Introduction To Prophecy Part 2One of the biggest questions I am asked when I teach these classes is why have I never heard any of this information?Pastors most people want their pastor to preach about the Book of Revelation and the end of the world," he said. "But that's a complicated task. Pastors and the scholars they cite often disagree about how the end times will unfold."

Itching Ears Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

Doom & Gloom – We don’t want any of that negative stuff around here.The last time I checked, none of us get out of this life alive. How is studying prophecy any different?

The only thing guaranteed in life is death and paying taxes. How are those working out?

The Seven Blessings of Revelation1 Rev 1:3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

2 Rev 14:13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’" "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them."

3 Rev 16:15 "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame."

4 Rev 19:9 Then he said to me, "Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’" And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God."

5 Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

6 Rev 22:7 "Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book."

7 Rev 22:14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

http://www.bcbsr.com/survey/revblessings.html

While Revelations is difficult to understand, how the book ends is very obvious. We need to remind ourselves no matter how bad things look, we are on the winning side! We need to be continually focused on the finish line. We get to see Jesus at the end - how is that doom and gloom?

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Are We Even Living In The “End Times? Answer: 41% of Americans believe, 77% of Evangelicals believe and 54% of Protestants believe, while 73% of Catholics do not believe that we are in the End times. Some of this is because Catholics are taught something different that the other groups.

The Different PerspectivesThe first realization you need to have about Bible prophecy is that how one views prophecy and what they believe about the different issues within prophetic circles has little to do with the specific scriptures addressing the issues and more to do with how one studies or views the Bible as a whole.

Literal Or Allegorical (Symbolism / Types / Word Pictures / Myths) Interpretation – This is the first question we must ask when we try to interpret the Bible. This is a foundational question? Obviously one’s response will affect someone’s entire eschatology, so this is the place to consider this question. My answer to this question is we need to look at both possibilities, but a literal interpretation should be attempted first. We also need to remember that the prophet was seeing things that he was not familiar with and just used the best words or word pictures / analogies that he could. So there are times when ancient or historical symbolism or allegories need to be translated from something allegorical to something that is literal.

Although there are many books on the subject, I am going to recommend the book, The 8 Great Debates of Bible Prophecy, by Ron Rhodes, see https://www.harvesthousepublishers.com/data/files/excerpts/9780736944267_exc.pdf

Allegorical InterpretationYou can see that many passages of the Bible and especially the teaching of Jesus clearly are allegorical in nature. Even though it is a symbolism, there does have to have a point or a lesson that we can learn.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Deeper Hebrew studies can be very important to understanding the entire Bible and this is true of prophecy as well. There are numerous types, shadows patterns, cycles and repeating codes. Are there hidden codes in the Bible? I personally believe that there is something to the “Bible Codes” and that is something that even Sir Isaac Newton believed as well. I totally believe that the Bible is a divinely layered puzzle.

The similarities between people, places and things produce a very an interesting correlation of continuously re-occurring themes. For example, Jonah was a type of Christ in that he was in the belly of the whale for three days and nights just as Jesus was buried for three days and nights before His resurrection. Viewing the Bible allegorically is also linked to Preterism (most or all of prophecy has already happened) and Amillenialism (there is no literal millennium).

Literal Interpretation

Historicist This is the belief that most of the prophetic authors of the Bible were writing about future history including details about events of the church and major world powers all the way up to the second coming of Christ. This is the predominant view of Protestant reformers.

FuturistThis is the belief that most of the prophetic authors of the Bible were writing about future history that was yet to occur. Futurism is the interpretation supported by the majority of mainstream Evangelical Christians.

Most Futurists are typically Dispensationalists.

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I believe in Futurism to a certain extent, but what if this was an absolute truth? Then it would mean that, God had no prophetic message for anyone during the past 2000 years and that is quite a large gap with a lot of amazing events! It would also mean that Revelation only covers only a small portion of time aka – approx. 7 years. We can cast some doubt on this view in that Revelations 1:1 says, “The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place.” Revelations also has 7 letters to 7 real churches that have since been wiped out. Futurists believe these letters display the 7 church ages, and that we are on the last two.

PreteristsThis is the belief that most of the prophetic authors of the Bible were writing history that would soon come to pass. This view also teaches that God has had no prophetic message for His people during the past 2000 years. However, this view also leaves us with no hope for the future and nothing to be warned about in the “End Times” because they already happened. Extreme Preterists believe all prophecy ended with the total destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. People who hold to this view believe that all the Olivet Discourse’s and Revelations was fulfilled through the difficult challenges faced by the early church. This would even include the Anti-christ (Roman Emperor); rise of the Beast (Roman Empire) and in extreme Preterism they even believe that Jesus returned in 70 AD, although this is mostly an allegorical return. Preterists also believe that Rome trampled Israel for 42 months or 3 ½ years and that Jesus returned when He returned to reign and rule in our hearts.

As you have probably figured out, Preterism is dependent on an allegorical view of scripture and prophecy at east when it comes to the fulfillment of some passages. Consequently, most Preterists are either Spiritualists Or Idealists drawing on allegorical interpretations of the Bible.

Major Problems With Extreme PreterismOne of the problems with this view is that Revelation describes the second coming of Christ as a reigning and ruling King. It also describes the millennium as the “wolf laying down with the Lamb” (Isaiah 11:6) and eventually creating the new Heaven & New Earth and New Jerusalem. Rev 21. Some people say that there is nowhere in the Bible that predicts Jesus’ literal reigning in a Kingdom on earth. This does not jive with the idea that there will one-day be a reigning and ruling Messiah.

The Biblical Evidence that Jesus is Returning to Reign, By Dr. David R. ReaganMany people mistakenly believe that the only scriptural basis of a millennial reign of Jesus is Revelation 20. But the concept of the Messiah returning to reign over all the earth in peace, righteousness, and justice is found throughout the Scriptures, both New Testament and Old.

1) Psalm 2:6-9 — David says the Messiah will reign over “the very ends of the earth” from Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Also see Psalm 22:27-31, Psalm 47, Psalm 67, Psalm 89:19-29, Psalm 110 & Psalm 132:13-18.

2) Isaiah 2:1-4 — Isaiah says that “in the last days” the Messiah will reign from Mount Zion in Jerusalem and the entire world will experience peace. Also see: Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 11:3b-9, Isaiah 24:21-23,

3) Jeremiah 23:5 — “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land.'” (Note: The term, “Branch,” is a Messianic title.) See also: Jeremiah 33:6-18

4) Ezekiel 20:33-44 — The Lord says a day will come when He will re-gather the Jews to their land and will “enter into judgment” with them. He says that at that time “I shall be king over you.” He then adds “the whole house of Israel, all of them, will serve me in the land.” Ezekiel 37:24-28 — The Lord says that He will dwell in the midst of Israel after a remnant of the Jews is re-gathered to the land and saved, and He promises that “David My servant shall be their prince forever.” Ezekiel 39:21-29 — The Lord says that following the battle of Armageddon (verses 17-20), “I will set My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them.” Ezekiel 43:7

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5) Daniel 7:13-14,18,27 — Daniel says he was given a vision in which he saw the Messiah (“Son of Man”) given dominion over all the earth by God the Father (“the Ancient of Days”). And then he adds in verses 18 and 27 that the kingdom is shared “with the saints of the Highest One,” and they are allowed to exercise sovereignty with Him over “all the kingdoms under the whole heaven.”

6) Hosea 3:4-5 — The Jews will be set aside “for many days,” but a time will come “in the last days” when they “will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king.”

7) Joel 3:14-17,21 — Joel says that following the battle of Armageddon (verses 14-16), the Lord will dwell “in Zion, My holy mountain.” He repeats this in verse 21. And in verse 17 He identifies Zion as the city of Jerusalem.

8) Micah 4:1-7 — Micah repeats in greater detail the prophecy contained in Isaiah 2. Like Isaiah, he says the Lord will make Jerusalem the capital of the world. The world will be flooded with peace and prosperity. All believing Jews will be re-gathered to Israel, and “the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion.”

9) Zephaniah 3:14-20 — This entire book is devoted to a description of the day the Lord will return to the earth in vengeance. The prophet says that at the end of that day, when the Lord’s enemies have been destroyed, the Jewish remnant will shout in triumphant joy because “the King of Israel, the Lord,” will be in their midst.

10) Haggai 2:20-23 — The Lord says that a day will come when He will “overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations.” Then, using Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, as a type of the Messiah, the prophet adds: “‘On that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, my servant,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ declares the Lord of hosts.” The reference to the signet ring means the Father will grant His Son ruling authority.

11) Zechariah 2:10-13 — The Lord says that when He comes, He will “dwell in the midst” of the Jews, possessing Judah as “His portion in the holy land” and again choosing Jerusalem. See also: Zechariah 6:12-13, Zechariah 8:2-3, Zechariah 9:10, Zechariah 14:1-9.

1) Peter - Acts 3:21 — In his sermon on the portico of Solomon, Peter says Jesus must remain in Heaven “until the period of the restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.” The period of restoration spoken of here will occur during the Millennium when the curse is partially lifted and nature is restored (Romans 8:18-23).

2) Paul - 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 — Paul says that when Jesus returns “dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel,” He will also come for the purpose of being glorified before His saints. The return of Jesus to be glorified before His saints and all the nations of the world is one of the persistent themes of Old Testament prophecy (Isaiah 24:23, Isaiah 52:10,13, Isaiah 61:3, and Psalm 46:10). See also: 2 Timothy 2:12

3) John -Revelation 12:5 — John sees a vision in which a sun clothed woman (Israel) gives birth to a male child (Jesus) “who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.” See also: Revelation 19:15-16, Revelation 20:4,6 — John says that after the return of Jesus to the earth, He will reign with His saints (“those to whom judgment has been given”) for a thousand years.

