Study of End-times (Part II)

Let's take a look at some definitions of end-times terminology:

1) Rapture - 'catching away' or gathering together of the Church unto the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:13-17)

2) Second Coming of Christ - the visible, bodily and glorious return of Jesus Christ to the earth (1 Acts 1:11)

3) The Tribulation - a 7-year period of time at the end of the Age that starts with the revealing of the Antichrist and ends with Second Coming of Christ to the earth. (Matt. 24:21-30)

4) Battle of Armageddon - the 'kings of the earth and of the whole world' are to be gathered together in the battle of that great day of God Almighty (Rev. 16:14-16)

5) Judgment Seat of Christ - after the Rapture of the Church, there will be a judgment at the 'bema seat' of Christ that has to do with the believer's works, not his salvation (2 Corin. 5:10). It is not a condemnation seat but a reward seat. The judgment of our deeds will not be based on their outward appearance but upon our inward character and the motivation for which they were done.

6) The First Resurrection - also referred to as the 'resurrection of the just', it is during this First Resurrection that the righteous people who have died are raised to eternal life (Rev. 20:4-6)

7) Millennial reign of Christ - the 1000 year reign of Christ on the earth, when the Kingdom of God is in manifestation and the old covenant promises made to the forefathers of Israel are fulfilled. (Rev. 20:1-9)

8) Great White Throne Judgment - the final judgment (Rev. 20:11-15) when the unbelievers are judged according to their works and cast into the lake of fire. It takes place after the end of the millennial reign of Christ on earth. This is different from the resurrection of those who are saved. The resurrection of the righteous people is completed at the First Resurrection, before the Millenium starts.

9) A New Heaven and a New Earth - after Satan and all unbelievers are cast into the lake of fire, the first heaven and the first earth pass away and there will be a new heaven and a new earth. (Rev. 21:1)

10) Marriage Supper of the Lamb - after the Rapture of the Church, there will be the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-9). This is the time when the Church who is the bride is presented spotless to the bridegroom, Jesus Christ through Christ's cleansing blood.

Please note that these events are not in chronological order because God has not even now given us enough light to make an accurate, detailed chart of all the events which will precede the second coming of Christ. Only time will confirm the prophecies of end-times.

Generally, to me, the main area of disagreement is in the timing of the Rapture. There are three views to the timing of the Rapture: Pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation and post-tribulation. In this study of end-times, it seemed to me that the scriptures do not seem to support the theology of pre-tribulation or a secret coming of Christ to rapture the Church before the tribulation comes.

Standing from a practical viewpoint, I do subscribe to the opinion that we cannot risk promising God's people that they will be surely delivered from the tribulation in a pre-tribulation rapture. Plainly because we really cannot know for sure that this will happen. If it really does not happen, then the believers' faith will be badly shaken should they wake up to find themselves in the midst of tribulation. 

There are two types of suffering for people: 1) Curse of the law or sin, 2) Persecution for the sake of the gospel. We are surely delivered from the first because of Christ's finished work on the cross. Because Jesus suffered the punishment of sin, we do not need to suffer sickness, poverty, lack, loneliness and everything that comes with the consequences of sin. However, nowhere in the bible promises the believer that he will be free from persecution. In fact, Jesus is the One who said 'In this world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.' (John 16:33) 

However, we, the Church is surely promised deliverance from God's wrath at the end of the Tribulation. This is because God's wrath has been totally exhausted in the body of Christ at the Cross. It would be unjustifiable for God to send wrath to those who believe in Christ's finished work. The Law of Double Jeopardy says that the same crime cannot be punished on the criminal twice. Hence we can have the assurance that we will be shielded from God's wrath at the end of the Tribulation just like the Jews were shielded from the ten plagues on Egypt. However, no one can be sure if this deliverance means that we are bodily taken out of this earth (like in a secret Rapture).

In my next blog post I will talk about our response as believers to these end-times events. 

Study of End-times (Part I)

I just completed my module on 'Eschatology' or study of end-times at RHEMA Bible Training Center last week. Before that, I did not know what is eschatology and even had difficulty pronouncing that word! I signed up for this module because I wanted to learn more about end-times. I felt that it was necessary as a believer not to be ignorant about end-time prophecies in the bible and end-time events.

In the past, I shunned this topic because like most believers, there were different theologies about end time prophecies and the events written in the bible were hard to understand. Some end-time events like tribulation might even be scary or confusing. Other believers may think that they would probably not live till then to witness these things so why the need to study about end-times. For me, I did not want to be caught up with the unfruitful speculation of the timing of Jesus' 2nd coming.

