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An Outline of Things to Come

By Homer Duncan
Missionary Crusader
  1. Introduction
    1. What is Prophecy
    2. The Covenants
    3. Dispensational Truth
    4. The Gentile, the Jew and the Church
    5. The First and Second Comings of Christ
    6. Contrast between the two Comings
  2. The Signs of the Times
  3. The Next Great Events
    1. The first resurrection
    2. The Rapture of the Church
  4. Events in Heaven
    1. The Judgment Seat of Christ
    2. Marriage Supper of the Lamb
    3. War in Heaven
  5. Events on the Earth
    1. The Great Tribulation
    2. Reign of Anti-Christ
    3. Armageddon
    4. Re-gathering of Israel
  6. The Second Coming of Christ (The Revelation)
  7. The Millennium
    1. The Judgment of the Nations
    2. Christ reigns on David’s Throne
    3. Peace and righteousness on earth
    4. Final Rebellion
    5. The second resurrection
    6. The Great White Throne Judgment
  8. The New Creation
    1. The New Heaven
    2. The New Earth
    3. The New Jerusalem

AN OUTLINE OF THINGS TO COME

Prophecy tells of things to come. The study of prophecy is possible for the Christian because he has an omniscient God who knows and reveals the future. This revelation is made through the Bible. About three-fourths of the Bible was prophecy when it was written. What God promises, He brings to pass. Not only does God know all things, but also He works all things after the counsel of His own will. He is omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), and omnipresent (is everywhere). All of God’s purposes center in the person of Christ. All prophecy centers in the second coming of Christ. The purposes of God cannot be consummated without the return of Christ to the earth.

THE COVENANTS: A SOLID FOUNDATION

When studying prophecy one is tempted to begin by delving into the spectacular, but if his work is to stand, he must build on a solid foundation. A correct understanding of the covenants of God gives us this foundation.

The eight major covenants are as follows:

The Edenic (Gen. 1:28); the Adamic (Gen. 3:15); the Noahic (Gen. 9:1); the Abrahamic (Gen 12:1-3); the Mosaic (Exodus 19:25); the Palestinian (Deut. 30:3); the Davidic (2 Sam. 7:16); and the New (Jer. 31:31). It is important to notice that some of these covenants are conditional, some are unconditional. In the conditional covenants God’s blessing is conditioned on obedience. The fulfillment of the unconditional covenants depends solely on the faithfulness of God. Of these eight covenants, the Abrahamic, the Palestinian, the Davidic and the New are the most important from a prophetic standpoint.

God makes seven distinct promises in the Abrahamic covenant: (1) “I will make of thee a great nation.” The Nation of Israel is the fulfillment of this promise. (2) “I will bless thee.” Abraham was mightily blessed of God with both temporal and spiritual blessings. (3) “I will make thy name great.” Abraham is one of the great names of history. (4) “And thou shalt be a blessing.” Through Abraham and His Seed (Christ) all men have been blessed. (5) “I will bless them that bless thee.” (6) “And curse him that curseth thee.” (6) God has literally fulfilled these two promises throughout the pages of history. (7) “In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” This promise has been and is being fulfilled through Christ, Abraham’s seed (Gal. 3:16). When Christ comes the second time, people of every kindred, tongue, and race will be blessed by His reign upon the earth.

The Abrahamic covenant is an unconditional covenant. Its fulfillment depended entirely on the faithfulness of God. God cannot and will not break His Word. These promises were made to Abraham and to his posterity. Israel is Abraham’s seed after the flesh. The Church is his seed in a spiritual sense. An honest and careful study of the Scriptures clearly shows that Israel and the Church are distinct. It is folly to take promises that God has made to Israel and to say that they shall all be fulfilled in the Church. God gave His word to Israel, and He will keep His word to Israel.

The Palestinian Covenant is recorded in Deuteronomy 28, 29, and 30. At first glance, the reader gets the impression that the Palestinian Covenant is conditional because of the “if” in 28:1 and in 28:15. However, the essential part of the covenant that is stated in Deuteronomy 30:1-10 is unconditional. God is reaffirming to Israel in no uncertain terms that the land belongs to them, and that in spite of the unfaithfulness of Israel from the time of the Abrahamic Covenant to the time when the Palestinian Covenant was given about 700 years later, the covenant has not been abrogated.

