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The End Time Events- Be ready for the Coming of God Jesus!
Posted : 19 Mar, 2011 08:30 AM
Brothers,
God has given us His Word as the revelation of His plan of redemption, and that plan covers everything from creation to the new creation. God told us everything what will happen with us.
There are many things that God has chosen to reveal to us, and it is important for us to understand them so that we can obey Him. We don't always understand why He does things, but we are called to trust Him for the parts we don't understand, and to study to understand the rest. We should live by FAITH and God will reveal us what we need to know.
God wants us to know what is going to happen in future, so we can be prepared, and to help us in calling others to repentance. Let�s study today what God has revealed to us and what He intends for us to be encouraged and instructed by.
If you remember we have discussed before that the Holy Scripture teaches that there will be the tribulation, i.e., that it will be a time of distress unparalleled in the history of the world.
Matthew 24:21
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
Why people should suffer during this tribulation period?
But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. Revelation 9:20-21
God clearly said here that He expects that people should repent of idol worship and sins, murders, sorceries and sexual immorality and stealing.
Why does God need it?
Because He created a wonderful world called the Kingdom of Heaven and He desired to give it to His sons washed away by the blood of the Lamb/God Jesus. The holy God desires to dwell in his Kingdom with holy and righteous people cleansed of their sins.
Like before entering a masjid you need to make wudu to be cleansed outwardly, God desires to purify you inwardly through your FAITH in God Jesus, His life and death and resurrection, repentance of all your sins. Repent and believe and God Jesus will save you from His Coming WRATH when He is going to judge this earth.
How He will come to judge us?
He will save those who want to be saved by Him. He will come for His own. But He will come as a �thief in the night� (1 Thessalonians 5:4)�suddenly, unexpectedly and unannounced. Only those whose lamps (hearts) contain the oil/the Holy Spirit will be taken. They are born of God. They are born again by God through their FAITH in God Jesus. The rest, regardless of their professions, will be left behind.
But we are told to be �steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.� We are to be always ready to be accepted by God Jesus. While we may not know the day or hour of the Coming of Jesus, we have been given enough information to know it can happen at any moment. We are to be ready, putting on the armor of God, because we have been appointed to receive salvation through Jesus Christ. What will happen with us? Our mortal bodies will be transformed into immortal, incorruptible bodies, prepared for the eternal Kingdom of God. �in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.�
�For the Lord (Jesus) himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord� (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
This event we call the rapture of the Church/Ummah or global Fellowship of believers in God Jesus. We do not know for sure when it will happen before the tribulation period or in the middle of it, that�s why we always should be ready to be faithful to God.
Let�s consider now what is the trumpet mentioned in this verse above.
Let�s analyze today �the revelation of Jesus Christ . . . to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass� (Revelation 1:1).
Because if the rapture of the Church happens in the middle of the tribulation period then we- believers- need to be prepared to endure those trials. We hope of course that the Church will be raptured before the tribulation on the basis of this verse:
Revelation 3:10
Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.
Anyway, we need to meditate on the Holy Scripture to be ready to meet the Lord. That�s why we will consider what are the seven seals, trumpets, and bowls described in the Revelations of the apostle John given to him by God Jesus. These signs are connected to one another. The seventh seal introduces the seven trumpets (Revelation 8:1-5), and the seventh trumpet introduces the seven bowls (Revelation 11:15-19, 15:1-8).
Scripture shows that it is the Lamb/Jesus who opens the seals (Revelation 5:5; 6:1). No other man is found worthy to open them. The tribulation begins when Jesus opens the first seal, and from that point on, the wrath of God is meted out on a sinful world:
The first four of the seven seals are known as the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. The first seal introduces the Antichrist (Revelation 6:1-2). The second seal causes great warfare (Revelation 6:3-4). The third of the seven seals causes famine (Revelation 6:5-6). The fourth seal brings about plague, further famine, and further warfare (Revelation 6:7-8). These seals are signs or coming events.
The fifth seal tells us of those who will be martyred for their faith in Christ during the end times (Revelation 6:9-11). When the sixth of the seven seals is broken, a devastating earthquake occurs, causing massive upheaval and terrible devastation�along with unusual astronomical phenomena (Revelation 6:12-14).
Those who survive are right to cry out,
�Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?� (Revelation 6:16-17).
After the description of these events we see description of the seven trumpets in Revelation 8:6-21. The seven trumpets are the �contents� of the seventh seal (Revelation 8:1-5):
1) The first trumpet causes hail and fire that destroys much of the plant life in the world (Revelation 8:7).
2) The second trumpet brings about what seems to be a meteor hitting the oceans and causing the death of much of the world�s sea life (Revelation 8:8-9).
3) The third trumpet is similar to the second, except it affects the world�s lakes and rivers instead of the oceans (Revelation 8:10-11).
4) The fourth of the seven trumpets causes the sun and moon to be darkened (Revelation 8:12).
5) The fifth trumpet results in a plague of �locusts� that attack and torture humanity (Revelation 9:1-11).
6) The sixth trumpet releases a demonic army that kills a third of humanity (Revelation 9:12-21).
7) The seventh trumpet calls forth the seven angels with the seven bowls of God�s wrath (Revelation 11:15-19, 15:1-8).
So, the seven bowl judgments are described in Revelation 16:1-21 and they are called forth by the seventh trumpet:
The first bowl causes painful sores to break out on humanity (Revelation 16:2). The second bowl results in the death of every living thing in the sea (Revelation 16:3). The third bowl causes the rivers to turn into blood (Revelation 16:4-7). The fourth of the seven bowls results in the sun�s heat being intensified and causing great pain (Revelation 16:8-9). The fifth bowl causes great darkness and an intensification of the sores from the first bowl (Revelation 16:10-11). The sixth bowl results in the Euphrates River being dried up and the armies of the Antichrist being gathered together to wage the battle of Armageddon against Israel (Revelation 16:12-14). The seventh bowl results in a devastating earthquake followed by giant hailstones (Revelation 16:15-21).
But why will God will judge people so?
Revelation 16:5-7 declares of God, �You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged; for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve. � Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.�
�And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying,
�The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.�� Revelation 11:15,
Summary: The Rapture is the glorious event we should all be longing for. But we all should be prepared to meet the Lord. Do not forget there will be those who will be left! We expect to be changed and refined like gold to be ready to dwell with God in His HOLY dwelling place. We know that during the WRATH of God He will pour out to His earth He will expect that people would believe in Him and be also saved. Through these sufferings He will SAVE people and He will turn their hearts to Himself to ADD them to the saved Church! God Jesus will judge people and their lives in His WRATH. But we are able to ESCAPE His coming Judgment through FAITH in Him and repentance of our sins.
Does God want our repentance during pouring out His wrath? Definitely. But if you want to escape His wrath then you can do it today. Because today is the Day of SALVATION.
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