Posted by AU on 1/7/2002, 2:29 pm

Final Chapter Posted by Author Unknown on 12/1/2001, 7:16 am , in reply to "Book Status" Chapter 16 THE FINAL CHAPTER In the final years before Armageddon, the earth will behold a manifestation of God coming from God’s people. Through Christ’s body jointly connected, Jesus will lead and teach all those who will follow the call. For a while, great revival will sweep through the land, and many will see the light of the Gospel and find the pathway to Salvation. Evil men and women will grow to hate the Christians. They will gather together in a rallying cry and denounce the Christian movement. As the underlying forces wage a spiritual battle in the hearts of men, a great strife will develop between the truly spiritual and merely religious sects. Earth’s populace will eventually forsake true godliness. Wickedness will take over. False prophets shall arise which will teach the Church doctrines that appeal to the flesh. As the Earth rejects the true light brought forth during our testimony, mankind will be given over to gross darkness. Once more, the people will choose an evil ruler to rule: They shall be given their request. An Antichrist shall arise upon the world scene with powerful kings backing his empire. Speaking of Antichrist’s Government, Daniel recorded, “It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them…Because of rebellion, the host of the saints and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground” (Daniel 8:10 and 12, NIV). The word saints in our text is speaking of Christians. With truth thrown to the ground, the young, the unpracticed, and the half-committed may lose what truth they once held and accept the devil’s lies. Satan will sift the unstable ones among us like wheat. The oil in their lamps will wane and their lights will flicker and dim. People strong in Christ, having a solid foundation, will not be shaken in judgment. We know in advance that the seas of trepidation shall roar. We know in advance that many of the weak among us shall fall. In the wicked days ahead, we shall not be tossed and turned for we have established our house upon the rock of Salvation. Let the winds blow. Let the sea roar. Having knowledge of the events to come will make it less difficult for us to stand strong. Since the beginning of time, every prophet that God has sent into the world to bring deliverance to the people has been put to death by religious people. Once again, the religious throngs shall deem God’s prophets, “worthy of death” (Mark 14:64, NIV). We must prepare our hearts and set our faces like flint, walking steadfastly from this evil world into the kingdom of God. Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution … Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10, NIV). Seven Years on Earth Without Church? Much of Orthodox Christianity is convinced that the Church will ascend in the Rapture a full seven years before Armageddon, not just seven weeks, as this book explains. These people interpret the symbolic content of Revelation’s chapters in such a manner as to void any application to them: for example much of the Church world is sure that Jesus is the male child in Revelation chapter 12; they believe the woman in the same chapter is Mary. People who see this chapter as a representation of Christ’s virgin birth some 2,000 years ago scoff at the idea it actually applies to God’s faithful in the days to come. Even among the Evangelicals, it is generally taught that the two prophets in Revelation chapter 11 are John the Baptist and Elijah, and the 144,000 of Revelation chapter 7 are National Israel—they do not see the Modern Christian Church within this symbolism. Among the many nondenominational Christians who do see the male child of chapter 12 as the faithful Church which ascends in the Rapture, many of them still believe the Rapture occurs seven years before Armageddon. II Thessalonians The present-day interpretation of the following text is one of the reasons the teaching of a seven-year period on earth void of the Church is so widespread. The argument goes like this: where our text reads, the one who now holds it back, this is said to be all the “Spirit filled” men, women, and children who make up the Church. The text goes on to say, “till he is taken out of the way.” This is said to depict the removal of all the Christians—in other words, “the Rapture of the Church.” “For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed” (II Thessalonians 7-8, NIV). Sound Teaching Skills—a Small Tangent While researching doctrine, a teacher will look up every verse pertaining to the subject. He/she will write these verses out—upon doing this, one builds a working hypothesis. Some Scriptures at first glance may appear to run contrary to the general theme. Prudent Bible teachers do not use those Scriptures to establish doctrine; they are set aside for now. They use easier-to-understand proof texts for the foundation until the overall picture comes into view; then after much study, he/she looks into the harder-to-understand verses and brings them into harmony with the general tenor of the main body of evidence. Using this same systematic approach in our study, we have set this Rapture text aside until now: now is the time to bring it into harmony with the general tenor of Scripture: Several assumptions must be held for this view to hold water. Let’s ask ourselves: is there any possibility that Paul was not speaking of the Church in his discourse—after all the words he and one do not demand that the Church is the principal subject matter? Throughout the Book of Revelation we see that God has a restraining force in place to keep Satan in check; we also see this force lifted over and over again as the various events of Revelation transpire. As the Lamb breaks each seal of Revelation’s seven-sealed scroll, demon spirits are released to go forth upon Earth. Here is a good example of this force being released: “And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind” (Revelation 9:15, NIV)