The Rapture, One-World Government and the "Great Tribulation"

By Luis Munoz

This book explains in great detail and exceptional clarity the issues related to the rapture of the Church, the government of the Antichrist, the great tribulation and all the apocalyptic judgments which God will pour out upon the wicked world. The rapture of the Church will bring about the global collapse of the economic, political and religious institutions of the world. At that moment of monumental crisis, humanity will quickly look for a leader willing to put the world back together, offer them peace and security. The world will host a false prince of peace called the Antichrist. He will elate the masses by telling them what they want to hear. However, he will push humanity to the deepest levels of degradation, vice, immorality, crime, war, violence, and rebellion against God. He will corrupt the social and moral order and as a result, billions of people will die. He will plunge the world into spiritual darkness and lead humanity astray. The Antichrists empire shall devour the whole earth trample it and break it in pieces (Daniel 7:23 NKJV). This will be a period characterized by widespread wars which will bring death to billions of people: 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 (Mark 13:19 NKJV). During this period, 25 and 33 per cent of the world population will die in two major wars. If these conflicts were to happen in our time, 3.56 billion people would die. However, before the Antichrist begins, God will take out of this world, all those who believe in Christ. Seven years later, the Lord Jesus will return to destroy those who destroy the earth (Rev. 11:18b) and establish His everlasting kingdom on Earth. Then, The wolf and the lamb shall feed together. The lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpents food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, says the LORD (Isaiah 65:25 NKJV).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Palibrio
• Release date: Aug 13, 2013
• ISBN: 9781463363413

Luis Munoz

I was Roman Catholic until the age of 17 when I became an Evangelical Christian by choice and personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Right after I became Christian, I felt an insatiable hunger for God’s Word. Apocalypse and the book of Daniel were the first books of the Bible I ever read. The study of Bible prophecy became my passion and call. I thank God that He took out of the Catholic Church; otherwise I would have lost my soul and my call to be His witness to the world.

Book preview

THE RAPTURE,

ONE-WORLD GOVERNMENT

AND THE

GREAT TRIBULATION

Luis Muñoz

Copyright © 2013 by Luis Muñoz.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 03/12/2013

Scripture taken from the New King James Version.

Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, inc.

Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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CONTENTS

Introduction

1  The World is God’s and He is in Charge

His promise to Keep Believers from the Hours of Trial

Noah’s Rescue is a Prototype of the Rapture

Lot’s Rescue is A Prototype of the Rapture

The Pass Over: Prototype of the Rapture

A Preserving Influence and an Obstacle

Prime Illustration of the Rapture of the Church

What Will Happen to Christians at the Rapture?

The Rapture and the Judgment Seat of Christ

2  Panorama of the Seven Seals’ Judgment

Daniel’s Prophecy of the Seventieth Week

Week Seventy in Nabuchadnezzar’s and Daniel’s Dream

Revival of the Roman Empire and the Prince of Peace

What is the Election and Who are the Elect?

