Some interpret my position in believing in the nearness of the start of Daniel's 70th Week, the beginning of the Tribulation (or those first 3.5 years of the final 7), to suggest that I'm simply ignoring all kinds of other events recorded in end times prophecy, or, to put it another way, they feel I am being misleading by not presenting the research in a more sober fashion since they believe we're not as close as I seem to think we are.
So, with that in mind, I would like to to seriously ask: "HOW CLOSE ARE WE? HOW CLOSE ARE WE -- REALLY?" There are a couple of ways we can approach this I think.
HOW CLOSE ARE WE? NO, REALLY?
I was asked a similar question recently as it pertains to 2012, or this year which seems to have created a heightened sense of awareness amongst believers and non-believers alike.
I would just like to preface all of my answers here today by simply referencing J.C. Ryle's views on the study of prophecy, which I share...
"One thing only I wish to premise before making my statement. The reader must distinctly understand that I do not put forth my prophetical views as articles of faith but only as my private opinions. I do not say that nobody can be saved who does not agree with me about prophecy. I am not infallible. I am very sensible that holier and better men than myself do not see these subjects with my eyes and think me utterly mistaken. I condemn nobody; I judge nobody. I only ask liberty to hold and state distinctly my own views. The day will decide who is right. It is the new heart and faith in Christ's blood which are absolutely necessary to salvation. The man who knows these two things experimentally may be wrong about prophecy, but he will not miss heaven."
Well, we made it to 2012, didn't we?
If any of you are like me, then you're probably shocked that we made it this far past the 2008 US Presidential Election without a 9/11 type of event. Still, that doesn't mean that we haven't moved closer to the fulfillment of the Bible's end times prophecies.
When I think about 2012 and all that could happen this year, I just keep thinking that this has to be it, it has to be the year, doesn't it? Yes, the Lord is sovereign, nothing happens outside of His control, and nothing our common enemy does takes Him by surprise -- ever.
Even so, I always think that out of all the years since 2008, a year when we seemed to 'turn the corner' prophetically speaking, 2012 is the one that Satan and his loyal subjects have been waiting for all along. I just can't see them letting 2012 pass without making some kind of move to deceive and/or destroy millions particularly when so many within the non-believing world are already expecting it to happen.
I hate to use the phrase 'self-fulfilling prophecy' because that's anti-Biblical, but I think you understand what I'm trying to say. God already knows how this is all going to play out. Will He allow Satan and his minions to succeed for a season? Will He allow them to appear to 'win' this battle even though we know He's already won the war? Time will tell.
All I know is that with each day that passes, we're all one step closer to the 'beginning of the end', the start of Daniel's 70th Week, the opening of the Tribulation that will eventually lead to the Great Tribulation.
Whatever does or doesn't happen, fight any fear with faith, and remain secure in your faith because you're secure in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For those non-believers or skeptics who are reading this, might heart breaks for you. I have a heavy heart over the thought that you might go through hell on earth without Jesus Christ.
Truth is, there is an end worse than that because any one of us could die tonight in a moment completely unrelated to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy, and if we die in our sins, never having fully understood that we are sinners, enemies of God, in need of repentance, and forgiveness, and mercy, and salvation, and reconciliation through faith in Jesus, then we will face judgment for that, which includes eternity in Hell as punishment for those unrepentant sins.
My dear friends, in this late and urgent hour of humanity it's likely that we could wake up tomorrow to an entirely different world. And then what? My dear friends, with life being so fleeting and precious it's likely that we could not wake up tomorrow at all.
Do you know what will happen to you when you die and this life ends? Prophecy assures us of the future that's coming -- a future that includes all of us one way or another -- and the only question is not whether we were 'right' or 'wrong' in our understanding of the Rapture, the timing of the Tribulation, the identity of the Antichrist, or the identity of the Mark of the Beast.
No, the only question is whether or not you repented of your sins and placed your faith in Jesus Christ when you were a sinner and heard the Gospel message presented to you.
So, my thoughts about 2012, or my thoughts in response to the question "How close are we?", is that Satan will ramp up his attacks and continue to do more of the same. My prayer is that 2012 will see lost souls get genuinely saved before it's too late.
WATCHING AND PRAYING: OR THE DOCTRINE OF IMMINENCY
I think this is the next best place to continue today's commentary.
