(Reposted directly from a post about the End Times in the Bible Study I wrote. I don’t know, but something about
all the hurricanes and earthquakes and solar flares and society going more “cash-less” and the terrorism
and the martyring of Christians and the disease epidemics and the technology to
put little radio transmitters into people’s hands containing their information
and the various celestial events and a fast-approaching “one-world system” and a brewing civil war and a brewing world war,
etc. … I don’t know, but something about all that makes it seems worthwhile to
repost this post at this time.
And to all those scoffers who say "None of this has anything to do with the end of the world" or "There is no 'end of the world' and Jesus isn't coming back again," I would like to ask you ... "Are you so sure!?! Are you so sure that there isn't a supernatural world out there? That there isn't a God who will someday do exactly what He said He'd do in His Word? That He isn't moving and working in this world and about to bring this time to an end? Are you so sure!?! Even if the end doesn't come in our lifetime, it will come someday - in our own lives and for the world as we know it. Are you prepared to face the truth? Will you find the truth before it's too late?"
FYI, I didn’t repost all the questions at the end of Bible study here, just the main content. Warning: Don’t read this unless you are ready for a headache, ‘cuz your head will be spinning.)
And to all those scoffers who say "None of this has anything to do with the end of the world" or "There is no 'end of the world' and Jesus isn't coming back again," I would like to ask you ... "Are you so sure!?! Are you so sure that there isn't a supernatural world out there? That there isn't a God who will someday do exactly what He said He'd do in His Word? That He isn't moving and working in this world and about to bring this time to an end? Are you so sure!?! Even if the end doesn't come in our lifetime, it will come someday - in our own lives and for the world as we know it. Are you prepared to face the truth? Will you find the truth before it's too late?"
FYI, I didn’t repost all the questions at the end of Bible study here, just the main content. Warning: Don’t read this unless you are ready for a headache, ‘cuz your head will be spinning.)
No study on the “less
clear” things of Scripture would be complete without a look into the End
Times. There are many different ideas
about how the world will end. Of course,
most Christians believe that it will end when Christ returns and God makes all
things new. But what isn’t clear is the
timing of everything. And the biggest
“unclear” thing: Will there be a rapture?
Will it come before, during, or after the tribulation?
I have studied this
really intensely at different times over the years. Reading every book on the topic that I could
find, studying the Bible, checking the original Greek meaning of the words,
etc. To me, it is a huge, complex,
wonderfully-frustrating puzzle. And I
could never really understand it . . . until this last time that I studied
it. And I was finally able to settle
this issue in my mind once and for all.
Yes, I do believe that
there is going to be a rapture before the tribulation (trib) starts. And I am thoroughly convinced of it.
And I am going to tell
you why I think this. (All of this is my
opinion. I am not a scholar.) I am not trying to convince you of my view,
but I do hope it gets you talking with each other and maybe studying it on your
own.
Personally, I don’t
think this topic comes up enough in conversations. And since so much of the New Testament is
devoted to Christ’s return, I think it’s worth talking about. I think He wants us to look into this
issue. Because once you take the “end
times” seriously, you begin to consider how you are living and if you are
reaching other people. Because someday
all of this will come to an end, regardless of if there is a rapture or
not. So we all need to be thinking about
the only things that will last, the souls of people.
And the Book of
Revelation comes with a special blessing for those who read it:
“Blessed is the one
who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and
take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” (Revelation
1:3)
[It also comes with a
serious warning for those who mess with this book:
“I warn everyone who
hears the words of the prophecy of this book:
If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues
described in this book. And if anyone
takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his
share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this
book.” (Revelation
22:18-19)
It almost makes me
afraid to even comment on this book and offer my opinions. Once again, these are just my opinions and
how I best understand it. I am not
taking away or adding anything. Just
telling you what I think it says.]
As Rev 1:3 says, “The time is near.” So to get you thinking about the
not-too-distant end of the world, here is my idea of how things will go. This is the super short version, because it
would take a book to explain it thoroughly.
And I will put verses next to what I am referring to so that you can
look them up if you want.
The
Key
Basically, what I
learned this last time around is a “key” that is critical to keep in mind when
studying the end times. Once you grasp
this, it isn’t as confusing anymore. (It’s
still confusing, just not as
confusing.)
Key: There is not just one coming of Christ and
there is not just one group of people taken out of the earth.
I believe that there are
a few comings of Christ, but they are all a part of His returning again, after
the church age. His return is more like
a process, in stages, than it is one single event. And the stages include:
1.
His invisible coming to rapture the Church out before the trib,
2.
His visible coming to take out the believers who are going through the
trib (the 6th seal), and
3.
His coming at the end of the trib to set up His 1000-year earthly
reign.
And there are several
different groups of people taken out of the earth at different times. A different group is taken out before each
new set of judgments is unleashed.
1.
One is the rapture of the Church before the seals are opened and the
tribulation starts (represented by the elders around the throne in Rev 4:4).
2.
One is the “great multitude” taken out of the great trib at the 6th
seal, before the trumpets start.
3.
One is the “harvest of the earth,” of those who were victorious over the
beast’s number and image, before the bowl judgments start.
4.
And one is the group of dead martyrs who rise before the “thousand
years” start (Rev 20).
How merciful of our God
to take out the newest believers before the next set of judgments is
unleashed.
Another
Key:
Scripture refers at
different times to Jesus’ visible coming and to His “invisible” coming when He
takes the church out in the rapture.
And I think the key here
is that when Scripture talks about Christ coming “in power and great glory” and with His angels
(Matthew 24:30-31), it is referring
to His visible coming during the trib, at the 6th seal. (And occasionally, it might be referring to
His final coming on a white horse to defeat the armies that have gathered
against Him during Armageddon, before the 1000 years of His earthly reign. But you can tell by the context if it’s
referring to that battle or if it’s referring to Jesus coming back visibly to
take people with Him.)
But when Scripture just
refers to His coming, like in 1
Thess 4:16, it may be referring to the rapture.
The verses that I think refer to His invisible coming at the rapture
never talk about Him coming at that time “in power and great glory, with
angels.” Those kinds of passage always
refer to the visible coming.
However, this doesn’t
mean that it’s always talking about the rapture every time it refers simply to
“His coming” without using the words “in power and great glory, with
angels.” There are times when “His
coming” does refer to the visible coming, even when it doesn’t include phrases
like “in power and great glory, with angels.”
And you can figure out which it is by reading it in context and seeing
what the passage was already talking about.
This happens in 2 Thess 2 which talks about how the man of
lawlessness must be revealed before “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
and our being gathered to him.”
It doesn’t say “in power
and great glory, with angels” here, which might make it seem like it is
referring to the rapture instead of His visible coming. If that were the case, it would be saying
that the rapture cannot happen until the Anti-christ is revealed. But we can tell that this chapter is
referring to the visible coming because it’s what Paul was already talking
about in 2 Thess 1:7: “This will happen
when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful
angels.”
Paul is saying that
the visible coming of Jesus cannot happen until the Anti-christ is
revealed. And this visible coming is
during the trib at the 6th seal, after the Anti-christ reveals
himself. But the church is already gone,
having been taken up in the rapture.
