Missions4life37

New Member
Oct 28, 2018
1
0
Spokane
✟15,226.00
Country
United States
Faith
Pentecostal
Marital Status
Single
Where did everything come from? Most people believe there is a creator of some sort out there. The Bible has answers to where we came from, why there is evil and the world, and a temporary resolution which was Jesus’ first coming along with a permeant one to that problem which is Jesus’ return.
But how can we believe in the Bible? “Not only does past fulfillment lead to the conclusion that future prophecies will also be fulfilled, but the accuracy of fulfilled prophecy strongly underscores the divine inspiration of the Bible” (Bicket 15). Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies with His first coming some of them were even specific. This should make us realize that the prophecies about His second coming will be fulfilled too at some point.
Now that the trustworthiness of the Bible has been proven, now for the question of why there is evil in the world. Romans 3:23-26 “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus” (NLT). This verse says that everyone has sinned and done bad things. God created people in His image but gave them a choice and the first people names Adam and Eve disobeyed and that is how sin entered the world. So, to bridge His relationship with His creation God sent Jesus His Son as a perfect sacrifice. Some people believe in what Jesus did on the cross being the perfect sacrifice by not sinning and raising again then ascending to heaven. Therefore, letting God change them because “God is a personal God. He has spoken to the world He created through His inspired Word,” (Bicket 28) which makes them want to love others and do good like Jesus, but it is a fight daily to do what is right.
End times can be summed up in one-word Eschatology. “Eschatology comes from the Greek ta eschata, ‘the last thing’.” (Dorman pg 307). There are quite a few different aspects to the end times which include: Rapture, Judgment Seat of Christ, Tribulation, Battle of Armageddon, Millennium, Great White Throne Judgment and the New Heaven and New Earth.
There is two ways a person can see Jesus face to face. “Even as we anticipate the redemption that is drawing near (Luke 21:28), we acknowledge that this present life will end in one of two ways. Either Jesus comes to take believers to be with Him forever, or we will die and go to be with the Lord. Either way, we are with the Lord forever” (Bicket 40). The rapture is when Jesus comes a second time and takes His bride or those we believe in what He has done and are living for Him to be with Him. The verse 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 explains some of what will happen in the rapture “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever” (NLT). This shows that all believers will be risen up to meet Jesus face to face during the rapture and taken with Him to heaven where they will go through the judgment seat of Christ while the non-believers on earth are going through the tribulation.
The judgment seat of Christ is where believers will receive their rewards for the good things they have done in this life. “The basis for the judgment is described in 2 Corinthians 5:10: “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” The two last adjectives of this verse do not mean “righteous or evil.” Rather than a moral distinction, this will be a value distinction. Some works or deeds will last, others will not. “If any man builds on this foundation [Jesus Christ] using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames” (1 Corinthians 3:12–15)” (Bicket 72). This means Christians need to do things that will draw others to Jesus Christ in their words and actions with their time, talents and treasure or money. Christians can do this by reading their Bible daily along with praying and listening to and for the Holy Spirits guidance.
Along with the awards believers get here is a wedding party. “After the rewards are distributed, the long-awaited marriage will take place. How this marriage image is literally worked out, we do not know fully—not yet! But the Revelation record gives us the picture, perhaps in terms that we in this earthly intellect and understanding can comprehend and compare it to. Revelation explains the celebration of a wedding banquet. Christ (the Bridegroom) and the bride (the church) are familiar references throughout the New Testament (Bicket 73). Therefore, the church is called Jesus bride. It also explains how human marriage which is to last the people’s lives is an example of God and His church coming together one day for the rest of eternity.
Once believers are raptured the tribulation starts for those who are still on the earth. In the tribulation there is: the evil triad, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven bowls and the battle of Armageddon.
