Hurricane Katrina wrought widespread destruction throughout New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast region. Homes were destroyed. Hospitals and schools were shut down. Businesses were ruined. Bridges and streets were washed away. Levees were breached. Lives were changed, shattered or lost.

As much as 80% of New Orleans was plunged underwater, leaving 1.2 million residents homeless.

As for the greater Gulf Coast area, Katrina affected 90,000 square miles—an area almost as large as the United Kingdom! Katrina spawned several tornados in Mississippi and Alabama, damaging trees and power lines. Beachfront neighborhoods along the Gulf Coast were completely leveled. In some areas, storm surges reached as far as six miles inland. More than half of Mississippi’s gambling casinos, which floated on barges, were washed ashore, some hundreds of yards inland. The state’s forest industry was also affected, as 1.3 million acres of forest area were destroyed. In all, the storm damaged or destroyed 30 oil platforms, and caused nine refineries to be shut down.

Almost a year later, the streets of New Orleans are still filled with debris, half of the shopping malls in and around the city remain closed and tourism is in steep decline. Some of the larger, more upscale hotels—the Hyatt Regency, the Fairmont, the Ritz-Carlton and Park Plaza—are yet to re-open. The New Orleans CityBusiness reported that before Katrina, 38,000 hotel rooms were in operation; to date, only 28,000 are in use.

Hurricane Katrina left an emotional and financial scar that will never fully heal. Yet, as former residents return to rebuild their homes and lives, an even greater, far more immense “storm” is in the making.

Another “Katrina”

Suppose you learned that another “Katrina” was about to strike—only this time causing mass destruction across the entire eastern seaboard, from Miami to Washington, D.C., on up to Philadelphia, New York and Boston.

Unlikely?

What if such a disaster included the West Coast, from San Diego and Los Angeles, through to San Francisco, then Portland and Seattle?

Doubtful?

Now imagine a national calamity—a disaster that left nothing untouched, bringing every metropolitan area, city, suburb, small town and village in America to its knees.

Unbelievable?

Suppose such a catastrophe struck on a multinational scale, spreading to Canada, Britain and most of Western Europe, as well as South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and other First World countries.

Impossible?

Every year, scientists and other weather experts look into the distant parts of the ocean for the arrival of tropical depressions to see if any will intensify into tropical storms and—even worse—hurricanes (or cyclones). Such violent storms are then monitored and tracked along a projected path. Communities facing potential destruction are warned. People are given time to prepare, time to evacuate, so lives can be spared.

Similarly, there is another type of “storm” taking shape off in the distance—a prophetic catastrophe-in-waiting that is amassing strength and rapidly gaining speed as time moves forward. Its initial effects are already being seen and felt…

• With certain sections of the nation being deluged with flooding (“mildew” – Deut. 28:22), while other regions burn up from raging wildfires (“blasting” – same verse).

• With parents losing (or giving up) their God-given responsibility to properly rear their children—instead, producing rebellious brats who “rule over them” (Isa. 3:4-5), “a generation that curses their father, and does not bless their mother…[who] are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness” (Prov. 30:11-12).

• With the world’s lone superpower sinking ever deeper into the bottomless abyss of debt (Deut. 28:43-44).

These are just a few of the many signs that a prophetic “tempest” will soon surface—one that is tracking along a projected path of mass destruction, foretold thousands of years ago in the Bible.

A Government Yielding Peace

MCT

MCT

The Real Truth analyzes the issues, trends and troubles plaguing mankind—restores plain understanding of the causes behind humanity’s ever-increasing problems—and points to the only real solution. In short, we examine the bad news and then announce good news.

This is why our articles do not take political positions, nor side with or against specific governments, administrations or their leaders. Our position is strictly neutral.

God has allotted men nearly 6,000 years of self-rule—60 centuries of making and enforcing their own laws, judgments, statutes and ordinances. But what have all the different forms of manmade governments produced? What has been the fruit of human-led monarchies, dictatorships, democracies, republics and totalitarian states?

War—strife—cutthroat competition—escalating crime and bloodshed—the tearing apart of the family unit, the nucleus of any thriving society. No matter the government, corruption still exists. No matter the overall noble intentions of some administrators, cronyism, classism and racism have had free reign. The gap between the “haves” and “have nots” continues to widen. The economic scar of extreme poverty continues to be passed down from generation to generation. The utopian peace, security, prosperity and social harmony all long for remain an illusive dream.

