Revelation – End Times

As I have been leading our congregation to gain insight and understanding of how Jesus is revealed in each book of the Bible it has been challenging in many ways. One of those ways is the demand to study and explain things I might otherwise avoid. As we began to look into books that have an apocalyptic tone I realized I would need to bring some explanation of the Second Coming of Christ.

The biggest question I have any time I hear anybody talking about these things is, “What are we going to do about it?” The ultimate conclusion of end times study should simply be encouragement to love God and love others as effectively as we can. No need to get in an uproar just live and love effectively with greater intention in that direction. We are commanded in scripture to encourage each other with the fact that Jesus is coming back. So many times I hear church leaders frightening people with these words and that is a manipulative misuse of this important topic.

When Jesus responded to a question posed by His disciples (Matthew 24:4-8) about future events, Jesus indicated the following would occur:

* Great deception in the earth

* Wars and rumors of wars

* Nation would rise against nation

* Famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places

Amazingly, in the midst of that seemingly pessimistic forecast, Jesus gave an outstanding command: “See that you are not troubled!” One translation of that verse says, “Stop being alarmed,” and another says, “See that you are not frightened or alarmed.”

1 Thes 4:16-18 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. 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. Therefore encourage each other with these words. (NIV)

1 Pet 5:8 says we are to be self controlled and “alert” – not “alarmed” (NIV) There are many sensational facts to be considered in this study but it is imperative the we not capitalize on the sensational in efforts to alarm people. God doesn’t want us to use fear to manipulate people. God did not give us a spirit of fear but love, power and a sound mind – 2 Tim 1:7. As we study these important ideas we must continually remind ourselves that peace is God’s promise to our lives.

The church has a wonderful role in all of this and it would be helpful for us to understand that role first and foremost as our context for an elaborate study you’ll find below. 2 Thessalonians reveals that Jesus is our strength for today and our hope for tomorrow. Our presence in the earth brings protection to humanity as we work to expand God’s Kingdom.

II Th 2:7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. (NIV)

The antichrist is characterized by secrecy and lawlessness. Something is holding the antichrist back but will be taken out of the way and then he will emerge. The presence of authority changes the atmosphere of the room when a parent walks in. The presence of authority changes the highway when a police car emerges. We, the church, carry the presence of God’s authority and when that authority is removed all hell will break loose. As long as we are here we must devote ourselves completely to the purposes of God!

To understand the prophetic expressions of the Bible we must consider some of the apocalyptic insights that God encoded into Scripture. Some of the most basic understandings for apocalyptic writings are as follows: When these writings refer to a beast it references an empire. A horn references a king. A sea references the Gentiles. A wing expresses speed. An eye references intelligence or a great wisdom beyond the natural understanding. There are certain numerical expressions that communicate specific details as well. The number 3 references divinity. 6 is an expression of evil. A trinity of sixes, 666, is a god-like evil that is the worst evil there could ever be. 7 references completion from the earth’s standpoint. 10 communicates all of a thing or all of it is in place. 12 communicates completion from heaven’s standpoint.

Consider reading Daniel & Revelation keeping these insights in mind and you’ll begin to see things you did not know were there.

For instance: when you read about a beast with ten horns it’s referencing an empire with ten kings. When a little horn emerges from among these ten horns realize that this could be a king that comes from a small country to take control of this empire lead by these ten kings.

490 Year Prophecy In Daniel:

Dan 9:24-25 “The Lord has commanded 490 years of further punishment upon Jerusalem and your people. Then at last they will learn to stay away from sin, and their guilt will be cleansed; then the kingdom of everlasting righteousness will begin, and the Most Holy Place (in the Temple) will be rededicated, as the prophets have declared. 25 Now listen! It will be 49 years plus 434 years from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One comes! Jerusalem’s streets and walls will be rebuilt despite the perilous times. (TLB)

Daniel wrote of these 490 years simply seeing them as a consecutive 490 years. The fact is that it is broken into two segments. 483 of these years ended when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a Donkey. At this there was a pause in the prophetic clock which was the release of the church age through which we’ve been working ever since this event took place. The clock will start again when the antichrist forms a 7 year treaty of peace with Israel not when the church is raptured.

483 years of this vision was ended when Jesus said, “It is finished”. Now we are in a parenthesis of time awaiting the final 7 years of this vision. There is no reference to the church in Daniel’s vision. Reading the church into this vision will do nothing but bring confusion. These 483 years are uniquely substantiated with historical evidence down to the day and are explained elaborately below. It’s the final 7 years I want to focus on right now.

