Host of Heaven

 Do you believe in heaven?  Most people believe in heaven, but they don’t believe in hell, at least in how bad the Bible describes it.  Which is not consistent thinking. The Bible, God’s Word, attests to the reality of heaven, over 600 times. By the same token, there’s also a fair showing for the word “hell,” over 50 times. The Scripture also gives us some details about heaven’s location and who is there--and of course, what traits characterizes persons who go there (and who doesn’t).

Grace Bible Church and Ministries do an excellent job of laying out Scriptural details about heaven, which I’d like to summarize.  It doesn’t answer questions the Bible doesn’t answer, such as “will my dog go to heaven?”  We leave that for those who know how to write and use their imagination, hoping they can sell more books.  The Bible actually doesn’t say much on things that we really want to know.  If it did, I suspect more people would go to fortune-tellers or attend seances, which are expressly forbidden by God in His Word. Otherwise, people ignore all talk of it—until they’re on a deathbed. Too much speculation, they figure. But we should focus on what are the Scriptural requirements for US to get there, right now, while we’re alive.  Fact is, Scripture indicates clearly about who gets there, who doesn’t—I have several blogs on the subject. When we are first looking, we should never be overconfident.  The Word does say, for instance, that a minority of people get there (Matthew 7:13-14), which could be a worrisome surprise—if we weren’t near-dead in our complacency. A little later in the same chapter of Matthew, Jesus lays another truth- bomb—saying. people have a tendency to be deceived about themselves. Especially check verse 24, “and DOES them.” Not exactly a “I accepted Jesus, and I’m saved forever.”

Enough preaching. This lecture by one of Grace’s senior pastors is not on the subject of salvation. It does a great job of explaining, first of all, the creatures who are there.  Let’s get into the details.

II Corinthians 12:2-4 says:

 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. ³ And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— ⁴ how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. 

This passage indicates that there are three heavens in total, one immediately above the other.  The highest, the third heaven, is the place of the personal dwelling of God—the most sacred place above the universe. The things there are so sacred that they cannot be repeated outside that sphere.  We get a view of that idea from Nehemiah 9:6:

You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven,
The heaven of heavens, with all their host…And You preserve them all.
The host of heaven worships You.

There are strange creatures there, worshiping God; see Revelation 4:6-8:

Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. ⁷ The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. ⁸ The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:

“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

God did not create these creatures to dispense flattery to Him.  Flattery is, after all, telling lies to make someone feel better about themselves.  These creatures are speaking the truth, in an attitude of pure worship. God is perfect, and perfectly holy. We are sinners, and infinitely far away from Him in character and thought.

And let’s not forget the seraphim and cherubim. Those angels are definitely different, and are also noted for worship, and are mentioned in Isaiah 6:1-3 and Ezekiel 10:3:

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. ² Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”

Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner court. ⁴ Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub, and paused over the threshold of the temple; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord’s glory. ⁵ And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like the voice of Almighty God when He speaks.

An amazing vision.

Just a word of note; gold cherubim are also a decoration on the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:17ff).  Also, real cherubim, holding flaming swords, prevented Adam and Eve from re-entering Eden after they sinned (Genesis 3:24). Obviously, cherubim are not little baby angels, such as on famous paintings. There are none such mentioned in Scripture (though there are plenty of human babies that enter heaven. That reference is Matthew 19:14.) The word we use, “cherub,” was made up to describe the innocent beauty in a small child.

The Book of Revelation also introduces us to an area called, “the “midst of heaven.” literally “mid-heaven.” This describes some sort of area in which different types of spiritual beings come and go (not people). The Book of Job clearly indicates that Satan had face-to-face with God (Job 1:6). He appears there as an accuser, laying out our sins before God (see also Revelation 12:10). The following verses describe various powerful good angels who proclaim themselves from the mid-heaven: Revelation 8:13, 14:6, and 19:17:

And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven (literally mid-heaven), saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”

Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God,

The mid-heaven might be part of the second heaven.  We might assume that the visible heaven, includes what we can see of space, all that is visible above to our natural eyesight—so that is the first heaven. It includes the known universe, sometimes called Cosmos.

Looking again at our three verses above, there is one thing good angels have in common--they are all sent by God for His purposes. This makes sense, since the word “angel” is derived from the Greek “angelos,” which is the standard word for messenger.  Therefore, good angels are considered messengers sent from heaven. A good example is the angel Gabriel, who in Daniel 8 and 9 explains future events to Daniel. Many angels were involved in Jesus’ birth, and shortly after that, guiding the Family away from danger.

It’s not impossible for us to hope to receive guidance from God on major decisions—He does love us, after all. But there are other ways than a small voice. Consider this, though: if you “hear” a message, it may not be from God. If you covet something, Satan has an opening to send a demon that might give you an impression, even a voice, that makes you feel that it was “sent from God.” But we shouldn’t expect “a word from God” on every decision. God may very occasionally do it. You need wisdom to decide which it is. Cool off the covetousness, and God may block Satan out from trying to invade your thoughts.

