As the world lurches off the cliff into the satanic chasm, certain things are happening that become totally offensive to Christians.  Indeed, they are totally offensive to any existing decency.  We all live in separate nations, and each one has its own distinctiveness in the way it separates from the will of God expressed in the Bible.

The reason for the chaos that is tumbling into the world is simply that we are in the last days of the Church age.  2 Timothy 3:1-4 and 2 Timothy 3:13 feature these days.  More scriptures can be added, such as those speaking about the decline in churches with growing apostasy and liberalism, but I am not dealing with that in this article.

So much evil exists in the United States, but sadly, it is exported to other nations.  Any discerning Christian living in the United States should know the evils that exist in your nation.  I suggest you begin with the corrupt policies of the Democrats.

In this article, I want to concentrate on Australia because I think the progress of wickedness is outstripping most nations.  If you are American, I respectfully ask that you don’t tune out, because we live in a globalist economy, and what others are suffering will come to you very quickly.  Also, I believe Christians should be aware of what is happening to be prepared in themselves to stand against the evil surrounding us.

These things I want to share with you.

[1].  GETTING PAID TO MURDER YOUR OFFSPRING

Have you ever rolled a large boulder down a slope?  What have you noticed?  This is what happens.  It begins its first few rolls slowly, then gathers momentum and soon starts careening downwards at an unstoppable pace.

That is what has happened to abortion in Australia.  Also, I believe it is similar in Great Britain and in Democrat areas of the United States.

What began as a “birth control” method a few decades ago has progressed through the activity of zealots into a “baby-murdering machine.” Australia is cursed with the most evil and satanic government in its history.  Many members of the governing Australian Labor Party (ALP) are as bad as the very worst of the most hateful Democrats, as they share many of the same policies.

There is a “religious” fanaticism on the part of ALP women in both Federal and State Parliaments to evangelize on abortion, pushing it as much as they can.

WHY?  Why would people do that?  Why do they have this twisted ambition to see babies murdered/aborted?

The answer lies in many scriptures.  Let’s go back to the beginning to a statement made about Satan – here we have two precise facts – {John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father.  HE WAS A MURDERER FROM THE BEGINNING, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.  Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for HE IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF LIES.”}

The Lord Jesus declared that about Satan.  The murderer from the beginning will murder as much as he can in this awful, sinful world.  In the name of murder, he, the father of lies, surrounds that with lies to delude people into murdering babies.  His lies of delusion are accepted and not questioned.

What was the first notable, recorded sin after being expelled from Eden?  {1 John 3:12 “Not as Cain who was of the evil one and SLEW HIS BROTHER, and for what reason did he slay him?  Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.”}  Yes, it was murder.  Satan is a murderer and loves to murder.

These wicked politicians in Australia (mainly women in the Labor Party) love their abortion.  This is actually the case.  In many States, abortion can be carried out until the day of birth.  That is murder of a defenseless baby, fully functioning, who has not yet seen the outside world.

In the State of Queensland, an abortion can be carried out up to the day of birth, and if the aborted baby is still living, it is placed in a kidney dish and left to die.  The nursing staff are not allowed to assist to keep the baby alive.  These are not wild statements.  It is true.

These late-term abortions, carried out in the third trimester of pregnancy, are actually funded by the Australian taxpayer.  The woman having an intentional abortion gets the amount of $4,326.57 and up to $22,000 (twenty-two thousand) paid maternity leave for doing it.  Paid to murder!  How can a society get sicker?  (This payment is made for a pregnancy of over 20 weeks.)

This has been an incentive for drug addicts and money-grabbing aborigines and dole bludgers to get pregnant for all the money.

It is the destruction of God’s creation, and those responsible, be it the legislators or those submitting to it, are deemed as murderers by God and will be accountable.

The political minister for Women’s Affairs in Federal Parliament responsible for this abortion is one called Kate Gallagher, a militant in the ALP Cabinet (who has a mean past of persecution against women).  There is a whole machine associated with abortion.  We know it is hostile to Christians, which is why in this nation and in Britain people are arrested for being near an abortion clinic if they are Christians.  Gallagher terms aborted babies as “stillborn babies.”

