Sunday morning Foundations Classes
God's Positioning System (GPS)
Our study began with the different classifications of angels, then angels and demons, which took us to the End Times; the paramount question being, will the Church be raptured before the Great Tribulation? Satan and the Antichrist are the central characters of the 7-year Tribulation period when God’s wrath is poured out on a sinful and rebellious world. Do Christians escape this time of trial and trouble via the Rapture? The answer may rest with Matthew 24:36-44 or Jesus’ words to the church at Philadelphia in Rev. 3:10 (posted later in this lesson).
Is Jesus speaking about a pre-trib rapture? Or is this in reference to His second coming? It appears to me that He is referring to a pre-trip rapture. Others will see it in reference to His second coming. Personally, I don’t see how this would fit into His second coming—why would there even be a rapture if that was so? Verses 40 and 41 are very telling. Why wouldn’t we just be here waiting for Him as He descended to the earth? Read all the verses on this and the next slide before you mull it over.
Since Jesus said this when He walked the earth, isn’t He telling us to stay alert? Which is the reason for this study, to become and stay alert in these uncertain and chaotic times. In light of the deleted comments in lesson #8 (which I re-added), perhaps Satan doesn't want us to continue this study.
Since we covered Amillennialism in the last lesson we won’t discuss it here, except to repeat that it rejects both a literal rapture and a literal 1,000-year millennium, seeing it mostly as symbolic, and a knowledge of the Old Testament prophesies being needed to understand it. Somehow, I don’t see how first century Gentile converts would be able to meet that criteria—Jewish converts, yes; Gentile converts, no. In our next lesson we will look at Postmillennialism, which like Amillennialism, professes that Christians will live during and suffer through the Tribulation with many being martyred for their faith like in ancient Rome (Rev. 13:15). Following that we will focus on the Pre-tribulation & Mid-tribulation raptures. I had intended this to be our final lesson. But, the deeper I dig, the more material there is, far too much to cram into a single lesson, nor did I want to discard it.
Back in 1955 there was a TV show, where this would have qualified as “The $64,000 question”. Does the Church escape this 7-year period of trial and suffering via the Rapture? Which brings me to another question, which we will cover a little farther on, “How will the Antichrist gain full power and authority over the world governments and people? All of which, will usher in the Tribulation, which brings us to the $64,000 question? Will Christians be here or raptured?
We looked at this chart in the previous lesson, but it’s also relevant here. As noted, only the views described as “Premillennialism” sees the Great Tribulation as a literal 7-year event when the Antichrist gains absolute authority and power over the world system. Sadly, anything tagged “dispensational” is automatically rejected by some. We will discuss this further in the next few slides.
This chart highlights the 7-year Tribulation. Only two of the top four views believe there will be a literal 7-year Tribulation. As noted in the previous slide, Postmillennial sees it in regard to persecution by imperial Rome during the time John wrote Revelation. Amillennial believes it symbolizes any time Christians are persecuted for their faith. The difficulty I have with both of those views is if nothing is literal and mostly symbolic, how can anyone possibly understand its significance or recognize it when it occurs? If we believe in a literal Tribulation period as the time of the Antichrist, then as Christians we would recognize the signs as they begin to emerge and possibly alert others. Otherwise, what’s the point? It the Church is raptured, it would be a warning to Israel that Jesus was truly the Messiah, especially with 144,000 Jews from every tribe preaching the Word, the number of which is also seen as symbolic and not literal (Rev. 13:1-3). If nothing is literal and everything is symbolic what is the point of John even writing his letter to the churches since most Christians would not be able to interpret or understand it?