These final 7 years start when the Palestinians and Israelies sign peace treaty; at which time the prophetic clock will again begins to tick. As soon as this Palestinian state is established weapons will begin flowing in and officials will assure us that it will not happen this way but the U.N. will be in charge to sheriff the situation. This seven year peace treaty will be disrupted in the exact middle of it (3 ½ years) as the anti-christ refuses to fulfill his promise of sacrifices in the temple. Israel will be outraged but at that time many will realize, because of the accuracy of Scripture that Jesus is the Messiah. Much of the Nation of Israel will turn to Christ along with others around the world who will then believe. These last hour believers will suffer death because of their unwillingness to take the mark of the beast which will be the requirement under the leadership of the very wicked man called the Antichrist.

These final 7 years actually a time span that Jesus, Daniel & John all three divided into equal parts. Jesus refers to the first 3 ½ years of this 7 year span as the Tribulation and He refers to the 2^nd 3 ½ years in this 7 year span as the Great Tribulation. There are two parts: The Tribulation and The Great Tribulation.

Two prophets will arrive to warn the Israeli people that the antichrist is not their savior but that he is the anti-messiah who is out to destroy them. When the antichrist sends armies to invade 3 arab states the Israeli’s realize that he is the little horn in Daniel’s prophecy. Israel begins to turn to their true Messiah and many are saved. These fanatical prophets that are disturbing the peace that the antichrist has brought will be hated and killed. An explanation of who these two men are is given later in this blog.

Rev 11:7-12 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8 Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10 The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. 11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. (NIV)

The final 3 ½ years are accounted for in Revelation as well as Daniel:

Rev 13:5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. (NIV)

Dan 9:27 This king will make a seven-year treaty with the people, but after half that time, he will break his pledge and stop the Jews from all their sacrifices and their offerings; then, as a climax to all his terrible deeds, the Enemy shall utterly defile the sanctuary of God. But in God’s time and plan, his judgment will be poured out upon this Evil One.” (TLB)

When the antichrist violates the covenant as expressed in the 7 yr peace treaty causing the sacrifice at the tribulation temple to cease he will claim himself as god. This is when the world will begin to move toward a state of total war. Wars are going to erupt according to Daniel in Israel, Egypt and Russia. The prophecies indicate that the entire nation of Russia will be destroyed. The Bible describes the 7 trumpets sounding loosing various events upon the face of the earth.

Dan 11:36-45 “The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place…. 39 He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price. 40 “At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood. 41 He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand. 42 He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape. 43 He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Nubians in submission. 44 But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many. 45 He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him. (NIV)

The beautiful land is Israel which the antichrist will invade. Notice that Egypt will not escape. Egypt typically aligns themselves with the U.S. and Israel in peace talks and discussions in our modern times so this makes sense. It is entirely possible that this gathering of nations in our modern times is the United Nations. This would mean that the U.N. would assemble forces against Jerusalem. Ezekiel 38 specifically names some of the key participants in the prophesied invasion of Israel. The chief enemy that will come against Israel at that time is called Gog, Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Which Nation is referenced by these names? This scripture references the tribal names of the people occupying a certain land at the time of the prophecy.

The word “Mesheck”, according to Webster’s Dictionary, is the root word for “Moscoe”. This word “Moscoe” is the word from which “Moscow” was taken. Of course, Moscow is the capital of Russia. Tubal is referred to in this passage. There is a city in Russia that is called “Tobolsk”, and the Tobol River is also found there. All these ancient biblical names can be traced back to Russia. Ezekiel describes this power as coming from the “north.” Moscow is due North of the city of Jerusalem. Russia will be the leading nation in the invasion of Jerusalem, but will not come alone. According to Ezekiel 38:5-6, Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer, and Togarmah will come with her. Persia is modern day Iran. Ethiopia and Libya are still known by their ancient names. Gomer is modern Poland, and Togarmah is Turkey.

What will Russia do? God will cause the nation of Russia to move in armed aggression against the nation of Israel. The prophecy is recorded in Ezekiel 38:14-16 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God: In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? And thou shalt come from thy place OUT OF THE NORTH PARTS, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: And thou shalt come UP AGAINST MY PEOPLE OF ISRAEL, as a cloud to cover the land; IT SHALL BE IN THE LATTER DAYS, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.”

Russia will lead such a mighty force coming down against tiny Israel that the odds against Israel’s survival will look absolutely insurmountable. It will be thought that the end of Israel has finally come. However, God will take this opportunity to show His power to all the people of the earth.

