Rapture and End Times

For the majority of the world, the concept of Rapture and End Times is more fantasy than reality. Most people don’t believe that world events will reach a final climax soon. What does the Bible say about the timing of the End Times?

Many data points go into the calculation of the timing of Armageddon. Critical indicators include the rebirth of Israel, the invasion of Israel, a Middle East peace plan, building the third Temple, the “abomination of desolation” in the Temple, the Great Tribulation, and finally, Armageddon.

In this post, we explore these 7 End Time factors:

1. The Rebirth of Israel

Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. (Matthew 24:32-34).

In the book of Matthew, we see Jesus teaching the Apostles that the Rapture will be linked to a certain generation. This generation started when Israel was reestablished as a nation in 1948. This is the last generation.

We believe that this generation started when Israel (often Biblically symbolized as a fig tree) was reestablished as a nation in 1948 after 1,900 years of dispersion, persecution and oppression.

The reason we think this is the last generation is that the Rapture, Tribulation and Second Coming require the existence of the nation of Israel.

A Biblical generation is defined as 70 years in Psalm 90:10: The days of our lives are seventy years.

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2. The Ezekiel War

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, turn your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him and say: This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws, and bring you out with all your army, including horses and riders, who are all splendidly dressed, a huge company armed with shields and bucklers, all of them brandishing swords. Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shields and helmets; Gomer with all its troops; and Beth-togarmah from the remotest parts of the north along with all its troops—many peoples are with you.

“Be prepared and get yourself ready, you and all your company who have been mobilized around you; you will be their guard. After a long time you will be summoned. In the last years you will enter a land that has been restored from war and regathered from many peoples to the mountains of Israel, which had long been a ruin. They were brought out from the peoples, and all of them now live securely. You, all of your troops, and many peoples with you will advance, coming like a thunderstorm; you will be like a cloud covering the land. (Ezekiel 38:1-9)

A critical sign pointing to the Rapture of the Church is the invasion of Israel. This was foretold in Ezekiel and Psalms. The “hook in the jaw” will be an escalation between Iran and Israel, that will reach the point of no return.

God, do not keep silent.
Do not be deaf, God; do not be idle.
See how Your enemies make an uproar;
those who hate You have acted arrogantly.
They devise clever schemes against Your people;
they conspire against Your treasured ones.
They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation
so that Israel’s name will no longer be remembered.”
For they have conspired with one mind;
they form an alliance against You—
the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.
Even Assyria has joined them;
they lend support to the sons of Lot. (Psalm 83:1-8)

What is amazing is that the Book of Ezekiel was written between 593 and 571 BC, and Psalm 38 was written around 1,000 BC. What other religious book has specific prophecies with specific nations, from thousands of years ago, that are manifesting now?

The historically miraculous rebirth of the Jewish state in 1948, after 2,000 years of nonexistence, and the conquering of East Jerusalem during the Six-Day War in 1967 and other factors seems to have set the stage for a time clock for the “last days” of Israel and the fulfillment of many remaining prophecies relevant to that period.

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3. The Middle East Peace Agreement

He will make a firm covenant
with many for one week,
but in the middle of the week
he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering.
And the abomination of desolation
will be on a wing of the temple
until the decreed destruction
is poured out on the desolator. (Daniel 9:27)

One of the critical signs are pointing to the imminent Rapture of the Church is a comprehensive peace plan that allows the rebuilding of Jewish Temple.

An upcoming comprehensive international peace treaty is the major End Times sign, and indicates the beginning of the 7 year Tribulation. It is the prophetic trip wire that is more critical than any other modern sign.

We believe that the Beast (along with the Dragon), assisted by the False Prophet, will use Chrislam to finalize the Israeli-Palestinian “land for peace” treaty, which will allow the Third Temple to be built.

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4. The Third Temple

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The Lord put it into the mind of King Cyrus of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and also to put it in writing: This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build Him a temple at Jerusalem in Judah. Whoever among you of His people may go up, and may the Lord his God be with him. (2 Chronicles 36:22-23)

Cyrus the Great (around 600  B.C.) figures in the Hebrew Bible as the patron and deliverer of the Jews. He is mentioned 20 times by name and alluded to several times more. According to the Bible, in the first year of his reign he was prompted by God to make a decree that the Temple in Jerusalem should be rebuilt and that such Jews as cared to might return to their land for this purpose. Moreover, he showed his interest in the project by sending back with them the sacred vessels which had been taken from the First Temple and a considerable sum of money with which to buy building materials.