[Update: After further study, I now think that 2 Thessalonians doesn't refer to the visible coming at the 6th seal, but to Jesus's visible coming at the end of the tribulation for Armageddon. This is when He will dish out ultimate justice against Israel's enemies. Justice for God's people and redemption from their suffering is the point of 2 Thessalonians, which happens at the end of the tribulation ... whereas 1 Thessalonians 4 is about what happens to the dead in Christ, which is explained with the rapture. Notice that 2 Thess 1:6 refers to Jesus coming with blazing fire. And what does Revelation 19:12 say about Jesus at Armageddon? That His eyes are like "blazing fire." And 2 Thess 2:8 refers to Jesus overthrowing the "lawless one" - an event that happens at Armageddon, even more indication that 2 Thess refers to Jesus's coming at Armageddon.]
So to recap quickly: If it refers to His coming “in power and great glory, with angels,” it’s most likely the visible coming at the 6th seal (unless it’s referring to Armageddon). But if it just says “His coming” then it most likely means the invisible coming at the rapture (unless the context shows it was already talking about the visible coming).
So to recap quickly: If it refers to His coming “in power and great glory, with angels,” it’s most likely the visible coming at the 6th seal (unless it’s referring to Armageddon). But if it just says “His coming” then it most likely means the invisible coming at the rapture (unless the context shows it was already talking about the visible coming).
Are we having fun yet!?!
Matthew 24
And we also have to be
careful because sometimes the same chapter will refer to both of His comings
(the invisible and the visible), flopping from one to the other without
spelling it out clearly (at least I
think so). Such as Matthew 24.
(This can get confusing, I know.
So open your Bibles to Matthew
24 to see what I am talking about.)
This passage talks about
“signs of the Lord’s coming” in verses 4-35.
And this is referring to the tribulation and to the celestial signs that
happen (6th seal) right before His visible coming. Then in verses 36 and on, it switches to the
rapture and how it will come like a “thief in the night.”
I know that some think
that Matthew 24 is going in order,
that the celestial “signs of His coming” happen before the “thief in the night”
coming, that the rapture happens during or at the end of the trib.
However, I do not think
that Matt 24:36-41 can be talking
about events that happen during the tribulation because it is basically says
that life will be going on as normal, with people eating, drinking, marrying,
and believers working side by side with unbelievers. Life will be so common and cushy that the
believers are warned to stay awake, to not get so spiritually relaxed that we fall
asleep.
I don’t think this can
possibly be describing life in the tribulation when believers everywhere are
being persecuted and martyred and are going to be highly alert for Jesus’
coming. In those days, “there will be great
distress,” worse than any other time. And “if those days had not
been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days
will be shortened.” (Matthew
24:21-22)
This does not sound
anything like believers and unbelievers working and living alongside each other
when one is taken and the other is left.
I think Matthew 24:36-41 has to be
describing a more normal time, when the church is at risk of falling asleep
while waiting for Jesus to rapture them out.
I don’t think there will be any “spiritual falling asleep” during the
trib. The “thief in the night” coming –
the rapture - happens before the trib.
Another point to
consider: Verse
36 (referring to the rapture) says that “no one knows about that day or hour,” that no one will
know when “one will be taken and the other left.”
It will catch us unaware, which is why we need to stay awake and be
alert. But verses 32-34 (referring to Jesus’ visible coming
during the trib) say that we can roughly discern the timing of Jesus’ visible
coming during the events of the tribulation, that we can know “when summer is
near.”
So in one section, we
are told that the persecution will be terrible, that there will be signs in the
sky, and that we can roughly discern the timing of Jesus’ return. But in the other, we are told that life will
be going on as normal, that there will be no warning, and that we cannot know
when the “thief” will come and “snatch away” the people. I think this helps confirm the idea that
these are describing two different events, the visible second coming of Jesus
during the trib and the invisible coming of Jesus for the believers during the
rapture (before the trib, ending this church age and beginning the “day of the
Lord,” the period of time when Jesus is on the move again).
Further confirmation: Matthew
24:30 (about Jesus’ visible coming) says that Jesus will come back on the
clouds and that He will send His angels with a trumpet call to gather His
elect. Jesus will be doing the sending,
with the trumpet call for His angels.
But Matthew 24:36 says that even Jesus doesn’t know
when the “thief in the night” coming will happen (the rapture), that only the
Father knows that. And I think this
“thief in the night” coming is the same event seen in 1 Thess 4:16.
(1 Thess 5:1-3 even talks about
not knowing when the “thief in the night” will come, linking it tightly with Matthew 24:36-41.)
And in the 1 Thess 4:16 event, Jesus will
come back “with the trumpet call of God.”
In this event, God does the sending.
This is the rapture. And God the
Father sounds the trumpet because only God the Father knows the date of the
rapture.
In one event, Jesus
sounds the trumpet and sends the angels to gather His people. And in the other event, God sounds the
trumpet to send Jesus while the believers rise to meet Him in the air. I think this shows that Matthew 24:36-41 is the same event that is spoken of in
1 Thess 4:16 and that Matthew 24:4-35 is a different event completely.
I also think the 1 Thess 4:16-17 event is the same one described in 1 Cor 15:51-52.
“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be
changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be
raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”
If they are talking
about the same event – the rapture – then it will happen so fast that people
won’t really be able to see it. It will
happen “in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye,” making it virtually invisible
and incredibly sudden. Once again, it
will be the “thief in the night” whom we have to watch for so that we aren’t
caught asleep and unaware.
But according to Matthew 24:30 (Jesus's visible coming),
it says that all people will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds in power
and great glory. This does not sound as
fast as the twinkling of an eye. It
sounds like two different events.
One is sudden and virtually unseen
and will sneak up on us. And one will
linger long enough that people all over the world will see Jesus on the clouds,
and they will mourn. These are two
different events. Matthew 24:4-35 describes the trib and Jesus’ visible coming at the 6th
seal. And Matthew
24:36-41, 1 Thess 4:16-17, and 1 Cor 15:51-52 describe the rapture. (I
hope your head isn’t spinning right now.
Mine is.)
[I wondered about the “last trumpet”
in 1 Cor 15:51. If it is referring to the last trumpet of the
trumpet judgments then it means that the “twinkling of the eye” rapture doesn’t
happen until near the end of the trib.
But according to Strong’s Concordance, it has nothing to do with the
trumpet judgments. It is a “military
allusion,” possibly more like a call to gather together, to assemble, such as
seen in Num 10:2-7. This would make sense if 1 Cor
15:51-52 refers to the
rapture. The trumpet call here would be
a “final call,” the call for the true believers of the church-age to gather
together, meeting the Lord in the air.
Side note: Are these sounds real (click here)? If so, it makes you think.]
Side note: Are these sounds real (click here)? If so, it makes you think.]
I think the reason Matthew flops between the two – talking first about
Jesus’ visible coming during the trib and then talking about the earlier
rapture - is because it is answering the disciples’ questions of verse 3 in
order.
First, they ask what the
sign of His coming will be. (And I
believe they mean His visible coming, when the whole world sees Him.) And then, they ask what the signs of the end
of the age will be. (I think they mean
the end of the “church age” that we are in right now, which will end when the
Church is raptured out). So Christ
answers them in order. But Matthew
doesn’t clearly let the reader know when it switches from one to the
other.
