Appendices

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This glossary presents some of the important words associated with the book of Revelation and with the study of the End Times. Some appear in Revelation, others elsewhere in scripture, and yet others are commonly used to refer to people or events of the period but without direct support from scripture. Many times, the same event or subject is referred to in multiple ways, sometimes with slight differences in meaning. Where important to the current study, such differences are briefly touched upon.

Abyss.  The "bottomless pit", from the Greek for ‘without bottom’.  A prison and abode for demons.  When Christ frees a demon-possessed man (Luke 8), the demons beg not to be sent into the Abyss.  As part of the fifth trumpet judgment (Rev 9), an angel unlocks the Abyss and "locusts" which seem to be demons, are released.  The many-horned beast of Revelation 17 comes up from the Abyss, and Satan is cast there at the start of the Millennium (Rev 19).  In the Septuagint, the same Greek word is used in Genesis 1 for “the deep”.

Antichrist.   The prefix "anti" means both "against" and "opposite".  This man is both Christ’s opponent and his opposite.  "Antichrist" is used four times in scripture, all of them in John’s letters.[1] There, John calls "antichrist" anyone who denies Jesus, but implies there will be an actual person called the Antichrist.  Scripture nowhere identifies this person explicitly, but nearly all scholars equate the Antichrist with the prince of Daniel's Seventieth Week and the first beast of Revelation 13.  Some maintain the rider on a white horse of the first seal[2] is the Antichrist at the beginning of his career. The similar term (pseudo-Christ) is used by Christ to refer to the false messiahs that will arise.[3]

Antitype (see Type).

Apocalypse. Literally “revealing” is the first word (Ἀποκάλυψις) of the Book of Revelation and gives the book its name. Although people will sometimes refer to Revelation as “the Apocalypse of John” or “the Revelation of John”, this is inappropriate. The book is, as it states in its opening verse, is the revelation of Jesus Christ. The book’s opening verse shows that it is meant to be understandable and that the symbols used throughout are meant to reveal and not to hide its meaning. Note that the word is singular.

Appearing.  See Glorious Appearing.

Armageddon.  From Hebrew ‘Har-Megiddo’, the hill of Megiddo.  Megiddo was a fortified town in the north of Israel, southeast of Mount Carmel.  Because it was located on the main road connecting Syria and Egypt, it was the site of important battles in the past.[4]  It will be the gathering place for the armies of the Antichrist that will march against Jerusalem late in the Wrath of God and just prior to Christ’s return.[5] Technically, there is no “battle of Armageddon” in the Last Days. What battle there is, is at Jerusalem and never really gets underway before Christ returns and puts an end to it by seizing the Antichrist and the False Prophet and killing their armies at his Second Coming.

Beasts. See Appendix 3 “The Beasts of Revelation”.

Blessed Hope.  Mentioned only in Titus 2:13 where it is equated with Christ’s “glorious appearing”.  The hope is called blessed because three things happen then:[6] Christ returns in glory, the blessed dead are resurrected, and living believers are transformed. to be with Christ forever. As Christ's resurrection is the central fact of Christianity, the Blessed Hope is the central hope of Christians.
There is substantial disagreement among Bible-believing Christians about the timing and relationship of the Blessed Hope, the Second Coming, and the Glorious Appearing of Christ.[7]

Book of Life.  Where the names of the blessed are written.  All whose names are written there will live eternally with Christ.  All whose names are not written in the Book of Life will be condemned.  This separation will take place at the White Throne Judgment.

Day of Christ. Also called the Day of the Lord Jesus. The terms are unique to Paul’s letters and refer to the time of Christ’s return and his judgment, particularly in its aspects of reward.[8] Also called “that Day”.

Day of the Lord. See the Appendix 4 “The Day of the Lord and The Wrath of God”.

End of the Age. See End Times.

End of the World. See End Times.

End Times. In its most general usage this refers to everything from the birth of Christ to the appearance of the new heavens and new earth after the Millennium. Only “End Times” and “Last Days” refer to the entire period, with both “end” and “last” referring to this current age but generally (and somewhat haphazardly) also including the Millennium. “The End of the Age” is more specific, referring to the events of the Seventieth Week of Daniel (qv) and just after. “The End of the World” is often erroneously applied to events of the Seventieth week but the earth isn’t replaced with the new earth until after the Millennium.

False Prophet.  The second beast of Revelation 13.  He is described as a beast out of the earth with two horns like a lamb but speaking like a dragon.  He makes all who do not belong to God revere the Antichristwhose authority he exercises.  He institutes the worst persecutions of the Antichrist’s reign, and with the Antichrist he is thrown alive into the Lake of Fire after Armageddon.   He is first called the False Prophet in Revelation 19.

First Resurrection.  The resurrection of the righteous to everlasting life[9].  Because “first” can mean first in priority as well as first in time, some take the First Resurrection to be a series of events, starting with Christ’s own resurrection and including the resurrection of dead believers at the Rapture, the resurrection of those martyred by the Antichrist, and, in some views, a resurrection of the blessed who die during the Millennium.  Others, who take the word ‘first’ to mean first in time, believe all the righteous dead are resurrected together at Christ’s return to earth.  This view finds support in Acts 24:15 and fits best with a literal interpretation of Revelation 20:4-5.  The need for “first” to mean first and “last” to be last means the Rapture must be at the end of the Seventieth week since 1Thessalonians 4:15 “we who are still alive shall not precede those who have fallen asleep”.

Glorious Appearing.  One of the names scripture gives to the Second Coming.  Christ’s return is called his ‘appearing’ in 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus[10].  In the last, it is called his ‘Glorious Appearing’.  His return in power is called ‘glorious’ many times in the Gospels[11].  Post-Tribulation rapturists believe Christ’s appearing and the Second Coming are identical.  Pre-Trib and Mid-Trib rapturists believe the Second Coming includes a prior stage when Christ meets the saints in the air but does not then come to earth.

Great Tribulation.  See Tribulation.

Jacob’s Trouble. Mentioned in Jeremiah 30:7. It is the time of the Antichrist’s persecution as seen from the perspective of the Jews rather than the Christians. After the period of trouble, no longer will foreigners enslave them (verse 8). This links it to the period of the persecutions of the Antichrist because only after he leaves Jerusalem can it be said foreigners will never again enslave Jerusalem. It also leads to the time when “David their king” (Jesus, the son of David) will be raised up for them and they will serve him. The end of the period is equated with the Wrath of God in verses 23-24 of Jeremiah 30.

Lake of Fire.  The final destination of all who are not God’s.  The Antichrist and the False Prophet are thrown into the lake of fire after Armageddon[12].  After his final rebellion at the end of the Millennium, Satan joins them[13], and at the White Throne Judgment all those not in the Book of Life are sent there along with Death and Hades[14].

Last Days. See End Times.

Millennium. See Appendix 5 “The Millennium”

Olivet Discourse. See Appendix 2 “Olivet Discourse”

Rapture. See Appendix 6 “The Rapture”

Second Coming.  The return of Christ to the earth.  Although this term does not appear in the Bible, the coming of the Messiah to earth to reign in glory is probably the event most prophesied in both the Old and the New Testaments.  In the Old Testament, it is referred to in many ways, most commonly in the prophecies of the eternal rule of David's seed. In the New Testament, it is called Christ's coming[15], the Glorious Appearing[16] or just the Appearing[17].

For those who hold the Post-Tribulation view of the Rapture, the Second Coming is a single event which take place at the End of the Age: at the completion of the Wrath of God.  For other premillennial views, the Second Coming is composed of pieces that happen at different times.  Though they disagree on timing (see Rapture), all schools of premillennialism agree that the following events are part of Christ's return” the dead in Christ will be raised, living believers will receive new bodies, Satan will be bound, and Christ will set up his kingdom.

Second Death.  The casting of unbelievers into the Lake of Fire at the White Throne Judgment.  Most Christians believe unbelievers will suffer eternally for their rebellion against God, but some think they will be destroyed.

Second Resurrection. Resurrection of all those not resurrected at the first resurrection.

Seven Bowls.[18] The plagues unleashed upon the world at the end of Daniel’s Seventieth Week. They are the bowls of God’s fury, and each bowl contains a plague.  The seven bowls are contained within the seventh trumpet. The seven plagues are:

Festering sores on those who worship the beast.
Sea turns to blood and all sea creatures die.
Rivers and springs turn to blood.
The sun is allowed to scorch people with fire.
A darkness that can be felt falls on the kingdom of the beast.
The River Euphrates dries up to prepare the way for the kings of the east.
Lightning, thunder, rumblings, earthquakes, and giant hail stones.

Seven Plagues. See “Seven Bowls”.

Seven Seals.[19] The first of four groups of seven judgments upon the earth. In most cases, the seventh of the previous series includes all seven of the next series. The exception is the Seven Thunders (see below).

The first six of the seals are opened in chapters 6 of Revelation and the seventh in chapter 8. The seals close a scroll given by the Father to the Son. The seventh seal has within it the seven trumpets. The seven seals reveal:

The man on the white horse, probably the Antichrist before he assumes full power. He is the first of the “four horsemen”.
War and the power to kill. It is the natural accompaniment of the conqueror on the white horse. This one’s horse is red.
Famine, which is a familiar accompaniment of war. His horse is black.
Death, followed by Hades. Death naturally follows war and famine, and Hades following most likely means that all four of the horsemen are demonic or at least evil.
The souls of those who have been killed for their faithfulness to the word of God. They are under the altar in heaven, awaiting the completion of the number of martyrs.
The signs in the heavens and the earth: earthquake, darkening of the sun, the stars falling to earth. The sixth seal also announces the imminent arrival of the Wrath of God, which will be detailed in the seven trumpets.
There is silence in heaven and then the seven trumpets sound.

Seven Thunders. These appear in Revelation chapter 10. They differ from the other three series in two ways. First, they occur during the sixth trumpet, not the seventh. Second and perhaps more important, what they say is sealed up and not revealed.

Seven Trumpets. The first four of these are presented in Revelation chapter 8, the next two in chapter 9, and the seventh in chapter 11. The final three of these are accompanied by an angel shouting “Woe!” The seventh trumpet contains the seven bowl judgments, the last plagues. The seven trumpets reveal:

Hail and fire upon the earth. One third of the trees and all the grass is burned up.
A “great mountain” plunges into the sea and turns a third of the oceans to blood. A third of all sea life dies and a third of all ships are destroyed.
A poisonous “star” called Wormwood[20] poisons one third of fresh water and poisons many people.
A third of the light from heavenly bodies is taken away.
The fifth trumpet is also the first “Woe!”. “Locusts” are released from the Abyss to plague, but not kill, those without the seal of God for five months.
The second “Woe!”. The river Euphrates is dried up to prepare for the kings of the east.
The third “Woe!”. This ushers in the seven last plagues.

Seventieth Week of Daniel. See Appendix 1 “Daniel’s 70th Week”.

Thief in the Night. See Appendix 7 “The Thief in the Night”.

Temple. This is the house of God on earth, the center of Israelite worship.  It was first built by Solomon (using materials gathered by David). That temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 or 586 BC. It was rebuilt during the Persian rule of Israel in around 516 BC. The temple structure built then was simple and considerably upgraded and improved by Herod the Great in the first century BC.  It was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. The so-called second temple is the temple that Antiochus Epiphanes profaned in the second century BC.

As presented in the main text of this commentary, the temple will play an important role in the Last Days as it is where the Antichrist will be revealed, the sign Christ tells us in Matthew 24 to be on the watch for. Because the temple does not exist currently, it must be rebuilt before or early in the Seventieth Week of Daniel.

Tribulation.  A period of testing.  There have been various times throughout history when Jews and Christians have undergone tribulation and many have been martyred.  Christ taught that shortly before his return there would be a period of Great Tribulation, a persecution of believers worse than any other[21].  Jeremiah called this time of Jewish persecution the time of “Jacob's Trouble[22]”. The tribulation is the wrath of Satan not the wrath of God. Christians are not subject to God’s wrath. The Israelites in Egypt is a good example – God’s wrath wasn’t aimed at them – but they had consequences from it.

Students of prophecy often apply the term "Tribulation Period" to the Seventieth Week of Daniel.  Because this term does not occur in scripture, and because it leads to confusion with the "Great Tribulation", the term "Tribulation Period" is to be avoided.  In this book, the "Great Tribulation" designates the period of testing referred to by Christ in the Olivet Discourse.  It is only a portion of the Seventieth Week, primarily or exclusively in the second half.

Tribulation Period.  See Tribulation.

Type and Antitype. Prophesies often have a near- and a far-term fulfillment, with the far-term fulfillment being more complete. Thus Antiochus Epiphanes (type) fulfilled some, but not all the prophesies of Daniel concerning the prince who is to come. The Antichrist (antitype) will fulfill all of them.

Valley of Decision. See Valley of Jehoshaphat.

Valley of Jehoshaphat. Physically, this is the valley separating Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives. It is where, according to Joel,[23] the nations that gathered at Armageddon will come to fight against Jerusalem and be destroyed by Christ at his return. Also called the Valley of Decision.

White Throne Judgment.  The final judgment of mankind by Christ.  It occurs after the Millennium and after the final rebellion of Satan[24].  It is the time when Christ separates the sheep from the goats[25].  All the dead will be judged according to their deeds[26], and those whose names are not written in the Book of Life will be thrown into the Lake of Fire[27].

Wrath of God. See Appendix 4 “The Day of the Lord and The Wrath of God”.

Wrath of the Lamb. This is only in Revelation 6:16 where it is conjoined with the wrath of he who sits on the throne, that is, the Wrath of God. It is possible there is meant to be two different wraths mentioned in this verse, but the absence of additional scriptures makes that conjecture problematic.

Footnotes

1. Daniel's 70th Week

Appendix 1:
Daniel's 70th Week

The Seventieth Week of Daniel corresponds with the seven-year period preceding the return of Christ. That the events of the Seventieth Week and those of the Last Days refer to the same period is made clear by Christ himself in the Olivet discourse when he refers to the abomination that causes desolation, mentioned by Daniel, as the sign that reveals the Antichrist and thus is the first sure sign that the Last Days are upon the world. This event takes place at the midpoint of Daniel’s Seventieth Week. Revelation from chapter 4 until the end offers a detailed description of the events of the period first revealed to Daniel by the angel Gabriel.

The discussion offered here is necessarily brief, concentrating on discussing the prophecy itself. For a thorough and instructive discussion of this period see Sir Robert Anderson’s “The Coming Prince.”[1]Though written in 1894 it is still an excellent book about the Seventieth Week.

Near the end of the seventy years of exile of the Jews in Babylon, Daniel was visited by the angel Gabriel while he was praying concerning Israel. Gabriel told him[2]

(Daniel 9) {24} “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. {25} “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. {26} After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. {27} He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”

In this Appendix we will first go through this prophesy line by line and discuss its meaning and application, and then we will see how the events it foretells fit with the events of the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 and the book of Revelation.

The length of time and purpose of the prophecy. Right at the start we must decide what “Seventy ‘sevens’” means. Though often translated “weeks”, the word has a broader meaning, and is used throughout scripture to simply mean a group of seven things. Genesis 29:18 shows that in the appropriate context, the word can mean years. The use of a single unit (e.g., one seventh of a “week”) for a year is made explicit in Leviticus 25:8, Ezekiel 4:6, and Numbers 14:34. Interestingly, in each case, as here in Daniel, God is speaking of Israel’s iniquity and atonement for it. It therefore seems safe to take “sevens” here to mean a period of seven years and thus Gabriel is speaking to Daniel about a period of 490 years.

The purpose of these years, Gabriel says, is to finish transgression, put an end to sin, atone for wickedness, bring in everlasting righteousness, bring prophecy to an end, and anoint the Most Holy Place. This is appropriate since Daniel had been contemplating and praying about the end of the seventy years of exile and the restoration of his people. Gabriel is telling him when it will take place.

While it is tempting to take “the Most Holy Place” to be “the Most Holy One” (which would be consistent with the “anointed one” of later in the prophecy, that reading is unlikely (though still possible). The words used here are וְלִמְשֹׁחַ קֹדֶשׁ קָדָשִׁים and literally translate as “to anoint the most holy” or, possibly, “to anoint the Holy of Holies”. While it can refer to a person, different words are used where the anointed one is clearly a person: מָשִׁיחַ, the anointed one or Mashiach (Messiah). It is therefore best to take this as meaning a place (such as a restored or cleansed temple) that is anointed.

Starting in verse 25, the period of which Gabriel speaks is divided into three parts. The first, forty-nine years in length, covers rebuilding Jerusalem from the destruction under Babylon. It will be a time of trouble and turmoil, as indeed it proved to be. Then comes a period of 434 (62 sevens) years after which the Anointed One[3] will come but will be put to death and the city and the temple will be destroyed. Then, finally, the “ruler” (different from the Anointed One) will make a covenant with many for seven years but break that agreement in the middle of the period, end temple sacrifices, and set up “an abomination that causes desolation” in the temple. This desolation will last until the ruler is destroyed.

Let’s look at the first two periods briefly and discuss the third in more detail.

The word to restore Jerusalem. The first question to ask is what does the “word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem” mean? The word translated “word” can mean “commandment” but does not have to. It seems likely that, since this is the beginning of the period covered by one of the most important prophecies of the Messiah, the Bible would mention this commandment or word and, one would hope, give a date.

The Bible mentions four possibly relevant proclamations. The earliest is in the first year of king Cyrus. It is mentioned in 2 Chronicles 36:22,23 and again in Ezra 1:1 and 6:3. It was prophesied by Isaiah (Isaiah 44:28). The decree as reported in scripture only concerns rebuilding the temple, though Isaiah prophesies that Cyrus will rebuild both the temple and the city. Because of Isaiah’s prophecy, this decree must be considered as a possibility for the starting point of the prophecy. The first year of Cyrus’ reign was 538 BC.

The second, mentioned in Ezra 6:12,13, was made by Darius I in about 520 BC in the first year of his reign. It was to carry out what had already been ordered by Cyrus and is therefore unlikely to be the starting point of Gabriel’s prophesy.

The third was given by Artaxerxes I in the 7th year of his reign, in 458/457 BC. It is recorded in Ezra 7:12-23. It also has to do only with the rebuilding of the temple.

Finally, there was a second decree given by Artaxerxes I in Nissan[4] in the 20th year of his reign, 444 BC. This is recorded in Nehemiah 2:1-8. 1 Nisan of that year was (probably) on 5 March. It alone, of the recorded letters and proclamations concerning Jerusalem, the temple, and the Jews, refers to rebuilding the city. Although it is a long time since Gabriel spoke to Daniel, this has the best chance of being the start of the prophecy of Daniel 9 because it speaks of rebuilding the city, something required of the decree.[5]

Two rulers. Two different “rulers” are mentioned in this prophecy. First, “the Anointed One” is called a ruler. As mentioned in a footnote above, the word used for “the Anointed One” is also used for Messiah. The Bible invariably uses “anointed” to refer to a person or thing set aside for the Lord. It is specifically used repeatedly for the kings of Israel[6] and Judah and for Jesus[7]. This first ruler will be put to death sometime after the end of the sixty-two “sevens” or 483 years following the start of the prophetic period.

Also, after the end of the 483 years, the city of Jerusalem will be destroyed, along with the temple. Those who destroy the city after the death of the Anointed One are called the people of the ruler who will come. This person is the second ruler mentioned in the prophecy. A close reading of verse 26 indicates that the destruction of the city will occur before this ruler appears but after the killing of the Anointed One. Since both of those events take place after the end of the 69th week and prior to the covenant with the many (the 70th week), there seems to be a gap separating the last week from the others. Supporting this is that actions by the ruler himself are not described until after this destruction (which was by his people and not by him) and the wars and desolations. The first action of this second ruler himself takes place sometime later, the confirmation of a “covenant” with many for a period of one week. This week is almost certainly the final week of the prophecy, Daniel’s Seventieth Week. Halfway through the “week” he will break the covenant, stop temple sacrifices, and set up “an abomination that causes desolation”.

This second ruler will have some connection with the Roman Empire, since the Romans were the people who destroyed Jerusalem and its temple. The connection with Rome is consistent with other prophesies in Daniel, especially the feet of iron and clay in the statue of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2. There, Rome is the legs of iron, and a fragmented kingdom of mixed iron and clay descends from it. As we discuss in the Appendix 3 The Beasts of Revelation, Rome, the antichrist kingdom that “is” at the time Revelation was written, is of a similar nature to the others and serves as a “type” of antichrist kingdoms.

In another Appendix we show how all this applies to the other prophecies about the Last Days, especially the Olivet Discourse and Revelation.

Application to Antiochus Epiphanes. Biblical prophecies, as we discuss elsewhere, often have two fulfillments, a near-term incomplete fulfillment and a longer-term complete one. Christ’s first and second comings provide the greatest example of this. We expressed the importance of possible double fulfillment of prophecy in Principles of Exegesis number 3 in the Introduction.[8] The prophecy of the Last-Days king who sets up a pagan statue in the Temple in Jerusalem is another major example of this dual fulfillment. The actions of the Seleucid emperor Antiochus Epiphanes are the near-term fulfillment and the desecration of the temple by the Antichrist is the far-term.

For many reasons, Antiochus Epiphanes IV is well understood to be a “type” of the Antichrist and the Seleucid empire to be one of the Beast empires. (See Appendix 3 The Beasts of Revelation). To best understand the events of the last days, we want to pay particular attention to his actions.

After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, his empire was divided among his generals. Cassander became king of Macedon, Ptolemy king of Egypt and surrounding territory, Lysimachus controlled Thrace and western Anatolia, and Seleucus controlled eastern Anatolia and the remainder of Alexander’s conquests as far east as the borders of India. Seleucus was an ancestor of Antiochus Epiphanes (whose name means God made manifest), who ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC. He is the king who fought with the Maccabees[9] and in 168 BC attacked Jerusalem and pillaged the temple. He had a statue of Zeus placed in the temple. This was the near-term fulfillment of the prophecy of Daniel concerning the Abomination of Desolation.[10]

As Antiochus was getting ready to invade Israel, he made an agreement with a substantial party of Israelites that we might call gentile-sympathetic. That agreement included many secularizing changes, including naked athletic events, and led to the placement of the statue of Zeus. Antiochus also did not honor the agreement going forward.[11] In this desecration, Antiochus prefigured the actions of the Antichrist. As will be the case with the Antichrist, there were some who at first saw Antiochus as Israel’s friend and supporter. It is possible that Isaiah foresaw this agreement.

