Gerald E. Weston

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

A Conspiracy Almost No One Knows

Conspiracy theories abound and exactly how many there are is up for grabs. Some conspiracies are recent, others are decades or centuries old.

Lists of popular theories abound on the Internet, though new ones seem to be born every year, especially in recent days. Leaders in government, science, medicine, and the media have discredited themselves through inept and dishonest policies affecting peoples and nations—thus giving rise to skepticism, distrust, and some of the most wildly speculative theories ever conceived. And with social media come speculations on steroids.

On today’s Tomorrow’s World program, we’ll look at some of the most popular conspiracy theories that have ever been told. I’ll also reveal the greatest conspiracy of all—one that is not theory, but fact.

Shadowboxing With Coverups Real and Imagined

Welcome to Tomorrow’s World, where we give you the good news of the coming Kingdom of God, explain prophecies of the Bible, and bring new insights from the word of God. On today’s program, we’ll look at some of the most popular conspiracy theories along with the greatest conspiracy of all time—one that affects your life.

Some conspiracies involve famous people faking their own death. Other narratives are about how prominent people died, or didn’t die, contrary to the official story. Some are rather laughable, such as:

Elvis is still alive and was seen at…

A gas station, grocery store, or, according to a supermarket tabloid, he was spotted at Graceland, his legendary home, on his 85^th birthday, along with a grainy picture.

Other famous death conspiracies involve:

JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald
Martin Luther King
Princess Diana

And, would you believe, even:

Jesus

Where a false story was circulated to explain away the resurrection. We read of it in Matthew 28, beginning in verse 11:

Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day (Matthew 28:11–15).

As with that example, some conspiracies are more than theories. Some have proven to be true beyond Internet blogs and questionable sources. One came to light from a Top Secret document that was made public November 18, 1997:

Operation Northwoods was a plan circulated in the U.S. government in 1962 to stage false flag terrorist attacks inside the U.S. and abroad to provoke “military intervention in Cuba”. The plan called for Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or other operatives to commit genuine acts of terrorism in U.S. cities and elsewhere. These acts of terrorism were to be blamed on Cuba in order to create public support for a war against that nation, which had recently become communist under Fidel Castro. One part of the Operation Northwoods plan was to “develop a Communist Cuban terror campaign in the Miami area, in other Florida cities and even in Washington.” The document was signed by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lyman Lemnitzer and reportedly presented to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara on March 13, 1962 (“Operation Northwoods,” PublicIntelligence.net, March 9, 2010).

The plan was given to President Kennedy, who had the good sense to turn it down, but the fact that a false flag of this magnitude was considered by high government officials, involving sacrificing the lives of American citizens, is it any wonder that such schemes have contributed to wild speculations? Less than four years after Operation Northwoods came to light, Muslim extremists flew passenger planes into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon.

Some allege that the CIA was complicit, and that the attack was a ruse to create fear so that Americans would give up greater control over their lives. Others believe it was an excuse for President Bush to invade Iraq and depose Saddam Hussain—finishing the job his father left undone.

Sadly, some conspiracy theories have ruined the lives of those caught up in them. One example is QAnon.

Or as others refer to it: QAnonsense.

Following the January 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., BBC news explained this phenomenon:

At its heart, QAnon is a wide-ranging, completely unfounded theory that says that President Trump is waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshipping paedophiles in government, business and the media.

QAnon believers have speculated that this fight will lead to a day of reckoning where prominent people such as former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will be arrested and executed (“QAnon: What is it and where did it come from?” BBC.com, January 6, 2021).

This elaborately evolving theory began in October 2017 when an anonymous person, supposedly in the Trump administration, with Department of Energy high level Q security clearance, made a post on the 4chan message board and signed off as “Q.”

The very nature of Q is that it becomes an obsessive game where clues are dropped like breadcrumbs, creating an addiction to find and unravel the next cryptic post. Some estimate that there are millions following Q, and if you meet one of them, you understand how obsessed someone can become to an unproven theory from an anonymous source. Stories abound of ruined relationships as believers become consumed in a fantasy world where anyone who disagrees is shut out and considered the enemy.

Conspiracy Theories are Nothing New

Few of them have anything to do with how you live your life and even if true, which most are not, what can you do about it? But, before the break I said we’ll explore the greatest conspiracy of all time—right from the pages of the Bible. But let me first remind you of how skeptical we have become. Many are convinced the U.S. government is not being truthful about a number of current and historical events. For example:

It is alleged that the Moon Landing was faked, an alien spacecraft crashed at Roswell, New Mexico, and contrails are really chemtrails. And, then there is The HAARP project.

HAARP, an acronym for High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, is a real U.S. government program. The only question is the alleged interpretation of its purpose.

