The Final Generation???

Do  we or do we not serve a God of logic and reason?
Well the answer is obvious, we serve a God of logic and reasoning. To confirm that all we need to do is look at His creation.
If we serve a God of logic and reason, then why do so many of us believe in things that almost equate to being a fairytale and worse, given no critical thought at all?

Matthew 24:34(KJV) Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 

Many folks point to this verse when speaking of the last day / end times.  Some say that the countdown clock started in May 1948, others say it was June 1967 when Israel finally took back the city of Jerusalem and won control of the Temple mount.

Both points are promoted, but I stand upon the birth of the nation that took place in 1948.

The issue that I want to focus on is this, IF we are the final generation, then why do we bow down to the god of time?
"WHAT?? The god of time?"
Yes, often when asked a question that is hard to answer, many people say "it is just a matter of time."
Many people ask, "when will the rapture take place? " Common answer is "Well, God tells us not to set dates, but it is just a matter of time."
As a side note, let me state right here that I am one who stands upon the imminent return of our Lord, so please don't send me emails giving me grief about timing and such.
There are many out there proclaiming that there is an upcoming middle east war and even claiming it to be a fulfillment of some of the prophecies found in scripture.  You see it in discussion forums, emails and even some popular bible prophecy teachers newsletters and websites.
" We will see prophecy come to pass this summer 2013, you mark my words. And if things don't turn out, well it is just a matter of time till they do."
Foolish Statements
With the election of the new Pope, we hear foolish statements like "The antichrist will be an Italian of roman catholic decent."
Or this "Russia is going to invade Israel and then we are going to get raptured out of here."
Or this, " a European antichrist with his forces are going to kill all the Christians by beheading them, Revelation 20:4 tells us so."
Or this, " The coming war is the fulfillment of Psalm 83"
Or this.. " Islam is going to be wiped out this summer in the Israel war."
Do you get the idea at what I am trying to point out here?
People are making foolish statements that have little if any biblical backing what so ever.
Often they are thrown out there without any logic or reasoning given what so ever. The sad thing is that I have heard some of these statements come from the very teachers whose books we read, TV shows we watch, ect.
What's more is that you yourself have heard these sort of things out there too.
What is the common theme in all of this?
If things don't work out, all of these are backed up by the god of time.
" It will happen - it is just a matter of time."
This is why I ask, are we the final generation or not?
People quote this verse all the time and then state something else that completely contradicts the final generation found in Matthew 24:34.

Matthew 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

 It is like the old Hollywood Indian saying you see in the movies.. "white man speaks with forked tongue."
Folks, if we are the final generation then that means we are running seriously out of time.
What is the flip side of that?
We are NOT the final generation and all those bible prophecy that have come to pass, well, all those were just chance, a winning roll of the dice.
It is like we have become accustomed to having our cake and eating it too.
Either these things that are being taught are going to take place here soon,…
because we are the final generation,…
OR they are not and we are not the final generation.
In fact, let me pick on some of these statements to clarify.
"The antichrist will be Italian of roman catholic decent."
This is one that has been tossed around out there for a while now, and I hate to say it, but time has just about run out on this one.
How has it run out?
Everyone can clearly see that Europe is being taken over by Muslims, this is a fact.
Based on birthrate studies, in order for a culture to maintain itself for more than 25 years the required fertility rate must be 2.11 children per family. Historically a culture has never reversed a fertility rate of 1.9 children per family. AND IF the fertility rate hits 1.3, it is impossible for that culture to reverse because it would take that culture 80 to 100 years to correct itself. In fact there is no economic model to sustain a culture during that time.
Let's look at the birthrate of Europe.

France 1.8
England 1.6
Greece 1.3
Germany 1.3
Italy 1.2
Spain 1.1

Across the European Union  that consists of 31 countries, the cultural fertility rate is 1.38. Historical research tell us that these numbers are impossible to reverse.
In just a matter of years, Europe as we know it will cease to exist.
But Europe is growing and birthrates are high. What is taking place? Immigration.. Islamic immigration.
Who are having all the children?  Muslims.
Based on the numbers and information above, I do not see some Italian guy coming to power being backed by the catholic church when 1/3 of all European children will be born to Muslim families by 2025.
It is a fact that Islam will not bow to a Italian man backed by the Catholic Church. But the Catholic Church will bow to Islam and this has been historically proven time and again.
But what is the answer given by those who support this idea?
"Just give it time, you will see. Some Italian guy from Rome will rise up, you mark my words."
Well they are dutifully marked and it is looking like they are coming up wanting.
Folks, the sands of time are running out. We do not have the luxury of time any more if we are the final generation.
Do you know that most census offices worldwide utilize as the timeframe of 25 years for a generation as an average?
But we are speaking biblically here. How long is a biblical generation?

