Overview of End Times Events
The Day of the Lord is an Old Testament phrase (Isaiah 13:9-11, Zechariah 14) that described God’s intervention in the affairs of the world in the past. It also pointed ahead to what we now refer to as the End Times. It is ultimately God’s judgment of mankind. He will punish sinners and bring the world into submission (Revelation 6-19) and establish his Millennial Reign over the earth (Revelation 20). It is not a 24-hour day but rather the entire period of time which starts with the Rapture, continues on through the 7-year Tribulation Period, the Second Coming of Christ and the 1000 year Millennial Kingdom on earth. The last event in the Day of the Lord will be the Great White Throne Judgment in which the entire creation is literally destroyed and all who rejected God and Christ will be condemned to the Lake of Fire for Eternity. For the redeemed of the earth, a New Heaven, New Earth and New Jerusalem will usher in the Eternal state where time as we know it will not exist.
The Rapture
The Rapture is an event that the Bible describes but doesn’t mention by name. Bible scholars have utilized the word Rapture to describe the miraculous act of removing believers from the earth prior to the Second Coming of Christ. There are passages which describe it explicitly and others that refer to it in a more subtle way. However, it is clear that true believers will be removed prior to the Tribulation Period in the End Times. This is implied as the church was addressed in chapters 2-3 of Revelation and then not mentioned again until they are seen returning with Christ during the Second Coming (Revelation 19). Not all Christians agree on the reality and/or timing of the rapture. A review of Scripture is helpful to gain insight to this glorious event.
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.”
1 Corinthians 15:51-53
[Excerpt from the letter to the church in Philadelphia] “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I [the risen and glorified Christ] will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.”
Revelation 3:10
“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
John 14:2-3
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”
1 John 3:3
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
Philippians 3:21-21
We will have new glorified bodies much like the risen Christ who appeared to his disciples at various times after his resurrection. The dead in Christ will be resurrected and their translated bodies will be rejoined to their risen spirit which was already in heaven. The living saints will be translated thereby losing our earthly body and gaining our new resurrected bodies. In heaven we won’t have the desire or ability to sin, we will be holy. Our new bodies will need new clothes. So one of the first things to happen once we are taken must be the Judgment Seat of Christ. This will be a gathering of those believers who were raptured so there is no question regarding salvation or condemnation. Our new holy status is indicated by fine white linen clothing much like holy angels have been witnessed wearing. Everyone who is raptured will be given new clothing. Additional rewards may or may not follow our individual judgment of the things we did on earth after we were saved. Or, in other words, our stewardship of time, talent and abilities will be evaluated by Christ.
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”
2 Corinthians 5:10
The ones raptured will be comprised of a special company of believers known as the Church. Christ, during his earthly ministry, said he would build his Church (Matthew 16:18). Since that was future tense, it certainly did not include saints prior to that time. In fact, it wasn’t until after his resurrection that the Holy Spirit was given to believers. It was at this momentous event that the Church was started. The Spirit was given on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2:1-4. The believers from that moment on up until the day of the rapture form a special company of saints known as the Church. They collectively are known as the bride of Christ and reign with him for eternity. So once the rapture happens, the Judgment seat of Christ occurs in heaven. As a result of that judgement, pure white robes will be given us to wear and rewards for faithful service will be distributed. The Judgment Seat of Christ is the culmination of the work that was begun in us by Christ the moment we were saved. During the time on earth, the Holy Spirit enlightened us to the teachings contained in the Word of God and empowered us to perform good works that God planned for us before the beginning of time (Ephesians 2:10). In heaven, after the Rapture, the Church, also known as the Bride of Christ, will be joined to Christ in a wedding ceremony. Prior to the wedding, we will be spiritually cleansed, adorned and made holy. This is all consistent with the figure of a wedding union.
“Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
“”Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.’“(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
“Then the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ And he added, ‘These are the true words of God.'”
Revelation 19:6-9
Following the Rapture, the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Wedding of the Lamb, will be the triumphant Second Coming of Christ to the earth. Christ will destroy his enemies and begin to reign from Jerusalem as King of the Earth. His bride will accompany him and the Old Testament Saints will be resurrected so all believers of all time will rejoice and celebrate at the wedding supper of the lamb.
What Happens on Earth after the Rapture?
The Bible is silent about any earthly ramifications of the Rapture. We do know the tribulation period will be a terrible time for those left behind. First of all, the power and presence of the Holy Spirit will be removed from the earth. That is because the Holy Spirit was present on the earth in the bodies of the believers. During the Church age, each true believer is indwelled, sealed and baptized with the Holy Spirit. Since all believers are removed via the Rapture, the Holy Spirit is said to be removed as well. He was in the world restraining evil by working through believers.
“For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.”
2 Thessalonians 2:7
In addition to the removal of the Holy Spirit, the world will become a 10 nation political confederation and will agree to a 7-year peace agreement. The antichrist is a man who will be involved in and perhaps lead the 10 nation alliance. He is said to confirm the agreement (Daniel 9:26-27). They won’t know he is the antichrist. He will probably well liked, powerful, good-looking and charismatic. He will confirm the agreement for 7 years. Simultaneously, there will be a worldwide ecumenical church. We know that Jews will freely and willingly move back to Israel since there is world peace. They will be allowed to sacrifice at the Temple just like they used to in Old Testament times (Daniel 9:27). Keep in mind that the world church, including the Jews, were left behind because they rejected Christ. This will be a false church. However, they will be rich and powerful and actually dominate the political leaders during the first 3 ½ years. They are described as a prostitute in contrast to the bride who was raptured. The reference speaks not of sexual immorality, but rather of spiritual immorality by betraying the Lord and worshiping other gods in any and every way they choose. We can get some clues about their conduct by reviewing the passage in which an angel describes them to John.
“One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.’
“Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. The name written on her forehead was a mystery:
“BABYLON THE GREAT
“THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
“AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
“I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.”
Revelation 17:1-6
The false church is portrayed as the prostitute riding the beast. The beast is comprised of the political leaders of the 10 nation confederation. During the first 3 ½ years the false church will dominate and control the political leaders. Just prior to the end of the first 3 ½ years, a sneak military attack comprised of several nations is launched against an unsuspecting and unprepared nation of Israel. God miraculously wipes out the attackers and Israel is preserved (Ezekiel 38-39). So the midway point of the 7 year period is reached following the fantastic sneak attack that ended tragically and left the world in disarray. It is at this point that the antichrist officially breaks the peace agreement and begins to rule the world as a dictator. He stops the sacrifices in the Temple. He sets himself up as a god to be worshiped and institutes the mark of the beast. The second half of the tribulation period is laid out in Revelation 6-19 and is terrible time for all the inhabitants of the world. Fortunately, the true Church is not involved in these earthly matters. They were raptured as clearly taught by the Apostle Paul.
“But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
1 Thessalonians 5:4-8
Summary
There are believers who think the Rapture may occur midway through the Tribulatiion. There are others who think it is at the end. Some dismiss the idea of a literal tribulation period altogether. Many believe the Second Coming is an instantaneous event which includes the rapture and judgment all at once. In reviewing the clear teaching of the Bible discussed above, we must conclude that these prophecies are literal and the awful events will occur just as described. The Bride of Christ will be removed prior to that outpouring of God’s wrath on the unrepentant inhabinants of the world. Teaching and believing the rapture occurs prior to God’s outpouring of wrath is meant to be an encouragement to us.
“For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:9-11
“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
“These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.”
Titus 2:11-15
All Scripture quoted from:
New International Version (NIV)
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