Its official website states:

The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program, or HAARP, is a scientific endeavor aimed at studying the properties and behavior of the ionosphere (“About HAARP,” University of Alaska, Fairbanks, HAARP.gi.alaska.edu).

Researchers say they hope to learn about the ionosphere to enhance our communication and navigation technology. But a committed group of conspiracy theorists have long claimed HAARP is used to cause natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and even tsunamis. And others believe HAARP is used for mind control purposes.

Wise king Solomon wrote,

That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us (Ecclesiastes 1:9–10).

No, conspiracy theories are not new, but the Internet, social media, and photo doctoring techniques put them on steroids.

But do you realize that there are commonly believed theories about Christ that have no basis in biblical fact? For example, many claim that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and that the Church has hidden the evidence for centuries.

Made popular by the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail and the Dan Brown novel The Da Vinci Code, this conspiracy theory has been around a long time. Some claim that this supposed marriage produced a lineage of children that were eventually brought to France. In 2012, Harvard historian Karen King claimed to have found an ancient, second-century writing in which Jesus supposedly calls Mary “My wife.” But four years later, she conceded that she had been duped by a forgery.

Still, the theory persists, as conspiracy theorists claim Mary Magdalene’s role in the early Church has been hidden and suppressed to maintain the power structure of the male “patriarchy.”

Of course the Bible says no such thing, but this is an example of how little understanding, and how little faith individuals have in the one and only authoritative source of the life of Jesus. Books can be exciting. Movies can be thrilling. But neither secular books nor movies should guide us on this important subject. As blasphemous as this theory is, and the conspiracy about the disciples stealing the body of Jesus, there is an even more important one—the greatest conspiracy of all.

The Rise of a Counterfeit Christian Church

True first century followers of Christ took the truth seriously. For them, it was no game, no social club, but a way of life. The questions must be asked: Is the Christianity of today the same as that of the first century? Is it “Original Christianity,” or a shallow counterfeit? Here’s the answer from mainline Protestant scholar, Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, in his book The Story of the Christian Church. In the chapter that he titled, “The Age of Shadows” he wrote:

For fifty years after St. Paul’s life a curtain hangs over the church, through which we strive vainly to look; and when at last it rises, about 120 A.D. with the writings of the earliest church fathers, we find a church in many aspects very different from that in the days of St. Peter and St. Paul” (Hurlbut, The Story of the Christian Church, 1970, p. 33).

Now what were those changes that he refers to? How significant were they? Were they minor cosmetic changes or changes in frontline doctrines? Hurlbut lists a few of the many that took place during the shadowy time and the centuries that followed.

The services of worship increased in splendor, but were less spiritual and hearty than those of former times. The forms and ceremonies of paganism gradually crept into the worship. Some of the old heathen feasts became church festivals with change of name and of worship. About 405 A.D. images of saints and martyrs began to appear in the churches, at first as memorials, then in succession revered, adored, and worshiped. The adoration of the Virgin Mary was substituted for the worship of Venus and Diana; the Lord’s Supper became a sacrifice in place of a memorial; and the elder evolved from a preacher into a priest. (Hurlbut, The Story of the Christian Church, 1918, p. 79).

Hurlbut is one of many mainline scholars and historians who admit that the Christian church of today is not the same as that of Jesus, His apostles, and His first-century followers. Original Christianity was corrupted by one, grand conspiracy. One common narrative is that Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and made Christianity the religion of Europe and much of the world. But how converted was Constantine, and what kind of Christianity did he bring to the world? Historian Paul Johnson observes the following in this regard:

[T]here is some doubt about the magnitude of Constantine’s change of ideas.… He himself appears to have been a sun-worshipper, one of a number of late-pagan cults which had observances in common with the Christians. Thus the followers of Isis adored a madonna nursing her holy child; the cult of Attis and Cybele celebrated a day of blood and fasting, followed by the Hilaria resurrection-feast, a day of joy, on 25 March; the elitist Mithraics, many of whom were senior army officers, ate a sacred meal. Constantine was almost certainly a Mithraic, and his triumphal arch, built after his ‘conversion’, testifies to the Sun-god, or ‘unconquered sun.’ Many Christians did not make a clear distinction between this sun-cult and their own. They referred to Christ ‘driving his chariot across the sky’; they held their services on Sunday, knelt towards the East and had their nativity-feast on 25 December, the birthday of the sun at the winter solstice. During the later pagan revival under the Emperor Julian many Christians found it easy to apostatize because of this confusion; the Bishop of Troy told Julian he had always prayed secretly to the sun. Constantine never abandoned sun-worship and kept the sun on his coins. He made Sunday into a day of rest (A History of Christianity, 1976, pp. 67–68).

