The Parousia

An In-Depth Study on the Second Coming of Christ

The Parousia

God’s Sovereign Prophetic Plan for the Nations

Part 3

“Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that

springs from it. For the LORD‟S indignation is against all the nations, And His wrath against all their armies; He has

utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to slaughter. ”

(Isaiah 34:1–2)

SovereignOne who is in a position of authority to command others

1. Israel: the people and nation chosen by God to deliver the Messiah (the human Word) and the Bible (the written Word)

2. Gentile Nations: non-Jews both beloved (the Church) and hated, and used by God for His purposes

The Nations in Prophecy

An Examination of the Arab Nations

“They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, That the name of

Israel be remembered no more.””(Psalm 83:4)

Arab Identity

Arab = Muslim

For example, the most populous Muslim nation is Indonesia, but the Indonesians are not Arabs. Likewise

the nation of Iran is mainly composed of Muslims, but they are Persians and not Arabs

/

Arab Origin

“Now Sarai, Abram‟s wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the Lord has prevented

me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. After Abram had lived ten years in the

land of Canaan, Abram‟s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight. And Sarai said to

Abram, “May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her sight. May the Lord judge between

you and me.” But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.”

(Genesis 16:1–6)

The First Arab Prophecy

“Now the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. He said, “Hagar, Sarai‟s maid, where have you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” Then

the angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority.” Moreover, the angel of the Lord said to her, “I will greatly multiply your

descendants so that they will be too many to count.” The angel of the Lord said to her further, “Behold, you are with child, And you will bear a son; And you shall call his name

Ishmael, Because the Lord has given heed to your affliction. “He will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, And everyone‟s hand will be against him; And he

will live to the east of all his brothers.” Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees”; for she said, “Have I even remained alive here after seeing

Him?” Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar

bore, Ishmael. ” (Genesis 16:1–15)

Psalm 83 – A Future Israel/Arab War?

“A Song, a Psalm of Asaph. O God, do not remain quiet; Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still. For behold, Your enemies make an uproar, And those who hate You have exalted

themselves. They make shrewd plans against Your people, And conspire together against Your treasured ones. They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, That the

name of Israel be remembered no more.” For they have conspired together with one mind; Against You they make a covenant: The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the

Hagrites; Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also has joined with them; They have become a help to the children of Lot. Selah. Deal with

them as with Midian, As with Sisera and Jabin at the torrent of Kishon, Who were destroyed at En-dor, Who became as dung for the ground. Make their nobles like Oreb and

Zeeb And all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, Who said, “Let us possess for ourselves The pastures of God.” O my God, make them like the whirling dust, Like chaff before the wind. Like fire that burns the forest And like a flame that sets the mountains on fire, So pursue them with Your tempest And terrify them with Your storm. Fill their faces

with dishonor, That they may seek Your name, O Lord. Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever, And let them be humiliated and perish, That they may know that You alone, whose

name is the Lord, Are the Most High over all the earth. ” (Psalm 83)

“And in that day [Day of the Lord] The mountains will drip with sweet wine, And the hills will flow with milk, And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water; And a spring will go

out from the house of the Lord To water the valley of Shittim. Egypt will become a waste, And Edom will

become a desolate wilderness, Because of the violence done to the sons of Judah, In whose land they have shed innocent blood. But Judah will be inhabited forever And

Jerusalem for all generations. And I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged, For the Lord dwells in Zion. ”

(Joel 3:18–21)

First a Desolation…

“In that day [Day of the Lord] the Egyptians will become like women, and they will tremble and be in dread because of

the waving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which He is going to wave over them. The land of Judah will become a

terror to Egypt; everyone to whom it is mentioned will be in dread of it, because of the purpose of the Lord of hosts

which He is purposing against them. In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan

and swearing allegiance to the Lord of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction.”

- Isaiah 19:16-18

First a Desolation…

“In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord near its border. It will become a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the

Lord because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, and He will deliver them. Thus the Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day. They will even

worship with sacrifice and offering, and will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. The Lord will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will

return to the Lord, and He will respond to them and will heal them. In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria, and the Egyptians will

worship with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the

work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.” ” (Isaiah 19:18–25)

Then a Blessing…

The Orient in Prophecy

Kings from the Rising Sun

“The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was

dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the

kings from the east [Lit. „rising of the sun‟]. ”

(Revelation 16:12)

The war of Armageddon will include the orient armies that will meet with destruction at

Christ‟s coming.

Different or the Same?

“Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” And the four

angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind. The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like

the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone. A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the

brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and

with them they do harm. ” (Revelation 9:13–19)

“The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.”

