In Christian circles, we often hear references to us being in the “end times” or “last days.” These terms are references to that period of time leading up to and including the seven-year Tribulation period spoken of in the Bible. Since the time of the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, almost 2000 years ago, generations of Christians have lived in expectation of a final culmination of events, which are spoken of in great detail in the Bible. The first of these future events will be the rapture of the Church, where Jesus Christ will come to take His Church up to heaven with Him. It is true that we do not know when this event, and the subsequent events will occur, for as Jesus Christ said to the disciples, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” (NKJ: Matthew 25:13) However, those who study and understand the Bible will know when the time is nearing, for we read in Paul’s epistle to the church of Thessalonica, “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.” (NKJ: I Thessalonians 5:1-4) Students of the Bible will be able to sense, based on world events and cultural changes, when we are close to the “Day of the Lord”, which is a reference to the seven-year tribulation period. And since the rapture must precede this period, we will know that the rapture of the Church must be close at hand. In this study, we will cover that period of biblical prophesy from the “end times,” that is, that period of future (or present) history beginning shortly before the seven-year Tribulation period through to God’s establishment of a new heaven and a new earth that will mark the beginning of our eternity with the Lord. The following is a summary of the major events or periods of time that will be discussed in our study: Future Time Line |-------------End Times----------------| | ???? | 7 Years | 1000 Years | Eternity >>>>> | | Tribulation Period | Millennial Reign of Christ| New Heaven and | | | | New Earth | | | | | | | | Rapture of | Armageddon, Satan Released and then| The Church | Second Coming of Jesus Christ, thrown into hell forever, | Satan Bound for 1000 Years The Great White Throne Antichrist makes a Judgment Agreement with Israel Now, let’s take a look at each of these events in more detail. Beginning of the End Times In the Bible, we have various terms that reference the end times: “end times,” “last days,” “latter days,” “afterward,” “the last days,” “the time of the end,” and “the end of the age.” It is generally believed that these are referring to that period of time beginning with or shortly before the rapture of the church through to the end of the seven-year Tribulation period when our Lord and Savior will come down to the earth to set up His kingdom. As we discussed in the first part of this study, according to Paul in his epistle to the Thessalonica church, those of us who know our Bible will know when we are in or nearing the period of the end times. So what will be the signs of the end times for which we should be looking? Well, let us take a look at some of these signs that are outlined in our Bible: 1) Extreme world events will occur during the end times ”Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’ And Jesus answered and said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you….And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.’” (NKJ: Matthew 24:3-5,6-8) In this passage, Jesus’ disciples ask Him concerning what will be the signs to look for just before His Second Coming. Jesus gives them several significant signs regarding the “end of the age”, that is, the end times: a) ”And you will hear wars and rumors of wars. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” The Greek word translated “nation” is the root word used for “ethnic.” The Greek word translated “kingdom” is the word we would associate with the modern-day word “nation.” In this verse, we are being told that there will be much unrest not only between the nations of the world, but also between different ethnic groups. Today we are seeing not only many nations warring with each other, but nations being torn apart internally through ethnic wars and unrest. b) ”And there will be famines, pestilence, and earthquakes in various places” World hunger and disease is at an historical high, and growing. Ten’s of thousands of people are dieing daily from hunger, and our world is being plagued with new and re-emerging diseases. Furthermore, seismic activity has been greatly increasing around the world in recent decades. 2) Israel will have become a nation again in the end times God promised in His Word to regather the Jews back into their homeland of Israel: “In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people…” (NKJ: Isaiah 11:11) “For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.” (NKJ: Isaiah 4:31) “’Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, ‘when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.’” (NKJ: Ezekiel 36:22-24) Through miraculous means and overcoming impossible odds, we have seen Israel become a nation once more. No other nation in recorded history has ever been reestablished, or even had their national identity survive, after being conquered and driven out of their homeland past five generations. However, we should have known that this would take place since Israel is prophesied to be back in her homeland during the seven-year Tribulation period. 3) Jerusalem will become a problem for all of the world during the end times “And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.” (NKJ: Zechariah 12:3) Here we have a small piece of desert land with no natural seaport, or any other valuable natural attributes or resources, yet it is the worry of every nation around the world. 4) There will be a significant departing from the Christian faith during the end times One of the signs of the end times will be a departing from the Christian faith. Many people who profess to be Christians, but are not, will choose to turn from the Holy Spirit and follow false doctrines: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” (NKJ: I Timothy 4:1-5) “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” (NKJ: II Thessalonians 2:1-4) This prophesied departing from the faith is very evident when we take a look at the last forty years of history for the United States. Once a country grounded in biblical principles and openly acknowledging the importance of the Lord in all aspects of our lives, we have now backsliden to the point where formal reference to Jesus Christ and the Bible is forbidden in our schools and in our government. 5) Many false messiah’s and false religious leaders will appear in the world during the end times False messiah’s and false religious leaders will appear in the world, and some will even perform apparent miracles, which will deceive many people, even some believers. Jesus strongly warned His disciples of this: ”Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’ And Jesus answered and said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many…. