Escaping Hell: God's Negative Promises (Part 1 of 2)

We all love thanking God for His promises, singing of how He is faithful to keep them. But did you know that Scripture contains many negative promises of His? These are sober warnings about hell—and did you know that He is faithful to keep those negative promises too? Scripture clearly says, more people will go to hell than heaven (Matthew 7:14). We seldom hear preaching on the negative side of God’s promises—only the positive. But we need to know all aspects of God, not just one side, to truly know all about Him. And we should want to figure His thinking--He will use His thoughts to judge us. On what basis does He decide to send us to heaven or hell? Each church has its simple  follow-the-pattern to get to heaven--but sometimes they got their pattern by cherry-picking Scripture. If you're serious about getting to heaven, you really want to know the truth.  You should be rational.  But there really aren't too many rational people when it comes to mortality. Keep in mind, we don’t know God just by thinking about how we’d like Him to be, or picking selected Scripture that we like. So, for a look at another part of the truth, here are some negative promises that God will also be faithful to keep:

Romans 11:22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, IF you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.

For God to continue to bless us, including saving us from hell (“cut off” says that), as this verse points out, we need to “continue in His goodness.” What does that mean? It means essentially the same as Jesus says in John 15:8,10:

By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples… If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love

“Abide in My love” is the same as “continue in His goodness.” But to do that, we must bear fruit, and keep His commandments, to truly be His disciples. If we don’t do these, we don’t abide in Him, we’re not saved, and we go to hell. See John 15:6:

If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned

These are “conditions to continue to be saved” that we seldom hear preached. I guess that’s because preachers are saying what people want to hear, not the whole truth. Consider II Timothy 4:3-4a:

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth…

Here's another negative promise:

Matthew 6:15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

If we Christians don’t forgive people, then God won’t forgive us. That means we can’t go to heaven—we lose our salvation, we go to hell. Consider Matthew 18:23-35 for additional proof of the necessity of a forgiving spirit:

Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. 28 “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet] and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all. 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. 35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses

Note how the servant was originally forgiven, but the master retracted that forgiveness and had him “delivered to the torturers.” To apply the parable to us, that means our Master, God, will, if we are unforgiving, withdraw our salvation, and we go to hell. This servant was unforgiving. The servant has no excuse; look at how much he was forgiven himself. But his  original "salvation" was only temporary because it didn’t change his personality; he still turned around and was unforgiving and grudging. God is looking for changed personalities, people who are humble enough to see how their sin looks in His eyes, and appreciate their rescue from the terrors of hell, which we all deserve. If your “being saved” is just a “mental assent” thing, and you aren’t changed—maybe you aren’t saved. It is possible that we deceive ourselves.

Galatians 6:8: For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

Paul is speaking to Christians here. If they ignore Him six days out of seven, if they focus on the world's ways, they may reap “corruption” (or destruction). It doesn't matter if they once went forward at church, if they confessed their sin and got saved.  We're still speaking of hell ("corruption;" the opposite of eternal life above). Why are these people in danger of hell? Not because they refused Christ—it’s because they spend most of their time in self-indulgence. If a Christian does that as a practice, he loses his salvation. A lot of people are into materialism and don’t worry one iota about the dangerous cost of loving the world. As I John 2:15 points out, worldliness removes your love of the Father. That makes you unsaved. Remember the parable of the Sower. One of his unfruitful soils was choked by thorns.  This speaks to people who still love the world. For such a person, the Word is choked, he is unfruitful. See Matthew 13:22:

Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world…choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful

Being unfruitful through your life--such as immersion in worldliness will do--is a ticket to hell—John 15:2:

Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away

Gal. 5:19-21: Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Paul repeatedly warned Christians of going to hell for serious sin. (See also I Cor. 6:9-10; Ephesians 5:3-6, and Rev. 21:8). And why are these people in hell? Because they denied Christ? Yes, in their BEHAVIOR they denied Him. By not following His commandments, they show that they do not love Him—that amounts to denial. You single people who like to live together, Beware! Your current pleasure could yield an eternity of suffering in hell! Is the trade-off of temporary pleasure for hell worth it?

Consider I John 5:3: For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.

What is the true measure that we love God? By keeping His commandments. This requires Bible reading, to see what those commandments are. By doing this daily, we love Him, and we abide in Him—and we can turn away from addiction to sins such as the above.We're not talking about the ten commandments, by the way.  We mean the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus' many instructions and warnings throughout the Gospels--Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Matthew 7:19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire

We need to know fruits. A list of fruits is in Galatians 5:22-23:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control.

If we are not consciously cultivating these qualities, if we are not making Jesus’ behavior ours, how can we call ourselves His disciples? How do we become more like Christ? It is unlikely that His characteristics just ossify on us. No, it takes conscious effort If we don’t develop these fruits as a consistent practice, we are “cut down and thrown into the fire.” Christian, focus on each of these fruits in turn, for your daily devotions—cultivate them.

Matthew 10:33: But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven

People assume that this denial has to be verbal. Not the case, as we pointed out  above. If we are ungodly in our behavior, we are denying our Lord, because people look at our actions, not our words. Then what happens? He denies us…and God changes His mind about our destination; we are consigned to hell, not heaven.

Could God do this? Read some interesting verses in Deuteronomy 31. Let’s start with Moses’ words to the people of Israel in v. 6 (quoted frequently by uplifting preachers):

“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

So you say, “Ah, hah! God won’t ever forsake me!” Well, ah-ha, what word did you add to His Word there? “Ever,” right? Well, you only have to read ahead 10 verses (something I’ve never heard a preacher do) to read God’s limitation on His kindness. It may not be forever.  Read of the prophecy of the children of Israel’s sad future, vv 16-18:

And the LORD said to Moses: “Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. 17 Then My anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’ 18 And I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods.

Read v. 17 again.  Yes, God changed His mind. When the people forsook God, He eventually forsook them. He is faithful to His Word—if you love Him, He blesses you; if you turn from Him, He tries to win you back. If you won’t come back, He sadly has to part from you. As you read about the servant above, He can RETRACT His forgiveness.

Scripture is clear that only a "few" (Matthew 7:14) go to haven. Polling indicates 65% of Americans call themselves "Christian," and thus believe they're going to heaven. That's not "few," is it? Lots of people who say they are Christian never think twice about God, their conversation is never about the eternal, they don't want to know all about God. They have deceived themselves! They should have asked if John 15:1-6 applies to them. God leaves lots of warnings in His word--but people don't really read the Word 6 days out of 7, they read uplifting devotions instead. God help us to fear Him, and seek the truth.

