The Prophecies of Daniel - Part 5
I mentioned last week that we would build off of what was learned from Daniel 9:24-27 and see how the interpretation of that passage will lead a person to how they see the major events of the end times described in the bible play themselves out. If you have read my emails to date you may already know that I see the prophecies in the bible being fulfilled quite literally. The prophecies regarding Christ’s first coming were fulfilled quite literally, so I don’t have any reason to believe the prophecies regarding His second coming won’t be fulfilled in the same fashion. How one views prophecies in the bible are what determine a person’s eschatology, or end times theology. And I feel that one’s eschatology greatly affects how a person lives their lives. I also understand that the bible was written on so many levels that my puny mind can’t even comprehend. But that doesn’t change the fact that I feel the main level it was written was quite literally. I’m going to stick with that for now and I’ll find out the other levels when I get to heaven and can have the book of Revelation taught to me by the apostle John, or maybe Jesus himself.
Now there are a lot of end time events to choose from, but I decided to stick with some of the major ones and one I felt there might be some questions about. In alphabetical order J, here are the events that I will break down:
1. Christ’s 2nd Coming
2. Daniel’s 70th Week
3. Eternity
4. Great Tribulation
5. Millennial Kingdom
6. Rapture of the Church
7. War of Gog and Magog
First, we are going to look at the first 5 events because I feel that they are sequentially dependant upon one another. One thing has to take place for another one to happen.
Daniel’s 70th Week – If you didn’t read my Week 4 email, STOP and do that now. If you ask me, it was riveting. This is the last 7 years that God has planned for the nation Israel.
The Great Tribulation – To find out more about this event, which Jesus named himself were going to take a look at Matthew 24:15-22 and a portion of Jeremiah 30. You’ll notice in Jeremiah that the old testament reference for the great tribulation is used, which is the ‘time of Jacob’s trouble’.
15"So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.
When it reads in the NIV ‘great distress’, this is often ‘great tribulation’ in other translations. We learned back in Daniel that the ‘abomination that causes desolation’ would occur in the middle of Daniel’s 70th week. We’re starting to connect some dots.
3 The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their forefathers to possess,' says the LORD." …
7 How awful that day will be!
None will be like it.
It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,
but he will be saved out of it. …
11 I am with you and will save you,'
declares the LORD.
'Though I completely destroy all the nations
among which I scatter you,
I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you but only with justice;
I will not let you go entirely unpunished.'
In these verses from Jeremiah 30, notice a couple of things: First, God intends to completely destroy all the nations. Second, he will discipline the nation Israel. I recommend that you read the entire chapter to get a better feel for what Jeremiah is saying about the restoration of the nation Israel. We’ll come back to these verses later.
Christ’s 2nd Coming – Our small group did a study earlier this year on the ‘end times according to Isaiah’. There is a lot of focus on writing to the Jewish people so they knew what to expect when the Lord returned. The religious leaders of Jesus’ time wanted both the suffering servant and the conquering king. Little did they know, they were not getting a package deal and would have to wait until He comes again. There is too much information in the book of Isaiah to get into right now. Ask me for my study notes some other time.
When Zechariah speaks to the Lord’s return in chapter 14 he says:
4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley …Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
Side Note: Did anyone know that there is a geological fault line that runs through the Mount of Olives? The hotel that is known today as the King David Hotel was originally slated to be located on the Mount of Olives, but geotechnical testing and concerns for seismic activity required the change in location. That’s right, the structural engineer is dropping some technical earthquake terms on y’all.
If you have ever looked at portions of Revelation, you know that Christ returns to put Satan and the Antichrist in their place. The trumpets all sound and the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords takes his rightful place. This will take place at the end of the great tribulation which is also at the end of Daniel’s 70th week. Daniel 9:27 told us that the end for the antichrist was already decreed. Christ’s return will also lead us into the:
Millennial Kingdom – To get a good look at this event we will take a look at Revelation 20:1-3
1And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
Remember, I also mentioned that Isaiah also wrote in great length about the blessings that the nation Israel would receive when Christ came to reign. This is the time when they will finally get to see that promise fulfilled. What a beautiful sight it will be. The nation Israel will be the actual territory that was given to Abraham. Nature will be restored to its pre-Adamic state. The wolf will lay down with the lamb (how many times have you heard Lion used – HaHa picking on the pastors) – Isaiah 11:6, 65:25. The promises in Daniel 9:24 will be completed. All of Bible Prophecy will be fulfilled. After Christ returns, He will reign on earth for a thousand years. If you really want to get a good look at what the Millennial Kingdom has in store for the nation Israel, there are several chapters in Isaiah that speak to this time.
Notice though, that Satan is loosed for a short time at the end of the thousand years. How sad, even with Christ reigning over the earth there will still be people that refuse him and follow Satan. In the end they will meet their fate further down in chapter 20.
10And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
The Dead Are Judged
11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
My name is written in the Book of Life. Is yours? Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Not just a ‘Sunday worship’ relationship. Not a ‘my granddaddy was a preacher’ relationship, but a ‘personal’ relationship? There is going to be a huge number of people that meet Jesus and he will say to them ‘I never knew you’. He tells us that in the Kingdom Parables. Do you have friends, relatives, co-workers whose names are not written in the Book of Life? If your name is in the Book of Life, No more being a Secret Agent Christian under such deep cover that no one would expect. Don’t get to heaven and have someone say “Wow, you’re here too. I never would have guessed.”