Donald Trump appears to be a modern day version of Cyrus the Great. As President of the United States, he is one of the most powerful leaders in human history. He wants to help Israel. The recent “Abraham Accords” peace agreement could pave the way for the Temple to be rebuilt.

However it happens, the third Temple will be built, paving the way for what will happen next…

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5. The “Abomination of Desolation” in the Temple

He will make a firm covenant
with many for one week,
but in the middle of the week
he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering.
And the abomination of desolation
will be on a wing of the temple
until the decreed destruction
is poured out on the desolator. (Daniel 9:27)

In Daniel and the Book of Revelation, we are told that the Beast stops the Daily Sacrifice in the Temple, sets up the Abomination of Desolation, blasphemes against God, and persecutes the Saints of the Most High God for a period of three and a half years.

They worshiped the dragon because he gave authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to wage war against him?”

A mouth was given to him to speak boasts and blasphemies. He was also given authority to act for 42 months. He began to speak blasphemies against God: to blaspheme His name and His dwelling—those who dwell in heaven. And he was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. He was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. All those who live on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered. (Revelation 13:4-8)

What did Jesus Christ say about the “abomination of desolation”?

“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 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.
(Matthew 24:15-22)

For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
(1 Thessalonians 5:3)

During the second half of the 7 year Tribulation, the world is dominated by the Beast. That is the final manifestation, the final product of the spirit of antichrist. He will be one final, supremely evil, supremely powerful ruler, who will dominate the human race for that brief period.

The Beast is the supreme embodiment of man’s rebellion against God and rejection of God’s laws. He is also called the son of perdition, the one who is headed for a lost eternity. Why will Satan give his power to this person? Because that will enable this person to gain dominion over the entire human race and to persuade the entire human race to do the one thing that Satan wants most: to worship him. This is his goal.

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6. The Great Tribulation

Then I saw Him open the sixth seal. A violent earthquake occurred; the sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair; the entire moon became like blood; the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a high wind; the sky separated like a scroll being rolled up; and every mountain and island was moved from its place.

Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the military commanders, the rich, the powerful, and every slave and free person hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.

And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of Their wrath has come! And who is able to stand?” (Revelation 6:12-17)

With governments crippled and devastated, and failed markets and banks, a “New World Order” will be the only solution offered, and then the Mark of the Beast will rise from the ruins of internationally failed economies.

I will completely sweep away everything
from the face of the earth—
this is the Lord’s declaration.
I will sweep away man and animal;
I will sweep away the birds of the sky
and the fish of the sea,
and the ruins along with the wicked.
I will cut off mankind
from the face of the earth.
This is the Lord’s declaration. (Zephaniah 1:2-3)

As the second half of the 7 years of Tribulation progresses, the wrath of God is fully unleashed upon the earth.

As the 7 year Tribulation reaches the end, the judgments become so severe that the “Great Tribulation” reaches the climax. These are the Bowl Judgments, that end with the destruction of Babylon the Great:

Then the seventh poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the sanctuary from the throne, saying, “It is done!” There were flashes of lightning and rumblings of thunder. And a severe earthquake occurred like no other since man has been on the earth—so great was the quake. The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the Great was remembered in God’s presence; He gave her the cup filled with the wine of His fierce anger. Every island fled, and the mountains disappeared. Enormous hailstones, each weighing about 100 pounds, fell from the sky on people, and they blasphemed God for the plague of hail because that plague was extremely severe. (Revelation 16:17-21)

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7. Armageddon

The sixth poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east. Then I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming from the dragon’s mouth, from the beast’s mouth, and from the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons performing signs, who travel to the kings of the whole world to assemble them for the battle of the great day of God, the Almighty.

“Look, I am coming like a thief. The one who is alert and remains clothed so that he may not go around naked and people see his shame is blessed.”

So they assembled them at the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon. (Revelation 16:12-16)

Toward the end of the 7 year Tribulation, in the Bowl judgments, the vast armies of the world are driven to Armageddon:

Unbelievably, the demonized armies stop fighting each other and begin to fight the Lord and the armies of Heaven. Their destruction is swift:

Then I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and against His army. But the beast was taken prisoner, and along with him the false prophet, who had performed the signs in his presence. He deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image with these signs. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. The rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh. (Revelation 19:19-21)

How close are we to all these events unfolding?

October surprise: Will war with Iran be Trump’s election eve shocker? Salon, August 16, 2020

“Some officials say that a joint American-Israeli strategy is evolving — some might argue regressing — to a series of short-of-war clandestine strikes,” concluded another report in the Times.

