Tag: End Times

March 3 – Revelation 7 – Full House

A couple of days ago, I said that I thought the Great Tribulation was not going to be some future event that the Church was going to be raptured out of to get to miss. I said I thought the Great Tribulation began shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I gave several reasons why I believe that and I won’t recount those. If you missed that one, you can read it here.

In Revelation 6, we read about the opening of the seals. The sixth seal is opened and it has with it the very same descriptive language used to describe The Day of the Lord throughout the Bible. It is specifically used by Jesus in the Gospels to describe the day when he returns. “I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.” Revelation6:12–14NIV  We know from the Gospels these signs are just before we are gathered to meet our Lord in the air as he returns to earth.

In Revelation 7, after the Great Tribulation, we also see that “144,000 from all the tribes of Israel” are marked with a seal so that they will not be hurt when God pours out his wrath on the inhabitants of the world.

What impressed me in chapter 7 is the ginormous (yes, a real word, a combination of gigantic and enormous) crowd of people gathered before the throne and before the Lamb. “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands… …These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Revelation7:9, 14NIV

In Luke 14, Jesus tells a parable that indicates, among other things, that God wants heaven to be full. “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.” Luke14:23NIV  Heaven is going to be a marvelous celebration of God and his creativity. His handiwork in this world, broken and marred by sin, never ceases to amaze us. Heaven is going to be so much more, and God wants heaven full of his children to enjoy it. The parable in Luke seems to indicate God even invites the “riffraff” by sending the servants out into the roads and country lanes.

Revelation 7 shows us a massive, innumerable crowd of people standing before the throne of God and the Lamb, who are there not because they were the “good people,” but because “they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” God wants a full house of his children to enjoy eternity with him. He invited all of us riffraff, and because we were unworthy to be in the presence of the Holy God of the universe, he made the way for us to be there by purifying us from all of our unrighteousness in the blood of Jesus Christ!

One day we will be in that ginormous crowd of people standing before the throne and the Lamb praising God for what he, in Jesus Christ, did for us saying, “…Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Revelation5:12NIV

What we can look forward to is, “…they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’” Revelation7:15–17NIV

Prayer:

Father, thank you for sending servants out into the roads and country lanes for riffraff like me! Thank you for Jesus Christ, the lamb that was slain to take away my sin. Thank you for the promise of eternal life with you in your new creation! In Jesus name, Amen.

January 12, 2023 – Matthew 13 – A Day of Retribution Coming

Leviticus 13, Matthew 13, 1 Timothy 3

My family has been watching true crime shows lately. We have watched a couple where you were sure who did it by the end of the show. One person had been calling restaurants, pretending to be a cop, having the manager terrorize young female employees that he lied and claimed had stolen something. The other was a man who murdered a woman. Both seemed to have plenty of circumstantial evidence to convict them. However, they both were cleared by the jury.

In my mind they were obviously guilty but the juries believed there wasn’t enough evidence to convict them. We all know about travesties of justice that have happened, and still happen every day. How do we cope with the idea of murderers walking freely among us?

Fortunately for us, we don’t have to worry about the wicked getting away with evil forever. In Matthew 13, Jesus tells a parable describing how one day the wicked will receive their recompense for their evil deeds. He says, “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew13:47–50NIV

We have laws and a legal system. If the wicked manage to subvert those and escape justice, we don’t have to worry about it. Even though the evidence seems to be clear, unless we saw them, we can’t be sure of someone’s guilt. However, God knows and he will see that justice is done. “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” Romans12:19NIV

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for knowing all. No man will deceive you. You will reward the righteous and repay the wicked for their evil deeds. Help me to always follow you so I am not caught up with them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

January 8, 2023 – 2 Thessalonians 2 – Rapture or Day of the Lord?

Warning – Longer than usual, but still worth reading.

Leviticus 9, Matthew 9, 2 Thessalonians 2

Have you ever thought that you knew something pretty good, but if you had it wrong you would be happy about it? That is the way I am with my End Times beliefs. I grew up believing in a pre-tribulation rapture of the church. If you don’t know what that is, think Left Behind. If you read that series of books or watched the movies you have a good understanding of what pre-trib rapturists believe. I have come to embrace what has traditionally been looked for in the church…  the day of the Lord, also known as the second coming.

The church has looked for a second coming that it identified with the day of the Lord in the Old Testament. In 2 Thessalonians 2, the Apostle Paul is trying to remove fears that the church at Thessalonica had missed the day of the Lord or second coming. He says, “As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here.” 2 Thessalonians2:1–2NRSV

There are some things that Paul says will precede the day of the Lord, things that the Thessalonians could look for and recognize as signs of the coming day. “Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who now restrains it is removed. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming.” 2 Thessalonians2:3–4, 7–8NRSV  Before the day of the Lord or second coming, the lawless one or anti-christ is revealed.  He will take his seat in the temple declaring himself to be God. Finally, the Lord Jesus will destroy the lawless one at his coming.

