I want to talk about what will happen before Revelation. I believe the Rapture of the church is imminent, let me tell you why. Jesus talked to His disciples about many things including His return. The disciples were curious and asked Jesus how they would know when He would be coming back. Jesus answered them:
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. Matthew 24:3-8
7 “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”
8 He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
10 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. Luke 21:7-11
Some people may write off the wars and rumors of wars, the earthquakes and famines, and say that these things have always been around. These people are correct, but these things are just the signs that the time is getting closer. The Bible clearly predicts certain events that needed to happen before the Rapture would take place. Let's go through a few of them.
Increase in Knowledge and Travel
4 But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.” Daniel 12:4
There has never been a time in history when knowledge has been at your fingertips. The internet has consolidated knowledge from every corner of the globe on any topic you can imagine. Things that people would have had to do years of research to find out now only take the time it takes you to type them into your browser. Travel, that once took months now only takes hours.
False Religions
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. Matthew 24:4-5
There are over 3000 cults in the world today, and they all believe in something other than salvation through Jesus Christ.
Increase in Wickedness
1 But mark this: 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. 2 Timothy 3:1-5
Does this sound familiar? If you watch TV shows and the news this seems to be the prevalent theme. There have always been evil people in the world, but these days it seems like you can't turn around without hearing that someone killed another person for their possessions, or because they looked at them wrong. Kids killing their parents, husbands killing their wives. Women cutting open pregnant women to get the baby inside. The sexual scandals, Ponzi schemes, pornography, terrorism, genocide, the list of evil goes on and on.
Wars and Rumors of Wars
6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom Matthew 24:6-7
There have always been wars, but the twentieth century has seen the deaths of more people during war than all the other centuries before it put together. Nation against Nation would indicate that two nations went to war with each other, but the kingdom against kingdom would indicate that these nations were soon joined by other nations of the world. The twentieth century saw the start of two world wars, which seem to fulfill this part of scripture.
Earthquakes and Pestilences
11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. Luke 21:11
The twentieth century has seen the rise of super viruses that seem to be antibiotic resistant. There are also the diseases that there is no cure for like AIDS and Cancers. There was the flu epidemic of 1918, bird flu and swine flu that have spread throughout populations.
Earthquakes have been on the rise through the world, especially extremely large quakes. In the U. S alone, earthquakes in the central part of the country averaged around 21 up until 2009 where they doubled, currently the number has jumped to 134 as of last year. Then there was the 5.1 earthquake in Virginia that shocked the east coast in 2011. Let's not forget the 8.9 earthquake that struck Japan also in 2011. On April 11, 2012 there were three large earthquakes that struck around the same time. 8.6 off of Indonesia, 5.9 off the Oregon coast and a 6.5 off the Mexican coast. USGS claimed that this was an unprecedented event, and the largest earthquake ever for the particular kind of fault line. The top five largest earthquakes ever have occurred since 1950.
Israel Restored
24 “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. Ezekiel 36:24
No other country in the world once it was destroyed and its people scattered has ever kept their national identity and been restored to their previous homeland. Israel was a nation in 606 B.C. before Israel's captivity and rule by Babylon, Persia and Rome. Most of the Israelites were carried off into captivity by these nations. Israel came under Muslim rule for 1300 years and then under Turkish rule of the Ottoman Empire. Jews have yearned to return to Israel for many years and the movement became known as Zionism. Even scattered throughout the world, the Jews held on to their national identity and their belief in God. They were treated badly by many nations, some nations like Spain expelled the Jews, others like the Nazi party tried to exterminate them. Through all these trials, God protected the Jews and in 1948 their homeland was returned to them. Jews have been returning to Israel since 1948, at first from Arab countries, then from western Europe and in the 1980s from Russia, and finally from Ethiopia. 5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth— Isaiah 43:5-6
These are all signs that the end is getting closer. All Biblical prophecy has been fulfilled up until this time. There is nothing else that needs to happen before the Rapture occurs. In fact there are only two events left before the rise of the Antichrist. The Rapture of the church and the War of Gog and Magog. There is no clear indication which of these events will occur first. In the War of Gog and Magog, Russia and her allies will attack Israel. I will go into more detail about this at a later time. I just have to say, if you see Russia and her allies go to war with Israel, be prepared for the Rapture will be coming soon. I have always believed that the Rapture would occur in my lifetime, and we have never had so much of Bible prophecy fulfilled and seen events lining up for the end time events to unfold, but I can't say for certain if it will come during my lifetime. No one knows but God and Jesus.
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Matthew 24:36-44
Maranatha!
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