Bible Prophecy For Today

Why God’s Purpose for the Tribulation excludes the Church by Thomas Ice

dtbrents — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:01:19 +0000

by Thomas Ice

“And the LORD your God will inflict all these curses on
your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. And
you shall again obey the Lord, and observe all His commandments
which I command you today.”

-Deuteronomy 30:7-8

God’s purpose for the tribulation (i.e., the seven-year, 70th
week of Daniel) revolves around His plan for Israel and does not
include a earthly presence for the church. Why? Because God’s
plan for Israel is unfinished at this point in history. When the
role of the church is completed she will be taken as a completed
body to heaven in an instant-at the rapture. This will clear the
way for a restoration and resumption of progress toward the completion
of our Sovereign Lord’s plans for His elect nation-Israel.

The Tribulation Focuses on Israel

The Bible teaches that the tribulation is a time of preparation
for Israel’s restoration and conversion (Deut. 4:29-30; Jer. 30:3-11;
Zech. 12:10).1 While the church will experience tribulation in
general during this present age (John 15:18-25; 16:33; 2 Tim.
3:10-13), she is never mentioned as participating in Israel’s
time of trouble, which includes the Great Tribulation, the Day
of the Lord, and the Wrath of God. Gerald Stanton explains:

The Tribulation does not deal with the Church at all, but with
the purification of Israel. It is not the “time of the Church’s
trouble,” but the “time of Jacob’s trouble.” The
emphasis of the Tribulation is primarily Jewish. This fact is
borne out by Old Testament Scriptures (Deut. 4: 30; Jer. 30: 7;
Ezek. 20: 37; Dan. 12:1; Zech. 13:8-9), by the Olivet Discourse
of Christ (Matt. 24:9-26), and by the book of Revelation itself
(Rev. 7:4-8; 12:1-2; 17, etc.). It concerns “Daniel’s people,”

the coming of “false Messiah,” the preaching of the
“gospel of the kingdom,” flight on the “sabbath,”
the temple and the “holy place,” the land of Judea,
the city of Jerusalem, the twelve “tribes of the children
of Israel,” the “son of Moses,” “signs”

in the heavens, the “covenant” with the Beast, the “sanctuary,”
the “sacrifice and

the oblation” of the temple ritual. These all speak of Israel
and clearly demonstrate that the Tribulation is largely a time
when God deals with His ancient people prior to their entrance
into the promised kingdom. The many Old Testament prophecies yet
to be fulfilled for Israel further indicate a future time when
God will deal with this nation (Deut. 30:1-6; Jer. 30:8-10, etc.).2

The Church is Absent from the Tribulation

Not one Old Testament passage on the tribulation refers to the
church (Deut. 4:29-30; Jer. 30:4-11; Dan. 8:24-27; 12:1-2), nor
does the New Testament ever speak of the church in relation to
the tribulation (Matt. 13:30, 39-42, 48-50; 24:15-31; 1 Thess.
1:9-10, 5:4-9; 2 Thess. 2:1-11; Rev. 4-18), except as present
in heaven. Such silence speaks loudly and supports the pre-trib
position, especially when combined with clear, explicit statements
that promise her exemption from that time (Rom. 5:9; 1 Thess.
1:10; 5:9; Rev. 3:10). Note the clear promise to the church of
Revelation 3:10:

Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will
keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to
come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth.

If pretribulationism is indeed the teaching of Scripture, then
we would expect that passages dealing with the tribulation would
consistently make no mention of the church. This
is exactly what we find. However, Israel is mentioned often throughout
these texts. Dr. Robert Gromacki has studied the New Testament
book of Revelation, chapters 4-19, which gives the most detailed
overview of the seven-year tribulation in all the Bible. He has
shown the following:

However, there is a strange silence of the term in chapters 4-19.
That fact is especially noteworthy when you contrast that absence
with its frequent presence in the first three chapters. One good
reason for this phenomenon is the absence of the true church and
true evangelical churches in the seven years preceding the Second
Coming. The true believers of the church have gone into the presence
of Christ in heaven before the onset of the events of the se

ven year period. The church is not mentioned during the seal,
trumpet, and bowl judgments because the church is not here during
the outpouring of these judgments.3

Tribulation on a Christ-Rejecting World

Another purpose for the tribulation is that it is a time of God’s
wrath upon a Christ-rejecting world and a time of revenge for
Gentile treatment of Israel.

Moreover, it is evident that the Tribulation also concerns God’s
judgment upon Christ-rejecting Gentile nations. Babylon, which
“made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication”
(Rev. 14:8), shall herself “be utterly burned with fire:
for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her” (Rev. 18:8).
The “cities of the nations” shall fall, after which
Satan shall be bound “that he should deceive the nations
no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled” (Rev.
20:3). God’s judgment falls likewise upon the individual wicked,
the kings of the earth, the great, the rich, and the mighty, every
bond man and every free man (Rev. 6:15-17). It falls upon all
who blaspheme the name of God and repent not to give Him glory
(Rev. 16:9). Wicked men, godless nations, suffering Israel–these
may all be found in Revelation 6-18; but one looks in vain for
the Church of Christ, which is His body, until he reaches the
nineteenth chapter. There she is seen as the heavenly bride of
Christ, and when He returns to earth to make His enemies His footstool,
she is seen returning with Him (I Thess. 3: 13).4

Such a time of judgment does not require the church, who has not
rejected Christ, to be present. With the church in heaven during
the tribulation, it enables God’s focus to be on Israel as His
Divine instrument through which He acts. This program was predicted
by the Lord before Joshua and Israel ever entered the Promised
Land. Notice the predicted pattern:

1) then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and
have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the
peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. (Deut. 30:3)

2) And the LORD your God will bring you into the land which your
fathers possessed, and you shall posses

s it . . . (Deut. 30:5a)

3) And the LORD your God will inflict all these curses on your
enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. And you
shall again obey the LORD, and observe all His commandments which
I command you today. (Deut. 30:7-8)

Zechariah speaks of the Lord’s retribution upon the nations as
a time when “the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem
. . . in that day that I will set about to destroy all the nations
that come against Jerusalem.” (Zech. 12:8-9) Once again the
focus is upon Israel, in this case Jerusalem, not the church.