Scripture says…

Psalms  90:10 (KJV)  The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

In other words, the number of years people live on the average is 70, possibly 80 if they are strong and of good constitution.
To back this up, Matthew in his reciting of Christ's generations follow the Psalms 90:10 definition of a generation, 70 years.

Matthew  1:17 (KJV)  So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

Matthew is using the Psalm 90 definitions of generation in order to tell a specific chronological time story of our Lord Jesus Christ. So if Matthew is using it pertaining to and qualifying our Lord, we should use it also.
So with all that said, and just doing simple math, 1948 70 years comes to 2018. That is approximately 5 years. Well taking into account that 2013 is 1/4 over, we have a little over 5.5 years left.
Now I do not want to get emails saying I am date setting, I am not. What I am showing is logic and reasoning. Either we are the last generation or we are not.
Continuing on and looking at the birthrate of Muslims in Europe, what are the odds of an Italian man backed by the Catholic Church coming to power, uniting Europe as a force to rule the world in just 5.5 years?
Will Islam just sit back and let this happen?
If you say "Yes," you are kidding yourself and rejecting logic and reasoning.
The problem is that these people who promote this idea have lost the ability to mix fairness with objectivity and are suffering from an acute case of "Don't confuse me with the facts my mind is made up!"
In other words they worship at the feet of the god of time and feel like they have all the time in the world for their ideas to jell together.  
On the other hand, how many Muslims are looking for the Mahdi to come and establish the global one world caliphate?
Who do we as Christians look to in scripture to create a global one world government in these last days?
Think on this for a moment.
Here is another one the defies logic and reasoning…

" A European antichrist with his forces are going to kill all the Christians by beheading them, Revelation 20:4 tells us so."

Revelation 20:4 (KJV)  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Like the Italian AC, this is another one that is surrounded by illogical ideas when being promoted.
In fact I produced a 10 minute video taking this topic on.
You can watch this video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fVwv7r-Nqw
Many people point to the Catholic Church being the ones who will help the Antichrist dispatch all the Christians worldwide. A majority of the popular authors promote the idea.
I have been reading a book titled " On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill In War and Society"  written by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman.
This book was written to explain a startling fact: throughout most of military history, up until the end of World War II, the vast majority of soldiers (between 75% and 95%) have refused to kill their fellow man.
Brigadier General S.L.A. Marshall, who studied this phenomenon during World War II, found that no more than 20% of soldiers would "take any part with their weapons".
The interesting fact is that these results can be found throughout time and across cultures, from Alexander the Great who lost only 700 men in years of fighting, to tribesmen in New Guinea who remove the feathers from their arrows before going off to war, to the soldiers at Rosebud Creek in 1876 who fired 252 rounds for each American Indian they hit.
Grossman conducted very in-depth research.
So what was happening to these soldiers?
These fighting men were resorting to a number of options, and I mean anything that prevented them from having to kill their fellow man.
So what did these soldiers do?
Some fell back to support positions running supplies, ammo, messages. Some tended to the wounded carrying them off the battlefield.  Some even faked injury themselves and even others ran away. 
In fact many just fired into the air just above the enemies heads.
In Civil War times, conscience-stricken soldiers also had the option of pretending to fire - that is, loading up their muskets, mimicking the movements of a firing soldier next to them, and pretending to recoil.