O.K. Back to the major events.
One small verse in a small book that I always found interesting was Hosea 6:2
After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence.
If we can look at this passage in the realm of the fact that a day to the Lord is like a thousand years…
Eternity – Since the Bible is the book for the age of man, we are not told much at all about eternity past before the creation, or eternity future following the millennium. We know that we will be with Christ forever. But let me just interject a couple of thoughts here. If you think that we will be floating on a cloud, playing a harp, and singing praise songs for all eternity, could I ask you to maybe expand a little upon your imagination. No, make that a lot. It will be beyond your imagination. We will be all star athletes, the greatest of artists, the deepest thinkers, etc. etc. etc. all rolled into one. I believe we will recognize each other like the apostles were able to recognize Jesus. I’m not sure how that will be, but I bet we can see it in a person eyes and in their personality. I’ll be the 5’-9” guy, 165 lbs, with blue eyes, and just a touch more red hair. See you there at the café.
So in summary of those items that the bible tells us fall is sequential order:
Daniel’s 70th Week – We know from Daniel that there is one week left for God to fulfill his promises to the nation Israel
Great Tribulation – Right at the mid-way point during that week the Antichrist causes the Great Tribulation
Christ’s 2nd Coming – At the end of the Great Tribulation and the 70th week, Christ will return as the conquering King that Israel has been waiting for all along
Millennial Kingdom – Rev. 20 speaks of the 1000 year reign of Christ on earth when He returns, when all is made right on the earth
Eternity – Satan is thrown into Hell at the end of 1000 years with all the unbelievers as we are ushered into Eternity
So we are left with two items of which I have come to the conclusion are not time or sequentially dependent upon any other event mentioned in the Bible. The War of Gog and Magog and the Rapture of the Church. Now to me, some common sense reasoning does place these events into a relationship with others, but the Bible does not clearly state the case as it did in the first five events that we looked at.
War of Gog and Magog – This event is described in chapters 38 and 39 of Ezekiel. Basically it is a coalition of people groups whose military power is supplied by the people of Magog and led into battle by Persia, or modern day Iran that wages an all out war against Israel. Just when the Jews, standing completely alone in the world, appear to be on the brink of extinction, God supernaturally steps in and wipes out the advancing armies. God says through Ezekiel that both Israel and all the nations of the world will know that it was God’s hand in the matter.
Gog is a term for a supreme ruler or czar. And the people of Magog were a people group in ancient times that were settled north of the Caspian Sea. That area, which is due north of Israel, is modern day Russia. Now I know during the cold war I’m sure there were plenty of people that saw the Soviet Union as being Magog. The Soviet Union broke up, but the people groups are still where they were and that is modern day Russia. Persia only recently back in 1935 changed its name to Iran. I have attached what I have found to be the best outline and description of all the players that are listed in the battle of Gog and Magog.
Side note: I think there are some people that thing the battle of Gog and Magog is the same thing as the battle of Armageddon. They are two different events. Armageddon occurs during the tribulation and involves the entire world as they come to face the armies of the Antichrist. This battle is more specific to countries in the Middle East. With regards to the timing of this battle there is a little clue in chapter 39 of Ezekiel.
9 " 'Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up—the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.
If the elements from the battlefield are used for fuel for seven years, and we know that Jesus said in the middle of Daniel’s 70th week, when the antichrist declares himself to be god, to get out of town. They would not be living in the towns of Israel during this timeframe. Also we know that once Christ returns there would be no need for this battle while Christ is reigning over the earth. So my conclusion is that this battle would have to start at least 3-1/2 years before the start of the Daniel’s 70th week. Common sense tells me: what better way to usher in the antichrist, who will conquer the world through peace, then on the heels of a major conflict between Israel and her neighbors. He would be hailed as a hero if he brokered a 7 year peace treaty with Israel. And who would stand up to stop it from happening right after God showed himself by defeating the armies of the nations coming against Israel.
As I look through today’s headlines, as many of you have received from me in the past, this war of Gog and Magog is something that caught my eye a couple years ago after reading one of the novels by Joel Rosenberg. I have attached his breakdown of Ezekiel 38 & 39. This event still catches my eye all the time with the current events that I see in the headlines surrounding the Middle East. For example:
1. Vladimir Putin from Russia is selling weaponry to the highest bidder which includes countries like Iran, Turkey, Syria, Libya. Normally this would not seem so strange, except that Russia is making deals with former enemies, countries they have had brutal wars with in the past. Now they are best of friends.
2. Iran and Ahmadinejad are seeking a global jihad in an effort to user in the 12th Imam (also known as the Madhi, Hidden Imam or the Moslem Messiah). Side note: Even notice how strikingly similar the descriptions of the Madhi are to the descriptions of the Antichrist given in the Bible?
3. Global economic situations – Ever notice how close we are to a one world currency? That process will start with a flat broke United States and the value of the dollar. Guess what folks, we’re there. We just don’t know it yet or aren’t willing to admit it.