Pre-tribers will say but the rapture happens when that which restrains the lawless one is removed so that the lawless one can be revealed. They say that is the church being raptured out because the church is what is restraining the lawless one. Maybe, but there are some problems with that. First, why was the church worried about missing the day of the Lord (which comes after the lawless one is revealed) and their being gathered to him if they were going to be raptured out before that day? Second, why bother teaching them the signs of the day of the Lord if they weren’t going to be here?

There are some other reasons I opted to reject a belief in a pre-trib rapture. The development of this end time belief is less than 200 years old. It began with J. N. Darby around 1830 and was made popular by the Schofield Bible. As I said, traditionally (for more than 1800 years) the church has looked for the day of the Lord or the second coming.

The pre-trib rapture belief mistakenly assumes the great tribulation is from God on the unbelievers in the world. If you read through the Bible, you will recognize that what is coming for unbelievers and the wicked on the day of the Lord is not tribulations. It is the wrath of God. Tribulations in the Bible are usually from the world. Jesus said, “…In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John16:33NASB1995 Christians have suffered, and are today suffering tribulations at the hands of the world. We have been going through tribulations since the resurrection. I believe we are in the great tribulation now.

Lastly, if Christians believe they are going to be whisked away before the anti-christ is revealed, they may not be looking for the signs of his coming. There are many given and we need to know them and look for them so we are not deceived if there isn’t a pre-tribulation rapture. Jesus gave signs to look for. Paul also told the Thessalonians signs that accompany the coming lawless one. “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” 2 Thessalonians2:9–10NIV

I do not consider myself an end times prophecy expert. I have just shared some of my beliefs. As I said, if I were wrong and the pre-trib rapture were true, I would certainly be happy to be wrong and be joined with those gathering to meet Jesus in the air.

One thing is certain, Jesus is coming again! Whether that be a pre-trib rapture or a second coming, it is important to read the Bible, know the signs of his coming, and be expectantly watching for it.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you for your promised return! Thank you for Scripture that gives me signs to look for. Thank you for your Holy Spirit leading me into all truth! Help me to know what to look for and help me to be looking. Amen.

November 10, 2022 – Don’t Be Deceived

Genesis 41, Mark 13, Romans 13

As a child, I watched a lot of TV. I watched mostly reruns. I loved the original Star Trek series. I watched lots of westerns… Bonanza, The Rifleman, and Big Valley. I even watched some Shock Theatre on Saturday after the cartoons ended. I also used to watch the reruns of a show called  To Tell the Truth (1956–1968). Here is a description of it from IMDb. A “Classic game show in which a person of some notoriety and two impostors try to match wits with a panel of four celebrities. The object of the game is to try to fool the celebrities into voting for the two impostors. Each wrong vote would be worth $250 ($100 in the daytime version).”

In Mark 13 the disciples are admiring the magnificent buildings and massive stones that the Temple is built with. Jesus responds to their admiration by saying the entire place will be leveled. They want to know when that will happen, so Jesus goes into prophecy about the end times and the signs to watch for. I have already talked about those a little. Today I want to focus on the warning not to be deceived.

Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many.” Mark13:5–6NIV  One of the signs to look for as we near the end is false messiahs. Jesus said many, not few, will come in my name deceiving many. History has shown many charismatic individuals have come and claimed to be Jesus and have garnered followers. Most of the time the reality becomes obvious and people stop following them. Sometimes the messiah wanna be and his followers develop into a cult with tragic consequences like for the followers of Jim Jones.

In Jesus’ description of the signs to look for as time gets closer to the actual Day of the Lord, he describes false messiahs and the false prophets that will point to false messiahs. He says, “At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.” Mark13:21–23NIV  The first group that come claiming to be Jesus don’t do so with signs. These described here at the end will perform signs and wonders that will deceive, “if possible, even the elect.” Lest we think these warnings were only for those in the days of the early church, Jesus concludes the chapter with these words, “What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’ ” Mark13:37NIV

There are no real descriptions of who the false messiahs will be, or what they will look like, or what their teaching will be. The latter false messiahs and prophets will do some pretty convincing signs and wonders if they are able to deceive “even the elect.” How can one insure that being deceived is impossible? To Tell the Truth was only a successful show, because the celebrities did not really know the contestants. It would have been dull if they really knew the real person who was being impersonated by the other two. That is the key for us. If you don’t want to be deceived into following a false messiah, even if he performs reality defying signs and wonders, know the real Jesus Christ intimately.

Now is the time to develop that relationship! “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” Isaiah55:6NIV

Prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, Thank you for the signs of the end of time and The Day of the Lord! Thank you for your clear warnings about false messiahs. Help me to know you and love you so deeply that I will never be able to fall for an imposter. Amen