A Brief Introduction to End-Times Prophecy

Author's Note: After a short interruption of posting due to health issues and relocation to a new residence in another state, I am resuming posting sermons and Bible studies on this site approximately once a week. My wife, Shara, and I now reside at the Penney Retirement Community in Penney Farms, Florida.

From study in recent weeks of the subjects of end-times prophecy and the book of Revelation, today I begin a revised series of studies I first presented to the Bible study group at our former church.

This post introduces the series with a brief review of end-times prophecy, and a series of studies in the book of Revelation will follow. Our studies are from the conservative evangelical, pre-tribulation perspective.

 

The Signs of His Coming

The Bible teaches that Christ’s return to earth is imminent return but does not give us a date. Here is the account of Jesus’ response to Peter, James, John and Andrew after they asked him, in Mark 13:4: “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”

The account of Jesus’ response appears in Mark vv. 5-8 and 32-35:

“⁵ Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁶ Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains…³² But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³ Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. ³⁴ It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. ³⁵ Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. ³⁶ If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. ³⁷ What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

In 1 Thessalonians 5:1-9, Paul tells us that Jesus’ appearance will be a surprise to everyone: “…about times and dates we do not need to write to you, ² for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”

Future prophetic events are prophesied to happen in a certain order, according to conservative evangelical interpretation:

First, Christ will return for the church, which the Bible calls “His bride.” Paul explains in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 that believers will be “…will be caught up together…” to meet the Lord :

“¹³ Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

Next in order of prophetic events will be a period of seven years called the “tribulation” (Revelation chapters 4-19). This time period also is referred to as “…the 70th week of Daniel…” in Daniel 9:24-27:

“²⁴ Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. ²⁵ “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. ²⁶ After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. ²⁷ He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”

These are “sevens” of years, refer to a period of 49 years (seven sevens). Many Bible interpreters believe the total time period Daniel envisions in Daniel 9 to be the time between when he wrote the passage until the end of Nehemiah’s ministry, or until the end of the prophecies of Malachi. He defines that time period as 49 years followed by a period of 483 years (“…sixty-two ‘sevens.’”), at the end of which the first advent of the Messiah would take place. Bible interpreters hold that the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy was the triumphal entry of the Messiah circa 30 A.D. The 70th “seven” (Daniel 9:27) will be the prophesied seven-year tribulation, which is in our future.

Next in the order of prophetic events is the return of the Lord “…coming in clouds with great power and glory…” (Mark 13:26) to establish what the Bible calls His millennial reign on earth (described in Revelation 20).

Evangelical Christians believe the world is presently in or near the time scripture calls the “last days” prophesied to be near the end of the present church age. Scriptures referring to this time, or dispensation, highlight the social conditions and attitudes that will be apparent at the time immediately before the return of Christ for His church. This is what many Christians refer to as “the rapture,” which comes from “raptura,” the term appearing in the Latin Vulgate translation for “…caught up together…” (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

Paul refers to some conditions in the “last days” in 1 Timothy 4:1-5:

“…some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. ² Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. ³ They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. ⁴ For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, ⁵ because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.”

Paul continues his description in his second letter to Timothy, 2 Timothy 3:1-9:

“…There will be terrible times in the last days. ² People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴ treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. ⁶ They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, ⁷ always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. ⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. ⁹ But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.”

(Note: Jewish tradition holds that Jannes and Jambres (v. 8) were two men among the Egyptians who went with the Israelites in the Exodus, and that they were the ones who urged the Israelites to make and worship the golden calf while Moses was on Mt. Sinai, but they are not mentioned in the Old Testament.)

The Apostle Peter warns us in 2 Peter 3:3-4 that:

“…you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. ⁴ They will say, Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”

According to prophecy, the “last days” for the church will be marked by apostasy, seduction by false spirits, unnatural affection, pride, skepticism, etc. It is perhaps somewhat of an accurate description of the modern western world we live in now.

