End Time Thoughts and Theories : Summary of My Current Understanding
And this is the promise that He has promised us: everlasting life. These
things(1 John 2:25-28 MKJV)
We also have a more sure Word of prophecy, to which you do well to take heed, as to a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Daystar arises in your hearts, knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture came into being of
its own private interpretation. For prophecy was not borne at any time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke being borne along by the Holy Spirit.(2 Peter 1:19-21 MKJV)
And that when the end time prophecies are being fulfilled the unbelieving will be "blind" to what is really happening.And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, so that all those who do not believe the truth, but delight in unrighteousness, might be condemned. But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brothers beloved of the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of
the(2 Thessalonians 2:11-13 MKJV)
But of the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that I write to you. For you yourselves know accurately that the day of
the Lord comes like a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety! Then sudden destruction comes on them, as travail upon a woman with child. And they shall not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness, that the Day should overtake you like a thief. You are all the sons of light and the sons of the day. We are not of the night, or of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us watch and be calm. For those sleeping sleep in the night, and those being drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be calm, having put on the breastplate of faith and love and the hope of salvation for a helmet. For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we watch or sleep we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort one another, and edify one another, even as you also do.(1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 MKJV)
For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves,
it is(Ephesians 2:8-9 MKJV)
But as many as received Him, He gave to them authority to become the children of God, to those who believe on His name, who were born, not of bloods, nor of
the will of the(John 1:12-13 MKJV)
(Romans 3:21-24 MKJV)
For the wages of sin
is(Romans 6:23 MKJV)
I have written these things to you who believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have everlasting life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God.
(1 John 5:13 MKJV)
The doctrine of the "post-tribulation rapture" was taught by Christianity starting in the first century CE and was popular until the 19th century. It is still held by some Christians. It teaches that when Jesus Christ returns to earth after the tribulation, believers who are alive at the time will be changed into immortal glorified bodies.
A relatively new competing belief promoting a "pre-tribulation rapture" was developed during the 19th century ( John Nelsen Darby was one of the first to teach it, and has become a near universal belief among fundamentalist and other evangelical Christians. This belief has Jesus returning towards the Earth before the tribulation. Christian believers -- both dead and alive -- will rise in the air to meet him in the sky. It will occur without warning. Believers in the pre-tribulation rapture have eagerly anticipated the event since the 1840s and have never given up the hope that it will occur in their very near future.
But I would not have you ignorant, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, that you be not grieved, even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will also bring with Him all those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. For we say this to you by the Word of
the(1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 MKJV)
But of the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that I write to you. For you yourselves know accurately that the day of
the(1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 MKJV)
Now we beseech you, my brothers, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you should not be soon shaken
in(2 Thessalonians 2:1-5 MKJV)
Behold, I speak a mystery to you; we shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in a glance of an eye, at the last trumpet. For a trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed.
(1 Corinthians 15:51-52 MKJV)
And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man shall appear in the heavens. And then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of the heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of
(Matthew 24:29-31 MKJV)
And Jehovah shall be seen over them, and His arrow shall go forth like the lightning; and the Lord Jehovah shall blow the ram's horn, and shall go out with the windstorms of the south.
(Zechariah 9:14 MKJV)
And the seventh angel sounded. And there were great voices in Heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become
the kingdoms(Revelation 11:15 MKJV)
Return of Jesus Christ and Believers meeting Him in the Air, according to the Bible
And at that time Michael shall stand up, the great ruler who stands for the sons of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation; until that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame
and(Daniel 12:1-2 MKJV)
And as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what
shall be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said to them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many will come in My name, saying, I am Christ, and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled, for all these things must occur; but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in different places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to be afflicted and will kill you. And you will be hated of all nations for My name's sake. And then many will be offended, and will betray one another, and will hate one another. And many false prophets will rise and deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many will become cold. But he who endures to the end, the same shall be kept safe. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in all the world as a witness to all nations. And then the end shall come. Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand). Then let those in Judea flee into the mountains. Let him on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house; nor let him in the field turn back to take his clothes. And woe to those who are with child, and to those who give suck in those days! But pray that your flight is not in the winter, nor on the sabbath day; for then shall be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days should be shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened.(Matthew 24:3-22 MKJV)
For as the lightning comes out of
the east and shines even to the west, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man. For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered. And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man shall appear in the heavens. And then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of the heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.(Matthew 24:27-31 MKJV)
Then two shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Therefore watch; for you do not know what hour your Lord comes.
