Covenant Presbyterian Church
Sunday morning Foundations Classes
God's Positioning System (GPS)
Angels/Demons & the End Times Lesson #6
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(Lessons are posted once a week on Friday afternoon
For Lesson #1 click on 5/31 at Blog Archive
In case you’re wondering, if our study is
about angels why are we now touching on the Book of Revelation? In chapters 1
& 2 of Revelation, Jesus has a message for each of the angels of the 7
churches in Asia Minor. Angels are mentioned 23 times throughout the Book of Revelation.
Demons (i.e., fallen angels) are mentioned in 3 different chapters of
Revelation (Rev. 9:20, 16:14, 18:2). Our study of angels wouldn’t be complete
without this overview of angelic activities during the End Times, i.e., the
spiritual realm. Demons and God’s angels are very much a part of the End Times.
This and the next lesson constitute the end of
our study of angels (I think), the spiritual realm of angels, End Times
including Rapture and Tribulation. We can’t see angels
or demons, but they are
very active on planet earth.
Most Christians have
an image of what is meant by the End Times, including the Rapture and the
Millennium. When I concluded the last lesson I wondered if I had enough
material for another full lesson. Actually, it
turned out that I have too much content to
fit into a single lesson;
which means there will be yet another lesson following this one. I hope you get
as much out of it as I tried to put into it.
This is not intended as a study of
the Book of Revelation except where it refers to Satan, demons and angels. The
chart highlights key points of the Book of Revelation and the spiritual realm.
Where the chart notes “Rapture (Rev. 4:1)”, v.4.1 is in reference to John being
taken into heaven (raptured) during his vision. It is an interesting chart
and good place to start this lesson. You can click on the chart to enlarge it
and esc to return.
Most Christians in the Evangelical world
believe in a literal Rapture. This view was highlighted and gained popularity
in the “Left Behind” TV and book series. Not all branches of Christianity
believe in a literal Rapture. We will look at the various views, principally
Protestant including Lutheran, as well as Catholic and Orthodox views.
This slide shows a commonly held view of
the Millennium (means 1,000 yrs.) by many Christians.
Rev.
20:4-5 makes note of the Millennium, giving rise to various interpretations and
understandings. Some
see it as a literal 1,000 years, others see it as symbolic representing a
period of time.
Some believe Jesus will return to earth and rule for 1,000 years; while others
believe He will rule through His church. We will look at the different views
and rationale for each.
The Garden of Eden must have been exactly
like this before Adam’s fall dragging the whole world order into chaos, decay
and death. Some associate Isaiah 65 with the Millennium, when God restores what
it was once like—before Adam’s fall—for
a 1,000 years … Some believe the Millennium is symbolic and not literal. In
either case, according to Isaiah, the lion will be lying down with the
lamb—which makes for one happy lamb. Isaiah could very well be referring to the
New Earth noted in Revelation 21:1. Isaiah 65 doesn’t specify a 1,000-year
timeline.
Chart shows the three most popular
views in
regard to a
“literal Rapture” and sequence relative to the Tribulation and Millennium.
Certain branches of Christianity do not believe in a literal Rapture, which we
will look at, but enough do believe, making it worthy of discussion within the
context of our study.
What does the Book of Revelation say
about the Millennium? The 1,000-years (millennium) is noted in Revelation
20:1-10. Again, some believe it is symbolic, others take it as stated, as a
literal 1,000 years. The thousand years (i.e., millennium) is only mentioned in
Revelation 20, but it’s mentioned six times.
Whether literal or symbolic, Satan and
his influence on the world system is real. Revelation 20 clearly indicates a
time when Satan’s reign ends and can no longer influence the world. Not
only is Satan’s influence real, but so is his rage against God and the world.
Is Satan in denial about his defeat? Does he still believe—as when he
revolted in heaven—that he can ultimately defeat God. Not only is Satan’s
influence turned loose on the world, but so is his rage and determination to
destroy everything.
I see Satan mirrored in Adolf Hitler’s
rise to power, his attempt to exterminate the Jews, and his decisions at the
end of WWII—i.e., not allowing his armies to withdraw from the battlefield even
on the verge of defeat. When it became apparent that Germany was defeated, and
the Russians had entered Berlin, Hitler ordered the total
destruction of
all of Germany’s infrastructure, and ordered the German army and German people
to fight to the bitter end, which many did. This is the same hatred and rage we
can expect from Satan, knowing defeat was imminent. I see history as a learning
tool; I believe this one can be applied to the End Times.