These late-term abortions/murders are done by an injection of potassium chloride into the baby’s heart.  It is killing with legislative approval.

There is much more that can be said about this, and there are a number of videos on the subject on YouTube, but this is the latest and should be seen (at least by Australians). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSc0LKtVndA

You might also like to see this one as extra confirmation – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amfa2Y2wa-Q

[Dr Joanna Howe is a Professor of Law, former NSW Rhodes Scholar, and mother of 5.]

Senator Pauline Hanson, who stands up for the rights of Australians, took on Senator Gallagher in Parliament yesterday (27 August 2024).  (The only negative is that Pauline Hanson does accept abortion in the first trimester.  When a nation has degraded itself like this, there is nothing that can be done for it, and only a fearful judgment lies ahead.

[2].  THE ADOPTION OF PAGANISM AND SPIRITISM

Abortion is but a symptom of a derailed nation.  There are several reasons why this nation is derailed.  The Bible in secular schools was outlawed, as was prayer and the honoring of the Australian flag in schools.  One of the worst moves was done by the Labor Party that abandoned the opening of Federal Parliament with Christian prayer and substituted a “smoking ceremony.”

The smoking ceremony comes from the Australian aborigines, and this was their way of invoking the evil spirits as part of their full satanic worship.  They believe in spiritism and Satan worship in the “Rainbow Serpent.”  This is even worse than paganism; it is spiritism.  The “religion” of the Aborigines was arguably the most satanic in the world.  This has been adopted by the Australian Labor Government.  Even the worst of the Democrats would not do that.

Because our governments have made the nation to have a basis of spiritism and Satanism (and hatred of Israel as yet another) because of the wicked politicians, it is not a strange thing that the Labor Party would adopt the murder of the unborn as a natural follow-on because Satan was a murderer from the beginning.

[3].  THE PAGAN GOD OF MOLOCH – THE BABY-DEVOURING GOD

The practice of throwing tiny children into the mouth of the Canaanite Moloch Bull with its raging fire is akin to the sacrifice of children in abortion – the murder of young human life.

I wish to use the words of another to enlighten more on Moloch.  This is from BibleHub:

[Moloch, also spelled Molech, is a deity associated with the ancient Near Eastern practice of child sacrifice.  The worship of Moloch is explicitly condemned in the Bible, and it is often linked with the abominable practices of the Canaanites and other neighbouring peoples.  The name “Moloch” is believed to derive from the Hebrew word “melech,” meaning “king,” but with the vowels of “bosheth,” meaning “shame,” indicating the disgraceful nature of the worship associated with this deity.

Biblical References:

Moloch is mentioned several times in the Old Testament, primarily in the context of prohibitions against idolatry and child sacrifice.  In Leviticus 18:21, the Israelites are commanded, {“You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.”}.  This command is reiterated in Leviticus 20:2-5, where the penalty for sacrificing children to Moloch is death, emphasising the severity of this sin.

In 2 Kings 23:10, King Josiah is noted for defiling Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, “so that no one could sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire to Molech.” This action was part of Josiah’s reforms to eradicate idolatry from Judah. Similarly, in Jeremiah 32:35, the prophet condemns the people for building high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech, an act that God declares He did not command nor did it enter His mind.]

The modern-day abortionist murderers are worshippers who identify with the old pagan god Moloch.

[4].  ONE OTHER GREAT EVIL THAT WILL CAUSE DESTRUCTION

A nation that pays for babies to be murdered will naturally adopt other wicked policies.  It is in the DNA of God-rejecting wickedness.

The current Australian Federal Government (the Labor one) has an INTENSE hatred of Israel.  Those who curse Israel have sealed their fate.  {Genesis 12:2-3 “and I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great, and so you shall be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you AND THE ONE WHO CURSES YOU I WILL CURSE.  In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”}

The Prime Minister of Australia (Albanese) is reputed to be a communist and, for all his life, has been a committed supporter of Palestinians and therefore tacitly accepting of their terrorism.  When the Hamas atrocity happened, he said nothing until shamed into saying something.  It appears he supports Hamas.