(Revelation 16:12)

The United States in Prophecy

What the Bible says about the United States

What are the possibilities for the United States in God‟s future plan?

Crippled in the Rapture of the Church

Contemporary America would likely be devastated by the

Rapture. Regardless of current spiritual trends, the

United States still contains the greatest number of

Christians in the world. A sudden evacuation of all

Christians would cripple many industries, educational

organizations, and much more.

Absorbed into the European Union

America could suffer economically from all its crippling debt and be sucked into the eventual ten nation

confederacy headed up by the Antichrist. No borders are given in Scripture that restrict the revived Roman

Empire.

External Attack

America could be taken out of the equation by an external attack by any of

her enemies.

Abandoned by God to Destruction

Why would God abandon the United States?

Abandoned by God to Destruction

The Mayflower Compact"In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal

Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord, King James, by the Grace of God, of

England, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, e&. Having

undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and

the Honour of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the

northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the

Presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together

into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and

Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid; And by Virtue hereof to enact, constitute,

and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and

Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the

General good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due submission and

obedience. In Witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at

Cape Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord, King

James of England, France and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-

fourth. Anno Domini, 1620."

Abandoned by God to Destruction

The Last Verse of the National Anthem

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved home and the war's desolation!

Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land

Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Pornography

Why would God abandon the United States?

Abortion

1.7% 0.3%

98%

Reasons for Abortion

Life/Health Mother

Rape/Incest

Personal Choice

An estimated 50 million babies have been aborted since 1973. Approximately 24% of all U.S. pregnancies end in

abortion (bound4life.org/CDC)

Lesbianism

“Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For

they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their

women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural ” (Romans 1:24–26)

Male Homosexuality

“…the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not

proper” (Romans 1:27–28)

Crime and Violence

“„Violence has grown into a rod of wickedness. None of them shall remain, none of their people, none of their wealth, nor anything

eminent among them. ” (Ezekiel 7:11)

Failure to Help Those Truly in Need

“All the brothers of a poor man hate him; How much more do his friends abandon him! He pursues them with words, but they are

gone. ” (Proverbs 19:7)

Heresy

From the Associated Press – July 9, 2009 Anaheim, CA

“Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori says it‟s “heresy” to believe that an individual

can be saved through a sinner‟s prayer of repentance.

In her opening address to the church‟s General Conference in

California, Jefferts Schori called that “the great Western heresy: that we can be saved as individuals, that

any of us alone can be in right relationship with God.”

The Blind Leading the BlindRick, a campus minister for the United Church of Christ, perhaps the most liberal

Protestant denomination, was an agnostic in college and seems to have lost all belief by the time he graduated from seminary. He chose ordination in the UCC because it required "no forced doctrine." Even as he graduated from seminary, he knew, "I'm not going to make it in a conventional church.” . . .He did not believe in

the doctrinal content of the Christian faith from the beginning of his ministry. "I did not believe the traditional things even then.“

He does not believe "all this creedal stuff" about the incarnation of Christ or the need for salvation, but he remained in the ministry because, "These are my people,

this is the context in which I work, these are the people that I know." In the pulpit, his mode is to talk as if he does believe, because "as long as ... you are talking

about God and Jesus and the Bible, that's what they want to hear. You're just phrasing it in a way that makes sense to [them] ... but language is ambiguous and can be heard in different ways.” He doesn't like to call himself an atheist, but: "If

not believing in a supernatural, theistic god is what distinguishes an atheist, then I am one too.”

- "Preachers Who Are Not Believers“, Daniel Dennett & Linda Lascola

Abandoned by God to Destruction

Why would God abandon the United States? Perhaps a better question is: Why shouldn‟t He…?

Abandoned by God to Destruction

“There comes a point in God's dealing with men and nations, groups of people, when He

abandons them. The consequence of that

abandonment is: they will eat the fruit of their own choices. If I

were to simply answer the question, "What's wrong with

America?" I would say, "God has abandoned America, and

America is now feeding on its own choices.“

- John MacArthur

“The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers,

because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; but they continually

mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the

wrath of the Lord arose against His people, until there was no remedy.”

(2 Chronicles 36:15–16)

Abandoned by God to Destruction

“Blessed is the nation whose

God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12)

“Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him. “It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men

And knowledge to men of understanding. “It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And

the light dwells with Him. ” (Daniel 2:20–22)

Don‟t Worry – God is Sovereign Over All

“The LORD of hosts has sworn saying, “Surely, just as I have intended so it has

happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand”

(Isaiah 14:24)

The Parousia

God’s Sovereign Prophetic Plan for the Nations

Part 3