A
Study in End-Time Events
Before the Return of Christ
Revelation • The Rapture • The Coming Tribulation •
The day of the Lord
By Lou Comunale
Maschil Online
http://www.maschil.com
maschil@optonline.net
For then there will
be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the
world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And
unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the
elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
Matt 24:21-22 (NKJV)
Some think that this scripture was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. That can’t be. Christ says that this Great Tribulation would be unequaled in the world’s history (unequaled from the beginning of the world until now – and never to be equaled again, NIV). There can’t be two times of great tribulation worse than any other.
World War I couldn’t have been the tribulation either, since the casualty count in World War II dwarfed the amount in the First World War. Only now can the stage be set for the worst time the world has ever known. Only in this hour of our existence can the nations of the world with nuclear warfare literally destroy all life from off the face of the earth.
But I want you to notice another important element in that prophecy. Those days are cut short! And, why are they cut short? Because if they were not, there would be no flesh saved alive on the earth. But – now get this – for the elect’s sake – the saints of God who are still living on the earth -- those days will be shortened so that the world and the last remnant of humanity will not be totally obliterated.
This bears repeating, it is
the elect of God still living on the earth that causes God to intervene
to end the Tribulation. That’s the same
Elect that Jesus Christ comes to rescue after
the Great Tribulation at His return: And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet,
and they will gather together His
elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matt. 24:31 (NKJV)
Some think that Christians will never experience any of the Great Tribulation. Some even think that they will be whisked away in a Rapture before the Tribulation. The problem with this is that most people don’t know the difference between the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord and have difficulty in pinpointing the Rapture. Do you know that there’s a difference between the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord?
Most people simply lump these two events together as if they were the same thing. They are not! And it’s this particular misunderstanding of scripture that most people become confused about the timing of the rapture of the Saints and the return of Jesus Christ. But you can know when Christ returns for the elect! The Bible records the plan and outline of end-time events which undeniably pinpoint the timing of the rapture and the return of Christ.
WHERE ARE WE NOW IN
BIBLICAL PROPHECY?
We are presently living in the days just before the fulfillment of Daniel 12:1. The Prophet Daniel was given understanding about Gentile rulership of the world through the ages until the establishment of the Kingdom of God (“…until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the Kingdom,” Dan 7:22).
So, let’s go now to Revelation and see why Michael rises up in heaven. It’s to cast Satan out of heaven – finally! “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found anymore in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him….Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth he hath but a short time” Revelation 12:7-9, 12.
SO,
CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT THE GREAT TRIBULATION IS?
Sure! The Great Tribulation is Satan’s Wrath against God’s people, which will affect the entire world. That’s why it’s a great tribulation!
And, we mustn’t forget Jesus Christ also offered this encouraging prayer of protection: John 17:15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, (ala “Rapture”) but that You should keep them from the evil one.
Seeing that the church is protected, what does Satan do? He goes after the “remnant of her seed” (Rev 12:17) --- which are those, I believe, whose faith must be “tried in the fire” because of their “lukewarm” attitude toward God & Salvation (Rev 3:14-22).
Jesus prophesied that “then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake” Matthew 24:9. Revelation speaks about a martyrdom of saints in the time of the end: Rev 6:9-11; 7:13-14.
While Satan is the spiritual catalyst for this martyrdom, he uses physical means: The Beast of Revelation 13! It is Satan who gives this Beast Power, this mighty nation, now rising up in the world, its power and authority (Rev 13:2, 4). This beast power will “speak great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him (notice, Satan gives power to the Beast) to continue forty and two months” (the three and a half years of the Great Tribulation). Verse 7: “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”
Yes, this is frightfully serious. And it’s the day just ahead of us now.
WHO IS WORTHY TO OPEN UP TO US THE BOOK OF
REVELATION?
Before we go any further we have to make sure that we’re all on the same “page” in prophecy, in fact the page I’m referring to is the first page in the Book of Revelation. So, let’s backtrack for a bit and lay some groundwork.
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. Again, Jesus gives us no room to think that this book was meant to be incomprehensible and closed up! And, for those who think that 70 AD fulfilled all prophecies in the Bible, let me just state that the book of Revelation was written after the destruction of Jerusalem. It was written circa 90 AD by the Aged Patriarch John, who alone escaped martyrdom of all the Apostles.