Only one administration can end all wars, suffering and troubles. Only one government can execute true justice—without partiality—to all, from the elite to the bottom rung of the societal ladder. That government is the kingdom of God. Jesus Christ Himself will reign over it, and He will delegate His divine authority and power to rulers and judges whose character and loyalty have been tried—proven. Whose favor cannot be turned for personal gain, whose loyalty cannot be bought.

Only through God’s kingdom—a government that administers laws founded upon outgoing concern for the welfare of others (Rom. 13:10)—can permanent peace and prosperity be established throughout every corner of the world. So says your Bible.

Notice: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” (Isa. 9:6-7).

For this reason, the main goal of The Real Truth is to announce the gospel—which literally means “good news”—of the soon-coming kingdom of God! Clearly, the establishment of God’s perfect, incorruptible supergovernment and the fruits it will yield worldwide—peace, happiness, success, etc.—IS good news!

But before God’s kingdom can be set up on the earth, human beings must undergo a change of heart, and let God rule over and lead them. Tragically, the vast majority will choose to learn this the hard way.

A Prophetic “Katrina”

God’s Word is a coded Book. (To learn more, read our article “Bible Codes – Decoding the Mystery,” published in this issue.) Yet it also contains the keys to unlocking prophetic understanding. For instance, Scripture speaks of future events involving Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Ethiopia and others—but what about the U.S., the greatest nation in history?

You might be surprised to learn that roughly one third of the Bible is devoted to prophecy—much of which directly centers around the peoples of America and its sister nations, Britain, Australia and others. But one must be able to recognize which biblical key reveals the prophetic identity of the American and British peoples. Our book America and Britain in Prophecy does so with overwhelming proof.

Many are falling prey to non-biblical delusions promoted by self-proclaimed religious “experts.” But God declares that “they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord…I have not sent these prophets [religious leaders], yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings” (Jer. 23:16, 21-22).

Despite such wide-scale deception, God assures this: “The anger of the Lord shall not return, until He have executed, and till He have performed the thoughts of His heart: in the latter days you shall consider it perfectly” (vs. 20).

Yes, a prophetic “Katrina” is brewing over the horizon, reserved long ago for the “latter days”—our time now! The Bible calls it “the time of Jacob’s trouble.” Take note: “For thus says the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask you now, and see whether a man does travail with child? Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer. 30:5-7).

Explaining to His disciples about events leading up to His Second Coming, Jesus Christ said, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved” (Matt. 24:21-22). This coming time of tribulation, also called “the time of Jacob’s trouble,” will bring mankind to the brink of total annihilation! Only the Return of Christ and the establishing of God’s kingdom on earth can prevent this!

Horrendous times are coming, and events will begin with the modern descendants of ancient Israel. Called a “nation and a company of nations” (Gen. 35:11), they have been the birthright recipients of the promises God gave to the patriarch Abraham, and have been blessed with the greatest wealth, power and influence in history.

Yet they have stubbornly rebelled against the One who gave them these material blessings, rejecting His laws and guidance. God calls them “impudent children and stiffhearted” (Ezek. 2:4), “a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me” (vs. 3). They have “changed My judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and My statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused My judgments and My statutes, they have not walked in them” (5:6); “they despised My judgments, and walked not in My statutes, but polluted My Sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols” (20:16).

These nations are called a “land…full of idols” (Isa. 2:8), where crosses, crucifixes, images of “Christ,” “Mary” and “Jesus fishes” flourish. Church steeples line almost every block.

But despite these religious displays, God states, “Your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols” (Ezek. 6:4). He will destroy all the churches throughout the land for their idolatry, which He calls spiritual adultery (Jer. 3:8; 5:7).

An appalling and terrifying future event of mayhem, confusion, panic and unheard-of-sorrow will crash down upon a rebellious people—people who are largely ignorant of their biblical identity. Why?

“For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one deals falsely. They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush” (Jer. 6:13-15).

 A cacophony of voices claiming to be religious experts and authorities of God’s Word has deceived people into believing that God’s Law is done away—that all He requires is for believers to “give their hearts to the Lord” or “have love,” however defined. They cry, “Peace, peace,” when God plans to unleash “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation” (Dan. 12:1).

This divine reckoning will arrive in three major stages.

