THE COMING EVENTS
The Bible has several so-called dispensations, or as Paul wrote in Eph. 3:2 mentioning …the STEWARDSHIP OF GOD’S GRACE.
This stewardship or dispensation can also be understood as an ADMINISTRATION.
These Biblical dispensations each have its unique function and purpose. God is the same at all times, but He administers humankind’s salvation with slightly different means and methods, all according to the administration at hand.
Right now (2024) we still find ourselves in the dispensation of the grace of God, like I quoted from Eph. 3:2. It was introduced by Paul in 63-64 CE as he wrote the two epistles, Ephesians and Colossians, from his jail cell, Carcere Mamertino, Rome. This new introduction of a dispensation not earlier found with God, was given Paul through divine revelation (Eph. 3:3). Only Paul was entrusted with this ministry, and he directed his nine co-workers in Asia Minor in the years 63-67, as believed by most historians and scholars.
My headline above suggests COMING events, and not the past ones. The past we know as history.
But in this article I would like to touch into three coming Biblical events, which I believe to be of interest to us all.
The three are: The ‘Homecoming’ of the Church as we are taken into heaven, - the ‘Great Tribulation’ which will follow on earth (in Israel!) when God shall re-establish Israel to Himself as His nation on earth, and finally – the Second Advent of Jesus Christ as He comes from heaven to establish the long promised ‘Kingdom of God’ on earth, what we may call the Millennia (see Dan. 2:44; Luke 1:31-33; Rev. 19-20).
Rev. 20:4 gives us the fact that Christ establishes the Millennia as He resurrect the dead saints from the tribulation, NASB,
“Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”
THE FIRST EVENT OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS
Paul describes in Col. 3:1-4 how it is with the soon coming event of the Church going to heaven, NASB:
“1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
I emphasized verse 4, since here we find the ‘homecoming’ of the Church, as we shall depart for heaven!
This is not the same event as we find in 1 Thes. 4, often called for ‘the rapture’. The ‘rapture’ is concerning Jesus’ coming down from heaven, Greek: Parousia.
When Paul wrote Colossians, we CANNOT FIND PAROUSIA ANYWHERE; the Second Advent of Christ. This event has nothing to do with our dispensation, the ‘one new man’, which is called the Church, the Body of Christ, according to Paul’s Church Epistles.
The GLORY in verse 4, is of course not here on earth, but it is the GLORY of Christ up in the heavens. Paul called this for ‘Super-Heaven’ – Greek, epiouranos. The heaven up above the heavens.
This is where we are going, as the day arrives and God brings us by His super-natural divine power up to Himself, where Christ now is at His right hand. Paul did not describe any exact method by which God shall bring us up there, but we will be brought there by Him, the Father of Jesus Christ. And it seems that the Holy Spirit is engaged into that move of God.
Paul reminds us by Eph. 4:30, NASB,
“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
We already have been empowered (sealed) by the Holy Spirit of God, and so we have the ‘fuel’ inside of ourselves. Thus we are ready, by the Grace of God in Christ to lift off the minute this ‘Day of redemption’ arrives. In other words, do not worry…and do not feel uncertain about yourself whether you are ‘ready’ for such a glorious departure from this world. Eph. 4:30 is NOT pointing to our day of death, but to our day of triumph and joy, as we will meet Jesus Christ in person, in the same instance. As in verse 3 quoted above, we died and our lives are hidden with Christ in God.
It is my personal opinion that the day is coming pretty soon. You can check my special article on that topic, called “Can the Present Dispensation be Concluded Much Earlier than the Great Tribulation for Israel?”
THE SECOND EVENT OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS
After the Church has been taken up into heaven and forever will be there, in the sense – it will remain our eternal home and estate, even mansion. We are heirs of Christ by faith in Him, and He shares His heavenly riches and glory with us accordingly.
Eph. 1:13, 14, NASB,
“13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation -having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.”
As we, the Body of Christ, the ‘One new Man’ enjoys our glorious heaven with Christ up above, as His flock of heavenly saints – having heavenly new/restored eternal bodies, that Biblical event ushers in the so-called ‘Great Tribulation’ which will be falling on Israel. In Jer. 30:7 it is called for …the time of Jacob’s trouble in many translations.
When millions of Christian believers suddenly disappear from earth, to be appearing up above with Christ, the disturbance caused will have the world shaken and wondering what this is. It will not go unnoticed, I promise!