Rev 5:3-5 And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders sayeth onto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. Thank God for Jesus Christ!
Rev 5:9 Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof. Yes, Jesus Christ is Worthy to tear off each seal – and define the seals in prophetic terms – and open up the book to us. This book will show chronologically what is to occur in the End Days.
Rev 6 describes six of the seven seals. The first four seals are sometimes referred as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The first three seals precede the Great Tribulation and culminate in intensity during the Great Tribulation, which the fourth seal begins to describe. Let’s go over them now, if only briefly; because these seals carry with it the timeline for us to follow if we are to understand End Time events.
THE FIRST SEAL
Rev 6: 1-2 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw and behold, a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering and to conquer. Since we’re already concluded that only Jesus Christ can open the seals and reveal the book, we must then turn to Jesus Christ for His interpretation of what He’s saying.
You will find, Dear Reader -- and this is important -- that the seals are opened up to us in stark detail as we read through this chapter and compare it to the famous Olivet Prophecy of Matthew 24. There the disciples asked Jesus the same questions that are going through your mind now.
Matt 24:3 And as Jesus sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? Christ’s initial response ties in with the First Seal of Revelation 6, which defines the first seal.
Matt 24:4 And Jesus answered
and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come
in my name saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. Remember the
First Seal depicted a rider on a White Horse, not unlike Jesus Christ riding
a White Horse when He returns (Rev
19:11). However, this rider is representative of all those who would
falsely come in Jesus’ name – they would
come in as “Christians,” or as Christ Himself – and deceive the many. It
is the hallmark of the Anti-Christ spirit, the spirit that replaces Jesus
Christ as Lord of All with a fraudulent substitute.
Vs 24 continues this thought: For there shall arise false Christs and false
prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were
possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Thankfully, it says IF it were possible. Well, the elect knows
what Christ taught them; are growing in the likeness of Christ Himself with
the Holy Spirit giving them discernment, that they’re
not going to be deceived.
Many read vs 4 with the idea that this specifically only means False Christs. Well, let me ask you, if you were with Jesus Christ for three and a half years and a stranger walked up to you and said, “Hi, I’m Jesus Christ,” would you not be able to tell the difference? Of course, you’d be able to discern the fraud immediately! Any Christian today would discern the fraud immediately. Rather, these deceivers come in the form of Christianity proclaiming that Jesus is Lord. Remember, Christ would have no reason to warn his own disciples about deception except it come from “within” – the wolves in sheep clothing.
II Cor 11:13-15 The Apostle Paul adds this: For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. It is this deception, that supposedly comes from “within,” that is the far greater deception. Paul warns about those holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them! II Tim 3:5.
Therefore,
keep your eyes opened, Beloved.
Granted, this first example
in using the Olivet Prophecy to
interpret Revelation 6 may not
be as persuasive an argument as you’d like. But if you follow through with
the other seals, you’ll see just how relevant and intertwined they are.
THE SECOND SEAL
Rev 6:3-4 And when he had opened
the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went
out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon
to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and
there was given unto him a great sword.
Now when we compare this second
seal to the next item in the Olivet Prophecy, we find that Jesus says, And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars:
see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but
the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom…Matt 24:6-7.
The second seal therefore is War and rumors of war. “But the end,” says Christ, “is not yet” Matt 24:6.
Rev 6:5-6 And when he opened
the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld,
and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his
hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say ‘A measure
of wheat for a penny (a penny was a day’s wages!):
and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.’
Back to the Olivet Prophecy: and there shall be famines, and pestilences Matt 24:7. The third seal is therefore Famine. Pestilences, or disease epidemics, usually stride side by side to famine.
We’re led to believe that the first three horsemen have been with us since Christ appeared the first time: false prophets and false Christs, war, and famine. Yet these three will intensify gradually – even throughout two thousand years – and fully culminate at the time of Great Tribulation.
THE FOURTH SEAL
Rev 6:7-8 And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked and behold, a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth (quite probably meaning disease epidemics resulting from wild animals).
