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Angels/Demons & the End Times -- Lesson #13
For Lesson #1 click on 5/31 at Blog Archive.
Revelation 7:14b: "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
As we approach the end of our study (1 more lesson to go), I want to emphasize once again that I am presenting this study as I see it unfold, as I listen to the sermons and lectures, study various views and read the associated Bible verses, look at current events, and not from a preconceived opinion. So, if one view is emphasized at the exclusion of another, it is only because I feel compelled to do so as that particular point in our study, as the study material itself unfolds.
Let’s begin with Israel, which only exits today because of God’s providence and protection. The greatest evangelist the world has ever known is the Apostle Paul (Saul is his Hebrew name) a Jew. The Apostles were Jews; Jesus was a Jew; the first Christians were Jews. The Jews are still relevant and will be redeemed during the Tribulation, when the wrath of God pours out on a sinful, unrepentant and rebellious world.
Almost from the time they were a distinct people, and just as God told Abram (Abraham) in Genesis, the world has continued to persecute and even try to exterminate the Hebrew people, as with the Holocaust. After 400 years of exile in Egypt, Moses led them to the land promised by God and which they reclaimed as a Jewish nation in 1948.
From their 400 years of exile and slavery in Egypt…. they struggled for survival and were delivered by God (Exodus 6:1).
Ex 6:1 Then the LORD said to Moses , "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country."
History of the Jews was one of a deep-seated hatred and persecution, yet God preserved them as a people. Satan was behind it all. If they lost their relevance after the rejection and crucifixion of Christ, why weren’t they exterminated over the years? We can’t believe that it was a coincidence that they still exist as a distinct people, unless God preserved them. If so, why? That is why the Amillennial view seems to have a giant disconnect with the reason for the Tribulation, believing that God only uses it to punish sin, but not to redeem a remnant of Israel who will accept Jesus Christ as their promised Messiah. Why would any Bible scholar just ignore Israel because the church did not address Israel. The reason, as I see it is that there was no Israel between 70 AD and 1948, and there was nothing for the Church to discuss or debate until now.
Nazi concentration camps and the Holocaust, were part of Satan’s goal to destroy the Jewish people. Their very survival through all of it was by the hand of God. A new Israel state came into existence in 1948 with its very survival being assured in 1967….
Why is any of this relevant to our study? Because there are two distinct reasons for the Tribulation. To punish sinful, rebellious and unrepentant man, and to redeem a remnant of Israel as God promised when He made a covenant with Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:15).
After the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD the Jews were dispersed across much of the world. And almost 1900 years later they returned as a people to establish a nation in their ancestral homeland that God gave them thousands of years earlier, as He promised Abraham in Genesis 12 & 13.
All of which takes us to the rebuilding of the temple and fulfillment of Bible prophesy, Matt. 24:9-15, 2 Thess. 2:4; and the 70th week of Daniel 9. Without the Jews’ return to Israel, none of this would even be remotely possible. It is only because the Jews returned to their ancestral homeland that these prophesies even make sense. God has not forgotten the Jews nor are they irrelevant. The Tribulation is the fulfillment of the 70th week of Daniel's 70-week prophesy that was focused on Israel. Unless one recognizes the significance of this, then all of it becomes a blur, or just symbolism that is somewhat impossible to understand without an Israel and temple.
Why is there so much focus in recent years on rebuilding of the temple?
I think this slide sums it up pretty well. You can click on the slide to enlarge it. Hit esc to return to a normal view.
The dispensational premillennial view is that the rapture is just before the 7-year Tribulation. Some Amillennialists and Postmillennialists place it, if at all, at the Second Coming of Christ. It all points to the question, what can we expect when the Antichrist comes to power, especially if there is no Rapture? The next few slides will give an example of what I anticipate could happen if we are not raptured away. This slide explains the difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, defined as two separate events. Remember, you can click on the chart to enlarge it. Then hit esc to return to normal viewing.
