Can you imagine every believer in full unity, intimacy, maturity and authority? This is the amazing climax of this age manifest in the last generation! This is the purpose of the ‘Day of the Lord’. This is heaven’s priority; the rest is detail.
Paul declares this stunning prophecy, the magnificent pinnacle of this age, in Ephesians chapter four:
V 11,12 summary: God gave … the five-fold ministry to equip us … Eph 4:13 NIV until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
‘Knowledge of’ or ‘knowing’ the Son of God speaks of intimacy. The ‘whole measure of fullness of Christ’ includes and could be termed ‘authority’. Therefore, these verses can be paraphrased:
“Through the five-fold ministry the church will eventually be in complete unity, each member will be totally intimate with Jesus and a fully mature Christian with all the authority of Christ!”
Pastors, all your members in full unity, intimacy, maturity and authority? Wow what a prophecy! This is the end time victory which is coming.
The enemy’s purpose is to stop all this, but it appears to be a divine Haman / Cross trap: the most savage and toxic attack devised by the enemy becomes one of the ingredients and contexts within which the Lord does his greatest miracle: a holy church without spot or wrinkle! NKJV of Ephesians 4.13 adds “perfect”:
Eph 4:13 till we all come …to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
The fullness of Christ is coming to real Christians. The Spirit of Elijah will restore ALL things (Matt 17.11). Considering this prize, we have to say of the intense birth pains which will birth a new age, that it will be worth it!
As God takes his hand off the world, removing general grace, He will put it on the prophetic church. This is His justice. In this justice, the level to which He allows an increase of destruction in the world, He decrees a corresponding increase in power in His church. If the number of deaths, in the birth pains, is in the billions then so will be the number of salvations. Uncountable! (Rev 7.9) Not all churches will respond to the coming open heavens but all those that do will all grow to thousands and tens of thousands!
At that time Isaiah 60 will be fulfilled and we will arise and shine, as the age-ending-light would have come and the full glory of the Lord will rise on us all! Even though the worst darkness will cover the people, on mass, prime ministers will be saved, there will be many Ninevehs and whole nations will come to the final divine, dazzling light. In the end the Christ, not the anti-Christ, wins. (Isa 60:1-3)
In the middle of Jesus’ teaching on the birth pains, he makes an amazing statement: ‘this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a witness to all nations and then the end will come’ (Mat 24.14). This does not just mean international mission and evangelism. It is ‘this’ gospel, i.e., the kind that Jesus had been witnessing to: full on signs-and-wonders gospel. Every Nation will have this Jesus-level of ministry, on mass, in the last generation. Events in New York, Paris, Manchester will all read like the gospels.
The Bible also states that before the end of this age, the full number of gentiles have to be saved (Rom 11.25). This means that evangelism and revival in the last generation will be very successful, with millions of new salvations in every nation. Also, the ‘full number’ of saints have to be martyred (Rev 6.11). So, before the rapture, part of the purpose of the birth pains is to bring in the great end time harvest everywhere, having massive growing movements of believers of such a high level of maturity that they are ready to lay down their lives for the Lord. Hundreds of thousands of totally committed believers in every nation, ready and called upon, for martyrdom. What an amazing climax! So many of God’s children standing so boldly for the truth that they are killed for their faith. During Covid, leaders were not willing to open churches or sing out loud. It’s good to know that the wimps will not prevail, but a generation of radicals, numbering hundreds of thousands, standing to expose religion based terrorism, expose corrupt politicians, speak out against evil forms of relationships and ideologies at the cost of their lives. The bible prophecies that this will happen on mass!
Rev 6:11 Then each martyr was given a white robe and told to sit back and wait until the full number of martyrs was filled from among their servant companions and friends in the faith. (MSG)
Why Is End Time Theology So Controversial?
The end times events described in the bible are very intense. It also teaches that a rapture will occur before some of these events. The timing of this escape, whether it occurs before or after the trumpets and seals and other events in Revelation is disagreed upon in the church.
