Lets try putting what I had learnt into words
Before we can talk about anything, we must first settle the issue of who we think is Israel. Is it the literal Israel, the Jews? Or are we the New Israel? Different interpretations will give you different conclusions. Pastor Mark’s personal view is that it is the literal Israel, because it cannot be that God had forgotten Israel (hope I got this right).
Other than Revelations, we need to look at 2 other places in the Bible to learn about the end times. The first is Daniel. The second is Matthew 24.
In Matthew 24, we see that Christ talks about the coming of the anti Christ. Then, the moon will be darkened etc. However, this is slightly different from the picture in Revelation. In Revelation, in between this 2 things are the woes and 7 seals, and 7 trumpets, and 7 bowls.
The rough sequence is this: There will be 7 years of tribulation. In the first 3.5 years, the anti Christ will make a pact with Israel (however you interpret it), and things will seem fine. However, after the 3.5 years, he will break the agreement and all hell will break loose for the next 3.5 years. God’s wrath will be poured out on the earth. Then 75 Days (sorry, I didn’t catch what this was about), then the 1000 years of Christ’s rule, then Satan will be loosed, then the final judgment will come.
There are 3 different opinions on Christ’s 1000 years rule.
The first is the pre-millennial view. These people say that the time has not come. Christ will come at the end of the tribulations and rule for 1000 years.
The second is the post Millennial View. These people say that Christ will return at the end of the 1000 years. We are bringing in the Kingdom now by sharing the gospel etc.
The third is the amillennial view. These people spiritualized it, and say that Christ rules in us now. It is that which we are talking about when we say that Christ rules. Our Church’s stand is more on the pre-millennial view.
For the Post Millennial and ammillennial view, there are some believes. They believe that the tribulation is already over. That is, the persecution that the early church undergoes might be it. Another interpretation is the event that happened in 70AD. Apparently, there was this Roman King (Name starts with E) who totally defiled the temple. He came, took a pig and slaughtered it on the alter. So, some say that he is the anti Christ himself (that is, the beast).
Then, within the Pre-Millennial View, there are also differences in opinions.
Before this 1000 years there will be the 7 years of tribulation. Somewhere in these 7 years, there will be a rapture. Everyone agrees on that. What people don’t agree on is when the rapture will take place. There are 4 views on this.
The first is the Pre-Tribulation view. The Rapture will take place before the Tribulations (as portrayed by Left Behind, Tribulations, and the handout that James provided us). Before the 7 years, we will fly up to the sky to meet the Lord. Then everything will happen. Then we may be asked, how do we know this? 2 main reasons. Firstly, we, having been forgiven of our sins, cannot be suffering God’s wrath, and thus will not undergo tribulations. Secondly, they say that Rev 4:1-2, about John being taken up to heaven is symbolic of the rapture. Pastor Mark does not like this view that much, as it is quite a weak view/reasoning.
The second is the Mid Tribulation View. This means that the rapture will happen after the 3.5 years.
The third is the Post Tribulation View. This is the mainline Church view. Basically, we will be “kept from the hour” by God’s protection. Will go through all the tribulations though (sobs)
The fourth is a newer view. It says that the rapture will happen sometime in the later 3.5 years. First, there will be Satan’s wrath (that is, persecution). Then, there will be the rapture. Then, the wrath of God (bowls, angels, seals, trumpets) will be poured out. Pastor said that he personally felt the 3rd and 4th to be high possibilities.
Then we also see that the Wrath of God seem to have many things. Bowls, angels, seals, trumpets… Are they at the same time or one after another. It could be at the same time, and be descriptions of the same event in different views or greater detail. I am not too sure about the reasoning for this though.
The reason it is so hard to put an order is that Revelation is not so nicely ordered. We see that they first talk about the seals and trumpets. Then John jumps back to the Mother (representing Israel) and the Child (representing Christ). Then he goes back to the wrath of God. Furthermore, the word rapture or the event is not found in Revelation, and is only found in 2 other places in the Bible. So we don’t know when.
That’s as far as the end time goes. No doctrine can really prove the other wrong. But Revelation is more than that. It is written to tell us that it Will happen. How, when, we might not be so sure. But it will happen. We must be prepared for it.
Personal Notes:
Hope that this is an accurate representation of what Pastor Mark had said. Not totally complete, but I hope I got the main points.
To Sly-Vyn: Hope this helps. Hope it is understandable.
To everyone: Whee, I had fun. Hope you all had too. The Lord be with you.
I had looked through these passages and personally found it very difficult to identify which is the parallel time periods between Daniel and Revelation. Me want know. Matthew 24 also quite hard to piece together. But the important thing is to walk with God, and trust in Him, and to be prepared when he comes again.
