[Front Book
Cover]
THE PANDEMIC, BIRTH PAINS, AND THE
END OF THE AGE
BY
THOMAS FINLEY
-------
[Back Book
Cover]
The current coronavirus pandemic would be termed a “pestilence” (or “plague”) in most English
Bible versions. Significantly, Jesus uses the term pestilence in His
description of end-times “birth pains” recorded
in what is termed the “Olivet discourse” in Matthew 24 and Luke 21.
The word shows up in Luke 21: 11 and the KJV also shows
it in Matthew 24: 7.
Most modern translations do not show it in Matthew due to ancient manuscript
preferences.
However, since Luke 21: 11 is a parallel verse, there is no doubt that
pestilences are part of the end-time birth pains preached by Jesus in the last week
of His ministry before His crucifixion. Since pestilences
were used many times by God as judgments in the Old Testament, we can certainly see a possible
connection between the current pestilence as a judgment, and the coming period
of end-time judgments noted by Jesus in His prophecies of the end-time.
In this booklet, we will see how Jesus ties pestilences together with other
events in the “birth pains” as indicators that
this age is at its consummation.
-------
The Pandemic, Birth Pains,
and the End of the Age
THOMAS W. FINLEY
-------
Scripture quotations (unless
otherwise noted) are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News
Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The New American Standard Bible
is marked “NASB.” Scripture quotations taken from the New
American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,
1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.
Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
The King
James Bible is marked “KJV.”
Permission is granted to
translate, quote, copy, reprint or distribute material in this booklet (in
whole or in part), but such material may not be sold for profit without the
express permission of the author. Free distribution is encouraged. Proper
credit should be given as respects title and author.
This booklet may
be viewed or downloaded at www.seekersofchrist.org. It may be purchased in paperback form at www.amazon.com.
* *
*
Contents
The
Biblical connection between the coronavirus,
birth pains, and the end of the age [Page 1]
Is God
behind the coronavirus pandemic? [Page 2]
What are
God’s purposes in the pandemic? [Page 6]
Is this
pandemic one of the birth pains of the
end of the age? [Page 12]
What
should the Christian’s response be? [Page 20]
Seriousness
needed concerning the Judgment
Seat of
Christ [Page 20]
Arm
yourselves with a mind to suffer [Page 29]
A plea
for humility and tolerance [Page 30]
Eagerly
await His coming / Watch and pray /
Be ready
[Page 34]
The “signs of the time” [Page 36]
About
the author [Page 40]
* * *
[Page 1]
The Pandemic, Birth Pains,
and the End of the Age
The
Biblical connection between the
coronavirus,
birth pains, and the end of the age
The current coronavirus
pandemic would be termed a “pestilence” (or “plague”) in most English Bible versions.
Significantly, Jesus uses the term pestilence in His description of end-times “birth pains” recorded in what is termed the “Olivet discourse” in Matthew
24 and Luke 21. The word shows up in Luke 21: 11 and
the KJV also shows it in Matthew
24: 7. Most modern translations do not
show it in Matthew due to ancient manuscript preferences. However, since Luke 21: 11 is
a parallel verse, there is no doubt that pestilences are part of the end-time
birth pains preached by Jesus in the last week of His ministry before His
crucifixion. Since pestilences
were used many times by God as judgments in the Old Testament (OT), we can certainly see a possible connection
between the current pestilence as a judgment, and the coming period of end-time judgments noted by Jesus in His
prophecies of the end-time. In this booklet, we will see how Jesus ties
pestilences together with other events in the “birth
pains” as indicators that this age is at its consummation.
We should note that in the Bible
God’s harsh dealings with men can be of a remedial nature, designed to turn men or
societies to God in repentance, leading to a harmonious relationship with God.
God used many judgments in the OT in order to bring His chosen people
Is God behind the coronavirus
pandemic?
Many people are reluctant
to attribute the current deadly pandemic of 2020 as an action from the hand of
God. After all, would God be behind such awful suffering coming upon the people
of this world? Erwin Lutzer, the well-known and
respected pastor of
* Erwin Lutzer,
“God and Natural Disasters.” (This author’s
website has posted Lutzer’s article with Moody
Media’s permission.)
Some may say that natural
disasters and calamities are simply the product of the natural forces of
nature. [Page 3] That
is, earthquakes are simply the result of tectonic plates under stress, or that
epidemics are simply the result of nature’s biological accidents or mutations.
Some agree that God created all things, but they see the created world (now
fallen) as just a mechanism put in place by God that runs on its natural laws, including
both normal and abnormal occurrences (calamities). Such explanations do not do
justice to the picture of God’s sovereignty revealed in the Bible. He is the
God who controls the wind (Ps. 147: 18; Lk. 8: 25), the
lightning (Job 36: 32),
insects (Ex. 8:
16-19; 2
Chron. 7: 13),
earthquakes (Is. 29:
6; Mat. 27: 54; 28: 2) and
pestilences (2 Chron. 7: 13). In
summary, God rules over all the earth and is the One “who
works all things after His will” (Eph.
1: 11).
Such a picture of God’s absolute
rule over the earth is also presented in John Piper’s
book, “Coronavirus and Christ.”* Similarly to Lutzer, Piper gives
us a Biblical picture of God that displays both His goodness and His
righteousness. He warns against any erroneous conclusion about
God that He is unrighteous because He has willed the coronavirus upon the world
in this hour. The Bible clearly teaches that God is righteous in His
works and is pure and flawless in His holiness. Piper says that this is not a
time for sentimental views of God. Such views would wrongly hold that God only
exists to “bless us” and do good things for us.
No, the God of the Bible is not only
merciful and gracious but He is also wrathful against sin. Wrath is God’s
constant attitude against sin due to His holiness, but at times He displays His wrath in specific actions against men - [i.e., against the regenerate and unregenerate alike (See Num.
14: 28-30; Num. 16: 1- 24, 35-45, 49-50. Cf. 1 Cor. 10: 1-12;
* John
Piper, Coronavirus and Christ (
In the OT
we see God using pestilences many times. He told His people Israel that
pestilence would be one of the curses He would place upon the Israelites if [Page 4] they
were disobedient to Him (Deut. 28: 20-22, 58-61).* When the Israelites began to
intermingle with the Moabites, worshipping their gods and engaging in sexual
immorality with their women, God was angry and sent a plague among them. The
plague was only stopped after Phinehas took a spear
and killed an unfaithful Israelite who was with a Midianite woman, likely a
cult prostitute. This plague of God’s anger killed 24,000 Israelites. The
prophet Ezekiel prophesied that the
Babylonian siege of
[* NOTE: (1) “Natural and
national calamities may be judgments on a wicked nation or an unfaithful [and apostate] church (Deuteronomy 28). (2) Credulity and being deceived is also a
form of judgment (2 Thessalonians 2: 10-11) and even (“if it were possible”) the righteous may become prey to it (Matthew 24: 24). (3) It is not unreasonable to imagine that the nations of the world could be deceived (Revelation 20: 3, 8, John 8: 44). (4) It is a characteristic of rulers that they will
conspire to cast off divine restraint (Psalm
2: 2, 3). (5) God’s judgments may
lead men to think and do what is unnatural, and to be “without understanding” (Romans 1: 18-32). (6) The Bible
suggests that the way to deal with
serious infections is by quaranting those that are sick, and not by quaranting the healthy
(Leviticus chapters 13 & 14). Separation from the healthy is commanded only on the basis of ceremonial uncleanness, or moral
delinquency. (7) There are many [scriptural and divine] duties that may not be
set aside indefinitely as being non-essential (Hebrews 10:
25, 1 Corinthians 11: 24, 25, 2 Corinthians 13: 12, James 1: 27, James 5: 14, 1 Timothy 5: 8, etc.” (Some Thoughts About The “COVID-19 Crisis, pp. 24&25.)]