The false trinity includes: Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet. Satan is the one that is most known. “During the Tribulation, Satan is the spirit force behind the Antichrist, empowering the evil deeds of the world leader” (Bicket 101). “In the evil triad, the Antichrist appears in stark opposition to Christ in the holy Trinity. Antichrist is a savage beast, whereas Christ is a sacrificial Lamb. In Christ’s earthly ministry, He received power from the Father (Matthew 28:18); Antichrist, referred to as the beast in Revelation 13:1–8, will receive his power from Satan (Revelation 13:2)” (Bicket 102). “The False Prophet is the third member of the evil triad. This second beast, the one that comes up out of the earth, seems to echo the role of the Holy Spirit in the true Trinity. The false prophet glorifies Antichrist (Revelation 13:12).” (Bicket 102). These three quotes show how each one of the false trinity is trying to mimic someone from the true and holy trinity. This is an example that God is God and should be put first in each and every person’s life since He created humans and loved His creation enough to sacrifice His Son Jesus Christ, so He could have a relationship with His creation.
The seven seals are in Revelations 6:1-17 and 8:1. The first four seals are different horsemen. They are horsemen of: conquest, warfare, famine, and death. The fifth seal is martyrs under the alter. Which is referring to that there will be people who are killed for coming to faith in Jesus Christ during the tribulation. The sixth seal is wrath of God. “When God sends a great earthquake that shakes the entire underpinning of the earth, there will be great loss of life. Those trying to hide, but finding no spot untouched by the earthquake, will cry out for the mountains and rocks to fall on them. They know the earthquake is evidence of the wrath of the Lamb. But there is no report of conversions” (Bicket 114). We have no idea what an earthquake like this would look like or do to the world. “Two events are recorded between the opening of the last two seals” (Bicket 115). The first is the opposite of the mark of the beast, which comes from Revelation 7:3–4 “‘Wait! Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants.’ And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel” (NLT). The second comes from Revelation 7:9-17 which talks about a great multitude singing and praising God. The seventh seal is half an hour of silence for what is to come.
The seven trumpets are in Revelations 8:1-9:21, and 11:15-19. The first trumpet is hail, fire mixed with blood from which a third of the earth is destroyed. The second trumpet is a mountain that falls into the sea turning a third of the sea into blood. The third trumpet is a blazing stare that lands in the fresh water and turns a third of it bitter. The fourth trumpet is that one third of the sun, moon, and stars are darkened. The fifth trumpet is the opened abyss. “The angel opens the abyss, releasing smoke as from a gigantic furnace (9:2). Out of the smoke comes a multitude of devouring locusts. But these locusts are huge and demonic. Whereas ordinary locusts strip the fields of all vegetation, these are told to leave the vegetation alone. They are to devour humans, except those with the seal of God on their foreheads (9:4). The locusts are like nothing the world has ever seen. They are the size of horses with faces like human beings. The flapping of their wings sound like the thunder of horses riding into battle” (Bicket 117). The sixth trumpet is four demonic angles get loosed and kill one third of the people. The seventh trumpet is rejoicing in heaven before the seven bowls are released.
The seven bowls are in Revelations 16:1-21. ‘God’s wrath on the earth’ (Revelation 16:1). The first angel goes to work immediately. Some Bible students have suggested that the bowl judgments are simply repeats of the trumpet judgments, and it is true that the first four judgments in each cycle have similarities. The first judgments (in both sets) deal with the earth, the second with the sea, the third with rivers and springs, and the fourth with the sun. But there are sufficient differences to indicate two completely separate sets of judgment. For example, the trumpet judgments affect only one-third of the earth; the bowl judgments impact the entire earth. ‘There is really no problem of repetition of judgments.… What the Scripture is revealing is that these judgments as time progresses become increasingly worse and occurring in rapid chronological order. The seven bowls apparently occur one after the other in rapid sequence and immediately introduce the situation of the second coming of Christ’” (Bicket 119). The first bowl is painful sores on those with the mark of the beast. The second bowl is that all the sea water tuns into blood. The third bowl is that the fresh water turns into blood. The fourth bowl is the heat from the sun intensifies. The fifth bowl is the antichrist’s kingdom is plunged into darkness. “The reaction of the inhabitants suddenly plunged into darkness seems unusual. Why would men gnaw their tongues in agony because of darkness? Because each judgment is added to previous judgments, those suffering from earlier boils and bloody water would be unable to find even the slightest relief from their agonies” (Bicket 120). The sixth bowl is the Euphrates River drying up. “It prepares the way for the kings from the east to descend on Palestine where the battle of Armageddon will take place to end the Tribulation” (Bicket 120). The seventh and final bowl is lighting, thunder, earthquake and a terrible hail storm. This is the final straw before the battle of Armageddon.
