FOX'S BOOK OF MARTYRS: SOME PRIVATE ENORMITIES OF THE INQUISITION LAID OPEN, BY A VERY SINGULAR OCCURENCE

When the crown of Spain was contested for in the beginning of the present century, by two princes, who equally pretended to the sovereignty, France espoused the cause of one competitor, and England of the other.

The duke of Berwick, a natural son of James II who abdicated England, commanded the Spanish and French forces, and defeated the English at the celebrated battle of Almanza. The army was then divided into two parts; the one consisting of Spaniards and French, headed by the duke of Berwick, advanced towards Catalonia; the other body, consisting of French troops only, commanded by the duke of Orleans, proceeded to the conquest of Arragon.
As the troops drew near to the city of Arragon, the magistrates came to offer the keys to the duke of Orleans; but he told them haughtily that they were rebels, and that he would not accept the keys, for he had orders to enter the city through a breach.
He accordingly made a breach in the walls with his cannon, and then entered the city through it, together with his whole army. When he had made every necessary regulation here, he departed to subdue other places, leaving a strong garrison at once to overawe and defend, under the command of his lieutenant-general M. de Legal. This gentleman, though brought up a Roman Catholic, was totally free from superstition; he united great talents with great bravery; and was the skilful officer, and accomplished gentleman.
The duke, before his departure, had ordered that heavy contributions should be levied upon the city in the following manner:

\\1. That the magistrates and principal inhabitants should pay a thousand crowns per month for the duke's table.
\\2. That every house should pay one pistole, which would monthly amount to 18,000 pistoles.
\\3. That every convent and monastery should pay a donative, proportionable to its riches and rents.

The two last contributions to be appropriated to the maintenance of the army.
The money levied upon the magistrates and principal inhabitants, and upon every house, was paid as soon as demanded; but when the persons applied to the heads of convents and monasteries, they found that the ecclesiastics were not so willing, as other people, to part with their cash.
Of the donatives to be raised by the clergy:
The College of Jesuits to pay - 2000 pistoles.
Carmelites, - 1000
Augustins, - 1000
Dominicans, - 1000

M. de Legal sent to the Jesuits a peremptory order to pay the money immediately. The superior of the Jesuits returned for answer that for the clergy to pay money for the army was against all ecclesiastical immunities; and that he knew of no argument which could authorize such a procedure. M. de Legal then sent four companies of dragoons to quarter themselves in the college, with this sarcastic message. "To convince you of the necessity of paying the money, I have sent four substantial arguments to your college, drawn from the system of military logic; and, therefore, hope you will not need any further admonition to direct your conduct."
These proceedings greatly perplexed the Jesuits, who despatched an express to court to the king's confessor, who was of their order; but the dragoons were much more expeditious in plundering and doing mischief, than the courier in his journey: so that the Jesuits, seeing everything going to wreck and ruin, thought proper to adjust the matter amicably, and paid the money before the return of their messenger. The Augustins and Carmelites, taking warning by what had happened to the Jesuits, prudently went and paid the money, and by that means escaped the study of military arguments, and of being taught logic by dragoons.
But the Dominicans, who were all familiars of, or agents dependent on, the Inquisition, imagined that that very circumstance would be their protection; but they were mistaken, for M. de Legal neither feared nor respected the Inquisition. The chief of the Dominicans sent word to the military commander that his order was poor, and had not any money whatever to pay the donative; for, says he, "The whole wealth of the Dominicans consists only in the silver images of the apostles and saints, as large as life, which are placed in our church, and which it would be sacrilege to remove."
This insinuation was meant to terrify the French commander, whom the inquisitors imagined would not dare to be so profane as to wish for the possession of the precious idols.
He, however, sent word that the silver images would make admirable substitutes for money, and would be more in character in his possession, than in that of the Dominicans themselves, "For [said he] while you possess them in the manner you do at present, they stand up in niches, useless and motionless, without being of the least benefit to mankind in general, or even to yourselves; but, when they come into my possession, they shall be useful; I will put them in motion; for I intend to have them coined, when they may travel like the apostles, be beneficial in various places, and circulate for the universal service of mankind."
The inquisitors were astonished at this treatment, which they never expected to receive, even from crowned heads; they therefore determined to deliver their precious images in a solemn procession, that they might excite the people to an insurrection. The Dominican friars were accordingly ordered to march to de Legal's house, with the silver apostles and saints, in a mournful manner, having lighted tapers with them and bitterly crying all the way, "heresy, heresy."
M. de Legal, hearing these proceedings, ordered four companies of grenadiers to line the street which led to his house; each grenadier was ordered to have his loaded fuzee in one hand, and a lighted taper in the other; so that the troops might either repel force with force, or do honor to the farcical solemnity.
The friars did all they could to raise the tumult, but the common people were too much afraid of the troops under arms to obey them; the silver images were, therefore, of necessity delivered up to M. de Legal, who sent them to the mint, and ordered them to be coined immediately.
The project of raising an insurrection having failed, the inquisitors determined to excommunicate M. de Legal, unless he would release their precious silver saints from imprisonment in the mint, before they were melted down, or otherwise mutilated. The French commander absolutely refused to release the images, but said they should certainly travel and do good; upon which the inquisitors drew up the form of excommunication, and ordered their secretary to go and read it to M. de Legal.
The secretary punctually performed his commission, and read the excommunication deliberately and distinctly. The French commander heard it with great patience, and politely told the secretary that he would answer it the next day.
When the secretary of the Inquisition was gone, M. de Legal ordered his own secretary to prepare a form of excommunication, exactly like that sent by the Inquisition; but to make this alteration, instead of his name to put in those of the inquisitors.
The next morning he ordered four regiments under arms, and commanded them to accompany his secretary, and act as he directed.
The secretary went to the Inquisition, and insisted upon admittance, which, after a great deal of altercation, was granted. As soon as he entered, he read, in an audible voice, the excommunication sent by M. de Legal against the inquisitors. The inquisitors were all present, and heard it with astonishment, never having before met with any individual who dared to behave so boldly. They loudly cried out against de Legal, as a heretic; and said, "This was a most daring insult against the Catholic faith." But to surprise them still more, the French secretary told them that they must remove from their present lodgings; for the French commander wanted to quarter the troops in the Inquisition, as it was the most commodious place in the whole city.
The inquisitors exclaimed loudly upon this occasion, when the secretary put them under a strong guard, and sent them to a place appointed by M. de Legal to receive them. The inquisitors, finding how things went, begged that they might be permitted to take their private property, which was granted; and they immediately set out for Madrid, where they made the most bitter complaints to the king; but the monarch told them that he could not grant them any redress, as the injuries they had received were from his grandfather, the king of France's troops, by whose assistance alone he could be firmly established in his kingdom. "Had it been my own troops, [said he] I would have punished them; but as it is, I cannot pretend to exert any authority."
In the mean time, M. de Legal's secretary set open all the doors of the Inquisition, and released the prisoners, who amounted in the whole to four hundred; and among these were sixty beautiful young women, who appeared to form a seraglio for the three principal inquisitors.
This discovery, which laid the enormity of the inquisitors so open, greatly alarmed the archbishop, who desired M. de Legal to send the women to his palace, and he would take proper care of them; and at the same time he published an ecclesiastical censure against all such as should ridicule, or blame, the holy office of the Inquisition.
The French commander sent word to the archbishop, that the prisoners had either run away, or were so securely concealed by their friends, or even by his own officers, that it was impossible for him to send them back again; and, therefore, the Inquisition having committed such atrocious actions, must now put up with their exposure.
Some may suggest, that it is strange crowned heads and eminent nobles did not attempt to crush the power of the Inquisition, and reduce the authority of those ecclesiastical tyrants, from whose merciless fangs neither their families nor themselves were secure.
But astonishing as it is, superstition hath, in this case, always overcome common sense, and custom operated against reason. One prince, indeed, intended to abolish the Inquisition, but he lost his life before he became king, and consequently before he had the power so to do; for the very intimation of his design procured his destruction.
This was that amiable prince Don Carlos, son of Philip the Second, king of Spain, and grandson of the celebrated emperor Charles V. Don Carlos possessed all the good qualities of his grandfather, without any of the bad ones of his father; and was a prince of great vivacity, admirable learning, and the most amiable disposition. He had sense enough to see into the errors of popery, and abhorred the very name of the Inquisition. He inveighed publicly against the institution, ridiculed the affected piety of the inquisitors, did all he could to expose their atrocious deeds, and even declared, that if he ever came to the crown, he would abolish the Inquisition, and exterminate its agents.
These things were sufficient to irritate the inquisitors against the prince: they, accordingly, bent their minds to vengeance, and determined on his destruction.
The inquisitors now employed all their agents and emissaries to spread abroad the most artful insinuations against the prince; and, at length raised such a spirit of discontent among the people that the king was under the necessity of removing Don Carlos from court. Not content with this, they pursued even his friends, and obliged the king likewise to banish Don John, duke of Austria, his own brother, and consequently uncle to the prince; together with the prince of Parma, nephew to the king, and cousin to the prince, because they well knew that both the duke of Austria, and the prince of Parma, had a most sincere and inviolable attachment to Don Carlos.
Some few years after, the prince having shown great lenity and favor to the Protestants in the Netherlands, the Inquisition loudly exclaimed against him, declaring, that as the persons in question were heretics, the prince himself must necessarily be one, since he gave them countenance. In short, they gained so great an ascendency over the mind of the king, who was absolutely a slave to superstition, that, shocking to relate, he sacrificed the feelings of nature to the force of bigotry, and, for fear of incurring the anger of the Inquisition, gave up his only son, passing the sentence of death on him himself.
The prince, indeed, had what was termed an indulgence; that is, he was permitted to choose the manner of his death. Roman-like, the unfortunate young hero chose bleeding and the hot bath; when the veins of his arms and legs were opened, he expired gradually, falling a martyr to the malice of the inquisitors, and the stupid bigotry of his father.