The OT also shows God sending pestilence
upon various other nations besides
* Dr. Merrill Unger
explains that
The book of Ezekiel records that
God has four especially disastrous means of judgment He used in the OT: “For thus says the Lord GOD: How
much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment,
sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence,
to cut off from it man and beast!” (Ezek. 14: 21). These [Page5] same four means of judgments appear again in seals two, three,
and four, as the red, black, and pale horses of judgment are summoned (Rev. 6:-8). Revelation 6:
8 reads: “And I looked, and behold,
a pale horse! And its rider’s name
was Death, and Hades*followed
him. And they were given authority over a fourth of
the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts
of the earth.”
[* That is, The Intermediate Place and State of the disembodied
souls of the Dead (in “Sheol,” = Gk. “Hades” (in “the heart of the
earth” Matt. 12:
40. Cf. 16:
18, R.V.) - is what ‘followed’ the ‘rider’s name’! See Luke 16: 23, 29-31; Acts 2: 27, 31-35; and
compare Gen. 37:
35b.
This is a ‘First-Mentioned
Bible Principle,’ which is taught throughout Old and New Testament
Scriptures! See also Gen. 12: 7; 13: 14, 17, Gen. 17: 8 and
compare with Acts 7: 5 ff., John 20: 17; 2 Tim. 2: 16-18; John 14: 3, R.V.]
The current pestilence (pandemic)
has not fully played out yet.* It will not likely exceed the number
of deaths of the Spanish Flu. The Spanish Flu (1918-1919) killed an estimated
40-50 million people. Some other great natural disasters of the last few
centuries (such as some earthquakes and floods) also killed a great number of
people. However, the death count is not
the only factor to be considered in this calamity.
It seems probable, as noted by some experts, that the economic fallout will be
very great. The societies of the world have been brought to a halt as respects
normal operation, whole economic sectors are being
dramatically affected, and bankruptcies are multiplying. Many workers,
including day workers on the margins of society in third world countries, have
stopped working, and some counties’ efforts to keep their economies on pace are
causing an unprecedented, rapid rise in already unsustainable debt burdens.
[* Notes: “It is difficult to comprehend what could be motivating world
governments to follow a path so irrational and destructive.
(1) Perhaps it is ignorance and incompetence. Perhaps
initial fear caused precipitate reactions that have been
carried forward by their own momentum, a kind of mass hysteria, in which
everyone is acting in good faith, but are nonetheless terribly wrong.
Perhaps politicians have taken a course that cannot be
reversed without admitting to serious errors, and so the present
policies must be perpetuated until plausible grounds can be found to escape
from them.
(2) Perhaps some people
with global influence have been waiting for an opportunity to pursue certain
agendas and it is convenient for the present conditions to continue until their
goals are fulfilled. This may sound like a conspiracy
theory, but it is more than a theory. The World
Economic Forum (led by Klaus Schwab,
vocally supported by many world leaders and influencers) explicitly advocates
using the pandemic to restructure global societies in fundamental ways to
address inequality and climate change. They have called the change they
envisage, ‘The Great Reset.’
(3) Perhaps
(4) Perhaps it was recognised that international
finance was on the brink of a catastrophic collapse, and the emergence of a
global pandemic was deemed a suitable opportunity to effect a controlled
demolition and secure a financial and economic “Reset.”
(5) We are not in a position to know to what extent
there is an agenda that is consciously planned and perpetuated by individuals,
agencies or nations, and to what extent it is carried on as a
result of ignorance and incompetence. Nor can we tell to what extent
human agencies are party to a conspiracy, and to what extent they are
themselves but pawns of principalities and powers and ‘spiritual wickedness in high places’ (Ephesians 6: 12).”]
The idea of a “return to normal” in the near future seems like a
fairy tale to thinking people. And, this pandemic is truly worldwide, touching every corner of the globe.
It is not causing just localized damage to only one country or region. By any
measure, this pandemic looks like a colossal catastrophe in the making, one
with multiple effects causing great devastation.
So, we must ask:
“Why would God wreak such devastation upon the world?”
[Page 6]
What are God’s purposes in the [present-day]
pandemic?
As Erwin Lutzer declares in his article on
the tsunami, we may not be able to determine all of God’s purposes in a
particular calamity, including this pandemic. However, it seems from Scripture that there are some identifiable things God is doing in every
calamity. He is surely at work to gain the attention of people so that
they will respond to Him in an appropriate way.
One important passage on God’s
purposes in calamity is in the book of Amos. The reader should carefully read Amos chapters three and four. In that passage, God is indicating that His judgments upon His people
Notice Amos
3: 6b: “Does
disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has
done it?” Here we see that God causes disaster or calamity, and Amos
chapter four gives us the reason. In Amos 4:
6-11 God
declares to His people that He has sent calamity after calamity, “yet you did not return to me.” The disasters God sent
upon His people were: famine (4:
6); drought (4:
7-8);
crop devastation (4: 9); pestilence (4: 10); military defeat (4:
10); and even total devastation as at
[* See Acts 5: 32 & 1 John 3:
24ff. ]
[Page 7]
In their book, The
Mystery of Catastrophe - Understanding God’s
Redemptive Purposes for the Global Disasters of the Last Days, authors Joel Richardson and Nathan
Graves trace the ways of God in Scripture as respects catastrophe.
“When
catastrophes overtake people’s lives, they are humbled by their losses and
weakness. It is then they will cry out to the God who cares: ‘Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, and in his disaster cry for
help?’ (Job
30: 24, ESV).” *
* Joel Richarson and Nathan
Graves, The Mystery of Catastrophe (Winepress, 2018), p.
16. This book is available in pdf form for free
download at www.joelstrumpet.com
“This pattern of God’s people stubbornly putting their roots
deep into this world, clinging to all they hold dear in this life has been one
of the greatest obstacles for completing the Great Commission and filling the
earth with the glory of the Lord. Because this is true, God must bring catastrophe even to his beloved
church. Had the early disciples not experienced severe persecution, it is
unlikely that many would have ever ventured far beyond the gates of
* Ibid., p. 21.
[Page 8]
“So to strengthen, purify, and embolden the early believers
to be his witnesses, and to keep them trusting in Him, God brought a great
persecution to the church: ‘And there arose on
that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered
throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles' (Acts 8: 1, ESV).” *
* 6 Ibid., p. 21.
In the chapter titled, “His Way is in the Whirlwind,”
“The notion
that God would ever do anything that would cause harm to another is anathema to
most people. In this Laodicean age where human rights have become the manifesto
of a new global, humanist religion, there is no room for the God of the Bible,
especially a God who would cause harm. It is a mantra even the church has picked up on and run wild with. Aren’t
we supposed to have our best lives now? Actually, no.”
