Last Day Bible Prophecy

JESUS SPOKE ABOUT END-TIME EVENTS. His diciples asked Him: "Tell us, when shall these things be? and WHAT SHALL BE THE SIGN when all these things shall be fulfilled?" Luke reports: "...they asked Him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and WHAT SIGN WILL THERE BE when these things shall come to pass? Matthew's report is specific: "...Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be THE SIGN OF THY COMING, and of the END OF THE WORLD?" (Mar 13:3-4, Luk 21:7, Matt 24:3)

Jesus answered them and GAVE THEM THE SIGN: “When ye therefore shall see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)...” Mark reported: “But when ye shall see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand)” Luke's Report TELLS US PLAINLY what we're supposed to "UNDERSTAND": “And WHEN YE SHALL SEE JERUSALEM COMPASSED WITH ARMIES, THEN KNOW that the DESOLATION THEREOF is nigh.” The END-TIME ANNIHILATION of JERUSALEM IS THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION!! (Mat 24:15, Luk 21:20, Mar 13:14) ..... Let's TURN ON THE NEWS and see if armies are CURRENTLY surrounding Jerusalem?? --clark

Last Day Wrath of Satan vs. Last Day Wrath of God

The last days will end with a week of years which is commonly known as The Seven Year Tribulation.  I believe it is the last 2300 days (Dan. 8:14) of this “week of years” that is the actual prophesied “time of trouble”:
 

"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. (Mat 24:21)"

"...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. (Dan 12:1)"

The Hebrew prophets call this Tribulation “the time of Jacob's trouble:”

"For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.  Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?  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.  (Jer 30:5-7)"

We have all heard and read about this Great Tribulation [Ezek 7:18-19, Isa 3:7-26].  When considering this subject of last day wrath it helps if we can sort out and distinguish between “God’s wrath” and “Satan’s wrath:”

"Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. (Rev 12:12)"

"And he [antichrist] shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time [3½ years]. (Dan 7:25)"

"And there was given unto him [antichrist] a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months [3½ years].  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.  If any man have an ear, let him hear. (Rev 13: 5-9)"

Meanwhile, Israel will have “fled into the wilderness.”  But prior to this flight, Jesus prophesies an event called the “Abomination of Desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet.”  Jesus continues:

"Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.  For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.  But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. Luk 21:21-23)"

"And the woman [Israel] fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. [3½ years] (Rev 12:6)"

"And to the woman [Israel] were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time [3½ years], from the face of the serpent… And the earth helped the woman…  And the dragon [“that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world”] was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.  (Rev 12:14-17)"

 Above we see that the devil is come down unto us, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.  Satan only has a “short time” left as “the prince of this world” (John 14:30, John 12:31, John 16:11 ).  Until these last days God has permitted Satan to have much authority over “the kingdoms of the world” (see Luke 4: 5-8 & Matt 4: 8-10).

So when does the Devil lose this authority?  The answer is given in Revelation 11: 15:

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”

           

From that time on, “OUR LORD and HIS CHRIST” “SHALL REIGN FOR EVER and EVER” over all of “THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD!”  This 7th Trump also marks God’s final “Hour of His Judgment.”  This is not "an hour" as we know it.  To mankind, this "hour" seems to be many of our days.  Rev 10:7 tells us that just the beginning of the sounding of this 7th trump lasts for days (in the plural).  Then "the days of the voice of the seventh angel" continue with God's wrath as described in Rev Chapters 15, 16, 17 and 18.

In Revelation, Trumpets #5, #6, and #7 correlate with, what the Bible calls, the three "woes," which culminate with the hour of God's judgment.
                                                                                                             

            “The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. (Rev 11:14)”  

                                                                                                                
“And the nations were angry, and thy wrath [of ‘The Lord God Almighty’] is come...(Rev 11:18)”

                                                                                                                 

“Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come…(Rev 14:7)”                                                                             

"Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.  For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.  And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.  I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.  Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger.  (Isa 13: 9-13)"

Reading Revelation Chapters 15, 16, 17 and 18 we see “the wrath of God” includes “the seven last plagues” and the annihilation of prophetic Babylon.
 

As we’ve shown above, the sounding of The Seventh Trump marks the end of Satan’s wrath AND the beginning of God’s Wrath (the “hour” aka “day”).  At the immediate initial sounding of this trumpet comes the rapture/resurrection of “those in Christ:”

“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. (1Cr 15:52)”

During this “hour” aka “day” [(which is actually days to us, (Rev 10:7)] Jesus returns to Jerusalem accompanied by “the first-fruits” of the Resurrection (the 144,000... 12,000 from each of the 12 Tribes of Israel)

"And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads....And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth [they are the first group to have received their new glorified bodies: “the firstfruits” as stated below].  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.  (Rev 14:1-4)"...

