WHERE DOES ESCHATOLOGY BEGIN FOR US IN 2023+
ESCHATOLOGY 2023+ • Sermon • Submitted
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2023+
2023+
I’m Looking for a Verse in the bible that best explains, where we might be on the Eschatological scale of things?
I mean, the Seven Tribulation period spoken by the prophet Daniel 9:27 hasn’t begun, nor has the rapture happened.
That being said, I want to draw our attention to;
Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.
This is an excellent chapter to kick off 2023+
Paul writes, 1 Thess 5:1 there’s no need to write anymore about what will happen in our future-it’s all been said!
Verse 2, examines our heart, our faith, our belief system, do we believe what we read in the bible or not? As a believer, we know Jesus will come for us, before the Tribulation begins Rev 3:10
Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
as believers we know when this event, Christian call, the Rapture, will happen unsuspected, like a thief in the night! But, because we already know this, shouldn't we be extremely over joyed and wanting to share this with each other?
Furthermore, the Apostle Paul gave us a clear understanding in both 1 & 2 Thessalonians about us believers being caught up and meeting Jesus in the air----tell me, is that not the most indescribable thing to be looking forward too. 1 Thess 4:17
Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
Imagine, with me for a moment, your’re going about your business, then, all of a sudden, in a twinkling of the eye, 1 Cor 15:52 that’s faster then the speed of light, your in the air with hundreds of thousands of your brothers and sisters seeing Jesus for the first time in the air-Wow!
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
Tell me then, why are we not more excited in sharing this unbelievable, incredible good news toward each other?
I believe it’s because of the signs of the times. People will be so caught off guard that they won’t know what just hit them 1 Thess 5:3
While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.
Paul already explain in detail about a great falling away 2 Thess 2:3-4
Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
Also, Matt 24:10
At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.
Why and how, you might being saying to yourself, would people their whole life lived with a rebellious up bring background, believing doing good is the right thing to do. The Apostle John writes in Revelation 13:16-17
And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.
John writes just before this Rev 13:15 about how those who don’t take this Mark of the Beast, who won’t serve and worship the beast, Antichrist, Satan will in fact either be killed or just die a slow death from not being able to buy the necessaries that sustain life.
And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
It so clear, why Christians will find it harder and harder to speak the truth. That’s right, along with this amazing truth and events soon to happen, runs parallel with the apostasy rising up. people will start falling away from the faith, from goodness and sanity of mind. Things will become more and more evil, deeper into world wide craziness, madness, rioting, hating one another, down right unholiness, ungodliness, haters of Christians and lovers of sin. The God of the Bible and anyone who serves Him will be deemed bad, evil and Satan and anyone who serves him will be deemed good.
Up to now, One may say to themselves, “how the heck could things get so bad?”
The bible is clear about how, read Rom 1:18-32 we see how God has already known from the beginning of time, man is without excuse. Everyone is accountable for their actions and will one day be called for their actions-this is called, Judgement Day!
All people know He exists and will judge those who do evil, yet, here in Romans people choose sin over His Mercy and Gracious gift, Jesus dying on the cross for you and I.
Paul goes on to say, God has a remedy to those who will not repent and except what Jesus did on the Cross.
Here in Romans, Paul explains,about certain events yet to have happened. These events are going to be the very worst events that have ever happened since the creation, nor will ever be again. Matt 24:21-22
For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
Mark 13:19-20
But, this won’t make a dent in most people, you see, here in Rom 1:24
Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
Here, God lifts His protection and hands over those who refuse His Salvation plan over to their hearts desires. This, I believe strongly is exactly what we are seeing today!
Paul goes on to write a description of what this will look like as God lifts His Mighty hand from peoples lives who want nothing to do with His Salvation plan.
We read in Rom 1:26-32
For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
Did you ever think you would see the day, Men will think they are women and women will think they are men. Things will be so upside down, Men will believe they can become pregnant. Things will be so bad, being a Christian will be considered a hate crime for telling the truth about what God says in the Bible is true.
People, the Bible says, these world wide events today, this is just the beginning. The bible describes these events as increasing more and more, people going from bad to worst and the love of many will grow cold toward one another-like that before a women gives birth, she has increasing birth pains that worsen before the actual birth of that child takes place, see 1 Thess 5:3 and also in Matt 24:8 believe it or not the bible also says that unlike the joy of the mother after the birth takes place, the bible says
Paul also gives us some insight into Satan's evil deeds up to and into the seven Year Tribulation period. He says a few things that makes me think we must be very close in 2 Thess 2:3-12
Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
First off, Paul starts off in verse 1 & 2 in correcting the Thessalonians of an earlier teaching of his back in the 1 Thessalonians letter. They thought they miss the rapture, and Paul is correcting that here in 2 Thessalonian letter and goes on to explain in detail what needs to happen first, before the Rapture.
Paul in 2 Thess 2:3 seems to be warning us in 2 Thess 2:3 of the strong possibility of being deceived. This word deceived in the Greek (exapatao) =
ex-el-po-tel, this word carries the weight of not just being deceived, but also, seduced, cheated, deceived thoroughly!
scope of Eschatological time line.
This Chapter 1 Thess 5:1-11 puts us Christians in a natural spot as we wait for Jesus to meet us in the air
This Chapter finishes out 1 Thess 5:12-28 with Paul pretty much giving instructions in how to wait, while we wait for Jesus to take us home with Him-that’s called the,”Rapture” and no you won’t find it in the scriptures, but you will find lot’s of verse that confirms the rapture!
Example, 1 Thess 4:13-18
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
When I go to church or just be around other believers, this is what I expect our conversation should be about-in-encouraging each other about Jesus coming to meet us in the air and take us back to the kingdom.
Unfortunately, in most case’s the conversations rarely are about the rapture, in fact, most believers are afraid to encourage each other about the rapture, because of the social presser and lawlessness that is building more and more in society today.