Topic:  I) ESCHATOLOGY

 

No 1

(The Rapture of the Church)

There is a difference between Bible Prophecy and Bible Eschatology.  Prophecy speaks of what is to come in the future (Ex: Isaiah 53 predicts the birth of Christ), whereas eschatology is about events in the End Times.  There are differing viewpoints in these matters and we will, Lord willing look at all of them.  However, we will follow certain ground rules.

They are:   1) Prof  Zebulon is a pre-millennialist  2) He will give, what he thinks, is a just and unbiased definition of each differing point of view 3) The event that will usher in the End Times is the rapture of the Church as described in 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-17 that is, for us, still future: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord".  The Bible gives us many many indications of what will transpire after this.

 

No 2

(Rapture identified and explained)

The End Times begin with the rapture of the Church of Jesus Christ.  In this event, all believers, both alive and dead will meet the the Lord Jesus Christ  in the clouds and we shall be with Him forever  1 Thes 4 :13 - 17. This will, as you can imagine, throw the world into an uproar; people will think that all Believers were kidnapped by extra-terresterials or whatever and will begin to join forces to fight these invading aliens; just like in the movie Independence Day.  This world-wide reaction that I talk about is all speculation, of course but the rapture will definitely be an event of gargantuan proportions.

Now, the Rapture of the Church is not to be  confused with the events in Revelation 19: 11-21 where Jesus comes riding a white horse and is called The King of kings and Lord of lords.   All the saints will follow Him and He will defeat the Anti-Christ who has taken over the world.  These are two separate events; the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will be in two stages with a certain lapse of time between each stage,  In the first stage, Jesus will « snatch » us away secretly in the clouds.   The words “caught up” used in 1 Thess 4 :17 means to steal or snatch as a robber; the word is arpazw harpazo in Greek and it means to snatch or to steal.  In the second stage, He will come to conquer Anti-Christ and will usher in the Millenium Period on earth in Revelation 20.

 

No 3

(What is holding Satan back)

Satan, at present is in the world and he basically wants everyone to know that he does not exist; that way he can go about using the different means he has at his disposal, such as:  mediums, magicians, humanism, rock music, astrology, etc, etc and the unsuspecting soul who uses these methods has certain pleasure and begins to like the power. 

There was once a man who used to balance pencils , screwdrivers and various other objects on the tip of his fingers.  Everyone that saw him do these things was amazed at his "powers"  and of course, the man liked these powers too and he would use them to get what he wanted because everyone was afraid of him  There are hundreds of other examples such as these; I'm sure you know of some also.

I bet you're wondering why God would let this go on.  The answer is simple; the world belongs to Satan.  In Matthew 4:9, Satan tempted Our Lord and said, "And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me."  I ask you, how can Satan GIVE something to somebody if does not already belong to him? 

The world belongs to Satan and were it not for the Spirit of God, this world would be rampant with evil. Thank the Lord that there are some spots in this present world that Satan can't touch.  For example, a believer's heart is inpenatrable by Satan.   All he can do to believers is be bothersome , but he can never, never, win true believers to his cause because they belong to the Savior Jesus Christ and no one can pluck them from His hand.  (John 10:28)

Notwithstanding, there will come a time when the Spirit of God will be removed from this earth.  The Bible says in 2 Thessalonians 2:7   "For the secret of evil is even now at work: but there is one who is keeping back the evil till he is taken out of the way."

I ask you, where does the Spirit of God now reside?  In the believer's heart.  Next question: How will God do this?  Very simple, at the rapture of the Church all believers both dead and alive will be removed from this earth and as the Bible says: "and so shall we ever be with the Lord"  1 Thess 4:17b. 

At this time, evil will take over the world and Anti-christ will come forth.

 

No 4

(The 70th week of Daniel)

When will this week occur?  It will occur after Jesus Christ comes for His Church and raptures it up to heaven (1 Thessalonians 4 : 13 to 18).  Then the question should be : When will Jesus come for His Church?  The Bible says in Matthew 24 : 36 “But of that day and hour, knowth no man, no not the angels of heaven, but My Father only”.  The Rapture of the Church will start God’s Divine clock ticking again and Daniel’s prophesy of 70 weeks of years will finally be accomplished.  We have a God of order and I firmly believe that no airplanes will crash and no driver-less cars will be speeding down the highways when the Rapture occurs.  This type of guessing and dreaming has turned a lot Christians against prophecy and, by extension, eschatology. 

