What are the top three reasons you hold to the eschatological position you have now? If you feel up to it please state your position (example Premil, Pretrib, Futurist, etc) This is open to all, to anyone willing to share their theological reflections, thanks in advance.
Yours in the Lord,
jm
My top THREE REASONS is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit only reveal truths unto those who listen. Those who already know it all, can never hear what the Spirit says. The truths are in the bible, so I understand when I see someone peddling untruths, they are not tuned in to God, for WHATEVER REASON I can't say. Jesus had to rebuke Peter who was listening to Satan {get thee behind me Satan} etc. etc. God's word can't be untruthful, way too many people who are not called unto eschatology try to purport to have an understanding of eschatology. That is one of our biggest problems, they hear this or that 10,20 or 30 years ago and those Men's Traditions keep them from hearing God's Deep Truths today.
Things like the RCC is the Beast or the Pope is the False Prophet. Never mind that it matches no prophecy at all. Its what they learned from other men, so it must be true, false pride mandates we can't have been deceived !! Those that claim there is no proof of the pre trib or pre 70th week Rapture will argue with a wall, and no matter how many time someone shows them via scripture the Rapture can only be pre trib or else God is a liar, it goes through one ear and out the other. Jesus understood, you can't teach people who aren't as BABES, which is why he picked BABES to be his disciples !! Now that I got that out of the way.........My understanding of what the Father, Son and Holy Spirit teaches us as per eschatology.
We had God, calling Abraham to come out of the wicked world and to trust in Him, thus BY FAITH Abraham was Righteous. Israel was born via Jacob and his sons through the promises to Abraham. Israel served God at times and served false gods at times, thus they failed God's purposes. They were a backward nation who worshiped the false gods of other nations and became worldly.
God enslaved them at times via Beast Nations, God sent Jesus to die for all of man kinds sin but Israel rejected God in the Flesh/Jesus, thus God rejected Israel as His peoples, he no longer recognized them. He divorced them until they REPENT and ACCEPT Christ Jesus their Messiah, just like the Daniel chapter 9 prophecy of the 70 weeks say, before the 70th week can end, Israel MUST REPENT !! So God saw Israel as Dead Men's Bones, just like Ezekiel 37 says, and God inserted the Gentile Church Age to take the Gospel of Jesus unto the World. We know that when God breathed life back into those Dead Men's Bones {1948} that that generation would be in the latter times !! {HERE & NOW}
God thus had an original plan to save the Jews from the Fourth Beast of Rome, but He foresaw {of Course} that the Jews would not repent and accept Jesus, so he inserted the Church Age instead {a people God knew not He called}. Thus Israel became as nothing {as dead} to God for nigh 2000 years until 1948 when God breathed life back into those bones, readying them for their coming 70th week of Troubles that can only kick in once the Church has been Raptured. The gates of hell can not overcome the Church, the the Beast {Fourth Beast} suffered a Mortal Wound and there would be no other Beast that could possible meet the requirements of a Beast as God saw a Beast, 1.) Over the whole Mediterranean Sea Region 2.) Over Israel as a peoples/nation also.
That is why England was not a Beast nor was the Ottoman Empire. The bible is about Israel, from God's perspective. Only when the Church has DEPARTED like 2 Thess. 2 says can the Beast be HEALED, and that happens via the Anti-Christ Conquering Jerusalem and the MANY NATIONS in the Mediterranean Sea Region all at once at the 1260 event, in the middle of the 70th week.
We see the Raptured Church in Heaven in Rev. 4 and 5, BEFORE the Seals are opened and again in Rev. 7:9-16 again after the Seals have been opened. We see the Church in Rev. 19, Marrying the Lamb, then RETURNING with Christ whilst the Beast and his minions are STILL ON EARTH !! Thus there can only be a Pre Trib rapture. The Wheat {Israel} are the ones that stay on earth with the Wicked Tares until the very end, that is because they repent AFTER the Rapture but BEFORE the Day of the Lord {1260} just like Malachi 4:5-6 says. Rev. 14 covers the full 7 years, it shows the Wheat meeting Jesus on Mt. Zion and the Wicked Tares being put in the Winepress of Gods Wrath, to be BOUND UP in the grave where they can be thus Judged/BURNED UP, in 1000 years at the Second Death. The Church is Raptured up to where Jesus is at in verse 14 in a sort of soliloquy.
The book of Revelation is not in chronological order. It goes like this.....
Rev. 1 Jesus is seen in all his glory
{write the things which you have seen}
Rev. 2 and 3 = The Church Age
{Write the things which ARE}
Rev. 4.1 is the Rapture
{Write the things which will be HEREAFTER}
Rev. 4 and 5 is the Church in Heaven but BEFORE the Seals are opened at the 1260.
1260 = KEY EVENT
Rev. 6, 7, 8, 9 15&16 are the Judgment Chapters, this finishes the book of Revelation as per Satan's rule over mankind. Babylon FALLS.
Rev. 10 is a flash forward to the very end.
Rev. 11 12, 13, 14, 17, 18 and 19 all take place during the Judgment Chapters, most start in Rev. chapter 6 at the 1260 event/Middle of the Week. We call this Parenthetical Citations.
