Resurrection Life of Jesus Church

AFTER THE TRIBULATION
The God-man provided glimpses of future events as He stood on the temple ground teaching the people about what was going to take place. Jesus stated the sun will be darkened immediately after the Great Tribulation, the moon will not shine, the stars in the sky will fall, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken. Matthew 24:29

Jesus was quoting the prophet Ezekiel, who had been given a prophecy about the end times. Ezekiel 32:7-8

The prophet Joel was given the same prophecy. Joel 2:30-31; 3:15

When Jesus spoke about the stars of heaven falling down to the ground, He was talking about fallen angels, who have set up their dwelling places high up in the atmosphere.  Jude 13; Ephesians 6:12

Haggai wrote about a shaking in heaven that was going to take place. Haggai 2:6

Paul also wrote a shaking that was going to take place in heaven. Hebrews 12:24-29

THE SECOND RETURN
In the sermon series titled, “The Origin of Jesus,” I proposed that the Godhead laid out a “virtual time run” when they planned all the details from the beginning to the end our creation.¹ Hebrews 4:3; Rev.13:8; Romans 8:28-30

It is obvious that Jesus retained memory of the time before the creation of our universe. The God-man described His future return as not joyful as the earth’s inhabitants begin to grieve. Matthew 24:30

Some 60 years later, Jesus provided more details of this dreadful day for those who are not born again. Revelation 6:12-17

GATHERING THE ELECT
The God-man stated He was going to gather the elect (born again believers) from the four winds and from one end of heaven to the other. Matthew 24:31

Mark records that it will also be from the earth. Mark 13:27

Jesus informed the apostle John there are four corners on the earth where all winds originate. An angel is stationed at each point in the atmosphere and it is they who control the winds. Revelation 7:1-3

It is interesting that both Matthew and Mark stated that the elect (born again people) will be gathered from the earth as well as heaven, meaning there will be Christians alive on the earth during the Tribulation period. This aligns with the account from the Book of Revelation that the Antichrist will persecute Christians. Revelation 13:7-8

This brings out another interesting point. The holy angels gathering believers from the whole earth is a reference to the Rapture, indicating this event does not take place until toward the end of the Great Tribulation. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

FIG TREE PARABLE
Jesus used a fig tree as an example to help His followers understand when the end is near. Matthew 24:32-33; Mark 13:28-29; Luke 21:29-31

FUTURE GENERATION
As Jesus stood on the temple ground surrounded by thousands of people, including Pharisees, Sadducees, priests, Levites and Herodians, He stated the current generation would not pass until all these things are fulfilled. Matthew 24:34; Mark 13:30; Luke 21:32

Jesus spoke these words some 2,000 years ago and He has yet to return a second time. It is obvious the God-man was not referring to the crowd on the temple ground, but to a future generation, when all the signs are taking place.

Is it possible to know when this generation will be on the earth? The apostle Paul pinpointed it when he stated the Man of Sin (a.k.a. the Son of Perdition, the Antichrist) will enter the temple in Jerusalem and declare his godhood. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4

There is currently no temple in Jerusalem. The only people with incentive to build a third temple would be the Jews. They did not take control of Palestine until 1948 when the political state came into being. However, the Jews only controlled half of Jerusalem; it was not until the 1967 war that the Israelis finally exercised control over East Jerusalem.

It took thirteen years before the government of Israel declared Jerusalem as its capital in 1980. The United States moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018.

Since we don’t know when the third temple will be constructed, we can deduce that we are not yet in the End Times. Plus, when the temple is finally rebuilt, we don’t know exactly when the Antichrist will desecrate it and declare his godhood.

Jesus stated the Antichrist will reign for one hour. Revelation 17:11-12

It is obvious that this hour-long timeframe is not a literal hour. No one can establish world domination, let alone rule the earth during a single hour. There simply isn’t enough time. What is the explanation?

The apostle Peter provides the answer. He said that one day with the Lord is like a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. 2 Peter 3:8

Dividing 1,000 years by 24 hours gives us the following numbers:

• One hour with God is 41.67 years for man.
• One minute with God is 8 months and 8 days for man.
• One second with God is 3 days and 22 hours for man.

Let’s revisit the Son of God’s statement that the Antichrist is going to rule for one hour or 41.67 years. This is much more plausible because it gives the Man of Sin more than four decades to rule the earth. Compare this with Adolf Hitler’s relatively short time span in power. The Antichrist is going to have all the time he needs to accomplish the events listed in the Book of Revelation.

Jesus declared that heaven and earth would pass away in the future, but His words would remain forever. Matthew 24:35

This is a verification of what the God-man had already spoken. Matthew 5:17-19

The angels in heaven are ignorant of the day and hour Jesus is going to return a second time. Only God the Father knows the appointed time. Matthew 24:36

SUMMARY
This entire message is about the future return of Jesus. The God-man wanted the Jewish people to know He would return in the future as God. No more mister nice guy on the second return.

The apostles all believed this event would take place during their lifetime; however, it is some two-thousand years later since Jesus spoke these words.

Some of the predictions have been fulfilled, but we have no clue as to how many years are left before Jesus returns. In the meantime, we would do well to heed the God-man’s words. Luke 19:13