This chart highlights the 7-year Tribulation. Only two of the top four views believe there will be a literal 7-year Tribulation. As noted in the previous slide, Postmillennial see it in regard to persecution by imperial Rome during the time John wrote Revelation. Amillennial believe it symbolizes any time Christians are persecuted for their faith. The difficulty I have with both of those views is if nothing is literal and mostly symbolic, how can anyone possibly understand its significance or recognize it when it occurs? If we believe in a literal Tribulation period as the time of the Antichrist, then as Christians we will recognize the signs as they begin to emerge and possibly alert others. Otherwise, what’s the point? If the Church is raptured, it would be a warning to Israel that Jesus was truly the Messiah, especially with 144,000 Jews from every tribe preaching the Word, the number of which is also seen as symbolic and not literal (Rev. 13:1-3). Some believe it just represents Jews from every tribe rather than the exact number of Jewish evangelists, since 12 is symbolic of the 12 tribes of Israel, descended from the 12 sons of Jacob later named Israel.
The Great Tribulation will be of enormous consequence with God pouring out His wrath on a sinful and rebellious world that loves it sin and refuses to repent. The question the Church is divided on is “Will God rapture His church before the Great Tribulation” like He rescued “Noah and his family from the flood”, and “Lot and his family from the destruction of Sodom”, or will the Church go through the 7-year Tribulation and suffer the Antichrist’s tyrannical persecution? We will be exploring this question throughout our study. Jesus seems to address this in Matthew 24, where he addresses Noah’s rescue from the flood and Lot’s rescue from the destruction of Sodom in Luke 17:28-30. Is it also Jesus’ message to us? I believe so, since it is part of the New Testament.
Which leads me to the question, what exactly is the purpose of the Book of Revelation if what it says cannot be taken literally, even in regard to a 7 year tribulation and 144,000 Jewish evangelists, and is mostly symbolic? Which would tell the average Christian, don’t bother reading it unless you’re knowledgeable of Old Testament prophesies, or willing to do a lot of research including the root meaning of the original Greek it was written in. Or let others interpret it for you, and just read commentaries. And, oh by the way, since it is mostly symbolic; as we learned, most biblical scholars can't seem to agree on its meaning. Oh my...
The Church has never been told to be comfortable in our own personal salvation, at the exclusion of others, and enjoy worship in the comfort of our own sanctuaries on Sunday mornings; but rather, to recognize that the role of the Church down through history was and is to share the Gospel with others. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken us out of our comfortable Sunday morning time of collective worship. Is this disruption pandemic a message from God? Perhaps. Even if it isn't He allowed it to happen, just like the flood in Noah's day.
As destructive on the economy and disruptive of everyone’s lives as it may be, even a pandemic isn’t a final measure of the End Times, but it certainly is a taste of what it may be like, including a complete takeover by government of every aspect of life, and yes, banning of both public and private worship of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. If Christians are not raptured, and are alive, including those who convert during that time, all will be denied food, health services and basic needs. A clue as to how that will happen is taking place right now, in that almost all transactions are by credit or debit card only, with few places accepting cash. Only those with the sign of the Antichrist will be allowed to buy anything. Which again brings us to the question under discussion: Will all Christians undergo the Tribulation or be Raptured? If there is a Rapture, people who knew Christians and had heard the Gospel, and then they accepted Jesus as Savior after the Rapture and during the Tribulation, they will certainly suffer the full wrath of the Antichrist’s persecution.
Revelation chapter 12 tells us about Satan—the Dragon—being kicked out of heaven and why he hates God; and that he wages war against God’s people here on earth. Revelation 13:1-2 introduces us to the Antichrist, described as the Beast. How will one man gain authority and power over the entire world system? For one thing he will do so through the authority and power of Satan, which Satan has the authority and power to do so as seen in both Matthew 4 and Revelation 13 (below):
Matt 4:8-9 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
Rev 13:2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
How does one man gain absolute authority and power? It begins with Satan’s influence on the world system. Hitler is an example. His hatred of Jews led to his claim that a Jewish financial conspiracy was a principle reason Germany lost WWI. He used that hatred as a catalyst for drawing many of the German people to his cause with their vote. He promised to get rid of the enemy within, with the Jews as a scapegoat for Germany’s post war problems, Germany's deep 1929 depression, massive war debt paying reparations to the Western allies, and loss of German territory, and ultimately giving him supreme political and military power. A perfect storm orchestrated by Satan, so to speak.