1) Gabriel - Luke 1:26-38 — When the archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary, he told her that she would bear a son named Jesus who would be called “the Son of the Most High.” He then added three promises that are yet to be fulfilled: “the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end.”

2) The Four Living Creatures and the 24 Elders - Revelation 5:9-10 — When John is raptured to Heaven and finds himself standing before the throne of God (Revelation 4), he hears “the four living creatures” (special angelic creatures called seraphim in Isaiah 6) and “the twenty-four elders” (probably representative of the redeemed) singing a song of

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praise to Jesus. In this song they say that Jesus is a Worthy Lamb who has made His redeemed a kingdom, “and they will reign upon the earth.”

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3) The Angels of God - Revelation 11:15 — Voices from Heaven make a proleptic proclamation in the midst of the Tribulation: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” (Note: A proleptic statement is one that speaks of a future event as if it has already occurred. This is a common form of expression in prophecy because all future events are settled in the mind of God as if they had already happened in history.)

4) The Tribulation Martyrs - Revelation 15:3-4 — At the end of the Tribulation, right before the final pouring out of God’s wrath in the form of the bowl judgments, all the Tribulation martyrs who are in Heaven join together in singing “the song of Moses… and the song of the Lamb.” In that song, they declare the Lamb (Jesus) to be the “King of the nations,” and they proclaim that “all the nations will come and worship before Thee.”

5) Jesus - Matthew 19:28 — Jesus said that during “the regeneration” (the same time as “the period of restoration” referred to by Peter in Acts 3:21), He will “sit on His glorious throne,” and the Apostles will join Him in judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Matthew 25:31 — Jesus said that when He returns in glory, “the Son of Man… will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him” for judgment. The throne of Jesus is the throne of David, which has always been located in only one place — in Jerusalem (see Isaiah 9:6-7 and Psalm 122). See also: Acts 1:3-6, Revelation 2:26-27, Revelation 3:21. — Jesus makes it clear that the overcomers will reign jointly with Him: “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” Again, the throne of Jesus is the throne of David (Luke 1:32 and Revelation 3:7). The throne of David is in Jerusalem, not in Heaven (Psalm 122). Jesus currently shares His Father’s throne. He is not sitting on His own throne and will not do so until He returns to this earth. Then He will allow the redeemed to share His throne with Him.

The idea is that the prediction of a reigning ruling messiah was the main thrust of the old testament, which is why they missed Jesus as the “suffering servant” and “Lamb of God.”

More Problems with PreterismThe book of Daniel seems to be left unfulfilled. The prophecies in this book span from Daniel's day until the second coming of Christ described in Daniel 12. If everything else was fulfilled literally in Daniel, why did the Bible suddenly switch to a figurative or allegorical meaning when it came to the return of Jesus? Daniel’s prophetic message for God's people laid out future history until the very end. Why must Revelations give us such a short message?

When Jesus says …Matt 16:27 & 28 - For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done. 28 Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” You have to look at the context, what does it mean to you? Now look at Jesus’s use of the word “you.”

Luke 11:50 - As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell “ you”, all of it will be charged to this generation.

Another Preterist verse: Matthew 10:23?‘When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.’”

Other possibilities: the Transfiguration fulfilled this passage; the resurrection fulfilled these verses; the “Day of Pentecost” or the coming of the Roman Empire in 70 AD. As far as the transfiguration, most people think the two witnesses in Revelations will be the same two witnesses that were at the Transfiguration – aka - Moses and Elijah.

With regards to Christ’s coming, most of his disciples were killed and John died of old age, but none of them ever recorded that Jesus returned.

If Jesus was literally born, literally crucified, literally resurrected and the temple was literally destroyed, why wouldn't we assume that Jesus would literally return?

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DispensationalismDispensationalism is a religious interpretive system for the Bible. It considers Biblical history as divided deliberately by God into defined periods or ages to each of which God has allotted distinctive administrative principles. According to dispensationalist interpretation, each age of the plan of God is thus administered in a certain way, and humanity is held responsible as a steward during that time. Each dispensation is marked by a cycle. God reveals Himself and His truth to humanity in a new way. Humanity is held responsible to conform to that revelation. Humanity rebels and fails the test. God judges humanity and introduces a new period of probation under a new administration.

The 7 Dispensations - Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth - by Dr. C. I. Scofield

1. Man innocent. "This dispensation extends from the creation of Adam in Genesis 2:7 to the expulsion from Eden. Adam, created innocent and ignorant of good and evil, was placed in the Garden of Eden with his wife, Eve, and put under responsibility to abstain from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The dispensation of innocence resulted in the first failure of man, and in its far-reaching effects, the most disastrous. It closed in judgment: "So he drove out the man." See Gen. 1:26; Gen. 2:16,17; Gen. 3:6; Gen. 3:22-24.)" Salvation Gospel in this dispensation: Do not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

2. Man under conscience."By the fall, Adam and Eve acquired and transmitted to the race the knowledge of good and evil. This gave conscience a basis for right moral judgment, and hence the race came under this measure of responsibility -- to do well and eschew evil. The result of the dispensation of conscience, from Eden to the flood (while there was no institution of government and of law), was that "all flesh had corrupted his way on the earth," that "the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually," and God closed the second testing of the natural man with judgment: the flood. See Gen. 3:7, 22; Gen. 6:5,11-12; Gen. 7:11-12, 23.)" Salvation Gospel in this dispensation: Do good and do not do evil, or love what is good and hate what is evil. Genesis 3:22 Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"-- 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.

3. Man in authority over the earth."Out of the fearful judgment of the flood God saved eight persons, to whom, after the waters were assuaged, He gave the purified earth with ample power to govern it. This, Noah and his descendants were responsible to do. The dispensation of human government resulted, upon the plain of Shinar, in the impious attempt to become independent of God and closed in judgment: the confusion of tongues. (See Gen. 9: 1, 2; Gen. 11: 1-4; Gen. 11:5-8.)" Salvation Gospel in this dispensation: Believe God and build an ark. Genesis 6:16 "You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it [with] lower, second, and third [decks]. 17 "And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which [is] the breath of life; everything that [is] on the earth shall die. 18 "But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark--you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.

4. Man under promise."Out of the dispersed descendants of the builders of Babel, God called one man, Abram, with whom He enters into covenant. Some of the promises to Abram and his descendants were purely gracious and unconditional. These either have been or will yet be literally fulfilled. Other promises were conditional upon the faithfulness and obedience of the Israelites. Every one of these conditions was violated, and the dispensation of promise resulted in the failure of Israel

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and closed in the judgment of bondage in Egypt." "The book of Genesis, which opens with the sublime words, "In the beginning God created," closes with, "In a coffin in Egypt." (See Gen. 12:1-3; Gen. 13:14-17; Gen. 15:5; Gen. 26:3; Gen. 28:12-13; Exod. 1: 13-14.)" Salvation Gospel in this dispensation: Believe God's promise. Genesis 12:1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you.

5. Man under law."Again the grace of God came to the help of helpless man and redeemed the chosen people out of the hand of the oppressor. In the wilderness of Sinai He proposed to them the covenant of law. Instead of humbly pleading for a continued relation of grace, they presumptuously answered: "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do." The history of Israel in the wilderness and in the land is one long record of flagrant, persistent violation of the law, and at last, after multiplied warnings, God closed the testing of man by law in judgment: first Israel, and then Judah, were driven out of the land into a dispersion which still continues. A feeble remnant returned under Ezra and Nehemiah, of which, in due time, Christ came: "Born of a woman-made under the law." Both Jews and Gentiles conspired to crucify Him. (See Exod. 19:1-8; 2 Kings 17:1-18; 2 Kings 25: 1 -11; Acts 2:22-23; Acts 7:5152; Rom. 3:19-20; Rom. 10:5; Gal. 3: 10.)" Salvation Gospel in this dispensation: Obey God and keep His commandments. Exodus 19:5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth [is] Mine.

6. Man under grace."The sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ introduced the dispensation of pure grace, which means undeserved favor, or God giving righteousness, instead of God requiring righteousness, as under law. Salvation, perfect and eternal, is now freely offered to Jew and Gentile upon the acknowledgment of sin, or repentance, with faith in Christ.""Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent" (John 6:29). "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life" (John 6:47). "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." (John 5:24). "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish" (John 10:27-28). "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9).The predicted result of this testing of man under grace is judgment upon an unbelieving world and an apostate church. (See Luke 17:26-30; Luke 18:8; 2 Thess. 2:7-12; Rev. 3:15-16.)The first event in the closing of this dispensation will be the descent of the Lord from heaven, when sleeping saints will be raised and, together with believers then living, caught up "to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (I Thess. 4:16-17). Then follows the brief period called "the great tribulation." (See Jer. 30:5-7; Dan. 12:1; Zeph. 1:15-18; Matt. 24:21-22.) After this the personal return of the Lord to the earth in power and great glory occurs, and the judgments which introduce the seventh, and last dispensation. (See Matt. 25:31-46 and Matt. 24:29- 30.)"

Comment:Some teachers number the Tribulation as one of the dispensations, while combining the dispensations of Promise & Law. However, we see the Tribulation as a special period during which human civilization crumbles under the weight of the combined features of its ages long rejection of God.

Salvation Gospel in this dispensation: Confess Jesus as Lord and believe in His resurrection. Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

7. Man under the personal reign of Christ.After God's judgments on all the people of the earth, Christ will return to the earth with the Saints, and He will reign over all the earth for one thousand years. This is the period commonly called the millennium. The seat of His power will be Jerusalem, and the saints, including the saved of the dispensation of grace, namely the church, will be associated with

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Him in His glory. (See Isa. 2:1-4; Isa. 11; Acts 15:14-17; Rev. 19:11-21; Rev. 20:1-6. "But when Satan is "loosed a little season," he finds the natural heart as prone to evil as ever, and easily gathers the nations to battle against the Lord and His saints, and this last dispensation closes, like all the others, in judgment. The great white throne is set, the wicked dead are raised and finally judged, and then come the "new heaven and a new earth." Eternity is begun. (See Rev. 20:3,7-15; Rev. 21 and 22.)"