[
“He is not
oblivious to the plight of the physical refugee, just as He is not to ours. His
heart is touched by their grief and pain. He hears
their anguished cries and sees their downcast faces. He looks on them with deep
and caring compassion. His desire is to bring healing to their wounds and to
rescue them from their sorrows. His ear is attentive to their slightest cry and
is ready to receive them with outstretched arms at their smallest movement
toward Him. It is for this purpose that He [Page 9] wounds and strikes and tears to pieces. He does so
that He might heal and rescue and give life.
‘See now
that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring life, I have wounded and I heal, and no one can deliver out
of my hand.’ (Deuteronomy
32: 39, NIV)
‘The Lord will strike
‘Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.’ (Hosea 6: 1, NIV)
The Lord strikes, then heals. He injures, then binds
up the very wounds He inflicts. He tears to pieces, then restores to health. He
puts to death, then gives life. It is a perfect
paradox. God does the thing that makes no sense-the opposite of our logical
perspective. Humanly speaking, it is a mystery too difficult
to understand, a contradiction to common sense, an illogical display of all we
think about God. Regardless of how harsh or fallacious this all may
seem, it is altogether true.” *
* Ibid, pp. 25-26.
“‘I form
the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.’ (Isaiah 45: 7, NIV)
‘When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster
comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it?’ (Amos 3: 6)
Though it goes
against all our culturally or even our theologically shaped reasoning, we must accept
and embrace this hard truth if we are going to better understand God and His
ways. If we want to have wisdom and insight about our role in bringing about [Page 10] salvation and the
glory of God to the nations, we have to allow God to reshape our understanding
of who He is and what He is doing in His world. His ways are
not only declared to be in the stillness and serene (see Psalm 46: 10). Much more so, they are also to be found in the
whirlwind and the storm:
‘The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind.’ (Job 38: 1)
‘You will be visited by the Lord of hosts with thunder and with earthquake
and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.’ (Isaiah 29: 6, ESV)
‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not
known. Thus the land they left was
desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.’ (Zechariah 7: 14, ESV).’”
“It really comes down to two fundamental truths: God is holy and men are sinful.
God loves man, but man hates God. So we see that when
God purposefully brings catastrophe, it is not because He is unjust, and man is
a victim. It is because of man’s very rejection of God that He must
bring about not just hardship but large-scale calamity to turn man’s heart to
Him.” *
* Ibid., p. 28.
“If God
loves the world and sent his Son to die for the world (see John 3: 16), then we should
expect that He will make a way for people to hear. Throughout history, we see God’s
primary method for waking up the [Page 11] nations to repentance is through man-made and
natural disasters.” *
* Ibid., p. 29.
“It is
short-sighted to see catastrophes only
as judgments from God. It is clear throughout the Bible that God has brought
disaster for the purpose of judgment, but that is only as a last resort. James
declares that ‘mercy triumphs over judgment’ (James 2: 13). In his deliberate and constant pursuit of man, God seeks
after lost sinners to bring them in to His fold. His plans are to use things that confound us to find
those who will come to Him and lay their lives down at the foot of the cross in
submission to Jesus Christ.”*
(I believe what Nathan Graves is saying here is that we should not see
catastrophes simply as something punitive from God upon sinful men, but as
something sent from the heart of a loving and merciful God seeking to bring
lost sinners [and deceived believers] to
Himself.)
* Ibid., p. 30.
In summary, this book explains that
God uses catastrophe to bring men - through the experience of loss - to
Himself. And, He
uses it to purify the
church and move her forward in His task for them. Even now, in this
pandemic, reports are coming out of people openly praying on the streets in repentance to God. Some prayer bands
are being raised up. Some [regenerate]
believers are being awakened afresh to the call of God
to holiness [and obedience] in light of Christ’s coming. Believers
are also being motivated to serve others in the name of Christ during this
pandemic.
Aside from the basic purposes of
bringing men to Himself and purifying the church, God may also be at work on
other purposes. For example, in this pandemic, God is also likely using it in
an ancillary way to judge America further for her sin of moving away from a [Page 12] foundation of Biblical morality
(Jer. 18: 7-10). In addition, God is likely
changing the global landscape of powers during this pandemic. In
2011, God seemed to shift gears prophetically through the “Arab spring.” As a result, the powers of the
Is this pandemic one of the
birth pains of the end of the age?
“Birth
pains” are used in the Olivet Discourse as a figure of the heightened painful
and exceedingly stressful times that consummate the
age. This term is used in Matthew
24: 7-8:
“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and
there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.”
The parallel account in Luke includes “pestilences”:
“Then he said to them, ‘Nation
will rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom. There will be great earthquakes,
and in various places famines and pestilences.
And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven”
(Lk. 21: 10-11). Although the account in Luke does not use the
term “birth pains,” it is clear that at least
the first part of verse 11, as a parallel to
Matthew 24: 8,
is speaking of the birth pains.
Jesus used the figure of “birth pains” in Matthew 24
in response to the disciples’ question concerning “the
arrival of the Messiah and the end of the age.” The four disciples
wanted to know how they could recognize that
this age was at its close. * The
idea of “birth pains” [Page 13] pictures the end of a long
pregnancy with the beginning of the short birth process that leads to the birth
of a new life. Jesus’ answer indicated that there would be a short period of
great trouble and stress just before the end of the age and the beginning of
the Messiah’s earthly kingdom.
* Mark 3: identifies the four disciples as Peter,
James, John, and Andrew.
We need to look carefully at the
answer Jesus gave to His disciples in Matthew 24:
4-8 in
order to understand the sequence and timing of end-time events. The parallel
accounts in Mark and Luke will help us understand this sequence. The texts of
these three gospels show that the first part of Jesus’ response in verses 4-6
speaks of a different set of events and timeframe than the beginning of birth
pains in verses 7-8.
Matthew 24:4-6: things to
happen before the end-time begins
“And
Jesus answered them, ‘See that no one leads you
astray. For many will come in my name, saying, “I am the Christ,”
and they will lead many astray. And
you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See
that you are not alarmed, for this must take
place, but
the end is not yet.’” (Matt. 24: 4-6)
Mark’s account uses almost
exactly the same wording.
Luke’s account: “And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place,
but the end will
not be at once.” (Lk.
21: 9)
The NASB reads: “but the end does not follow immediately.”
It should be clear that Jesus here
tells his disciples that before the end-time begins there will be some stretch of time
characterized by false Christs and wars [Page 14] and rumours of wars. In verses 4-6, Jesus is apparently giving a prophetic
precaution to the early disciples that such events would not signal that the
period of the end had arrived. * The
text of these verses shows that Jesus did not want His disciples to be alarmed by these events, thinking that these signalled “the end.” Jesus knew that
* Some Bible teachers hold that verses 4-6 show
general characteristics of the time between the two comings of Christ, still
making a distinction between Matthew 24: 4-6 and the
final end-time period in verses 7-8. Other teachers include verses
4-6 as part of the birth pangs of 7-8, but the
text does not support this inclusion in my opinion. Further analysis will be made on this point under verses
7-8.
