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The step-by-step chronology in Matthew 24 of the signs leading up to the rapture and the wrath of God are the exact same signs we see in Revelation chapters 6-8, which are speaking of the 7 seals that need to be opened before the scroll (the wrath of God) can be read; Matthew 24:5; Revelation 6:1-2; The 1st seal corresponds to the first events in Matthew 24 – false christ’s; Matthew 24:6; The 2nd seal in Revelation 6:3-4 – wars; Matthew 24:7; The 3rd seal in Revelation 6:5-6 – famines.
Matthew 24:9; Revelation 6:7-8; The 4th seal – death; “by the wild beasts of the earth”; The word for “by” is a different Greek word than the other “with’s” in the verse; Indicates more definitely the actual agent of destruction; The meaning is defined as “under”, often meaning “under authority” of something working directly as a subordinate; It seems that the other things in this verse–the killing with sword and famine–are “by”, or “under authority”, of the “wild beasts”; The term “wild beasts” has led to some false interpretations; “Wild beast” is not the correct translation of the Greek in Revelation 6:8; The word is “therion” and it basically means “beast”, and it can be translated as “beast” (Titus 1:12), or “wild beast” (Acts 11:6)–context determines which translation is best; It’s used 39 times in the book of Revelation, and 38 times the term refers to either the beast (as in the Antichrist), or the false prophet (the second beast), or the image of the beast, and it correctly is translated there as “beast”; However the translators, attempting to clarify the meaning in Revelation 6:8 incorrectly translated the text as “wild beast”–the only time it is not translated simply as “beast” in Revelation; There is no grounds for the translation “wild beasts” in Revelation 6:8; Both famine and plague are here attributed to the methods in which these “beasts” kill, that is in addition to the sword.
Matthew 24:15, 21-22; Verse 15 is the first time in Matthew 24 that we can put a time as to where we are in the scheme of things; The abomination of desolation is the midpoint of the last 7-year period; Daniel’s 70 Weeks; Final 7-year period begins when the Antichrist makes a peace agreement with Israel; At the midpoint (3 1/2 years in), he will declare himself to be God in the temple; We know more about the midpoint of the final 7-year period than any other time in prophetic history; It’s the beginning of a great persecution of the elect–the entire section here is telling people to flee because of the persecution that will start at that point; Daniel 11:31-35; God has a particular plan in the deaths of these martyrs, which is also exactly what we see in the next seal in Revelation 6:9-11; This seal is entirely about martyrs, and that’s exactly what we see happening in our Matthew 24 verse; The most interesting part of the 5th seal is that the martyrs are asking God how long it will be until He judges those that are killing them; This would seem to indicate that all that has happened so far in the seals (wars, famines, etc.), are not part of God’s judgment; Matthew 24:22; These souls are not going to have to wait very much longer for God to avenge them–in fact, it will happen in the very next seal; Death and the 5th seal martyrs are a match.
Matthew 24:29; If we continue to use Matthew 24 as a guideline for the book of Revelation, we would expect to see this exact same sign there too–the sign that the Day of the Lord and the wrath of God is about to begin; In fact, that’s what we see in Revelation 6:12-17; Luke 21:25-28; He talks about this idea of men who are terrified for what is about to happen, just like in Revelation 6; Believers will take a totally different view of this event, and will not hide, but look up in expectation; That is because the rapture will happen just before the Day of the Lord begins; The very next seal (the 7th seal) is the introduction to the 7 trumpets, which proves that they are chronologically linked to the seals; The rapture will be an event that everyone will know about–the idea of a secret rapture is not biblical at all; This event–the Son of Man coming on the clouds with power and great glory–is an event that everyone will see; All the other lights in the sky have been darkened… people will definitely know when the rapture happens.