THE GAP THEORY REFUTED: TOM HORN AND DONNA HOWELL

(12) THE EARTH IS BOTH OLD AND YOUNG WITH A PRE GENESIS BATTLE? Tohu, Bohu, and the Chaos Dragon? - YouTube 

SkyWatch TV: "Today, most Christians maintain that the book of Genesis says the Earth is 6,000-10,000 years old at the most. Scientists on the other hand, teach that it is BILLIONS of years old. This discrepancy has not only drawn a line in the sand between faith and science, but has also created a wall between Christian believers. But what if we told you a different explanation that combines Old Earth Evidence, Young Earth Evidence, Scientific Evidence together into ONE harmonious conclusion? How can the Earth be old and young at the same time, and what does this have to do with Lucifer?"

The Gap Theory: Harmonise or Compromise?

The above video promotes a new book written by Donna Howell and Thomas Horn Before Genesis which the authors anticipate will cause a theological war. It appears that this book has been released at this time as a deliberate provocation to the widely held beliefs of traditional Christians. 

The gap theory (also known as gap creationism, ruin-restoration creationism, or restoration creationism) are speculative ideas originally introduced by Thomas Chalmers in 1814. Chalmers hatched the novel idea that there is a gap of unknown but lengthy duration between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. Gap theorists argue that God judged this earlier creation due to Lucifer's rebellion. The gap theory claims to harmonize the conflict between the scriptures and the alleged long geologic ages, particularly with regard to the fossil records. 

The most notable proponent of the gap theory was GH Pember who was affiliated with the Plymouth Brethren and author of Earth's Earliest Ages (first published in 1876). Pember incorrectly identified the six days of Genesis 1 as "six days of restoration" rather than six days of creation. These ideas were also developed by Arthur C Custance and Donald Gray Barnhouse in 1970. 

The gap theory was included in the Scofield Reference Bible which popularized dispensationalism and became influential during the 20th century. Scofield's annotations alongside Bible verses have been widely challenged.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1).  

(alleged gap of millions/billions of years)

Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. (Genesis 1:2)Donna Howell: "Why do so many people act as if science and theology are two separate things.. Why is that even a question?"  She goes on to misquote the Herbert Spencer principle: "There is a principle which is a bar against all information which is proof against all argument and which cannot fail to keep man in everlasting ignorance, that principle is church tradition before the open mind." The Herbert Spencer Principle in fact reads: "There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance—that principle is contempt prior to investigation.”2 Donna's misquote immediately places tension between "church tradition" and "the open mind". Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) was, in fact, a philosopher who developed an all-embracing conception of evolution. Wikipedia: "The basis for Spencer's appeal to many of his generation was that he appeared to offer a ready-made system of belief which could substitute for conventional religious faith at a time when orthodox creeds were crumbling under the advances of modern science. Spencer's philosophical system seemed to demonstrate that it was possible to believe in the ultimate perfection of humanity on the basis of advanced scientific conceptions such as the fist law of thermodynamics and biological evolution."3 

The answer to Donna Howell's question: The inerrant and infallible scriptures cannot be compared with knowledge attained by human agencies. Human knowledge or science should be approached with caution, especially when it introduces novel ideas that challenge our understanding of the scriptures. The scriptures themselves warn us of the danger of relying on human knowledge: O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” (1 Timothy 6:20). Strong's: "..knowledge/science From ginosko; knowing (the act), i.e. (by implication) knowledge -- knowledge, science." 4

There is a mountain of evidence that casts serious doubt upon the reliability of various forms of scientific fossil dating: 

Science Daily: "Radiocarbon dating is a key tool archaeologists use to determine the age of plants and objects made with organic material. But new research shows that commonly accepted radiocarbon dating standards can miss the mark -- calling into question historical timelines."5 

Donna Howell obviously knows that carbon dating is very suspect and she goes on to rattle off other specialist areas of research: "...paleomagnetism, river sediments, biostratigraphy.." (19:30 mark)    

The following articles cast doubt on these further specialties:

(PDF) Is paleomagnetic data reliable?: A critical analysis of paleomagnetism (researchgate.net)
(PDF) Biostratigraphy: What have we learnt? (researchgate.net)
Understanding the complexity of sediment residence time in rivers: Application of Fallout Radionuclides (FRNs) - ScienceDirect

j20_1_72-78.pdf (creation.com)

Reports of an agenda amongst academic institutions regarding fossil dating are very troubling. Tas Walker of Creation Ministries International explains that academics are penalized if they publish papers identifying a worldwide flood as the cause of the existence of fossils. The eighty whale fossils found at Cerro Ballena In Chile's Atacama desert in 2010 are a case in point. Tas Walker: "The people who do the research on this, the geologists, they can't say Noah's flood.. or they are cancelled, they lose their accreditation.. You would never get a paper published in that case and if you said that at your university or your research establishment, you would lose funding.."9   

Theological problems with the gap theory

Instead of questioning geological old earth theories, Pember and others inserted highly speculative and problematic ideas into the scriptures.

The gap theory is inconsistent with the doctrine that God created heaven and earth creato ex nihilo (creation out of nothing) approximately six to ten thousand years ago. 

For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. (Exodus 20;11a). 

By situating death, disease and suffering prior to the fall, the gap theory throws the entire creation sequence out of sinc. The scriptures state that sin came into the world through one man. The apostle Paul describes Adam's fall as the circumstance necessitating the gospel. If sin and death did not enter the world through Adam, then Christ's sacrifice makes no sense. 

Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. (Hebrew 9:22)

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— (Romans 5:12).

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22).

Ken Ham: "The basis of the Gospel message is that God brought in death and bloodshed because of sin” and “[i]f death and bloodshed of animals (or man) existed before Adam sinned, then the whole basis of atonement — the basis of redemption — is destroyed.”6 

CMI: "Müller points out that this issue is not just vital for the Gospel (see also p. 16). It also directly reinforces the authority of Scripture; with the corollary that old-earth compromise undermines Scripture. It also points to the goodness of God, who did not create a world with death and disease."7

The gap theory is logically inconsistent with uniformitarian geology and its alleged "long ages". According to gap theorists, the fossils were produced rapidly by a massive worldwide Luciferian flood. This contradicts the idea that the fossils were produced over millions or even billions of years. 

The proposal that the Noahic flood was either a local or a "tranquil" event that left no deposits whatsoever severely compromises the biblical narrative in Genesis 6-9. Noah's flood is described as a global event that was violent and destructive. (Genesis 6:13). 

The whole point of the Noahic flood was to cleanse the world of unprecedented evil and provide a new beginning for humanity via Noah and his family. (Genesis 6:5,9). In my view, we cannot realistically accept Tom Horn's suggestion that Lucifer fell in a previous garden if that is what he is suggesting (?)  A proposed pre-Adamic Luciferian flood was concerned, not with the sin of humanity, but with the fall of Lucifer. However, Lucifer was not judged and continued to operate in sin following this alleged event. In other words, nothing was accomplished by an alleged Luciferian flood. Satan will be destroyed at the end of the age. (Revelation 20:10). 

Tom Horn: "Why was the nachash.. the fallen Luciferian angel, Satan, why was he in the garden when Adam and Eve were created.?" (8:00 mark)  "Lucifer was already in the garden when Adam and Eve got there. When did that happen? We know he was kicked out of heaven. Jesus even said 'I beheld Satan like lightning fall from the heavens.' When did that all happen? It didn't happen in the Garden of Eden, it was already past. (28:00 mark)

And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. (Luke 10:18).

Jamieson: "..the imperfect tense in the original, it should be brought out in the translation: "I was beholding Satan as lightning falling from heaven."

There are various interpretations of Luke 10:18. The context of this verse is the return of the 72 disciples whom Jesus had sent out ahead of him. (Luke 10:1). On their return, they reported: "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” (Luke 10:17).

Some bible scholars take Jesus' words in Luke 10:18 as a partial fulfillment of Satan's ultimate fall, since he still has limited access to heaven at the present time. (Job 1:6-12). Satan will not be finally defeated until he is thrown into the lake of fire for eternity. (Revelation 20:10 cf. Isaiah 14:1;). Although Satan is technically a defeated foe, there are further stages yet to be fulfilled from a finite perspective. (John 12:31-32; Revelation 20:1-3; Revelation 20:10). 

Pulpit Commentary: "Verse 18. - And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. The Lord's words here were prophetic rather than descriptive of what had taken, or was then taking place."8

like lightning from heaven.. could simply be allegorical i.e. Satan (and the fallen angels) were rendered impotent against the message the 72 were authorized to deliver (?)

Ezekiel 28:13-19 is a continuation of the lament over the King of Tyre. These verses appear to compare the human King of Tyre to the anointed guardian cherub in Eden - on the holy mountain of God. Many scholars believe that these verses apply to the fall of Lucifer/Satan which occurred in Eden. If this is the case, then Genesis 2:8 presents a difficulty for gap theorists. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. (Genesis 2:8). Adam was created outside the garden which was situated on the eastern side of Eden where he was subsequently placed. Eden and the garden within Eden did not exist prior to day three of creation. Gap theorists claim that there was a previous Eden and a prior creation, but the scriptures supply no evidence that this is the case. It therefore appears that Satan's fall occurred within Eden at some point following the third day of creation. 

You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.” (Ezekiel 28:13-19).

Barnes: This paragraph describes the planting of the Garden of Eden, and determines its situation. It goes back, therefore, as we conceive, to the third day, and runs parallel with the preceding passage.9

The gap theory is endorsed by various dubious characters including Benny Hinn, Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker. It is also endorsed by Timothy Alberino, Gary Stearman (Prophecy Watchers), Derek Gilbert and Ryan Pitterson amongst others. In 2015, Gloria Copeland and her guest Billye Brim took these ideas to a new level with the claim that God made the earth perfect in an alleged "pre-Adamic civilization".9 

A pre-Adamic race? Tom Horn  "..a pre-Adamic race, human like individuals that lived on the earth possibly millions of years ago, during the age when the dinosaurs would have roamed the earth." (26:00 mark)  According to gap theorists, the so-called pre-Adamic civilization could not be corrupted since they did not have souls or fall within the parameters of salvation. This dubious theory is a very convenient way to explain away the presence of human and animal fossils.

The translation of Genesis 1:1-2

The gap theory rests on the case that a full stop appears between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. The familiar translation: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and void..." (Genesis 1:1-2). is better translated "When God began to create the heavens and earth being formless and void.." In this more accurate translation, God doesn't create out of nothing, he is working with something that already exists i.e. He begins to bring order out of an already existing chaotic situation.

The earth was (hāyâ) without form and void, (tohu and bohu) and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Keil and Delizsch: "And the earth was (not became) waste and void." The alliterative nouns tohu vabohu, the etymology of which is lost, signify waste and empty (barren), but not laying waste and desolating. Whenever they are used together in other places (Isaiah 34:11; Jeremiah 4:23), they are taken from this passage; but tohu alone is frequently employed as synonymous with איך, non-existence, and הבל, nothingness (Isaiah 40:17, Isaiah 40:23; Isaiah 49:4). The coming earth was at first waste and desolate, a formless, lifeless mass, rudis indigestaque moles, ὕληἄμορφος (Wis. 11:17) or χάος.10

tohu = formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness
bohu = emptiness     

Genesis 1:2 simply informs us that the earth was formless and empty, not that it became desolate and empty. Pember adopted the word "chaos" as a further descriptive noun in order to make the comparison with "the ancient and widespread doctrine of chaos in the time of our Lord."11 There is no indication in the text that indicates that the world was chaotic. These additional descriptive nouns are superfluous and go beyond the meaning of tohu and bohu . In order to facilitate their presupossitions, various proponents of the gap theory have illegitimately changed the interpretation of hāyâ to became/had become. 

Although hāyâ can be interpreted as become, there are grammatical reasons why this interpretation is invalid in this instance. Charles C Ryrie: "In the present case the verb normally serves as a linking verb ('to be' not 'to become') as in Genesis 1:25 and 3:1 where it could not be understood as 'to become'..  the disjunctive use of the waw seems required because the author apparently is calling the readers attention to something about the earth - now as to the earth it was..  More so while contextual situation may require the translation of hayetah as 'become' such a rendition occurs only 22 of its 1,522 appearances in the Pentateuch.."12   A detailed linguistic and theological assessment of the gap theory with particular reference to Genesis 1:1-2b can be found on the following link: (PDF) A Linguistic and Theological Assessment of the Gap Theory with Particular Reference to Genesis 1:1-2b (researchgate.net)

Further passages with to·hu va·vo·hu

For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty (to·hu), he formed it to be inhabited!): “I am the LORD, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:18). This indicates God's process in creation which was subsequently brought into form and order without a gap of millions or even billions of years.

I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void (to·hu va·vo·hu); and to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro. I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the air had fled. I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger. For thus says the LORD, “The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end. (Jeremiah 4:23-27).  The context of this passage indicates a future prophecy of judgement against Judah; it does not revert back literally to Genesis 1:2, but is rather an allusion to it. It is bad hermeneutics to simply find the same wording (tohu va-bohu) and apply it carte blanche according to our own presuppositions.

