THESE LAST DAYS – Hidden facts found in plain sight

THE SIGNS OF CHRIST’S RETURN

There are testimonies, warnings and plain statements regarding at time in the Bible known as the Last Days or the End of the Age. For example, Jesus gives us an account of the Last Days and The End of the Age from two distinct perspectives. We need to look at a Biblical comparison and correlation of The Seals of the Tribulation as seen in the book of Matthew and correlated with the book of The Revelation (1). So we can know the sequence of these events that may be prepared and ready at all times. (2). It is also important so that we will not be taken by surprise or frightened and lose focus and composure; (3). It is also a reminder that we are to inform and warn others of the present and coming judgements. To Wit:

• Matthew 24:1-5 tells us, “As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

• Revelation 1:1-3, which was written around A.D. 95 says, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place ; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near.”
  

• Verse 4. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and who was, and who [c]is to come, and from the [d]seven spirits who are before His throne, verse 5, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— verse 6, and He made us into a kingdom, priests to [e]His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Verse 7. BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.

These words were written sometime around A.D. 90. Over 1,900 years have passed since this prophecy was written, and according to the God-breathed and Holy Spirit inspired Word of God. The first ‘contradiction’, if that is possible, is if these were ‘to soon take place’.

(Please Note: Many protestant denominations will interpret Revelation 1:7 as being fulfilled in Revelation 19:11 as “Jesus’ Second coming’. It is important, when establishing a Biblical timeline, to get the chronology right. Please compare Matthew 24:30 and Revelation 19:11

Matthew 24:30-31, “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”

And,

Revelation 19:11-16, ^“And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it, He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Matthew 24:30, is when the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory will occur at the beginning of the 7-year period of the Great Tribulation period. This is when Jesus will send forth His angels with a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. THIS IS THE ONE AND ONLY 2ND ADVENT – AND THE GATHERING (rapture) OF HIS ELECT (CHOSEN).

Revelation 19:11, is when the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war is to occur at the end of the Bowls of Wrath, which is at the end of the 7-year Great tribulation period. This is when Jesus ‘judges and wages war’. JESUS HAS ALREADY RETURNED AND GATHERED HIS ELECT (HIS CHOSEN) AND IS NOW DEFEATING THE BEAST, THE ANTICHRIST AND ALL WHO RELIEVED THE MARK OF THE BEAST, and is casting them into the lake of fire.

Jesus and these same disciples testified that these present and coming prophetic judgments and events may have already begun. in or around A.D. 30, calling them “events of These Last Days”: 

• Hebrews 1:2, “but in these last days He (God) has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” 

(This was written by the Apostle Paul, is written in the present tense, in or around the year A.D. 70 and is referred to as these last days ).

• Hebrews 9:26, “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, He (Christ) has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”

(These events were occuring in or around A.D. 30. The book of Hebrews is written by the Apostle Paul, and is written in the past and present tense, in or around A.D. 70 and is referred to as the end of the ages.)

• Acts 2:14-17, “But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

It is important because this illustrates the correct timeline and timing of these events. ‘NOT THE DAY NOR THE HOUR’, because no one knows the exact day or hour, not even Jesus, but the Father alone knows. But, this does give us an accurate description of the fig tree: “as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near;. (Matthew 24:32)

It is important because we must be mentally, physically and spiritually of and ready for the things that are upon us so we do not faint or fall away.

It is important because the context, the uses and meanings of these various words which refer to Tribulation affect our attitudes and our motivation for GETTING and STAYING READY for His return. They also affect our view of the timing of the coming Tribulation and the Great Tribulation.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Why does it matter “when” the tribulation starts or “when” Christians are to be raptured into the heavens?

It matters because being ready for His Return is proof of True Christianity, and only a True Believer in Christ will be guaranteed to join Christ at the sound of His Great Trumpet call and escape the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord.

It matters because being ready requires believing and doing what He has instructed us to do in preparation for His return.

It matters because He has warned that “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

It matters because many Christians are sitting idly waiting for an event that has already begun and they are not DOING what He told them to do and therefore are in grave danger.

It matters because some of our family, friends and neighbors are completely unaware or just don’t believe that Christ will return and God’s final judgments will sentence them to outer darkness.

It matters because as Christians, our faith, our convictions and our behaviors
are speaking louder than our words – and if we truly believe these things are coming to pass – we need to be getting ready

Finally, there is are two huge misconceptions or misunderstanding and in some churches, a false teaching that (#1), the Rapture will occur before the appearing of the Antichrist.

HOWEVER, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8 clearly says, “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit, or a message, or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. No one is to deceive you in any way! For it  (the day of the Lord) will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”

And (#2), the second big misconception is that the ‘mark of the beast’ will be given and this will occur prior to the rapture, when at that time no one will be able to buy or sell without that mark’.

However, Revelation 3:16-17 says, He will “cause all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.” Therefore, the Antichrist gives his ‘mark’ after the Seal Judgments, after the Rapture, and just after the 6th Tribulation Trumpet Judgment and at the blowing of 7th Trumpet Judgment – which is the Mid-Point of the Great Tribulation – which is after three and one half years of the final 7 years of the Great Tribulation period.

I mention these two misconceptions because they are included in the chronology of the last days.

Coming next: Confirm scriptures with scriptures regarding the Last Days by correlating and comparing the Tribulation Seals from Matthew chapter 24 with the book of The Revelation chapters 6, 7 and eight.

(Jesus, in the book of Matthew gives a present view looking to the future – Jesus, in The book of The Revelation gives a panorama of a continuous past, present and future.)

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

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