End Times Series 2 - Rapture, Tribulation,etc. Explained, Wy We Can't Bring in the Kingdom Ourselves, Comforting Words

 

Have you had the joy of seeing something new in the Bible as you read a passage again? I did as I started to study through Revelation again. In Rev. 1:9, the apostle John says he is our companion in tribulation. It led me to explain what the Bible says we should comfort one another with. So, since we haven’t done a verse study in a bit, this goes 2 pages. Read that verse, then 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, we’ll get there in a bit.

You may think of how all believers are brothers and sisters in Christ, part of the body, etc.; he does say he’s our brother just before that. Or, you may think of how we’ve all suffered the last few months. And, that’s true; thankfully (I think I’m safe in saying this) none of us has been treated like John was; he was exiled to Patmos, after – according to early church history – the Romans tried to kill him by putting him in boiling oil.

Instead, I want to explain Jesus’ return more. The Tribulation Period comes before the Millennial Reign of Christ. A millennium is 1,000 years. Your parents may recall there were parties all over the world when we hit the year 2000 (though the real new one didn’t start till 2001.) But, the Millennial Reign will start when Jesus comes back after winning the Battle of Armageddon against the antichrist’s forces. Revelation 20 says several times that it will be a literal 1,000 years; you can’t get much clearer than that.

This is why we are premillennial; the Bible says Jesus will return before the Millennium. Some want to make the world perfect for Him, but the Bible shows it can’t work. Yes, we must promote justice, love, etc. as ambassadors of Jesus Christ.(2 Cor. 5:20), but do it like a country’s ambassador brings better farming methods to another. They push his or her country’s schools so the other country’s people can learn and take the methods back. This world is not our final home. We should be Christlike through our words and actions. But, that is not our final goal. Getting people saved so they go to Heaven is our main goal

Another reason we can’t bring in the Millennium is our evil hearts. Even Paul did what he shouldn’t and didn’t do what he should.(Rom. 7) How can imperfect man make a perfect system? It’d be like me training you to be a brain surgeon on my own, with no expert videos or anything. You’d be lucky, even with what I know from my medical family, to learn the parts of the brain. I don’t know what they all do, let alone how to fix them.

What has this to do what John as our companion in tribulation? The Tribulation period is for Israel to recognize Jesus as the true Messiah(Saviour) and follow Him as He judges the world - John can’t be in the Tribulation period. He died soon after finishing Revelation on Patmos in 95 AD, over 1900 years ago. John means he is our companion in suffering for our faith. Those who say the church is in the Tribulation refer to times where God uses that word differently. Some think the church needs cleansed, but Jesus has done it all. God, not the Church, protects Israel. The church is celebrating with Jesus in Rev. 4-5, since before the Tribulation period the Church – that is, believers and those too young to choose – will be caught up.

Caught up where? The Bible teaches a pre-Tribulation rapture. It means Jesus will take us out of the way before the Tribulation period. The Church is not on earth after Rev. 3, the Bible only says Tribulation saints will be beheaded for their faith. Israel is the focus of the Tribulation – “time of Jacob’s trouble” is another name. Also, people will know when He’s coming to rule by dating 7 years from the start of the Tribulation. Yet, Jesus says no one knows the day or hour of His coming; so this must mean the Rapture.

Also, there’s 1 Thess. 4:13-18. Would you be more comforted knowing Jesus would protect you, or thinking that you’d have to go through 7 years of hell on earth before He returned for you? The first, of course, where He protects you. We can be comforted that no matter how bad things get in this life, Jesus will protect us from the worst, so we don’t have to go through the Great Tribulation. If you’ve trusted Jesus to save you from your sins by calling on Him by faith, repenting and turning away from sin and letting Him make you new inside, you can be comforted knowing God will protect you from that time.

The Thessalonians thought – or maybe just hoped – that the soon return of Jesus meant He’d come in their lifetimes. Then, members started to die. They wrote to Paul all worried. First, Paul replies with other things God wanted them and us to know. Then, he shares this. We won’t do each word like my 2 Chr. 7:14 lesson, but some.

 Sleep is a scary euphemism to little kids who don’t get symbolic language. God made them literal to teach patience and how to love and help those who aren’t like us. But, it’s a nice way to describe death for a believer. They just drift to the other side – there may be pain before death, but the moment of death is painless. 1 Cor. 15:51 is a companion – “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” It will happen really fast. Jesus will descend with a shout, but notice something else which points to a pre-Trib rapture. His feet never touch the Earth, but in Revelation 19 He puts His feet on the Mount of Olives.

This is further proven in verse 17. After the dead in Christ rise first – though it’ll be so fast we won’t see – we who are alive and remain will be caught up with them.

So, we’ll be “in the clouds/air” – with Jesus, He’ll eventually come to Earth again. But, first He’ll take us to Heaven for the Judgement Seat of Christ to reward us for what we did for Him. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb will happen – I don’t know what kind of feast it’ll be, but it’ll be the best food and best fellowship ever, people of every kind, from everywhere, all there just because of Jesus, not by works. It’s in Rev. 19. Only after that does Jesus come down to win the battle of Armageddon, and set His feet on the earth.

We’ll come with Him, but won’t fight. He will win with the two-edged sword that comes out of His mouth. I’m a very visual thinker, so that seemed odd at first, but look at Ephesians 6:17, plus Hebrews 4:12.  The double-edged sword is the Word of God. It makes sense. All Jesus, the Creator of the Universe, has to do is say “I win” and the evildoers are gone.

Why doesn’t He do that now. It’s because He is giving people a chance to repent. He is longsuffering toward us; not willing that any should perish, but that all come to repentance. We  have free will, so not all do. We can choose whether to trust Him to save us and make us new or not. But, He doesn’t want anyone to choose to reject Him.

That’s why it’s vital to live a Godly life. We must walk in the Light of the Gospel. Others are watching. They’re scared of the virus and everything else going on. They want to know there is hope. They want someone to count on, since it’s hard to know what the truth is about anything anymore. This is why our role as ambassadors for Jesus is vital; we’ll have a bit of fun with that role in these letters, and you can create your own fun at home, the next few weeks.

The answer is the same for everyone, regardless of background. We can ask if they were the only person ever on the face of the earth, do they realize they are a sinner, they fall short of God’s perfect, and need to confess their sin and call on Jesus to save them?

The world’s problems are huge. The devil stirs peoples’ emotions up to try to keep them from knowing Jesus, and keep we who have trusted Jesus from living for Him. The Bible never promises we’ll have it perfect here on earth. But, Jesus tells us in John 16:33 we can be of good cheer. He has overcome the world. He will lighten our burden and give us hope when we trust Him to. He will never leave or forsake us.(Heb. 13:5) As hard as things get, He will guide us through every storm of life, and protect us from the terrible wrath which will come on the earth in the end. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.