His hatred of Israel is most explicit.  His Cabinet members and members of the Labor Party march with the Palestinians who block off Sydney Harbour Bridge, calling for Jews to be killed and gassed.

No other nation on Earth will take Palestinians into their nation because of the terrorist threat by doing so, but Albanese, the Prime Minister, has flooded Australia with Palestinians to get their vote.  When you curse Israel, the curse of God rests over you.  Because of the cursing of Israel and the murdering of the unborn and the promotion of paganism and spiritism, Australia lies under the curse of God.

August 27th – It has been revealed that Iran has been carrying out terrorist activities in Australia.  This has come to light through Israeli intelligence.  No doubt Iran considered the hatred the Labor Party has for Israel enough grounds to find sympathy in Australia from the Government.  Now the ALP had reacted and expelled the Iranian ambassador, but it has been their fault that Jewish people and their interests and synagogues have been attacked.  Albanese supports Palestinians over Israel.  The Foreign Affairs Minister Penny WONG has the same hatred for Israel.

It is for that same reason, but in the opposite sense, that God will bless the USA because of Genesis 12:3.  God is not mocked.  It is no surprise that Albanese refuses to speak with Donald Trump, about the only world leader who has not done so since Trump took office.

[5].  FINAL THOUGHTS

Those in churches who hold to the world getting better are grossly deluded.  I think this goes back to Reformation Theology and its position on eschatology, but I need to look into that more.

This world will decline rapidly, and it is not random things we are looking at.  It is, and always will be, Israel.  It is as if Israel is right now poised, ready for the next major event.  That must be just so close, as well as the Rapture.  Everything has fallen into place.

It is going to be so bad for those who have neglected salvation, for the sudden cataclysm of the Rapture will burst upon an unrepentant world.  Men’s hearts will fail them for fear.

A realization came to me the other day.  We know that the breaking of the second seal brings war all over the earth – {Revelation 6:3-4 “When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, ‘Come,’ and another, a red horse, went out, and to him who sat on it, it was granted TO TAKE PEACE FROM THE EARTH, and that men should slay one another, and a GREAT sword was given to him.”}

That is a horrific time parallel to – {Matthew 24:7 “for nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.”}

The third seal is famine, and the fourth is pestilences, diseases, death, beasts, continued wars, and, by this time, one-quarter of the world’s people have been killed.  The sixth seal is cosmic with great things happening, falling to earth, and all geographic nature shaken to its core.

By this stage, many more people are killed.

It is not until the seventh seal that God prepares the 144,000 Jewish evangelists to preach the gospel of the kingdom, and we know there are conversions worldwide.

However, it appears that between the Rapture and the seventh seal, there is no one to preach the coming of King Messiah.  In that period, many people die.  What a dreadful time that will be when it may be that the world is without a witness for that period of time.

We so look forward to the Lord’s coming for His believers.

 

 

The Olivet discourse occurred a few days before Jesus’ last Passover. “Now it came to pass when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified” (Matthew 26:1-2). This was the fourth time Jesus had told his disciples that he would be crucified. The other three times, he had also told them he would be resurrected on the third day. By this time, they should have known what was to come.

THE OLIVET DISCOURSE

As Jesus and some of his disciples departed from the temple, and as they sat upon the Mount of Olives, they spoke to Jesus about how marvelous the remodeled temple was, as it was adorned with beautiful stones and consecrated gifts (Luke 21:5). “And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2). This prophecy was fulfilled 37 years later in 70 AD, when the Romans, under General Titus, demolished Jerusalem and destroyed the second temple in Jerusalem.

In Matthew 24:3, the disciples asked Jesus three questions: 1) When shall these things (the destruction of the second temple) be? 2) What shall be the sign of your coming (again)? 3) What shall be the sign of the end of the world? The Jews, even the disciples, have always required a sign before they would believe. Evidently, the disciples believed Jesus’ return would be concurrent with the end of the world. They believed Jesus would return soon after his death and establish his Kingdom on Earth. Jesus had been preaching “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” since the beginning of his ministry, even before he had disciples (Matthew 4:17).

