Armageddon, Valley of Josephat, Daniel, End Times, Rapture
The RAPTURE* is a misnomer. God did not make the earth for the wicked to possess. Rather, the Day of the Lord is the self-destruction of the wicked while God's people are granted to inherit the earth in peace and blessing. Christ must reign until He "puts and things beneath His Feet". Man must regain his primeval innocents, the Curse must be overcome. The "New Jerusalem" is the earth transformed even here below.
"I beheld till thrones were placed and the Ancient of days sat... and the books were opened (Dan.7:9; Apoc.20:12) and judgment was given. And I beheld because of the great words which that horn spoke: and I saw that the beast was slain, and the body thereof was destroyed, and given to the fire to be burnt. And lo, One like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and He came even to the Ancient of days....And He gave Him power, and glory, and a kingdom...His power is an everlasting power that shall not be taken away (Dan. 7:9-14).
**************
ARMAGEDON: "And I saw from the mouth of the dragon, and the mouth of the beast and the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits... the spirits of devils working signs, and they go forth to the kings of the whole earth, to gather them to battle against the great day of the Almighty God. And He shall gather them together into a place which in Hebrew is called ARMAGEDON (see Zach. 12:11 - murder of the Lord's witness shall bring on the great conflagration)....And there was a great earthquake, such as one as never had been since men were upon the earth, such an earthquake, so great. And the great city was divided into three parts; and the cities of the Gentiles (ungodly) fell. " (Apoc. 16:16-19)
The world shall be
divided into three camps (Zach.13:8-9): One camp shall be protected by
the Lord's Covenant, and the other two camps comprising the rest
of the world who freely and knowingly refuse
the Lord's warning and kill the prophets sent to save them.
ARMAGADON is a symbolism not a
place: "In that day there shall be a great lamentation in
Jerusalem, like the lamentation of Adadremmon in the plain of ARMAGEDON" (Zach. 12:11).
This is symbolic for the weeping that happened when good King
Josias was slain. The death of a very great and holy person will bring
on the world catastrophy. See the two witnesses of Apocalypse.
If anyone
shall hurt them, out of the mouth of prophecy their enemies themselves shall
perish. However by God's mercy, repentance can reverse the greatest
impending disasters. Remember Jonah. God
desires to forgive!
*NOTE: THE RAPTURE IS A MIS-NOEMER The "appointed time" or the "end time", which is relative to the "Day of the Lord" is not the end of the world but the end of Satan's reign, the end of the era of evil wherein Christ shall return at the Right Hand (power) of God to save His people from utter annihilation that the world is running to. Following this Divine Intervention of God, a new era shall begin: A New Earth where justice and peace reign. "Christ must reign until He brings all things under His Feet...and the last of these is death". St Paul says that we who are left at the final end of the world will be taken up alive into heaven (the real rapture) because wickedness shall have long vanished from the earth. Death, which is a punishment for sin, is overcome: "There shall be no more dying" (Apoc. 21:4).
************
Symbolism, for cross-reference, plays a great part in the interpretation of Scripture: Interpretation is not a guess. The "Valley of Josephat" is a symbolism of the Day of the Lord where Christ will do a like work at His Second Coming:
"I will bring all nations into the valley of Josephat
and there I will plead for MY PEOPLE and my
INHERITANCE, Israel." There is only one Valley connected with
Josephat in Scripture, it is 2 Chronicles 20. All the nations gather against
God's people and Josephat, with his small army, does not know what to do. He
gives himself to prayer and calls for a fast. A prophet rises and says, "Do not
fear, for the battle is not yours but God's." So Josephat takes courage and with
his tiny army goes out to meet the foe. In the meantime the Ammonites begin
fighting with the Moabites and the Moabites begin fighting with the inhabitants
of Mt Seir. When Josephat arrives at the top of the mountain, he looks down and
sees all the slain before him. He goes down and takes their spoils. And he calls
it "The Valley of Blessing". GOD HAS A LIKE WORK IN THE LATTER DAYS: "Not with
an army or by might but by My Spirit, says the Lord" (Zacharias 4:6); "you shall
return and see the difference between the just and the unjust, between him who
serves the Lord and him who serves him not...when they shall be ashes under your
feet, it shall not leave them root nor branch...IN THE DAY WHEN 'I DO' SAYS THE
LORD" (Malachias 3:18-4:6) God is warning all the world that nations are on the
verge of destroying themselves. The remedy is change of heart and a return to
the Lord "who alone has power to save" and will do so. God warns but does not
force.; He calls but has given us free will. But how do I know for sure? I would
hate to find out too late! The worse thing is for evil to have no end. God's
word is never "woe!" except to those who refuse it. By God's love and
faithfulness, there is a sure remedy: "I made the smith who brings forth his
instrument to destroy. And I made the substance from which he forms his
instruments to destroy. No weapon that is formed against you will prosper...This
is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord and my faithfulness, says the
Lord" (Isaias 54)
Return to HOME More of End Time: 2Esdras - "Three Heads (3 parts)"
Daniel - Great Head that disappears first
PROPHECIES of St. Padre Pio (directions for the "remnant")