(Matthew 24:40-42 MKJV)
And saying these things,
as they watched, He was taken up. And a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they were looking intently into the heaven, He having gone, even behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them, who also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into the heaven? This same Jesus who is taken up from you into Heaven, will come in the way you have seen Him going into Heaven. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount Of Olive Grove, which is a sabbath day's journey from Jerusalem.(Acts 1:9-12 MKJV)
And His feet shall stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which
is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall divide from its middle, from the east and to the west, a very great valley. And half of the mountain shall move toward the north, and half of it toward the south.(Zechariah 14:4 MKJV)
And it shall be in that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour on the house of David, and on the people of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of prayers. And they shall look on Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for his only
son, and shall be bitter over Him, as the bitterness over the first-born.(Zechariah 12:9-10 MKJV)
Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, and those who pierced Him will see Him, and all the kindreds of the earth will wail because of Him. Even so, Amen.
(Revelation 1:7 MKJV)
looking for the blessed hope, and the appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
(Titus 2:13 MKJV)
But I would not have you ignorant, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, that you be not grieved, even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will also bring with Him all those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. For we say this to you by the Word of
the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall not go before those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall ever be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.(1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 MKJV)
Behold, I speak a mystery to you; we shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in a glance of an eye, at the last trumpet. For a trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal
must put on immortality. But when this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and when this mortal shall put on immortality, then will take place the word that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory.(1 Corinthians 15:51-54 MKJV)
For our citizenship is in Heaven, from which also we are looking for the Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our body of humiliation so that it may be fashioned like His glorious body, according to the working of His power, even to subdue all things to Himself.(Philippians 3:20-21 MKJV)
But of the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that I write to you. For you yourselves know accurately that the day of
the Lord comes like a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety! Then sudden destruction comes on them, as travail upon a woman with child. And they shall not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness, that the Day should overtake you like a thief. You are all the sons of light and the sons of the day. We are not of the night, or of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us watch and be calm. For those sleeping sleep in the night, and those being drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be calm, having put on the breastplate of faith and love and the hope of salvation for a helmet. For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we watch or sleep we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort one another, and edify one another, even as you also do.(1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 MKJV)
Now we beseech you, my brothers, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you should not be soon shaken
in mind or troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word or letter, as through us, as if the Day of Christ is at hand. Let not anyone deceive you by any means. For that Day shall not come unless there first comes a falling away, and the man of sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself forth, that he is God. Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you? And now you know what holds back, for him to be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already working, only he is now holding back until it comes out of the midst. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the breath of His mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness in those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, so that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, so that all those who do not believe the truth, but delight in unrighteousness, might be condemned. But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brothers beloved of the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.(2 Thessalonians 2:1-14 MKJV)
And I saw Heaven opened. And behold, a white horse! And He sitting on him
was called Faithful and True. And in righteousness He judges and makes war. And His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head many crowns. And He had a name written, one that no one knew except Himself. And He had been clothed in a garment dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in Heaven followed Him on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, so that with it He should strike the nations. And He will shepherd them with a rod of iron. And He treads the winepress of the wine of the anger and of the wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His garment, and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw one angel standing in the sun. And he cried with a great voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid-heaven, Come and gather together to the supper of the great God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of commanders, and the flesh of strong ones, and the flesh of horses, and those sitting on them, and the flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth and their armies, being gathered to make war against Him who sat on the horse, and against His army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet doing signs before it, (by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast), and those who had worshiped his image. The two were thrown alive into the Lake of Fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were slain by the sword of Him who sat on the horse, it proceeding out of His mouth. And all the birds were filled from their flesh.(Revelation 19:11-21 MKJV)
You shall keep a feast to Me three times in the year. You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened
Bread(Exodus 23:14-17 MKJV)
( Also see Deut. chapter 16, Lev. chapter 23 ) .
But of the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that I write to you. For you yourselves know accurately that the day of
the(1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 MKJV)