[And flopping between
two events also happens in 2
Peter 3 where, in verse 10, it says the day of the Lord will come like a thief
in the night and then it says that the heavens and earth will be destroyed with
a roar, by fire, etc. I do not think
this is describing one singular event, but instead it is describing the first
and last events of the “end times,” of the “day of the Lord.” The “thief in the night” coming is the
rapture which ushers in the “day of the Lord.”
And it concludes with the destruction of the old heavens and earth at
the end of the 1000 years.]
So you have to be
careful when looking at passages because they could be referring to different
events in the same section. It gets
easier to understand if you keep the different comings of Christ in mind
because you learn to identify which one the passage is talking about.
Different
Groups of People
I believe that
Revelation calls groups of people what they are. And it goes in order. When they are introduced in Revelation is
when they showed up in heaven, when they were taken out of earth.
1.
The elders (representatives of the Church, the living and dead believers
who were taken up in the “eye twinkling” rapture) are there before the seals
are opened at the beginning of the trib (Rev
4:4). And since I believe the elders
represent the raptured church, I do not think the rapture can come mid-trib or
post-trib because these guys are already around the throne before the seals are
opened.
(There will be more on
the elders in a minute, but it is important to note that, according to Strong’s
Concordance, the word “elder” is never used of angels. Therefore, we can conclude that they are
human. But why would there be humans
around the throne before the start of the trib?
Because they were taken out in the rapture, along with the true
believers, spared from the “hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole
earth to test those who live on the earth.” Rev
3:10.)
2.
The Great Multitude shows up in heaven after the persecution of the
great trib and before the trumpet judgments start, and they are called “those taken out of
the great tribulation” (Rev 7:14).
3.
Those “victorious over the beast and his image and number” (seen in Rev 15:2 but harvested in Rev 14:14-16) are those harvested from the earth
after the trumpet judgments, before the bowl judgments. They are those who became believers after the
“great multitude” was taken out and they were around to experience the beast’s
number and image.
Do not try to define
groups as something else. Revelation
tells us who they are (for the most part, but sometimes you have to look in
other verses to clarify this, such as for the elders) and when they arrive in heaven.
I do not think
Christians of the church-age will go into the tribulation or that the raptured
church is part of the “great multitude.”
I believe all living and dead church-age believers are taken out in 1 Thess 4:16-17, in the twinkling of an eye where the
dead rise first. They are not part of
the “great multitude” of Rev 7:14 because the “great multitude” is “taken out of the
great tribulation.”
Consider that all the
dead believers of the church-age would have never seen the trib, yet they will
be the first to rise in 1 Thess 4:16-17. So if there was no earlier rapture of the
Church and if the “eye twinkling rising, when the dead rise first” was actually
talking about the great multitude taken out during the trib, then the “great
multitude” would have to include all the dead believers of the church-age, as
well as all the living believers of the trib.
If that were the case, Rev 7:14 should say something like this:
“These are those who came out of the great tribulation, plus all the dead
believers from the church-age that were resurrected before the survivors were
taken up.”
But the great multitude
is only called “those taken out of the great tribulation.”
And that’s exactly who I think this multitude is.
Most likely, the dead
believers from the church-age would outnumber those taken out of the trib. So if the Church is supposed to go into the
trib and be taken out with the great multitude, why aren’t the dead believers
mentioned? Why only mention those “taken
out of the trib”?
I think this large group
of dead believers from all of history is not mentioned because they don’t rise
up at the 6th seal of the trib.
They were already taken out with the Church in the rapture of 1 Thess 4:16-17, before the trib starts.
And those taken out
of the great trib (Rev 7:14) are those who went into the great
trib, those who became believers after the Church was raptured.
It makes much clearer
sense to me when I consider that there are separate groups of people taken out
before each new phase of the End Times starts.
(If it wasn’t spinning before, then I am sure your head is spinning
now. I’m sorry!)
End
Time Events in Order
Now, if you want to know
more (if I haven’t already confused and exhausted you), I will go into this a
little bit more in depth, with Bible verses in parentheses. Basically, here is how I think things will
happen.
(FYI, I will not be
adding “I think . . .” before everything.
Just know that this is all my opinion about how it will happen and what
the Bible says. Look it up for yourself to
check the accuracy of my opinion. It
really is the most fascinating, frustrating topic to study. It’s painfully fun!)
Right now, we are in the “church
age” era. This is when God has opened
the door of salvation up to the Gentiles through grace and through Jesus’
sacrifice, as opposed to the sacrificial system of the Jews that was before
this.
I believe that the end of the
church-age will be when God takes the true believers out of this earth in . . .
1. The rapture: Christ comes invisibly to rapture believers
(dead and alive) before the seals (the trib) start. (Matthew 24:36-41, 1
Thess 4:16-17, 1 Cor 15:51-52)
The people who are raptured are
those who “long for the coming
of the Lord” (2 Tim
4:8). In this verse, it says that those who long
for the Lord’s coming will receive the “crown of righteousness.” I think this crown is
the same crown that the 24 elders are wearing in Rev 4, showing that the elders represent the true
followers of Christ that were raptured out.
These elders are the 12 leaders of
Israel (possibly representing Jewish believers) and the 12 leaders of
the church (the apostles, possibly representing the Gentile Church). This would include all believers in Christ, up until the end of the church age.
Another confirmation that the elders
represent the raptured church: These 24 elders are the 24 names that are
written on the foundations and the gates of the New Jerusalem in Rev
21:12-14, which is the home of
the raptured believers.
In fact, in Rev
21:2, the New Jerusalem is
seen coming down out of heaven “prepared
as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” The Church is the “bride
of Christ.” And I think that after the
rapture, while the rest of the world is going through the trib, the church goes
to the New Jerusalem where it is being “prepared” to be presented to her
“husband.”
And another thing that makes me
think that the elders represent the raptured believers is that we get a view of
the throne of God in Ezekiel 1, but there is no
mention of elders around the throne at that time. So they must come at a later date, at the
rapture.
After the rapture, those left on
earth will then enter the tribulation as the seals begin opening sometime after
the rapture. But it doesn’t have to
start right away. There could be an
amount of time before the seals open, maybe as the world adjusts to the mass disappearance of Christians everywhere and reorganizes into a new world government.
I think that the tribulation is the
“hour of trial that
will come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth” (Rev 3:10). It
is a time when God draws a line in the sand, makes the truth of His Word very
clear, and forces people to make a decision about Jesus. And since the believers of the church-age
already made their decision for Christ, there is no reason for them to go into
this time of trial, this time of choosing.
They already chose. And so they
are kept from that hour of trial, as Rev 3:10 promises.
This promise to “keep you from the hour of trial” was given to the church in Philadelphia (Rev
3:7-13). I believe this church represents the ones who
make up the raptured church, the genuine believers. As I said, they don’t need to go into the
time of testing because they kept God’s commands to “endure patiently,” holding
onto their faith until Jesus’ return.