The point that has caused some confusion as to whether or not the Palestinian Covenant is conditional or unconditional is that there are conditions within the unconditional covenant. On the surface, this may sound like a contradiction, but it is not. So to speak, God is saying to Israel, “I am reaffirming the covenant to you that I made with your father, Abraham even though I know that you have rebelled and I know that you are going to rebel against me and that you will be disobedient to me. If you are good and obey me, I will bless you, but if you are bad and disobey, I will put cursings upon you, but regardless of the blessings or of the cursings, I will fulfill to you the covenant that I made with Abraham.

Since this may be a bit confusing to some of our readers, let me give you a hypothetical instance to show you what I mean by conditions within an unconditional covenant. I promise my three young sons that I will take them on a hunting trip. There are no “ifs” and “ands” in the promise I make. I do not tell the boys that I will take them on the hunting trip if they will be good, but I promise to take them regardless of their conduct. However, I tell my boys, “If you are good, we will get along fine, but if you start fighting among yourselves, and if you do not obey me, I will give each of you a good thrashing.” This illustrates what God is saying to Israel in the Palestinian Covenant.

The Davidic Covenant is an unconditional covenant of Grace. Seven times God says, “I will.” The fulfillment of this covenant is not dependent on the obedience of faithfulness of David, but on the faithfulness of God. God has promised: (1) “I will appoint a place for my people Israel.” (2) “I will plant them that they may dwell in a place of their own.” (3) “I will set up thy seed after thee.” (4) “I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever.” God has promised; He will fulfill that which He has promised. His throne was a literal throne here on the earth: Christ’s kingdom will be set up as a literal earthly kingdom, also.

The old or Mosaic Covenant was a conditional covenant of law. Its fulfillment depended on the obedience of the children of God. The New Covenant is an unconditional covenant of Grace. Its fulfillment, as in other unconditional covenants, depends entirely on the faithfulness of God.

The demonstrated faithfulness of God to His word brings assurance and comfort to the heart of the believer in these days of stress and uncertainty. The outcome of world events is not uncertain. The host of Hell shall not prevail. God is still on His throne. He is working all things in accordance with His own will.

THE KEY THAT UNLOCKS THE PROPHETIC SCRIPTURES

The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy that he should rightly divide the Word of Truth (2 Tim. 2:15). Unbelievers often taunt believers with the contradictions in the Bible. If the Bible is not rightly divided there are many apparent contradictions. Augustine said, “Distinguish the ages and all is plain.” A study of the dispensations gives a bird’s eye view of the entire Bible.

Dr. C. I. Scofield wrote a fine booklet, “Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth.” A few years later, Dr. Harry A. Ironside wrote one, “Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth.” These booklets are in complete harmony with each other. The writers believed exactly the same way concerning the prophetic Scriptures. On the one hand, one must learn to be taught by the Spirit so as to rightly divide the Word; on the other hand, he must avoid the errors of the hyper-dispensationalist who goes to the unscriptural extremes in mutilating the Word of God.

Every person who believes the Bible is a dispensationalist. All Bible students recognize two dispensations, the Old and the New. What havoc results when we fail to distinguish the dispensation of law from that of Grace! The word dispensation is found in the New Testament four times. Two dispensations are mentioned by name: the dispensation of the fullness of times (Eph. 1:10), and the dispensation of the grace of God (Eph. 3:2). Paul writes of ages past (Eph. 3:5) and of ages to come (Eph. 2:7).

Many prophetic scholars believe that there are seven dispensations corresponding to the seven days of creation. They are (1) Innocence, (2) Conscience, (3) Human Government, (4) Promise, (5) Law, (6) Grace, and (7) Kingdom. It is true that such divisions cannot be proved by the Scriptures, but those who thus divide the Scripture find that the dispensational method of interpretation enables the student to put together Scriptures in an orderly manner which otherwise are hopelessly confused.

THE GENTILE, THE JEW AND THE CHURCH

The Scriptures clearly distinguish between the Gentile, the Jew and the Church (1 Cor. 10:32). A man is a Gentile because he is born as a descendant of Adam; a man is a Jew because he is born of the seed of Abraham. A man is a Christian because, having been born physically, either as a Jew or as a Gentile, he has been born again by the Spirit of God, thus becoming a child of God.

Most of the Old Testament and the four Gospels concerns Israel. (We are not here distinguishing between Israel and Judah). The nation of Israel is the chosen people of God. In sovereign grace, He chose them to be a peculiar people unto Himself. In the Palestinian covenant, God promised Israel that if they would obey Him, He would bountifully bless them; but if they disobeyed Him, He would curse and scatter them over the face of the earth. This was literally fulfilled. In the same covenant, God has promised to regather Israel. Their present return to the land of Palestine is believed by many to be the beginning of the fulfillment of this prophecy.