Why are people (many of them Christians) so quick to attack anyone (yes, even fellow brothers and sisters in Christ) who espouses a "look up for your redemption draws near" attitude in life. I mean, after all, isn't that precisely what the Word tells us about how we're supposed to be living each day?
Why are Christians apathetic concerning the return of Jesus Christ? For all we know, Jesus could be coming back this year, this month, this week, or even later today!
Dr. David Reagan and Nathan Jones teamed up to produce a similar commentary for their Lamb ">
Apathy Over the Lord's Return
Dr. Reagan: An attitude that seems to dominate the Church today regarding the Lord's return is namely apathy. Why is there so much apathy about the Lord's return when the signs of the times are literally screaming from the heavens that Jesus is about to return?
Dennis Pollock: The Bible says, "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." So, if you don't have faith, you may wish you had some faith, but you've got to do more than just wish for some faith. You've got to get into the Word and that faith will grow. That faith will come.
Attraction to anything comes by exposure. The more you are exposed to something the more you become attracted. For example, we've all had songs we first heard and didn't think too much of them, but when we kept on hearing them the more we began to enjoy them, and they may even have become our favorite songs, and all because we'd been exposed to them.
Another example, when I was 19 I decided I was going to enter the world of adults and become a coffee drinker. It just seemed so cool to drink coffee. But, I hated the taste of coffee. I remember being at a friend's house and his dad asked me if I wanted coffee and so all cool I answered, "Yeah, I'd like some coffee." I was thinking I was a big old adult guy now. And so, he gave me this coffee and I took a sip, and instead of being cool my entire goal for that cup of coffee was to drink it without grimacing and making a terrible face! Over time, the more I became exposed to coffee the more I began to like it. And, guess what? Now I can drink a cup of coffee and smile and enjoy it. It goes great with a lot of foods that I enjoy.
We can pretty well agree then that as you become more exposed to anything you become more attracted to it, or at least desensitized to it, if it doesn't have any attractiveness to it at all.
The same continued exposure to the truth of the news that Jesus Christ will return will attract us more to that fact. If you've never thought about it much, and if it's never preached on, if you never read about it, and if you never watch TV programs that are dedicated to that concept, then of course you have no excitement about the return of Christ. You just never will.
It's not enough just to say, "I just don't think much about Jesus' return. I just never have felt much excitement. I guess if the Lord really wants me to get excited He'll just explode it into my heart." No! Get into the Word. Get a red pen and start marking the Scriptures that deal with the return of Christ. Watch programs like Christ in Prophecy. Get a good Bible or Christian books about the return of Christ and read them. Faith and excitement and attraction will then come to you as well. So, that's the primary way to get over the apathy, and that being just to start exposing yourself to this incredible doctrine that saturates the Scriptures - the return of Christ.
Nathan Jones: I believe there are two groups of people. The first group of people are the ones who have been waiting for so long that they've lost their excitement and have given up. They are like a friend of mine who a few years back said she was really excited about Bible prophecy when Hal Lindsey came out with Late Great Planet Earth, but then thirty-some or forty years later, the Lord still hasn't come back. All that excitement, where did it go? After all, Paul was talking about the Rapture 2,000 years ago and it still hasn't happened. We know that these past years in God's perspective is a short time, but for us it's been an eternity, and so we can finally just give up.
The second group can be found in 2 Peter 3, and they are the one's who think the idea of the Rapture is just absurd. We can find them where it says, "First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, 'Where is this coming He promised? Ever since our fathers died everything goes on as since the beginning of creation.'"
The 2 Peter 3:9 text gives us the response to both of these groups when it says, "The Lord is not slow in keeping His promises as some understand slowness. He is patient with you not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come into repentance." Jesus is waiting so you and me and all the people who will become saved can be part of the Bride of Christ, which is the Universal Church. Just think that if the Lord came 100 years ago you and me wouldn't even exist, so praise the Lord He is patient and waiting!
When it comes to 'waiting' the expectations for believers is simple.
Continue to be excited and joyous over what you know to be true, and continue being dedicated to the Lord, remaining obedient to Him, and preaching the Gospel while you still can.
For non-believers, there's only one thing for you to do and that's to repent for your sins and become born again before it's too late because when Christ comes He's coming for people who are exclusively His.
In God's eyes there are only two kinds of people in this world...