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.” (NKJ: Matthew 24:3-5,24-25) 6) False doctrine’s and teachings will flood the churches during the end times Many believers and those pretending to be believers will listen to and follow false Christian teachers who will preach false doctrines that will be attractive to the listeners because it will apparently allow them to live their lives according to their own fleshly desires, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” (NKJ: II Timothy 4:3-4) Probably never, since the time of Jesus Christ, has there been a time where the gospel message has been so watered down and even blasphemed so heavily in the pulpits. Many churches today, in the United States particularly, are focused on growing their congregations and increasing their revenues, and many “pastors” are focused on growing their own personal fame. This worldly focus by many churches and pastors has caused the ceasing of the preaching of the true gospel message in these churches. Instead, a message is now being preached that appeals to the lustful desires of the listeners. Whether it be “health and wealth” doctrines that turn God into a spiritual Santa Clause, permissiveness in various areas of moral behavior, a promise to become a god in the “next life”, or even the preaching of alternative ways to salvation, the true and narrow path of the gospel message is not being preached. 7) Scoffers will arise in the churches during the end times People will enter into the churches who will attempt to cast doubt on the validity of the Scriptures, in particular, in the return of Jesus Christ, “…knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’” (NKJ: II Peter 3:3-4) 8) The immorality of the world will greatly increase during the end times The Bible warns that in the last days, the morality of society will greatly degenerate: “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (NKJ: II Timothy 3:1-5) “But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (NKJ: II Timothy 3:13) We now live in a time where moral absolutes are actually viewed as an evil thing, and those professing such things are viewed as narrowed minded and unaccepting. The United States, as an example, dating back to its initial colonization by the Puritans, has throughout most of its history held out the Bible as its moral compass. However, in the past forty or so years, beginning in the early to mid 1960’s, this country has seen a moral and ethical decline of epic proportions. This decline has been in direct relationship with the country’s drifting away from the Bible as its moral foundation. 9) Knowledge and travel will greatly increase during the end times Interesting enough, the Bible tells us that in the end times there will be a great increase in travel and knowledge, “’But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.’” (NKJ: Daniel 12:4) One of the distinct aspects of the end times is that we will greatly increase the amount and length of our travel, “run to and fro”, and that our knowledge will, in a short period of time, greatly increase. Look at the ease and frequency today of our travel. It is nothing to fly around the world to different countries on business trips or vacation. And look at the technological advances that have been made in the last forty years. We have gone from a time in the near past when new eras of technology would come about around every ten or twenty years, to a time when complete new innovations in technology occur about every six months. 10) Technological advances will make biblical prophecies possible Certain biblical prophecies were extremely confusing during the early years of the church due to the fact that they would speak of things that were far beyond the imagination of people at that time. However, in recent years we have seen technological advances that have made these biblical prophecies possible, which, up until the last half century would have been impossible: a) In the book of Revelation, we are told that the then world leader will require that everyone in the world take his “mark”: “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.” (NKJ: Revelation 13:16-18) No one in the world will be able to buy or sell unless they have this “mark.” How confusing a passage this must have been over the centuries until technology, within the last several decades, came up with microchip technology. It is now possible to insert a microchip (so small that it is inserted through a syringe) into the human body that contains millions of bits of information. This technology will enable a “mark” to be placed on a person that will function similar to a credit card or bank debit card It will truly be a cashless society. b) Also in the book of Revelation we read of two “witnesses” or prophets sent by God to evangelize the world. These two witnesses have a ministry that lasts three and one-half years on earth, but are then killed at the end of their period of ministry. We read about the dead bodies of these witnesses: “For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial.” (NKJ: Revelation 11:9) Before the advent of televised satellite transmissions, how could all of the world have viewed the two bodies of these witnesses at the same time? Comparing the “end times” signs noted above to the current state of the world that we live in should make one pause and strongly consider the possibility that we are living in those biblically prophesied times. And, if so, then the rapture of the church is very imminent. I once heard a pastor use an analogy of a school bus to portray our expectation of the rapture. In the analogy, a child is told by his father that he will pick him up after school. The father does not tell the child what time he will be there, but assures him that he will arrive before the school bus. As the child anxiously waits at the side of the street for his father, he can see in the distance the school bus coming. When the child spies the school bus, he becomes very excited because even though his father did not give him an exact time that he would pick him up, he did give the assurance that he would be there before the school bus. Therefore, since the bus was now in sight, his father should arrive for him at any moment. As the school bus prompted an excitement in the child that his father would soon arrive, so should the current condition of the world prompt an excitement in us that our Lord will soon arrive to take us home to be with him. For if we are currently in the end times, then the rapture of the church will be close at hand, for this event must happen before the other end-times events can occur. We will next take a look at the event known as the rapture of the church, and then we will journey through those prophetic events that will occur after the rapture. Rapture of the Church To begin with, the word “rapture” comes from the Latin