Some of this sabotage has been conducted against the backdrop of a two-year-old “very aggressive” CIA action plan to engage in offensive cyber attacks against that country. As a Yahoo! News investigative report put it: “The Central Intelligence Agency has conducted a series of covert cyber operations against Iran and other targets since winning a secret victory in 2018 when President Trump signed what amounts to a sweeping authorization for such activities, according to former U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the matter… The finding has made it easier for the CIA to damage adversaries’ critical infrastructure, such as petrochemical plants.”

For many in Iran, the drone assassination of Soleimani — and the campaign of sabotage that followed — has amounted to a virtual declaration of war. The equivalent to the Iranian major general’s presidentially ordered murder, according to some analysts, would have been Iran assassinating Secretary of State Pompeo or Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, although such analogies actually understate Soleimani’s stature in the Iranian firmament.

Such a conflict-to-come would be unlikely to involve U.S. ground forces against a nation several times larger and more powerful than Iraq. Instead, it would perhaps involve a sustained campaign of airstrikes against dozens of Iranian air defense installations and other military targets, along with the widespread network of facilities that the United States has identified as being part of that country’s nuclear research program.

PA starts steps towards international peace conference / Arutz Sheva, September 28, 2020

The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Sunday started diplomatic steps to hold an international conference at the beginning of 2021 for the peace process with Israel, a senior official said, according to the Xinhua news agency.

The PA mission to the United Nations has begun the preliminary steps with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and some countries to prepare consultations for the international conference, said Riyad Mansour, the PA’s permanent observer to the United Nations.

The consultations will be held by the European Union and permanent members of the UN Security Council, added Mansour.

On Friday, PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas appealed to the United Nations for an international conference on the Middle East in 2021.

‘Jerusalem is our city,’ Turkey’s Erdogan declares / The Times of Israel, October 1, 2020

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday implied that Jerusalem belongs to Turkey, referring to the Ottoman Empire’s control over the city for much of the modern era.

“In this city that we had to leave in tears during the First World War, it is still possible to come across traces of the Ottoman resistance. So Jerusalem is our city, a city from us,” he told Turkish lawmakers during a major policy speech in Ankara. “Our first qibla [direction of prayer in Islam] al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem are the symbolic mosques of our faith. In addition, this city is home to the holy places of Christianity and Judaism.”

The Ottoman Empire ruled over Jerusalem from 1516 to 1917. Modern Turkey, its successor state, has long stressed its enduring connection to the holy city, regularly condemning Israel’s alleged efforts to “judaize” it and the US administration’s December 2017 recognition of it as Israel’s capital.

.“Fratelli tutti”: Pope Francis to sign new encyclical on Oct. 3 in Assisi / Vatican News, September 5, 2020

“The right to private property can only be considered a secondary natural right, derived from the principle of the universal destination of created goods,” he said.

Some ultra-traditionalist Catholics have accused Francis of secretly backing a perceived plot for a “One-World Government,” a debunked conspiracy theory.

The title of the Pope’s new encyclical recalls a central theme of his magisterium. On the evening of his election to the papacy on 13 March 2013, Pope Francis first greeted the world with the words fratelli e sorelle – “brothers and sisters”.

His signing of the Document on Human Fraternity in Abu Dhabi in 2019 marks one more example of Pope Francis’ dedication to promoting brotherly love.

 

One way or another, Armageddon is coming. Are you ready for the Master’s return?

“Be ready for service and have your lamps lit. You must be like people waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once. Those slaves the master will find alert when he comes will be blessed. I assure you: He will get ready, have them recline at the table, then come and serve them. If he comes in the middle of the night, or even near dawn, and finds them alert, those slaves are blessed. But know this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.” (Luke 12:35-40)

As you can see, if you are not a believer, it would surely in your best interest to come to know Jesus as Savior early rather than later. You can claim Him now:

Jesus, I thank You that You came to save us from our sins and redeem us back to the Father God that was lost when Adam sinned in the garden.  Please forgive me of my sins and I choose to turn from them and I ask You to help me to sin no more.  I invite You Jesus to be my Savior and Lord over all of my life. I invite the Holy Spirit to live in me and teach and guide me.  Thank you Lord Jesus! Amen! 

Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. (Revelation 3:10)  

Reader Comments:

According to Islam, there will be a three year drought,. At the end of the three years, Muslims are to destroy the army of the Dajjal.

According to scripture there will be a three and a half year drought. The Eurphrates river dries up making way for the kings of the east.

Three verses later they arrive at Armegeddon Israel.

Shilohsfoal, October 5, 2020