4. The recent election of Benjamin Netanyahu – now from Israel’s standpoint I find it refreshing to see a relative ‘tough guy’ back at the helm in lieu of there previous leadership. However, along with that type of leadership comes a strong stance against the enemies of Israel and may much sooner lead to conflict instead of concessions.
5. The rebuilding of the city of Babylon – For those of you that think it was destroyed never to be rebuilt – here is a recent picture from google earth
Who knows. Maybe in the near future we could see the UN moves its headquarters from New York to the newly constructed Babylon.
6. Look for some more escalated conflicts with Israel’s closest neighbors which I fell would be a precursor to the battle of Ezekiel 38 & 39
7. Items for the coming temple are already all prepared and ready to go. Priests are being trained. Stones are being cut. Look into the Temple Institute if you want more information on that.
There are others as well. A bunch of the headlines that I see tie the people groups listed in Ezekiel together like never before in the history of the world.
My common sense approach to placing this battle in time is this: What better way to usher in the Antichrist then on the heels of a huge battle in the Middle East. The bible tells us that the Antichrist conquers many through peace. He comes on the scene and rises to power very quickly. Someone would need to set a treaty in place in order for there to be a short time of peace in order for the Jews to build their new temple. I think this battle would have to start several years before the beginning of Daniel’s 70th Week.
Rapture of the Church – Last but not least by any means. Not a divisive subject at all don’t you think. Well, this will be my interpretation based upon what I have read and studied in the Bible.
I start this subject off with two points from Jeremiah 30:1-11 which is talking about the Great Tribulation (known in the Old Testament as ‘The Time of Jacob’s Trouble). We saw this section of verses earlier to understand the purpose of the great tribulation was to punish the nation Israel and to destroy all the nations. The main point here is to try and find the place for God’s Church to fit in to that equation.
Revelation 19:6-8 tells us:
6Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
"Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
7Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
8Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
We are told on more then this occasion that the Church is the Bride of Christ. We once did a study in my small group on the comparisons between the Jewish wedding traditions and Christ’s dealings with His Church. Some day I will put that into writing. It’s a great study. There is also another passage on the Bride making herself ready for her encounter with Christ. And my point here is that if the Church is truly the Bride of Christ, what would the Bride’s purpose be in a time of destruction or discipline? Where does it fit into the equation?
When Jesus spoke of the Great Tribulation (which he named Himself) during His Olivet Discourse, we see in Matthew 24:15-25
15"So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,'[b] spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. 24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. 25See, I have told you ahead of time.
My week 4 email talked about how we could tell that Jesus was speaking to the Jewish people about the city of Jerusalem. He speaks of getting out of town and praying that it is not in winter or on the Sabbath. Just because this discourse is in the New Testament, doesn’t mean it is referring at all to the Church. It is specific to the Jews. Side note: I think that verse 20, spoken by Jesus himself, tells us that prayer can truly change the outcome of situations. He wouldn’t have said it if it were not so.
I & II Thessalonians are what I like to call ‘the end times according to Paul’. Acts 17:1-4 tells us briefly about this journey. Keep in mind that Thessalonians was the first book written to the Church. It was being written about the same time as some of the four gospels (early 50’s AD). There were certainly a lot of things that Paul revealed to the church in these books. We see this statement in the opening chapter.
8The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
Obviously there are individuals and groups that have undergone there share of tribulation and wrath. But none of that compares to the wrath of the Lamb that is to come. Definitely a subject that not many would like to discuss. Even the worst of all the conditions that we see happening today do not compare with that time to come. The worst famine, genocide, natural disaster that happens in the world is nothing like it. Revelation 6 speaks of the wrath of the Lamb and it states that ¼ of the earth will be killed during that time. That is by today’s numbers 1.5 billion people. Even if we were to average the death toll over the 3-1/2 years, that would be 1.2 million people per day. Even that last large tsunami only killed about 300,000 over the course of several months including the aftermath. How sad that the term ‘only’ was used. This is not a time that we would wish upon our worst enemies.
Notice something else in that 10th verse. He rescues us ‘from’ the coming wrath. The New Testament for the most part was written in Greek, which is a very specific language. Perfect for the doctrines and the specifics for the Church. There are something like 4 words for Love in Greek and we have one. Do I love my wife the same way I love Bosco chocolate milk? No. But that is the only word we have. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew which is a very pictorial language. Perfect for the wonderful stories of the Old Testament, like the ones in Daniel. You can see the lions and the fiery furnace in your mind. This word ‘from’ doesn’t seem like much, but the Greek word is ‘apo’. This word is multi-dimensional and means ‘time’, ‘place’ and ‘any relation to’. It can be very specific. If this verse were in an amplified version of the bible it might read something like this: Jesus, who rescues us from the time of the coming wrath, from the place of the coming wrath, and from having anything to do with the coming wrath. To me, that helps to shed a little more light on the subject when remembering the fact that this was in the first section of the first book written to the Church.
The main section of verses that people like to use in favor of a rapture is 1 Thes 4:15-18 and it reads:
15According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words.
I have heard it stated that the word rapture isn’t even in the bible. Well then we will just have to call it the ‘catching up’ of the Church and not the rapture. In verse 17 the Greek word for ‘caught up’ is ‘harpadzo’. Remember that because of Augustine and the Roman Catholic Church, for about 1300 years, the bible only existed in Latin. The Latin word that was translated from the original Greek was ‘rapturo’ or ‘raptura’ which is where we get our English word ‘rapture’ from. So the word ‘rapture’ exists, but one just has to dig a little bit.
