It is crucial to begin a study of the end times with the right paradigm. It is not, as we have often seen portrayed, the capricious judgment of God on this world. Nor is it simply a time when horrendous evil prevails. It is in fact something infinitely more meaningful.
The many passages about the end of this age do not come to us in a vacuum. Rather, they build on and culminate some of the most important themes dotted through scripture. Throughout scripture, Father God promises and describes 'the mystery of his will… his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth' (Eph 1:10), 'and through [Christ] to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross (Col 1:16). Father promises us that Jesus return and He will:
Destroy all that hinders perfect goodness and justice and love. All evil, and the very fountain of evil, and the fruit of evil (including death) He will destroy.
Establish the throne of His perfect and eternal Kingdom on earth
Judge the wicked for their works.
Lead God's people, as King, in an eternal life full of all the lavish goodness of God - far beyond all we could possibly ask or imagine - and absent any death, suffering or tears, forever (Isa 25:8).
This is the future to which scripture directs our hope.
But we live in evil times, and the days grow darker still. Are we still to hope for these things? And how will they come to pass? The book of Revelation concludes the Canon of scripture with an emphatic validation that God will indeed fulfil all His promises to His people, and gives us more detail than the rest of the bible combined on the period of history when He will transition this age, to the age to come. Here is what He tells us.
(Sidebar: many don't read Revelation as providing a chronology of the final generation of this age. Particularly those who hold to A-millennial, Post-millennial or Preterist eschatologies. I aim to cover the different eschatological viewpoints, with strengths and weaknesses of each, in the next blog series. For now, spoiler alert: it seems to me and many others that the view presented below - known as Premillennialism - is the view which is most faithful to the texts of Revelation, Mt 24, and many other end time passages, and which best harmonizes the various eschatological passages of both Old and New Testament. Lord willing, I will defend that view in detail in the blog series to follow…)
The end times storyline is, in one sense, very simple, as illustrated in the image below, and explained beneath.
(Sidebar: scholars hold to a variety of versions of this end times chronology. For now we will not get into the details of why the above chronology locates the seals, trumpets and bowls in time in the way that it does. Lord willing, I will share the rationale for the above chronology in a future post. We can't be too dogmatic since it is not an issue of primary importance, and many sincere and learned scholars hold alternative chronologies that are the fruit of deep study. That being said, I do believe the book of Revelation itself gives us the keys to rightly understand the chronology of these events - for example that the 7th trumpet judgment commences and IS the 42 month great tribulation, and the first 6 trumps precede it - and I have reflected my understanding above.)
At some unknown time, the Lord Jesus will take the scroll / title deed of inheritance of the earth from Father (Rev Ch 4-5), and then begin opening the scroll (Rev Ch 6), kicking off a 21 stage plan for Jesus to redeem the earth, take over the government of the whole earth, and cleanse it (Rev Ch 6-20) in preparation for the eternal age (Rev CH 21-22).
This 21 stage plan is broken into 3 main phases, each consisting of 7 periods, each catalyzed by Christ
7 SEALS: The 7 Seals (Rev CH 6-8:1, with an interlude in Ch 7) are called 'birth pangs', warnings the birth of the new age (and hence the end of the present age) is at hand. These birth pangs are global catastrophes of unimaginable proportions which cannot fail to get the world's attention, and each escalates in severity. By the end of the 7 seals, the whole world realises what's going on: Jesus is preparing to return. They are in the valley of decision.
7 TRUMPS: The 7 trumpets (Rev Ch 8-14, with interludes in Ch 10-12 & 14) are warning judgments to the earth dwellers, which take place over a 7 year period called The Tribulation/ Since, in response to the 7 seals, most of the world will dig their heals in and organise themselves to resist Jesus' coming, the Lord will provide a last opportunity to repent and turn to God before Christ returns to judge those who resist. These 7 trumpet judgments are worse than the seal judgments, and each of the 7 trumps escalates in severity, designed as unmistakable divine warnings to repent. The first 6 trumpet judgments take place over a 3.5 year period. At the midpoint of the 7 year tribulation will come 'The Abomination of Desolation'. The final and greatest Antichrist figure of world history will enter the 'most holy place' of the temple in Jerusalem (rebuilt by a still-to-be-saved Israel) and declare himself God, commencing the final 3.5 years of this age, known as 'The GREAT Tribulation'. This is the period catalyzed by the blowing of the 7th trumpet. The AC will demand worldwide worship and allegiance and will take total control over the entire world. His sidekick the false prophet will lead a worldwide satanic worship system, requiring everybody to take 'the mark of the beast' in order to buy or sell and live. This evil reign will take place over a 3.5 year period, culminating in the battle of Armageddon.
7 BOWLS: At the end of the Great Tribulation, God will release His 7 Bowl judgments (Ch 15-16) on the Antichrist kingdom, which will span the whole world. These judgments will be much worse than anything that has come before, and again will escalate from bowl to bowl. This is the fury of His wrathful judgment of that generation. By the 5th bowl, the world will have had enough and in a final desperate bid, will array themselves for battle in the plains of Israel, surrounding Armageddon, for the final great battle of this age: the showdown between Satan, the Antichrist, the false prophet, and the kings and armies of this world, against the Lamb of God. It will be a great anticlimax, with the Lord decimating His foes with the breath of His mouth (Ch 19).
The end of Armageddon marks the beginning of the Millennium (Ch 20), a glorious 1000 year age with Christ Himself ruling from Jerusalem and the whole world in full blossom.
After this comes the transition to the eternal age (Ch21-22), including the final judgment of Satan and all mankind, the final cleansing and renewal of heaven and earth, the descent of New Jerusalem from heaven to earth to signify God's permanent dwelling with man on earth, the union of the heavenly realm with the earthly realm to establish the unblemished, unified universe, with all things united in Christ as the single glorious and eternal Kingdom of God.
So that in a nutshell is the chronology of the eschatological Day of the Lord, the time when God will transition this present evil age to the glorious future ages marked by God's majestic reign of peace with all things reconciled to Him in Christ.
So what will be 'the signs of the end times', marking the end of this age? That's what we will cover in the next post....
Yorumlar