The battle of Armageddon is the final battle between God and Satan. Revelation 19:11-16 is a good start. “Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords” (NLT). This sets the stage for the battle. It is interesting that the only weapon that is mentioned is the sword that comes out of the mouth of the rider. “Whether literal or symbolic, it makes no difference. His word is sharper than any double-edged sword” (Bicket 28) like it says in Hebrews 4:12. So it is over as quick as it states. Yes, God is patient but there comes a time when He cannot deal with sin anymore and must punish those who fight against Jesus. The second half of Revelation 19:20 says that “Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.” (NLT). So that takes care of them, but what about Satan?
Satan has one last job to do first after the millennium so, Revelation 20:1-2 says that he was put in a bottomless pit for the millennium. The millennium is where the saints who had been martyred for not taking the mark of the beast rein with Christ for a thousand years. Revelations 20: 4-6 “Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.) Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years” (NLT). Christians need to be careful that they are not distorting this and saying that all Christians rein with Christ during the millennium because that is not the case. For God says in the Bible in Deuteronomy 12:32 and Revelation 22:18-19 not to add or take away from God’s Law. After the thousand years Revelations 20:7-10 takes place and Stan is destroyed: “When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison. He will go out to deceive the nations—called Gog and Magog—in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle—a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore. And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them. Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” God lets Satan out to test people’s hearts since He wants followers who will worship Him from their heart because they want to not because they must worship Jesus. This means that it is time for the Great White Throne Judgment.
The Great White Throne Judgment is where God decides a person’s destiny based on if they believe in what His Son did on the cross by taking the persons place and rising again. Here is a parable of Jesus that explains this very well. Matthew 25:31– 46 (NLT) This shows with the help of the Holy Spirit that we need to be putting our faith into action. That will look different for each person, but God has a unique plan for every individual He created.
This leases the New Heaven and New Earth in the Eschatology topic. “After the judgment, John sees “a new heaven and a new earth” and “the new Jerusalem” (Revelation 21:1–2). The destruction of the old earth and heavens comes at the end of Christ’s judgment of the wicked at the Great White Throne. Evil is absent from the new heaven and earth” (Bicket 167). This is the place that people think of as heaven where: God dwells with His creation, there will be no crying, and no death or mourning. It will be the best place ever.
God’s plan for humanity is not over yet. Yes, humans have messed up with sinning. But God made a way for humans to have a relationship with Him be believing in what His Son Jesus Christ did on the cross taking each and every person’s spot and then rising again three days later. After spending forty days on earth to prove that He rose from the dead Jesus ascended into heaven. But He did not leave humans to fend for themselves, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to help those who want to live a godly life all that must be done is ask for His guidance. One day soon even though no one know the time, Jesus will come back to rapture His church to be with Him. Then the tribulation will happen. Finally, those who have lived out their Christian life will get to live with God forever in the New Haven and New Earth.

Work Cited
Bicket, Zenas. Eschatology: A Study of Things to Come: An Independent-Study Textbook. Second Edition. Springfield, MO: Global University, 2006. Logos.
Dorman, Theodore Martin. A Faith for All Seasons: Historic Christian Belief in Its Classical Expression. Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001. Print.
Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2013.

Constutive Comments and intereaction please.
 
Last edited:

Tolworth John

Well-Known Member
Supporter
Mar 10, 2017
8,278
4,681
68
Tolworth
✟369,589.00
Country
United Kingdom
Faith
Non-Denom
Marital Status
Married
Constutive Comments and intereaction please.

I firmly believe in 'KISS'

Jesus is coming again and I will be united with him and all other believers.
That is the begining and the end of it.
 
Upvote 0