So you say you’re a good person, you believe in God, you live your life with respect for others, and you enjoy the pleasures of life. Yet you wonder, is this all there is?

As you watch TV, you notice current events, movies, and lifestyles that promote violence, sex, and pleasure, while music, movies, and commercials advertise the pleasures of man’s flesh, which lead to the decay of our society due to media corruption. It makes you think, what is this world coming too?

As a minister and Bible teacher, I often get asked the same questions: Is the end near? Is the earth going to be wiped out? Why would a God of love do this to man? On the other hand, I hear people saying, “I do not think God would destroy the earth,” “I believe that good people will go to heaven,” and “I think there are many ways to heaven, and being a good person is all that counts. After all, Jesus says believe in Him and you will be saved.” These are all questions and answers that we will be addressing in this series.

When asked about the End Times, I first start with the past. In other words, when talking about a future subject you must first show credibility in reference to something that has already taken place. I start with history, past events that have taken place and can be found recorded in libraries, encyclopedias, newspapers, media, and, of course, the Bible. Once we have a sense that what God said would happen has actually happened, then End Times prophecies are more tangible and acceptable. For further information on this topic, please review Part I of this series History and the Bible.

What's Next?

According to the Bible’s prophecy, the next prophetic event will be the Rapture of the Church. After the Rapture happens, then a world leader will emerge for a seven-year period, bringing peace to the earth. He will confirm a treaty between Israel and Palestine and order the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. The Bible says that this world leader will be a charismatic man(from Roman descent)who brings about economic prosperity, and the world will embrace him. He will set up a one-world government, as well as a one-world religion, and will also issue in a cashless society. After three and a half years he will walk into the temple in Jerusalem and demand to be worshiped . At this time the wrath of God will be poured out upon the earth, for a final period of three and a half years, bringing earthquakes, famines, pestilence and wars. At the end of this seven-year period, the nations of the earth will march for battle, which will take place in the Valley of Megiddo (also known as Armageddon, Revelation 16:16) in Israel. Then The Lord Himself will come down with His Church and wipe out the armies of the world. Then Christ will rule on the earth with His Saints for 1,000 years. After 1,000 years comes the final judgment.

“Wow,” you say, “pretty heavy!” To really get a grasp of this, as mentioned earlier, you need to realize that everything that God has predicted has happened. Therefore, since our Lord has been 100 percent accurate thus far, End Times prophecies will be right on as well. You really must stop and think past the things of this world and look at Creation, the universe, and beyond, to understand what our Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ, is capable of.

Reading Assignment II: I Corinthians 15:51-54

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

"We will receive our new bodies"

In Genesis 1:1–19, the Bible states that the Lord spoke into existence the heavens and the earth, and in fact, Isaiah 40:12 refers to God measuring the universe with the span of His hand. What we have to realize is that we as humans can only comprehend a three-dimensional world, whereas God is outside our time domain and can do things that we are not capable of understanding. Psalm 19:1 states, “The heavens declare the glory of God” (KJV). In other words, look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars declare the awesome power of our Lord. It is also interesting to note that with modern-day technology (NASA, satellites, etc.) we seem to discover more and more about our universe, which just shows us how great our God really is.

The Bible states that God knows everything from beginning to end. To better understand this, let’s use the analogy of a street parade. We, as viewers standing at a particular corner, can only witness the parade as it passes by, whereas God sees everything from start to finish, all at one time, like a newscaster or emcee would see the parade from a blimp or helicopter.

The Lord has told us in advance what His plans are and we need to except that fact that He will return for His church!

His second Coming verses the Rapture:

The Rapture of the church is different from His second coming. Christ comes for His church in the Rapture (I Thess 4:15. & I Corn. 15:53) , whereas His second coming Christ comes with His church (Rev. Chapter 19). Keep in mind that we do not know the hour or the day when Christ will come for His church, yet we are told in the book of Daniel when He will return with His church. The time of the Rapture is the great mystery! Our blessed hope...

Reading Assignment IV: Romans 11:25

"For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in".

The Lord is graceful and He is sending out His spirit to gather believers. He has a certain number in mind and once that number is fulfilled, the Lord will come for His church. The Lord can only put up with this sinful world for so long and He will take His people out before He judges again. The fullness of the Gentiles is what we are waiting for in order for the Lord to come get His church.

Reading Assignment V: Revelation 4:1

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 starts out with the Greek word metatosa, which means “after these things.” We would then ask, after what things? Prior to this word metatosa are chapters 2 and 3, which talk about the seven churches. These seven churches represent Church history and speak of the past and present churches of our time. So, as you read on, you have the Church being caught up (harposos). This is when we feel the Rapture of the Church will occur.

Reading Assignment VI: Acts 1:9-11

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

We are told that Christ will come back in the clouds. Remember that He receives His church in the clouds which is a function of the rapture, His second coming, He will return with His church and set His foot on the mount of Olives as it divides in half.

Food for thought!

Throughout the New Testament, “the coming of Christ” is mentioned many times. It is comforting to know that our Lord is long-suffering and does not wish for us to perish but that we should come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9). In other words, the Lord is waiting to gather in His Church. He is waiting for the fullness of the Gentiles to give their lives to Him, and then He will send His Son to gather us together. The Holy Spirit is convicting people of their sins, and Christians are spreading the gospel so that the world will know God’s plan. In Revelation 1:1, when some versions talk about these things taking place quickly, the word quickly in Greek means “soon or suddenly,” meaning that once the Lord is ready it will happen like a domino effect (all at once, one event after another).

The Bible was written so that we would not be ignorant of things to come. We need to live our lives in anticipation that our Lord and Savior will come at any time. Jesus says, “Occupy till I come” (Luke 19:13, KJV). What Christ means is for us to go about His Father’s business and be ready for His return.When the disciples asked Jesus about the End Times, Jesus said, “Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come” (Mark 13:33). Additionally, we are told, “Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left” (Matt. 24:40–41). Christ said, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming,” then added, “But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matt. 24:42–44).