Getting to Heaven: Initial Salvation Easy, Final Salvation Not So Easy

Some facts to consider, in hopefully logical order:

1. Scripture contains seemingly contradictory claims about receiving eternal life. Some of its verses, those we’re usually more familiar with, say eternal life is possessed right now. Such as John 5:24: 

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

I John 5:13 agrees:

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

As these Scriptures suggest, all you need is simple belief, and you have eternal life immediately. What is belief? As one author says, “when a person extends a trusting, submitted faith in Jesus Christ”—in what He did to save us from hell. We will call this Initial Salvation.

2. But there are other less-well-known Scriptures that say, actual receipt of eternal life is delayed until our life’s end—and that what we have now is just the hope of eternal life. Such as Titus 3:6-7:

…whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Or Jude 21:

Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life

3. Either God’s Word has a glaring contradiction here, or else eternal life must be in two stages. Let’s assume the latter. We’ve called the first stage “initial salvation.” Let’s call the second stage, represented by Titus 3 and Jude, “Final Salvation.”

4. Initial salvation is what's most often evangelized: It’s the moment when a person extends a trusting-submitting faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives, delivering us from the destination for our sins, hell.

Final salvation is the one we don’t hear too much: Entering heaven is only for those who die in a righteous state.  That is defined that they have been abiding in Christ, and are reliably obedient to His commands since initial salvation. Their belief in Him produced fruits in their lives. This is the aspect of salvation that’s hard for many people to swallow, because it suggests that to be truly saved from hell, we have to go from merely belief, or mental assent, with no change in behavior necessary—to radical changes in behavior being necessary to go to heaven. The much-ignored final salvation is called “conditional security.” Conditioned on our behavior, on works, after we're initially saved.

5. Since you’ll have a harder time accepting the required works of righteousness, or the conditional security of Final Salvation, I have lots more verses for you to ponder.

• Romans 2:6-7 God will give to each person according to what he has done. 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life

• Galatians 6:8b-9 the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

• Titus 1:2a a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised

• I Timothy 6:19: storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life

"Laying hold" suggests striving, works. This is more evident in the next verse.  The phrase "fight the good fight" suggests the striving, the fruit, the works.

• I Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 

• Romans 13:11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

• Mark 10:30 who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life

These verses thus say continuing to maintain eternal life is future, and a process of behavior. But since life is a mixture of sin and good works, we feel uncertain about whether our sin will keep us out of heaven.  And don’t we hate uncertainty; we'd rather have an easy formula, a one-off kind of deal, like just believing in the initial salvation, and then we're done.  So obviously Calvinism is popular.
But it doesn't come that way, as Scripture above makes clear.

6. With this “new” idea of what final salvation takes, an important question is raised: If eternal life is delayed, is it possible for anyone who has accepted Christ (has “initial salvation”) to LOSE IT between initial and final salvation? Calvinists, whom people follow (whether they know it or not) believe the answer is NO, based on the 5th point of Calvin's famous TULIP, the letter "P": Perseverance of the Saints. As the Westminster Confession (now remember, this is not the Bible) declares (Chapter 17, para.1): “They whom God hath accepted in his Beloved…can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace: but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.” They further insist that such does not depend upon our own free will but “upon the immutability of the decree of election.” Thus, once we accept Christ, they believe we're "locked in" to eternal life.  Unconditional security.  This belief system has been popularly called, “once saved, always saved” (OSAS). Most popular evangelists adhere to this Calvinistic belief.

7. But there is an opposite belief system, called Arminianism. Some of their important beliefs are:

• Christ's atonement was made on behalf of all people (Calvin insisted His atonement was Limited (the letter "L" in TULIP) to those God arbitrarily picked as saved.
• God allows his grace to be resisted (i.e., free will) by those who freely reject Christ--vs. Calvin, the letter "I"--Irresistable grace.  The Holy Spirit, they say, will not let us get on the wrong path.
And now, to the most important point,
• Believers are able to resist sin but are not beyond the possibility of falling from grace through persistent, unrepented-of sin.

It is the last bulleted point that’s the main bone of contention to Calvinists. Arminiasm believes it’s possible to lose eternal life between initial salvation and final salvation. Calvinists believe that when you're initially saved, the story is over.  So which theology is correct—Calvinism or Arminianism?  As Scriptural verses above show, the answer is Arminianism--we need to depend on His grace to help us fight sin and obey His commands and show fruit to be assured of heaven.

8. IF God wants you to believe eternal life is sure and certain for believers, if Initial Salvation is all there is, and heaven is guaranteed (such as believed by Calvinists)--then Scripture would be full of secure statements for the believer and have no listing of conditional behavior. But that means we have to wave away and ignore all the Scriptures in #5 above, right? All of Scriptural conditional statements and delay are lies, right? We would also have to accept glaring contradictions in Scripture that we began discussion with, right? No, wrong. The simple solution is, salvation has two aspects: Initial and Final. And you could lose it in between.  Arminianism requires a holy life to achieve heaven. This is totally backed up by Scripture, as we saw many times above. As Hebrews 12:14 says:

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord

9. Final proof: Some more verses that are seemingly "in contrast" to one another, which HAVE to suggest two stages in eternal life to avoid a contradiction in Scripture:

Luke 7:50:

Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

Versus Matthew 10:22, spoken to already-saved disciples:

And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved

I John 4:4 sounds like we’re already overcomers forever, no stopping us, it’s all done by Jesus:

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 

But then there’s Rev. 2:10b-11, which seems to show that WE have to strive at overcoming to get there in the future:

Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”’

Why does God do this, saying, "you're saved," then saying, "you have to overcome to be saved?" Perhaps, as Romans 6:11 seems to interpret, there is value in psychologically "reckoning" ourselves as overcomers--this helps us become overcomers. God also doesn't want us to fall into complacency.

Same contrast about sonship: Here’s a verse that says we are sons now: Galatians 3:26

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus

But here’s some verses that say “wait, there’s some conditions here, some things you do before you can finally be a son:” Rev. 21:7,8

He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death

10. And here’s just a few more verses which also condition eternal life: Hebrews 3:14

For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end

Hebrews 5:9

And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him

The word “obey” is in continuous sense. You’ve got to keep on obeying.

11. Sobering verses on the importance of sin depriving you of eternal life, and on how important it is to cut off all such behavior to keep it.  Some hyperbole in there
Mark 9:43-44, 47:

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— 44 ‘where Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’ 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out….

Luke 13:23-24

Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?”
And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

12. How can we feel eternally secure, when Scripture says we could:
Wander off, I Timothy 6:10

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows…

Turn back: John 6:66

From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.