The record of history shows original Christianity of the first century was very different from that of today, but does this matter as long as we worship Jesus? How does the Bible answer this question? And how does it describe first century Christianity?

Who Really Perpetrated False Christianity? And How Can You Escape?

That modern professing Christianity has been supplanted is not in dispute. The real questions are: Who did it? And, what should you do about it? The answers to both are found in the Bible. Let’s answer the first question: Who is behind this conspiracy? Speaking of the time yet ahead, we read in Revelation 12 and verse 9 that there is a great deceiver:

So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him (Revelation 12:9).

In Ephesians 2, verse 2, we learn how he deceives the world—by broadcasting attitudes and moods through the air.

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:1–2).

Satan does not direct the course of this world alone. He uses human beings who themselves are most often deceived. And that deception is not in moral values alone, but in Christianity itself. There are many warnings in the New Testament against a Satanic false Christianity—more than I have time to fully cover in this program. One passage shows the Apostle Paul soundly correcting the church at Corinth over their careless acceptance of doctrines contrary to the truth—2 Corinthians 11, verse 4:

For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it! (2 Corinthians 11:4).

Paul then went on to explain the source of the problem and he minced no words in doing so. He would not be viewed as politically correct today. Notice it in verses 13–15:

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works (2 Corinthians 11:13–15).

Yes, there was a conspiracy to transform Christianity into something very different from that of Jesus and his early followers. Jesus’ half-brother Jude, writing in the first century, admonished those of his day that they needed to strive to preserve the truth which was already delivered to them. And by doing so, he put a nail in the coffin of the idea that true Christianity should evolve over time. Notice in Jude verse 3:

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3).

Jude went on to show one of the major tenets of this conspiracy—that grace does away with the law of God. Here it is in verse 4:

For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ (Jude 1:4).

Jesus warned against following men who claim to represent Him, men who say Jesus is the Christ, but deceive the people in the process. The first sign Jesus gave when asked by His disciples about the sign of His coming, was false Christianity.

Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name [That is, representing Him], saying, “I [That is, Jesus] am the Christ,” and will deceive many (Matthew 24:4–5).

Jesus said in Matthew 5:17,

Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill (Matthew 5:17).

So what do people do? They think exactly what He said not to think—that the law of God is done away. No wonder Jesus asks,

But why do you call Me “Lord, Lord,” and do not do the things which I say? (Luke 6:46).

The highly respected philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard, sums it up with brutal clarity:

The Christianity of the New Testament simply does not exist…. what has to be done is to throw light upon a criminal offense against Christianity, prolonged through centuries, perpetrated by millions (more or less guiltily), whereby they have cunningly, under the guise of perfecting Christianity, sought little by little to cheat God out of Christianity, and have succeeded in making Christianity exactly the opposite of what it is in the New Testament (Kierkegaard, Walter Lowrie trans. Attack Upon “Christendom”, 1946, pp. 32–33).

So what are you, dear friends, going to do? Will you follow the traditions of men, as they have been handed down to you? That’s the easy course. Or are you courageous enough to turn back to original Christianity?

Thank you for watching! If you found this video helpful, and want to learn more about how Paul, Peter, and other first century leaders of the Church worshiped God differently than Christians today, order your free copy of “Restoring Original Christianity.” All you need to do is click the link in the description, as it is completely free. And remember to subscribe to our channel so you can continue to learn the plain truth from the pages of the Bible. See you next time.

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

Is the Rapture a Myth?

There’s a popular myth that the second coming of Jesus Christ can happen at any time—maybe even tonight. Do you realize, dear friends, that is a false doctrine? He will not come tonight—not according to the Word of God. But wait, you may think. Doesn’t He return in a secret rapture that can happen at any moment to protect His true servants from the great tribulation? Again, not according to the Bible.

On today’s Tomorrow’s World program, instead of looking to popular Left Behind novels, we’ll open up the Bible and see what it actually says about this subject. We’ll see that Jesus Himself listed specific signs that must precede His return. What are they? And more importantly, what is the warning He gave along with that first sign? It’s an important one.

No, Jesus will not come tonight, tomorrow, this year, next year, or the year after. You or I may die tonight, and we’ll meet Him in our next conscious moment, but He will not return to earth tonight, not even in a secret rapture. Stay with me as I’ll be back to answer these important questions from the pages of the Bible. And I’ll also reveal what Jesus gave as the first sign of the end of the age, and just as importantly, the warning He gave that accompanies that sign.

Stay tuned.