1. those who belong to Jesus Christ
2. those who don't belong to Jesus Christ
There is no 'Partial Rapture' either, which says that if you reach a certain level of holiness then you can be part of the Rapture. Christ is coming for all of His people, and leaving behind all those who are not, and subjecting them to His judgment.
WHAT HAPPENS BEFORE THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE?
Invariably, I think the 'Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'-- the 'Apocalypse' being the Greek name for the Book of Revelation -- always comes up whenever one tries to answer the question we opened this piece with today. It goes without saying that they have intrigued Bible readers for centuries. What do they represent? Well, the implications for mankind are staggering.
In Revelation 6, Jesus Christ uses Four Horsemen to represent the first Four of Seven Seals He opens from the scroll in His hand. These Four Horsemen of the first Four Seals represent His righteous judgment upon a world that has rejected Him. These images have intrigued generations of Bible scholars and students. Thundering across the prophetic landscape, these dramatic images cast a pall of terror on the world. You might also want to study the Book of Zechariah for some interesting parallels too.
More importantly, they signal the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week (or the final 7 years) and the start of the Tribulation (the first 3.5 years of the final 7 years). Yes, I boldly state that I firmly believe that we are sitting on the very cusp of the Tribulation, which could begin any day now.
If that's true, then I need to also point out that we should expect to see some other things first. Personally, I believe that the Psalm 83 War will take place and then immediately following (perhaps before the world has a chance to catch its breath in the aftermath of the first war in the Middle East) we'll see the fulfillment of the Gog-Magog prophecy found in Ezekiel 38-39.
Now, where the prophesied destruction of Damascus, Syria fits in is not exactly clear, but I would speculate that it COULD BE somehow connected to the fulfillment of these two prophecies.
Any sober-minded man or woman who has the ability to digest the news headlines of today should be able to see that the fulfillment of these ancient Bible prophecies could actually happen tomorrow.
I mean, for crying out loud, many of the items found in the news right now involve the very places that are central to the fulfillment of end times Bible prophecy.
Shouldn't that tell you something about where we are on God's prophetic timeline? I believe that it most certainly does. Keep looking up!
A KEY POINT ABOUT THE FOUR HORSEMEN...
I just discovered something today that I never picked up on before! It's nothing earth-shattering, but in all my excitement I wanted to share it with the rest of you.
To understand the Seals in Revelation 6, we first need to examine Revelation 5. John is experiencing a vision of the throne of God when he sees "in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals" (Revelation 5:1).
No one in Heaven or on Earth is able or worthy to open the scroll and reveal its contents. John bemoans the absence of anyone capable of opening the scrolls, but a voice from one of the elders around the throne says: "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals" (verse 5).
What John saw next was the sight of the glorified Jesus Christ in the commanding position to receive and dispense the full power of God. "And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne...stood a Lamb as though it had been slain...Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne" (verses 6-7).
Such is the scene that stands as a prelude to the opening of the Seals. The fate of mankind rests in God's hands, and His patience is at an end. Christ alone is pronounced worthy to open the Seals that announce God's judgments on the nations. The destiny of humanity is not a matter of chance or whim, but has been spelled out in the Seals that He opens.
When the Seals open before John, he sees the first Four uniquely pictured. Four ominous Horsemen arise in an eerie sequence. To better understand what these Horsemen represent, let's look at another key prophecy Jesus Christ gave during His ministry.
Jesus' disciples were visiting Jerusalem with Him. After admiring the temple's buildings, they crossed the Kidron Valley, climbed the Mount of Olives, and paused to ask Christ for signs of His coming and the end of the age (Matthew 24:1-3).
Jesus gave 4 signs that correspond with the first Four Seals of Revelation 6: "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places. All these are the beginning of sorrows" Matthew 24:4-8 (emphasis added).
Here Jesus reveals an overview of trends and conditions from the first century until the end of the age. Take note of the four significant developments He foretold: Religious deception, war, famine, and disease.
I never realized it until just now, but the order he gives DIRECTLY CORRESPONDS to the order of the release of the Four Horsemen during the opening of the first Four Seals!
First Horseman - White Horse - First Seal = False Peace/False Religion
Second Horseman - Red Horse - Second Seal = War! War! War!
Third Horseman - Black Horse - Third Seal = Famine
Fourth Horseman - Pale Horse - Fourth Seal = Disease