Also notice that they are told to
not let anyone take their “crown” (verse 11). I
believe this is the crown we saw the elders wearing, the crown of righteousness
given to those who long for the coming of the Lord. (This is different than the crown of life
promised to the church of Smyrna, to those who die for their faith in Rev
2:8-11.)
This ties the Philadelphia believers
to the elders. I think the elders are
representatives of the Philadelphia believers.
The raptured church. The true believers
who longed for the coming of the Lord.
(Neither the great multitude nor the harvested group are seen with
crowns. Only the elders.)
[Added note: Another possibility about the elders' crowns is that they are wearing the "crown of glory" which is promised specifically to the elders of the church: "And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory." (1 Peter 5:4) Whether the elders around the throne are wearing the crown of glory or the crown given to those who long for the coming of the Lord, it still supports the idea of a pre-trib rapture because the crown of glory is given after the "Chief Shepherd" appears, which I believe refers to the rapture and would explain the elders being around the throne, wearing crowns, before the seals are opened. And if the Shepherd appears for the elders, then He appears for the Church too, especially considering that the Church contains all the "sheep" who follow the Shepherd, Jesus.]
But
what does it mean to let someone take your crown? you might be
wondering. How can we lose our crown? I
believe it means that we can lose our spot in the rapture if we get distracted
by life, if we let this life take our focus off of Jesus and our heavenly
calling and responsibilities, if we stop longing for the coming of the Lord,
and if we get comfortable and fall asleep and fail to keep watch for the “thief
in the night.”
The Philadelphia believers were
commended for keeping God’s Word and for refusing to deny Jesus’ name, even
though they only had a little strength left.
I think this could mean that they were being pressured to compromise on
God’s truth and to deny that Jesus was the only way, to agree with society that
all faiths are fine and equal. And the
fact that they have “little strength” tells me that more and more churches were
compromising and more and more pressure was being put on the Philadelphia
church to compromise and that it was getting harder and harder to cling to the
truth and the stand up for our faith. Is
this not exactly the times we are in right now?
With society pressuring us more and more to conform and to compromise, threatening
to slap us with legal and social consequences if we don’t.
[I think this helps explain the mass
martyrdom of Christians once the seals open.
After the rapture, society will be filled with all non-Christians. And I think many of these non-Christians - those
who criticize and condemn Christians for our different lives, beliefs, values,
and morals and for the fact that we won’t compromise God’s truth - will be glad
to see us go, probably even claiming that we were removed from earth because we
were so backwards and evil. They will
finally be rid of us and now the earth will be theirs, to make it into what
they want it to be.
However, those who know what’s going
on will realize that they had it wrong all along and that the Christians had it
right, that Jesus is indeed the only way.
And they will turn to Him in great numbers (the great multitude of Rev 7). And
this will terrify the staunch non-believers, those who were relieved to finally
be rid of the Christians and who are disgusted by the new uprising of them. And they will go on a rampage to destroy
them, with even family members turning against each other (Luke
21:12-17). And with the Holy Spirit being taken out of
the earth along with the Christians, there will be little to stand in the way
of the wrath of Satan, the Anti-Christ, and the anti-Christians, which will
lead to huge numbers being martyred.]
Okay, now back to what we were
talking about … I think this warning to not let anyone take your crown is the
same kind of warning we see in Matthew 24:36-51, which says to not fall asleep, to stay alert
and watch for His coming and don’t let the thief in the night catch you
unprepared, unready. And the
corresponding passage in Luke 21:34-36
gives us the additional details that “that day” (I believe it’s the rapture
day) will sneak up on those who are distracted by life’s anxieties instead of
watching for the Lord and faithfully working for the Lord.
[Another interesting point – Luke
21:36 says “Be always on the watch, and pray that you may
be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to
stand before the Son of Man.” This is telling us that there is a way to
escape “all that is about to happen,” which I think refers to the tribulation
(described in Matthew 24:4-35,
Mark 13:5-31,
and Luke 21:8-33). And I think the way to escape it – to not let
anyone take your crown, your place in the rapture – is to stay alert, be
faithful till the end, and to pray, as instructed in Luke
21:36. Pray that God helps you stay faithful till
the end, that He helps you focus on what you should be focused on and that He
gives you the strength to face the repercussions from society for clinging to
God’s truth and to Jesus’ name.
And if we do this, we are promised
that we will keep our crown and be spared from the hour of testing (Rev
3:10) and that we will be
able to “stand before the Son
of Man” (which I think could
refer to the idea that faithful believers will be called up in the rapture to
meet the Lord in the air, that those who are called up in the rapture are the
ones who can stand confidently before the Lord knowing that they never lost
their faith, got distracted, or turned their backs on Him.]
And lastly, notice that the
Philadelphia church is told (in Rev 3:12) that those who overcome will become a pillar
in the temple of God, where they will live forever, and that the name of the
New Jerusalem will be written on them.
As we saw, this is the city where the elders’ names are written and
where the raptured church lives, thereby linking together again the
Philadelphia believers, the raptured church, and the elders.
[An interesting side note: In Malachi
3:16-18, we read that the
Lord makes a “scroll of remembrance” in which he records those who feared the
Lord and honored his name. “They will be mine in the day when I make up
my treasured possession. I will spare
them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction
between those who serve God and those who do not.”
This is a promise to those who are faithful
to Him. They will be His on the day He
makes up His treasured possession. I
think that day is the rapture, when He gathers up all those who belong to Him. Both the Philadelphia believers and those on
the scroll are promised to be “spared.”
Spared from what? I think they will be spared from the trib and
from damnation. The Philadelphia
believers are spared because they were faithful, wise servants who watched for
the Lord’s coming and did His work. And
those on the scroll are spared in the same way “a man spares his son who serves him,” because they feared the Lord and honored His
name.
And on the day these people are
spared (gathered up at the rapture), they and all those left behind (as seen in
Malachi 3:18
and Rev 3:9) will see how God
rewards (spares) those who are true believers.
And everyone will see a clear distinction between those who are true
believers and those who are not.]
2. Seals 1-4 and the start of the tribulation: Seal 1
is a rise in false christs. Seal 2 is
war. Seal 3 is famine. Seal 4 is death by sword, famine and plague,
and wild animals. I’m not sure if the
seals are at the beginning of the trib or immediately before the trib or if
they are going on now and will simply increase as the trib gets closer.
I tend to think that the “birth pangs” of Matthew 24:4-8 coincide with the opening of the first four seals, after the rapture. I say this because these seals sound very much like the birth pangs in Matthew, because I think the first half of Matthew 24 is talking about the tribulation, and because the elders are already around the throne before the seals are opened.
And I think that 1 Thess
5:1-3 indicates that the
real labor pains (the “end of the world as we know it” labor pains) will start
after the “thief in the night” coming.
“Now, brothers, about times and dates [of the rapture, I think, discussed in 1 Thess
4:13-18] we do not need to write to you, for you
yourself know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the
night. [I believe the general ‘day of the Lord’
starts with the rapture and ends with the establishment of His 1000-year
earthly reign.] While people are saying ‘Peace and safety,’
destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and
they will not escape.”