So, after the rapture, Jesus and the 144,000 (first to be sealed/raptured… all Israelites… from all 12 Tribes) have come back to Earth.  

Where on earth are they gathered? We are told: “Mount Zion”, Jerusalem. 

The prophecies teach us that, at this time of the end, Jerusalem will have been annihilated.  Apparently, God immediately restores Jerusalem for habitation.   This city has now become a safe refuge during God’s wrath.  Revelation 14: 6-19 gives us a quick overview of the Last Days including the Day of God’s wrath.  These prophecies ultimately end with a description of “the great winepress of the wrath of God”:

"And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. (Rev 14: 19-20)"

So God's winepress is used for "the earth" except one place is protected.... the city where Jesus and the 144,000 have landed (To me this means God's "fierce anger" is "without the city" of Jerusalem).  So, after the rapture/resurrection portion of the 7th Trump, “the great winepress of the wrath of God” does not apply to Jerusalem.  "The days" of this last trump contain a mysterious time period which is sometimes called a "day," sometimes called an "hour," also called a period of "time no longer” and as we see here: "the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound:"

"And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,   And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.  Rev 10:5-7)"

Jesus said:

“For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.  And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days. (Mark 13:19-20)”

I believe "the shortening of those days" is after the rapture... and is for the non-raptured Israelites (who are among God's "elect" Isa 45:4), AS WELL AS FOR "the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth [having accepted Christ during this "hour" of God's wrath] (Rev 14:13)".   

Some say the shortening of those days is for the the sake of the Christians who are alive on earth during Satan's portion of the Great Tribulation (which is most of the 7 years).  But that makes no sense to me.. Why?  Because  THE SAINTS WILL ALREADY have been RAPTURED (at the first sound of the 7th Trump)!  This also is the time when Satan's wrath ends and when God locks him up in Hell for 1000 years. 

This also is the time when God's wrath takes over, upon Babylon and all the world.  God’s wrath takes place after the Rapture/Resurrection.   Again, Jesus said "those days shall be shortened", otherwise "no flesh should be saved":

                        "for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days."

I believe "the Elect" consists of:

• Non-Christian Israelites who, at some point, will be born again (from each of the tribes: "all Israel shall be saved" Rom 11:26)*
• Born again Christian Israelites (from each of the tribes).
• All Gentiles who accept Jesus Christ as Savior (thus adopted into Israel)

The eternal lake of fire is not reserved for God’s elect:

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is MY covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.  (Rom 11:25-27)”

• *“For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.  I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me (Isa 45:4-5)”

--clark
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NOTES:  At this point in the dialog a friend commented.  He quoted The English Standard Version (ESV):

"...the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the TRUMPET of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then WE who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the AIR, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words (1 Thes 4:13–18)"... “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. “And He will send forth His angels with a GREAT TRUMPET and they will gather together His ELECT from the four winds, from one end of the SKY to the other.  (Matt 24: 29-31)

He pointed out to me that the "WE" mentioned here "is clearly speaking of BELIEVERS in Jesus Christ being raptured."  "In other words," he says, "the ELECT in Matthew is referring to the CHURCH.   He did not believe the "ELECT" in Matthew is referring to Israel."

To clarify:  I do think Israel (all 12 tribes) PLUS all born-again Christians make up God's "elect."  See my explanation below.  I don't believe that all of these elect will necessarily be resurrected/raptured at the 7th trump.  Some will be left-out of the Rapture and the 1000 year Millennium, in my view.  Also: If all of the elect are raptured "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump" then why would the time afterward need to be cut short?  At this point God's Hour of Wrath is beginning.  If the rapture is the cutting-short-moment then why do all of the scriptures pertaining to God's wrath (Rev Chapters 15-18) keep happening?

So I agree that the Church is "the elect." But I also say that Israel is "the elect."  How can this be?  The answer is found in Revelation 21: 9-14:

"And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;  And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:   On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.   And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."

It suffices to say:  In the marriage of the Lamb of God, The Church AND all 12 tribes of Israel ARE ONE.... THE BRIDE OF CHRIST!  I see that the "elect" of Matt 24 includes Israel (as well as all born again Christians...alive & dead).

Whether or not the "elect (of Matthew 24)" includes both pre-rapture-saved-Israelites & post-rapture-saved-Israelites (which includes all Gentile Christians who are adopted into Israel) is an important question. However, the main point of the article is to show the changing of dispensations between the time-of-Satan's-wrath & the-time-of-God's-wrath. The end of Satan's portion of The Great Tribulation ends “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump.” Why then would anything, that is scheduled to occur before this moment, need to be cut short? If God cut anything out, up to this point, there would be no resurrection/rapture! Because God would have cut off the Tribulation early, without the 7th Trump. We need to go back to this main article (above: Last Day Wrath of Satan vs. Last Day Wrath of God) and see that Satan’s wrath ends and God’s wrath begins with the, beginning of the sounding of, the 7^th trump.