The covenant of death. Isaiah speaks of Israel making a covenant with death,

(Isaiah 28) {14} Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem. {15} You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death, with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place. {16} So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic. {17} I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place. {18} Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it. {19} As often as it comes it will carry you away; morning after morning, by day and by night, it will sweep through…”

Robert Van Kampen, in his excellent pre-Wrath book The Sign,[12] makes a case that this refers to the covenant made with the Antichrist. As justification he mentions three specific things. First, the text on either side of the mentions of the covenant of death is clearly prophetic. Second, since Antiochus Epiphanes (see below) is a type of the Antichrist and since a covenant was, indeed, made between him and the paganizing Israelites, it makes sense that there is also an end-times antitype of the same prophecy. Finally, he points to Isaiah 28:16: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.” This falls between the two mentions of the covenant with death and almost certainly refers to Christ, whose first coming was between the two mentions of the covenant.

Let’s look at Van Kampen’s three points. The text surrounding the two mentions of the covenant is indeed prophetic as, obviously, is most of the book of Isaiah. But not all prophecy has to do with the end times so that argument that this text is eschatological is weak. Second, the type-antitype argument does have weight, but the covenant with Antiochus Epiphanes can be the type of the covenant with the Antichrist without either having anything to do with this prophecy in Isaiah.

The most compelling of Van Kampen’s arguments is the prophecy of the cornerstone, falling right between the two mentions of the covenant. Beneficial trust in this cornerstone is presented by Isaiah in direct contrast to fatal trust in the covenant of death. Peter, quoting this prophecy in 1 Peter 2:6, refers to the Messiah as the cornerstone. This is clearly far in the future from Isaiah and makes it likely that the “covenant of death” also (at least in part) applies far in Isaiah’s future. Whether or not this passage in Isaiah refers to the end times, there will be a disastrous covenant made between “the many” and the Antichrist.

Application to the end of the age. While the prophecy of the Seventy Weeks had a near-term partial fulfillment in the depredations of Antiochus Epiphanes, complete fulfillment will come with the Beast of Revelation at the end of the age. Some have seen the gap between the first 69 weeks and the final week to be the period of the Church Age and hence evidence that the Church must be removed before a 70th week can occur for the Jews (the pre-Tribulation Rapture). The text, however, does not support this view. Jews are present today and the Church will be present during the Seventieth Week (since the Antichrist kills hundreds of millions of Christians during that period). Gabriel’s message is for the Jews and, though it mentions their Messiah, does not address the Church at all. Nothing about the presence or absence of the Church during the Seventieth Week can be gleaned from this prophecy.

Gabriel makes it clear that this period will “seal up vision and prophecy”. Since there are prophecies[13] that won’t be unsealed until the time of the end, prophecy cannot, presumably, be sealed up until after that. Therefore, Gabriel is stating this prophecy includes, at least in part, teachings about the end of the age. If that is the case, then the second ruler is the Antichrist, the first Beast of Revelation. Strongly supporting this is Christ’s application of this prophecy to the time of the end in the Olivet Discourse. All of Matthew 24 is applicable but of particular importance is Christ’s speaking (in the context of the end of the age) of “when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel”. This setting up of the abomination (what it is, we discuss elsewhere) is the first true sign of the approaching end of the age and strongly anchors Daniel’s Seventieth Week to the period of the Antichrist’s rule.

The scripture in Daniel 9 concerning the Seventieth Week is:

(Daniel 9) {26b} War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. {27} He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”

Now that we have established that the Seventieth Week is during the end times, let’s analyze these verses about it in the context of the events of Revelation and the Olivet Discourse. In the latter, Christ, while speaking of things that appear to be indications of the end but are merely precursors, says:

(Matthew 24) {6} You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. {7} Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. {8} All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Wars and rumors of wars, wars between nation, famines and earthquake are, Christ tells us, not indications of the end of the age but merely indicators in that direction. They are, in fact, the standard for a lot of mankind. They are an exact parallel with Daniel 9:27b that “wars will continue until the end and desolations have been decreed.” These are events of the gap between the 69 weeks and the final one. Gabriel’s prophecy implies that the wars and desolations lead into the ascent of the second ruler. In this sense, they are, as Christ says, the beginnings of birth pangs. They are the same events discussed in Revelation chapter 6 where they are also introductory to the reign of the Antichrist.

In Revelation 6 and 8 Christ opens the seven seals that usher in the end of the age. The first seal introduces the Antichrist (possibly), but he is not yet revealed to the world. He is a king, and he goes forth on a white horse to conquer. The second seal shows the natural outcome of his attempts at conquest, war, driven by a rider on a red horse. The third seal introduces a rider on a black horse, famine, the natural outcome of war. Finally, the fourth seal introduces a pale horse, ridden by death and followed by Hell. These four horsemen introduce the time of the end. They are the birth pangs of the Olivet Discourse and the wars and desolations of Daniel 9. They lead to the reign of the Antichrist, but in all three cases there is little to separate the beginning of his reign from the time before it – except for the covenant. From the smooth flow from normal (if dismal) life into the kingdom of the Beast attested to in Daniel, Matthew, and Revelation 6, it may not be clear when the covenant is made that this is the covenant that starts the Seventieth Week.

Making that covenant, nonetheless, is the first recorded act of the reign of the Antichrist. The covenant, possibly a treaty ending the wars that were just referred to (and which he was instrumental in starting), will be for a period of seven years. In Daniel we find out that he will break it after three and a half years. In both Daniel and Revelation, we see that breaking the covenant will be accompanied by persecutions; in Daniel, of the Jews (the cessation of sacrifices and offerings); in Revelation of both Jews and Christians.

Revelation teaches that at the midpoint of the Seventieth Week the Antichrist will be “killed” and “resurrected” and thereafter be far more monstrous than he was before. He will institute persecutions that will kill millions of people. That period of tribulation will be instituted when the False Prophet, the second beast of Revelation, gives life to the image of the Antichrist and forces people to worship it. This is almost certainly the abomination described in Daniel and by Christ. The desolation it causes is related in Revelation and discussed in the body of this commentary.

Both Revelation and Daniel indicate that though the Antichrist will bring great misery and death, his reign will not last forever. Daniel merely says that his end will be poured out on him, while Revelation thoroughly describes the events leading to that end from the final war against Israel until the Beast is thrown into the Lake of Fire.

Footnotes

2. The Olivet Discourse and Revelation

Appendix 2:
The Olivet Discourse and Revelation

Sometime shortly before he was seized and put to death, Jesus was teaching in the temple. He left it after delivering a blistering attack on the scribes and the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. Peter, James, John, and Andrew pointed to the beautiful temple, its decorations, and its associated buildings. Jesus told them that the temple, the house of God and center of the Jewish religion, would be so completely destroyed that not one stone would remain on another. The disciples naturally took this destruction to be an event of the Last Days and later, when Jesus and his men were on the Mount of Olives outside the city, some of his disciples came to him privately and asked him about what he had said.

Christ’s response has entered history as the Olivet Discourse. It covers not only the destruction of the temple and the conquest of Jerusalem by the Romans but also the events of the Last Days, particularly those of Daniel’s Seventieth Week. The Discourse is given in four places in the gospels:

Matthew 24:1-42
Mark 13:1-33
Luke 17:22-37
Luke 21:5-33

Although it is given in the context of the 12 apostles being sent by Jesus to the lost sheep of Israel, Matthew 10:17-22 has text that essentially duplicates text found in Mark 13 and Luke 21.

With some minor reordering of events, all three gospels give very similar accounts. Matthew’s account is the most complete and is generally what is meant when “the Olivet Discourse” is mentioned in biblical commentary. Mark’s account provides some additional details, as does Luke’s. Luke’s account, because it occurs in two different parts of the gospel, needs to be reassembled, but when it has been it closely matches the others.

We have put together the three accounts, matching similar or identical verses and putting the additional material from Mark and Luke in its proper place in a set of tables at the end of this chapter. From these tables we have created the general text used in the commentary below. We use the text from Matthew where it exists, then the text from Mark where it exists and Matthew does not or where the text in Mark is more complete or detailed than Matthew. Then finally we will use any leftover pieces from either of the two sections from Luke. We then provide commentary on the resulting text and tie its events to the Seventieth Week and to Revelation.

(Matthew 24) {1} Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. {2}"Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."

{3} As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples[1] came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

There is a major difficulty, highlighted by only a few verses, that runs through the Olivet Discourse: it seems to be talking about two related but very distinct events. We will summarize the problem here and then illustrate it when we get to the relevant verses. The problem can be stated plainly: though the three accounts of the Olivet Discourse are nearly verse-by-verse identical, the emphasis of Luke seems to be very different from the emphasis of the other two. As we will see, Matthew and Mark state that the sign of the end of the age will be the “abomination that causes desolation” which we know from Daniel is the Antichrist taking his place in the temple, setting up an idol and beginning perverse religious practices including declaring himself God. This is clearly an event of the Last Days, taking place as we have seen in the middle of Daniel’s Seventieth Week. This is the sign we are to wait for concerning the end of the age and Christ’s return and clearly answers the “what will be the sign of your coming” question. But though it deals with a profanation of the temple, it does not deal with its destruction. The temple was or will be profaned by a foreign conqueror twice, once when Antiochus Epiphanes did so during the times of the Maccabees and once when the Antichrist does.

Luke, on the other hand, gives the sign as “when you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.” This answers the question “when will the temple be destroyed such that no stone remains on another.” This, too, happened twice in history, under Nebuchadnezzar in 587 or 586 BC and under Titus in 70 AD, with the latter still future when Jesus spoke.

The second major difference between the two accounts has to do with the immediate aftereffects of the sign. Both accounts speak to a time of great distress, though Luke adds that “they” (presumably the defenders and people of Jerusalem) will “fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”[2] This latter seems to imply a long period of time, particularly when we remember that the Seventieth Week (of which the great distress is the major event of the second half of that week) is decreed for the Jews, not the Gentiles, and that therefore is not a part of the “times of the Gentiles”, that is, the period between the first 69 of Daniel’s weeks and the final one.

To summarize the problem: the two accounts – Matthew/Mark and Luke – seem certain to come from the same set of prophecies. A glance at the parallel accounts at the end of this Appendix shows that except for the verses mentioned above, essentially identical words are used. And yet they seem to apply to two very separate events. Further complicating this, the text from Matthew 10 is clearly in the context of the 12 apostles going to the cities of Israel. This, of course, happened well before the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. and clearly has nothing to do with the Last Days. And yet, it duplicates multiple verses that are also given in Mark 13 and Luke 21.

Some secular scholars state the Luke was compiled late in the first century and revised well into the second. They base this primarily on the fact that Luke seems to contradict and give a different emphasis to some of Paul’s letters as to various details of Paul’s teachings. This would, they say, rule out its ascription to Paul’s sometime companion Luke. From this weak argument those scholars go on to argue a late (at least 80 AD) date for the gospel. Since that date is after the destruction of the temple, some of those scholars then argue that the differences in Luke’s and Matthew’s accounts that we discuss here represent a “cleaning up” of the prophecy to make it fit the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in 70. Since, however, the book of Acts, originally a single work from Luke, ends before the death of Paul in 67 AD and hence most likely before the start of the Jewish revolt and well before the destruction of the temple, it is unlikely it was written as an intentional change from the original form in Mark.

The problem that the Olivet Discourse applies to two events separated by centuries begins with the last verse quoted above. As a follow-on to Christ telling them the temple would be destroyed, they naturally ask when that would take place. They then apparently assume that the destruction of the temple will be part of the events immediately preceding the return of Christ. Thus, what was probably intended as a single question is really three separate but related questions. The first was when the temple would be destroyed and left without one stone on another. Second was what will be the sign of Christ’s return in glory, and third what will be the sign of the end of the age. Were they treated separately, the account in Luke primarily deals with the destruction of the temple and its aftermath under the Romans while the other two accounts present the desecration (but not destruction) of the temple by the Antichrist. Under this (reasonable but by no means certain) interpretation, the scriptures in Matthew 10 fall in the period before the destruction of the temple. Matthew 10, viewed alone, seems to be instructions to the disciples to start their travels immediately. That would mean a period long before the destruction of the temple. Evidence that the instructions were meant for the more distant future is found in Matthew 12 which is connected to Matthew 10 by a series of “at that time” links. In Matthew 12:1 Jesus is walking with his disciples through grain fields. The disciples therefore cannot be off preaching to the cities of Israel and therefor the prophecies of Matthew 10 are not “immediate”.[3]

There are scriptures that tie the three events together. Most important is that Greece (Antiochus Epiphanes), Rome (Titus here but many other emperors especially including Nero), and the final kingdom of the Antichrist are each one of the eight antichrist kingdoms referred to in Revelation 17.

It is from this ambiguity of the question, perhaps, that arises the ambiguities in Christ’s responses, or at least the ambiguities in the different presentations of the Discourse. Just as the disciples asked about events that occurred at different times but were in some way related, and just as many prophecies have a near and a far-term fulfillment, so Christ’s answers often apply generally in a relatively timeless way and also apply very specifically to a particular event of the Last Days. We shall discuss this in what follows.

The disciples’ three questions asked about events separated by thousands of years. In particular, the destruction of the temple, and presumably the last destruction the temple would undergo, took place in 70 AD when the Romans put down the Jewish revolt. While this event was cataclysmic, it was not a sign of the end of the age or the return of Christ (though see below). The other two questions – the sign of Christ’s return and the sign of the end of the age – are indeed closely related events of the end of the age.

Let’s begin the interpretation of the Olivet discourse by examining the type/antitype pairings concerning the temple in Jerusalem.

There are three events concerning the temple that must be discussed. Twice the temple was or will be desecrated by a pagan conqueror. This pair of events is the type type/antitype pair of fulfilments of Daniel’s Seventieth Week prophecy of the “abomination of desolation”. The “type” is the profanation of the temple when Antiochus Epiphanes conquered Jerusalem in 168 BC, set up a statue of Zeus within its sanctuary, and sacrificed a pig on its altar. His very name is a blasphemy, since Epiphanes means “God made manifest.”

The “antitype” is the profanation at the middle of the Seventieth Week of Daniel when the Antichrist, having also conquered Jerusalem, sets up an apparently living idol and forces people to worship it.

Finally, and historically located between the other two, was the destruction of the temple by Titus and the Romans in 70 AD during the suppression of the Jewish revolt. Of the three, this is the only one in which the temple is destroyed.

In addition, and fitting with Christ’s answer to the disciples, there is a type/antitype pair of the Roman and the Antichrist’s invasion of Israel and capturing of Jerusalem. In both cases the pagans besiege Jerusalem and take the city.[4] As we shall see, Christ warns his followers that when they see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, they are to flee the city and surrounding countryside. Josephus records that Jewish Christians, knowing of this prophecy, left when the Romans besieged Jerusalem in 70 AD, did not participate in the futile defense of the city, and did not join many of the defenders in getting slaughtered. This event is the “type” of a similar one in the middle of the Seventieth Week. We will discuss these two events again when we reach that part of the Olivet Discourse. We discuss them here primarily to point out the confusion behind the disciple’s questions and the origin of interpretations of the Discourse in that confusion.

(Matthew24) {4} Mat 24:4-8. Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you.{5} For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, ' and will deceive many. {6} You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. {7} Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. {8} All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Jesus starts his answer to the disciples’ questions by telling them not to be alarmed by every calamity they hear of and not to think of it as part of the events of the Last Days. It is likely that he put the destruction of the temple by Titus in that same category: a disaster that, nonetheless, was not a sign of the end of the age. Among the things he tells them that they might confuse with signs of the end of the age and his return are liars claiming to be Christ, wars, and their associated famines, and earthquakes.

Christ also, however, is careful to not completely separate the events he discusses from the time of his return. There will then be one who claims to be the Messiah, namely the Antichrist. While John warns us that there are many antichrists, there is also a special one at the end of the age. His rise is part of the Last Days, being the first seal of Revelation and the first of the four horsemen. He will deceive most of the world.

The wars and rumors of wars and the clash of nations and kingdoms are events of every age but are also associated with the Antichrist’s wars of conquest and power consolidation during the time of the second seal of Revelation. There also will be famines in every age but also specific famines associated with the third seal. Christ points out that while not all such events are signs of the end of the age, some very specific forms of them, namely the ones associated with the first four seals, are “the beginning of birth pangs” that indicate the possibility that the end of the age is approaching.

This distinction of the general – there will be wars in every age – and the specific – the Antichrist will wage war – conveys a clear lesson for us. We are not to be thinking that every disaster we hear of is a sign of the end of the age while, at the same time, we are to be aware that some disasters of these kinds will indeed provide an indication that the end of the age is approaching.

(Mark 13) {9} You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. … {11} Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. {12} Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.

(Luke 21) {18}. But not a hair of your head will perish.

(Matthew 24) {9b} and you will be hated by all nations because of me. {10} At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, {11} and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. {12} Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, {13} but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

This first thing that needs saying here is that these prophesies appear to be out of order. You cannot tell it from Mark or Matthew’s account, but Luke 21:12 says, speaking of the signs in the heavens discussed above, “But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake.” This addition in Luke follows the same order as Revelation: the persecutions of the Antichrist proceed the signs in the heavens (which are associated most with the Wrath of God).

These things have multiple historical fulfillments. There has been persecution of Christians in every age, including our own, with possibly the worst being early in Church history with the persecutions under the Roman emperors before the empire became Christian. Since those started around the time of the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans, it is likely Christ has those persecutions at least partially in mind in these verses. But it seems certain that he also has in mind the persecutions of the Great Tribulation during the Seventieth Week.

This is similar to Matthew 24:5 where Christ talked about false teachers across many ages who claimed to be him, but in doing so, he also undoubtedly also meant the Antichrist of the Last Days. There have been and will be false prophets of any age but also, in the Seventieth Week, a single False Prophet who will perform miracles and who is the second beast of Revelation. The time of which Christ speaks will be very hard on humanity, but those who follow Christ all the way through will be saved. This does not mean that they will not suffer loss or be killed. It means the same thing that Luke 21:18 means: ultimately, they will be saved for eternity.

(Matthew 24) {14} And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

It is worth pointing out again that the doctrine that Christ can come at any time is not the same thing as the doctrine that no one knows when Christ will come. The former is contradicted repeatedly in scripture, including here, while the latter is taught repeatedly including later in the Olivet Discourse. Clearly if the end cannot come until after the preaching of the gospel to all nations, then it cannot be “any time” until after that was complete.

Once again, this verse has multiple referents. Christ told his followers to make believers of all nations and the spread of Christianity followed close on Pentecost and has continued through our day. It is a characteristic of the Church age. But we also know that there will be a special proclamation of the gospel late in the Seventieth Week. This is symbolized by the first angel of Revelation chapter 14: “Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth – to every nation, tribe, language, and people.” This takes place late in the Seventieth Week, not long before the harvesting of the earth.

(Matthew 24) {15} So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand-

(Luke 21) {20} When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. {21} Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city.

(Matthew 24) {17} Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. {18} Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak.

(Luke 21) {22} For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written.

(Matthew 24) {19} How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers. {20} Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.

At this point in the Olivet Discourse Christ explains the events around the mid-point of the Seventieth Week, centering around the revelation of the Antichrist. Matthew and Mark make it very clear that the event that makes it certain that the time of the end is at hand is the revealing of the Antichrist. That revealing, taking place at the midpoint of the Seventieth Week, is the sign for which Christians are to be looking, according to Christ. We need to take notice, however, that there is one important difference between the accounts in Matthew and Mark, on the one hand, and of Luke on the other. In the first two, the clear sign of the end of the age is the “abomination that causes desolation”, namely the Antichrist taking his stand in the temple and proclaiming himself God. In Luke, however, the sign is “Jerusalem being surrounded by armies” which is much less specific. As discussed above, this constitutes one of the primary difficulties in understanding the Olivet Discourse.

We know from Revelation that the Antichrist, after breaking the covenant with the Jews at the midpoint of the Seventieth Week, will take over Jerusalem and it makes sense, though is by no means certain, that that seizure will involve armies surrounding Jerusalem. It is, of course, possible that the original Olivet Discourse contained both a statement of Jerusalem surrounded by armies and the Antichrist being revealed, but we have no way to know that. Speculation that the account in Luke was altered to match Titus’ siege of Jerusalem (and for which there is no parallel to the desecrations of the temple under Antiochus Epiphanes and the Antichrist) is futile. It is, however, consistent with the type/antitype model of prophecy that as far as fleeing disaster is concerned, the capture of Jerusalem by Titus and his destruction of the temple and much of the city is a “type” of the end-times seizure of Jerusalem by the Antichrist, the desecration of the temple, and the launching of terrible persecutions. The Luke account, where it differs, seems to stress the “type” more while Matthew and Mark stress the “antitype” fulfillment in the Last Days.

The best interpretation seems to be that Christ is telling his followers to look for the Antichrist to be revealed and then they will know they are within the time of the end. They will also know they are to flee not only Jerusalem but also Judea to avoid what will be severe depredations on Christians and Jews by the Antichrist during the Great Tribulation. Indeed, these scriptures are immediately followed by Christ’s warning of great persecution and other distress.

(Matthew 24) {21} For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again.

(Luke 21) {23} How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people.
{24} They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

(Matthew 24) {22} If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.

These scriptures deal with the Great Tribulation, a time of horrific persecution of Christians and Jews following the revealing of the Antichrist. The two Matthew scriptures make complete sense in the sequence of events following the rise of the Antichrist. But what is to be made of the verse here from Luke? It makes it sound like the “distress” following the revealing of the Antichrist and Jerusalem being surrounded by armies is that many will be slaughtered and that some will be taken away as captives. Jerusalem will be controlled by the Gentiles “until the times of the gentiles are fulfilled.”