In Matthew’s account of the Olivet discourse, Jesus didn’t answer the first question. However, he did in Luke’s account. 

“And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

“For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:20-24).     

In Matthew’s account, Jesus answered the disciples’ next two questions out of order. He answered the third question first. What shall be the sign of the end of the world? Jesus divided his answer to this question into four parts. The first part, Matthew 24:4-8, is the pre-tribulation events known as the beginning of sorrows or birth pangs. The second part, Matthew 24:9-14, deals with the first half of Daniel’s 70th week (aka the seven-year Tribulation or the Day of the LORD). The “Day of the Lord” is mentioned 23 times in Scripture, 20 times in the O.T., and 3 times in the N.T.

The third part of Jesus’ answer, Mathew 24:15-26, describes the last half of the Tribulation. It is known as the Great Tribulation. The Great Tribulation (the last 3.5 years of the seven-year Tribulation) is recorded in Matthew 24:15-28 and Mark 13:14-23. The start of the Great Tribulation is when the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet (Daniel 9:27, 12:11), is set up by the Antichrist in the (third) Jewish Temple.

Jesus told his disciples, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day” (Matthew 24:15-20).

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:21-22). 

The preterists and historicists think the destruction of the Second Temple by Titus and the Roman Legions in 70 AD fulfilled the prophecy of Matthew 24:15-26. They believe the account by Josephus in his work, ‘War of the Jews,’ in which the Roman soldiers offered sacrifices by the eastern gate of the Temple (Chapter 6: 316) while the Temple burned, was the abomination of desolation. Of course, these sacrifices didn’t occur in the Jewish Temple, and Titus didn’t sit in the temple and proclaim himself as God, as Paul wrote about in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.

Therefore, the ‘abomination of desolation’ must be yet future from 70 AD. So, which scripture was Jesus referring to regarding this ‘abomination’ spoken of by Daniel? It can’t be Daniel 8:13, as that is the one Antiochus Epiphanes committed in 167 BC (as that is 200 years earlier than when the Olivet discourse took place). It has to be Daniel 9:27, which says, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” 

Daniel mentions it again in Daniel 12:11, “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”

The fourth part of Jesus’ answer is the Second Coming of Jesus to the Earth and is described in Matthew 24:27-31. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:29-30).

THE SIGN OF THE FIG TREE

After Jesus answered the question regarding the sign of the end of the world, he gave the parable of the fig tree, which is included in all three synoptic gospels. “When the fig tree’s branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the door! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:32-35). See also Mark 13:28-31 and Luke 21:29-33.

The fig tree is often figuratively used to represent Israel. In this parable, many scholars believe the budding fig tree represents the re-establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 or the repossession of Jerusalem in 1967. However, some believe it is only an illustration, such as Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum.

“The point of the illustration is this: When the fig tree and all the other trees begin to blossom, it is a sure sign that summer is on its way because blossoming occurs in the spring. Then, in the application of the illustration, Jesus said, “Even so you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” Just as a blossoming fig tree means that summer is on its way, in the same way, when these events that Yeshua spoke about occur, then they can know that His return is near. Also, in Luke 21:29, the parable is not only about the fig tree but ‘all the trees.’ {1}

It’s interesting that some versions of Matthew 24:33 read, “So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that He is near, even at the doors.” To me, this one-word change (from ‘it’ to ‘he’) changes the context of this verse, especially when it’s used with ‘the door.‘ Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:9).

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this” (Revelation 4:1). Most Bible scholars believe these verses are Rapture-related.

I believe the parable of the fig tree is a reference to the nearness of the Rapture. In Luke’s version of the parable of the fig tree (and all the trees), Jesus tells his disciples that when they see the day of the Lord approaching, then that means the kingdom of God is near at hand. “And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away” (Luke 21:29-32).  

Jesus then tells his disciples (and future generations) to be aware so that ‘the day’ doesn’t catch them unaware. “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth” (Luke 21:34-35).