I wanted to cover the variances for those who believe in a Rapture. The Mid-Tribulation view sees it a little differently. The rationale behind this is that mediocre Christians will grow into steadfast and devoted Christians under the initial rein of the Antichrist. It also provides an opportunity for those in the liberal mainline denominations to repent and return to the Gospel of grace. It may also purge the church of those who profess to be Christian, but in name only, who will leave the Church rather than suffer for their faith—those who are not “born-again”. The rationale against it is that Christ paid the full price for all our sins and there is nothing more we can contribute by going through the Tribulation. Even mediocre Christians go to heaven. But, can a born-again Christian be mediocre?
Again, a chart explains it better than words alone; this one shows Daniel’s 70 Weeks prophecy, and the three Rapture views: Pre-tribulation, Mid-tribulation and Post-tribulation.
Let me give a personal example. I was raised in the Amillennial view through my entire church life and rarely, if even, gave the pretribulation rapture any thought. But, having said that, my current belief is based on reading and listening to the various views by respected pastors and scholars, even when they disagreed with each other. Sticking to or switching views is not a matter of doctrine. In regard to my own view, certain things stand out that I cannot ignore, including the relevance of Israel in the Old Testament, which we took a lot of time to look at, and in the Tribulation. Many have heard only one view. In studying an issue, I do my best to look at what the evidence is showing and always take it into consideration. I hope this study served its intended purpose to present all the views adequately and objectively. Did our study change your mind or reinforce it?
Even though belief in a pre-tribulation rapture is labeled Dispensational, we can’t lump everything together under a label, because individual views vary. Pastor John MacArthur is Reformed, yet he professes a pre-tribulation rapture. It doesn’t make his theology dispensational; it is still Reformed.
https://www.gotquestions.org/dispensationalism.html
In giving a definition of Dispensationalism, it seems appropriate to give a somewhat simplified definition of Reformed theology.
https://www.gotquestions.org/reformed-theology.html
This chart shows the key points of what’s defined as Traditional Premillennialism, which does not include a pre-tribulation Rapture, or any rapture for that matter.
Chart shows the Premillennial view described as Dispensational which includes a pretribulation Rapture. It’s rejected by Amillennial and Postmillennial adherents, and even Traditional Premillennial adherents. This particular view is rejected principally because it did not become popular until 1830, being accepted by many evangelical Christians. It is rejected principally because it had not previously been identified in church history. Yet, the rebirth of Israel in 1948 speaks volumes as to why it needs to be reconsidered. Many will consequently stick to church history. Of course, church history is a good yard stick, but it also needs to be held within context of what we have learned or seen over the years, especially a rebirth of the State of Israel. Also, there was no Israel following Rome’s destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, nor during the Reformation period. And the early organized Christian Church—i.e., Roman Catholic and Easter Orthodox—saw the Christian Church as the new Israel, in that God rejected Israel because they crucified Christ. Even Martin Luther had no love for the Jews, referring to them as Christ killers. No one throughout church history could ever even imagine a rebirth of Israel, but in fact that’s the reality and warrants consideration.
This version differs a little from the Dispensational view in that the rapture is moved from just before the Tribulation to the 3 ½ year mid-point. Variations in every view is all a matter of individual interpretation, none of which is pinpointed in the Scriptures, much of which is like putting pieces of a puzzle together. Without a picture on the box it would be difficult to determine exactly what a puzzle looked like from the individual pieces alone, which is what the End Times looks like in the Bible, via verses in both the Old and New Testaments. Like the finished puzzle, it’s only when the individual pieces start coming together that the picture becomes clear and consistent. I believe as time and events unfold it will become more and more clear and apparent.
This chart lays out biblical history from the O.T. Israel, through the Church Age ending at the Rapture, followed by the Tribulation, then Christ reign for the 1,000 millennium, and followed by the White Throne Judgment. Got all that? Chart doesn’t show the New Heaven and New Earth in Rev. 21:1.
This chart is handy in that it shows the Bible references for the Tribulation timeline.