How do we reconcile this? First by discovering that the actual problems are here. There are two such, both associated with the verse from Luke. That verse makes it sound like a military conquest (many falling by the sword) followed by a (lengthy) time of exile from Jerusalem and the control of the city by the Gentiles. This certainly applies to the period of the Jewish revolt and the later Bar Kokhba revolt of 134-136 AD. By the end of that time essentially all Jews in Judea had been killed or exiled. The time of the Gentiles in Luke 21:24 would therefore apply to the period from the suppression of the Jewish revolt until the reestablishment of Israel in 1948.

Without the verse from Luke this section seems completely to apply to the period starting with the conquest of Jerusalem at the time of the revealing of the Antichrist until the end of his rule. That includes the period of the Wrath of God where the depredations on earth are so severe that they would be likely to extinguish life were they to continue for long. The period from the revealing of the Antichrist to the fall of his reign certainly seems to be a “Time of the Gentiles” in Jerusalem. One interesting point, however, is Daniel saying that the 70 weeks are for “your people” meaning the Jews. It is generally accepted by those who take the Bible literally that this is in contradistinction to the period of the Gentiles which takes place between the 69th and 70th weeks. It is difficult to see a three-and-a-half-year period during which the Antichrist rules Jerusalem as both a time dedicated to the Jews and a “time of the Gentiles”. We take it as the second half of Daniel’s Seventieth Week and therefore part of the times dedicated to the Jews.

This, of course, supports the view that Luke is talking about the period immediately after the conquest of Jerusalem by Titus when many were killed with the sword, many were forced into world-wide exile, and where the Gentiles were definitely in charge of Jerusalem and its environs. Arguing against that separate application is that the words of the rest of the recorded discourse are so nearly identical. We would have no problem applying all of Luke’s version to the days of the Antichrist were the sign not given as “Jerusalem surrounded by armies” and the verse here about exile of the Jews. Even those are not completely in conflict with the primary application of these prophecies to the time of Christ’s return rather than to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple: when the Antichrist captures Jerusalem there will no doubt be people killed in the conquest and others exiled. Finally, the three and a half years that follow are certainly times of the city being trampled by the Gentiles.

To the authors it seems extremely likely that either Luke applies to the same events as Matthew and Mark or that Christ himself doesn’t distinguish the events of the destruction of the temple from those associated with his return. This is, of course, consistent with what Christ says later in the discourse: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Perhaps the unknowns here as to how much applies to the conquest of Titus and how much to the reign of the Antichrist stem from Christ himself not knowing the full details of the future. It is possible he shares the same lack of distinction as to timing as his disciples do in asking their question(s).

(Luke 17) {22} Then he said to his disciples, "The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.

(Matthew 24) {23} At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. {24} For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible.

(Mark 13) {23} So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.

(Matthew 24) {26} So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it

During this period of terrible distress, many will raise false hopes by pretending to be either Christ or a genuine prophet. There will be many of these, but both the false Christs and the false prophets have, in the period of the Seventieth Week, a specific manifestation, namely the first beast (Antichrist) and the second (False Prophet). Without mentioning them specifically, Christ’s mention of their primary characteristics at the time when the two beasts in Revelation appear shows that whether or not the false prophets and Christs of every age are meant by his prophecy, the specific ones of the end of the age certainly are.

These scriptures speaking of (and warning about believing) secret appearances of Christ are in direct contrast with the immediately following scriptures.

(Matthew 24) {29} Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.

(Luke 21) {25b) On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. (26a) Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world,

When Christ comes back, there will be no doubt about it. First will come the period of the seven bowl judgments of the Wrath of God which will include signs in the skies but also the deaths of millions on earth.

(Luke 17) {24} For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. {25} But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

(Matthew 24) {28} Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. … {30} They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.

(Luke 21) {28} When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

(Matthew 24) {31} And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. {32} Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. {33} Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. {34} I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
{35} Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Christ will not appear secretly when he returns. His return will be visible from many if not all places on earth, when, as was prophesied at Christ’s assumption into heaven after his resurrection, Christ will return on the clouds of the sky.

Luke 17:24 deserves some discussion. Elsewhere in this Appendix we present the difficulties in completely reconciling the Matthew/Mark account of the Olivet Discourse with Luke’s version in a few places. There can be no doubt that Luke 17:24 refers to the period of Christ’s return. This makes it likely that all of Luke’s version applies to the same things as the other versions.

Luke 17:25 says that Christ will be rejected by this “generation”. Given the importance of that word later in the Olivet Discourse, it may be worth briefly discussion what it means. The word γενεα is translated “generation” where it appears in scripture. It means generation in the sense of a period of time of roughly 30 years, but it can also mean a group of people sharing a common genealogy, that is, a race or ethnic group. So Luke’s words mean either that Christ will be rejected by the people alive at the time of his first coming or be rejected by the Jews. Of course, for the most part, he was rejected by both. We will discuss this some more when we get to Matthew 24:34.

Matthew 24:28 is one of the strangest in all of scripture and its meaning is extremely difficult to parse. The word translated “vulture” can also mean “eagle” but seems simply to mean carrion eaters. In interpreting this verse, it is probably best to not look at vultures circling a corpse as 21st century people (who rarely see either corpses or carrion-eating birds), with a certain revulsion, but rather as people used to a much closer connection to nature both in its good and its bad aspects. It is most likely, given the context, that this verse means that when there is an event on the earth (the body), there are signs in the sky (the circling carrion birds) and so it is with the return of Christ to earth – it will be accompanied by signs in the heavens. Indeed, the next verse says the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, along with his appearance in the clouds. These things are the anticipated signs. Anticipated by believers, that is. For the unbelievers, particularly those following the Antichrist at this time, it will be a time of great mourning.

When Christ returns in glory, one of the events to take place will be him sending his angels with a loud trumpet call to gather believers from one end of the earth to the other and from all over the heavens.[5] This is the Rapture of the saints and yet another piece of evidence that the Rapture is post-tribulation and takes place at the end of the age, not at the start of the Seventy Weeks. If this isn’t the Rapture and believers have already been removed from the Earth, it may refer to converts during the Seventieth Week, but absent any other hint of a gathering of the elect in Last Days scriptures, it is simplest to take this as meaning the Rapture. This is supported by a comparison of this verse from Luke’s account with the parallel verses from Matthew and Mark which is shown next above (Matthew 24:31). The fact that the verses immediately before these verses and those immediately afterwards are essentially identical in all three accounts indicates strongly that the redemption Luke’s account mentions is the same event as the angels of the Lord gathering the elect from everywhere.

Note exactly where the elect come from: from the four winds and from one end of the heavens to the other. The four winds clearly means “everywhere on earth”, which fits with the requirement that the gospel be preached everywhere. But the other half of the verse is interesting as well. It is true that Christ will return with his followers of all ages, now in their resurrection bodies. And these will clearly be coming from heaven.[6] There isn’t much evidence they have been “gathered” since they are always with Christ, but it is possible that this verse means that all living believers and all dead ones will be gathered for Christ’s return. But there is one other possible added meaning: that there will be believers off-earth who will also be raptured. We are in a period of history wherein humans are not just on the earth’s surface. Currently they are also occupying the International Space Station and before long will be on the moon and Mars. There are likely to be believers among them and they, too, will participate in Christ’s return.

Christ finishes this section by saying that when the signs begin – and here we likely can include the revealing of the Antichrist – all the events including the return of Christ in glory are going to happen soon. In Matthew 24:33 as in Luke 21:28 the appearance of the signs is to be taken as sources of hope because the final salvation of believers will follow shortly after.

Understanding that scripture teaches concerning the Last Days that “all will happen quickly” puts several things in proper context. First is the next verse, Matthew 24:34: “this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened”. While this could mean that the Jewish people will not pass away or that Christ was wrong about how long it would be before his return, it is far more likely that this verse along with the Matthew 24:33 and Luke 21:28 and, indeed, Revelation 22:20 “Surely I am coming soon” (also translated “Behold, I come quickly”) all mean the same thing: that the events of the end times will be cut short by Christ’s return for the sake of the elect and that some of those who see the first signs – the revealing of the Antichrist – will see the final culmination in Christ’s return.

Christ ends this section with an interesting reference: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” In Revelation 21, after the Millennium is over, John sees (verse 1) “a new heaven and a new earth, because the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” Christ’s words certainly do outlast the heavens and the earth.

(Matthew 24) {36} No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. {37} As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. {38} For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; {39a} and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.

(Luke 17) {28} It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. {29} But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. … {32} Remember Lot’s wife: {33} Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

(Matthew 24) {39b} That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

(Luke 17) {34} I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.

(Matthew 24) {40} Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. {41} Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. {42} Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come

Christ ends the Olivet Discourse with a message of preparedness. If you cannot know when these events will take place – and even Christ does not know that – then all you can do is watch for them and be prepared. To the world, the end of the age will come like a thief in the night – devastating and unexpected – while to believers keeping watch it will not be a surprise.

Christ starts the section by saying that no one, not even the son, knows the day or the hour of his return. This is not to say we know nothing about it. The point of the Olivet Discourse is to show the signs that say it is starting. But the details of the lead-up are unknown and speculation about them is futile. The importance of, for example, the events of the first half of the Seventieth Week when the Antichrist is gaining power will only fully be realized when the looked-for sign of the revealing of the Antichrist appears.

Christ gives the examples of Noah’s day and Lot’s day. In each case, destruction came unexpectedly, in one case upon the world and the other on Sodom and Gomorrah. But that destruction was only unexpected by people who were not paying attention. They were living their normal lives, ignoring the signs, until destruction surprised them. But that destruction did not come upon those who were prepared – Noah and his family and Lot and his. That is our lesson, along with a final one: once you start on the road to Christ’s return, you, like Lot’s wife, must not look back and reconsider. Christ speaks of her to warn that those who try to keep their lives will lose them while those who are willing to die for Christ probably will but in doing so will find eternal life.

One more thing needs to be said about the end of this section. We are told of three situations where two people will be doing the exact same thing and one will be taken and one will be left. It is certainly possible that it has to do with gathering the wheat and the tares with the tares destroyed first (those taken) and the wheat gathered into the landowner’s barn. More likely, however, is that it refers to the Rapture. When Christ returns those who believe in him will be transformed and will join him as he comes to earth and those who do not will be left to enter the Millennium in their ordinary bodies.

The Olivet Discourse is typically taken to end with chapter 24 of Matthew. And the accounts in both Luke and Mark do end there. But Matthew 25 seems to possibly be a continuation since it deals with two parables that say that we should be prepared at all times for the return of Christ and one that specifically deals with an event later than those related to Christ’s return, namely the last judgment. While there are lessons to be learned from these parables, we will not include them here.

The following tables present the different versions of the Olivet Discourse in parallel, aligned text. The primary ordering is that of Matthew though both the other accounts follow essentially the same order sometimes with deletions and sometime with additions.

Matthew	Mark	Luke
Matthew 24:1	Mark 13:1	Luke 21:5
Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings.	As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!"	Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said,
Matthew 24:2	Mark 13:2	Luke 21:6
"Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."	"Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."	"As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down."
Matthew 24:3a	Mark 13:3
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately.	As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately
Matthew 24:3b	Mark 13:4	Luke 21:7
"Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"	"Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?"	"Teacher," they asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?"
Matthew 24:4	Mark 13:5	Luke 21:8a
Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you.	Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you.	He replied: "Watch out that you are not deceived.
Matthew 24:5	Mark 13:6	Luke 21:8b
For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, ' and will deceive many.	Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and will deceive many.	For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and, 'The time is near.' Do not follow them.
Matthew 24:6	Mark 13:7	Luke 21:9
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.	When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.	When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
Matthew 24:7a	Mark 13:8a	Luke 21:10
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.	Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.	Then he said to them: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
Matthew 24:7b-8	Mark 13:8b	Luke 21:11
There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.	There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.	There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.
Matthew 24:9a
"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death,
Matthew 10:17-18	Mark 13:9	Luke 21:12-13
Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.	"You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.	"But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them.
	Mark 13:10
	And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.
Matthew 10:19-20	Mark 13:11	Luke 21:14-15
But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.	Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit	But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
Matthew 10:21	Mark 13:12	Luke 21:16
“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.	"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.	You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death.
Matthew 24:9b/Matthew 10:22a	Mark 13:13a	Luke 21:17
and you will be hated by all nations because of me./You will be hated by everyone because of me	All men will hate you because of me,	All men will hate you because of me.
		Luke 21:18
		But not a hair of your head will perish.
Matthew 24:10
At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,
Matthew 24:11
and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
Matthew 24:12
Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,
Matthew 24:13/Matthew 10:22b	Mark 13:13b	Luke 21:19
but he who stands firm to the end will be saved./but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.	but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.	By standing firm you will gain life.
Matthew 24:14	Mark 13:10
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.	And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.
Matthew 24:15	Mark 13:14a
So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand-	When you see 'the abomination that causes desolation' standing where it does not belong--let the reader understand--
		Luke 21:20
		When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.
Matthew 24:16	Mark 13:14b	Luke 21:21
then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.	then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.	Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city.
Matthew 24:17	Mark 13:15	Luke 17:31a
Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house.	Let no one on the roof of his house go down or enter the house to take anything out.	On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them.
Matthew 24:18	Mark 13:16	Luke 17:31b
Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak.	Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak.	Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.
		Luke 21:22
		For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written.
Matthew 24:19	Mark 13:17	Luke 21:23a
How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers	How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!	How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!
Matthew 24:20	Mark 13:18
Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.	Pray that this will not take place in winter,
Matthew 24:21	Mark 13:19	Luke 21:23b
For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again.	because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now--and never to be equaled again.	There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people.
Matthew 24:22	Mark 13:20
If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.	If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them.
		Luke 17:22
		Then he said to his disciples, "The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.
Mat 24:23	Mark 13:21	Luke 17:23
At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it.	At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'Look, there he is!' do not believe it.	Men will tell you, 'There he is!' or 'Here he is!' Do not go running off after them.
Matthew 24:24	Mark 13:22
For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible.	For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect--if that were possible
Matthew 24:25	Mark 13:23
See, I have told you ahead of time.	So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.
Matthew 24:26
So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it
Matthew 24:27		Luke 17:24-25
For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man		For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation
Matthew 24:28		Luke 17:37
Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.		"Where, Lord?" they asked. He replied, "Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather."
Matthew 24:29a	Mark 13:24-25a	Luke 21:25a
Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky,	But in those days, following that distress, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky,	There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars.
		Luke 21:25b
		On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.
		Luke 21:26a
		Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world,
Matthew 24:29b	Mark 13:25b	Luke 21:26b
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.	and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.	for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
Matthew 24:30	Mark 13:26	Luke 21:27
"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.	"At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.	At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
		Luke 21:28
		When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
Matthew 24:31	Mark 13:27
And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other	And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.
Matthew 24:32	Mark 13:28	Luke 21:29-30
"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.	"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.	He told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near.
Matthew 24:33	Mark 13:29	Luke 21:31
Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.	Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door.	Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
Matthew 24:34	Mark 13:30	Luke 21:32
I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.	I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened	"I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
Matthew 24:35	Mark 13:31	Luke 21:33
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away	Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.	Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Matthew 24:36	Mark 13:32
"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.	"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Matthew 24:37		Luke 17:26
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.		"Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.
Matthew 24:38		Luke 17:27a
For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;		People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark.
Matthew 24:39a		Luke 17:27b
and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.		Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
		Luke 17:28
		"It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.
		Luke 17:29
		But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
Matthew 24:39b		Luke 17:30
That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.		"It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
		Luke 17:32
		Remember Lot's wife!
		Luke 17:33
		Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
		Luke 17:34
		I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.
Matthew 24:40		Luke 17:36
Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.		(Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.)
Matthew 24:41		Luke 17:35
Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.		Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left."
Matthew 24:42	Mark 13:33
"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come	Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.

Footnotes

3. The Beasts of Revelation

Appendix 3:
The Beasts of Revelation

In this Appendix we put together discussions of the various beasts throughout scripture with the descriptions given. We use our principles of exegesis to analyze them. There will be, as a result, considerable overlap with the discussion in Revelation chapter 13. The authors decided, in the interest of completeness, to lean toward duplication so that the beasts could be studied on their own in the context of the events of the Last Days.

We begin this section with a general discussion of beasts as presented throughout scripture. Because of the complexity of the subject and the intent of the current work, we will concentrate on those most relevant to understanding the events of the Last Days. In discussing the beasts in the bible and in Revelation, we will generally compare to the Antichrist, the beast from the sea in Revelation 13:1.

Beasts in Scripture

Throughout scripture various composite beasts are associated with the End Times, with opponents of God and the saints, or both. This is particularly the case in Daniel and Revelation. A full study of the beasts in scripture would require a book of its own. For out purposes, it is worthwhile looking at the beasts associated with various anti-God empires of history. These particular empires we refer to as “Beast Empires.”

What makes a people a “Beast Empire?”

Important and generally negative impact on the Jews.
Has a symbolic beast associated with it in scripture (for past empires)
They are:
1. Egypt
2. Assyria
3. Babylon
4. Persia
5. Greece
6. Rome
7. Third Reich(?)
8. Empire of the Antichrist (the eighth and final)

Beasts in Daniel. Daniel mentions relevant beasts in chapters 2, 7, and 8. In each case, they cover all of history as well as times leading up to and including the Last Days. In chapter 2 a man made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay is shown to Nebuchadnezzar in a dream that is subsequently interpreted by Daniel. The parts of the man are Babylon (gold), Media-Persia (silver), Greece (bronze), Rome (iron), and the Last Days kingdom (iron and clay). These are some of the kingdoms that scripture sees to be of greatest relevance to the people of God across time.

In chapter 7, Daniel has visions of four beasts. The first, a lion with eagle’s wings, is likely Babylon, though sphynx-like creatures are associated with many ancient kingdoms including Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and Greece. The second beast is a bear, probably representing the Medes and the Persians. The third is a four-headed winged leopard which is most likely the four successor kingdoms of Alexander with particular emphasis on the Seleucid kingdom of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The fourth, called out as different from the others, had large iron teeth and ten horns. It almost certainly represents Rome and Rome’s successor kingdom of the End Times.

Finally, in Daniel chapter 8 a ram with two horns (Media-Persia) is destroyed by a male goat with one horn that breaks into four. This is clearly Alexander the Great and the four successor kingdoms of his empire. From one of the four horns grows a “little horn”. This little horn is both Antiochus Epiphanes (type) and the Antichrist (antitype).

We see in Daniel two competing but also complementary trends. First, the beasts and the kingdoms they represent are sequential, with each replacing the one before. The exception is Rome, for which the kingdom of the Antichrist is a successor, but not a replacement. The second trend is that the kingdoms are in some way related. The clearest representation of this is the statue of chapter 2, where the kingdoms are shown in one united figure. The significance of this is hinted at in Daniel in the ways they are portrayed and interlinked, but the true meaning isn’t made clear in scripture until Revelation.

The beasts of Daniel are all included in the Antichrist Kingdoms of Revelation: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media/Persia, Greece and the Seleucids (these are the five that “were” in Revelation), Rome (the one that currently is), one that will come for a little time (possibly Hitler), and finally the Last Days kingdom of the literal Antichrist. John makes it clear that the final kingdom is “of and like the others”. This stresses the composite but yet sequential nature of the kingdoms of Daniel, but also clarifies that they are all opposed to God and to his people.

Other beasts appear in the Old Testament besides the ones in Daniel. Of greatest significance (primarily because they are alluded to in Revelation in the context of the Last Days) are Rahab and Leviathan. Both can represent sea monsters (hence beasts from the sea), though Leviathan can simply be a crocodile or a whale.[1] We discuss the beast from the sea where it appears in Revelation.

Beasts in Revelation. The book of Revelation is the second source (after Daniel) of monsters related to the Last Days. They are central to the book, and all closely resemble each other. We shall discuss this similarity in detail below.

Satan.[2] The first beast mentioned in Revelation[3] is Satan, who in Revelation is called “the Dragon”. His origin is in heaven, and it is the other beasts’ resemblance to him that mark them as his creatures. John sees him as a large red dragon with seven heads, seven crowns, and ten horns. This description, similar but not identical to the description of the other beasts of Revelation, indicates that he is their progenitor and controller.

The Antichrist.[4] The second, risen from the sea (or the abyss), is simply called “the beast” in Revelation. He is the Antichrist, ruler of the final anti-God kingdom of the Last Days. We call him here the Antichrist following centuries of tradition, but he is never called that in Revelation.

The beast from the sea and Satan are so similar in description that it is tempting to equate them, but this should be resisted. Two arguments show why. First, Satan is already active on the earth when this beast appears, having appeared in chapter 12. It is only in chapter 13 that the beast representing the Antichrist in all his power appears, possibly directly summoned by Satan. Second, this beast is given the authority of Satan, indicating they are separate. Rather than see them as the same creature, it is better to view the Antichrist, a counterfeit Christ in all ways, as being a counterfeit incarnation of Satan.

It must be observed that the rising of the beast from the sea is not the first appearance in Revelation of the man who is the Antichrist. He is most likely the first horseman who appears at the first seal. There, he is only a man. In chapter 13, after the man is apparently slain and resurrected, the beast is directly called forth by Satan and given authority over the nations of the world. He is also mentioned in chapter 11 where he kills the two witnesses, though in chapter 13 their murders are yet future. The summoning and rise of the beast from the sea is the revelation of the Antichrist at the midpoint of the Seventieth Week that Christ tells us to watch for. The man is now fully possessed by Satan and under his direct control. His symbology in Revelation is so similar to that of Satan’s because he is, at that point, fully a creature of Satan.

The False Prophet.[5] Third is the beast from the earth which serves the second beast and carries out his orders. This is the “False Prophet”. His description is less detailed than that of any other beast in Revelation. He has two horns like a lamb but speaks like a dragon, meaning he appears innocent and even holy, but speaks the words of Satan. That the False Prophet speaks like a dragon and carries out the commands of the Antichrist further shows that the Antichrist and Satan are completely aligned.

