Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. -Revelation 1:7.
There is much evil in our world today, and it is growing. We would anticipate that such would be the case during these "last days" of history (as we have known it), but that doesn't make them any easier to bear. As Christians we look forward to the day when Jesus Christ will return and bring us home to Himself, that we might escape the further evil calamities which will overtake the earth.
And so I am seeing an increasing number of videos that are speculating on a soon return of our Lord. Jesus is our hope! It would be wonderful to go home to the Lord sooner rather than later, but the scripture is very clear that the time of our "rapture" will not come until the END of the tribulation period. We need to rest in the truth of God's Word, not the private interpretations of men (II Peter 1:20), nor the fair words of phony teachers that are only trying to make you feel better (II Timothy 4:3, 4).
This is an important time in history, and personally, I was very comforted to find that God had made things so simple and clear. We may not know an exact day & hour for the return of Christ, but the events of the times should make the season of the end pretty obvious.
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. -I Thessalonians 5:2-6; Bold type added to emphasize.
What follows now is the plain testimony of scripture regarding Christ's return;
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. -Matthew 24:29-31. Bold type is added.
But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. -Mark 13:24-27. Bold type added.
What I have published in the past is the testimony of scripture, that Jesus will return to gather His own, and then wipe out the armies gathered against Him at Armageddon. It will be on the SAME DAY, and likely the same hour. Jesus took time to say this directly when He was here in the flesh;
And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together. -Luke 17:26-37. Bold type added to emphasize.
In the last few verses Jesus is again describing the "rapture," where one is taken, but another left. His disciples ask Him, "Where, Lord?" meaning, where were they taken to? The answer Jesus gives describes a scene in the air, where carrion birds are gathering over dead bodies-the picture of destruction that will come at Armageddon.
That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. -II Thessalonians 2:2-6. Bold type added to emphasize.
This scripture in II Thessalonians is the simple formula for knowing the time of the end; there is a falling away from God, and then the Antichrist will be revealed. This person will be obvious to everyone, although non-believers will not see him as evil, but good. After this "son of perdition" is set up, it will be about 31/2 years until the Lord returns. More scripture on the time period later.
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 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. 15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. -Revelation 16:12-16.
In these verses we see the build-up toward the battle of Armageddon (v.16), the battle of the great day of God Almighty (v.14). But what do we see in verse 15, right in the midst of the conclusion? We see the alert that Jesus is getting ready to return! It is a reminder that when we see the Euphrates being dried up (v.12), it is a preparing for Armageddon, and we know the "rapture" will come immediately before that on the same day. This news will be terrific for the few weary Christians that remain.
And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God... And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war... And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. -Revelation 19:6-9, 11, 14-16.
You may well read the entirety of chapter 19, but here I have shortened it. Once again you can see that this chapter is referring to the "rapture" event, which is the marriage supper of the Lamb, taking place just before Armageddon.
As for the 31/2 year time period, we are shown it through simultaneous events in Revelation 11:2, 12:14, and 13:5. In Daniel we find it twice in chapter 12 verses 7 & 11. This time period is sometimes called 42 months, and at other times called, "A time, times, and a half." But at the end of Daniel we find a specific number of days mentioned;
And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. -Daniel 12:11, 12.
And so we see here another account of the 31/2 year time period, 1,290 days-it all depends on how you account your number of days in a year. 1,290 would be 43 months of 30 days. What then does it mean by the blessedness of waiting until the 1,335th day? I believe the Bible indicates that there will be a short time at the end when the Beast's kingdom will be in upheaval-this being indicated in Revelation 17:16, when 10 nations are moved against the Beast. As you can see, even the 31/2 year period would have an indefinite number of exact days, and so knowing the precise day of the Lord's return, in advance, would be nearly impossible if you are trying to count numbers. Still, by the time frame of the events given, we will know when it is VERY close! (Like when the Euphrates river is dried up).
The Bible gives us a definite series of events by which we can well pin down the time of the Lord's return. To believe wrongly about when Jesus returns is not a salvation issue by itself, but it could lead to spiritual disaster. God was plain in telling us what to expect regarding these last days, because He wants us to be prepared. If we write off the teachings He has so mercifully given us, we do so at our own peril.
If I believe the Lord returns after the tribulation period, but I am wrong and He comes before it, then that is a gain for me! But if I believe Jesus returns before the tribulation, and then I am wrong, it really hurts me-and has set me up for the deceptions of the Antichrist. If the devil sets up a false 2nd coming of Christ, and at the same time when you are expecting the real Lord to come, will you be able to distinguish the difference? I implore to investigate Project Blue Beam, because I think this is likely to be employed.
This time in history is very important, and we've got to dig deep, brethren. Hang in there! The Lord will sustain us, and soon it will be time to rest from our labors.
Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. -Luke 6:47, 48.
Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. -Luke 12:35-37.
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