When Germany’s President Hindenburg died in 1934, Adolf Hitler, who was Chancellor, assumed the presidency, and shortly after doing so, appointed himself as Fuehrer (leader) of all Germany—i.e., dictator. In the same way we can expect the Antichrist will gain authority via legitimate means followed by full dictatorial power over the world system. Translation of the German in the top right poster is “We all help!” The center poster is driving the Jews and other racial minorities out. The poster on the left showed the strong emphasis on indoctrinating Germany’s youth—sound familiar when you see the young people engaged in the civil unrest and riots destroying our cities? What has provoked them to do so?
Revelation 19:19 describes an army led by the Antichrist. Will the Antichrist be a retired military leader? Will that be the source of his influence and popularity? Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, were both popular war time generals, who were elected president. There have been many dictators throughout history, some, like Hitler who had served in the military and used it to gain support of WWI veterans. His political rise to power began at the ballot box. Julius Caesar began his rise to power in the military, and with the support of the army and an alliance with other powerful leaders, seized power over the Roman Senate and Empire. The Antichrist by Satan’s power and authority will seize absolute authority and power. Perhaps by promising the people free government “stuff”. If the Church is not raptured, it will be up to the Church to point point this out, but the response would be severe persecution. May God have mercy on us and our loved ones if those times come upon us. Amen.
Commentaries speculate about his rise to power, but most see it as a peaceful assumption of authority, until, like Hitler, he had the authority of government in his hands, giving him absolute power over every tribe, tongue and nation (Rev. 13:7). We saw examples of how dictators rose to national power, one thing that is clear in the Bible, the Antichrist will rise during a time of distress in the world, perhaps an even worse pandemic than COVID-19, or economic collapse of some kind with high unemployment like Germany experienced after WWI, which gave rise to Hitler, or a state of widespread civil unrest, something we couldn’t even image a year ago. This is exactly the circumstances that brought Adolf Hitler to power in Germany and gave him absolute authority and control.
Desolation of the Jerusalem temple is prophesized in Daniel 9. Is that only for ancient Israel or does it apply to the modern State of Israel? Will the temple be rebuilt? It seems to cast a light on the very existence of the State of Israel in 1948, and a literal “abomination of desolation of the temple”, when the Antichrist proclaims himself as “god!”
A year ago we probably couldn’t even imagine today’s world with government lockdown on almost every aspect of life, due to the coronavirus, even the closing of churches. Bring all these things together with one man proposing solutions and demonstrating his ability to implement them, and he will be backed by governments and people as a literal savior, and then, by a miracle seemingly being raised from the dead, proclaiming himself as god (Rev. 13:3).
2 Thess 2:4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
Rev 13:3-4 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. 4 Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?"
Jesus’ warning about the End Times. (continued on next slide). It is also anticipated that the Antichrist will offer a Mid-East agreement that all parties (Jew and Arab) will agree to, seeing him as a savior, when afterwhich he even proclaims himself to be god (2 Thess. 2:4).
Those who reject a pre-trib rapture, point to Jesus’ word, especially v.22, which tells us the elect (i.e. Christians) will be caught up in the great distress of the Tribulation. Perhaps these are the 144,000 or those people converted to Christ during that period?
Information associated with the chart was updated for clarification. The intent of the chart is to show Matthew 24, Daniel 9 and Revelation 6 all make reference to the End Times. The 30-days noted before the 2nd coming and the additional 45-days before Jesus Christ reign begins, are calculations based on Daniel's 70th week:
This 1,260 days is equivalent to 42 months (considering an ancient Hebrew month to be 30 days), and also to 3½ years (or "time, times and half a time" = "a year, two years and a half a year"):
- 1,260 days (Revelation 11:3, 12:6),
- 42 months (Revelation 11:2), and
- 3½ years = time, times and half a time (Daniel 7:25, 12:7; Revelation 12:14).