But messages are  not the only purpose of angels. Scripture lets us know that there are also evil angels sent forth by Satan for his purposes.  Sometimes there are battles among these two groups of angels.  These are described in the Book of Daniel.  The angel bringing Daniel a message in the tenth chapter is unnamed (could be Gabriel again), but when the evil angels against him are stronger, he gets help from Michael, a warrior angel.  The evil angel in that chapter is called the “prince” of Persia (modern day Iran).  It’s possible that a stronger evil angel, a “king,” was asked to help fight the angel Michael, who has greater power than the messenger angel. Note that the word “prince” does not automatically put the angel on Satan’s side—since Michael, a good angel gets the same title.  All this is in Daniel 10:11-13:

And he (a messenger angel) said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling. ¹² Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. ¹³ But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.

The term "archangel," a higher good angel, is used in I Thessalonians 4 and Jude 9.  Michael here is called a "chief prince."  So it’s possible that there is a hierarchy of warrior angels, both good and evil (since the evil ones are called "prince" and "king"), classified by their power on both sides.  Scripture also suggests that smarter evil individual angels are in charge of corrupting countries, and they are responsible for giving orders toward enticing men in that city or country to greater evil. We should always keep in mind that evil angels and Satan are limited in their movements—they can only be in one place at a time. Their great number (one person had a “legion” of demons in him—in Mark 5. But God matches that. Jesus said He could call a legion of angels if He wanted to, Matthew 26:53.) But God, Himself, trumps them all--He is omnipresent—He can be, and hear, and see anything anywhere all at once.

From these paragraphs, the inescapable fact confronts us that our world lies beneath a scene of conflict.  What should shock us even more, is that such conflict invades our world as well. If people are demon-possessed in Scripture, why wouldn’t they be now? The antichrists (yes, it’s plural), with blasphemous and God-hating personalities, are already here, according to I John 2:18 and 2:22. Their characteristic is, they deny that Jesus is the Christ.

(This is a goal of current Bible translations—they do a shocking job of splitting up the verses that plainly say “Jesus” and “Christ” in the same verse. A good example is I John 4:3. In the King James, it reads:

…every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

But in the NLT (New Living Translation):

But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.

You can see the failure of “New” translations: Not only does it fail to say Jesus is the Christ, but it also does not define what sign will tell you that you are listening to an antichrist: THEY FAIL TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT JESUS WAS IN THE FLESH. (Stick to the King James. All the others use questionable Greek roots). This knowledge is most important in the Last Days, with much deception in our midst (Matthew 24:3,4). Jesus stresses that He was in the flesh. (Luke 24:41-43, John 20:24-29, just to name a couple—Jesus even invites Thomas to touch His wounds). There are non-Christian cults today that have the audacity to do that—and yet they are popular.)

The greatest Antichrist, a son of Satan, will be a world dictator and murderer of Jews and Christians—he is coming in the last days. God, according to other Scriptures, sometimes restrains Satan—sometimes using His good angels to do that.  And sometimes He does not restrain--if He sees the wickedness of men to be too great (see Romans 1 for the phrase "gave them up"). Satan has evil desires for our lives, to ruin us by enticing us to sin, to even to kill us.  It is also true, however, that all angels, evil and good, are immortal, and the evil angels can persuade people to commit such sin and such blindness to Christ’s salvation that they effectively take our soul.  But apparently, they cannot so convince a good angel to change sides. Perhaps the good angels have no ability to do so. Humans, of course, have freedom of choice. While our lives run to their end, we have the ability to choose which side of each moral decision we are confronted with; so that determines which side, God or Satan, gain more control over our behavior. Prayer and the Holy Spirit can be a big help.  Little by little, we choose our ultimate destination, heaven or hell. Faith in Christ is the initial salvation. Living for Christ, especially enduring to the end of Last Days, are required also. Again, that’s a separate blog.

The angels sent forth by God have three main tasks:  As already explained, some are His messengers, and some are warriors.  Thirdly, there are God’s agents, sent forth to protect those who may be in danger--these are normally described as guardian angels.  Matthew 18:10 says:

“Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.

In this verse, we see that each have “their” angel. The Father’s watchful eye directs those angels on behalf of potentially vulnerable children. But maybe this is for adults too. Have you ever noticed how you were protected from disaster by a few seconds (like with a car), or a few feet? Perhaps God has a purpose for you to keep you alive—for a while, at least.

I have to say, at this point, that when tragedy happens to children, or to anybody, it does not mean that “God does not exist” or “God messed up.” We do not know all we should about sorrow and suffering that happen in our lives. If it is a child, it could be a comfort to know that God will always accept the innocent to heaven (this was not always believed. That may be why infant baptism, without Scriptural support, took hold).  Small children who die pass from death to a wonderful life; their end is finer there than anywhere here.  And if we are in heaven, Scripture does show that we will recognize relatives and loved ones (Luke 16:19ff).  Perhaps even miscarried or aborted children will be recognized if we are in heaven too. We could have more children there than we think!

Many Christians believe that heaven is a place of unbroken peace and harmony.  This may be true of the third heaven; but as we have seen, it does not apply to the second heaven.  It is also likely that Satan pours out a stream of slanderous accusations against the Christians on earth from the mid-heaven, but he will be kicked out, or unable to have access to God in the Last Days.  Revelation 12:10 attests to that:

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God, day and night, has been cast down.