Then, after the parable of the fig tree, Jesus tells them something very interesting regarding how they can escape these disastrous things that shall come to pass. “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36). This verse is definitely referring to the Rapture as described by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Luke 21:36, 1 Thes. 1:10, and Rev. 3:10 are the three N.T. scriptures that convey the doctrine of a pre-tribulation rapture.

The fig tree is also mentioned in the Song of Solomon 2:13, which many Christians believe could be an allegory of the Rapture. “My beloved spoke, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig tree puts forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely” (Song of Solomon 2:10-14).

After the parable of the fig tree in Matthew’s account comes this statement from Jesus. “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only (Matthew 24:36 – ESV). I believe the parable of the fig tree is a divider between the two comings (parousia) of Christ at the end of the age. The fig tree parable divides the preceding Second Coming verses (Matthew 24:27-31) from the following Rapture verses (Matthew 24:36-51). Just as Jesus answered the disciples’ questions out of order, so did he describe the two comings of Christ out of chronological order.

Within premillennial and pretribulation circles, the majority view today is that this passage is speaking of the Second Coming rather than the Rapture. The main reason is that Jesus has been speaking about the Second Coming, and since this passage follows that discussion, it would logically mean that He is speaking of the same thing.

However, as Dr. Fruchtenbaum observes in his book, The Footsteps of the Messiah,

“Matthew 24:36 begins with the word “But,” which in Greek is peri de. The peri de construction in Greek is a contrastive introduction of a new subject; hence, it is often translated as: But concerning (I Cor. 7:1; 8:1; 12:1; 16:1; I Thes. 5:1). The use of this construction points to the introduction of a new subject. So, yes, He has been discussing the Second Coming until this point. However, the peri de means that He is now introducing a new subject, and that is the Rapture. As to the question of when the Rapture will occur, the answer is simple: no one knows. This is not true of the Second Coming of the Messiah, which will someday be a datable event; it will occur exactly seven years after the signing of the seven-year covenant and 3 1/2 years – 42 months or 1,260 days – after the Abomination of Desolation.” {2}

THE DAY OF THE LORD AND THE HOUR OF THE RAPTURE

The words ‘hour’ and ‘day’ in the Bible can be used literally, as ’60 minutes’ and ’24 hours,’ but sometimes they are used figuratively as an indeterminate duration of time. For example, a day can refer to a year, and an hour usually refers to a short period of time. An ‘hour’ is even used once for the seven-year Tribulation in Revelation 3:10. “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.” However, some versions translate it as ‘the time of trial.‘ There are even three instances in the New Testament where the words “the day of the Lord Jesus” are used in reference to the Rapture: 1 Corinthians 1:6-8, 1 Corinthians 5:4-5, and 2 Corinthians 1:13-14.

Jesus and his disciples (and most Jews) were well aware of the Tanakh prophecies of ‘the day of the Lord‘ in which God would bring great destruction upon the world during the end times. The ‘day of the Lord’ is mentioned 20 times in the Old Testament and three times in the New Testament in relation to the end of the age devastation brought about by God. However, they were also aware that the LORD would come at the end of this ‘day’ to save the remnant Jews, and then He would establish His earthly kingdom in which the Jews would once again be the dominant nation from which King Jesus would reign.

Matthew 24:21-22 calls the last half of this ‘day of the Lord’ the ‘great tribulation.‘ “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” The days shall be shortened when Jesus, the Son of Man, returns and saves the remnant Jewish (and Gentile) believers.

However, there are two returns of Jesus at the end of the age, separated by at least seven years. The first is the rapture of the Church, mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, where Jesus returns to the sky above the earth. The second is the Second Coming when Jesus returns to the earth at the end of the ‘day of the Lord,’ as described in Zechariah 14:4 and Revelation 19:11-16.

Regarding the phrase, “But of that day and hour,” in Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32, the ‘day’ is a term for the longer period of time, namely, the seven-year Tribulation cumulating with the Second Coming. The ‘hour’ is a term for the shorter period of time, namely the Rapture. Just as the first hour is the beginning of a 24-hour day, so is the Rapture the beginning of the day of the Lord. The Second Coming is the end of the ‘day of the Lord.’ They are the two bookends of the day of the Lord.

