In my last post, “Peace to Pieces,” I wrote about some troubling events, times and trends going on in our nation and our world today. The Bible also mentions scriptural, prophetic events and signs that concern the “last days.” Many, many Christian believers feel we are in the times leading up to the last days before the Rapture and the onset of the Tribulation period that is prophesied in the Book of Revelation. There is even a very uneasy feeling among the unbelieving, worldly public that something is “going on” in a bad way in our world today. It would be difficult to argue with that. In Matthew 24, Jesus conducts His last extended speech or contained group of verses on a single subject. This is called the Olivet Discourse because it was held with His disciples on the Mount of Olives, a hill which rises about 200 feet above Jerusalem a short distance outside the city. This famous discourse concerns His warnings about the last days. I profess that I am no expert on the Olivet Discourse — many learned men and women have certainly devoted major portions of their spiritual careers in the study and elocution of this very famous passage. However, thanks to the plethora of study aids available today, the ease of access to information on the internet, and the devotion and study of many others, such biblical novices such as I can pronounce a bit of discussion on this topic.

Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.” (Matthew 16:1-3 NKJV)

Jesus’s frustration and disgust with these highly educated, biblically learned men is plainly evident in His rebuke. They were well versed in all the Old Testament prophecy concerning the Messiah. They had likely witnessed the previous miracles that Jesus had already performed. Yet, even in all this, they were asking for a sign; a specific event that would verify Jesus’s claims as Israel’s promised deliverer. However, because He did not fit their preconceived criteria of a king that would deliver the nation from the oppression and cruelty of Roman occupation, they had hardened their hearts to the fact that Jesus had already fulfilled many prophesied signs of His coming and His life. Before His earthly life ended, Jesus fulfilled over 300 specific prophecies concerning His life here on earth.

Among them:

• That He would be born a son of Abraham through the line of Isaac and Jacob
• That He would come from the line of Judah
• That His lineage could be traced to Adam
• He would be the son of David and heir to His throne
• In the Book of Micah, He would be born in Bethlehem
• In the Book of Isaiah, He would be born of a virgin
• In the Book of Hosea, He would be found in Egypt as a child

The list goes on, yet even though they knew the prophecy, they could not — or would not — see it.

But as the days of Noah were, so shall be the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. (Matthew 24:37-39 NKJVs)

Can the same thing be applied to our times, our generation? Many say yes. Many others don’t know, don’t care, are uninformed, or just oblivious. Is our world on the brink of its last and final destruction, as it was when God executed His judgement on the iniquity of men in the days of Noah? If you believe what’s written in the Bible, you know then that this final act of God’s wrath on an unbelieving and unrepentant mankind will come. Is it soon? What can we learn from what is written in God’s Holy Word?

In Matthew 24:36, 44, Jesus tells His disciples, and all who follow, to be prepared, to be ready, to be on the watch at all times, because no one knows except God the Father when Jesus will return to remove His Church, His earthly body from the earth. The secrecy of this event is vitally necessary because as God’s master plan for mankind’s redemption and also ultimate destruction of non-believers unfolds, Satan is continually formulating and modifying his plans for the last days, in which he is an already defeated, but key player nonetheless. Just as God has revealed Himself to us in the Bible, so also has He revealed Himself to His arch adversary, Lucifer. As we can learn of the signs of the end times, so can Satan.

As Jesus provoked the incredulous Pharisees and Sadducees to recognize the signs of the biblical times, so He does with us also in our current time; and not just for His expectant and hopeful Church, who long for His return, but for the lost of this world as well. He desires that “none should perish.”

The rapture of the Church is a signless event, i.e., there are no specific signs or events that point to or allow us to discern the actual time of its occurrence. The rapture is imminent, i.e., it could happen at any time. Prophetic signs may not be limited to specific events, such as the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, the appearance of the antichrist and false prophet, the battle of Gog and Magog, the abomination of desolation, etc., but prophetic trends, or occurrences over a period of time with regularity and frequency, can be just as legitimate an indicator of imminent prophesied events as specific prophesied signs. Prophetic trends mentioned by Jesus in the early part of Matthew 24 and the recognition of these trends can allow us to be ready and prepared as Jesus warned, not totally out in the dark as men were in the days leading up to the flood of Noah.

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these things are the beginning of sorrows (birth pangs).” (Matthew 24:3-8 NKJV)

As seen in the discourse above, Jesus mentions five signs to look for at the end of the age: false prophets and religious deceptions, wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes. Now, understand that “all these things” are not in themselves signs of the end because these signs have always been present in the world, in the time preceding Jesus and in the Church Age which began on the Day of Pentecost with the arrival of the Holy Spirit to endow the saints with apostolic gifts and begin the delivery of the gospel to all the world. We are presently still in the Church Age which will end when the rapture occurs. We find the key in verse eight where Jesus refers to “the beginning of sorrows,” or as seen from a Hebrew point of view, birth pangs (i.e. the pain of labor contractions during childbirth, which increase in frequency and intensity (strength) as the final moment of birth draws near). So when we see that religious deception by false prophets, wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes increase in frequency and intensity, we will not know the exact time but we can know that the end is near. This scenario of the coming together of all these signs is known as convergence.

“Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.’ For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:4-5, 24 NKJV)

There have been many false messiahs in the time preceding Jesus Christ and afterwards. Satan has always been diligent to use any means to mislead men from the true purpose of God. What better way to fool them than by deceiving them with imposters of the awaited messiah? Before the birth of Christ, many false messiahs arose. Familiar with the messianic prophecies in the Old Testament and the time table of the seventy weeks of Daniel, the rabbis had stirred the Jewish people up with messianic fervor of the Savior King who would arise to lead Israel to throw off Roman bondage. Out of this came the Rabbinic and Jewish rejection of Jesus, the Messiah, because He failed to fit their preconceived profile of His purpose here on Earth.

During difficult times in Jewish history after Christ, false messiahs arose during the crusades of the 8th century and the Spanish Inquisition. Messianic expectations have always tended to increase during times of excessive hardship and chaos on the world scene, times ripe for the appearances of false prophets and messiahs. For about ten years from 1523-1532, David Reubeni and Solomon Molcho convinced many Jews in Europe, Egypt, and the Middle East that the messiah’s arrival was imminent. Ravini claimed to be a general in the army of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel who by Jewish tradition had been carried into captivity by the Assyrians in ancient times and were due to appear at the arrival of the Messiah.

Perhaps the most famous of the false messiahs of pre-modern times was Shabbetai Zevi who claimed to be the messiah. Few people believed him until Rabbi Nathan, a respected rabbi from Gaza claimed to have seen Zevi in a vision as the messiah. A messianic hysteria began to spread across the worldwide Jewish community. There was fasting and praying, donations of money and plans to return to the Jewish homeland. There were stories of signs, wonders and miracles, and reports of the discovery of the Lost Ten Tribes. The movement abruptly ended in 1666 when Zevi converted to Islam and then died several years later in disgrace.

List of Jewish Messiah Claimants:

The members of this group do not claim to be Jesus of the New Testament. After all, most Jews regard Jesus as a messiah claimant. Rather, for the most part, these men are pretenders in the Jewish tradition; that of a strong leader who will reunite the nation of Israel and take it into their rightful claim and status in the Jewish promised land.

• 2nd Century – Simon bar Kokhba
• 5th Century – Moses of Crete
• 7th Century – Unknown claimant in the Khuziston Chronicle
• 8th Century – Ishak bin Ya’kub Obadia Abu ‘isa al- Isfahani of Ispahan, Yudghan aka Al-Ra’i, Serene aka Sherini, Sheria, Serenus, Zonaria Saura, Severus
• 12th Century – Moses al-Dar’i, David Alroy aka Al Rui, The Yemenite Messiah
• 13th Century – Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia, Nissim ben Abraham
• 15th Century – Asher Lammlein, David Reubeni and Solomon Molcho
• 17th Century – Mov Decal Mokia, Jacob Querido, Shabbetai Zevi, Miguel (Abraham) Cardoso, Lobele Prossnitz (Joseph ben Jacob)
• 18th Century – Jacob Joseph Frank, Eve Frank
• 19th Century – Shukur Kubayl, Judah ben Shalem
• 20th Century – Moses Guibbory, Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, Menachem Mendel Schneerson

False messiahs have been fairly common in the last 2,000 years but in current times there is widespread messianic anticipation and expectation among the Jewish people that is unparalleled in comparison to former times. Imagine their surprise when Jesus Christ, Jesua, of the Bible appears to claim the title to earth and establish His Kingdom. About their discovery of the true messiah the prophet Zechariah writes:

And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10 NKJV)

The Gentiles have been no strangers to the appearance of self-acclaimed messiahs as well. The following list, which is exhaustive but by far incomplete, exhibits false messiahs who have come from outside the Jewish faith. You may draw your own conclusions about these imposters. One more comment before that list. More cults exist today than at any other time in history. Astrology has been around since Babylonian times. New Ageism is a modern cult based on astrology. A new age occurs about every 2,200 years. We are now in Pisces, the sign of the fish. In AD 2200 we will enter the new age of Aquarius, the water bearer. Aquarius will throw off the Judeo-Christian influence of Pisces and concentrate on humanism, the occult, spirit guides, reincarnation, projection, and mind control — all new age concepts. Notice many of these new age trends in the following lists.

List of people who claimed to be Jesus in current times:

18th Century 

• Ann Lee (1736-1784) – Founder of the shakers. Her followers believed she was the female incarnation of Christ.