Prophetic Signs from the Book of Daniel and the Gospel of Matthew

A warm welcome to all of you from all of us here at Tomorrow’s World, where we ask serious questions and give solid answers—straight from the pages of the Bible. We’re pleased that you have joined us on today’s program, and we give a special welcome to those of you tuning in for the first time. Today, I’m asking and answering the questions:

“Can Jesus come at just anytime? Is there a secret rapture? And what was Jesus’ first sign of the end of the age and the warning that accompanies it?”

You’ve likely heard someone, perhaps a professing Christian minister, say that Jesus can come at any time—maybe even tonight. Setting aside the subject of the rapture for a moment, some have concluded this based on a misunderstanding of Matthew 24, where it tells us in verse 36,

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only (Matthew 24:36).

Then, in verses 42 to 44, we read what appears to many as confirmation:

Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

It’s true that no one knows the day or the hour, but that is not the same as saying He can come at any time. These verses must be taken in the context in which they are written—in other words, what goes before and what follows. If we start at the beginning of Matthew 24, we find Jesus’ disciples asking about the destruction of the temple and the time of His return. Notice beginning in verse 3:

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be?

[That is the destruction of the temple]

And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3).

His disciples understood that a series of events must take place before the climax at the end, and He confirmed this with a list of signs to watch for that would precede His return. A number of these signs are ongoing, taking place throughout human history. That’s why He tells us in verse 6,

See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet (Matthew 24:6).

And then in verse 8,

All these are the beginning of sorrows (Matthew 24:8).

However, when we compare these signs that Jesus gave in Matthew 24 with the famed “Four Horsemen” of Revelation chapter 6, we must conclude that such catastrophes as war, famine, and disease will take on greater significance in the near future as they are precursors of the Day of the Lord when Christ returns. And among the signs given, it would do us well to note a very specific one found in verse 15:

Therefore when you see the “ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION,” spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand) (Matthew 24:15).

Notice that Jesus refers to the prophet Daniel regarding this sign. We read of it in Daniel chapter 12, where it clearly shows the time setting to be “the time of the end.” Notice it in verse 4:

But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end.

[Then in verse 9, we read…]

And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end” (Daniel 12:4, 9).

In verse 11, Daniel records this message that gives a specific time between when this abomination is set up and the end when the Messiah, Jesus Christ, returns:

And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days (Daniel 12:11).

That is 3 years and 7 months. There are three settings involving the abomination of desolation. Two are past tense and the third is yet to come.

#1 In 168 B.C., it took place under Antiochus Epiphanes.

#2 The destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

And the third one is yet to come: 1,290 Days before Christ returns.

Since that destructive abomination has not yet occurred, and that takes place 1,290 days prior to the end, when the Messiah Jesus Christ returns, we know that He will not come tonight, or, at the very least, another 3 years and 7 months. But that is merely one sign. Others precede the Abomination of Desolation, as shown in Matthew 24 and elsewhere.

How ironic it is that people conclude that Jesus can come at any time when a chapter they use as proof is devoted to describing what must first happen. It’s in the context of these signs, that Jesus admonishes us, in verses 32 and 33:

Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! (Matthew 24:32–33).

It’s only after He gave this parable of the fig tree that He mentions that no one would know the exact day or hour.

But what about a secret rapture that we are told can come at any time? Does the Bible teach it? And what is the first sign that Jesus gave signaling the end of the age and the warning that accompanies that sign?

The Last Great Trumpet—A Resurrection, NOT a Rapture!

The passage most often used regarding a secret rapture is found in 1 Thessalonians 4, beginning in verse 13:

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus (1 Thess 4:13–14).

This is the context: those who have died in the faith and why those who know the truth need not sorrow as others who have no hope. That hope is, of course, the resurrection from the dead. Paul then gives this further encouragement and explanation in verses 15 and 16:

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first (1 Thessalonians 4:15–16).

Notice the order of the resurrection—those already dead will be resurrected first. Yet, the man-made rapture doctrine purports that the rapture protects believers from the Great Tribulation by taking them to heaven. Why take the dead? Do they need protection?

And let us not forget when this occurs:

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

It is only after the trumpet sounds and the dead are raised that those living at the time will be changed. Read it for yourself in verse 17:

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

Then Paul brings the subject full circle to the purpose of this passage:

Therefore comfort one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:18).

Yes, the subject is not some kind of rapture, which is never spoken of in these verses, but how to comfort one another over the death of loved ones. Furthermore, the New Testament is absolutely consistent regarding the coming of Christ—He returns at the sounding of a trumpet, whether literal or figurative, but it is not just any trumpet. Let’s notice this detail provided in 1 Corinthians 15 and verses 51 and 52:

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep

[That is, we shall not all die.]

but we shall all be changed—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 (1 Corinthians 15:51—52).