Christ Ends Great Tribulation, For the Elect’s Sake

The Antichrist and the Abomination of Desolation

The Antichrist and the Different Names Attached

The Seed (Descendent) of the Serpent

The Little Horn

The Man of Sin

The Lawless One

The Son of Perdition

The Beast

Jerusalem Will be crushed until Jesus’ Return

Worldwide Spread of Social Conflicts

Worldwide Spread Scarcity and Hunger

Worldwide Spread of Death

Your Soul Will Never Die

God Shakes the Heavens Causing World Commotion

3  Panorama of the Seven Trumpets Judgment

A Third of the Vegetation of the World is Burned Up

The Fall of An Asteroid Ruins a Third of the Ocean

A Prolonged Worldwide Scarcity of Fresh Water

God Causes the Lights in Heaven to Die Away

The Earth Will Swarm with Demons

Jesus Unveils How the Demons Will Torment Men

4  China’s Rise and the Invasion of the Mideast

China’s Growing Influence in the World

Chinese Intrusion in the Indian Ocean

Pakistan, Beijing’s Most Trusted Ally in South Asia

Karakoram—The Road to Armageddon

Tehran Links the Middle East, Eurasia

and China Through Afghanistan

Israel’s Oil and Gas Raises Beijing’s Interest in the Mideast

The Railway Express to the Middle East is Ready

5  From God’s True Prophets to the False Prophet

The Two Olive Trees and Lampstands

Identification of God’s Two Prophets

The Ministry of God’s Two Prophets

The Antichrist Murders the Two Prophets

God Raises His Prophets in Plain View of the World

God Strikes the Antichrist’s Political Elite

God Brings Sinners Back to the Reality of His Judgments

The Woman Israel and her Child (Jesus)

The War in Heaven and the Defeat of Satan

The Future Great Persecution of Israel

God Saves Israel from a Massive Russian Invasion

The European Alliance That Will Rule the World

Rise of the Antichrist after His Deadly Wound, Phase II

The False Prophet: Rise, Disguised and Political Agenda

The False Prophets of Catholicism Appear in Sheep’s Clothing.

The False Prophet Will Deceive the World with Miracles

6  Panorama of the Seven Bowls Judgment

God Strikes Men with Painful and Oozing Sores

God Turns the Sea to Blood

God Turns Fresh Water to Blood

God Scorches Men with Fire from the Sun

The Torment of Darkness and Pain

The Armies of the World Come to Armageddon

The Undeniable Reality of Hell

God Brings All the Birds of the World to Armageddon

The Mightiest Quake Destroys All the Cities of the World

Magnitude and Destructive Power of Earthquakes

The Destructive Power of Volcanic Ash

The Destructive Power of Pyroclastic Avalanche

The Destructive Power of Volcanic Gas

The Destructive Power of Ocean-Wide Tsunamis

Conclusion

Selected Bibliography

Introduction

Some people believe that the end of the world is imminent. In fact, a great many people believed that it would happen at the end of December 1999 and at the end of December 2012. Although the theme of the end of the world is part of the prophetic picture of the latter days, the Bible does not say it will end any time soon. Based on what the Bible teaches, we can affirm with certainty that the end of the world is not as near as many people have believed and taught. Consequently, this book holds a futuristic view of the world and humanity on Earth and is not concerned with the Doomsday predictions that the world will end soon. This book and the other entitled Birth, Criminal History and Judgment of the Roman Catholic Church examines the current social, political, economic and religious condition of our world in light of Bible prophecy. I believe it is fair-minded to affirm that we live in a world constantly shaken by stormy winds of all kinds. I believe that far from getting better, we are quickly approaching the greatest world crisis, which will be precipitated by the physical disappearance of millions of born again Christians in an extraordinary event known to believers as the rapture of Christ’s Church. The rapture of Christ’s true Church will leave behind the greatest social, political, economic and religious void in the world. This vacuum will be immediately filled by a world dictator and the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church, known in the Bible as the false prophet. In this book and the other mentioned above, I will show the religious and political processes that will bring these two sinister leaders together, to rule the world through a political-religious partnership that will destroy the Earth. I will also show how the benevolent pope that will use the formidable wealth of the Catholic Church to help the poor, will also cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed (Revelation 13:15b).

However, addressing the Doomsdays Prophecies should not be avoided. According to the Bible, it is absolutely true that the world as we know it will one day come to an end. However, this does not mean that the world will end any time soon or that when it does, it will be totally obliterated. According to Bible prophecies, the destruction of the world as we know it, will give way to a totally new and glorious cosmos. The Bible says that when God commands the destruction of our present universe, new heavens and a new earth shall emerge out of the ashes of the old universe. This is part of what the apostle Peter said:

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up…the heavens will be dissolved…and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth (2 Peter 3:10–13).

