Sound The Trumpet : Shadows of the Coming Tribulation Period

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“Shadows of the Coming Tribulation Period”
by Art Sadlier
January 1st, 2010

Jesus warned of a coming time of tribulation which would be unparalleled in the history of the world. Jesus went on to say that if that day had been longer than the proscribed seven years no flesh would remain alive on the earth. Matthew 24:21-22.

John tells us in the book of Revelation that an innumerable number of men and women will be saved during that time. He goes on to tell us that a vast host of those tribulation saints will be martyred for their faith in Christ. Revelation 7:13-14.

We know from scripture that the closing days of this present age will be a climax in the age long warfare between God and Satan. We know that Satan and his man, the Antichrist will be insane with the desire to kill every believer alive on the earth.

Jesus warned His own that the world would hate them and seek to kill them.

I believe that we are now seeing all around us the climate developing for the coming of Antichrist, and the preparation for the slaughter of countless of millions of tribulation saints.

Tribulation, persecution and martyrdom have been the lot of believers all down the long church age. The intensity has ebbed and flowed, but I believe that today we are seeing an unprecedented persecution of believers world-wide. The mindset of the Great Tribulation is being established. The stage is being set for the environment which will prevail during the tribulation period.

We are told that every three minutes a Christian is being tortured in the Muslim world. We are also told that more than 165,000 Christians will die this year for their faith in Christ, most of them in Muslim countries. It is estimated that 200 to 300 million Christians are now being persecuted.

In Gaza the bodies of Christians are being dug up by Hamas, they state that these dead Christians are polluting the earth. Such hatred is the fuel for the incredible tribulation period and the slaughter of God’s people.

In America and Canada the hatred for believers is growing. Christians are being slandered, mocked and

censored. This climate has been changing with lightening speed.

In Germany the parents of homeschoolers have been sent to jail.

In the UK there is a proposal before the Parliament which calls for a mandatory criminal background check for parents who want to home school their children.

Statistics tell us that more Christians died for their faith in the 20^th century than in all of the 19 centuries which preceded it. Now we are seeing a tremendous escalation in the killing of believers in the early years of the e 21^st century.

In China the communist government is seeking to eliminate all church activity that is not sanctioned by the state.

In Eritrea thirty elderly women were arrested for praying together.

The following are some quotes from “this is the end of the world as we know it” website.

“Today some 3,000 Eritrean Christians are imprisoned for their faith. Some are in underground and solitary cells whilst some are in ‘secret’ prisons for the ‘disappeared’. However, most are herded into unventilated shipping containers in the desert where dysentery and infectious diseases go untreated. Torture is routine.”

“Increasingly, Christian clergy are being targeted for assassination all over the world. The following are just a few of the recent examples ...”

“A Russian priest who had been highly critical of Islam has been assassinated inside his own church.”

“Leftist guerrillas in Colombia brutally executed a Christian pastor just outside his own home.”

“Two masked members of the al-Shabaab Muslim militia shot and killed a Christian pastor in Somalia as he drove home from a worship service.”

“In India, more than 100 Christians are confirmed dead, 4,000 homes have burned down, and over 50,000 Christians have fled their homes.”

“Hundreds of Muslim villagers in southern Egypt recently burned and looted scores of Christian-owned shops. Christians in Egypt live in a constant state of fear and thousands are being forced to relocate. In fact, the forced deportation of Egyptian Christians from their homes by the government in order to ‘protect’ them is rapidly increasing”.

“All across Europe, ‘anti-proselytizing’ laws are being passed. Not only that, but other laws are being adopted that force Christians to deny their beliefs. For example, the UK government is being forced by the European Commission to eliminate exemptions that allow churches to refuse to employ homosexual staff.”

“Christians there are considered little more than dogs as the following story from The Voice of the Martyrs illustrates ...

The young brown-eyed girl looked up at her mother. What would she decide?

Earlier that morning, the young girl’s mother, their pastor, and twenty-six others in her North Korean village of GokSan were bound and taken before a screaming crowd of Communists.

One of the guards ordered Pastor Kim and the others Christians, ‘Deny Christ, or you will die’. The words chilled her. How could they ask her to deny Jesus? She knew in her heart He was real. They all quietly refused.

Then the Communist guard shouted directly at the adult Christians, ‘Deny Christ or we will hang your children.’ The young girl looked up at her mother. She gripped her and knowing how much her mom loved her. Her mother then leaned down. With confidence and peace she whispered, ‘Today my love, I will see you in heaven.’

All of the children were hanged.

The remaining believers were then brought out onto the pavement and forced to lie down in front of a huge steamroller. The Communists gave them on last chance. ‘Deny this Jesus or you will be crushed.’ The Christians had already given up their children; there was no turning back.

As the driver started the heavy piece of equipment, the singing from the villagers started softly. “More love, O Christ, to thee, more love to thee”

“Calls for government repression of Christianity in the United States have grown louder than ever before. The Huffington Post even published a deeply disturbing article which calls evangelical Christianity the number one source of domestic terrorism in the United States and that calls on the Secret Service and the FBI to investigate and “infiltrate” pro-life and evangelical Christian groups.

Not only that, but many of the hottest bestselling books in recent years have publicly mocked Christianity.

Just consider the titles of a few recent New York Times bestsellers...

“God is Not Great: Why Religion Poisons Everything” by journalist Christopher Hitchens.

“The End of Faith” by atheist author Sam Harris

“The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins.

But this anti-Christian sentiment is just not held by a few elitists. The reality is that it has spread too much of the general population.

For example, the following are the titles of just a few anti-Christian threads on one of the most popular political discussion forums on the Internet...

“Dirty, Filthy Christians”: Treatise on the Most Dangerous Death Cult in Human History

How can we destroy Christians?

Christians should not participate in politics.

Attention Heterosexuals! Repent! Jesus Can Finally Make you Gay!

The tribulation period has not begun as yet, but I believe that we are seeing stage being set for that awful day. I am reminded again and again of the words of Jesus, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (rapture) draweth night”. Luke 21:29.

The hour is late! The Lord is at hand! The trumpet is soon to sound!

ARE YOU READY? Art Sadlier

Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13