Did you notice that:

“…at the last trumpet….”

And that leads us to the book of Revelation where we read of seven trumpets that portend natural disasters and warfare, with a spectacular event occurring at the sounding of the last, that is the seventh trumpet. Let’s read it in Revelation the 11th chapter and verse 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!” (Revelation 11:15).

So far we’ve seen that Jesus will not return at just any time and that the passage most often referred to by rapturists has nothing to do with a secret rapture. So let’s now turn to the next question: What is the first sign Jesus gave leading up to His second coming?

The End Times—The Worst Period in Human History!

Perhaps you already know the answer, but more importantly do you also know the warning Jesus gave along with that sign? And what relationship does that have to you?

Three chapters in the Bible, written by three different authors, record what is known as the “Olivet Prophecy”:

Matthew 24

Mark 13

[and] Luke 21

We find that Jesus and His disciples had left the Temple and were going out to the Mount of Olives just across a narrow valley. As they went, the disciples were in awe of the beauty of the Temple. It was then that they asked Jesus, and He informed them:

Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down (Matthew 24:2).

That’s found in Matthew 24 and verse 2. Not surprisingly, the disciples wanted to know when this would happen and as they sat on the Mount, they asked this twofold question:

Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? (Matthew 24:3)

The answer had a former fulfillment and a latter-day fulfillment. The former fulfillment had to do with the destruction of the temple that we know from history took place in 70 A.D. Incredibly, some scholars believe the whole prophecy only applied to the events in 70 A.D., but even a child can understand that this prophecy also has an end-time fulfillment. Let’s read the latter part of verse 3 once again:

And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?

We know that the second coming did not take place in 70 A.D., nor was that the end of the age. We also know that some of the specifics of this prophecy can only apply to the time of Christ’s return. As an example, we read verses 21 and 22:

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened (Matthew 24:21–22).

There can only be one such time as this, for as it says, “nor ever shall be.” And a simple reading of the book of Revelation, written around 90 A.D. after Jerusalem fell describes a time of worldwide trouble far greater than anything mankind has ever known. Daniel 12 also refers to this worst of all possible times and connects it with the time of the resurrection from the dead at Christ’s return:

And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:1–2).

Clearly, there can be no two times worse than anything before or after. So what is the first sign Jesus gave? Right after the disciples asked about the signs of His coming, we read in Matthew 24 and in verses 4 and 5:

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” (Matthew 24:4–5).

So the first sign Jesus gave was religious deception, but not just any religious deception. It’s speaking about Christian deception. And regarding that deception, Jesus gave this warning:

Take heed that no one deceives you (Matthew 24:4).

Worldwide Religious Deception—NOT the Christianity Christ Taught!

If you’re driving down a dark road at night and see a sign—“Bridge out” —would you not take the warning seriously and take another road? So why do so few take Jesus’ warning seriously? Let’s read it again in Matthew the 24th chapter:

Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, “I am the Christ,” and will deceive many (Matthew 24:4–5).

Let’s analyze this. Jesus said,

“many will come in My name.”

It’s not a few, but many who will come using His name. But what does that mean? If someone knocks on your door and shouts, “Open up in the name of the law,” he’s claiming he represents the law and its authority. And when ministers “come in Jesus’ name,” they’re claiming to represent Him and having His authority. In addition, these deceivers say,

“I am the Christ”!

And by doing so,

“Will deceive many.”

There are a few deranged individuals who claim that they are the Christ, but few follow them. But false ministers do deceive many when they claim that they represent Christ, even saying that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ. The statement “I am the Christ” is understood from the context. Taken alone it could mean that these deceivers are claiming to be Christ, but the context shows that they claim to be representatives of Christ and proclaim that Jesus—remember He is the Speaker here—is the Christ. With such tactics, they deceive, not the few, but the many. That is why Jesus began this first sign by saying,

Take heed that no one deceives you.

Few claiming to be Jesus will deceive very many, but if someone in the pulpit claims to represent Him, saying that Jesus is the Christ, that’s another matter, and that’s what we see. False Christianity began almost immediately following Jesus’ death and resurrection but wholly took over the Roman Empire in the fourth century and continues to the present. The Apostle Paul describes the problem on more than one occasion. But let’s look at what Paul wrote to those at Corinth—2 Corinthians the 11th chapter:

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it! (2 Corinthians 11:3–4).

These were believers, but they were putting up with ministers deceiving them with a false Christ and a different gospel—a Christianity of a very different spirit. He continues his warning about these deceivers in verses 13–15:

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works (2 Corinthians 11:13–15).

Consider for a moment. Is it possible that you have been deceived?

