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The End Times and the Return of Jesus
I maintain Jesus was not a prophet; for not only did Jesus prophesy and cast out demons, He fulfilled many long standing prophesies. During His incarnation every demon was subject to Jesus. He alone was given all power in heaven and earth. As the incarnation of the word of God; Jesus was the master of all prophesy and the keys to all Biblical prophesy are His. I could mount a reasonably good argument that Jesus wasn't prophesying when He spoke of the future because He knew the future. If you remember something it isn't prediction it's cognoscente!
The signs of the times
Only Jesus' words can be used as the guide when you look at Biblical prophesy. The text is found in Matthew 24 if you want to read it. Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives and the disciples came to him, this is how it went.
"Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
When will this happen?
1. Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.
2. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
3. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
All these are the beginning of birth pains.
1. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death,
2. and you will be hated by all nations because of me.
3. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray
4. and hate each other, and
5. many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
6. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,
7. but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
8. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
What will be the sign of the end of the age?
1. "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand-- then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
2. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house.
3. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak.
4. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!
5. Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.
6. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again.
7. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.
8. At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible.
See, I have told you ahead of time.
What will be the sign of your coming?
For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
Immediately after the distress of those days:
1. the sun will be darkened,
2. and the moon will not give its light;
3. the stars will fall from the sky,
4. and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'
5. "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky,
6. and all the nations of the earth will mourn.
7. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.
8. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree:
As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.
Since Jesus said when you see the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of by the Prophet Daniel, let's look at what Daniel says about it. The instructions are found in Daniel chapter twelve.
The End Times
The angel told Daniel, "At that time
1. Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise.
2. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then.
3. But at that time your people--everyone whose name is found written in the book--will be delivered.
4. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.
5. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens,
6. and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.
7. But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end.
8. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge."
Then Daniel, looked, and there before him stood two others, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank. One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, "How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?"
1. "It will be for a time, times and half a time.
2. When the power of the holy people has been finally broken,
3. all these things will be completed."
4. Many will be purified, made spotless and refined,
5. but the wicked will continue to be wicked.
6. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.
7. "From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished
8. and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.
"As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance."
There are so many prophesies about the end times that they have confused a great number of people. Among the most prolific interpretations of prophesy is that written by Darby at the end of the 19th century. His interpretation of Biblical prophesy, known as dispensationalism, was (and is) widely accepted. However, the key to all Biblical prophesy must be the words of Jesus. Any prophesy that doesn't conform to His words must be assumed to be about something else.
So let's look at the Seals in the book written by John. Let's look at Revelations Chapter six.
The Seals
I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!"
I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!"
Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.
When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!"
I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand.
Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!"
When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!"
I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar (the place of sacrifice) the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.
o "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" They called out in a loud voice.
o Then each of them was given a white robe,
o and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.
I watched as he opened the sixth seal.
1. There was a great earthquake.
2. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair,
3. the whole moon turned blood red,
4. and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.
5. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up,
6. and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, "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?"
The Seventh Seal
When he opened the seventh seal, there was:
1. silence in heaven for about half an hour.
2. seven angels who stand before God and to them were given seven trumpets
3. Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar.
a. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.
b. The smoke of the incense,
c. together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand.
4. Then the angel took the censer,
a. filled it with fire from the altar,
b. and hurled it on the earth;
c. and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
The Angels and Trumpets
Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.
1. The first angel sounded his trumpet,
a. There came hail and fire mixed with blood that was hurled down upon the earth.
i. A third of the earth was burned up,
ii. a third of the trees were burned up,
iii. And all the green grass was burned up.
2. The second angel sounded his trumpet,
a. Something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea.
i. A third of the sea turned into blood,
ii. a third of the living creatures in the sea died,
iii. And a third of the ships were destroyed.
3. The third angel sounded his trumpet,
a. a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water-- the name of the star is Wormwood
i. A third of the waters turned bitter,
ii. Many people died from the waters that had become bitter.
4. The fourth angel sounded his trumpet
a. a third of the sun was struck,
b. a third of the moon,
c. And a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark.
i. A third of the day was without light,
ii. and also a third of the night.
5. The fifth angel sounded his trumpet,
a. A star falls from the sky to the earth.
i. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss.
ii. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace.
iii. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.
b. Out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.
i. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
ii. They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months.
c. The agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man.
i. men will seek death, but will not find it;
ii. they will long to die, but death will elude them.
iii. They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon
6. The sixth angel sounded his trumpet,
a. A voice said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates."
i. And the four angels were released to kill a third of mankind.
ii. The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million.
The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues
o still did not repent of
a. the work of their hands;
b. murders,
c. their magic arts,
d. their sexual immorality
e. or their thefts.
o they did not stop worshiping
a. demons,
b. and idols
The Angel and the Little Scroll
Then another angel from heaven doesn't sound a trumpet.
o He was robed in a cloud,
o with a rainbow above his head;
o his face was like the sun,
o and his legs were like fiery pillars.
o He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand.
He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down." He is the same angel Daniel saw earlier giving the same orders to John as he did to Daniel!
This angel
o Raised his right hand to heaven.
o swore by him
o who lives for ever and ever,
o who created the heavens and all that is in them,
o the earth and all that is in it,
o the sea and all that is in it,
o "There will be no more delay! But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets."
John is then instructed to take the scroll and eat it. He will have to prophesy against many lands and peoples. It is the finding of the scroll of Daniel that triggers the prophets! This is when John tells us of two "witnesses", prophets who will come in to the world.
1. And I will give power to my two witnesses,
2. and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth."
3. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies.
4. They have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying;
5. and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague.
6. when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them.
7. Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial.
8. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
The Seventh Trumpet
The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:
"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever."
Then:
o The twenty-four elders, fell on their faces and worshiped God.
o God's temple in heaven was opened
o There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder,
o an earthquake
o and a great hailstorm.
o The woman clothed with the sun,
a. with the moon under her feet
b. and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
c. She was pregnant
d. cried out in pain as she was about to give birth
Then another sign appeared in heaven:
o an enormous red dragon -- that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray
o His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky
o The dragon stood in front of the woman so that he might devour her child the moment it was born.
o She gave birth to a son, a male child,
o who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.
o her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.
o The woman fled into the desert.
o There was war in heaven.
o Michael and his angels fought against the dragon
o The great dragon was hurled down. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Then a loud voice in heaven says:
"Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.
They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short."
This is the basis for Demons and Prophets. It may not be the most pious of the definitions of the Biblical text but it is accurate to level that I can keep it so. See, God is the same yesterday as today and will remain the same forever. He doesn't have bad days, and he doesn't treat me different than you, not my ancestors different than me. He has only one will and only one law. These do not change because of us. So dispensational theology is not right and I challenge you, my friend, to read the Bible yourself and see if I am not correct. Furthermore, read all you can about Jesus first. For Jesus is the key to it all. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a false prophet and a false Christ. The will of God is not biased by how well the human animal behaves, He is concerned with your spirit and soul not the carcass you carry around.
To understand more visit timtuohy.com
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As well as being an avid student of the Bible and ancient texts, Tim Tuohy is a zSeries systems programmer. He is an honorably discharged, decorated veteran of the Air Force. His extensive training and education, as well his travels throughout the North American continent, bring reality and excitement his novels and stories. His accomplishments include many highly technical designs and installations. He lives outside Atlanta where he is working on a new novel.