The view not previously shown is Amillennialism, that sees much, if not most, of Revelation as symbolism,
including the thousand years (millennial) noted in Rev. 20:3. Nor does it
believe in a literal reign of Christ on earth; that His influence is through
His church and evangelism of those born during that 1,000-year period.
The word millennium doesn’t appear in the
Bible, it is used in reference to the “thousand years” noted several times in
Revelation 20.
A view of the Rapture is linked to the Millennium.
There are different views on the Millennium, one being that the people entering
that 1,000-year period, are born-again Christians who lived through—actually,
suffered through—the Great Tribulation. Others do not see it as a literal 1,000
years of Christ’s reign on earth, but that He rules through His church, which
evangelizes those born during that period.
Since Rapture isn’t mentioned in the
Bible, where does the term come from? Belief in a Rapture is rooted in 1
Thessalonians 4. Advocates point to it as a strong indication of a literal
Rapture. Others believe it refers to the final resurrection at the return
of Jesus Christ after the 7-year Tribulation, to establish
His kingdom here on earth,
at the end of which the New Heaven descends on earth (Rev. 21:1) thus giving us
a New Heaven and New Earth.
Hopefully, the next two slides answer
that question in the slide.
This and the next slide explain why I
believe God establish a millennium period after the Tribulation. Even Lucifer
and his angels in heaven and man in the Garden of Eden, though created perfect
and sinless, and in a perfect environment, sinned of their own free will.
It is God’s final lesson to humanity. The
Millennial period would be everyone’s dream… if Jesus reigned on earth, things
would be perfect is every way, a world of perfect social justice and world
order, free of strife under Jesus as Lord. And yet… some people willingly
sinned.
All of which takes us to the Rapture.
When and where does the Rapture take place? Or does it? Where
does it fit in respect to the Millennium?
I find it necessary to repeat myself at
times, that some believe and
others do not believe in a literal Rapture and literal 1,000-year reign of
Christ on earth. This slide reflects the view that appears to be the most
widely held one within Christianity. Some believe John was writing in
regard to the
Roman Empire, which ended around 480 AD. Some see Revelation as mostly
symbolism. Others see it as a literal reference to future events. If John was
only addressing 1st century Christians and the Roman Empire,
what relevance would it have for us? If it was for 1st century Christians, what would its
principle message have been for Gentile converts if its understanding rested on
O.T. prophesies as some believe? In other words, it’s complicated.
Of course there is a lot of symbolism in the Book of Revelation, but perhaps we don’t get it because it hasn’t unfolded yet. Revelation would certainly serve as a warning if those events started to unfold, especially if the antichrist gained political power.
At some time or other, many if not most
Christians have pondered what is described as the “Rapture”. Is it a literal
event yet to come? I
think one of the first things that come to mind when we hear End Times is the Rapture.
As mentioned, there was
a TV series and a
number of
books depicting the Rapture and the aftermath, which certainly influenced
many Christians’ opinions. There are several different
views within the
Church body which we will explore further in our next lesson.
We can only imagine the headlines if the
rapture was to occur.
You’ll
get the drift of it by also reading the sub-headings shown on this illustrated
front page—especially
the one on “top religious leaders”. The message being, not everyone in the
Church is of the Church, including church leaders and clergy. It speaks volumes
about certain
liberal
denominations that have replaced the biblical gospel with a social gospel, which
does not lead to
Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, but Jesus as a social worker with a focus on physical
well being and not salvation of souls.
What do the main branches of Christianity
profess about the End Times? The following slides tell us in their own words, downloaded from the web.
As a former MS Lutheran, I held to this particular
view for
many years;
primarily
because I never had insight into or thought about the other views until
the “Left Behind” TV series. So, why do Lutherans reject a
literal Rapture? Principally because the
Rapture view
is about 200 years old and is not the historic position of the Church
nor was it proposed, discussed or debated by the early church fathers. Nor
is it a doctrinal issue like grace versus works or the nature of Christ.
Others, beside Catholics, share the amillennial view.
Both Lutherans
and Catholics hold the “amillennial” view as the historic view of the
Christian Church, which is a sizable part of Christianity.
I wanted to include all
of the
major branches of Christianity, which of course includes the Orthodox. One
would think they would be consistent with the Roman Catholic view, but they
aren’t as noted. They aren’t professing the Rapture as doctrine, but as a
possibility that they haven’t ruled out.