1 Tim 4:1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
As Paul wrote in his letter to Timothy, some will abandon the faith, in that they turned away from God’s Word, and if we judge by today, many, even those professing to be Christian, embrace cultural standards in the areas of sexual preference and abortion on demand, and what is proclaimed as social justice, in lieu of the Gospel message that we are sinners in need of a Savior, and that Savior is Jesus Christ. The book of Revelation warned the churches of the very same things, as being a form of idolatry.
History provides examples of how a dictator rises to power, peacefully at first, just as the Antichrist will do. Adolf Hitler rose to power by proclaiming he could fix all of Germany’s post World War I (WWI) problems: Germany was hit hard after WWI with high unemployment, and doubly hard by the 1929 depression. It had massive reparation debts being paid to the victorious WWI allies; it lost large portions of its territory in 1919 to the European allies, especially France and Poland. The German people were demoralized and a lot poorer.
Hitler promised to restore Germany to its former glory, and he did exactly that as Fuhrer. First he had to find a scapegoat. He accused the Jews of being Communist sympathizers that sabotaged Germany during WWI. That they were undermining German culture and must be purged from everything German. He began by restoring German pride and after having full authority and power, his reign of terror began, just as the Antichrist will do, but on an even larger scale with greater intensity. To sum it up, Hitler gave the German people hope before dashing their dreams with tyranny and destruction.
One of the things he will do is propose an ingenious Middle-East peace solution that would not only reduce but eradicate tensions between Jews and Arabs. We are seeing examples of how he would gain power, right now and right here in the USA, under the COVID-19 shutdown, which is totally unprecedented in American history and much of it a violation of the Bill of Rights. If there is no rapture, you can be certain, churches will be closed, and public worship banned. Last year, no one would have agreed that this was even possible. But, how quickly things change. During COVID-19 many places would only take credit or debit cards and refused cash. This same practice under the Antichrist, anyone who would not accept the mark of the beast (666) would be denied even the basic essential including food.
I can’t help but look at history and world events whenever I study certain topics in the Bible, especially the End Times, and ask, what is this all about, and why? “Why” is what I find myself asking in regard to constant attacks against our president, even a full force assault by the news media. All because he is not part of the establishment. Another name for the establishment could very well be proponents of a “one world government”. Which of course is Satan’s goal to lay the groundwork for a central government to be ruled by the Antichrist. They will do anything to destroy anyone who stands in their way.
Dr. Ed Hindson is professor of O.T. studies and eschatology at Liberty University.
Dr. John Piper served as pastor and teacher at Bethlehem [Reformed] Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is also chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis. Both videos are rather long but worth you listening time, especially during the COVID-19 lockdown.
I am posting opposite views so that you can compare them—pretribulation Rapture vs. no Rapture.
John Piper’s 1 hour sermon on the second coming of Jesus Christ—"wrath and rescue!" His argument is that the Second Coming is Jesus returning because His church is suffering the Great Tribulation, and that it’s normal to be persecuted, and abnormal not to be persecuted. In other words, the Church goes through the Tribulation and there is no pre-tribulation Rapture. The Church in every generation has always gone through some degree of persecution and suffering. One thing to keep in mind when watching the video, we are made worthy by the shed blood of Jesus Christ who paid our sin debt in full. There is absolutely nothing else we can add to it to be worthy of eternal salvation. Why then would we have to undergo the Tribulation? I remember very vividly as a Roman Catholic that we were taught that we had to suffer with Christ to be worthy of Christ. Really? Wasn't that what the Reformation was all about? Didn’t He pay our sin debt in full, which makes us worthy before a Holy God? If the Jews are irrelevant, then the verses have to be applied to Christians. If the Jews are relevant, and are being redeemed in these verses, than that would be the answer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ilEyczPr4A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYJdXGHXwgQ
I think it is readily apparent by now, for those who have not participated in our Sunday morning classes, our studies are diversified with an "eclectic" integration of Scripture, Church History, Doctrine and current events, seeing God in every aspect of life, with His Word being foundational in and through it all.
END OF LESSON #13
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