Fall away Luke 8:13

But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away

And how could a God who doesn’t want anyone to perish, II Peter 3:9:

The Lord is not slack… not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

The God whose will is perfect in its attainment, how could He allow people’s faith to be shipwrecked? I Tim 1:19

having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck

Now you can’t make shipwreck unless you were first on the ship! The answer is, He gave us the free will to turn aside from the faith and lose what we obtained.

13. Consider how Christians are likened to a salt that can lose its saltiness, Matthew 5:13

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out, 

Christians are compared to virgins (in Matthew 25:1-13) whose lamps run out of oil (note: they possessed it, then ran out of it)—and what do they hear Jesus say? As verse 12 sadly points out, “I do not know you.”  This does not mean, "I never knew you."  The groom would have known his bridesmaids.  He's saying, "I knew you, but your life has changed so much, it's like I don't know you now."

14. Calvinist teachers want us to be relaxed, less anxiety-prone. They tell us, “you’re assured, just love God; let good works arise out of thankfulness.” So why are so many verses comparing the Christian life to being:

• A soldier in a battle (II Timothy 2:3,4): You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier 

• A wrestler, Ephesians 6:12a For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age

• Willing to shed blood, as it were, to defeat sin: Hebrews 12:4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin

• Willing to even leave our families (see my blog on "Defeating the Taliban"), Matthew 19:29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 

• A slave to God: Romans 6:22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life

15. When the rich young ruler popped the big question about obtaining eternal life to Jesus (Luke 18), what did He do? Did Jesus want to make it easy to understand, to win him? Did He tell him it’s just faith in Him, nothing else? NO! As Luke 18:18-23 records, He gave him a rough time defining the word “good,” then He gave him a rough time on how he should be saved, testing him by running through some of the 10 commandments first (!), then gives him an almost impossible restriction to cease his focus on materialism.

Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’”21 And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” 22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. 

Now, does Jesus, seeing that he is a good man, seeing his sorrow, beg him to reconsider, urge him, tell him how much he could lose? Does He water down his tough final restriction? NO! He is done speaking to him. His words in vv. 24,25:

And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

16. These ideas might shock you. But don’t, whatever you do, reject them outright, dismissing them that “I’m taking verses out of context,” etc etc. Considering the volume of verses above, that cannot be the case.  There are things about God here that we should explore, take a fresh unbiased look at ALL of His Word. Attaining and keeping eternal life might not be as we were taught!

Acknowledgement to Brother Dan Corner, preacher, writer, and watchman on the wall.

How Long Do Christians Have to Suffer In Tribulation? (Part 3 of 3)

The order of End Times events we left off Part II was: Deception, wars, famine (these 3 are called “the beginning of sorrows”), then the abomination of desolation (the antrichrist) in the holy place (i.e., in Jerusalem), then the tribulation with death and martyrdom of Jews and Christians. Then the cosmic disturbance, blackening the sky, then the sign (like bright lightning), then His Coming in the clouds, visible to all, with angels blowing the trumpet, believers are rescued, gathered in the sky—and then on the same day, the Day of the Lord’s wrath on the rest begins.

Now other questions arise: “How long do all these End Time events take? How long will the tribulation—the death and martyrdom--be? What event triggers these horrors?” The answers to those three questions are in Daniel 9:24ff (keep in mind, this was written hundreds of years before any of it happened--and some of this prophecy still hasn't happened yet):

“Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. 25 “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.

Very difficult verses, but here are the main points:

a. Since the word "seven" doesn't explain time, we will change the word “sevens” above (an accurate NIV translation) into “seven years,” simply because of the accuracy of the date that it predicts. Follow that assumption below and you'll see what I mean:

b.With that "seven"="7 year" assumption, the span of time from the command to “restore and build Jerusalem,” until “the Anointed One” (the Messiah, Jesus), was prophesied to be 7x7 years+62x7 years, or 49+434=483 years. But these are Hebrew years, of 360 days each. To translate it to Roman years, our years, with leap year every four years, a real year is really 365.24 days. 483 times 360/365.24 is 476. So 483 Hebrew years is 476 Roman, or our years, being predicted for the span of time between those events.

c. As it turned out, the 476 years prophesied was dead-on, which is why we substituted "years" for "sevens." The actual command to restore Jerusalem happened under the Persian emperor Artaxerxes, in 444 BC. Jesus, the Anointed One, died (as proven on another blog I have) in 33 AD. Keep in mind, you only count a year from 1 BC until 1 AD (there was no “year zero,” so you lose a year in the count. So the span of time goes like this: Adding 444 BC to 33 AD, minus 1, you get—476! As prophesied! Well, why should we be surprised—that’s the way God does it.

d. As you may have noticed, only 69 (7+62) of the 70 required “sevens,” or 7-year periods (see Dan. 9:24), of Jewish suffering have happened already. Only 483 of the required 490 Hebrew years. So the 70th seven-year period has not happened yet. So we can possibly assume the last 7 years prophesied is still in the future. (The phrase “Anointed One will be put to death”—verse 26--MAYBE suggested a stop to the counting of years at 33 AD, with the final seven reserved for the future). I’m also suggesting (with proof for this idea, below) that the six events, or “seals,” we’ve talked about in Revelation 6 and confirmed in Matthew 24 (deception, wars, famine, death, martyrdom, rescue) will take 7 years to happen—so you can see why we make it the 70th “seven.” I’m finally suggesting (with more proof below) that the last 3 seals last for half the seven years, or 3-1/2 years. That means, of course, that the tribulation (two of those last 3 seals—death and martyrdom) are in those 3-1/2 years as well, before Christ comes again in the 6th seal.

What is my proof for these claims? Let’s start with the “ruler who will come," under whose orders "his people---will destroy….the sanctuary” (v. 26). That can’t be speaking of Jesus. It’s talking of the deceiver, the antichrist, who is trying to take His place as God. Before this, he will “confirm a covenant” (v.27), presumably with the Jews, to protect them as he pretends to be their friend (that's his deception). This will happen at the beginning of the seventieth 7 years, since he did it “for one seven” (v.27), a 7-year covenant. But then “in the “middle of the seven” (v.27), or after 3-1/2 years, he breaks the covenant, doing sacrilege (an “abomination,” as Daniel 9 calls it), thus revealing his true nature as an enemy of Jews. Jesus, in mentioning end times in Daniel, warned Jews to run for their lives when they see this (Matthew 24:15-16). Now you can easily assume that the antichrist will spend the last 3-1/2 years, from the middle to the end of the 7 years, killing Jews and Christians. See Rev. 13:7 for proof of Christians being involved:

It was granted to him (the antichrist) to make war with the SAINTS and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

There is NO Scripture that limits the word "saints" to Jews. Saints always refer to all God's children.