History tells us that there were
indeed tumultuous times between the ascension of Christ and the destruction of
* Robert Govett, The Prophecy on Olivet (Miami Springs, FL: Conley & Schoettle Publishing Co., Inc.,
1985), p. 15.
By 66 A.
D., the matter of revolt against
* F. F. Bruce, New Testament
History (New York:
Doubleday, 1971), p. 340.
Matthew 24:7-8: the
beginning of birth pains, the start of
the final
end-time period
“For
nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom, and there will be famines and
earthquakes in various places. All these are but
the beginning of the birth pains.” (Matt.
24: 7-8)
“Then he
said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs f rom heaven.’” (Lk. 21:10-11)
The wording in Luke - “Then he said to them” - shows clearly the intended
break between the events presented in verses 4-6 and those of 7-8. Pestilences are added
in Luke, and these appear to be an addition to the list in Matthew of the
beginning stage of birth pains.
Many expositors have written
that the first four seals of Revelation chapter six
parallel the “birth pains.” These expositors
give charts similar to the first two columns of the one displayed on the next page.
However, as explained earlier, I do not agree that Matthew
24: 4-5 is part of the list of birth pains and that it
parallels seal one, as some hold it does.
[Page 16]
MATTHER 24 Seals in REVELATION 6 COMMENTS on Seal
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Matt. 24:4-5 Seal on rider
on
Details are given
False Christs
white horse (6: 1-2) symbolically and need
interpretation
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Matt. 24: 7b - Seal 2 - rider on the Judgment shown
War and rumours
red horse (6: 3-4)
literally
of war
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Matt 24: 7b - Seal 3 -
rider on the
Judgment shown
Famine black
horse
literally
(6: 5-6)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Matt. 24:
7b: Lk. Seal Four - rider on
the Judgment shown
21: 11 - Famine pale horse (6: 7 - 8) literally
pestilence, death
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
To learn
more about seal one, we should notice some things. The rider on the white horse
is put in symbolical terms and is not named. It is a
symbol of some conquering person or entity. Therefore, there is something
distinctively different about this first rider, as the details of the other
three riders have literal descriptions with no need for interpretation (war,
famine, death). Some respected evangelical expositors see this first rider as a
symbol of the antichrist, or perhaps a movement associated with him. The white
horse here does not necessarily match the white horse ridden by the Lord Jesus
in Revelation 19: 11.
White horses were ridden by Roman generals after their
victories in battle. Thus, the white horse may simply reinforce the symbol of
victory seen in this rider.
Other commentators, some of whom
believe this seal has already been opened, interpret
the rider of the white horse as Christ or His gospel. However, some of [Page 17] these views run counter to the
futuristic vision of the awful judgments of seals two, three, and four. * Further, Revelation
chapter nineteen places the appearance of the conquering Christ on a
horse at a time following the period of
cataclysmic judgments upon the earth, not at a time preceding such judgments (such as the first
rider would represent). Also, the first rider,
as one of the “four horsemen of the apocalypse,”
is surely linked to the other three riders, who are presented in the form of
devastating judgments. To consider the first rider as a positive figure would
be out of character with this group of riders. All of them should
be viewed as judgments released by Christ as He opens the scroll in Revelation chapter six.
* The opening of the scroll by Christ certainly seems to be yet
future at the time this vision was given to John. Most
scholars believe this vision took place about 95 A. D. A number of careful
expositors use Revelation 1: 19 as a basis for this futuristic explanation. Revelation 1: 19 is explained as follows: “Write therefore the things you have seen [consisting
especially of the vision of Christ in 1: 11-18], those that are [being the condition of the seven
churches in Revelation chapters two and three at the time of the vision], and those that are to take place after this [events
associated with the opened scroll; Revelation
chapters 4-22]. It would be
illogical for John to see Christ opening the scroll of chapter
six as an event that had already occurred some 60 years earlier after
Christ’s ascension.
A final consideration regarding
this matter relates to the basic question posed by the disciples: What will be
the sign that the end period of the age is here? Jesus’ answer in Matthew 24: 7-8 gives definite events that can
be seen and identified, and the witnessing of such events will signal
Christians that the birth pains have begun. The white horse rider is apparently
not an easily discerned event, and this may
be one reason it is not included in the list of birth pains (Matt. 24: 7-8). If indeed
the white horse depicts the rise to power of the antichrist, and/or his
movement, then he comes into power and prominence before the point where the
visible [Page 18] birth
pains suddenly begin. And, his rise to power is surely
connected to the following riders of judgment. This seems most plausible. *
* It should be noted that Dr.
John Walvoord, a renowned Bible prophecy expert, states that there are
probably more differing views on Revelation 6:
2 (the white horse and its rider) than on
any other verse in the book of Revelation. John F. Walvoord, Revelation
(
Jesus purposely uses the figure
of “birth pains” to depict the end period of
this age. The illustration suggests a long period of development (as in
pregnancy) with a sudden onset of terrible pains experienced in a compact period of time. A normal pregnancy lasts 266 days. The
average period of birth pains during a woman’s first pregnancy usually lasts
12-14 hours. Although we cannot demand an exact correlation, a development
period of 2,000 years would yield a birth pain period of about four years. Most
expositors believe that the “birth pains” as
noted in Matthew 24 are contained within the
last seven-year period of this age, a time known as the “70th week” of Daniel’s vision (see Dan. 9: 27). A woman’s birth pains are unique and once
they start they increase in intensity and frequency
until the birth process is complete.
The “beginning
of the birth pains” of Matthew 24: 7-8 - which
equal seals two, three, and four of Revelation 6
- constitutes a period of horrific events such as the world has never
witnessed. The four horsemen bring us into the end of
the age. The rider on the pale horse, the fourth horse, is “Death.” The judgments associated with this rider kill
one-fourth of the earth’s population. Nothing like this has ever happened
before. It certainly seems [Page 19] that
this rider has not yet come and belongs to the “time of
the end.” It is no wonder that the prophet Daniel writes the following
description of the “time of the end”: “And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that
time” (Dan. 12:
11).
In light of the Biblical
information provided above, the current coronavirus pandemic should
not be considered as part of the Biblical birth pains predicted in Matthew 24:7-8. That birth pain period is yet future, and
this period will see various catastrophic events occurring together in a short
timeframe. Still, this
current pandemic [and world-wide
deception] seems destined
to cause great worldwide problems beyond just health consequences. Economists,
think tank observers and academics are writing that this pandemic will continue
to produce severe effects upon modern civilization, probably the greatest
effect of any event since World War II. Therefore, we should consider it as a very
serious warning from God. We
may also view it as a kind of preview of the coming judgments of
the end-time. God is doing something extraordinary
and is calling men to wake up and pay attention.
Dr. David Reagan of Lamb & Lion Ministries is a well-known American Bible
prophecy teacher. In an article titled, “A Warning,”
he writes: “I have become
convinced that the coronavirus is a remedial judgment of God upon the whole
world to call the people of all nations to repentance before the return of
Jesus.” * By “remedial judgment,” Reagan means that the action of
judgment is taken to remedy a situation of broken
fellowship between God and man. Such a remedy
calls for sincere repentance on the part of any person, believer or unbeliever.