Problems With DispensationalismDispensationalism tends to draw a very hard line between the age of the church and the age of Israel. It is hard to draw a hard line on the calendar saying where the old deal stops and the new deal begins. For example, the church was started on the “Day of Pentecost” in or around 30 AD, but Israel was destroyed around 70 AD. This is a 40 years period where both the church and Israel existed at the same time and both were being dealt with.

In Luke 21, Jesus described the destruction of the Temple in 70AD and then said that the “Jerusalem would be trodden down of the gentiles until the times of the Gentiles was fulfilled.” 1967 was the year that this was fulfilled when the Jews took full control of Jerusalem, but the rapture did not happen immediately. Again, God is dealing with both groups of people at the same time, which means there are two dispensations happening at the same time.

Ron Rhodes says that the whole prophetic text turns to mush without dispensationalism but I believe he is also breaking my rule that he is using prophecy to predict the future. What he is admitting is that without Dispensationalism, he cannot predict the future as well or even make as much sense of Bible Prophecy without it.

The Truth of DispensationsThe fullness of the Gentiles has come in and I believe we are in a transitional time where God is going to start waking the Jews up as we progress towards the tribulation. Another verse that talks about this is Romans 11:25 (KJV). “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.” There is a mystery about how all this works, but the effect was blindness on the part of Israel produced the outpouring of the spirit on the Gentiles.

Applying this verse to today, we can also expect that as the times of the Gentiles closes that the Gentiles might start to drift into blindness and that the times of Israel may be coming back into fullness once again.

There are set times that God has set and there are times where God changes His focus on who or what He is working on. Ephesians 1:10 (NKJV) - that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

For myself, I believe in Dispensationalism, but I don't believe dispensationalism in a hard format or in all of the specifics of the summary I have shared, especially when it comes to God dealing with Israel and the church. Dispensationalism ends up being one of the biggest reasons why some people believe in a Pre-tribulation rapture, because they don’t believe that the church and Israel can exist at the same time, at least in the last 7 years of human history.

There are many descriptions of God’s people found in the Bible that are present in the tribulation. Because the church and Israel cannot exist at the same time, these people must be Jews or Israelites.

Covenant Theology – Mostly Calvinistic - Source WikipediaCovenant theology (also known as Covenantalism, Federal theology, or Federalism) is a Calvinist conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall flow of the Bible. It uses the theological concept of a covenant as an organizing principle for Christian theology. The standard form of covenant theology views the history of

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God's dealings with mankind, from Creation to Fall to Redemption to Consummation, under the framework of three overarching theological covenants: of redemption, works, and grace.

Theological covenants Covenant of works, Covenant of grace, Covenant of redemption

Biblical covenants Adamic covenant, Noahic covenant, Abrahamic covenant, Mosaic covenant, Moabite covenant, Davidic

covenant and New Covenant.

Covenantal signs and seals Lord's Supper & Baptism

According to Calvinism: Salvation is accomplished by the almighty power of the triune God. The Father chose a people, the Son died for them, the Holy Spirit makes Christ's death effective by bringing the elect to faith and repentance, thereby causing them to willingly obey the Gospel. The entire process (election, redemption, regeneration) is the work of God and is by grace alone. Thus God, not man, determines who will be the recipients of the gift of salvation. The Five Points of Calvinism are easily remembered by the acrostic TULIP

Total Depravity (Total Inability)Total Depravity is probably the most misunderstood tenet of Calvinism. When Calvinists speak of humans as "totally depraved," they are making an extensive, rather than an intensive statement. The effect of the fall upon man is that sin has extended to every part of his personality -- his thinking, his emotions, and his will. Not necessarily that he is intensely sinful, but that sin has extended to his entire being. The unregenerate (unsaved) man is dead in his sins (Romans 5:12). Without the power of the Holy Spirit, the natural man is blind and deaf to the message of the gospel (Mark 4:11f). This is why Total Depravity has also been called "Total Inability." The man without knowledge of God will never come to this knowledge without God's making him alive through Christ (Ephesians 2:1-5).

Unconditional ElectionUnconditional Election is the doctrine, which states that God chose those whom he was pleased to bring to knowledge of himself, not based upon any merit shown by the object of his grace and not based upon his looking forward to discover those that would "accept" the offer of the gospel. God has elected, based solely upon the counsel of his own will, some for glory and others for damnation (Romans 9:15,21). He has done this act before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4-8). This doctrine does not rule out, however, man's responsibility to believe in the redeeming works of God the Son (John 3:16-18). Scripture presents a tension between God's sovereignty in salvation, and man's responsibility to believe which it does not try to resolve. Both are true -- to deny man's responsibility is to affirm an unbiblical hyper-Calvinism; to deny God's sovereignty is to affirm an unbiblical Armenians. The elect are saved unto good works (Ephesians 2:10). Thus, though good works will never bridge the gulf between man and God that was formed in the fall, good works are a result of God's saving grace. This is what Peter means when he admonishes the Christian reader to make his "calling" and "election" sure (2 Peter 1:10). Bearing the fruit of good works is an indication that God has sown seeds of grace in fertile soil.

Limited Atonement (Particular Redemption)Limited Atonement is a doctrine offered in answer to the question, "For whose sins did Christ atone?" The Bible teaches that Christ died for those whom God gave him to save (John 17:9). Christ died, indeed, for many people, but not all (Matthew 26:28). Specifically, Christ died for the invisible Church -- the sum total of all those who would ever rightly bear the name "Christian" (Ephesians 5:25). This doctrine often finds many objections, mostly from those who think that Limited Atonement does damage to evangelism. (My note: Unfortunately, most of the churches that

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believe this are not Evangelical) We have already seen that Christ will not lose any that the father has given to him (John 6:37). Christ's death was not a death of potential atonement for all people. Believing that Jesus' death was a potential, symbolic atonement for anyone who might possibly, in the future, accept him trivializes Christ's act of atonement. Christ died to atone for specific sins of specific sinners. Christ died to make holy the church. He did not atone for all men, because obviously all men are not saved. Evangelism is actually lifted up in this doctrine, for the evangelist may tell his congregation that Christ died for sinners, and that he will not lose any of those for whom he died!

My rant: I have a problem with some of this. Paul says, “ But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:8-10 (KJV)

#1 = If God is long suffering, then it means that He is trying to give us as many chances as possible to accept Him. Why does He extend this extra time if the atonement is limited? How can it be limited, when it says the God is not willing that any should perish? #2 - That means if someone perishes, it is against God’s will. There is also an express implication that God’s provision is there to provide the salvation consistent with His will. If God’s will doesn’t cause someone to perish, then by who’s will does someone perish?? The only candidate I can theorize would be the person themselves. So I believe God has extended “Unlimited Atonement,” but the reason I appears “limited” is because of “free moral agency” and the person’s out right refusal to apply forgiveness to their life. This works much in the same way that the Passover works. The lamb has been slain, but unless you are obedient and apply it to the doorpost of your life you cannot be passed over for judgment and you will perish. This ties into my belief in Relationship Theology, because all relationships require both parties to do their part. God has done His part and more. I will address Relationship Theology on the next page and you can see how this relates.

Irresistible GraceThe result of God's Irresistible Grace is the certain response by the elect to the inward call of the Holy Spirit, when the outward call is given by the evangelist or minister of the Word of God. Christ, himself, teaches that all whom God has elected will come to a knowledge of him (John 6:37). Men come to Christ in salvation when the Father calls them (John 6:44), and the very Spirit of God leads God's beloved to repentance (Romans 8:14). What a comfort it is to know that the gospel of Christ will penetrate our hard, sinful hearts and wondrously save us through the gracious inward call of the Holy Spirit (I Peter 5:10)!

Perseverance of the Saints- a lot like “Eternal Security”Perseverance of the Saints is a doctrine which states that the saints (those whom God has saved) will remain in God's hand until they are glorified and brought to abide with him in heaven. Romans 8:28-39 makes it clear that when a person truly has been regenerated by God, he will remain in God's stead. The work of sanctification which God has brought about in his elect will continue until it reaches its fulfillment in eternal life (Phil. 1:6). Christ assures the elect that he will not lose them and that they will be glorified at the "last day" (John 6:39). The Calvinist stands upon the Word of God and trusts in Christ's promise that he will perfectly fulfill the will of the Father in saving all the elect.

This description of the Five Points of Calvinism acknowledges that not all those bearing the name "Calvinist" would agree with every jot and tittle of this document.

http://www.reformed.org/calvinism/

Here are five Christian denominations that identify with Calvinist beliefs. Primitive Baptist or Reformed Baptist Churches. ... Some Presbyterian Churches. ... Reformed Churches. ... The United Church of Christ. ...

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The Protestant Reformed Churches in America.

http://www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/christian-theology-calvinist-denominations/2016/01/05/id/708227/

Problems With Covenant TheologyCovenant Theology is based on Calvinism. While most Christian churches believe in the sovereignty of God and a certain amount of Predestination (the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, especially salvation. God's omniscience seems incompatible with human free will.) Most churches don’t go quite that far. It is a little hard to divorce Covenant Theology from 5 point Calvinism.

With regard to Predestination, it is hard to tie that to our own personal experience. In our own experience, we have a choice; it is as simple as that. Is God powerful enough to make us feel that way even when we aren’t making our own choices? I believe that the answer is yes. However, I still don’t believe God goes quite that far and here is why.

