The Bible details the history of God’s dealing with man since the time of creation right up to the new earth and heaven. When we consider our present place in the history of the world, it is clear that we have reached a point where some kind of reset will have to happen.
We are currently experiencing an unsustainable increase in pressure in every aspect of life on earth. Christians endure the worst persecution the world has ever seen, soon to come to nations in the West where we actually enjoyed protection from our governments up to now. The main stream media is silent on these issues, but entire churches are often wiped out in some countries. It seems we have reached a point of no return.
While history tells us that “resets” have happened many times in different ways in the past, we are now dealing with problems on a global scale for the first time. It is easy to get distracted by the developments that we see around us, but when we look at the bigger picture, we can clearly see that everything runs exactly as the Bible foretold.
What can we expect? As tensions escalate, we will enter – maybe sooner than later – what the Bible calls the Tribulation. It will be a time of hardship on every side for those on earth, and the anti-Christ will make his appearance to bring the world under his control in a global government. Everything is already pointing in that direction. The tribulation will last for seven years, ending with a war on Israel. Already we see the hatred for Israel mounting; anti-Semitism is on the rise, even in nations that vowed never to allow it to happen again after the holocaust saw the destruction of 6 million Jews.
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matthew 24:29-31
Immediately after the tribulation… – we know when Jesus will appear to set up His kingdom on earth, in contrast to the rapture that will happen at a time that He is not expected. The second coming of the Lord is also known as His glorious appearance. This is how it will happen:
Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south. Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, for the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the Lord my God will come, and all the saints with You. It shall come to pass in that day that there will be no light; the lights will diminish. It shall be one day which is known to the Lord– neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen that it will be light. And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; in both summer and winter it shall occur. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be– “The Lord is one,” and His name one. Zechariah 14:1-9
The passage above is, as we can see, written for the Jews, and corresponds with the words of Jesus in Matthew 24. That will be the most dangerous time ever for the Jewish people; while a third of the Jewish population was destroyed during the holocaust, in that final war two-thirds will be killed:
And it shall come to pass in all the land,” says the Lord, “that two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it: I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; and each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ” Zechariah 13:8,9
A remnant will flee to the mountains, just as Jesus said in Matthew 24, where they will come to realize that Jesus is their Messiah.
“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. Zechariah 12:10,11
This is the time that Jesus will come from heaven, with His saints, which means they will be with Him in heaven from where He will come:
And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. 1 Thessalonians 3:12,13
Jesus comes back to reign for a thousand years, and His saints with Him. There will still be sinners on earth during that time, but they will have to submit to His rule. This will be a time like no other, as those who surrendered to Him and died to themselves, will rule with Jesus as new creation beings. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Their mortal bodies will have been exchanged to be like His:
Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed– in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 1 John 3:2,3
Things will be very different then as all authority on the earth will be in His hands alone. The future is bright for those who believe!
Then the seventh angel sounded: and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” Revelation 11:15
This world is not our home; instead of looking around, let us look up!
