The Last Days
Life on Earth Before Eternity Begins
(This
page was last reviewed and updated in September 2011)
Before Eternity begins, this world must go through a time of great pain and suffering. The Bible calls
this time "The Great Tribulation". (Matt 24:21)
As Christians, we are
not looking to go through this time of world tribulation, chaos and pain. Instead, we are looking forward
to our eternity spent in heaven with God the Father, Jesus, and all the many saints who, before us, have put their life,
their trust and their eternal salvation ** not in their own hands ** but in the nail scarred hands of Jesus Christ.
An old guy told me one time,
"I have put all my eggs in one basket, and I have given that basket to Jesus Christ. My eternal life is
fully in his hands".
How
do we get from here to eternity?
The
Bible gives us a specific calendar of events that must occur between now and eternity. In summary they are:
The Rapture of the Church (1 Thess 4:17). The rapture
of the church ushers in the Great Tribulation by removing the last obstacle preventing the rise of the Anti-Christ (1 Thess
4:17), and the beginning of the Last Days and Great Tribulation.
The Great Tribulation. (Matthew 24:21) God's judgment of this earth
for it's rebellion and sin against Him.
The rise of the Anti-Christ,
a godless earthly ruler, who, assisted by the spiritual, demonic powers of "The Beast" and "The False
Prophet", establishes his world reign.(1 John 2:22)
Wars and rumors of war. (Mark 13:7)
The "Scroll of Seven Seals" is opened
- one seal at a time.
The "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"
ride out from heaven.
The seven "Trumpet Woes" begin.
The "Seven Bowls of Wrath" are poured out on the earth.
The "Anti-Christ" enlists the world's armies to fight against God.
Jesus Christ returns with his saints. (Matthew
24:30), and the army of the Anti-Christ is defeated on the Plain of Jezreel, in a place called "Armageddon"
by God and an army of Saints from heaven.
The "Beast"
and the "False Prophet" are cast into hell - the Lake of Fire - for eternity
Satan - the force behind the Beast and the False Prophet - who has been roaming this world seeking whom
he may devour, is cast into "The Bottomless Pit" where he will stay imprisoned for 1000 years.
The Millennium begins (Rev 20:4-6) - heaven
on earth - the 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ here on earth.
The
Millennium ends - and Satan is loosed from the 'Bottomless Pit".(Rev 20:7)
Satan gathers together another army of un-believers
to march against the city of Jerusalem.
Satan and his new army
are destroyed by the fire of God from heaven.
Satan is cast into
Hell, the "Lake of Fire" for eternity. He is now gone forever!!
The "Great White Throne Judgment" begins. "And the dead, small and great, are raised
to stand before God and the books are opened, and another book is opened, which is called the "Book of Life". And,
all the dead are judged out of those things which are written in the books, according to their works. And, whosoever was not
found written in the "Book of life", was cast into the Lake of Fire. (Rev 20:11-15)
Aside: It is important to note that only the lost appear before the
Great White Throne of God for Judgment. It is here that they are judged for their sins, not their works.
Christians do not appear before the Great White Throne of God for judgment because this is a judgment for sin and,
as Christians, all of our sins were judged at the Cross of Christ.( ref ) At the Great White Throne
the lost will see their works burned up as so much "wood hay and stubble". The
works of the saved will ajso be judged, and rewarded, but not here. The saved will receive their rewards at the
Beama Seat Judgment(Rom 14:102 Cor 5:10). None of the "those things which are written in the books, according to
their works" has any bearing on who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. According to the Bible, the verdict
of where you spend your eternity is NOT MADE as a result of YOUR WORKS-GOOD OR BAD-!!! Our life in eternity
is only dependent on ONE THING!!! Whosoever name is either written or not written in "The Book of Life"!!!
If you are not now sure your name is written down in
indelible ink, in the "Book of Life", I urge you get it written there just as soon as you can. Tomorrow
may be too late!!!
Go to God today. Admit you have sinned
and fallen short of his glory. In your heart confess to God that you have sinned and admit you can not save yourself.
Thank God that he so loved you that he sent his only begotten son Jesus into this world to do for you what you could not do
for yourself. Ask God to cover your sin with the blood of Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Your name will be written
down in the Lamb's Book of Life.
How can I understand the Book of Revelation? The
last Book of the Bible is the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It gives us a preview of those things which
will happen here on earth during the end times and reveals the heavenly character of Jesus Christ as he ministers
today as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. It reveals the details of Jesus' plan for his church throughout
time and into the eternity to come. There are several major divisions of this book. 1.God's vision of the present day church.
2.The next major event in church history.
3. The sufferings to come during the Great Tribulation.
4. The conditions on earth during the Great Tribulation:
5. The eternal destiny of those who believe God
6. The eternal destiny of those who have rejected the gift of God
What does the Bible say about the 'Rapture of the Church'?The phrase "the Rapture of the Church" (commonly used by Christians) is not found in the Bible.