word “rapere” found in the expression “caught up” in the Latin translation of I Thessalonians 4:17, “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (NKJ: I Thessalonians 4:17 The word “rapture”, used in a biblical context, is used to refer to an event in which Jesus Christ will come to take His Church, that is Christians both alive and dead, back with Him to heaven. The rapture of the Church should not be confused with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, which is a completely separate event. One of the primary passages describing the rapture of the Church is I Thessalonians 4:13-18: “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (NKJ: I Thessalonians 4:13-18) As we are told in the passage from I Thessalonians, the rapture is the coming of Jesus Christ from heaven to gather to Himself all the Christian believers (I Thessalonians 4:16-17). Those Christians that have already died previous to His coming will be taken first, then immediately after we who are still alive will be taken (I Thessalonians 4:16-17). However, don’t be confused by the order of those taken, that is, first the dead will be raptured and then those who are alive. We all, those Christians both dead and alive, will be taken in an instant, or as we are told in I Corinthians, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye…” (NKJ: I Corinthians 15:52) This event will happen so fast that it most likely will not even be seen by those who remain here on earth. One moment there is someone standing there, and the next moment they are gone. What a glorious time this will be, for we are told that when we who are raptured from the earth will then be met by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in the sky to take us all home to heaven to be with Him forever (I Thessalonians 4:17). What a marvelous eternal future we, as Christians, have to look forward to. No wonder Paul could say to the Thessalonian church, after describing the rapture to them, “Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (NKJ: I Thessalonians 4:18) We too should find comfort in Paul’s words to the Thessalonian church regarding the rapture, and our future eternity in heaven with our Lord. Our life here on earth is but for a moment compared to our eternal future—a future of perfect happiness and joy with no pain or sorrow ever again. This world can throw at us many forms of problems and trials, but when compared to our secure eternal future, they are but for a moment. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (NKJ: II Corinthians 4:17-18) As Christians, our afflictions are light compared to our future eternal glory. Furthermore, our focus should not be on those temporal things that are visible here on earth, but should be on those things that are not seen, which are in heaven, that possess infinite value. Yes, the rapture is an event that should bring comfort to each and every one of us that calls Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior. For a more thorough discussion on the rapture of the Church, including an in-depth discussion regarding its timing, please read the Bible study on “The Rapture.” The Coming of the Antichrist “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.” (NKJ: I John 2:18) “By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.” (NKJ: I John 4:3) During or just prior to the seven-year Tribulation period, a man will rise to power who will become the ruler of the world. This ruler is referred to in the Bible by various names, but the most commonly known reference is the “antichrist.” The prefix “anti” in the original Greek means “against” and/or “instead of.” In relation to the antichrist, both meanings apply. We commonly see the antichrist as a man who will be against all that is God. However, not only will this man be against God, but he will represent himself as God, that is, “instead of” worshipping God, he will ultimately have the world worship him. Paul expresses this thought in his second letter to the Thessalonian church, “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin [the antichrist] is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” (NKJ: II Thessalonians 2:3-4) The antichrist will initially come onto the world scene as a great leader and a man of peace. The first significant act of the antichrist recorded in the Bible is that he will successfully bring about a peace agreement with Israel, “’Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.’” (NKJ: Daniel 9:27) The context of the surrounding passage has “with many” referring to Israel, in particular, in verse 9:24 where Daniel is told that this prophecy is “for your people” which obviously refers to the nation of the Jews. This peace agreement, or “covenant”, may either be a protective treaty that the antichrist makes with Israel, or it may be a treaty between Israel and the Arab nations. Either way, this treaty will bring temporary peace to Israel. This peace will allow Israel to rebuild its temple, and to begin again the temple ordained sacrifices and offerings. It must be remembered that the antichrist, as with Satan, will be a great deceiver. His evil intentions will not be ascertainable by the world, but rather he will initially come across as a wonderful, benevolent leader. In the book of II Corinthians we read, “For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness…” (NKJ: II Corinthians 11:14-15) The world will see the antichrist as a wonderful leader and a man of peace, and in the beginning he will have a great following. In the book of Revelation, we are told the following regarding the antichrist, “The dragon [Satan] gave him [antichrist] his power, his throne, and great authority….And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon [Satan] who gave authority to the beast [antichrist]; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (NKJ: Revelation 13:2-8) The antichrist will receive his power from Satan. Through this power, the world will worship both Satan and his emissary, the antichrist. The antichrist will most likely be in a position of power prior to the seven-year Tribulation period, but will rise quickly during the first three and one-half years of this seven-year period to world power. Then, during the last three and one-half years of the Tribulation period, that is, “forty-two months”, he will have control over the entire world. Ultimately, this peacemaker will show his true colors during his final three and one-half year reign, and will severely persecute all Christians, seeking to utterly destroy these true followers of God. His ruthlessness towards Christians will be manifested through his execution of believers by beheading them (most probably in a public manner), “Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands.” (NKJ: Revelation 20:4) Evil will reign on earth. Paul, in his letter to the Thessalonians, gives us additional insight into the