Signs & Wonders Blog

This past week, I rewatched (via YouTube) a series of old movies produced by Mark IV Pictures that helped me understand end-time prophecy as a young believer. They are in order: “A Thief in the Night”, “A Distant Thunder”, “Image of the Beast”, and “The Prodigal Planet.” Many Bible prophecy scholars then taught the Antichrist would emerge from Europe. Some suggested he could be a Jew from the tribe of Dan. Then in 2004 while staying with a pastor in Cleveland, Tennessee, I learned of a locally-based evangelist named Perry Stone who taught the Antichrist would be a Muslim. Back then, I wasn’t familiar with Brother Perry. Since then, I’ve regularly watched his videos (including his “Manna Fest” program), plus attended a few of his meetings.  I now agree with Perry Stone’s belief regarding a Muslim Antichrist. That makes more sense to me for a couple of reasons. First, the rise of ISIS and their beheading of Christians who refuse to renounce their faith in Jesus. Secondly, I notic...

One topic that stirs up debates amongst Christians is the rapture of the church . Some don’t believe that will happen at all . Others dispute the timing of it. Personally, I believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, when the Body of Christ will be taken to heaven before the start of the seven-year tribulation period. However, a few argue it will be mid-trib, or post-trib.  A reason cited by post-tribbers is the “last trumpet” the Apostle Paul referred to in 1 Corinthians 15:52, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” They think this is the same trumpet mentioned in Revelation 11:15, “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’” There are reasons why I don’t believe these two trumpets are the same:  The las...

I consider myself a techie and enjoy the benefits of using electronic equipment. For years, I’ve mostly read God’s word on my smartphone, tablet, and laptop. I can quickly look up verses in different translations, plus enlarge the font to make them easier to read. The small printing in some Bibles almost require a magnifying glass. At night, I often fall asleep to an audio Bible playing on one of my devices.  Living out of a suitcase and limited to the amount of things I can pack, I strive to be as paperless as possible. I primarily communicate online to reduce the amount of snail mail that arrives at my post office box . Using apps on my iPhone, I conveniently use public transportation and make financial transactions. However, I still carry some cash in case of emergencies. One morning, I visited McDonald’s to order a coffee and breakfast burrito, but unfortunately, their computer system was down, preventing me from using my debit card. Fortunately, a woman behind me, who was a ...

Jesus warned in the last days, “…many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.” (Matthew 24:11) Among them are individuals who persist in setting dates for the Lord’s return. If only they would learn from the mistakes of others. 1n 1844, a Baptist preacher named William Miller predicted Christ would return on  October 22nd of that year. He based that on calculations from the Book of Daniel. Thousands of Millerites sold their possessions expecting to be removed from the earth, but nothing happened. That became known as the Great Disappointment and led to the formation of Adventist denominations. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have a history of unfulfilled prophecies. Watchtower founder Charles Taze Russell declared Christ returned invisibly in 1874 and the world would end in 1914. His successor Joseph Rutherford falsely predicted the Second Coming would occur in 1918 and then in 1925. The Watchtower later told their followers that 1975 would be the year of the Lord’s return. Again...

Tomorrow afternoon, portions of the United States will get to view a total solar eclipse. When the last one occurred seven years ago, my hometown newspaper (the Fargo Forum) published an article about two Messianic believers claiming the eclipse represented “a seven-year judgment on America.” I agreed with their exhortation of our country’s need for repentance. However, they also stated that unless America repents, “another one [eclipse] is coming in seven years.” Eclipses happen regardless of what man does on earth. Nevertheless, God uses signs in the sky to get our attention such as the wise men being led by a star to Bethlehem in Matthew chapter 2. The rainbow in Genesis 9 was a sign that God will not flood the whole earth again. Acts 2 mentions signs of the end times prophesied by Joel… 19 I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of ...