The Bible is so clear in these matters; all we need is some intense study and the picture becomes crystal clear.  Antichrist will show his face after the rapture and he will undoubtedly be a strong political leader who will unite the world under his leadership (Rev 13).  The religions of the world will also unite under one leader  (Rev 14). During the first part of the week, antichrist will end all wars and famine (Rev 6 : 2, 4, 5, 8.  He will balance out the world’s riches and everyone will be happy.   But now, back to Daniel’s prophesy.   When Gabriel gave this prophesy to Daniel, he said that the “prince that shall come….shall confirm the covenant with many for one week and in the midst of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease” (Dan 9 : 27).  In other words, at the mid-point of the week after 1260 days (7 x 360 = 2520 days divided by 2 = 1260), the prince (antichrist) will take over everything including the religious unity and will form one world power totally under his control.  Of course, we all know who will be behind all this: Satan himself.  Someone else who lived long after Daniel also was given this information; he got it directly from Jesus Christ.  I’m talking of the Apostle John.  In Revelation, John records three events that he saw unfolding in front of his eyes.  The first event is in Rev 11 : 3 –“they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days in sackcloth” - John speaks here of the two witnesses.  The second event is recorded in Rev 12 : 6 –“And the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God so that there she might be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days” - John speaks here of the nation Israel.  The last event is in Rev 13 : 5 and is recorded in months instead of days –“…and authority to act for forty-two months” (1260 days divided by 30 = 42 months) – John is describing the beast, antichrist.  He (antichrist) will be allowed to do wondrous things and he will persecute the Jews like never before in their history.  He will rise to be the world’s dictator but Jesus Christ will defeat him when he attempts to take God’s place on the throne in Jerusalem - (2 Thess 2 : 4) “…so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God”. The Bible says in Revelation 19 : 14 – “the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean”. Satan is thoroughly defeated by Jesus and His Church (clothed in fine linen) and thrown in the bottomless pit for a thousand years (Rev 20 : 2, 3). The Church has already been raptured at this time and has been with Jesus, in heaven, for seven years. At this point, the marriage ceremony of the Lamb has already been celebrated back in Rev 19 : 7- 10 and the Church is waiting for the thousand-year period to begin.  Isn’t our God great?  The Rapture of the Church could occur at any time.  Will you be with us?

 

No 5

(The Coming World Church)

There are organisations in the world that want to unite all religions into one large body of believers; when I say believers, I don’t necessarily mean believers in God.  This endeavour is called the Ecumenical Movement; its intention is to bring all Christians (Catholic and Protestant) under one roof and eventually to include Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam.  The word ecumenical comes from the Greek and means “this inhabited world”.  Here are two of these organizations : NCC – National Council of Churches representing 144,000 churches worldwide and WCC – World Council of Churches representing 400,000 churches.  The hope of these movements is to become so powerful that every government on earth will respect and heed its laws and decrees.  Recently, there was a 126-page document drawn up entitled : Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT).  There were 50 signatories from the Evangelical associations and 50 signatories from the Catholic associations.

Their main idea was to foster a common agreement on the basic Christian doctrines such as salvation and justification by faith.  It would be too lengthy here to explain all the negative ramifications of this manifesto but suffice to say that if certain other Evangelical preachers had not intervened, this movement would have been devastating.  It is quite obvious to me that these movements whether knowingly or not are playing right into Satan’s plan as described in the book of Revelation in chapters 17 and 18.  The Bible says that Antichrist will take over the political and religious arenas of the world and will, one day, be so powerful : “that he, as God, sittith in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2 Thess 2 : 4b).  This is when Jesus Christ returns, in glory, with the saints who were in heaven with Him to : “cast the devil into the bottomless pit and shut him up and put a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years be fulfilled” (Rev 20 : 3).  Jesus Christ wins in the end; which is why all religions (without Christ) are futile.