The Whore of Babylon[6] and her mount. Finally, the Whore of Babylon, called “the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth”, is seated on “the scarlet beast”, another creature resembling the other three. The whore and her mount represent two things. Specifically, she represents the final anti-God pseudo-religious system of the Last Days. The mount may also be seen as a composite of the anti-God systems of history, including that of the Antichrist.

This last can be seen in the seven heads of the mount. They represent two things, according to the angel’s explanation to John. First, they are seven hills on which the woman sits. By far the most sensible explanation is to take them as the seven hills of Rome, and perhaps also as representing a reincarnated Roman Empire in the Last Days. It is, of course, quite possible that the Last Days’ fake religious system will be headquartered in Rome.

The seven heads also represent seven evil empires across history, empires with particular animus toward the people of God. Five of the empires had fallen when John received his visions (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media-Persia, and Greece), one still existed (Rome), and one would come for a little while. This last is difficult to identify and may be yet future to us, though the “Thousand Year Reich” of Adolph Hitler is an excellent possibility. The Beast, the Antichrist of the Last Days, is said to be an eighth king but “of the seven”. This could have several meanings. It may simply mean he is like the other seven, but may also mean he is a continuation or resurrection of one of the others. This latter is consistent with his being in some sense a continuation or rebirth of the Roman Empire, consistent with the iron and clay feet of the statue in Daniel 2.

Though at first it seems very strange that the seven heads represent something as different as seven hill and seven kings, the two references fit together perfectly if the final Antichrist kingdom will be a sort of reincarnation of Rome (the statue in Daniel 2) and also “of the seven” prior anti-God kingdoms. Many interpretations are possible, but the most likely is that the final kingdom will both be a re-forming of Rome and closely resemble all the previous kingdoms.

Interrelationships Among the Beasts.

We should briefly discuss the relationship among the beast from the sea, the beast from the abyss, and the Whore’s mount, which is also said to arise from the abyss. We will then move on to a more detailed treatment of the similarities and differences of the various beasts.

We have previously discussed the relationship between the beast from the sea and the Whore’s mount: the beast is the Antichrist and the Whore’s mount is both his Last Days empire and the anti-God empires across time. But what is the relationship between the beast from the sea, whom we and practically everyone else calls the Antichrist, and the beast from the abyss who kills the two witnesses? It is almost certain that they are the same. First, the way the beast from the abyss is introduced in chapter 11 strongly implies that the reader either knows, or will know, who he is. If he is not to be equated to the beast from the sea, it is difficult to say where he otherwise appears in Revelation. He cannot be the Whore’s mount because that represents an empire or empires and not an individual. We can equate the two beasts by observing that ἄβυσσος in Greek means “bottomless deep” and is often used to mean the sea in scripture. We will return to the meaning of abyss shortly.

There are other similarities worth discussing among the beasts of Revelation. The beast from the sea and the mount of the Whore both have seven heads and ten horns,[7] and both have blasphemous names written on them. True, the beast from the sea has a blasphemous name on each head, while the Whore’s mount is covered with them, but the former most likely presents a detail of the latter description.

The beast from the sea has ten crowns on the ten horns while the Whore’s beast has ten horns which are ten kings,[8] but kings may be presumed to have crowns. This shows they are closely related but, as we discussed earlier, it is best to take the first as referring to a man and the second to symbolize (at least in part) his empire. This latter point would imply that the false religion of the last days (the Whore) originally controls the Antichrist’s empire.

Now consider the relationship of the Antichrist and the dragon. Like the Antichrist, the dragon has seven heads and ten horns,[9] but this time the seven heads have the crowns. The seven heads of the Whore’s beast are also kings,[10] and, as mentioned previously, presumably have crowns. In this way and in its color (fiery red) the dragon resembles the beast that represents the Antichrist and all anti-God empires.

Since there are no direct contradictions in the descriptions of the dragon, the witnesses’ killer, the beast from the sea, and the scarlet beast ridden by the Whore, the differences could perhaps be explained by taking each description to be incomplete. Imagine a beast with the following properties:

Property	Monster Showing Property
Bright red	Dragon, Scarlet Beast
From the Abyss	Witnesses’ killer, Scarlet Beast, the Beast from the Sea
10 crowned horns	Dragon (horns), Scarlet Beast and Beast from Sea (horns, crowns each representing a king or kingdom)
Kills God’s people	Beast from the Abyss, Beast from the Sea.[11]
7 crowned heads	Dragon (heads, crowns), Beast from Sea (heads) each representing a king or kingdom
Blasphemous names	Beast from Sea (on heads), Scarlet Beast (all over, in particular on his seven heads)

Each description would therefore be part of the complete one and all the beasts would look the same. This approach, however, is at least partially in error. Some things that appear different aren’t while others that appear identical are not. The first is the easiest to clear up. It largely hinges on whether the abyss and the sea are the same thing.

The first beast of chapter 13 came up from the sea, while the beast who killed the two witnesses and the scarlet beast came from the abyss. The Greek word ἄβυσσος simply means “without bottom”, or “bottomless”. It is used in three different senses in scripture. In the Septuagint translation of Genesis 1:2 it is used to translate the Hebrew “tehom” which the NIV translates as “the deep”. The same Hebrew word in Psalm 148:7 means the ocean. In Psalm 71 it means either the depths of the earth or the abode of the dead (or both). Perhaps some additional support for equating the abyss with the ocean comes from Job 26:5. The NIV says, "The dead are in deep anguish, those beneath the waters and all that live in them.”

The second meaning of abyss, and the primary one in the NT, is the abode of demons. It appears in that sense six times in Revelation (seven if the beast of Revelation 11 is not the Antichrist) and once in Luke 8:31. Its final usage in scripture comes from Romans 10:7, where it refers to the realm of the dead (though NIV translates it “the deep”).

It is likely John had both the ocean deep and the abode of demons in mind when he speaks of the origin of the Antichrist. It therefore seems logical to equate the beast from the sea and the beast from the abyss and call them both the Antichrist.

Now for things that appear to be the same but are not. Most important of these is the relationship between the Dragon and the Antichrist. Their physical features can be equated but they differ in several other important ways. The Antichrist comes up from the abyss or the sea. It is true that Satan spends the Millennium in the abyss,[12] and that the abyss is an abode of demons,[13] but Heaven is Satan’s origin,[14] not the abyss. Heaven is also where the Dragon first appears.[15]

Further evidence that Satan and the Antichrist are similar but not identical is that both are thrown into the Lake of Fire, but at different times. The Antichrist (and the False Prophet) are thrown there at the beginning of the Millennium,[16] while Satan doesn’t join them until after the Millennium.[17]. In addition, we are told the Dragon gives authority to the Antichrist,[18] which both links and distinguishes them.

Footnotes

4. The Day of the Lord

Appendix 4:
The Day of the Lord and the Wrath of God

The Day of the Lord is mentioned twenty-four times in the Bible, entirely in the prophets and the New Testament.  It always refers to a period of God’s judgment on mankind.  That judgment may be an historic event, such as the invasion of Israel by Babylon,[1] an indeterminate period of judgment on the world,[2] or a future time when God’s judgment will fall upon all nations.[3] By far the most common meaning is the last one, the most intense part of the Last Days. Two important things to be determined about the Day of the Lord are when within the last days it occurs and what it comprises.

In this study, we will discover that the Day of the Lord covers the period from the Sixth Seal through the Seventh Trumpet and spans the time from the great persecutions by the Antichrist (the Great Tribulation) until Christ returns.  We will show that in scripture the Wrath of God and the Day of the Lord are equivalent, with the same signs announcing them, accompanying them, and concluding them.

The most important sign preceding the Day of the Lord is the darkening of the sun and the moon.

The book of Joel is a single long prophecy concerning the Day of the Lord.[4]  He tells us the important sign which precedes the Day:

(Joel 2) {31} The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.

This verse, quoted by Peter at Pentecost,[5] places the darkening of the sun and the moon before the onset of the Day of the Lord.  In Hebrew and Greek the word translated “before” has unambiguous meaning. Likewise, there is no reason to believe that “great and dreadful”[6] is anything other than a modifier on “Day of the Lord”, possibly meant to distinguish the ultimate Day of the Lord from its types in Israelite history.  According to this scripture, this darkening must precede the Day of the Lord.

Christ himself mentions the darkening of sun and moon in the Olivet Discourse.

(Matthew 24) {29} Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.

The first half of this quotes the passage from Joel, while the second paraphrases an important passage from Isaiah.  The latter is given here in full:

(Isaiah 34) {4} All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree.

A few verses later Isaiah gives the context:

(Isaiah 34) {8} For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion's cause.

This likely refers to the Day of the Lord.
Revelation gives more details while covering essentially the same ground:

(Revelation 6) {12} I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, {13} and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.  {14} The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

It is therefore best to assume that Christ in the Olivet Discourse, Isaiah, and John at the sixth seal of Revelation all speak of the same period, and that that period comes “immediately after the distress of those days”. Eight verses earlier in the Olivet Discourse, Christ calls this distress the “great distress”, the greatest the world will ever see.  The King James translates θλῖψιςas as “tribulation”.[7]  This is the Great Tribulation which follows the revealing of the Antichrist.

We have therefore firmly placed the Day of the Lord in the events of the end times.  First come the persecutions of the Antichrist, then the darkening of sun and moon, and then the Day of the Lord.

Now we need to determine what events occur within the time known as the Day of the Lord. The first important passage for understanding the Day of the Lord comes from Isaiah:

(Isaiah 13) {6} Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.  {7} Because of this, all hands will go limp, every man's heart will melt.  {8} Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame.  {9} See, the day of the LORD is coming --a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger-- to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. {10} The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.  {11} I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless.  {12} I will make man scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir.  {13} Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD Almighty, in the day of his burning anger.[8]

There are several important conclusions we can draw from this passage:

First, the purpose of the Day of the Lord is to “punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins, ... put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and ... humble the pride of the ruthless.”  In it, God “will destroy the sinners within” the land.

Second, various signs will accompany the Day of the Lord.  These include terror among men; the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars; and the shaking of both heavens and earth.

Third, the Day of the Lord will be a time of God’s wrath and fierce anger.  The words used in the Septuagint in verse 13 for wrath (orge) and anger (thumos) are the same ones used in Revelation for the Wrath of God.

Isaiah has another passage with relevance here:

(Isaiah 2) {10} Go into the rocks, hide in the ground from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty!   {11} The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. {12} The LORD Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled), … {16} for every trading ship and every stately vessel.  {17} The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day, … {19} Men will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. … {21} They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth.

The term “that day” often refers to a period of God’s judgment, though not always to the judgment associated with the last days.[9]  Here it seems certain that the prophecy is for the end times, and that “that day” is the Day of the Lord.  This passage points to a day that the Lord has “in store for all the proud and lofty” wherein the “arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low”.

That day is “for all the proud and lofty,” and not aimed at Christians.  We are not appointed to suffer wrath,[10] but that passage alone states nothing about whether the Church shall be on earth during the time known as the Wrath of God.  In concert with this passage from Isaiah, however, Christians not being appointed to suffer wrath may just mean that it is not aimed at them.

The passage below strongly parallels the previous passage where the Day of the Lord will “put an end to the arrogance of the haughty”.[11]  Note also the close similarity between verse 21 and Revelation 6:15-17, the sixth seal:

(Revelation 6) {15} Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.  {16} They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!  {17} For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"

These passages, with their prophecy of the proud fleeing to hide from God in caves and crags, refer to the events announced by the sixth seal in Revelation. It is also possible that the reference to trading ships in verse 16 of the Isaiah quote refers to the same events as Revelation 18:19 where Babylon’s trading ships are brought low.

Joel speaks of a time when Jerusalem will be restored to its glory, presumably under the control of the Jews.  This has happened twice in history, at the end of the Babylonian captivity and in 1967 when Israel recaptured the city during the Six Day War.  It will happen once more when the Antichrist is driven from power.  Only after that final time will:

(Joel 3) {20} Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all generations.

Zechariah speaks of the same invasion and the same judgment.  Verse 10 is almost universally taken by Christians to occur when Christ returns.

(Zechariah 12) {3} On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. …  {9} On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.  {10} "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.  {11} On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.”[12]

The events described concern a great invasion of Israel which brings judgment both on the Jews and on the invading nations.  The Last Days invasion starts at Armageddon and ends with the return of Christ.

The Valley of Jehoshaphat is traditionally identified with the Kidron valley outside Jerusalem.  This fits with the descriptions of the final battle in Zechariah and elsewhere.  It seems that though the enemies of Israel gather at Armageddon, the real fighting is around Jerusalem.  Since Christ, on his return, sets foot first on the Mount of Olives (both Acts[13] and Zechariah[14] affirm this), this supports the fighting being around Jerusalem.

Therefore, from Joel and Matthew, we place the Great Tribulation of the end times before the darkening of the sun and the moon, and the Day of the Lord after them.  Since the sun and the moon are darkened in close association with the Day of the Lord,[15] we presume they occur in quick succession.

The final battle being near Jerusalem is shown in Joel as well:

(Joel 3) {11} Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there.  Bring down your warriors, O LORD!  {12} Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side.  {13} Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow-- so great is their wickedness!  {14} Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.  {15} The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine.  {16} The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.

This seems to say the darkening of the sun and the moon accompanies the Lord roaring from Zion.  The word “near” in verse 14 means “approaches” or “at hand”.  This order, and the rapid sequence of it, is identical to Matthew 24:29-30.  Matthew also adds that this follows the great tribulation of the end times. In Revelation, the sickle, the harvest, and the trampling of the grapes of wrath are all about this time also.

There are many things to notice about this passage. 1) there are two sets of warriors being assembled: those of men and those of God. 2) “Is near” translates the Hebrew word קָרוֹב֙ which always means something that is approaching or is close by.  It does not refer to things which have already happened.  Therefore, these events occur in the immediate setting of the Day of the Lord.  3) The judgment on the armies which accompanies the coming of the Lord is called a harvest gathered by sickle and a trampling of grapes. This is identical to the images immediately preceding the seven bowls of God’s wrath.[16] 4) The sun and the moon will be darkened and then the Lord will come forth, accompanied by the shaking of earth and sky.

A darkening of the sun and moon is part of the fourth[17]  and fifth[18] trumpets and possibly the fifth plague.[19] The gathering of the armies and the darkening of the sun and the moon take place at the latest at the very beginning of the Day of the Lord.  This is consistent with the order in Joel and Matthew.

Summary

The Day of the Lord is the primarily the day Christ returns and destroys the enemies of God. It also, somewhat more loosely, refers to the period of the fury of God, the seven plagues. It must follow the coming of Elijah. If his coming is mentioned in Revelation, it is that he is one of the two prophets killed by the Antichrist. The Day of the Lord must also follow the Great Tribulation and the darkening of the sun and the moon. There is nothing in Revelation earlier than the sixth seal which must happen as part of the Day of the Lord. Since the sixth seal[20] announces the Wrath of God and contains the necessary predecessor to the Day of the Lord, the best conclusion is that the events of the seventh seal[21] are the events of the Day of the Lord.  They are also the events of the Wrath of God and hence the two are the same. Both periods end with the Antichrist’s armies destroyed and him thrown into the lake of fire as Christ begins his Millennial reign.

Footnotes

5. The Milllenium

Appendix 5:
The Millennium

The Millennium is a prophesied period of a thousand years following on from the destruction of the Antichrist and his armies and leading to the Last Judgment, the destruction of the old heavens and earth, and the arrival of the new and eternal heavens and earth. It is a period of Christ’s direct rule upon the earth following the Second Coming.

There are dozens of places where scripture prophesizes that there will be a future rule of a descendent of David which will be a period of lasting peace for Israel. Nearly all these scriptures have associated with them prophesies that are related to the last days and complete the fulfillment of the saving Christ with the ruling Christ. This section presents some of these scriptures, culminating in the most important one, that of Revelation 20. It then discusses different views of the Millennium, the scriptures supporting and contradicting each one, presents the position taken by the authors, and concludes with a discussion of the events that take place during the Millennium.

Isaiah 2:1-4. Following the Principles of Exegesis, the events in this scripture correlate to the last days:

(Isaiah 2) {1} This is the message that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem: {2} In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.{3] And many peoples will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. {4} Then He will judge between the nations and arbitrate for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against nation, nor train anymore for war.

Isaiah 9:6-7 goes on to associate these events with what is probably the most famous prophecy in all the Bible:

(Isaiah 9){6} For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. {7} Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

This next scripture speaks of events associated with both Christ’s first and second comings and associates him with the unending rule of a descendent of David.

Isaiah 11:1-11:

(Isaiah 11) {1} A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. {2} The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him--
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord--
{3} and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; {4} but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. {5} Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. {6} The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. {7} The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. {8} The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. {9} As they will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. {10} In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. {11} In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.

All of Isaiah chapter 11 has to do with the restoration of Israel, the battle against the Antichrist, the restoration of David’s kingdom, and the Millennium. The order of events in this passage is somewhat out of order (not an unusual situation for Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ). The elements of the last days are here, however. Putting them in the order found in the rest of scripture we have:

The second restoration of Israel to its land (verse 11). This prophecy is already fulfilled, starting with the re-founding of Israel in 1948.
The destruction of the Antichrist and his armies (verse 4). This takes place at the battle of Jerusalem when Christ returns.
The Millennium (verse 9).
The new heavens and new earth (verses 6-8).

Isaiah is hardly the only prophet shown events associated with the rule of the house of David: Jeremiah has two nearly identical prophesies related to this. He says:

(Jeremiah 23) {5} The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
    and do what is just and right in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
    and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
    The Lord Our Righteous Savior.

Again, in chapter 33 he says essentially the same thing:

(Jeremiah 33) {15} In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. {16} In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’

It is worth noting that “Jesus” means “God the Savior”. The Old Testament prophesies of the coming rule of David’s Son fall into two categories: either the rule will be eternal, or the length of the rule is unspecified. Nowhere does the Old Testament give a length of this reign, though many of the Old Testament prophecies are clearly associated with events such as the final battle at Jerusalem that we know from other scriptures are coupled with the events at the end of Daniel’s Seventieth Week.

Daniel himself prophesies what can only be the Millennium and the eternal reign of Christ. All of chapter seven of Daniel’s book concerns the events of the last days. Of particular interest concerning the Millennium are verses 13 and 14:

(Daniel 7) {13} In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. {14} And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

This prophecy, like many in the Bible, combine the reign of Christ on earth with his eternal rule.

There are, in addition, prophesies of Christ’s sitting on David’s throne in the New Testament. The meeting of the angel Gabriel with the Virgin Mary tells of Christ’s coming rule:

(Luke 1) {29} Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. {30} But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. {31} You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. {32} He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, {33} and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.

The book of Revelation[1] is the only place that sets a limit to the length of the rule of Christ on earth, saying it will last for a thousand years. Revelation chapter 20 says:

(Revelation 20) {1} And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. {2} He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. {3} He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. {4} I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. {5} (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. {6} Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. {7} When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison {8} and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.

Although this scripture covers a specific period of time and most of the other scriptures relating to the reign of the son of David speak of eternal rule, there is less difference than might be apparent at the start. The reason is that, according to Revelation 20, immediately after Christ’s thousand-year reign on earth”

(Revelation 21) {1} And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

Since Christ continues to reign in the new earth, his rule is indeed eternal.

Views of the Millennium

There are three main views of the Millennium. They are called the “Amillennial”, “Postmillennial”, and “Premillennial” views. We will briefly explore each one in turn and end with the authors’ interpretation of scripture on the topic. Before we begin, however, it should be stressed that like all other issues related to the last days (save the actual return of Christ for the Last Judgment), this is an ‘open-handed’ issue. No one’s salvation or relationship with Christ depends on what they think about the Millennium. That said, as with all open-handed issues, it is still important to try to understand what scripture says and what its significance is.

The names “amillennial”, “postmillennial”, and “premillennial” apply to when, with respect to the millennium, Christ returns. We will look now at the three major interpretations of these prophecies.

The Amillennial Position

Though there are variations within the Amillennial position, it takes the least literal approach to scripture. It teaches that there is no special thousand-year period during which Christ or his saints will reign in person on earth. Instead, during all or the final part of the church age Christ will exercise spiritual influence on earth through the church. At the end of the church age, he will return for the Last Judgment and to establish his eternal kingdom in heaven.

Some of those holding this view object to the term “Amillennial” being applied to what they believe. The center of this objection is that they believe in an already-realized Millennium that is 1) spiritual but not physical, 2) ongoing through Christ’s current reign in heaven, and 3) of no specific length. They make a great deal of the scriptures such as John 18:36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

Another such scripture is in Luke:

(Luke 17) {20} When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs. {21} Nor will people say, ‘Look, here it is,’ or ‘There it is.’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst…”

Objections to the Amillennial Position
Jesus tells Pilate[2] “But now my kingdom is from another place.” The word translated as “now” is “νῦν”. To quote Strong’s Concordance, “νῦν” means, “adv. (a) of time: ‘just now, even now; just at hand, immediately’, (b) of logical connection: ‘now then’, (c) in commands and appeals: ‘at this instant’.” In other words, Christ is saying to Pontius Pilate, “My kingdom is currently elsewhere.” All interpretations of the Millennium agree that the current location of the kingdom of God and Christ is in heaven.

Using the verse from Luke to deny a literal Millennium shows a mistaken identification of the “Kingdom of God” and the Millennial kingdom of Christ. It is a confusion of the part for the whole. Certainly, the Kingdom of God includes the Millennial rule of Christ, but it also includes Christ’s and the Holy Sprit’s actions during the church age as well as the eternal reign of Christ in the new heavens and the new earth. That this is the case is clear from the verses following the quoted ones where Christ explains to his disciples what he just said to the Pharisees:

(Luke 17) {24} For just as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so will be the Son of Man in His day.