The book of Revelation provides a graphic depiction of God’s judgment
upon an unbelieving world, often called “earth dwellers.”
As God prosecutes His judgment upon the “earth dwellers,”

John records periodic pauses by our Lord as He evaluates the response
of mankind to His judgment before going onto the next phase. It
is as if the Lord inflicts a series of judgments and then surveys
the landscape to see if, like Ninevah in the days of Jonah, there
is repentance so that He can suspend prosecution of the war. Un
like Ninevah in the days of Jonah, the “earth dwellers”
do not relent in the wake of “the wrath of the Lamb”
(Rev. 6:16), so our Lord proceeds to the next phase of His battle.
Every step of the way, the “earth dwellers” would “not
repent of the works of their hands” (Rev. 9:20) Instead of
worshipping Christ, “the earth and those who dwell in it
. . . worship the first beast” (Rev. 13:12). Instead of repentance
they “blasphemed God” (Rev. 16:21). Finally, “all
the nations were deceived” (Rev. 18:23) resulting in the
santanic notion that the armies of the world must march against
Jerusalem-God’s city-and Israel-His people. This results in the
basis for the second coming of Christ, which is to resue Israel
from the world’s armies who are striking out at God by invading
His people. Such a scenario does not demand or require the church
and so she will not be there. We can see that the purpose of the
tribulation revovles around God’s plan for Israel, not the church.

Conclusion

Only pretribulationism is able to give full import to tribulation
terms like “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer. 30:7),
as a passage specifically stating that the tribulation is for
Jacob (i.e., Israel). John Walvoord concludes,

Never are tribulation saints given the special and perculiar promises
given to the church in the present age. The nature of the church
in contrast to Israel therefore becomes an argument supporting
the pretribulation viewpoint.5

Since God’s purpose for the tribulation is to restore Israel (Jer.
30:3, 10) and judge the Gentiles (Jer. 30:11), it is clear that
this purpose does not include the church. This is one of the reasons
why she will be taken to heaven before this time. The church’s
hope is a heavenly one, not participation in the culmination and
restoration of God’s plan for His earthly people-Israel. Maranatha!
W

Endnotes

1 These arguments are adopted from John F. Walvoord, The Rapture
Question, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), pp. 270-71.

2 Gerald B. Stanton, Kept From The Hour: Biblical Evidence
for the Pretribulational Return of Christ, 4th edition
(Miami Springs, FL: Schoettle Publishing Company, 1991), pp.
35-36.

3 Robert Gromacki, “Where is ‘The Church’ in Revelation 4-19?”
in Thomas Ice and Timothy Demy, editors When The Trumpet Sounds
(Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1995), p. 355.

4 Stanton, Ibid., p. 36.

5 Walvoord, Ibid., p. 65.

Return to Pre-Trib Index

The Tribulation By H.A. Ironside

dtbrents — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:02:36 +0000

Those who attack dispensational truth tell us that the Great Tribulation is in the past. They declare that the truth which we have been teaching people for years–that the Dispensation of Grace, now on the verge of closing, will be followed by the Great Tribulation–is all wrong. They say that it is just a fantastic notion that is unsupported by Scripture. Is the Tribulation in the past, or is it in the future? Let us turn to God’s Word for the answer to this question.

First we must speak briefly of the seventy weeks of Daniel 9. Having been familiar with these things for thirty-three years and having examined very carefully much that has been written contrary thereto, I am absolutely convinced that the seventieth week of Daniel is yet unfulfilled. It is the only view that, to my mind, harmonizes with all the prophecies in Scripture. It makes the Book of Revelation perfectly clear. It explains the difficult things in the Book of Daniel and other prophetic books.

Until one sees the break between the sixty-ninth and the seventieth week, all is confusion. The Great Tribulation is to occur in this seventieth week. I want to show that this is clearly taught in the Word.

Those who teach that the Tribulation was in the past are divided into several distinct schools. The Preterists maintain that the Great Tribulation took place at the time of the trouble which the Jewish people passed through when the Roman armies, under Titus, destroyed Jerusalem and wrought havoc throughout Palestine. The Great Tribulation, according to them, began in A.D. 70 and ended a very short time afterward. The Roman Catholic view which is ordinarily held refers to the two hundred or more years of persecution under pagan Rome, which ended with the church’s triumph over the paganism of the empire.

The other view, commonly known as the historical interpretation, holds that the Great Tribulation referred to the period of trial during which those who protested against the Romish dogmas were persecuted.

Those who are called Futurists maintain that the Great Tribulation has never yet taken place and cannot begin as long as the Church of God (born-again believers) is in the world. It will not take place until we have been called to meet the Lord in the air. This is the view that I hold.

We shall now turn to some passages of Scripture and see whether or not it is logically possible to believe that the Great Tribulation is in the past.

In the opening verses of Jeremiah 30 we have a prophecy in regard to the restoration of Israel to the land of Palestine. Scripture shows that they are restored, still in unbelief, to the land of Palestine. Conviction and regeneration take place after the restoration to the land of Palestine, when the Church has been caught up.

In Jeremiah 30:3 we read:

“For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.”

This does not refer to the temporary return under Ezra and Nehemiah. “They shall possess it” indicates that they will enter into possession of the land, not to surrender it again to any other people.

In verses 4-7 we have a description of the hour of trial that is coming upon the land.

“And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.”

Observe that this is not the time of the Church’s trouble; it has nothing whatsoever to do with the Church. It is the time of Jacob’s trouble. What must be the result? That Jacob is scattered and broken and practically destroyed? no, the very opposite! He is saved out of it. The Great Tribulation will end with the deliverance rather than the scattering of Israel. That does not fit in at all with what took place in the land of Palestine in A.D. 70 and the years that followed. Instead of being saved out of it, Jacob was scattered throughout the entire world as a result of it.

“For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke (the yoke of the Gentiles) from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him” (Jer. 30:8).

They will no more make a servant of him, for he is the true son of David.

“Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid” (Jer. 30:10).

Daniel 11 gives us a very remarkable prophecy that reaches right down to the end of the Jewish dispensation, to the “time of the end,” which is a term used again and again. We read of Israel’s sorrows and sufferings under the Antichrist. There is a description of the Antichrist in Daniel 11:36-39:

“The king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished.”

We read in Daniel 12:1:

“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy 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.”

Is it not true that there has never been a time of more dreadful suffering than that which Israel endured under Rome? Read what Josephus says about the horror which the people of Israel endured in those days. Many think that this might be the time referred to. But notice the last part of the verse:

“And at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”

They were not delivered at the time of the Roman persecution; instead, they were scattered everywhere throughout the world. It is clear that this continues until the kingdom.

“And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Dan. 12:2).

Some do not think that this is the literal resurrection. It may be the picture we have in the Book of Ezekiel of the dry bones of Israel springing into life, coming up from the dust of the earth (from being scattered among the Gentiles), some to everlasting life, and those who are apostate, to shame and everlasting contempt.

“They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever” (Dan. 12:3).

To what time does this refer?

“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased” (Dan. 12:4).

One sign of the time of the end is that people will run to and fro throughout the world, and there will be an increase of knowledge.

Commenting on these words more than one hundred years ago, Sir Isaac Newton said, “Personally, I cannot but believe these words concerning the end of the times. One sign of the end will be a remarkable increase in methods of getting about. Men will travel from country to country in an unprecedented manner. There may be some inventions which will enable people to travel much more quickly than they do now.” Sir Isaac Newton believed it possible that, as the end drew near, somebody might invent a means of locomotion which would enable people to travel at the astonishing rate of fifteen or twenty miles an hour.

