Covenant Presbyterian Church
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Sunday morning Foundations Classes
Angels/Demons & the End Times -- Lesson #11
Many studies of the Book of Revelation call it a mystery—one that will only be revealed when or if, the events begin to unfold. Why is there a Tribulation? Because the world will never surrender its will to God, nor does it desire to. Another question is where is Israel in all of this, if at all? In the End Times God will pour out His wrath on a sinful, unrepentant world, as described in Revelation 15-16. Without the rapture, Christians would also be subject to God’s wrath. A question to consider is “why would God allow His Church to endure His wrath,” when our sin debts were paid in full by Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer?
The intent of this study isn’t to sway anyone in one direction or another, but to provide each view as clearly as I can, adding comments for or against, as I see fit, and as I believe is necessary. Sometimes we just have to question why we believe what we believe. I say that after growing up Roman Catholic, never questioning my faith until the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) that revised (actually, tossed out) a lot of those firmly held beliefs that I learned in parochial school, even cherished, and often debated with Protestant cousins. Which, after a time of study and soul searching drove me to Martin Luther and the Reformation. I approach everything in the same way. I always want to see both sides of an issue or belief, which is no different here. When I joined Covenant in 1992, I didn’t just embrace the Reformed faith, but did so only after I studied it extensively, with recommendations for reading from our founding pastor, Dr. Ralph Didier.
For those who are curious as to what the Vatican II Council looked like. Saint Peter’s basilica in Rome.
It is important to understand why we believe what we believe, which is always the intent of all my studies. I hope this one achieves that purpose.
The blog is an extension of our Sunday morning studies in that it is diversified in content, with the material, and even current or historical events swaying its direction. The COVID-19 lockdown and its aftermath is the root of how we got from angels to the End Times.
I believe history and current events are an essential part of understanding prophecies of the End Times. As I look at the events crowding the evening news, it would not surprise me if we were on the threshold of the Tribulation, especially with cities being destroyed by BLM and Antifa; monuments defaced even in Washington DC; defunding of police and rise in crime, and more. We even see destabilization of our country within the very halls of Congress itself. If you watched any of the congressional hearings, you’ll know what I mean. I can’t help but prayerfully wonder, and ask God, “Are we there yet?”
Why is the view referred to as “Dispensational Premillennialism” the only one that proposes a pretribulation rapture? Is there Bible evidence for that view? Both Amillennialism and Postmillennialism believe theirs is the biblical view, and yet they can’t even agree with each other. Why is that? Because it’s complicated, and the “signs” of its coming are yet to be revealed. To help understand the differences, I will continue to explain each one from a slightly different perspective; a repetition that I believe will help to unravel the distinctions between them. It’s impossible to cram every distinction into a couple of slides with total clarity, especially since there are even variations within the different views themselves. Why is that? Because it’s not church doctrine; it’s scholarly opinions, with some better than others.
Besides not believing in a literal Rapture, Amillennialism rejects a literal 1,000-year millennium. One principle argument is that organized churches before 1830 believed the church would be on earth during the tribulation, as did all the great Reformers, like Luther and Calvin; which compels me to ask, did the Reformers deliberately reject a pretribulation rapture after careful study, or not have a reason to even discuss it in light of key Reformation issues—like Sola Scripture (Scripture alone), Sola Fide (faith alone), Sola Gratia (grace alone), Solus Christus (Christ alone) vs. church tradition as the basis of salvation? Why then would church “tradition” (not doctrine) be the compelling rationale for our belief? Yes, church tradition is a valid point of discussion, but still not a compelling reason to accept a particular view on the Rapture and End Times.
As shown, three of the four views reject Israel’s relevance to the Tribulation. Even before there was a rebirth of the State of Israel in 1948, Premillennialists believed there would be a rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple based on their interpretation of Daniel 9:27, 11:31, 12:11, which only becomes a possibility if there is an Israel. Rebirth of the State of Israel in 1948 was clearly decreed by God and should not be ignored. I believe its rebirth is a clear declaration of its relevance!
It was talked about for decades, but not achieved until December 2017; described as a bold move, President Trump in recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, made the decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which officially opened just five months later in May 2018. The move was condemned by 14 of the 15 U.N. Security Council members, with the motion vetoed by the U.S. Why is there so much hatred against the Jews, worldwide, just as there was in Nazi Germany? We can attribute it directly to Satan’s burning hatred of Israel as God’s chosen people. If we even start to get hints about reconstruction of the Jerusalem Temple, it would certainly be an indication that the time is near.
Tell me again that Israel is not relevant in Bible prophesy.
Premillennialists believe that in Daniels 70-weeks’ prophecy, 69 weeks (each week equivalent to 7 years) were fulfilled preceding the crucifixion, with the 70th week to occur during the Tribulation, during which time a remnant of Israel will be redeemed after the temple is desecrated by the Antichrist and God’s 144,000 Jewish evangelist—12,000 from each tribe—(Rev. 7:4-12) preach the Word. To whom? To Israel. Why not gentile evangelists? One would expect that they would be gentile evangelists, but only if there was no rapture of the born-again church.
Definition was downloaded from the web.
He is a graphic representation of Postmillennialism. I think I’m being fair in asking, can anyone watching the evening news, the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, civil unrest and riots in cities across the nation, defunding of police and rising crime in many major cities, still justify this belief? Especially when we see historic mainline denominations embracing sexual and gender preference, and even abortion, vs. calling people to repentance for sin, not comforting them in sin. Are they ready to evangelize the world?