In other words, when Christ comes at the start of the Millennium, it will be very apparent, but for now, the Kingdom of God, already extant, is within those who follow Christ. This same confusion of the part for the whole applies to many other verses used by those who hold the Amillennial position.
The Amillennial interpretation selectively spiritualizes away Revelation. Why, for example, if what John says about a literal reign of Christ on earth is false, should we believe in, say, the last judgment? Or if the thousand years are metaphorical, why believe any of the numbers in Revelation? For there are many numbers used throughout Revelation and the book (and, indeed, all of scripture) makes considerable effort to show how they interrelate, indicating that they are meant to be taken literally. A good example is the length of the reign of the Antichrist. In various places the length of this is given as 1260 days, 42 months, and 3½ years. If none of them is meant to be taken as a specific length of time, then why the efforts to equate them? And if they are meant to be taken literally, why them and not the thousand years from the same book by the same author?
The Amillennial position, like the similar Postmillennial position, seems to have no consistent way to determine which scriptures are to be taken literally and which metaphorically or symbolically. One of the Principles of Exegesis is that a scripture is to be taken literally unless it is clearly meant in some other sense. Thus, Christ is the Lamb of God but that doesn’t mean he has fleece. Nothing in any of the scriptures concerning the rule of David’s son gives any indication that anything other than a literal rule is meant. If, however, that rule is literal, then neither the Amillennial nor the Postmillennial interpretations can be supported.
The Amillennial position essentially spiritualizes away the prophecies concerning the Millennium and, generally, all prophesies concerning the last days. This reflects a tendency in the modern Church. It shows a lack of faith to spiritualize away unfulfilled prophecy while generally accepting the literal fulfillment of other prophecy. This spiritualization of all unfulfilled prophecy eliminates those surrounding Christ’s return, his rule on the earth, and his judgment of the earth. As we have pointed out elsewhere, just because we stand at a particular point of time does not change how we should interpret prophecy. Though we certainly have more information on already-fulfilled prophecy compared to prophecy of events yet future, the principle of interpretation remains the same: prophecy concerning future events, when they are fulfilled, will be seen to have been fulfilled in a manner appropriate for both those who heard the original prophecy and those living at the time of fulfillment. Remember that Jesus says that all prophecy will be fulfilled.

The Postmillennial Position

Like the Amillennial position, the Postmillennial approach teaches that the thousand years of Revelation 20 are metaphorical, and that Christ will return to earth for the Last Judgment but not for a literal thousand-year reign. One major difference between the two is that the Postmillennial position teaches that mankind will gradually be perfected as the teachings of Christ spread. Both positions believe that all the prophesies concerning the return of Christ (including the destruction of the Antichrist) will be accomplished by Christ through his followers. The Postmillennial position was quite popular in the Nineteenth Century but its optimism of the perfectibility of mankind did not survive the slaughters and totalitarian ideologies of the Twentieth.

Among the verses used to support the postmillennial position are:

(John 12) {32} And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw
everyone to Myself.”

(Hebrews 10) {12} But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God. {13} Since that time, He waits for His enemies to be made a footstool for His feet, {14} because by a single offering He has made perfect for all time those who are being sanctified. {15} The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First He says: {16}“This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their hearts and inscribe them on their minds.”{17} Then He adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” {18} And where these have been forgiven, an offering for sin is no longer needed.

The Postmillennial position generally teaches that in Christ’s redemptive work on the cross essentially all the requirements for the inauguration of his kingdom were put into place and that it was with the work of the church that it was to be realized. The scriptures supporting this position tend to be like the two examples here in that in Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection the work of redemption was finished and the salvation of mankind inevitable.

Objections to the Postmillennial Position

Most of the objections to the Postmillennial position are similar to objections to the Amillennial position: it selectively takes scripture literally or metaphorically without a clear reason for choosing between the two. Where the Amillennial position tends to confuse the kingdom of God with the Millennium (as discussed above), the Postmillennial position confuses the once-forever work of salvation done by Christ on the cross with two things: first, with the spreading of that salvation to the world and second by assuming that therefore everything done by Christ has to do with that act of salvation. It will be agreed to by all orthodox Christians that Christ’s sacrifice, if appropriated by men, is necessary and sufficient for their salvation, but to believe that that sacrifice subsumes the prophecies of Christ’s rule on earth is to confuse the role of Christ in salvation with his role as David’s son.

The Premillennial Position

Premillennialism (in the sense of a reign of David’s son on earth over a physical kingdom) predates Christianity, tracing its roots to old testament prophets. As a Christian position it owes its original prominence to Justin Martyr in the second century. From his day until the time of St. Augustine of Hippo (3rd - 4thcentury) it was the dominant position of the church. It regained popularity in the modern era starting with the dispensationalist writings of John Nelson Darby in the 19th century.

This position takes the scripture in Revelation 20 and the scriptures related to the reign of David’s son literally. The premillennial position is also called “chiliasm” from the Greek word for 1000.[3]

There will be after the rise and fall of the Antichrist a period of a thousand years when Christ (along with his followers) will reign on earth. This period will be for the Jews a fulfillment of the prophecies concerning David’s son and for Christians a fulfillment of prophecies of Christ’s return and their rule with him on earth. Following the Millennium, the earth and heavens will end and there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and the kingdom of God will be with men forever.

Objections to the Premillennial Position

Those who disagree with the premillennial position either take a general “metaphorical” view of prophecy (in which case they rarely cite scripture that contradicts the literalness of Revelation 20) or they support one of the other two main positions discussed above (in which case they cite the scripture discussed under those two positions). The authors do not know of any scriptures that state or imply that the events of the Millennium are metaphorical.

Minority Views of the Millennium

These are many and varied, including those who hold that not only the Millennium, but the Second Coming took place in or around 70 AD. Such positions are generally held by those who believe all prophecy, including prophecies of the last days, were short-term and all/or nearly all were fulfilled by the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Those wishing to explore these positions (which the authors believe arise from erroneous interpretations of scripture) are encouraged to read the writings of those who support them.

The Layout of the Millennium

The authors believe that the prophecy of a thousand-year reign of Christ on earth is, like the rest of Revelation and, indeed, the rest of prophecy, meant to be taken literally. This section will place the Millennium in the context of the other important events of the last days.

The Millennium takes place following the end of Daniel’s Seventieth Week and before the last judgment and the arrival of the new heavens and the new earth. It is, as mentioned above, the fulfillment of the prophesies of the reign of David’s descendent and the Messiah on the earth and of the simultaneous reign of the saints. Although the direct prophecy of the Millennium is relatively short, scripture discusses several events that take place in and around that period. In this section we will outline those events.

From the end of the Seventieth week to the start of the Millennium. The reign of the Antichrist lasts three and a half years from his profaning the temple until his downfall during the wrath of God. This period of his rule is the second half of Daniel’s Seventieth week. In chapter 12, Daniel gives two additional periods of time that, given the context, are related to the 1,260-day reign of the Antichrist and to the period immediately afterwards. An angel tells Daniel:

(Daniel 12) {11} From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. {12} Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.

Since we know that the abomination that causes desolation is the unveiling of the Antichrist and the start of his reign, the first of these periods (the 1,290 days) must start at the same time (and with the same event) as the 1,260-day reign of the Antichrist. What the additional 30 days are and what happens during them is not stated in the passage in Daniel. It is possible that this is the period of the seven plagues in chapters 15 and 16 of Revelation. Since with the plagues God had begun his retribution against the Beast, it makes sense to not count that period as part of his reign. On the other hand, the plagues do not fit into the promises of Christ’s rule on earth either, so it makes logical sense (though without direct scriptural support) to assign those 30 days to the seven last plagues. The period of the plagues is short (“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened”).[4]

What are the additional 45 days to bring us to the total of 1,335 days mentioned by the angel? It is, of course, impossible to say with certainty, but one possible solution is that that is the period required to organize the armies of the Beast in the attempt to retake Jerusalem. That attempt fails with the return of Christ, the Rapture of the church, and the start of his millennial rule.

At the conclusion, therefore, of the 1,335 days (and the return of Christ), the Millennium begins.

Satan is bound for a thousand years. An angel who has the key to the Abyss seizes Satan at the start of the Millennium and binds him in the Abyss for a thousand years. This angel is Abaddon (he is named in Revelation 9:11). Satan there joins the demons that had possessed the Gadarene swine.[5] The Abyss is the origin of the “Beast from the Sea”, the Antichrist,[6] and the locusts that plague those who do not have the seal of God.[7]

Satan is bound there for the thousand years of the Millennium but will be released one last time at the end (see below).

The first resurrection and the reign of the saints. Immediately after seeing the binding of Satan, those who had been martyred for Christ are resurrected and placed upon thrones to co-rule with Christ.

(Revelation 20) {4} I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. {5} (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. {6} Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

Who are these that are resurrected? They clearly include those who did not take the mark of the beast or worship him and were martyred by him. At first look, it would appear that this scripture says that only these end-times martyrs that are meant, since the next verse says that the rest of the dead do not come to life until the end of the Millennium. But a careful reading (supported by other scripture) expands the class of people participating in the first resurrection. Verse 4 can be translated to read, “And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. And I also saw those who had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received is mark.” This reading would imply that it is Christian martyrs of all ages that are resurrected at this time.

Supporting this (and possibly expanding the set of people meant here) is what Paul says in 1 Cor 6:2: “Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world?”. From the context he is not just referring to martyrs. If Christians are to judge the world, when would it be other than at the time of the Millennium?

Further supporting the idea that those participating in the first resurrection are the blessed dead of all ages is 1 Peter 2:9a: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood”. This fits exactly with Revelation 20:6.

Probably the best interpretation of these passages is that John sees three intersecting groups of people. Together they are those who died in Christ (and, presumably, also including those who were transformed at the Rapture). The three groups are those on the thrones, the martyrs of all ages, and those martyred by the Beast.

Objections to this inclusion of all those who have died in Christ as ruling in the Millennium comes from the next section of this chapter where the dead are judged. This would imply that the people seen here are rewarded with their thrones before being judged. That objection would, however, seem to apply to anyone participating in the first resurrection. A careful reading of Revelation 20: 12-15, though, shows that there are two sets of books at the last judgment: the books of people’s acts and the book of life. Those who reign with Christ will still have their acts judged, but their position in the book of life is already secure.

Seven months of burying the dead from the battle at Jerusalem and an undisclosed period of finding and burying the remaining bones. Ezekiel, in chapter 39, discusses events relevant to this period. It speaks of a final battle and its aftermath. It, like so many end-times prophecies in the old Testament, is a mix of prophecies from different times. Despite the use of Gog in this passage (Gog also appears in Revelation after the Millennium), most of chapter 39 refers to events just before and during the beginning of the Millennium. The reason we know this is that the events take place on earth in the land of Israel and not in the new heavens or new earth. Another support of this interpretation comes from Ezekiel:

(Ezekiel 39) {17} Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: `Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood. {18} You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls--all of them fattened animals from Bashan. {19} At the sacrifice I am preparing for you, you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk. {20} At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,' declares the Sovereign LORD.

This parallels Revelation:

(Revelation 19) {17} And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, {18} so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small”.

One of the principles of exegesis we presented is that if two scriptures appear to apply to the same event, they should be so applied unless there is a clear reason not to.

Because of the slaughter at the battle of Jerusalem, there will be corpses throughout the land that must be cleaned up. Ezekiel tells us that for seven months the Israelis will be burying the bodies of the slain and then for an unspecified period, cleaning up the bones (probably from the feasting birds discussed above scattering pieces of the dead:

(Ezekiel 39) {11} On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east toward the Sea. It will block the way of travelers, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog. {12} For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land. {13} All the people of the land will bury them, and the day I am glorified will be a memorable day for them, declares the Sovereign LORD. {14} Men will be regularly employed to cleanse the land. Some will go throughout the land and, in addition to them, others will bury those that remain on the ground. At the end of the seven months they will begin their search. {15} As they go through the land and one of them sees a human bone, he will set up a marker beside it until the gravediggers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog.

For seven months the bodies will be buried. Then, when most are cleared up and those who weren’t found or were scattered have rotted, the bones will be sought and collected and buried with the others.

Notice that the burial place will be in the “valley of those who travel east toward the Sea”. The Sea is not the Mediterranean (that being west of Israel), but rather the Sea of Galilee. This indicates that the burial place will be in the north of Israel which is where the gathering prior to the last battle at Har Megiddo (Armageddon) will take place.

Seven years of destroying the weapons from the battle.

According to Isaiah:

(Isaiah 39) {9} Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up--the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel. {10} They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will plunder those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares the Sovereign LORD.

For a period of seven years after the battle at Jerusalem[8] the Israelis will destroy the weapons from the battle. The question arises of how literal we should take the burning of the weapons for fuel. That is both difficult to do with tanks and troop carriers and, in the modern world, unnecessary. It should be remembered, however, that this is after a period of three and a half years of depredation by the Antichrist so it is unlikely Israel, though ultimately successful in its defense (because of the return of their Messiah), will be running a fully modern economy at that point. This seems particularly true since those who would not take the mark of the beast would not have been participating in much beyond a barter economy during the reign of the Beast. Whether by fire or not, the main point is that the weapons of war will be destroyed.

Events at the end of the Millennium: the release of Satan, the revolt of Gog and Magog, the second resurrection, the destruction of death and Hades, and the new heavens and the new earth. After the cleanup from the battle and its aftermath, Israel (and, indeed, the entire earth) will live in peace under the rule of Christ and his saints. Satan is bound and though there will doubtless still be sin, it will not get out of hand. At the end of the thousand years, however, Satan will be released and will manage to organize forces to, once again, attack Israel. This occurs, according to Revelation, immediately after the close of the Millennium. Their attack doesn’t get very far:

(Revelation 20) {7} When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison {8} and will come out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, in order to gather them for battle; they are as numerous as the sands of the sea. {9} They marched up over the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from heaven and consumed them. {10} And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The exact meaning of Gog and Magog is uncertain. In Genesis 10:2 Magog is listed as a son of Japheth, the son of Noah:

The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshek and Tiras.

Tubal, Meshek, Gog and Magog appear together in Ezekiel:

(Ezekiel 38) {1} The word of the LORD came to me: {2} "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him {3} and say: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal…”

This seems to mean that Gog is a person from the land of Magog, while Genesis indicates that Magog is itself the name of a person. One possible way to clarify all this is to assume that the Magog of Genesis 10 is the progenitor of the people of a region and thereafter that region is called the land of Magog. That would not be inconsistent with the text in Revelation.

One other thing should be stated about the text in Ezekiel 38. The word “chief”, as in “chief prince of Meshech”, is sometimes taken as a name, Rosh, rendering the text “Prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.” This continues into Ezekiel 39:

(Ezekiel 39) {1} Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.’

Whether or not these people and regions are also involved in the armies of the Antichrist, they are the Satan-inspired (and unsuccessful) aggressors at the end of the Millennium. This demonstrates that though Christ is physically present on earth and active in its affairs, the consequences of the Fall are still apparent: people still sin and are still capable of rebellion against God.

The remaining post-Millennium events will be discussed in the main text of the commentary on Revelation 20.

Who is alive during the Millennium? The population of the world will be quite mixed during the Millennium. First will be the resurrected blessed dead of all ages who will be in their resurrected bodies. Second will be the transformed believers who were still alive at Christ’s return. They will be in their resurrected bodies as well.

Third will be Jews who, now having recognized their Messiah, will live in his kingdom in their actual flesh. This presumably is only the Jews who had not taken the mark. Fourth will be others who survived the rule of the Antichrist and did not take the mark of the Beast but who were not followers of Christ or converts to him at his return. That there are such people is made clear where Revelation makes careful distinction between those who have the seal of God and those who have not taken the mark of the Beast.

Though those who joined the armies of the Beast will be killed by Christ when he returns, the citizens of the countries that supported the Beast will not be. Zechariah tells:

(Zechariah 14) {16} Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

It seems likely that those who took the mark will be thrown alive into the lake of fire along with the Antichrist and the False Prophet when Christ returns, though scripture only says that they are subject to God’s wrath. It is also possible that they will be counted as among the armies of the Beast and hence killed at Christ’s return, to be resurrected at the Last Judgment.

Footnotes

6, The Rapture

Appendix 6:
The Rapture

Not long before his crucifixion, Christ promised his followers that he was going away to prepare a place for them, that he would return for them, and that thereafter they would never be separated from him. Christ’s physical return to earth is believed in by the vast majority of Christians, but nearly every event connected with it is the subject of dispute. Of particular dispute is the timing of the Rapture, the removal of Christians from the earth and the associated resurrection of the dead in Christ of all ages.

The timing of the Rapture is perhaps the single subject in eschatology which is debated with the most rancor. The argument, particularly lately, has degenerated into personalities, with proponents of various schools often using ad hominem attacks instead of scripture to make their points. Evangelical Christians who would not think of questioning each other’s intellectual honesty or literal interpretation of scripture over, say, predestination or the necessity of baptism, will lose all civility when debating Christ’s return. Some of the most vicious personal attacks have come from experienced ministers and educators who should know better. Although the authors feel quite strongly about the positions we take, we will endeavor to back them up with scripture and leave personalities out of it. We ask that those who disagree with us, and with other honest, Bible-believing Christians, do the same.

The debate is not over whether Christ will come back. While there are honest Christians who do not believe in Christ’s return to earth, the great majority of evangelicals and literalists of all persuasions affirm that Christ will return to earth to gather his people to be with him forever. It is the great hope of the Church.[1]

Unfortunately, we lose sight of the Great Hope when we start debating the timing of that return and the events surrounding it. The problem is not that Christians believe the Bible to be unclear on the subject. Rather, each group believes the Bible is perfectly clear, supports their position, and that therefore those who support another view must not take the Bible seriously. From this comes the rancor. Christians must understand that while the issue is important, our salvation does not depend on properly understanding the timing of the Rapture. Not one soul will be saved or lost because of that person’s beliefs concerning the details of Christ’s return.

Nearly everyone[2] who holds to a literal interpretation of scripture believes the Rapture will take place in connection with Christ’s return in glory at the end of the age. It may take place seven years previously, three and a half years previously, shortly before, or as an immediate part of that return, but it will take place near or at the time of the end of this age. If it takes place at or before the beginning of the Seventieth Week, the vast majority of Christians will escape the terrible events of that period.[3] The later it takes place after the beginning, the more Christians will suffer and die as a result of the depredations of the Antichrist and False Prophet.

Those who believe the Rapture will take place before or at the beginning of the Seventieth Week believe that other positions deprive Christians of hope that Christ could return at any time and removes a goad toward right living that such imminency provides. On the other hand, those who believe Christ will remove his Church during the persecutions of the Antichrist or after they are completed believe that those who hold to an early Rapture offer a false hope and, if their position became the majority view, it would deprive the last generation of Christians of the chance to prepare for living through a time of unprecedented persecution. Without that preparation, souls might be lost not because they held an incorrect doctrinal position, but because holding that position leaves them unprepared to face the martyrdom of themselves or their families.

In discussing this subject, as in all the subjects covered in this book, we take the position that what a scripture says comes first and any theory of its meaning or relationship to other scriptures must follow from that. If one comes to scripture with a pre-formed theory on the Rapture, or the relationship of the Church and Israel, or any other subject, it will be possible to pick and choose verses that seem to support your theory. Such a person will get out of the Bible what he put into it and will end up no closer to the truth than when he started. When approaching a subject with which one is unfamiliar, it is better to put aside ideas picked up from popular works or the general culture and look at what the Bible says for itself. We say again: scripture comes first, and only later any theories on its meaning. We hope that, as we proceed, it will be clear why the authors hold their beliefs and from what scriptural base they have acquired them.

Events Surrounding the Return of Christ

There are a number of events surrounding the time of Christ’s return. Among them are the following.

The Rapture of the Saints.[4] At the Rapture, living Christians will receive their resurrection bodies and the blessed dead will rise[5]. The word “rapture” does not appear in scripture as a description of the removal of the saints from the earth. The word derives from 1 Thessalonians 4:17 where “caught up” is “rapiemur” in Latin, from “rapio” meaning “to seize”. The English word “rapture” derives from the same Latin root. Some Christians dispute the existence of this event, but the vast majority of Bible literalists accept its reality. The primary dispute about it is its timing.
Christ’s return in glory.[6] This is nearly universally believed in by those who accept a literal Millennial reign by Christ on earth as being the prelude to that reign. Even most amillennialists and postmillennialists accept Christ’s return in glory.
The Great White Throne Judgment.[7] This is otherwise known as the Last Judgment. That it will take place is not in much dispute. There is, however, heated argument concerning who the judge is (Christ or the Father), whether this is the same as the Sheep and the Goats Judgment, and whether it takes place before or after the Millennium.
The Sheep and the Goats Judgment.[8] This is the same as the Last Judgment.
The Great Tribulation. A period of intense persecution directed against Christians and Jews which will precede Christ’s return. This period is sometimes referred to as the “Great Tribulation”, following Christ’s usage in Matthew 24.[9] Some believe this period is coterminous with Daniel’s Seventieth Week, while other believe it is only a portion of that period.

The Timing of the Rapture

The great majority of bible literalists subscribe to one of four positions on the timing of the Rapture. In temporal order, these views are commonly called the Pretribulation, Midtribulation, Prewrath, and Posttribulation views. Before proceeding, we should clear up a problem in terminology that these names hinge on. It is common, though incorrect, to equate the “Great Tribulation” [10] which Christ discusses in the Olivet Discourse[11] with the entire seven year period of Daniel’s Seventieth Week. Scripture does not support this equation. Christ, in describing the events of the end of the age places the period of unprecedented tribulation after the revealing of the Antichrist.[12] Daniel himself places that revealing at the midpoint of the Seventieth Week. So, though the entire period from the beginning of the Seventieth Week until the return of Christ will doubtless be a period of tribulation for Christians on the earth, calling that entire period the “Great Tribulation” is unsupported in scripture. Nevertheless, in the interest of using common terminology (and avoiding unnecessary pedantry) we will follow common usage in this discussion of the names of the four views.

Following common usage, therefore, the first two views will be called the Pretribulation and Midtribulation views, with the understanding that they place the Rapture, respectively, at or before the start of Daniel’s Seventieth Week and at its midpoint.

The third position is called “Prewrath” by its (relatively small number of) adherents, though this brings up another imprecision in terminology. Proponents of all but the fourth (Posttribulation) viewpoints would say that they believe the Rapture takes place before the period of the wrath of God. Each viewpoint, however, defines that period differently, with it largely encompassing the period from the Rapture to the return of Christ for those who do not believe the two events are simultaneous. In this book, we define the period in the Last Days that is the Wrath of God as taking place subsequent to (and as a result of) the depredations of the Antichrist and as part of Christ’s reconquest of the earth.