Some churches have split over this question of the timing of the rapture. Many therefore just ignore it or say that it is not important. Others are passionate about their view, as the issue does matter! Unfortunately, one side can sometimes see the other as false teachers if they disagree but we cannot judge someone’s orthodoxy based on their opinion on eschatology (end times). When someone comes newly into church with bad lifestyle but repentant having turned to the Lord, we are so gracious. Why should we not be even more gracious with people who are prayerful, sanctified, winning souls, standing for the Lord, encouraging the church but just with a different doctrinal position on aspects of the 2nd coming? ‘Wrong doctrine’ perhaps should not be used by either side describing the other’s position. It is NOT a fundamental issue of salvation even though it is rather important. I would say it is a teaching not a doctrine.
If a pastor has taught the whole book of revelation with a view that the believers will still be there and then a visiting preacher comes and says that they will be raptured before all these events, the local pastor can understandably feel that all what he has taught has been trashed or spoken against. Similarly, a Pastor who believes the rapture is before the tribulation (pre-trib) who has someone in his congregation share revelation from a post-trib rapture position may feel personally attacked. This is where grace and wisdom should come in.
While I was leaning towards the opinion that we must face a considerable amount of the events of Revelation, I sent my full-time, paid staff member to translate for a conference on Revelation in which they taught that none of its events are relevant to us! He was still giving lots of scripture and encouragement and since it’s good for people to hear both sides, I did not withdraw my support for the meeting, even though I considered his view a little intolerant, dogmatic and over emphasizing the ‘don’t worry about end times’ sentiment. I think my support of the conference, which I only half believed in, was not compromise but necessary grace for this issue. I also asked the preacher if we could have a public debate on the issue so that all the believers could hear both sides of the argument, to which he initially accepted but later declined. It is sad that while the world debates almost everything, the church is so reluctant to be honest about theological dichotomies, (differences in opinions).
When we look at the extreme views of ‘pre’ or ‘post’ Tribulation rapture: one implies we escape before all the darkness; the other implies we have to face all the challenges. These diametrically opposed opinions can inspire conflict. The view put forth in this book which you may by now realize is not quite at either end of the spectrum, diffuses this tension.
Lastly, tension is created as ‘Pre-tribers’ feel that telling the church they have to be there in the wrath time, frightens and harms the church. ‘Post-tribers’ feel that telling the church they can escape before the final battle is misleading, setting the church up for a huge defeat. Both of these potential outcomes are disturbing.
This issue of timing must be very important to the Lord otherwise the devil would not be making such a fuss about it. This is the very time that Satan is making his last stand before he is sent forever to hell, no wonder he fights and aims to cause confusion. Despite all this, let’s not give up our quest for the truth in this area.
Perhaps there were different groups of Jewish believers before Jesus’ first coming debating where the Messiah would be from. Some may have argued Egypt, some Bethlehem and some Nazareth, each quoting scripture. They were all right! Born in Bethlehem, escaping Herod’s soldiers in the night fleeing to Egypt, then led by a dream to return to Nazareth back in Israel, not Bethlehem as Jesus would have been the only boy in his year, the rest girls; the fruit of the boy genocide. What a twist to the story! Who could have foreseen how all three groups could have been correct? Who could have solved that divine jigsaw puzzle getting all the pieces together? All three places were his native place. The answer was a combination of all the views. Perhaps the rapture is a real escape from a real season of God’s wrath but after many real end time challenges that we have to prepare for?
Jesus’ first coming ministry was so different to preconceived ideas, of driving out Romans in a David-Joshua style, that even Apostle James (Gal 1.19) the Lord’s brother (not Peter’s brother) backslid and missed out on three years of His miracles and ministry. Many believers may also be shocked by looming events, which they just cannot believe God would allow to happen, and miss out on some of the most powerful ministry and miracles ever, just like Jesus’ first century family.
Is the fiercest final battle revealed in advance as a ‘battle stations’ warning to the end time church? How much can we avoid through the rapture? Is the divine timetable of the last battle given as a gift to the Lord’s bride? Are some of the end time challenges used to wake up a lukewarm church and give her urgency? Surely the Lord will rescue and protect his own bride?
