The End Of The Age... The Judgment of God Part I... The 'Day of the Lord'
God's kingdom will be preceded by a devastating period of time such a man has never before seen. There is a day looming on the horizon when mankind's iniquity will reach the brim at which point in time He will say, "enough!" and pour out His wrath, or retributive justice, on the earth, bringing punishment to the transgressors, and an end to the injustice and suffering in this world.
Part II... The First Six Seals
Many believe that the Seven Seals describe an escalating series of plagues that God will pour out on this earth in retributive justice, but that He will 'rapture' us out of here before the trouble really starts. I am afraid that is nothing but wishful thinking. If one avoids a superficial reading of Matthew 24, then compares what Jesus said in that chapter with the Seals of Revelation 6, it becomes quite clear that the Seals represent the persecution of Christians.
Part III... The Seventh Seal and First Six Trumpets
Both Jesus and Paul imply that world conditions will not necessarily allow people to suspect the approach of Armageddon. The "day of the Lord" is described as coming suddenly catching the non believer unawares. One often hears of the media describing one of nature's calamities as being "of Biblical proportions". This extreme language makes one wonder how they would describe the true plagues that God will send on the earth, which will indeed be "of Biblical proportions". Jesus described this time as one of Great Tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, and never will be again. He then goes on to say "... if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved". The first six of these plagues are each heralded by an angel blowing a Trumpet.
Part IV... That Earth Shaking Seventh Trumpet
In a sense the Seventh Trumpet will be the most eventful of all them all literally ushering the old age out and the new one in. In summary, this last and final Trumpet... a) Brings and end to the mystery of God, when the doors to the Kingdom close forever with no possibility of redemption for any that have not yet become a disciple of the Lamb. b) Marks the point when believers are caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (the rapture) and c) Introduces the Seven Bowls that end all things. Note: the "sons of the kingdom" as they are called are physically moved off the earth for a very specific reason.
Part V... The ‘Rapture’
This page has been confined to the reasons the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is a figment of the imagination. (The article above shows that this meeting the Lord in the air, happens at the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet, and why Jesus takes His followers off the earth).
Part VI... The Seven Bowls
God publicly reclaims His rightful rule over the earth as He makes an end of all things in the Seven Bowls, and Jesus returns to earth to establish His kingdom. Also See The Message of The Bible
All too many people, picking out a random phrase or two, think 'love' was Jesus' core message. Unfortunately, they are terribly wrong... Jesus never stopped talking about the "kingdom of God", which phrase is used over 50 times in the four Gospels alone. He even said that the proclamation of the Kingdom was the reason He was sent to earth (Luke 4:43). But what and where is this kingdom? Here is what is really paradoxical ... the Bible's description of this kingdom of God, also called heaven is no pie in the sky ethereal place 'somewhere out there', but matches, in every respect, the world most men and women would choose to live in. a place of peace and safety, where there is no crime, hunger and disease, war and above all... no death. Far from being outdated, out of touch, and largely irrelevant to modern society, Christianity promises exactly the utopian world most men and women can only dream of. The Warning of The Bible
The message of the Bible is, initially, unbelievably good... we can all live in a perfect world here on earth, in bodies that will neither age nor deteriorate. In fact, the heart of Jesus' preaching was the good news that the kingdom of God was on its way, and that we could be part of it. However, it then throws a spanner in the works by saying that sinful people cannot get there. After which it hits rock bottom when it tells us that no matter how well we live, we cannot live up to God's standard of holiness (no sin period), and we are all sinners who are under the death penalty... God's decreed punishment for any sin. Luckily God's mercy and love changes this hopeless situation.
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