Foundations of Faith
THE END TIMES (I)
Do the horrible events of September 11, 2001 mean that the Lord is coming soon and that the end of the world is not far off? What is going to happen next? The Bible has quite a bit to say about the end times. In fact there is an entire branch of theology devoted to the study of what the Bible teaches about the end times:it is called eschatology. We will devote this and the next few issues of GROWING to a consideration of what is going to happen in the future to the believers, the unbelievers, and the earth. This will be followed by a study of heaven and hell according to the Scriptures.
Let us lay the groundwork by giving some definitions:
Rapture. A word commonly used in reference to the Lord’s second coming for the believers. This word, which means “being carried away,” is not found in the Bible, but captures the thought of being “caught up together … to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:13-18). Another word sometimes used for the second coming is “parousia” (par-ou-sea’-a) after the Greek word for “coming” in 1 Thess. 4:15 and elsewhere.
Tribulation. A seven-year period of God’s judgment upon the earth. The last three and one half years of this period are sometimes called “the great tribulation” (Matt. 24:21; Rev. 2:22).
Appearing. A word often used in Scripture to refer to the coming of the Lord to set up His millennial kingdom upon the earth (see 2 Tim. 4:8; Tit. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:7).
Millennium. The 1,000-year reign of the Lord Jesus Christ over the earth (Rev. 20:1-7).
The Beast. A wicked Gentile king or political leader who will head up the western world during the tribulation (Rev. 13:1-8,18; 19:19,20); also known as the “Little Horn” and the “Prince That Shall Come” (Dan. 7:26; 9:26).
The Second Beast. A wicked Jewish man who will pretend to be the promised Messiah and who will work hand in hand with the Gentile Beast (Rev. 13:11-15); also known as “Antichrist” (1 John 2:18) and the “False Prophet” (Rev. 19:20; 20:10).
The King of the North. An ambitious leader of nations to the north of Israel (Dan. 9:40-45) during the tribulation; probably the same as Gog, the political leader of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal (Ezek. 38, 39). Some think this refers to Russia; others think it is a federation of Islamic nations.
There are several different views held by evangelical Christians about the order of events in the end times. I shall present first of all the one that I believe fits most closely with Scripture. After that I shall outline some alternative views as to the end times that we may encounter when talking with other Christians.
Pre-Tribulationism. The following ordering of events places the rapture at the very beginning of the end times, before the tribulation; thus this is referred to as Pre-Tribulationism:
1. The rapture occurs, removing from the world to heaven all true, born-again Christians as well as raising up and giving new bodies to all believers who have died in ages past, including those of Old Testament times (see Heb. 11).
2. With the salt and light influence (Matt. 5:13-16) of Christians removed from the world, evil personages including the Gentile and Jewish Beasts and the King of the North will quickly take charge of the world.
3. While there will be no second chance for Christ-rejectors in this present age, God will raise up believers and evangelists during the tribulation period among those who had never heard the gospel before. There will be believers from all of the original 12 tribes of Israel (Rev. 7:4-8) along with “a great multitude” from “all nations” (Rev. 7:9-17).
4. There will be intense persecution of believers, horrible wars centered in Israel, and severe judgments from heaven upon the entire earth for the seven-year tribulation period.
5. The Lord will return, this time with the large company of His raptured and resurrected saints, to set up a 1000-year reign of peace and righteousness upon the earth (Isa. 11:1-9; Rev. 20).
6. At the end of the 1000 years there will be a final outbreak of rebellion against God, followed by the judgment of the wicked before God (Rev. 20:7-15).
7. The heavens and earth will be cleansed of all evil and renewed for habitation of God’s people for eternity (2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 11:15; 21:1).
Mid-Tribulationism. The rapture occurs at the middle of the seven-year period of tribulation. This view is in part based on linking the sounding of the seventh trumpet during the tribulation (Rev. 11:15) with the “last trump” of the rapture (1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:16).
Post-Tribulationism. The Church will go through the Great Tribulation; the rapture will occur at the end of the tribulation period. The saints caught up to be with the Lord will immediately return with Him to the earth to set up the 1000-year reign. This view is based on equating the coming of the Son of man, “immediately after the tribulation,” to “gather together His elect” (Matt. 24:29-31) with the accounts of the rapture in Paul’s epistles (1 Cor. 15:51-54 and 1 Thess. 4:13-18). (See Assignment 4)
Partial Rapturism. This is a modification of Pre-Tribulationism. Only those who are actively looking for the Lord’s coming will be raptured (based on 2 Tim. 4:8; Heb. 9:27; Rev. 3:21).
Post-Millenialism. The Scriptures that speak of the great tribulation were fulfilled in A.D. 70 when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem; the millennium will be ushered in by the efforts of the Church; afterward, Christ will come and reward His own, judge His enemies, and establish the new heavens and new earth.
Amillenialism. This view is similar to Post-Millenialism except there is no millennium during which Christ will reign over the earth. Those who hold this view and the preceding one do not distinguish between the nation of Israel (God’s chosen people in the Old Testament) and the Church (God’s called out ones in the New Testament).
Comment. The scope of this publication does not permit a detailed comparison of these various views concerning the Lord’s coming. Please write the editor for more information.
The Pre-Tribulation Rapture view will be discussed in more detail in the next issue.
Running the Race
Assignment 4: Read Matt. 24:29-31 and 1 Thess. 4:13-18. In What ways are these two passages similar? In what ways are they different?