Unfortunately, Tom Horn, Donna Howell, Derek Gilbert and Timothy Alberino have appeared a number of times on the Jim Bakker Show. Bakker is of course infamous for a number of reasons and is disqualified from the ministry. In 1987 Bakker was accused of sexual misconduct which led to his resignation. In addition, Bakker's illegal misuse of ministry funds eventually led to his imprisonment.13 In 2021 there was further scandal over Bakker's sale of silver solution as an alleged cure for COVID.14 Bakker's latest scheme is peddling emergency doomsday food buckets, hence his nickname "Bucket Jim". (2 Timothy 3:13).15 It is insupportable for any bona fide bible teacher to be associated with Jim Bakker! (1 Corinthians 5:11.) "Reverend" Donna Howell claims to be a "prophet" and is an admirer of Kathryn Khulman which speaks for itself! The constant merchandising of books and videos by Prophecy Watchers and Skywatch TV is another reason to be wary! (2 Peter 2:3). For the most part, the gap theory is relegated to compromised substandard outlets. 

Tom Horn and Donna Howell have released this book under the pretext of evangelization. It is proposed that unbelievers will more readily accept a pre-Adamic Luciferian flood as against the biblical account of the Genesis flood. The church is not called upon to make alterations or adjustments to the scriptures in order to make the gospel more acceptable. (Proverbs 3:5). 

A Luciferian flood is extra-biblical and is not recorded anywhere in the scriptures. To their shame, it appears that gap theorists would rather promote a speculative Luciferian flood as against the scriptural record of Noah's flood in the book of Genesis. In my view, no genuine bible teacher should buy into this defective theory.

1.  Correcting @_magnify & @CosmicSkeptic on Genesis 1:1 (with Two Bible Scholars)

2. William Paley - Wikiquote
3. Herbert Spencer - Wikipedia
4. Strong's Greek: 1108. γνῶσις (gnósis) -- a knowing, knowledge (biblehub.com)
5. Inaccuracies in radiocarbon dating | ScienceDaily

6. Do Old Earth Creation Views Compromise Scripture and Destroy the Gospel Message? | Facts and Faith

7. Young Earth and Flood: Why they matter (creation.com)

8. Luke 10:18 Commentaries: And He said to them, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. (biblehub.com)

9. Whale Fossils in the Desert - Evidence for a Worldwide Flood?

10. Genesis 2:8 Commentaries: Tshe LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. (biblehub.com

. (7) The Pre-Adamic Civilization - YouTube
11. Genesis 1:2 Commentaries: The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. (biblehub.com)
12. (12) The Alberino Analysis Earth's Earliest Ages Episode 1 - YouTube
13. The Gap Theory in Light of Grammar - Genesis 1:2 Word Study - The Disjunctive Conjunction Part Two (gaptheorygrammardcparttwo.blogspot.com)
14. Jim Bakker - Wikipedia
15. Jim Bakker to Pay $156K Over COVID-19 Cure Claim...... | News & Reporting | Christianity Today
16. (27) Pastor Jim Bakker Helps You Stay Alive During the Apocalypse - YouTube

Further Links

Closing the Gap - Listen to Answers in Genesis with Ken Ham - Radio Ministry Sermons (oneplace.com)
The Global Flood of Noah's Day | The Institute for Creation Research (icr.org)
(23) Was Eden on a Mountain? - YouTube
The Gap & Ruin-Reconstruction Theories | Answers in Genesis
Gap Theory Interpretation | Evidence Unseen

CRAZED CULT LEADER JD FARAG PREDICTS THE RAPTURE BEFORE 25TH SEPTEMBER 2023

 (12) “RAPTURE BEFORE Sep 25, 2023?” PASTOR JD Farag - “Rapture before Sep 25, 2023?” - YouTube

Farag: "We may very well be raptured before Monday, September 25th..  It seems to me that they are making a pretty big deal about 2030, and 2030 minus seven is 2023.. By faith I am not going to be available on Monday September 25th, and you won't be either for real. I truly believe with all my heart that the rapture can happen before Monday September 25th."   

This is just the latest in a long line of rants and false prophesies from Farag regarding the timing of the rapture. Farag is behaving more and more like a crazed cult leader and should be avoided by genuine believers. (Romans 16:17).

But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.. (Deuteronomy 18:20-22 cf. Jeremiah 23:16).

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. (Matthew 7:15).

LEE BRAINARD'S PRE-TRIB WORD GAMES

 (94) The Didache — Explosive Pretrib Information - YouTube

Lee Brainard continues his bogus claim that the early Church Fathers taught a pre-tribulation rapture. On this occasion Brainard's word games have extended to The Didache: The Lord's Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations. The general consensus is that the Didache is an ancient document written during the first century AD.

The Didache. Chapter 16. Watchfulness; the Coming of the Lord. Watch for your life's sake. Let not your lamps be quenched, nor your loins unloosed; but be ready, for you know not the hour in which our Lord will come. But come together often, seeking the things which are befitting to your souls: for the whole time of your faith will not profit you, if you are not made perfect in the last time. For in the last days false prophets and corrupters shall be multiplied, and the sheep shall be turned into wolves, and love shall be turned into hate; for when lawlessness increases, they shall hate and persecute and betray one another, and then shall appear the world-deceiver as Son of God, and shall do signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands, and he shall do iniquitous things which have never yet come to pass since the beginning. Then shall the creation of men come into the fire of trial, and many shall be made to stumble and shall perish; but those who endure in their faith shall be saved from under the curse itself. And then shall appear the signs of the truth: first, the sign of an outspreading in heaven, then the sign of the sound of the trumpet. And third, the resurrection of the dead -- yet not of all, but as it is said: "The Lord shall come and all His saints with Him." Then shall the world see the Lord coming upon the clouds of heaven. 1 

Imminence

Brainard: "We have no idea whether we have days, months or even a few years left before the rapture". (6:00 mark) Brainard's statement that the rapture could occur within "days and months" is incorrect. Jesus Himself states that the rapture will occur when the tribulation is cut short. (Mathew 24:22). There is a very short window of time in which the rapture will occur after the sixth seal is broken following the tribulation, before the outpouring of God's wrath. (Revelation 6:12-17). 

But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. (Matthew 24:36).

Jesus' statement above follows His description of various preceding signs concerning the end of the age in Matthew 24:3-14. Jesus specifically states that the rapture (i.e. the gathering of the elect) will follow the tribulation. Although that specific day and hour is unknown, certain fearful events in the heavens will immediately precede it. This critical information demolishes the pre-trib concept of imminence i.e. the argument that no event must precede the rapture.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:29-31).

Brainard's spurious claim that τελειόω (perfect) and doxazó (glory) are synonyms

Didache 16: But come together often, seeking the things which are befitting to your souls: for the whole time of your faith will not profit you, if you are not made perfect (τελειόω) in the last time.

Brainard: "In last days contexts, this verb (τελειόω (teleioó) is more or less equivalent to glorified, and it constitutes a reference to the rapture/resurrection." (6:30 mark) Brainard's so-called "legitimate paraphrase" is an absurd attempt to crowbar the rapture into this sentence. It makes no logical sense to say: "for the whole time of your faith will profit you nothing if you are not glorified in the rapture in the last time." In context, this sentence is an exhortation to meet together often and is relevant to "the whole time of your faith". 

