Considering Emerging End-Time Signs: Part 1 :: By Gene Lawley

Published on: August 19, 2023August 25, 2023 by RR10

A collision of emerging signs of the end times is becoming more apparent each day as news reports verify the predictions of Bible prophecy. Much of my writing seems to be on this topic these days in one way or another. The rising of false doctrines based on faulty conclusions of early church teachers that lack that “rightly dividing the Word of truth” Paul wrote about to Timothy (2 Timothy 2:15).

In this Part 1 and following, we will explore what the Scriptures say about current events and how these considerations should enable us to “see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). First is the foundation of Scripture in both New Testament and Old Testament predictions.

The promise of the coming of Jesus Christ to “ingather” His body of believers of past and current numbers was actually made by Jesus, Himself. In John 11, when Lazarus died and his two sisters were mourning his death, Martha brought the timing of Lazarus’ resurrection to the end of the age when the great resurrection is to be. But Jesus, in his Son of God knowledge of the future, replied, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he is dead, yet shall he live, and he who lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25-26).

Paul takes up the topic in his first letter to the believers in Thessalonica. He wrote, “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

Then he writes of the details of the Lord’s coming for them and future believers in verses 16-17: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

That promise of Jesus in His giving the Great Commission in Matthew 28 is no contradiction to that ending promise in the prior passage, “And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” In Matthew 28:20, He says, “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” What happens then? We will then be with Him.

In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul alerts them, and all future believers (see 2 Timothy 3:16), that a “falling away must come first” (2 Thessalonians 2:3), saying, “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition….”

Falling away from what, we must ask? It is from truth, honesty, moral integrity, justice for all, living lawfully, honoring the knowledge of right and wrong—these are principles of life that are being left behind by more of the world’s population and its political leaders.

High on the list is sexual immorality and its degradation upon society. Jesus said, in Luke 17:28-30, “…As it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”

The account of that event is detailed in Genesis 19, and it tells us that the whole city was saturated with homosexuality, for every man and boy bombarded Lot’s doorway, demanding those two “men” (angels) that they might “know” them. Was Paul recalling that situation of sexual degradation in his letter to the Romans in chapter 1:18 and following?

There, he wrote of a time when people were turning man to man and woman to woman with their sexual lusts, saying, also, “who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:32). The approval of sexual deviation is under the judgment of God, and many in governmental units are approving of the LGBTQ+ lifestyle though not participating. They are equally guilty before God.

This climate of approval of sexual deviation in all forms has been established by the nation’s president in the USA, even spreading to business corporations not wanting to miss out on increased revenue from that faction. The confusion of what is the correct pronoun to use for addressing those who claim “trans-gender” status. Not only is it a sexual deviation, it is bringing about the destruction of society.

It is a Satanic attack on the highest of God’s creation, that of man in God’s own image. That spiritual warfare has continued for centuries as Satan wants to see God dishonored by His highest creation. But God is sovereign over Satan, and He will destroy that one at the right time.

When the falling away reaches its climax so that the lawless one can be welcomed wholeheartedly by the world’s population, then Jesus will come and remove the One who restrains that evilness. It is that body of believers in Christ. This is God’s plan so that one, the Antichrist, may have authority and clear sailing to events of the coming seven years of tribulation recorded in the Book of Revelation. These Scriptures establish the New Testament fact of the coming of Jesus to “ingather” His body of believers. The Old Testament prophecies tell of these things as well. In Daniel 9:24-25, the prophet is told of a coming seven-year period when God’s punishment of the Jewish people will be completed—judgment for their constant disobedience and rebellion during those years after the exodus from Egypt. The angel told Daniel this:

“Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.” (These are weeks of years, a year counted as one day, thus one week would equal seven years.)

This was from the time of Ezra’s rebuilding of the temple and the city to the death of Christ would be 69 weeks of the 70 weeks proclaimed. This missing week will be the seven years of the tribulation told of in Revelation 6 to 19.

When Jesus comes for His saints, that 70th week will begin, all pointed to the Jewish people. The Christian church will not be there, as its absence is so obvious. No longer any Great Commission, but 144,000 Jewish “messengers” will take “the gospel of the kingdom” to every tribe, tongue and nation of the world, as we see John’s account in Revelation 7.

There, that great multitude of souls in white robes standing before the Lord are not resurrected saints but are those saved during that ministry. They “come out of the Great Tribulation, it says. They are those who do not take the Mark of the Beast in the last half of that 70th week. And the elder tells John that “many more must be killed.”

That will happen, according to Zechariah 13:8, which says, “And it shall come to pass in all the land,” says the Lord, “That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it.” It is the time of God’s attention directly on the Jewish people, to begin once the believers in Christ are gone to be with Jesus.