Rev. 11 is the Two-witnesses chapter. Since they die before the Beast and BOTH must have earthly OFFICES of 1260 days, they must also SHOW UP before the Beast, and of course Malachi 4:5-6 says just that happens. The DOTL starts the 1260 event that lasts for 3.5 years of Judgment. The Two-witnesses show up 75 days before the A.C. becomes the Beast and they die 75 days before the Beast dies. The Two-witnesses die at the 6th Trump, the Beast dies at the 7th Vial. Dan. 12 explains this.
Rev. 12 is Israel Fleeing for 1260 days, of course this happens at the 1290, 30 days before the 1260, but Israel is protected for 1260 days from the Beast who conquers them on the 1260. The 1290 comes first, the 1335 is when the Two-witnesses show up, 75 days before the 1260 event.
Rev. 13 of course also starts at the First Seal/1260 event, it is the Anti-Christ BECOMING the Beast or arising out of the Sea, the Mortal Wound is healed, Israel is in the land, the Mediterranean Sea Region is Conquered whilst Israel is in the land, thus the Beast is HEALED/Arises out of the Sea !!
Rev. 14 is the Harvest chapter that covers all 7 years.
Rev 15 is the Angels readying the 7 Vials.
Rev. 16 is God/Jesus defeating the Beast/A.C. and all his minions, God thus calls those He defeats, Babylon the Great in Rev. 16:19. It is finished.
Rev. 17 starts at the First Seal also, its the Harlot Religions all being Judged, this AC/Beast will demand to be worshiped as the ONLY God, thus there is no place for Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Witchcraft, Judaism or any False Religion, so the Beast murders around 2 Billion people, chases the Jews into Petra, kills the other Jews, kills the Christians {Martyrs} who REPENT AFTER the Rapture, thus they are the Remnant Church {Rev. 12:17} because THE CHURCH is in Heaven marrying the Lamb at this time. So the Harlot is taken out {Rev 17:16 by the Kings in league with the Beast, there is no place for any God save the Beast !! Thus the False Prophet {BEAST over Religion} demands that all men worship the IMAGE of the Beast {Rev. 13}. The Harlot = All False Religion of ALL TIME. She is Judged in Rev. 17.
Rev. 18 is THE BEAST she rides, the Government Beast. The Harlot {False Religions} RIDES the Beast {False Governance under Satan}. God has a CODE NAME for this, Babylon. When Babylon FALLS, Satan's Dark Kingdom on Earth is taken away from him, Babylon = Babel or confusion, the World that follows Satan into Battle against God is no doubt CONFUSED to say the least.
Babylon = the Whole World getting hit by the Seal, Trumpet and Vial Judgments, so it starts with the First Seal also in Rev. 6. We know this via Rev. 16:19, God says SPECIFICALLY that those He/Jesus defeats at Armageddon are Babylon the Great {Revelation 16:19} so all we have to do is look back at Vial #6 to see who comes against God at the 7th Vial. And it tells us, the three Frog Demons summon the Kings of ALL THE WORLD to battle against God at Armageddon. So Babylon = the Whole World, now does Rev. 18 make more sense ? Lets look and see.
Rev. 18 says that Babylon has become the Habitation of devils, NOW THINK, Satan and his demons is cast down to earth and Apollyon and his hordes are released from the bottomless pit onto the Whole World {Babylon}. God tells his people in verse 4 to come out of Babylon {World} that they receive not of the Plagues of God. Well who flees unto Petra for protection ? Israel !! God holds up the Trumpet Judgments in Rev. 7 {GO LOOK} until the 144,000 {ALL Israel} make it unto Petra. We know this because of the very words that are used. He tells the Angel to HURT NOT the Earth, Trees nor the Seas until the 144,000 are SEALED {Protected}, what do the Trumpet Judgments do? They hurt the Trees, Seas and Earth. All the grass is burned, 1/3 of the trees are burned, 1/3 of the Seas turn to blood etc. etc. etc. God HOLDS UP the Trump Judgments until Israel makes it to Petra. NOTICE, its in between the Seals which releases the Beast and the Trumpet Judgments !!
Rev. 18 is God delivering the Seal, Trumpet and Vial Judgments against the WHOLE WORLD or Babylon. The economies are hurt {Merchants wail and cry}. Babylon gets hit by the Judgments, the AC/Beast kills 2 billion people, then the 200 Million Angelic Army of God slays another 2 billion wicked people via plagues. Thus the Merchants lose selling power !! Rev. 18 says that Judgment comes in ONE HOUR {42 Months} and we know by looking at Rev. 17:12 that ONE HOUR = 42 months because the 10 Kings rule ONE HOUR with the Beast, so Babylon gets destroyed over a 42 Month period of time !! Elsewhere it says her Judgment is come in ONE DAY, that is also true, the Day of the Lord also lasts 42 Months.
Babylon = the Whole World getting judged by God !! Of course God is going to judge ALL MANKIND not just one city, its a Metaphor for the WHOLE WORLD !!
Rev. 19 also covers the whole 7 year period. We see the Raptured Church in Heaven, then we see the Bride returning to earth with Christ to defeat the Beast and his minions ON EARTH. Simple.
Rev. 20 is the Judgment AFTER Jesus' return. Those who refused the Mark of the Beast serve with Christ for 1000 years on earth. I guess the rest go back to Heaven to ready the New Jerusalem.
Rev. 21-22 is the Ever After and the New Jerusalem.
