acerbic polemic. It’s one of the reasons I love his work, a rare gem in an ocean of now largely amorphous conservative literature.

“Men may risk everything, including their lives, for family, for wealth, for country, for class, or for the kingdom of God. Even the cynic who believes he is above all that nonsense has established a Hierarchy of Values [i.e., a worldview]; otherwise, he could identify those values as nonsense. ‘Anyone with a Hierarchy of Values has placed something at its Apex, and whatever that is, is the god he serves’” (p. 1993, 4).

Then follows in staccato like fashion, his SIX AMERICAN IDOLS that are leading the nation to its utter destruction and again, this was 40 years ago.

IDOLS OF HISTORY. “The Idolatries of History exalt an Age (past, present, or future), or a process, or an institution, or a class, or a trend and make it normative” (p. 13).

IDOLS OF HUMANITY. “No deity will save us, we must save ourselves – Humanist Manifesto II (1973). The idea of Humanity as a deity is seldom avowed openly but rather is expressed by ascribing to Man attributes of God: sovereignty (or autonomy), complete rationality, and moral perfection” (p. 42).

IDOLS OF MAMMON. “Like all idolatries it finds its ultimate meaning in an aspect of the ‘Creation’ rather than in the Creator … Idols of Mammon invite us, too, to place our hopes on Wealth, tell us that Taking is better than giving, tempt us to Covet what our neighbour has, convince us that we have been wronged because we do not Possess as much as we desire, and, finally, Pervert the sense of Justice that alone can preserve peace. If we continue to worship them, the unrest and discontent that mark our society now are only a sample of the destruction that is to come. Insatiable Greed placing infinite claims on finite resources can have no other end” (pp. 88-89, 139)

IDOLS OF NATURE. “In this view, life began by Chance chemical encounters in the rich primordial soup that once covered the earth; developed into higher forms through the genetic selection of characteristics that enhanced Survival; produced the human species; and eventually will pass into extinction … [This ultimately leads to] ‘Irrationalism’ – ‘The glorification of the Primitive and Coarse over the refined and civilized; the rhythmic over the melodic’” (pp. 164, 171).

IDOLS OF POWER. “Inequality is advanced as a greater evil than theft. This reversal of ethical thinking makes voluntary sacrifice for the good of others an example of ‘petty moralism’, while it advances State Confiscation to the pinnacle of moral rectitude. Looking to the State for sustenance is a cultic act; we rightly learn to expect food from parents and when we regard the State as the source of physical provision, we render to it the obeisance of Idolatry … One of the most useful tools in the quest for power is the educational system. Value-free Education is a contradiction in terms, and any Hierarchy of Values constitutes ‘a religious system.’ Hence, all education is fundamentally religious” (pp. 181, 210).

IDOLS OF RELIGION. “Concern for the Poor should have the Church back to the Bible – often it has sent them into the arms of the State – summary of Liberation Theology – Jesus is Lord in the Church – Marx is Lord in History. In a society in which Idolatry runs rampant, a Church that is not iconoclastic is a travesty. ‘If it is not against the Idols, it is with them’” (pp. 243, 254).

Mr. Schlossberg ends his Treatise with this. “The Great Fallacy of our time, Malcolm Muggeridge has written, is the one that says that we may pursue collective virtue apart from personal behaviour. One way to evaluate the future of society is to determine the direction of ‘Mimesis.’ Who admires whom and on what grounds ? Who seeks to be more like whom? …

[History teaches that] Bloodthirsty gods produce bloodthirsty people. If someone thinks that Chance rules the universe, his actions are likely to appear random. After Biblical Faith wanes, a people can maintain habits of thought and of self-restraint. The Ethic remains after the Faith that bore it departs. But eventually a generation arises that no longer has the Habit and that is when the behaviour changes radically” (pp. 264, 296).

AMERICAN ICON. It has long been thought and said that a nation elects or receives the leaders it deserves. I wholeheartedly believe that, most especially in the case of the United States of America. To state it another way, the leaders we elect are a direct reflection of the Soul of a Nation.

