Jim Bramlett, April 9, 2000

The annual International Prophecy Conference has just concluded, and I was privileged to attend all four days. Normally held in Tampa, Florida, it was held in Orlando this year at the Orange County Convention Center because they could not secure the same location in Tampa due to a schedule conflict. Registration was at about 900, down from the 4,000 last year, possibly because of the venue change although some believe due to a fall-off in interest in prophecy because of Y2K and nothing happening in 1999 as hoped by some. This in itself has prophetic implications; see Perry Stone’s comments below.

The many excellent speakers included Hal Lindsey, J.R. Church, Chuck Missler, Perry Stone, Bill Cloud, John Bevere, Zola Levitt, Ray Brubaker, Joe VanKoevering, Morris Cerullo, Gary Kah and Jack Van Impe. I met most of them for the first time, although I had previously spoken with three of them on the telephone. J.R. told me he appreciated my e-mails. It was a wonderful time, but my brain is in overload due to all the information, with about 20 1 to 1½- hour individual speeches, two discussion times, and several mini-sermons for offerings.

I also met and fellowshipped with several e-mail and telephone friends for the first time. This included Five Doves readers Olivia and her husband Mike Alford from North Carolina, Krista Rogers and her friend Pat Wood from Orlando, and Bobby and Rita Dill from Tennessee. It also included friends not online, Ron and Dori Reese of Maranatha Ministries of Michigan and Bill Kroll of Illinois. What dear, dear people, and a blessing! It was but a small foretaste of the fellowship we will have in heaven.

The podium messages were extremely affirming for all of us who are expecting the soon rapture. Below are some of the conference highlights, not in any particular order:

RAY BRUBAKER. Ray is the senior statesman of the group, celebrating his 77^th birthday there. His ministry, God’s News Behind the News, began and still sponsors these conferences. He gave an excellent presentation on being ready for the soon rapture, but lamented that most who claim to be Christian really are not and will not make it, representing the Laodecean church. He mentioned the significance of the current end of the sixth millennial day (6,000 years since Adam) and beginning of the seventh millennium. Ray believes we are extremely close.

HAL LINDSEY. Hal described the incredible uniqueness of the 20^th century and how God planned it on purpose as a prelude on His schedule to the return of the Lord. From Adam to about A.D. 1900, the world was largely the same in terms of transportation and technology. In the 1900s, these things literally exploded; for example, from walking and horseback to supersonic jet travel around the world in hours, and from the Pony Express mail to the Internet where messages instantly flash all around the world, all in about 100 years! Knowledge now doubles every few years. And most notably, in the middle of this awesome century, the nation of Israel was reborn after some 2,500 years, according to prophecy. Also, Hal said the world’s population was only 1.8 billion in 1900 and is 6 billion today.

J. R. CHURCH. J. R. stressed the need for sharing the gospel with the lost, saying, "It is almost too late." He spoke in depth on the three levels of Bible study: (1) the primary level, such as simple Bible stories for children; (2) practical application, such as most sermons, most of which he called pablum (even though he was a pastor for 17 years); and (3) prophecy, which constitutes such a large percentage and deeper truths of the Bible but which is greatly neglected. He gave four comparable Jewish levels of Bible study: (1) the reshat (simple level); (2) the remez (hint level); (3) drosh, (regal level), and (4) sohd (the secret level).

Church also spoke in detail on shocking world population and resource projections, saying they tell us that the Lord’s return must be extremely near. Church said that the world’s population is now increasing exponentially, doubling every 40 years; that it is 6 billion now and will be 12 billion in 2040; 24 billion in 2080, etc. Every second of every day there are five new births and two deaths. He gave related resource projections, such as only a 40-year supply remaining of Middle East oil.

ZOLA LEVITT. Describing geopolitical events in the Middle East, Messianic Jew Zola Levitt said the tribulation is extremely close, and the rapture must happen before that. He said the idea that the antichrist will be Jew, based on the common translation of Daniel 9:37 ("Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers"), is a mistranslation, and the correct rendering of the Hebrew has the opposite meaning. It really says that the antichrist will not regard the "idols" of his fathers. Zola said it was mistranslated because of anti-Semitic influence. Zola also said that an idolatry of many Christians today is to worship Judaism in Messianic synagogues, with pomp and ceremony, instead of worshipping in spirit and in truth.

PERRY STONE. Perry was electrifying. I have never heard him preach under such an anointing, especially as he first spoke on Christianity and Israel and how God is healing the ancient breach. He later spoke on the significance of the new millennium, which begins in 2001. He said that every turn of a millennium since Adam (plus or minus just a few years) has seen something significant happen in biblical history: Adam to Enoch, to Jacob, to David, to Jesus, to Muslim/Christian war, and to now.

He said that God used the Y2K non-event to produce scoffers, a fulfillment of 2 Peter 3:3, "There shall come in the last days scoffers..." The scoffers say, "All things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation" (v. 4). Perry says that God is saying, "Now I’m going to find out who is going to be ready and keep believing."

We are now in a prophetic "lull," Perry said. People are in a comfort zone. The lull will not last forever. It is on purpose by God to determine who will be wise, or foolish, or a scoffer. But the "third day" of Hosea 6:2 begins in 2001, he said, and he expects things to soon heat up, with Jesus coming "early" on the third day. (Bramlett note: There is evidence that we are already in the third day since Jesus’ birth and the seventh day since Adam on the Jewish calendar.)

