I have realized that I just don't have the time to go so painfully slow through all I have learned in this class. So this will be my last post regarding the class - probably not the end discussing prophecy though. So I figured what I would do is just sum up the basis of the class and then I have some of my own thoughts at the end.
I have mentioned before that my teacher believes in a post mid trib rapture -- meaning she believes the rapture will happen sometime after the midpoint but before the end of Daniel's 70th week. Here is a basic timeline of events:
The 70th week of Daniel will begin with a covenant signed by the Anti-Christ to bring peace to Jerusalem. Somehow a Temple will be a part of it, either already under construction and given the ability to finish or a covenant to build the 3rd temple. Since my class is at a Jewish learning center, I have learned that the Jewish people are ready to go on the temple....they have everything in place, priests trained, even the red heifer - they just need the land. I also learned that there is great debate about the Dome of the Rock being on the actual grounds of the previous temples or at least the Holy of Holies.....so the new temple may not go where the Dome of the Rock is. Some have suggested the Jewish people would not build there because it is now unholy ground. The rise of the antichrist will also be the release of the first seal - the white horse rider.
In the 3.5 years between seal one and the Abomination of Desolation, Seals 2 (Red Horse Rider), war, rumors of wars, nation against nation, false prophets, many mislead (all in Matthew 24) will also occur. So will Seal 3 (Black Horse Rider - famine) and Seal 4 (Ashen Horse Rider - Death on 1/4 of the earth).
During the 3.5 year mark, the antichrist will set himself in the temple and declare himself as God. This is the Abomination of Desolation. Seal 5 will also happen. Sacrifices will stop in the temple and the Mark of the Beast will be introduced.
Sometime after this point, Seal 6 is opened...cosmic disturbances and this is where the rapture would occur.
Revelation 7 is a parenthetical break...so the action stops here and a little more detail is given on what has happened to this point. Here is where the 144,000 are sealed and Revelation 7:9-17 is the rapture of the church.
9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with e palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and l made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of s living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Following the rapture of the church, Seal 7 is opened which is the trumpet judgements:
Trumpet 1 - Hail, fire, mixed with blood and 1/3 earth is burned up
Trumpet 2 - 1/3 sea become blood, 1/3 creature in sea die, 1/3 ships destroyed
Trumpet 3 - Star, warmwood, into the rivers and waters and 1/3 become blood
Trumpet 4 - 1/3 sun, moon starts darkened
Trumpet 5 - Star from heaven given key to bottomless pit to release the locust and torture man who didn't have seal of God.
After Trumpet 5 is the first woe
Trumpet 6 - bound the river Euphrates and 1/3 of mankind killed.
After Trumpet 6 is second woe
Trumpet 7 - the end, it is the release of the bowl judgements which complete out the 70th week and usher in the millennial kingdom.
Now, there is so much to write - I can't possibly do it in one post. So this is just the basics.
After studying Revelation and prophecy so in depth (I started the class in January), I am still unsure when the rapture will really take place. Here are three of my main concerns about this particular timing of the rapture:
1 - Revelation 1, 2, 3 are the letters to the churches. Following Revelation 3 it is debatable but I don't see the church mentioned anymore. And I see no real clear instruction on how the church is supposed to handle this 7 year tribulation period.
2 - In Revelation 1, John writes in verse 7 that when Jesus returns, there is mourning. IF the church is here, why would we mourn? We are told to look to His return....we would celebrate and rejoice that the day has finally come.
3 - This one for me is the biggest stumbling block on a non pre-trib rapture. Notice on my timeline I didn't place the 2 witnesses and the 144,000 (other than in that parenthetical break). That is because in our class we haven't come to a good conclusion on where to put them. So my question is this......who did Jesus give the great commission commandment to? He gave it to the New Testament church! We are the witnesses of the gospel. We are the ones commanded to share His gospel message - - - this is our commission. So IF that is the church's commission - and we are in the tribulation -- why do we need the 144,000 and the 2 witnesses? Obviously, if we are here and all these events unfold - won't the church be sharing the gospel message? Wouldn't we be the ones saying..."hey this is the tribulation...you better watch out!"
I asked my teacher about this and she basically said no one pays attention to the church anymore because it is in such disarray. OK, I agree to a point. Yes, there are some bad teachers, bad theology, bad examples and bad testimonies out there. Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, Joyce Meyer, Rob Bell, Doug Pagitt, Brian McLaren, Benny Hinn --- all of them have done things to hurt the church and its message. And I can see her point. However, I have a few comebacks to this thought:
First, Jesus knew when he commissioned His church that in 2010, the church in America would succumb to false teaching and doctrine. He knew that bad Bible translations (like The Message) would become the norm. He knew that "easy believism" would be the focus of evangelical churches. Yet He told us anyway to go!
Second, just because the church in America has issues - doesn't mean every church has issues and it doesn't mean every church in the whole world is a mess. There are still solid Bible believing churches that won't tolerate false teaching.
Third, this isn't the first time in History that the church has had heretics. Going back through church history you will find several attempts to hurt the gospel and false teachings. Wasn't that the reason Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the church doors? He saw things wrong in the church and wanted reform - thus sparking the Great Reformation. The Reformation resulted in wonderful heroes like Luther and John Calvin. Still, people tried to counter the Reformation. One of the greatest teachings to contrast John Calvin's teaching is Arminianism. Most church's today are Arminian churches and don't preach doctrine that was the focal point of the Reformation. My point is....there have been false teachers all along. Not just today.
Finally, Jesus is still Lord of His church! The church is His bride. He has His hand on her. Whether we are here in the tribulation or not, Jesus is still Lord of his church. Yes, there are some who have made a complete mockery out of it. However, there are plenty who still have anti Semitic thoughts to the Jewish people - who will be the 144,000 sealed. So if people don't listen to the church, they will listen to the Jewish nation even less. I just don't think it is really fair to lump the church as a whole into the entire mess because there are still plenty faithful churches.
Which I know this could bring up an entire different discussion ---- is the church and Israel the same? That could also play into view on the rapture.
So to me, I find it hard to understand why there would be the need for the 2 witnesses and the 144,000 if the church is going through the tribulation. It could be we are raptured out at the mid-point and the 2 witness and 144,000 come after.
Anyway, these are just my thoughts. I know I still have so much to learn. I found the class very interesting and I love studying prophecy but have learned that I no where near have all the answers! I'd love to hear your thoughts!
