I get asked this question quite a bit, the more serious brethren wanting to know just where are we today in Christ's countdown to the end of this world.
Approaching the 5th Seal and 5th Trumpet is what I tell them, and then try to explain the Signs our Lord Jesus gave us for those points in the timeline of the end.
On the 5th Seal in Revelation 6:9-11, we are shown souls in Heaven under God's altar that were slain for the Word of God, asking "How long, O Lord,...," until God avenges His saints. They are told to wait yet "a little season", put for the tribulation at the end, until their brethren also should be killed as they were is fulfilled.
That Sign for the end our Lord Jesus covered in Mark 13:9-13, warning that some brethren will be delivered up to councils and in the synagogues, beaten, and brought before rulers and kings for Christ's sake, for a Testimony against them. Our Lord Jesus gave that Sign just prior to the "abomination of desolation" being setup in Jerusalem involving the coming Antichrist. Jesus said the whole world will hate us in that time, and to not premeditate what those delivered up will say in that 'hour', but whatever is spoken won't be us, but will be The Holy Spirit speaking. He said those who endure unto the end will be saved.
In Revelation 9:1-13, on the 5th Trumpet - 1st Woe period, God's locust army is loosed upon the earth, which involves the locusts operation He foretold His people to be watching for as written in the Book of Joel. These are symbolic locusts, not real locusts in nature. God simply uses the 'idea' of how locusts attack and devour crops as symbolic for a certain people come upon His people to steal and deceive (see Joel 1 & 2). The locusts in Rev.9 are told they cannot hurt any green thing, nor kill the deceived not sealed with God's seal, but only sting them for a period of five months. Real locusts would devour any green thing it came into contact with, so we know God is only using locusts as a symbol in that. That five months represents the actual shortened time of the coming tribulation. It will begin with the 6th Trumpet - 2nd Woe period.
This is where I see we are at today, approaching the 5th Seal and 5th Trumpet. The world control and chaos of the 4th Seal Sign has already long since been in place over the earth, bringing society to this point of chaos and rebellion today. Christ's enemies have been steadily infiltrating the western Christian nations with the plan for overthrow. They have crept into the seats of many western governments, making legislation that only supports the nation's overthrow, and allow the infiltration of illegals that are part of revolutionary fringe groups, and most of all, allow Communist strategy of quelling religious freedom and freedoms of speech, even to the point of pushing for the burning of Christian Churches. It no longer is just the revolutionaries who hold peaceful like rallies preaching overthrow of the U.S., it is now armed revolutionaries holding un-peaceful rallies preaching overthrow of anything and everything involving the United States, it's people, its culture, Christianity, and even the Jews. And those in city and state governments just sit idle, allowing it to happen, which is a major sign.
When leaders in government allow these things to go on, it is a sign we are closer to what our Lord Jesus said for the 5th Sign, the events of the 5th Seal and 5th Trumpet. At some point, western leadership will be taken over to the point when they will seek to jail and deliver up Christian brethren just for preaching God's Word. This I see even more so with street preachers, as some of them already are being arrested for preaching on a street corner, even though the written law says they can do it. Many in our leadership are no longer concerned with following all the written law, not God's laws, nor even the Constitution of The United States of America which they took as an oath of office to defend.
Prepare yourselves brethren. Keep the Faith, be strong, even if you are delivered up to Christ's enemies. Seek peace, not war nor revolution. Defend yourself, your family, your community, and most of all defend The Faith in Jesus Christ.
Approaching the 5th Seal and 5th Trumpet is what I tell them, and then try to explain the Signs our Lord Jesus gave us for those points in the timeline of the end.
On the 5th Seal in Revelation 6:9-11, we are shown souls in Heaven under God's altar that were slain for the Word of God, asking "How long, O Lord,...," until God avenges His saints. They are told to wait yet "a little season", put for the tribulation at the end, until their brethren also should be killed as they were is fulfilled.
That Sign for the end our Lord Jesus covered in Mark 13:9-13, warning that some brethren will be delivered up to councils and in the synagogues, beaten, and brought before rulers and kings for Christ's sake, for a Testimony against them. Our Lord Jesus gave that Sign just prior to the "abomination of desolation" being setup in Jerusalem involving the coming Antichrist. Jesus said the whole world will hate us in that time, and to not premeditate what those delivered up will say in that 'hour', but whatever is spoken won't be us, but will be The Holy Spirit speaking. He said those who endure unto the end will be saved.
In Revelation 9:1-13, on the 5th Trumpet - 1st Woe period, God's locust army is loosed upon the earth, which involves the locusts operation He foretold His people to be watching for as written in the Book of Joel. These are symbolic locusts, not real locusts in nature. God simply uses the 'idea' of how locusts attack and devour crops as symbolic for a certain people come upon His people to steal and deceive (see Joel 1 & 2). The locusts in Rev.9 are told they cannot hurt any green thing, nor kill the deceived not sealed with God's seal, but only sting them for a period of five months. Real locusts would devour any green thing it came into contact with, so we know God is only using locusts as a symbol in that. That five months represents the actual shortened time of the coming tribulation. It will begin with the 6th Trumpet - 2nd Woe period.
This is where I see we are at today, approaching the 5th Seal and 5th Trumpet. The world control and chaos of the 4th Seal Sign has already long since been in place over the earth, bringing society to this point of chaos and rebellion today. Christ's enemies have been steadily infiltrating the western Christian nations with the plan for overthrow. They have crept into the seats of many western governments, making legislation that only supports the nation's overthrow, and allow the infiltration of illegals that are part of revolutionary fringe groups, and most of all, allow Communist strategy of quelling religious freedom and freedoms of speech, even to the point of pushing for the burning of Christian Churches. It no longer is just the revolutionaries who hold peaceful like rallies preaching overthrow of the U.S., it is now armed revolutionaries holding un-peaceful rallies preaching overthrow of anything and everything involving the United States, it's people, its culture, Christianity, and even the Jews. And those in city and state governments just sit idle, allowing it to happen, which is a major sign.
When leaders in government allow these things to go on, it is a sign we are closer to what our Lord Jesus said for the 5th Sign, the events of the 5th Seal and 5th Trumpet. At some point, western leadership will be taken over to the point when they will seek to jail and deliver up Christian brethren just for preaching God's Word. This I see even more so with street preachers, as some of them already are being arrested for preaching on a street corner, even though the written law says they can do it. Many in our leadership are no longer concerned with following all the written law, not God's laws, nor even the Constitution of The United States of America which they took as an oath of office to defend.
Prepare yourselves brethren. Keep the Faith, be strong, even if you are delivered up to Christ's enemies. Seek peace, not war nor revolution. Defend yourself, your family, your community, and most of all defend The Faith in Jesus Christ.