If there are any thoughts that the rapture or the ‘catching up’ of the Church is only a New Testament concept, let’s take a look at Isaiah 26:19-21 which reads:
19 But your dead will live;
their bodies will rise.
You who dwell in the dust,
wake up and shout for joy.
Your dew is like the dew of the morning;
the earth will give birth to her dead.
20 Go, my people, enter your rooms
and shut the doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while
until his wrath has passed by.
21 See, the LORD is coming out of his dwelling
to punish the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood shed upon her;
she will conceal her slain no longer.
Place this passage alongside the one from 1 Thes and see how they compare. Early church fathers such as Clement and Ignatius often wrote of the Lord’s imminent return. I found a quote from Ephraem, the father of the Byzantine church that reads: “all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.”. These are from the first century or so. A portion of the Didache states that it will be possible to escape the tribulation. Last but not least is the thought that God gave Daniel when he revealed to him the happenings of the end times. God told Daniel that he would not understand and that it would not be understood until the times of the end. So Daniel was to go about his business of serving the Lord because it did not concern him. Maybe we are the favored generation. Jesus said himself that the generation being born when the signs of the end times started revealing themselves, would still be alive when they all were completed. I may not have been born yet, but I can look in recent history and see the nation Israel coming back to life in 1948. I can see the city of Jerusalem being regained by the Jews following the six day war in 1967. I can read earthquake statistics for the past century. I can see Jewish people flooding back to the land. I can read stories of people dreaming dreams and coming to know Christ. I can see Babylon being rebuilt. I can see the temple being prepared. I can see the Church falling away under the prosperity gospel. I can see the rapid movement towards globalization. I can see the clock approaching midnight.
As a little thought, in case you would like to study the subject further on your own: I don’t think the apostle Paul would have written II Thessalonians if he wasn’t teaching a pretribulation rapture concept.
Isaiah 26 spoke about shutting the door and hiding ourselves in our rooms. What are these rooms? Could they be what is referred to in John 14:1-4
1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going."
Could we be joining Christ in these rooms until the wrath is past? Notice the fact that to get a good grasp on bible prophecy, the journey takes you throughout the bible. That could be the reason why it is a subject that is hard get underway. I mentioned previously that the rapture of the Church was not a time dependant event, and did not happen sequentially with other events listed. So what needs to happen for the rapture to take place? When will the Church be caught up to be with the Lord?
25I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
Paul is speaking in Romans 11:25 of the nation Israel being saved. That is the mystery. Paul is using nautical terms at the end of this verse speaking of the number of sailors and soldiers needed for a vessel to set sail. Israel’s hearts will for the most part be hard until the number of gentiles needed for the Church has gotten on board. If we are to set sail, what would be the destination of the Church? That’s right, Heaven. God deals with the Jewish people and the Church exclusively. The catching up of the Church is not a time or sequentially based event. It is a numbers based event. God has seen the beginning from the end. He knows how many believers there will be in the Church. When that number is reached, we will all set sail as long as our names are written in the captian’s log, also known as the Lamb’s book of Life. But that is why you can’t put a timeframe on this event. It’s based upon free will of the individual and when they will finally make the decision to turn to Christ for their salvation. As Christians we can have an influence on that timeframe though. 2 Peter 3:10-13 tells us:
10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.[a]
11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.[b]That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
Notice that we can speed the coming of the day of the Lord by living holy and godly lives. That means letting our light shine before men. That means being a witness to others not only in what we say, but how we behave and handle ourselves in tough situations.
The last point I have on the catching up of the Church also begins with the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:36-39
36"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
‘As it was in the days of Noah’. Where better to go then the days of Noah. We see in Genesis 6:1-3
1 When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."
God said that he would remove His Spirit from man. Remember Noah preached about the coming flood for 120 years. Then it was too late for the people to get on the ark. When Christ returns I think we should expect that His Spirit is once again removed so that he may destroy the earth again. First with the flood, and the next time with fire. We can get a look at the relationship between God’s Spirit and the end of the age by looking at 2 Thes 2:
3Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness[a] is revealed, the man doomed to destruction…
6And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.
We see here that the Antichrist can only be revealed when the force that holds him back is removed. I don’t think it is a stretch at all to state that the Holy Spirit is the one that holds the power of Satan in check. In the Old Testament, God Spirit, or the Shekinah Glory was something that came and went and people met with it. After Christ died on the earth for our sins, that glory now resides within us as the Holy Spirit. If the Antichrist can only be revealed if that Spirit is removed as it was in the days of Noah, for the beginning of Daniel’s 70th week, and we understand that the Holy Spirit is sealed within us as it’s stated in Ephesians 1:13, then it would make sense to me that in order to remove the ‘restrainer’ Christ would have to remove the ‘container’.
So what do with do with all this information?
We should see that all the chess pieces are in place
We need to understand that He could return at any time
We need to act knowing that we’re doing right now is something that we could be doing when we meet the Lord face to face – hold ourselves to a higher authority
We need to think: Do I want to be the one that was holding up the Lord’s return by not telling someone about Christ – NO secret agent Christians
When we see all the trials and tribulations going on around us, we need to step back and be able to see that God has a plan for it all, and always has. As times get tougher, what better way to witness then to tell others (with both our mouths and our actions) where we get a peace that passes all understanding. HE is in control of it all.
