When I first started studying End Times and Prophecy,
I kept running into Big Words that are not in the Bible.
Confusing at first.
Today I will try to provide simple definitions
to some of these commonly used terms.
Including:
Eschatology
Pre Millennial
Post-millennial
A-millennial
Dispensationalism
and another word you won't find in the Bible,
Rapture.
The word "eschatology" originates from Greek.
And it literally translates to
"study of last things"
or "the doctrine of last things".
Or simply the Study of End Times.
And while there are many "theories" on the End Times,
I will provide simple definitions for the three
that are most commonly taught:
the premillennial system
the post-millennial system,
the a-millennial system
Defined in basic terms
Premillennial simply means
that Jesus Christ will return to earth
before a literal 1,000-year period of peace and prosperity,
known as the Millennium.
And we are told by Jesus in
Matthew chapter 24 verses 29-31
that this occurs immediately after the Great Tribulation.
We read
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.
And by looking at the contrast with this view,
We can define the next two terms simply:
postmillennial,
which means you believe
Christ's return occurs after the millennium
( 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth ).
And we have another viewpoint called:
amillennial
which doesn't believe in a literal millennium
( 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth )
* Instead, it interprets Revelation chapter 20 verses 1-4 symbolically,
viewing the millennium as representing the period
between Christ's first and second comings,
during which He reigns spiritually,
( from heaven and not physically on earth )
While Revelation does use a lot of symbolic language,
it is also very clear and literal on many things.
Let's read this passage in Revelation chapter 20,
and you can decide what you think it is saying.
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven,
having the key to the bottomless pit
and a great chain in his hand.
He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old,
who is the Devil and Satan,
and bound him for a thousand years;
and he cast him into the bottomless pit,
and shut him up, and set a seal on him,
so that he should deceive the nations no more
till the thousand years were finished.
But after these things
he must be released for a little while.
And I saw thrones, and they sat on them,
and judgment was committed to them.
Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded
for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God,
who had not worshiped the beast or his image,
and had not received his mark on their foreheads
or on their hands.
And they lived and
reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
* Sounds like a 1,000 year period after the Great Tribulation to me.
Another term you'll hear is
Dispensationalism.
This is a theological system ( or Theory )
that interprets history and God's dealings with humanity
through a series of distinct time periods,
called dispensations.
Most Dispensationalist also believe
in Christ's return before a literal 1,000-year reign on earth.
HOWEVER,
The way they divide up certain parts of the Bible as being directed
to Israel only or the Church believers only,
comes from man made theories
that have been around for less than 200 years.
Dispensational interpretation and the concept of Two returns of Jesus,
that include a secret rapture before the Tribulation period,
were developed at the same time and by the same preachers
in the 1800s.
And these theories have been taught by several large Bible colleges over the last 100 years.
The origins, spread and errors of this teaching are discussed in more detail in other posts and videos.
I will say here that this "system" is the reason
for much confusion on the Rapture.
Such as,
When we are to expect the Return of Christ,
and our gathering together with Him.
As those with a strong dispensational view teach
there are two returns of Christ.
One before the Great Tribulation and another at the end of it.
I've taken a closer look at what the Bible says on this matter
in many other posts and videos on this channel.
Finally, the last term we will look at today is
The Rapture:
The words "caught up" are translated from the actual Greek word "harpazô"
which means "to snatch, seize, or take suddenly".
Later we find the original Greek translated
in the Latin Vulgate Bible,
with the Latin word "raptura".
And that is where we get the English word "rapture".
And while the actual word Rapture is not a term you can find in the Bible,
the event is referenced in several different passages.
The first reference is in Matthew 24:31
which we read earlier.
And I'd like to share two other clear passages,
and the ones most commonly quoted.
First in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 51 and 52
we read
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.
and the second one
found in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 16 and 17
we read
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of an archangel,
and with the trumpet of God.
And the dead in Christ will 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 thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Many will say the 3 passages are not talking about the same event.
I would simply say the all 3 mention that
a trumpet will sound
And that there is no scripture that would divide
the coming of Jesus to two separate events.
To learn more about the timing of the Rapture,
and how to be ready for the coming Great Tribulation,
please check out some of the other videos on this channel.
Until next time,
Maranatha
Saved by Grace,
Andrew Cross
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some,
but exhorting one another,
and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:23-25
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