Rev 11:15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.” (NIV)

After 6 trumpets releasing catastrophic events as described in Revelation chapter 6 now will sound the 7^th trumpet announcing the arrival of our triumphant King Jesus! The earth will be returned with this trumpet blast to it’s rightful ruler.

II Th 2:1-3 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you may 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. 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for {it will not come} unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, (NAS)

This references the day of the Lord when Jesus returns with the saints so obviously the antichrist will have been revealed. When Jesus makes his appearance on this earth he will be standing on top of the Mount of Olives. The moment that he sets his feet upon that mountain a great earthquake is going to shake Jerusalem. It’s described in great detail in Zechariah 14. The Mount of Olives is going to be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley. There is a fault line that runs along this mountain and the earthquake foretold will cause a great divide through which the water from the Mediterranean Sea will flow into the dead sea and the dead sea is going to live again.

The temple that has been measured with a measuring rod does not meet the qualifications to be the temple of God. It doesn’t have the right measurements. It’s going to be destroyed. Christ will build on the temple mount his millennial temple. White represents righteousness and judgment. Jesus comes sinless and pronouncing judgment. Notice that He’s not coming on a donkey but rather a horse. Israel’s new kings all rode to their coronation ceremonies as a sign of their meekness and their willingness to be under the Lordship of God and their willingness to associate with the lowly and the outcast of the Nation. Jesus once rode in on a donkey. At calvary the meekness was concluded and sinless Jesus endured the cross and conquered death. Now he comes as a conquering King!

Jesus began it all and without him was not anything made that was made. He ends it all – I am the alpha (the beginning of it all) I am the omega (the end of it all) and when he comes it is the consummation of human history. We will be returning with Christ in this mighty battle. We’ll be fighting in the return of Christ in covenant with the one who’s conquered death and the grave. We will not be able to die! Amazing but we will be able to be as bold as we want to be. Understand that if you have a picture in your mind where we’re all out with swords you have the wrong picture. As we see this battle defined in Scripture we’ll start to understand that it’s the mere declaration of His Word that will completely destroy our enemies. We will be in agreement and cooperation with His Word which is sharp and will pierce the ranks of our enemies shedding much blood!

Isa 11:4-5 “…He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.” (NIV)

Here is the one who is faithful and righteous!

Isa 34:1-4 Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it. 2 For the LORD’S indignation is against all the nations, and {His} wrath against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to slaughter. 3 So their slain will be thrown out, and their corpses will give off their stench, and the mountains will be drenched with their blood. 4 And all the host of heaven will wear away, and the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; all their hosts will also wither away as a leaf withers from the vine, or as {one} withers from the fig tree. (NAS)

Joel 3:2 I will gather all the nations, and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land. (NAS)

Joel 3:9-13 Proclaim this among the nations: prepare a war; rouse the mighty men! Let all the soldiers draw near, let them come up! 10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.” 11 Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down, O LORD, Thy mighty ones. 12 Let the nations be aroused and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. 13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great. (NAS)

Zech 14:1-3 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. (NAS)

Never has there been a battle where all the nations have been gathered. This is not an event that happened. It’s an event that will happen.

Rev 14:14-20 And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud {was} one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head, and a sharp sickle in His hand. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle and reap, because the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 And He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth; and the earth was reaped. 17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” 19 And the angel swung his sickle to the earth, and gathered {the clusters from} the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. 20 And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles. (NAS)

Horrific blood bath prophesied in Scripture in reference to those who have decided to be enemies of God.

Rev 19:11-16 And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it {is} called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 And His eyes {are} a flame of fire, and upon His head {are} many diadems; and He has a name written {upon Him} which no one knows except Himself. 13 And {He is} clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white {and} clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite 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. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” (NAS)

Jesus will return to this earth physically and will rule physically on the planet as the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. We will be able to see him, touch him, hug him, etc…

Rev 16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. (KJV)

Rev 16:16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. (KJV)

Rev 19:19-21 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat upon the horse, and against His army. 20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat upon the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh. (NAS)

The devil is cast out into that area called the abyss – this is not the lake of fire. He will be bound for 1k years during the millennial reign of Christ.

1 Thes 4:16-18 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. 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. Therefore encourage each other with these words. (NIV)

MORE DETAILS TO CONSIDER:

490 Year Prophecy in more detail:

Notice that Daniel specifically states that it will be 49 years + 434 years = 483 years from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One comes. Who is the anointed one? This references the Messiah. Who is the Messiah? This is where this prophetic scripture gets very specific and leaves little room for question.