antichrist, “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. “Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” (NKJ: II Thessalonians 2:3-10) In the first part of this passage, we see the prideful nature of the antichrist who will exalt himself above God, and will even sit in the Temple as if to supersede God’s dominion and rule. Further on in the passage, we read that the antichrist’s evil plan, “is already at work,” and that it is only the power of the Holy Spirit, working through the Church, that is restraining him. His source of power will come from “the working of Satan,” and once the restraining force of the Holy Spirit is taken away (through the rapture of the Church), he will begin to deceive the world with use of “lying wonders”, “powers”, and “signs” all through the power of Satan. True divine signs and miracles direct people’s attention to God, and cause them to worship Him; whereas, these apparent miraculous acts of the antichrist will direct people’s attention to himself, and will have the intent of having the world worship him. The antichrist, working under the power of Satan, will initially be a great leader uniting most of the world under his power. But, after a relatively short period of time, he will begin to show his true evil intentions. The False Prophet and A One World Religion The Bible speaks of a false prophet (sometimes referred to as “another beast”) who will assist the antichrist in having the world worship himself: “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” (NKJ: Revelation 16:13-14) “Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.” (NKJ: Revelation 19:20) “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (NKJ: Revelation 20:10) We read regarding this false prophet, referred to in this passage as “another beast,” in the book of Revelation: “Then I saw another beast [the false prophet] coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast [the antichrist], whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” (NKJ: Revelation 13:11-17) For the purpose of our discussion, we will not delve into the meaning of a lot of the symbolism used in this passage (which in itself is quite interesting, and I would recommend a book by John Walvoord called “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” for a good detailed discussion regarding the wonderful richness of this passage), but will highlight some of the aspects of this false prophet. In this passage, we are told that this false prophet will cause the world to worship the antichrist. This is not referring to the world merely following the antichrist as a great leader, but a worship of the antichrist as a divine being, that is, as God. This false prophet will perform miraculous signs that will deceive the world into thinking that he is a messenger of God, and the world, because of these signs, will believe his testimony regarding the worship of the antichrist. This false prophet will cause many people to take a “mark”, of which we will speak further later on in our study, that will identify people as followers of the antichrist. The taking of this “evil” mark will have eternal consequences for those who willingly take it, thus this false religious leader will lead many to their eternal doom. Throughout biblical history there have been false prophets, but this false prophet will overshadow them all. It is conjectured by many biblical scholars that, because the false prophet will succeed in having all the nations of the earth to worship the antichrist, that this false prophet will spiritually unite the world under a one-world religion with the antichrist being heralded as their God. Obviously, this will not happen overnight, and we can already see in our time a movement to bring about religious peace and unity. With the millions of Bible-believing Christians here on earth today, such a unity can never happen, for we know, as Christians, that there is only one true God spoken of in the Bible. Any attempt to suggest that the gods of other religions are synonymous with our God would be thoroughly rejected. But if the Church were taken out of the way by some means, then such an event could occur, and a false prophet could spiritually unite the world. The rapture of the church, which was previously discussed in our study, would be this event. The Seven-Year Tribulation Period (The Great Tribulation) The seven-year Tribulation period is a time, prophesied in the Bible, where God will finally pour out His wrath on a sinful and rebellious world. The time of the “Great Tribulation” (cf. Matthew 24:21, Revelation 7:14) occurring during this seven-year period is distinctively different than the tribulation that will occur in the life of a Christian. The Bible tells us that, as believing Christians, we will have tribulation in our lives: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (NKJ: II Corinthians 1:3-4) “we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure…” (NKJ: II Thessalonians 1:4) “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (NKJ: Romans 5:3-4) “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (NKJ: II Timothy 3:12) The source of this tribulation that will be experienced by all Christians during what is referred to as the Church Age, that is, the period of time beginning shortly after the resurrection of Christ up to the rapture of the Church, will be from the world and Satan. However, the tribulation that will occur during the seven-year Tribulation period will come directly from God. The following prophetical passages tell us of the terribleness of that time when God will pour out His wrath on a world that has rejected His Son, and the free gift of salvation, and has chosen to follow after its own lusts: “The great day of the LORD is near; it is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the LORD is bitter; there the mighty men shall cry out. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers. ’I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like refuse.’ Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’S wrath; But the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, For He will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land.” (NKJ: Zephaniah 1:15-18) “At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time…” (NKJ: Daniel 12:1) “Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.” (NKJ: Jeremiah 30:7) “For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” (NKJ: I Thessalonians 1:9-10) “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.” (NKJ: Matthew 24:21-22) “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’” (NKJ: Revelation 14:6-7) “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.” (NKJ: Revelation 15:1) “Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, ‘Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.’” (NKJ: Revelation 16:1) Surely, based on the verses above, this will be the most terrible time in all of recorded and unrecorded history. Those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior have no need to fear this time for our Lord will take us from this world before God begins to pour out His wrath. However, those who yet now still choose to not believe in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, should tremble with fear, for this time of God’s judgment upon the world appears to be rapidly approaching. The following is a brief summary of the major events that will occur during the seven-year Tribulation period primarily chronicled for us in the book of Revelation. For a more thorough discussion on the book of Revelation, I would recommend the book, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”, by John F. Walvoord. Before we go on, I must in good conscience note that the following timing of events during the seven-year tribulation period is debatable. I would say that the following timing of events is most probably the more generally held view, but there is some debate among students of the Bible. However, though the timing of the events during the seven-year Tribulation period may be in debate, that is, whether they occur earlier or later during the seven-year Tribulation period, the occurrence of these events during this seven-year period are not. Important to the proper understanding of end-times events in the Bible is the fact that these events are being seen and written about, through visions from God, to prophets who lived 2,000 and more years ago. These men had never seen or even possessed a vague conception of modern technology. Any form of mechanization at all would have been completely foreign to them. Therefore, many of the events that they are seeing which would relate to modern technology, especially in the area of modern warfare such as tanks, airplanes, and nuclear explosions, would have been a complete puzzlement to them. They would have described these scenes based on their own knowledge and experience. Hence, when reading about these future events spoken of in the Bible, we must always take the description of a scene of events, and see how it fits into our modern day environment. Beginning of the Tribulation: The Tribulation period begins with the antichrist making a covenant, probably some form of a peace agreement, with Israel, “Then he (the antichrist) shall confirm a covenant with many (“many” refers to Israel made evident in a prior verse where Daniel is told that this prophecy was “for your [Daniel’s] people” which is a direct reference to the Jewish people) for one week…” (NKJ: Daniel 9:27) (Note: The Hebrew word translated as “week” actually refers to a week of years, or seven years) This event will mark the beginning of a period that is the most chronicled period of the earth’s history, even more than the time of history that Jesus Christ walked the earth. Events During the First Three and One-Half Years of the Seven-Year Tribulation Period: During the seven-year tribulation period, God will pour out His wrath on the world. His wrath will be depicted in the book of Revelation as coming in twenty-one separate judgments, or events. These twenty-one judgments are divided into three groups of seven: seven seal judgments, seven trumpet judgments, and seven vial (or bowl) judgments. First Seal Judgment (Revelation 6:1-2): The antichrist (the symbolic rider on the white horse) begins to take over various countries. In the verse, it speaks of him having a bow with no arrows indicating that he will have military strength, but will not initially use this strength. Rather, he will conquer at first based on diplomacy. Second Seal Judgment (Revelation 6:3-4): War on the earth begins with devastating loss of lives. Diplomacy will work for a while for the antichrist, but soon there will be opposition and rebellion, and he will respond with devastating force, most likely bringing on what would be the equivalent of World War III. Third Seal Judgment (Revelation 6:5-6): As a consequence of worldwide war, economic inflation will ensue. Food sources will be depleted, and become very costly. Thus, worldwide famine will occur. Fourth Seal Judgment (Revelation 6:7-8): War and famine will take a large toll on human life. Furthermore, lack of economic resources for many, and resulting famine, will usher in a period of worldwide sickness and disease. One-quarter of the earth’s population will die either directly as a result of war or indirectly through the aftermath, which will approximate one and a half billion people (assuming the population of the world is approximately six billion at the beginning of the seven-year Tribulation period). Fifth Seal Judgment (Revelation 6:9-11): Tribulation Saints are being killed for their faith in Jesus Christ. These Tribulation Saints are those people who became Christians subsequent to the rapture of the Church. There will be a high price to pay for those people who reject Jesus Christ prior to the rapture of the Church, and then finally receive Him as their Lord and Savior subsequent to the rapture. Many of these Tribulation saints, as they are referred to, will have to pay the ultimate price for their belief by giving up their lives. Those who are not killed will be heavily persecuted, and will probably go into hiding. Sixth Seal Judgment (Revelation 6:12-17): A devastating worldwide earthquake will occur, so devastating that every mountain and island around the world will shake. Atmospheric events such as the sky darkening and the moon becoming red will probably be a result of volcanic activity spewing ash and other material into the atmosphere. Seventh Seal Judgment (Revelation 8:1-5): Another great earthquake occurs accompanied by great thunder and lightning. First Trumpet Judgment (Revelation 8:7): Hail and fire fall on the earth destroying one-third of the trees and all the green grass. Second Trumpet Judgment (Revelation 8:8-9): Something like a burning mountain, probably a meteor (or possibly some form of nuclear weaponry), crashes into the sea causing great devastation. One-third of all sea life and one-third of all shipping vessels are destroyed. Third Trumpet Judgment (Revelation 8:10-11): A burning star, either another meteor or possibly weaponry missiles, falls on the earth destroying one-third of the earth’s water sources, that is, rivers and springs. Many people will die as a result. Fourth Trumpet Judgment (Revelation 8:12): A cataclysmic event occurs causing one-third of all heavenly light sources, i.e. sun, moon, and stars, to be darkened. Fifth Trumpet Judgment (Revelation 9:1-11): Demonic locust-like beasts, with sharp teeth and scorpion-like tails will be released from beneath the earth. They will inflict much pain on the people of the earth for five months. But they will only be given power to attack those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, that is, they will only be able to attack the unsaved. Sixth Trumpet Judgment (Revelation 9:13-19): An army of two-hundred million “horsemen” attack the earth. There is a