davidbowerkingwood

The Tribulation

Although the Rapture of the Church is not the catalyst that starts the Tribulation, it is likely the Tribulation will start within a few years of the Rapture. The second half of the Tribulation will get very bad as God’s judgments rain down on an angry and rebellious world. The Lord points out in Matthew 24:21-22, ” ²¹ For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.²² And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”

The Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ brings the Tribulation to a dramatic close. In Revelation 19:11-21 it is written:

Christ on a White Horse

¹¹ Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. ¹³ He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies in heaven, clothed in ^[f]fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. ¹⁵ Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶ And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.

The Beast and His Armies Defeated

¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, ¹⁸ that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.”

¹⁹ And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. ²⁰ Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. ²¹ And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.

Unlike the Genesis flood where only 8 were saved, at the end of the Tribulation there will be thousands of believers who will have survived to begin life again during the Millennial reign of Christ.

The Millennium

Although there will be something of a cease fire in the spiritual war it is not really over yet. For the moment, sin will have been dealt a devastating blow, but it is not finally disposed of.

The Millennial reign of Christ will initially be populated by four groups: mortal believers who have survived the Tribulation, the Church who returned with Christ at the Second Advent, the Old Testament saints and the angels of God.

Unbelievers who survive the Tribulation will be cast into the Lake of Fire along with the beast and the false prophet to await the arrival of those who are condemned to go there at the Great White Throne judgment. ⁴¹ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, Matthew 25:41

Environmental Perfection

In a way this will be a second chance at perfect environment on earth with only one flaw, the presence of the fallen sin nature in the mortal believers who survived the Tribulation and those who will be born to them during these 1,000 years. The descendants of those believers who survived the Tribulation will still be born with the fallen nature inherited from Adam. It seems that perfect environment is still not the answer to man’s sin problem, it didn’t work in the Garden of Eden and it’s not going to work during the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ either.

Over the years, as children are born, some of those children will receive Christ as Savior but others do not. The Bible reveals that Satan, who had been confined, would be freed to exert his influence on mankind at the end of the Millennium with predictable results as described in Revelation 20:7-10, “⁷ Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸ and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. ⁹ They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. ¹⁰ The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

The Great White Throne Judgment

By this time, the earth and the entire universe that we have always known will have been destroyed (or purified, Romans 8:18-22) by fire. The great white throne judgment will finally bring the spiritual war to an end. This fearful event is described in Revelation 20:14-15, ” ¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. ¹⁵ And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” The spiritual war is now over.

Victory and Celebration!

There are some scenes in the “Star Wars” movies that bring tears to my eyes, the scenes of celebration when victory over the forces of evil bring joy and celebration. These scenes bring vividly to my mind the coming celebration when the Lord Jesus Christ shall defeat the forces of Satan and evil and the spiritual war that has been raging for thousands of years will finally be won with Satan’s resounding defeat.

The thought of that precious moment brings tears of joy and happiness to my eyes as I envision the wonderful change that will have been put in place by our great Lord and God, Jesus Christ! That time will come, it is absolutely certain and I look forward to it with all my being! There will be no ghostly figures observing from the sidelines; all, whose names have been written in the Book of Life, will have heavenly bodies and join in the celebration!

Finally, the creation that God wanted for us all along is fully realized; a place of unimaginable beauty and great joy. “³ And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

⁵ Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” Revelation 21:3-5

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!