Consider whether the popular belief in the Rapture is one of the many deceptions pawned off on professing Christians. Don’t you be deceived, no matter how popular an idea may be.

Thank you for watching! To understand more about the popular false doctrine of the rapture, order your free copy of “Is the Rapture Your Incredible Future?” by clicking the link in the description. Remember to subscribe to our channel, so you can continue to learn the truth as given in the Bible. See you next time!

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

A Dramatic Reversal!

Our world has changed greatly since the time I graduated from High School in 1964. Drive-in theaters were still a place to go on a Saturday night. Transistor radios were a hot item for teens, and most of us learned to type on mechanical typewriters. Telephones were mostly dial-up versions. And, most of us had to wind up our watches unless we had one of those new ones that wound up by itself by the motion of our wrists.

But all of these are a thing of the past. Today it is all about computers. We talk directly with others over Skype or Zoom. For some, hardcopy letters are ancient history—everything is computerized, including greeting cards. Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram are the ways many interact socially.

But there are equally profound changes in society, not the least of which concerns how men and women see themselves. The feminist movement, which really took off in the seventies, has had a dramatic impact on culture and families. Do you realize that a reversal in the roles of men and women was predicted long ago in the pages of the Bible? I’ll read that to you in a moment, so stay tuned!

A Misleading Source of Information Results in Inequality

Welcome to Tomorrow’s World, where we fearlessly tackle the problems facing our world and bring you good news of a better world to come. On today’s program, I’ll be discussing the feminist movement and how it is fulfilling a prophecy from the Biblical prophet Isaiah.

Among feminists’ most successful initiative was the 1992 report released by the American Association of University Women (AAUW), titled “How Schools Shortchange Girls.” It alleged that boys were favored in the classroom while girls were ignored, but the report was biased and dishonest. Dr. James Dobson had this to say about it in his popular book Bringing Up Boys:

The most widely disseminated finding was that teachers permit boys to speak or participate eight times more often than they do girls, but as with the rest of the conclusions, this turned out to be pure nonsense. Their data was based on an old 1981 study that actually said boys are reprimanded eight times more often than girls, and that three-fourths of both girls and boys said they thought teachers compliment girls more often, think they are smarter, and [teachers] would rather be around female students. That level of distortion was evident throughout the AAUW report (Dobson, Bringing Up Boys, p. 172).

The report garnered significant attention in academia and in public

perception and brought about dramatic changes in how schools approached boys and girls. Dobson went on to write that:

Although the report has been widely discredited now in the professional community for what it was—a blatant attempt to skew educational resources away from boys and to characterize girls as victims—the damage had been done. It resulted in an unfair distribution of available resources that continues to this day (Dobson, Bringing Up Boys, p. 172).

Most damaging was when Congress, as a result of lobbying from various feminist organizations, passed:

… the Gender Equity in Education Act, which allocated hundreds of millions of dollars per year to programs designed to redress the [so-called] bias against girls (Dobson, Bringing Up Boys, p 173).

Among the initiatives in the Act, money was funneled to:

“reprogram” teachers who were unconsciously sexist (Dobson, Bringing Up Boys, p 173).

What the feminist movement, and especially the Act, has done is create an atmosphere that is bringing about the fulfilling of an ancient prophecy. You can read it in Isaiah 3 and verse 12;

As for My people, children are their oppressors, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your paths (Isaiah 3:12).

Education has changed at all levels since the AAUW report.

Falling Behind, Replaced—But for What Result?

This resultant bias in favor of girls in education, starting at the earliest levels, has had its effect. The September 6, 2021 Wall Street Journal published an opinion piece by Douglas Belkin titled:

A Generation of American Men Give Up on College: “I Just Feel Lost.”

The numbers are disturbing. Roughly 60 percent of college admissions are women and schools of higher learning struggle to keep the male population at the 40 percent level. Samuel Goldman, writing for The Week, in the article titled “The American elite will be female,” points out that the ratio between men and women would be even worse were it not for a bit of fudging on entrance requirements.

The burgeoning gender gap is an open secret in higher education. With none of the fanfare that accompanies their pursuit of racial diversity, many institutions give an admissions advantage to men. One reason is that administrators fear women are also less likely to enroll when the male student population drops below 40 percent (The Week, “The American elite will be female,” September 8, 2021).

As disturbing as that is, it is only part of a dismal picture. Going to university is one thing—graduating is another. Belkin explains:

Among University of Vermont undergraduates, about 55% of male students graduate in four years compared with 70% of women (“A Generation of American Men Give Up on College: ‘I Just Feel Lost,’” Wall Street Journal, September 6, 2021).