This verse in Revelation speaks of the future. Satan is not cast down to hell at this time, as you might think.  It is speaking on him as being cast down from mid-heaven to earth. But on the earth, he will be devastating in his effects.  The verses following are a warning to the inhabitants of the earth about what to expect when the devil is cast down from his mid-heaven place. Revelation 12:12:

Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! 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.”

That “short time” reference, according to this speaker, begins the Tribulation, a seven-year period where Satan “struts his stuff,” causing wars, famine, death and misery. Christians will suffer through this (I discussed this in a recent series of blogs).

Many Christians believe that Satan is confined to hell.  But that is not true.  There are two satanic princes, named Death and Hades, who rule in hell.  See Revelation 20:13:

The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

On another topic, in Job 1:6 we read:

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them…. 

How is it that Satan is included in the phrase “sons of God?”  The Hebrew words for that phrase suggest it means the original creations of God.  Adam and Eve were sons of God in that sense.  And all the angels were.  But then some went bad.  But be careful.  This does NOT mean that Jesus, God’s Son, was in the same order as these evil angels.  Nor does it mean that Satan is Jesus’ brother; such nonsense is in the Mormon doctrine.   Also keep in mind that Jesus, despite His name as “Son of God,” did NOT mean that He began His life with Mary. Scripture is clear that He is Eternal, along with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. True, He began His earthly tale in His mother Mary’s womb, and His father was the Holy Spirit. But Jesus  asserts His eternal nature in John 8:48: Before Abraham was, I Am. He went from heaven to earth, to live life as we do. That is called The Incarnation.

The KJV in John 14:2 reads:

In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

His Word gets seriously downgraded in the New American Standard Bible:

In My Father’s house are many rooms…

I was never one for apartment living. I couldn’t play the TV up—I have a disability in my hearing. The proper idea from the Greek is “dwelling,” or “residence.” Maybe the King James writers “jazzed it up,” but I think they knew that God, who loves His children on a grand scale, will make our “rooms” on a grand scale too. After all, since there are streets of gold (Revelation 21:21), we know that God always has class.

Lastly, Jesus often mentions the phrase “the kingdom of heaven.” It appears 32 times, but in Matthew alone. John the Baptist starts it off by saying, in Matthew 3:2, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Not only he begins his ministry this way, but so does Jesus, in Matthew 4:17:

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Since it’s the starting point for His official ministry, it must be important. I would simply say that “kingdom of heaven” is a match for “heaven.” But what it adds, if I may say so, is a bit of politicizing. Heaven will not be a democracy, where the majority rules. It is a Kingdom, where the ruler protects those with him, in exchange for their companionship and their services to benefit the community. And where He is loved in return (if he is a good king).

King Jesus sets the rules. But it won’t be a dictatorship, as we normally think of them. Jesus loves us, and knows much better than we what is best for our lives. We will be, as far as reasonable thinking, impossible to sin. But I don’t think that we will be robots. But imagine—no lies or deception, no gaslighting, no manipulation. And no murders, no hurts, no sickness or bad health. No one dies (we are immortal).  No one is killed. Children, if there are any, will never be abused. No greed or confiscation or theft. All will have what they need. There will not be a “bad decision,” so no regrets. All will enjoy their work (Scripture does imply work), so activity is God-based, so there will be useful goals. No fear, no terror, no domination, no anxiety, no bewilderment or useless lethargy. No shortages of food (Scripture doesn’t say if we eat). I hope angels will still be around; I would be curious to know which one did certain feats mentioned in Scripture. It would be neat if we could fly too. Or, just blink and change locations. I could go on and on, but hopefully you get the flavor. Once you get it, you can’t appreciate the terrible jokes about heaven or hell. About how we’ll be on clouds strumming guitars (to make it sound boring). And the jokes about hell are worse, considering how horrible, how terrible that will be (see Luke 16:19ff). About how you want to be with your bad buddies there, to stir things up (Scripture in Luke 16 may suggest that each suffers independently—so you may spend an eternity with no friends). The idea of an eternity with God and others who lived their lives for our loving Father—vs. an eternity of hot fire and loneliness--are just awesome to contemplate.

Well, this is getting too long. Some of this ”trivia” is important, some not so important. Sometimes we need to let our mind run, thinking about it. If we’re certain we’ll be there. If you want to be there, but are now uncertain, pray a lot—be humble and confessing before our sovereign God. Read Scripture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vineyards and Presumption

 

Today, we’ll treat you with a sermon by Derek Prince, a long-time preacher who started out back in the ‘40s.  He preached all over the world, and wrote 51 books.  This lecture (in 1990) is just excellent Christian doctrine (he died in 2003).  I’ve shortened it a little, but not eliminating his main theme. It is titled, “The Banquet;” it is a study in self-deception and humility.

He begins by saying this message is a warning; a warning against presumption—presuming on a relationship with God that you don’t actually have.  This discussion will be based on a parable about banquets.

But first we lay the groundwork in Matthew 21:33-46:

There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. ³⁴ Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. ³⁵ And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. ³⁷ Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ ³⁹ So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” ⁴¹ They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” ⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?

⁴³ “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. ⁴⁴ And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” ⁴⁵ Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. ⁴⁶ But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.