The Greek word for glory is δοξάζω (doxazó) = To glorify, honor, bestow glory on. From doxa; to render glorious. 2

Christians are in the process of being made perfect (τετελείωκεν) during this lifetime i.e. they are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14). When the rapture occurs our bodies will be transformed to be like His glorious body i.e. into conformity with the body of His glory. (Philippians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:51 cf. 1 John 3:2). 

The Greek word for perfect is τελειόω =  To bring to an end, to complete, perfect

Usage: (a) as a course, a race, or the like: I complete, finish (b) as of time or prediction: I accomplish, (c) I make perfect; pass: I am perfected.

Cognate: 5048 teleióō – to consummate, reaching the end-stage, i.e. working through the entire process (stages) to reach the final phase (conclusion). See 5056 (telos). 3 

Examples of teleióō

I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly (τετελειωμένοι) one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. (John 17:23).

By this is love perfected (τετελείωται) with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. (1 John 4:7).

The scriptures are our primary source, not scraps of information mistranslated out of context from the scriptures, the Didache or any other early church document as is Brainard's habit. 

Brainard refers to Theodoret of Cyrus' commentary of Hebrews 11:40. (11:30 mark) 

Theodoret: "God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.. all of these therefore distinguished in godliness, shall be the first to enjoy the resurrection." 

..since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect (τελειῶθωσιν). (Hebrews 11:40). 

Paul confirms the unity and joint perfection (consummation) of Old Testament and New Testament saints at the event we know as the rapture. (1 Thessalonians 4:15). ..the dead in Christ will rise first. (1 Thessalonians 4:16). This information demolishes the pre-trib argument that the rapture of the OT saints will occur separately at Armageddon. 

Matthew Poole: "That they without us should not be made perfect; the final cause of this gracious providence was, that the former and later believers might be completed together; they shall not reach that perfect state of grace and glory by a re-union of their bodies and souls until the general resurrection, when they shall not prevent us, nor we them; but as soon as the trumpet alarms the dead to rise, in the same moment, and twinkling of an eye, shall the living be changed, and all be caught up together in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall be ever with the Lord, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17. The ground of which perfection of all believers in all ages being in the last time, is from his choosing them all to be but one body of Christ, and him their Head; so as one member cannot be perfected but in the perfection of the whole, Matthew 8:11 Ephesians 4:4. In which perfection of it, God is resolved to be all in all; not in one, or in some, but when Christ hath subdued all his enemies, and gathered all his members, then shall his body and kingdom be perfected, and God be all in all, 1 Corinthians 15:28."  4 

Partial resurrection at the second coming?

Didache 16: "And third, the resurrection of the dead -- yet not of all." Brainard: "'Yet not of all' refers to the Old Testament saints and the tribulation martyrs that are going to be raised at the second coming. The church is already raised, and when the Lord returns at the second coming, the church is coming with Him." (11:40 mark) The correct (traditional) view is that the Old Testament saints will be resurrected along with the church at the rapture.

..in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:52).

Brainard also quotes Eusebius - Fragments in Luke, Migne, vol. 24, p. 561 and Origen - Contra Celsum, 4:29. In all three of these short excerpts from the Church Fathers, the pre-trib rapture is entirely absent. All three agree that "perfection" occurs simultaneously with the rapture at the end of the age. However, none of these Fathers use the word "glorification" as a synonym for "perfection". This spurious assertion is Brainard's own invention.

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. (James 3:1). 

Brainard claims that his mission is: "Truth, truth at any cost, truth above any other consideration." I do not regard Brainard merely as an abysmal bible expositor, although that is not in doubt. His teaching is blatantly at odds with the scriptures and equates to false prophecy! The scriptures specifically admonish us not to be deceived regarding end-time events. (Matthew 24:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:3). Brainard may have achieved some notoriety among naive believers within the pre-trib camp, however, he and his associates are in danger of reaping severe eternal consequences for the offensive pre-trib outrage. (Matthew 24:11).

 

1. Didache. The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles (translation Roberts-Donaldson). (earlychristianwritings.com)
2. Strong's Greek: 1392. δοξάζω (doxazó) -- 62 Occurrences (biblehub.com)
3. Strong's Greek: 5048. τελειόω (teleioó) -- to bring to an end, to complete, perfect (biblehub.com)
4. Hebrews 11 Matthew Poole's Commentary (biblehub.com)

WILL UFO'S DISGUISE THE RAPTURE? BILLY CRONE, JAN MARKELL, MARK HENRY

 (84) Will UFOs Disguise the Rapture? - YouTube

"Pastor Mark Henry and Jan Markell of Olive Tree Ministries, sit down with Pastor Jeff Kinley to discuss how the world may use aliens and UFOs to explain the events of the rapture. This excerpt is taken from the "Understanding the Times" prophecy event held at Revive Church on August 3, 2023." 

Billy Crone's slant on the recent UFO phenomenon is yet another example of futile pre-trib speculation and headline-grabbing. (1 Timothy 1:3-4). At the UFO Congressional Hearing on the 26th of July, former Air Force Major David Grusch claimed that "non-human remains from an alien craft" have been recovered at alleged crash sites. 

Billy Crone: "I think this is all part of a custom-tailored last days deception to explain away the very event that God says is next on His prophetic calendar, and that event is called the rapture of the church, and that is when God evacuates all born-gain Christians, takes them off the planet before the worse time in the history of mankind is thrust upon the planet. The bible calls that time 'the seven-year tribulation'." 

According to Billy Crone, God's enemies will seek to find a credible excuse to explain why millions of people, specifically Christians, will have disappeared in the pre-trib rapture. Crone refers to an "alien deception" and he regards the alleged non-humans as demons. The New Testament consistently refers to demons as disembodied spirits; in other words, demons are precluded from having physical remains. (Matthew 12:43-45). Crone's failure to make the distinction between demons and fallen angels is no small blunder from yet another pre-trib "prophecy expert" (not). Ancient Jewish texts like the Dead Sea Scrolls specifically refer to demons as the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim giants who perished at the time of the flood. The nebulous nature of Grush's claims suggests that the alleged "UFO phenomenon" may very well be a psyop. If Grush's claims are genuine, then in my view, fallen angel activity more accurately describes the alleged "UFO phenomenon" currently in the news.

The issue with Crone's speculation is that it is dependent upon an alleged "pre-tribulation rapture" occurring before the 70th week of Daniel. (Daniel 9:27). It suits the purposes of the pre-trib camp to misrepresent the tribulation period as the entire 70th week of Daniel. However, the length of the tribulation is actually 3.5 years (cut short). (Matthew 24:21-22,29). 1 

The failure of bible teachers to teach sound doctrine regarding the rapture question is one of the biggest scandals of our time. (1 John 4:1). The pre-trib rapture is a doctrine that can be almost entirely attributed to the false teaching of megalomaniac and cult leader John Nelson Darby. This destructive doctrine of false hope is a tragedy for Western Christianity. Pre-trib teachers will have to answer to God for setting up many believers within the body of Christ for a terrible fall! (Romans 14:12; Matthew 12:36). I hasten to add that it is not too late for Jan Markell, Mark Henry, Billy Crone and others to repent, and I urge them to do so. It would be far better for these teachers to admit their error now and suffer loss of face, rather than face God with the damage this false doctrine will shortly create.

When the rapture happens, no one on earth will be in any doubt about what is happening! 

The scriptures locate the rapture of the church after the tribulation i.e. after the sixth seal is broken. The prewrath rapture is not a doctrine that I relish by any means. However, the scriptures are clear that believers will face the Antichrist. As such the wise course of action is to recognise the need to prepare our hearts for this time of testing rather than fall into pre-trib escapism and false hope. Far from being a signless event, the rapture will be preceded by fearful cosmic disturbances and the sign of the Son of Man. 

Immediately after the tribulation of those days:
‘The sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.'
At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Matthew 24:29-31).