19th Century

• Arnold Potter (1804-1872) – Schismatic Latter Day Saint leader. Claimed the spirit of Jesus Christ entered his body and he became “Potter Christ” the son of the Living God.
• Jones Very (1813-1880) – American essayist claimed to have become the second coming of Jesus.
• Baha’u’llah (1817-1892) – Born Muslim Shiite, he claimed to be the prophesied fulfillment and promised one of three major religions. Founded the Baha’i’ faith in 1863. Many world-wide followers.
• William W. Davies (1833-1906) – Leader of a Latter Day Saint Schismatic group called the Kingdom of Heaven. He claimed to be the archangel Michael, who had previously lived as the biblical Adam, Abraham and David. He claimed his first son was the reincarnated Jesus Christ and his second son was God the Father.
• Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) Claimed to be the awaited Islamic Mahdi as well as Second Coming and likeness of Jesus the promised Messiah. Founded the Ahmadiyya Islamic movement.

20th Century

• Haile Selassie (1892-1975) – Did not claim to be Jesus, but the Rastafari movement which emerged in Jamaica in 1930 believed he was the second coming.
• Ernest Norman (1904-1971) – American. Founded Unarius Academy of Science in 1954 and claimed he was Jesus in a past life and his earthly incarnation was an archangel named Raphael. He also claimed to be reincarnations of Confucius, Mona Lisa, Benjamin Franklin, Socrates, Queen Elizabeth I and Tsar Peter the Great.
• Krishna Venta (1911-1958) – Born Francis Herman Pencovic in San Francisco. Founded the wisdom knowledge Faith and Love cult in the 1940’s. In 1948 he claimed he was Jesus Christ and claimed to have led a convoy of rocket ships to earth from the extinct planet of Neophrates.
• Ahn Sahng-Hong (1918 – 1985) – Is considered by the World Mission Society Church of God as the second coming of Jesus.
• Sun Myung Moon (1920-2012) – Believed by the Unification Church to be the Messiah and Second coming of Christ, fulfilling Jesus’s unfinished mission. Members consider Moon and his wife to be the True Parents of humankind as the restored Adam and Eve.
• Jim Jones (1931-1978) – He claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus, Akhenaten, Buddha, Vladimir Lenin and Father Divine in the 1970’s. He organized a mass murder-suicide at Jonestown, Guyana in 1978.
• Marshall Applewhite (1931-1997) – American. He claimed to be Jesus-Son of God. He and his Heaven’s Gate cult committed mass suicide in 1997 to rendezvous with a presumed spaceship hiding behind the comet Hale-Bopp.
• Wayne Bent (19-41 – ) – Claimed to be the embodiment of God, the combination of divinity and humanity. Convicted in 2008 of pedophilic sex crimes.
• Ariffin Mohammed (1943 – 2016) – aka Ayah Pin, claimed to have direct contact with the heavens and believed by followers to be the reincarnation of Jesus, Shiva, Buddha and Muhammad.
• Shoko Asahara (1955 – ) – Founded the controversial religious group Aum Shinrikyo in Japan in 1984. He claimed Christ, Japan’s only fully enlightened master and Lamb of God. He outlined a doomsday prophecy for nuclear times based on Revelation. He is on death row for his involvement of the Sarin Gas attack of a Tokyo subway in 1995.
• David Koresh (1959-1993) – Born Vernon Wayne Howell was the leader of the Branch Davidian sect in Waco, Texas. He and 75 others died in a fiery siege of the Davidian compound by the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco in 1993.

There are others.

21st Century:

• Apollo Quiboloy (1950 – ) – Founded Philippines based Restorationist Church, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the name above Every Name, Inc. Claims he is the appointed Son of God.
• Alan John Miller (1962 – ) – Former Jehovah’s Witness elder and leader of the Divine Truth movement. Claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus in the 20th century. His current partner, Mary Suzanne Luck, claims to be the returned Mary Magdalene.
• David Shayler (1965 – ) – Former British M15 agent proclaimed himself to be the Messiah in 2007.
• Oscar Ramiro Ortega Hernandez (1990 – ) In November 2011 fired 9 shots with a semi automatic weapon at the white House in Washington DC. Believed himself to be Jesus Christ sent on a mission to kill US President Barack Obama whom he believed to be the antichrist.

More to come I feel sure.

Remember the key to discernment of when these trends can be deemed to be a marker of the end times is when they increase in frequency and intensity and when all the trends begin to converge at the same time.

Concerning false messiahs and false prophets, we can look for:

• Widespread religious deception of false messiahs and prophets
• Unabashed heresy being taught as biblical truth
• Many cults and religious groups, with many claiming to be Christian
• Widespread and increasing world chaos enabling deceptions to pass off as genuine to a confused and troubled world

I will end the first part of this discussion here and plan on concluding it with my next post.

Holding fast,

Mark.

All truths are easy to understand once we discover them. The point is to discover them. ~ Galileo

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirit to see whether they are from God. Because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that is coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He that is in you than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:1-4)

^{Photography of Jim Jones by Unknown}