Are We About to Experience the Return of Jesus Christ Followed by Tribulation, Armageddon, and the Thousand-Year Reign of Christ?
Many people, the world over, believe that we are on the verge of experiencing some dramatic events that will greatly change our lives and the course of life on Earth. A number of television programs have focused on predictions and prophecies drawn from the Bible. Belief and interest in the soon return of Christ is borne out by Tim LaHaye’s “Left Behind” series being among the best sellers overrecent years.
A great number of Christians throughout the world believe that the return of Jesus Christ is about to occur, any time now – from the next second to within a few years. Jim Bramlett ( ), a Christian writer and keen observer of world events, says that the evidence for His soon return is overwhelming. He notes eight out of 167 converging, Biblically based clues cited by one scholar. They are: (1) Israel’s miraculous rebirth as a nation in 1948, (2) plummeting morality, a shocking breakdown since the middle of the last century, (3) famines, violence and wars, (4) increase in earthquakes, (5) explosion of travel and education, (6) explosion of cults and the occult, (7) an approaching New World Order, and (8) simultaneous increase in both apostasy and faith. Additionally, a good number of Christians have reported being suddenly and unexpectedly visited by an angel saying, “The Lord is coming very, very soon.” In Luke 21:25-28 Jesus tells His disciples what the world will be like just before His return. Compare these conditions with those of the world of today! In Mark 13:33-35 Jesus exhorts His disciples three times to “watch” for His return.
You might wonder about the certainty and nearness of His return. Bramlett observes that in the Old Testament there are twenty times as many prophecies about Jesus’ second coming as there are about His first advent. Additionally, the second coming is mentioned 380 times in the New Testament. That being true you can rest assured that Jesus will return again. When Jesus ascended into heaven in the presence of His disciples two men in white apparel (angels) appeared to them and said, “This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11b).
Starting as early as AD100 a number of scholars observed that from the creation of Adam to Abraham was 2000 years and from Abraham to Christ another 2000 years. Add two thousand more years, from Christ’s birth to the year 2000, and you have a total of six thousand years since Adam. We should be cautious, however, to recognize that our calendar might be erroneous and not the same as God’s calendar, but probably not more than a few years different.
In the book of Psalm we read “..a thousand years in your [God’s] sight are like a day..” (Psalm 90:4, NIV). This concept is repeated in II Peter 3:8. If the 6,000 years since Adam are taken to be the first six “millennial days” of a week, from God’s perspective, then this new millennium, which began a few years ago, could be the seventh or Sabbath “millennial day”. The writings of various church fathers indicate that the apostles and the early church believed and taught this. Viewing the Sabbath, therefore, as a time that belongs to God and is to be observed as holy unto Him, by rest and worship, some scholars think that this new millennium will soon be given over to Jesus Christ’s thousand-year reign over the entire world. Hundreds of verses in the Bible predict an earthly kingdom of God ruled by the Son of God.
Being the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6), Christ is expected to usher in a thousand years of peace and well-being for all mankind throughout the world. During this time He will be respected and worshiped like never before as He is seated on the “throne of David” in Jerusalem. In Isaiah 2:3-4 we are told that people from throughout the world will go to His temple to learn His ways and how to walk in His paths. The law and the Word of the Lord will go out from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and settle disputes. He will cause them to “beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.” There will no longer be wars or training for war. Isaiah 11:6-9 tells us that the animals will be at peace. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall even play by the cobra’s hole. During this time “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
Centuries before us people who understood the scriptures looked forward to the days in which we now live. Some years ago Billy Graham said that if he could choose any generation in which to live, he would choose to live in this one because he thinks this is the one in which Jesus Christ will return. Think about it! Are we possibly living in one of the most significant and pivotal periods of history, when the course of the world will dramatically change?