Relationship TheologyIf we look at man before the fall (i.e. – when he was perfect and sinless), there are only a few things that are revealed between man and God that give us any insight as to why God created us in the first place. The thing that I have hung my hat on personally is that God walked and talked with us in the Garden of Eden. In other words, God had a relationship with us. Personally, I don’t spend any time with puppets and find people that do a little weird. What I am trying to say is that you cannot have a relationship with someone or something unless both parties have a choice. Otherwise, one is the master and the other is a puppet. This is why on some level we all have a choice and I believe the tree of Knowledge of God and Evil functioned as that choice. It was the one thing that Adam and Eve could do wrong in a perfect place. When they ate of it, the world changed and now there are infinite amounts of sinful choices and only one perfect and sinless way to live a life worthy of being back to the perfect place with a close relationship with a HOLY God. No man was capable of achieving this insurmountable goal. Only God himself was capable of such goodness. Because God so loved the world, that He drew Himself onto the pages of history. Not only did Jesus live the perfect sinless life. He became a sacrifice. The Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. He bore our iniquity and paid our debt! All because of love. God is love and love is the ultimate quality of the ultimate relationship, which reveals the ultimate purpose of mankind! Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship with God! God did all of this so that He will be able to walk and talk with us again one day in a perfect place. That is why we have to proclaim the good news! The God of the universe loves you and wants to have a relationship with you!

There are a lot of litmus tests I give to determine whether doctrines are sound, but I will share this one with you now.

Any doctrine that diminishes my motivation or causes me to question whether I should obey direct commands of God cannot be a good thing. Calvinists do not tend to be evangelical, which means the do not focus on evangelizing the world because of their own pre-deterministic views. God saves who He saves, what do I have to do with that? However, I do not believe that obeying the Great Commission and preaching the Gospel to the whole world is something that is optional. Hyper-Calvinism clearly hinders someone’s obedience to the Great Commission. The churches that fully embrace it do not consider themselves Evangelical churches.

Covenant Theology? I personally believe that we can learn a lot about God (Theology) through the Covenants He has made with mankind throughout the Bible. I love studying Covenants for this reason. While I would change a few things in the outline of the covenants, I think studying the covenants would be good for any Christian in their understanding of God.

The specific part of Covenant Theology that is difficult to embrace is the idea of Replacement Theology. While I may not be as adamant as Dispensationalists that the Church is not Israel, I do believe there is a big difference. Replacement theology says that God is done with the Jews and Israel and that the church has replaced Israel, which would mean

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that Israel becoming a nation again is not significant or prophetic. I find this to be difficult to believe if you are going to take any of the Bible literally, especially the Davidic Covenant. More importantly, Israel is a nation again and it has quickly transitioned to being s a burdensome stone for all peoples just as predicted. Zach 12

DISPENSATIONALISM AND COVENANT THEOLOGY CONTRASTED The following are the major differences between these two systems of theology. They represent the mainstreams of both systems, though there are variations in each. Representative systematic theologies are those of L.S. Chafer and Charles Hodge.

DISPENSATIONALISM COVENANT THEOLOGYMay be Arminian or modified Calvinist.   Almost never 5-point Calvinist.

Always Calvinist. Usually 5-point.

Stresses 'literal' interpretation of the Bible Accepts both literal and figurativeinterpretation of the Bible.

Usually does not accept the idea of the 'Analogy of Faith - aka - Scripture Interprets Scripture

Almost always accepts the idea of The ‘Analogy of Faith, aka - Scripture Interprets Scripture

'Israel' always means only the literal, physical descendants of Jacob.

Israel’ may mean either literal, physical descendants of Jacob or the figurative, spiritual Israel, depending on context.

'Israel of God' in Gal. 6:16 means physical Israel alone.

‘Israel of God’ in Gal. 6:16 means spiritual Israel, parallel to Gal. 3:29; Rom. 2:28029, 9:6; Phil. 3:3.

God has 2 peoples with 2 separate destinies: Israel (earthly) and the Church (heavenly).

God has always had only 1 people, the Church gradually developed.

The Church was born at Pentecost. The Church began in O. T. (Acts 7:38) and reached fulfillment in the N. T.

The Church was not prophesied as such in the O.T. but was a hidden mystery until the N.T.

There are many O. T. prophecies of the N. T. Church.

All O.T. prophecies for 'Israel' are for literal Israel, not the Church.

Some O. T. prophecies are for literal Israel, others are for spiritual Israel.

God's main purpose in history is literal Israel. God’s main purpose in history is Christ and secondarily the Church.

The Church is a parenthesis in God's program for the ages.

The Church is the culmination of God’s saving purpose for the ages.

The main heir to Abraham's covenant was Isaac and literal Israel.

The main heir to Abraham’s covenant and was Christ and spiritual Israel.

There was no eternal Covenant of Redemption within the Trinity.

The eternal Covenant of Redemption was within the Trinity to effect election.

There was no Covenant of Works with Adam in the Garden of Eden.

God made a conditional Covenant of Works with Adam as representative for all his posterity.

There was no Covenant of Grace concerning Adam.

God made a Covenant of Grace with Christ and His people, including Adam.

. Israel was rash to accept the Covenant at Mt. Sinai.

Israel was right to accept the Covenant Mt.  Sinai.

The 'New Covenant' of Jer. 31:31- 34 are only for literal Israel and are not the New Covenant of Lk.22: 20.

The ‘New Covenant’ of Jer. 31 is the same as in Lk. 22; both are for spiritual Israel according to Heb. 8.

God's program in history is mainly through separate dispensations.

God’s program in history is mainly through related covenants.

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Some Dispensationalists have said that O. T. sinners were saved by works.

No man has ever been saved by works, but only by grace.

Most Dispensationalists teach that men in the O.T. were saved by faith in a revelation peculiar to their dispensation, but this did not include faith in the Messiah as their sin-bearer.

All men who have ever been saved have been saved by faith in Christ as their sin-bearer, which has been progressively revealed in every age.

The O.T. sacrifices were not recognized as the Gospel or types of the Messiah as sin-bearer, but only seen as such in retrospect.

O. T. believers believed in the Gospel of Messiah as sin-bearer mainly by the sacrifices as types and prophecies.

The Holy Spirit indwells only believers in the dispensation of Grace, not O.T. and not after the Rapture.

The Holy Spirit has indwelt believers in all ages, especially in the present N. T. era, and will not be withdrawn.

Jesus made an offer of the literal Kingdom to Israel; since Israel rejected it, it is postponed.

Jesus made only an offer of the spiritual Kingdom, which was rejected by literal Israel but has gradually been accepted by spiritual Israel.

O.T. believers were not in Christ, not part of the Body or Bride of Christ.

Believers in all ages are all ‘in Christ’ and part of the Body and Bride of Christ.

The Law has been abolished. The Law has 3 uses: to restrain sin in society, to lead to Christ, and to instruct Christians in godliness.  The ceremonial Laws have been abolished; the civil laws have been abolished except for their general equity; the moral laws continue.

O. T. laws are no longer in effect unless repeated in the N.T.

O. T. laws are still in effect unless abrogated in the N.T.

The Millennium is the Kingdom of God. Dispensationalists are always Pre-Millennial and usually Pre-Tribulation.

.  The Church is the Kingdom of God.  Covenanters are usually Millennial, sometimes Pre-Millennial or Post-Millennial, rarely Pre-Tribulation.

The O.T. animal sacrifices will be restored in the Millennium.

The O. T. sacrifices were fulfilled and forever abolished in Christ.

The Millennium will fulfill the Covenant to Abraham. Israel has a future.

Christ fulfilled the Covenant to Abraham.  Some Covenanters believe in a future for literal Israel, most don’t.

David will sit on the Millennial throne in Jerusalem.

Christ alone sits on the throne. Saints rule under Him.

Now that we have looked at how people look at the Bible, let’s talk about the issues within Prophecy.

The 6 Views Of The Rapture1) Not a literal event. 2) Pre-trouble rapture of the Church.3) Pre-tribulation rapture.4) Middle Tribulation rapture.5) Pre-wrath rapture.6) Post tribulation rapture.

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Is The Rapture Consistent With Other Scripture?Definition: caught up - Harpazo: 1. To seize, carry off by force. 2. To seize on, claim for one’s self eagerly. 3. To snatch out or away. ~ From Thayer’s (New Testament Greek-English Lexicon)

What is the purpose of the Rapture? To escape the wrath of God. It is not unusual for God to protect his people from persecution or the wrath of God such as plagues and such.

It is not unusual for God to rapture someone. There are seven harpazo’s ("raptures") in the Bible: Enoch (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:25); Elijah (2 Kings 2:1); Philip (Acts 8:39); Paul (2 Corinthians 12:2-4); John (Revelation 4:1); Jesus (Mark 16:19; Acts 1:9-11; Revelation 12:5). All of the highlighted verses, the Bible use the exact same word as, 1 Thessalonians 4:17, which talks about a gathering of believers.

What Do People Believe About The Rapture?Out of the 1,000 senior Protestant pastors surveyed,

36 % believe in a pre-tribulation rapture where Christians disappear at the start of the tribulation and those left behind suffer tribulation and Israel will be preserved.

36% of pastors say the rapture is not literal. 18% Post Tribulation - the rapture happens after the tribulation. Middle Tribulation and Pre- wrath Rapture are about 4% each.

http://www.charismanews.com/culture/56825-large-number-of-pastors-don-t-believe-in-the-rapture

Anti-christWhat do pastors believe about the Anti-christ?

49% believe in a literal Anti-christ / person. They tend to be pre-tribulation and evangelical. 14% believe the Anti-christ will be a personification of evil, but not a person. 12% believe No individual 6% say the Anti-christ has already come and gone.

I have revealed my thoughts on the Anti-christ in the “Days of Noah Series” and the “Mystery Babylon Series.” The nature of the Anti-christ is more complicated, but here are a few points to review. There is Biblical evidence to support all these views. Throughout time, some have pointed to different people and entities as the Anti-christ. Some of this is because the Bible says that there are many Anti-christs - 1 John 2:18. The Anti-christ is not just a person; it is also a Spirit (“Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already” 1 John 4:3) that is locked in the Abyss. Rev 17:8 The Anti-christ will also be the face and the leader of the beast, which is why he can be referred to both as a king and a kingdom. Rev 17.