The importance of the second 3-1/2 year time period is how it is prophesied in several Biblical passages. It’s variously called “time and times and half a time,” or 3-1/2 times, “42 months” and “1260 days,” all meaning 3-1/2 years (these references are in Rev. 11:2,3; 12:6, and 13:5, and Daniel 7:25). That’s the length of the Death and Martyrdom —and the length of the tribulation, as the rescue/rapture doesn't come until the last day. This perfectly proves our prior idea that the antichrist splits the last 7 years in half (see Dan. 9:27b).  As you can surmise, the first 3-1/2 years of the 7 year period was the deception period, the wars, and the famine. Then is the antichrist's unveiling in the middle. Since the antichrist boasts that he is God (Rev. 13:6), he gets his commands from Satan, and we can fairly presume he was the biggest reason for those first three seals, or disasters, too. As we pointed out before, Revelation 12:2 shows how Satan will be enjoying himself causing such grief and death. So for the first 3-1/2 years he makes a peace pact with the Jews, pretending to be their friend. But then he makes war, consolidating power. War's destruction helps bring on famine. Then in the middle of the 7 years, he does sacrilege, the abomination, and reveals himself as their (and saints') enemy, then in the last 3-1/2 years--the tribulation--he goes all-out to kill all Jews and Christians. Don't forget, this order of events is proven in Matthew 24 AND Revelation 6 (see Part II). After all that, at the end, the rapture saves genuine Christians and the wrath is reserved for those who have ignored God and ignored His laws.

Jesus, in Matthew 24:15-21, clearly says the antichrist’s revealing himself (which is in the middle of the 7 years) begins the tribulation.

“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains… 21 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.

Thus, to repeat this for emphasis, the real tribulation is not 7 years, but only the latter 3-1/2 years. This period is also called “travail” in Rev. 12:2. Also, this is not God’s wrath, and also remember, Christians go through the tribulation, see Parts I and II in my blogs of the two weeks for more proof of that.

Some interesting additional facts: In the tribulation will come the most audacious move of the antichrist’s reign. He will evidently have the world’s worship and control of the world’s money system—because he will implant, on the hands/foreheads of everyone who submits to him, a “mark,” so buying or selling food, etc. is impossible unless you submit to his lordship and receive the mark (Rev. 13:16-17). Let us never submit to that, because as an angel will warn everyone (Rev. 14:9-11), anyone who thus submits to the antichrist WILL WRITE HIS OR HER TICKET TO HELL:

Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” 

You may ask, cynically, "If I want to follow God and reject the mark, will God "reward" me by allowing me to starve?" or "Will God send me to hell for eternity just because I wanted food, and took the mark?" I'm betting God will show those faithful ones a separate way to get food. Maybe even by miracles. Exercising this kind of resolve and faith will be challenging for Christians, but saving your soul will be definitely worth it. Yes, in saving your soul, your body may be martyred. There will be many who will be weak and fall away. (II Thess. 2:1-4). Do not join them! You must endure to the end to be saved! (Matthew 10:22).

Another interesting additional fact: Two "witnesses" (maybe Elijah and Moses) will appear for the last 3-1/2 years, prophesying God's truth and performing miracles (Rev. 11:3,5-12), such as fire from their mouths destroying their enemies, stopping rain from falling, and rising from the dead.

***So here is our final course of events: Antichrist makes a covenant to protect Israel, deceiving he world--and the Jews. This begins Daniel’s 70th 7-year period. First 3-1/2 years are the “beginning of sorrows:” Deceit by the antichrist, Wars, and Famine. Then the antichrist desecrates the holy place in Jerusalem, reveals himself as an enemy of Jews and saints, and we begin the last 3-1/2 years, the tribulation, the “travail”: Death and Martyrdom of Jews and Christians. The antichrist institutes a mark--you must worship him to buy or sell. Two witnesses speak up for God and perform miracles. Then at the end of the 7 years, we have the cosmic disturbance, and the Coming, which is: the sign (bright lightning), then His appearance in the skies with angels blowing the trumpet, believers rescued, they are gathered to be with Him. On the same day, then the Day of the Lord’s wrath begins on the unsaved.

Let’s say this one more time: As you can see, from our three-week analysis: (1) the tribulation is not the same as God’s wrath; and (2) Christians are not raptured until the end—we have to endure the tribulation. (3) Saved people (rescued) and unsaved people (wrath) are dealt with on the same Day of the Lord—there is no one “left behind.” Other theories some theologians give are popular simply because they say just what you want to hear, as II Timothy 4:3-4 says:

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

The most popular alternate theory is the pretribulationist, or “pretrib” theory—that Christians are raptured before the tribulation. Escaping such devastation sounds so nice. But don’t fall for this; as this 3-part study proves, the order of events is otherwise. Read the Scriptures yourself. (Consider this too: The pre-trib theory feeds an “AWOL” mentality; see my comments in part I). Even their best pre-trib mind, John F. Walvoord, from Dallas Theological Seminary, admits their theory is shaky and has no real Scriptural proof. In his book, The Rapture Question, page 16 and 148, he says: “Neither posttribulationism nor pretribulationism is an explicit teaching of the Scriptures…it is therefore not too much to say that the rapture question is determined more by ecclesiology than eschatology.” (Wait a minute…this is supposed to be a study of eschatology--a study in the future! Mr. Walvoord, you’re admitting you can’t find Scriptural support along those lines?) Richard Mayhue, also a proponent of the pretrib view, told the Grace Theological Seminary “perhaps the position of pretribulationism is correct although its proof at times has been logically invalid or at least unconvincing.”

And all the pre-tribbers say, “Thanks for the support.”

Let’s believe the Bible, not theological suppositions which have as their highlight, that you can escape suffering. After all, Jesus and Paul said we would suffer for Him (Romans 8:17, among many others).

The Antichrist is Islamic (Revised)

This blog is for all you eschatology thinkers out there.  I have an important announcement:  You may think seriously about adjusting your “charts,” particularly if you are a follower of Lindsey, LaHaye, or Hagee, because this study considers why I believe that the Antichrist is a Muslim (source material is from the book The Islamic Antichrist by Joel Richardson).  His best proof for that claim is by proving that the same man is in the Bible and in the Quran.  The irony is, this man is the Antichrist in the Bible, but he is considered the savior for those who follow the Quran! This one chapter in the book that I will summarize might convince you too. 

Now, first, keep in mind that there is more than one sacred text to their Scripture:  In addition to the foundational Quran (Muhammed’s writings of God's actual words through the "angel"), you have the Sunna (Muhammed’s life and thoughts) and the hadiths (Muhammed’s sayings); these are sacred as well.  A true Muslim believer will follow any of these to the death, if need be. 