Voltaire said, “See what a fool Christianity makes of an otherwise brilliant man. Here a scientist like Newton actually writes that men may travel at the rate of fifteen or twenty miles an hour. Has he forgotten that if a man would travel at the rate of fifteen miles an hour, he would be suffocated? His heart would stand still.” It was not long until man traveled at the speed considered fatal by Voltaire. He survived. Now men travel at astonishing speeds.

The last part of Zechariah, from chapter twelve to the end, seems to deal almost entirely with this period of great trouble. In chapter 14 we read that Jerusalem itself will be affected.

“Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people, shall not be cut off from the city.”

The Preterist interprets this by a system of accomodation, saying, “Were not the Roman armies the representatives of all nations, all fighting under the banner of Caesar?” That is not what we have here. Here we have the definite armies of all the nations of the world gathered together against Jerusalem in that last great effort. When this takes place, “then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.”

Notice the order here–Jerusalem surrounded by the armies of the nations, a time of great distress and trouble, the people crying to God for help, and the Lord going forth to destroy the armies (we also see Him in battle in chapter 19 of Revelation) and coming down to earth. “His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives” (Zech. 14:4). The Preterist tells us that this has already been fulfilled–that His feet stood on the Mount of Olives before He went up into heaven. But here He descends at the close of this period of trouble, and His feet stand on the Mount of Olives. What happens? “And the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.”

Some years ago there was a great earthquake in Palestine. The Mount of Olives was badly shaken, and many buildings were leveled. Some English scientists investigated this. After making an examination of the geological strata in Palestine, they said, “We have found the occasion of the earthquake. There is a geological fault running through the mountains of Lebanon. It is particularly evident in the Mount of Olives. There is a great shifting of strata; and some of these days there will undoubtedly be a greater earthquake in Palestine, as a result of which the Mount of Olives will be torn in two.” We not only knew about that long ago, but we also know just what will make it break in two. The blessed feet of our Saviour will again touch earth, and the moment He takes His stand on the Mount of Olives there will be a great earthquake. The Mount of Olives will be torn asunder at the close of the Great Tribulation. Then Israel will be delivered.

Let us now turn to the New Testament (Matt. 24:21), where we read of events that will take place before His second coming:

“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

How manifestly He chose to use almost the identical language that the angel used in speaking to Daniel in order that we may understand that it refers to exactly the same event!

“And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matt. 24:22-24).

Men look for the return of the Lord, and all sorts of false theories are proclaimed.

“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. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together” (Matt. 24:27,28).

The carcase will be Jerusalem, the apostate part of Israel found in the land of Palestine. There the vultures, the armies of all nations, will come; and while things are in this condition, the Son of man will appear.

“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 then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect (the elect of Israel) from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matt. 24:29-31).

The Preterists interpret our Lord as depicting the desolation of Palestine under Rome, but did the events here predicted follow the desolation? The historical interpreters tell us that these events took place during the persecution of the Christians under the papacy for something like twelve and a half centuries. When the persecution came to an end after the terrible Spanish Inquisition, did these events take place? Any student of history knows the answer, which is an emphatic negative.

But let us suppose that everything in verse 29 could be spiritualized–the darkening of the sun and moon, an eclipse, the falling of the stars, a shower of meteorites, and the shaking of the powers of heaven; or suppose that the entire verse could refer to the subduing of a great imperial power. What about verse 30? This verse tells us that the return of the Son of man will be visible. “Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven…and they shall see the Son of man….” While it is possible to spiritualize this event, making the return of Christ some great spiritual experience, like a revival, we believe that this verse is much more difficult to be twisted and adapted by those who do not want to accept the plain, literal meaning. The simplest possible interpretation is to accept it just as it is.

Now turn to Luke’s account and notice a very important distinction there between the Great Tribulation and the sorrows of Palestine under the Romans.

“And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh” (Luke 21:20).

Here, unquestionably, our Lord predicted the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus. This prophecy has been fulfilled with the strictest literality.

We can judge the future only by the past. If prophecy has had only a spiritual fulfillment in the past, it will have only a spiritual fulfillment in the future. But if prophecy has had a strictly literal fulfillment in the past, it is absolutely certain that it will have a strictly literal fulfillment in the future.

Here our Lord prophesied what will come to Jerusalem. If you are familiar with the history of the fall of Jerusalem, you will know how definitely the events predicted came to pass. We read, “Jerusalem compassed with armies,” and in accordance with this, three Roman armies besieged Jerusalem.

“Then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto” (Luke 21:20,21).

You remember that when Titus was to make his final onslaught, he first proclaimed an armistice and allowed anyone who desired to do so to leave the city. He appointed Pella, a mountain city, as a place of refuge for them. Everyone who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and honored His name left the city. There was not a Christian left in that siege. Our Lord gave them instructions: “When ye shall see (this)…flee,” and they went to Pella for protection.

“For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”

Did this tribulation under Titus result in the deliverance of Israel? No, it resulted in the scattering of Israel. Israel was led captive of all nations. Very well, what about the centuries since?

“Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”

Here is a long period during which Jerusalem, the land of Palestine, and the people of Israel are under gentile dominion. That period is known as “the times of the Gentiles,” and it will run until its fulfillment. Then what? How will they know when they have come to the end of that period?

“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; an upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring…And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:25,27).

So the Tribulation will come at the end of the times of the Gentiles and will close with the descent of the Lord from heaven.

What will characterize the time of the Tribulation? It will be the day of Antichrist. The Thessalonians were perplexed and troubled because of the sufferings through which they were passing, and they feared that already they were in the time of the Great Tribulation, which is called “the Day of the Lord’s Vengeance.” Paul wrote in II Thessalonians 2:

“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us (someone had evidently forged a letter from Paul telling them that the Tribulation was already upon them) as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”

Somebody might say, “The Great Tribulation began when Gregory declared himself to be the head of all the churches of Christendom; therefore, it refers to the papal persecution.” However, we have seen that the Great Tribulation will end with the deliverance of Israel and the visible return of our Lord to this earth, a return so literal that His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives. Surely this cannot refer to the papacy, “who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” If this referred to the papacy, the pope would have to sit in the temple of God. I do not believe that St. Peter’s Cathedral is the temple of God. It is a temple of idolatry. Nor do I believe that the Roman Church is the temple of God. It is an apostate system. But the temple of God is the temple frequently spoken of by the prophets as the temple yet to be rebuilt. The Antichrist sits there and declares himself to be God.

“Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way” (II Thess. 2:5-7).

