The Return of Christ
Most people want to know when important events are meant to happen. In particular, the book of Revelation has been written to designate a sequential record and account of God’s time clock. For some believers, the events in the eschatological judgement (the tribulation), will allow the Lord Himself to come down from heaven to rescue the faithful before this happens so they may be with Him forever. There is much debate as to the time in history this event will take place.
Some Christians debate whether this will happen at all. Only the Lord knows the hour of the rapture and of the second coming of Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32). The Christians have been promised that they are destined for Salvation relating to deliverance through Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:10, 5:9). The deliverance promised to all true believers is mentioned in scripture as being “caught up” where there will be a meeting of the saints with Christ in the air. Grenz (1994) states, “Paul reminded his readers of the importance of such hopeful involvement.” (1 Corinthians 15:58, NIV) Its importance arises in part from the contingency of world events.
The Lord will certainly return, and the eschatological consummation will be realized. At the same time, the future is in certain respects open. God has a program for the world, but many details are not fixed (p. 656). Therefore, some of the eschatological events as they unfold in the New Testament will be explored.
Pre-Tribulation
There have been some misconceptions about the Holy Spirit being removed from the earth at the time of the rapture. Rather, the forces of evil and the Antichrist are being constrained
by the Holy Spirit until after the rapture occurs. Once this happens, the Holy Spirit will not hold back darkness/wickedness on the face of the earth. At the same time, the Holy Spirit will still be involved with the Salvation of the lost. There will still be many who will be coming to Christ at this time.
The First Half of the Tribulation
During the time of the Eschaton, one who says he is the Messiah will announce himself and become a very dazzling politician, charismatic leader--one to supposedly bring peace, and a spokesman. This supposed Messiah/Antichrist will reveal himself to the Jewish people and the world as the one who has been prophesied (2 Thessalonians 2:3-10, Daniel 8:9 and Revelation 6:2). The Lord is waiting for the remainder of mankind to repent and will therefore send plagues of judgment upon humanity through seven seals and seven trumpets. There will also rise up from Jerusalem, two witnesses who will be divinely
appointed to bear witness to the Jewish people to bring them Christ and to repent before the Lord. They will also be sent to warn humanity against the Antichrist and those that follow him. These two witnesses will have a ministry, which is global and will be much hated because they are exposing Satan’s plots against humanity (Revelation 11:3-12). There will be approximately 144,000 Jewish people who will come to Christ, saved and brought into the Kingdom right at the beginning of the Tribulation. At this time the Antichrist will also convince the Jewish people that he is the Messiah they have been long awaiting (John 5:43). The Temple on Mt. Moriah will also be rebuilt and will be overseen by the two witnesses God has appointed for this purpose.
Mid-Tribulation
What is considered the Hour of His judgment will also mark the beginning of the mid-tribulation. It is at this trumpet blast that Satan and his angels will be cast out of heaven for good and confined to the earth realm. Satan is also no longer the prince of the air (Ephesians 2:2) and will not have access to the Lord to make accusations against God’s children. When the false Messiah violates the temple and enters the Most Holy Place, he will convince himself that he is the Lord.
At this point, sacrifices will be stopped and there will not be any worship by anyone visibly unless it is unto him. Once the Jewish people recognize that the Antichrist is not the Messiah, after he violates the Hebrew Temple, some of the Hebrew people will revolt against him and kill him (Daniel 8:12-13). There is the thought that Satan will mock the resurrection of Christ and his spirit will enter into his own dead body thus restoring his life. Because the Jewish people attempted to destroy him, Satan will have a fierce animosity against them and will try to decimate all Hebrews from the earth during the last half of the tribulation.
Last Half of the Tribulation
Those who have turned to the beast and worshipped him or taken the mark of the beast will taste of “the wine of the wrath of God” poured out upon them. During this period, great sorrow without relief or mercy will cover the earth.
Nothing of goodness or kindness will remain, rather--there will not be any relief from the judgment of God. During this time, no one left can be saved. At this time according to (Revelation 15:8), the seven angels of the seven plagues must first be fulfilled.