Why is this study worthwhile?  The Quran records five things that a Muslim must believe in to be a true Muslim; these five areas are fixed and non-negotiable.  As it says in sura 2:177:  “righteous is he who believeth in (1) Allah and (2) the Last Day and (3) the angels and (4) the Scripture and (5) the prophets.”  Note the importance of the Last Day to them.  Eschatology may be optional for study to us Christians, but their scary Last Days may lead the ultra-believer to some irrational and murderous action—on us.  We need to know their predictions of their future, in thinking about a defensive strategy against the determined Muslim who wants to help bring about their version of the Last Day.  There is no doubt in their minds how those days will go, and their scenario does not look good for us. The Bible, thank God, spells a different ending.

Of their many key figures in the Last Days, the man above all men was al-Mahdi,  which means “the Guided One.”  Other names given to him by Shia Muslims are Sahib Al-Zaman and Al-Madhi al-Muntadhar. These names mean “the Lord of the Age” and “the Awaited Savior.”  Let me quote hadiths, much of the details Muslims have in their theology about him.  Then we’ll compare to what the Scripture says about the same man.

What Their Scripture Says:

The Mahdi will be a world ruler

To quote Al-Sadr and Mutahhari (people who interpret Mohammed), “He will reappear on the appointed day, and lead a world revolution, and set up a new world order…   Quoting Izzat and ‘Arif again, this will bring ”victory of the Truth and the fall of all tyrants.” According to Islamic tradition, the Mahdi is said to preside over the entire earth as the final caliph of Islam.

What Our Scripture Says:  

The Antichrist will be a world ruler through military power (Daniel 7:23)

‘The fourth beast shall be A fourth kingdom on earth, Which shall be different from all other kingdoms, And shall devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces

The first three kingdoms (“beast” or “beasts” can mean kingdoms or people). were Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece, most experts agree.  Each of those dominated the known world.  Based on 7:24-25, a revived fourth kingdom will be worldwide, but is yet future. Some say the fourth kingdom was the Roman empire in two parts.  Part 1 has already occurred. Part II is future, they say.  We’re suggesting that this latter kingdom is Islamic.

Revelation 13:7:…authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

To continue the comparison with their Scripture and our Scripture:

The Mahdi will be worshiped, a popular political genius

“Allah will sow love of him in the hearts of all people…everyone only talks about Him.”  He will have control over the wind and the rain and the crops; the world will live in prosperity, says Sahih Hakim Mustadrak. 

The Antichrist will be worshiped, a popular political genius (Revelation 13:3,4,8): 

³And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.…they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”… ⁸ All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Daniel 7:19-20:  “Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful…²⁰ and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth,… whose appearance was greater than his fellows. 

“Horns” means kings.  The three and ten horns are what makes this kingdom future.  

The Mahdi will be spiritually good and a Messiah;

Sahih Hakim Mustadrak claims:  “He will give away wealth profusely, flocks will be in abundance.”  He will be perceived to be a miraculous archaeologist, uncovering Jewish and Christian sacred treasures, perhaps to convert them to Islam at the beginning: he finds the Torah (first five books of the Old Testament) from a mountain in Syria, and the Gospel from a town called Antioch (a major town in south-central Turkey during Paul's days).  And if that weren’t enough, the Ark of the Covenant (a wooden chest clad with gold, containing the Ten Commandments) will be brought forth from the Lake of Tiberias and will be placed in Jerusalem.  As quoted by Ayatullah Baqir al-Sadr:  “For the ultimate salvation of mankind he is the Pole Star of hope on which the gaze of humanity is fixed…He stands high above the narrow walls in which humanity is cut up and divided.”  To quote Al-Sadr and Mutahhari, “He will…set up a new world order based on justice, righteousness, and virtue.” From Sachedina again:  “He will create a just social order and a world free from oppression.” 

Our Scripture believes the opposite about him:

The Antichrist will be spiritually the embodiment of evil, with hate and murder at his core beliefs:

II Thessalonians 2:4 shows his hunger to be worshiped, his blasphemy: 

…who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God

Revelation 13:4a shows the Antichrist (the beast) gets his authority from Satan (the dragon):

So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast

     In further proof of his Antichrist nature, let’s quote Muslim sacred texts which indicate his hatred and murderous spirit.  As Sunan Abu Dawud says, “Every believer will be obligated to support him.”  As Ibn Maja says, “Give him your allegiance, even if you have to crawl over ice.” The Mahdi’s means of accomplishing world revolution will include multiple military jihads (holy wars), as Abduallrahman Kelani says.  Even Harun Yahya, supposedly a moderate, says, “the Mahdi will invade all the places between East and West.” Sheikh Kabbani says, “black flags coming from the area of Khorasan (in Iran) will signify the appearance of the Mahdi is nigh.”  The black flag is the flag of jihad.  On the flag is one word written in Arabic:  punishment.  Here are some really ugly quotes which highlights their anti-Semitism:  Egyptian authors Muhammad ibn Izzat and ‘Arif:  “The Mahdi will be victorious and eradicate those pigs and dogs and idols of this time…will abolish the leadership of the Jews…and put an end to the domination of the Satans who spit evil into people and cause corruption in the earth, making them slaves of false idols and ruling the world by laws other than the Sharia of the Lord of the worlds.”    

To quote a famous Islamic tradition:  “the last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews, and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide behind a stone or a tree and a stone or tree would say:  “Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him.” 

The Mahdi will have his seat of authority in Jerusalem

As Tirmidhi says, “No power will be able to stop them and they will finally reach Eela Baitul Maqdas, where they will erect their flags (i.e., the jihad black flags).”  This place is  the Jewish Temple Mount, in Jerusalem, which no longer exists—but will then.  (Will the Jews erect another Temple?)

To quote Izzat and ‘Arif again: Jerusalem will be the location of the rightly guided caliphate and the center of Islamic rule, which will be headed by Imam al-Mahdi. 

The Antichrist will set his throne in God’s Temple (Jerusalem) and desecrate it

Zechariah 14:2: 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.

Matthew 24:15, 21:  “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (i.e., in Jerusalem)…²¹ For then there will be great tribulation.

To return to direct comparisons:

The Mahdi will present Jews and Christians with a “Hobson’s Choice”

To quote the Ayatollah Ibrahim Amini:  The Mahdi will offer the religion of Islam to the Jews and Christians; if they accept it, they will be spared, otherwise they will be killed.

