by Robert Gary
We are currently living in a time spoken of by the
prophets and our LORD Jesus Christ thousands of years ago. It
is a unique time, a first for all of mankind, and a wrapping up
of all things prophesied for mankind. It is indeed the last
chapter, one second before midnight on the prophetic clock,
with nearly all of the players on the stage for the opening of
the book of Revelation, all at the same time. Three things can
be learned from these times:
- We are truly in the last days of mans long history.
- There is no turning back the clock on it, once it starts.
- The Rapture of the Church and the Great Tribulation are very close, even at the very door.
- The Rapture is imminent, and always has been for 1,950 years.
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
- Context always determines meaning, immediate
and all of Scripture, always. This is the most important
Bible Study tool there is and rarely used today.
Isaiah 28:10
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:Isaiah 28:13
But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.- Context determines the meaning of all verses
- There is the immediate context and the context of all of Scripture
- There is a cultural context, archaeological context, historical context
- Without using a context, any verse can have any meaning you want it to
- With it, the meaning of any verse can only have one unambiguous meaning, with very, very few exceptions and NEVER with any important doctrines
- Prophecy is a very important part of Scripture
for us to study, as are all parts. STUDY, not just read
2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. - This is because these prophetic Scriptures
were written in the past to remind Israel of what God did for
them, and now to us for the same reason
1 Corinthians 10:11
Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.Matthew 24:4-5
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Isaiah 46:10
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times
the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall
stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
- Prophecy is simply God foretelling the future to us
- God can do this because He is Holy,
Omniscient, Eternal
Isaiah 57:15
1 John 3:20
For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.1 Peter 1:16
Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.Leviticus 11:44
For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. - Prophetic time lines from prophecy to fulfillment can go from hours to centuries, even millennia.
- Prophets of God had strict guidelines with
deadly consequences for those who disobeyed, and the
following verses from Deuteronomy 18 show the qualifications:
Deuteronomy 18:18-22
But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.Daniel 2:28-29
Amos 3:7
But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.
Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. 2 Peter 1:21
For no prophecy was made by an act of human will but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. - Those persons IN the Bible (including Jesus Himself) always used a literal interpretation of past events (Flood, Creation, prophecy, Israel's history) and future events
- Prophecy is always LITERALLY fulfilled, not
allegorically, spiritually, not symbolically
- Happens to that person or those exact people prophesied of
- Happens exactly when God said, to the day
- Happens exactly how God says it will, often in graphic detail
- Happens in an undeniable, supernatural way, leaving the world with a choice to believe or reject
- Prophecy fulfillment authenticates the Bible as divinely inspired.
- No other religion on earth contains prophecy, and Muhammad the Prophet made no prophecies, nor does the Quran contain any
- Thousands of Scriptures have already been literally fulfilled; and we are not even close to done yet
- Some prophecies have a dual fulfillment (abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, the two Roman empires, etc.)
- Examples of fulfilled prophecy:
- Prophecies have been written and fulfilled
about:
- Israel, Jerusalem
- Jesus Christ
- Nations such as Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Greece, Rome, ALL Arab nations
- Jesus Christ
- Peter the Apostle
- Modern countries and continents from Russia to China to Europe
- High Technology, transportation
- The entire world
- The church
-
- Jesus Christ is the seed of the woman which gave the serpent a fatal blow, and whose heel was bruised for our iniquities, but rose from the dead three days later(Genesis 3:15)
- The Flood happened 120 years after God said it would (Genesis 6-9)
- Abraham became a great nation, as God said (Genesis 12)
- Ishmael because a great nation, as God told Hagar his mother (Genesis 17:20)
- Isaac was born to Sarah and Abraham, as God said (Genesis 17:21, Genesis 21:2)
- Israel was four hundred years in Egypt
Genesis 15:13-14
And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.Exodus 12:41
NOTE: The extra thirty is from exactly when Jacob went down into Egypt, not the captivity time of four hundred years.
And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. - When Jesus was arrested and crucified, His
disciples scattered
Zechariah 13:7
Mark 14:27
Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.Matthew 26:56
The disciples left Jesus and only Peter was at a distance, and even he denied being with Jesus (Matthew 26:69-75)
But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled. - All of Psalm 22 was fulfilled at the crucifixion
- All of Isaiah 53 was fulfilled at the crucifixion
- Judas fulfilled prophecy about Jesus
- The Romans fulfilled prophecy about Jesus
- The Pharisees fulfilled prophecy about Jesus
- In Daniel 5, the Handwriting on the Wall said that Belshazzar was to die that night, in heavily fortified Babylon. It happened as it was stated and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom. It was done by diverting the Euphrates River and allowing the army to go under the wall (the only possible way in) while the entire city, including the king, were drunk and feasting. Was a cake walk.