The Millennial period would be everyone’s dream… if Jesus reigned on earth, things would be perfect in every way, a world of perfect social justice and perfect world order, free of strife under Jesus’ Lordship. And yet… some people will willingly sin, just like the Pharisees and Sadducees of His day, in spite of His miracles. Some will say with Satan being bound during for a 1,000 years (Rev. 20:2), mankind would not sin, but even with Satan bound mankind still has Adam’s DNA, and as such is prone to sin from within. I think the millennial will demonstrate that unless one is “born again”, people cannot achieve holiness on their own merits. It will show every human ever born, that salvation can only be achieved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone (Acts 2:38; John 14:6; Titus 3:5; Matt. 19:25-26; Eph. 2:8-9).
Some church historians tell us that Postmillennialism was popular when Rome became a Christian empire, when Christianity was declared the official religion of the Roman Empire by Emperor Theodosius I in 379 AD. Nevertheless, the Christian Roman Empire didn’t convert the invading pagan-barbarians in 410, ending as an official empire in 476.
We’ll take a closer look at Premillennialism, which is very popular within Evangelical Protestant churches. We will compare it with the other views, including video sermons & lectures at the end of a lesson, where respected Bible scholars and pastors will present their particular view. The intent is to provide you with an overview of each position for additional insight and edification.
Only the view described as “Premillennialism” sees the Great Tribulation as a literal 7-year event when the Antichrist gains total authority and power over the world-system. Sadly, anything tagged “dispensational” is automatically rejected by some Reformed scholars on the premise it wasn’t a church doctrine for the first 1800 years. Yet, history and events often unfold in a way that reveal biblical truths that relate to a particular time and event, not previously seen until it is revealed, so much so that it almost slaps one in the face. I think the rebirth of Israel in 1948 is such an event.
Did God desert Israel? Jer. 31:37 (chart) tells us otherwise. Was Israel reestablished in the Holy Land by chance? Or was it God’s decree to use the Holocaust to bring the Israelites (Jews) home to the land He promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Without the Holocaust there would be no Israel. The Iron Dome is an Israeli air defense system designed to intercept short-range rockets and artillery shells frequently fired on Israel. But, the real Iron Dome protection for Israel is God, as demonstrated during the 1967 six-day war (next slide).
In the 1967 Six-Day War, a much smaller Israel army attacked a much larger combined Arab army gathering on its borders, preparing to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. So Israel struck first against overwhelming Arab armies and won. Lucky? Or divine intervention? I think the answer is obvious, which, for me answers the question about Israel’s relevance to Bible prophecy. In the March 26, 1979 peace deal brokered by President Jimmy Carter between Israel and Egypt, Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt.
President Donald Trump just brokered a peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The UAE doesn’t butt up against Israel, but it is a step in the right direction. It also shows how the Antichrist can and will create and broker a peace deal between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Raising the question, once again, is Israel relevant or not?
The first 3 ½ years of the Tribulation is the rise of the Antichrist and worldwide peace thanks to his influence and prowess. At the beginning of the second 3 ½ years, we see the Abomination of Desolation (Matt. 24:15) where the Antichrist (a.k.a. the Beast in Rev. 13:2) desecrates the Jerusalem temple, and begins his reign of terror, after which time God’s wrath is poured out on a sinful world (Rev. 15-16) that worships the Antichrist and not God (Rev. 13:8).
What the temple mount looks like today with a Mosque and an Islamic shrine, the Dome of the Rock built in 691-692, and rebuilt in 1022-23 AD. The Jews cannot take steps to remove it now, even in controlling Jerusalem, without provoking an outright holy war with all the Muslim nations in the region.
The Antichrist would have the influence and sway to convince both sides of a proposed solution. This shows an example of a potentially plausible solution. There is room for both as shown. The Islamic Shrine was not built directly on top of the site of the Temple Holy of Holies, which we will take a closer look at in the next lesson. Arrow points to the temple entrance to the holy of holies. Was that sanctuary site deliberately preserved and protected by God?
What the temple looked like in the time of Christ, before it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.
There are those who believe the destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70 AD is the Tribulation Jesus spoke about in Mark 13:14 and in Dan. 8:13-14.
Mark 13:14 but when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.
Dan 8:13-14 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, "How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled — the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, and the surrender of the sanctuary and of the host that will be trampled underfoot?"
14 He said to me, "It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated."
We will continue to look at the temple in our next lesson.
We will close this lesson with two videos. A sermon by Dr. John Piper, who denies the pre-tribulation rapture, and one by Dr. John MacArthur who proclaims a pre-tribulation rapture. You should be able to click on each link to go to their respective sermons, which will provide a clear description of two opposite views – the pretribulation rapture vs. no rapture. Sorry for the difference in length between them, but finding a sermon on the right topic takes a lot of digging, especially if they don’t believe in a pre-trib rapture, they won’t spend a lot of time preaching on it, even to denounce it.
Pastor-Author John Piper, Ph.D in N.T. studies and a Reformed Baptist. The link is a 13.5 minute video power point presentation on the Rapture. John does not support a pre-tribulation Rapture. Click on the following link.
Pastor John MacArthur holds to the Pre-tribulation Rapture view. His 56 minute sermon is on the “future Tribulation” including an explanation of the End Times! Click on the following link.
If governors and mayors have the power to ban collective worship and even singing in church, we can be certain that the Antichrist will have the means to close churches under any guise at all. Something to pray about.
We will continue our study, including “two opposite view” videos, next week. So stay tuned. Until then, blessings to all.
END OF LESSON 11