From His first coming to His second coming. He’s got it all under control.
1 Thessalonians 5
4But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.
God Bless,
Mike
Now there are a lot of end time events to choose from, but I decided to stick with some of the major ones and one I felt there might be some questions about. In alphabetical order J, here are the events that I will break down:
1. Christ’s 2nd Coming
2. Daniel’s 70th Week
3. Eternity
4. Great Tribulation
5. Millennial Kingdom
6. Rapture of the Church
7. War of Gog and Magog
First, we are going to look at the first 5 events because I feel that they are sequentially dependant upon one another. One thing has to take place for another one to happen.
Daniel’s 70th Week – If you didn’t read my Week 4 email, STOP and do that now. If you ask me, it was riveting. This is the last 7 years that God has planned for the nation Israel.
The Great Tribulation – To find out more about this event, which Jesus named himself were going to take a look at Matthew 24:15-22 and a portion of Jeremiah 30. You’ll notice in Jeremiah that the old testament reference for the great tribulation is used, which is the ‘time of Jacob’s trouble’.
15"So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.
When it reads in the NIV ‘great distress’, this is often ‘great tribulation’ in other translations. We learned back in Daniel that the ‘abomination that causes desolation’ would occur in the middle of Daniel’s 70th week. We’re starting to connect some dots.
3 The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their forefathers to possess,' says the LORD." …
7 How awful that day will be!
None will be like it.
It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,
but he will be saved out of it. …
11 I am with you and will save you,'
declares the LORD.
'Though I completely destroy all the nations
among which I scatter you,
I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you but only with justice;
I will not let you go entirely unpunished.'
In these verses from Jeremiah 30, notice a couple of things: First, God intends to completely destroy all the nations. Second, he will discipline the nation Israel. I recommend that you read the entire chapter to get a better feel for what Jeremiah is saying about the restoration of the nation Israel. We’ll come back to these verses later.
Christ’s 2nd Coming – Our small group did a study earlier this year on the ‘end times according to Isaiah’. There is a lot of focus on writing to the Jewish people so they knew what to expect when the Lord returned. The religious leaders of Jesus’ time wanted both the suffering servant and the conquering king. Little did they know, they were not getting a package deal and would have to wait until He comes again. There is too much information in the book of Isaiah to get into right now. Ask me for my study notes some other time.
When Zechariah speaks to the Lord’s return in chapter 14 he says:
4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley …Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
Side Note: Did anyone know that there is a geological fault line that runs through the Mount of Olives? The hotel that is known today as the King David Hotel was originally slated to be located on the Mount of Olives, but geotechnical testing and concerns for seismic activity required the change in location. That’s right, the structural engineer is dropping some technical earthquake terms on y’all.
If you have ever looked at portions of Revelation, you know that Christ returns to put Satan and the Antichrist in their place. The trumpets all sound and the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords takes his rightful place. This will take place at the end of the great tribulation which is also at the end of Daniel’s 70th week. Daniel 9:27 told us that the end for the antichrist was already decreed. Christ’s return will also lead us into the:
Millennial Kingdom – To get a good look at this event we will take a look at Revelation 20:1-3
1And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
Remember, I also mentioned that Isaiah also wrote in great length about the blessings that the nation Israel would receive when Christ came to reign. This is the time when they will finally get to see that promise fulfilled. What a beautiful sight it will be. The nation Israel will be the actual territory that was given to Abraham. Nature will be restored to its pre-Adamic state. The wolf will lay down with the lamb (how many times have you heard Lion used – HaHa picking on the pastors) – Isaiah 11:6, 65:25. The promises in Daniel 9:24 will be completed. All of Bible Prophecy will be fulfilled. After Christ returns, He will reign on earth for a thousand years. If you really want to get a good look at what the Millennial Kingdom has in store for the nation Israel, there are several chapters in Isaiah that speak to this time.
Notice though, that Satan is loosed for a short time at the end of the thousand years. How sad, even with Christ reigning over the earth there will still be people that refuse him and follow Satan. In the end they will meet their fate further down in chapter 20.
10And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
The Dead Are Judged
11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
My name is written in the Book of Life. Is yours? Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Not just a ‘Sunday worship’ relationship. Not a ‘my granddaddy was a preacher’ relationship, but a ‘personal’ relationship? There is going to be a huge number of people that meet Jesus and he will say to them ‘I never knew you’. He tells us that in the Kingdom Parables. Do you have friends, relatives, co-workers whose names are not written in the Book of Life? If your name is in the Book of Life, No more being a Secret Agent Christian under such deep cover that no one would expect. Don’t get to heaven and have someone say “Wow, you’re here too. I never would have guessed.”
O.K. Back to the major events.
One small verse in a small book that I always found interesting was Hosea 6:2
After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence.