The Antichrist will present Jews and Christians with a “Hobson’s Choice”

This is in Rev. 12:17, keeping in mind that the Antichrist is the embodiment of Satan (the dragon).  Note the reference to “her offspring, who….keep the..testimony of Jesus Christ.”  This refers to Christians.  Thus, we Christians will not escape the Antichrist’s intense persecution:

And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ

The Mahdi will ride a white horse

The Muslims’ authority for that, surprisingly, is the Bible, of all things (which they consider it a “less than sacred” book).  They quote Revelation 6:1-2:

Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” ² And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

The Antichrist will ride a white horse

The same Bible verse is used.  But a deeper inspection proves that this is not a messiah, but a deceiver.  For proof, first, we look at the word “crown.”  The Greek word is “stephanos,” used for the winner of war games.  Jesus’ crown is different, a “diadem,” a kingly crown.  Plus, note the events of subsequent seals in Revelation 6:3-17:  war, famines, death and Hades, martyrdom, and cosmic disturbances.  There is no way this follows a triumphal entry of a Messiah.  No, it follows a deceiver, one who pretends to be a Messiah.  And the world chaotically reels under his hatred and destruction.  

The Mahdi will make a Seven year treaty with Jews

This is the most convincing testimony that the Antichrist and the Mahdi are the same.  Note the hadith first:  this is called the “fourth treaty,” to be made with a descendant of Moses’ brother Aaron the priest.  Now to quote Muhammad Ali Ibn Zubair:  There will be four peace agreements between you and the Romans (i.e., Christians, Westerners).  The fourth will be mediated through a person who will be from the progeny of Hadrat Aaron and will be upheld for seven years.  The people asked, “Who will be the leader of the people at that time?”  The prophet said: He will be from my progeny and will be exactly 40 years of age.

The Antichrist will make a seven year treaty with Jews

This is from Daniel 9:27.  Note the use of “abominations” and “desolate,” which we tie in to Jesus’ reference to the Antichrist (from Matthew 24, above).  Using “seven” to mean “seven years” works best (see my blogs on End Times).

²⁷ Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one seven; But in the middle of the seven he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.  And  on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate.

Thus, in these seven important areas, what happens when the Antichrist comes to power will mean the Muslims who read their sacred texts will be completely deceived into thinking this horrible man, this embodiment of Satan, is Their Messiah!  This will bring about, I believe, an intensity to follow their sacred texts—which are texts of murder and hatred.  (I have a blog on their version of Allah vs. our Biblical God). And with over a billion Muslims in the world, they would rise up in religious fervor and perform whatever their sacred texts tell them to.   This would lead to unbelievable deaths and chaos. 

Christians, think nothing of your bodies, which are temporary abodes.  If all this happens in this age, be ready to be a martyr if given the choice of Jesus or al-Mahdi.  Your reward will be a place in heaven for eternity. 

Acknowledgement:  The Islamic Antichrist, Joel Richardson

End Times Part 2 God's Wrath and Tribulation are NOT the Same

In Part I last week, we showed the End Times chronology had this order of events: 

Deception, wars, famine—called “the beginning of sorrows”—then the “abomination of desolation” (antrichrist) in holy place, then the tribulation, consisting of systematic death and martyrdom of Jews and Christians, then cosmic disturbance.  Then on the same day, Jesus appears, a rescue (rapture) and then Day of the Lord’s wrath. We spent time proving, Scripturally, that Christians go through the tribulation. Today, that point gets further proof. 

1. Let’s take a closer look at Jesus’ Olivet discourse in Matthew 24:27ff: 

"For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be… 29 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... 30 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. 31 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.

What Jesus is saying is, immediately after the tribulation (v.29), here’s what happens: first the cosmic disturbance (v.29) prophesied in Joel 2 (See Part I). It has completely blackened the sky—everywhere--so that then a sign, like a huge bolt of lightning stretching from the earth’s east to the west would be visible in all the world. This rivets everyone’s attention upward—and then will appear our Lord, in glory, visible to all--it is His return. The first event of that return is the rapture (though it’s not mentioned until v. 31, see Part I for proof of this order); Jesus has come to rescue righteous men. But His coming, secondly, is to judge disobedient men (as intimated in v.30 with the word “mourn”). Thus, five events happen on the Day of the Lord, in order, from these verses and in Part I: Cosmic disturbance blackens the sky, lightning or a highly visible sign, the Lord’s appearing, the rapture, and the mourning of rebellious men who know judgment is coming.

2.Note the details of the rapture, vv.30b-31: (a) Jesus appears on the clouds of heaven in visible glory, and can be seen by all in a blackened sky lit up by huge sign--thus there is no secret rapture; (b) angels will sound a trumpet; (c) His elect (genuine Christians) will be gathered “from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other;” i.e., in the air. 

3.For anyone who would argue that Matthew 24 isn’t the rapture, look at I Thess. 4:16-17, which all acknowledge are rapture verses: 

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 

Note the important events: (a) Jesus appears from heaven, with some noise--a shout and the voice of an archangel--so there is no secret rapture; (b) angels blow the trumpet; (c) believers are gathered in the sky, to meet the Lord in the air. The very same critical three elements as Matthew 24:30b-31. Is this not the SAME EVENT? Of course. 

4.***Now the order of End Times is: Deception, wars, famine, abomination of desolation (antrichrist) in the holy place, then tribulation--systematic death and martyrdom of Jews and Christians, and then—on one day--cosmic disturbance blackens the sky, then the sign (like bright lightning, seen by all), then His Coming in the clouds with angels blowing the trumpet, believers rescued, gathered in the sky—and on the same day, as people mourn, the Day of the Lord’s wrath begins.

5. Now let’s spend some time on a second proof of this order of events. In Revelation 6:1-11, the order of the seals 1-5 correspond exactly to the same five events in Matthew 24 (read Part I for more). Here are the Revelation verses:

Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. 3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” 4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword. 5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” 7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth. 9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

6. In verse 1 we have seal 1, with the white horse. The rider has a crown, and goes forth conquering. If you think this is Christ, you are deceived—this Greek word for “crown” (v. 2) is “stephanos.” The Greek word for the one Christ wears is “diadema,” for kingly or imperial dignity. Stephanos, on the other hand, is given for triumph in the games or for military prowess—it is a garland of oak, ivy, parsley, myrtle or olive. The wearer is an aggressive conqueror, not a king. The crown-wearer of verse 1 wants us to think he is Christ, but he isn’t. Thus seal 1 is deception.

7. Seal 2, the red horse, is clearly wars. Seal 3, the black horse, where they are carefully handling and measuring expensive food, suggests famine. Seal 4, the pale horse, is death. The seal 5 refers to martyrs. Now turn back to Part I’s analysis of Matthew 24:5-9—the order is the same! Revelation 6 and Matthew 24 refer to the same events!