The landowner rented out his vineyard to others.  He expected them to bring some of the fruit as payment for the use of the vineyard.  They refused, and this describes how the landowner dealt with them. The listening Pharisees perceived, correctly, that the rebellious renters were them.  In the parable, the renting vinedressers assumed they could take over ownership of the vineyard for themselves.  They didn’t realize that they were only stewards, appointed by the owner, and they had an obligation to him.  The real issue, too, is the issue of fruit.  The vineyard is for those who bring forth the fruit.  Jesus was really telling people that if you don’t bring forth the fruit that God requires, the fruit of righteousness, the fruit of faith, the fruit of mercy, God will remove you from His vineyard and give it to another “nation.” (v.43).

The Greek word for “nation,” ethnos, is normally translated “Gentile,” or non-Jews. The Hebrew word for us is “goyim.” The Hebrews tended to look down on the goyim, the non-Jews.  So when Jesus effectively said, “You Jewish people are in danger of losing your inheritance.  This vineyard God has provided for you, already planted, and all ready to bring forth fruit—if you don’t bring forth the fruit, if you don’t give God the fruit that is His due, God will take it from you and give it to a Gentile nation.” (PS:  Mr. Prince did not believe in Replacement theology—another blog).  These were terrible words for Jewish ears; considering all their special privileges and background God had bestowed upon them. They couldn’t conceive that they would lose their privileged position.

Mr. Prince cautioned that he did not believe that Jesus’ word “nation” refers to a specific country; the “nation” obtaining God’s favor is His saved people. His saved people form God’s kingdom. He has a kingdom all over the world.  Consider the Scripture that says, paraphrasing, “You are a holy nation, a special people, a people that belong to God” (I Peter 2:9, written to all believers).

The problem with the Jews of that time period, especially the leaders, the Pharisees, was that they presumed that they had a special relationship with God, but actually, by their behavior, they forfeited their inheritance.  They presumed because of thinking of their background.  For 14 centuries to that point, they had been a privileged people.  They had the Law, the Temple God designed, the prophets, the only priesthood God had blessed.  All true, but men’s hearts, receiving all this, become presumptuous.  They took these things for granted. In subsequent years, God did exactly what Jesus warned them He would do. He gave the Kingdom of God, through the evangelistic message, to the non-Jews, as well as believing Jews--His people everywhere.  A new part of God’s “nation” began—non-Jews.

And then Jesus reminded them that this forfeiture had been predicted, through their own prophets. Verse 42 is a quote from Psalm 118.  (Yes, David was also a prophet). The ‘stone which the builders rejected’ meant He was the Stone, rejected by most Jews. Then He said, Whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.  This meant, “You builders may reject Me, but I Am the chief cornerstone, and the whole building is built on Me.  There are two ways you can respond to This Stone:  You may fall on the Stone, that is, kneel in repentance, and cry out to a holy just God for mercy from your sin.  You will receive mercy.  You ‘will be broken’ means your pride, your arrogance, your religious assumptions will all be smashed—but you will be saved.  But if you refuse to bow before This Stone, refuse to humble yourself, refuse to acknowledge your need for God’s mercy, the Stone will fall on you—and crush you to powder.  It will destroy you.

So you can find mercy through brokenness, or you can be crushed in divine judgment.  There are only two ways that anybody can respond to Jesus.  A lot of people don’t want to make a commitment, but they don’t want to be accused of rejecting.  They feel they can best get along with neutrality.  But Jesus never offers that as a third way.  He said “He that is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad” (Matt 12:30).

So I ask you, search you hearts:  where are you in your relationship with Jesus Christ?  Don’t presume; you may have a Christian family, you may even know a lot about the Bible.  But that’s not the question.  If you’re with Him, you’ll be gathering fruit, or serving Him, doing what He commands. Or you’re against Him, whether you know it or not; and your activities are as wasteful as scattering abroad. They are being used on things that have no permanent value.  You’re missing the privilege of investing in the kingdom of God.

History records the tragedy of those Jewish people. They presumed that which they didn’t have—a relationship with God.  If they had that, they would not be a part of the killing of God’s Son, Jesus.  (But God had planned ahead for that).  Remember, privilege should be taken with humility.  We do not deserve the extra blessings. It is supposed to also confer responsibility; Jesus said “to whom much is given, much shall be required” (Luke 12:48). The more privileges we receive (ed. I’m thinking of the United States), the more God expects of us. Mr. Prince launches into a praise of many people in nations that have little to start with, but they become mighty witnesses for Him—they generate much fruit for God.  They are hungry for His Word, and love to pray, and stay long at church.  They are excellent vinedressers.  They do not waste “endless hours before a television set. We need to exchange that time for Bible study and prayer.  You’ll be surprised how you grow spiritually.  In churches where there were honest times of prayer, many sins were confessed, including adultery, fornication (sex though single), but the worst was idolatry—the idol is most often the TV!  Remember the warning that God led Paul to write in II Corinthians 5:10 about our accountability to God for our behavior:

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Now Mr. Prince moves on to the banquet parable. Matthew 22:1-14:

And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: ² “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, ³ and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. ⁴ Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ⁵ But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. ⁶ And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. ⁷ But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. ⁹ Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ ¹⁰ So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. ¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. ¹² So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴ “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

The king is God the Father; the son was Jesus. He was to be married to His bride, which is the Church, the saved of all humanity.  The Jews were the first to receive the invitation for the wedding. This invitation and conditions of it, were made clear by the previous prophets, who pled with them to make sacrifice and cease their sin so they could attend the wedding. But the Jews refused, and even killed God’s prophets.   Mr. Prince asserts that verse 7, God’s judgment on them, has been fulfilled in the Jewish nation in 70 AD, when the Roman army killed a million of them and destroyed the Temple.  The wedding had to be postponed, until new invitations were sent out—this is referring to bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles.  (The church age, which we are now in, was somewhat hidden from the Old Testament, since that volume was about the Jews). Jesus gave the order of Gospel rollout in Acts 1:8:

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Note the Gospel goes to the Jews’ prime city, then to the two Jewish nations (Israel was split in two after a dispute with Solomon’s son).  Finally, it includes Gentiles, both “bad and good.”  Interesting that the “bad” is put before the “good.” Mr. Prince knows that people who were “bad” in the past, get invited into the Lord’s kingdom—he was one.  Many times, the “bad” accept the terms of the invitation before the “good.” Jesus said to the religious rulers in Matthew 21:31:  tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you! Why? The religious people have a hard time dealing with the humility required to gain God’s invitation because they think that they are good and settled enough already. If God has blessed us financially and physically, that means we are bound for heaven forevermore, right?  No. In verse 11, the king is suspicious because a guest at the wedding did not have on a wedding garment.  In that culture, the Inviter told you, the guest,  the appropriate garments to wear.  The wedding garment means that if we live for Him, He will award us clothing of the righteousness of Christ. Isaiah 61:10 says:

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness…

God, the great Inviter, clothes us with Christ’s garments, and thus His righteousness is imputed (transferred) to us.  The transfer, or imputation, is on two levels.  Not only are we clothed with the righteousness of Christ, but secondly, God amazingly imputed (transferred) our sin onto Christ.  The double imputation was so we can be righteous in Christ, and the Father can be holy by punishing sin (on Jesus), so He can accept us despite our sin. That’s why Jesus died.   That is atonement.  II Corinthians 5:21 puts it so well:

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Meditate on it.  Think of the Love that God had to give His Son, to gain sinners like us for fellowship.  Think how lavish His love is, that better, sweeter things are still before us in heaven.  But God doesn’t do this if we have no relationship with Him. Not just “accepting” Him. But a relationship with Him is required. Think of His fierce Justice; if we ignore this, the horrors of hell await us. That's clear in v. 13 above.  For this man not clothed in Jesus' righteousness, he was in improper wear; he should have understood that the Father would question.  But he was shocked speechless at the question.  His problem was, he presumed that he was invited. He presumed, and never thought that he would not be given a pass.  He underestimated God’s Justice, or didn’t understand the Word.  Note the importance of this wedding; it was to get to be with Christ in heaven.  The importance of disobeying the rules of invitation cannot be underestimated; he was bound hand and foot (in public), and cast into outer darkness.  The phrase “weeping and gnashing of teeth” says he was consigned to hell. Jesus was saying, in effect, that God extends the invitation, which is the marriage of Jesus, to all who are properly saved by faith and by fruit from relationship, as we saw above.  You cannot be in heaven and ignore His commands while you live on earth. That offer will see if you are humble in the Lord to accept those terms.  What is your relationship with Jesus the Christ?  Your answer to that tells whether you get an invitation to heaven for the wedding to His Son.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Long Do Christians Have to Suffer in the Great Tribulation?

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 (perhaps an idol glorifying the Antichrist) in the holy place, Jerusalem's temple; then it’s time to run! The Tribulation begins with death and martyrdom of Jews and Christians. Then later the cosmic disturbance, blackening the sky, then the sign, like a huge flash of light, making everyone look heavenward, and seeing Jesus coming in the clouds, with angels and trumpet following. His Coming, or Second Advent, will be visible to all, no “secret.”. Believers are rescued, gathered in the sky—and then on the same day, the Day of the Lord’s wrath on the unsaved 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 difficult, but your attention to detail will be rewarded.  Look at Daniel 9:24ff:

 

“Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression... 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.

Here are the main points of these verses:

a. Since the word "seven" (an accurate NIV translation of the Hebrew word sometimes translated ‘weeks’) isn't explained as to seven what, seven hours--seven centuries? We will change just the word “seven” into “seven years,” and you'll see why in a moment.

 

b. We need to know the span of time from the command to “restore and build Jerusalem,” until “the Anointed One” (the Messiah, Jesus).  Daniel, a Jew, prophesied it to be "seven weeks," or “seven sevens,” so we're saying, 7 times 7, or 49 years, "plus 62 sevens," or 62x7 years=434 more years.  So the total is 49+434=483 years. This 69 “weeks,” or 483 Hebrew years, is the time elapsed between those two events.  But these are Hebrew years, of 360 days each. To translate Hebrew years to our years, with leap year every four years, we measure a real year as 365.24 days. So converting a Jewish calendar to our calendar, we simply do 483 times 360/365.24 and get 476 of our years. So 483 Hebrew years is 476 of our years, predicted for the span of time between the order to rebuild Jerusalem and the Anointed One.

c. As it turned out, the 476 years was dead-on accurate for that span of time-- (that's why we used seven 'years' for the unexplained Hebrew "sevens.")  Here’s the details: 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) 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! Exactly as Daniel prophesied! Well, why should we be surprised—God knows the future.