If we can look at this passage in the realm of the fact that a day to the Lord is like a thousand years…
Eternity – Since the Bible is the book for the age of man, we are not told much at all about eternity past before the creation, or eternity future following the millennium. We know that we will be with Christ forever. But let me just interject a couple of thoughts here. If you think that we will be floating on a cloud, playing a harp, and singing praise songs for all eternity, could I ask you to maybe expand a little upon your imagination. No, make that a lot. It will be beyond your imagination. We will be all star athletes, the greatest of artists, the deepest thinkers, etc. etc. etc. all rolled into one. I believe we will recognize each other like the apostles were able to recognize Jesus. I’m not sure how that will be, but I bet we can see it in a person eyes and in their personality. I’ll be the 5’-9” guy, 165 lbs, with blue eyes, and just a touch more red hair. See you there at the café.
So in summary of those items that the bible tells us fall is sequential order:
Daniel’s 70th Week – We know from Daniel that there is one week left for God to fulfill his promises to the nation Israel
Great Tribulation – Right at the mid-way point during that week the Antichrist causes the Great Tribulation
Christ’s 2nd Coming – At the end of the Great Tribulation and the 70th week, Christ will return as the conquering King that Israel has been waiting for all along
Millennial Kingdom – Rev. 20 speaks of the 1000 year reign of Christ on earth when He returns, when all is made right on the earth
Eternity – Satan is thrown into Hell at the end of 1000 years with all the unbelievers as we are ushered into Eternity
So we are left with two items of which I have come to the conclusion are not time or sequentially dependent upon any other event mentioned in the Bible. The War of Gog and Magog and the Rapture of the Church. Now to me, some common sense reasoning does place these events into a relationship with others, but the Bible does not clearly state the case as it did in the first five events that we looked at.
War of Gog and Magog – This event is described in chapters 38 and 39 of Ezekiel. Basically it is a coalition of people groups whose military power is supplied by the people of Magog and led into battle by Persia, or modern day Iran that wages an all out war against Israel. Just when the Jews, standing completely alone in the world, appear to be on the brink of extinction, God supernaturally steps in and wipes out the advancing armies. God says through Ezekiel that both Israel and all the nations of the world will know that it was God’s hand in the matter.
Gog is a term for a supreme ruler or czar. And the people of Magog were a people group in ancient times that were settled north of the Caspian Sea. That area, which is due north of Israel, is modern day Russia. Now I know during the cold war I’m sure there were plenty of people that saw the Soviet Union as being Magog. The Soviet Union broke up, but the people groups are still where they were and that is modern day Russia. Persia only recently back in 1935 changed its name to Iran. I have attached what I have found to be the best outline and description of all the players that are listed in the battle of Gog and Magog.
Side note: I think there are some people that thing the battle of Gog and Magog is the same thing as the battle of Armageddon. They are two different events. Armageddon occurs during the tribulation and involves the entire world as they come to face the armies of the Antichrist. This battle is more specific to countries in the Middle East. With regards to the timing of this battle there is a little clue in chapter 39 of Ezekiel.
9 " 'Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up—the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.
If the elements from the battlefield are used for fuel for seven years, and we know that Jesus said in the middle of Daniel’s 70th week, when the antichrist declares himself to be god, to get out of town. They would not be living in the towns of Israel during this timeframe. Also we know that once Christ returns there would be no need for this battle while Christ is reigning over the earth. So my conclusion is that this battle would have to start at least 3-1/2 years before the start of the Daniel’s 70th week. Common sense tells me: what better way to usher in the antichrist, who will conquer the world through peace, then on the heels of a major conflict between Israel and her neighbors. He would be hailed as a hero if he brokered a 7 year peace treaty with Israel. And who would stand up to stop it from happening right after God showed himself by defeating the armies of the nations coming against Israel.
As I look through today’s headlines, as many of you have received from me in the past, this war of Gog and Magog is something that caught my eye a couple years ago after reading one of the novels by Joel Rosenberg. I have attached his breakdown of Ezekiel 38 & 39. This event still catches my eye all the time with the current events that I see in the headlines surrounding the Middle East. For example:
1. Vladimir Putin from Russia is selling weaponry to the highest bidder which includes countries like Iran, Turkey, Syria, Libya. Normally this would not seem so strange, except that Russia is making deals with former enemies, countries they have had brutal wars with in the past. Now they are best of friends.
2. Iran and Ahmadinejad are seeking a global jihad in an effort to user in the 12th Imam (also known as the Madhi, Hidden Imam or the Moslem Messiah). Side note: Even notice how strikingly similar the descriptions of the Madhi are to the descriptions of the Antichrist given in the Bible?
3. Global economic situations – Ever notice how close we are to a one world currency? That process will start with a flat broke United States and the value of the dollar. Guess what folks, we’re there. We just don’t know it yet or aren’t willing to admit it.
4. The recent election of Benjamin Netanyahu – now from Israel’s standpoint I find it refreshing to see a relative ‘tough guy’ back at the helm in lieu of there previous leadership. However, along with that type of leadership comes a strong stance against the enemies of Israel and may much sooner lead to conflict instead of concessions.
5. The rebuilding of the city of Babylon – For those of you that think it was destroyed never to be rebuilt – here is a recent picture from google earth
Who knows. Maybe in the near future we could see the UN moves its headquarters from New York to the newly constructed Babylon.
6. Look for some more escalated conflicts with Israel’s closest neighbors which I fell would be a precursor to the battle of Ezekiel 38 & 39
7. Items for the coming temple are already all prepared and ready to go. Priests are being trained. Stones are being cut. Look into the Temple Institute if you want more information on that.
