We have been in the ‘End Times’ series, and today I’d like to conclude and share the final message of this series.
Biblical Facts
– 1/4 of the entire Bible comprises prophecies about Jesus’ Return.
– The New Testament has 1,800 references to the Second Coming.
– Of the 27 New Testament books, 24 speak of the Rapture and Christ’s Return.
– For every prophecy about the First Coming, there are 8 references to the Second Coming.
– The Old Testament (39 books) has 351 concerning the First Coming, and all of them were faithfully fulfilled.
My point to you is: If Jesus fulfilled 351 prophecies from 39 Old Testament books, why would He not fulfil the prophecies about His return?
My dear ones, we are living in the final minutes of God’s clock. I am not setting a date for the end or the Lord’s return, but whoever has ears to hear, let them hear and get ready!
When we speak of eschatology, which is the study of the end times, we always feel like we must find out the date, when it will happen, what comes first, second, third, and so forth.
I have read the Bible and many books by numerous Bible scholars who claim to know the correct order. But the problem is that they do not agree with each other, and their opinions diverge regarding the sequence of events, and any of them could be mistaken.
Jesus gave us all the signs, a list of events that would happen in the end times, but He did not give us the clear sequence of events. That is, Jesus did not say what would happen first, then second, third, etc.
I am not the “owner of the truth,” but having studied the Bible for 40 years, I have my viewpoint, and today I want to talk about my take on the chronology of events!
The greatest divergence among Bible scholars is when the rapture will occur. The vast majority of scholars believe that the Rapture will be at the beginning of the Great Tribulation. Others, however, believe that the rapture will happen in the middle of the Great Tribulation (after 3.5 years), and still others believe that the rapture will be after the 7 years of the Great Tribulation.
If the rapture comes first, you must be prepared for the rapture.
Should the rapture be in the middle or after the tribulation, you must be steadfast to endure the Great Tribulation.
Today I will not discuss how each of the final events will unfold; today I will only talk about the timeline or the order in which I believe these events will occur!
The world has changed; many things have happened in recent years, and they are not good things. But there is something beautiful and powerful that has been happening in these last days!
God’s word is being fulfilled, and this makes me joyful and full of expectation. I am happy not because of the destruction and deaths, certainly not, but because with the fulfilment of God’s word, our redemption is drawing near. Hallelujah!
As Jesus said in Matthew 24:35 (NIV): “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
Looking at the Bible, we see many prophecies being fulfilled before our very eyes.
Many ask me: What time are we living in today?
Today we are living in the time when we are awaiting the rapture!
“Then we who are still alive and are left will be “caught up” together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17 NIV)
First, Jesus will call up His church; we will be raptured and meet Him in the air.
However, before the rapture of the church, I believe that we will go through a great war, called the war of Gog and Magog. This will be a war against Israel.
This war is found in the book of Ezekiel, chapters 38 and 39. (Please, later on, take your Bible and read it.)
The Bible says that several nations from the Far North will come against Israel. Who are the enemies mentioned there? Who are the nations that will come against Israel? Russia, Iran, Turkey, Syria, and some other Arab nations that will unite to come against Israel. And in this war, God will intervene supernaturally and destroy the enemies.
Just so you get an idea, the Bible says that it will take 7 months just to bury the bodies.
“For seven months the people of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.” (Ezekiel 39:12 NIV)
I believe this war will be of global proportion. In my opinion, I believe the whole world will be involved in some way.
At the end of this war, a peace agreement will be necessary, and the Antichrist will lead this peace agreement. He will do this with the help of the false prophet, and this peace agreement will involve the world’s three great religions: Jews, Muslims, and Christians.
According to the book of Daniel, this peace agreement will be for 7 years, and in my opinion, the church will see this peace agreement signed. For the Bible says that the Antichrist will be revealed to us. (2 Thessalonians 2:3 NIV)
“Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3 NIV)
How will we know who is the Antichrist? The Bible says that a peace agreement will be made, led by him, as written in the Book of Daniel 9:27, and it will last for 7 years.
I believe that as soon as this peace agreement happens, the church will be raptured. The rapture of the church is not the Second Coming of Jesus, because the rapture of the church happens in the air, and in the Second Coming all eyes will see Jesus coming to earth, where He will step on the Mount of Olives according to Zechariah 14:4 (NIV):
“On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley.” (Zechariah 14:4 NIV)
The rapture will be Jesus in the air and the true church of Jesus ascending; all those who love, believe in, and await Jesus will go up to meet Him, and I believe that that is when the Great Tribulation begins.
The Great Tribulation begins with the signing of the peace agreement (which is a 7-year agreement) and with the Rapture of the church.
During the first 3.5 years, the world will still be adapting to the ‘disappearance’ of millions upon millions of people who were raptured. There will be the implementation of a single world currency, and the implementation of the mark of the beast, without which people will not be able to buy or sell.