Some think this meant that the Roman Empire would be dissolved first. Paul was talking about something here that every Christian ought to know, because the Bible reveals it. What hinders full development of evil in the world? The Spirit of God restrains now. The Spirit of God is here in the Church of God, restraining the full development of evil. Some day the Church will be gone, and the Spirit of God will no longer be active on earth as a divine Person in the Church of God.

“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders” (II Thess. 2:8,9).

These signs and lying wonders arre pictured in Revelation 13.

What will be the outcome when the Tribulation comes upon the earth? A large part of Revelation evidently has to do with the Great Tribulation, ending with the personal appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. It fits so perfectly with what we read of the Great Tribulation that I am sure it is the same time. Not all of Israel are really Israel. It must be regenerated Israel in that day to be really Israel and to be so counted, just as today the Israel of God are those who are regenerated. In the first part of Revelation 7 you have the remnant of Israel.

“And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of God in their foreheads (the four angels who are seen sealing the servants of our God before the Great Tribulation begins). And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.”

In the fourteenth chapter of Revelation the Saviour actually appears, and we find that the 144,000, delivered out of the Tribulation, are waiting to receive Him. They form what we might call a royal bodyguard in the coming day when He will establish His glorious millennial kingdom. Israel is sealed by God at the beginning of the Tribulation (chap. 7). Israel is preserved for the kingdom at the end of the Tribulation (chap. 14).

The 144,000 are out of every tribe of Israel. No one can possibly be misled about this. Look at the latter part of chapter 7. I do not know whether or not the number 144,000 can be taken literally.

“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands” (v. 9).

“And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I (John) said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (vv. 13,14).

“And have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” How are people to be saved in the Tribulation day? Just exactly as they are saved today–through the same precious blood of Christ. Every soul saved in any dispensation, from the day of Abel down to the end of the Millennium, owes all of his blessing to the precious, atoning blood of the Son of God.

“Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (vv. 15-17).

The company saved in the Tribulation will remain on earth to share in the millennial kingdom. In Isaiah 49:8 we have a prophecy that refers to this very same company:

“Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them. And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim (the ancient name for China).”

There will be a vast throng of Gentiles to whom the light will come in those dark days of the Tribulation to prepare them for the glorious kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So I think that the Scriptures looked at, and there are many more that could have been added, are sufficient surely to show us that the Great Tribulation did not take place when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, nor did it take place under either pagan or papal Rome. It will occur immediately before the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ to establish His glorious kingdom in this world. It will not take place before the Church has gone to heaven. Five proofs of this are listed below:

l. The Tribulation cannot take place before the Lamb opens the book with seven seals. When the seals are broken, troubles begin to come (Rev. 5).
2. The Lamb does not receive the seven-sealed book from the hand of the Father until the crowned saints are seen in heaven. In Revelation 4 and 5 we have the twenty-four elders seated about the throne wearing crowns of gold upon their heads.
3. No saints will be crowned in heaven until the Apostle Paul receives his crown. “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (II Tim. 4:8).
4. The Apostle Paul and other saints with him will not receive their crowns until the Judgment Seat of Christ. It is referred to as “that day.”
5. The Judgment Seat of Christ is immediately after the Rapture of the Church. Jesus says, “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”

The conclusion, therefore, is that there will be no Great Tribulation before the Church has gone to be with the Lord. The Rapture must take place before the time of the Great Tribulation can begin here on the earth.

Reprinted from The Lamp of Prophecy, by H.A. Ironside, by permission of Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan

