Moment in the Word

Ezekiel 21:7 - And when they ask you, 'Why are you groaning?' you shall say, 'Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every leg will be wet with urine.' It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign LORD."

 

As we consider Christ's Return and the establishment of the Kingdom Age, I think the Church possibly envisions the world being much like it is today... with the addition of Jesus living and ruling in Jerusalem with His resurrected saints.

 

However, after reading the prophecies of Matthias Stormberger (born in Bavaria - 1753), I have revisited Scripture for a new look at end-time events. Consequently, I now believe that many in the Church fail to realize that this planet is facing a universal cataclysm that will virtually eradicate mortal humans (but not those resurrected from the dead when Jesus returns). This nearly-complete elimination of humanity and the abandonment of their devastated civilization, is why peace will exist on earth for 1000 years (Revelation 20:6). Basically, there will not be enough people left to cause trouble... until they've had time to re-populate.

 

But you need biblical proof (in addition to Stormberger's prophecies). So, here it is...

 

In the Book of Revelation, the judgments explicitly state that a cumulative total of over half of humanity will be killed across two specific prophetic events, first wiping out one-fourth (25%) in the Fourth Seal - Revelation 6:8 and later killing one-third of those survivors (33%) in the Sixth Trumpet - Revelation 9:15-18, leaving only 50% of the original population alive.

 

Other judgments—like the Bowls of Wrath—cause global devastation and mass casualties, but the text does not assign a specific fraction or percentage.

 

This same imagery appears in three different passages within the Book of Jeremiah.

 

- Jeremiah 25:33 - "At that time those slain by the Lord will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground."

 

- Jeremiah 16:4 - "They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried; they will be like dung on the surface of the ground. They will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals."

 

- Jeremiah 9:22 - "Say, 'This is what the Lord declares: "Dead bodies will lie like dung on the open field, like cut grain behind the reaper, with no one to gather them."'"

 

Zechariah is the only other prophet who provides a specific fraction or percentage regarding prophetic casualties. In Zechariah 13:8, the prophet gives a very precise and staggering statistic: "In the whole land," declares the Lord, "two-thirds will be cut off and die, yet one-third will be left in it."

 

Many eschatological scholars interpret this passage alongside the Book of Revelation, arguing that "all the land" (kol ha'arets in Hebrew) can be translated as "all the earth." In this view, Zechariah is predicting a global end-times purge where 66.6% of humanity will perish, leaving a refined 33.3% remnant to enter the Messianic kingdom.

 

Aside from Zechariah and Revelation, the other Old Testament prophets use massive, all-encompassing language to describe a global death toll.

 

For example, in Isaiah 24, the prophet describes a global judgment that leaves almost no one behind: "The Lord is going to devastate the earth and leave it waste... The earth's inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left." (Isaiah 24:1, 6).

 

Not until the end of the 1000-year Kingdom Age does human warfare reoccur, "When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them." (Revelation 20:7-9)

 

But why will human conflict reappear?

 

Obviously, Satan's release is one factor; however, in one thousand years, humanity will multiply like "the sand on the seashore." Due to re-population and crowding on earth, violence will return, and large-scale war will happen again.

 

Now, what does the Bavarian prophet, Matthias Stormberger, say in his 18th century predictions?

 

WWIII: "And after the end of the Second Great War, a third universal conflagration will come, so that it will determine everything. There will be weapons totally new. In one day, more men will die than in all the previous wars. The battles will be accomplished with artificial weapons. Gigantic catastrophes will happen... When women walk around in pants, and men have become effeminate, so that one will no longer be able to tell men from women, then the time is near... With open eyes (total awareness of the evil they are committing), the nations of the planet will go through these catastrophes. They won't understand the significance of what is happening, and those that know and tell, will be silenced. Everything will be different from before, and in many places the Earth will be a great cemetery. The third war will be the end of many nations."

 

The Final Devastation of Civilization: "The people will be sick and nobody can help them. Those who will make it must have an iron will. Those that have hidden during the great Clearing Away will say to every stranger, 'Brother, where have you stayed hidden — Sister, where have you hidden yourself?' Then, when people stand on the mountain tops, they will see no light in the forests below."

 

You need to be ready for what is quickly coming! Be sure your life is right with God. Your time is short!