The wrath of God starting at the 6th seal causes many problems for the pretribulational idea, because for them, the wrath of God was supposed to start before any of the 6 seals began; Revelation 6:17; Mark 14:41-43; The context in the Revelation passage is obvious–the men are hiding themselves because the day of the Wrath of the Lamb has come, and it’s about to begin; The sign they saw was what Joel said would happen before the Day of the Lord; Also, we see in Luke that the reason why these men were hiding was that they were in expectation of what was about to come; So if this parallel exists, we should now see the rapture at this point; Matthew 24:30-31; This happens immediately after the sun, moon, and star sign that we just saw in Matthew 24; One of the simultaneous events in Revelation chapter 7 is that a multitude of people from every tribe, peoples, and language, which could not be counted by man, appears in heaven; We see this same terminology in chapter 5 about people from every nation, tribe, and language are the ones who are redeemed by Christ from the beginning of time
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CHAPTER NINE
FUTURE HISTORY: REVELATION
declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done; … (Isaiah 46:10)
Author’s Note:
This entire chapter is written and included in this book for one Primary reason: to attempt to keep unbelievers during the Tribulation from following the Anti-Christ and thus being eternally lost. They will (without the benefit of a regenerated spirit) face life and death choices with eternal life and death consequences. Hopefully, the knowledge in this chapter will save some. Revelation is first, last, and foremost the revealing of the reality of the Person of Christ Now: both the lamb and the Lion. All prophetic events in this book are entirely secondary to this unveiling. I would strongly recommend that those readers who are already born again do not read this chapter. It is, of necessity, written from the standpoint of knowledge and not from the view of life. As such, it can benefit believers very little and is much more likely to be a hindrance.
Having said the above, I fell obligated to deal with a closely related, pertinent matter. There has always been ‘escapist’ literature, even ‘Christian escapist’ literaturew; now more so than ever. To participate in the reality of the kingdom, a believer must be sober-minded and dwell in the present reality (neither in an historical past nor in an imagined future). Of what possible benefit to a believer’s relationship with Christ or to their growth in Him can any fictional book(s) about the future (including the tribulation) be? It is much more likely that this type of literature will only keep believers from redeeming the time.
I. HISTORY FROM THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST TO HIS LITERAL RETURN
I. WHEN WILL THESE FUTURE EVENTS PROBABLY HAPPEN?
There are certain verses in the Epistles where the Apostle warns the early Christians not to believe certain people who were saying that Christ was about to return soon. He further tells them- as an outward indication, that Christ will not literally return until after the Antichrist first appears. These verses were written because some people at that time were propagating a heretical teaching that Christ’s return was not to be a literal, physical return; but was only a spiritual return, which occurred when a person converted. Also, because some of the early believers had the mistaken idea from certain verses that Christ’s return would be very soon after His ascension, they let this concept interfere not only with their spiritual lives but also with their practical lives.
By no means do these verses mean that Christians should ignore the outward indications of Christ’s Second Coming. Although such knowledge is unnecessary to a believer’s growth, such awareness can well be a valuable tool in helping others, particularly non?believers. All of God’s word is valuable for our instruction, and Christ Himself gave most of the verses describing the outward signs of the Lord’s return to us. Thus, such knowledge is not to be ignored by us, but is to be used wisely, and in the proper perspective.
Again I am hesitant to write such a section as this, because erroneous predictions related to the time of Christ’s return in the past have caused much unwarranted discounting of the validity of prophecy in God’s word. However, the evidence I have to present is so conclusively indicative that I would be negligent if I didn’t do so. Bear this in mind, though: I dare not be so foolish as to presume to be able to predict infallibly the time of Christ’s return. Therefore, let the reader be the judge.
And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows; men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the inhabited earth: for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. (Luke 21:25-26)
Notice that Luke 21:25?26 is a description of outward signs also occurring at this time, since it is at the same time as these outward signs that the powers of the heavens are shaken and Satan and his angels are cast out. What causes the roaring of the sea and the billows (waves)? What is the main cause of wave action? Mainly tidal forces resulting from the influence of the moon and the sun form waves. What are the only signs in the sun that are visible to the naked eye? Sunspots!