Does the Bible tell us anything about how this change will occur? Yes, many scholars claim that Christ’s return to reign will be preceded by the “rapture” of His people (the saints). At that time millions of true Christian believers, the world over, will be suddenly and physically removed from the Earth to meet Jesus in the air (clouds) and transported to heaven. Deceased believers will be raised, also, and caught up with the living (I Thess. 4:16-17). According to the Bible, believers will not know the day or hour of the rapture but will know when it is near from the “signs-of- the-times”, as observed above. It is believed that the rapture is going to strike without warning and will be one of the most astonishing events to ever occur. Millions of Christians look for it to happen at any time.
A common belief among many Christians is that following the rapture there will be a catastrophic transition period prior to Christ’s Second Coming, to begin His millennial reign. This period is expected to include seven-years of tribulation (Rev. 6-18) when God: (1) pours out His wrath upon the ungodly, (2) gives special attention to Israel bringing the Jews to recognize Christ as their Messiah, and (3) gets the attention of millions and receives them to faith in His Son. During this time a Satan possessed world ruler called the antichrist or beast will come to power (Rev. 13). He will be promoted by an accompanying beast, known as the “false prophet”, who will perform great signs causing all unbelievers to be deceived and to worship the beast or his life-like image. The number 666 will be associated with the beast. To buy or sell, all will be required to receive a mark (the mark of his name) on their right hand or their foreheads (Rev. 13:16-17). Refusing to take the mark and worship the beast, lest they be eternally doomed (Rev. 14:9-11), new believers in Christ (Tribulation saints) will become martyrs under the rule of the antichrist.
The tribulation period ends as Christ returns to Earth with His saints (Rev. 19:11 –16) and defeats the beast and destroys the ungodly in the battle of Armageddon (Rev. 19:17-21). Satan is then bound and sealed in a bottomless pit for the next 1000 years while Christ rules and reign over the world (Rev. 20:1-3). Other future events, described in Rev. 20:7-22:21, include: the crushing of a final satanic rebellion; God’s great white throne judgment (of the wicked); a new Heaven and a new Earth; the holy city New Jerusalem which descends out of heaven to rest on the new Earth; and a description of the glories of the New Jerusalem.
Does this information have implications for us as individuals? Considering the very strong possibility that we are living in one of the most significant periods in human history, I say “Yes, indeed!” Now is the time to give serious attention to the message of the gospel and enter into a personal, born-again (John 3:3 - spiritual rebirth) relationship with Jesus Christ. During His first coming He died in our places, to pay the penalty for our sins. Only He, the sinless Lamb of God, could do it. There is nothing that we can do, nor is there any other way, to save ourselves from the penalty of sin and the sin nature that we inherited from Adam. Only through Him can each of us be healed of our sin disease. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
Receiving salvation is simple for all that are willing to humbly come to Christ. In prayer acknowledge to God that you are a sinner, confess your sins, place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, and receive Him as your Savior and the Lord of your life. Repent and depart from a life style of sin and self-righteousness and start following Christ. Share your faith with others, fellowship with believers, and make prayer and Bible study a priority in your life. The Holy Spirit will help you live for Christ and experience God’s plan for the rest of your life. You can never be more at peace and successful in life, and in eternity, than in living a life which is genuinely devoted to Christ. Read: Rom. 3:23; 6:23; Eph. 2:8,9; Titus 3:5; John 3:16; 10:10; Rom. 5:8; 10:9,10,13; Rev. 3:20; John 6:37.
Consider the following end-time quote from the late C. S. Lewis who as an esteemed professor at CambridgeUniversity went from being a complete atheist to a zealous Christian, and who is generally considered to be the best espouser of Christian apologetics in the 20th century. He said:
"God is going to invade this earth in force. But what's the good of saying
you're on his side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting
away like a dream and something else, something it never entered your head
to conceive comes crashing in. Something so beautiful to us and so terrible
to others that none of us will have any choice left. This time it will be
God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either
irresistible love, or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be
too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie
down, when it's become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time
for choosing; it will be the time when we discover which side we really
have chosen, whether we realize it or not. Now, today, in this moment, is
our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that
chance. It will not last forever; we must take it or leave it”.
Dr. Noel L. Caldwell – 45 Northlake Rd. Columbia, SC29223USA
(803) 788-5259 December 12, 2006
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