* David Reagan, A Warning,
Lamplighter, Vol. XL1, No. 4, May-June, 2020, p. 2.
Dr. Mark Hitchcock, another noted Bible prophecy teacher, also
concludes that this pandemic is not part of the Biblical birth pains of Matthew 24. He believes that the birth pains are
in the last seven-year period. Yet, he [Page 20] feels that this pestilence is prophetically significant and
is a foreshadowing of what is to come. Like Dr. Reagan, he thinks that this pandemic is a wake-up call to men, perhaps even a final wake-up
call, summoning them to turn to Christ and live in a way pleasing to God.*
* Mark Hitchcock,
What
should the Christian’s response be?
Seriousness needed concerning
the Judgment Seat of Christ
God is warning us through
the virus that Jesus is coming and that means the Day of Judgment is coming for
all men, including Christians. Yet, the response of many believers is that they
just want things to “get back to normal.”
Meanwhile, they are only looking for God to help them get through this time of
difficulty by meeting their needs and giving them comfort and peace in this
time of uncertainty. We certainly need comfort and peace, but God is looking to accomplish much more in believers’ lives during this
time. God wants to purify our lives in various ways. He is looking for
Christians to mature into the image of Christ through this
trial in preparation for Christ's return (1 Pet.
1: 6-7; 13-17). He also desires for believers to be
more dedicated to serve Him, living in the constant expectation of Christ’s
coming [Messianic
Rule] (Matt. 25: 14-30; Lk. 12: 35-48; 19: 12-26. [See also Acts 1: 3, 4: Rev. 20: 4. Cf. Lk.
24: 25, 26; Pss.
2: 6-8; 37: 34; 46: 9-11 & 72. etc.]
We should understand that
although Christians will be judged - [before the
time of the Resurrection of the dead (Heb. 9: 27), and] - at
the end of this age, that judgment is not for the
determination of eternal salvation. It is for reward, not [our presently possessed] salvation. Our [initial] salvation - [by grace through faith alone] - was secured for us by Christ as our substitute for God’s
judgment upon our sins. This happened at the cross. When we
believed in Him. we were delivered from eternal
judgment. We passed at the moment of belief from death
to life. “Truly, [Page 21] truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and
believes him who sent me has
eternal life. He does not come into judgment,
but has passed from death to life.” (Jn. 5: 24). We will
never come into judgment as respects our eternal destiny, but our fives will be
evaluated by Christ the Judge for determining our inheritance - our place,
privileges, and responsibilities - in the coming kingdom of Christ (the coming 1,000-year kingdom in Revelation 20: 4-6, which precedes the eternal kingdom of Revelation 21
and 22).
The love of God is the greatest
motive for believers to live unto the Lord’s will (2 Cor. 5: 14-15). But, it is most instructive that in the same chapter that we
see another
great motive - preparation for the Judgment Seat of Christ. Paul the apostle writes:
“Therefore
we also have as our ambition, whether at home or
absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds
in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
(2 Cor. 5: 9-10, NASB)
The word rendered above as “recompense” is a word that means in Greek to “receive back” or to get “what
one is due.” In other words, each one is paid
back what he is due according to the
deeds he has done. Therefore, we can say that the principle here is reward
according to works. We see a
similar thought in Matthew 16: 27: “For the Son of Man is
going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has
done.” In the New Testament (NT), there are two great principles of
truth. First, there is the GIFT
principle, which reflects the fact that our eternal salvation is a free gift from God, received by faith, apart from works (
[Page 22]
Notice the verses 2 Corinthians 5: 9-10 quoted above. Paul tells us that his great
ambition, the thing he was diligently striving for, was to be pleasing to the
Lord. He did this because he was so
conscious of his future appearance before Christ’s Judgment
Seat. Paul was keenly aware that his life would be evaluated
there and he would be recompensed according to that evaluation. It is also
clear from the verses that the recompense can turn out
positively or negatively, according to our doings in this life.
Thus, we may say that Paul’s life was controlled by
his constant awareness of this future evaluation by Christ.
Some believers question whether
the sins or failures of believers could be counted
against them at the Judgment Seat. The Bible shows a distinction between God’s dealing with our sins (including any judgment for
them) as respects our salvation in
eternity and His dealing (judgment) with our sins in time according to His moral governance. Our sins are removed as
respects the eternal realm of salvation by Christ’s work on the cross (1
Cor. 15: 3; 1 Pet. 2: 24; 3: 18).
However, God can still exercise discipline upon a believer for his sins because
of His moral government. Note the following examples: God’s judgment upon
Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5: 1-11); upon the
Corinthian believers (1 Cor. 11: 29-34); upon believers in adultery and fornication (Heb. 13: 4); upon His erring children in Hebrews (Heb. 12: 4-8); and upon
some believers in the
*As Dr. Paul Benware argues, we do not “pay
for our sins” at the Judgment Seat because that was accomplished at the
cross. However, just as a believer can experience some negative discipline from
God in this life, so this principle is also true at the Judgment Seat, and it is supported by the Scriptures. Paul N. Benware, The Believer’s Payday (
The prolific and profound writer
among the Plymouth Brethren, C. H.
Mackintosh, describes this distinction in these words:
“These,
and numberless other Scriptures in the Old Testament, as well as many similar
passages in the New Testament, unfold to us the deeply
important subject of God’s moral government. Now, to be merely a subject of
God’s government is one thing; to be a subject of His unchangeable grace is
another. We should never confound them. To elaborate this point, and to refer
to the various passages which illustrate and enforce it, would demand a volume:
we would here only add our full persuasion that no one can understand the Word
of God who does not accurately distinguish between man under government and man
under grace. In the one case he is looked at as walking down here, in the place
of responsibility and danger; in the other, he is looked at as associated with
Christ above, in the place of inalienable privilege and eternal security.”*
* C. H. Mackintosh, The
Mackintosh Treasury -Miscellaneous Writings by C. H. Mackintosh (Neptune, N. J.: Loizeaux Brothers,
1976), p. 650.
I would like to mention two great
servants of God in recent centuries who demonstrated such a life-controlling
consciousness of the Judgment Seat of Christ.
[Page 24]
George Whitefield: A
biography of Whitefield noted that his awareness of the accounting at the
Judgment Seat of Christ greatly affected his behaviour. He constantly lived
with this guiding principle in mind. *
* Details are noted in
George Muller:
“He
kept continually before him his stewardship of God’s property; and sought to make the
most of the one brief life on earth, and to use for the best and largest good
the property held by him in trust. The things of God were deep realities, and, projecting every action and decision and
motive into the light of the judgement-seat of Christ, he asked himself how it
would appear to Him in the light of that tribunal. Thus he sought prayerfully and conscientiously so to live and labour,
so to deny himself, and, by love, serve God and man, as that he should not be
ashamed before Him at His coming.”*
* Arthur
T. Pierson, George Muller of
Great gain or significant loss
may be the result of our review before Christ at His Judgment Seat. Those
believers who have lived faithful lives of discipleship will [Page 25] be considered “overcomers” who will reign with Christ in the next
age, just before the eternal age (Lk.