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4).

1. WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING: FALSE PROPHETS AND BIBLE TEACHERS IN THE LAST DAYS: THE SEVEN YEAR TRIBULATION FALLACY (bewareofthewolves.blogspot.com)

JOE SCHIMMEL'S APPALLING ESCHATOLOGY

 (71) NAR, Seven Mountains and Witchcraft in the Church - YouTube

I agree with Joe Shimmel's assessment of the NAR and I have no issues with his presentation in this respect. However, it is regrettable that he rushes through his material. A number of Christians are now knowledgeable about the NAR thanks to people like Holly Pivec and Doug Geivett etc. Those with some knowledge of the NAR can probably follow Schimmel without too much difficulty. However, I think those who are new to this subject will find it very difficult to digest the information Schimmel rattles out at break-neck speed, and they may even abandon the video. In my view, a slower pace would benefit the people who need this information the most. I don't know why Schimmel and Davidson feel that they have to rush through presentations and impose unrealistic time limits upon themselves.

Schimmel is something of a double-edged sword in that while his teaching is sound in many respects, his eschatology leaves much to be desired and is counterproductive. An essential principle for teachers to follow is to ensure that their own theology is sound, otherwise, they simply give ammunition to false teachers, with the inevitable result that further damage and confusion ensues. Schimmel's rapture theory is a stark example of inadequate research and sloppy exegesis. See the link below for Schimmel's "traditional" post-trib view regarding his concurrent-recapitulation view of the sixth seal, sixth trumpet, and sixth bowl.

In the above video, another glaring example of Schimmel's poor eschatology is exposed. Shimmel: "He lets His own children, by the hundreds of millions perhaps, go through the tribulation period.." (57:30 mark)

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.
Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:9-14).   

The logical event that defines the appearance of the great multitude in heaven is the prewrath rapture following the sixth seal cosmic disturbances. (Revelation 6:2-17). The great multitude consists of the full number of living and dead believers from all generations, rather than those who specifically go through "the great tribulation" of Matthew 24:21. In my view, not too many believers will "go through" the great tribulation since many of them will have been persecuted and martyred. (Matthew 24:9-10,22; Revelation 13:7,15-17; Revelation 20:4). Following the deliverance (rapture) of the great multitude, the seventh seal is opened. After about half an hour of silence, the wrath of God is executed chronologically from heaven by the seven angels: When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. (Revelation 8:1-2).

Ellicott: "Are we to limit the expression to the special and peculiar afflictions of the last great trial? There is no doubt about the emphasis which the definite article (unfortunately, ignored in our English version) gives: it is the great tribulation; but while there may yet be in store for the Church of Christ trials so great that they may be called, in comparison with those which went before, the great tribulation, it yet seems out of harmony with the spirit of the Apocalypse and the complexion of this vision to limit the phrase to some special season of trial. Is not the great tribulation the tribulation which those must encounter who are on the side of Christ and righteousness, and refuse to receive the mark of worldliness and sin on their heart, conscience, and life? In all ages it is true that we must through much tribulation enter the Kingdom of God; and the vision here is surely not of those who will come safe out of some particular trials, but of the great multitude from every age and every race who waged war against sin, and who, in the midst of that protracted conflict, endured the great tribulation which is to continue until Christ’s return." 1

Pulpit Commentary: "The repeated article is especially emphatic. The question arises What is 'the great tribulation' referred to? Probably all the tribulation which has been passed through by the redeemed, all that which pertained to the life through which they have passed. This tribulation is now completed and past, and is therefore referred to as 'the great tribulation.' 'These are they which have passed through the great tribulation of their life on earth.'" 1

1. Revelation 7:14 Commentaries: I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (biblehub.com)

Further Links

WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING: FALSE PROPHETS AND BIBLE TEACHERS IN THE LAST DAYS: Joe Schimmel Blessed Hope Chapel (bewareofthewolves.blogspot.com)
Articles for Posttribulationism to Consider | ESCHATOS MINISTRIES (alankurschner.com)

THE EVIDENCE: NO PRE-TRIB RAPTURE IN PSEUDO EPHRAEM

I have printed Pseudo Ephraem (Ephrem//Ephraim) below in order to demonstrate that the pre-tribulation rapture cannot be found within this document.

Translated from the text in Edmund Beck, ed., Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Sermones III (CSCO 320; Louvain: Secrétariat du Corpus SCO, 1972), 60-71; see also 79-94 for Beck’s translation. The text is based on two manuscripts: (1) Codex Vaticanus Sir. 566, and (2) Codex Dublinensis (Trinity College) B 5.19. Editio princeps: Thomas Josephus Lamy, ed., Sancti Ephraem Syri Hymni et Sermones (4 vols.; Mechliniae: H. Dessain, 1882-1902), 3:187-212.

A discourse (memra) of the holy saint Ephrem, the Syrian teacher, concerning the end, (final) consummation, judgment, and punishment; on the people of Gog and Magog; and about the Antichrist.

O Son who by His grace humbled Himself

And who was pleased to make Himself a human being;

Who willingly experienced death

At the top of the wood(en cross) on Golgotha:

Grant me, my Lord, (the ability) to speak about

The struggles which will take place in the created order;

For peoples will fall upon each other

And nations will destroy one another,

Evil will fortify itself on the earth

And iniquity will increase throughout creation.

Righteous rulers will perish

And lawless ones will arise on the earth.

Then a judgment will arise,

And a weighing on the scale for those humans:

The side (containing) the wicked will sink down;

And that for the elect will rise up.

Then spiritual entities will go forth

And destroy the ends of the created order.

It will happen, my brethren, just as it is written:

A plague in a number of places,

And a famine will occur in the created order;

Terrible struggles and conflicts.

Dust will be saturated with blood;

The created order will be polluted from iniquity.

Regions will be ravaged,

And cities will be consumed by Sheol;

Nation will rise up against nation

And kingdom against kingdom.

Lawlessness will be sovereign on earth

And the defiled will pursue after the saints.

People will openly apostatize

And augment the left side;

The righteous ones will suffer indignities

From those who belong to the side of the sinners.

It is due to this, my beloved ones

That the final age has arrived.

Lo, we have observed the signs,

Just as Christ inscribed for us:

Rulers will arise, one against another;

There will be suffering on earth;

Nations will contend with nations

And armies will fall upon one another.

When the Nile, the river of Egypt,

Overflows (and) floods part of the land,

Certain regions will prepare themselves

Against the country of the Romans.

Nations will contend with nations,

And a kingdom with a kingdom.

They will depart, moving from one land to another;

Those Romans who are put to flight.

And the Assyrians will gain authority

Over the region of the Romans.

The fruit of their loins they will subjugate

And they will also ravish their women;

They will be sowing and also reaping

They will plant fruits in the ground;

They will acquire vast riches

And hoard treasures underground.

But just as the Nile, the river of Egypt

Recedes again from what it flooded;

So too will Assyria recede

Back to their own country.

For the Romans once again will be found

In their ancestral land (i.e., the Assyrians’).

Then evil will increase on the earth

And the land will be defiled with fornication.

The cry of the persecuted and the wretched

Will rise up to heaven.

Then a judgment will arise

To cast them out of the land.

The holy covenant will complain;

A cry will rise up to heaven.

A people will emerge from the wilderness,

The progeny of Hagar, the handmaid of Sarah;

Who hold fast to the covenant with Abraham,

The husband of Sarah and Hagar.

Set in motion, he (Ishmael) comes in the name of the ram,

The herald of the Son of Destruction.

A sign will appear in the heavens,

The one our Lord spoke of in His gospel:

Luminaries will shine among the stars

And the light of His face will gleam.