I believe this is saying that people
will be saying “Peace and safety” (failing to realize the coming doom) and
going on with their lives like it was in the days of Noah. And then, the “thief in the night” comes (the
rapture of the dead and living believers) … and this begins the destruction of
those left on earth, starting with the labor pains (the first 4 seals). This passage doesn’t say that this is when
the labor pains increase, but it’s when they start.
(And while I could be
wrong, I think that the Matthew 24:34 “generation that will not
pass away until all these things have happened” is referring to the generation
that sees the seals start opening, not to any current, living generation. It’s saying that it won’t take more than a
generation to get from the start of the seals to the end of the tribulation,
including any time in between.)
Of course, over history, we have
seen the same kinds of things that will happen during the seals: false christs,
war, famine, etc. And many “prophets”
claim that the birth pangs have started and the seals are opening. But I think this has been a “You ain’t seen
nothing yet” time of woe. And these
things will increase drastically after the rapture, once the seals open, after
the elders have taken their place around the throne. Evil will run rampant once all believers and
the Holy Spirit are removed.
I do not know if the seals will
coincide with the start of the actual 7-year trib or if there will be a bit of
time between the opening of the seals and the beginning of the trib. But the next event after the rapture and seals 1-4 (or during the seals) is …
Signing of the Treaty: The definite start of the official 7-year trib is when a “7-year peace treaty” is signed between the Anti-christ (AC), Israel, and other leaders, as seen in Dan 9:27, sometime during the opening of these first 4 seals or at the end of them. This starts Israel’s missing 70th week (Dan 9:24). That seventieth week is when God’s attention turns back to Israel. It is not meant for the Church. And most of the things that happen during that time - the tribulation - are specifically about Israel.
I believe that during these seals
and the early part of the trib when the peace treaty is signed, the AC hasn’t
yet been given supreme authority to rule.
He is just one of a group that signs this treaty, trying to bring the
world together. (It’s not hard to
imagine this happening, if you think of the chaos that would happen after
millions of people vanish.)
The rise of the Anti-christ is seen
in Dan 7:19-25. He is the “little horn” who will rise to
power, surpassing the 10 “kings” that were already in power and subduing
(over-throwing?) 3 of them. Most likely
these 10 kings are those who head up the various parts of the world, to bring
the world under this peace treaty. And
then the AC subdues 3 of them and eventually rises to supreme power.
3. Breaking
the Treaty and the 5th Seal: Daniel 7:25 says that the “saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a
time.” That’s a year, two years, and half a
year. So for three and a half years, he
will wage war against believers and Israel.
I think this is after the first four seals.
I believe that for the first half of
the trib, the AC is ruling along with the other “kings,” under that peace
treaty. And then, halfway through the
7-year trib, the AC breaks the treaty, turns on the “kings” and turns on
Israel. He assumes supreme authority and
sets up the “abomination that
causes desolation” (Dan
9:27, Matt 24:15) and starts to martyr
believers. This mass martyrdom is the 5th
seal. It ushers in a time of great
distress for Israel, specifically, and for believers everywhere (Matt
24:9-25).
[At some point, the AC receives the
“fatal wound” that had been “healed” (Rev 13:3). And
he is now Satanically-empowered and people are astonished and follow him,
believing him to be a god. This may be
at this 5th seal, when he sets up the “abomination,” proclaiming
himself to be god and martyring those who worship the true God. Or this “fatal wound” and Satanic-possession
may happen when he sets up the image that can talk/kill and issues the number
of the beast (Rev 13:15), which I think comes
at a later date than the 5th seal.
I’m not sure yet. I haven’t quite
figured out the time frame for some of these events.]
The 5th seal is when John
sees the souls of the martyrs under the altar as they cry out for God to avenge
their blood. I believe these are
tribulation martyrs, possibly just from the first 4 seals and/or from the time
of mass martyrdom, but I don’t think it includes those martyred during the time
of the talking image and the number of the beast. They come later.
And God says that these martyrs will
have to wait a little longer to see justice poured out, after the rest of the
martyrs (of the last half of the trib) are killed by the AC. (The 5th
seal martyrs may or may not be resurrected with the great multitude. If the great multitude includes only living
believers, then these martyrs wait under the altar until they are resurrected
with the rest of the martyrs in Rev 20:4-6.)
4. Seal 6: Sometime in the midst of
this martyrdom, the 6th seal is opened. This is when there is a great earthquake, the
sun turns black, moon turns red, stars fall to earth, the sky recedes like a
scroll, and every mountain and island is moved from its place. Then the people hide in the rocks, crying out
and asking the rocks to fall on them and to hide them from the Lord’s great day
of wrath. (Rev
6:12-17)
This is also described in Matthew
24:26-31. Here we are given additional details about
what happens just after the distress of the 5th seal days. It says that after the cosmic events, the
sign of the Son of Man appears in the sky, and all the nations mourn. (This is when they cry to the rocks to fall
of them.) And they mourn because they
just witnessed the . . .
5. The Visible Coming of Jesus: I think
this is the “sign of the Son of Man” that appears to everyone, making them
terrified, running to the rocks, mourning because they missed the truth all
along.
This is when everyone will see Jesus
coming, in power and great glory and with His angels, to gather up the believers
out of the tribulation. And the group He
gathers is the great multitude in white, holding palm branches in Rev 7:9. As it
clearly says, they are those “who came out of the great tribulation.” (Also see Matthew 24:30-31, 2 Thess
1:7, 2 Thess 2, and Joel
2:30-32. These also refer to the great trib and/or the
cosmic events and Christ’s visible second coming.)
This multitude may be the living
believers that are taken out of the trib or the living and dead of the trib, up until this point. (However, as I said, it may or may not
include the martyrs under the altar because they may be resurrected with the
martyrs at the end. I don’t know.)
This multitude is so huge because
everyone saw all believers disappear in the rapture, convincing many people that
the Bible is true after all. This would
explain the multitude that “no one could count.”
At this time, God leaves 144,000
Jewish people on earth to be witnesses, sealed with the seal of God on their
forehead.
I think it’s interesting to note that
during the church-age, believers are given the Holy Spirit inside of them as a
seal (Eph 4:30 says we were sealed
with the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption.
I believe that day is the rapture.)
But in the trib, people are sealed with the name of God on the forehead
(Rev 9:4). This further confirms that the church-age
believers and the Holy Spirit are taken out before this time.
[“I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man
will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be
disowned before the angels of God.” (Luke
12:8-9)
I wonder if this verse refers to the
visible second coming of Christ. Matthew
24:31 tells us that when
Jesus comes back again with power and great glory, He will send His angels to
gather up His elect. And I wonder if
this is when, in front of the angels, Jesus disowns those who disowned
Him. Basically, He passes them up,
telling the angels not to gather them up with the elect. They disowned Him, so now He disowns them
before the angels. Just a thought.]
The rest of the people who did not
get taken out with the great multitude are still in the midst of the AC’s
42-month reign, and they all go into the . . .
6. The Trumpet Judgments:
Trumpets 1-6 are in Rev 8 and 9. This
is the “dreadful day of the Lord.” It is
a time to punish and pour out His wrath on those who refused Him.
I wonder if this is when the AC
creates the image that can talk and issues the mark of the beast, 666. It could have started earlier, but the Great
Multitude wasn’t described as being victorious over the beast’s image, name, or
number. But the next group taken out is,
in Rev 15:2. This is why I think that the number and image
might not be introduced until after the great multitude is taken out.