19: 16-19; Rom. 8: 17b, 2 Tim. 2: 12; Rev. 2: 26-27). The reward crowns reflect this reign (1
Thess. 2: 19-20; Jas. 1: 12; 1 Pet. 5: 1-4; 2 Tim. 4: 8). Of
course, such overcomers do sin, but practice confession (1 Jn. 1: 9). The
overcomer’s reward will also include a magnified enjoyment of Christ as eternal
life (Mk. 10:
30; Lk. 18: 30; Jn.
17: 3).
Paul exercised great self-control so as not to be disqualified for the “prize,” which is the kingdom reward granted to the
overcomers in the next age (1 Cor. 9: 24-27).
On the other hand, Christians
who give way to living sinful lifestyles will forfeit their potential rich inheritance
in this future kingdom (1 Cor.
6: 9-10; Gal. 5: 19-21; Eph. 5: 3-5). And, sins are not the
only threat to our possible future inheritance. Living in self-indulgence for
the riches and pleasures of this life can cost us this millennial age inheritance.
Esau is given as an example of this. He lost the
birthright of the firstborn due to his desire for the temporal pleasures of
this world (Heb. 12:
16). The birthright of the firstborn in the
Old Testament included an extra portion of the estate given to the firstborn
son. However, the son could lose this extra portion because of wrongful
actions. Esau’s action of disregarding the value of his future inheritance by
choosing to live for temporal pleasure cost him his birthright. All believers
have an inheritance in God’s eternal kingdom.
That is a matter of grace. But, the inheritance in the
next age (the 1,000-year kingdom) is
an extra inheritance of the firstborn. It is a matter of reward and requires
our cooperation with the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.*
*More detail on the rights of the firstborn and its application
to New Testament believers may be found at https://www.seekersofchrist.org/BIRTH/birthright.htm1
[Page 26]
There are other possible negative consequences at the Judgment Seat of Christ
but these details are beyond the scope of this writing.*
* More details are presented in chapters 7 and 8 of this writer's book, Worthy of the Kingdom. This book is online at https://www.seekersofchrist.org/WORTHY/worthy.htm1
I would like to add a word about
the “good works” of believers
which the Lord can deem worthy of reward at His Judgment Seat. Too many
believers think that any deed which seems good or helpful to the cause of Christ
will be rewarded. However, this is not the view of the NT. The illustration of
the Vine and the branches in John 15 is most
instructive. God wants us to bear fruit, including good deeds. However, such
good deeds must come from Christ as the source, not our natural life with its
intentions and self-efforts. Good deeds worthy of reward are those
which come from the source of Christ Himself.
We see this truth in 1
Corinthians 3: 10-15, which is a picture of our doings and our
future evaluation by Christ at His Judgment Seat. Our living and serving is our
building upon Christ as our foundation. This passage warns us: “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw - each one’s work will
become manifest, for the Day [of
Judgment] will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done”
(1 Cor. 3: 12-13). The “fire”
pictures the penetrating judgment of Christ, and this judgment will determine
the quality of the works done. “Gold, silver, precious stones”
portray elements of God Himself, and speak of building according to His
character, His ways, His truth, and His will. “Wood,
hay, straw”
picture doings that will be burned up - not accepted
by Christ for a positive reward. Their source is natural, something produced by
the natural man, apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. Man has many “good ideas,” and is capable of supposedly “doing things
for God,” but the source is not from the Holy Spirit. Today, there are
many Christian works and ministries, but how many of these works are [Page 27] fuelled by the natural man’s
plans, ambitions, abilities, philosophies, ways, or self-effort (“flesh power”)?
One of the great lessons to be learned in the Christian life is to put aside our ideas,
plans, and efforts and wait upon the Lord for what He is doing. When we have an intimate walk with the Lord, then we can see what He has planned and is doing.
We can then walk by faith in those good
works, and, by His power, complete them (Eph.
2: 10; Phil. 2: 12-13; 2
Thess. 1: 12).
I suspect that many of these
details about the Judgment Seat of Christ are new to most readers. This is
mainly because these truths
have not been adequately taught by preachers or teachers these days. Dr. Earl Radmacher (1931-2014) was a
highly respected theologian, professor, seminary president, conference speaker,
and author. He used to say, “The doctrine of rewards is the most under-taught major New
Testament doctrine today.” He also said: “The matter of
rewards is everywhere in the New Testament. I don’t know how we keep missing it.”
Yet, the fact is that
most believers, and probably most preachers, simply do not see it, or they do
not understand most reward passages in the Bible. They often try to squeeze these passages into the matter of eternal
salvation. This is
a mistake that leads to a works-based view of [eternal] salvation or other erroneous [prophetic] views.
Most believers see many passages, especially warning passages, simply in terms
of heaven or hell. They do not have a perspective of positive and negative
recompense at the Judgment Seat. Yet, the truth is that rewards are a
significant part of God’s plan and are to be a great incentive for [regenerate]
believers to be faithful.
It is my concern that many
believers will be in shock when they appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ.
They are not expecting this thorough evaluation of their lives and will not have
prepared for it. These believers will shrink in shame at the review
and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth in regret over the way they
lived their Christian lives casually (1 Jn.
2: 28; Matt. 25: 30). Their recompense will be a great loss.
[Page 28]
It is a comfort to know that a
believer’s sins, if confessed and repented of, will not disqualify the believer
from receiving some positive reward for good works at the Judgment Seat of
Christ (1 Jn. 1: 9 [cf. Pr. 28: 13]; Rev. 2: 3-7; 16-17; 3: 3-6; 19-22). We
should note that although Christ's judgment will be righteous, He can also show
mercy to those believers who have shown mercy to others (Matt. 5: 7; Jas. 2: 12-13).
This present pandemic presents a
great opportunity for us to be serious about our review at the Judgment Seat of
Christ. God is calling all believers at this time to be serious about preparing
for that day by growing in Christian character and our service to God. I highly recommend that you read more about the Judgment Seat of Christ
and rewards. See the footnote for what I consider to
be the two best books about the Judgment Seat of Christ.* Also, I want to mention two books on
how to live a victorious Christian life. These books give valuable help based
upon time-tested lessons learned by godly believers who have gone
before us. The emphasis in these books is on living by Christ’s life, not by
self-effort (see the footnote).**
* I have read a number of books and articles on the Judgment
Seat of Christ. The two books I feel present the most accurate picture of this
momentous event are: 1) The Believer's Payday by Dr. Paul Benware. It is balanced, and is
quite readable. Dr. Benware is a modern author and a
Bible professor. 2) The Judgment Seat of Christ by D. M. Panton. https://www.seekersofchrist.org/PANTON/JS/judgement
seat.html. This book is a classic work on the topic. It was written over 70 years ago so the style of writing is
harder to read. But, the book is crammed with
Scripture and insights. It is a very valuable work and every Bible teacher
should read this book. In his day Panton was called “the prince of prophecy.”
** See this author’s website for
the two books: The Victorious Christian Life, and Romans
5-8: The Believer’s Sanctification - A Commentary with Help for Living the
Christ-life. https: www.seekersofchrist.org/vic
contents.htmil
[Page 29]
Arm
yourselves with a mind to suffer
“Since
therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm
yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever
has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of
the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God”
(1 Pet. 4:
1-2). Our
Lord Jesus Christ willingly suffered rejection and persecution in order to
carry out God’s will for Him on the cross. Peter tells us in these
verses that we must prepare ourselves mentally to also accept suffering. The
suffering noted in the context of Peter’s epistle here especially focuses on
the suffering of persecution for Christ’s name and righteousness.