SEVENTY WEEKS OF DANIEL IN DISPENSATIONAL INTERPRETATION

dtbrents — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:32:45 +0000

J. Randall Price

Daniel’s prophecy of the seventy weeks (Dan. 9:24-27) is part of the division of his book (chapters 7-12) that records visions of future earthly kingdoms (both human and divine). In the context of chapter 7, the archangel Gabriel explains to Daniel that seventy weeks are required to fulfill the petition Daniel has made concerning the restoration of Israel (vss. 3-19). Daniel’s prayer had been based on his observation (vs. 2) of the seventy years prophecy in Jer. 25:11-12; 29:10. Daniel is told of six restoration goals that will be accomplished during the seventy weeks (vs. 24), which the remainder of the chapter outlines in events to unfold in Israel’s subsequent history. Dispensationalism joins with most Christian scholarship in holding that the seventy weeks are to be interpreted as seventy weeks of years. This resulting period of 490 years (70 x7) is divided according to the text (vss. 25-27) as periods of seven weeks (49 years), sixty-two weeks (434 years), and one week (7 years). Dispensationalism is also in agreement with most evangelical scholarship in interpreting the context of this passage as messianic, with the coming of Messiah taking place after the sixty-two weeks (i.e., after the 7 weeks + the 62 weeks = 483 years). However, Dispensationalism (classical) is distinct in its interpretation of Daniel’s seventieth week (vs. 27) as future. With Israel’s rejection of the Messiah and His death taking place after the sixty-ninth week (vs. 26), the completion of the six restoration goals for Israel (vs. 24) are left for the seventieth week. If the seventieth week immediately succeeds the sixty-ninth week historically, then the expected restoration must be applied spiritually to the Church as a new Israel. Because Dispensationalism adheres to the principle of literal interpretation and recognizes the scriptural distinction between God’s program for Israel and the Church, it understands the historical completion of Israel’s restoration must take place in a future week. During this time (as described in vs. 27), there is a resumption of the messianic program for Israel with the overthrow of the Antichrist (the apocalyptic prerequisite to the establishment of the messianic kingdom). This interpretation requires a prophetic postponement (older writers referred to this as a “gap” or “parenthesis”) between the events of verses 26 and 27. The revelation of a prophetic postponement in the fulfillment of the eschatological aspect of the messianic program is in harmony with numerous passages in the Old Testament that reveal the two advents of Christ (e.g.. Gen. 49:10-12; Deut. 18:16; 2 Samuel 7:13-16; Isa. 9:1-7; 11:1-2, 11; 52:13-59:17-21; 61:1-11, cf. Lk. 4:16-19; cf. 7:22; Zeph. 2:13-3:20; Zech. 9:9-10; Joel 2:28; cf. Acts 2:17; Mic. 5:2-15; Psalm 2:7-8, cf. Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5; 5:5; Psalm 22:1-32; Psalm 34:14, 16; Mal. 3:1-3; 4:5-6; 53:10a, 11). Daniel’s concern is with his People (vss. 20, 24; cf. 12:1) and the restoration that Jeremiah predicted would come after the seventy year exile (Jer. 25:11-12; cf. 2 Chron. 36:21). Jeremiah’s prophecy of restoration (Jer. 30-33), like the prophecies of Isaiah (Isa. 40-66) and Ezekiel (Ezek. 33-48) included predictions of both immediate (post-exilic) restoration and future (eschatological) restoration. The post-exilic prophets understood this distinction, realizing that though they were enjoying a restoration under Ezra/Zerubbabel, the complete national/spiritual restoration had been delayed for the future. This is seen, for example, in one of the signal events of restoration – the rebuilding of the Temple (Hag. 2:3-9). The six restoration goals of Daniel’s seventy weeks prophecy (vs. 24) may have a near fulfillment in the experience of the Nation (Messiah’s redemptive advent), but must wait for its complete fulfillment in the future (Messiah’s restorative advent). The postponement understood Page 2 between vss. 26 and 27 is the consequence of partial and complete fulfillment in the messianic program. The first phase of the messianic program accomplished spiritual redemption for ethnic Israel in the first advent of Christ (Matthew 1:21; cf. Luke 2:11). National rejection of Messiah (Matt. 23:37, cf. Acts 3:13-15, 17; 4:25-27), while fulfilling the promise of Gentile inclusion (Acts 15:14- 18; Rom. 11:11, 25, 30), necessitated a second phase of the messianic program to apply spiritual redemption to Israel nationally (Acts 3:18-21; Rom. 11:26-29, 31) and complete the promise of national restoration (Matt. 23:39; Acts 1:6-7; 3:22-26; 15:16) which will be fulfilled at the second advent of Christ (Zech. 12:10-13:2; 14:3-11). The Dispensational interpretation depends upon the validity of interpreting the seventieth week eschatologically. This is justified by the presence of numerous eschatological time markers, such as qetz (“end”), yash e bitim (“cause to cease”), and kalah (“end”),’ad (“until”), and nech e ratzah tittak (“an appointed end”). These terms indicate that this section belongs to the same eschatological period, qualified later in Daniel as “the end-time” (cf. Daniel 12:4, 9, 13). This identification is enhanced by the presence parallel concepts between the two chapters (e.g., prayer for understanding, 9:2/ 12:8; desolation of Jewish people, 9:27/12:7; three and one-half year period, 9:27/12:7, 11; the abolition of sacrifice, 9:27/12:11; and the abomination of desolation, 9:27/12:11). Thus, Daniel’s prayer for an end to exile will be fulfilled in the eschatological age when all of the elements of his petition will be realized. Further confirmation of the postponement of the seventieth week and of a parenthetical period of history involving further exile and persecution for the Jewish people, is supported by the New Testament’s use of the seventy weeks prophecy. John McLean has demonstrated that the sequence of events of the Olivet Discourse (Matthew/Mark) and the judgment section of the Book of Revelation (chs. 4-19) reveal a structural dependence upon the seventy weeks prophecy. Bibliography H. A. Ironsides, The Great Parenthesis (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1943), Alva J. McClain, “The Parenthesis of Time between the Sixty-Ninth and Seventieth Weeks,” Daniel’s Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1960), 23-40, William Kelly, Daniel’s Seventy Weeks (Colorado: Wilson Foundation, n.d.), J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Co., 1971), pp. 239- 250, Robert D. Culver, Daniel and the Latter Days. Revised ed.(Chicago: Moody Press, 1977), 144-169, “Daniel,” The Bible Knowledge Commentary. eds. John Walvoord, Roy Zuck (Wheaton, Illinois: Victor Books, 1985) 1:1323-1375, John F. Walvoord, Daniel: The key to Prophetic Revelation (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), pp. 403-440, Frederick Holtzman, “A Re-examination of the Seventy Weeks of Daniel” (Th.M. thesis, Dallas Teheological Seminary, 1974), Paul D. Feinberg, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Daniel 9:24-27,” Tradition and Testament: Essays in Honor of Charles Lee Feinberg. eds. John S. and Paul D. Feinberg (Chicago: Moody Press, 1981), pp. 189-222, John A. McLean, “The Seventieth Week of Daniel 9:27 as a Literary Key for Understanding the Structure of the Apocalypse of John” (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 1990), J. Randall Price, “Prophetic Postponement in Daniel 9 and Other Texts,” Issues in Dispensationalism. eds. W. R. Willis, John R. Master (Chicago: Moody Press, 1994), pp.132-165 Page 3 SEVENTY WEEKS OF DANIEL, RABBINIC INTERPRETATION J. Randall Price The seventy weeks prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 was originally regarded by the rabbis as one of the most important predictive texts in the Bible. This significance was testified to by the first- century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus: “He [Daniel] not only predicted the future, like the other prophets, but specified when the events would happen” (Antiquities x. 268). The belief that Daniel’s prophecy provided information as to the precise time of prediction was no doubt a significant factor in the timing of the war with Rome in AD 66, since the 70 years of wrath in Daniel 9:3, which figured prominently in the Qumran War Scroll (1QM), could have been interpreted as the period between the first outbreak of revolutionary activity in 4 BC (the time of Herod’s death, and possibly also of Jesus’ birth) and the final uprising in AD 66. However, in the earliest versions of the present Hebrew Bible the Book of Daniel was placed later rabbis in the division known as the “Writings.” This placement removed Daniel from the ranks of the prophets and reduced his prophecies to the status of pedagogical stories. Yet, undisputed evidence for Daniel’s location within the Hebrew canon appears to be limited to later Hebrew manuscripts and to statements that may be traced no further back than the early rabbinic period. Two of the oldest available manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible which attest to the present canonical order are Codex Leningradensis and the Aleppo-Codex which are dated only to the ninth and tenth-century A.D. The two of the most explicit rabbinic statements are in the Gemara of the Babylonian Talmud: Baba Bathra 14b (where Daniel appears before Esther and Ezra), and Megilla 3a (where Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi are called prophets, but are distinguished from Daniel), are within material composed in the fifth to eighth centuries A.D. Earlier Jewish tradition reveals a different rabbinic concept of Daniel with prophetic status. The oldest manuscript of the Hebrew Bible, Codex Cairensis (895 A.D..) includes Daniel in its list of the prophets and a Hebrew-Aramaic-Greek canon list dated tentatively to the second-century A.D. also list Daniel following the