PS:  Wikipedia, who doesn’t believe in the supernatural, can't stand this prophecy of Daniel, who lived around 500 BC, well before either event listed.  So Wikipedia suggests that the Book of Daniel was not written by Daniel, but by another guy much later.  So not only Google doesn't know all the answers, Wikipedia doesn't either.

If you notice Daniel 9:24, it lists all the “loose ends” God wants to resolve as the end of the world draws nigh. One of them is “make reconciliation for iniquity.” That means the Jews would be spending a lot of time paying for their sins they had particularly committed over the centuries—since God had originally picked them out as His people. They had God’s commands, they had His protection, they had access to the Promised Land He gave them, but on every chance, they blew it. The worst of it was, they had the Incarnation of God, namely Jesus the Christ, yet they eagerly broke God’s Laws, and even killed Jesus.

 

So, as you may have noticed, only 69 (7+62) of the 70 required “sevens” (in Dan. 9:24), of Jewish reconciliation has been accomplished. Only 483 of the required 490 (70x7) Hebrew years. So the 70th seven-year period, I’m also suggesting, has not happened yet. The last 7 years must be future, I’m saying. You might argue that under Rome’s slaughter of 70 AD, or under Hitler’s holocaust, they would have paid the final “reconciliation.” But God is severe when the sin is severe, more than we ever know (especially more than we hear any more in sermons). Plus, certain events in that 7-year period have never happened yet. The upcoming persecution and killing by the Antichrist in the 7 year Tribulation will give him ¼ of all humanity to kill. Today that’s 2 billion people! It’s in Revelation 6:8, under the description of the fourth seal:

 

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.

 

It’s likely that an even higher percentage of Jews would die. God will be testing the Christians, also, to see if they are willing to give their life, or are they “easy believism” Christians (other blogs discuss this), who will abandon the faith, and go apostate, when the heat is on. The Bible predicts that apostasy will be the choice of many. See II Thessalonians 2:3:

 

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away (same Greek word as translated “apostasy” elsewhere) 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.

 

As Part I and Part II indicate, this is a Last Day’s verse. The “man of sin” is the Antichrist, who is doing the boasting and blaspheming.

 

You can see why it is easy to speculate that the 70^th week of Jewish suffering is most reasonably placed around the great Tribulation, when their persecution will be the greatest in history.

 

I have upcoming Scriptural proof that the six events, or “seals,” we’ve talked about in Revelation 6 (See Part II) and confirmed in Matthew 24 (deception, wars, famine, death, martyrdom, rescue), will take 7 years to happen—so that additional fact also suggests that the Jews 70th “week” of suffering is that event. I’m also suggesting (with more proof below) that the first 3 seals last for half the seven years, or 3-1/2 years. That means, of course, that the Tribulation (seals 4 and 5—death and martyrdom) are in those last 3-1/2 years, before Christ comes again--in the 6th seal.

 

What is my proof for these future claims of 7 years, and how they will be split up into two halves of 3-1/2 years each?

Let’s focus on the Antichrist. He has decided the way to kill Jews is to get close to them. He must have gained attention for his military prowess even before the 70^th Week, because people are worshipping him in Revelation 13:4-5a below (He is called “the Beast”). Without knowing it, they are worshipping the Antichrist’s “father,” Satan. Their love of his blasphemies against God suggests civilization’s moral level must be at an all-time low. And their love of power he displays (including “rising from the dead,” Revelation 13:3) suggests that wars and riots must be increasing. The majority of people want somebody who will bring stability and justice, to end all the chaos. The Antichrist (remember, he has not revealed himself), being a great deceiver, seems to fill the bill: 

 …they (the unsaved) worshiped the dragon (Satan) who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” ⁵ And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies,

So we know that if there are wars, the Jews and the jihadists will be in the middle of it.  So he makes a crafty and deceptive move; he makes friends with the Jews, leading them on to believe that he will back them up militarily. They will sign a 7-year Covenant to do that. (PS: This has never been done in their history). Daniel 9:27:

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

Daniel 9:27 doesn’t say that the Antichrist makes the Covenant with the Jews, but it’s an easy assumption. The Jews are surrounded with enemies who hate them. Iran, on the verge of nuclear ability, is “rattling the sword,” along with every Islamic nation around them. There will almost certainly be another war, and Israel, either on the verge of bankruptcy (spending government resources to continually buying weapons), or else simply tired of war, will be happy to make a peace agreement with anyone with military power—and the Antichrist fits the bill.