In what follows, it should be kept in mind that there are variations within each position and that the summary which follows makes no attempt to cover all such. The intent rather has been to summarize the doctrines usually associated with each position. Finally, it should be mentioned in passing that in addition to the four views discussed here, there are various minority opinions, including those which hold the Rapture is only for some of the Christians alive at the time and those which maintain there are several partial Raptures. These views, having neither many adherents nor clear support in scripture, will be ignored.

In each section below, we will summarize the position and offer some arguments in support of and opposition to the view. We will then go through the important scriptures relating to the Rapture and the Second Coming. Through them, we will present our own views and contrast them with the Pretribulation view. We choose to contrast with that position for two main reasons. First, through books such as Hal Lindsay’s “Late Great Planet Earth”, it is the view most familiar to the general public. Second, for various reasons discussed below, there are significant similarities between the Midtribulation and Pretribulation views on the one hand, and the Prewrath and Posttribulation positions on the other. Most of the scriptures cited and arguments given apply equally well to both members of either pair.

The Pretribulation or Pre-Seventieth Week Rapture Position

This view considers the entire Seventieth Week to be the wrath of God, although a wrath that increases in intensity as the period proceeds. The Rapture is secret, in that there are no signs to watch for preceding it, and hence Christ’s command to watch is limited to a general observation of the signs of the times. The Rapture, though secret before it takes place, is certainly not secret afterwards. Because it takes place before the events surrounding the rise of the Antichrist, the disappearance of all Christians would in itself cause world-wide disruption and chaos and might actually lead to the rise of the world government of the Antichrist. The primary view of this position is that the Rapture marks the beginning of the Seventieth Week and may be simultaneous with the Antichrist signing some sort of agreement with Israel, the event Daniel says begins the Seventieth Week.[13]

Because the Rapture is at or near the beginning of the Seventieth Week, and Christ’s return is at or near its end, the two events are separated in this view (as they are in all views except the Posttribulation position). Because there are no clear scriptures which establish two parts[14] to Christ’s return separated by seven years,[15] those who hold this position tend to argue its truth from the following three concepts.

The Church and Israel are separate

One form or another of Dispensationalism (the belief that at different times in Man’s history God has dealt with him in different ways) is held by most evangelical or fundamentalist Christians, and indeed by most Christians of whatever stripe. The exact relationship between Israel and the Church is a difficult question, the subject of many books in its own right. Pretribulationists generally insist that Israel and the Church are completely separate, meaning that the prophesies and promises given in the Old Testament for Israel now apply to the Church, the new people of God.

From their near-total separation of Israel and the Church grows the concept that, since the Church was not in existence during the first sixty-nine of Daniel’s seventy weeks, it will not exist (on the earth) during the last week either. The Church must therefore have been removed from the earth prior to the start of the Seventieth Week. They cite as support the absence of “ekklaysia”, meaning “assembly” but commonly translated “church”, between Revelation 3:22 and Revelation 22:16. The word “church” does not appear, they say, because the Church is absent from the earth. This is a very shaky argument, primarily because John never uses “ekklaysia” to mean “the Church” as a whole, but only to refer to specific local assemblies, and because if the absence of the word means the Church is not on earth, it should also mean it isn’t in heaven either, since about half of Revelation takes place in heaven.

In some variants of the Pretribulation school, dispensationalism is carried so far as to deny that the saints martyred during the persecutions of the Antichrist are part of the Church or should be called “Christians” at all.[16] This view maintains they are yet another dispensation, despite having the same set of beliefs, the same revealed scripture, and the same Lord as believers of the current age.

We know there will be believers in Christ on earth during the Great Tribulation because Christ tells us so.[17] They will be Christians (when Christ speaks of the Great Tribulation to his disciples, he refers to the believers of those days as “you”) and not some sort of separate dispensation. Christians and Jews are a separate dispensation because they have different levels of revealed truth (e.g. the Old Testament vs both Testaments). The believers of the Last Days, in contrast, do not have any more or less revealed truth than present-day Christians. Their salvation comes from faith in Christ, just as ours does. They are Christians and they will go through the horrors of the Great Tribulation or be martyred during it.

The concept of a third dispensation of believers in the Last Days seems to have been invented by those who support the Pretribulation perspective to get around the many verses that clearly show that Christians are present during the persecutions of the Antichrist. This is yet another way where belief in a Posttribulation Rapture is justified: it does not require creating a “third dispensation” out of whole cloth, unsupported by scripture. Christians will be on the earth in the Last Days for the same reason they are on the earth now – they are men and women brought by the Holy Spirit into fellowship with Christ and his Church. They, like believers of all ages, will be at risk of persecution and martyrdom, though their risk will be the greatest of any age.

Imminence

The second argument offered in favor of the Pretribulation position is the doctrine of imminence. This is the teaching that Christ can come back at any moment. This derives from such scriptures as “No man knows the day or the hour”, “thief in the night”, “at such an hour as you do not expect it, the Son of Man comes”, as well as various commands of Christ to “Watch”. According to the Pretribulation view, Christ’s return will occur suddenly, without any associated preceding signs (other than general signs of the approaching end of the age such as increase in immorality and apostasy).[18]

Not Appointed unto Wrath

The third argument, shared with the Midtribulation and Prewrath views, is that the Church must be removed from the earth before the Wrath of God, since Christians are promised exemption from wrath.[19] They maintain that the “wrath” Christians are promised exemption from is not (or not only) God’s eternal wrath (i.e. damnation), but his judgment on a sinful earth. They also maintain that being protected through such a period is not the same thing as not being appointed to it.

Some who hold the Pretribulation position argue this all means that the Holy Spirit, indwelling the Church, must be removed from the earth before the Antichrist is revealed. If the Holy Spirit is gone and if the Holy Spirit exists on the earth only through the Church, then the Church must be removed first.

The Midtribulation or Mid-Week Position

In this relatively uncommon view, the Church is removed from the earth at the midpoint of the Seventieth Week. In general, this resembles the Pretribulation view, in that according to both views, things on the earth do not reach their worst until after the Church is removed, but it differs from it in not holding the Rapture to be imminent. This view also shares much in common with the Prewrath view, believing that the Church must be removed before the Wrath of God. Those who hold to a Midtribulation view believe that there is first a period of time which is Satan’s wrath (following his coming down to earth) and afterwards a period of time which is God’s wrath. According to Midtribulationists, the dividing point is the middle of the Seventieth week.

Supporting this assertion, it is maintained that although Daniel mentions one entire period of seven years, he splits it into two equal parts. Revelation, on the other hand, knows nothing of a period of seven years, although it mentions periods of three and one half years several times.[20]

The Midtribulation view is related to the Pretribulational in that the second half of the Seventieth Week will be, by all estimates, substantially worse than the first half primarily because it will be dominated by the trumpet and plague judgments of God’s wrath.

On the other hand, the Midtribulation view may be taken as pre-wrath in that it holds that the second half of the seventieth week is the period of the wrath of God. To some extent, the Midtribulation view, like the Pretribulation view, equates the “Tribulation Period” with the “Wrath of God”, though they assign different lengths to the period.

Prewrath

Although both the Pretribulation and Midtribulation positions hold that the Church is removed just prior to the commencement of the Wrath of God, the position which designates itself as Prewrath means something different by that wrath. Although the “wrath of God” is used for different things throughout the Bible, including God’s anger at Pharaoh and the eternal wrath he directs at the lost, the time period on earth designated “the Wrath of God” is quite precise. Revelation limits it to the period covered by the Seventh Seal,[21] which includes the seven trumpet and the seven plague judgments. The Prewrath position believes that the Rapture will not take place until after the persecutions by the Antichrist during which millions of Christians will be martyred. This period is seen as the wrath of man or of Satan, rather than the wrath of God. It, like the Posttribulation view, does not have to explain where all the martyred come from (had all living Christians previously been removed at the Rapture).

Since most who hold to the Prewrath position believe the trumpet judgments are limited to the latter part of the second half of the Seventieth Week and that the plague or bowl judgments are shorter still in duration, there is not a great deal of separation in time between the commencement of God’s wrath upon the earth and Christ’s return.

Those who hold the Prewrath position use the scriptures that stipulate we are not appointed unto wrath to mean that the Rapture will remove the Church prior to the commencement of the Trumpet and Plague judgments. Supporting this is the only undisputed appearance of souls in heaven in Revelation, at the fifth seal.[22] Since these are souls, and souls and bodies are clearly distinguished in Revelation,[23] they have not yet received their glorified bodies, and therefore the Rapture has not yet taken place. Since the wrath is announced in the very next seal,[24] and since Christians are exempt from God’s wrath, the Prewrath position sees the Rapture taking place at about the sixth seal.

PostWrath or Posttribulation Position

The authors of this book believe that scripture teaches that the Rapture and the Second Coming are part of the same event, and that that event takes place in concert with the Battle of Armageddon, after the end of the Seventieth Week, at the conclusion of the Wrath of God. We prefer to call this approach the Postwrath position, although common usage calls it Posttribulational. We believe the entire Seventieth Week will be a time of testing or trial for all the earth and also that the period of the Wrath of God will be very difficult for Christians even through it is not aimed at them. Nonetheless, it is probably better to confine the term “Great Tribulation” to the persecutions of the Antichrist and to distinguish it from the “Wrath of God” which follows it and is retribution for it. There is quite likely a substantial overlap in the two periods, but the point of the name “Postwrath” is to establish that this position believes it is at the end of the entire period when Christ returns, not just when the Antichrist ceases his main persecutions because he loses control of his empire during the Wrath.

Difficulties with the Pretribulation Position

In this section we will concentrate on discussing the difficulties with the Pretribulation viewpoint of the Last Days. Both authors originally subscribed to that position, but subsequent study has convinced them that scripture does not support a Pretribulation Rapture and, indeed, that it strongly supports the Rapture taking place at the Second Coming, the coming of Christ in glory at the end of the Age. The discussions of this section mirror the reasons that convinced the authors that the Rapture takes place as part of Christ’s return.

It is true, as Daniel makes clear, that the Seventieth Week is primarily centered on the Jewish people. It extends from the signing of an apparently favorable agreement or treaty through their betrayal and oppression, up to the appearing of their Messiah and their acceptance of him. Despite this, we know from Revelation (see the commentary portion of this book) that there will be Christians on the earth throughout this period and hundreds of millions of them will be martyred.

The Presence of the Church on Earth and the Removal of the Holy Spirit

The Pretribulation viewpoint argues that the Rapture must take place before any of the events of the Last Days, primarily because of what Paul says in 2 Thessalonians:

(2 Thessalonians 2) {7} 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. {8} And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.

These verses contain several obscure or unclear elements that make it unsuitable as the sole source of a doctrine. The meaning of some elements of the verses can, however, be determined with certainty. “The lawless one” is the Antichrist, since he is the one that will be overthrown at Christ’s return. Less clear is what the “secret power of lawlessness” means, though since the Antichrist is the lawless one and since he is Satan’s puppet, it is very likely that the “secret power of lawlessness” refers to the not-always-obvious workings of Satan.

There are two parts of the verses, however, that are not clear and whose meaning scholars disagree on. The first is “the one who now holds” back the power of lawlessness. In Revelation 12:7-9 Michael the archangel leads the forces of God against Satan. Given that he is fighting Satan’s forces in heaven, it makes sense he may be doing the same thing on earth and be the one “holding back” the power of lawlessness. Michael, therefore, until the final expulsion of Satan and his angels from heaven is fighting a two-front war against him.

Equally possible is that the one doing the restraining is the Holy Spirit. He clearly is, after the Resurrection, God’s primary method of working on the earth, both as far as indwelling Christians and acting in the world. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that the one doing the restraining is the Holy Spirit and that he will be removed from that restraining in the Last Days, after which the Antichrist will be revealed.

The restraining one cannot be the Church (though the Holy Spirit certainly works in and through the Church as well as in other ways). It is not clear how (other than as an agent of the Holy Spirit) the Church could restrain the appearance of the Antichrist. As an agent of the Holy Spirit the Church no doubt does help constrain lawlessness, but then the restrainer isn’t the Church but the Holy Spirit acting (at least in part) through it. An additional consideration, perhaps, is that the Church is never otherwise called “he” as the restrainer is here. Far more often the Church is seen as female.[25]

The authors believe that both St. Michael and the Holy Spirit are possible restrainers with perhaps a slight preference for St. Michael, given our knowledge of him as a warrior who confronts Satan and his minions (such as the Prince of Persia in Daniel 10) and his importance in fighting Satan in the Last Days just prior to the arrival of the Antichrist[26].

What is it that this individual is holding back? Verse 7 makes it clear that it is not the Antichrist himself but the “secret power of lawlessness”, that is, the working of Satan.  The restraint is critically important (not until evil is fully grown and the birth pains of Matthew 24 are complete will the Antichrist come), but it is not completely effective either. Verse 7 makes it clear that evil is already working, it just has not reached full flower.

The next question is what does it mean that the restrainer is “taken out of the way”? The most logical conclusion is that he is told to stop restraining the full power of lawlessness, stops, and the Antichrist is revealed. Perhaps the most important thing to understand here is what the verse does not say: the restrainer is not taken out of the earth. He is just stopped from restraining.

Having presented what we believe can be determined about these verses, we will now look at how they relate to the Rapture. First, and most obviously, they relate because the Rapture, according to 2 Thessalonians 2:3, cannot take place until the “man of sin” is revealed. Thus, the Rapture can at the earliest take place with the removal of the restraint mentioned in verse 7 and the (possibly immediate) revelation of the Antichrist (verse 8). Christ himself[27] makes it clear that the revelation of the Antichrist is the earliest sure sign of the Last Days and, therefore, must precede the Rapture (which, after all, would be a spectacular sign) or take place at the same time as it.

As far as positions on the timing of the Rapture are concerned, these verses are most important to the Pretribulation viewpoint. That viewpoint makes the following argument: the earliest sign of the End Times that we can be sure of is the revealing of the Antichrist, the man of lawlessness. The man of lawlessness cannot be revealed until after the Holy Spirit is removed, and that since the Holy Spirit indwells believers,[28] the removal of the Holy Spirit implies the removal of the Church. Since the revealing of the Antichrist is the earliest sign of the end and since it therefore must take place after the Rapture, there are no signs of the approaching Rapture and therefore it can take place at any moment.

The Pretribulation position therefore requires two things be true. First, the removal of the Church (i.e. the Rapture) causes (or allows) the appearance of the Antichrist and second that the Rapture is not a clear sign of the Last Days (since the first such sign is the revealing of the Antichrist). It logically follows, therefore, that one of two things is true. Either the removal of the Church and the revelation of the Antichrist are simultaneous (and therefore together a single sign) or the Rapture is not a part of the Last Days.

If the first of these is true, the Pretribulation viewpoint cannot stand because, as we have seen elsewhere, the revealing of the Antichrist is at the mid-point of the Seventieth Week. While this timing may support a Mid-Tribulation position, it certainly cannot support a Pretribulation one. Therefore, the Pretribulation position is constrained to the second possibility: The Rapture occurs some indefinite time prior to the start of the Last Days. In particular, placing it at the start of Daniel’s Seventieth Week is impossible since it would then be a clear sign that the Last Days are upon us, something Christ makes clear is not the case. In any event, there is no support elsewhere in scripture for the Rapture (and the resurrection of the blessed dead and the last trumpet[29]) being separate from the Last Days.

Even if the timing issue is ignored, there are other serious problems with the Pretribulation position as it relates to these verses. First, 2 Thessalonians 2:7 doesn’t say that the Holy Spirit is removed from the earth. It does not mention the Holy Spirit directly at all and does not speak of anything or anyone being removed from the earth. It merely says that he who restrains the appearing of the Antichrist is taken out of the way.  Even if the Holy Spirit is doing the restraining, there is no indication here that he does so through the actions or presence of the Church. There certainly is no requirement that the Holy Spirit work only through the Church to restrain the power of lawlessness. He is, after all, God and both exists and acts independently of the Church.

A further objection to the “removal” of the Holy Spirit are the hundreds of millions of believers who will martyred by the Antichrist. Either they are members of the Church and not yet removed from the earth by the Rapture, or they are post-Rapture converts to Christ. One or other (or both) must be true, otherwise the “Innumerable Multitude” would not be around to be martyred. But it takes the action of the Holy Spirit to convert someone to Christ.[30] If the Seventieth Week saints are saved (as Revelation[31] makes clear), then they are saved by the Holy Spirit. If they are saved by the Holy Spirit, then the Holy Spirit is active on the earth during the Seventieth Week and is therefore not removed from the earth but merely prevented from restraining the power of lawlessness.

The following sections discuss some of the consequences of the Pretribulation position and show how they are contradicted by history, by scripture, or by both.

Imminence

Imminence is the doctrine that the return of Christ can take place at any time. If we follow the logic of that doctrine, there cannot be any prophesies that have not yet been fulfilled but that must be prior to that return. Furthermore, there could never have been such unfulfilled prophesies from the time Christ first spoke of his return. According to the Pretribulation position, the Rapture is the first event of the period leading up to the Second Coming and it will take place “in the twinkling of an eye”[32] with no clear preceding signs, though there may be general ones such as the growth in apostacy. The thief in the night scriptures, which we discuss in their own Appendix, are taken as support for the unannounced coming of Christ, though (as we see there) these scriptures mean we should be watching for the signs lest we be surprised. They do not mean we will be surprised.

It should be stated that it is possible to hold a Pretribulation Rapture viewpoint and not subscribe to the doctrine of Imminence. Imminence implies a Pretribulation viewpoint, but a Pretribulation viewpoint does not require the doctrine of Imminence. The fulfillment of intervening prophecies therefore does not preclude a Pretribulation Rapture. The reason we treat the doctrine of Imminence in such detail is that modern followers of the Pretribulation viewpoint stress Imminence very strongly. They stress Imminence precisely becausewere it true, a Pretribulation Rapture viewpoint would be a consequence. Several (erroneous) things follow from this supposition. First, since there clearly are prophecies concerning the events of the Last Days, the Rapture, to be secret, must occur before any other event associated with the Last Days. Since the persecutions of the Antichrist will be easily distinguishable as the “Great Tribulation” prophesied by Christ, the Rapture (if there are to be no specific preceding signs) must take place first (according to the Pretribulation view).

Clearly at some point (very late in the Last Days period) the last prophecy before Christ’s Return will be fulfilled and, we suppose, one could say that from then on Christ’s return is “imminent”. But that is not what those who hold the Pretribulation position mean by imminence. They mean that today (and at all times since Christ’s assumption into heaven), the Rapture/Christ’s return could happen at any time.

For Imminence to be true, there must be (by definition) no prophecies that were fulfilled between the time of Christ’s assumption into heaven and today and none that must be fulfilled prior to his Return. The doctrine of imminence would be refuted by a single such prophecy. But there are dozens of such prophecies. In the Olivet Discourse, the place where Christ speaks most plainly concerning his return, Christ gives his disciples a series of signs of things surrounding (and preceding) his return and then tells them, “When these things begin to take place, look up for your salvation is drawing near.”[33] Whether he refers here to his return or to the Rapture, it is clear that his followers (note the use of the word “your”) will be on the earth at that time and that they should look for signs that must happen first. Were the Rapture the next event on God’s calendar (as many supporters of the Pretribulation position say), then who is looking up and what are they looking for if believers have already been raptured? In other words, if there are no signs prior to the Rapture, then what does Christ mean when he tells us to look for signs?[34] That is but a single example. In what follows we will present a sampling of prophecies that had to take place (and many that still have to take place) between when Christ returned to heaven and his return to earth.

The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ.[35] Christ, of course, prophesied his own crucifixion and resurrection. These took place around 30-33 AD. Clearly, they had to take place before his return and before the Rapture.

The coming of the Holy Spirit.[36] Christ also spoke to his followers of the coming of the Comforter who would bring to mind all that he had taught. This took place following his ascent into heaven, sometime around 30-33 AD.

The death of Peter[37]. Christ told Peter that when he was young he could go about as he pleased, while late in life he would be dragged where he didn’t want to go and will “stretch out his hands”. Verse 19 says that this was to indicate how Peter would die. Peter was crucified under Nero in approximately 64 AD. Since presumably Peter would be raptured if he were alive at the time, the Rapture could not take place during Peter’s lifetime.

Destruction of the temple.[38] Christ himself, in the Olivet Discourse, said that this will happen in the future, though he does not say when. The temple could, perhaps, be destroyed after the Rapture as part of the Antichrist’s rule, but Daniel’s prophecy says that the Antichrist desecrates the temple, not destroys it. The final destruction of the temple took place in 70 AD.

Exile of the Jews[39]. The Jews revolted against the Romans in 66 AD and the revolt was put down over the next seven years, with the destruction of the Temple taking place in 70. The last Jewish holdouts committed suicide in 73.

The fall of Rome.[40] In Revelation, John is told about the sequence of evil empires that had or would arise prior to the final empire of the Antichrist, which would be destroyed upon Christ’s return. The prophecy said that one of the empires “is”, meaning that it was then in existence and therefore clearly is Rome. It also spoke of a seventh empire yet future (see below) that must also come prior to the rise of the Antichrist. Rome fell in 476. Since the empires are “beast” empires because of the way they treat God’s people, and since we know that includes killing Christians, the Rapture could not take place while Rome lasted.

The restoration of Israel.[41] If Israel was to be exiled and yet present in the Last Days (as Daniel’s Seventy Weeks prophesy makes clear), it has to be restored. Many scriptures speak of Israel’s final restoration, never again to be scattered. Israel was established as a modern state in 1948. If the existence of Israel is necessary during the Last Days and if the Last Days include the Rapture, the Rapture could not occur prior to the reestablishment of Israel.