The expression the heavens will pass away means that everything in the universe will be burned up, dissolved…with fervent heat and replaced with new heavens and a new earth. The destruction of the cosmos means that it will be purified by fire and transformed from a condition of sin and degradation to a state of total perfection, glory and beauty. The new heavens and a new earth shall be the perfect World where the perfect God and His holy people will dwell forever.

Therefore, at this point, Christians should not be concerned with the end of the world. Instead, we should be talking and warning people about the imminent rapture of the Church and the immediate manifestation of the Antichrist and the false prophet as well as the great tribulation. According to the Bible, at least five significant events must take place before the end of the world. Firstly, the rapture of the Church will occur. The Bible affirms that the Lord Jesus shall take His Church (every born again Christian) to heaven before the judgments of the Apocalypse are poured out in full measure upon the wicked world. Secondly, following the rapture, a world leader referred to by the Bible as the Antichrist will seize the opportunity to become a world dictator. The government of the Antichrist will be a political and religious system that will rule the world for seven years along with the false prophet. Under this government humanity will endure a period of incredible suffering and destruction without parallel in the history of the world. But that will not be the end of the world. Thirdly, the reign of the Antichrist will begin on Earth immediately after the rapture of the Church and will end seven years later when the Lord Jesus comes to destroy those who destroy the earth (Revelation 11:18). The Lord Jesus will come back to Earth in fulfillment of God’s Prophetic Word (Daniel 7:26–27). The Lord Jesus will be accompanied by all those He took to heaven in the rapture and those who die during the reign of the Antichrist. The believers that die during the reign of the Antichrist and the great tribulation shall partake in the first resurrection or the resurrection of life (John 5:29) when Jesus returns.

Fourthly, the Lord Jesus will take over the government of the world and establish a kingdom of peace and prosperity that will last one thousand years on Earth. Fifth, at the end of the Millennium, a massive rebellion will erupt on Earth and this will be the last insurgence of man against God. The revolt will set the stage for the final judgment, also referred to as the Judgment of the great white throne (Revelation 20:11). As part of the same judgment, God will bring the cosmos to an end at the close of the Millennium. Therefore, from a biblical view point, it is premature to talk about the end of the world as an imminent apocalyptic event. Instead, we should be concerned with the rapture of the Church, the government of the Antichrist, the false prophet and the great tribulation. According to the prophecies in the Bible, these series of events could unfold at any moment starting with the rapture of the Church. The Bible affirms that the great tribulation will be a period of human affliction that will be characterized by a tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be (Mark 13:19). The Bible predicts that during this period, humanity will endure a dreadful period of suffering. God promised in His Holy Word that those who believe and follow the Lord Jesus Christ in this life will be spared from the apocalyptic judgments that are predicted to come upon the unbelieving world. Let me say it again, the Lord Jesus will come for His Church before the seven-year reign of the Antichrist and the great tribulation begins. The Bible establishes that at the end of the great tribulation and the last human rebellion on earth, the brightest and most glorious future awaits those that choose to follow and serve God in this world.

Since the 1990’s predictions regarding the sudden destruction of the world have been routinely made. According to those who believe in the Doomsday Prophecies of Nostradamus, the Hopis Native Indians of North America, the Maya’s Calendar, the Hindus’ prophecies, and the Book of Dead of the ancient Egyptians, the world would come to an end at the end of December 2012. According to these prophecies there would be an alignment of our galaxy with the sun which would cause a reversal of the Earth’s rotation or a polar shift. In addition to these false predictions there was a preacher from the United States named Mr. Harold Camping, who first predicted the world would end in September 1994. Anyone would think that when Mr. Camping’s prediction did not come to pass in September 1994, his followers would abandon him with the conviction that he is a false prophet. However, Mr. Camping made news again when for the second time he predicted that the world would come to an end on May 21, 2011. On that day, the Toronto Star featured a picture of a group of Mr. Camping’s followers (page A16) holding a farewell giant Apocalypse cookie that read, Have a nice Apocalypse. May 21, 2011 proved once again that Mr. Camping is a delusional prophet. Although the young people in the photograph thought the world would end, their facial expressions indicated that they were not happy about disappearing from the world. Would you be ready and happy to leave this world if the rapture of the Church was to take place at this very moment? We have to be ready because the rapture of the Church, not the end of the world, and the beginning of the Antichrist’s government could happen at any time.

