THE STUDY OF THE END TIMES

OCTOBER 9, 2011

“WE STUDY THE END TIMES SO THAT WE WILL LIVE EACH DAY AS IF IT IS OUR LAST”

Howard Buck

(Luke 12:35-40)

CHRIS TOMLIN

I LIFT MY HANDS

AS THE LYRICS SAY:

“YOU ARE FAITHFUL GOD FOREVER”

BECAUSE HE IS FAITHFUL AND

BECAUSE WE BELIEVE,

HE WILL RETURN!!!!!!

REMEMBER..

Non-Biblical books used for the study:

The Second Coming

John MacArthur

What in the World is Going On

David Jeremiah

A Guide to Biblical Prophecy

Carl Armerding & W. Ward Gasque

Editors

Luke 12:35 “Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. 

36 “Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. 

37 “Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. 

38 “Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.  

39 “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 

40 “You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”

Jesus is coming soon:

Phil. 4:5 ... “The Lord is near”

Romans 13:11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 

12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near

1Peter 4:7 The end of all things is near; …

Rev. 1:1 …the things which must soon take place;

Rev. 1:3 …for the time is near

Matt 24. The Olivet Discourse is the basis or main text of our end times teaching..

Matt. 24:3

…“Tell us” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming

and the end of the age?”

A VISUAL OVERVIEW OF OUR SERIES

The Cross ushered in the Church Age

where we are today

END TIME CHARTS ARE WONDERFUL!!!

There is confusion about His return

Jesus will actually come back twice

First, for His bride, the church He comes in the clouds only (1Thess. 4:16)

This return is called the rapture

Second, His return with the saints (church) at the end of the tribulation to judge and rule over the

earth..

There are NO signs to be fulfilled before the Rapture

Although, some believe that the “birth pangs” will begin before the Rapture,

increasing in intensity through the Tribulation until the birth (judgment)

That is the belief of mainstream Evangelicals..

Current things that point to the immanent rapture:

The Karadashians’ are considered celebrities

Snookie is a household name

Real housewives are considered entertainment

Tattoos are called body art

Peyton Manning missed a start

Actually, per the Bible:

Here is a list in the order we think they will (have) happen:

1st KEY event:

The ingathering of the Jews back to the promise land

May 14, 1948

(Luke 21:29-33)

5/14/1948

ISRAEL BECOMES A STATE!!!

Second KEY event:

The Jews begin to regain control of Jerusalem

June 7, 1967

(Luke 21:24)

The Jews begin to regain control of Jerusalem

June 7, 1967

(Luke 21:24)

As mentioned, our teaching will be primarily based on Matthew 24, the Olivet Discourse

The following is a list of the signs Jesus tells his disciples will be evident just before His return to the earth on the Mount of Olives at the end of

the Tribulation period..

Matthew 24:

5: False Christ's

6: Wars and rumors of wars

7: Nation against nation,

Kingdom against kingdom,

famines,

Earthquakes..

Matthew 24 Continued:

8: ALL KNOWN AS THE “BEGINNING OF BIRTH PANGS”

9: spiritual persecution or tribulation unto hatred and death

10: False Christians falling away – hating each other

11: False prophets

12: Increase in lawlessness – love growing cold

14: Gospel preached to all the world

Luke 21 adds:

11 “great earthquakes”

“fearful sights”

“great signs from heaven”

Joel, 2:10, 31, 3:15

Isaiah 3:10

John Rev. 6:12

add that the sun and moon will be darkened

(speaking of signs from heaven)

"IT'S PRETTY EXCITING," SAID CLIFFORD CLIFT, THE INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR OF MUFON

(The Mutual UFO Network). "WHEN YOU AVERAGE 500 A MONTH [NATIONWIDE] AND GO TO 1,013 IN ONE MONTH, THAT'S AN INTERESTING SPIKE IN

SIGHTING REPORTS."

Clouds over Moscow

Signs continued:

2Timothy 3:1-4:

Men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, unholy, proud, boasters, blasphemers, unloving, disobedient

to parents, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, traitors, headstrong, lovers of

pleasure rather than lovers of God and unthankful.

While all of these “birth pangs” have been present for centuries, at the end of the age, they will increase in

frequency and intensity

This is only the beginning of sorrows for then comes tribulation..

When the time is fulfilled Jesus will return for His church, those saved by faith through Christ (for all ages)

His 1st return is called the “Rapture of the Church”

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

16 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. 

17 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..

After the rapture there are two major events taking place at the same time:

One is in heaven and is called the

* “Presentation feast”(after the Bema Seat Judgment)

While the other takes place on the earth and is called the

“Great Tribulation”

* Resolving the debate…

Some say that during the tribulation on earth, the “marriage supper of the lamb” will take place in

heaven

Others say that event will happen on the earth after the tribulation

If the supper doesn’t take place in heaven, the alternative is the “presentation feast” as mentioned in

the previous slide..

This belief is supported based on the guest list:

Rev. 19:9 Then he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the

lamb”…

Since the bride is the church, the guests must be those who were saved before the cross, during the

tribulation and the Nation of Israel

Based on this, the celebration supper takes place after the tribulation, on the earth..

(This will be covered in more detail in later teaching)

Some words you may hear:

Antichrist = against Christ

Apocalypse = unveiling

Birth pangs = Agony

Day of the Lord = God’s judgment on Israel and the world

Eschatology = histories direction as it moves to the future

Imminence = Jesus will return at any moment

His Eminence = Howard Buck

Last days = Christian era, church age

Parousia = Presence, Christ will return and be present

Rapture = the church is “caught up” to be with Christ

Tribulation = unprecedented period of global suffering..

