Some dramatic events on God’s calendar must take place before the Lord returns to earth, and many of these are not going to be pretty. Those Christians who have adopted a materialistic, escapist view of the Christian life may be terribly surprised.
Many of the world crises we are beginning to experience were predicted in the Bible hundreds of years ago. What is shocking, however, is the rapid-fire speed at which these events are now racing ahead. Against all odds, the frameworks of the world’s economic, political, and social systems are being shaken and are beginning to crumble.
Before going any further, allow me to make a confession: I do not understand everything the Bible reveals to us concerning the Second Coming. I consider myself a student of the Scriptures, but I must admit, I still have questions about many aspects of eschatology, the study of future things. I do not know when Jesus is coming – it may be in my lifetime or it may not – but I believe He will return to Earth in power and glory, just as He said.
I used to listen in amazement (and sometimes with amusement) to some of the prophecy teachers we hosted at PTL. With their charts and graphs they would dogmatically teach exactly when the events described in the book of Revelation were going to come to pass. “This is going to happen, then this will happen, and then will be the Battle of Armageddon…” on and on they would go. I do not mean to imply that these teachers were insincere in their teaching or unlearned in the Scriptures. They were godly Bible teachers who felt strongly that they had exceptional insight or an unusual understanding of a complicated message.
Yet the truth is, we do not know when Jesus Christ is going to return. I can point you to the Scriptures that describe what will happen before His coming; I can (and will in the pages ahead) show you Scriptures that describe His return in power. But to set a date for His return is not my intention. Jesus said, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32 NKJV). In one of His last statements to His disciples, after the Resurrection and just before He ascended into heaven, Jesus said, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority” (Acts 1:7 NKJV). For me to give you a play-by-play description of the events scheduled to take place in the future, events whose timing is known only to our heavenly Father, would be the height of presumption on my part.
On the other hand, I do not subscribe to the popular notion that it is impossible for us to know approximately when to expect our Lord’s return. Many Christians are fond of saying, “I am neither pretribulational or posttribulational. I am pantribulational. I just believe it will all pan out in the end.”
That’s a cute (and non-confrontational) way to look at the last days, but it flies in the face of Scripture. Jesus definitely gave us a lot of information concerning His return and, as I noted previously, numerous signs to watch for, signs indicating that the time of His return is near.
Sometimes I wish Jesus had been more specific in the information He gave to us. Imagine all the theological arguments He could have prevented if He hand only said, “I am coming back at the beginning of the Tribulation period, or the middle, or the end of the Tribulation.” Better yet, He could have said, “I am coming back on January 1, 20XX, so be ready.”
(To Be Continued)
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 2
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 3
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 4
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 5
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 6
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 7
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 8
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 9
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 10
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 11
Excerpt from Prosperity and the Coming Apocalypse
Published in 1998
Good explanation
We are not appointed unto wrath. Jesus said He will keep us from the hour of testing which cometh upon the earth. The church is not mentioned in Revelation from chapters 5 – the end when we come back with Jesus to rule and reign.
I have studied this off and on the tribulatio for years my views are the same we will go through tribulation I have not seen anything that has changed my mine.
There are so many teaching on the internet that falsley disput the teachings and well known teachers on tv for their shall be false prophets in the end times.
Jim keep up the teachings I pray that there shall be theses teaching on the air nationally as the days draw nearer to Yeshua teachings.
Former worker on CBN with Jim Wall Bill Freeman WCIE Shalom.
When the plagues came to Egypt, the children of Israel were there.
When darkness was upon the houses of the egyptians, there was
light for the children of Israel. When the firstborn of every
household in Egypt died, the children of Israel had the blood
applied. The angel of death passed over when he saw the blood.
When the children of Israel came to the Red Sea the waters were
parted. They were delivered by the mighty hand of God. However
when Egypt followed into the Red Sea there was no protection
for them. They drowned in the sea. Could this be something for us
to think upon. Perhaps we will go through some things. Israel had
the blood applied, we as christians have the blood applied.
When it is time, we too will be delivered from our enemies, and if this is a type, the enemy is destroyed.
The word says it will be as in the days of Noah. God never raptured Noah, He delivered Noah, God never raptured Danial, He delivered Danial. God never raptured His Chosen people out of Egypt, He delivered them. Just like the TRUE believer today, He will deliver us thru tribulation. 7 years of just messing with people who rejected him all their lives to then only desroy them after 7 years is not in Gods charactor. Wheat stays tares destroyed. Lot delivered out of Sodom then God destroyed. Flood, 120 years of warnings, rain came ark doors closed, world destroyed, not punished of any amount of time then destroyed. God takes care of business John 17 11-16 Jesus prays that we not be taken out of the world but delivered from evil. Jesus is coming back folks, and every eye will see Him appear, at the last trump!
I used to hold fast to the pretrib teachings by many prophecy teachers, ie, Hal Lindsey,Jack Van Impe, and so on. However after reading the scriptures I beleive that we are going to go through the tribulation, which by the way is only 3 1/2 years long. Just as God protected the children of Israel under the Pharoah, He will protect his bride now. But we have to be strong in faith and founded on a strong foundation. We will be caught up at the last trump. I also tend to beleive that we have started the final week of Daniel, that means we will see a massive war break out in the middle east, this will usher in the antichrist who will wow the world with his peace treaty deal with Israel. That will start the tribulation for 3 1/2 years. We will not know the day or the hour of our Lords return, it will be sometime during the battle of amrageddon. Brothers and Sisters we have to be like the 5 wise virgins ready on a moments notice, store food and water to share with others, times are going to get very crazy here very fast. I can’t wait to meet Jesus in the air and everyone else. Get as many family members saved as you can.