A horseman called Death, with
Hell following along with him, and a fourth of the human population (One
billion plus) dying can only mean the time that Christ refers to as the
time unequaled from the
beginning of the world until now – and never to be equaled again –
the Great Tribulation, Matt 24:22. Therefore the
fourth seal is the Great Tribulation, which encompasses the previous seals
too.
THE FIFTH SEAL
Rev 6:9 And when he had opened
the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain
for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried
with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not
judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth. And white robes
were given unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until
their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they
were, should be fulfilled.
Here is the martyrdom of the saints, which Christ forewarned us about in Matthew 24:9: then shall they…kill you. This is the result of the Anti-Christ’s persecution in the previous seal.
We had to briefly review the first five seals so that we can all be on the same page when we uncover the next two seals. We have seen how the seals chronologically lead up to the Great Tribulation, but it is the next two seals – that come after the Tribulation -- that are pivotal in our understanding for the timing of the Rapture.
This is answering the point made at the very beginning of the article. God is going to cut short the days to preserve His Elect and the rest of the world. When God does this, every eye will see it. People will not be able to minimize or reject God’s intervention and rule over the world any longer. Because God will cut short the Tribulation with a supernatural sign from heaven, signaling to the world that He’s intervening in Man’s Affairs and putting a stop to the Anti-Christ spirit that is then ruling the world.
It all comes out in Seal number six.
Rev 6:12 And I beheld when he
had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the
sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and
the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her
untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
This sixth seal is the supernatural sign involving the darkening sun, bloody moon, and related phenomenon, such as we’ve never seen before. God does this to get everyone’s attention that He is now intervening to stop the world from its Anti-God hostility and from total obliteration of its own making.
What this sixth seal does is prove that the Great Tribulation is not at all a part of the Day of the Lord; that the two events are totally opposite in purpose and are totally separated by this seal/event. Many people misread prophetic scriptures because they don’t know when one begins and the other ends: therefore they read scriptures meant for the Day of the Lord as if it was in the Great Tribulation, and vice versa.
Did you notice that Jesus says,
immediately after the Tribulation shall
this celestial warning occur? Once again, Jesus is carefully following the
chronological pattern outlined in Revelation.
And so -- get this -- once this sixth seal occurs, the tribulation is over – and the Day of the Lord will soon begin!
The Old Testament Prophet Joel sheds much light about the Day of the Lord: Alas for the Day of the Lord is at hand (Joel 1:15).
Joel 2:31 refers to the Signs in the Heavens, but I’d like to take
a little time now with Joel here and start a few scriptures before that. It’s only a slight veering off on a tangent
to bring encouragement to those of you who know
that there won’t be a rapture before the Great Tribulation. Let’s start
at Joel 2:28: And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon
all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, your old men
shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also upon the
servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
You may shudder thinking about
the end times, wondering how one could possibly endure such hostility, wretchedness
and persecution in the world. But,
remember that God will be pouring out His Spirit in an unprecedented way.
How do you think that we could endure the horrible, last days, except God
be in us with Might: invigorating us with Supernatural Powers, empowering
us with immutable, jewel-refined Faith, enriching us with Hope and Determination
that repels the satanic horrors in the world. When He says He’s going to
pour out His Spirit, get ready for a blast of the Holy Ghost that’s LIFE-sustaining
against the onslaught of the enemy – POWER
you’ve never seen before!
Joel 2:32 And it shall come
to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered,
as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.
So, we need to be close to
the Lord and He will protect us from those horrific days. Now, just after
the scripture where God will pour out His Spirit, we read, The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible Day
of the Lord come Joel 2:31.
Notice our timeline, we’ve
read before when Christ said that the supernatural signs in the heavens
will happen immediately after the Great Tribulation,
and now we read that these same signs happen before the Day of the Lord. Therefore
these two events cannot be the same thing!
Now, we have understanding: these heavenly signs are a dividing line between these two events.
DEFINING THE DAY OF THE LORD
Now we can understand what the Day of the Lord is. We’ve already seen that the Great Tribulation is Satan’s wrath against God’s people. Now, let’s go back to Joel to understand what the Day of the Lord is.
Joel 1:15 Alas for the day!
