7
Note: This entire edition is devoted to musings
about prophecy and the last times. People
seem to be intoxicated about the subjected, but a serious look at the
scriptures should be sobering. There is
more than one way of getting drunk—an immodest speculation and hallucinating on
things prophetic will do as good a job as fermented grain or distilled
spirits. Drunkenness is a
disassociating from reality and there is much of that these days.
Left Behind? I Hope So
“One shall be taken,
and the other left.” --Matthew 24:42
It’s a terrific attention getter and moneymaker. It sells everything from movies to bumper stickers. Especially books. Lots and lots of books. At prophetic conferences the parking lots are filled with expensive cars. Inside are people in expensive clothes, sitting on padded pews in air-conditioned meeting rooms, hearing emotional lectures on how bad the world is getting.
The world is getting so bad that the end of the world must be very soon, but the favored people do not need to fret about it, because Christ will soon return to snatch His people out of the world. Did not Jesus say, “Two would be sleeping in a bed; one would be taken and the other left. Two would be grinding at the mill; one would be taken and the other left”? It will be a terrible thing to be left behind, because those left behind will have to go through a great time of trouble and tribulation, endure the evil of the Antichrist and his evil kingdom, and probably have to die as a penalty for refusing to take the Mark of the Beast in their forehead or in their hands. [See following article] The alternative will be to take the Mark and know the pangs of eternal hell and damnation forever. How awful that will be! After all, the righteous and pure got to escape all that and didn’t have to confront antichrist and his kingdom. [Tell that to the martyrs!]
And so it goes. Autos will be without drivers. Airplanes will crash. People will miss their babies and small children. Preachers will be gone [maybe—this isn’t a sure thing], as the innocent and righteous are taken up in the clouds and only the evil and defiled are left behind. It will be a terrible thing to be left behind.
The only problem is: the Bible doesn’t teach it. If we look at the whole passage, the truth is very different. It will be a good thing to be left behind. Consider:
For
as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah 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. Then shall two be in the field; the one
shall be taken, and the other left.
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. But know this,
that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come,
he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken
up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in
such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. –Matthew 24:38-44
Jesus said the same thing in the parable of the wheat and the tares in Matthew 13. The tares are gathered first to judgment. As Jesus said in Matthew 13:
Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time
of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and
bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Vs. 30
As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it
be in the end of this world. The Son
of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom
all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a
furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Vss. 40-42
This pattern is
seen in all of the teaching of Christ. Another instance is the parable of the fishing net, which gathered
up both good and evil. At the end of
the world:
The angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the
just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and
gnashing of teeth. Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things?
They say unto him, Yea, Lord. –Matthew
13:49-51.
It may very well
be that pleasure loving, ease-minded professors of religion will be in for a
great surprise at the coming of Christ.
It may come as a surprise to them to realize that Christ has never
promised that the church would escape the opposition of the devil, the
wickedness of antichrist, or tribulation and martyrdom. The church that suffers persecution
throughout the world even today knows it very well. Those who died under communism or are enslaved in countries under
the control of fanatical Islam know it.
Jesus said it plainly: “In the
world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the
world.” No escape elevator here.
Amos understood
it:
Woe unto you that desire
the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is
darkness, and not light. As if a man
did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned
his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light?
even very dark, and no brightness in it?
--Amos 5:18-20
So did Paul:
And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus
shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking
vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory
of his power; II Thess 1:7-9
?
The Mark of the Beast
[Written
in March, 1990. Revised, November,
2002]
Even though a great deal has been written on this subject, yet our
readers might find the following of some small value.
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor,
free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of
the beast, or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the
beast: for it is the number of a man; and is number is Six hundred threescore
and six. –Rev. 13:16-18
Just as the Lord’s servants are marked by what they think and by what
they do (II Tim. 1:76, Luke 6:44) so are the devil’s servants marked. It is a great mistake to think that the Holy
Spirit predicts that someday it will be required of all men to have some kind
of mark put on them in order for them to buy and sell in some new world order. God is a Spirit and His marks are
spiritual. So are the devil’s
marks. (This writer has heard it
explained that the “Mark” will be something like a social security number, or
some computer chip, implanted in the forehead or in the hand!) The mistake is in believing that the devil’s
servants do not already have this mark.
This is to mistake the true nature of the Mark.
The mark is in the mind or in the hand. Some people have good thoughts and do bad things; others have bad
thoughts and do good things. One mark
is sufficient to label the devil’s property.
There are two signs given throughout Scripture that distinguish the
children of God from the children of the devil:
There is the Mark of Doctrine
Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of
Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both
the Father and the Son. --II John 9
He that believeth on the Son of God hath
the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because
he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. I John 5:10
He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye
therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. John 8:47
Because the devil is a liar from the
beginning (John 8:44), his children carry his mark. His servants may transform themselves into pretended “messengers
of Christ,” for Satan himself comes in that guise, but their end will be
“according to their works.” (II Cor.
11:13)
The Mark of Obedience
This is the second scriptural mark by which the people of God are
distinguished from the children of the devil:
“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit
the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall
inherit the kingdom of God. And such
were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. I Cor. 6:9-11
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye
have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which
worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Phil. 2:12,13.
