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April 6, 2014 |
| Things To Come | ||
From the time of the first sin by Adam and Eve, God has chosen to show his power by telling mankind of things that would happen in the future. Judaism and Christianity are unique among religions because of the large number of these prophecies. Not only do we have these prophecies but many have been fulfilled.
Many of these prophecies told of the first coming of the Messiah and were fulfilled when he came. Many other prophecies were fulfilled in their time. These were often prophecies of punishment coming on Israel for rejecting God. For example Jeremiah prophesied that Israel would be in captivity in Babylon for 70 years and that's how long it was.
Many of the prophecies that have been given are still unfulfilled. In this lesson we will look at just a few of these as we look forward to their coming fulfillment.
There are seven feasts on the Jewish calendar that were required attendance. Everyone was expected to go to Jerusalem for the duration of these feasts. The feasts were not all given to Israel at one time but over time. No one ever guessed that the feasts were actually prophetic descriptions of the steps in God's plan of salvation, a plan to raise up a people for himself.
The feasts come in two groups, spring and fall
Spring
Fall
In these feasts therefore we see that we should be expecting the second coming of the Messiah, the chaining of Satan (also mentioned in Revelation 20), and living with God for the Millennium
These chapters describe a great battle where the attackers are destroyed in a great earthquake. Some people say it is a description of the Battle of Armageddon but there are important differences that make it seem like a different battle.
The forces of many countries have come together to conquer Israel and take the land and resources for themselves. During their attack, there is an earthquake so great that some of the mountains in the land of Israel are flattened. The attackers are destroyed. Part of the description of their deaths sounds like poisoning so other things are happening that are causing their deaths. This could be their own weapons killing them.
It takes Israel 7 months to find, mark and dispose of all the bodies and body parts. By the end they have become the food for birds and animals that eat meat and all that is left are bones.
In this battle the purpose is to attack God more than to attack Israel, though Israel is the location. This battle is specifically lead by the AntiChrist and False Prophet. The battle ends when the Messiah and his forces intervene directly and the enemy is slain by the words he speaks. The beast (AntiChrist) and the False Prophet are thrown into the lake of fire.
This is clearly the time of the second coming and after this battle the world belongs to the Messiah.
Everyone knows of the AntiChrist but almost no one knows that he is not alone. His partner is referred to as the False Prophet. the AntiChrist is the "boss" of the False Prophet. The Bible spends more time focused on the AntiChrist because his focus is on deceiving and killing Jews. The False Prophet's focus is more on deceiving and killing Christians
It's also important to understand that both of these people are the heads of significant organizations. They are not just loners. They are both described as beasts. In Bible symbology a beast is an organization like a country, kingdom, or other organized group of people.
It is worth noting though that the only books that use the term AntiChrist are John's epistles. The Book of Revelation does not use that term. Instead they are referred to as the First Beast and the Second Beast or as the Beast and the False Prophet. In this lesson we will use the more common terms AntiChrist and False Prophet.
The AntiChrist will claim to be the returning Messiah and will deceive many people with lies. Our defense is to know the truth of the Bible.
The AntiChrist will display amazing powers, god-like powers and all people will be drawn to him except the strongest believers. The Bible says it best in Revelation 13
13 And it will perform great signs so as to make fire descend from Heaven on Earth before the people. 14 And it will seduce those living on Earth by the signs that were given to it to perform before the Beast, to tell the dwellers on Earth to make an image to the Beast, which had the wound by the sword and lived.
15 And it was given to it to give spirit to The Image of The Beast and to cause that all who would not worship the image of The Beast would be murdered.
16 And it will cause all, small and great, rich and poor, Masters and Servants, to be given a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 That no one may buy or sell again except one who has the mark of the name of The Beast or the number of its name.
18 Here is wisdom, and whoever has a mind in him, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man - 666.
The False Prophet and AntiChrist will attack Israel and Jerusalem. They will conquer Jerusalem. Half the people in Jerusalem will be relocated to other countries; some Jews will escape in time and will be protected until the Messiah comes.
The city of Jerusalem is situated on 4 hills that are lower than the surrounding hills. Except for some valleys that cut through the hills, Jerusalem is surrounded by hills that look down on the city. The Mount of Olives is the largest hill of those surrounding hills and lies to the east.
1
There will be a very great earthquake and the Mount of Olives will be split in two at some point along it. The northern half will move north and the southern half will move south.2 The newly created gap between them will provide a path for the people to escape. The city will be raised up, becoming a mountain above the others.
Two men will appear and begin speaking for God. For three and a half years they will say things that the people of earth do not want to hear. They will bring plagues on countries that will not accept them. No one will be able to stop them. When their time to testify is done the First Beast, the False Prophet, will kill them and their bodies will be brought into the city of Jerusalem. The people of the earth will be so happy about this that they will send each other gifts to celebrate.
After laying there for 3 and a half days they will be resurrected and stand up. Those who see this happen will be struck with fear. Then the two witnesses will be called from heaven and will be taken up.
For nearly 2000 years, the Second Coming is the event Christians have been waiting for. It is described in many places in the Bible but 1st and 2nd Thessalonians probably covers it in greatest detail. The Messiah will return with a shout and the blast of a trumpet. The dead who were believers will be resurrected to new bodies and ascend to be with him. The living who are believers will be transformed to new bodies and will ascend to be with him.
The AntiChrist, the False Prophet, and their forces will try to attack the Messiah and will be defeated. The AntiChrist (and perhaps his whole organization) and the False Prophet will be thrown in the lake of fire.
There will be a judgment of those who ascended to be with the Messiah3 and they will be found to be justified. After this the Messiah will setup his kingdom on earth and with him we will rule the earth. It will be a kingdom completely unlike any before it. Satan will be chained up so that he can no longer deceive and people will not be allowed to sin. This kingdom will last 1000 years.
At the end of the 1000 years Satan will be released and will go out to deceive the people again. Once again, like he had done 1000 years before, he will deceive them into trying to take on God and they will be destroyed. This battle is also described as a Gog / Magog battle4, giving what appear to be three different battles under that name. Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire where the beast and false prophet had been thrown 1000 years before.
After the 1000 years of rule by the Messiah and after Satan has been defeated comes the final judgment. All those who were not judged in the first judgment 1000 years before are judged now. Because they do not have a savior to pay the debts for their sins they will be thrown in the lake of fire.
This is generally interpreted to mean that they are eternally separated from God. The Bible calls this the Second Death.
During the Great White Throne Judgment God must judge and eternally separate himself from billions of the people he has created. This is a day of wrath for him but, I imagine, also a day of sadness. He does not want his people to be present durign this time and his people and his angels are sequestered away for the duration.
One of the effects of man's original sin was that sin entered the universe5. After the judgment is done all sin is again removed.
God sends down the holy city to be our new home. This city is the place promised by Jesus when he said "in my father's house there are many rooms" and "I go to prepare a place for you". It will be our eternal residence.
And we will live with God forever. Revelation 21 says:
3 […] "Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with the children of men, and he dwells with them and they shall be his people and the same God is with them and shall be their God*. 4 And he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and from now on there shall not be death, neither grieving, nor clamor, neither shall there be disease again, for His sake"6.
1 http://www.bible-history.com/jerusalem/firstcenturyjerusalem_the_land_of_jerusalem.html
2Zechariah 14:4
3Revelation 20
4Revelation 20:8
5Romans 5:12
6Revelation 21:3