The following is a compilation of 12 prophecies that must be fulfilled before Christ’s return to

earth, the second coming

Again, there are

NO SIGNS TO BE FULFILLED BEFORE THE RAPTURE

TWELVE FULFILLMENTS OF BIBLE PROPHECY REQUIRED FOR THE END OF THE AGE

1. EXISTENCE OF A 200,000,000 MAN ARMY IN THE EAST

Revelation 9:16 "And the number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the

number of them." 

An army of that size had never existed until China's army reached that number in the 1960's.

2. REDEVELOPMENT OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

Daniel 2:32-33 …its feet partly of iron and partly of clay."

 

Daniel 2:40-43 "Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron;…  

The fourth kingdom of iron is the Roman empire according to Daniel's interpretation of King

Nebuchadnezzar's dream.  The nations of Europe since the Roman empire

dissolved have never adhered or formed one empire but continue as separate nations, however, the

European Union now has 15 Member States and is preparing for the accession of 13 eastern and

southern European countries.

3. RETURN OF THE ONE PURE LANGUAGE, HEBREW, TO ISRAEL

Zephaniah 3:9 "For then I will return to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent."

 

Prior to the restoration of Israel in 1948, Hebrew was a dead language.  Now Hebrew is spoken

throughout Israel.

4. REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE, RESTORATION OF TEMPLE WORSHIP AND ANIMAL SACRIFICES IN JERUSALEM

For several end time prophecies to be fulfilled, the temple will have to be rebuilt.

 

Revelation 11:2 "Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it

has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.“

 

Daniel 9:27 "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the

week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolation, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."

 

Some archeologists believe that the temple mount is actually 340 feet south of the Dome of the Rock site, putting the Dome of the Rock within the Court of the Gentiles.  This may be the court outside the temple

that is left out.

5. APPEARANCE OF THE RED HEIFER AFTER 2000 YEARS

Numbers 19:2-7 "This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed" …

April 8, 2002 - A one month old red heifer, born in Israel, has been validated by rabbis to be kosher. The Temple Mount Institute says, This heifer could indeed be a candidate to be used in the process of purification described in the book of Numbers, chapter 19. This is an important development towards the rebuilding of the Holy Temple.

6. INCREASE IN KNOWLEDGE AND TRAVEL

Daniel 12:4 "But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will

increase." 

Billy Graham was quoted as saying, "ninety percent of all the engineers and scientists who have ever lived

are alive today."  Air travel, space travel, DNA research and human cloning are all examples of the

rapid increase in knowledge in our generation.. 

7. RETURN OF THE ETHIOPIAN JEWS TO ISRAELZephaniah 3:10-11 "From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones, will bring My offerings.  In that day you will feel no shame because of all your deeds by which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst your proud, exulting ones, and

you will never again be haughty on My holy mountain."

 

In 1984, Operation Moses saw the airlift of 15,000 Jews who had already fled to refugee camps in Sudan to

escape starvation.  In 1991, Operation Solomon flew 20,000 Jews to Israel from Ethiopia itself.  A further

airlift began in June of 1999, aimed at transporting the last 3,000 members of the Quara Jewish community

from northeastern Ethiopia to Israel.

8. THE RISE OF RUSSIAEzekiel 38:2,4,8 "Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the

land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him.  I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords.  After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them."

 

In order for some end time events to occur Russia will have to be a strong nation with a strong military..

9. RETURN OF RUSSIAN JEWS TO ISRAELJeremiah 23:7-8 "Therefore behold, the days are coming

declares the Lord, when they will no longer say, as the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt, but as the Lord lives, who brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I have driven them.  Then they will live on their own soil."

 

In the 1970's and 1980's there was a mass exodus of Russian Jews out of Communist Russia. In 1999 the Associated Press reported a dramatic increase in the number of Jewish immigrants from Russia, bringing

the largest number of Russian Jews to Israel since the early 1990's.. 

10. TECHNOLOGY FOR THE MARK OF THE BEASTRevelation 13:16-17 "And he causes all, the small and the

great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name."

 On May 10, three members of a family in Florida became the first

people to receive the biochip implant.  Each device, made of silicon and called a VeriChip, is a small radio transmitter about the size of a piece of rice that is injected under a person's skin. It transmits a unique personal ID number whenever it is within a few feet of a special receiver unit. VeriChip's maker describes it

as "a miniaturized, implantable, radio frequency identification device (RFID) that can be used in a variety of security,

emergency and healthcare applications." 

Is the biochip the mark of the beast to be used by the antichrist?  We can't really know. 

What is significant is that people are being softened to the idea of a mark or an implant as a means of

maintaining security, providing medical information, and regulating a more interdependent world. 

As attitudes change, fears subside, and people are convinced of the need for such a mark, the true mark of the beast will be easily introduced to the world by

the antichrist.

11. PLANS FOR THE ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT

The United Nations, World Trade Organization, International Criminal Court, UN peacekeeping/police force, numerous UN NGO's, and other agencies are

preliminary steps to the formation of a one world government.  We now have the communications

technology, transportation, and the pro-globalization media necessary to usher in the one world

government headed by the antichrist.  The increasing terrorist threat and the middle east conflict will only

speed up the formation of this governing body as fear and promises of better security make more people

willing to give up their national sovereignty for global governance..

12. INSTANT COMMUNICATION AROUND THE WORLD

Revelation 11:9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves.

   Television and the 24-hour news networks make it possible for people around the world to see the dead

prophets and rejoice at their deaths..

Summary:

• We study the end times so that we will live each day as if it is our last

• The rapture is Christ coming to receive the church

• There are no signs to be fulfilled before the rapture

• The “birth pangs” have started and will grow in intensity

• Jesus will return to the earth at the end of the tribulation period