Who knows . . . maybe it’s the fact
that the great multitude was taken out that causes the AC to introduce this new
system of keeping track of people and controlling them? Plus, at this point, the AC would be Satanically-empowered
and able to perform “wonders and miracles.”
So it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine an image being created that can
talk and kill.
And, after witnessing Jesus coming
back for His people, there would be no more wondering if Jesus was real or
not. People will know that if they take
the mark, they are pledging allegiance to the Anti-christ, to Satan. So they cannot claim, “Oops, I didn’t know
that was the mark of the beast. I didn’t
know there was an Anti-christ.” It will
be crystal clear. And their decision to
choose Jesus or Satan will be deliberate.
Either way (whether the image/number
started at the 5th seal or after), there will be more martyrs during
this time under the image/number of the beast.
7. The 7th Trumpet and The Harvest: When
the 7th trumpet is blown, John basically hears the message that
“Christ has begun his reign.” I think
this trumpet ends the AC’s 42 months of reign, because it is now Christ’s turn
to reign. And then we read in Rev 14 about the Harvest. This is when those who came to faith during
the trumpets are harvested with a sickle-swing (Rev 14:14-16).
They are taken out before the bowls
(aka vials), and we see them standing before the throne with harps in Rev 15. They
are the ones who “had been victorious
over the beast and his image and number.” (Rev
15:2-3) They are the living and possibly the dead who
were not martyrs (because the dead martyrs who were victorious over the beast
do not come to life until just before the 1000 years). And after they are taken out, the rest of the
people on earth go into .
8. The Bowls (Vials)
- the winepress of
God’s wrath, meant for the destruction of Babylon. These bowls are poured out very quickly, one
right after the next. Sores on those that
worship the beast, water turning to blood, the sun scorching people, darkness
over the beast’s kingdom. The 6th
bowl is when the Euphrates dries up and the evil spirits go out to gather the
people for battle at the 1st Armageddon. The 7th bowl is when John hears,
“It is done” and there is a storm and the biggest earthquake, the great city
splits in three, 100 lb hail, cities collapse and mountains fall. Then comes . . .
9. Jesus’ Coming for the 1st
Armageddon: This is when Jesus returns to defeat his
enemies the first time and to start his reign on earth during the 1000-year
millennial kingdom. He comes this time
not on clouds with angels to gather His people, but on a white horse with the
armies of heaven (most likely including the raptured believers and angels) to
defeat His enemies at the 1st Armageddon. (Rev 19:11-21, Zec 14)
[Some people want to place the
rapture here. But why take people up and
out of the earth (1 Thess 4:16-17),
only to land back on it moments later?
It doesn’t make sense.]
At this time, the devil is bound and
prevented from roaming the earth and causing problems for 1000 years. After this 1st Armageddon but
before the 1000 years is . . .
10. The Resurrection of the Dead Martyrs of the
Tribulation: We read about them in Rev
20:4-6. They “had not worshipped the beast or image or received his mark.” The
dead martyrs are resurrected to reign with Christ 1000 years on earth, along
with others who are on thrones and given right to judge (Rev
20:4).
These martyrs are specifically those
who did not worship the beast – this makes them tribulation martyrs. And so I think that those martyred during the
church-age (before the trib) went up in the rapture, when the dead in Christ rose
first, before the living. Then comes . .
.
11. The 1000-year Messianic Kingdom on earth:
Okay, so now we have the beginning
of the 1000-year earthly reign of Christ (Rev 20), when Satan in bound. This is the time when things are peaceful and
Israel is again blessed and stands out as a leader and as God’s treasured
people. The lion lies down with the
lamb, the person that dies at 100 years old is considered young, etc. There is peace and long life. Obviously, there are humans procreating on
the earth during this time, so there must have been some people on earth who
didn’t get destroyed by the bowls and who didn’t worship the beast and who
escaped being martyred, but who didn’t become believers early enough to be
taken out with the harvest in Rev 14:14-16. (And
this may or may not include the 144,000 Jews who were sealed in Rev 7 and those who were supernaturally protected
on earth during the trib in Rev 12:14.)
Life in these 1000 years is also
seen in Isa 11 and Isa
65:20-25.
[I know that in Isa
65:17, it talks about God
creating new heavens and a new earth and then it goes on to say that a man that
dies at 100 will be considered young.
But how can there be death, even at 100 years old, in the new heavens
and new earth when it says in Rev 20:14 that death will be destroyed?
Before the new heavens and new earth?
The best way that I can understand it is to think that Isaiah switched
gears. He refers to the fact that there
will be a new heaven and earth one day, and then he switches to talking about
life right before that, when Christ comes back and starts those changes with
His 1000-year reign on earth. I’m still
not sure.]
Anyway, at the end of the 1000 years
comes . . .
12. The 2nd Armageddon: Satan
is released and he goes out to gather his troops for the 2nd
Armageddon, the battle to end all battles.
But this battle is won by fire coming down from heaven and consuming the
enemies that have gathered against Israel and the Lord.
This is most likely when the events
of Ezekiel 38 and 39 happen. Gog is summoned
to attack Israel after their long peaceful break (during the 1000 years). But they are defeated by God – not through a
battle with people, but by God causing them to turn their swords on each other,
and through plague and bloodshed, and torrents of rain, hailstones, and burning
sulfur (i.e. fire from heaven). (Ez
38:31-33, Rev 20:9).
[However, I am wondering if Ez 39 might refer to the 1st Armageddon
which is before the 1000 years, because this would allow for 7 years for Israel
to clean the land after the battle.
Because I’m not sure that Israel would have 7 years to clean the land at
the end of the 2nd Armageddon because that’s when God makes a new
earth. Why bother cleaning for 7 years
if God is just going to make it new again right away? But I don’t know for sure.
And Ez 38 might refer to the 2nd Armageddon
at the end of the 1000 years, which would fit with the idea that this battle
happens after a long time of peace, when Israel has recovered from war and
lives without walls or protective measures.
I cannot imagine that this would happen before the rapture or during the
Trib. So this time of peace and recovery
must be during the 1000 years. I’m not
sure about all of this, but it is starting to seem to me that Ez 38
and 39 might be describing
two different wars, but in reverse order.]
And then there is . . .
And then there is . . .
13. The Great White Throne Judgment, when the dead (who are not the tribulation
martyrs or dead believers that were resurrected earlier) are resurrected to
face judgment. So the last people to
rise (after the battle that ends the millennium) are all the living and dead
who have not been judged yet. They go to
the Great White Throne judgment.
I’m guessing that these are all the
people of the 1000-year earthly kingdom and all the unbelieving dead from all
time, because the believing dead from before the 1000 years would either have
been taken up in the rapture (1 Thess 4:16-17) or, if they were martyrs, they would have
been included with the resurrected martyrs.
And all of the dead unbelievers and
the dead from the 1000 years and those that are still living during the 1000
years are all judged according to their works, and God separates His sheep from
the goats. The goats go to the lake of
fire and the sheep to the new heaven and new earth.