When we study prophecies about Christ’s return, we must not become preoccupied with specific “signs,” but only the general conditions that will exist in the “last days.” From its inception in the first century A.D., the New Testament tells us that His return may take place at any moment. Paul calls this our “…blessed hope…” in Titus 2:13: “…while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ…”

Peter, James, John and Andrew in Mark 13 were asking Jesus what signs would precede His return as to rule Israel (as prophesied in the Old Testament). They did not know of a coming church age or rapture of the church because these doctrines do not appear in the Old Testament, the written scripture available to them, and were yet to be revealed by the Holy Spirit. But in His response to their question, Jesus refers to His return at the end of the tribulation, not to rule just Israel, but to rule the entire earth in His millennial kingdom.

Jesus notes in Matthew 24:14 that His return to reign will take place after the whole world hears the gospel: “…this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” The universal preaching of the gospel takes place in the tribulation period and is described in Revelation 14:6-8:

“⁶ Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. ⁷ He said in a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.’”

The preaching of the gospel of the kingdom to every person on the earth occurs after the rapture but before the Lord returns at the end of the tribulation to establish His millennial kingdom.

The tribulation period is the time when the church is with the Lord in heaven looking down on the events transpiring on the earth as the Lord judges Israel and the rest of humanity. Looking down on the events, the church sees the ordeal of the Jews and Gentiles alike as the Lord judges and witnesses to Israel to prepare for His return to reign.

We find prophecies about several signs that will take place during the tribulation as the time nears for Jesus’ return to reign:

• False messiahs and prophets deceiving many (Matthew 24:5, 11)
• Wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6)
• Unprecedented political turmoil, famine, disease, and earthquakes (Matthew 24:7)
• Martyrdom, betrayals by members of one’s family (24:9-10)
• Licentiousness and lawlessness as in the days of Noah (24:37-39)
• A 10-nation confederacy of the revived Roman Empire (Daniel 2, Revelation 13)
• The building of the temple in Jerusalem (Daniel 9:26-27)
• Physical signs—earth, sun, moon, and stars (Luke 21:25; Joel 2:30-31)
• Hearts will fail for fear due to cataclysmic events (Luke 21:26)
• The believing remnant of Israel will be gathered from throughout the earth (Matthew 5:31)

These signs precede the coming of the Lord “…in power and great glory…” to redeem believing Israel and usher in His 1,000-year reign on earth (Luke 21:27-28; Matthew 24:27, 30, 42).

We see some of these signs today in the western culture, indications that the time may be near. The signs Jesus told to His disciples will become fully evident after the Lord returns for the catching up of His church in the air (the rapture) and will precede His return at the end of the tribulation.

The Christians in Thessalonica were troubled because of false teachers who taught them they had somehow missed the rapture (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3):

“¹ Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, ² not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. ³ Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.”

The terrible trials and persecutions these Christians were suffering in Thessalonica made them wonder about the times and left them susceptible to false teachers telling them they were in the midst of the great tribulation. Paul’s reassurance in 2 Thessalonians is in the context of his first letter to the Thessalonian Christians, in which he promised them the Lord would return for them (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18):

“¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

The spirit of apostasy the Bible describes as characteristic of the last days is present today, which leads us to an ever-increasing realization that the Lord’s return for His church and the beginning of the tribulation period are imminent. That has been the “…blessed hope…” of the church since its inception and the expectation of every generation of Christians since the apostles.

While we wait for and expect His return, we must continue to do the Lord’s work of reaching the lost, encouraging one another, walking in the Spirit, and showing in our manner of living the difference Jesus and the indwelling Holy Spirit makes in our lives.

Finally, the Holy Spirit admonishes us to live as though the Lord’s return will happen at any time (1 John 2:28-29):

“²⁸ And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. ²⁹ If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.”

 

(Next week: Introduction to the book of Revelation and chapter 1.)