A few weeks ago, I stopped at McDonald’s after spending part of the afternoon passing out gospel tracts. Because the cashier line was long, I used a self-serve kiosk to pay for my food. I was a bit surprised when noticing the order number on my receipt was 666. Just about everyone knows that number is associated with the Antichrist as mentioned in Revelation 13: 16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,  17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. While many Bible prophecy followers believe the mark will be a microchip, it could also be a tattoo. Until a generation ago, tattoos in Western countries were mostly seen on military men. Nowadays, both men and women from all walks o...

Jehovah’s Witnesses are among the most difficult people to witness to. The Watchtower has indoctrinated them with false interpretations of Scripture. One of which is only 144,000 people will get into heaven. All other Jehovah’s Witnesses will supposedly live forever in an earthly paradise. This is a gross misinterpretation of God’s word. Revelation 7 identifies the 144,000 as Jewish evangelists, 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel that will minister during the seven-year tribulation period. Verse 9 from that same chapter refers to “a great multitude which no one could number , of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues” standing before God’s throne clothed with white robes. In case you have doubts as to where this is taking place, Psalm 11:4 says, “The Lord’s throne is in heaven.” The Bible clearly shows there is room for more than 144,000 people in heaven. To defend their paradise doctrine, Jehovah’s Witnesses often quote what Jesus said in Matthew 5:5; “Bless...

You better look up Look up into the sky  You better be ready I’m telling you why  Jesus Christ is coming again He’s gathering a list  And checking it twice  Gonna come for those He paid the price  Jesus Christ is coming again He sees you when you're sinning  But hears you when you pray He knows if you are saved or not  So be saved for He is the Way (to the tune of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" -  new lyrics by T. R. Post   © 20 11)

Last Sunday night I saw the latest blood moon in the sky. I couldn’t get a decent picture of it with my phone or camcorder but saw photos taken by Facebook friends. I also noticed friends posted mocking comments because the Apocalypse didn’t happen. The recent blood moon tetrad plus a total solar eclipse on March 20th of this year were simply signs that we are living in the last days. As Acts 2:20 says, “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.” The lunar and solar eclipses were never meant to signify the exact day of the Lord’s return.  Ministers like John Hagee brought attention to the blood moons because three previous tetrads also coinciding on Jewish holidays occurred around the time significant events happened involving the Jews... In 1493 and 1494, total lunar eclipses occurred on the Jewish Passover and the Feast of Trumpets both years. This was after King Ferdinand and Queen...

In response to this weekend’s release of the “Left Behind” remake starring Nicholas Cage (which I haven’t seen yet at the time of this writing), my Facebook News Feed has been flooded with negative comments. Many of which were posted even before the movie hit the theaters!  The criticism of “Left Behind” has mostly been about it depicting the aftermath of the rapture. Some Christians believe there won’t be a rapture at all. One Facebook friend went so far as to label those who preach a pre-tribulation rapture “heretics.” That’s a strong accusation considering that would include Tim LaHaye (the co-author of the original “Left Behind” series), Perry Stone, John Hagee, Hal Lindsey, Jack Van Impe and numerous other men of God. For the sake of time and to discourage online debates on the subject, I will avoid explaining in this article why I believe in a pre-trib rapture of the church. However, I need to point out a few things to any rapture bashers reading this. First, not all ...

Not long after committing my life to the Lord in 1991, I developed an interest in end-time prophecy. One thing that helped me learn more about the subject was a series of films produced by Mark IV Pictures. The first of which was the 1972 release “A Thief in the Night.” As I’ve become friends with Christians from different denominations, I found out about the varying beliefs out there on how end-time events will pan out. Among the doctrines I’ve heard taught is that we are either in the tribulation, it’s already happened, or there is no tribulation. Yet the Bible talks about a world ruler who will emerge before the return of Christ. Even non-believers know about this man called the Antichrist.  1 John 2:22 says, “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.” The Greek word for antichrist is antichristos which means “the adversary of the Messiah.” Other verses in John’s epistles make it clear the Antichrist...