Many teach that God is through with Israel because of their disobedience. They teach that the Church is spiritual Israel and that all of the promises of God to Israel will be fulfilled in a spiritual sense to the Church. It is important for us to remember that the Abrahamic, Palestinian and Davidic Covenants are unconditional and that God will fulfill the promises that He has made in these covenants regardless of the obedience or disobedience of Israel: God will keep His promises to Abraham, to Israel, and to David.

He is not through with Israel but has temporarily set her aside during the Church age in which we live. “Blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom. 11:25).

The Gentiles are the theme of the first eleven chapters of the Bible for the simple reason that there were no other people during that time. The second chapter of Daniel is a great prophecy concerning the Gentile nations from the time of Babylon to the Second Coming of Christ. This chapter records a dream which God gave to Nebuchadnezzar; the interpretation of which is prewritten history. There are three striking things to be noted in this wonderful chapter. First, the vision of the image and its interpretation. In history, this carries through the Babylonian, Medio-Persian, Grecian, and Roman Empires. Second, a stone is cut out of the mountains without hands. This speaks to us of Christ. He was the smitten stone; He is now the chief cornerstone; He will be the smiting stone. The stone strikes the image, not on the head, (Babylon), but on the feet (kings and dictators that will arise in the last days) and the entire image becomes as the chaff of the summer threshing floor. Third, the stone becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth. “In the days of these kings, shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed” (Dan. 2:44).

The Church is a mystery that was not revealed in the Old Testament. The mystery is not that the Gentiles would be saved, but that God would bring Jew and Gentile together in one body (the Church) with Christ as the Head of the body. Every Christian is a member of this body. Israel is the wife of God; the church is the bride of Christ. It is of utmost importance to understand God’s purpose for the Church in this age. One verse of Scripture sums up this purpose: “God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name” (Acts 15:14).

The Church is an assembly of called-out people. Christendom has not understood this purpose and has been busily engaged in trying to make the world a fit place in which to live. Religionists, not distinguishing between the Church and the Kingdom, have been busy “trying to bring in the Kingdom.” How foolish! It is impossible to have a kingdom without a king. The Kingdom will be set up when Jesus Christ comes back to rule and reign on the earth. What havoc has been caused because Christian leaders have substituted a man-made program of world betterment for God’s program of calling out a people for His name.

THE TWO COMINGS OF CHRIST

Peter tells us that the Old Testament prophets had difficulty in getting the time element straight in their own minds concerning the sufferings of Christ and the glory that was to follow (1 Pet. 1:11). From the viewpoint of the Old Testament prophets, the two comings of Christ seemed to blend together like two distant mountain peaks. Both of these great events were in front of him, and he could not clearly distinguish between them. In this dispensation, we live between the two comings of Christ. We look back nearly 2,000 years to His first coming, and we look forward to His second coming.

CONTRAST BETWEEN THE TWO COMINGS OF CHRIST

  • Jesus came the first time as a Lamb to take away the sins of the world; He will come the second time as the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
  • He came the first time in meekness riding on the foal of a donkey: He will come the second time as a Conqueror riding a white horse.
  • He came the first time as a Servant in humility; He will come the second time as a King in power.
  • He came the first time as a Saviour to die; He will come the second time as a Judge to rule.
  • He came the first time to wear a crown of thorns; when He comes the second time, the cry will be, “Bring forth the royal diadem and crown Him Lord of all.”
  • He came the first time to be beaten with rods; He will come the second time to rule the nations with a rod of iron.
  • He came the first time to die on a cruel Cross; He will come the second time to reign on a glorious throne.
  • When He came the first time, His own received Him not; when He comes the second time, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

The Bible is filled with prophecies concerning the Second Coming of Christ. In the Olivet discourse, Jesus said, “For as the lightning cometh out the east and shineth even unto the west: so shall the coming of the Son of man be…And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in Heaven: and then shall all tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matt. 24:27-30). On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3). As the disciples stood on the Mount of Olives witnessing the ascension of our risen Lord, two angels appeared unto them saying, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye thus gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Could language be plainer than this? “This same Jesus shall so come in like manner!” He went personally; He shall return personally. He went visibly; He shall return visibly. He went bodily; He shall return bodily.