Rulers will quake and tremble;

The forces arrayed by them will fall.

The peoples of the earth will be terrified

When they behold the sign set in the heavens.

They will prepare for battle and come together,

All peoples and nationalities.

They will wage war there

And the ground will be drenched with blood.

The nations will suffer defeat there,

A marauding nation will prevail.

The marauders will fly over the landscape,

Across plains and over the peaks of mountains.

They will take women and children as captives,

Also men both elderly and young.

The best of the males will be destroyed;

The most desirable women will be removed.

With strong spears and lances

They will impale elderly men.

They will separate a son from his father,

A daughter from the side of her mother;

They will separate a brother from his brethren,

A sister from the side of her sisters.

They will slay the bridegroom in his bedroom

And expel the bride from her bridal chamber.

They will take a wife away from her husband,

And slaughter her as if she were a sheep;

They will cast an infant away from its mother

And drive the mother into captivity.

The child will scream out on the ground:

Its mother hears, but what can she do?

For it will be trampled by the hooves

Of horses, camels, and infantry!

She (tries to) turn toward it, (but) they will not allow her;

The child remains within the wild (?).

They separate children from their mother

As the soul (is separated) from the body.

She watches while they divide them up,

Her beloved ones (taken from) the embrace of her bosom;

Two of her children to two (different) masters,

Her own self to still another master;

She has been allocated, and her children with her;

For they are now slaves to robbers.

Her children cry out with laments,

Their eyes burning with tears;

She turns toward her beloved ones,

The milk flowing forth from her breast:

‘Farewell, my beloved ones!

May God go with you!

The one who accompanied Joseph

In (his) servitude among foreigners:

May He accompany you, my children

Into the captivity where you are going!’

‘Farewell, our mother!

May God go with you!

The one who accompanied Sarah

Into the palace of Abimelech the Gadarite:

May He accompany your own self

Until the Day of Resurrection!’

The son will stand and watch while his father

Is sold into slavery.

The eyes of both of them will burn with tears

While they groan, one in front of the other.

A brother will watch while his brother

Is killed and cast down on the ground,

Whereas he they drive off into captivity

In order to serve among foreigners as a slave.

They even put to death mothers

Who are holding their children to their breasts.

Bitter is the sound of the infants

Who are groaning to satisfy their desire (for milk).

They will prepare roads in the mountains,

Highways in the middle of the plains;

They will maraud until the very ends of the created order.

They will establish rule over the urban centers.

The provinces will suffer destruction,

And they will multiply corpses on the earth.

All peoples will be brought low

Before the marauder nation.

And once the peoples have endured much on earth

And hope that now peace has arrived,

They (the Ishmaelites) start exacting tribute

And everyone will be fearful of them.

Lawlessness will intensify on the earth

And even obscure the clouds;

Wickedness will enclose the created order

And waft up like smoke to the heavens.

Then since wickedness will be rampant upon the earth,

The Lord’s wrath will then stir up

Kings and mighty armies.

For when He seeks to expunge it from earth,

He sends out humans against humans

To annihilate one another.

Truly at that time He will summon

The kings and mighty armies

Who are behind those gates

Which Alexander fashioned.

Many rulers and peoples

Remain behind the gates.

They look toward heaven

And call on the name of God,

That the Lord send His sign

From within His heaven of glory

And the Divine Voice

Summon them who are by those gates;

So that they suddenly break down and collapse

At the command of the Divinity.

Numerous armies issue forth,

As many as the stars which cannot be counted.

As multitudinous as the sand by the sea,

And exceeding (the number of) the stars in the sky.

A full span was consumed

From the lower crossbar;

And from the upper crossbar

Another full span was consumed

On account of the great quantity of their sharp spears

With which they lacerated it. They issued forth,

Moving, spilling forth from there;

Kings and large armies

And every people and language group

Emerging from (behind) those gates.

Gog and Magog and Nūl and Agag,

Kings and mighty armies!

Togarmah and Ashkenaz and Daypar,

Pūìayē with Lūbayē.

Amzartayē and Garmēdō‘,

Talab with helmet-covered heads,

Azmurtayē and Kūshayē,

Hunayē and Parzayē,

Diqlayē and Tūbalayē,

Mūshkayē with Kūshayē.

Allied to and coming with them

Were both the Medes and the Persians,

Armenians and Turks

And Namrūhayē and Mūshhayē;

The descendants of Ke’wan and Serug;

The progeny of Yaqtan and the Mahūnayē;

Numerous armies and nations

Whose number cannot be calculated.

They will burst forth and flood the earth,

Shaking the walls of the created order.

A dust cloud will rise up over the earth,

Obscuring the sun above

And covering creation

With clouds and dark fogs,

In accordance with what Ezekiel prophesied,

The son of Buzi in his prophecy.

For when the Huns come forth

To wage war and to do battle,

They will take hold of pregnant women

And heap fire on top of them;

They will come closer and mutter incantations over them,

While roasting their children inside them!

Splitting them open, they extract their fetuses

When they are finished cooking inside of them.

They draw near: then place them in basins,

And pour water over them

And dissolve their corpses there

In those enchanted waters.

They immediately take their swords

And their bows with their spears

And dip them in those waters

For their arrows and their weapons.

Every weapon to which are applied

Those magical potions

Appears as if there are hundreds, even thousands

Of cavalrymen who wield them.

Moreover those hundreds of horsemen

Who set out (and) traverse the whole of the earth

Appear as if they are accompanied

By six thousand myriads.

If one of them should fall off during battle

While engaging in the fight,

Wherever he extends his hand

Suddenly a knife emerges!

They eat the flesh of children

And also drink the blood of women.

Clothed in tanned skins,

They mount the winds and tempests;

And rapidly, in the blink of an eye,

They lay waste to cities,

Topple their walls to the ground,

And destroy the strong citadels.

Moving quickly, they bind the swift

And slaughter the vigorous men.

They are quicker in motion

Than winds and tempests.

Whenever news of them is heard on earth (to wit)

‘The Huns have set out (and) are coming!’

They blanket the whole of creation.

Because they are sorcerers,

They fly between heaven and earth.

Their chariots are like the winds,

And their swords and their lances

Are like terrifying bolts of lightning.

Holding straps in their hands

And two or three horses,

Each one of them leads with him

Some fifty or sixty men,

Traveling behind and in front of him

Like winds and tempests.

The sound of the battle-cry of just one of them

Is like the roaring of lions.

Indeed dread of the Huns

Will overpower the entire earth;

They will cover the whole earth

Like the waters during the days of Noah,

And they will overwhelm the edges of the created order:

There is no one who can withstand them.

These are the ‘numerous peoples’

About whom Ezekiel spoke

Who will cover the whole earth

As if they were clouds.

‘Fish will shudder before them,

(As will) the birds of the sky

And wild beasts and vermin of the earth

And every species in creation;

High mountains will be thrust down

And fortified towers will collapse,

Even the walls of the cities.’

On the earth will be a wasteland.

For Ezekiel has prophesied

That it will come to pass in the End of Days:

They will burst out (and) come up from the land

And cover the created order;

Gog and Magog will prepare itself

And arrive at the ‘hill country of Israel.’

Between the sea and Jerusalem

He will place his encampment.

Riders will fly off, descending

Upon Egypt and opposite India;

Leading away so many captives they cannot be numbered.

People and riches,

Cattle and property

Which have now become his prey.

Then Righteousness will summon

Michael, the one who is leader of the host,

To come down (and) destroy his encampment

Just as (he destroyed) the encampment of Sennacherib.

The angel, receiving the command, will draw

The terrible and powerful sword,

And departing, he will destroy his force

In the twinkling of an eye!