The truth is we always have the spirit of the Anti-christ, but it is also possible for one evil person to get control of a government. It is possible for a person to become demonically possessed. Clearly both of these scenarios have already happened many times, which means that a literal interpretation of the Anti-christ as a real person is also possible.

The Millennium The Millennium is a period of 1000 years on earth that occurs after the return of Christ. It will be a Golden Age or Paradise on Earth in which "Christ will reign" for 1000 years prior to the final judgment and future eternal state with the New Heavens and New Earth). Revelation 20:1–6

Variations of Millennialism: Pre-millennium means Jesus comes before the millennium.

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A-millennium means it's all allegorical or symbolic and that there is no literal millennium.

Post-millenniums believe that Jesus comes after the millennium, which typically means they believe we are in the millennium now. Typically they are like amillennialists, except that they just believe there's going to be a worldwide revival that leads most of the planet back to Jesus just before His return.

What Do People Believe About the Millennium?Pre-millennialism- 48 percent - the view that the thousand-year reign of Christ happens in the future after Christ’s return. Basically the Baptist and Pentecostal's are the highest believers in all these categories

A-millennialism - 31 percent don't believe in a thousand year reign. They believe that this is allegorical in that Jesus already rules in the hearts and minds of Christians.

Post-millennialism 11 % - the idea that Jesus returns after the Millennium and the world will gradually become more Christian until Jesus returns.

Taken from CBN news: http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2016/april/large-number-of-pastors-dont-believe-in-the-rapture

Problems With A-Millennialism And Post-MILLENNIALISMNeither of them actually believe in a literal 1000 years, this is just symbolism. So those with this view are strictly adhering to allegorical interpretations of this part of the Bible.

Several key features of the millennium The Devil is bound and he cannot deceive nations. Christ rules along with His resurrected Saints (1st resurrection) – some were beheaded, which seems to refer to

people that died in the tribulation.

It is difficult to demonstrate that these features of the Millennium have already happened (I.e. – post-millennia list) unless they are either symbolic or allegorical.

My Take On The MillenniumI don’t worry about it too much because what happens after Jesus comes is up to Him and I am going to just focus on obeying Him and walking in His Kingdom. So in some ways I don’t feel this is something worth arguing about.

I do believe that the Millennium serves a purpose. A lot of innocent people and especially aborted babies were never given a chance to live. The Millennium may give them that chance to live their life and to choose whom they will serve. This may also be why at the end of the Millennium Satan is loosed one more time and many people choose to follow Satan.

The Theme For All My Classes?When you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. - Luke 21:31 & Mark 13:29 NIV

You don’t need to have a degree. You don’t have to understand all this Systematic Theology stuff or higher criticism. Just keep reading all of your Bible and keep up with current events. Remember, the Bible is 2000 years old and people have been trying to make the 2 converge since day one.

What all my studies are designed to show is that there is a convergence like never before. There are literal things, word pictures, signs and symbols that are in the Bible that either Jesus or the Prophets have talked about being associated with the End Times. When we see these two things converge literally, then we have to believe that the return of Jesus is getting near, maybe at the very door.

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This Makes Me Primarily A Now-ist

The thing I can do the best is to read and study my Bible and see if there is a convergence between what I read and what is happening in the world. I don’t believe that the purpose of prophecy is to predict the future. I believe prophecy is there to prove that God knows the future. When God proves this to you then you will have more faith in Him. I believe that prophecy is so well veiled that we wont put 2 and 2 together until the time is really close.

I am also Historist, Literalist, Preterist, and Futurist - Throw in some clear acknowledgement of Dispensations and Covenants and you are starting to get the picture.

I don’t believe or put too much stock in Systematic Theology. As long as the Bible creates the system, I am ok with it. However, when the system starts forcing me to not look at options as to what a verse might mean, then I begin to question the whole system. I will go into more detail about this later.If something doesn’t converge, then there is no need to force a scripture into some covenant, dispensation or change it into symbolism. Daniel was told to close up the book until the time of the end. It is ok to admit that we don’t understand everything. So just keep it in mind and move on. Sure it is ok to speculate and naturally this may mean we look at some more allegorical possibilities, but now we are clearly more into some intellectual exercise than something we can put our finger on as a real sign.

In the end, I am leery of too much Allegorical Interpretations.

Israel: The Super SignThe Allegoricalists and the Preterists’ dispute that the Bible ever prophesied that Israel would become a nation again or they assert that all of the scripture concerning Israel is finished, but that is because they refuse to look at the Bible literally.

If you have taken the “Signs of the Times” class you will know that I am a big fan of Luke 21. The reason is that Luke 21 says something that is different than the other Gospels on the Olivet Discourse. Luke 21 predicts the destruction of the temple and the dispersion of the Jews in 70 AD. The Jesus says, “and Jerusalem will be trodden down of the gentiles until the times of the gentiles is fulfilled.” That means one day the Jews will take back control of Jerusalem. This is something that happened in 1967 (I believe this to be the more important date than 1948) and most of us have seen this in our lifetimes. This is a gap of just under 1900 years. My father was told his whole life that it was very likely that Israel would become a nation again and he has been following prophecy and events ever since 1967 when this happened.

Why do I teach prophecy? Because I had an argument with my dad about Israel. Sure Israel is a nation again, but there was no way that that stupid little country over there was worth fighting for enough to bring the whole world to war.

“Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling (staggering) to all peoples; 3 And in that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will come and be gathered against it. Zach 12:2-3

Now I don’t have to explain how wrong I was. We all know why the world cannot have peace because of Israel. It has not only become a nation, but a nation that is a burdensome stone for the whole world. When has this happened before?

I find it impossible for me to believe that Israel becoming a nation again it is not prophetic. Not only is it a nation, but also it is the centerpiece of the world. It is a rock of offense and causes the whole world to reel around. I don't believe

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that has ever happened before. For 1900 years nothing happened! The doubters and scoffers are having a hay day just as the Bible predicted. It also proves that we need to be patient when it comes to prophecy coming to an end.

Luke 21 proves that God is not through with Jerusalem and that the “Times of the Gentiles” has been fulfilled (which doesn’t mean that God is done with them, just that God has fulfilled His purpose towards them).

Luke 21 also gives us a spot on our calendar that matches God’s prophetic calendar, so we can take see just how close we might be to His return and to other “End Times” events.

The only people who support Israel in the world are the Evangelical Christians, but the Bible is full of other passages that call everyone to share in His love for Israel. Evangelicals tend to interpret the Bible literally and they are typically Dispensationalists or Historists.

Ezekiel 36-39As we show in the “Signs of the Times” series, Ezekiel chapters 36 and 37 declare that Israel would one day become a nation again have. Jonathon Cahn does a series called the “Masada Mystery” in which he details how an excavation at Masada actually uncovered these same verses. Yes, dead men’s bones would come back to life again. Prime Minister Netanyahu was so affected by the discovery that he held a ceremony at Masada and declared to the world, “this scripture has been fulfilled.” How could Israel becoming a nation again already be fulfilled when some of the verses explicitly say that Israel will occupy the land forever? (Ezekiel 37:24-29)

24 “[My servant David will be king over them, and they all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them. 25 They will live in the land where your fathers lived, [the land] that I gave to My servant Jacob, and they will live there, they and their children and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David will be their leader forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will put My sanctuary in their midst forever. 27 My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. 28 Then the nations will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord who sets apart and sanctifies Israel [for holy use], when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.”’”

Ezekiel 38: 24-26 says Israel will dwell secure in safely. None of the country's that are named in his Ezekiel 38 and 39 have ever gone to war with Israel.

Luke 21 and Ezekiel 36 & 37 are not the only passages in the Bible that talk about Israel’s Return to the Promised Land. Isaiah 11 also talks about the re-gathering along with Jeremiah 31. Hosea 1:10-11, 3:4-5; Joel 3:17-21;Amos 9:11-15

Side Note 1: The burning of weapons for seven years is what complicates the timing of Ezekiel 38 & 39, but many people now believe this happens before the tribulation instead of in the tribulation.

Side note 2: Islam is the only thing that unites all of the nations that unite along with Russia that is talked about the Ezekiel 38 and 39 I was told Iran would join with Russia my whole life

More Rules For Interpreting Prophecy1. Don’t try to use prophecy to predict the future. Although some basic ideas of future events are a by-product

of studying prophesy.2. I believe in the gift of prophecy, but I don't believe that we currently have any modern day prophets that are

on the level of credibility of the Biblical prophets.3. I believe we already have all the prophecy we need in the Bible. 4. The first question you must ask before you try to interpret a scripture is: what is my motivation – aka –

attitude of my spirit; do I already have my own agenda; do I want to believe something and why?5. Assume The Worst Case Scenario – The Boy Scout Motto - Be Prepared

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Prepare For Worse Case Scenario: People always criticize by saying that every generation has thought they are the one. However, did that ultimately harm them? The real tragedy would be that the last generation didn’t heed the warning because of what other generations thought. The bottom line with prophecy is that every generation should think that it is they, because they cannot afford to be wrong. Who was really one who failed in the story of “the boy who cried wolf?” Can it or could it be us? Can it or could it be now?

Any doctrine that diminishes our motivation to obey God or causes us to question whether I should obey direct commands of God cannot be a good thing.

Do No Harm - If I interpret something allegorically, when it is meant to be literal or the other way around? What if I am wrong about my theology, will it potentially lead people astray? Will it lead some towards sin?

Any doctrine that diminishes my need to read the Bible or take what I read seriously is grave danger of being wrong. For example, Catholics and other groups that favor an Allegorical interpretation of the Bible actually teach that Revelations is all-symbolic. So they don’t tend to teach it or read it. This is wrong.

Any theological idea that makes it more likely for someone to sin or gives someone a license to sin or be less of a Christian or even just be asleep as a Christian is in serious doubt.