SOME FALSE THEORIES EXPLODED

Satan hates the truth of the Lord’s return and has succeeded in getting the Church as a whole to ignore or misinterpret this blessed doctrine. There are those who teach that death is the second coming of Christ. If death and the second coming are the same, one can be substituted for the other. Try this in any promise and see how it works. “This same death shall so come in like manner….” Or “Death himself shall descend from heaven with a shout….” It is obvious that death and the second coming are not the same.

  • When death comes, we are placed in the grave; when Jesus comes, we shall be released from the grave.
  • Death causes corruption: Jesus delivers from corruption.
  • Death caused sorrow; Christ’s coming will bring joy.
  • Death fills our eyes with tears; Jesus will wipe all tears from our eyes.

Others say that Christ came the second time when the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost. They base this view on John 14:18. This is not true because there are dozens of Scriptures that refer to His Second Coming that were written after the day of Pentecost. One of Satan’s favorite tricks is to spiritualize the Word of God. We can easily see the folly of taking the Scriptures that refer to Christ’s Second Coming in an allegorical sense by studying the message that the angel Gabriel brought to the virgin Mary. “And the angel said unto her, Fear not Mary: for thou hast found favor with God: and, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom, there shall be no end” (Luke 1:31-33). Observe carefully that every word of Gabriel concerning the first coming of Christ was literally fulfilled. What right has anyone to teach that the last part of this promise will not be literally fulfilled? Is it not illogical to take one part of a passage of Scripture literally and the other part allegorically?

All of the prophecies concerning the first coming of Christ were literally fulfilled to the most minute detail. It was prophesied that he would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). This was literally fulfilled. It was prophesied that he would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). This was literally fulfilled. It was prophesied that He would be called out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1). This was literally fulfilled. It was prophesied that He would be wounded for our transgressions, that He would be bruised for our iniquities, that we would be healed with His stripes (Isa. 53:5). All of this was literally fulfilled. These are but a few of the many prophecies concerning His first coming, all of which were fulfilled in a literal way. Why not take it literally when the Bible says, “This same Jesus shall so come in like manner” (Acts 1:11); or “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout” (1 Thess. 4:16)? If Christ is to reign over the house of Jacob forever, it must be in a literal manner. If Judah is to be gathered from the four corners of the earth, how else can it be done except in a literal way? Isaiah tells us that the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the cow, and the bear shall feed, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox (Isa. 11:6,7). Who can tell us what this Scripture means if it is not taken in a literal sense?

THE RAPTURE AND THE REVELATION

The Second Coming of Christ will be in two distinct phases. He will come for His own; He will come with His own. The first phase of His coming, called the rapture, is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. In this phase of His coming, He does not come to the earth but catches up the Church to meet Him in the air. The second phase of His coming, called the revelation, is described in Revelation 19:11-16. Here He comes back to rule and reign on the earth. The student should be careful to distinguish between these two phases of His coming.

There are those who believe that Christ will come again at the end of the world and take all of His own to be with Him forever in heaven. They emphatically deny that Christ will come back to rule and reign on the earth.  The important thing, however, is to discover, “What saith the Scripture.” A number of Scriptures clearly teach that Christ’s reign will be on the earth. “Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of host shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously” (Isa. 24:23). Two things need to be noted here. First, Jesus did not reign in Jerusalem when He came the first time. Second, Mount Zion is a mountain on this earth, and Jerusalem is an earthly city in the land of Palestine.

“Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is the name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jer. 23:5,6). Notice two things here. First, this is an earthly scene; second, these things were not fulfilled when Christ came the first time.

“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. Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, 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…And the LORD shall be king over all the earth; in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one” (Zech. 14:1-4,9). Notice again this is an earthly scene. “His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives,” and “The Lord shall be king over the earth: in that day.” Was this fulfilled when Christ came the first time? Then one must expect that it will be fulfilled when He comes the second time.

“And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth” (Rev. 5:10). Does this sound like figurative or symbolic language? “And the seventh angel sounded: and there were great voices in heaven, saying The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever” (Rev. 11:15). It is the kingdoms of this world that will become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ.

THE TIME OF THE LORD’S RETURN

The Scriptures clearly teach that we cannot know the day nor the hour of the Lord’s return (Matt. 24:36). Therefore, no Christian should set dates for the return of Christ. But while it is true that he cannot know the exact time of Christ’s return, the Scriptures give dozens of signs whereby one may know that His coming draweth nigh. Jesus said, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28). When we find that “these things” in the Scriptures correspond to the current events about us, we can know that Christ’s coming is at hand.

The twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew is the greatest chapter in the Bible on the signs of the times. As Jesus sat upon the Mount of Olives, His disciples asked Him three questions: “When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and the end of the world?” The first question is not answered in Matthew twenty-four, but is answered in Luke 21:20, “And when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.” The entire twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew answers the latter two questions. The word world is an unfortunate translation here. The Greek word is ainos, which should be translated age instead of world. This is an important distinction, for Jesus is not talking about the end of the world but the end of the age in which we live. The world will not come to an end until after the millennium, but the age of grace may end at any moment with the Second Coming of Christ. Carefully study this chapter, noting the signs that Jesus gives, and compare them with happenings in the world today to determine whether or not we are in the closing days of this dispensation.

Jesus said, “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matt. 24:37). Let us compare conditions in Noah’s day with the conditions in our day to see if we are living in the days before the coming of the Son of man. Four things characterized the conditions of the earth in Noah’s day. God says (1) that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, (2) that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, (3) that the earth was corrupt before God, and (4) that the earth was filled with violence. These conditions are given in the sixth chapter of Genesis. It is true that such conditions have prevailed on the earth since the fall of man, but is it not also true that we can find such conditions intensified in this our day? Because of such conditions in Noah’s day, God sent the flood to destroy man from the face of the earth. In the closing days of this dispensation, the stench of iniquity rising into the nostrils of a Holy God will cause Jesus to come “in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 1:8).

THE REGATHERING OF ISRAEL

Ezekiel describes Israel as dry bones in a valley. God commanded him to prophesy upon the bones; and as he did the bones began to rattle, shake and come together. Sinew and flesh came upon the bones; then skin covered them; they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army (Ezekiel 37:1-10). This vision was given to Ezekiel in 587 B. C. For over 2,500 years these words lay dormant in the Bible with no indication of their fulfillment; but right in your day and mine, the bones have begun to rattle and shake. They have begun to come together. Sinew and flesh are coming on them.

When Titus destroyed the city of Jerusalem in 70 A. D., the Jews were scattered over the face of the whole earth, as God had said that they would be. For centuries no Jew was allowed in the city of Jerusalem, and there were only a handful of Jews in the entire land of Palestine. On November 2, 1917, the Balfour Declaration was signed promising the Jews a homeland in Palestine. On December 11th of that year, General Allenby took Jerusalem from the Turks. It had been under Moslem control since 1516.

In 1927, (or later), there were 150,000 Jews in Palestine; twenty years later, 629,000. On May 14, 1948, the Statehood of Israel was proclaimed. At the present time (1994) there are nearly four and one-half million Jews in Palestine.

While we believe that these events are of great significance and that they are a marvelous beginning of the fulfillment of prophecy, we shall do well to keep in mind that the complete regathering of Israel will be brought about by the Lord Himself (Isa. 11:11). “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28).

THE TWO RESURRECTIONS

It was Job who first asked and answered the question, “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14). Daniel wrote of a two-fold resurrection, “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). Jesus spoke of a two-fold resurrection. “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:28, 29). Thus the Scriptures clearly speak of two resurrections, but from all that we would know from these passages, the two might be simultaneous or, at most, separated by a brief period of time. The twentieth chapter of the Book of Revelation makes it plain that these two resurrections are separated by a period of a thousand years. The righteous dead will be raised when Christ comes to rapture the Church (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-58). The wicked dead will not be raised until the end of the Millennium (Rev. 20:5). The fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians is the greatest chapter in the Bible on the resurrection of the dead. Study it carefully.

THE SEVEN JUDGMENTS

It is commonly believed and taught that at the “end of the world” there will be a general judgment in which God will divide the sheep from the goats. It is believed that if a person has done more good works than bad works, he will go to heaven; but if his bad works outweigh his good works, he will go to hell. Such a belief is contrary to the clear teaching of the Word of God. As a person studies his Bible, he will find seven distinct judgments.

The first judgment is the judgment of the believer’s sins at the Cross of Christ. When Jesus died on the Cross, He bare in His body the sins of the whole world (1 Pet. 2:24, 3:18; 2 Cor. 5:21). Because Christ has died for our sins, “There is therefore now no condemnation, [or judgment] to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). Jesus said that the believer would not come into condemnation, but that he had passed from death unto life (John 5:24).

The second judgment is the judgment of the believer’s works. We are saved by grace, but we are to be rewarded according to our works (Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10). The details of this second judgment are explained in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15. Every man’s work will be tried by fire. Only that which will stand the test of fire will remain. If the Christian’s works are burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire (1 Cor. 3:15). Much so-called Christian service will go up in smoke in that day. All of our fleshly efforts to serve the Lord will be destroyed by fire. The only works that will remain will be the Christ-directed service that He has wrought in and through us.