Prior to the beginning of the sounding of the 7^th trump, God will have not yet poured out His wrath.

This is a good place to stop and read Revelation Chapters 15, 16, 17, and 18. It is important that the reader has a good understanding of the extensive punishments that God has proposed upon all of the inhabitants of the earth **to take place after Satan's portion of the seven years! Then it will make more sense to us when we come to understand that:

** “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall… (Mat 24:29 see full scripture below**)”

These are the chapters (Rev. Chapters 15-18) explaining God’s wrath.  All of it happens after the beginning of the sounding 7^th Trump.   So I suppose we could say “The Great Tribulation consists of Satan’s wrath of 2300 days (Dan 8:14) plus God’s wrath of “one hour”  So when God decides to shorten the “days” it could be called:

 Satan's wrath plus God’s wrath of a partial hour (which will be "days" to us)

Let's analyze Math 24: 29-31:

**"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

Let’s look closer at this mysterious "great sound of a trumpet."  We assume this is the 7th trump... but are we right?  I think we are.  It reads (to me) that this trumpet happens during (and at the beginning of) the hour/day of God's wrath and "after the tribulation of those days."  We are into this strange "time-zone" where it appears that much is happening during the sounding of this special trumpet.  We are told this is an "hour," a "day," and "time no longer."  And now (to further my point) this time period contains:

the gathering "together of His elect from the four winds," and further:

This period appears to be happening during the sounding of the trumpet!   So “the days of the voice of the seventh angel” is, again, another title for the period of God’s wrath:

“But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. (Rev 10:7)”

So the prophecies teach us:  This mystery of God reaches its finish over a period of “DAYS.”  These “days” include:  

·         The Rapture and Resurrection of true Christians.

·         The 2^nd Coming of Christ (which begins with Jesus and the 144,000 touching down in Jerusalem, Rev 14: 1-5).

·         God’s wrath upon the entire earth (except for Jerusalem which He dealt with previously (Rev 14:20 and Dan 9: 24-27).

·         God’s Desolation of prophetic Babylon.

·         The fulfilling of Christ’s 2^nd coming by gathering the remaining (raptured/resurrected) elect.  They join with Jesus and the 144,000 on earth for the 1000 years: 

“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall He send his angels, and shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. “Mark 13:24-27)”

 
All this takes place and is fulfilled while the 7th angel is still sounding. Remember that during the end of the sounding: "for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened."

To summarize:

The Bible teaches us that the time-period of God’s wrath, after the tribulation of those days is called any-or-all of the following:

1.      “hour”

2.      “day”

3.      “time no longer”, and/or:

4.      “the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound”

I believe the "elect" of God are made up of both born-again Christians (adopted into Israel) and all of Israel (not just Judah, but all 12 Tribes)...even Israelites who have, up until this "hour/day," rejected Jesus as Messiah!  This includes dead Israelites. (see ***Ezek 37: 9-11 and ****Isa 45:4-5 below).  [I also believe that's God's mercy endures forever and some people can still be saved at the final judgement (at the end of the 1000 years).  See our blogs My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me? and  Ascending to the Father ].

The scattering and gathering of "His elect from [and to] the four winds" is what God is doing with Israel.  This has been the case from the beginning.  See here what God promises to all 12 tribes.. even the dead:

"Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.  So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.  Then He said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.  Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.  And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,  And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.  (***Eze 37:9-14)"

This promise is to "the whole house of Israel" who, of course, end up being born-again-Christians!

"Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you [Zion] abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.  Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.  For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath He [The Father] sent Me [Messiah] unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His [The Father's] eye.  For, behold, I [Messiah] will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me.  Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I [Messiah] come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.  And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I [Messiah] will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent Me unto thee.  (Zec 2:6-11"

****“For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me (Isa 45:4-5)”

And when does God's gathering of Israel (His elect) begin?

"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. (Rev 7:1-4)"

And when does it end?

"But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. (Rev 10:7)"

With the sounding of the 7^thTrump:

·         Christians and saved Israelites are resurrected.

·         Christians and saved Israelites are raptured.

·         The 2^nd Coming of Christ commences (which begins with Jesus and the 144,000 touching down in Jerusalem, Rev 14: 1-5).

·         Revelation Chapters 15, 16, 17, and 18 are fulfilled EXCEPT: For the “elect's sake, whom He hath chosen, He hath shortened the days.”

·         The 2^nd Coming of Christ continues with Him gathering His elect from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven to rule with Him for a 1000 years.

 

So "in the days of the voice of the seventh angel"... the Lord's wrath AND the gathering of His Elect {both born-again Christians AND the whole house of Israel (as they receive Christ)} will be fulfilled!