The Antichrist, however, can’t help but reveal himself as a Jew-hater. In the middle of the 7 years, or after 3-1/2 years, he refuses to allow the Jews any more sacrifices to God. He also performs an abomination of desolation in the Jewish holy place in Jerusalem. Jesus tells the disciples in the Olivet Discourse that when that happens, it’s time to run and hide, as fast as you can. God gives the Antichrist the power, for the remaining 3-1/2 years, (or 42 months), to kill as many people—specifically Jews and Christians—as he can. Revelation 13:5a-8 tells the story:

and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. ⁶ Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. ⁷ 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. 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.

 It makes sense that his 7-year covenant with the Jews will happen at the beginning of the seventieth 7 years. We can now easily assume that when he “reveals” himself (see II Thessalonians 2:3 above), that means he will turn from being a friend of Jews to their enemy. The “abomination of desolation” will definitely make that point. As I said before, that’s our “tipoff” to run; he will spend the last 42 months, or 3-1/2 years, from the middle to the end of the 7 years, hunting and killing Jews and Christians. (This last 3-1/2 years is officially the Tribulation).  In Rev. 13:7 (above), Christians will be victims of the slaughter as well.

 There is NO Scripture that limits the word "saints" to Jews. Saints always refer to any and all of God's saved children.  Since there was no previous rapture, the saints living at the time all this begins have to go through the beginning sorrows, then the Tribulation--as we have proved in Part I.

Further proof of the second 3-1/2-year time period as the length of the great Tribulation is how it is prophesied in several Biblical passages. It’s variously called “time and times and half a time” (which is 3-1/2 times), it's called “42 months,” and it’s called “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). So seals 4 and 5, the Death and Martyrdom —is the length of the Tribulation (the Tribulation is not the whole 7 years, it is less, read Jesus' words in Matthew 24:6-9). 

In summary, our expanded Last Days are:

 To start the 70^th ‘week’ of seven years, the Antichrist makes a 7-year peace pact with the Jews, pretending to be their friend. (Mark your calendars! This is the ONLY sign that shows the beginning of the 7 years.) During that time, he makes war, consolidating his power. War's destruction helps bring on famine and pestilences. Earthquakes follow. Then in the middle of the 7 years, he does sacrilege, the abomination, and reveals himself as their (and saints') enemy. Time to hide. 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, near the end of the 7, the Sign, a flash of light in a blackened sky—Jesus returns in the clouds! Rapture!  Then Wrath on the unsaved and the cleansing and destruction of the earth. This wrath of God is reserved for those who have secretly hated God or ignored His laws.

If you have not made Jesus the whole of your life, if you do not love Him for paying for your sin, and if you have not given your life to His care and commands, and daily discipline; if you do not rely on His comfort and trials through the Holy Spirit, do it now.  You don't know if you will be alive when these events happen.  Watch Israel for any covenant they agree to, your only real sign that the 7 years have begun. (We assume the Covenant ceremony is publicly covered by the media.) Then mark your calendar for the middle, when the antichrist does the sacrilege. THEN it's time to hide.   Three-and-a-half years to go. You want to be in Christ before these horrible things; you want to train your family to do battle spiritually.  Read the Gospels, where Jesus lays it all out plainly.  Or read my blogs on the subject.

“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.

 

Some interesting additional facts: In the Tribulation will come the most audacious move of the Antichrist’s reign. He will evidently have control of the world’s money system—because he will implant, on the hands/foreheads of everyone who submits to him, a “mark.” Thus, buying or selling food, etc. is impossible unless you submit to the Antichrist’s 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), that 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 this 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?" You’re thinking wrong about God. You are in no position to expect a reward for trusting the Lord. Your sin got you to where you are, without God. It is only by His grace that you can escape the slavery of sin and hell, the penalty for sin from a holy God. I'm betting God will show many of His faithful ones a separate way to get food. Maybe even by miracles for the faithful.  Get attached to a church that really believes Scripture and future events. On the run and hungry, exercising this kind of resolve and faith will be challenging for Christians, but saving your soul will be definitely worth it to hang on. Yes, in saving your soul, your body may be martyred. Yes, 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 during 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: At the very beginning of the 7-year End Times, Antichrist makes a covenant to protect Israel, deceiving the world--and the Jews--for peace. 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 (with pesticides and earthquakes). 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” with Death and Martyrdom of Jews and Christians. The antichrist institutes a mark--you must worship him to buy or sell. A ticket to Hell if you fall for it. Two witnesses speak up for God and perform miracles. Then at the end of the 7 years, in one Day, we have the cosmic disturbance (moon becomes a muted red, sun and stars blacken), and the Coming, which is: the sign (bright lightning), then His appearance in the skies with a shout, 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.

 

I'm sure you haven't heard it prevented this way.  Seminaries have allowed non-Biblical ideas to creep in, and they are not encouraging critical thinking.  Scripture has something to say about that:  II Timothy 4:3:

 

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 (or “fable”) 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. 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).  Heaven is worth it! We are short-term on this earth, just “probies,” to see whether we trust Christ or not, to live a holy life, or a sinful life. The LONG result is heaven or hell. That’s what’s important. That’s eternity vs choosing to live 80 years in a horrible environment. Jesus said the majority of people at any time would end up in hell (Matthew 7:13,14). Don’t be one of them. THIS subject is what’s important, not an inheritance, not money. Study THIS—read your Bibles—God doesn’t make it unclear. May God open your eyes more and more as you give yourself to Him.