For the Day of the Lord is at hand, and as a
destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
Ah, now we see that the Day of the Lord is God’s Wrath. Continue now in the chronological time sequence in Rev 6; after the signs in the heavens have just occurred:
Rev 6:15-17 And the kings of
the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men,
every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks
of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide
us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the
Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and
who is able to stand?”
But where is the Lord’s wrath directed? Isaiah continues this train of thought:
Isaiah 2:10-21 Enter into the
rock, and hide in the dust, From the terror of the LORD And the glory of
His majesty. The lofty looks of man
shall be humbled, The haughtiness
of men shall be bowed down, And the LORD alone shall be exalted in that
day. For the day of the LORD of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up—And it shall be brought low—Upon all the cedars of Lebanon
that are high and lifted up, And upon all the oaks of Bashan; Upon all the
high mountains, And upon all the hills that are lifted up; Upon every high
tower, And upon every fortified wall; Upon all the ships of Tarshish, And
upon all the beautiful sloops. The
loftiness of man shall be bowed down, And the haughtiness of men shall be
brought low; The LORD alone will be exalted in that day, But the idols
He shall utterly abolish. They shall go into the holes of the rocks, And
into the caves of the earth, From the terror of the LORD And the glory of
His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily. In that day a man
will cast away his idols of silver And his idols of gold, Which they made,
each for himself to worship, To the moles and bats, To go into the clefts
of the rocks, And into the crags of the rugged rocks, From the terror of
the LORD And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth
mightily.
This is talking about the Lord’s Wrath against the Wicked! And wherever you see in Scripture, The Day, The Day of the Lord, The Wrath, the Day of His Wrath, The End, The End of the Age it is talking about the Day of the Lord – not the Great Tribulation.
Isaiah 13:9-11 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,
To lay the land desolate; And He
will destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light;
The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause
its light to shine. “I will punish
the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the
arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible…”
Mal 4:1 “For behold, the day
is coming, Burning like an oven, And
all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day
which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the LORD of hosts, “That will
leave them neither root nor branch…”
The Seventh Seal
Even though we’ve defined the Day of the Lord, we still need to go back to Revelation to show that the seventh seal is the Day of the Lord.
Once again, we read in Rev 6:17, after the wicked on the earth see the signs in the heavens, they cry out amid the rocks of the mountains, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the Wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand.” And, sure enough, the next seal describes the Judgement plagues that will be poured out on the earth.
Rev 8:1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. Can you imagine that? Silence in heaven, when around the clock there are angelic choruses praising the magnificence of Almighty God. But now, silence! Something is going to happen that is so striking, so cataclysmic that Heaven is silenced!
Rev 8:2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. If you read through this portion of scripture and subsequent chapters, you’ll find that these Angels are given Trumpet-Heralded Judgements which are poured out upon the wicked of the earth: (vs 6) hail and fire; (vs 8) a third of the sea turned into blood; etc. It finally culminates with the Seventh Trumpet. In the same way that the Seventh Seal is comprised of the Seven Trumpet Judgements; the Seventh Trumpet Judgement is comprised of the Seven Last Plagues (Rev 15, 16), which “completes” the Wrath of God (Rev 15:1). The term Armageddon can be safely placed within the time frame of the Day of the Lord.
While it’s not within the scope of this article to discuss all particulars of the Day of the Lord, it was our desire to show a correlation between The Seven Seals of Revelation and the Olivet Prophecy – and that Christ is the revealer of the Seals. We’ve tried to show that there is a definite timeline for events in the End Days. We’ve tried to show a definite distinction between the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. All this was necessary to help us understand when the Rapture occurs.
So, now that we’ve established our timeline, let’s go back to see what Christ says in the Olivet Prophecy.
THE RAPTURE PINPOINTED
Matt 24:29-31“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will
be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then
the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes
of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet,
and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end
of heaven to the other.”
You see, from the words of
Jesus Christ Himself, He says this gathering of the Elect –the Rapture – occurs after the Signs in the Heavens, which occurs after the Great Tribulation. That’s because
God rescues the Saints before the great Day of the Lord – His Wrath against
the Wicked.
Now, let’s go onto other scriptures to see how they come to life with this new understanding.