three major prophets. Furthermore, in all the Jewish sources of the first century A.D. – the Septuagint, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Josephus, Jesus, and the New Testament writers – Daniel is reckoned among the prophets. Why, then, did the later rabbis exclude Daniel from the prophetic corpus? The evidence of Daniel’s prophetic influence upon the religious and political events of earlier periods indicates that the Book could have dangerous effects. The Zealots considered Daniel an important prophetic voice, whose visions held the key to the interpretation of world events, especially concerning the Romans. Josephus referred to one such prediction (probably the seventy weeks prophecy) in Jewish War (VI) which the Zealots relied upon to instigate and support the first (and possibly second) revolt(s) against Rome. This trend was also followed by first and second-century rabbis. The fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.., and the events subsequent to it, had confirmed to these rabbis (as it had to the early Jewish-Christians and Church Fathers), that the interpretation of the fourth monarchy in Daniel 2 and 7 as the Roman empire was correct. Therefore, Daniel’s prophetic timetable was accurate as his book alone contained the key for the destruction of the Second Temple and of Israel’s future restoration after a further exile (the seventy weeks prophecy). So influential was Page 4 Daniel in this regard that Targum Jonathan on the Prophets (c. 50-1 B.C.), reveals that all of the prophets were interpreted along the lines set out in Daniel to calculate the end-time. This use and influence of Daniel as predictive prophecy led the rabbis to regard Daniel as a dangerous book, since the application of an apocalyptic timetable to contemporary events had brought both disappointment and decline to the Nation. By separating it from classical prophecy and grouping it with other narratives of the Exile (e.g., Esther and Ezra), it was removed from exerting a paradigmatic influence on the prophetic corpus. Once it was incorporated among the heroes of the Exile, the accent of the book from was shifted from prophecy to pedagogy. Perhaps fear of Daniel’s eschatological influence also led the rabbis to allow an allegorical interpretation of the Prophets and the Writings; an allowance never permitted for the Torah. By permitting the prophecies to be allegorized, the problems of literal interpretation (and application) could be avoided. With regards the interpretation of the seventy weeks prophecy, the rabbis interpreted the weeks as “weeks of years” and saw it as having prophesied the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. The seventieth week is not entirely included in that event. Because it predicts the destruction of the Romans, its final statement is retained as a future event. The Jewish chronological record of Rabbi Jose known as the Seder Olam Rabbah preserves the oldest rabbinic tradition for interpreting the seventy weeks. In chapter 28 of this work the first seven weeks are related to the exile and return, the next sixty-two weeks are in the Land, and the final week predicts a period partially spent in the Land and partially spent in exile. In this case, the seventieth week could include events that occurred after A.D. 70. According to Abarbanel, the condition of Israelite punishment in exile required the 490 years of this prophecy to complete the sins committed in addition to the violation of the sabbatical law (cf. 2 Chron. 36:21). Other Jewish commentators such as Rashi and Metzudos, held that this referred to a period following the 490 years (which they believed ended with the destruction of the Second Temple), “the last exile whose purpose it will be to terminate [i.e., to atone for ] transgression of the Jewish Nation. Rabbi Hersh Goldwurm summarizing their views observes: “Thus, seventy weeks have been decreed upon your people and your city [for relative well-being] after which the Jews will receive the remainder of their punishment in the last exile whose purpose will be to terminate [i.e., atone for] transgression. One reason for this interpretation is because these commentators believed that Jewish suffering would atone for their transgression. Abarbanel noted that the return to Jerusalem and even the rebuilding of the Second Temple did not bring the expected redemption nor atone for past sins, since it was itself a part of the exile and atonement. He held that the real and complete redemption was still far off in history, awaiting fulfillment according to Daniel’s prophecy. The seventieth week (vs. 27) was not included in the sixty-two of vs. 26, according to Ibn Ezra. He thought it was not counted because of the turmoil and unrest preceding the destruction during which an anointed was killed. He arrived at seventy weeks by adding the seven weeks of verse 25 to the sixty-two of verse 26. This may indicate his difficulty in reconciling verse 27 with verse 26. Rashi has no difficulty identifying the “the people of the Prince that shall come” as the Romans (i.e., the legions of Vespasian and Titus). Both Rashi and Rambam are examples of those who ascribe the breaking of the covenant (with the Jewish rulers ["great ones"] rather than “many”) to a broken promise of the Romans. However, none of the Sages who hold this opinion provide any historical source in support. The Jerusalem Talmud (Taanis 4:5) apparently attempts to connects this with the Page 5 Romans substituting a pigs for the agreed lambs for the daily sacrifice. It states that at that very hour the sacrifices were stopped and the Temple was destroyed immediately after. Some rabbis believed that the abomination that makes desolate (vs. 27) referred to Hadrian’s erection of a pagan temple on the site of the Jewish Temple after the Bar-Kokbha war (Rashi). As regards the Temple, some rabbinic interpreters (cf. Malbim) referred the last of the restoration goals of Dan. 9:24: “to anoint the most Holy [Place]” to the Third Temple, sinceTosefta Sotah 13:2 records that the Second Temple had not been anointed. The Sages also considered this anointing of the Holy Place to take place in relation to the restoration of the Shekinah and the Temple vessels. Mishnah tractate Yoma 21b recorded that the Ark of the Covenant with the Tablets of the Law, the altars, and the holy vessels were not in the Second Temple. These were to be revealed through the Messianic King at the time He would build and anoint the Third Temple (cf. Zech. 6:12-13). Earlier rabbis apparently had understood the term mashiach in verse 25 literally as the Messiah. However, later rabbis (Rashi, Yossipon, ch. 47) interpreted the term figuratively as “one who is anointed” [with oil], “an anointed ruler.” Thus, no historical figure could be precisely determined and the rabbis offered various candidates: Cyrus, Zerubbabel, Nehemiah, a High Priest (e.g. Yehoshua ben Yehotzadak) or a descendant of Herod (Agrippa II). Nevertheless, it was Rashi’s opinion that the destruction of the desolator at the end of the seventieth week was expected to be the promised “King Messiah,” who would wage the final wars and the war of Gog and Magog. This accords with the futurist perspective of almost all of the rabbinic commentators that the redemption depicted for the seventy weeks was yet to be realized. Bibliography Jerusalem Talmud 4 vols. (Jerusalem: Kol Hazuyot Semurot m e phali Yitzur v e hutzah l’or, n.d.) [Hebrew], Babylonian Talmud 2 vols. (Brooklyn, New York: Vaad Hotzuas Sifrei Zupnik, 1976), [Hebrew], Flavius Josephus, Jewish Antiquities. Trans. H. St. J. Thackery andJewish Wars. Trans. H. St. J. Thackery, Ralph Marcus, Allen Wilgren, L.H. Feldman. Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1930-65), Philip Blackman, Mishnayot 6 vols. (New York: The Judaica Press, Inc., 1964), Pinkhos Churgin, Targum Jonathan to the Prophets . The Library of Biblical Studies. ed. Harry M. Orlinsky (New York and Baltimore: KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 1983), R’ Sh’muel Masnuth, Midrash Daniel (Jerusalem: I. S. Lange & S. Schwartz, 1968) [Hebrew], R’ Avraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra, Perush HaKatzer (Commentary on Daniel), London: 1887 [Hebrew], R’ Solomon ben Yitzchak (Rashi), Commentary to the Bible (Jerusalem, 1956) [Hebrew], R’ Yitzchak Abarbanel, Mayenei HaYeshuah (Commentary on Daniel) [Hebrew], K.J. Cathcart and R.P. Gordom, The Targum of the Minor Prophets. The Aramaic Bible 14 (Liturgical Press, 1989), R’ Saadiah ben Nachmani (compiler), R’ Saadiah (ben Yosef) Gaon’s Commentary on the Bible [Hebrew], for the English reader: Rabbi Hersh Goldwurm, Daniel: A New Translation with a Commentary Anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic and Rabbinic Sources. The Artscroll Tanach Series. eds. R. Nosson Scherman, Meir Zlotowitz (New York: Mesorah Publications, Ltd., 1989), George W. Buchanan, Revelation and Redemption: Jewish Documents of Deliverance from the Fall of Jerusalem to the Death of Nachmanides (Dillsboro, North Carolina: Western North Carolina Press, 1978). Page 6 DANIEL’S SEVENTY WEEKS, AMILLENNIAL INTERPRETATION J. Randall Price The historical and theological developments which produced the amillennial interpretation of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks prophecy (Dan. 9:24-27) were the result of direct opposition to premillennialism which was considered Judaistic. The New Testament, early Jewish-Christian, and Patristic evidence supports premillennialism as the dominant eschatological view up until the third- century A.D. In the controversy over chiliasm, the hermeneutic of the Alexandrian school (followed by Augustine and consequently the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant Reformed churches, and modern amillennialism), which was a non-literal, allegorical hermeneutic, was applied to the Seventy Weeks prophecy to prove the political and spiritual program for the Jewish People had ended with the first advent of Christ and had been re