As a lifelong observer of the American Culture, I submit to you all that the one individual who must closely approximates the Soul of both our Nation and even our Church is none other than DONALD JOHN TRUMP, our ‘American Icon.’ icon is simply defined as “a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol of something.”

Donald Trump has become who we imitate. Donald Trump’s ways are rapidly becoming the American Ways. To state it bluntly, beloved: Donald Trump is America, and by the time this wicked Juggernaut is done, we will have become a Nation of Donald Trump’s, that God must Judge most severely.

The Bible calls that awful place, Babylon. – cf. Revelation 18-19

AMERICA UNDER JUDGMENT

To that very point, I cannot count the number of articles I have read in just the last few months, both secular and biblically informed, that have raised increasing alarm about the steep and unmistakable ‘Decline of American life.’ Whether discussing politics or the economy or spirituality or military conflict or the weather, or most painfully, the Gaping Divides that now exist among us, most of America is concerned about our future, and frankly, whether or not we even have one.

And although I write about these mounting crises endlessly, do not mistake me for a hand wringer. I am rather raising the red flags in order ‘to warn people’ toward what they need to do to engage them effectively. And yes, spiritually. That is the essence of my entire late-in-life Mission: Rescue! Though it may not appear to some or even many that this is my purpose given my frequent stridency, that is my purpose.

If the house is burning down, I cannot whisper. And beloved, the house is burning down.

GOD IS WROTH WITH US. Although I don’t hear this in most American sanctuaries on Sunday mornings, I believe with all my heart and mind and soul that God is not pleased with America or its Church – to put it ever so mildly. NOAH WEBSTER (1828) defines “Wroth” as: “Very angry, much exasperated.” As I have argued more than once, I also believe that He is pretty much at the end of His patience with us. I do

As Yahweh put it to Moses some 3,000 years ago: “The Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will these people treat me disrespectfully and reject Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the [miraculous] signs which I have performed among them? I will strike them with the pestilence (plague) and dispossess them, and will make you [faithful] into a nation greater and mightier than they.’” – NUMBERS 14:11-12, AMP

THE QUESTION. Is America in 2022 immune from such Fury since we live in the New Testament age of grace? Or perhaps because we enjoy favored nation status as ‘Divinely Exceptional?’ Because that’s what I hear almost every Sunday – “Jesus loves you [no matter what], and He loves and cherishes America [no matter what]! He will never stop loving you, regardless of what you say or do.”

I call this, appropriately derisively: “No Fault Christianity.”

Hardly ever do I hear calls to Repentance about Christian departure from the Canon, about false doctrine and false teachers, or the need for Repentance and the Recompense that follows its presence or absence. Beloved, I tell you before God I just don’t hear it!

WHAT IS OUR SIN? Well now, there’s a Question, is it not? Following a review of over twenty articles, essays and commentaries addressing this, I discovered two things that you should all become aware of.

CHRISTIAN BLINDNESS. Of all the predictable observations that America is under Judgment because of abortion, homosexuality, educational vacuity, antagonism toward Christian values, rampant Secularism run amok and demonic Liberalism more widely, I could find only one thoughtful ‘Christian critique’ of the American Church’s conduct. Only one. It’s as if the American Church was completely without guile, innocent in the eyes of God and all other believers of any major infraction against Him or His Word.

CHRISTIAN BETRAYAL. And of the two Critiques I found – one Christian and the other a thoughtful secular analysis – they agreed that both history and theology identify our Primary Sin as ‘Idolatry,’ and the ancillary replacement of Jesus Christ with a False Messiah. The specific form that Church Idolatry currently takes is what I shall call for this essay: ‘Christian Ethno-White Nationalism,’ inarguably inspired by the politics and practices of Former president Donald John Trump and his cult of the QAnon Narrative of the Democrat Conspiracy.