II Thes 2:1 Concerning the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him, …
Stop right there. Here the Apostle Paul equates as a united event the Coming of Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him. The only time Christ makes His appearance is in the Day of the Lord.
II Thes 2:1-2 Concerning the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him, we ask you,
Brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report
or letter supposed to have come from us, saying the Day of the Lord has
already come.
Again, Paul equates (1) the
Coming of the Lord with (2) our
being gathered to Him to (3)
the Day of the Lord.
And he forewarns God’s people not
to fall for any other doctrine that misrepresents the timing of His Coming.
This refers also to those who thing all prophecies were fulfilled already
in 70 AD.
II Thes 2:3-4 Don’t let anyone
deceive you in any way, for that day (the Day of the Lord and the rapture
of the Saints) will not come until
the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed
to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that
is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple,
proclaiming himself to be God.
The Anti-Christ
will have demanded worship and executed those who will not worship him –
some of the Saints. This period is, of course, the Great Tribulation. So,
the Apostle Paul here is saying that the Day of the Lord and the Rapture
of the Saints will not occur until after
the reign of the Anti-Christ during Satan’s
Wrath against the Church.
GOD
SAVES US FROM THE COMING WRATH
Rom 5:9 Since we have now been
justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s Wrath through Him! Here, the Apostle Paul speaks about Christ
saving us from God’s wrath – or the Day of the Lord – because we are raptured
up to God at that time. Two other
scriptures echo that point: I Thes
1:10 …wait for His Son from Heaven,
whom He raised from the dead – Jesus, who rescues
us from the coming Wrath.
I Thes 5:9 For God did not appoint us to suffer Wrath but to receive salvation through our
Lord Jesus Christ.
In this world, says Christ, Christians shall suffer tribulation (John 16:33), but not God’s Wrath.
In all actuality, there are numerous scriptures that confirm and add to this teaching. Do a study on those scriptures and see them with this new understanding. However, at this time, let’s move onto scriptures that speak more about the Rapture.
CHRIST’S RETURN NOT KEPT
SECRET
Those who would support a secret rapture before Christ’s actual coming in Glory, must realize that Christ’s Coming (Parousía) will not be in secret.
Luke 17:24 For the Son of Man
in His day (the Day of the Lord) will
be like lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the
other.
Rev 1:7 Behold, He is coming
with clouds, and every eye will see Him…
I Thes 4:16-18 For 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. After 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. Therefore encourage each other with these words.
Matt 24:30-31 they will see
the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will
gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to
the other.
I Cor 15:51-53 Listen I tell
you a mystery: … we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of
an eye, at the last trumpet.
For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and
we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable,
and the mortal with immortality.
I John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of
God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when
he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see
him as he is.
THE SAINTS ARE GATHERED TOGETHER FOR WAR
Christ leads the way to forcibly remove the recalcitrant Anti-Christ and his minions before His Kingdom can be established.
Jude 14-15 Now Enoch, the seventh
from Adam, prophesied …saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands
of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly
among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly
way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against
Him.”
Zech 14:1-3 Behold, the day
of the LORD is coming… For I will gather all the nations to battle against
Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished.
Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people
shall not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go forth And fight
against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle.
Rev 19:15 And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword that with it, He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron; and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on his vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Rev 11:15 Then the seventh angel
sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of
this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He
shall reign forever and ever!”
FINALLY! FINALLY! Praise God! Christ returns with all His Saints to rule the world in Righteousness for a Millennial Reign. Hallelujah! Rewards are distributed to the Saints; Rulership, Positions of authority in a new realm of Holiness. That’s our inheritance! That’s what we’ll see occurring, at the rate things are going, in our lifetimes. Yes, it’s quite an exciting time that we’re living in. God has a wonderful plan for us both now and in the future when He returns.
So now that we know not only the timing of the Rapture, but the timing of the days we’re living in right now; let’s leave off with a sobering thought:
II Pet 3:10-15 But the Day of
the Lord will come like a thief (yes, to the world it’ll come like a thief,
but not to Christians, see I
Thessalonians 5:4-8). 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. Therefore, since all these
things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy
conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of
God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and
the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to
His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness
dwells.
Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be
found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.