We are living in dark days that
are growing increasingly darker. The “mystery
of iniquity is already at work”* (2 Thess. 2: 7) and unrighteousness will increase. Part
of this unrighteousness will be increasing intolerance and even open
persecution of Christians. Believers who live in many parts of the world have
already experienced persecution because of their faith in Christ. Those who
live in
[* NOTE: “Essential freedoms, including freedom of speech “are
being systematically removed.”
‘Freedom of
speech,’ is one of several policies (See Acts
4: 18-20.
Cf. Luke 22: 19;
Heb. 10: 25), which is constantly being imposed by Governmental authorities
throughout the world: and it is one of several Divine
commands, which all Spirit-taught Christians are
at
liberty to refuse to obey.
“By
means of the crisis, core freedoms, such as are necessary to care adequately for family
members and support vunerable people, have been removed. Many
people have been isolated in an intolerable degree, including many elderly
people that the measures are supposed to be designed
to protect. Those in care homes have been subjected to
cruel separations from their family members, and have contact
only through inhuman barriers. The dying have had
to face death alone, and the bereaved have had to suffer without the comfort of
community fellowship and care.]
As we approach the return of
Christ, we must be those who arm ourselves with a mind to
suffer for doing what is right.* It is not a time to shrink back and hide from our identity with Christ.
Rather, it is a time when God is testing us and our
discipleship. Are we willing to suffer for
His name, even to lose all for
His sake? I challenge myself, along with you, to take this matter to God in
prayer so that we can be prepared for the days ahead.
It would be most beneficial to meditate upon Luke
14: 25-33.
[* NOTE: “The very damaging measures taken to combat Covid-19 have not
been demonstrated to be effective, yet they continue to be applied.
“We are
not aware of any analysis of evidence anywhere in the world that shows
that national lockdowns, or measures such as enforcing social
distancing or mask wearing, has any appreciable impact on the spread of
the virus, or the death tolls that result. On the contrary
there is much evidence that countries that have not imposed severe lockdowns or
enforced mask-wearing, such as
[Page 30]
A plea for humility and
tolerance
As we consider the many
prophetic Scriptures related to the return of Christ, I would like to offer a
plea for humility. It is my experience that today, at least in
Firstly, our views on a number
of prophetic events should be held loosely, and in
humility, due to the very nature of prophecy. In his book, Coming
Events: An Outline of Bible Prophecy, the respected British writer G. H. Lang notes that Bible prophecy is
uniquely confirmed by five tests. One test is the “Mystery of Contradiction, so that the prophecy could not be fully understood until
its fulfilment and, therefore, its fulfilment could not be humanly contrived. Yet. ... [there is also
another test, being] Clearness of Forecast,
so that the fulfilment shall be seen to correspond to the prediction.”* The main point I wish to make here is
that many prophecies cannot be fully understood
until the time of fulfillment.
* G. H. Lang, Coming Events - An Outline of Bible Prophecy (Miami Springs, FL: Schoettle
Publishing Co., Inc., 1988), p. 2.
Some prophetic topics,
especially “the rapture,” are
not easily discerned with full clarity ahead of time. Thus, in my
opinion, there is a need for humility about
the way we hold our views, and especially the way we approach or evaluate the
views of others. Let us take the prime example of the rapture. I believe that
the full truth about the rapture is not easy to discern. Let me give a perfect
illustration of this difficulty. I have a book in my library, which I have read
carefully in its entirety. It is titled The [Page 31] Rapture: Pre-, Mid- or Post-Tribulational. This is an academic book, written by
three seminary professors, each of whom presents his distinctive view on the
timing of the rapture. Then, each of the other two professors responds to the
presentation, attempting to point out weaknesses in the presentation.
All three of these professors
are well-recognized scholars, who hold doctoral degrees and
are highly trained in theology and Biblical languages. Believe me when I
say that very few of us, including myself, who could ever produce such learned
and sophisticated arguments. These men are conservative, evangelical
theologians who were at the top of their profession when this book was published (1984).
Now, here is the shocking part:
all three of these men were colleagues who served on the faculty of the same
seminary (
* The three professors are: Paul Feinburg
(pre-trib); Gleason
Archer (mid-trib); Douglas Moo (post-trib).
If these
exemplary students of the Word of God, friends, and colleagues at the same
academic institution, do not believe the timing of the rapture is a “clear truth,” then what about us? Yet, I
regularly hear preachers, teachers, and other believers make dogmatic pronouncements
about the “truth” of “the
rapture,” as if it should be obvious what the real
truth is. Too often they make these
pronouncements with the attitude that those who don’t “see”
their truth are unquestionably wrong, and that they are misleading the sheep.
In other words, many hold their understanding of the rapture with an attitude
of prideful contempt towards the views of others. [Page 32] And, some circles make their view of the rapture a condition for school
admission or church fellowship. Some preachers seem to make their truth of
the rapture almost equivalent to a tenet of the orthodox faith. Thus, tolerance
for differing views of a minor and not easily discerned doctrine has been lost. And that loss is to the detriment of the testimony of the Christian
church.
I have eight books in my library
that deal solely with the matter of the rapture. These volumes present the
arguments for the five major views of the rapture.* As I have read them and tried to keep an
open mind on the subject, I have found that each of the five views has some
very persuasive arguments. In addition to these eight books, I have other books
that contain sections on eschatology, and these books examine the strengths and
weaknesses of the various rapture views. Yet, there are still verses in my mind
that each view does not harmonize completely with its system.
* These five views are: 1)
Pre-tribuiation. This view teaches that all believers
are raptured before the last seven-year period. 2) Mid-tribulation.
This view holds that all believers are raptured at the
mid-point of the final seven-year period. 3) Post-tribulation. Those who
hold this view see the rapture as happening near the very end of the seven-year
period. 4)
Pre-wrath. This view teaches that believers are
raptured out just before God pours out His wrath upon the earth,
starting at the sixth seal (Rev. 6: 12-17). The view holds that believers live through
the great tribulation (the fifth seal per this view), which begins at the
mid-point of the seven years. 5) Partial, or selective rapture. This teaching holds that there is more than one rapture. The
first rapture is of the “first fruits,” being “overcomers” who
are mature in Christ and are living holy lives. This rapture happens
sometime before the great tribulation. The remaining saints are raptured later,
with 1 Thessalonians 4: 15-17 seen as being near the end of the seven-year
period and describing a “general harvest.”
Over the
years 1 have also studied various Bible texts intensely to try to harmonize all
of the relevant texts on the rapture. 1 can
tell you that this is a very difficult task. And, even
though 1 have come to some tentative [Page 33] conclusions about the rapture,
there are still some questions in my mind. My conclusion is that this is not an
easy matter to discern, so we need to hold our convictions with an attitude of
humility. None of us has all of the answers yet in my opinion. Some of us, for
sure, will turn out to be wrong.