Daniel 9:26-27 follows with the prophecy of events before those seven years. In those verses, we learn of the lawless one mentioned by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2 and what he does right after the removal of the Restrainer. It also tells of the 70 A.D. Roman destruction of Jerusalem and its temple and a future appearance of one who is an “abomination of desolation” who claims to be God as he stands in the new temple the Jews have been allowed to rebuild.

It says this: “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself, and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.”

So far, we have the Scriptural foundations for signs that are to come. As we look at looming signs, remember that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” that God “is not a man that He should lie or change,” that He knows all things ahead of their times, and that “knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Faith—believing—comes first, then understanding.

In Luke 21, Jesus predicts world conditions of turbulence in weather, social and political happenings. Here are some of them that He says will be current issues:

“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:10-11 and 25-28).

It is true that many of these things have happened before, but have you noticed how they are bunched up into these few weeks of summer in this hemisphere? World conditions in other segments of the population and political concerns are showing signs of distress, perplexity, and fear, as Jesus predicted.

In the USA, there has been sweltering heat in one area and heavy rain with devastating flooding in another at a continual pattern for weeks. And Jesus said, “When these things begin to happen, look up, for your redemption is drawing near.” In Part 2, we will look at major reasons why it is so.

Addendum: As this Part 1 was being finished, major geophysical events began to swarm in several locations. A major wildfire was taking place in Hawaii with many deaths and destruction of property; the first Pacific hurricane in 84 years was approaching the west coasts of Mexico and southern California with torrential rains, flooding and mudslides; Canadian Rockies were inundated with wildfire and its destruction, while rains and flooding and high heat waves continued in the eastern US states. Add these to the list.

Contact email: andwegetmercy@gmail.com

Joy-Deprived Saints :: By Jonathan Brentner

Published on: August 19, 2023 by RR10

I know I’m not alone in this. It’s something that’s far too common based on my experience as well as from what others tell me.

We hear excellent presentations of the gospel, but they end without an ending. There’s no mention of eternal life or our glorious hope of resurrected bodies. Yes, sometimes the pastor mentions glory in his concluding prayer or perhaps quotes John 3:16, but what does “glory” or “everlasting life” signify apart from the context of the New Testament? Will we be spirits floating around like Jacob Marley, or will we find ourselves sitting all alone on a cloud with harp in hand? I don’t think so.

The Bible is quite clear about our joyful hope of receiving immortal bodies at Jesus’ appearing (1 Corinthians 15:48-54, Philippians 3:20-21). This is not a fringe teaching, not at all, but it comes from several passages where the wording is unmistakable and cannot be misconstrued to mean anything else than our hope of resurrected bodies like that of our Savior after He rose from the dead.

Scripture tells us that Jesus will appear, hopefully soon, and at that time, He will raise the dead in Christ and catch living believers up to meet Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). It’s then the Lord will give both groups of saints glorified and imperishable bodies. The words of the passages mentioned above refer to the event that today we call the “Rapture!”

The Forgotten Resurrection

I sometimes wonder if pastors who exclude references to our resurrection in their preaching genuinely believe the words of 1 Corinthians 15:19:

“If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

In the preceding verses, Paul refutes those in Corinth who claimed that there was no such thing as a resurrection (15:12-18). If true, he argues, then we must conclude that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, and our faith is thus “futile.” The end of such a dire possibility is that the “dead in Christ have perished,” and we who are alive are “most to be pitied” (ESV) or “miserable” (KJV) because our hope doesn’t extend beyond this life (see vv. 18-19).

Paul begins verse 20 with the glorious fact that “Christ has been raised from the dead,” and in 1 Corinthians 15:47-57, he sums up our forever hope with the joyous reality of our resurrection as New Testament saints. In language that can’t be misunderstood to mean anything else, the apostle says there’s coming a time when Jesus will raise the dead with imperishable bodies and, after that, gloriously transform believers still alive at His appearing, the Rapture of His Church.

Paul emphasizes our joyous hope again in Philippians 3:20-21:

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (emphasis added)

Because Jesus rose from the dead, our over-the-top blissful hope is that someday we will possess a glorious body like that of our Savior. The sense of verse 20 is that of an “excited anticipation” of Jesus’ appearing. It signifies a yearning of the soul for the time that Jesus raises the dead in Christ and wholly transforms us with immortality. In Romans 8:23, it’s our groaning as we await the future “redemption of our bodies.”

