UNDERSTANDING END-TIME

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EVENTS

When it comes to events that will

end this age, there are many people who

don’t have a clue as to what is about to

transpire on planet earth. Therefore,

those who teach that there will be no

Rapture are having a field day so to

speak and causing much confusion

concerning the events that will soon end

this Age.

Peter tells us why he wrote his

second epistle in II Peter 3:1-4:

This second epistle, beloved, I

now write unto you; in both which

I stir up your pure minds by way of

remembrance: That ye may be

mindful of the words which were

spoken before by the holy prophets,

and of the commandment of us the

apostles of the Lord and Savior:

Knowing this first, that there shall

come in the last days scoffers,

walking after their own lusts, and

saying, Where is the promise of his

coming? For since the fathers fell

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Understanding End-Time Events

asleep, all things continue as they

were from the beginning of the

creation.

Then the Apostle John gives us one

of the major reasons why it is so

important that the Church understands

the sequence and timing of end-time

events.

Beloved, now are we the sons

of God, and it doth not yet appear

what we shall be: but we know

that, when he shall appear, we

shall be like him: for we shall see

him as he is. And every man that

hath this hope in him purifieth

himself even as he is pure. (I John

3:2-3)

In these verses, John is referring to

the “Blessed Hope”—concerning the

Rapture of the Church—which Paul

referred to in Titus 2:11-13:

For the grace of God that

bringeth salvation hath appeared

to all men, teaching us that

denying ungodliness and worldly

lusts, we should live soberly,

righteously, and godly, in this

present world; looking for that

blessed hope, and the glorious

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Understanding End-Time Events

appearing of the great God and

our savior Jesus Christ.

Remember John said, “...every man

that hath this hope in him purifieth

himself...” (I John 3:3) In other words,

they are quick to repent when they make

a mistake. They keep their life cleaned

up and stay ready for the coming

Rapture.

Yet, in the churches today there are

many who don’t believe in the catching

away of the Church before the

tribulation, as Paul taught in I

Thessalonians 4:15-17 and II

Thessalonians 2:1-8. It has become

popular in some circles to scoff and

make fun of the Rapture, calling it “The

great escape,” “The pie in the sky,” or

“The great snatch.” Yet, it is the way of

escape that God has prepared for the

righteous, much the same as He did in

Noah’s day.

I am concerned at the number of

professing Christians who believe that

they will go through the seven years of

tribulation. Some of them will almost

fight you for the right to tribulate. I

believe some of it stems from the fact

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Understanding End-Time Events

that they have forced the wrong pieces

of the prophetic puzzle into the wrong

place in the Scriptures. Therefore, they

confuse the Second Advent with the

Rapture of the Church. One such

passage is Matthew 24:29-31, which

clearly describes the Second Advent not

the Rapture.

Some are confused concerning the

elect mentioned in Matthew 24:22. This

scripture refers to the elect of Israel and

not the Church. But some have forced

parts of the prophetic word into places

where it does not fit, and this has caused

much confusion concerning the

sequence and timing of end-time events.

These prophetic passages must be kept

in the right perspective so we can

understand the approaching events that

will end the Church Age.

Hebrews gives us what I call the

faith and Rapture connection:

For ye had compassion of me

in my bonds, and took joyfully the

spoiling of your goods, knowing in

yourselves that ye have in heaven a

better and an enduring substance.

Cast not away therefore your

confidence, which hath great

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Understanding End-Time Events

recompense of reward. For ye have

need of patience, that, after ye

have done the will of God, ye might

receive the promise. For yet a little

while, and he that shall come will

come, and will not tarry. (Hebrews

10:34-37)

Now faith is the substance of

things hoped for, the evidence of

things not seen... By faith Enoch

was translated that he should not

see death; and was not found,

because God had translated him:

for before his translation he had

this testimony, that he pleased

God... But without faith it is

impossible to please him: for he

that cometh to God must believe

that he is, and that he is a

rewarder of them that diligently

seek him. (Hebrews 11:1, 5-6)

It is significant that Hebrews 10:34

states that we have in Heaven a better

and an enduring substance. Hebrews

11:1 reveals that faith is the substance

of things hoped for. Lets look at it this

way: If faith is the substance of what

you hope for and you have no hope,

then there is nothing for faith to give

substance to.

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Understanding End-Time Events

Lets ask ourselves some scriptural

questions about this matter. Are there

any promises in the New Covenant

which you receive just because they are

in the Bible? Generally speaking, no.

You must first hear the promise. Then,

you must make a decision to believe it.

And finally, you must act on it in faith

to receive it. It is because of these facts

that I pose the following question. Will

God’s promise of a way to escape the

seven years of tribulation be any

different?

Then knowing the very principles of

faith causes more concern about this

matter. And Jesus said unto the

centurion,

Go thy way; and as thou hast

believed, so be it done unto thee,

(Matthew 8:13)

...Whosoever shall say,

believe, and shall not doubt in his

heart, but shalt believe that those

things which he saith shalt come to

pass; he shall have whatsoever he

saith. (Mark 11:23)

However, the answer to this whole

matter may be found in the fact that,

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Understanding End-Time Events

before it happens, the revelation

concerning the Rapture will become

clear and irrefutable to everyone whose

heart is right before God.

