THE ANSWER TO WHEN – part 7:
Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those. days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet-call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
AN IMPORTANT HISTORICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL MARKER:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days It is important to take careful note of the wording, “immediately after”, and “the tribulation of those days” which is referring to something that came previously and that there is something to follow. We have already read and established that the “tribulation of those days“ is referring specifically to the time period known as ‘the days of distress’, the breaking of the first five tribulation seals, from around A.D. 1 to this current day, (footnote 1), (footnote 2).
Now, We will discover what follows the breaking of the first five tribulation seals,
IMPORTANT: Matthew 24:21, says, ”For then, there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be (again).
Specifically,
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- Matthew 24:29. The sun will be darkened, and
- The moon will not give its light, and
- The stars will fall from heaven, and
- The powers of the heavens will be shaken.
- Verse 30. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and
- They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
- Verse 31. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet-call, and
- They will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
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Jesus reiterates the breaking of the 6th Tribulation Seal in Revelation 6:12-17, this way, “And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the eminent people, and the commanders and the wealthy and the strong, and every slave and free person hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the sight of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
IMPORTANT: Then, in quick succession,the wind currents of the earth stop moving, 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel are seal by God; then suddenly, from out of the tribulation, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all the tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” The long anticipated Rapture of all the saints of God has occurred.
Each of these events should be carefully considered individually and then corporately. Each event is a summary of what is to come and gives great insight of EACH event, which is described in greater detail in the book of the Revelation. It is important to note that these events happen quickly and either concurrently or in rapid succession. (Some bible teachers erroneously say that Jesus will come back another time to finish these events and to rapture the church, which is patently false. There is only one second coming and only one appearing.)
NEXT: THE ANSWER TO WHEN – part 8: HE IS AT THE GATES.
PREVIOUS: THE ANSWER TO WHEN – part 6: THE GREAT TRIBULATION.
THE INTRODUCTION: THE END OF THE AGE?
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