The word translated as ‘stars’ in Luke 21:25 may equally be in reference to the planets. Is there a connection between the cause of this great earthquake and these other, simultaneously occurring outward signs?
Let us narrow the time span for the most likely occurrence of this earthquake. What day of the year should we choose as the focal point of most likely occurrence? The most likely time for the triggering of the earthquake is the time midway between the spring and fall of 1982. Thus, the focal point of likeliest time is the day of August 5, 1982, midway between spring and fall. Accordingly, the time that the last three and a half years (the Tribulation) is likeliest to begin will be three days later, August 8, 1982. Are there any other outward prophetic signs that we may refer to?
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matt. 24:30)
What is the sign of the Son of man (accent on and in reference to His humanity), which will appear “in heaven” before the time of Christ’s actual return?
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matt. 24:30)
What is the sign of the Son of man (accent on and in reference to His humanity), which will appear “in heaven” before the time of Christ’s actual return?
Due to the juggling of records by the Roman Catholic Church, Christ was actually born in the year that we record as 4 B.C. Subtracting 4 B.C. from 240 B.C. gives us 236 years between the time of the star that the Wise?men followed and the recorded date of the visit of Halley’s Comet in 240 B.C. Dividing 236 years by three (the number of intervals between successive visits) gives us 78 years and 8 months per interval- within the 74 to 79 year variation of the period of Halley’s Comet. Undoubtedly, Halley’s comet was considerably more brilliant then than now. Almost certainly this was the star that the Wise?men followed, and it was the tail of Halley’s comet that was used by God to point their way.
The next appearance of Halley’s comet will be in 1986 … it will appear brightest in February of 1986 . . 318
1. Before midnight Israeli time August 4?5, 1982 the last 3 1/2 years before the physical return of Christ (the Great Tribulation) could not begin. Now it can begin anytime.
2. We still see through a glass darkly what the 3 1/2 years before (the first half of the last week of years) that will transpire as.
3. In His mercy, the Lord has tarried. He probably should have been back no later than 1996.
This date of 4004 B.C. is a date indicated by the Scriptures. Its actuality may not be verifiable directly from Scripture. This is to be expected as a ramification of free will, since the direct determination of an exact date would be too prone to objective methods of proof and disproof. However, the very fact of its indicativeness increases the significance of this date, since this indicated date applies as well to the date of Adam’s “creation,” i.e., his receiving of a human spirit.
As we have seen previously, Christ was actually born in the year that we record as 4 B.C. Thus, it was four of the Lord’s days (exactly 4,000 of our years) from the indicted date of “creation” to the birth of Christ. Using the same reckoning, the time of the Lord’s return (which will be at the beginning of the seventh day, the millennium) should be the year 1996. If He has not returned by this time, then He has tarried because the bride still hasn’t made herself ready.
Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God … (2 Pt. 3:12)
As we have seen, the cooperation (by the exercise of free will) of the believers to be made ready as the bride can hasten the coming of the day of God. Likewise, the refusal to cooperate can prolong (cause the Lord to ‘tarry’) the coming of the day of God.
I. WHEN WILL THESE FUTURE EVENTS PROBABLY HAPPEN?
There are certain verses in the Epistles where the Apostle warns the early Christians not to believe certain people who were saying that Christ was about to return soon. He further tells them- as an outward indication, that Christ will not literally return until after the Antichrist first appears. These verses were written because some people at that time were propagating a heretical teaching that Christ’s return was not to be a literal, physical return; but was only a spiritual return, which occurred when a person converted. Also, because some of the early believers had the mistaken idea from certain verses that Christ’s return would be very soon after His ascension, they let this concept interfere not only with their spiritual lives but also with their practical lives.
By no means do these verses mean that Christians should ignore the outward indications of Christ’s Second Coming. Although such knowledge is unnecessary to a believer’s growth, such awareness can well be a valuable tool in helping others, particularly non?believers. All of God’s word is valuable for our instruction, and Christ Himself gave most of the verses describing the outward signs of the Lord’s return to us. Thus, such knowledge is not to be ignored by us, but is to be used wisely, and in the proper perspective.