Whenever we decide to follow any of these man-made predictions about the end of times, we set ourselves up for failure and disillusionment. False prophets like Mr. Camping bring shame to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and to God’s people. Although we believe that the rapture of the Church and the second coming of our Lord Jesus are near, the Bible does not establish a date. Many people have already forgotten that the Doomsday Prophecies of Nostradamus first predicted that the world would end on December 31, 1999. The world also survived the threat of the year 2000, also referred to as Y2K and the doom of these false predictions. Y2K, also known as the Millennium bug, exacerbated the anxiety of many people around the world. Some readers may still remember that it was predicted that Y2K would cause problems such as major power failures, communication black-outs, and that failing navigation systems of airplanes and ships would cause worldwide disasters. It was also predicted that software and hardware failures in computers used for critical systems such banking, utility systems, government records, and other areas, would not operate, creating a potential for widespread chaos on January 1, 2000 and beyond. Many people around the world feared that there was a possibility that the world would come to an end. The governments of Canada, the U. S. and other governments around the world formed special committees to undertake contingency planning. And who does not remember the hysteria of millions of people buying and stockpiling food and other items as if the world would end as predicted.

The prophecies of Nostradamus seem to bear most of the weight of all of the Doomsday predictions. According to these prophecies, cataclysmic events triggered by a cosmic alignment of the Earth and the sun would reverse the magnetic field of the Earth and destroy the planet by the end of 2012. According to the Hindu Scriptures, a new world would emerge around the same time that the Mayans had predicted that their astrologically precise calendar would end on December 21, 2012. They believe this date marks the end of a 5,125 year long cycle in the Mayan calendar and the beginning of a new era. The Metro News of December 24, 2011, on page 14 reported that the expert from Germany, Mr. Gronemeyer deciphered a Mayan scripture related to the year 2012, which revealed that this date always pointed to a transition to a new era, not a possible end of the world by 2012, as others had interpreted it. However, it should be noted that in spite of this new revelation, many people around the world still believe, contrary to biblical predictions, that according to the proponents of the Doomsday Prophecies, the world will soon come to an end. As I already pointed out, instead of the end of the world now, most of Christians believe that the rapture of the Church shall occur first and that this will trigger a political, economic and religious worldwide collapse. The rapture of the Church shall create the greatest global crisis, from which the Antichrist and the false prophet shall emerge. However, this view of the end of the world soon has been showcased by the History Channel and included programs such as End of Days (2008); Last Days on Earth (2006); Seven Signs of the Apocalypse (2007); Nostradamus (2008 and 2012); The Nostradamus Effect (2012), and The Last Book of Nostradamus. The Discovery Channel also aired programs in Canada such as Apocalypse (2009), Aftermath Effect (2010), and After People that suggested a massive solar storm, magnetic pole reversal, earthquakes, super-volcanoes and other extreme events of cataclysmic nature may soon occur.

The interest on these issues is so great in Canada that the History Channel dedicated two full days of programming (May 23, 2010 and June 13, 2010) to ‘Doomsday’ themes. The advocates of the Doomsday Prophecies were convinced that their predictions would come to pass and they also affirmed that we would survive if we listen to what Nostradamus says. It seems that even the U.S. government has considered the ideas put forth by these false prophets. Is it not true that the government of the U.S. has set up a cave equipped with a two year supply of all necessary items that would allow a selected group of people to survive a global disaster? It is held that the U.S. safeguards its information, knowledge, technology and resources under a mountain, and that a select group of individuals will be conscripted to repopulate the planet after a cataclysmic disaster. The movie Deep Impact depicts in graphic terms the plan the American government seems to have in order to preserve the future of humanity on Earth in the event that a global catastrophe like the one predicted by the proponents of the Doomsday Prophecies occurs.