8. Now observe how these two sections of verses, the same thus far, finally become different, in how they detail seal 6: Matthew 24:30-31 (see #1 above) gives us the rapture, and only hints at the wrath of God (it just gives you the word “mourn.”) Since we’ve looked at Revelation 6:1-11 in seals 1-5, let’s see how Revelation 6:12-17 handles the sixth seal. This seal begins with our familiar cosmic disturbance--a further proof that these are the same events as Matthew, since it also has that. But Revelation 6 details the judgment, the second part of the Day of the Lord, skipping the rapture. Whereas Matthew 24 detailed the rapture, and only hinted at the judgment (“mourn”). Here’s Rev. 6:12-17's key phrases:

I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth…. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men…every slave… hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 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! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” 

Please note v.17! God’s wrath, even at the 6th and last seal, is only set to BEGIN—yet this is AFTER the tribulation, seals 4-5, as our Matthew 24 study in Part I also outlined. Thus, Matthew 24, after tribulation, details the rapture, and hints at the wrath. Rev. 6, after tribulation, details the wrath, not the rapture. The solution to this “controversy” is simply to put both events—rapture and wrath—after the tribulation, at the same time. Both these sections of verses talk about these events—they just each emphasize a different one.

9. Clearly, after reading the previous note and Revelation 6 and Matthew 24, the tribulation is NOT the wrath of God; actually, the tribulation is the wrath of Satan, per Rev. 12:12, as we proved in Part I. 

10.In the tribulation, Satan is having a field day through his antichrist, killing Jews and Christians. But the wrath of God is different: In His wrath (particularly seen in Revelation 8 and 9), only the person of God is mentioned. He does not allow Satan to strut his stuff like the antichrist does who dominates the scene in the tribulation. Proof of this differing emphasis is found in Isaiah 2:11-Let's see what it says about the wrath: 

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. 12 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. 

The image we get for the wrath of God in the Day of the Lord is this: unanswered destruction which centers only on God, glorifying His holy nature and cleansing the earth. That’s not the tribulation, where Satan is having a gay old time sticking it to the saints. The wrath and the tribulation are just not the same event. As we have abundantly shown, the wrath of God is after the tribulation, after the rapture. As we have shown you here and in Part I, you have the tribulation, then on the day of the Lord, you have the rapture, then the wrath of God. NEXT WEEK: HOW LONG IS THE TRIBULATION? God's Word is abundantly clear on that, too.

What Happens in the End Times? When Is It? (Part I of 3)

When Jesus ascended back into heaven in Acts 1:11, angels said to His disciples:

This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner.

So we are promised a Blessed Hope of a visible return of our Lord. Scripture elsewhere clearly records it will be in the Last Days, a tumultuous period of martyrdom, beheadings, and rapture. But a huge question is still debated: Do Christians get raptured and escape all the terror, as I hear some people say? I have a theory, based on Scripture, of course, that I will lay out for you, and it will hopefully be as clear as anything you’ll read. The End Times scenario is not as confusing as some make it out. The answers are surprising.

Fact #1: From Joel 2:30-31 and 3:15 we learn that a particular cosmic disturbance will precede the day of the Lord.

And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth… 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD…15 The sun and moon will grow dark, And the stars will diminish their brightness…

What’s noteworthy about this cosmic disturbance is that (1) it gives us a blood moon and (2) it blackens the sky—which has a specific purpose (more on that on a later article). And, these cosmic events are before the Day of the Lord.

***The order thus far: Cosmic disturbance, then Day of the Lord.

Fact #2: Well, what is the Day of the Lord? Is it the same as the tribulation? From Isaiah 13:6-9 we understand that the “day of the Lord” is primarily God’s wrath on earth, on sinners, i.e. on people whose sins have not been covered:

Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand! It will come as from the Almighty.7 …Every man’s heart will melt…8 And they will be afraid… They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth… 9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger… And He will destroy its sinners from it.

The tribulation, on the other hand, is Satan’s wrath on Christians (people whose sins have been covered). Revelation 12:12, 17:

Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time…17 and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring (ed, children of God), who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The tribulation pinpoints God's children as the target of Satan.  But in the Day of the Lord, God is judging men whose sin has not been covered.  Thus, the Day of the Lord is not the same as the tribulation, and the targets are exact opposites. This will be further proved soon by the chronology. They also have different descriptions. By the way, The Day of the Lord is not God’s Final Judgment Seat, when He decides eternity on our souls.

Fact #3: On the Day of the Lord, there is a surprise event just before God’s wrath breaks loose: namely, the return of Christ. In that return, He will rescue righteous men whose sins have been covered (the rapture, as it is called, when He gathers His children to be His own).   Scripture promises this will occur immediately before His wrath on unsaved people—in fact, the rescue and then the wrath happen ON THE SAME DAY. Proof for that is in Luke 17:26-30. There, Jesus cites Noah and Lot as the pattern for His return. The pattern is: (1) the rescue precedes the wrath, and (2) both happen on the same day:

And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until THE DAY that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all (ed. except Noah's family, who, earlier, He placed inside the Ark. So there’s the pattern: in the same day, there was rescue of the righteous, then a cruel Day on the disobedient.) 28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate… they built; 29 but ON THE DAY that Lot went out of Sodom (i.e, was warned and rescued), it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be IN THE DAY when the Son of Man is revealed.

Note that two things happened ON THE same DAY--rescue, then judgment. The word “revealed”  in v. 30 mean His return will be visible; note also that His return is a single event, not two returns. So from Facts 1-3 we have the following order of events:

***The cosmic disturbance. Then, on the same day, Jesus makes His single visible return for rapture of the righteous, and then the Day of the Lord--wrath on unsaved men and women. 

Note that the cosmic disturbance occurs BEFORE rapture and God’s wrath.

Fact #4: From Mark 13:24-25 we learn that our cosmic disturbance occurs AFTER the tribulation:

“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25 the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

Now we see the following necessary order of End Times so far:

***The tribulation, then cosmic disturbance, then, on the same day: Jesus’ visible return for rescue (the rapture), then the Lord’s wrath begins. Note how the rescue/rapture is after the tribulation. Thus, genuine Christians do not escape the tribulation. Note also that the Lord’s wrath and the tribulation are NOT the same thing because the tribulation is BEFORE the cosmic event, but God’s wrath is AFTER the cosmic event.

Scripture gives lots more information on the tribulation. Let’s look at events happening around it.