Those percentages are significant, but when we put them to specific numbers, they are shocking. If you take 100 students where 60% are women and 40% are men, and apply the percentages who graduate in 4 years, it means for every 42 women graduates you only have 22 men.

Some would argue, “so what?” Men still make more money and hold power positions in our world. That’s the conventional wisdom, but Goldman points out that this is “largely a generational effect.” He explains that leaders across the board, whether in industry, commerce, communications, or government:

… began their careers decades ago, when college student bodies were more equally divided (and in some cases, exclusively male). It would be surprising if the gender ratio in upper management remained the same in another 20 years (The Week, “The American elite will be female,” September 8, 2021).

He then explains what should be obvious to all.

Because elite institutions hire almost exclusively college graduates, campuses are the point of departure for female dominance of publishing, the culture industry, and areas of the corporate world—particularly the massive human resources industry (The Week, “The American elite will be female,” September 8, 2021).

The double standard goes beyond education. For decades, women strove to invade every bastion of male exclusivity. Women reporters demanded equal access to men’s locker rooms for interviews. Girls clamored to play on boys’ baseball teams. They lobbied for admittance into the Boy Scouts. Anything that was singularly male became a target, but could you ever imagine males being allowed into women’s locker rooms or competing in women’s sports?

… Well, I guess we now can. What goes around comes around. Yes, by a bizarre circuitous route, men and boys are today invading everything female, by simply claiming that they are females trapped in male bodies. Girls and women are pushed aside as confused, or opportunistic, men break record after record in female track and field, in weightlifting, and more. Scholarships that should rightly go to girls are funneled to biological boys who will never become biological girls. I can only imagine the anger fathers must feel when they see their daughters robbed in this way.

In October 2017 the Boy Scouts of America began admitting girls to their organization. Not surprisingly, the ones most disturbed by this turn of events were the Girl Scouts! Yes, what goes around does come around!

The problem is not that special programs have encouraged girls in academics, sports, and leadership, but that these resources are mostly going in one direction. Just as girls have special needs, so do boys, and without proper support and motivation, too many are left adrift, feeling lost. Boys especially need guidance and focus as Belkin explains.

Social science researchers cite distractions and obstacles to education that weigh more on boys and young men, including videogames, pornography, increased fatherlessness and cases of over diagnosis of boyhood restlessness and related medication (Belkin, Wall Street Journal, September 6, 2021).

Or, as civil engineering student Luke Weiss put it:

I see a lot of guys that are here for four years to drink beer, smoke weed, hang out and get a degree (Belkin, Wall Street Journal, September 6, 2021).

What we see is a world turned upside down. Instead of men as leaders, we have men floating aimlessly, with more and more leadership positions going to women. Some women no doubt rejoice in this turnaround, but thoughtful women understand that the problem is not good for society as a whole. As college enrollment consultant Jennifer Delahunty warns, the disparity we see in education today is not only bad for men, but also for women.

If you care about our society, one, and, two, if you care about women, you have to care about the boys, too. If you have equally educated numbers of men and women that just makes a better society, and it makes it better for women (Belkin, Wall Street Journal, September 6, 2021).

One wonders, “Has the feminist movement, which spawned the biased AAUW study, improved the lives of women? Are women happier as a result?”

Does “Liberation” Equal Happiness?

According to a 2013 Psychology Today article, the 1970’s feminist movement has NOT translated into greater happiness.

This is a great time for women. Women all over the world are running countries, companies and universities. The most recent U.S. Secretary of State and Speaker of the House were women. Women make up about half of the workforce and can now fight side-by-side with their male counterparts in the military. But, given all of these advancements, are women happier? According to a 2009 study entitled, The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness, the answer is a resounding no (“Women & Happiness: Is It Still Declining?,” Psychology Today, March 10, 2013).

Quoting from the referenced study, “The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness”:

By many objective measures the lives of women in the United States have improved over the past 35 years, yet we show that measures of subjective well-being indicate that women’s happiness has declined both absolutely and relative to men…. Relative declines in female happiness have eroded a gender gap in happiness in which women in the 1970s typically reported higher subjective well-being than did men. These declines have continued and a new gender gap is emerging—one with higher subjective well-being for men (Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers, “The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness,” NBERI, May 2009).

Britain’s Daily Mail Online published an article in response to the study, titled:

“Women have it all but are less happy than forty years ago.”

In it, Netmums website founder Siobhan Freegard explains:

We pushed so hard for equal rights, for having the right to work, for having equal status, we pushed so hard to have choice.

But what we hear from many mums is: I have no choice, I have to work, I don’t love my career, my childminder is taking half my salary and I’d rather bring up my children myself but I can’t afford to.