Only the first half of this book is answering these questions of timing. The second half is about the purpose of the end times, necessary surprising preparation! If you just want to get straight to the theology of when is the rapture, I suggest you jump to chapters seven, eight and nine.
However, once you have read these, if you are convinced that we have to face quite a few beasts, I am sure you will want to read the rest of the book so that you too will be an overcomer in those times.
Joel’s Awesome Army
Before the Lord comes back, God will raise up a glorious army; the most powerful army that has ever marched on the earth. Read how Joel described it. What if this awesome army is the end time triumphant church? This is more than about the judgement of locusts in Joel’s time. It is about the day of the LORD. Verse 10 puts the fulfilment at the time when the sun will be darkened and all the stars removed, just before the return of the LORD. So, this is our destiny. The church- a mighty army of mature fearless warriors which cities and nations tremble before!
(Joel 2:1-11NIV) “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand (2) a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come. (3) Before them fire devours, behind them a flame blazes… (4) they gallop along like cavalry. (5) With a noise like that of chariots they leap over the mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle. (6) At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; every face turns pale. (7) They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. They all march in line, not swerving from their course. They do not jostle each other; each march straight ahead. They plunge through defences without breaking ranks. (10) Before them the earth shakes, the sky trembles, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine. (11) The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?”
Summarizing and contextualizing these verses we can say:
The End time church is an army beyond the brilliance of the early church (‘such as never was of old’ v2), they charge into ministry and crusades in ultimate perfect unity (v7,8), their evangelistic activities cause earth-quakes and principalities in the sky to shake, and their prayer meetings switch off the sun! (v10) They end up with a massive powerful church, full of obedient believers beyond number (v11).
Selah! That’s my eschatology! This is the most important thing about end times. Victory! If you find this hard to believe or skipped reading the Joel passage above, you may want to read it (again) now.
How will God take the believers from where we are now to such a level of maturity, surrender, unity and power? This book gives some of the answers.
Longing for the Rapture
We are also longing to meet the Lord when He comes for His bride: to be caught up and then be with Him forever which is the RAPTURE. This is the longing of our spirits: to be eternally free from the constant cravings and troubles from our flesh and people and to be forever with our lover, champion, redeemer: The Son of God, Jesus. What will be the first thing you say to Him? What will be the first thing he says privately to you? I think like Mary we’ll just spend the first few hours kissing his feet and weeping, thanking him for his unparalleled sacrifice on the cross where he bore each of our millions of sins, and all our darkness, bondage, pain and pride.
Too complex?
Many people, confused by the complex arguments, say that the order of the main end time events, does not matter. “Jesus is coming soon; we must be ready and that’s enough.” Sorry, but that cannot be enough! What do we actually need to get ready for? Only to meet the Christ or to face some of the anti-Christs too?
Admittedly there are many small points of the book of Revelation whose interpretation is far from clear and one cannot be dogmatic about them. However, the timing of the rapture, whether before the tribulation (pre-tribulation) or after (post-tribulation) is an essential question to be answered in order to know our destiny. If the rapture is very close to the end of the age, then we will have to face all that the Bible prophesies is coming. But there is also a promised escape, a rescue from the woes of this planet in the rapture, when is it?
It is also true that we have to stand before Christ in judgement. To prepare for this, of course, is even more important than preparing to face any anti-Christs. However, is it sufficient? If we have to face many drastic, unprecedented trials and were not prepared but defeated by them, then (after this) what condition would we be in when we stood before the Lord? All beaten up and wounded spiritually? Perhaps many trials are sent to get a whole generation ready to stand before their Holy Creator and GOD.
When we first read the gospels, with all the parables with which Jesus hid and revealed the truth, we were a little confused about what it all meant. However, with bible studies, Sunday sermons, regular reading, books and online messages, we slowly got to grips with the message of salvation, the picture became clear and we fully embraced this new life. We need to employ similar diligence with the truths of the second coming like we did with the first coming. It’s all about our beloved Jesus. Eschatology also enriches our understanding of our God, His purposes and His Son.