End-Time Events

dtbrents — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 05:08:03 +0000

Published on thebereancall.org (http://www.thebereancall.org )

End-Time Events

Created 1990-01-01

We have now entered the last decade of the second millennium since Christ’s birth. One is tempted to cry out: Will our Lord ever return to reign personally upon earth and usher in the Millennium? Why has He waited so long? We must not forget that the return of Christ is intimately linked with the coming of the Antichrist—who can only be revealed in his time (2 Thes 2:6-8 [1]).

I remember, as a young boy in the late 1930s, listening with special interest whenever preachers presented from familiar scriptures the prophesied “signs” that would herald the approach of Christ’s second coming. There was much speculation about current developments: What was the significance of the Great Depression? Where did President Roosevelt’s New Deal, with its innovative economic and banking measures, fit in? And what about Hitler—could he be the prophesied Antichrist? He was certainly a prime suspect!

Even back then, there was a very firm consensus on at least two points: Israel would have to return to her own land in unbelief, becoming a nation there once again; and the Roman Empire must be revived. These convictions were held in spite of every indication to the contrary. Confidence in the Bible alone caused us to believe that what seemed at the time to be preposterous would indeed come to pass—perhaps even in our lifetime.

Of course, applying prophecy to the present world had its difficulties. For example, since the days when she had been part of the Roman Empire, Britain had acquired a worldwide empire of its own upon which “the sun never set.” Would that all be part of the “revived” Roman Empire? Again there was a firm conviction that Britain would have to lose her far-flung colonies in order to be included in the new union of Western Europe. Unthinkable in those days when “Britannia ruled the waves”! Yet we accepted such “impossibilities” by simple faith in God’s prophetic Word.

Much of what I learned as prophecy in my youth has since become history. The seemingly impossible has happened, including the astonishing rebirth of the nation Israel. To a large extent she remains in unbelief and rebellion against the One who, nevertheless, still calls Himself “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Make no mistake, the Israelites are there in fulfillment of God’s promises and under His protection. Jeremiah 30-32 [2] is sufficient (and there are many other similar scriptures) to clear up any doubt on this subject. It includes:

O Israel…I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure….

All they that devour thee shall be devoured….Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations….He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock…and they shall not sorrow any more at all….

Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars…If those ordinances depart from before me…then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation…. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that…[Jerusalem] shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

And the revival of the Roman Empire? That staggering event now looms on the horizon. In 1992 the European Economic Community will officially become one massive entity with the power to dominate the world. And now that the Berlin Wall has crumbled and the entire Iron Curtain is being shredded, the dream of worldwide peace and prosperity seem within our grasp. Yet there is an essential element which I do not recall hearing about in my youth. Nor is it generally mentioned today. The ancient Roman Empire was a pagan religious entity headed by an emperor who was worshiped as God—and that aspect must be revived as well (2 Thes 2:4 [3]; Rv 13:4,8)!

There has been much talk of the “revived Roman Empire” as a political, economic and military power. Seemingly forgotten is the essential role religion played in the world of ancient Rome. Like Gorbachev today, Constantine understood. A brilliant military commander, he also had the genius to recognize the need for a union between paganism and Christianity. By giving the latter official status, he brought internal peace to the Empire. In addition to the title Pontifex Maximus, which the emperors bore as heads of the pagan priesthood, Constantine, as the self-appointed civil head of the Church, became known also as the Vicar of Christ and the Bishop of Bishops. These three titles the popes, as his successors, retain today.

Concern for the religious unity of the Empire caused Constantine to call the first ecumenical Church Council—at Nicaea. There this pagan “father of ecumenism,” the “first pope,” gave the opening address and enforced unity upon the quarreling bishops. When the Empire later disintegrated politically under the onslaught of the Barbarians, it was held together religiously by the all-pervasive presence of the Roman Catholic Church, with its ingenious ecumenical blend of paganism and Christianity still headquartered in Rome. Thus, it was to the popes, successors of the pagan emperors, that the world of the Middle Ages looked for leadership in the longed-for revival of the Roman Empire—unaware that it was prophesied in the Bible as something evil upon which God’s judgment would fall.

Hoping to usher in that long-awaited event, Pope Leo III, who’d had his tongue and eyes torn out by a mob seeking revenge for his unbearable tyranny and wickedness, groped his way to the side of Charlemagne, placed on his head a crown and declared him to be “Emperor”! It was Christmas day of a.d.800. The King was attending mass at St. Peter’s in Rome. Abjectly pledging his loyalty, the Pope knelt before Charlemagne, whose protection he desperately needed. Yet Leo was also cleverly reasserting the popes’ traditional claim to the authority to install or to excommunicate and dethrone kings and emperors. (See Rv 17:9,18″…that great city…on seven mountains… which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”)

If the EEC is to fulfil the prophesied last days revival of the Roman Empire, then it must include these two elements: A new pagan “emperor” who will be worshiped as God (i.e., the Antichrist); and the restoration of a concomitant religious authority. There must be a partnership between the Antichrist and the head of the world church, identified in Revelation 17 [4] as “Mystery Babylon.” Even Catholic apologist Karl Keating admits that Babylon signifies Rome. The current pope, John Paul II, is working feverishly to merge all faiths. He obviously understands that not only Protestants and Catholics but all mankind must unite in a new world religion.