There are others as well. A bunch of the headlines that I see tie the people groups listed in Ezekiel together like never before in the history of the world.
My common sense approach to placing this battle in time is this: What better way to usher in the Antichrist then on the heels of a huge battle in the Middle East. The bible tells us that the Antichrist conquers many through peace. He comes on the scene and rises to power very quickly. Someone would need to set a treaty in place in order for there to be a short time of peace in order for the Jews to build their new temple. I think this battle would have to start several years before the beginning of Daniel’s 70th Week.
Rapture of the Church – Last but not least by any means. Not a divisive subject at all don’t you think. Well, this will be my interpretation based upon what I have read and studied in the Bible.
I start this subject off with two points from Jeremiah 30:1-11 which is talking about the Great Tribulation (known in the Old Testament as ‘The Time of Jacob’s Trouble). We saw this section of verses earlier to understand the purpose of the great tribulation was to punish the nation Israel and to destroy all the nations. The main point here is to try and find the place for God’s Church to fit in to that equation.
Revelation 19:6-8 tells us:
6Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
"Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
7Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
8Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
We are told on more then this occasion that the Church is the Bride of Christ. We once did a study in my small group on the comparisons between the Jewish wedding traditions and Christ’s dealings with His Church. Some day I will put that into writing. It’s a great study. There is also another passage on the Bride making herself ready for her encounter with Christ. And my point here is that if the Church is truly the Bride of Christ, what would the Bride’s purpose be in a time of destruction or discipline? Where does it fit into the equation?
When Jesus spoke of the Great Tribulation (which he named Himself) during His Olivet Discourse, we see in Matthew 24:15-25
15"So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,'[b] spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. 24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. 25See, I have told you ahead of time.
My week 4 email talked about how we could tell that Jesus was speaking to the Jewish people about the city of Jerusalem. He speaks of getting out of town and praying that it is not in winter or on the Sabbath. Just because this discourse is in the New Testament, doesn’t mean it is referring at all to the Church. It is specific to the Jews. Side note: I think that verse 20, spoken by Jesus himself, tells us that prayer can truly change the outcome of situations. He wouldn’t have said it if it were not so.
I & II Thessalonians are what I like to call ‘the end times according to Paul’. Acts 17:1-4 tells us briefly about this journey. Keep in mind that Thessalonians was the first book written to the Church. It was being written about the same time as some of the four gospels (early 50’s AD). There were certainly a lot of things that Paul revealed to the church in these books. We see this statement in the opening chapter.
8The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
Obviously there are individuals and groups that have undergone there share of tribulation and wrath. But none of that compares to the wrath of the Lamb that is to come. Definitely a subject that not many would like to discuss. Even the worst of all the conditions that we see happening today do not compare with that time to come. The worst famine, genocide, natural disaster that happens in the world is nothing like it. Revelation 6 speaks of the wrath of the Lamb and it states that ¼ of the earth will be killed during that time. That is by today’s numbers 1.5 billion people. Even if we were to average the death toll over the 3-1/2 years, that would be 1.2 million people per day. Even that last large tsunami only killed about 300,000 over the course of several months including the aftermath. How sad that the term ‘only’ was used. This is not a time that we would wish upon our worst enemies.
Notice something else in that 10th verse. He rescues us ‘from’ the coming wrath. The New Testament for the most part was written in Greek, which is a very specific language. Perfect for the doctrines and the specifics for the Church. There are something like 4 words for Love in Greek and we have one. Do I love my wife the same way I love Bosco chocolate milk? No. But that is the only word we have. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew which is a very pictorial language. Perfect for the wonderful stories of the Old Testament, like the ones in Daniel. You can see the lions and the fiery furnace in your mind. This word ‘from’ doesn’t seem like much, but the Greek word is ‘apo’. This word is multi-dimensional and means ‘time’, ‘place’ and ‘any relation to’. It can be very specific. If this verse were in an amplified version of the bible it might read something like this: Jesus, who rescues us from the time of the coming wrath, from the place of the coming wrath, and from having anything to do with the coming wrath. To me, that helps to shed a little more light on the subject when remembering the fact that this was in the first section of the first book written to the Church.
The main section of verses that people like to use in favor of a rapture is 1 Thes 4:15-18 and it reads:
15According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words.
I have heard it stated that the word rapture isn’t even in the bible. Well then we will just have to call it the ‘catching up’ of the Church and not the rapture. In verse 17 the Greek word for ‘caught up’ is ‘harpadzo’. Remember that because of Augustine and the Roman Catholic Church, for about 1300 years, the bible only existed in Latin. The Latin word that was translated from the original Greek was ‘rapturo’ or ‘raptura’ which is where we get our English word ‘rapture’ from. So the word ‘rapture’ exists, but one just has to dig a little bit.
If there are any thoughts that the rapture or the ‘catching up’ of the Church is only a New Testament concept, let’s take a look at Isaiah 26:19-21 which reads:
19 But your dead will live;
their bodies will rise.
You who dwell in the dust,
wake up and shout for joy.
Your dew is like the dew of the morning;
the earth will give birth to her dead.
20 Go, my people, enter your rooms
and shut the doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while
until his wrath has passed by.
