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This will be the last post in this series. It was never my intention to do a line by line analysis, but that’s very nearly what we’ve done thus far. My intention was to provide an overview and point to what we, as believers should expect and prepare for when this time arrives – and right up front, let me say that we’re not there yet; anyone who tells you different is selling something.
When we left off, we had just finished looking at the two witnesses and considering who they were from scripture. To recap, we identified Elijah as one of them with certainty, but identified three primary candidates for the other; Enoch, Moses and John the Apostle.
Picking up where we left off;
When they have completed their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war on them and conquer them and kill them. Their corpses will lie in the street of the great city that is symbolically called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was also crucified.
Revelation 11:7 – 8
Here we see a couple of important details; one being that upon the completion of their testimony, these witness appear to be overcome by the beast. They are killed and their bodies are left in the street for three days and this clearly transpires in Jerusalem.
Moreover, the wicked will celebrate their deaths, thinking that a victory has been won, but this false perception will be very short-lived.
For three and a half days those from every people, tribe, nation, and language will look at their corpses because they will not permit them to be placed in a tomb. And those who live on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate, even sending gifts to each other because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. But after three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and tremendous fear seized those who were watching them.
Revelation 11:9 – 11
The next recorded event is a precursor, a necessary preparation for the event that follows – the one we’ve all been waiting for…
Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them: “Come up here!” So the two prophets went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies stared at them. Just then a major earthquake took place and a tenth of the city collapsed; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
The second woe has come and gone; the third is coming quickly.
Revelation 11:12 – 14
The witnesses are removed and the ensuing earthquake, though disastrous, brings about a repentance among the citizens of Jerusalem (at the very least). This is all in perfect timing and rhythm as the narrative is about to shift significantly… and the whole of creation prepares to move from coronation, to direct administration – beginning with the outpouring of wrath.
Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying:
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.”
Then the twenty-four elders who are seated on their thrones before God threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and worshiped God 17 with these words:
“We give you thanks, Lord God, the All-Powerful, the one who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations were enraged, but your wrath has come, and the time has come for the dead to be judged, and the time has come to give to your servants, the prophets, their reward, as well as to the saints and to those who revere your name, both small and great, and the time has come to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was visible within his temple. And there were flashes of lightning, roaring, crashes of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
Revelation 11:15 – 19
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Last Trump.
Listen, I will tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
1 Corinthians 15:51 – 52
Now, I want to be crystal clear – I am not saying I know when this will transpire – I’m showing where it fits in the chronology of events. Scripture tells us that God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33) and that by studying His word, we can know the signs of the times (Luke 12:56). None of this is to say that I can know the specific day or hour at which this will happen, only that I can know when it is near…
As a side note, understanding that God is very intentional and His word entirely specific, I would point out that while we are told “But as for that day and hour no one knows it—not even the angels in heaven—except the Father alone.” (Matthew 24:36), we are not told that we cannot know the decade, year, season or even month. In fact, a study of the Mo’edim (appointed times) reveals a particular observance that would require a multiple-day observance… because no one can know the day or the hour.
Food for thought right?
I’m going to stop here because, quite frankly, a deeper study of this and the events which follow are the responsibility of us all as individual believers and moves beyond the scope of what I have been led to share. As a final thought before we close however, I want to address the frequently unspoken, but underlying question we all have when we study such events… “what should we do?”
The answer to this, in my opinion, is as simple as it is complicated.
I certainly have nothing against so-called “preppers”, but I suspect that what’s truly coming is so beyond our scope and capacity that I find the idea of hording rations and stockpiling ammunition to be a bit laughable – no offense.
In the end, the only thing of real value I think believers can do to prepare for and endure through these events is to trust God.
Israel did not stockpile rations before leaving Egypt as the leftovers from the last meal they ate in the land prior to leaving were burned up the same evening. They left their homes following God and He fed them, gave them water, and tended to their needs. The God I serve and follow has not (and does not) changed, nor has His arm grown short (Numbers 11:23).
Having said that, it is incumbent upon us all to recognize that we are not promised a free-ride through all of this – we are promised that we are not appointed to His wrath. The Apocalypse even goes on to clarify:
If anyone has an ear, he had better listen! If anyone is meant for captivity, into captivity he will go.
Revelation 13:9 – 10
If anyone is to be killed by the sword, then by the sword he must be killed. This requires steadfast endurance and faith from the saints.
I hope this series has been helpful – at the very least I hope that it has proven thought-provoking, whether or not you agree with any or all of the content herein.
Until next time,
שלום עליכם – Shalom Aleichem – Peace Be Upon You