PHILIP S. GORSKI. This American Yale University sociologist who holds degrees from Harvard University and the University of California at Berkeley offers thoughtful commentary. The remarks below are derived from a book by Gorski and his co-author, SAMUEL L. PERRY, entitled: ‘The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy’ (2022).

“The January 6 Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was a hodgepodge of conflicting symbols. The protestors erected a large wooden cross and gallows. Some waved Rebel battle flags; others the Stars and Stripes. Some carried signs declaring that ‘Jesus Saves’ while others wore sweatshirts bearing white supremacist slogans. The men who invaded the Senate chamber — some clad in body armor, one wearing a horned headdress — invoked Christ’s name as they bowed heads and prayed. To many, the clashing imagery was one of many bewildering and unsettling aspects of that chaotic day. To Yale sociologist Philip Gorski, the scene was instantly recognizable as an extreme form of ‘White Christian Nationalism’ …

[This ideology] is a dangerous threat because it’s incredibly well-organized and powerful. There’s absolutely nothing like it on the Left. The White Christian Nationalists boast local and national networks that can raise money and to turn people out to the polls and to school board meetings or protests. They can effectively communicate messages and support policies that are out of step with liberal democracy, such as the coordinated attack on voting rights.

Even if Donald Trump is not the GOP candidate in 2024, and I think he’s still the odds-on favorite to be the nominee, it’s very likely that whoever the Republicans nominate will espouse a Platform that aligns with White Christian Nationalism because it’s popular with the Republican base and those are the folks who vote in Republican presidential primaries.” – MIKE CUMMINGS, ‘Yale Review,’ Mar. 15, 2022; edited

RICHARD OSTLING. He was a longtime religion writer with The Associated Press and with Time magazine, where he produced 23 cover stories. The following remarks are taken from an essay entitled: “What is ‘Christian Nationalism,’ and Is It Connected to the January 6th Insurrection?” (‘Religion Unplugged,’ Mar. 17, 2022).

“‘Christian Nationalism’ became common coinage in the U.S. fairly recently, usually raised by cultural liberals who view it with alarm, and often with ‘White’ as an added adjective. The term is not generally embraced by those considered to be participants … The Merriam-Webster Definition of plain ‘Nationalism’ is ‘loyalty and devotion to a nation especially [with] a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups’ …

[It] relies on the mythological founding of the United States as a ‘Christian Nation,’ singled out for God’s Providence in order to fulfill God’s purposes on earth. Further, it ‘demands a privileged place for Christianity in public life,’ buttressed by the active support of government at all levels.’

‘Christian nationalism is not Christianity,’ the definition concludes, but the movement consists of individual Christians and ‘relies on Christian imagery and language.’”

DK’S TAKE. A mountain of data accumulated since the election of Donald Trump to the presidency in 2016 consistently confirms that over 80% the White American Church either overtly proclaims or passively defaults into the White Christian Nationalism camp. It thereby becomes subservient to the political will of unrivaled leader, Donald Trump, and if he rises to the presidency one more time in 2025, to the coercive authority of what promises to be a Tyrannical State Power.

Further, and much more gravely, if Donald Trump is indeed the Antichrist, the ‘Lawless One’ of the last of the last days, then The Stage is nearly perfectly set for his rise toward “Making America Great Again,” but not as a ‘New Israel’ so much as a ‘New Babylon.’

Selah.

THE TEACHING

OK everybody, now take a deep breath and rejoice in the fact that we’re not going to break this down, line by line or word by word. Rather, I’m going to use this as a Theological Foundation for proposing and organizational framework for understanding this complex teaching in THREE CHRONOLOGICAL COMPONENTS.

But first, just a couple of CORE TERMS that will serve as our basic platform.

ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION. A concept and future event of massive eschatological importance. So vast in scope, that it literally cuts through the sweep of 2,500 years of Biblical Canon and human political history. It is adapted from the Hebrew, ‘Siqquts’ [שִׁקּוּץ, “an utterly detestable thing”], rendered, similarly in the Greek, ‘Bdelugma’ [βδέλυγμα]: “A detestable, accursed thing; a moral horror that is a stench to God; abhorrent; from which to turn away through loathing or disgust; the vilest possible desecration of the holy.”