 

No 6

(The Influence of Antichrist)

Several Bible commentators agree that the antichrist will appear once the Church has been raptured as described in 1 Thessalonians 4 : 16, 17 “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout…..”.  He will be a strong political leader with great charisma and very strong influence.  He will form a worldwide government and will solve all the world’s problems regarding distribution of resources, hunger, conflicts between countries and the financial imbalance (the beast of Rev 13).  He will align himself with the religious community as well and introduce the ecumenical church through associations such as the World Council of Churches or the National Councils of Churches (the false prophet in Rev 16 : 13).  Everyone will believe that he is the Messiah, even the Jews.  Big mistake!!  Because that is when he will attempt to sit himself down in the restored temple in Jerusalem and declare that he is God – “..so that he as God sittith in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thess 2 : 4b).  It will take approximately seven years for him to accomplish all this relating to the 70th  week in the book of Daniel.  However, his arrogance will not be tolerated by the One called Faithful and True who rides a white horse.  Antichrist will be soundly defeated by Jesus Christ in His Second Coming as the King of kings and the Lord of lords.  

Antichrist will be cast into the bottomless pit for 1000 years and will be released for a short while at the end of the 1000 year period (Rev 19 :11 to 20 : 10) to eventually end up in the lake of fire for eternity along with the beast and the false prophet who were already there since Rev 19 : 20.  What should we all do as Christians in the meantime?  Tell as many people as possible of what we know about our blessed hope and the saving power of Jesus Christ.  Let’s get going!!!

 

No 7

(The Second Coming of Jesus Christ)

“And I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True….and His name is called The Word of God and the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean” (Rev 19 : 11 – 14).   The long-awaited Second Coming of Jesus Christ will finally occur; of course, this will be the First Coming for the Jews.  But, as they say, it is never too late to do good – “and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced” (Zech 12 : 10) – the Jews will finally recognize the true Messiah, the One they have been waiting for.  There has been a lot of controversy over Jesus’ Second Coming and how it applies to the Church and Israel.  The best way to see the Second Coming is to see it happening in two phases.   A two-phase return makes sense if the first phase (for the Church – 1 Thess 4:16) could happen at any time and the second phase (for Israel – see above) happens at a definite pre-signalled time after all the events as described in Revelation 6 to 18.  Regardless of what position we take, the real hope for all believers is that, one day, we will be with Him for eternity and that is the promise that Jesus made to His disciples in the gospel of John chapter 14 verses 1 to 6 “…I will come again and receive you unto Myself that where I am, there ye may be also”.  Instead of defending our preferred eschatological position and wasting all that energy, why don’t we go door to door or on street corners or in shopping malls to tell people that Jesus is “..the Way, the Truth and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Him”?

 

No 8

(The millennium period)

After the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (Rev 19: 11) and the banishment of Satan to the bottomless pit (Rev 20:1), the world will placed under the reign of Jesus Christ and His saints for a thousand years: “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (Rev 20:6).  Here are some of the conditions that will exist during the millennium period:

 

A)National and individual peace – The fruit of Christ’s millennium reign : Isaiah 2:4 “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more”

B)Fullness of joy – A distinctive mark of this age : Isaiah 12:3,4  “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.  And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted”.

C)Holiness – The King and His subjects shall be holy : Ezekiel 45:1   “Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the LORD, an holy portion of the land: the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand. This shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about”

D)Comfort – The King will personally minister to every need : Zephaniah 3:18,19  “I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden. Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame”

E) The removal of the curse (Gen 3: 17-19) – The millennium kingdom will be like the pre-flood period (Gen 9:2) where the animals will lose their venom and ferocity : Isaiah 11:6-8  “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.  And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den”

 

There are many, many more wonderful things that will exist during the millennium period.  Don’t we have a gracious God and a loving Heavenly Father?

 

No 9

(The Judgment Seat of Christ)

Let’s back up a bit in our studies in eschatology.  We saw the rapture of the Church, the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ and a glimpse of the Millennium period.  I suggest we now look at what occurs to the Church right after the rapture; there are two events – “the judgment seat of Christ” and “the marriage supper of the Lamb”. We will look at the judgment seat of Christ first; it is described in 2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”  There are two words in the Greek to describe “judgment seat”; they are “criterion” and “bema”.  Criterion means the “rule by which one judges” and bema means “a platform, a tribune, resembling a throne”.  Therefore, the bema of Christ is associated with authority, prominence, dignity and honour rather than justice and judgment.  There is no doubt who is being judged at this time – it is all believers.  If a person is here, it is because he or she has been saved; salvation here is not the issue.  What is being judged here however are the works of the believers – “the things done in his body”.  There is a further explanation of this 1 Corinthians 3: 9-15 where the Bible says – “Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.” (v13).  In other words, Christ will judge our works as born-again Christians while we were on the earth and when we were given opportunities “which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them(the works)” (Eph 2 :10b).  You know, when you’re in the metro and you strike up a conversation with a total stranger about heaven and hell; or how about when you know of a desperate financial need of someone; or just listening to someone who is discouraged. There is a two-fold result of this judgment or examination – reward received or reward lost –1 Corinthians 3:14, 15  “If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”   So let out works be for something worthwile  “for the things  which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”  2 Cor 4:18.