For those who are interested, it's also addressed on this link:
https://www.gotquestions.org/tribulation-1260-1290-1335-days.html
We see how the political leaders in Portland, OR and Seattle, WA not only permitted protesting that turned into rioting, but encouraged and condoned it even taking steps to defund the police. One notable feature of the photo shown, is the young age of those two girls leading the protest. How are young people encouraged and even led to these activities? (next slide may provide a hint)
Young people are being greatly influenced from outside the Church, all of which demonstrates the power of social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube and stuff posted on the world wide web. Think of the power it will have over what people say and think during or even preceding the rise of the Antichrist. We are currently seeing conservative views being blocked across social media by the giant high tech companies. Especially the youth, just as it had in Nazi Germany via the media, including the radio, newspapers, youth camps, and special emphasis on the schools. Hitler never ran out of young people to join his military, including the rounding up of Jews and other racial minorities, even those professing strong Christian views that were out of sync with Nazi policies were imprisoned. It will be no different with the Antichrist.
Is the coronavirus the first of such pandemics to come? Will there be others? Will we be prepared? Is this God’s way of alerting the Church and motivating greater efforts of evangelism? I post a link for our Live Stream worship on my Facebook page each Sunday morning with an invitation to join us. What else can we share with family and friends? Look at the pandemic’s impact that has led to banning of Christian worship and even group gatherings. Is God sending us a warning of what will come during the Great Tribulation?
The End Times isn’t only about prophesies, but it points to a sinful nation and world system that violates God’s laws and will face God’s wrath and His retribution against unrestrained evil. Anyone following congressional hearings on C-SPAN will recognize how evil has even penetrated our own Congress, and what is commonly referred to as the deep Washington DC swamp.
Every now and then, a Christian group will proclaim that the Tribulation is about to happen and even propose a date. As shown on the slide, 2011 was one such prediction. As Christians we know that there will be a Tribulation, and we should stay alert. But, as Jesus tells us in Matthew 13:32 , only the Father knows when that day and hour will come. Nevertheless, are we seeing such signs now with all the riots and civil unrest across our Nation? Look at the impact being reported on the news day-after-day, when local politicians allow the rioters to go unrestrained and take steps to restrain and even defund the police, the consequences of those decisions being chaos. Can you imagine what it would be like if every Christian was withdrawn from planet earth and only the evil people were left and incited by Satan to be the worse they can possibly be?
Does the future of our Nation rest in the hands of the members of Congress, especially since some are proposing to fundamentally change America? Will their actions set the stage for the Antichrist’s rise to power? The 2020 November election will determine if we have a president that works with Congress to fundamentally change America or one who will restrain their efforts to do so. This truly is a crossroad election year. We need to pray for our Nation and our President. Let’s hope and pray that God gives the American people, especially Christians, the wisdom to make the right choices.
Revelation 6 tells of the kinds of tribulation that will come upon the world. Again, this isn’t a comprehensive study of the Book of Revelation. It is only a slice of it focused on the Rapture and when it occurs in regard to the Millennium.
In Rev. 3:10 we see Jesus’ words to the church at Philadelphia. The Church has suffered down through history. But, Jesus is referring to an “hour of trial” that will come on the whole world. Even the vast Roman Empire did not encompass the whole world. Will the Church undergo the test or will it be raptured before the time of trial? This is the ongoing debate in the Church. Most, but certainly not all, believe we will go through the Tribulation. I have been doing my prayerful best to really understand God’s message. A little bit more on this later.
This is the question we will continue to ponder in our next lesson. Some, if not most, may already know what position they believe is the right one. Others will still be wondering. In regard to the image shown, are they being rescued before and from the Tribulation and will spend that time with Jesus in a place prepared for them, or are they rising to meet Christ in the air after the Tribulation, for an immediate return to the earth at the beginning of the1,000-year millennium? Something to think about until our next lesson.
A reminder as posted at the beginning of this lesson, lesson #8 suffered a demonic attack in that most of the comments for each slide had been totally or partially deleted, which I was unaware of. Is Satan launching an attack against this study? Of course, I caught it this morning and re-added all the commentary. So, you may want to take another look at lesson #8 if you missed all that information.
Pray for our President and our Nation.
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.