[GREAT] TRIBULATION. You will Please note my insertion of the word quote “Great” just before the term, “Tribulation.” I will explain as we move through this part of our discussion. The Greek word used here is, ‘Thlipsis’ [θλῖψις], or: “Intense persecution, affliction, distress; from a term referring to squeeze, break, crush or press; as both the passing through a very narrow room or condition of extreme discomfort; restricted, without options, no way of escape; dire straits or any set of circumstances that produced anxiety and anguish; severe distress of one’s very life; vexation.”

THE COMMENTARY. The Biblical Analysis that follows is taken from the EDITORS at the superbly researched online site, ‘Got Questions’ (ret. Sep. 29, 2022; edited). I quote it at full length since after of over a dozen treatments of this Mega-Event, theirs was far superior to all the others.

Take a deep breath for the Deep Dive that follows.

“Jesus spoke of a coming ‘Abomination of Desolation’ in the Olivet Discourse as He referenced a future event mentioned in Daniel 9:27. In Matthew 24:15–16 [and Mark 13:14-15], Jesus says, ‘So when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place … then those in Judea must flee to the mountains’ (CSB).

An ‘abomination’ is ‘something that causes disgust or hatred’; and ‘desolation’ is ‘a state of complete emptiness or destruction.’ Jesus warned that something (or Someone) that people detested would stand in the Temple someday. When that horror occurred, residents of Judea should seek cover without delay. Other translations speak of ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ (NIV), ‘the sacrilegious object that causes desecration’ (NLT), and ‘that Horrible Thing’ (CEV). The Amplified Bible adds the note that the Abomination of Desolation is ‘the appalling sacrilege that astonishes and makes desolate.’

Jesus referenced Daniel in His words in the Olivet Discourse. The prophet Daniel mentioned the abomination of desolation in THREE PLACES:

‘He will make a firm covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering. And the abomination of desolation will be on a wing of the temple until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator’ (Daniel 9:27, CSB).

‘Forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation’ (Daniel 11:31, NKJV).

‘From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days’ (Daniel 12:11, NASB).

The wording in the above translations indicates that the Abomination of Desolation is an Object; in some other translations, the abomination appears to be a Person: ‘On the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate’ (Daniel 9:27, ESV). Regardless of whether the Abomination of Desolation is a person or a thing, Daniel predicted the following:

A future ruler will make a treaty with the people of Israel.

2. The terms of this treaty will be for a ‘week’—which we take to be a period of seven years.

3. Midway through this time, the ruler will gather his troops and put an end to the sacrifices and offerings in the temple.

4. At that time the ruler will desecrate the temple, setting up some type of sacrilegious object.

5. The desecration of the temple will continue until the judgment of God is finally meted out on the ruler and his followers, 1,290 days (3½ years and 1 month) later.

Daniel’s Prophecies about the Abomination of Desolation seemed to have at least a partial fulfillment in 167 BC when a Greek ruler by the name of ANTIOCHUS IV desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem. Antiochus called himself ‘Epiphanies’ (‘illustrious one’ or ‘god manifest’). He set up an altar to Zeus over the altar of burnt offering, and he sacrificed a pig on the altar. Antiochus went even further in his atrocities, slaughtering a great number of the Jews and selling others into slavery. And he issued decrees forbidding circumcision and requiring Jews to sacrifice to pagan gods and eat pig meat.