Do you know at Gettysburg there were over, 27,574 muskets were found on the battlefield? Over 90% of these guns were loaded. On the average a good soldier can load and fire a musket about 4 times in a minute.  So logically speaking the chances of these muskets representing mostly soldiers killed JUST before they were getting ready to fire is pretty slim.
Do you know that over 12,000 muskets were found with multiply-loads down the barrel? In fact, at Gettysburg they found over 6,000 of them loaded with 3-10 rounds apiece? That means that the soldier "Faked" firing the weapon and then went through the procedure to reload the weapon. They consciously objected to killing their fellow man. So they just went through the paces to look like they were fighting the battle.
Clearly this shows that among soldiers a deeply ingrained resistance to killing is prevalent when faced with killing other human beings. But this isn't just with soldiers, it is with man in general, he does not want to kill his fellow man.
Now what is interesting is that Grossman uses most of his book to discussing the ways in which this resistance can be overcome.
How can this take place? Simple, training and brainwashing is conducted upon the soldier.
Revelation 20:4 tells us the Christian martyrs will die, that is a fact.
But here is what I have to ask, were are the huge number of forces that are being trained to dispatch Christians?  In fact we also need to include Jews as well because we know that Jews will also be persecuted against during the tribulation.
How Many Will Die?
According to the website adherents.com, there are 2.1 billion Christians worldwide. This number also includes Mormons, JWs, ect.  
So how many of these will go in the rapture?
Scripture gives us clues.
In Matthew 7, which I consider one of the bibles most troubling chapters in all of scripture, we see Christ who is speaking to Christians / believers.
Scripture says…

Matthew  7:13-14 (KJV)  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in there at:

14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Christ himself tells us that there are many believers who are on the broad way that leads to destruction. He also tells us that those who are on the narrow way, the Lord tells us that "few there be that find it."
Now I am not talking about losing one's salvation. I am one who stands on if a person is saved, they cannot lose their salvation.
What is being presented in this chapter are those who claim the title, but are not true Christians. These Christians In Name Only, or what I refer to as C.I.N.Os.
What do I mean by that?
Simple example, Oprah Winfrey publicly claims to be a Christian, but we clearly see that her fruits do not show it. We cannot judge ones heart, but based on her fruits, I would speculate that she is one of those on the broad way.
So how many is "few there be that finds it?"
To be honest I don’t know, but to look at the logic of this situation let's be fair and keep things simple and say 1 billion Christians are raptured.
Of those who are left, again keeping it simple to explain logic let's say that 1 billion "Christians" are left behind.
We also have to remember that there are approximately 14 million Jews in the world as well.
We know based upon scripture that 2 thirds of the Jews living will be persecuted.

Zechariah  13:8 (KJV)  And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

That is approximately 4.6 million Jews left in the world with 9.3 million being persecuted.
My question is, who is being trained and brainwashed to kill 1 billion, nine point three million Christians and Jews worldwide?
Do we see the Catholic Church stepping up to the plate to fulfill this large order?
What about other false religions out there? Maybe Mormons? What about New Agers? What about the dreaded freemasons?
Here is another point to consider. Studies show that it takes approximately 2-3 people to execute one person.
Now we know for a fact that there will be Christians and Jews who do survive the tribulation, scripture tells us of the nations who will populate the millennial kingdom. This is a fact. So not all 1 billion, nine point three million Christians and Jews worldwide will die. But a good number of people will.
So again, I have to ask who is being trained to dispatch these millions of people?
FACT - We know that man has an aversion to killing other human beings, Christian morals or not, that is clearly shown in the multiple military studies conducted.
FACT - We also know from scripture that "beheading" will be the method of choice so we cannot blame nuclear, biological or chemical weapons of mass destruction.
It will be the simple "off with their head" solution.
"Well Ray, the "restrainer" will be taken out so all hell will break lose."
Good point, but it does not negate these studies. Grossman in his book talks about Alexander the Great who lost only 700 men in all his years and campaigns of fighting and concurring the known world. He also experienced the same unwillingness to kill. Alexander lived at the time prior to the restrainer.
Folks, the unwillingness to kill our fellow man is ingrained into us. God's law is written upon all of our hearts.

Romans 1:18-19 (KJV)  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

We know that the restrainer was not present during Alexander's time. There are other "pre-restrainer" cases in history that back this up as well. We also know that the law of God is known to all men because it is written upon our hearts.
The only way to overcome this unwillingness to kill our fellow human being, is to be subjected to training and brainwashing. In fact the longer that the person is exposed, the less remorse and mental trauma one will encounter.
Knowing that millions will die at the hands of the Antichrist and that a generation is 70 years. Where are the masses of people being trained today to kill their fellow man?