What this refers to, however, is the revelation given to us by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17. "For the Lord 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." The term 'caught up' has been called the rapture, and describes
how the church of true believers, both those who have died and those still alive on earth at the time, will be miraculously
"caught up", that is, taken up in their physical body, to heaven by Jesus Christ, who has appeared to them as he
calls them from the clouds above. It will be an amazing sight. This will be done in fulfillment of God's promise that Christian
believers will not be subject to the pain and suffering the rest of the world will go through in the Great Tribulation. As
soon as the rapture occurs the Great Tribulation can begin, and not before. (3/25/11)
What
is the 'Great White Throne' judgment?As reported in the book of Revelation, God let John see into the future.
He saw the dead, small and great, standing before the great white throne of God. "The books were opened, and they
were judged for the things that were written in those books. And, whosoever was not found written in the "Book
of Life", was cast into the lake of fire, where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." (Mark 9:45-46)
There will be no pleading. There will be no cross examination of witnesses. There will be no oral
arguments. Just death, and then the judgment, and then eternity. If you want to enjoy eternity with God in heaven,
you better make sure your name is written in "Book of Life". The Bible says, "It is a fearful thing
to fall into the hands of the living God." (Heb 10:31)
Why did John fall down as dead?
We should be humbled as we read Rev 1:17. Here is John (the beloved apostle) who, when he saw the risen Lord, "fell
at his feet as dead". As did John, each of us will eventually come face to face with the risen Jesus Christ.
Some will meet him as judge and some
will meet him as savior! Either way he will
be awesome. Saved or lost we will not be able to stand. My heart goes out to those folks who meet him as their judge.
Those of us who meet him as our savior will hear him say, "Welcome, beloved of my Father, come join me in paradise, prepared
for you since the foundation of the world"(1 Pet 1:20, Lk 14:29, Mt 25:24). For those who meet him as judge it
will be to hear their sentence of eternal doom. Remember the unsaved will not be standing before God to determine guilt
or innocence, but an appearance before the eternal judge to receive their guilty sentence. (Rev 22:15) We are all guilty
of sin in this life. Isaiah declared, "We all have sinned. We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us
has gone our own way." (Isa 53:6) We have all come short of the glory of God. Many will
stand before God to receive the just and guilty sentence for their sins, "Depart from me, I never knew you."(Lk
13:24-27, Matt 7:21-23 & 25:41) But, for those of us who have put our trust in the saving work of Jesus
Christ, for us, Jesus will step forward and tell God the judge, "Forgive them Father, take them into
heaven with me, for I have already paid their death penalty for them". Those who have rejected Christ are also
guilty, but they have no savior, and will stand alone before God, guilty of their sins and guilty of rejecting the
salvation offered by Jesus Christ. Understand that our trial is not held in heaven. Our trial is here on earth in
our daily life. The Bible says, "Choose you this day who you will serve". (Joshua 24:25) Standing before God is
the place of judgment, here on earth is the place we have to choose. The bible confirms there is death and then the
judgment.(Heb 9:27) At the final judgment God will ask only, "What have you done with the sacrifice of my Son?"
Judgment will depend on your answer. Judgment for reward will be at at the Beama seat judgment, but only for
those who have trusted Christ.(Rev 7:9-12) "Blessed are they that do his commandments and may enter the gates
into the eternal city." (Rev 22:14) Judgment for eternal death will be before the Great White Throne
of God for all those who have not trusted Jesus Christ, and must bear their own sins before God. (Rev 20:11-15)
Here they will receive their just sentence, "cast into the lake of fire that burns for ever and ever.
This is the second death." (Rev 20:14) Yes, we shall all fall down before Jesus Christ, some in love and
adoration, and some in fear and trembling. What group will you be in my friend?
Who are the "four and twenty"
elders John saw around the throne of God in Rev 4:4? They represent the church. Note
that they are already in heaven before the judgment of the earth begins, thus supporting the belief that the church
will not go through the Great Tribulation, having been raptured, that is taken away, from this earth before God's judgment
falls.(1 Thes 4:13-17)
What is the scroll with seven seals
in Rev 5:1? This scroll represents the "Title Deed" to this earth. In the Roman
times (which John lived) these "seven sealed" scrolls were commonly used for deeds. So sealed as to prevent
anyone from tampering with them. This scroll represents the Title for possession of this earth, and the only
one who can possess it and open it is Jesus Christ. "Who was found worthy to take the scroll and open it?" (Rev
5:2) Only Jesus himself. (Rev 5:7) As the seals are opened we see the events on earth which will immediately proceed
the return of Christ to take possession of his inheritance. The deed proclaims judgment against this earth and all of
those left on earth after the rapture. These are those who would not believe God and trust Jesus Christ for their personal
salvation. And the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of this world has
become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever." (Rev 11:15)