The most spiritual people before Jesus were the Prophets. They had a passion for future biblical prophecy:
1Pe 1:10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 1Pe 1:11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.
It is extremely pleasing to God when his children treasure an understanding of their Lord’s return so much that they search intently the scriptures, carefully taking notes, documenting valid arguments and discerning their strengths. We are biblically required to ‘try to find out the time and circumstances to which the Holy Spirit is pointing when he predicts the suffering’ of the Church and the glories of the resurrection which will follow.
Your personal views or your church’s, denomination’s or pastor’s views may be different. But if you are convinced by what you are about to read in this book, I hope that you will not use this knowledge to create heated arguments or friction. It’s not the most important issue- many of my close friends believe differently to me. The angels might have marvelled how some churches even split over this issue. Knowing what’s about to come, we should seek more unity not less!
Not Weird
Some people consider Revelation a weird book. However, only the means of communicating the truth in it seem weird: the ‘strange’ visions. Jesus said that Heaven and earth may pass away but His words will not (Matt 24:35). So, all the normal Bible principles will still continue until the end. So, could the Holy Spirit really be taken out of the earth and will angels really be allowed to preach the gospel? If these extra-biblical things happen, the bible would have passed away; but it will not. Are we certain this is the restrainer? If angels were really allowed to preach then why don’t they now? Angels pointed Cornelius to Peter, but this human brother had to tell him about Jesus; the gospel has been entrusted to the saints not the angels. (Jude 1.3) I marvel how great fundamentalists who never want to stray from the stance of doctrine only from the bible, have such a different standard for the end times. Weird, extra biblical scenarios that clearly contradict the weight of scripture cannot be considered! Jesus words will not pass away during the Great Tribulation!
Tribulation Inoculation
What is the vaccination for end times? To prevent the possibility of COVID 19, the China Virus, everyone was encouraged to take a vaccination. This small dose of a non-lethal part of the actual disease is easily overcome by the body, which is then in a stronger position to face and resist the real disease if it comes. I hope that in the same way, as you read this book and the book of Revelation from now on, the Holy Spirit will produce in you a new resolve and courage, essential to stand firm in the end times. Then we can say with the psalmist: “Even though I will walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil”.
One-tenth of the New Testament is this end time inoculation, preparing us for what is going to happen in the very near future. It reveals, in detail, the greatest ever revival in human history; the greatest move of God right at the end of the age. It also documents a season of the worst ever natural disasters: continuous nation shattering earthquakes, international famines, world war three and four and the enemy coming to reign on earth in a human form. Part of the prophecy predicts that this ‘man’ will be assassinated as a world leader then apparently resurrected before everyone, accepted as the president over most of the world, initially making a totally chaotic world peaceful, but then initiating the worst evils ever… Many people don’t believe that these things are about to happen. Those who do, think that we will be raptured off the earth before the final battles begin. Either way, don’t these ideas make ten percent of the New Testament irrelevant?
Can we be sure the scriptures clearly document an escape before all these final spiritual wars? Do we only need to be ready to face God or do we have to go through the greatest battle between darkness and light ever? Is it a punishment to be in that battle or a great privilege? What if the rapture does not occur before the great tribulation? That would mean that we will have to face some or most of the events of revelation.
Meditating on the events which we have to face, in advance acts as an inoculation, giving us a taste of what is to come so that we prepare ourselves with boldness, vision and understanding so that we will stand firm until the day we gloriously escape, in a rapture, from this valley of the shadow of death.
This Book Is Divided into Five Sections:
- The Gravity of What Is Coming
Just how serious will it be? What are the main sections of what is coming? What do most agree about in end times?
- Subtle Anti-Christs
What are the anti-Christs we are about to face?
- When Is the Rapture?
We have to get a clear answer to this question, to know how much of the end time events we have to face.
- What Is the Purpose of The End Times?
Knowing the facts and verses is insufficient; we need to understand why God orchestrates a finely tuned global crisis.
- How We Prepare for End Times?
Spiritual and physical preparation. Many books on end times disappointingly miss this out! Eighteen biblical activities and lifestyles which we should specifically focus upon as these events get closer and closer.