The recapture of Jerusalem.[42] Not only does Israel have a role to play in the Last Days, but so does Jerusalem. It is clear from the descriptions in Revelation that Israel will control Jerusalem, lose it to the Antichrist, regain it, and have it besieged as parts of the second half of Daniel’s Seventieth Week. The recapture of Jerusalem took place during the Six Day War in 1967.

The seventh beast empire[43]. Revelation speaks of seven evil empires that precede the final empire of the Antichrist. We discuss these in detail where they are mentioned in Revelation. The sixth of such empires was the Rome of John’s day. After that is an empire that will come and remain a little while. No one knows for sure what this empire is, though it will certainly share with the others in being against the Jews. Some have speculated that the Third Reich is that seventh empire. It certainly was anti-Jewish and, suggestively, Hitler referred to it as the “Thousand Year Reich”, an echo of the Millennium. Whatever it is, it must exist and fall prior to the start of the Last Days and hence (if the Rapture starts the Last Days) prior to the Rapture.

The rebuilding of the temple.[44] The temple was destroyed in 70. But Daniel tells us the Antichrist will take his place in the temple to desecrate it during the final week of his seventy. Since it doesn’t currently exist, it must be restored prior to it being desecrated. Christ tells us this desecration is how we will know we are in the Last Days – the revealing of the Antichrist is a major sign for which we are to watch for prior to our salvation (see Olivet Discourse). The Antichrist cannot be revealed prior to the rebuilding of the temple and, since his followers are told to watch for that revealing (something that would be very hard to do were they not on earth), the Rapture cannot take place prior to the temple being rebuilt.

Jerusalem surrounded by armies[45]. This has a near and a far fulfillment. The near fulfillment was the conquest of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The far term will be its siege by the Antichrist. Christ tells his followers (clearly on earth) that when they see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, they are to flee. Had they been raptured; such a flight would be unnecessary. It is instructive to note that when the Romans besieged Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Christians fled the city before the final attack[46]. They, clearly, did not subscribe to a Rapture taking place first.

This completes the summary of the main views of the Rapture. As a way of approaching our own position, we will first review the primary Bible verses concerning the Rapture. The cited verses are exemplary but by no means a complete listing.

Sample Verses related to the Last Days

It would be impractical to list here all the verses related to the Last Days and the events surrounding the return of Christ. This section contains selected verses that convey an important perspective on the Rapture and its timing. In many cases it helps establish a late timing for the Rapture by showing that God’s people are participants in events during the Seventieth Week and that they therefore cannot have been raptured prior to that event. In many cases the verses are addressed to “you” or to “my people”. For the Old Testament verses it is, of course, possible to apply the verses solely to the Jews who, since they only turn to Christ at his return, are not Raptured. When those verses, however, are compared to similar verses from the New Testament that clearly apply to Christians (but, generally, also to believing Jews), it becomes impossible to support the idea that they apply only to Jews. The application of the New Testament verses is in less dispute.

(Job 14) {12} so man lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, men will not awake or be roused from their sleep.

This must refer to the second resurrection, since the first resurrection is separated from the end of the heavens by a thousand years. It would, because the church is a mystery, make sense that Job does not see the church’s resurrection, but instead sees the general resurrection. We also need to remember that the Old Testament did not give as complete an understanding concerning the state of the dead as the New Testament gives. It is therefore also possible that this verse means to say that man does not rise from the dead at all, though there are other verses in Job which contradict that position.

(Isaiah 26) {19} But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead. {20} Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. (21} See, the LORD is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed upon her; she will conceal her slain no longer. {27:1} In that day, the LORD will punish with his sword, his fierce, great and powerful sword, Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea.

This clearly speaks of events of the Last Days since it speaks of resurrection. It provides strong evidence we will still be here for the Wrath of God since it tells us to hide ourselves away. Notice that this prophecy is aimed at God’s people in general and not at Israel specifically. It cannot therefore be argued that this means Jews will live on earth through God’s Wrath while Christians will not, unless you are also prepared to argue that Christians are not God’s people. God’s people are told to hide until his Wrath has passed. This is, after all, exactly what happened at Passover. God’s wrath came first and then his people went out.

How does this passage relate to Revelation? The Lord coming out of his dwelling and Christ coming out of his temple are likely equivalent. The sword of the Lord here, and the sword from Christ’s mouth appear equivalent as well. The reason for God’s wrath here and in Revelation is the murdering of his people upon the earth. Therefore, Leviathan is probably to be equated with the other beast from the sea, the Antichrist. There are a couple of other things that support that argument. First is timing. The only beasts destroyed by God as part of his Wrath are the Antichrist and the False Prophet. Second, the Antichrist and Leviathan have several things in common. In particular, they both come from the sea, they both have multiple heads, and they both will be destroyed directly by God as part of his wrath. Lastly, because of the Antichrist’s close association with Satan, the description here of Leviathan as a serpent is perhaps further evidence that this creature is the Antichrist.

This verse from Isaiah is one of the clearest verses concerning the Last Days to be found in the Old Testament and it clearly teaches that God’s people will be on earth (and in danger) during that Wrath.

Psalm 74 also speaks of God crushing the heads (note the plural) of Leviathan:

(Psalm 74) {13} It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters. {14} It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave him as food to the creatures of the desert.

The beast from the sea, of course, also had multiple heads. Leviathan is mentioned in five places in scripture. The first instance is a long and very difficult series of verses in Job where the best guess is that it is some kind of sea creature.[47] Twice, it just refers to a whale or other large sea creature.[48] The remaining two instances, one referring to the past[49], the other to the future,[50] indicate that Leviathan is some sort of enemy of God. The only other multiheaded enemy of God from the sea we know of is the Antichrist.

These verses from Isaiah 26 says that God’s people will rise from the dead, but first those still alive must conceal themselves during God’s wrath while he punishes the people of the earth for killing his people. God finishes his punishment with the killing of Leviathan as, in Revelation, he throws the Antichrist into the lake of fire. The order of events is consistent with what we know of the End Times, and the passage clearly indicates that God’s people are to conceal themselves rather than be taken away during the period of God’s wrath.

(Daniel 12) {1} At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people--everyone whose name is found written in the book--will be delivered. {2} Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.

This is a composite of the first and second resurrections, perhaps again reflecting the mystery of the Church age.[51] Note that the resurrection of both the just and the unjust takes place after the time of great distress. Since we know that the resurrection of those who have died in Christ will take place before the Rapture,[52] this indicates that the events of Daniel’s Seventieth Week precede the Rapture.[53]

The book of life mentioned here is also mentioned in Revelation in connection with the second resurrection and the Great White Throne judgment at the conclusion of the Millennium. It therefore seems likely that the events from the beginning of the persecutions of the Antichrist through the White Throne judgment are in view here.[54]

(Zechariah 14) {2} I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. {3} Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. {4} On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. {5} You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. {6} On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. {7} It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime--a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light. {8} On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in winter. {9} The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On thatday there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.

These verses strongly parallel events in Revelation. The most important part of this verse for the Rapture is that people who presumably belong to the Lord will flee at the time Jerusalem is (once again) surrounded by armies. They are another indication that there will be people loyal to Christ in Jerusalem up to the very end and that some of them will survive. Perhaps it is they who give praise to God after the severe earthquake in Revelation chapter 11.[55]

This verse is also parallel to Acts 1:11 which speaks of Christ’s return to the Mount of Olives from which he ascended into heaven. The “he” referred to in Zechariah and called “the LORD” is Christ. His return sets in motion the defeat of the armies of the Antichrist at Jerusalem. Those armies here are called “all the nations”.

This scripture is one of a set of scriptures that shows the events of the Last Days from the perspective of the Jews and that have parallel scriptures showing the same events from the perspective of the Christians. Both believing Jews and Christians are God’s people.[56] Throughout Revelation both groups are mentioned, both are persecuted, and, eventually, both will be reconciled.

(Malachi 4) {1} “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the LORD Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. {2} But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. {3} Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things,” says the LORD Almighty. {4} “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. {5} See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. {6} He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

In these, the concluding verses of the Old Testament, Malachi implies that believers will be shut up in some way (maybe in places of protection) on the “day that is coming” and when released will leap like calves released from the stall – that is, joyfully. This matches the Isaiah verse cited above about going into your rooms and waiting until his wrath passes by. God’s wrath passes by, according to Revelation, when he destroys the armies of the Antichrist at his Return.

Malachi 4:5 should be enough to disprove the Pretribulation view of Imminence, since it states that Elijah must come before the Day of the Lord. Since in most forms of the Pretribulation view, the Rapture starts the events of the Day of the Lord, and since Elijah (if he is one of the two witnesses) will be operating during the reign of the Antichrist, the Rapture cannot be imminent.

The argument that John the Baptist was “Elijah” has two problems. First, John the Baptist himself denies being Elijah.[57] That would end the question were it not for Christ saying that in some sense John wasElijah.[58] While this has been the subject of discussion for 2000 years, the best way to see it is that Gabriel knew what he was talking about in Luke 1:17 when he said John came in the “spirit and power” of Elijah. He was not the literal Elijah. That return is yet future. Christ himself says that Elijah “does come and will retore all things”.[59]

Malachi mentions both Moses and Elijah, stating to remember the law of Moses and that He will send Elijah. These are candidates for the two witnesses of Revelation 11. We discuss this in detail at that point in the commentary.

(Matthew 13) {24} Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. {25} But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. {26} When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. {27} The owner's servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ {28} ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ {29} ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them.{30} Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

(Matthew 24) {36} Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” {37} He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. {38} The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, {39} and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. {40} As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. {41} The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. {42} They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. {43} Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father”. He who has ears, let him hear.

Although it is always risky to read too much into a parable – they generally have a single lesson to teach – this one makes it clear that the tares are gathered and burned first. These verses are consistent with the previously-discussed verse in Malachi where the righteous will trample the ashes of the evil after being released – still alive! – from their shelters. Only after that will the righteous be gathered into God’s kingdom.

There are two times when those who work evil will be cast into the fire. First is after Armageddon when the Beast and the False Prophet are thrown alive into the Lake of Fire.[60] The second is at the Last Judgment after the Millennium when the Devil is thrown in,[61] then Death and Hades,[62] and then all whose names were not in the book of life.[63] Christ’s parable fits so well with both the end of this age (at the start of the Millennium) and with the end of the Millennium that it is difficult to say for certain to which it applies and it is possible that it is another prophecy with two fulfillments. At both times the kingdom of God is about to be manifest among men. In the first instance it is Christ’s millennial kingdom on earth, the fulfillment of the kingdom prophecies made to Israel. In the second, it is the New Jerusalem and God making his dwelling among men.[64] In the first case, the pulling of the weeds is the capture of the Beast and False Prophet and the slaughter of Satan’s armies at Jerusalem after the gathering at Armageddon.[65] In the second it is the destruction of Satan’s last army by fire and his final capture and punishment in the Lake of Fire.[66] In the first case, the righteous are gathered into the millennial kingdom, the blessed dead are raised to life, Christian believers are Raptured, and newly-converted Israel physically brought into Christ’s kingdom. In the second, those judged righteous at the Last Judgment are united with God permanently in the New Jerusalem, and God’s eternal reign with man begins.

Consider the earlier of the two periods to which Christ’s parable may apply: when the “tares” are gathered and taken at Armageddon and Jerusalem. Following the order of the parable, this takes place before the righteous are brought into God’s kingdom. But if we follow the order of the parable, it is clear that the Rapture – the gathering of believers to be with Christ – cannot take place until after Armageddon.

In the parable Christ makes a careful choice of words. He says that the weeds are gathered first “to be burned”. He does not say “and are burned”. Keeping this in mind, we can see that the order taught by this parable is that first the evil ones are gathered, then the good, then the weeds are burned. Finally, in God’s kingdom, the righteous will shine like the sun. This shining makes sense since they will have their resurrection bodies. This parable, therefore, is completely consistent with the Posttribulation viewpoint and with the teachings of the later chapters of Revelation. It conflicts strongly with the Pretribulation and Midtribulation viewpoints.

Matthew 24) {1} Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings.{2} "Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." {3} As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" {4} Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. {5} For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, ' and will deceive many. {6} You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. {7} Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. {8} All these are the beginning of birth pains.
{9} "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. {10} At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,{11}  and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. {12} Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,{13} but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. {14} And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
{15} “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation’, spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—{16} then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. {17} Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. {18} Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. {19} How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! {20} Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. {21} For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. {22} If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. {23} At that time if anyone says to you, ’Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. {24} For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. {25} See, I have told you ahead of time.
{26} "So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. {27} For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. {28} Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
{29} "Immediately after the distress of those days
"'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'
{30} "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. {31} And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other…”.

This is the Olivet Discourse. It and contains the most complete description of the Last Days given by Christ. It covers almost the same period of time as the book of Revelation.

Christ makes it clear what the first unquestioned sign of the End of the Age will be: the revealing of the Antichrist when he takes his stand in the temple. There will be many things leading up to this period (“wars and rumors of wars”) but none of them will be a certain indication until the Antichrist is revealed. Thus, when Christ tells us to watch, one of the most important signs we are to watch for is the revealing of the man of lawlessness, the abomination of desolation, the Antichrist. Since the Antichrist comes first, he naturally must be looked for first.

As the last two verses here make clear, the gathering of the elect will take place when all the nations of the earth see the sign of Christ’s return. There cannot, therefore, be a “secret return” for the elect that takes place prior to the Second Coming. This scripture rules it out explicitly. It is also consistent with the view that the resurrection of the blessed dead and the Rapture take place at essentially the same time. These two related but separate events are possibly supported by the two sources of the gathering of the elect: from the four winds (those still alive) and from one end of the heavens to the other (the dead).[67] Because the two events are essentially simultaneous, we should probably not make much from the order here – the four winds and then the heavens for – two reasons. First, it isn’t clear that two events really are being differentiated here. Second, this seems more like a list of what is happening rather than a temporal ordering. There are plenty of scriptures that give the ordering, as we shall see below. This verse does, however, make it clear that though the resurrection of the blessed dead precedes the Rapture (as we know from other scriptures), they are part of the same event.

(Matthew 24) {36} "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.{37} As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. {38} For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; {39} and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. {40} Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. {41} Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
{42} "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. {43} But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. {44} So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him….”

This contains one of the “Thief in the Night” scriptures and makes it quite clear that the thief’s appearing will only be a surprise if we do not keep watch. The Son of Man will indeed come at an hour when he is not expected, but not without preceding signs.

How to interpret “one will be taken and the other left”? Taken for what and left for what? This remains somewhat mysterious. If it parallels the wheat and the tares parable given above, the one taken is taken by Christ to be destroyed and the one left is to be gathered into his kingdom (which, during the Millennium, will be on earth).

This is one of the many places where events of the end times are compared with those which happened earlier in Israel’s history. There is really nothing new under the sun. Since Israel’s entire history is an acting out of mankind’s relationship with God, so why shouldn’t their history reflect events yet to come?

(John 14) {1} Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me. {2} In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. {3} And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Note this does not say “I will take you to those mansions”, only to “be with me”. The New Jerusalem is the place Christ has been preparing for us, not some temporary place in the temporary heavens which will be destroyed at the end of the Millennium.

(Acts 1) {11} “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” {12} Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city.

When Christ returns to earth, he will return from the heavens to the Mount of Olives. Zechariah chapter 14 teaches the same thing. This scripture makes it clear that there will not be, as all but the Post-Wrath Rapture view teach, an intermediate return “to the skies” at the start of Daniel’s Seventieth Week (or any other time after that), followed by a protracted period of waiting before Christ sets foot on the Mount of Olives. Christ has one Second Coming, not two. As C. S. Lewis has said, “when the author walks onto the stage, the play is over”.[68]

Scripture makes it clear that he will not be alone: his “Holy Ones”, including angels, those recently raptured, and those recently resurrected, will be with him.[69]

(I Corinthians 15) {20} But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. {21} For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. {22} For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. {23} But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. {24} Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.{25}  For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. {26} The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

This scripture is quite compact, but a few things can be drawn from it relevant to the Rapture. When Christ comes, those who belong to him will be with him. They therefore have to have been resurrected or transformed by that point. The Acts scripture above makes it clear there was no intermediate coming prior to when Christ returns, as promised, to the Mount of Olives. This will help us interpret the somewhat difficult scripture concerning the “first resurrection” given in Revelation chapter 20. Although we will discuss the first and second resurrection at that point, it is worth stating here that the first resurrection is what is in view here – the resurrection of the blessed dead of all ages, including not just those martyred by the Antichrist, but all who, prior to the start of the Millennium, have died in Christ. There will be a second resurrection at the end of the Millennium (and prior to the White Throne Judgment) which will include all who are not Christ’s as well as those who are his and die during the Millennium.

(1 Corinthians 15) {51} Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—{52} in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

This is about the first resurrection and the Rapture and makes the order of events very clear. The last trumpet[70] will sound, then the dead in Christ will be raised, and then those who are alive will be transformed. That transformation will be effectively instantaneous.

This scripture alone makes it impossible to support the view that the Rapture takes place prior to the seventh trumpet, the last one mentioned specifically in Revelation. It is spurious to state that this is the “last trumpet” for the Church, but not for the world. At least some members of the Church are on earth during the reign of the Antichrist and are persecuted by him. We know Christians exist on earth during the Great Tribulation because Christ tells us they do.[71] The events happening on earth, while they are on earth, are clearly relevant to them, so the “last trumpet” for the Church must actually be “last”. Therefore, the last trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15:52 must either be the same as the seventh trumpet of Revelation or must occur later. It cannot occur earlier and be the “last”, either for non-believers or for believers. This means that all views of the Rapture other than the Pre-Wrath and Post-Wrath viewpoints are inconsistent with these verses.

(1 Thessalonians 4) {13} Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. {14} We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.{15} According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. {16} For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. {17} After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. {18} Therefore encourage each other with these words. (1 Thessalonians 5) {1} Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, {2} for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. {3} While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. {4} But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. ... {9} For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. {10} He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

This is the most famous reference to the Rapture. It gives a clear temporal order to the events surrounding the return of Christ: Christ returns with a command of the Archangel, the dead in Christ are raised, and the living followers of Christ transformed. Both sets will meet the Lord in the air, presumably on his way to the Mount of Olives. Since trumpets sound a battle cry and since Michael the Archangel will arise at this point,[72] this trumpet launches Christ’s attack on the armies of the Beast who have attacked Jerusalem.

Note that verse 17 has Christ coming in the clouds. Only two things are therefore possible: there are two comings of Christ in the clouds (required by all but the Post-Wrath and possibly the Pre-Wrath rapture positions) or this one and the one in Matthew 24:30, which is seen by “all the tribes of earth”, are the same event. It seems far more likely that they are the same event, particularly given the cry of command, the voice of the Archangel, and the blare of the trumpet.

We discuss the Thief in the Night scriptures in Appendix 7 but here, as everywhere else they appear, they mean that these events will catch those who are not watching unawares. Those who are watching will not be surprised, though they, too, will not know the day of Christ’s return in advance.

(2 Thessalonians 1) {6} God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you {7} and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. {8} He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. {9} They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power {10} on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

Scripture teaches that the punishment of those who do not belong to God is broken into several parts, including the capture and punishment of the Antichrist and the False Prophet,[73] the destruction of the armies at Jerusalem,[74] and the punishment of those at the White Throne Judgment[75] who are not Christ’s.

Notice that Christ returns to comfort those who have been “troubled”, including “us as well”, meaning, presumably, Paul and other first-generation Christians. Because Christ is revealed in blazing fire, this is no secret meeting in the air but the actual Second Coming. That comforting will be as part of and as a consequence of Christ’s Second Coming, as the verses here state.

(2 Thessalonians 2) {1} Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, {2} not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. {3} Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. {4} He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. {5} Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? {6} And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. {7} 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. {8} And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.

This addresses false teachings concerning Christ’s return, the resurrection of the blessed dead, and the Rapture. Apparently, people were teaching that the resurrection had already taken place, which must have caused considerable confusion to those who thought either that there would be a Rapture first or that they took place at the same time. Paul responds with a scripture that destroys the doctrine of Imminence, saying the man of lawlessness (Antichrist) must be revealed first, before our gathering together to Christ. Paul stipulates he is dealing with our gathering together to Christ (v. 1) and that both the rebellion and the revealing of the “man of lawlessness” must happen first (v.3). It is just as Christ said in Olivet Discourse:[76] the Antichrist being revealed is the first unambiguous sign of the end.

These verses appear to have been written expressly to counteract the false views that there was a Pretribulation Rapture and that the Thessalonians had missed it. Paul lays out two signs which must happen first (the rebellion and the revealing of the man of lawlessness). The second of these can be clearly placed in the timeframe of the Last Days. According to Daniel[77] the revealing of the Antichrist takes place in the middle of the Seventieth Week. These scriptures alone are sufficient to cast doubt on the doctrine of Imminence and the Pretribulation Rapture viewpoint.

(2 Timothy 2) {17} Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, {18} who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.

This follows directly on the previous scripture and cites an example of the false teaching that the resurrection of the dead and (therefore) the Rapture had already taken place. Since the Antichrist has not been revealed, they cannot have taken place.

(Titus 2) {13} while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ...

Paul calls the return of Christ the glorious appearing, which simply means his appearing in glory:

Some want to make this into two separate events, with the blessed hope being the Rapture and the glorious appearing being his return to judge the earth. Supporting this argument is the presence of a “kai”, the Greek word often translated “and” between the two phrases. However, for all that, “kai” can just as well mean “even”, introducing a phrase for clarification. That seems to be the better sense here. The “blessed hope” of Christians is the return of Christ. This is the same hope mentioned by Peter.[78] Since other scriptures, including several we have just looked at, teach that the two take place at the same time, there is little need to distinguish them.

(1 Peter 1) {13b} Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Note “revealed”, not secretly appearing in the heavens. This verse shows that the hope of Christians comes with the revealing of Christ. Peter calls this our full hope, Paul our blessed hope. The revealing of Christ is when he comes in glory, so if our full hope is concentrated on that event, a Rapture that took place years earlier cannot be the “Blessed Hope” for which Christians are looking. If there were such a Rapture, we would again have the problem of believers with their Lord for seven (or more) years but still hoping for something else.

2 Peter 2:5-9

(2 Peter 2) {5} if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; {6} if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; {7} and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men {8} (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—{9} if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.

