I believe in the imminent and personal return
of the Lord Jesus Christ to resurrect those that sleep in Christ
and catch up, or rapture His church and those that are alive in
Christ. This event immediately precedes the time of Jacob's
trouble called the Great Tribulation, in which Israel will be
called again to witness to the world of the salvation that is in
Christ, and in Him alone. This witness is accompanied at
different times by an angel preaching the everlasting gospel and
two chosen witnesses. During this time the world will experience
the judgement and wrath of God for its rejection of Him.
Moreover, the restraining influence of the Holy Ghost upon evil
will be absent and wickedness will abound. During this time Satan
will have free rule and reign on the earth. This period lasts
seven years and culminates with the destruction of the Beast and
the False Prophet by the Lord Jesus Christ who comes with an army
from heaven to establish His Kingdom upon the earth.
I believe the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ will last for one
thousand years on this present earth, in which Satan will be
bound and unable to influence anyone. This period of time is
marked by peace, and the only righteous government the world has
ever known. During this time the people of this earth will
experience direct rule by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. However,
this period will culminate with the release of the Devil from the
bottomless pit for a short season. This release of Satan will
prove that in their hearts, the vast majority of individuals on
the earth reject the rule of Christ over them as they willingly
join Satan in an army that is the sand of the seashore for
number. Nonetheless, this army will be consumed by fire from
heaven. Then this earth and heaven will be burned up; whereupon
those who have died without accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as
Savior will be resurrected and judged before the great white
throne and be cast into the lake of fire. The final event we are
given is the creation of the new heavens and new earth in which
there is no unrighteousness and the tabernacle of God is with men
for all eternity.
(Daniel 12:1-4; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; Matthew 24:27; Matthew 25:13; James 5:8; Matthew 24:42; I Corinthians 15:51-53; (Matthew 24:32-39; II Thessalonians 2:1-12; (Jeremiah 30:7-9; (Revelation 6:12-17; Revelation 7:1-4; Revelation 11:3-6; Revelation 14:6-7; Revelation 13:1-8; Jude 14-15; Revelation 20:1-6; Isaiah 9:6-7; Isaiah 11:1-9; Revelation 20:7-10; II Peter 3:10-12; Revelation 20:11-15; II Peter 3:13; Isaiah 65:17-19; Isaiah 66:22-24; Revelation 21:1-5).
And at that time shall Michael stand up,
the great prince which standeth 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. And many of them that sleep in the dust of
the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to
shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise
shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that
turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. But
thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book,
even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,
and knowledge shall be increased. (Daniel 12:1-4)
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning
them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which
have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which
are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall
not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ
shall rise first: 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. (1
Thessalonians 4:13-17)
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even
unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
(Matthew 24:27)
Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein
the Son of man cometh. (Matthew 25:13)
Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the
Lord draweth nigh. (James 5:8)
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
(Matthew 24:42)
Behold, I shew 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 trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall
be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality. (I Corinthians 15:51-53)
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet
tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is
nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know
that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto
you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be
fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall
not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man,
no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days
of Noe 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 24:32-39)
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye
be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit,
nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ
is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day
shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and
that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth
and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,
shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was
yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what
withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the
mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth
will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then
shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with
the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of
his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working
of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because
they received not the love of the truth, that they might be
saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,
that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who
believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
(II Thessalonians 2:1-12)
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. For it shall come to pass in that day,
saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from
off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no
more serve themselves of him: But they shall serve the LORD their
God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
(Jeremiah 30:7-9)
And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there
was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of
hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell
unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs,
when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a
scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island
were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and
the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the
mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves
in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the
mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him
that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For
the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to
stand? (Revelation 6:12-17)
And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four
corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that
the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any
tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the
seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the
four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till
we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I
heard the number of them which were sealed: and there
were sealed an hundred and forty and four
thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
(Revelation 7:1-4)
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they
shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore
days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and
the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if
any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and
devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must
in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that
it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over
waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all
plagues, as often as they will. (Revelation
11:3-6)
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the
everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth,
and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying
with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour
of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and
earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. (Revelation
14:6-7)
And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out
of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns
ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the
beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as
the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a
lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great
authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to
death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world
wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which
gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying,
Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with
him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things
and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty
and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy
against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them
that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with
the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over
all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon
the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the
book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
(Revelation 13:1-8)
And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these,
saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are
ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have
ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which
ungodly sinners have spoken against him. (Jude
14-15)
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the
bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on
the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and
bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit,
and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive
the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled:
and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw
thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto
them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the
witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not
worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his
mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and
reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead
lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is
the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in
the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power,
but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign
with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:1-6)
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, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace. 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 for ever. The zeal of the
LORD of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a
Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD
shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the
fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in
the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of
his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with
righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity
for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the
rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay
the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins,
and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall
dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a
little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall
feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion
shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on
the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on
the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my
holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of
the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah
11:1-9)
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed
out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which
are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather
them together to battle: the number of whom is as the
sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth,
and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city:
and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And
the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are,
and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
(Revelation 20:7-10)
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the
which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the
works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then
that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner
of persons ought ye to be in all holy
conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the
coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall
be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
(II Peter 3:10-12)
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from
whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was
found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great,
stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was
opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were
judged out of those things which were written in the books,
according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were
in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in
them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the
second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of
life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation
20:11-15)
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens
and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (II Peter
3:13)
For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former
shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and
rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I
create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will
rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of
weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
(Isaiah 65:17-19)
For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make,
shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and
your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from
one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall
all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. And they
shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have
transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither
shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto
all flesh. (Isaiah 66:22-24)
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. And
I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out
of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I
heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle
of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and
they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them,
and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former
things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said,
Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for
these words are true and faithful. (Revelation
21:1-5)