The third judgment is the believer’s self-judgment. Paul mentions this judgment in connection with the Lord’s supper. “If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world” (1 Cor. 11:31,32).

The fourth judgment is that of the Nations (Matt. 25:31-46). The fifth judgment is that of the Nation of Israel (Ezk. 20:33-44). The sixth judgment is that of the angels (1 Cor. 6:3; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6). The seventh or Great White Throne judgment takes place after the millennium and is for the wicked dead (Rev. 20:11-15).

THE GREAT TRIBULATION

The Great Tribulation is that period of time between the Rapture of the Church and the Revelation of Christ when God’s wrath is poured out on the earth. When we consider how much is said about this period in both Testaments, we are compelled to believe that it is of great importance. Jesus said, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matt. 24:21). This period is also called the day of the Lord, (Zeph. 1:7), the day of calamity (Jer. 46:21), the day of vengeance (Isa. 63:4), the day of wrath (Rev. 6:17), a time of trouble (Dan. 12:1), the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jer. 30:7), the indignation (Isa. 26:20), and the hour of temptation (Rev. 3:10).

The very names that are given to this period give us an inkling of what it will be like. Many Old Testament prophecies describe it (Ps. 2:5,9; Jer. 30:4-7; Ezek.20:33-38). Chapters six through nineteen of the Book of the Revelation show that the judgment of God is visited on the earth in three series of judgments: the opening of the seven seals, the blowing of seven trumpets, and the pouring out of the seven vials of God’s wrath. The sun will become black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon will become as blood. The rivers and fountains of water will be turned into blood. In those days men will desire to die, and death will flee from them. Men will gnaw their tongues for pain and will curse and blaspheme the God of heaven but will not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Prophetic scholars teach that this period will last for approximately seven years. Jesus said, “Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved” (Matt. 24:22). There is not one place in the Bible where we are told that this period will be for seven years, but when we consider a number of passages together, we are led to believe that this is true. Gabriel told Daniel, “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people” (Daniel 9:25). Gabriel means a week of years and not a week of days. We know this to be true because from the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah was cut off (the Cross) was a period of 69 weeks (of years) or 493 years. Gabriel said, “Seventy weeks are determined.” This leaves one week (of years) that is yet to be fulfilled. The tribulation will be in that week of seven years.

Three expressions: “a time and times and the dividing of time” (Dan. 7:25); “a time, times, and an half” (Dan. 12:7); “a time, and times, and a half a time” (Rev. 12:14) also indicate the length of this period. A time would be one year, times would be two years, and a half a time would be one half of one year, which when totaled together would be three and one-half years which is one half of seven of one half of the tribulation period. The first part of the tribulation period will be spent in relative peace and prosperity (Dan. 8:25), but in the midst of the week, or middle of the tribulation period, the Antichrist will break his covenant with Israel, revealing his true nature, and the terrible part of the tribulation will begin. Two times in the Book of the Revelation we read of 1,260 days (3 1/2 years) (Rev. 11:3; 12:6), and two times we read of forty-two months (Rev. 11:2; 13:5) which is 3 1/2 years. It is readily granted that any one of these figures taken by itself is not conclusive, but when the weeks of years; the time, times, and half a time; 1,260 days, and the forty-two months are all considered together, it appears quite evident that the tribulation period will last approximately seven years.

WILL THE CHURCH GO THROUGH THE TRIBULATION?

This question divides Pre-millennialists (a term that will be defined when studying the millennium later in this message) into three groups.

The pre-tribulationist believes that the Church will be raptured before the tribulation begins. The mid-tribulationist believes that the Church will go through the first part of the tribulation, but that it will be raptured after the opening of the seals but before the blowing of the trumpets as described in the Book of Revelation. The post-tribulationist believes that the Church will be raptured at the close of, or after the tribulation.

In discussing this subject, much confusion has resulted because of a difference of opinion as to what is meant by the tribulation. Some use the term to describe the entire seven-year-period, but limit “the great tribulation” to the last three and one-half years of this time. There are difficulties in connection with each of these views. Each person should have his own convictions, but he should not be guilty of stirring up animosity with those who differ with him. The writer is in the camp of the pre-tribulationist for the following reasons:

(1) Jesus promised the church at Philadelphia, “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth” (Rev. 3:10).