Concerning the tribulation, Daniel

said, “none of the wicked shall

understand; but the wise shall

understand.” (Daniel 12:10) The

Church Age will soon come to an end

and the Body of Christ will be raptured

before the seven years of tribulation

begin. Then, the seventh millennium on

God’s calendar will usher in 1,000 years

of peace on earth (read Daniel 12:1-10).

I know there are many who say they

have been born again and don’t believe

in the Rapture. But to not believe in the

Rapture is like saying, “I don’t believe

in yesterday; yesterday never

happened.” But yesterday did happen,

and three raptures have already taken

place. Enoch and Elijah were caught up

alive to Heaven as natural people.

(Genesis 5:24; II Kings 2:11) Jesus was

also caught up, and the disciples

watched as a cloud received Him out of

their sight. (Acts 1:9) There are some

who call the Rapture an escape theory.

But it has been proven in Scripture to be

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a supernatural event that transported

living people from the earth to Heaven.

A WORD OF CAUTION

Since we don’t know for sure

whether our calendar is anywhere near

accurate, we should never place our

faith in man’s calendar concerning dates

for these end-time events. Our faith

should be firmly established in the fact

that God has always fulfilled His every

promise within His own time frame.

The scripture in Daniel 9:24 revealed

that God would deal with Israel in a

time frame which was referred to as

“determined time” of seventy weeks of

years (490 years). That time was

determined by God Himself.

DETERMINED TIME

To understand “determined time”

we have only but to consider a football

game. It is divided into four, fifteen

minute quarters. The total determined

time being one hour, but there has never

been a football game played in one hour

of real time. There are time-outs, there

are delays of the game in which the time

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Understanding End-Time Events

clock is stopped for an indefinite period

of time. Then the time clock is turned

on again and the determined time begins

to be counted.

We must realize that our

calculations of the calendar of time does

not fit God’s “determined time.” Only

time itself will reveal the whole truth

concerning this matter. But yet we must

not take lightly the prophetic profiles in

the Word of God which give us a

definite determined timeline for God’s

dealing with mankind.

In Job chapter fourteen, Job was

speaking prophetically. Verse 5 says,

“Seeing his

(mans)

days are

determined, the number of his months

are with thee, thou hast appointed his

bounds that he cannot pass.” These

verses allude to the fact that God has

determined man’s days of dominion on

this planet and he cannot pass those

bounds determined by God himself.

The six days of the creation account

by prophetic profile is strong evidence

that man’s “determined time of

dominion” is six thousand years. There

is much confusion about calendars, for

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Understanding End-Time Events

they have been tampered with and

changed over the centuries but you can

rest assured that God is the master time

keeper and He is keeping “determined

time.”

The apostle Paul in I Thessalonians

4:13 admonished us saying: “that we

should sorrow not as others which have

no hope.” The blessed hope of the

Rapture is based not on man made

calendar dates, but rather on God’s

"determined time.” The apostle Paul

states in Ephesians 1:10, “that in the

dispensation of the fullness of times He

might gather together in one all things

in Christ, both which are in heaven, and

which are on the earth; even in Him.”

The key phrase here is “the

dispensation of the fullness of times.” In

other words, when God’s determined

time is fulfilled.

An overall view of the prophetic

Word reveals 6,000 years of

“determined time” will finish God’s

dealing with man under the Earth Lease

He established in Genesis 1:26-28 (also

see Mark 12:1-9). Soon after the Earth

Lease expires, the Rapture will take

place. Then the seven years of

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Understanding End-Time Events

suspended time (70th week of Daniel)

called the tribulation will begin. That

seven years will fit between the sixth

and seventh millennium on God’s

calendar. Then there will be one more

1,000 year period in which the righteous

of the earth will rule and reign with

Christ here on earth before eternity (see

Revelation chapters 19 and 20).

Every prophetic time line from

Genesis to Revelation points to 6,000

years of “determined time” before the

seven years of tribulation and then

1,000 years of peace before eternity. To

use the words written to the Church by

the apostle Paul, “Ye (Body of Christ)

are all the children of light, and the

children of the day; we are not of the

night, nor of darkness... For God hath

not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain

salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I

Thessalonians 5:5,9)

Concerning the tribulation, Daniel

12:10 says, “Many shall be purified,

and made white, and tried; but the

wicked shall do wickedly, and none of

the wicked shall understand; but the

wise shall understand.”

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The Body of Christ above all others

should have a clear understanding of

these matters. Then, we can proclaim

the truth to the unbelieving world that

God has provided salvation through His

Son Jesus which includes the Rapture as

a way to escape the seven years of

tribulation destined for planet earth.

MARANATHA!!

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Document Outline

- Understanding End-Time Events

- 1 Understanding End-Time Events

- A Word of Caution

- Determined Time

Table of Contents

Understanding End-Time Events

1 Understanding End-Time Events

A Word of Caution