I can’t imagine that Paul preached the Gospel apart from adding context to our hope of eternal life, that of our expectation of glorified bodies at Jesus’ appearing. I explain why I’m so certain of this in The Tragic Result of Divorcing the Rapture from the Gospel.

It’s wonderful to know that because of Jesus, we enjoy complete forgiveness of sins. We all need reminders of God’s grace and steadfast love toward us as well as the anticipation of our future resurrection at Jesus’ appearing, forgotten in most churches today. It’s the latter that comforts our souls as we watch our world descend into violence, lawlessness, and wickedness beyond what we once thought possible.

Throwing Out the Baby with the Bath Water

There’s an old expression that dates all the way back to 1512, “Throwing out the baby with the bath water.” The idea behind the saying is that if part of a concept is good, don’t toss it all away because you think a part of it is bad.

Is this not what many pastors do today? They fear the negative results of mentioning the dreaded word “Rapture,” oh my, so along with never mentioning Jesus’ future appearing, they also never mention the matter of the resurrection of New Testament saints or the glorious transformation of those who will be alive at the time. Water and baby both go out the window.

One of the reasons that I wrote The Triumph of the Redeemed-An Eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times was to provide pastors with a biblical basis for the Rapture from which they could boldly preach about Jesus’ appearing and the over-the-top joyous blessings associated with our receipt of immortal and imperishable bodies. I also wrote to provide a firm biblical foundation for the pre-Tribulation Rapture so that believers might rejoice in what lies ahead for them after the Rapture.

I often wonder why so many pastors refuse to mention our joyous hope of living forever in glorious, resurrected bodies. One could easily emphasize this biblical truth by mentioning you know what.

In my opinion, this results from unbelief. Pastors and teachers immersed in covenant theology must spiritualize a very large number of Old and New Testament passages that teach the restoration of a kingdom for Israel. In doing so, they deny the reality of the Tribulation and Jesus’ thousand-year reign. And because of these errant beliefs, they must find alternate interpretations for passages that refer to Jesus’ appearing as an event separate from the Second Coming.

Some in the covenant theology camp teach that the words in 1 Corinthians 15:50-54 denote the believers’ regeneration rather than our future resurrection. I was totally stunned when I first read this errant interpretation, but to my dismay, this false rendering of these verses has become common in many churches. This goes far beyond forgetting the physical resurrection of the saints; it rather signifies a denial of this cherished belief so prominent in God’s Word. It’s a sanctified version of your “Best Life Now.”

What’s the Big Deal?

At this point, one might ask, “What’s the big deal?” As long as the gospel is proclaimed and people respond, why raise such a fuss?

Yes, the presentation of the gospel is able to yield wonderful results even when it comes without a peep regarding our biblical hope of resurrection bodies. But why can’t the Lord produce at least the same results with the inclusion of our joyous hope?

Why is telling people that Jesus offers them a glorious future with resurrection bodies more offensive than telling them they are sinners in need of God’s forgiveness? What am I not seeing here?

The “big deal” is this: when pastors operate with the illusion that the truths associated with Jesus’ appearing are offensive or divisive to both unbelievers and immature saints, they deprive everyone of hearing the details of our amazing future joy.

Such silence leads to joy-deprived saints who also lack the teaching that the Apostle Paul says enables us to “stand firm” in our faith (Philippians 4:1). The truths associated with a proper rendering of 1 Corinthians 15:48-57 encourage us to remain faithful in serving the Lord (see verse 58).

Furthermore, silence regarding our eternal bliss often stems from more serious issues than simply a fear of rocking the boat on Sunday mornings. Covenant theology places Jesus’ return in the far distant future, which has the logical outcome of causing believers to focus on the things of this world rather than Jesus’ appearing.

Because Covenant theology erroneously exalts the church as God’s kingdom, over time, it leads directly to preterism and dominion theology. These heretical teachings fall far, far short of offering the joy that comes with a solid biblical understanding of our hope in Jesus’ imminent return to take His Church to glory.

This is my complaint about those that proclaim the gospel without mentioning eternal life, or perhaps saving it for the concluding prayer (when most people are thinking about what to eat rather than the words of the prayer). Such presentations deprive the saints of hearing about the wondrous hope set before them, our anchor that holds within the veil during the fiercest of storms of this life (Hebrews 7:18-19).

It’s not that we can’t experience joy apart from hearing about our hope; it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. However, it helps tremendously to know that we will live forever in bodies that will never age, get sick, die, or experience any of the discomforts of this life. These thoughts bring joy to my heart every day!

Why do so many pastors hide these glorious truths from the saints and deny them the refreshing of their souls that comes from our joyous anticipation of glory?

Note: Please consider signing up for my newsletter on the home page of my website at https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/. Thanks!