What about Presbyterian? There are three views within the Reformed faith as noted. Premillennial,
Postmillennial, and Amillennial are all included in Reformed thinking. In other
words, since it is not a doctrinal issue, it depends on what theologian or pastor you talk to. But, it
does rule out the view associated with “dispensational premillennialism” which
we will look at in the next lesson. Aseity in position (b) means the “quality
or state of being self-derived or self-originated; specifically: the
self-sufficiency, independence, and autonomy of God.” Ref: https://reformed.org/eschatology/
Chart presents a biblical
timeline
within the context of our study, from Adam’s fall, to the Great White Throne Judgment in
Revelation 20. It
shows
the rapture prior
to
the 7 years tribulation—when
the
antichrist rules planet earth.
This may
very well be the most popular view with Evangelicals—we get
to escape the 7-year
Tribulation.
But, as the saying goes: “No pain, not gain!” Will the Tribulation be a time of
spiritual growth for the Church and individual Christians? Will it take
Christians from a state of indifference and apathy to a time
of deep spiritual
awakening and fervor? Scripture
does mention rewards in Heaven for suffering here on earth: Rev. 2:10; Matt.
16:27; Luke 12:33-34; 1 Cor. 3:8; 1 Tim. 6:17-19. The chart also shows the
reestablishment of the State of Israel, which leads us to the next slides. Some
scholars DO NOT give any relevance to Israel’s reestablishment to Revelation.
Nevertheless, there is a State of Israel that was established after the
Holocaust and against great odds.
As someone who focused on the lessons of history, it's very existence is almost a miracle,
and against, not some odds, but great odds. Did God permit a holocaust to
compel the Jews to abandon Europe and return to their historic homeland? Satan
instigated the holocaust, but God used it to accomplish His will. I can’t help
but think, God used the creation of Israel as a vital part of the End Times.
Again, I’m a strong believer that history
reveals a lot about biblical lessons and events. There are those that look at
history for its lesson and those that don’t. I am one that does. From my
perspective, the map shows the odds against a state of Israel existing or even
surviving, being totally
surrounded by
hostile nations that seek its destruction. Hitler’s efforts to exterminate the
Jews began with the Holocaust, which led to the reinstatement of Israel after
WWII, their historic and biblical homeland. They even won what’s called the six-day war in 1967 against overwhelming odds from a much larger united
Arab army, determined to destroy Israel. I think even the very existence of
Israel says a lot about the Jews and the End Time. That the very establishment
of the State of Israel in and of itself is prophetic.
In 1967 Israel fought a 6-Day War against
overwhelming odds, for its very survival. This map shows the odds against
Israel, and Arab armies building up to invade and destroy Israel. But,
Israel struck first defeating and routing the combined armies of Egypt, Syria
and Jordan. Israel advanced into the Jordan-held West Bank and routed the Egyptian army in the Sinai, which they gave back to Egypt under an Egypt-Israel peace treaty signed
on March 26, 1979 under President Jimmy Carter. Coincidence or prophetic? There
will be a New Jerusalem (Rev. 3:12 & 21:2), also called the Tabernacle of
God, the Holy City, the City of God, the Celestial City, the City Foursquare,
and Heavenly Jerusalem, is literally heaven on earth. And it’s
location is on the Jerusalem temple mount, where a mosque now stands.
This particular explanation of
the tribulation, downloaded from the web, fits the previous slides concerning
reinstating of the State of Israel in our times.
The Jerusalem temple at the time of Jesus
is shown on the left, on right is a mosque that now stands on the temple
mount. The mosque was first built in 705 AD. It was destroyed by
earthquakes in 746, 754, and again in 780. It was partially destroyed by
another earthquake in 1033, and another one built two years later. It was
restored again in 1187. Do you think God had a message?
Is
there any relevance to the rebirth of Israel in our time? Many Bible scholars
believe there is.
Throughout the Old Testament, God did not
abandon His people, Israel. Often God sent angels to protect them.
I’ll let this slide speak for itself.
We will pick up at this point in our next
lesson. This chart
lines up
the four main views
held by different branches
of Christianity, which we will look at and why people believe as they do. The
slide can be enlarged by clicking on it. We will discuss this further in our next lesson. Until then, blessings to all.
END OF LESSON #6
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