Readers who are familiar with the Holy Scriptures know that nobody can affirm with certainty the day when the Lord Jesus will return to Earth, nor predict the day the world will end. God did not share this knowledge with humanity, not even with the Lord Jesus when he was on Earth. Although Jesus was fully God, he was at the same time also fully man. By not letting the Lord Jesus know the day when the world will end, God made the point that He would not make this knowledge part of the human experience. God veiled this information from His own Son —the human being closest to Him. Therefore, when someone announces the date for the second coming of our Lord Jesus to Earth and the end of the world, Christians should take it as a plain sign of heresy and deception.

I wonder, what is the point of talking about the end of the world now if that event will not happen until one thousand years after the Lord Jesus has returned to Earth? Christians should reject the predictions manufactured by man because of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father (Mark 13:32 NKJV). Grounded in what the Bible teaches regarding these issues, Christians should live their lives confident that God will take His Church away before all the apocalyptic judgments related to the latter days are poured out on Earth. Based on what the Lord Jesus taught, Christians should look at the future with confidence, optimism and peace of mind. Therefore, no matter what happens in the world or how threatening these predictions are, for God’s people the future is always secure and bright. If you are in Christ, you have nothing to lose. As I have indicated, this book will give the reader the opportunity to read in great detail and amazing clarity about the global mega-earthquakes that, according to the Bible, will take place during the reign of the Antichrist and the period of the great tribulation. I will explain how as a result of these global events the entire Earth will be not only shattered and geographically changed, but also about the terrible suffering that they will impose on humanity. The graphic details that I will use to explain each one of the judgments contained in the book of Revelation (the seven seals, the seven trumpets and the seven bowls) are exceptional. The reader will find that the explanations I provide about the two witnesses, the three-and-a-half year period of their ministry and the reason they are referred to as the two olive trees and the lampstands are exclusive. In addition, the reader will find answers to questions such as:

Will the rapture take place before or after the rise of the Antichrist, the false prophet and the great tribulation?

What will happen to those who are left behind in the world after the rapture?

What will happen to those that will believe in the Lord Jesus during the reign of the Antichrist and the great tribulation?

Where will born again Christians spend eternity?

Furthermore, this book is a great compilation of most of the prophecies and judgments concerning the latter days, the rise of the Antichrist, the great tribulation and the second coming of our Lord Jesus.

This book makes an excellent gift for family members and friends, who would like to explore their spirituality, grow in faith and learn about the coming one-world government of the Antichrist, the false prophet, the great tribulation and all the disasters and apocalyptic judgments that God will bring upon the Earth once the rapture of the Church has taken place. In addition, I share my conviction that the rapture of the Church is the greatest future event that will prepare the way for the rise of the Antichrist, the false prophet and the one-world government. Most importantly, in this book I share my belief that God is still granting the world the opportunity to escape the terrible judgments that will come upon those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:8). If you believe in the Lord Jesus you will be taken out of this world before all the apocalyptic judgments are poured out on the Earth in full measure. Like Noah and his children before the Great Flood, God will save from the future apocalyptic judgments, all those who have believed in the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is the Ark of Salvation and the place of refuge for all those that in faith believe in Him. Therefore, if you want to know what the coming one-world government, the great tribulation and all the apocalyptic judgments pertaining the latter days are about, then you should read this book. It is reassuring and of great comfort to understand the order in which the apocalyptic judgments will fall upon the wicked world. The Bible gives us an all-inclusive step-by-step panorama of all of the judgments and earth-shattering events that will take place worldwide during the seven-year period that follows the rapture of the Church.