Stage 1: Famine and Pestilence

The prophet Ezekiel was among the first round of Jewish captives taken in Judah’s Babylonian captivity. God commissioned him to take a message to the house of Israel and warn His people that their continued rebellion, Sabbath-breaking and idolatry would result in military invasion, mass deportation and national captivity.

Yet the Israelites had already been taken captive by the Assyrian Empire about 125 years earlier. They seemingly disappeared into the pages of history, becoming known as the “ten lost tribes of Israel.”

MCT

Drought: While some regions in the world are battered by storms, entire lakes disappear in others.

Ezekiel’s warning was never taken to the ancient house of Israel—nor was it meant to be. God intended this message to be delivered thousands of years later to Israel’s modern descendant nations, prior to the Return of Jesus Christ and the establishing of His worldwide government. Recognizing they would be as “impudent” and “rebellious” as their forefathers, God inspired the book of Ezekiel—using ancient Israel and Judah as types—to describe the contemporary conditions and mindset of the birthright nations. Chapter five paints a prophetic picture of the three-step punishment that will occur.

First will come famine, resulting in mass starvation, deaths and pandemic outbreaks on a scale never seen: “A third part of you shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of you…When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread” (vs. 12, 16).

What will lead up to this event? God declares, “I will make your heaven as iron”—polluted with smog and all kinds of industrial filth—“and your earth as brass”—hard, unyielding, infertile, full of toxic levels of chemical pollutants (Lev. 26:19). Farmers will try to yield produce from the land, but their “strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits” (vs. 20). Locusts will consume the crops that manage to grow (Deut. 28:38) and will decimate timberland, parks and national forests (vs. 42). Worms will devour the vineyards (vs. 39).

This will create a national food shortage. First World nations that have grown fat over the decades from the “fast food” life will suddenly know what it is like to experience real hunger pains. Their peoples will begin to appreciate the plight of the millions living in Third World nations who eat meals every other day for lack of food.

But the birthright nations have grown accustomed to getting their own way, accustomed to deciding for themselves how to live. They will not turn to their Creator for His direction. And so their punishment will increase sevenfold (Lev. 26:21).

Human beings will not be the only ones starving for food. God warns that He will “send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your highways shall be desolate” (vs. 22).

Still, the vast majority will refuse to yield to God’s will; only increased punishment will get their attention (vs. 23-24). This means the famine will only grow worse (vs. 26), producing mass starvation—and countless deaths! Rotting corpses will pile up, especially in crowded urban areas, creating a breeding ground for disease outbreaks (vs. 25; Deut. 28:27-29, 35).

Even so, few will acknowledge or submit to the God who was once their Protector, Sustainer, Deliverer, Lawmaker and Ruler—which means stage two will take effect.

Recall Hurricane Katrina. The casinos were smashed into pieces. The streets of New Orleans were flooded and devastated. Still, the people scrambled to bring back the gambling, debauchery and riotous lifestyles they had grown so accustomed to living.

MCT

Business as usual: Prior to Katrina, New Orleans earned its reputation as a center of vice—heavy drinking, raucous parties, gambling, etc. Just months later, the debauchery returned.

MCT

MCT

When the mayor of New Orleans wondered aloud if Katrina was God’s handiwork, the public outcry that ensued drove him to recant. No one wanted to consider the possibility that the Creator is not pleased with the conduct of His creation.

Famine, starvation, cannibalism, wild beasts on the prowl, deadly plagues—stage one of tomorrow’s “Katrina”—will claim one third of the population. But even this will not keep the survivors from clinging to their idolatrous and adulterous lifestyles.

Stage 2: Military Invasion

The prophetic storm of “Jacob’s trouble” will intensify, as weakened and distraught survivors undergo a constant barrage of terrorism attacks and military incursions. God will “appoint…terror” (Lev. 26:16) over an unrepentant people, causing them to panic and flee at even the slightest hint of trouble: “And the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursues” (vs. 36). 

From within, 9/11-style attacks will strike again and again, like the constant beat of war drums!

And from without, nations that were once considered to be allies and fellow partners of peace will turn out to be conspirators: “Among all her lovers [political allies] she has none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies” (Lam. 1:2). Psalm 83:4-8 indicates that several nations will secretly conspire against Israel’s national descendants, revealing their true motives when the birthright recipients are in a weak and vulnerable position (Obadiah 7). Perhaps in a grand surprise attack—remember Pearl Harbor!—unsuspecting cities will disintegrate in a nuclear holocaust: “And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation…and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste” (Lev. 26:31, 33).