[Oh, new thought . . . it could be
that Ez 38 and 39
do indeed both refer to the 2nd Armageddon. And maybe the 7-year cleaning happens while
the Great White Throne judgment is going on, because surely there are people
still on earth waiting for awhile for their turn to be judged. And they might spend that time cleaning up
after the war. Just an idea. And, to be fair, many Christians think the Ezekiel wars will happen in our day, before or at the beginning of the tribulation. (In fact, some say it is starting right now with the events going on between Syria and Israel, early-mid 2018.) And while I think that's possible, I think they more likely refer to what will happen at the end of the 1000 years. Or they could have a near/far fulfillment - one being a partial fulfillment before the 1000 years and one being a complete fulfillment at the end of the 1000 years. But none of us knows for sure]
14. And then the New Jerusalem comes down from
heaven, and a new heaven and new earth is created. Only
those who have overcome and whose names are written in the book of life
(showing that they have a right standing before God) are left to inherit the
new heaven and the new earth. There is
no one else left. Everyone else will be
thrown into the lake of fire. (Rev
20:15) This is when the old order of things passes
away. (Rev 21:1-4) And
there is no more sun, death, sin, or tears, as he wipes every tear from their
eyes. Death and Hades were thrown into
the lake of fire at the end of the Great White Throne judgment – Rev
20:14.
This is my brief explanation of my
understanding of the end times.
So why should all of this matter to
us? Why should it matter to us if we are
raptured out or not?
Of course, if we are not raptured
out, we should be aware of what will happen.
But if we are, as I believe with every fiber of my being, we need to be
concerned for those left behind. That
should be a driving passion in our lives, helping people find God while there
is still time. This doesn’t mean that we
have to beat them over the head with Truth, but we need to be living it out in
our own lives so that they can see it.
And we need to share it with others whenever the opportunity
arrives. And we need to be seeking His
Kingdom and His righteousness. Because
everything else will burn up in the end.
Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth
“And throw the worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 25:30)
“The angels will come and separate
the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew
13:49-50)
I used to wonder about the “weeping
and gnashing of teeth.” Where is this
place and who gets thrown there? It
sounds like an awful place to be, and I always assumed that it happened in
hell.
But what I couldn’t figure out is
why the “servant who hid the talent” in Matthew 25 is thrown there, too. It makes it sound as if a believer (a lazy
one) ends up in a place with weeping and gnashing of teeth. But how can that be if “weeping and gnashing”
happens in hell, as seen in Matthew 13? How
can a believer end up in hell?
But I think I see the difference
now. The Matthew 13 passage says that the wicked are thrown into the “fiery furnace,” whereas the Matthew 25 passage says the servant is thrown “out into the darkness.”
I believe that these are two
different places and times where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” One is the final judgment when unbelievers
are thrown permanently into hell, the “fiery furnace.” And the other is at the rapture when lazy, unprepared
believers are left behind in the “darkness.”
As seen in the parables in Matthew
24 and 25, those believers who
were not ready for the Lord to come back again were left behind. This doesn’t mean they are eternally
condemned to weeping and gnashing of teeth, but that they missed the first
coming of Jesus when He takes with Him those who were prepared for His coming (Matthew
24:44), those who “longed for His coming” (2 Tim 4:8), and those who were busy doing His Will (Matthew
25:14-30).
At the rapture, Jesus takes only the
believers who are ready and who are doing His Will, while the rest on earth go
into the darkness, the tribulation. And
those who didn't have real faith or who knew the Truth but didn’t live it will be left behind to weep and
gnash their teeth. (Although they missed
the rapture, they will be taken out with the great multitude later, if they find true faith and live it.)
So why should this matter to
us? If I am right (and I’m not totally
sure if I am, but I am leaning this way), it should matter because it means
that there are believers of God (lazy servants) who will be left behind to face
the tribulation because they were not ready, did not stay awake, and were not
doing what they should be doing. And if
this is true, it should greatly affect how we live our lives because how we
live our lives will determine if we are taken out in the rapture or not.
If we took this warning seriously,
it would cause us to strive for righteousness, to remain vitally connected to
Him, to prioritize our lives as God wants us to, to focus on eternal things and
not temporary things, and to get busy discovering and doing the Lord’s
Will. This is how we get ready for the
Lord’s coming.
There are two types of believers (“servants”),
working alongside other believers (Matthew 24 and 25). The
difference is that some servants are doing “the will of the Father,” ready for
Jesus to come back at any moment. The
others are lazy, not doing the Lord’s work, and have fallen asleep on the job. And I believe that Scripture says that these
people will be left behind in the rapture, thrown outside into the darkness, “where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.”
And then there are those who only think
that they are believers because they are doing things in the name of the
Lord. But in reality, they are not. They are not really living God’s Will. They are following their own will and plans,
for their own glory. And although they
claim to know Jesus, Jesus doesn’t know them.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord,
Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my
Father who is in heaven. Many will say
to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name
drive out demons and perform miracles?’
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew
7:21-23)
Those Jesus does know are the ones
who do the will of God, who hear His words and put them into practice (Matthew
7:24). And the rest - those He doesn’t know - will not enter the
kingdom of heaven. They will be thrown
into the fiery furnace at the end of time, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth forever.
Two different times when there will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth: after the rapture and in hell. Two different people who will weep and gnash
their teeth: unprepared believers who are left behind at the rapture and
unbelievers who end up in hell.
If this is true – if knowing and
doing the Will of God makes all the difference, if it separates the genuine
believers from the fake ones, if it separates the prepared servants from the
unprepared ones – it seriously begs the question: “What is the Will of God and
how can you know it?”
(I also wrote about this in the
“Understanding God’s Will” series on my blogs, sweetlybrokengirl.blogspot.com
and myimpressionisticlife.blogspot.com.)
Here are a few passages which talk specifically about the things that
are part of God’s Will.
1 Peter 2:15-17: “For it is God’s will
that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom
as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the
brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Be joyful always, pray continually, give
thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 4:3-7: “It is God’s will that you should be
sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should
learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable . . . For God
did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.”
Colossians 1:10: “And we pray [that you
are filled with the knowledge of God’s Will] in order that you may live a life
worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good
work, growing in the knowledge of God,”
I think that many Christians have
gotten soft, lazy, selfish, comfortable, and sleepy. We are much more concerned with our happiness
on earth than with eternity. And we
think that we can coast through life, accomplishing the things God wants us to
accomplish while we go about doing whatever we want to do.
For some reason, we skip the parts
of the Bible that talk about our responsibility, our need to seek righteousness
and transform our minds and lives. Most
of us don’t want to put that kind of effort into our Christian walks. Because it is too disruptive to our lives,
our priorities, and our happiness. And
so instead, we hope that we will stumble into God’s Will, that He’ll guide us
in it as we go about our lives, and that our “good enough” is good enough for the
Lord. We hope that this will earn us our
ticket out of here when Jesus comes back.
But the Bible repeatedly and
strongly warns us to not fall asleep, to be prepared, and to be found doing the
Will of God when Jesus comes back again at a time we do not know. If I am right in what it means to be “thrown
into the darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth” (that lazy
believers will be left behind in the rapture) then how we live our lives today
will have a huge impact on us when Jesus comes back. May you be found awake, ready, and busy doing
the Lord’s work when He returns. And may
you hear the words that every faithful servant of God longs to hear:
“ . . . ‘Well
done, good and faithful servant! You
have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.’” (Matthew
25:21)
So the big question is, are you
living like you are ready for His coming?