It is my prayer that God will use this book as a unique tool to strengthen the faith of millions of Christians around the world who shall be alive immediately before the rapture of the Church, the reign of the Antichrist, and the great tribulation. It is also my prayer that through the pages of this book, all the Jews and Gentiles that have been chosen by God before the foundation of the world, to be His own through Christ, will come to salvation before the rapture of the Church.

1

The World is God’s and He is in Charge

Serious consideration of the ‘Doomsday’ prophecies would reveal that they pale in comparison to the enormity of the calamities and suffering the world will go through during the great tribulation. The biblical descriptions of the coming apocalyptic judgments are so horrendous that it would be both a blessing and a tragedy if the world ends as predicted by the ‘Doomsday’ prophets. A blessing because humanity will not have to suffer and a tragedy because although the Antichrist will nearly destroy the Earth, it will be restored and renewed for the one-thousand year reign of peace and prosperity that the Lord Jesus will establish here on Earth. The readers will have the opportunity to verify by themselves that, no one has ever predicted the future of mankind and the universe in more brutal and glorious terms as the Bible.

Although the Lord Jesus made it clear that of that day and the hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, He however indicated that as a sign of His second coming we will see …nation rise against nation… (Mark 13:8 NKJV). The Greek word which refers to nation here is ethno, from which the English word ‘ethnicity’ is derived. The expression nation against nation (ethno against ethno) describes the growing racial tensions that we witnessed in different parts of the world for the last several decades such as the genocides and ethnic cleansing in Cambodia, Rwanda, Sudan, former Yugoslavia and northern Iraq. As the return of our Lord draws near, we will see the intensification of racial conflicts all over the world. As a result we will see tens of thousands of people flee their homes, forcibly displaced, and deported; we will also see the killing of hundreds of thousands of people. In the last couple of years alone, we have seen an unusual escalation of civil unrests in many countries around the world. We have witnessed waves of violent demonstrations and protests that began in December 2010 in some countries of North Africa and the Middle East such as Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Jordan, Syria, Bahrain, Yemen and Iran, where people confronted the military power of dictators with their bare hands. Subsequently, the ‘Occupy’ movement inspired protests against social and economic inequality in nine hundred and fifty cities in eighty two countries worldwide. Could the efforts of the powerless against the powerful be seen as a further demonstration of our world in flux and a harbinger of great change?

Regarding the prophecies that announce His second coming, Jesus also added, And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places (Matthew 24:6–7 NKJV). Although you may think we have seen it all, the most horrible things are still to come. Virtually every day we have witnessed the factual fulfillment of Jesus’ predictions in the media. Consequently, there is a growing feeling among many people around the world that humanity is hanging on a thread in a world that seems to rotate on the head of a pin.

Drug addiction and alcoholism are winning the war that Satan has launched against our children and youth. We are being overcome by serious social and environmental problems such as the breakdown of the family, domestic violence, sexual abuse of children and promiscuity, terrorism, extremism, racial conflict, social unrest, war, famine, hunger, disease, human exploitation such as human trafficking and modern day slavery, corporate greed, dishonesty, unemployment, inflation, low wages, extremely high costs of fuel, education, food, medication and transportation; deforestation, erratic climate change, air pollution, droughts, tornadoes, floods, heat waves, earthquakes and tsunamis, all of which are threatening to ravage the world. All these afflictions are inevitably paving the way for an increase in poverty, low production and very high prices on food, starvation of millions of people and human destitution of all kinds. The social and environmental calamities combined with the increasing disregard for God and His holy Word in our public and private lives is threatening to destroy our present social order and world peace. Daily in the media we witness the outbreak of new social unrest and wars. Despite the billions of dollars and almost eight thousand young lives that have been lost in Iraq and Afghanistan in the fight against terrorism and extremism, the world grows more dangerous with every passing day.