In NASB it says,
“Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of Jacob's distress, But he will be saved from it.”
The words ...and there is none like it… have same meaning as the words of Jesus in Mat. 24:21,
"For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever * will.”
A period of time (7 years according to Daniel’s prophecy) which has not happened to Israel earlier, and which shall not happen to them again. This great tribulation will not come on the world as such, but will fall upon Israel for her persistent rejection of Christ and also for having blasphemed His holy name in the centuries past, as they have lived among us Gentile nations, Ezekiel 36:22, 23, NASB,
22 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where * you went.
23 "I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD," declares the Lord GOD, "when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight.”
The most nations in the world will be taken with fear and awe, as they will understand (v. 23) that the actions taken by casting such tribulation on Israel, must come from God Almighty!
Christ will thus restore His great name in the minds of the nations, which have had the displeasure of hearing the Jews among them curse and blaspheme the NAME of Jesus Christ. The NATIONS WILL KNOW THAT HE IS THE LORD, as they see those terrible fearsome disasters hitting the land of Israel in those 7 years.
This, of course, means that TV-media will be ‘all over the place’ – reporting what is happening. I cannot foresee that TV-media and newspapers may be kept away from what is happening. Israel’s horrible tribulation, described in details in Rev. 6 and on (the seven seals, seven trumpets and seven bowls of wrath) – showing huge asteroids falling on them, huge hailstones, meteors of poisons, water turned into blood, and other scaring signs and punishment from God.
The entire world will know that there is no ‘Grace Gospel’ found in what is happening. The Church is gone, and God has sent His judgement-prophets (Rev. 11) to administer the tribulation on Israel. Like Moses in Egypt, the two shall warn Israel for what will come upon them, sign-by-sign, so they can seek shelter before it hits. Moses gave Egypt 24 hours to take cover in his day. Personally I am convinced, for many reasons, that these two prophets are Moses and Elijah. You can find separate articles, even a book telling of this in my website.
Jesus spoke of this so we can understand that Israel’s inhabitants will know what sign/punishment will be hitting the next day, Luke 21:25, 26, NASB,
25 "There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,
26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”
I emphasized in verse 26, that which proves that the two witnesses/prophets in Rev. 11 are going to warn off the inhabitants for each prophecy they deliver regarding punishments and signs.
People WILL BE FAINTING FOR FEAR OF WHAT IS COMING UPON THEM, Jesus said. This is because the people in Israel have been warned the day before it hits! They are filled with panic and fear…and all hell is loose!
Rev. 11:3, NASB, tells that they shall PROPHESY for 1260 days (3 ½ Jewish calendar years). Prophesy what? That which Jesus told the Jews in Luke 21:25, 26.
"And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve * hundred * and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."
THE THIRD EVENT OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS
In the days of Jesus ministering in Israel He came as the suffering and rejected Lamb of God, like we learn from Is. 53. He took the sins of Israel’s children upon Him and died for them. He was the right Messiah sent by God, but Jewry was blinded and could not understand that this lowly figure and humble suffering man ALSO was the one Daniel had seen in his visions, one looking like a son of man coming in the clouds… Dan. 7:13, 14, NASB,
13 "I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him.
14 "And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.”
It is Jesus, the Son of Man, He who Daniel saw in nightly visions as quoted, Who will come down from heaven in great might and power like seen in Rev. 19:11-16, NASB,
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.
13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.
15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine * press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.
16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."
Thus we find that a new administration or dispensation is established: The Millennial Reign of Christ on earth. It shall last for 1000 years it says in Rev. 20:4.
When Jesus is back and He rules as the Messiah King in Israel, Isaiah 2 let us learn that the Lord establishes a new Law for this period of time. Not a re-opening of the Law of Moses.
NASB:
“1 The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it.
3 And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.”
As we now have learned it is obvious that we, the Church of the ‘One new Man’ as seen in Eph. 2:13-16, in no way can be participating the Millennial Kingdom on earth in the time seen above.
Our home will forever be up in the eternal glorious heavens. It may be – my private guess work – that God finds it convenient to send us down to earth for a task, but there is no such Bible word found. Never the less, we have our place and our home up in the heavens, visits to the earth or not.
This is so certain that Paul actually PLACED US IN HEAVEN as a true ‘metaphor’ – as he wrote – Eph. 2:4-7, NASB,
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved ),
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
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