Byron
Byron, Go read my comments under the Four Horsemen artical. Daniel 9:27 kicks off the Tribulation Period. Compare that with Matthew 24:4-26, and pay attention to verse 15. The Tribulation is for the Jews and the lost world. The Church also known as the Body of Christ is a whole body. If those that are alive during the Tribulation Period have to go through this period then those that have fallen asleep(died)will have to be resurrected in order to go through it as a whole body. Thats why when we are raptured we will be raptured as a whole body. 1 Corinthians 15:51-54. Why would only part of Christ body go through this period of time?
Rachel and Teresa, What you should of done Teresa was quote that whole verse.Luke 21:36 “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and stand before the Son of man.” According to 2 Corinthians 5:10 that every Christian is going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ, and this is going to happen when the Church, both the living and the dead will be raptured/ resurrected. The word escape in the Greek is “ekpheugo”, now the etymology of this word is “ek”, and this means out of,from,by,away from. So the meaning of the word indicates that we should pray always that we will be worthy to be taken out of here before all these things come to pass. This verse is definitely talking about a pretribulation rapture of the church. A lot of people gets every day triales and tribulations mixed up with the Tribulation Period. I hope this helps both of you. God Bless
Teresa, I’m not Jim, but a thought on your questions. When the Bible talks about “escaping” and “not being appointed to wrath,” I believe that means that even though we may be here during the Tribulation that we don’t have to experience the same difficulties as the world. Through preparation of various kinds and by being a child of God, we are “escaping” the wrath that others will have to go through. There’s alot about the Bible that I still don’t understand, but that’s how I understand those scriptures. I know MANY Christians, including preachers, who say, “a loving God would never have us live here during the Tribulation.” Well, I don’t get that argument because one could say, “a loving God wouldn’t allow little children to be molested” or “a loving God wouldn’t allow Christians to get sick or go through any difficulties.” There are things that go on in this world that I just don’t understand. I pray and read the Bible to seek answers, but I rest in knowing that God is in control. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. God bless you!
Bro.Jim, I want to ask, why would Jesus say in Luke 21:36 to “pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass…” if we will go through the Tribulation? That scripture indicates, by Jesus Himself, that there is an escape from the things He describes in Luke 21. Don’t you think that is why people, including myself, hold fast to the “catching away”. Also, we, as born again believers, take hope in the fact that “God has not appointed us to wrath”. I Thess. 5:9
Can you explain what these scriptures mean to you? Thank you.
I watch your tv show at 5:30 am. I have really been asking questions about the way you believe. It makes sense. I too just want to be ready when Jesus comes
Sorry, this just caught my aenottitn. I think I understand the question, but I wonder if it does not pose a false dichotomy. If God has chosen to reveal Himself, is He not capable of doing so accurately? On the surface it is a question of God’s ability and God’s integrity. If He is all powerful, He can reveal Himself accurately. If He is truly good (has integrity), He will, and has, revealed Himself accurately. On a deeper level I think we need to inspect what we are asking. Are we asking if God’s revelation is exhaustive in its scope? Does it cover every imaginable circumstance and spell out a detailed response. Here again I think we can confidently say no . God, in his infinite wisdom has left considerable latitude for us to exercise mature Godly judgement (Romans 14:6). Yet in the areas God has revealed His will and given commands there are no mistakes and so in those areas God’s word is necessary for us to obey the written word of God as it is for us to submit to the essential person of God. this is the essence of the command to tremble at the word of God (Isiah 66:2). Two other related issues are the scope of revelation and perspicuity of revelation. The first issue asks Has God told us enough? The second question asks Can we understand it enough to feel we confident that we understand Him? Peter responds to the former question when he tell us that God, by virtue of His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence (II Peter 1:3). This can leave little doubt. He has told us all we need. And once again I should stress that God knows what we need and God can not lie about what we need. The later question enters the areas of epistemology and hermeneutics. Modern though in these areas questions if can know anything for certain, and contemporary hermenutical models challenge our ability to understand any text, let alone divine propositional revelation. However I believe the Bible teachers its own perspicuity; It teaches that it is possible for even the simple to understand it (Psalm 19:7). If the simple are made wise by it, then in some sense the simple must understand it. And unless God is of the same ugly character as a teacher who beats and ridicules a student for not learning a lesson that is beyond their capability then God has revealed himself in a way that we can understand Him.The heart of the question I believe comes back to our view of God as all- power. loving, just, and truthful. If God is these things, and the Bible affirms He is, then there is no tension or completion; no need to determine if He is ontologically greater than His propositional revelation. If God’s revelation of Himself is perfect it must be perfect in its authenticity, accuracy, and and scope. Furthermore, when we ask if the Bible if greater than God, are we asking if God would personally allow things that the Bible prohibits. If that is our question, the answer must be a resounding no . because that would indicate that God has failed to reveal Himself accurately.The Bible is not great than God, because it is a reflection of God, and in a sense God is more important the Bible, because we do not know God apart from the Bible. God has revealed Himself in the Bible, if we seek His revelation elsewhere we rob Him of His prerogative to reveal Himself where He wills. For as the psalmist says, You have exalted above all things your name and your word (Psalm 138:2). Okay, maybe I go carried away and a bit heavy handed, but you asked for comments. God bless; keep up the good fight.
I feel the same way about the coming of the Lord. I thought i knew all about the events and the order of it all. I have put it all on the shelf.Just want to be ready for when He comes.