Besides the topic of the
rapture, there are other end-time events on which there are
varying opinions. Will the antichrist be Jewish or not? Will the fourth
beast of Daniel chapter two be a revived
Roman empire headed up in Europe, or will it be a renewed Islamic caliphate, or
possibly some other new world order? Will the war of Ezekiel
38 involve a Russian/Islamic coalition, or is
It is certainly important for
every believer to study the passages related to the coming of the Lord,
including the rapture. It is also recommended for
believers to read the writings of teachers who support varying views with an
open mind. With these
prophetic matters being hard to ascertain with certainty, one should be
cautious about just accepting what their favourite preacher says (without truly
listening to the alternative explanations of others). All teachers are bound to
make some mistakes and hold some biases (Jas.
3: 1-2).
We all should
be prepared for “prophetic surprises.” All things will likely not happen as you were expecting from
your understanding of prophecy or the prophecy charts you have seen. You may even have to suffer more than you anticipated. Arm yourself
with a mind to suffer.
Let us pray for the grace to be
humble and tolerant toward the prophetic views of others. Let us admit that we
just might be wrong. Let us put away pride and any wrong attitude towards
others who differ from us in our [Page 34]
understanding of prophecy. Let us value the unity of the body of Christ and
avoid division over minor or unclear doctrines that do not touch moral matters.
Finally, let us understand the
emphasis of NT prophecy. The emphasis of the NT upon Jesus’ return is not upon
determining all of the facts about the nature and timing of prophetic events.
Neither is the emphasis upon boldly “defending”
certain views. Rather, the emphasis of the NT is upon
eagerly looking for the Lord, watching and praying, and being ready for the
coming of the Lord with a life of holiness and service unto God.
Eagerly await His coming / Watch
and pray / Be ready
The NT gives admonitions
to us to be eagerly looking for the Saviour’s return, even “loving His appearing” (2 Tim. 4: 8).
Believers are told to “watch and pray” in order to
be ready for Christ’s coming, which will happen suddenly at an unknown day and
hour.
I believe that the best way for
the reader to enter more into these realities is for him or her to meditate
upon, and pray over, some
significant passages that present these matters. The best way to profit from
the passages noted below is to open up to the Lord while meditating upon them,
asking God to enlighten you and work in your heart with the truth.
Other passages also address our preparation
for the Lord’s coming, but I am suggesting that the reader meditate upon these
particular ones as a start. You may also wish to memorize some of these verses.
Interestingly, the following
verse indicates that the Lord’s coming becomes more real in our hearts as we
pour over such prophetic passages:
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“And we
have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to
which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place,
until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your
hearts” (2 Pet. 1: 19).
Here are some Scripture
references to stir you to look for His coming and to be ready through holiness of life and service for that day.
Matthew 24: 36-51
Matthew 25: 1-30
Mark 13: 32-37
Luke 12: 35-48
Luke 17: 22-37
Luke 21: 34-36
Philippians 3: 20-21
2 Timothy 4: 7-8
Titus 2: 11-13
Hebrews 9: 28
2 Peter 3: 10-14
1 John 3: 1-3
To “watch”
in the NT literally means to stay awake. Yet, spiritually it means to remain alert
to spiritual realities. It at least involves watching our own lives, watching
what God is doing, watching for the work of our enemy, watching the progress of
prophetic events, watching for the coming King, watching for the interests of
others, and watching for opportunities God brings to us. Prayer is sometimes noted in connection with our watching. We
should pray when we see something in our watching - perhaps our shortcomings -
that we realize needs God’s involvement or His supply of grace.
May God increase the desire
within each of us to love the appearing of Christ and to seek to be ready for
that day.
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The “signs of the time”
In closing, I would like
to speak about our need to truly discern the “signs of the time.” The gospel accounts give two
records of Jesus rebuking the Jews of His day for not being able to interpret “the signs of the time.” These accounts are in Matthew 16 and Luke 12.
Here is the account in Matthew:
And the Pharisees and
Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to
show them a sign from heaven. He answered
them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair
weather, for the sky is red.’ And
in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today,
for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.”
So he left them and departed. (Matt.
16: 1-4)
The lesson is simple. At His
first advent, Jesus showed Himself to be the Messiah by His words, His
miracles, and the fulfilment of specific prophecies. Yet, the hearts of many
Jews remained dull and hardened to these signs. Now, we are witnessing several signs which the Scriptures signal that we are in the “season” of Christ’s return. Here are some of the “signs of the time” that show us that the return of
Jesus is near:
* More
details about the parable of fig tree are given in the booklet titled The Return of Jesus is Nea: Now Leaen the Parable of the Fig
Tree. This booklet is available for free download at: https://www.seekersofchrist.org/ESCAT/fig.htmil
Preparations for a rebuilt temple: One of the most specific
prophecies about the end-time is the prophecy that the antichrist will defile
the Jewish temple in
Mounting pressure for an Israeli/Palestine peace plan: Recent
decades have seen a growing pressure [Page 38] for a
Apostasy in the church in the end-time: The Greek word for
apostasy means defection or a revolt. In the NT it is
seen as a religious revolt. Most Bible teachers interpret apostasy as a moving away from truth once held by the Christian church.
We can see this principle in 1
Timothy 4: 1-3 and 2 Timothy 4: 3-4, as well as other passages. The last few decades
have seen a great shift in Christendom at large. Many mainline denominations
have moved away from their original stated beliefs to heretical
positions or positions of significant compromise on God’s truth.
This includes compromises on clear Biblical truths about sexual morality.
Entire movements have sprung up that violate sound Biblical teaching, such as a
“prosperity gospel.” This false gospel teaches
that God wants all believers to be rich, “successful,”
and enjoy all the pleasures of this world they can. Such teaching is in direct
contradiction to the Bible’s teaching about self-denial and self-control, a
willingness to be lowly, and acceptance of the trials and difficulties of life
as God’s way to train us in holiness.
A colossal moral decline in society: Again,
in just the past few decades, we have witnessed an astounding decline in
morality. Actions that were formerly called evil are now called good by many societies (Isa. 5: 20). What was once universally
called [Page 39] sexual
perversion and was condemned by society is now celebrated. And,
those who continue to hold to Biblical morality are condemned as intolerant and
unloving. This is happening in nations that once held up a gospel light for the
world to see (
From a Biblical standpoint,
there is every reason to believe that this world is on the verge of God’s
end-time judgments as seen in the book of Revelation.
On the one hand, we can always say that the Lord’s coming is “imminent.” That means that it will come suddenly, and
could potentially happen at any time. Such passages as Mark
13: 32-37
and James 5: 7-9 show this imminence. On the other hand, when we
see the factors noted above, we should further know that His coming is quite
near. Its season has arrived. With a fresh desire, we should prepare for Christ’s coming.
May we all take seriously the
warning of Christ’s words about the “evil slave”:
“But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time.’” (Matt.
24: 48,
NASB)
“Therefore
stay awake - for you do not know when the master
of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the
rooster crows, or in the morning - lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” (Mk. 13: 35-37)
[Page 40]
About
the author
The author trusted in Christ in 1974
when he was a twenty- nine-year-old businessman.
Shortly thereafter, he attended South western Baptist
Theological Seminary for a period of time. Mr. Finley has had a preaching and
teaching ministry in churches in
Tom and his wife, Dee, have
resided in
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