END TIME EVENTS
END TIME EVENTS
That the
coming of the Lord involves 2 separate events I have no doubt. The two events
are completely different from each other. So to compare the two events we must
call one of them the “Rapture” since that is the Latin word for being caught
away and the other event we will call the 2nd coming of Christ, also
known as “The glorious appearing.”
I want
to discuss this today, not as a doctrinal argument per se, but as a warning to
two groups of people… namely those who believe in the rapture and those who don’t
believe in the rapture.
As for the
pre tribulation rapture people, I would have to say that I have never seen so
much confidence over a doctrine that has so little biblical support and I would
love for somebody, anybody to sit down with me and provide clear textual
support for a pre-tribulational rapture. Here I am talking about those people
who tell us not to worry about the signs of the times because we won’t be here
for any of it. I believe that this is a highly dangerous and unsupported idea.
On the
other hand, for those who don’t believe in the rapture at all, I would like for
them to explain how Jesus comes in the clouds and we are caught up to meet the
Lord in the air… (1 Cor. 15:51-55) verses Jesus coming with all of His saints
to defeat the Battle of Armageddon and then to take up His millennial reign
from Jerusalem. Rev. 19 14-21
I know
that in part they solve this problem by doing away with the literal millennial
reign of Christ on the earth, but you have to ignore about 20 percent of
scripture to believe that and it makes God into a liar and a covenant breaker
and Romans eleven is the clincher when it comes to that issue. Besides, even
apart from Christ’s earthly millennial reign the event we call the rapture and the
event we call the second coming are distinctly different from each other and cannot
be treated as the same event.
As for the
pre-tribulation rapture, we have to presume that when God called John up into
heaven to see future events (Rev. 4:1) that also represents the catching away
of the church. That is a giant leap to say the least. I like it and I want to
be out of here before any of the really bad stuff happens just as much as the next
guy, but I don’t see anywhere were Jesus tells us not to pay attention to the
signs because they don’t concern us. On this account Joh sees before him an
open door and corresponding to that the church in Philadelphia has set before
them an open door, but Laodicea has a closed door with Jesus knocking from the
outside. Which church best represents the church in the world today? We simply
cannot take these issues lightly.
In Mt.
24 Jesus says that He has given us these things in advance and in Luke 21:34-35.
Jesus says: “Be on guard that you r hearts may not be weighted down with
dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life and that day come on you
suddenly like a trap for it will come upon ALL those who dwell on the face of
all the earth.”
Now the
very next verse comes down in favor of a pre-tribulation rapture for it says: “But
keep on the alert at all times praying in order that you may have strength (or
be counted worthy) to escape all these things that are about to take place and
to stand before the Son of Man.”
Here we
have a clear pre-tribulation rapture text for Jesus warns us to pray that we
may have strength or be worthy to escape all of the things that He has just
listed as end time events. But in this text Jesus doesn’t say exactly how we
will escape these things (although they involve strength and worthiness) but He
does say “and to stand before the Son of Man” and that conjures pictures of the
saints standing on the sea of Glass doesn’t it?
However,
Paul tells us in 2 Thess. 2:3, 4 that the rapture (The coming of the Lord and
our gathering to Him 2 Thess. 2:1) will not come unless the apostasy comes
first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction who
opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship so that
he takes his seat in the temple of God displaying himself as being God.”
And
Paul starts out this description of the coming antichrist by saying “Let no one
deceive you for that day (The coming of the Lord and our gathering together to
Him) will not take place until after the great apostasy and the revealing of the
antichrist. This being the case we most definitely need to study Bible
prophecy. Many will fall away from the faith when things happen that they said
they would not be here for.
We are
watching preparations being made both politically and physically for the temple
to be built in Jerusalem and this peace deal to be announced yet this year
might just be the covenant with many that clears the way for the temple to be
built.
Here I
am not making an argument against the rapture, but what I am saying is that we
need to study the signs and we should not glibly say as some do that we don’t
need to know any of this Bible prophecy stuff because we aren’t going to be
here. In truth we do not know exactly which things constitute general
tribulation and increasing birth pangs from the actual tribulation and Matthew
24 shows the world entering the great tribulation after the Abomination of
Desolation takes place in the temple and that is consistent with Paul’s
statement in 2 Thess. 2:3, 4.
So,
someone said in effect the other day that we should not be scaring each other
with things like the Noahide laws because we won’t be here anyway and to me
that is a very irresponsible statement. It requires a lot of presumption… and I
believe that Jesus told us to watch and to pray for a very important reason, most
specifically because no one knows the day or the hour of His coming.
Like I
said, this is not an argument against the rapture so much as a warning that we
presume way too much when we think that we don’t need to understand end time
events. Jesus gave them for a reason and they involve “all those who dwell upon
the face of the earth.” Luke 21:35.
