Signs Of The Times

The Times of the Signs – Part Two – 

By Ed Wood

In Part One of our exploration of the prophecies Jesus gave in the Olivet Discourse, we discovered that one had been fulfilled, namely the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D., and that the following are already under way:

1) The appearance of  False Prophets.

2) Wars (and rumors of wars) of which the Twentieth Century was the worst in that regard so far.

3) Famine.

4) Earthquakes.

5) Natural Disasters.

6) People getting worse.

7) Christians being persecuted.

8) The access and preaching of the Gospel to virtually every part of the world.

9) Strife among families.

We will now look at the next two events in the prophetic timeline.

The final prophecy to be fulfilled before the Tribulation begins.

THE RAPTURE

Matthew  {24:37-41} 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. 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. (Jesus is the speaker.)

It’s likely that the people of Noah’s time, much like today, were becoming increasingly desensitized to the evil growing around them. Like now, they were also unaware that their own “End Times” would soon be upon them. Though the Bible doesn’t provide details of Noah’s interactions with the people around him, common sense dictates that they must have wondered about his seemingly irrational activity of building a huge ship in a place where none was obviously needed. As if that wasn’t enough, he eventually started collecting pairs of animals to load aboard. It seems reasonable to assume they asked him about all this. Obviously, they didn’t take him seriously or else they would have been making their own preparations to survive. It seems safe to assume that they regarded him as a raving lunatic.

So what about today?

In the passage above, the Bible tells us that Jesus said the conditions at the end of the age would parallel those of Noah’s time, and, indeed, they are doing just that. The presence of evil is growing and, as was the case with the Flood, most of the world, even much of the modern church, doesn’t expect the return of Jesus for his followers, either. When it does happen, it’ll be just as big a surprise as the Flood. The only difference is that Noah’s society didn’t have time to speculate about the Deluge afterwards as today’s will after the Rapture.

Now the problem some have in accepting the passage above as a true Rapture verse is the 50/50 ratio of those taken and those left behind. I suggest that it might not refer to a literal 50% division, but may be a figure of speech to illustrate the point of people being taken away from their daily routines quite unexpectedly while the others left behind are totally baffled. This theme of  “unexpectedness” appears several times in Matthew, chapters 24 and 25.

If we consider that everything the Bible has to say is important, it follows that the more often something is repeated, the more we should pay attention. A good example of this occurred regarding Joseph’s interpretation of the repetitive aspects of pharaoh’s dream in Genesis, chapter 41.

Now let’s see what Paul describes in an unambiguous Rapture passage:

1 Corinthians {15:51-54} 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. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Much has already been written about the Rapture, pro and con, some of the adherents to the latter doing so vehemently and, quite frankly, unpleasantly. Just to make it clear, I am of the former persuasion because only the occurrence of the the Rapture can reconcile the passages like those above which indicate an initial time when Jesus’ return coming as a complete surprise with believers being gathered to him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) which will mystify those left behind and a second which will be his unmistakable return that the whole world see and which will conclude the seventh year of the Tribulation:

Matthew {24:27} 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. (Jesus is the speaker.)

The specific timeline for Jesus’ Second Coming to Earth can be found in Daniel 9:24 – 27. The concluding verse reveals that the time of the Antichrist’s “covenant with many” would last one week (seven years), based on the 360 day length of a Jewish year. Though the entire Tribulation, which will certainly mark a dreadful time for the world, begins when the Antichrist ratifies his “covenant” and lasts seven years,  the final half will be even worse. It will finish when Jesus personally comes to put an end to the most horrific despot that has ever lived and destroy his armies at Armageddon (Daniel 7:11-14; Revelation 19:7-21).

From the halfway point, when the Antichrist abrogates the covenant, the exact time of the Second Coming of Jesus is given as 1260 days (symbolically described in Revelation 12:1-7. See also Genesis 37:1-9 which identifies the parties in the Revelation passage), which is also the amount of time Israel is given supernatural refuge by God in the wilderness after the treaty is broken.

We now have two definite markers in time for Jesus’ Second Coming. The Rapture has none. The only way to explain this is that they are two different events.

It may very well be that with the along with ascent of the Antichrist to power, people will buy into his promises that a golden age is just ahead. I expect he’ll come up with a multi-spectrumed plan to stabilize the global economy and to attempt to deal with the increasing distresses that Bible Prophecy has told us will characterize the Tribulation. Perhaps his most significant action will be his confirmation of a Middle East peace treaty which had already been mapped out before his ascent to world leadership. It will initially succeed where previous peace plans have failed. It will also start the seven-year  Tribulation countdown clock.

The reason the Antichrist gives his approval to this peace treaty may be twofold: First, to raise his stature in the eyes of the world. Second, to get as many Jews back to Israel so he can get most of them into one place for future extermination (Zechariah 14:1-2; Revelation 16:13-14).

The confirmed covenant may possibly include a provision that allows for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple on its original site, yet another powerful incentive to get the Jews to come home. That the temple must exist at some level of completion is a necessary element in the prophetic timeline and integral to the Antichrist’s plans when he goes there to declare himself “God” three and a half years later, as we will soon see.