With this concept of the Rapture in view, let’s now review the remaining passages in Matthew 24. “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37-39).

In these three verses, the flood is definitely a typology of the Tribulation. Before the Rapture and subsequent Tribulation, people are extremely wicked, but life is basically normal, with people eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage. Although people will still be doing these daily activities before the Second Coming, life will be far from normal. They will just be trying to survive with water and food in scarce supply. The unbelieving sinners of Noah’s day did not believe the flood was coming, although they had been warned. They chose not to board the ark. Likewise, the unbelieving sinners who live before the coming of the Son of Man will choose not to accept Jesus as Christ and will miss the Rapture.

Matthew 24:40-41 (and Luke 17:34-36) accurately describe the “left behind” scenes occurring all over the world at the Rapture. “Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” Now, look at Matthew 24:42. “Watch, therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.”

Matthew 24:42 is somewhat controversial, as the Textus Receptus and the KJV have the Greek word ‘ὥρᾳ’, which means ‘hour,’ while the Critical text versions have the Greek word ‘ἡμέρᾳ,’ which means ‘day.’ The KJV for this verse reads, “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” The ASV reads, “Watch therefore: for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh. Personally, I prefer the KJV for this verse, as I believe it refers to the hour of the Rapture, especially as it comes after the two ‘left behind’ verses.

The following words of Jesus are: “But know this, that if the master of the house had known what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into” (Matthew 24:43). What is Jesus talking about here? He is comparing the Rapture to a ‘thief in the night.’ This same terminology is used again by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3.

The next verse in Matthew’s version of the Olivet Discourse is: “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44). There is that word ‘hour’ again… Jesus coming at an hour that you do not expect is the Rapture, not the Second Coming. Whereas the Rapture’s date is unknowable, the Second Coming of the Messiah will someday be a datable event; it will occur exactly seven Jewish years after the confirming of the seven-year covenant, as mentioned in Daniel 9:27.

One of the main passages of scripture regarding the Rapture is found at the end of the 4th chapter of 1 Thessalonians. “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 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 we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17). 

Immediately following this verse (albeit in the following chapter), Paul refers to the ‘day of the Lord,‘ aka ‘the Tribulation.’ “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3). So, there you have the sequence of end-time events. First, the Rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, followed by the Tribulation in the next verse in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3.

So, what is the ‘watch’ in Matthew 24:43 that the thief comes in? Are we talking about ‘day’ or ‘hour’? You could say both, as the day of the Lord begins with the hour of the Rapture. The Son of Man, Jesus Christ, will come at an hour you don’t expect, followed shortly afterward by the dreaded ‘day of the Lord’ (the Tribulation), which ends with Jesus’ second coming.  Most Bible scholars consider the Rapture, the short gap of time between the Rapture and the Tribulation, the Tribulation, and the Second Coming as ‘the day of the Lord.’ Some even believe the Millennium is also part of the day of the Lord, as they believe it is when God intervenes in the affairs of mankind. Also, as we know from Scripture, a day for the Lord is as a thousand years for man.

I believe the Rapture is the answer to the disciples’ third question, “What shall be the sign of your coming (again)?” The Rapture will precede the Second Coming by at least seven years. Once the unbelieving Jews witness the earth-shattering, life-altering rapture event, they should know ‘Jacob’s trouble’ is imminent. “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it” (Jeremiah 30:7). The Jews will be ‘saved out of it’ by the long-awaited arrival of their Messiah, whom they missed the first time.

“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book” (Daniel 12:1).

Perhaps the ‘left behind’ Christ-rejecting Jews will remember Isaiah’s prophecy about the hour and day of the Lord. “Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by. For behold, the Lord is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it, and will no more cover its slain” (Isaiah 26:20-21 – ESV). And perhaps this supernatural sign from God will result in a vast number of Jews accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Randy Nettles

rgeanie55@gmail.com

Endnotes:

{1} The Olivet Discourse by Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum. (messianicassociation.org)

{2} Ibid