Righteousness will pick up and hurl

Stones of fire upon the encampment.

The slain on the ground will be as numerous

As the (particles of) sand which cannot be counted;

People and pack-animals will perish,

The entire encampment will be consumed.

The blaze will extend

Unto the sea and to the islands.

The bow will swerve from the hands

Of Gog, the wicked ruler;

Also his arrows (will drop) from his left hand:

His entire encampment will be consumed.

The inhabitants of Judaea will go out

And loot his whole encampment.

They will collect and pick up armament:

Lances, arrows, and bows.

For seven years within a fire

They will burn them, as it is written:

‘They will not need to gather

Wood from the field or thickets.’

Seven years they will throw in the fire

Shields and clubs,

Arrows, spears, and bows.

They will prove sufficient for fueling the fire for seven years.

Then the Lord will bring in His peace,

Which attests His glorification among the heavens.

And once more the empire of the Romans

Will spring up and flourish in its place.

It will possess the earth and its extremities,

And no one will exist who opposes it.

And when iniquity has become rife on earth

And has polluted the whole of creation,

Then a judgment will arise

Which will entirely obliterate the people.

The Son of Destruction, the Evil One,

Will emerge and come upon the earth.

A deceiver of humanity,

An instigator of trouble over the whole earth.

On the day when he comes to it,

(when) the Son of Destruction arrives on earth,

The created order will be thrown into commotion,

And terror will engulf the earth.

The sun will become dark in its place,

And the stars will fall from the height;

All the luminaries will be quenched,

Darkness will cover the created order.

The earth with its inhabitants will shake,

And mountains and heights will quake;

Springs and fountains will dry up,

And the waves in the sea will abate

And the fish therein grow still.

Rulers will stop rendering judgment

And priests will tremble in the sanctuary

And military power will collapse.

Confusion will be on the earth

And all human powers will be paralyzed,

For the Evil One will be ready.

He will come to and enter Jerusalem.

He will rebuild and establish himself in Zion,

And will make himself to be God

And enter into the sanctuary to take a seat

In accordance with what the Apostle wrote to us.

The Jews will take pride in him;

They will prepare themselves and come to him.

And he moreover will blaspheme when he says:

‘I, even I, am the Father and the Son!

The First and the Last!

There is no other god apart from me!’

But at that time ten thousand Jews will denounce him:

They will answer him in truth:

‘You are a deceiver for (all) creatures!

For the one whom our ancestors restrained

At the top of the wood(en cross) on Golgotha

Is (actually) the redeemer of (all) creatures,

And he was raised up to the One Who sent him!’

Then the Evil One will be enraged

And he will issue a command regarding those who denounced him

That they should immediately die by the sword,

And everyone will be too afraid to renounce him.

Then he will begin to display

Wonders through deception

In the heavens and on the earth,

Within the sea and on the dry land.

He will summon the rain and it will fall;

He will command the seed and it will sprout

However he will not actually perform (miracles);

He will be employing magic.

He will command the waves and they will cease,

And the winds will be obedient to him.

He will suspend fruits on the trees

And cause water to gush from the ground.

He will address the leprous and they will become clean,

(Speak to) the blind, and they will see light,

He will call to the deaf and they will hear him,

(Address) even the mute and they will speak.

He will effect all the wonders

Which Our Lord performed within the created order,

Except that he will not be able to resurrect the dead,

For he will not have authority over (the) spirits (of the dead).

Lightening-flashes will be his messengers,

And are the sign of his advent;

Demons are his armies

And the commanders of the devils are his pupils;

He will dispatch the heads of his legions

To distant lands

Where they will display marvelous powers and healings

And mislead the whole of creation.

Behold, the Apostle has penned a warning for us

In his epistle to the Thessalonians:

‘Let no word or no letter

Trouble you that is not from us.

For the rebellion comes first,

Also the Man of Sin

And he will exalt himself over God,

Making himself to be God.’

And when the Accursed One comes

And displays his mighty works and wonders,

The nations will gather together and come

As (if) they were going to see God.

Groups and nations will join him,

And every person will renounce their deity;

Everyone will say of him to their fellow

That they should acknowledge him, the Son of Destruction!

Peoples will fall upon one another,

Slaying each other with swords.

The elect will flee from his presence

To the peaks of mountains and hills,

And there will be calamity on earth

Unlike any that came before.

Fear will fall upon all people

And they will be overcome with terror.

Children will renounce their father

And follow after the Evil One;

Priests will abandon their altars

To serve as his heralds.

People will flee to cemeteries

And hide themselves among the dead,

Pronouncing the good fortune of the deceased

Who had avoided the calamity:

‘Blessed are you for you were borne away (to the grave)

And hence you escaped from the afflictions!

But as for us, woe is us! For when we die,

Vultures will serve as escort for us!’

And if the days of that time were not shortened,

The elect would never survive

The calamities and afflictions.

For Our Lord revealed (and) disclosed to us

In his Gospel when He said:

‘Those days will be shortened

For the sake of the elect and the saints.’

And when he has harassed the whole of creation,

(When) the Son of Destruction (has bent it) to his will,

Enoch and Elijah will be sent

That they might persuade the Evil One.

With a gentle question

The saints will come before him,

In order to expose the Son of Destruction

Before the assemblies surrounding him:

‘If you are indeed God,

Tell us what we ask of you:

Where is the place that you have hidden

The elders Elijah and Enoch?’

The Evil One will respond and say

To the saints at that time:

‘When I wish (it), they are in the height(s),

Or again should I choose, they are within the sea;

For I have authority over habitations,

Since there is no other god apart from me

And I can make anything

On earth (and) also in heaven!’

They will answer

The Son of Destruction as follows:

‘If you are truly God,

Call out to the deceased so that they will rise!

For it is written within the books

Of the prophets and the apostles

That when the Messiah reveals Himself,

He will resurrect the dead from the graves.

If you cannot show us this (sign),

Then the One who was crucified is greater than you!

For he roused and resurrected those who were dead,

And was exalted in great splendor.’

Then the Evil One will become enraged

With the saints at that time;

He will draw his terrible sword

And sever the necks of the righteous ones.

But Gabriel will arise (and) descend

(With) Michael (as) military commanders;

They will resurrect those saints

While the Evil One stands confused with his servants.

They will approach and seize that Accursed One

And the Lord will rebuke (him) from heaven;

Then He will destroy the Accursed One

And all of his forces.

Angels will suddenly approach

And cast him into Gehenna,

And all of those who believed in him

Will be thrust into the flame(s).

Then the Lord will come from above

In splendor and with a company of His angels,

And between earth and heaven

A throne-chariot will be fixed there.

He will admonish the sea and it will dry up;

The fish within it will perish.

He will dissolve the heavens and the earth,

And there will be (only) darkness and gloom.

He will dispatch fire upon the earth,

And it will burn there for forty <days>

Purifying it of iniquity

And of pollution and of sins.

A great throne will be adorned

And the Son will be seated on the right;

Seats will be positioned

For the twelve apostles of the Son;

And couches will be decorated for the martyrs

And a royal chamber for the righteous ones.

The Watchers will blow trumpets

And the dead will arise from the dust;

Fiery entities will suddenly go forth

And assemble all the descendants of Adam.

They will gather the wheat in a storehouse

And throw the straw into the fire;

The good will go forth into the Kingdom,

And the bad will remain in Gehenna;

The righteous will fly up to the height,

And the sinners will burn in fire.

The martyrs will float to the couch;

The wicked will go out into darkness.

And Christ will reign forever,

He will be sovereign over each generation.

To Him be the glory, and His mercy is over us

For all time, amen, amen!

Finis

John C. Reeves | Pseudo-Ephrem (Syriac) (charlotte.edu)