RAPTURE: Now
as to the two events involved in His coming the rapture will come like a thief in
the night and take everyone by surprise. (Except those who are awake and know
the signs) 1 Thess. 4:16-18
SECOND COMING: The
second coming will occur when Satan’s kingdom has been destroyed and the earth lies
in a shambles with every wall fallen to the ground and the armies of the world
are gathered at Megiddo for the final battle of Armageddon. The sun will be
darkened and the moon turned to blood and the earth shaken like no other time
in history. Clearly His return at this time will not be like a thief in the
night.
RAPTURE: We will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. 1
Cor. 15:51-57
SECOND COMING: Jesus returns with His saints at the battle
of Armageddon. Rev. 19:14-21, 1 Thess. 3:13, Zech. 14:5 He fights the battle and
defeats the armies of Satan. Then He sets foot on the Mount of Olives and enters
Jerusalem to commence His millennial reign.
RAPTURE: We will be caught up in a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye. (Instantaneously, in less than a second.) 1 Cor. 15:52.
SECOND COMING: “Immediately
after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will
not give its light and the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of the
heavens will be shaken and then the sign of the son of Man will appear in the
sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son
of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great
trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds from one
end of the sky to the other.” Mt. 24:29-30 (this is not an instantaneous twinkle
of an eye kind of event.)
Unfortunately
for us in western society, the Hebrews did not give events in linear fashion and
not only that but they, Including Jesus, mixed events together because in type and
shadow these events would happen over and over again like birth pangs preceding
the final birth.
In Mt.
24 we see a mixture of events concerning the temple and Israel’s flight in AD
70 with end time events that would be similar and principally the same so Jesus
mixed them together.
Today
we are clearly seeing that the events of AD 70 will play out again in the tribulation
and second coming of Christ. The temple will be rebuilt and the antichrist will
commit the Abomination of Desolation and the Jews will have to flee again just
as they had to flee before Titus.
There
is so much more to this on both sides of the issue… so many more texts… and as
usual, I find it almost impossible to cover these massive issues in a few
pages. But my point today is that we simply must observe the birth pangs that
are taking place in our day. The world is beginning to fall apart, politically,
socially, environmentally and cosmically. Everything is coming at us in rapid
leaps and we, as God’s people, need to be awake and alert and ready for any
eventuality for indeed we do not know the day or the hour when Jesus will catch
us away. Many things that happen in Mt. 24, Jesus calls the beginning of
sorrows and He doesn’t actually introduce the great Tribulation until after the
Abomination of desolation. See Mt. 24:21
We
definitely need to study these things and to prepare for them, for in a way, if
we are ready for the Tribulation we will also be ready for His coming and if we
are not ready to face tribulation then neither will we be ready for the
rapture. We will be caught by surprise like the foolish virgins who had no
oil. To be worthy to escape all of these
things we must be like the wise virgins that had oil in their lamps and were
ready to go into the marriage feast. Think about it.
Those
who are bored with Bible prophecy simply don’t understand that these things are
being fulfilled in rapid succession right before our eyes. We are in the middle
of it right now and the events are unfolding with mind blowing speed. Surely those
who cannot see this are among the foolish virgins. They are walking through a
war zone without their armor on and they are not heeding Jesus words to be
ready.
Everything
is being set up in Jerusalem for the arrival of the antichrist and we can yawn
and say we won’t be here to see that event, but we won’t get that from the
Bible. In fact our instruction concerning the coming of Christ is:
“But
you brethren are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief;
for you are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night
nor of the darkness; SO THEN, LET US NOT SLEEP AS OTHERS DO, BUT LET US BE
ALERT AND SOBER…But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the
breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God
has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord
Jesus Christ.” 1 Thess. 5:4-6, 8-9.
Clearly
in several places in Scripture we are promised that we will not have to endure
the wrath of God. We can take that one to the bank… But nowhere in Scripture do
I see the word saying that we don’t need to pay attention to the signs of His
coming on the basis that we won’t be here. Regardless of when the rapture takes
place, we need to be sober and alert and ready for whatever Satan wants to dish
out, because Satan’s wrath and God’s Wrath are two different things. Please
consider if you will that the Wrath of god is announced in the bowl judgments.
Is it possible that the breaking of the seals and the trumpet judgments are man’s
and Satan’s wrath, while the bowl judgments are God’s wrath against Satan and
His kingdom? We presume too much if we don’t at least ask these questions and
study them out for biblical answers.
Christians
are suffering persecution and death on a daily basis all around the world right
now. Do we think that we are somehow immune from persecution? Don’t be fooled.
The
very last thing Jesus said before He prayed His wonderful prayer on our behalf
in John 17 is this. “These things I have spoken to you that in Me you may have
peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the
world.” No matter what Satan dishes
out, our peace is in Jesus Christ. Jesus is returning to the very spot from
which He left, which is also most probably the same spot where He walked in the
Garden with Adam and Eve. Everything is coming full circle.
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