The End of the Tribulation
After the seven years of concealment with her groom in heaven, there is a rejoicing as the Lord unites His wedding party and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb occurs. It is at this time that Christ will return to the earth realm to placate His enemies and He will sovereignly reign forever, (Daniel 2:44, 7:27 and Isaiah 9:6-7). The tribulation is brought to an end at this time while the physical return of Christ comes to strike terrifying fear into the wicked that are left and thus causing the ones that need to turn to Christ for Salvation when He comes from the heavens and they will be saved (Revelation 1:7, Matthew 24:30, Mark 13:26 and Thessalonians 1:7-10).
If we respond to this call, we will have transformed the world without deforming it. ‘If God has created the world for us, we recreated the world for God’. And in this way, by returning to God the gift of love with love (the double genitive in Derrida’s ‘the desire of God’), we become forerunners of His becoming for ‘God cannot become fully God, nor the Word fully flesh, until creation becomes a ‘new heaven and a new earth” (p. 104) (Manoussakis, 2002).
The battle of Armageddon occurs and all of the inhabiting Russian armies and other nations armies will be present as Jesus leads His army to slaughter His enemies and His peoples’ enemies (Isaiah 63:1-6, Ezekiel 39:3-11). He will end up right at Jerusalem right over the mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4). Any army that exists or is congregated against Jerusalem will at that time be destroyed and any other band of wicked armies will be decimated from the earth until no further wickedness exists. Satan will be chained up and thrown into a bottomless pit for a thousand years.
Personal Eschatology
As several New Testament passages allude to the state of death and resurrection, Paul mentions in (Philippians 1:20-22) that after passing, being with Christ is where he would go. Once he left his physical body, he would be with the Lord. Christian theology affirms that when a person dies, he or she enters into an intermediate state of existence (referred to by the ancients as sheol or hades). He encourages believers to anticipate the time that they "were away from the body and at
home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:6-9, NIV). Once the believer passed away, he shouldn’t be grieved as in (1 Timothy 4:13). For the believers that have passed with faith in God, the resurrection from their physical body into their eternal bodies, the righteous will be at one with Christ. Those who are in Christ should not grieve because they have a glorified state to look forward to. During the second coming of Christ, those who were asleep will be reunited once again.
There have been many thoughts about what the state of existence is for a believer between their death and resurrection. It is thought that even those who are deceased have a conscious existence. “He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he
went and preached to the spirits in prison” (1 Peter 3:18-19, NIV). “For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead” (1 Peter 4:6, NIV). Some, such as Luther and the Seventh Day Adventists believe in a term called, “soul sleep,” where they see death as a form of sleep and that one is unconscious until the return of Jesus. If a believer is unconscious of the passing of time, then it is thought to be a form of sleep or a sleep state the believer will remain in until the return of Christ. It is thought this intermediate state is one that is an unconscious state in which they will be reawakened at the Lord’s return.
It has been argued that the thoughts about those absent in the body being present with the Lord could still be in soul sleep. Those that respond to awakening from sleep are not consciously aware of any intervening passage of time. These theologians believe that in order for the believer to be awakened, it must be in light of Christ, as the transfiguration requires a conscious part to fully affect the awakening. Where the idea of soul sleep is debated, it is proven that Moses and Elijah were fully conscious in the presence of Christ
where transfiguration required this. Where Jesus refers to the fact that God is a living God, this implies that it is true Isaac, Jacob and Abraham are fully conscious as they are in the presence of the Lord. As the Lord promises the thief dying on the cross that he will have everlasting life, implies there is a conscious state of mind right after death (Luke 23:43). If the angels are joined by the believers in the assembly, then this expression of joy must mean that there is consciousness. Ansell (2012) says, “In attempting to discern the difference between good and evil, truth and erring, life and death, we should continue to look for the restoration of the primordial gifting and blessing of creation” (p. 105). Essentially, creation is where it all begins; the eschatological sojourn being open to walk with God in the sense that we are called to participate with Him in His redemptive work to participate with Him in glory through His story.
References
Ansell, N.J. (2012). It’s about time: opening reformational thought to the eschaton. Calvin Theological Journal. Volume 46 No. 1: (pp. 98-121).
Grenz, S.J. (1994). Theology for the community of God. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Manoussakis, J.P. (2002). From Exodus to eschaton: on the God who may be. Modern Theology. Volume 18, No. 1: (pp. 95-107).
The Holy Bible (2002). New International Version. The Zondervan Corporation. Grand Rapids, MI.
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