- Daniel Chapter 9:24-27 was fulfilled mathematically perfectly
- The fulfillment today is observable history and we are eyewitnesses
- IN our lifetime alone, the fulfillment of so
many prophecies at once means we must be close:
- Israel in the land again (Isaiah 11:11-12, Isaiah 66:8, Isaiah 43:5,Ezekiel 20:34, Ezekiel 37, Hosea 3:5, Jeremiah 32:44, et al)
- Return of the Hebrew language (Zephaniah 3:9))
- The return to the shekel for money after 2,000 years(Ezekiel 45:12-16)
- The Temple Restoration (Daniel 9:24-27)
- The apostasy (2 Peter 3:3-4)
- Technological advances for the anti-Christ's kingdom (Revelation 13:16-18
- Fast paced lives, world travel (Daniel 12:4)
- One Worldism-Religion/Economy/Government(Revelation 13:8, 16-19)
- The level of spiritual blindness and wickedness is growing faster each day (Daniel 12:10)
- Rise of Europe and Ancient Roman Empire (Revelation 17-18)
- Rise of Islam/Chrislam/beheadings
- Russia (the Scythians, now called Magog) aligning with the Muslim nations (Ezekiel 38-39)
- China with a 200 million man standing army
- Plagues/earthquakes/droughts/weird weather/pestilences
- This is all simultaneous with Israel being in the land, under threat constantly from her enemies
- INTENSE persecution of Christians worldwide, growing in intensity daily, including crucifixions, beheadings, etc.
- False teachers, false prophets abound worldwide (Matthew 24, Luke 21, Mark 13)
- Rapture date setters and rapture nay sayers (2 Peter 3:3-4)
Pre-tribulation rapture of the Church
Matthew 24:3
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came
unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things
be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of
the world?
This is three separate events, "these things" (destruction of the temple at Jerusalem), "the sign of thy coming" (Rapture), "and of the end of the world"
2nd Thessalonians- 2:7 "until he be taken out of the way".This verse from Second Thessalonians reads:
"For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth[ will let], until he be taken out of the way" The "he" is widely agreed to be (and literally must be) the Holy Spirit Himself who is letting, or restraining iniquity that is ready to be unleashed on a Christ rejecting, sin infested world!
When you survey the world scene, and observe what's happening in regards to spiritual deception, moral decay,and just out right wickedness that has covered the entire planet like a blanket, it's difficult to believe that things can get any worse!
But increase they will, as I will try to show through this article, if it's The Lord' will!
In Matthew 24, Jesus lays out for us the "signs" that would unfold as we approach His Second Coming. He said these "signs" would increase like "Birth Pangs", increasing in frequency and intensity. He begins by telling us to beware of spiritual deception, wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, pestilences etc. All of these things will increase exponentially as His return draws near!
We are definitely living in the "Times of the signs"!
The events taking place on the world scene, from the unrest in the middle east, to the constant threats of nuclear weapons being unleashed on the planet, all point to this being the last days. You have what seems to be every end-time sign that the Lord Jesus said would signal His return now in place! Iran who has, on several occasions, openly called for the total destruction of the Nation of Israel, without any protest from the United Nations, or any other country for that matter! It really boggles the mind as to why the nations of the earth have such a hatred for the Nation of Israel, Unless you view it through the lens of Bible Prophecy, it is impossible to grasp the situation, which is totally spiritual!
If Satan had his way, he would totally wipe Israel off of the map, But Almighty God says in His word that will never happen!
Jeremiah 31:35-36 says:
"Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light
by day, [and] the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a
light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof
roar; The LORD of hosts [is] his name(KJV) v. 36 If those
ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, [then] the
seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me
for ever."
There is simply no support at all in the context of Scripture for the Church not to be raptured before the actual seven year tribulation. It is not the M.O. that God used in the past for major judgments This is not to say persecution of the church here in America is not coming, but that is not the same as judgment of the earth.
Matthew 24:3
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came
unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things
be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of
the world?
- The analogy of the Rapture is a parallel to
the ancient Jewish wedding
- Groom goes to prepare a house
- Surprise return to snatch his bride for the wedding; no one has any warning, always imminent, all wedding goers and bride must always be ready
- Wedding feast
- Enoch was raptured
- God always removes His innocent people from the area of widespread judgment
- Phillip was raptured (moved instantly to the Ethiopian Eunuch and away again
- Noah is an example
- The church is not under God's judgment and wrath
- The Word "Rapture" is not in Scripture; neither is the word "Trinity" or the word "Christianity"
- We must, by biblical definition, be in the last days
- The nation of Israel is to be our primary barometer, coupled with all other current events
- Israel is the fig tree (Jeremiah 23, Hosea 9:10, Joel 1:7, Mark 13, etc.)
- There is more spoken of the last seven years during the Great Tribulation than about any other time in history.
- The focus is on Israel from Revelation 4-22
- Israel is not the church
- Jesus has a physical and spiritual, glorified body
- We will be like Him
- The thief coming in the night
- No one knows the day or the hour, and cannot even calculate it
- The Second Coming is foretold on the tribulation time-line
- The Holy Spirit will be removed
- We are to be comforted by the awaiting for the Rapture............there is no comfort waiting to go through the Tribulation
- It is called our "blessed hope"
- We are caught up in the clouds
- The Church at Philadelphia will not go through the Tribulation
- We are in the time of the Church of Laodicea, but we are not to be that church
VERSES:
Genesis 5:24And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
2 Kings 2:11
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked,
that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of
fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a
whirlwind into heaven.
1 Thessalonians 5:9
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain
salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
John 14:1-3
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe
also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it
were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for
you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye
may be also.