If you enjoy your job and it’s a fulfilling career, that is a positive choice, but if it’s not, it’s almost in some ways that we got it all, then found that actually it wasn’t quite what we wanted (Daily Mail Online, June 1, 2009).

An interesting observation is found in The Guardian, another British source, on May 18, 2016. It explains that the Swiss did not give women the right to vote until 1971. Many things in life are counterintuitive. They go against expectations. Ten years after receiving the right to vote, another referendum was held. This time to decide whether to amend their constitution to require equal pay for equal work.

Different parts of Switzerland voted very differently. Unsurprisingly, cantons (Swiss states) with a high proportion of votes in favor of the amendment were recorded as having a small gender wage gap some years later. But strangely, working women in areas with strong traditional values—where most people had voted against equal pay—were happier than working women in liberal cantons (“Gains in women’s rights haven’t made women happier. Why is that?” The Guardian, May 18, 2016).

One of the casualties of the feminist movement has been marriage and family. Feminists wanted to be free from what they described as the drudgery of housework and the responsibility of children. They wanted sexual freedom, and the result is a hookup generation where the commitment of marriage has declined sharply.

Men and Women, Working Together God’s Way

There are certainly women who are happy with their choices in life, but overall, studies show that they are less happy today than they were in the 1970s. This should not surprise us, because the feminist movement, among other things, is a rejection of God. This is not to say that individual activists—and especially women who simply bought into the attractive sounding propaganda of the feminist movement, without truly understanding it—were deliberately rejecting God. They saw the feminist movement as an attempt to improve the lot of women and did not realize it sought to overturn the roles of both men and women as given in our Creator’s instruction book—the Bible. But make no mistake. It is an attempt to do away with the nuclear family. But is that wise?

If we are indeed a product of creation and design, the Creator and Designer must know what is best for that which He created and designed. And, indeed He does!

The Biblical prophet Isaiah predicted that the reversal of traditional male/female roles would take place at the end of the age.

As for My people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them (Isaiah 3:12).

O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your paths (Isaiah 3:12).

Men have not brought the world peace, and must bear responsibility for the world as it is today, but will women do any better? Not according to this prophecy!

Samuel Goldman’s prediction that “The American elite will be female,” is correct, even if Isaiah “scooped him” by more than 2700 years! Of course, it was not Isaiah, but our Creator who understood this in advance. In a later passage, Isaiah quotes God as saying…

Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure…” (Isaiah 46:9–10).

Male and female relations have never been in perfect balance. Far from it. Even today women are horribly abused in some countries around the world, where girls are not allowed to go to school and women may be beaten mercilessly with no consequences handed out to their husbands. Yet, our Western world has gone to a different extreme where men are considered bumbling fools incapable of the proper leadership role they were given by their Creator.

Radical feminists, many of whom resent men, perhaps due to abuse in their upbringing, or for other reasons, reject the God-given roles of men and women. And too many men are not being trained to be the loving providers and leaders they were created to be. The Bible lays out these simple facts:

For man is not from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man…. Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God (1 Corinthians 11:8–9, 11–12).

It is obvious that men and women are different physically and emotionally, but these differences are being discounted. Today it is the woman who comes to the rescue of the man. Need a tire changed? Woman to the rescue. Have a problem in business? Woman is there. Being attacked by city thugs? There she is again—stronger, quicker than any man, and a marvel at karate. But is this reality? I think we know the answer.

Men and women were made to complement, not compete, with one another. Men are designed physically to be protectors and providers. It’s not that a woman cannot provide and where the husband suffers sickness or injury, it may be necessary to reverse the roles temporarily or even permanently. There is no stigma to this. A man can still be the head of his household even under such circumstances, but when men do not prepare for the proper place of being the breadwinner and leave it to the wife to go out into the world to “bring home the bread,” problems readily arise. A woman needs to be loved and a man needs to be respected, and these needs are more likely to suffer when the roles are reversed. Instead of women fighting for control of the pants, God instructs:

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her (Ephesians 5:22–25).

Feminists have long scorned this passage as being sexist and misogynistic, not understanding that God has a plan far greater than they could ever imagine. Referring to the marriage relationship, Paul went on to say:

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband (Ephesians 5:31–33).

The blending of male and female in marriage is essential to a well-ordered society. History shows that, as with the family, so goes the nation. Marriage between one biological male and one biological female can bring children into a balanced nurturing and loving environment where male and female contribute their unique qualities. Family is a perfect training ground to learn good manners, caring for others, self-discipline, and self-sacrifice.

Thank you for watching! To learn more about your role and purpose in life, order your free copy of “God’s Plan for Happy Marriage” by clicking the link in the description. And, remember to subscribe to our channel so you can continue to learn the truth as given in the Bible. See you next time!