Last Generation?
Remember that based upon Psalms  90:10 a generation is 70 years. Again looking at Israel becoming a nation in 1948 and using simple math we get the year  2018 being the approximate end of the generation. Seeing that we are about on quarter through 2013, that gives us approximate a little over 5.5 year to train millions to behead and kill all those during the tribulation.
"Well Ray, I have heard that there are guillotines all over the US in secret FEMA camps just waiting to be used."
Again, an unwillingness to think critically or objectively.
If this was the case, who is the company that produced all these guillotines?
Where are they located?
Based on the statement above, they had to be shipped all over the US.
Where are the truckers to drove these guillotines all over the US?
What about the people who loaded and unloaded the guillotines from these vehicles?
What about the people who worked in the no-name factory who built these guillotines?
What about eye witnesses of some form or fashion, or  innocent bystanders who happened to be in the right place at the right time?  
The truth about a secret is that no matter what, it will not remain a secret very long specially if it is a government secret.
In regards to this story, there are too many variables that would easily expose the production of  these guillotines taking place in this nation.
In fact ramping up a company, training the workers and in these financially stressful days, finding the money, stockholders, and financial backing to achieve this as well as dispatching all those Christians, I think 7.5 years is not enough time.
Again there are too many variables that could go wrong in keeping this a secret. 
Now playing the devil's advocate, and taking the US alone, how many true blue Americans would put up with a large number of guillotines being produced in secret? Someone would expose this, there would be pictures posted on facebook, videos on you tube. More proof of the company would come out followed by investigations and then congressional hearings.
Folks, a tool of death like the guillotine, would not go unnoticed and would be reported to the public the moment that the company came into existence .
 Just look at the 9/11 conspiracy,  the Obama birth certificate conspiracy or what about the old idea that  men did not land on the moon  and it was all shot on a movie sound stage?
All these are well known, the conspiracy of guillotines all over the US is a myth and does not have any provable facts based on logic and reasoning to support it.
BUT, let's just entertain this idea for a moment and say it is  true, you would still need 2-3 people trained and brainwashed to kill their fellow human being day in and day out, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week non-stop because we are dealing with millions. Look how long it took Hitler to kill six million Jews. We are talking at least a billion people here.
Here is another point. Our own military is trained to kill and have put into practice these ideologies to help overcome the resistance to kill and still they are ineffective. Look at how many  of our gulf war and Afghanistan war vets come home with post traumatic stress syndrome because they have been trained and have killed, and yet they are still suffering the consequences of taking another's life. 
The American fighting man and woman are some of the best trained soldiers in the world, but what is missing is the brainwashing making killing a part of their lives.
Scripture says…

Proverbs 22:6 (KJV)  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

This is often seen as a blessing to Christian parents, but when viewed from another angle, it is seen as a curse.
Who has been training up their children to kill at such a young age?
You know and I know… Islam.
How many Muslims are there worldwide?
According to adherents.com, it is estimated that there are 1.5 billion Muslims. This study was also conducted around 2001. It is believed that nearly one-fourth of the world’s population today is Muslim. Without firm numbers it is believed that  there are more than 1.5 billion, to quite possibly 2 billion with Islam being the fastest growing religion in the world today.
So taking into account that Christians will be taken out in the rapture, that Islam is the fastest growing religion and that many will die at the hands of the antichrist, there is only one group of people that fit the ability to meet Revelation 20:4 and that is Islam.
Points to consider about Islam …
Muslims are taught to hate Christians and Jews
Muslims are taught to kill the infidel
Beheading is the standard form of execution
Muslims are taught from a young age to die for the cause of Islam
Muslims are taught to kill for the cause of Islam
But here is the stickler, all the countries mentioned in scripture that are associated to Christ's physical return are all Muslim countries and are clearly named. There is no refuting that.
For example , the chapters in Isaiah 13 - 29 all deal with Christ's literal second coming and the destruction of Israel's enemies.
Isaiah 13 Burden of Babylon,
Isaiah 14:24 Burden of Assyria,
Isaiah 14:28 Burden against Philistia (Gaza),
Isaiah 15:1 Burden of Moab,
Isaiah 17 Burden of Damascus & Samaria,
Isaiah 18 Burden of Ethiopia
Isaiah 19 Burden of Egypt
Isaiah 21:13 Burden against Arabia
Isaiah 22 Burden against Jerusalem (occupied by enemy),
Isaiah 23 Burden against Tyre.
All of these are  Muslim counties.
In fact every time the sword of the Lord is mentioned, it is always in association to a Muslim country.