He said that we live in that rare time between two ages. Both Noah and John the Baptist lived between two ages. The thief hung on the cross between the two ages of law and grace, dying under the law but now with Jesus in Paradise under grace.

"The last trump," Perry said, was the last trumpet blast on Rosh HaShannah, called "the Great Trumpet."

GARY KAH. Dr. Gary Kah has researched and written extensively on the coming New World Order and One World Religion, on which he is a top expert. I had never met Gary and was always curious, but I was able to meet and talk with him and I was impressed. He is not a paranoid conspiracy theorist but very intelligent and reasonable. At the conference he mainly spoke on the coming One World Religion, already in the beginning stage with an organization called "United Religions," a movement already under way and with a big meeting scheduled for June 2000, and other meetings this year. Their office is in San Francisco in the same building which just happens to house the offices of Mikhail Gorbechev, who is instrumental in this movement. Kah believes the Pope is also a key player in this, as evidenced by his ecumenical efforts in the past and most recently in the Middle East. Of great concern are his inclusive statements in gatherings of Buddhists, Hindus and representatives of other pagan religions where, for example, he has stated that the Holy Spirit indwells the people of all religions, instead of clearly articulating the good news of salvation available only through the atonement of Christ. This is clearly an anti-biblical, heretical statement. Kah says that other anti-biblical quotes from the Pope give similar concern. But as evidenced recently in the Middle East, the world seems to be looking to the Pope as the reconciler and spokesman of all religions.

(Note: In a recent newsletter, Colin H. Deal of Rutherford College says, "Some, even in the Catholic faith, are upset at the Pope’s new stand declaring that all religions everywhere were founded by the same God and that Hindus, Buddhists, Moslems, Jews and others are equally legitimate parts of the overall ‘Body of Christ.’" He quotes several Catholic sources expressing dismay at the Pope.)

CHUCK MISSLER. A former scientific high-tech senior executive in government and industry, Chuck is absolutely brilliant. He gave a very complex, rapid-fire technical explanation as to how evolution has been clearly proven scientifically false. He also gave a highly technical teaching on the inerrancy of the Bible.

BILL CLOUD. Bill spoke mainly on the need for holiness at this critical time on God’s calendar. He also gave some of the reasons why the current Jewish year 5760 seems so prophetically significant, partly using information that I had previously given him via e-mail.

JOE VANKOEVERING. Joe gave an outstanding and scholarly expose’ on the errors and contradictions of preterism, the teaching that all Bible prophecy has already been fulfilled, with the last days, the Tribulation, and Jesus’ return all being fulfilled in A.D. 70, which is, of course, utter nonsense. There are degrees of preterism. R.C. Spruill considers himself a preterist, but even he admits to a fatal flaw to the whole idea – the resurrection Scriptures! Joe said that preterism is also a fulfillment of 2 Peter 3:3, "There shall come in the last days scoffers..." Perry Stone later commended Joe’s outstanding presentation and said it is an especially important message for our time, as many Christians are now being deceived by preterism. Replacement theology and anti-Semitism are related to preterism.

MORRIS CERULLO. Morris did not teach but instead ministered directly to the conferees, inviting people to come forward to be prayed for to have an end-time anointing. Most went forward. It was a heavy and anointed time.

JACK VAN IMPE. As the final banquet speaker, Jack gave a brilliant summary of the entire book of Revelation, condensing his new 10-hour videotape teaching to about an hour, quoting scores of passages by his uncanny memory, chapter and verse, as is his unique style. He also outlined by names and dates the ancient rabbis, before Christ, and early church fathers who taught that Messiah would come and begin His rule on earth on the 7^th millennial day. Jack says the rapture is about to happen and we could go any day because of the peace efforts in Israel about to kick off the tribulation.  Jack said that the tribulation will see the greatest outpouring of God's Spirit and revival in history.   (Could this be the coming revival that many are sensing?)

STRANGE THING. This is odd. As I sat there in the audience thinking about the current Jewish year 5760 and its possible implications, I became strangely fascinated with the two huge banners and emblems on the stage behind the podium. On each banner was the early century Christian-Jewish emblem of the interconnected images of the Jewish menorah and the Christian fish (ichthus), joined to form a Star of David in the middle. It is called "the Messianic Seal of the Jerusalem Church," the title of a book about it by Israeli Bob Fischer, who had sent me a personal copy. Think of the timing: (1) After being buried for nearly 2,000 years, it was discovered on pottery by a monk in a grotto in 1969 just after the miracle Six-Day War, and (2) it was made public in the past year just before year the 5760! Both timings seem prophetically significant. The emblem shows the Jewishness of the early church.

As I stared at the emblem I seemed to see the numbers 5 and 7 and 6. The 7 is in the 7-candle menorah, the 6 is in the 6-pointed Star of David, and I saw the 5 is in the 5-segment fish symbol, 3 in the tail segment and 2 in the body segment. Of course, 5 is also the number of grace, for the church age, appropriate for the fish symbol. I suddenly realized that everyone there was unknowingly staring at the numbers during the entire conference. Was this merely coincidence, or a subtle, divine message to those who had eyes to see of the importance of Jewish year 5760? For more fascinating information about the year 5760, click here.