The practical approach on prophecy says yes some things could have happened and probably have happened, but the point with prophecy is to watch and be ready. One must ask if there's any possibility that this could affect their generation. If there is a possibility, then you have an obligation to explore this possibility or even talk about it.

I want to consider how to use this on something you should already be familiar with: the doctrine of “Eternal Security.” Keep in mind, there are only two types of people in the world: saved and un-saved. Satan wants those who are saved to doubt their salvation and Satan wants the other group to think they are saved when they are not. God teaches in His word that when we are His children, nothing can snatch us away from Him. God wants us to be confident in our salvation so that we can get the victory in our lives. God also teaches the wages of sin is death and If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. Unfortunately, I have heard Eternal Security taught in such a way that I could not tell the difference between “Eternal Security” and a “License to Sin.” It is always a challenge to articulate doctrine that communicates the whole truth, because Satan is the father of lies and he is always trying to pervert the word of God.

6. All scripture is profitable! However, if a verse is symbolic or allegorical, then it is difficult to say what the profit is. The most obvious thing to do with a scripture that doesn’t make sense is to just leave it alone. We must be patient when it comes to prophecy because every verse may have unique timing.

7. History can also reveals the future. Some prophecies have been fulfilled more than once, which means just because a verse has been fulfilled once doesn't mean that they won't be again. (Preterists are good at revealing how History has been fulfilled prophecy, but not so good at seeing this possibility.)

8. You cannot use dispensations, covenant theology, allegory or literalism as the only way to interpret the Bible. You must keep all of them in mind and be open to listening to other viewpoints.

9. We must not turn prophecy into sensationalism – i.e. set dates or mandates.10. Nonetheless, my ultimate lens to understanding Bible prophecy is still for us to read our Bibles diligently and

to stay up with current events so that we can be aware of any Convergence.

The Harbinger BookThe Harbinger book is a perfect example of someone who read the Bible and began to notice the similarities between ancient Israel and America. A Rabbi who was familiar with ancient Israelite customs only recognized the repeating layers of prophecy. The Harbinger proved that patterns repeat in a way that gives us a fresh word of warning for America. Because the similarities between ancient Israel and America are startling: down to us saying and doing the exact things Israel did when they were in defiance of God and right before God destroyed them.

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The Biblical Rapture14 For if we believe that Jesus died and raised again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 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: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air (where do we go from there?): and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thes 4: 14-18

There Will Be An Escape36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. Luke 21:36

We Will Be Hid“Seek ye the LORD all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.” (Zephaniah 2:3)

Isaiah 26:20 - Come, my people, enter into your rooms And close your doors behind you; Hide for a little while Until indignation runs its course.

We Are Not Appointed To Wrath1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 - For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. 11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 - And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, [even] Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

Rom 5:9 - Romans 5:9 (NIV) Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!

We Will Be Kept From The Hour Of TrialRevelations 3 - The Faithful Church – Philadelphia - ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens” 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial, which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

We Will Be ChangedNow this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, (timing) at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 1 Corinthians 15:50-55

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The Great Apostasy2 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ [a] had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come (timing) unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (Typically people think of this as the Abomination of Desolation & Daniel) 2 Thessalonians 2:2-4 (NKJV)

The Separating & The GatheringLuke 17:34-37 - in that night there shall be two [men] in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.

Daniel 12:1-2 - And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of your people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation [even] to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

Matthew 24:27-31 - For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Breaking Down The RaptureFor Review 6 theories of the Rapture: 1) Not a literal event or it already happened. 2) Pre-trouble rapture of the Church. 3) Pre-tribulation rapture. 4) Middle Tribulation rapture. 5) Pre-wrath rapture. 6) Post tribulation rapture.

If you believe #1 and you cannot consider any of the others, then that may be a sin. However, I do not believe it is a sin to believe any of the other views. I certainly do not believe we should break fellowship over this issue. On the other hand I don’t believe we all have to attend the same church either. Go where God and His word lead you.

#1 - The Rapture Is Not a literal event or it already happened.I will share my experiences and concerns about #1 shortly as it is usually the Preterists or those who interpret the Bible Allegorically that believe the rapture is not a literal event or that is has already happened. For now, this is a false view because it is un-Biblical and it is extremely dangerous.

#3 - Pre-tribNow before I go any further, I do not let me offend you and I don’t want you to believe that I am saying that all Pre-tribers are this way, because they are not. Some of my best friends are Pre-tribers. Most of the pastors that I have served under are Pre-tribers and Dispensationalists and I am not patronizing when I say I love these men. All of the churches and organizations I have had fellowship with and served under have been Evangelical and Fundamentalist. Not only do I respect pastors and these organizations. I support them as brothers in any way I can because the job they have is so much harder to do then I can imagine!

However, in the general population, my experience with those who believe in Pre-Trib is not very good. As I have said before, they usually just say, “Why do I need to know this if I am not going to be there?” In other words, they are not concerned with the prophetic part of the Bible and do not believe they need to read it or be concerned with it. They are just living their lives completely oblivious to the Signs of the Times. In other words, they don’t feel like they need to know prophecy. The ideal of having a job to do in the End Times is foreign to them. Prophecy does not affect their lives so they don’t do anything with it so they are not prepared for anything else. Now, I totally admit that they may be right, but what if they are wrong – worse case scenario?

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The Distinguishing Characteristics of the TribulationIf I was to say that the main issue of that is happening in the Tribulation and the time leading up to the Tribulation: Deception, Disillusion, Depression, Fear, False Expectations, complete distress and an Apostate Church. Could any of this be associated to a lot of people being told that they would not be there?

The Scoffers: Where is the promise of His coming?? 2 Pet 2:3-7 - knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us,[b] not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Sure, people may scoff at the whole Bible and that does happen. However, think about this possibility. What were they told was going to happen in the End Times and when will Jesus or the rapture would come? What was their expectations? It seems to me that whatever they were told clearly that did not happen? This is why we have to be careful about what we say and what if we are wrong. A Pre-tribulation rapture was popularized by the Left behind series that for some, this is all they know of Christianity and there are some Christians that this is all they know of prophecy.

Problems With Pre-tribulation RaptureIn the end, locking into a Pre-tribulation mindset comes down to this. It breaks my rules in these ways.

#1: The general population tends to use the rapture as a way of saying they do not need to know prophecy or focus on books of the Bible that do. This has the same effect as too much Allegorical or symbolic interpretation of the Bible. Essentially, the Evangelical & Fundamentals can act just like a Catholic when it comes to prophesy or the Book Of Revelation. So for me, something in how it is being taught is having the wrong effect. We should be more interested in reading our Bibles not less.

#2: Attitude is Spirit: The attitude of most of the general population in the church that believe in pre-trib can be down right apathetic. The cares of this life are more important and there is no need to pay attention to the Signs of the Times. The attitude of watching and praying about the times we live in is just not there.

#3: Pre-tribulation assumes the best case scenario. The fact that there are so many differing viewpoints on the rapture by men that are much more learned than my self tells me this is a complex issue and difficult to nail down. If I prepare to run a full marathon and I only have to run a half, hey, no harm done. However, if I have prepared to only run a half marathon when a whole one is required, then I may have a serious problem. If there is any chance of being wrong about a Pre-tribulation rapture, then we should assume the worst.

#4 – A Pre-trib rapture requires that there would also be at least a second rapture and a second resurrection. This is because most descriptions seem to indicate that the dead in Christ rise first. So that would mean that there are three resurrections because the 3rd resurrection happens after millennium: I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; . . . The sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works” Revelation 20:12.

#5 - Ron Rhodes says that the whole prophetic text turns to mush without dispensationalism, which means that it is necessary to interpret prophesy. I believe that the Bible and basic hermeneutics are all that is needed to interpret the Bible. I also believe Ron is admitting that a lot of the predictive power is lost without dispensationalism. This is where I say, why doesn’t God want mush?

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Like the Boy Scouts, we at minimum should be prepared to continue our race if a Pre-tribulation rapture does not happen. Hope for the best – prepare for the worst.

#2 - Pre-trouble Rapture: Another Reason I Started Teaching Prophecy: In the Evangelical and Fundamental circles Pre-tribulation rapture is the predominant view. However what few fail to point out is that World War 3 could very well happen before the Tribulation and that’s according to the Pre-tribulation rapture. Most people believe that the tribulation, according to Daniel, starts with a peace treaty. Why do you need a peace treaty? The most obvious answer is that because there has been a war.

Another long held belief about the tribulation is that the 1st, 3.5 years of the Tribulation is not that bad because the Anti-christ needs time to transition. Somewhere close to the middle of the tribulation and thought to be synonymous with the “Abomination of Desolation” (which is where the Anti-christ stands in the temple and declares himself to be God), the Abyss is opened and the “Spirit of the Anti-christ” is released and he goes into the host / perdition / Apollyon. This is a perfect description of demonic possession and something I cover extensively in my “Mystery Babylon” series.

The caveat here is that the 1st part of the tribulation may not be as bad as the war before the tribulation – aka -WWIII.

The truth is that Pre-trouble rapture is mostly what is taught instead of actual Pre-tribulation. Unfortunately, I cannot directly find a Pre-trouble rapture in the Bible. All of the previously listed problems with the Pre-trib rapture are significantly magnified here. So, this is what I believe is the most improbable of all the rapture scenarios. Don’t get me wrong, I am hoping this is the case, but I can’t afford to be wrong.

Feathers In The Cap Of Pre-tribulationFeather #1 – Daniels 70 Weeks. While I do not teach Daniels 70 weeks, this is something everyone should study. This is another feather in the hat of the Pre-trib view because it seems highly probable that God still has 7 years still left in dealing with Israel. Daniels 70 weeks also help to draw a further probable distinction between the church and Israel, which strengthens Dispensational views of scripture and prophecy.