These verses, using the example of Lot, are sometimes taken to show that Christians will be raptured prior to the Wrath of God. But there are several problems with that viewpoint. First, the rescuing of Lot and the destruction of Sodom took place on the same day, not years or even weeks apart. Second, though Lot was rescued from the destruction of Sodom, his troubles were hardly over.

The point of these verses is rather to show that God is in control and will save the righteous and punish the wicked. Little or nothing can be gleaned from them about the events of the Last Days beyond that.

(2 Peter 3) {10} But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

What Peter describes concerning that day matches Revelation 16 where the “Thief in the Night” parable is also referred to also in the context of the very end of the age. Its use in those two places helps to show that the doctrine of Imminence, derived in part from the concept that a thief comes secretly and while you can prepare for his coming, you cannot predict it, cannot be derived from them. Neither Peter nor John shows any problem with applying the thief in the night passage to events which are obviously not secret or hidden and, in the case of John, have obvious precursors (including the revealing of the Antichrist and the murder of hundreds of millions of Christians).

If there is a specific event that the Thief in the Night scriptures apply to, it cannot be a Rapture that takes place at some time prior to Christ’s return, since both Peter here and John in Revelation chapter 16 make it clear that whatever is referred to isn’t secret, at least to those who are watching. The parallel scripture in Revelation 16 takes place long after the revealing of the Antichrist, the deaths of hundreds of millions of Christians, and most of the bowl judgments. It is the return of Christ, the resurrection of the blessed dead, the transformation of living Christians, and, most particularly, the destruction of the Antichrist and his followers that will occur to those not watching as a thief in the night.

(Revelation 3) {10} Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

This message to the church in Philadelphia is used by those supporting the Pretribulation position to say that the Church will be removed from the earth during the Seventieth Week or beforehand. This interpretation includes several assumptions about this verse. The first is the question of whether it pertains to the Last Days or to the persecutions of the time when John was writing Revelation. As we have seen, there are often near- and far-term fulfillments of scripture, and this seems to be one of them. There were persecutions throughout this period – John himself was imprisoned on Patmos, and though Christians did not spread to “the whole world”, they did spread to the entire Roman world. It is likely, however, that the principal application of this scripture is, as the Pretribulation positions holds, to the persecutions under the Antichrist. Evidence for that comes from the rest of the message to Philadelphia where Christ says, “I am coming soon”[79] and speaks of the New Jerusalem.[80]

We now come to the crux of this verse; the words translated as “keep you from” the hour of trial. The Pretribulation position takes this to mean that “keeping from” the trial means “removal from” the earth. To understand what is wrong with this interpretation we must look at what the Greek text says. The words for “keep from” are, in the Greek, τηρήσω ἐκ. Τηρήσω is from τηρέω which has the primary meaning of “to watch over” or “to guard”. ἐκ is a preposition meaning “from”. The latter has the connotation of leaving something with which one has had intimate contact, not simply avoiding something.

The combination of τηρέω and ἐκ occurs another place in John’s writing – in verse 17:15 of his gospel. “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” This verse makes it very clear that whatever the exact nuance of τηρήσω ἐκ is in Revelation, it does not mean taking the Church out of the world. In John’s gospel, Christ himself contrasts the protection God will render his people with removing them from its influence. We should take Revelation 3:10 in the same sense that we take John 17:15: the Church will be preserved from the influence of evil. Just as the Church today suffers the side effects of evil, though it ultimately cannot harm us, so the Church of the Last Days will be guarded through the persecutions of the Antichrist. Just as evil is done to Christians, so will Christians of the Last Days suffer persecution. But ultimately, when all is said and done, neither can harm us.

Two churches in the early chapters of Revelation are held faultless – Smyrna and Philadelphia. Smyrna is told it will go through persecutions and death but with the result being, ultimately, the crown of life. It seems reasonable – and consistent with the usage of the Greek – that the promise to Philadelphia is essentially the same.

(Revelation 6) {9} When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. {10} They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" {11} Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

The martyrs beneath the altar at the fifth seal only have their souls, not their bodies. They are obviously “dead in Christ” and since 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 makes it clear the dead in Christ will rise before the Rapture, the Rapture cannot yet have taken place. John sees the martyrs after the four horsemen, just before the beginning of the Great Tribulation, about halfway through the Seventieth Week. The Rapture, therefore, cannot have taken place before the time in view in this verse. Indeed, since the proximate reason for God’s Wrath is avenging the blood of the martyrs including those “fellow servants” killed during the Great Tribulation, then the Fury (the 30-day period) cannot start until the Great Tribulation – and its accompanying martyrdoms – is over and all who are to be killed have been killed.

There are two important lessons to draw here. First, the Great Tribulation is not part of the Wrath of God. It is, in fact, a major cause of the Wrath of God. Second, since the souls under the altar are told to wait until the martyrdoms of the Great Tribulation were completed, the Rapture (which involves their resurrection) cannot take place until at least the end of those martyrdoms.

(Revelation 13) {7} He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.

This passage is a parallel with Daniel 7:21-25 where the people referred to are God’s people. In Daniel’s context, they are the Jews. In the New Testament perspective, however, all of God’s people are included, Christians and Jews. The word used here for “saints” is the Greek “hagios”. When used alone in scripture, with three possible exceptions[81] it always refers to Christians. The first of these possible exceptions is in the unusual passage in Matthew about the resurrection of many saints at the time of Christ’s resurrection. There, it probably refers to Jewish believers, since there weren’t a lot of dead Christians then to be resurrected. In Colossians, it certainly refers to Christians, but may also refer to Jewish believers. In Revelation 11:18, prophets, saints, and all who fear God are put together into one category. This is probably what is meant here also. That interpretation is consistent with the rest of Revelation where the Antichrist makes war against both Jewish believers and Christians.

(Revelation 20) {4} I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. {5} (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. {6} Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

Notice here that the martyrs come to life just before the start of the Millennium. Since the martyrs under the altar are told to wait until this exact group of martyrs is complete, they come to life here. Since the resurrection of dead Christians must precede the Rapture, the Rapture cannot take place until this point in time.

Duplications Required by the Pretribulation Viewpoint

The Pretribulation viewpoint requires duplication of several things that scripture treats as single events. Among them are

Two Second Comings (a secret Rapture and a later return in glory)
Two last trumpets (Christ descending with the “last trump” for the Rapture and then later the seventh trumpet
Two wraths (Wrath of the Lamb/Day of Christ and Wrath of God/Day of the Lord
Two gatherings of the elect (the Rapture for Christians and the final ingathering at Christ’s return for the Jews[82])
Two “first resurrections” (one at the Rapture and one in Revelation 20)
Two Last Judgments – one for those Raptured and one later for everyone.

Since there is no evidence in scripture for these many duplications, it seems best to dispense with them. Contrary to the Pretribulation position, scripture teaches a single period of God’s Wrath, a single return of Christ, a single resurrection of the blessed, a single translation of living believers, a single judgment of the dead, and a single last trumpet.

The martyrs are resurrected after the Fury of God, in chapter 20, and that resurrection is the “first resurrection”. Πρώτη, the word translated as “first” nearly always means first in time (84 of 99 uses in the New Testament). While it can mean first in importance, that meaning only occurs 9 times in the New Testament. Adding to that the temporal sequence given among resurrections (the next one taking place after the Millennium), the evidence for taking this as the first general resurrection in time seems overwhelming. If it is the first, then since we know that the Rapture takes place at the same time as or after the resurrection of the dead in Christ, the Rapture can take place no earlier in Revelation than here.

There remains the problem of whether this group includes the blessed dead of all ages. Taken in isolation, this seems to include only the martyrs of the Great Tribulation. The English has two “I saw” in it, but the Greek actually says, “And I saw thrones and those that sat upon them … and the souls of those who were beheaded…”. John appears to see two groups, or one group (the martyrs of all ages or the blessed dead of all ages) with special mention of those who were martyred during the Great Tribulation.

Conclusion

The authors fully admit that the scriptures about the Rapture are not always clear as to timing. And that honest Christians can have disagreements. As we have stated before, no one’s salvation depends on their belief as to the timing of the Rapture. And the authors are hardly claiming perfection in Biblical interpretation. We do, however, believe that the Posttribulation position provides the closest match to scripture while requiring the fewest additional interpretations that go beyond the text of scripture. How we came to that position is presented above and in the main commentary along with the verses that led us to our position.

In this section we have concentrated on the Pretribulation viewpoint because it is, currently, probably the most common among evangelicals. As we have shown above (and discuss at appropriate times in the main text of the commentary), the later one proposes that the Rapture takes place, the fewer the scriptures that have to be interpreted away. And that seems a good place to be.

Footnotes

7. The Thief in the Night

Appendix 7:
The Thief in the Night

Directly or indirectly, there are more than thirty references in scripture to Christ’s return being like a thief coming at an unknown time. Although the thief in the night scriptures are used to support the coming of Christ (or the Rapture) with no preceding events, this position cannot be sustained. Revelation 16:15, after the revealing of the Antichrist, his murdering of millions of believers, the seven trumpets, the pouring out of the bowls of God’s Fury, and the beginning of the gathering of the armies of the Antichrist at Armageddon, we have (verse 15) “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed”. If, as is generally supposed, the thief in the night scriptures mean “at any time”, applying that saying to the events of Revelation 16 would appear to be remarkably inappropriate. The return of Christ, the transformation of living believers, and the resurrection of dead believers will not be as a surprise. From the time when Revelation was written to the present day, there remained scriptures to be fulfilled before those events could happen. Until fairly recently the non-existence of Israel as an independent state was yet to be fulfilled and yet had to be fulfilled. In our day there remain unfulfilled scriptures. For example, both the rebuilding of the temple and reestablishment of its sacrifices must happen before the Antichrist can take his place in the temple and stop the sacrifices. The Antichrist himself must be revealed and all the events of the Seventieth week take place first. The thief in the night scriptures rather mean that Christ’s return will be surprising to those not looking for it (we are told to watch lest it come upon us like a thief). 1 Thessalonians 5:4 states that his return will not be like a thief in the night for believers and they will not be surprised. Only non-believers will be saying “Peace and safety” at that point in history. And they will be deceived.

8. Principles of Exegesis

Appendix 8:
Principles of Exegesis

The authors have applied a number of basic principles of scriptural interpretation in writing Tapestry. Since some of our conclusions may be controversial, we want to state explicitly the principles by which they were deduced. Once those principles are understood, many of our conclusions will be seen to follow from them.

Principle 1: A passage should be interpreted literally unless it is clear from context that it has symbolic meaning.

Both the writers of scripture and the Holy Spirit meant scripture to have a common meaning and not to be interpreted according to standards that would change over time.[1] Approaching scripture with this in mind is a guard against temptations to “spiritualize” prophecy and reinterpret scripture to fit the fashions of a particular time.

Scriptural texts may be literal, figurative, parabolic, or symbolic. The great majority of scripture is meant to be interpreted literally, but there are clearly passages where the primary meaning is figurative. When Christ said he wanted to gather the inhabitants of Jerusalem together as a hen gathers her chicks,[2] he didn’t mean he wanted to sprout feathers. Common sense is usually sufficient to separate the literal from the figurative.

Many of Christ’s teachings, particularly concerning the end of the age, were parables. A difficult question in New Testament interpretation is how much information can be deduced from these parables. We are on safest ground when we draw information from them at the same level of detail as Christ did when he explained a parable to his followers. There generally is one main point to a parable and it is often best not to read too much into any one parable.

In symbolic language an object or image represents something else. This form of language is prevalent throughout Revelation. When, for example, the bride of Christ is given fine linen to wear,[3] we are told that fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints. The various beasts of Revelation, “the lamb slain from the creation of the world”,[4] the monsters with stings in their tails,[5] are all symbolic. Interpreting the symbols in Revelation is a major purpose of this book. It must always be kept in mind that though something is a symbol, what it is a symbol of is meant to be taken literally.

Principle 2: All as-yet unfulfilled prophecies will be fulfilled as literally as those relating to Christ’s first coming.

The meaning and interpretation of prophesy are not functions of where we are in time. The God who makes “known the end from the beginning”[6] has not lost the ability to do so. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given”[7] was literally fulfilled at Christ’s birth. The next verse, “He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom”[8] will be fulfilled just as literally at his return.

Principle 3: Much can be learned about a far-term prophecy from its near-term fulfillment.

Many prophecies have both near-term and far-term fulfillments, with the former often partial and the latter complete. Thus, Antiochus Epiphanes fulfilled many of Daniel’s prophecies concerning the Antichrist.[9] When the Antichrist comes, he will fulfill all of them. Similarly, the wrath of God which was poured out on Pharaoh[10] at the Exodus and on Babylon[11] when the Persians took it, will strike all the earth at the end of the age.[12] These parallels must be drawn with caution, however. Events at a near-term fulfillment can confirm and suggest details surrounding a far-term, but they may vary significantly from the far-term fulfillment in both historical context and in detail of fulfillment.[13]

Principle 4: If two prophecies appear to refer to the same event, they should be taken to do so unless there are irreconcilable differences.

This is a hermeneutic version of Occam’s Razor. Differences between two prophecies should not be taken as evidence that they concern different events unless those differences present us with a contradiction in a major point (not in a detail). In the same way, an historical event may be referred to in different ways and still be one event.

The use of the same words, the same phrases, the same images provide supporting evidence that two prophecies relate to the same event. The closer the match, the more certain we may be that the two are the same. For example, the many three-and-one half year periods in Daniel and Revelation should all be taken to be identical unless there is strong evidence to the contrary.

Principle 5: The best key to the meaning of a disputed word or phrase is how it is used elsewhere.

Because the meaning of a text can hinge on a single phrase, it is important to understand how that phrase is used both in the context at hand and elsewhere. The principle adopted by the authors is to expand the understanding of a phrase by comparing it with close parallels. The usefulness of these parallels lies within concentric circles. When determining the precise meaning of a phrase, the following provide support, in order of decreasing importance:

Other use by the same author. This is particularly useful for John, who wrote five New Testament books, and Paul who wrote thirteen. Use within the same book is best of all.
Use elsewhere in the same Testament.
For New Testament words, their use in the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament, since both are in Greek and the NT writers were familiar with the Septuagint.
Use of parallel words or phrases in the other Testament. One approach takes a NT Greek word, looks at the Hebrew words it translates in the Septuagint, and then investigates the use of those Hebrew words elsewhere in the OT.
Use in contemporary, extrabiblical writings.
Use in non-contemporary writings.

Principle 6: Each prophecy will be fulfilled, each promise of God kept, in a way that would be considered a fulfillment by those to whom it was originally given.

God does not play word games with his people. Thus, when Jeremiah[14] predicts the fall of Babylon, we may be certain he means the city on the Euphrates. There might be a second fulfillment hidden from both the prophet and his original hearers,[15] but the primary (and likely far-term) fulfillment of a prophecy must make sense to the original hearers. In the same manner, God’s unconditional promises to Israel will be fulfilled to Israel, meaning to Jews. The Church might fulfill them as well, but if a promise is not kept to the people to whom it was given, then the promise has not been kept. God may fulfill his promises and prophecies in ways far beyond what the original hearers expected, but he will only do so in ways they would consider a fulfillment.

Nevertheless, there are some prophecies for which the prophet may not have expected a literal fulfillment. This is particularly true when the prophet substitutes the name of a former enemy of Israel for a current one. Thus John prophesies the fall of “Babylon” long after Babylon fell to the Persians.[16] When John’s “Babylon” falls, its fall will be in accordance with the prophecy, but what it is that falls might not be known until the time comes. Babylon on the Euphrates may rise to fall again, or Rome, the enemy in John’s day, may be meant, or something else entirely. Thus, when Jeremiah prophesied the fall of Babylon, only a literal fall of the literal city would meet this principle. When John prophesied, there was no literal Babylon to fall, so the fulfillment may be the fall of some other city or political entity that has attributes of the literal Babylon.

Principle 7: The purpose of a symbol is to convey meaning, not obscure it.

God gave visions to his prophets so they could communicate to his people. He showed them spiritual, nonmaterial things in symbols that they could understand and that still preserved the truth. We have problems today because we have forgotten the meaning of the symbols. Fortunately, scripture often provides enough information to recover that lost understanding.

Footnotes

9. Introduction to Timeline

Appendix 9:
Introduction to Timeline

The final section of this first book presents a timeline which will be useful throughout the study of Revelation. It lays out the order and scope of the events throughout the Seventieth Week and the Millennium, putting them in proper context. OPEN THE TIMELINE IN A NEW TAB

Mapping Revelation to a linear timeline is difficult for two reasons. First, the prophecies aren’t presented by John in strict temporal order. Instead, he gives it in sections, with there generally being a viewpoint change between heaven and earth at the start of each section. Each such section describes an event and presents a perspective on that event. Since Revelation then jumps to another event and another perspective (which may not be clearly linked in time), the only sure way to understand the order of events chronologically is to study the entire book of Revelation for clues where events are said to precede or follow another or to be required for the another to take place. An example of such dependencies concerns the two witnesses of Chapter 11. They are linked temporally with the first Beast of Chapter 13 since he executes them at the end of their ministry. While both chapters have earthly perspectives, the intervening Chapter 12 discusses Satan and his plans for the people of God.

In general, each section starts before the previous one ends and then presents new events. These overlaps can be slight, or they can be extensive. The example of Chapters 11-13 is typical of the way the entire book is organized. It is essential to reconcile both the overlapping series of events and the changing viewpoints, first because that is the only way to have a complete view of the events of the end times but also because the same event is often seen from both an earthly and a heavenly perspective. The timeline we have created reconciles those overlaps, repetitions, and viewpoint changes, concentrating on the events on earth.

Summary of Events

It will perhaps be useful before diving into the Timeline itself to present the overall organization and ordering of events discussed in Revelation. A period of seven years contains most of the events of Revelation. This is the Seventieth Week of Daniel. It has no certain beginning, reflecting what Christ said about no one knowing the day or the hour.

Of those seven years, the first 3½ set the world stage for the revealing and acceptance of the Antichrist. There are no definite signs of its start to look for, so the earth will likely be in this period for some time without many people realizing it. This is consistent with what Christ said about no one knowing the day or the hour.[1]

The sign that tells Christians that the Seventieth Week has begun is the revealing of the Antichrist. This is event is what Christ says we are to be on the lookout for. It takes place at the midpoint of the Seventieth Week and has several closely associated events linked to it. The Antichrist remains in power after his revealing for an additional 3½ years.

During the reign of the Antichrist and spanning the entire 3½ years following his revealing, two men prophesy against him in the streets of Jerusalem. These are the Two Witnesses and are, for those 3½ years, protected from the Antichrist by divinely given powers. Their death marks the end of the Seventieth Week.

At the start, during the first 3½ years, God’s people will be increasingly persecuted and the political situation in the world be very unstable. Once the Antichrist is revealed, the persecution will become vastly worse during a period referred to as the Great Tribulation. This period is also covered by the seven trumpets of Revelation, discussed in Chapter 8 and 9, as well as the seven thunders (which are mysterious and not elaborated on in Revelation).

Stating at the same time as the Great Tribulation, which is its primary cause, is the period called the Wrath of God. It covers the 3½ years of the Great Tribulation and also a thirty-day period afterwards that ends with Christ’s return. The extra thirty days of the Wrath of God (beyond the end of the Seventieth Week) is the time of the bowl or plague judgments. This is also called the Fury of God, a period of truly intense wrath. These judgments last for thirty days. They end with the return of Christ and the changing of living believers at the Rapture and the resurrection. The Millenium and its events immediately follow.

Detailed Description

The timeline starts with the signing of the covenant between the Antichrist and Israel at the start of Daniel’s Seventieth Week. Though this covenant will no doubt be seen by some as the start of the Seventieth Week it is not a certain sign since agreements are signed all the time.

Accompanying the covenant and following from it are the four horsemen of the first four trumpets. The only other major event presented in the first half of the Seventieth Week is the sealing of 144,000 believers prior to the start of the Tribulation.

The midpoint of the Seventieth Week is the revealing of the Antichrist and the start of the Antichrist’s 3½-year reign. Associated with this revealing, and occurring more or less immediately after it, are many events which are detailed in the timeline.

The timeline continues through reign of the Antichrist which constitutes the second half of the Seventieth Week, and beyond. It covers the preaching and death and resurrection of the two witnesses, the period of the Wrath of God, Armageddon, the final battle at Jerusalem, and the Millennium.

The timeline itself has three parts, the first is the horizontal timeline broken into discrete time periods mentioned in the Bible. The second is a series of specific events perpendicular to the timeline e.g., the birth of Christ. The third is a series of events that are parallel to the time that will occur over a protracted period of time e.g., The Great Tribulation.

The middle series breaks the period into multiple periods of time. These are the first 3½ years of the Seventieth Week, the last three and a half years of the Antichrist’s rule (after his revealing and including the events of that period), the period of the seven last plagues, the set up for the final battle, and the Millennium and its aftermath.

The third series presents the events in the context of the seven seals, trumpets, and bowl judgments. It details the timing of the Rapture, the rebuilding of Israel and Jerusalem, and various events of the Millennium. It ends with Satan’s final revolt and his punishment in the Lake of Fire and the descent of the New Jerusalem.

Footnotes

Appendices

Glossary

Appendix 1:Daniel's 70th Week

Appendix 2:The Olivet Discourse and Revelation

Appendix 3:​The Beasts of Revelation

Appendix 4:The Day of the Lord and the Wrath of God

Appendix 5:The Millennium

Appendix 6:​The Rapture

Appendix 7:The Thief in the Night

Appendix 8:Principles of Exegesis

Appendix 9:​Introduction to Timeline

Appendix 1:
Daniel's 70th Week

Appendix 2:
The Olivet Discourse and Revelation

Appendix 3:
The Beasts of Revelation

Appendix 4:
The Day of the Lord and the Wrath of God

Appendix 5:
The Millennium

Appendix 6:
The Rapture

Appendix 7:
The Thief in the Night

Appendix 8:
Principles of Exegesis

Appendix 9:
Introduction to Timeline