(2) The Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:9). The tribulation is certainly a time of wrath, and this verse tells us that God has not appointed us to wrath. There are those who would remind us that the early church and the church during the dark ages suffered much persecution for the cause of Christ. The Church in the closing days of this dispensation may suffer much persecution at the hand of her enemies, but there is a vast difference in being persecuted by man and in facing the wrath of God. The tribulation is a judgment from the hand of God on the world in general and on Israel in particular. There is no condemnation or judgment for the ones who are in Christ (Rom. 8:1).

(3) The Christian is an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20). Before a nation declares war on another nation, it calls its ambassador home. God will call us home via the rapture before He begins to pour out His wrath on this sin-cursed earth. God took Lot out of Sodom before He poured out the fire and brimstone.

(4) Chapters six through nineteen of Revelation give a detailed description of the tribulation, but the Church is not mentioned.

(5) If the Restrainer (He who now letteth) is the Holy Spirit in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10, it seems quite evident that the Church will not go through the tribulation. The Holy Spirit lives in and works through the Church (1 Cor. 3:16). He will be taken out of the world in a bodily sense when the Church is raptured. “And then” and only then can the Wicked One be revealed. The Anti-Christ may be in the world now, but he will not be revealed until the Church is taken out of the way. The tribulation will not begin until the Anti-Christ is revealed. He is the rider on the white horse in Revelation 6:2.

(6) There must be an interval between the Rapture and the Revelation. Christ cannot come for His own and with His own at the same time. It cannot be proved that the interval will be seven years or even three and one-half years, but it is logical to believe that there will be an interval of some kind. It is reasonable to believe that the tribulation on earth and the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Marriage supper of the Lamb will take place during this interval.

(7) Many Scriptures exhort us to watch for the coming of the Lord. The tribulation is described in such a way that it will be known when it starts. If we know that Christ will not come back until the close of the tribulation, we will not begin to watch for His coming until that time. Paul calls the Second Coming of Christ the “Blessed Hope” (Titus 2:13). It would not be a Blessed Hope to look forward to enduring the wrath of God for more than three years.

THE ANTI-CHRIST

From the beginning of the Christian Church, there have been antichrists; but during the tribulation, one man who will be completely controlled by Satan will hold sway. Jesus said: “I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive” (John 5:43). This man is the little horn (Daniel, chapter eight); the king of fierce countenance of Daniel, chapter eight; the prince that shall come of Daniel, chapter nine and the King of Daniel, chapter eleven. He is called the man of sin, the son of perdition, and the wicked one (2 Thess. 2:3,8). He is the first beast of Revelation thirteen. He has a mark, a number and a name. His number is 666. Anyone who receives his mark or number is doomed to everlasting damnation (Rev. 14:10,11). During the tribulation, men will worship Satan and the Anti-Christ (Rev. 13:4). He will be a world dictator (Rev. 13:7).

ARMAGEDDON

Although this word is found just one time in the Bible (Rev. 16:16), the description of this great battle is given in many places. It will be a great battle to be fought toward the close of the tribulation. The battle will be fought in the valley of Megiddo. When Napoleon viewed this great valley, he said that it was the greatest battlefield on the face of the earth. For the details of this great battle read Isaiah 34:1-8; 63:1-6; Zephaniah 3:8; and Revelation 14:14-20.

THE MILLENNIUM

The millennium is one of the most controversial subjects in the entire Bible. The word millennium is not found in the Bible. It comes from two Latin words: mille, meaning a thousand, and annus, meaning years. Those who do not believe in the millennium argue that it is mentioned just one time in the Bible and that in a very highly symbolic chapter. It is true that the length of this period is mentioned just six times in the twentieth chapter of the Book of the Revelation. It is true that the Book of Revelation is a book with many symbols. If the twentieth chapter of Revelation is read and accepted for what it says, it is so simple that even a child can understand it, but if an allegorical interpretation is put on this chapter, no one knows what it means.

The millennium refers to the thousand years of peace and righteousness when Christ will be reigning in person on the earth. The Scriptures abound with references to such a reign. “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion” (Ps. 2:6). Did Christ reign as a king when He came the first time? “In his days the righteous shall flourish; and the abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him” (Ps. 72:7-11). Was this fulfilled when Christ came the first time? If not, when will it be fulfilled? “The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountain, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his path: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isa. 2:1-4). Has this been fulfilled, or are these just meaningless words in the Bible? “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from, Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:1-12). Has this Scripture been fulfilled? Will it be fulfilled? “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose” (Isa. 35:1). We are witnessing the beginning of the fulfillment of this Scripture as Israel is now returning to the land of Palestine. “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jer. 23:5,6). When Jesus came the first time, was Judah saved, and was Israel made to dwell safely? Who would dare to affirm such a thing? If these words were not fulfilled then, have they been fulfilled in the past two millenniums? If not, when will they be fulfilled? When Jesus came the first time, He came as a King (John 18:37; 19:19). But the Jews rejected Him as their king (Luke 19:14; John 1:11). He was despised and rejected of men (Isa. 53:5). When Jesus Christ comes the second time, He will come as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev. 19:16).