During the first 3.5 years, Israel will believe that the Antichrist is benevolent, a friend of Israel, promoting peace worldwide, until the Antichrist decides to enter the temple that is to be built right at the beginning of the Great Tribulation.
Before long, Israel will resume daily sacrifices in the temple in Jerusalem.
He will enter the Most Holy Place, will claim to be the Messiah awaited by the people of Israel, and at this moment, Israel will realise his deception, for he is not a high priest and has no right to enter the Most Holy Place.
At this point, the Bible says he will turn against Israel. When he enters the temple, (2 Thessalonians 2:3 NIV) the wicked one, the man doomed to destruction (the Antichrist), will be revealed.
In Matthew 24:15 (NIV), Jesus calls this event “the abomination that causes desolation.” It echoes what happened with Antiochus Epiphanes, when that Greek entered the Most Holy Place, sacrificed a pig, and placed an image of Zeus in the Most Holy Place.
Jesus calls this event “the abomination that causes desolation,” and this will happen exactly in the middle of the Great Tribulation, at the 3.5-year mark.
From then on, the Antichrist’s persecution against Israel will begin, and it will be a slaughter; many people will die, but during this period, God will preserve
His people so that they are not exterminated.
At the end of the Great Tribulation, when the people of Israel are besieged in Jerusalem, the enemy armies will enter the Valley of Armageddon, the Valley of Jezreel, which is a large valley located north of Jerusalem.
The Bible says in Revelation 9:16 (NIV) that two hundred million soldiers will come from the east. There will be Arabs, Muslims, Chinese, and all who are currently enemies of Israel in this battle, the Battle of Armageddon.
However, there will be no war! When Israel is besieged, on the verge of destruction, Jesus will appear from the heavens.
“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” Jude 1:14-15 NKJV
With Him will come a great army of His Saints, and these Saints are us, who were raptured, who will have glorified bodies. And there, at that moment, the word of God says that Jesus will destroy the enemy armies with the word of His mouth.
11 “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and wages war.
14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.”
Revelation 19:11, 14 NIV
At that moment, all of Israel’s enemies will die, simply by the word uttered by Jesus.
All of Israel will convert; they will come to know Jesus as the Messiah.
The nations will gather in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (Jehoshaphat means ‘The Lord Judges’). This valley lies between Mount Moriah and the Mount of Olives.
When Jesus descends, He will step on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:3-4 NIV), and it will split, becoming a large plain, and the nations will be judged, especially for having stood against Israel.
At this point, Jesus is back on earth and will establish the millennial Kingdom which will last for 1,000 years, and during these 1,000 years, we who were raptured will be living here with Christ, with glorified bodies.
At the end of the 1,000 years (Revelation 20:7 NIV), Satan, who was imprisoned, will be released, and when he is set free, he will deceive the nations, and once again, there will be an uprising, a second war, but Jesus will put an end to this rebellion, and He will prevail.
Satan will be thrown into the lake of burning sulphur (Revelation 20:10 NIV), and then there will be the Final Judgment, the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11 NIV), where all the dead, those who did not die believing in Jesus the Messiah, will stand before God to be judged at the Final Judgment.
All who died during the millennium, those who do not have glorified bodies, will also be judged at the great tribunal of the White Throne.
After the White Throne, the period of Eternal Ages then begins, which is eternity.
The New Jerusalem will be on earth (Revelation 21:2 NIV); Jesus will be governing the world, and all the redeemed will live together with Him.
“Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:2-4 NKJV
There will be no more sin, no more temptations, no more death, nor pain, and God will wipe every tear from our eyes, only joy, happiness, abundance, and we will live to know God eternally; yes, we will need eternity to know God.
For the Bible says in John 17:3 (NIV): “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
There will be no more sorrow, pain, or crying, because from then on God will be forever present. God’s people will be formed by the Jews and the church who believe in Jesus as their Saviour, and all will live together in the presence of God.
This is now the time for you to live for God, to sanctify yourselves, to confess Jesus, to preach the gospel to the lost, because God’s clock is nearing its end!
We are living in the final seconds of God’s clock, and you must prepare yourselves; you must get ready to meet the Lord! Either through your death or through the rapture.
It is very important that you understand this: all prophecies regarding Jesus’ coming have already been fulfilled. I believe the rapture is very near, and the Archangel who will sound the trumpet (the last trumpet) is already prepared for this moment.
On the day the last trumpet sounds, the church will be raptured; however, many will be left behind and will have to go through the Great Tribulation.
Perhaps you will say, ‘I believe that believers will go through the Great Tribulation, and then the rapture will come.’ Yes, you might be right; however, if you are not ready for the Rapture, you will also not be ready to go through the Great Tribulation.
Today is the day you must start to sanctify yourself; today is the time for you to get yourself ready to be in the presence of the Lord!
The Lord’s return must bring joy, reverence, and holiness to our hearts!
Be joyful, for our redemption is very near!
May God bless you!