Ezekiel 30:4- 5 (KJV)  And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.

5  Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.

We must accept the fact that Islam and the descendent of Ishmael, Esau and Lot are the last day players. Over and over again they are mentioned by name in scripture. Not the EU, USA, New York or Rome.
We as students of bible prophecy have forgotten that  this whole situation started in Genesis with the children of Abraham and a battle over the promised land.
The problem, there are many who refuse to look at the logic and reasoning. Like many of the statements believed above, they do not want  to be bothered with the facts because their mind is made up to what they want to believe even when it is clearly in black and white and contained in God's Word.
Conclusion
I personally believe that we are the final generation.
If we are the final generation as many in the bible prophecy arena are teaching, we must contend with logic and reasoning and not fairytales.  
Just because something has been taught for the last 50-100 years, does not make it so.
We are called to look down at scripture and then peer out to the horizon to see how the world fits within scripture, not how scripture fits within the ideas that are being taught in the world.
We as students of bible prophecy need to put away all the books of men and look at what scripture is truly teaching.
We have forgotten to go to God's Word and apply Acts 17:11 to make sure that what is being taught holds true to scripture. But more than that, it must adhere to logic and reasoning because our God is not a God of confusion nor does He lie.
Therefore if it is not God who is in error, we have to ask "who is?"
The obvious answer is man.
We need to once again learn how to think critically, with an objective mind. We have got to stop allowing people to "spoon feed" us what they believe we need to know and this includes me as well.
It is the Holy Spirit which teaches us and it is He who will illuminate the truth if we apply God's logic and reasoning.
We also need to come to the realization that if we are the final generation that scripture talks about, then there are some issues at hand that we need to contend with and not push it off to the god of time.
We need to admit that there are things that we have once believed that do not fit scripture as well as the timeframe given the days we are living in.
We must come to the understanding that If scripture fits, we must submit.
There are going to be those out there who will argue the timeframe of a generation, when did that generation begin, when will it end, ect. Personally that does not matter, time is still time and it is ticking down. An extra 20 or so years will not really matter if we are the final generation.
Taking into account of the Muslim demographics presented, that situation is not changing and only some fairytale idea of all the Muslims being taken off the earth in some miraculous event is absurd. Yes, there are folks out there who believe that all of Islam will be destroyed.
The fact that an event like that is not even mentioned in scripture either except at Christ's literal second coming when He destroys the enemies of Israel should tell you something about the idea.
Therefore we need to decide if we are the final generation or not. If we are that final generation, we have a limited amount of time in this generation for things to come together logically because we serve The Omniscience God of logic and reason. (all knowing all seeing)
More importantly, we need to start holding our teachers feet to the fire and challenge them with God's Word as well as logic and reasoning. We need to start asking the hard questions and demand solid biblical as well as logical answers. Not these fairytale ideas that were dreamt up some 50-100 or more years ago when Israel was not a nation. 
We need to reexamine what we have been taught with a sound mind allowing the Holy Spirit to teach us and not the latest popular teacher with the bestselling book.
Folks, I hold myself up to the same scrutiny as well. If I am wrong, I am willing to admit that I am wrong if shown from scripture to be incorrect. I have admitted error before and I have no problem recanting something said in error.
But one has to ask, how many others are out there with all their books, DVDS, CDs, studies, TV shows on the line? How many are out there are willing to admit that they are wrong when presented with sound logic and reasoning in light of all their books, DVDs, CDs, ect?
Odd are that they will stick to the  "Don't confuse me with the facts my mind is made up! Besides, it is clearly stated in my book, CD or study guide, so how can I be wrong?"
If that is the answer you get, then we need to question pride being the culprit.
Scripture says…

Proverbs 16:18 (KJV)  Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

If we are the final generation, we have a lot of work still needing to be done. Millions upon millions do not have any knowledge of the Lord our God, nor the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We no longer have the luxury of time and must be about the Lord's Work.
BUT… if we are NOT the final generation, then we have all the time in the world and can worship at the feet of the god of time.
What you need to do is ask yourself "what generation are we?
The final generation or the one serving the god of time?



 By Ray Gano