Those with spiritual perception know too well that it is just a matter of time before the wicked killed innocent people again in the name of their god, the Devil. We are living in a cruel world where the practice of love and kindness is becoming increasingly scarce because evil overcomes goodness and righteousness. We hear about pestilence and famine which threaten to decimate populations of the most vulnerable and poorest countries of the world like Somalia, Sudan, West Africa, Ethiopia and many others. Natural disasters everywhere are making headlines in the news on a regular basis. If the rapture of the Church and the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is near then we should not be surprised by the onslaught of global disasters and the terrible things that keep happening. According to the Bible, earthquakes in various places (Mark 13:8), are happening exactly as the Lord Jesus predicted. The book of Revelation describes five mega earthquakes that will shatter the Earth during the great tribulation period. The readers might be fascinated with the descriptions that I am providing in this book about these colossal global earthquakes.

The Lord Jesus warned that as His second coming approaches, There will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the Earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken (Luke 21:25–26 NKJV). The Lord Jesus said that there will be no relief from the suffering people will experience when they are engulfed by a series of disasters. People will be perplexed or bewildered and overcome with fear from the noise created by the sea and the waves roaring. The roaring of the waves is a vivid description of the barrage of ocean-wide mega-tsunamis that will approach the coastlines at incredible speed. When a mega-earthquake triggers a tsunami, the speed of the wave (tsunami) is so great that it generates a wind, which travels ahead of the wave and is heard from afar long before the wave lands.

Twenty years ago the occurrence of a tsunami was rare, however, in the past ten years we have seen an alarming increase in the number and the destructive power of tsunamis. Is the large number of earthquakes, mega-floods, super-tornadoes, droughts, heat waves and tsunamis that are taking place around the world, a sign or cautionary notes that God is using to punctuate the fact that the Lord Jesus’ second coming to Earth is at hand? The apocalyptic events that will take place on Earth in the near future will be son enormous that they will plunge the entire world into chaos. This is what the prophet Isaiah prophesied about the end of times:

The day of the LORD is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore, all hands will be limp, every man’s heart will melt, and they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; they will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; they will be amazed at one another; their faces will be like flames (Isaiah 13:6–8 NKJV).

According to the Lord Jesus, the fear and devastation that these future events will bring upon humanity will be so great that men’s hearts will fail them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth. In other words, many people will literally die of heart attacks from anguish or distress. We do not know when the rapture of the Church will take place, however, the Lord Jesus said, Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near (Luke 21:28). The distress of nations has already begun. In the process of writing this book, I heard on the news that two hundred and forty one tornadoes had moved across the southern United States. The storms began in Oklahoma on Thursday, April 14, 2011, moved across the South and hit the East Coast by Saturday April 16, 2011. It was reported that the tornadoes moved through thirteen states and killed at least forty three people. It was also reported that during the three days of violent storms, hundreds of houses and buildings were destroyed. The storm uprooted hundreds of thousands of trees, snapped power lines and left more than two hundred thousand homes without electricity. On April 27, approximately ten days after these disasters, another string of tornadoes ravaged six more southern states killing three hundred and thirty nine people. A state of emergency was declared in the States of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia. Meteorological authorities confirmed the occurrence of one hundred and fifty four tornadoes across the southern states on April 27, 2011 alone. They also issued tornado alerts from Florida to New York City.

The number of natural disasters occurring regularly around the world is so great that it is almost impossible to keep an accurate record. Following the tornadoes in April 2011, in the beginning of May, there was news about the flooding of the Mississippi River, which reached a crested of 47.87 feet, the highest level recorded in seventy years. This mega-flood was caused by heavy rain and melted snow that washed over the banks of the River flooding homes, businesses, and millions of acres of farm land in the areas of Memphis, Tennessee and Tunica. The tremendous loss caused by the flood waters of the Mississippi River was estimated in the billions of dollars. To make matters worse, on Saturday, May 21, 2011, the city of Joplin in southwest Missouri was hit by a gigantic tornado. According to CNN