The sacred Year known to the Jews as 360 day year based on the account of Noah and the five months (150 days) of water prevailing upon the earth. Gen chapters 7 & 8. Daniel stated it would be 483 years. If you do the math you’ll find that 483 years of 360 day years will total 173,880 days. According to this prophesy in Daniel 9:24 there would be a command to rebuild the temple and this command would set a prophetic alarm clock into motion that would introduce the Messiah 173,880 days after the command was given.

Ezra 7 tells the story of when this commandment came forth to restore and to build Jerusalam.

Ezra 7:9 For on the first of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, because the good hand of his God {was} upon him.

Ezra 7:12-13 “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect {peace.} And now 13 I have issued a decree that any of the people of Israel and their priests and the Levites in my kingdom who are willing to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. (NAS)

The first of the fifth month according to the Jewish calendar would be 1^st day of the month of Nissan. In our calendar this would be March 14^th 445 B.C. If you take March 14^th of 445 B.C. and add to that day the 173,880 days you will be able to come up with a very specific date in history. A date when Daniel prophesied the Messiah would be revealed. If you walk this out on a calendar you will land on a Sunday. This is not just any Sunday but this date is known as Palm Sunday, April 6^th 32 A.D. This is the day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. You can read about this in Matthew 21:7-10.

The song all the people were singing was a very commonly known song “Hosanna – blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”. This was the song they would sing to welcome their king. There are 430 prophecies of the first coming of the Messiah. All 430 prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

The final 7 years starts when the Palestinians and Israelies sign peace treaty; at which time the prophetic clock will again begins to tick for these final seven years. As soon as this Palestinian state is established weapons will begin flowing in and officials will assure us that it will not happen this way but the U.N. will be in charge to sheriff the situation.

This seven year peace treaty will be disrupted in the exact middle of it (3 ½ years) as the anti-christ refuses to fulfill his promise of sacrifices in the temple. Israel will be outraged but at that time many will realize, because of the accuracy of Scripture that Jesus is the Messiah. Much of the Nation of Israel will turn to Christ along with others around the world who will then believe. These last hour believers will suffer death because of their unwillingness to take the mark of the beast which will be the requirement under the leadership of the very wicked man called the Antichrist.

Who are these prophets? It would seem that these two men have to have gone to heaven without dying according to:

Heb 9:27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, (NIV)

One of these men is clearly revealed in Malachi as Elijah who meets the criteria of coming back to be killed because he has never died as is destined for man to die once.

Mal 4:5 “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. (NIV)

Who is the second? Some say Moses who appeared with Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. However, according to Deut 32:5-6 = Moses died. The question then becomes who else in the Bible did not die?

Gen 5:24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. (NIV)

The final 3 ½ years are accounted for in Revelation as well as Daniel:

Rev 13:5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. (NIV)

POST, MID & PRE-TRIBULATION VIEWPOINTS:

1 Thes 4:16-18 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 each other with these words. (NIV)

We are exhorted to encourage each other with the words of the Thessalonian account of the rapture. Can you imagine any better use for a text of the rapture than in the context of tribulation? Will the church face the Tribulation or the Great Tribulation?

One very significant point to consider is that after the references to the New Testament churches in the first 3 chapters of Revelation, there are no further references to the church until it returns with Jesus Christ. All of the judgments, trumpets, bowls, horsemen of the apocalypse are described with no reference to the church.

As I present a very limited expression of these three views it is important that you realize all three views possess a certain amount of merit. Many have studied these views their entire lives and have conflicting conclusions. Arrogance would drive us to embrace our conclusion as supreme discounting the merit of other conclusions.

POST-TRIBULATION:

Post-trib scholars actually believe that there are 45 days at the end of the 7 years from which we will be saved. These people have to be resurrected from the dead or they will not enter into the Millennial Kingdom.

Matt 24:29-31 “Immediately after the distress of those days “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ 30 “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (NIV)

MID-TRIBULATION:

Mid-trib believes that this references our being rescued after 42 mos or the first 3 ½ years facing the Tribulation. The teaching endorses that we will be rescued from the last 3 ½ years of the seven year period referred to as The Great Tribulation.

II Th 2:1-4 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying 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. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. (NIV)

The question becomes what is “that day” referencing here? Mid-trib believers say that this references believe that this speaks of the 42 mos after the antichrist is revealed just before the Great Tribulation. The Pre-trib position is sustained if you take the Day of the Lord as the return of the Lord for Judgment after the antichrist has been on the scene for seven years.