Are you busy doing His Will and His work? Because this will make a huge difference in
whether you are taken up with Him or left behind in the darkness where there is
weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Do you long – really, truly long -
to hear those words, “Well done, good and
faithful servant!”? Are you waiting for Him to return, prepared
for Him to come back at any moment? Your
priorities and how you live your life will testify “yes” or “no.” They will determine if you will hear “Well
done” or if you will experience “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Don’t let these warnings go unheeded while
there is still time!
“But seek first His kingdom and his righteousness . . .” (Matthew
6:33)
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind. . . . Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37, 39)
“ . . . whatever you do, do it all
for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Why I think a pre-trib rapture is the most merciful way
Some people have a lot of trouble accepting the idea that God would rapture the church out but leave everyone else to go through the tribulation. They think it is heartless and cruel of Him. I, however, think that a pre-trib rapture is the most merciful thing God could do.
In the movie Left Behind (with Nicolas Cage), a young woman who missed the
rapture looks around at all the pain and heartbreak and devastation . . . and
she screams out about how the loving God her mother worshipped would never
cause something as tragic as that to happen.
He would never take people away and let others be left behind to face
the troubles of the tribulation.
Or would He?
The thing is, I think that a
pre-trib rapture shows just how loving and merciful and patient He is, how much
He wants everyone to come to Him.
Yes, the tribulation will be a
terrible time, unlike any other on earth.
But it is also the best thing He could do.
To take out all believers before the
tribulation (and to take out the newest believers before each new set of
judgments is unleashed) shows great love and mercy for those who have chosen
Him as Lord and Savior.
But it also shows great concern for
those “left behind,” because the tribulation will be a “final call” when God
clearly shows Himself and proves the Bible to be true, giving people a last
chance to call Him Lord and Savior. (And
let’s not forget how many calls and warnings God has graciously given over
time, even putting it all in print in the Bible. No one will be able to say that God didn’t
warn them. It’s all there, in His
Word.)
I believe the pre-trib rapture will
be the greatest “wake-up call” the world receives. There will be no ambiguity about Jesus and
Satan, heaven and hell, anymore. And it
gives people time during the seals to see the truth and to choose Him before He
releases the divine judgments – His wrath – on the staunch unbelievers during
the trumpets and the bowls.
If the rapture is mid-trib or
post-trib (which is possible, if the theologians who believe this are correct)
then the believers of the church age will face terrible persecution at the
hands of man and Satan. But if this were
true, what incentive would there be for the unbelievers to turn to God during
this time? They would have no real
reason to think that the Bible was true all along or to desire to turn to
Christ in the face of such persecution.
But if the rapture is pre-trib and
before the massive martyrdom starts, then the world would have the biggest
wake-up call ever and the greatest proof that the Bible is true, causing many
people to turn to God despite the fact that they know the persecution is
coming. The proof of God would be so
shockingly clear that they would know that they have no other option than to
choose God or choose eternal death.
And so, if the rapture will be the
greatest wake-up call and the event that forces people to choose – if it brings
many people to Christ – then it is indeed the most merciful thing God can do.
If there’s one thing that I know
about our God (especially as I read Jeremiah right now) it’s that our God is
the God of many chances. He is always
calling and calling to the people. And
He constantly warns them about upcoming judgment, over and over again, in the
hopes that they turn to Him and repent and that He won’t have to unleash judgment
on them.
And in so many places, He shields or
spares the righteous people when He releases His judgment or punishment. He pulls out Lot and his family before
destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. He spares
Noah and his family from the flood. In Jeremiah
5:1, He says He will
spare a whole city for one righteous person.
The way I see it, to spare believers
from the tribulation and to send a huge wake-up call (and warning) at the same
time to unbelievers - giving more people a chance to come to Him - fits very
neatly with God’s character.
There are some theologians who claim
that the next event on the “end times” schedule is not the rapture, but the
final coming of Christ to rule. They
claim that we believers are waiting for Christ to come back and to pronounce
final judgment and begin His final reign.
While this would be fine for the
believers, it would be awful for unbelievers.
If Jesus came back again right now – if there was no rapture and no
tribulation – then there would be no second chance for unbelievers. When He returns, there is no chance to change
your mind. Your decision has been
made. Your final answer given.
While this sounds fine for
believers, I think a rapture and tribulation are more merciful for unbelievers
because it gives them another opportunity to choose God. As terrible as the tribulation will be, it
would be eternally tragic if they never had this last chance, if they never had
this final proof that the Bible is true and the opportunity to get their souls
and their allegiance in order.
The tribulation is not just meant to
be a time of God’s judgment being unleashed, but it is also meant to be a time
when people will clearly and knowingly decide who they will worship. There will be no “I just didn’t realize that
God was real and the Bible was true.”
Everything will be made crystal clear to force people to decide, to pick
a side. And as I said earlier, since the
believers of the church-age have already decided, there is no reason for them
to go into this “deciding time.”
All of these things put together –
the timing of the events, the explanation of the groups of people and how they
are taken out of the earth, the descriptions of the elders, and the knowledge
of God’s mercy and love and how He gives many chances and always spares the
righteous – point clearly to a pre-trib rapture. At least for me.
That being said, I know I could be
wrong. And if so, then I know what to
expect during the trib. And I know that
even if we have to face persecution or martyrdom (as many people around the
world are currently facing), my eternal soul is secure. Satan may be able to destroy our bodies, but
he can never destroy the souls of the saved.
Understanding the horrible events of
the tribulation – and knowing that I would not want to go through them myself –
makes me concerned for the unbelievers I know.
Yes, I know it says that there will be many that come to faith during
the tribulation, but do we want our loved ones, neighbors, and friends to be
left behind to experience that?
Believing in a pre-trib rapture
shouldn’t make us lazy and comfortable, like “Oh, at least we’ll be out of here
and don’t have to worry about going through that.” It should make us go, “Hey, friends, this is
what will happen if you are left behind.
Take the way out that God provides, not only the way out of the
tribulation but also the only way out of hell.”
2 Peter 3:11-14: “Since everything will be destroyed in this
way, what kind of people ought you to be?
You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of
God and speed it’s coming. . . . So then, dear friends, since you are looking
forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace
with him.”
Do you live in a holy, godly
life? In a way that draw others to
Christ? Are you at peace with God? Are you living in a way that you can have
confidence when you stand before Him?
Are you doing all that He is asking you to do? Are you ready to die or for Christ to come
back again, in the twinkling of an eye?
If that were to happen today, would there be any important task left
undone? Would He say, “Well done, good
and faithful servant”? Are there any
unreached loved ones that don’t know about your faith and the reason for the
hope you have? Do they see anything
different about you that would make them want to know our God? Do you long for the coming of the Lord or
have you made this earth your home? Are
you fighting for souls and God’s Kingdom in prayer, if not in action and
word? This will be all that remains when
everything else burns up. Where are your
treasures?