The Pre-millennialist believes that Jesus Christ will come back to the earth before the millennium and that by His coming, the millennium will be brought about.

The Post-millennialist believes that Christ will not return until after the millennium. He believes that the world is getting better and better all of the while and that the millennium will be brought about through such efforts of man as the education of the masses, legislation, and social service. Two world wars and the advent of the Atomic and Hydrogen bombs have left very few people who hold to this theory. Most Post-millennialists have become Amillennialists who do not believe that there will be a millennium. The Amillennialist interprets the Scriptures about the millennium in an allegorical sense.

It is not likely that the millennial issue will be settled for the Church as a whole until the Lord comes and settles it by His coming. What a person believes about the millennium vitally affects his whole outlook on life. It is therefore of the greatest importance for every believer to determine which of these positions is the correct one. Two issues are involved: (1) What does the Bible say, and (2) What does the Bible mean? Many people do not understand about the millennium simply because they have not taken the time to study what the Bible teaches about it. Others do not believe in the millennium because they do not believe what the Bible says. Scholars are agreed that the pre-millennial view is the right one if the prophetic Scriptures are to be taken in a literal sense. Many of our religious leaders have charted a course from which they do not wish to turn. Our great denominational programs are geared to bringing in the kingdom. Many Christian leaders believe that the purpose of the Church is to make the world a fit place in which to live. Seeing the catastrophic effects of war, man labors for world peace, not realizing that there can be no peace without the Prince of Peace. A Spirit-taught interpretation of the Bible runs contrary to the plans and programs of men. Men are not willing to exchange their man-made program for the program of God. They, therefore, reject what the Bible teaches about Christ’s reign on the earth.

THE NEW HEAVENS AND THE NEW EARTH

“Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put all enemies under his feet” (1 Cor. 15:24,25). Time is a line of duration having both a beginning and an ending. This line of duration is bounded on either end by a circle expanding into infinity. At the close of the millennium, Satan is to be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10). The wicked dead are to be raised and judged at the Great White Throne judgment (Rev. 20:11-15). Time will come to a close, and we will step out into eternity. The first heaven and the first earth shall pass away, and God will create a New Heaven and a New Earth. The New Jerusalem will come down from God out of Heaven. Read the description of this in Revelation 21:9-22:5. When we see all of this, we shall exclaim as did the Queen of Sheba, “The half hath not been told.”

THE BLESSED HOPE

The second coming of Christ is the blessed hope of the believer (Titus 2:13). The whole creation is groaning and travailing in pain (Rom. 8:22). A new age is about to be born. Men who have no knowledge of the Word of God recognize this fact. Doom is impending. There are wars and rumors of wars. The world is torn with racial strife. The constant threat of nuclear war hangs over our heads. All of this causes the heart of the natural man to fail for fear (Luke 21:26). But in all of this, the Christian can rejoice because his hope is in God.

The second coming of Christ is a comforting hope (1 Thess. 4:18). When death invades our homes and snatches our loved ones from our breasts, we are comforted in this because we know that we shall see them again. The second coming of Christ is a purifying hope (1 John 3:3). If we believe that Jesus Christ may come at any time, it will make a difference in the way we live. Not only will we abstain from evil things, but also our aims and purposes will be changed.

Jesus said, “Occupy til I come” (Luke 19:13). We are to be busy in the work of the Lord. We are not to rush about in feverish self-directed activity, but we are to labor according to His working which worketh in us mightily (Col. 1:29). When we are expecting someone to come we should get ready to meet them. Jesus said, “Be ye therefore ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matt. 24:44). We cannot be ready unless we have made peace with God (Rom. 5:1).

God invites all men to come to Him now (Matt. 11:28-30). He is not willing that any should perish (2 Pet. 3:9). “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And whosoever will let him take of the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17).

If you are not sure of your salvation, you can be sure by prayerfully searching the Scriptures for the Way of Life. God wants you to know that you are saved (1 John 5:13). Study the Gospel of John and the Book of Romans for in them you will find the way of life.

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