debate whether this army is made up of a confederate of nations with modern weaponry (note: John, the writer of Revelation, is describing a scene from his perspective, never having seen even the simplest of machinery; therefore, this description would fit that of modern aircraft and their related weaponry), or demonic forces. Either way, the forces are demonically lead, and one-third of the remaining population on the earth are killed (assuming the starting population is ~6.0 billion, and ~1.5 billion were previously killed by the fourth seal judgment, the population would be 4.5 billion; therefore, this war would kill another one and one-half billion people, meaning that one-half of the world’s population has now been killed). The Two Witnesses of God (Revelation 11:3-12): Around the beginning of the seven-year Tribulation period, two men are sent by God (referred to as “the two witnesses”) to evangelize to the world. These two witnesses are given power by God to witness to the world for three and one-half years. At the end of this three and one-half year period, God’s ministry for these two witnesses will be complete, and God will allow His witnesses to be killed by the antichrist. Their bodies will lie dead in the streets for three and one-half days as the world celebrates their death. Obviously, their message was not welcomed by most of the world. However, after three and one-half days, the two witnesses are raised again to life, and then taken up to heaven in the sight of all. Seventh Trumpet Judgment (Revelation 11:15-19): Worldwide lightning, thundering, great hail, and another earthquake will occur. Events During the Last Three and One-Half Years of the seven-year Tribulation period: The beginning of the last three and one-half years of the seven-year Tribulation period will be marked by the following events: - The antichrist will break his covenant with Israel, and will come against them with the intent to destroy the entire nation. (Daniel 9:27, Jeremiah 30:7, Revelation 12:6) - The antichrist is given worldwide authority for three and one-half years (Revelation 13:3-7). - The “Tribulation Saints,” that is, those believers that accepted Jesus Christ after the rapture of the Church, are heavily persecuted, with many being killed, by the antichrist for a period of three and one-half years. (Revelation 13:7, Daniel 7:25) - The antichrist will require that everyone take a “mark” on their body, “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.” (NKJ: Revelation 13:16-18) This “mark” will be the only way by which a person may buy or sell anything. Those who will not take this mark will not be able to function in modern society, and, even more importantly, will be easily identified as ones who are believers in Jesus Christ, and not followers of the antichrist. It is interesting to note that in the Greek the word being translated “mark” actually means “to prick.” Modern technology now has micro-chips that are being implanted into animals and humans for various reasons. These tiny chips can contain volumes of information relating to the bearer as well as providing the capability to track the bearer to within several feet of their actual location through satellite tracking. The insertion method for these chips is through a syringe, that is, through a “prick” in the skin. It is thought by many modern biblical scholars that this technology is what is being referred to in this biblical passage. A very important aspect of this “mark” of the antichrist is that it will not be something that is “accidentally” taken by a person. This “mark” will be taken with full knowledge of its meaning. The choice to reject Jesus Christ and to take the “mark” of the antichrist will be to reject the testimony of the two witnesses sent from God, and even the testimony of 144,000 Jewish witnesses sent and protected by God to evangelize the world (cf. Revelation 7:3-8,14:1-5). God will even send angels to fly through the skies throughout the world to evangelize the world and warn everyone about the consequences of taking the “mark” of the antichrist, “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’ ….Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “’If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.’” (NKJ: Revelation 14:6-7,9-11) No, those who take the “mark” of the antichrist will knowingly and willingly be choosing to follow him, and, in doing so, will bring upon themselves an eternity of torment. First Vial Judgment (Revelation 16:2): Painful sores come upon all people who have taken the mark of the beast. Second Vial Judgment (Revelation 16:3): The water of the sea is corrupted, and all sea creatures die. Third Vial Judgment (Revelation 16:4): All of the water sources, rivers and springs, are corrupted and become undrinkable. Fourth Vial Judgment (Revelation 16:8): The sun’s rays become intense, scorching people and the earth, causing great pain. Fifth Vial Judgment (Revelation 16:10-11): Absolute darkness falls on the earth. Sixth Vial Judgment (Revelation 16:12-16): Armies begin to gather in an area called Armageddon to prepare for battle. Seventh Vial Judgment (Revelation 16:17-21): The greatest of all earthquakes devastates the earth along with giant hailstones, ~100 pounds in weight, falling from the sky. After this last judgment of God upon the earth, history’s time clock will be at the end of the seven-year Tribulation period. Two final events will occur at the end of the seven-year Tribulation period, that is, a major battle known as “the battle of Armageddon”, and the return of Jesus Christ to the earth. The Battle of Armageddon “Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. ‘Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.’ And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.” (NKJ: Revelation 16:12-16) “And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.” (NKJ: Revelation 19:19) The nations of the world, brought under a one-rule government over a short period of time, will now probably be splitting apart, each wanting more autonomy, or even perhaps to take over rule of the world. These nations will gather together, being demonically drawn, in an area located in Israel known as Armageddon. They will be gathered together in battle on the day of the Second Coming of the Lord. At that point, the true reason for their gathering, engineered by Satan, will become evident as they turn their attention from doing battle with each other to consolidate their efforts to do battle with the Lord. Second Coming of Jesus Christ “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.” (NKJ: Revelation 19:11-21) At the end of the seven-year Tribulation period, Jesus Christ will return to earth. Accompanying Him will be the Church saints, “And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses”, who were raptured prior to this seven-year period. We see this verse referring to the Church saints, and not angels, due to the reference to being “clothed in fine linen, white and clean”, since this is a description used in the Bible referring to the Church saints, “And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” (NKJ: Revelation 19:8) In addition, the book of Jude also makes reference to the Church saints returning with Jesus Christ at His Second Coming, “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.’” (NKJ: Jude 1:14-15) At the time of Jesus Christ’s return, many nations will be gathered to do battle with each other in an area of Israel referred to as Armageddon. However, when they see Jesus Christ coming down out of the clouds, they all turn their attention away from the battle with each other, and surprisingly begin to launch an offensive attack against Jesus Christ Himself. Their efforts are futile, and the Lord wipes out the evil armies. After destroying the evil armies at Armageddon, we read concerning our Lord in the book of Matthew: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world….’ Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels….’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (NKJ: Matthew 25:31-34,41,46) Our Lord will sit at His throne in Jerusalem from which He will rule the earth. He will summon before Him all the nations of the earth and will judge them based on whether they had accepted Him or rejected Him as Lord and Savior. Those who believed in Him as their Lord and Savior will remain on earth to live during the millennial reign of Christ, but those who rejected Him will not remain on this earth, but will be sent to hell to await their final judgment at the Great White Throne judgment of God. Satan Bound and Thrown Into the Lake of Fire for 1000 Years “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.” (NKJ: Revelation 20:1-3) Satan, who attempted to deceive the nations into rejecting God and following him, is now bound by an angel and thrown into a deep cavern, probably reaching down to the center of the earth (some Bible scholars conjecture that Satan is bound in the center of the earth based on the fact that only at the center of the earth is there no bottom, that is, when at the center of the earth, every direction leads upward): In preparation for Jesus Christ setting up His rule on earth, Satan will be rendered harmless. But as we will later see, Satan will be released one last time before he is banished to hell for eternity. The Millennial (1000 year) Reign of Christ on Earth When Jesus Christ returns to earth, He will set up His kingdom, and rule over the world for a period of 1000 years. This will be a time of ultimate peace, joy, and harmony on the earth. The earth will somewhat revert back to its original state when God created it. The following are some of the wonderful aspects of this millennial reign of Jesus Christ on earth: -“ Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” (NKJ: Isaiah 2:2-4) Jesus Christ will have complete authority over all the world. There will be perfect justice, and any form of war will be a thing of the past. -“Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” (NKJ: Revelation 20:4-6) Those Tribulation Saints that lost their lives because of their faith in Jesus Christ during the seven-year Tribulation period will be resurrected, and will live and rule over the earth under the reign of Jesus Christ. -“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” (NKJ: Isaiah 11:6-9) & “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,’ Says the LORD.” (NKJ: Isaiah 65:25) The predatory and carnivorous instincts of animals will cease to exist, and all will dwell in harmony together along with humans. -“But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying. ’No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; for the child shall die one hundred years old, but the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.” (NKJ: Isaiah 65:18-20) The condition of the human body will change in that life spans will greatly increase, and most, if not all physical infirmities will cease to exist. -“The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose….For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of jackals, where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes.” (NKJ: Isaiah 35:1,6-7) The environment of the earth will be changed. The ground will easily yield food. Waters will burst forth in areas that were previously deserts and the land will become fruitful. For this period of a thousand years, with Jesus Christ ruling the world from His throne in Jerusalem, those dwelling on the earth with enjoy a most marvelous existence. Satan Released For One Last Time “Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (NKJ: Revelation 20:7-10) During the reign of Christ on the earth, people will not have a choice to do good or to do evil, for our Lord will be in control of all things, and all of mankind will behave in a righteous manner. Even those who’s hearts may yearn to do evil will be kept in check by the Lord. In essence, “free will” to do evil will be taken away. So after the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ is complete, Satan will be released one last time to give all those who inhabited the millennium a true choice of whether they would like to willfully follow Jesus Christ, or if they would prefer to put their allegiance with Satan. Strangely enough, even after living through the millennium and experiencing a perfect world under the rule of Jesus Christ, a great multitude, or, as John puts it in the above verse, “whose number is as the sand of the sea”, will reject our Lord and choose to follow after Satan. Once Satan has rallied his forces from all the nations of the earth, he will attempt to overthrow the rule of God, and will wage an all-out attack on Jerusalem. However, this attempt by Satan will be thwarted very swiftly by God. There will be no battle and no loss of life by any believers, for God will simply call down fire from heaven and destroy this evil army in an instant of time. Great White Throne Judgment “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (NKJ: Revelation 20:11-15) This will be the final judgment for all those people who had rejected the gift of salvation that was freely offered by God through the work of His Son on the Cross. There will be no believers at this judgment, for they have already been resurrected. This will be an agonizingly fearful time for these people, for they are about to be sentenced to eternal torment in hell for eternity. And just to be clear, we have one and only one chance here on earth to accept Jesus Christ, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,…” (NKJ: Hebrews 9:27) There are no second chances or reincarnations. To die in this life in rejection of Jesus Christ, is to sentence oneself to hell for eternity. Those standing before God at the Great White Throne Judgment will have no defense for their actions, for we read in Paul’s letter to the church of