In all, another third of the people will perish (Ezek. 5:12).

Federal, state and local governments will collapse. Power, water and sewage utilities will shut down. Police and military units will dissolve. Mass anarchy will fill the void and reign in the streets…that is, until the foreign invasion force arrives. Like locusts, the victors will spread troops throughout the land and seize whatever spoils are deemed worthy.

“You shall betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: you shall build an house, and you shall not dwell therein: you shall plant a vineyard, and shall not gather the grapes thereof. Your ox shall be slain before your eyes, and you shall not eat thereof: your ass shall be violently taken away from before your face, and shall not be restored to you: your sheep shall be given unto your enemies, and you shall have none to rescue them. Your sons and your daughters shall be given unto another people, and your eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in your hand” (Deut. 28:30-32). 

Whatever property or cherished items one might have, these will be taken away. Whatever loved ones one might struggle to care for and protect, they will be taken away as well. A new era of mass slavery will begin: “And they cast lots for My people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink” (Joel 3:3).

Stage 3: National Captivity and Mass Deportation

One third will have succumbed to famine and disease. Another third will perish at the hand of military conquest. God will see to it that the remaining third are gathered like livestock and deported en masse into foreign lands.

“And I will scatter you among the heathen, and disperse you in the countries, and will consume your filthiness out of you” (Ezek. 22:15)—“And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them” (Lev 26:39)—“And the Lord shall scatter you among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other” (Deut. 28:64).

Their downfall will come fast and hard, surprising even the victors. God will cause His people to “become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the Lord shall lead you” (Deut. 28:37).

And in their daily lives as slaves, God will give them “a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: and your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you shall fear day and night, and shall have none assurance of your life: In the morning you shall say, Would God it were even! And at even you shall say, Would God it were morning! For the fear of your heart wherewith you shall fear, and for the sight of your eyes which you shall see” (Deut. 28:65-67).  

Only when they have reached the very bottom rung of despair—when every moment of their lives is filled with hopelessness, abuse, humiliation and shame—will the modern Israelites finally consider. Only then will they put aside the “idols of their hearts” (Ezek. 14:3-7) and begin to seek after and obey their Creator. And, just as He delivered ancient Israel from slavery in Egypt, God will deliver modern Israel from bondage, and lead them into a glorious future in the wonderful world tomorrow.

A Future Exodus

After the prophetic storm surge of the Great Tribulation passes, a mass exodus of surviving Israelites will emerge. Humbled by their horrific experiences, they will meekly follow God’s lead and come out of the nations where they were enslaved and savagely treated.

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. For though Your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. For the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land” (Isa. 10:20-23).

Centuries ago, God used the ancient Assyrians to severely punish His people. This was a type for a future punishment, when He will use the modern descendants of Assyria to inflict punishment upon Israel’s descendants (vs. 24), until “…yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease” (vs. 25).

God promises to save His people and give them righteous leaders. He will cause Israel to dwell in peace and safety, and will shower them with blessings (Ezek. 34:22-30).

Never again will His people trade His Laws for the laws and traditions of men. Never again will the spiritual landscape of the modern Israelite nations be saturated with political corruption, rampant adultery and fornication, religious hypocrisy, lawlessness and wanton covetousness (actually, idolatry – Col. 3:5).

But individuals can escape!

Way of Escape

The ancient Israelites had a saying: “The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge” (Jer. 31:29). In other words, “Children shall pay for the sins of their fathers.” But this thinking came from the minds of carnal men, not from God. In fact, He states, “The soul [person] that sins, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him” (Ezek. 18:20).

“Therefore,” He continues, “I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways…Repent [change], and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin” (vs. 30).

After describing the time sequence of the end-time events that will occur prior to His Second Coming, Christ warned, “Watch you therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36).

The greatest prophetic “cyclone” is still on track—and it will dramatically affect hundreds of millions of lives in multiple nations—and soon!

But individuals can choose to heed the warning signs—can choose to change their lives (Joel 2:12-14)—and escape before the next “Katrina” arrives.

Read our companion article in the “Hurricane Katrina: One Year Later” series “What America Failed to Learn.”