THE END IS NOT YET

Wednesday 6 August

And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but THE END IS NOT YET. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Matthew 24:4-8 (NKJV)

“When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. Luke 21:20-22 (NIV)

This is a huge subject. The first place to start is what is meant by THE END. As with many things in the Body of Christ, there are many different points of view. Here are just a few of them.

Many believe the end is over a period of 7 years with the last 3 1/2 years being the Great Tribulation. This is where the supposed antichrist with his false prophet will rise up and terrorise the nations. Some Christians believe that there will be an event called the rapture of the church either before, in the middle or at the end of the 7 years. Then there is the second coming of Christ which marks the end of the 7 years. After that, there will be the Millennial reign of Christ which will last for almost 1,000 years. Satan will be bound during this time. Just before the 1,000 years is completed, Satan will be loosed to go out and deceive the nations again to gather the nations for a final battle against God. In the midst of him doing so Jesus will destroy him with the breath of His mouth. This is at the event called the second coming of Christ. Afterwards, the antichrist and the false prophet will be cast into the lake of fire. Then comes the judgement and the new heaven and earth. I think I covered it all.

I’m not saying I subscribe to every event or the order of this list.

Let’s break them down briefly.

The antichrist and false prophet represent false teachings and false religions. They are not two people like many believe. antichrist is ‘men of sin’ plural not the man of sin singular. Remember John is seeing an angelic vision. Imagery that is not metaphorical not literal.

The 42 months or time, times and half a time a.k.a. the Great Tribulation has already occurred in history. The siege of the city of Masada by the Romans lasted 42 months or 3 1/2 years. Coincidence? Jesus in Luke 21:21 told those in Judea to flee to the mountains, not anyone else.

Not convinced how about Jesus words to his disciples in Matthew 24:33 ‘Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till ALL these things take place.’ Quite the list. Luke 21:32 echoes this. A generation represents 40 years here. That would put it around the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and Jesus was about 33 years old. He was talking about those present.

If this is all true then what about the rapture of the church? What if I told you the scriptures used to prove the harpazo or the second coming are actually describing a different event in eschatology called the day of the Lord? We’ll come back to this thought. Stay with me.

So suppose there is no rapture and the Great Tribulation has taken place in A.D. 66 1/2 to A.D. 70. The next question that arises is what about the 1,000 reign with Christ on the earth? Did you know that there is approximately 1,000 years missing from our historical record? Why is there architecture from certain ages that mankind has never been able to replicate since? Makes you wonder.

If there is no rapture, the tribulation has already occurred along with the Millennial reign of Christ, then where could we be now in history? It would leave us in a time Satan’s little season. The one where he goes out deceiving the nations. Sound familiar?

If our deductions were correct thus far it would indicate that all the ‘natural disasters’ are caused by nefarious human beings and are NOT the signs of the end or the causation of it. Ever heard of geo-engineering? How about wars and the threat of war? Climate change? These things are not new. They were occurring a long time ago. Jesus told us when you see these things happening THE END IS NOT YET.

So what is going to bring on the end of the world? It may not be what you think.

Matthew 24:14 holds the answer. ‘And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and THEN the end will come.’

So the question that needs asking is what is the gospel of the kingdom? The gospel of grace. The Christ-centred gospel devoid of every trace of law. This is the gospel that must be preached in every nation to bring on the end of the world. Is this the gospel being preached in the nations today? For the most part, no. This is why the end is not yet. Some of you may be relieved!

‘But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.’

This is what the Bible calls the day of the Lord or the end of the world.

The reason why it will be unexpected is because only the Lord is qualified to ‘call time’ based upon how much the gospel of grace has been preached in every nation as a witness.

Being ready and knowing when it will happen are two separate things.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 says, ‘For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.’

Apostle Paul is not discussing the rapture. The context is actually those who have received the redemption of their bodies are ‘caught up to meet the Lord in the pneuma or spirit.’ This also happens at the end of the world according to the epistles.

No matter where we are in the timeline, one thing is certain. We are to keep preaching the gospel of the kingdom: salvation by grace through faith to the ends of the earth. With us in Christ and Christ in us, we have the assurance of eternal life whether we join the ranks of the dead in Christ someday or are the ones who are alive and remain. There is still a lot of work to do: THE END IS NOT YET.

APPLICATION

I encourage you to read the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:1-44, Luke 21:5-34 and compare it to the writings of Paul and Peter for greater clarity on the topic.