 

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

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

In Part I last week, especially from Matthew 24:5-21 (“fact #5”), we showed Scriptural proof that the End Times chronology had this order of events:

First, deception, wars, famine—called “the beginning of sorrows”—then the “abomination of desolation,” done by the Antichrist, who suddenly becomes an enemy of Jews, by doing an “abomination of Desolation” in the Jerusalem temple’s holy place. Those Christians/Jews living then should immediately hide, because this event begins the Tribulation, consisting of persecution and martyrdom of Jews and Christians. Then later, a cosmic disturbance blackens the sky (moon darkens to a reddish hue, the sun and stars lose their light); then Jesus appears in the clouds, for—in order--a rescue (rapture); and then Day of the Lord’s wrath on non-Christians. We spent time proving, Scripturally, that Christians go through the Tribulation, as you can see in the order above.

Today, that point gets further proof. 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.

So after the end of 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, perhaps a huge flash of light, 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--in His return (elsewhere called the Second Advent). His coming begins with the rapture (though it’s not mentioned until v. 31, see Part I for proof of this order); Jesus has come to rescue righteous, saved men. But His coming, secondly, is to judge disobedient men. (More on that later.) Thus, four events happen on the Day of the Lord, in order, from these verses and in Part I: Cosmic disturbance blackens the sky, then a highly visible sign showing the Lord’s appearing in the sky, then the rapture, with help from the angels; and then the mourning of rebellious men who know judgment is coming.

Now please note the details of the rapture itself, and observe the three specific events in it, 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 of the Son of Man”--thus there is no "secret rapture," as is fantasized by some; (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.

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 three important events in I Thess: (a) Jesus appears from heaven, with some noise--a shout, the voice of an archangel, and a trumpet blast--so there is no “secret” to the rapture; (b) angels blow the trumpet; (c) believers are gathered in the sky, to meet the Lord in the air. Note that these are the very same critical three elements as Matthew 24:30b-31. Is this not the SAME EVENT? Of course it is. Thus Matthew 24, the Olivet Discourse, presents the Rapture, as does I Thess. 4:16-17.

****Now the order of End Times is: Deception, wars, famine, then the abomination of desolation (Antichrist) in the holy place, then it’s time to hide because Tribulation is next--death and martyrdom of Jews and Christians, and later—on one Day--cosmic disturbance blackens the sky, then the “sign” seen by all, then His Coming in the clouds with angels blowing the trumpet. Believers are rescued/raptured, gathered in the sky—and on the same day, other people mourn, because the Day of the Lord’s wrath begins on them (more on that wrath later).

For further proof: Let’s spend some time on a second chronology of end-time events. As you will see, this will duplicate, and confirm, the Matthew 24 order. It is in Revelation 6:1-11.  'Seals' are given in order. The order of the seals 1-5 correspond exactly to the same five events in Matthew 24 (read Part I for more on Matthew 24). Here are the Revelation 6 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.

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” in v. 2 is “stephanos.” But the Greek word for the crown 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 warrior-conqueror, not a king. The crown-wearer of verse 1 wants us to think he is Christ, riding on a white horse, but he isn’t. Thus seal# 1 is deception.

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. (A fourth of the earth killed! from starvation and war.) The seal 5 refers to martyrs. Now turn back to Part I’s analysis of Matthew 24:5-21—the order is the same! Revelation 6 and Matthew 24 refer to the same events!  Deception, wars, famine, death, and martyrs is the order in both Jesus' chronology and the seals.

Now observe how these two sections of verses, the same themes thus far, suddenly part in how they deal with seal 6, the last event/seal. In the Matthew chronology, 24:30-31 gives us the rapture, and only hints at the wrath of God (it just gives you the word “mourn” as a hint). 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:

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?” 

This seal begins with our familiar cosmic disturbance--(the appearance of the cosmic disturbance in Revelation and Matthew is a further proof that these are talking about the same events). But Revelation 6 details with the beginning of judgment, the second part of the Day of the Lord, with nothing on the rapture. Whereas Matthew 24 detailed the rapture, and only hinted at the judgment (“mourn”). What to do about that difference?

The solution to this “controversy” is simply to put both events—rapture and wrath—after the tribulation. After all, they are happening on the same day (see Part I as to proof of them being on the same day). Both these sections of verses talk about the same events—they just each emphasize a different one on the final Day.

Now let's re-emphasize some important points for those "pre-tribbers" to chew on:

Remember my earlier assertion that the Tribulation is NOT the wrath of God; this was proved with Scripture in Part I, They are separate as can be seen by our order of events above. Actually, the Tribulation is the wrath of Satan, per Rev. 12:12, as we also proved in Part I. The wrath of God is later; it is the last of these end time events. 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 stressed. He does not allow Satan to strut his stuff like the Antichrist does who dominates the scene in the Tribulation. Proof that this differing emphasis matters is found in Isaiah 2:11--Let's see what it says about the wrath of God:

 

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: God performs an unanswered destruction, which centers only on God, glorifying His pure holiness 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.

NEXT WEEK:  How Long Do Christians Have to Suffer in the Great Tribulation? God's Word is abundantly clear on that, too.