 

No 10

(The Marriage of the Lamb)

This is the second post-rapture event that happens to the Church, the Marriage of the Lamb.  The account is described in Revelation 19:   “7Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.  8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” This glorious event occurs between the Rapture of the Church and the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The term “the righteousness of saints” is a direct result of the saints being judged at the judgment seat of Christ that we saw last time (2 Corinthians 5:10). There is no doubt that the place of this ceremony is in heaven and that the wife of Jesus Christ are the New Testament saints in this marriage. A distinction must be made here between the Marriage of the Lamb and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.  There are different interpretations of these two events but the most logical one is that the Marriage of the Lamb occurs in heaven (Rev 19) and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb occurs on earth (Matt 25:1-14).  In the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25, Israel awaits the bridegroom and the bride and, as the text indicates, some will be ready and some will not.  In this context, the marriage supper of the Lamb that occurs on earth will be after the Second Coming where the Bridegroom will introduce His Bride to His friends and is an event to which both Israel and the tribulation Gentiles will participate as observers. As Daniel 12: 2 indicates, Israel and the Old Testament saints will be resurrected after the Second Coming of Christ –   “  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”   Therefore the Church which is God’s program for the present age will have been raptured, resurrected and presented to the Son by the Father and thus fulfilling God’s purpose in taking a people for His name… “4  Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name.”  (Acts 15:14).

 

No 11

(Israel After the Rapture of the Church)

After the Church is raptured (1 Thess 4: 13-18), life on earth will continue and God’s time-clock for Israel will start up again.  As we have seen in Daniel 9:24, Gabriel told Daniel that “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people”; the key in understanding this passage of Scripture is the term “upon thy people”.  Who were Daniel’s people? – Israel, of course!  Since 69 weeks will have already passed (Daniel 9:25), there still remains one week. This 70th  week is actually 7 years as were the 69 weeks we saw in our other studies (69 x 7 = 483 years); this period is commonly referred to as the seventieth week of Daniel or as Jeremiah calls it, “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer 30:7). The 69 weeks were not for the Church age; the 70th won’t be either; the seventy weeks apply to Israel!!  In the Olivet discourse Jesus said in Matthew 24: 8 “All these are the beginning of sorrows“.  He had given an answer to a question His disciples had asked – “What shall be the sign of Thy coming and the end of the world?” (24:3b).  There is a parallel between verses 4-8 in Matthew 24 and Revelation 6 that speaks of antichrist who rides the 4 horses; these two passages describe the first half of the great tribulation.  As Daniel 9: 27 indicates:  “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate”.  After the rapture, antichrist will become the ruler of the political world as the 4 horsemen indicate and he will permit Israel to rebuild the temple and allow animal sacrifices to be reinstated.  There is another parallel between this passage in Daniel and what Jesus says in Matthew 24:15 “When ye shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, stand in the holy place”.  What is this abomination of desolation?  The answer is in 2 Thessalonians 2:4b “so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God showing himself that he is God”  In the middle of the week or after 3 ½ years, antichrist will show his real colors and take over the religious world as well as the political  world. He will be so bold that he will sit himself down in the temple of God in Jerusalem and declare that he is God.  Of course, Israel is in the middle of all this and has still not recognized Jesus Christ as Messiah.  There will be wars and judgments everywhere (Revelation 6 to18) in the second half of the week and antichrist’s end will finally come when Jesus Christ returns a second time as “faithful and true” and as“ King of kings and Lord of Lords” (Rev 19:11, 16) with “the armies which were with Him in heaven”; we are that army (v14). Then Israel, as a nation will finally recognize Jesus Christ as the true Saviour – “they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”  Zech 12:10.  As we can see today in the world around us, we are no where near there yet but the rapture could occur at any time and all true Christians will be spared this terrible tribulation “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess 5:9)

 

No 12

  (The Earth during the Millennium)

What will life on earth be like during the Millennium reign of Christ?  This period begins after the Rapture of the Church, after the 70th week of Daniel with all the tribulations described in Revelation 6 to 18 and after the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in Revelation 19:11-16.  The Millennium period will resemble the pre-flood conditions in Genesis when people lived much longer that they do today “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.” (Isa 65:20).