Feather #2 - The Doctrine ImmanencyThe Doctrine Immanency is the idea that Christ can return at any time. You can google this and turn up lots of verses for it. As you know I am a big believer in the warning and the idea of being ready for Christ’s return and the doctrine of immanence is consistent with that. What Pre-tribers are quick to point out is that how can Christ come at any time if there is a post-trib or mid-trib rapture? This is a good question. However, I believe my modified pre-wrath rapture still allows for this possibility. While I do believe in the Imminent return of Jesus, I also believe the rapture is for a specific purpose: to spare us God’s wrath. So the modifier I put on this is that as long as the wrath is close then the rapture is also close. Chuck Missler does a good study on this.

Feather #3 – The Church Is The Bride Of ChristAnother part of the Pre-trib rapture paradigm is that the church is Christ’s bride. Studying the marriage and engagement, courtship of the Jewish husband and how he takes his wife and looking at the rapture produces some interesting correlations or repeating cycles. One of the arguments about the rapture is there needs to be enough time between the marriage feast in heaven and the return of Christ. Again, I am not ruling this out; I am just saying that the rapture happens in a moment and a twinkling of an eye. This is the point where we enter eternity and receive our new bodies as well. We are no longer locked into this dimension. I also believe that “time” is also no longer an issue because we are no longer in the space time dimension, we have become something more. So the idea that we need a lot of time in heaven in order to come back to this dimension when Jesus returns does not hold up in my opinion. Once the rapture happens we have all the time in the world. Chuck Missler also does a good study on this.

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Mid-TribThe rapture occurs just after the middle Tribulation or just after the Abomination of Desolation, which reveals the Anti-christ. They use 2nd Thessalonians 2:2-4 as the main justification, which seems to parallel the Abomination of Desolation (also thought to be in the middle of the tribulation).

Following up on the Abomination of Desolation, this all goes back to Daniel. Speaking about Daniel 9:27, most people believe that Daniel is specifically addressing only Israel and that certainly does happen. However, the specific text that references the tribulation of 7 years never refers to Daniel's people or to the nation of Israel. It only says that the covenant will be with an “abundance of peoples.”

Daniel 9:27 - He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."

The Two Witnesses11 Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, [a] saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. 2 But leave out the court, which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. 3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God [b] of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. The Witnesses Killed - 7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our[c] Lord was crucified. 9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow [ d ] their dead bodies to be put into graves. 10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. The Witnesses Resurrected - 11 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 And they[e] heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. 13 In the same hour there was a great earthquake , and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven. (someone of faith is still there)

If the witnesses are raptured and gone just after the middle of the tribulation, why wouldn't the church also be gone at the same time? The two witnesses seem to have a 1260-day ministry or 3.5 years. This corresponds to the first half of the 7-year tribulation, which is also the same time period where proper sacrifices are taking place in the temple.

The earthquake also starts shortly thereafter around the middle of the tribulation. This is important as it corresponds the 6th seal and God’s wrath falls from His own hand.

Sixth Seal: Earthquake12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold,[a] there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon[b] became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders,[c] the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

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Opening of the Abyss – Middle Tribulation – (I cover this at length in Days Of Noah & Mystery Babylon)The middle of the tribulation is also when the Anti-christ comes into full power. This corresponds to the opening of the Abyss or Pit and the spirit that has been imprisoned there leaves the pit and goes into the person / perdition / Apollyon who is the Anti-christ. This is a clear case of demonic possession. The opening of the Abyss is also consistent with the middle of the tribulation.

Rev 9:1-2 - Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him (probably not wormwood) was given the key to the bottomless pit. 2 And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.

Rev17:8 - The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition /Apollyon: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

Pre-WrathTypically this means that the rapture occurs somewhere shortly after the middle, but prior to God’s wrath. See Marvin Rosenthal and the Pre-wrath Rapture if you want to explore this idea further.

The Post TriberThe Post Triber believes that the rapture happens at the end of the tribulation, which is the same timing as the second coming of Jesus. They all happen at the same time. While this is my second most unlikely scenario, the truth is I rarely try to change the mind of someone who believes this. Why? Because I am not worried about them. They usually know why they believe this view and it is against the main stream. But the real reason is that they are prepared to go through the whole thing. They could even be a prepper. They tell everyone to read their Bible and to be prepared and this is consistent with the purpose of prophecy and the Bible. I honestly believe we all need to be prepared for the worst and this is what the Post Triber is all about even though I believe they are wrong. See the “Mystery of Iniquity” by Michael Rood if you want to explore this further.

My Pre-wrathWhere have I landed on the rapture? The reason I am Pre-wrath is not because I fall into everyone’s designation of Pre-wrath. I am Pre-wrath because the one principle that seems to be consistent in all the scriptures about the rapture and also goes along with the stated purpose of the Rapture is that God’s people (Church/Jews or both) do not receive His wrath.

There are two kinds of God wrath. 1) The wrath that God Himself pours out with His own hand and 2) the kind of wrath where God lowers the hedge of protection and allows the evil in the world to pour out their own wrath on those whom God has judged. I find that Pre and Post Tribers usually argue for the timing of the rapture based on their view of wrath (of course dispensationalism and covenant theology also comes into play as we discussed.)

1) If the type of wrath that God is speaking about is directly caused by His own hand, then we know that happens somewhere between the 5th and 6th seal of Revelations. So that means the Rapture could be anywhere from just before the end of the tribulation.

2) However, it is also easy to see that if how someone interprets God’s wrath is being carried out by evil people in the world, then that could mean that this is clearly happening in throughout the tribulation and even before that. When you view wrath this way you are more likely to be Pre-trib or even justify a Pre-trouble rapture.

3) Another thing about rapture and wrath is that God has been able to preserve His people during several times of judgment before without using rapture. When the 12 plagues hit Egypt, the Israelites were spared. , Or Elisha seal forehead. More directly, Revelations 7:3 says "Do not harm the land or sea or trees until we have sealed the foreheads of the servants of our God." This is a lot like the Passover, when the angel of death sees the mark he passes over it. Of note: This mark does seem to be given to the 144,000 Israelites and the church is absent in this

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equation. However, this does mean that we could be here through some parts of God’s wrath and God is perfectly capable of preserving us.

If you believe strongly in Dispensationalism or that the Tribulation is for the Jews, then this would certainly make you believe that the Rapture could come before the tribulation.

My Pre-wrath means that it could be any time before the wrath falls, which means is could be Pre-trouble, Pre-trib, Middle Trib or shortly after the middle of the tribulation, but before the end. There are some people who believe that God’s wrath falls at the end of the tribulation, but I am not addressing this viewpoint.

The reason the Bible isn't clear exactly when the rapture will occur is because that's not the purpose of the Bible or prophecy to predict the future including exactly when the rapture occurs.

The timing of the Rapture is not explicitly said and I believe that is because we do not need to know the exact timing. We need faith. What we need to know is that Jesus is coming back and that we need to be ready to meet Him because “no man knows the day nor the hour” and this is how God want it. Matt 24:36.

Unfortunately, there is an undeniable small element of date setting in all rapture theories.

CARPE-DIEM – “Seize the Day” At the end of the day, I have heard most of the arguments and I have just come to the conclusion that I simply can’t pin this thing down to a 100% call. I also have to say that I don’t need to know the timing of Christ’s return any better than this. I just need to know that He is coming and that there are several plausible scenarios.

I have studied this topic of the rapture enough to make me weary of it. I have read several books and heard many speakers on all sides of this subject and I personally cannot make a call that is more than 70%. How we run a race has a lot to do with where we put the finish line. If you don’t know how far you will have to run, then I find that you just have to set your mind to run as far as possible and don’t stop running until you cross the finish line. When it comes to the timing of the Rapture, Jesus is the finish line! Focus on running your race until your life is over or you meet Him face to face.

No one will be happier that me if I was wrong about the possibility of a later coming of our Lord. I mean, hey, If I was to vote, then it would have been yesterday followed by today and then every day thereafter that. So when it comes to the rapture, I have decided to focus on two things I can sink my teeth into 100%.

The Right Attitude On The Rapture & The Return Of Christ?Occupy – Jesus said to His servants when He left, “occupy till I come.” (Luke 19:13).

Jesus also said, “Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing” (Luke 12:43).

Endure To The End: "And ye shall be hated of all men for My Name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved" (Mark 13:13)

But Christ as a Son over His own house; Whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end" (Hebrews 3:6).

Matt 24:13 - but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

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My Summary

Purpose Of ProphecyDr. Michael Heizer says, “Prophecy is better understood after it happens. I personally believe we can't understand it until it is very very close.” So close that no one else can take the credit except for God Himself. This goes along with my theme that prophecy’s main goal isn't for predicting the future. Although, sometimes the two go hand in hand.

Most of the time people talk about prophecy they are just arguing about their own predictions for the future, which breaks my rule of what prophecy is for in the first place.

If prophecy was for predictive power, then how could the scribes and Pharisee’s miss the Messiah when there are over 300 prophecies that Jesus fulfilled in His 1st coming? Hindsight is 20/20.

We are commanded to read our Bibles and be in the present enough to know what is going on because there will come a time when these verses seem to be happening in real time. When there is a correlation in the present that seems overwhelming, we don’t need to get overwhelmed, we lift up our heads because redemption draws near. The Bible is clear that there will come a time when things will be clearer. Until then it is ok to speculate as long as you are being honest with yourself and those around you about what you are doing.

The one thing you cannot do is ignore prophecy or scoff at it. The last days will have scoffers and any theology that scoffs at prophecy (which can happen by skeptics, Preterists or Allegoricalists) is simply wrong. 2 Pet 3:3

The Bible is unclear about a lot of things and this includes prophecy.

We don't need to know everything, but we do need faith in Jesus.

If prophecy is a warning and you write it off, you just missed out on a message from God, you may fall victim to the great deception and you may not be ready to meet Him.