Fact #5: Jesus, in Matthew 24:5-31, in what is called the Olivet Discourse, describes three important trends BEFORE the tribulation, then gives two more trends DURING the tribulation. Here’s the relevant passages we will draw from in today’s installment (more study on His Discourse in our next article, Part 2):

"For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake... 15 Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place”… 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. …21 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. …

Summarizing events from the verses above: In order, they are:
a. In verse 5, the key word is Deceive. (Keep in mind: the tribulation has not begun yet.)
b.Then we have Wars in verse 6.
c.In verse 7b, there is Famine (along with pestilences and earthquakes). These first three are called the “beginning of sorrows” in v.8.
d.THEN the TRIBULATION BEGINS, as verse 9 clearly points out, with two trends: Death(they will...kill you) and Martyrdom (you will be hated…for my name’s sake).
Thus, there are five important disastrous events, in the order given. Three before the tribulation begins, two after.

In verses 15, 16, and 21 of Matthew 24, Jesus breaks away from straight chronology, with some details, that flesh out our events: For one thing, He gave an important “tip-off” as to when the tribulation begins: The tribulation begins when they see the “abomination of desolation” (that’s the name given in Daniel to the last-days antichrist) standing in the holy place, in Jerusalem. They are urged to then flee into hiding as fast as they can, because the antichrist will begin the tribulation by starting to kill two groups of people: the Jews first, but he particularly goes after Christians. Note Revelation 13:7 on that:

It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Note: The “saints” referred here are all genuine Christians living at that time. Nobody got raptured away from this, as we proved at the end of Fact #4 above, from Scripture. Christians living then will have to endure the tribulation. Rescue doesn’t come til’ after the tribulation, just before God’s wrath.

***Now the order of End Times is:  Deception, wars, famine (the 3 called the beginning of sorrows), then the “abomination of desolation” (antichrist) in holy place, then tribulation begins with the widespread death and martyrdom of Jews and Christians. Later there is the cosmic disturbance, and then on the same day, Jesus appears, rescues/raptures His people, and then the Lord’s wrath. 

My next two articles expand further on this chronology.

I would like to take our final minutes on Part I to address two arguments brought up by the pre-tribulationists (those who believe saints are raptured before any of the five terrible events in Matthew 24). Their idea is, rapture is before any of the above disasters.

First is their insistence of “imminency,” that there are no signs preceding the rapture. Under their scenario, with no signs, the rapture can occur at any time: maybe today, maybe in 50 years, or 500 years from now. Under the scenario I’ve laid out, however, clearly there are signs preceding the rapture.
So, are there signs? Matthew 24:31-33 below, a description of Jesus' rescue, says yes: it says rapture events are preceded with signs. It begins with a description of rapture:

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. 32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it (ed., the rapture,his subject matter) is near—at the doors!

As you can see, when you see all these things, these signs, you know that summer (harvest, the rapture) is near. Thus, Scripture blows the “no-signs-imminency” idea away.

“Pre-tribbers’” second argument is based on I Thessalonians 5:9:

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ

They think this says that Christians will avoid the tribulation--but they think the tribulation is God’s wrath, and God will not allow such massive suffering on their bodies:

To argue their point, firstly, does the word “salvation” in Scripture usually mean saving our bodies? Not really—it usually means saving our souls. Pre-tribbers assume (1) the five disastrous events above are all tribulation, and (2) the tribulation is God’s wrath, and (3) To them, avoiding God’s wrath means that God wants to save our bodies from suffering. But these are three wrong ideas, as we have proven. They then conclude Christians won’t go through any of the above sufferings. But the tribulation is not God’s wrath, they’re two separate events, as we have shown and pointed out above. Wrong assumptions, wrong conclusions.

But we still have to ask ourselves, will God allow massive suffering and death to His children? The simple answer is, yes. Consider all the martyrdom that has gone on. Another perspective on that question, ask yourselves, what’s more important, the body or the soul? The soul, of course (Matthew 5:30 and 16:26). Christians WILL endure intense persecution of their bodies during the tribulation. Our bodies may be sacrificed for Him, but thank God, our souls won’t be touched by His wrath, whereas most souls go to hell. THAT’s what I Thessalonians 5:9 means when it says we’re not appointed to God’s wrath. We need to take the long view, thinking about our eternal souls, not our temporary bodies. Also, if we are martyrs, we go immediately to be with the Lord—which is a blessing!

I’d like to plead a word of exhortation to today’s pre-tribbers: What if all this happens while we’re alive, say in the near future? With the wrong mindset, pre-tribbers are terribly unprepared for the End Times. They will feel deceived when they’re surprised by one more disaster after another and they are still around and haven’t been rescued yet. We’re talking about a lot of people who believe this theory--most evangelicals have been swayed by popular teachers like Hal Lindsay, movies and books like the “Left Behind” series, people like John Hagee, and most teachers from Dallas Theological Seminary. But the earliest church fathers (closest to Christ and the apostles) felt Christians someday would go through tribulation. It’s clearly taught in Scripture—not only in my above chronology, but look also at II Thessalonians 2:1-4:

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him (Paul is getting ready to answer their question about the timing of the rapture) we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come (the phrase is translated the “day of the Lord” in NIV, it’s the same thing.  Also note how he’s implying that the rapture is at the same time as the day of the Lord--which I'm asserting above.) 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day (remember, Paul is answering their question about the rapture) will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

Scripture clearly points out that the rapture, the beginning of the Day, cannot come until after the antichrist is revealed! But that means they’ll still be around, and have to run for their lives, as death and martyrdom are coming. And they have to suffer the Deception, the Wars, and the Famine, as well.

Sure, it would be great to whirl off and avoid suffering. It’s easy to see how such a theory, even if it had no real Scriptural basis, would become VERY popular. But popularity is not truth.

Pre-tribbers, think about this, too: Wouldn’t this pre-trib flight of yours abandon unsaved relatives and friends to go through the world’s worst hell-on-earth without you? So, are you saying that you want to leave your unsaved friends and relatives without the Holy Spirit in us to help them? You want to leave them without explaining the meaning of all that's happening, you don’t want to try to get them saved before they die in countless numbers in God’s wrath? If you ask me, if a real Christian is a soldier for the Lord, that’s “absent without leave,” or AWOL thinking! The pre-trib theory recommends an irresponsible “AWOL” mentality. Thinking that way seems hard-hearted, to say the least.  Now I ask you to probe yourself: What behaviors do you have (not counting the number of appearances in church) that prove you’re a Christian? When we consider that only a minority of people on earth make it to heaven (Matt 7:13-14), it is really possible that you’re deceiving yourselves, assuming you’re Christian. Do you have the fruits (Galatians 5:22ff) and obedience (John 15:6) necessary? Pray, confess sin, get baptized, make Jesus your Lord and follow His commandments; repent, seek a new life daily abiding in Him. Be ready to suffer or die for Him if necessary, rather than this desire to run away. He did the ultimate sacrifice for us. We may have to do it for Him.