21 See, the LORD is coming out of his dwelling
to punish the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood shed upon her;
she will conceal her slain no longer.
Place this passage alongside the one from 1 Thes and see how they compare. Early church fathers such as Clement and Ignatius often wrote of the Lord’s imminent return. I found a quote from Ephraem, the father of the Byzantine church that reads: “all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.”. These are from the first century or so. A portion of the Didache states that it will be possible to escape the tribulation. Last but not least is the thought that God gave Daniel when he revealed to him the happenings of the end times. God told Daniel that he would not understand and that it would not be understood until the times of the end. So Daniel was to go about his business of serving the Lord because it did not concern him. Maybe we are the favored generation. Jesus said himself that the generation being born when the signs of the end times started revealing themselves, would still be alive when they all were completed. I may not have been born yet, but I can look in recent history and see the nation Israel coming back to life in 1948. I can see the city of Jerusalem being regained by the Jews following the six day war in 1967. I can read earthquake statistics for the past century. I can see Jewish people flooding back to the land. I can read stories of people dreaming dreams and coming to know Christ. I can see Babylon being rebuilt. I can see the temple being prepared. I can see the Church falling away under the prosperity gospel. I can see the rapid movement towards globalization. I can see the clock approaching midnight.
As a little thought, in case you would like to study the subject further on your own: I don’t think the apostle Paul would have written II Thessalonians if he wasn’t teaching a pretribulation rapture concept.
Isaiah 26 spoke about shutting the door and hiding ourselves in our rooms. What are these rooms? Could they be what is referred to in John 14:1-4
1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going."
Could we be joining Christ in these rooms until the wrath is past? Notice the fact that to get a good grasp on bible prophecy, the journey takes you throughout the bible. That could be the reason why it is a subject that is hard get underway. I mentioned previously that the rapture of the Church was not a time dependant event, and did not happen sequentially with other events listed. So what needs to happen for the rapture to take place? When will the Church be caught up to be with the Lord?
25I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
Paul is speaking in Romans 11:25 of the nation Israel being saved. That is the mystery. Paul is using nautical terms at the end of this verse speaking of the number of sailors and soldiers needed for a vessel to set sail. Israel’s hearts will for the most part be hard until the number of gentiles needed for the Church has gotten on board. If we are to set sail, what would be the destination of the Church? That’s right, Heaven. God deals with the Jewish people and the Church exclusively. The catching up of the Church is not a time or sequentially based event. It is a numbers based event. God has seen the beginning from the end. He knows how many believers there will be in the Church. When that number is reached, we will all set sail as long as our names are written in the captian’s log, also known as the Lamb’s book of Life. But that is why you can’t put a timeframe on this event. It’s based upon free will of the individual and when they will finally make the decision to turn to Christ for their salvation. As Christians we can have an influence on that timeframe though. 2 Peter 3:10-13 tells us:
10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.[a]
11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.[b]That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
Notice that we can speed the coming of the day of the Lord by living holy and godly lives. That means letting our light shine before men. That means being a witness to others not only in what we say, but how we behave and handle ourselves in tough situations.
The last point I have on the catching up of the Church also begins with the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:36-39
36"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
‘As it was in the days of Noah’. Where better to go then the days of Noah. We see in Genesis 6:1-3
1 When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."
God said that he would remove His Spirit from man. Remember Noah preached about the coming flood for 120 years. Then it was too late for the people to get on the ark. When Christ returns I think we should expect that His Spirit is once again removed so that he may destroy the earth again. First with the flood, and the next time with fire. We can get a look at the relationship between God’s Spirit and the end of the age by looking at 2 Thes 2:
3Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness[a] is revealed, the man doomed to destruction…
6And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.
We see here that the Antichrist can only be revealed when the force that holds him back is removed. I don’t think it is a stretch at all to state that the Holy Spirit is the one that holds the power of Satan in check. In the Old Testament, God Spirit, or the Shekinah Glory was something that came and went and people met with it. After Christ died on the earth for our sins, that glory now resides within us as the Holy Spirit. If the Antichrist can only be revealed if that Spirit is removed as it was in the days of Noah, for the beginning of Daniel’s 70th week, and we understand that the Holy Spirit is sealed within us as it’s stated in Ephesians 1:13, then it would make sense to me that in order to remove the ‘restrainer’ Christ would have to remove the ‘container’.
So what do with do with all this information?
We should see that all the chess pieces are in place
We need to understand that He could return at any time
We need to act knowing that we’re doing right now is something that we could be doing when we meet the Lord face to face – hold ourselves to a higher authority
We need to think: Do I want to be the one that was holding up the Lord’s return by not telling someone about Christ – NO secret agent Christians
When we see all the trials and tribulations going on around us, we need to step back and be able to see that God has a plan for it all, and always has. As times get tougher, what better way to witness then to tell others (with both our mouths and our actions) where we get a peace that passes all understanding. HE is in control of it all.
From His first coming to His second coming. He’s got it all under control.
1 Thessalonians 5
4But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.
God Bless,
Mike
posted by blogawakening at 7:47 PM
1 Comments:
Speaking of Thessalonians, am wondering if you have seen "Pretrib Expert John Walvoord Melts Ice" which is on search engines. And a web piece "Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty" is a firecracker also.
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