Taking great strides in that direction, the professing evangelical church is steadily surrendering everything gained at the Reformation in its accommodation to Roman Catholicism and to its close relative, New Age paganism. Many of the shocking ways in which even children and youth are being drawn into the latter are revealed by Johanna Michaelsen in Like Lambs to the Slaughter. Of course the public schools have played a key role in the seductive process. A major concern of Christian parents which has led to the burgeoning home schooling movement has been the imposition of secular humanism upon students by the public school system. However, something even more subtle and deadly is being developed for leading youth into the coming world religion. Surprisingly, it will involve teaching about religion in public schools—in the name of religious liberty!

After the Supreme Court’s 1963 decision banning prayer in public schools, any mention of religion disappeared almost completely from the classroom. Yet in that decision the court had encouraged religious discussion, declaring that “one’s education is not complete without a study of comparative religion.” To fill the vacuum they themselves created, public educators are suddenly exhibiting what National Council on Religion and Public Education president Charles Haynes calls an “exploding interest in teaching about religion.”

Directing this new movement is the Williamsburg Charter Foundation, “a private education group…committed to producing actual class materials by 1990….” Curriculums are already being tested in public schools. The Williamsburg Charter is backed by a veritable Who’s Who of America’s top leaders. Its support has joined together in common purpose such diverse persons and organizations as the Mormon Church and National Council of Churches, with the National Association of Evangelicals; the Muslim American Community, with the American Jewish Committee; NOW’s Molly Yard, with Beverly LaHaye and Phyllis Schlafly; People for the American Way’s Norman Lear, with James Dobson and Chuck Colson. Billy Graham gave the keynote address at the impressive signing ceremony June 25, 1988. It was attended by such international observers as Feodor Burlatskij, chairman of the Soviet Commission on Human Rights.

In his recent meetings with John Paul II, Gorbachev acknowledged the vital importance of religion and pledged both religious freedom and a restoration of relations with the Vatican. He and the Pope were described by the December 2 Los Angeles Times as “Two of the most compelling figures on the world stage today.” It is all hauntingly reminiscent of Constantine’s ecumenical achievements!

The aim of the Charter (which was echoed by Gorbachev and the Pope) seems commendable: “…we who sign this Charter, people of many and various beliefs, pledge ourselves to the enduring precepts of the First Amendment…commit ourselves to speak, write and act according to this vision and…urge our fellow citizens to do the same.” The Charter recognizes and seems to decry “the de facto semi-establishment of a wholly secular understanding of the origin, nature and destiny of human kind” and promises to foster religious liberty for all. At the same time, however, ideas are expressed that spell trouble for Christians.

Those signing the Charter may have the best of intentions, but as a practical matter it is impossible to teach about religion without making pronouncements that are at best superficial and at worst inaccurate. For example, the curriculum’s description of Islam (perhaps for fear of, like Salman Rushdie, having a price put on on one’s head), omits the fact that killing non-Muslims and apostates is the shortest route to Paradise and that the most important verses scattered throughout the Koran advocate such killings. A comparison between Jesus, who said we should love our enemies, and Muhammad, who taught and practiced killing them, would be instructive, but is avoided. Nor is there any mention that a Muslim can marry four wives, beat them if they displease him and divorce them at his whim. Yet how can one really teach about Islam or any other religion without revealing the whole truth and making comparisons?

Predictably, the evils of “Christianity” are exposed, with no mention that such practices are contrary to the Bible. The very usage of the term “Christian,” without clarification, is consistently misleading. To the Jews, Hitler was a “Christian,” and indeed he declared that “National Socialism is positive Christianity”a monstrous lie. The Catholic enforcers of the Spanish Inquisition, in which Jews were slaughtered, “converted” under threat of death, and forced to flee the country are described as “Christians” in the curriculum. The suggestion is then made that Vatican II transformed the Catholic Church into a champion of religious freedom. This is false, but what child would know the truth that the Pope’s pledge of religious freedom is as hypocritical and treacherous as Gorbachev’s?

Biblical Christianity will be the inevitable victim of such misinformation. It offers salvation by grace through faith in Christ and His sacrifice for our sins—while salvation by works is offered in varying forms by all other religions. A major aim of the Charter is to dispel “the spiritual divisiveness, born of creeds.” Students will learn that it is both impolite and irrelevant to suggest that any one religion is right. Such broadmindedness is very appealing, especially to children. Thus the major lesson learned will be that Christians are bigots and that differences in religious beliefs are far less important than “world peace.”

The Charter pointedly declares, “Justifiable fears are raised by those who advocate theocracy or the coercive power of law to establish a “Christian America” (p 15). That Christian fundamentalists are a threat to peace and intend to take over the world has long been the contention of atheists, humanists and such organizations as People for the American Way. We can hardly deny this accusation in view of statements by the Reconstruction/Kingdom/Dominionists. Paul Crouch, for example, in a recent broadcast, declared with anger and determination in his voice, “We are well able to possess the land. We’re going to get violent; and if necessary we’re going to take these air waves and these stations for God by force!”

An unbiased, nonreligious teaching of religion is impossible. Students will learn to see religion as a functional means to an end, that end being a Gorbachevian tolerance of all beliefs in the interest of world peace. Thus, the foundation will be laid for a new world religion that sees “truth” as less important than human fulfillment on this earth and ultimately deifies man. You may wish to point this out to the Christian leaders who are presently supporting the Charter.

Source URL:
http://www.thebereancall.org/node/5902

Links:
[1] http://biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=KJV&passage=2+Thes+2%3A6-8
[2] http://biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=KJV&passage=Jeremiah+30-32
[3] http://biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=KJV&passage=2+Thes+2%3A4
[4] http://biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=KJV&passage=Revelation+17

The Tribulation By H.A. Ironside

dtbrents — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 02:22:23 +0000

We shall now turn to some passages of Scripture and see whether or not it is logically possible to believe that the Great Tribulation is in the past.

In Jeremiah 30:3 we read:

In verses 4-7 we have a description of the hour of trial that is coming upon the land.

They will no more make a servant of him, for he is the true son of David.

We read in Daniel 12:1:

“And at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”

They were not delivered at the time of the Roman persecution; instead, they were scattered everywhere throughout the world. It is clear that this continues until the kingdom.

“And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Dan. 12:2).

“They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever” (Dan. 12:3).

To what time does this refer?

“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased” (Dan. 12:4).

One sign of the time of the end is that people will run to and fro throughout the world, and there will be an increase of knowledge.

The last part of Zechariah, from chapter twelve to the end, seems to deal almost entirely with this period of great trouble. In chapter 14 we read that Jerusalem itself will be affected.

The Preterist interprets this by a system of accommodation, saying, “Were not the Roman armies the representatives of all nations, all fighting under the banner of Caesar?” That is not what we have here. Here we have the definite armies of all the nations of the world gathered together against Jerusalem in that last great effort. When this takes place, “then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.”