This will be possible because during the tribulation period, the Lord will prepare the earth and the atmosphere by: 

1)  Giving power to the two witnesses in Revelation to stop rainfall thus permitting widespread evaporation: “These have power to shut heaven that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.” (Rev 11:6).

2)  Allowing many earthquakes on earth to occur and the mountains and islands to be displaced therefore permitting much more water to cover the earth “And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places” (Rev 6:14).

3)  Letting little or no wind during the tribulation period “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.” (Rev 7:1)

In Isaiah 35:6b, the Bible says that “for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.” and in Isaiah 40:4 we read “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:” The topography of the earth will be radically changed thus permitting a milder, even climate over all the earth.

At the present time because of the hydrological cycle, the earth’s atmosphere contains very little water vapour. Therefore, the harmful rays of the sun are not filtered as they were in the time of Noah who, by the way, lived for 950 years.  This same canopy protection will exist during the Millennium period because of all the changes that God will have brought about and people will live much longer, just as in the pre-flood era. Oh yes, there will be no carnivorous animals also “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.”  (Isaiah 65:25).

There are many wonderful things still to happen here on earth for those who: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” (Psalm 33:12)

 

No 13

(Israel during the Millennium)

As we have seen in other studies, Israel is the focal point of God’s plan for humanity.  During the 1000 year reign of Christ on earth (Revelation 20), Israel will be restored and regathered; this is echoed in the words of Jesus  “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 in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other”  (Matt 24:30, 31). 

This regathering is also a major subject of the following Old Testament passages: 

-         “ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel.” (Isa 27:12)

-         “Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.  Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;  I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; Even every one that is called by my name:”  (Isa 43:5-7).

-         “At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.”  (Zeph 3:20)

Paul also establishes the fact of the restoration of Israel when he penned the following words:  “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:  For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.” (Rom 11: 26, 27).  Israel, as a nation, will become the subjects of the long-awaited Messiah; He will reign on them and they will become God’s witnesses during the millennium: “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.” (Zech 8 :23).  Jerusalem and by extension, Israel will be the centre of the kingdom rule (Joel 3:17).  Just as Jerusalem was the center of David’s rule, so shall it be the center of David’s greater Son’s rule.

          

No14

(A new heaven and a new earth)

On this side of the cross, there are two things that are sure to happen: Jesus will return a second time and the present earth and the present heaven will be dissolved.  We won’t get into what will transpire between these two events because there are many opinions but one thing is certain : God the Father knows exactly what will happen.   The Bible says in 2 Peter 3: 10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”  Everything – the earth, the universe will be consumed and wickedness will be no more.  The Apostle John saw a glimpse of this on the Isle of Patmos when Jesus Christ gave him the book of Revelation.  Jesus’ instructions were clear to John – “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;”  Rev 1:19.  This concept of a new heaven and a new earth is an Old Testament reality as well as a New Testament one.  In Psalm 102:25, 26 the Bible tells us “Of old Thou didst found the earth; And the heavens are the work of Thy hands. Even they will perish, but Thou dost endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing Thou wilt change them, and they will be change”    The Bible says in Revelation 21:1,2 “ And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

At this point in the chronology of the Revelation, all Old Testament saints and the ultimate redeemed bride will dwell in the New Jerusalem in everlasting righteousness.  What a blessed hope we have as true Christians!!

 

No 15

(Israel and Worship)

True worship during the Great Tribulation will be distinctively Israelite.  Jesus Christ said in Matthew 24:20  “…pray that your flight may not be on a Sabbath”.  Only Israel is under God-given law to observe the Sabbath and  Paul warned the Church in Colossians 2:16  “..let no one act as your judge in regard to…a Sabbath day” (Rom 14:5  Gal 4:10). In Exodus 35: 2,3 the Bible reads  “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.  Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.” In ancient Israel, the death penalty was even inflicted on someone who wanted to prepare a meal on the Sabbath.  One man was caught gathering sticks to kindle a fire to prepare a meal; well actually, he didn’t even have time to prepare the meal, he was stoned to death – Numbers 15: 32-36.  No one today truly observes the Sabbath; not the Jews; not even the Seventh-Day Adventists.   Therefore when Jesus spoke in the Olivet Discourse, He was referring to Israel during the Great Tribulation.