Again I am hesitant to write such a section as this, because erroneous predictions related to the time of Christ’s return in the past have caused much unwarranted discounting of the validity of prophecy in God’s word. However, the evidence I have to present is so conclusively indicative that I would be negligent if I didn’t do so. Bear this in mind, though: I dare not be so foolish as to presume to be able to predict infallibly the time of Christ’s return. Therefore, let the reader be the judge.
And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows; men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the inhabited earth: for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. (Luke 21:25-26)
Notice that Luke 21:25?26 is a description of outward signs also occurring at this time, since it is at the same time as these outward signs that the powers of the heavens are shaken and Satan and his angels are cast out. What causes the roaring of the sea and the billows (waves)? What is the main cause of wave action? Mainly tidal forces resulting from the influence of the moon and the sun form waves. What are the only signs in the sun that are visible to the naked eye? Sunspots!
The word translated as ‘stars’ in Luke 21:25 may equally be in reference to the planets. Is there a connection between the cause of this great earthquake and these other, simultaneously occurring outward signs?
Let us narrow the time span for the most likely occurrence of this earthquake. What day of the year should we choose as the focal point of most likely occurrence? The most likely time for the triggering of the earthquake is the time midway between the spring and fall of 1982. Thus, the focal point of likeliest time is the day of August 5, 1982, midway between spring and fall. Accordingly, the time that the last three and a half years (the Tribulation) is likeliest to begin will be three days later, August 8, 1982. Are there any other outward prophetic signs that we may refer to?
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matt. 24:30)
What is the sign of the Son of man (accent on and in reference to His humanity), which will appear “in heaven” before the time of Christ’s actual return?
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matt. 24:30)
What is the sign of the Son of man (accent on and in reference to His humanity), which will appear “in heaven” before the time of Christ’s actual return?
Due to the juggling of records by the Roman Catholic Church, Christ was actually born in the year that we record as 4 B.C. Subtracting 4 B.C. from 240 B.C. gives us 236 years between the time of the star that the Wise?men followed and the recorded date of the visit of Halley’s Comet in 240 B.C. Dividing 236 years by three (the number of intervals between successive visits) gives us 78 years and 8 months per interval- within the 74 to 79 year variation of the period of Halley’s Comet. Undoubtedly, Halley’s comet was considerably more brilliant then than now. Almost certainly this was the star that the Wise?men followed, and it was the tail of Halley’s comet that was used by God to point their way.
The next appearance of Halley’s comet will be in 1986 … it will appear brightest in February of 1986 . . 318
1. Before midnight Israeli time August 4?5, 1982 the last 3 1/2 years before the physical return of Christ (the Great Tribulation) could not begin. Now it can begin anytime.
2. We still see through a glass darkly what the 3 1/2 years before (the first half of the last week of years) that will transpire as.
3. In His mercy, the Lord has tarried. He probably should have been back no later than 1996.
This date of 4004 B.C. is a date indicated by the Scriptures. Its actuality may not be verifiable directly from Scripture. This is to be expected as a ramification of free will, since the direct determination of an exact date would be too prone to objective methods of proof and disproof. However, the very fact of its indicativeness increases the significance of this date, since this indicated date applies as well to the date of Adam’s “creation,” i.e., his receiving of a human spirit.
As we have seen previously, Christ was actually born in the year that we record as 4 B.C. Thus, it was four of the Lord’s days (exactly 4,000 of our years) from the indicted date of “creation” to the birth of Christ. Using the same reckoning, the time of the Lord’s return (which will be at the beginning of the seventh day, the millennium) should be the year 1996. If He has not returned by this time, then He has tarried because the bride still hasn’t made herself ready.
Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God … (2 Pt. 3:12)
As we have seen, the cooperation (by the exercise of free will) of the believers to be made ready as the bride can hasten the coming of the day of God. Likewise, the refusal to cooperate can prolong (cause the Lord to ‘tarry’) the coming of the day of God.