I speak that which I have
seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. John 8:38
My sheep hear my voice, and
I know them, and they follow me: John
10:27
It is contrary to scripture to imagine that God will eternally separate people
by some outward mark like a tattoo. It
is inward character that distinguishes between those that are the Lord’s and
those who are of the devil. Those who
belong to Christ are His by the eternal decree of the Father, the redemption of
Jesus Christ, and the calling and regeneration of the Holy Spirit Who implants
a new nature after the image of Christ.
This character is revealed by what a man
believes and by what he does. “Nevertheless the foundation of
God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And,
Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” --II Timothy 2:19
If you belong to Christ, you will bear His mark. If you belong to the devil you will bear his mark. The children of God think the thoughts and do the works of their Father. Likewise the children of the devil.
The Return of Christ
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: --1 Thessalonians 4:16
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that
are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have
done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto
the resurrection of damnation. John
5:28,29
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy
angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. And before him shall be gathered all
nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his
sheep from the goats: And he shall set
the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Matthew 25:31-33
Why make
complicated that which the Lord has made simple? The truth of the Scripture concerning the last judgment is simple
indeed. Christ will return as He went
away, in the clouds of heaven [Acts 1], for the purpose of rewarding His people
and punishing His enemies [Luke 19:11-27].
All men will be raised from the dead, the righteous dead and living
meeting Him in the air. All nations
will be gathered before Him for judgment [Matt. 24 above]. The righteous will be separated from the
wicked and set at His right hand, the wicked on His left. The wicked will be cast into hell and the
righteous will continue forever with the Lord.
No one knows the
time of the last judgment. Even Jesus
Christ, according to His true human nature and knowledge, did not know the time
of His return [Mark 13:32,33 and others]. A great deal has been published, many
fortunes made, and many foolish things have been preached and believed by those
who did not consider that the time of the last judgment is unknown, and will
remain unknown until it actually takes place.
There are no “signs,” for Jesus indicated that things will continue as
always, with people eating, drinking, marrying, waging war, and suffering
natural disasters and troubles. The
wicked will get hardened more and more and will say, “Where is the promise of
his coming?” [II Peter 3].
This does not
mean that there are not some very difficult passages of Scripture. In spite of
the difficulty of certain passages, the broad outline is simple enough. Of course it doesn’t answer to our
curiosity. The Bible is written for
faith, not curiosity. The reason for
the obscurity of some passages is connected to the purpose for prophecy [see
the next article].
The Purpose for Prophecy
The Lord has
reserved the knowledge of the last times to Himself. No one knows the day or the hour. Isaiah tells us the purpose for prophecy:
I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they
went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them; I did them suddenly, and
they came to pass. Because I knew that
thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow
brass; I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it
came to pass I showed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath
done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.
–Isaiah 48:3-5
The purpose for prophecy is to show that God is in control of history. Things do not happen by chance, nor do things come to pass through the instrumentality of false gods. It is false to say that God knows the future but does not will it or bring it to pass. Divine Power cannot be divorced from Divine Wisdom and Knowledge. Isaiah shows that the knowledge of God is connected to His purpose and power:
Remember
the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I
am God, and there is none like me,
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the
things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I
will do all my pleasure: --Isaiah 46:9, 10.
The simple truth is that God’s pleasure [will] is connected to His plan [counsel] and power [I will do]. This is the reason that He knows and can declare the end from the beginning.
The Last Days
We are now living in the last days. The last days began with the first advent of Jesus Christ and continue until the last judgment. This is clear from the following Scriptures, which are stated with little comment:
Acts 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I
will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall
dream dreams. [Peter claims that the
events of Acts 2 fulfill Joel’s prophecy of the last days]
Hebrews 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,
whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the
worlds; [It was customary for the Jews
to refer to the days of the Messiah as the last days].
1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them
for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of
the world are come.
These days are the days of Christ’s reign over all things:
Mark
16:19
So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven,
and sat on the right hand of God. See
also: Acts 2:25; Acts 2:33-4; Ephesians 1:20 Colossians 3:1 Hebrews 1:3
The eyes
of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of
his calling, and what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the
saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe,
according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when
he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly
places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and
every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to
come: And hath put all things under
his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, --Ephesians 1:18-22
Is Christ our king who will someday come to reign? NO, emphatically no! He is our king who is now reigning over all things to accomplish His will with respect to the church, and who will at the last day, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God come to judge the living and the dead.
The command of
the Holy Spirit to all rulers and powers is this:
Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the
earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and
rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled
but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. –Psalm 2:10-12
Antichrist 
1 John 2:18. Little children,
it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are
there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
1 John 2:22. Who is a liar but
he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father
and the Son.
1 John 4:3. And every spirit
that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and
this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come;
and even now already is it in the world.
2 John 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess
not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an
antichrist.
The
word “antichrist” is the word for “Christ” with a prefix, which means “in the
place of” or “against.” Antichrist is
anyone or anything that seeks to be a substitute or a usurper in the place of
Jesus Christ, the only savior and redeemer, the only begotten Son of God. The spirit of antichrist is found in any
state, institution, or person who denies that Jesus is the only Savior, or who
corrupts the truth concerning Him.
Antichrist was in the world in the days of the apostles and it is in the
world now.
It
is true that at times certain people or certain organizations have represented
this spirit of antichrist. The early
church thought it was emperor Nero; for centuries the church thought
antichrist was Muhammad; Luther transferred the honor to the pope. In recent
years there have been many candidates.
Most of the choices were made in folly; others designated that which had
a real spirit of opposition to Christ.
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