Jesus also warned Israelite believers in the Olivet Discourse that  “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place”  (Matt 24:15).  The only true “holy place” here on earth was in the Jerusalem temple, it stands to reason that this passage refers to a rebuilt tribulation temple (we will look at this more closely in another study).  Not only will there be a rebuilt temple during the Great Tribulation, but there will also be full-fledged Levitical priests to perform the animal sacrifices.  As we know, when Roman armies invaded Jerusalem and destroyed the temple in 70 AD, all records of the 12 tribes of Israel were destroyed.  Therefore, today no Jewish person knows from what tribe he or she descends.  However, in Revelation 7:4-8, we read that 144,000 Israelites will be identified of which 12,000 will be Levites (v7). God has a plan for Israel and it will come to pass come what may.

 

No 16

(Animal Sacrifice restored)

The Old Testament teaches us that animal sacrifices, although sanctioned by God, could never remove spiritual guilt from the person; the New Testament is very clear on this issue – Hebrews 10: 4, 11 say “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:”  Nevertheless, something happened to the person if the animal sacrifice and the person’s attitude were correct.  In Leviticus 1:4, we read  “And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.”   What happened to the person was personal and significant; not merely symbolic and prophetic.  It was, of course temporal and not eternal; it was external and not internal; and it was legal and not soteriological (for salvation).   Faith was, as it is today, the only way to approach the true God for salvation.

During the Millennium period, the animal sacrifices that will be performed will be efficacious and expiatory only in terms of strict provision for ceremonial forgiveness within Israel’s relationship with God and therefore temporal.  Salvation comes only by grace through faith in God (Eph 2:8).

At the beginning of the Millennium, everyone will be believers but those born during the Millennium will need to place their faith in God just as everyone else did.  Therefore the nations will require protection from the wrath of a Holy God that animal sacrifices will provide in accordance with their divine function in Mosaic Law.  “There will be no Arc of the Covenant, no jar of manna, no rod of Aaron, no tables of the Law, no mercy seat, no Cherubim, no veil, and no Holy of Holies where the high priest entered once a year”  (Taken from the book “Thing to come” by JD Pentecost)

In the book of Ezekiel, we read  “he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel.”  (45:17b).  Jeremiah also states “Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually.” (33:18).  Both these Scriptures refer to the Millennium period.  

Just as the Church today achieves a spiritual and symbolic balance with the bread and cup; so will a regenerated Israel attain the divinely intended balance between form and content; between law and grace in the New Covenant with animal sacrifices. (This whole study was gleaned from the works of John Whitcolm)

 

No 17

(The Two Witnesses)

In Revelation 11:3, we read  “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.” Who are these two witnesses?  There is much speculation as to who they are – some have said Moses and Elijah; others have said Enoch and Moses; some have even said that they are not really people but are symbols and the list goes on.  Scripture does not tell us exactly who these two witnesses are but it does tell us what they will be doing.  Their job will be to preach the Gospel of repentance to the crowds on earth during the Great Tribulation; notice the mention of “sackcloth”.  The use of sackcloth in the Bible speaks of mourning or repentance.    Job wore this type of clothing during his period of testing and John the Baptist wore this type of clothing during his preaching of the gospel of repentance.

These two witnesses will also be endowed with supernatural powers – “fire proceeds from their mouth” (v5);  “these have power to shut heaven so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy”(v6); they will resurrect from the dead “the breath of life from God entered them” (v11) and they will ascend to heaven  “and they ascended to heaven in a cloud” (v12).  We saw the work of these two witnesses in another study in Creation. 

The fact that they will have the ability to stop rain from falling on the earth during the time of their prophesying which is 2 ½ years (1260 days), the earth will be transformed into pre-flood conditions.  Without rain, there will be much evaporation on the earth and the atmosphere will return as it was before the flood with a canopy protection.  These two witnesses are absolutely indispensable in God’s plan and after their ascension; He will judge the world for its sins of idolatry and unbelief.