The Bible & Systematic TheologyIt is natural on the part of man to want to try and break the Bible down into systems or categories so that they can more easily understand them and visualize them.

Mans quest to understand God and the Bible and break it down into a system, should not cause us to exclusively limit how the Bible is interpreted.

The Bible is always the highest authority and better than any system that man can dream up. Furthermore, no System of Theology can be greater than the Bible itself, but they can be helpful. You can make Systematic Theology from the Bible, but you cannot always interpret the Bible from Systematic Theology.

Ron Rhodes, who wrote the 8 Great Debates of Prophesy said, that without dispensationalism, prophecy turns to mush. What he is saying is that without it, he can’t predict or make sense of it to the same degree. As we have learned, Literal versus Allegorical interpretations and Covenant Theology versus Dispensationalism can end up being the main reason why Theologians believe in a particular “End Times” scenario.

The Bible & InterpretationYes some things have happened, some things will happen more than once and some things still haven’t happened.

Some things are completely allegory or symbolic. Other things are literal, but appear to be symbolic because the author was describing literal things that he had never seen before. The Bible is written Hebrew and Greek and both of these languages cannot be perfectly translated into English. Plus the cultures are thousands of years older than ours and very different from today.

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So the history of how prophecy has been written and fulfilled in the past can shed light on how to interpret other passages that do not appear to have happened yet.

We need to try and interpret something literally unless it doesn’t work. Than you can try an allegorical approach or just wait for history to reveal the answer.

But if something makes literal sense, then seek no other sense lest you end up with non-sense.

Jewishness & The BibleSome things are unique to the Jewish mind and customs.

Perry Stone does a good book that ties into this idea of repeating Hebrew patterns throughout the Bible called Deciphering End Times Prophetic Codes. Of course, Jonathon Cahn (www.hopeoftheworld.org) and Mark Biltz (http://www.elshaddaiministries.us/) help to bring the Jewishness back to Christianity.

Layers of meaning It is impossible to forget that the Hebrew mind is not linear like the western mind. Much of scripture can only be understood when it is tied to the Jewish culture, their feasts / festivals and the framework of their institutions. This is why I'm a big fan of Jewish rabbis teaching us this different way of thinking about our Jewish roots. Here is an example of layered or repeating cycles of meaning.

The Literal FulfillmentExodus 4:22-23 - Then say to Pharaoh, ‘this is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’

This verse was literally fulfilled when the children of Israel came out of Egypt and journeyed to the Promised Land.

Hosea 11 (NIV) - “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. Here the verse sounds the same and as though it must be talking about the same event.

Prophetic Fulfillment - Later Mathew 2:13–15 records that Jesus also fulfilled this same verse.When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Symbolic Fulfillment Symbolically Egypt is a symbol of the world and being in captivity to sin. God wants us to come out of the world and our bondage to it. Taken from Deciphering End Times Prophetic Codes.

This is a perfect illustration of the many layers of the Bible prophetically. Sometimes a prophecy simply adds something to another passage.

PreterismThe positive side, Prederists must be given their due because some of prophecy has already happened. They stress the study of history because they are constantly looking to history to show that prophecy has been already been fulfilled. Preterists help to balance the over all equation by asking, “has this passage already been fulfilled.” They also help to keep us from overt sensationalism.

Preterists do believe that the second coming of Christ is when he comes into your heart. While I believe this is false, I do believe that Christ coming into our heart is the most important thing ever! As long as Christ

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lives in our heart and we have a relationship with Him and He is our Savior, then we are Christians and brothers in Christ.

The real danger of Preterism is that is says everything has already happened. There is no need to keep studying or teaching prophecy. There is no need to look for the Convergence of the Bible prophecy and modern events or even the return of Christ, which directly disobeys what Jesus Says.

Consequently, they will miss out on the fresh faith building process of seeing that “God knows the future.” In the case of Israel, they might find themselves fighting against God Himself; if indeed Israel’s becoming a nation again is God work. They might even support the Palestinians.

There is also no need to heed the warning of the prophecy. If they stop reading the prophetic part of their Bible and if they stop looking for what's happening in the world then they will find themselves disobedient to what Christ commands.

The last thing God literally did was 2000 years ago, kind of depressing?

The apostles Creed dating back to 300 AD says that Jesus Christ will come and judge the quick and the dead, which means some people will actually be alive when this happens. Paul also tells us that that we who are alive and remain will be caught up to meet Him in the air. If full Preterism is true than that will never happen.

Why would God let Satan win in the end? Why wouldn’t God remake the heavens and the earth bigger and better than before? If Jesus never comes back, then how can there ever be a reigning ruling Messiah? How can Christ have all power in heaven and earth (Matt 28:28) as the Bible says?

I absolutely don't believe that you can say Jesus literally returned in 70 A.D.

There is no doubt that some of Bile prophecy has happened, but it is clear there are some things that have not been fulfilled and especially when it comes to the return of Christ & His Kingdom.

AllegoricalIn the end, I am leery of too much Allegorical Interpretations, because it literally becomes a fantasyland where faith and the reality of my life never meet. This little imaginary world that I hold doesn’t have to have the slightest connection to the real world.

It turns the Bible into fables and that is simply a lie of the Devil!

The Bible claims to be the literal words of God. This is either literally true or not. Jesus claims to be the way the truth and the life. If I am a Christian, then I have accepted Jesus as the literal sacrifice for the very literal sins I have committed in my life. How can the 10 Commandments be Allegorical? These are all good questions.

Remember, the apostasy of the Church is also one of the “Signs of the Times”. When everything is an Allegory or everything has already happened it is probably because they're just not Christians. Let's face it, some Christians have marginalized the Bible and made it an allegory or just symbolism, so that they can ordain homosexual ministers.

Jesus says, “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? Our faith in Jesus supersedes our need to be politically correct.

Mercy? We have to remember, it has been 2000 years before the convergence has gotten this high. The truth is that the Catholics have been trying to figure out Revelation for a 1000 plus years, but it just wasn’t the right time. So what they did is they turned it all into symbolism and stopped reading it. This something we do not want to repeat.

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In my opinion, most of Preterism and Allegoricalism have developed because they could not see any correlation between the Bible and what was happening in their day. So instead of waiting, they forced themselves into an intellectual corner (as if something that has been going on for 1000’s of years can be decided in someone’s lifetime), and decided that all of the rest of prophecy must be Allegorical.

We always look at the Bible first, then the events of the day.

When something makes good literal sense, don't seek any other sense lest you end up in nonsense. – Ron Rhodes

If a literal translation of a prophetic passage does not work, then it is OK to look at allegorical or symbolic reasons, but now one has to admit that they are speculating at best. However, sometimes the best solution is to just wait until the event comes closer.

Learn To Love ProphecyEven though prophecy is difficult to use to predict the future. Prophecy is batting 100% in past. If you don’t know prophecy, than you are missing our on this great faith building adventure.

Not only does prophecy build faith, but it gives us comfort. Because of God’s 100% batting average, we know we are on the winning side.

The warning of prophecy is real. Many of the “End Times” descriptions are dire and we need to be aware of some possible scenarios otherwise we could fall into the greatest deception ever perpetrated on mankind.

Learn to love Christians with other views than you own. We should never break fellowship over most of these issues because prophecy is something we shouldn’t get overly dogmatic about. However, I cannot tolerate extreme total Preterism or those who say that all of prophecy is just 100% Allegories. These two views are directly from Satan.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (KJV)

The Priority of Prophecy

Remember, up to 30% of the Bible is Prophetic. There are 2500 prophecies about the “end times” versus 300+ prophecies about when Jesus came the first time. This is a 1/8 ratio. Source: The Plan Bible developed by Jeff Swanson.

There Is A Difference Between The Gift Of Prophecy & Real Bible ProphecyWhile I believe in the gift of prophecy, I do not believe we have anyone that is on the level of a “Biblical Prophet.” I believe that the Bible has already given us all the prophecy that we need. The problem is people aren't talking about prophecy that we already have. Again, the Harbinger may be as close as I have seen in my lifetime and all it showed was that there was a convergence of ancient Israel in Isaiah 9:10 and modern America. The lesson has been there for 1000’s of years, but by watching and paying attention to current events, the convergence was revealed.

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Side Note: the Bible does speak of two witnesses that are real modern Biblical prophets. Again, most people believe they are Moses and Elijah, which were the same two witnesses of the transfiguration of Christ.

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Prophecy Proves God’s WordIf Jesus was a literal person that was born, literally crucified, literally resurrected from the grave, literally rose into the heavens and predicted the literal destruction of the temple in 70 AD and the literal dispersion of the Israelites around the world at the same time, why would we assume that there would never come a day where Israel would take back literal control of Jerusalem? Why would we assume that Jesus would never one day literally return as the reigning and ruling Messiah, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I believe Jesus literally took my sins away. I believe that I will literally meet Jesus one day.

Prophecy in the future will be filled the same way it was in the past.

You don’t have to be a Theologian; you can read your Bible and stay up with what is going on in the world and when the two converge, then life up your head because your redemption draws close.

What Is It All About? - The Importance of Watching

Luke 12:56 - Jesus said you hypocrites how can you discern the weather but not the signs of the times.

So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:31-36

Any doctrine that tells me I do not have to watch and pray is wrong and it can affect where I stand with Christ.

It doesn’t have to mean that I believe Christ’s coming is eminent, but it is how I should live – carpe diem – and we do not know on any given day when we may pass on to meet the Lord.

God is in control

Interventional Theology – When God Intervenes In Human History

1. The Ejection from the Garden of Eden.2. The Flood – as it was in the days of Noah.3. The Tower of Babel.4. Sodom & Gomorrah – as it was in the days of Lot.5. The Exodus 6. Mount Sinai.7. The Birth of Jesus8. The Death, Burial & Resurrection of Jesus9. The Day Of Pentecost10. The Rapture / Return Of Jesus

If you believe in the other literal interventions of God, then why don’t you believe in last one?

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