The truth of that matter is: we are already living in end-times. Ok, you may think that centuries ago people were already talking about the 2nd coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but hey, He has not come yet! Yet in the bible, Jesus clearly tells us to watch and pray for we do not know when He will be coming again. Apostle Paul talked as though his generation would witness the end; yet nowhere did he expressly affirm that the end would come in his lifetime.

For me, the study of end-times was necessary because end-time theology taught me to be wise. Psalm 90:12 says 'Teach us to number our days so that we may gain wisdom.' The reality is that there is an end to all things on this earth. Hence we are 'forced' to focus our eyes on eternity no matter how much we enjoy our time on earth. The gospel must be preached to all people because the truth is, without Jesus Christ, man cannot save themselves. There is a heaven to go to and a hell to shun for eternity. Your divine fate is not temporal; it is forever. And forever is a very, very long time...

As a person solidly grounded in the gospel of grace, sometimes I feel that I tend to categorise my life according to doctrines like grace, faith, works of the Holy Spirit etc. Yet the bible does not segregate these teachings. Going through this course did make me a little uncomfortable because some of my theologies were shaken. However I know it is for my good because the Word of God will always straighen us up and adjust our thinking. I used to have a fuzzy idea about end-times but thank God that this lecturer is very anointed in teaching about end-times! He made the concepts and the contentious points so clear for me. He based his teachings largely on the book 'The Blessed Hope' by George Eldon Ladd. 

Having benefited so much from the study, I really liked to share some of my learning points, which I am sure you will be blessed. In the next few blog posts, I will talk about what the study of end-times entails and more importantly, what our response should be as believers.

This season of fruit bearing

Thank God that another popcorn that popped recently was this: I was recently appointed the Care Group (CG) leader of my CG. About a year ago I was asked by my leader to be his stand-in or assistant CG leader. Since then I have facilitated about four CG meetings while he was away. Recently his wife just gave birth after a gap of 12 years as their two daughters are already teenagers. Hence he told me to be prepared to take on a bigger role in the CG because he would be busy with the new baby and some adjustments needed to be made. Besides, he just changed his job and was rather busy with that as well.

I thought it was just to stand-in for him for a temporary period of a couple of months till they are settled down. Of course I agreed as I know God has been preparing me for this some time ago. However, I was surprised that his decision was to step down from the CG and to hand over the leadership baton to me. I did not quite expect this and the change was effective immediately! Usually there is a handover period but in this case, because my leader had to urgently attend to other family matters, I had to take over immediately.

This also came as a surprise to some members because they did not see it coming. They also were wondering what actually happened. To the best I could, I explained to them the reasons of his stepping down. Thank God that despite their initial surprise (or shock), when our leader faced a recent crisis in his wife's childbearing incident, members all came forth to encourage him with the Word of God and stood in faith with him. I was really touched because I saw God's love in this family of believers. The bible says in 1 John 4:12 'No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us and His love has been perfected in us.'

When I first knew I had to assume leadership immediately, I felt like what Joshua felt when Moses his leader passed on and God told him to be strong and courageous for he was about to bring the Jews into the Promise Land. God's exact words were 'Now therefore, arise and go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them - the children of Israel.' God has been preparing me for this day and He kept telling me to 'arise and go' since Dec 2011. Although I was not sure exactly what plans He had for me, I knew that 2012 is a year of action. It is a season of fruit-bearing for me. My time has truly come. No more waiting. Now is the time for action.

And God is true to His Word. It came to pass exactly as He has spoken. It was like I thought I was waiting and waiting for Him to move things; I was tired of waiting and really wanted some action in Sep 2011. However, God told me to rest in Him at that time. I would be totally caught off guard if God did not prepare me beforehand. Indeed as I looked back, last year was a year of preparation for me. It was not a wasted year. The year of rest and preparation was so crucial for me. God knows best. Now that I am in harvest time when the desires of my heart come into manifestation, I begin to feel the accelerated pace of God's move. When God moves, He moves really fast and we have to move with Him.

Yet it is during this time of action that I needed to rest in the Lord even more. Despite the greater responsibility as a CG leader, I am reminded to look to the Lord for His anointing, His wisdom and His strength because there is no way I could do it myself. In fact, it was all a finished work in God's eyes. I told God that if I did not have the assurance that He is with me, as He was with Joshua, I would not even be taking up this position. Even as I am mindful of members' expectation of a leader, I am not burdened in any way because I cast all these cares to the Lord. I know it is God working in me and through me, so I could rest in the knowledge that since He put me there, His grace is more than sufficient to keep me there. None of my works to boast about, so that all glory belongs to Jesus!

I am very excited because the Lord has great plans for my CG. He has revealed them to me recently. In the coming days and months, I will see how they are blessed by the Word of God, the presence of God in their lives and I will see their lives transformed. He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion until the day of Christ (Philippians 1:6). Amen!