A 2^nd portion of Scripture Mid-Trib believers would reference is:

Rev 7:9-17 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” 13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes– who are they, and where did they come from?” 14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. 16 Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (NIV)

Mid-trib teachers say that these people are the raptured church. The fact is, however, that these people are those who refused to take the mark of the beast that came out of the Great Tribulation. The full text of the scripture reveals clearly who these people are.

PRE-TRIBULATION:

Both of these positions have a point. 2 Thes 2:7-8 becomes the main issue that is difficult for these two positions to address.

II Th 2:1-2-4 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying 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. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

II Th 2:6-8 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. (NIV)

Jesus is coming back but this won’t happen until the antichrist surfaces. This text shows that there is something holding back the emerging of the antichrist. TLB states it this way:

II Th 2:7-8 As for the work this man of rebellion and hell will do when he comes, it is already going on, but he himself will not come until the one who is holding him back steps out of the way. 8 Then this wicked one will appear, whom the Lord Jesus will burn up with the breath of his mouth and destroy by his presence when he returns. (TLB)

There are two events being held back. The day of the Lord is being held back until the antichrist is revealed. The antichrist is being held back until the one who is holding him back is “taken out of the way”.

The big question to determine your theology on this matter of pre, mid & post is the interpretation of who this references as holding back the revealing of the antichrist. Some scholars say that this references the Holy Spirit.

I believe this is clearly the church but some would say it is the Holy Spirit. This is why I don’t believe this viewpoint:

John 14:16 “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; (NAS)

The Holy Spirit is the one who brings salvation to pass. Jesus made the provision but the Holy Spirit performs this work:

John 3:3 tells us that we must be born of the spirit.

1 Cor 6:19 tells us that those who are saved have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them and

Eph 1:13 tells us that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit when saved.

Without Jesus it is impossible to be saved. But without the Holy Spirit ministering the process of salvation you cannot be saved either. Yet we see in Scripture where there will be a great wave of salvation which occurs after the antichrist emerges:

Rev 7:9-10 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” (NIV)

Rev 7:14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (NIV)

These are those who were saved out of the Great Tribulation. These are the countless people who died rather than taking the mark of the antichrist.

This secret power of lawlessness is already at work. This spirit of the antichrist has been at work trying to emerge for generations.

II Th 2:7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. (NIV)

Notice that this reference to “he” says that he will be “taken out of the way”. This is an interesting phrase.

1 Thes 4:16-18 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 each other with these words. (NIV)

Notice that there will be a catching away of the church. A time when the church will be taken away. The work of Christ working through the church will be taken out of this earth. Then the antichrist will appear bring forth the tribulation for 3 ½ years and then the Great Tribulation for 3 ½ years. 1 Thes references hope in this direction as well.

1 Thes 1:10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead– Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. (NIV)

The multitude of people who will be saved during the Great Tribulation. They will refuse to take the mark of the beast and be martyred because of it.

Rev 7:9-14 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” 13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes– who are they, and where did they come from?” 14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (NIV)

Jesus’ coming for his saints then coming with his saints are two different comings.

This references the day of the Lord when Jesus returns with the saints so obviously the antichrist will have been revealed.

When Jesus makes his appearance on this earth he will be standing on top of the Mount of Olives. The moment that he sets his feet upon that mountain a great earthquake is going to shake Jerusalem. It’s described in great detail in Zechariah 14. The Mount of Olives is going to be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley. There is a fault line that runs along this mountain and the earthquake foretold will cause a great divide through which the water from the Mediterranean Sea will flow into the dead sea and the dead sea is going to live again.

White represents righteousness and judgment. Jesus comes sinless and pronouncing judgment. Notice that He’s not coming on a donkey but rather a horse. Israel’s new kings all rode to their coronation ceremonies as a sign of their meekness and their willingness to be under the Lordship of God and their willingness to associate with the lowly and the outcast of the Nation. Jesus once rode in on a donkey. At calvary the meekness was concluded and sinless Jesus endured the cross and conquered death. Now he comes as a conquering King!

We will be returning with Christ in this mighty battle. We’ll be fighting in the return of Christ in covenant with the one who’s conquered death and the grave. We will not be able to die! Amazing but we will be able to be as bold as we want to be.

Understand that if you have a picture in your mind where we’re all out with swords you have the wrong picture. As we see this battle defined in Scripture we’ll start to understand that it’s the mere declaration of His Word that will completely destroy our enemies. We will be in agreement and cooperation with His Word which is sharp and will pierce the ranks of our enemies shedding much blood!