What Antiochus did certainly qualifies as an abomination, but ‘it was not a complete fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy.’ Antiochus Epiphanies did not enter a covenant with Israel for seven years, for example. And in Matthew 24 Jesus, speaking some 200 years after Antiochus’s evil actions, spoke of Daniel’s prophecy as having a still future fulfillment …

We take the FUTURIST VIEW, which sees the Abomination of Desolation Prophecy as ‘still future.’ In our view, ‘Jesus was referring to the Antichrist’ who, in the End Times, will establish a Covenant with Israel for seven years and then break it by doing something similar to what Antiochus Epiphanies did in the Temple. The sacrilegious object Jesus called ‘the abomination of desolation’ could be the ‘image of the beast’ that the Antichrist’s right-hand man, the False Prophet, will order to be set up and worshiped (Revelation 13:14). Of course, for Matthew 24:15 to be yet future, the Temple in Jerusalem will have to be rebuilt before the Tribulation begins.

Those who are alive during the Tribulation should be watchful and recognize that ‘the breaking of the Covenant with Israel’ and the Abomination of Desolation will herald the beginning of the worst 3½ years in history (see Matthew 24:21). ‘Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36).’”

Selah.

LAST THOUGHTS: A CHRONOLOGY

After over 40 years of study of these broad and sweeping accounts of eschatological history of Mankind and following a uniquely intense review of them for the past week I saw something I had never seen before. I believe it is sound theologically, and makes eminent reasonable sense. So here we go toward a Grand Conclusion in summary of all that has gone before.

THREE STAGES OF THE TRIBULATION

BIRTH PANGS. As I have argued for the past seven years, I do not believe that Jesus’ description of “Birth Pangs” constitute any part of the Tribulation described by the prophet Daniel. Rather, they are exactly what the Messiah described them as: Birth Pains ‘leading up to’ the Tribulation Era, but not the Tribulation Era – yet. Thus they are found in the First Six Seals of Revelation Chapter 6 and the early verses in Matthew 24, Luke 21 and Mark 13, Christ’s parallel accounts of His Olivet Discourse.

TRIBULATION. As I have also argued and continue to do so, the actual Tribulation Era cannot commence until the Church, the Bride of Christ is ‘removed’ (Raptured). The Scriptures are clear: We are not appointed to God’s Wrath (1 Thess. 5:9). Thus ‘The Tribulation’ begins with, and is marked by, the onset of God’s unprecedented WRATH. Virtually all reputable theologians agree that Tribulation starts with Jesus’ epic Opening of The Sixth Seal in Revelation 6 (vv. 12-17). I now propose and conclude, frankly, that this constitutes the first 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation Era that is operationally defined by The Seven Trumpet Judgments (Rev. 8-11). They depart significantly from the Birth Pangs Runup, as the world now enters upon Divine Anger that clearly begins to rip and rend the natural laws of physics apart in demonstration of God’s great power.

‘GREAT’ TRIBULATION. Based upon what we just read in the excellent Commentary from the Editors at ‘Got Questions,’ and upon virtually all that I have studied for the past four decades, I now see clearly the following. The Last 3 1/2 Years of the Tribulation Era are so very “Great” (i.e., catastrophic), that God had to “shorten them” lest no one could survive their sheer violence and terror and impact on the natural order. They in turn are operationally defined by the Last Seven Judgments called, theSeven Bowl Judgments,so very powerful that they virtually destroy all that is left upon the earth, except for a ‘Surviving Remnant.’ This constitutes nothing less than JEHOVAH’S ‘GREAT’ WRATH, the likes of which have never before been seen, nor ever shall be seen again.

CODICIL. So that we fully understand the HISTORIC CONTEXT into which these Titanic Events are now beginning to take place, I thought immediately of Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy that succinctly described what are clearly, ‘Our Times.’

You are familiar with the passage, but I use the New Living Bible translation to bring it home to us in contemporary terms we can all understand.

“You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!” – 2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5

To such times as these are we all called my friends. There is High Privilege in it alongside Great Challenge. But He designed you to be here and will therefore equip you for it – So long as: ‘You Give your Consent.’

So may God richly bless your obedience, dear friends, as you Honor Him ‘by your conduct.’ Made fully Ready “to meet Him in the air” – then to Co-Rule with Him for all of Eternity, beyond time itself.

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