The End Of The Age... The Judgment of God Part I... The 'Day of the Lord'
Foretold by the prophets of old in both Old and New Testaments God's kingdom will be preceded by a devastating period of time such as man has never before seen. On a day that is even now looming on the horizon mankind's iniquity will have reached the brim at which point in time the Father will say, "enough!" and will pour out His wrath (retributive justice) on the earth punishing all unrighteousness and evil doers. This will be the darkest time in human history when even the heavens and earth will tremble at His power and fury, the moon will turn to blood, and the sun will no longer give out its light. (Revelation 6:12-17). Both Jesus and Paul implied that world conditions will not necessarily allow people to suspect the approach of Armageddon - the non believing world will be taken completely off guard.
Part II... The First Six Seals
If one avoids a superficial reading of Matthew 24, then compares what Jesus said in that chapter with the Seals of Revelation 6, it becomes quite clear that the Seals represent the persecution of Christians.
Part III... The Seventh Seal and First Six Trumpets
The Seventh and last Seal does not bring about any disasters in itself but introduces the Seven Trumpets. Trumpets often announced a coming disaster in the Old Testament and it will be no different at the end of the age when first six of the plagues God will send on the earth will each be heralded by an angel blowing a Trumpet. Jesus described this time as one of Great Tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, and never will be again. He then went on to say "... if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved".
Part IV... That Earth Shaking Seventh Trumpet
In a sense the Seventh Trumpet will be the most eventful of all them all literally ushering the old age out and the new one in. In summary, this last and final Trumpet... a) Brings and end to the mystery of God, when the doors to the Kingdom close forever with no possibility of redemption for any that have not yet become a disciple of the Lamb. b) Marks the point when believers are caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (the rapture) and c) Introduces the Seven Bowls that end all things. Note: the "sons of the kingdom" as believers are called are physically moved off the earth for a very specific reason.
Part V... The ‘Rapture’
This page has been confined to the reasons the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is a figment of the imagination. Part IV above shows that this meeting the Lord in the air happens at the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet and explains why Jesus temporally takes His followers off the earth.
Part VI... The Seven Bowls
Zephaniah 1:18 says it all... "Neither their silver nor their gold Will be able to deliver them On the day of the Lord's wrath; And all the earth will be devoured In the fire of His jealousy, for He will make a complete end, indeed a terrifying one, of all the inhabitants of the earth". After God publicly reclaims His rightful rule over the earth Jesus returns to earth to establish His kingdom. Also See The Two Witnesses
Although the "Two Witnesses" are mentioned in only eleven verses in the entire Bible, they play a major role in the End Times. Although the verses seem to be a straight forward description of two humans the text gives no clues as to who they are. So who are they and when will they appear? Note: there are two possibilities regarding the timing of their appearance on the world stage. The 144,000
The Jehovah's Witnesses claim this literal number will come from their ranks. Others believe the 144,000 will be Jews who will be saved from the physical nation of Israel. Scripture does not support either of these claims. AND The Message of The Bible
All too many people, picking out a random phrase or two, think 'love' was Jesus' core message. Unfortunately, they are terribly wrong... Jesus never stopped talking about the "kingdom of God" which phrase is used over 50 times in the four Gospels alone. He even said that the proclamation of the Kingdom was the reason He was sent to earth (Luke 4:43). But what and where is this kingdom? Here is what is really paradoxical ... the Bible's description of this kingdom of God, also called heaven is no pie in the sky ethereal place 'somewhere out there', but matches in every respect the world most men and women would choose to live in. A place of peace and safety where there is no crime, hunger and disease, war and above all... no death. Far from being outdated, out of touch and largely irrelevant to modern society, Christianity promises exactly the utopian world most men and women can only dream of. The Warning of The Bible
The message of the Bible that we can all live in a perfect world here on earth in bodies that will neither age nor deteriorate sounds too good to be true. It’s not! In fact, the heart of Jesus' preaching was the good news that the kingdom of God was on its way and that we could be part of it. However, it then throws us a curve ball by saying that sinful people cannot get there. The problem being that no matter how well we live we cannot live up to God's standard of holiness (no sin period) thus are all sinners who are under the death penalty which is God's decreed punishment for any sin. Luckily God's mercy and love changes this hopeless situation.
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