Rome, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (NKJ: Romans 1:20-21) Every person in their heart knows there is a God, and makes a willing choice to either follow Him or reject Him. Therefore, when all the unbelievers throughout time are brought before God for judgment, they will have nothing to reply in their defense, and will have no one to blame but themselves for their final judgment. Based on the above passage, apparently there are two types of books. There are a set of books which record all the deeds performed in our lives, and then there is the book of life. Those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior have our names written in the book of life. Our salvation rests in the perfected work of Jesus Christ on the Cross that will never fail. There is no need for our deeds to be recorded in the other books, referred to in this passage, for our deeds matter not concerning our salvation since all our sins have been forgiven through His work on the Cross. Those who have not believed in Jesus Christ are depending on their own works to get them into heaven. Unfortunately, to rely on one’s own works to get oneself into heaven means that that person must have lead a perfect and sinless life from the time they were born until they pass from this earth. Obviously, that is impossible, and we are even told so in the Bible: “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (NKJ: Romans 3:23) “For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.” (NKJ: Ecclesiastes 7:20) When this second set of books are opened, every act and thought of these people throughout their lives will be revealed, for God sees and knows all: “For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.” (NKJ: Luke 12:2-3) “For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.” (NKJ: Luke 8:17) “For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (NKJ: Ecclesiastes 12:14) “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (NKJ: Hebrews 4:13) Even those acts and/or thoughts in their lives that they may point to as being “good” will matter not, for the only righteous acts that matter are those done according to and in following the will of God. We read in the book of Isaiah, “How then can we be saved? All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…” (NIV: Isaiah 64:5-6) Apologies for getting a little graphic here, but the Hebrew words being translated “filthy rags” literally mean “used menstrual cloths.” God, through the prophet Isaiah, desired to be very clear to us regarding those acts performed according to our own will that we would deem “righteous” compared to those acts performed according to His will. There is no merit at all to be found in the acts of an unbeliever. We must be very clear in our understanding of God’s judgment, and its absolute fairness. God created us all with a free will (see Bible study on “Free Will” for a more depth discussion) desiring to have us come to Him willingly, and not as preprogrammed robots. Through our sin, we were separated from God, but God, because of His love for us, gave His Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice for our sins, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (NKJ: John 3:16-17) Through the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross, we were all given the free opportunity to receive eternal salvation. We read in the Book of Ephesians regarding our original state of sin and separation from God, and the free gift of salvation: “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (NKJ: Ephesians 2:1-9) We are born into this world as sinners, and are spiritually dead. It is only through Jesus Christ and His work on the Cross that we are given the opportunity to be made alive. We read in the book of Colossians, “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” (NKJ: Colossians 2:13-14) All unbelievers are spiritually dead, even though they may be physically alive. It is only through the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross, and our accepting Him as our Lord and Savior, that we are we made alive. How awesome is God’s love for us, and how awesome is His free gift of salvation. It is an extremely sad thing to realize that there will be many people who will willingly reject the love of God and His free gift of salvation. We must realize that at the Great White Throne Judgment, God is not making the decision to throw these people into hell for eternity, but He is only confirming the decision that they have already willingly and knowingly made for themselves. New Heaven and New Earth “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’” (NKJ: Revelation 21:1-4) We also read about this event of a new heaven and new earth in Peter’s second epistle: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (NKJ: II Peter 3:10-13) God’s creation was perfect in the beginning. The earth and heaven (atmospheric and celestial heavens, not the heaven, sometimes referred to as the “third heaven” in Scriptures, where God dwells) had no concept of sin and evil. But through human sin, first occurring in the Garden of Eden through Adam and Eve, and through Satan’s reign on earth, “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one [Satan].” (NKJ: I John 5:19), God’s originally perfect creation was corrupted. However, once Satan and sin has been done away with, God will then create a new earth and a new heaven for us to dwell that will stay perfect throughout eternity. The Scriptures do give us some insight into our glorious future dwelling place. The following passages paint a wonderful picture for us regarding our future eternal home: “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” (NKJ: Revelation 21:10-27) “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.” (NKJ: Revelation 22:1-5) Final Comments The Bible speaks of a future time to come where our Lord will remove His Church, those who have accepted Him as Lord and Savior, from this world, and then God will pour out His wrath on a rejecting world. We are told that those Christians who are knowledgeable of God’s Word will not be surprised by these events, but will be aware when this time is close. Based on current events in this world today, it would appear very likely that we are in or nearing these “end times”, and that the rapture of the Church, followed closely by the seven-year Tribulation period, is close at hand. To the non-believer, the nearness of these events should strike fear in their hearts, for they will be left behind when Jesus Christ raptures His Church from this world, and will be left to suffer through the outpouring of God’s wrath. But for those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the nearness of these events should bring a joy into our hearts. For we know that very soon, we will be in heaven with our Lord, being spectators from above on the ensuing wrath of God to be poured out onto the world.
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